Segundo importantes pensadores contemporâneos, diante da velocidade das transformações do mundo atual, estamos perdendo a capacidade de situarmo-nos corretamente no espaço. Fatores como o domínio das empresas transnacionais, a descentralização e a \"financeirização\" da economia, as novas tecnologias de comunicação, o transporte de mercadorias, a urbanização descontrolada e a virtualidade digital aceleraram exponencialmente a experiência humana de uma forma jamais vista. Nesse sentido, a pergunta existencial mais premente do mundo contemporâneo talvez seja \"onde estamos?\" Trata-se não apenas de um problema de localização espacial, mas também da possibilidade de ação política. Se não somos capazes de \"ler\" ou mapear mentalmente o ambiente onde vivemos, não podemos agir sobre ele; se não podemos agir sobre ele, estamos construindo uma experiência alienada e alienante, contrária a qualquer noção responsável de cidadania. Além de apresentar o problema teórico, a pesquisa busca tratar do assunto tendo como eixos centrais o universo criativo das artes e o ambiente das grandes cidades contemporâneas. A pergunta que norteia a pesquisa pode ser assim resumida: de que forma a arte pode contribuir para aprimorar a legibilidade do novo espaço contemporâneo, sobretudo nas cidades? Para tentar respondê-la, analiso diversas obras que se utilizaram do potencial poético e descritivo do mapeamento como prática artística, apontando caminhos originais que as ciências humanas tradicionais não podem percorrer. Se a imaginação é responsável pelo alargamento dos horizontes e pela exploração de novas possibilidades, é também uma forma de conhecimento, que pode contribuir decisivamente para solucionar os problemas atuais. E um dos suportes da imaginação é a arte. / According to important contemporary scholars, faced with the speed of the changes in today\'s world, we are losing the capacity to properly place ourselves in space. Factors such as the dominance of transnational enterprises, economic decentralization and financialization, new communication technologies, the transport of goods, unchecked urbanization and digital virtuality, have exponentially sped up human experience in an unprecedented manner. In this regard, the most pressing question in the contemporary world may be \"where are we?\" This refers to not only a spatial location issue, but also a possibility for political action. If we are not able to mentally \"read\" or map the setting where we live, we cannot act upon it; if we cannot act upon it, we are building an alienated and alienating experience, counter to any responsible concept of citizenship. In addition to forwarding the theoretical problem, the research seeks to approach the subject under the central axes of the arts\' creative universe and the environment of the great contemporary cities. The question that drives the research may be thus summarized: in what ways can art contribute to improve the reading of the new contemporary space? In order to answer it, I analyze several works which resorted to the poetic and descriptive potential of mapping as an artistic practice, signaling original paths that the traditional human sciences cannot follow. If imagination is responsible for widening horizons and exploring new possibilities, it is also a form of knowledge, which can decisively contribute for the solution of current problems. And one of the foundations of imagination is art.

Segundo importantes pensadores contemporâneos, diante da velocidade das transformações do mundo atual, estamos perdendo a capacidade de situarmo-nos corretamente no espaço. Fatores como o domínio das empresas transnacionais, a descentralização e a \"financeirização\" da economia, as novas tecnologias de comunicação, o transporte de mercadorias, a urbanização descontrolada e a virtualidade digital aceleraram exponencialmente a experiência humana de uma forma jamais vista. Nesse sentido, a pergunta existencial mais premente do mundo contemporâneo talvez seja \"onde estamos?\" Trata-se não apenas de um problema de localização espacial, mas também da possibilidade de ação política. Se não somos capazes de \"ler\" ou mapear mentalmente o ambiente onde vivemos, não podemos agir sobre ele; se não podemos agir sobre ele, estamos construindo uma experiência alienada e alienante, contrária a qualquer noção responsável de cidadania. Além de apresentar o problema teórico, a pesquisa busca tratar do assunto tendo como eixos centrais o universo criativo das artes e o ambiente das grandes cidades contemporâneas. A pergunta que norteia a pesquisa pode ser assim resumida: de que forma a arte pode contribuir para aprimorar a legibilidade do novo espaço contemporâneo, sobretudo nas cidades? Para tentar respondê-la, analiso diversas obras que se utilizaram do potencial poético e descritivo do mapeamento como prática artística, apontando caminhos originais que as ciências humanas tradicionais não podem percorrer. Se a imaginação é responsável pelo alargamento dos horizontes e pela exploração de novas possibilidades, é também uma forma de conhecimento, que pode contribuir decisivamente para solucionar os problemas atuais. E um dos suportes da imaginação é a arte. / According to important contemporary scholars, faced with the speed of the changes in today\'s world, we are losing the capacity to properly place ourselves in space. Factors such as the dominance of transnational enterprises, economic decentralization and financialization, new communication technologies, the transport of goods, unchecked urbanization and digital virtuality, have exponentially sped up human experience in an unprecedented manner. In this regard, the most pressing question in the contemporary world may be \"where are we?\" This refers to not only a spatial location issue, but also a possibility for political action. If we are not able to mentally \"read\" or map the setting where we live, we cannot act upon it; if we cannot act upon it, we are building an alienated and alienating experience, counter to any responsible concept of citizenship. In addition to forwarding the theoretical problem, the research seeks to approach the subject under the central axes of the arts\' creative universe and the environment of the great contemporary cities. The question that drives the research may be thus summarized: in what ways can art contribute to improve the reading of the new contemporary space? In order to answer it, I analyze several works which resorted to the poetic and descriptive potential of mapping as an artistic practice, signaling original paths that the traditional human sciences cannot follow. If imagination is responsible for widening horizons and exploring new possibilities, it is also a form of knowledge, which can decisively contribute for the solution of current problems. And one of the foundations of imagination is art.

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία, εκτιμώνται τα πλεονεκτήματα που παρέχουν οι βοηθητικές τεχνολογίες, όπως είναι τα εικονικά περιβάλλοντα, για προγράμματα σπουδών σε μαθητές με ελαφρά νοητική καθυστέρηση. Επίσης, μελετώνται οι αντιληπτικές και χωρικές ικανότητες παιδιών με νοητική καθυστέρηση συγκριτικά με αυτές των παιδιών τυπικής ανάπτυξης, χρησιμοποιώντας μία εφαρμογή εικονικής πραγματικότητας. Για την διερεύνηση των παραπάνω, πραγματοποιήθηκε μία ερευνητική διαδικασία αποτελούμενη από δύο φάσεις. Η πρώτη φάση συνίσταται σε μία πιλοτική εφαρμογή του προγράμματος εικονικής πραγματικότητας, όπου ζητήθηκε από μία ομάδα 10 ατόμων, ηλικίας 16-23 ετών, να το αξιολογήσουν ώστε να επιτραπεί η χρήση του στην επόμενη φάση. Η δεύτερη φάση περιέχει την κυρίως έρευνα, όπου συμμετέχουν δύο ομάδες παιδιών, η μία εκ των οποίων αποτελείται από παιδιά με νοητική καθυστέρηση, ενώ η άλλη από παιδιά τυπικής ανάπτυξης. Τα υποκείμενα των δύο ομάδων εξερεύνησαν το εικονικό περιβάλλον και εν συνεχεία αξιολογήθηκαν σε κάποια έργα χωρικής μνήμης και χωρικής αντίληψης. Τέλος, αξιολογήθηκε ο προσανατολισμός, η λεπτή κινητικότητα και κάποια άλλα χαρακτηριστικά της συμπεριφοράς των υποκειμένων. Βάσει των δεδομένων που προέκυψαν από την ερευνητική διαδικασία, εξήχθησαν συμπεράσματα για τα παραπάνω, τα οποία παρουσιάζουν τα παιδιά με νοητική καθυστέρηση να μειονεκτούν έναντι των παιδιών τυπικής ανάπτυξης. / The following research paper, which serves as a part of the Departments requirements leading to a Bachelor’s Degree, unfolds its goal and objectives into phases. The goal of this endeavor is to present the advantages that assistive technologies, such as Virtual Environments, offer to students with mental retardation. In addition, the conceptual and spatial abilities of mentally retarded children are examined, comparatively with the abilities of nonretarded children using an application of virtual reality. In order to investigate the above, a two-phase research had taken place. In the first phase, that is a pilot test, a group of ten subjects, 16-23 years old, evaluated this application in order to be possible to use the application in the next phase. The second phase involves the basic research, where two groups of children, one of mentally retarded children and one of nonretarded children, took part. The subjects of these two groups explored the virtual environment and afterwards they completed tests of spatial memory and spatial cognition. In the end, the orientation, the “delicate mobility” (the ability to handle small objects) and some other characteristics of the children’s behavior were assessed. On the basis of the data that emerged from the research procedure, there were extracted conclusions that indicate that mentally retarded children are deficient against nonretarded children.

Previous studies investigating how humans build reliable spatial knowledge representations allowing them to find their way from one point to another in complex environments have been focused on comparing the relative importance of the two-dimensional visual geometry of routes and intersections, multi-dimensional data from direct exposure with the real world, or verbal symbols and/or instructions. This thesis sheds further light on the multi-dimensional and multi-sensorial aspects by investigating how the cognitive processing of spatial information derived from different sources of sensory and higher order input influences the performance of human observers who have to find their way from memory through complex and non-familiar real-world environments. Three experiments in large-scale urban environments of the real world, and in computer generated representations of these latter (Google Street View), were run to investigate the influence of prior exposure to 2D visual or tactile maps of an itinerary, compared with a single direct experience or verbal instructions, on navigation performances in sighted and/or visually deficient individuals, and in individuals temporarily deprived of vision. Performances were analyzed in terms of time from departure to destination, number of stops, number of wrong turns, and success rates. Potential strategies employed by individuals during navigation and mental mapping abilities were screened on the basis of questionnaires and drawing tests. Subjective levels of psychological stress (experiment 2) were measured to bring to the fore possible differences between men and women in this respect. The results of these experiments show that 2D visual maps, briefly explored prior to navigation, generate better navigation performances compared with poorly scaled virtual representations of a complex real-world environment (experiment 1), the best performances being produced by a single prior exposure to the real-world itinerary. However, brief familiarization with a reliably scaled virtual representation of a non-familiar real-world environment (Google Street View) not only generates optimal navigation in computer generated testing (virtual reality), but also produces better navigation performances when tested in the real-world environment and compared with prior exposure to 2D visual maps (experiment 2). Congenitally blind observers (experiment 3) who have to find their way from memory through a complex non-familiar urban environment perform swiftly and with considerable accuracy after exposure to a 2D tactile map of their itinerary. They are also able to draw a visual image of their itinerary on the basis of the 2D tactile map exposure. Other visually deficient or sighted but blindfolded individuals seem to have greater difficulty in finding their way again than congenitally blind people, regardless of the type of prior exposure to their test itinerary. The findings of this work here are discussed in the light of current hypotheses regarding the presumed intrinsic nature of human spatial representations, replaced herein within a context of working memory models. It is suggested that multi-dimensional temporary storage systems, capable of processing a multitude of sensory input in parallel and with a much larger general capacity than previously considered in terms of working memory limits, need to be taken into account for future research.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Entre as mudanÃas globais enfrentadas nas pouco mais de trÃs Ãltimas dÃcadas, destacam-se as maneiras como a informaÃÃo, no espaÃo digital e na Web, à acessada, inter-relacionada e ressignificada, no aspecto da construÃÃo de novos conhecimentos e saberes. Estas mudanÃas estÃo significativamente vinculadas à quebra de paradigmas e crises entre as Ãreas de conhecimento. Neste cenÃrio, a sociedade enfrenta uma inesperada corrida de rÃpidas transformaÃÃes, fusÃes e nascimento de novas Ãreas de conhecimento interdisciplinares, carreando o processo educacional para uma contÃnua e desafiante crise. Progressivamente, o uso pedagÃgico das TIC ocupa os espaÃos da outrora educaÃÃo conservadora presencial e instrucionista, outorgando cenÃrios favorecedores à integraÃÃo pedagÃgica entre: as mÃdias, o construtivismo, a autonomia, a criatividade e o aprender juntos. Nas prÃximas dÃcadas, decorrerÃo mudanÃas significativas nas propostas de avaliaÃÃo, notadamente voltadas para o desenvolvimento da aprendizagem colaborativa, em espaÃos assÃncronos, o que suscita profundas reflexÃes, concernentes Ãs transposiÃÃes teÃrico-metodolÃgicas e prÃticas, que incidirÃo sobre a ressignificaÃÃo e relaÃÃes entre o desenvolvimento da aprendizagem e sua avaliaÃÃo. A presente investigaÃÃo, de carÃter qualitativo e de pesquisa-aÃÃo, se insere no cenÃrio do desenvolvimento de atividades pedagÃgicas colaborativas, expressas por narrativas, postadas em FÃruns de discussÃo, durante o transcurso de uma disciplina de InformÃtica na EducaÃÃo, ofertada presencialmente pelo Departamento de Fundamentos da EducaÃÃo da FACED/UFC, em que majoritariamente participaram estudantes de graduaÃÃo. A proposta didÃtica da disciplina se baseia nos pressupostos da teoria da aprendizagem significativa ausubeliana, no mapeamento cognitivo, na visÃo de Okada, e no estar junto virtual, segundo Valente e Almeida. Foram escolhidos dois de seus FÃruns temÃticos disciplinares, que abordavam as temÃticas de estudo: o uso pedagÃgico de mapas conceituais e pressupostos da avaliaÃÃo formativa da aprendizagem, numa visÃo construtivista (AUSUBEL, FERNANDES, MASETTO, PERRONOUD, ZABALA). Parte do referencial teÃrico da Tese permeia a avaliaÃÃo na forma clÃssica e contribuiÃÃes nÃo clÃssicas, que apontam para a necessidade de se repensar a avaliaÃÃo, numa Ãtica do construtivismo e da aprendizagem assÃncrona. Os conjuntos de narrativas, postados pelos estudantes, sÃo constituÃdos por dados multidimensionais fortemente entrelaÃados, que foram mapeados e analisados, sob a forma de categorias, à luz do referencial teÃrico e objetivos adotados na Tese, sob o foco da anÃlise textual discursiva (MORAES, GALIAZZI) e da anÃlise qualitativa de dados multidimensionais, fazendo-se o uso do software CHIC (ALMOULOUD, PRADO, VALENTE). Em seguida, partindo-se de uma Ãrvore de similaridade, gerada pelo CHIC, foram estabelecidas inter-relaÃÃes hierÃrquicas e relacionais, entre as categorias, organizadas em trÃs eixos temÃticos, e as narrativas dos cursistas, de modo a analisar, numa Ãtica do referencial teÃrico da Tese, como se desenvolve a aprendizagem e como a avaliaÃÃo, qualitativa e formativa, pode estar associada ao desenvolvimento da aprendizagem. Da anÃlise multidimensional das narrativas dos cursistas, numa Ãtica transdisciplinar, emergiram indÃcios preliminares de inter-relaÃÃes hierÃrquicas e relacionais, entre os trÃs campos de conhecimentos desenvolvimento da aprendizagem, avaliaÃÃo e saberes pedagÃgicos e tecnolÃgicos, e as aÃÃes pedagÃgicas vivenciadas nos FÃruns TelEduc, que questionam se repensar os pressupostos da avaliaÃÃo da aprendizagem e a convergÃncia dos futuros caminhos das prÃticas pedagÃgicas e avaliativas. / Among the global challenges, FACED during the last three decades, it is important to point out the different ways how the information, in the digital space and on the Web, is accessed, interrelated, in order to give a new meaning, according the aspect of building new knowledges. These changes are meaningful linked to paradigms break and crises between the areas of knowledge. In this scenario, the human society faces an unexpected rush of rapid transformations, mergers and birth of new areas of interdisciplinary knowledge, leading the educational process for continuous and challenging crisis. Progressively, the pedagogical use of ICT occupies the space of the once classroom and instructional conservative education, favoring granting scenarios to the pedagogical integration of: media, constructivism, autonomy, creativity and learning together. In the coming decades, it will take significant changes in the proposal evaluation, notably focused on the development of collaborative learning in asynchronous spaces, which raises profound reflections, concerning the theoretical and methodological and practice transpositions, which will focus on redefining and relationships between learning development and its assessment. This research, that is qualitative and action research, is included in the scenario of the development of collaborative educational activities, expressed by narratives, posted in the TelEduc discussion Forums, during the development of activities on a course of informatics in Education, offered by the Department of Education Foundations of FACED/UFC, where mostly attended graduate students. The didactic proposal of the course is based on the assumptions of the theory of Ausubel‟s meaningful learning, cognitive mapping, in Okada's vision, and on the learning together in the virtual space, according to Valente and Almeida. Two of his disciplinary thematic forums were chosen which addressed the topics of study: the educational use of concept maps and assumptions of formative assessment of learning, according the constructivist view (AUSUBEL; FERNANDES; MASETTO; PERRENOUD; ZABALA). Part of the Thesis theoretical framework permeates the assessment in a classical view and non-classical contributions, what point out to the need to rethink the assessment in a perspective of constructivism and asynchronous learning. The sets of narratives, posted by students, are made up of multidimensional data strongly intertwined, which were mapped and analyzed in the form of categories. This is done based on the theoretical framework and objectives adopted in this Thesis, from the perspective of the discursive textual analysis (MORAES; GALIAZZI) and the multi-dimensional analysis for qualitative data, making the use of software CHIC (ALMEIDA; ALMOULOUD; VALENTE). Then, starting from a similarity tree, generated by CHIC, hierarchical and relational interrelationships have been established between the categories, organized into three themes, and the narratives of the course participants. This is done in order to analyze, in a perspective of the theoretical framework of the Thesis, how learning can be developed and how the assessment, qualitative and formative, may be associated with the learning development. From the multidimensional analysis of the narratives of the course participants, and according a transdisciplinary perspective, it was emerged preliminary evidence of hierarchical and relational interrelationships, between the knowledge fields learning development, assessment and technological pedagogical content knowledge, and the collaborative pedagogical actions, experienced in the TelEduc Forums, that induce to rethink the assumptions of the assessment of learning and the future possibles ways of the pedagogical and assessment practices.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O Brasil enfrenta vÃrios problemas relacionados à educaÃÃo, de acordo com o Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) - Programa Internacional de AvaliaÃÃo de Estudantes, nosso paÃs apresenta dÃficit nas Ãreas de Leitura, MatemÃtica e CiÃncia. O PISA à uma iniciativa internacional que avalia estudantes na faixa dos 15 anos de idade, que equivale ao perÃodo aproximado em que os estudantes concluem a escolaridade bÃsica na maioria dos paÃses. Em 2009, o Brasil conquistou a posiÃÃo de 57 (quinquagÃsimo sÃtimo) lugar em 65 (sessenta e cinco) naÃÃes avaliadas. Sabemos que diversos fatores econÃmicos, sociais e culturais influenciam o fracasso escolar constatado na avaliaÃÃo do PISA, desse modo percebemos a importÃncia em realizar pesquisas, mais diretamente no Ãmbito educacional, com relaÃÃo à formaÃÃo e à aÃÃo docente em prol da aprendizagem discente, em busca de uma compreensÃo desse processo educativo, que se encontra prejudicado, no que se refere à aprendizagem. Para tanto, fizemos uma investigaÃÃo qualitativa, descritiva, exploratÃria, com caracterÃsticas de pesquisa de campo(GIL, 2008) no curso de pedagogia noturno, na Faculdade de EducaÃÃo (FACED), na Universidade Federal do Cearà (UFC), em busca de verificar a formaÃÃo docente que acontece na disciplina de EstÃgio no Ensino Fundamental II, na relaÃÃo da fundamentaÃÃo teÃrica com a prÃtica em sala de aula, com o objetivo de investigar as contribuiÃÃes da SequÃncia Fedathi, na aÃÃo docente em estÃgio curricular, do aluno do curso de pedagogia, apÃs cursar a disciplina de EstÃgio no Ensino Fundamental II. Para uma fundamentaÃÃo dos objetivos da presente pesquisa, julgamos necessÃrio um aporte teÃrico voltado para formaÃÃo e prÃtica docente, analisando as contribuiÃÃes de Tardif (2002) e Perrenoud (2002), bem como a integraÃÃo de tecnologias digitais junto ao processo educativo, com enfoque na mediaÃÃo pedagÃgica para utilizÃ-las na perspectiva de Valente e Bustamante (2009), a fim de favorecer a metodologia de ensino-aprendizagem, articulando-se à SequÃncia Fedathi, de Borges Neto (2013) e a aprendizagem significativa, adotando a perspectiva construtivista de Ausubel et al. (1980), articulada ao uso de Mapas Conceituais de Novak (2010), Os dados da pesquisa indicaram como resultados apropriaÃÃo da fase Tomada de PosiÃÃo e Prova da SequÃncia Fedathi, com dÃficit na elaboraÃÃo de hipÃteses para as fases de MaturaÃÃo e SoluÃÃo, destacamos a necessidade de novos estudos atravÃs de mapas conceituais, que incorporem os pressupostos da Aprendizagem Significativa, para apropriaÃÃo dessa metodologia. / The Brazil faces several education-related problems, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), our country has a deficit in the areas of Reading, Mathematics and Science. PISA is an international initiative that evaluates the students in the range of 15 years, which is equivalent to the approximate period in which students completing primary education in most countries. In 2009, Brazil won the position of 57 (fifty-seventh) place in 65 (sixty-five) evaluated nations. We know that many economic, social and cultural factors influence school failure observed in the PISA assessment, thereby realize the importance in conducting surveys, most directly in the education sector, with respect to training and teaching activities in support of student learning, search an understanding of the educational process, which is a disadvantage in regard to learning. Therefore, we made a qualitative research, descriptive, exploratory, with field research characteristics (GIL, 2008) in the course of night pedagogy, the Faculty of Education (FACED), the Federal University of Cearà (UFC), seeking to check teacher training that takes place in the stage of discipline in Secondary School, in respect of the theoretical foundation with practice in the classroom, in order to investigate the contributions of Fedathi sequence, in teaching activities in curricular training, the course student pedagogy, after attend Internship discipline in Secondary School. For reasons of the goals of this research, we deem necessary a theoretical contribution aimed at training and teaching practice, analyzing the contributions of Tardif (2002) and Perrenoud (2002), and the integration of digital technologies in the educational process, with a focus on pedagogical mediation to use them in the perspective of Valente and Bustamante (2009), in order to promote the teaching-learning methodology, articulating the Sequence Fedathi, Borges Neto (2013), and meaningful learning, adopting a constructivist perspective Ausubel et al. (1980) articulated the use of concept maps Novak (2010), The survey data indicated as phase ownership results Position making and proof of Fedathi sequence, with a deficit in the development of hypotheses for the stages of maturation and solution, we highlight the need for further studies through conceptual maps, incorporating the assumptions of Meaningful Learning, for allocation of this methodology.

Abstract The objective of this doctoral thesis is to examine Anu Kaipainen’s literary strategy and to find out what kind of questions she thematises using the strategy. The articles focus on two novels from the 1960s, seen as routes leading to her production. Perspective is widened towards her other works. This dissertation seeks methodological and contextual routes to the interpretation of the multiple layers and elements present in her novels. The objective is to create a more holistic ‘map’ of her literary strategy and its functions. Mirroring Kaipainen’s allegory of maps, the articles included in this thesis can also be seen as maps drawn at different stages on tracing paper, placed one on top of the other. This ‘atlas’ made of tracing paper depicts the following issues as thematic condensations and clarifying questions connecting the articles: 1) the positioning of a bourgeois female subject in the upheavals of modern life and 2) the heterology of contexts related to these transitions that represent the increasingly complex nature of social reality and challenges in perceiving it. This thesis contextualises and discusses this dialectic tension between post-modern multiplicity and the positioning of feministic identity politics. 3) the third question synthetises the first two: how and in what direction is this tension taken in Kaipainen’s works? This third theme originates from Kaipainen’s allegory of maps, which is a thematic condensation as such and illustrates her literary strategy. The examination of literary strategy carries reflection towards a research result. The literary strategy of Kaipainen’s works from the 1960s and 1970s — the politics of maps drawn on tracing paper — is found to be the answer to the heterology of contexts and the problems in positioning a female subject. The objective of her cartographic strategy is shown to be her political-pedagogic aim to help a (female) subject to position herself in an increasingly complex, fast-changing and globalising world. Ultimately, the objective of her strategy is to awaken or restore the subject’s social awareness and ability to function. This thesis draws a clearer picture of Kaipainen’s literary strategy and the nature of her earlier works. The result is methodological and refers to the routes found relevant in the study of literary strategy: feminist research orientation, Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogism, and Urpo Kovala’s model of heterological contextualism. The latter outlines this study as its metatheoretical framework, but the objective is also to develop the model of heterological contextualism towards practical analysis. In addition to the abovementioned theoretical routes, this thesis makes reference to Fredric Jameson’s cognitive mapping. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimustehtävänä on selvittää, millainen on Anu Kaipaisen kirjallinen strategia ja millaisia kysymyksiä hän sen avulla tematisoi. Tutkimusartikkeleissa keskitytään kahteen Kaipaisen 1960-luvun romaaniin, jotka nähdään reiteiksi hänen tuotantoonsa. Työn johdannossa tarkastelu laajennetaan kohti muuta tuotantoa. Tutkimuksessa etsitään eri suunnista metodisia ja kontekstuaalisia reittejä Kaipaisen romaanien moniaineksisuuden tulkintaan. Tavoitteena on luoda aiempaa kokonaisvaltaisempi ”kartta” hänen kirjallisesta strategiastaan ja sen funktioista. Kaipaisen karttavertausta mukaillen tutkimusartikkelit ovat kuin eri vaiheissa piirrettyjä, päällekkäin aseteltuja kuultokuvakarttoja. Hahmottuvasta ”kuultopaperien kartastosta” erottuvat temaattisina tihentyminä ja tarkentavina tutkimuskysymyksinä 1) keskiluokkaisen naissubjektin paikantuminen modernin elämän murroksessa ja 2) tuohon murrokseen liittyvä kontekstien heterologia, joka representoi yhteiskunnallisen todellisuuden monimutkaistumista ja hahmottamisen haasteita. Johdannossa kontekstualisoidaan ja pohditaan tätä jälkimodernin moninaistumisen ja feministisen identiteettipoliittisen paikantumisen dialektista jännitettä. 3) Kolmas tarkentava tutkimuskysymys tuo syntetisoivasti yhteen kahta edellistä: millaisin keinoin ja mihin suuntaan tuota jännitettä työstetään Kaipaisen teoksissa? Kolmas tutkimuskysymys nousee mainitusta Kaipaisen kuultopaperikarttavertauksesta, joka on itsessään temaattinen tihentymä ja kuvaa hänen kirjallisen strategiansa luonnetta. Kirjallisen strategian avaaminen vie reflektiota kohti tutkimustulosta. Kaipaisen 1960- ja 1970-luvun tuotannon kirjallinen strategia — ”kuultopaperikarttojen politiikka” — paljastuu vastaukseksi kontekstien heterologian ja naissubjektin paikantumisen ongelmiin. Hänen kartografisen strategiansa tavoitteeksi osoitetaan poliittis-pedagoginen pyrkimys auttaa (nais)subjektia paikantumaan monimutkaistuvassa, nopeasti muuttuvassa ja globalisoituvassa maailmassa. Viime kädessä tavoitteena on herättää tai palauttaa (nais)yksilön yhteiskunnallinen tietoisuus ja toimintakyky. Tutkimus piirtää entistä täsmällisemmän kuvan Kaipaisen kirjallisesta strategiasta ja erityisesti varhaisemman tuotannon ominaisluonteesta. Tulos on myös menetelmällinen osoittaen reitteihin, jotka on kirjallisen strategian avaamisessa relevanteiksi todettu: feministiseen tutkimusorientaatioon, Mihail Bahtinin dialogismiin sekä Urpo Kovalan heterologiseen kontekstualismin malliin. Viimeksi mainittu kehystää työtä metateoreettisesti, mutta kehittelen heterologisen kontekstualismin mallia myös käytännön analyysin suuntaan. Mainittujen teoreettisten reittien lisäksi tutkimustulokseen pääsemiseksi johdannossa sovelletaan Fredric Jamesonin käsitystä kognitiivisesta kartoittamisesta.

Building on Fredric Jameson's critical theory, this dissertation examines how the aesthetics of cognitive mapping were used to uncover overlooked political, economic, social and cultural dimensions behind my artistic engagement with Islamic patterns. Using a critically informed variant of arts-based research (ABR), I explored the complexity of the interconnected economic, social, political and aesthetic realities informing my positionality as a Muslim Saudi female artist/research completing her dissertation in a Western country. Particularly, my work revealed how certain global forces (including capitalist relations between Saudi Arabia and the USA, as well as global postmodern cultural influences) shape the processes of appropriation and re-signification of patterning appropriated from Islamic aesthetics. This research culminated in a body of artwork for a solo exhibition at Paul Voertman's Gallery at the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas located in Denton, Texas. I conclude the study with recommendations for a regional ABR to be developed by educators for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The study also suggests that this model of cognitive mapping as a critical art making methodology would be a great pedagogical tool for museums and art education curriculum to implement in Saudi Arabia.

The value of this research hinges on the idea that exchanging illustrations for descriptive text can provide appropriate schemas for students with reading difficulties and thereby improve their comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. The research in this dissertation is based on theories and earlier research in the fields of psychology, education, reading, and narratology. A review of these fields offers a variety of perspectives on the processes involved in reading and comprehension. These processes range from the physical systems involved in reading (e.g., early childhood development, eye movement) to the psychological systems, which include cognitive load theory as well as image and text processing models. This study compares two reading methods by analyzing students' vocabulary and comprehension gains. Both groups read the same text and completed the same pre- and post-tests. The control group read the text from the book which was text only. The experimental group read from a modified text on the computer screen. The text was modified by replacing some sentences with images designed to transmit the same information (e.g., descriptions of the setting, vocabulary items) in a graphic format. The images were in-line with the text, and designed to be read as part of the story, not as additional illustrations. Final analysis shows that the experimental format performed as well as the control format for most students. However, students who have learning disabilities, particularly language learners who have learning disabilities, did not make gains in the text only control format. These same students did show statistically significant gains with the experimental format, particularly the section of reading where the vocabulary words were explicitly presented in the images. Disparate, non-homogenous groupings of students reflect the actual teaching and learning circumstances in the school, as required by the school system. This situation thus represents the actual status quo situation faced by teachers in our school. We leave it to future researchers to work with more homogenous groups of students in order to attain clearer, stronger and more plaintively useful results.

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