Made available in DSpace on 2013-08-07T19:01:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 000447487-Texto+Completo-0.pdf: 827227 bytes, checksum: 4194d0750930b9fac092948ca041c41b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / The goal with the present study is to reread the work Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, through a post-colonial perspective. First a review of the post-colonial theory was made. With the study of the writings of authors such as Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha and Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak will be possible to comprehend the post-colonial thought. Also, some literary texts were revisited in a way that their colonialist points of view help to built a counterpoint to the post-colonial precepts. In a second moment, Heart of Darkness was analyzed in a special way, through the recovery of meaningful parts of the text that can illustrate the mistakes and understandings of the criticisms made to Conrad‘s literary text by names that emerged in the post-colonial period, such as the Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. With this rereading we aim to perceive the true message that Joseph Conrad wanted to send by telling the story of Kurtz and Marlow as explorers in Africa. / O presente estudo tem como objetivo fazer uma releitura da obra Heart of Darkness, escrita por Joseph Conrad, através de uma perspectiva pós-colonial. Para tanto, primeiramente será feito um resgate da teoria pós-colonialista a partir do estudo dos pensamentos de autores como Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha e Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak. Além disso, alguns textos literários serão retomados uma vez que suas visões colonialistas ajudam na construção de um contraponto para com os preceitos pós-coloniais. Em um segundo momento, Heart of Darkness será analisado de modo especial, através da retomada de passagens significativas da obra que possam ilustrar os erros e acertos das críticas que feitas ao texto por nomes que emergiram no período pós-colonial, tal qual o escritor nigeriano Chinua Achebe. Através dessa releitura, busca-se o entendimento da verdadeira mensagem que Joseph Conrad queria deixar ao contar a história de Kurtz e Marlow como desbravadores da África.

This thesis explores the archetypal theme of initiation in selected texts by Joseph Conrad. The Introduction first surveys critical attention to initiatory motifs in Conrad with the objective of demonstrating the need for an approach to the topic informed by a more formal and theorized understanding of initiation. It then offers a prima facie case for the centrality of the idea of initiation in Conrad's oeuvre, based on references culled from a range of the author's writings. Chapter One seeks to contextualise initiation by providing a history of anthropological research into and theorisations of the rite, proceeding to a description of its typical structure and functions. A detailed account is given of the most widely accepted model of initiation, Arnold van Gennep's tripartite schema. Moving on to Conrad's writing, Chapter Two draws on both his fiction and more personal writings in order to provide a provisional account of the writer's own understanding of initiation and its importance, and to offer some explanation of why Conrad should have been prompted to accord the motif such prominence in his work. Conrad's presentation and (impliedly) his understanding of initiation was never entirely consistent and underwent some change in the course of his writing career. The critical assessment of "Typhoon" in Chapter Three depicts Conrad's more optimistic conception of initiation as a rite benefitting both society, by promoting solidarity, and the individual, by advancing self-knowledge. Chapter Four introduces, via analyses of the novellas "Youth" and "The Shadow Line", that variation on the motif of initiation which is more typical of its manifestation in Conrad: the failure of individuals to complete their cycles of initiation. Chapter Five identifies those characteristics of initiation which appear to be determinative in the representations of incomplete initiation in Conrad's work. Initiation seems to play out approximately seven paradoxes; the impact of some of these is examined through analysis of the initiatory ordeals of the main protagonists in The Secret Agent. Integral to this discussion is an attempt to demonstrate the vital role which initiation plays in the healthy maintenance not only of social order but also of faith and life itself. The Conclusion summarises the more important findings of the study and indicates some directions for further, related research.

The purpose of this study is to show that many of Conrad's women characters were not merely passive factors and that their inclusion in his fiction was more functional than incidental.

This thesis has two purposes. The first is to trace the gradual transformation of certain Gothic traits, primarily those of the veil and the Doppelganger, from their original form in the historical Gothic to the manner of their use by Joseph Conrad. The second is to interpret Moby-Dick. Lord Jim. The Secret Sharer, and Benito Cereno in terms of Gothicism, and by this interpretation both to strengthen some common interpretations and to indicate how certain others have resulted from the authors' careful and successful attempts to hide from their critics the moral beliefs and dilemmas in their works. When Coleridge wrote the Rime, he was introducing a new and very important setting into Gothic literature: the sea. Because of the formlessness of the sea, because of the suddenness of its change in appearance from serenity to malicious killer, and because its glassy surface hides unimaginable unknowns, it is obviously well-suited to Melville's purposes in Moby-Dick. He makes use of his readers' acquaintance with Gothic tales in portraying Ahab and Ishmael, who struggle for self-knowledge by facing the sea and its terrors. In Lord Jim, Conrad uses the same initial situation: the unseen agent of destruction which takes all security from Jim's life, and prompts in him a quest like that of the Ancient Mariner or the Wandering Jew. He exists behind a veil which represents, as it does in Moby-Dick, Benito Cereno, and most Gothic novels, the inability to clarify moral issues and act according to personal moral beliefs. This moral ambiguity is often phrased in other terms, namely the duality of being, the "good"-"bad" dichotomy, where two aspects of the same person are often separated by a veil of some sort; this can be seen in such stories as Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Wilde's Dorian Gray, and Poe's William Wilson. It is also the case with The Secret Sharer. In this story, Conrad makes a point of showing how the moral dilemma which Leggatt's presence evokes is dealt with by the captain--but not, I feel, to the captain's credit. The veil and the double motifs in these stories reveal an interesting transformation; though in early Gothic they are little more than plot devices, they become in Conrad central concerns, through which the interpretations of his stories may be effected. Thus, as I have tried to show, Gothicism, far from being a minor and short-lived type of fiction which died out in the early part of the last century, exerts a potent and central influence in such literature as Melville's and Conrad's. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Significance. International Medical Graduates (IMGs) comprise 26% of the physician workforce in the United States and 18% of the physician workforce in Iowa. IMGs fill gaps in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) in the United States and are significant contributors to the medical community. The State Conrad 30 Program allows states to recruit IMGs to HPSAs. Physicians supported under the Conrad 30 Program are obligated to work in HPSAs for three years. Although an important subset of the physician population, little is known about the experiences of Conrad 30 Program participants, or the factors associated with recruiting and retaining this sector of the physician workforce. Purpose. This dissertation described the characteristics and experiences of IMGs practicing in the Iowa Conrad 30 Program, examined retention intention and actual retention of these physicians, and analyzed factors associated with retention of four or more years. Methods. This dissertation utilized a mixed methods approach. Study 1 examined the characteristics of 410 IMGs participating in the Iowa State Conrad 30 Program between 1996 and 2012, using existing data. Logistical regression was used to compare the characteristics of physicians who were retained for four or more years with those who were retained less than four years, controlling for covariates. Study 2 explored the experiences of nine physicians using in-depth qualitative interviews. Inductive content analysis was used to identify themes related to site selection and retention. Study 3 used a physician survey to analyze physician attitudes and subjective norms on 33 practice factors. ANOVA and linear regression was used to analyze the difference in attitudes and subjective norms by physicians’ intent to remain practicing in Iowa long term and actual retention. Results. Study 1: Of 410 physicians, 378 (92%) met the 3-year program obligation to practice at the original practice site and 280 physicians (68%) were retained four or more years. The average length of retention was 6 years and 4 months (SD = 4 years, 1 month). Male physicians had 2.7 greater odds of being retained four or more years than female physicians (95% CI = 1.39, 5.19). Physicians with a region of origin of the Americas had 0.25 lower odds of being retained four or more years compared to physicians with other regions of origin (95% CI = 0.06, 0.98). Marital status, having children at the time of hire, training in the Midwest, practice specialty, and salary were not significantly associated with odds of being retained four or more years. Study 2: Nine physicians completed semi-structured interviews. Themes from the interviews included: Physicians’ visa obligation requirements drove the initial site selection. Physicians had minimal knowledge about the state prior to selecting a practice site and had little intent to remain practicing in Iowa long term when making the initial practice site selection. Visa-related issues and the physician’s perception of mistreatment due to the visa status influenced the retention decision. The practice setting and personal motivators influenced the retention decision through the practice model, community attributes, influence of salient others, career motivators, and a sense of place. Study 3: Fifty-one physicians completed a survey regarding their retention intention when initially selecting the practice site, and their attitudes and subjective norms towards the practice and community. The perception of the beliefs of residency/fellowship faculty (subjective norms) were significant (p = 0.01) for those physicians intending to remain at the practice site for their careers. Attitudes towards the community were significantly more positive (p = 0.03) for physicians intending to remain at the practice site for their careers. Positive subjective norms of significant others (p = 0.02) and residency/fellowship faculty (p = 0.04) were significantly associated with actual retention of four or more years. Positive attitudes towards the practice site and employment factors were significantly associated with longer retention in months (p = 0.02, p = 0.03, respectively). The positive subjective norms of significant others and residency/fellowship faculty were significantly related to longer retention in months (p = 0.0002, p = 0.02). Conclusions: The findings of this study provide important empirical data on the factors influencing site selection and retention of IMGs that participated in the Iowa Conrad 30 Program. The findings suggest a modification may be needed for the existing theoretical model, which was based upon the Theory of Reasoned Action. Improving retention of physicians could help improve quality of care and reduce overall costs for physician practices. Understanding why Conrad 30 Program participants may elect to practice in rural and underserved areas, and the factors influencing retention of physicians in these areas can assist employers, program administrators, and policymakers to aid in improving the retention of International Medical Graduates.

In Sweden, it is common to use the CPT - Cone Penetration Test when probing in loose soils. This is mainly because the method is suitable for further assessment of soil layer sequences, pore pressure and forming an estimate of the geotechnical properties in-situ. Evaluation of a CPTu sounding in Sweden today takes in most cases place through the computer software CONRAD, which is based on semi-empirical relations. This study evaluates different methods for determining soil layer and classification as well as the density of materials based on results from CPTu surveys. P. K Robertson's methods for soil classification has been compared with CONRAD and verified soil layer sequences through laboratory protocols. A method for in-situ density estimation has also been studied and evaluated. Previous studies have shown that by using signal processing on CPTu data, it is possible to identify changes in soil layer sequence. Thus, a wavelet transform has in this study been used on the SBT index to find positions in which the layer sequence changes. The purpose of the study has been to investigate the validity of the evaluation methods, but also to see if additional information can be obtained without changing either the performance or sounding equipment. The study is based on CPTu data taken from already performed and completed preliminary investigation projects in Central Sweden, which means that no field investigations linked to this work has been carried out. The main conclusions from this study are: • Application of signal processing to CPTu data has potential to evaluate and interpret stratigraphic layers in a soil profile and has in this study identified silt layers • The wavelet transform is efficient to sort out interesting properties in soil based on CPTu results and has the potential to be successfully applied to sounding results performed in coarser soils • Robertson's SBT method for soil interpretation works well as an evaluation method in homogeneous, loose soils • Robertson's density evaluation method works well in homogeneous, loose soils but has problems handling clays with crust characteristics and soils with a high organic content.

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The problem is the investigation of the possibility of an alternative theory of literature that attempts to show literature's relation to human consciousness. A phenomenological theory of literature is presented as a comprehensive theory of literature as opposed to extrinsic theories that are not comprehensive. The basic assumption is that a comprehensive theory of literature must take into account literature's relationship to human consciousness. The shortcomings of traditional modes of literary theory are discussed in order to provide grounds for the proposed intrinsic alternative. The philosophical foundations for the proposed alternative are laid in the phenomenology of Husserl, Ingarden, Heidegger, and the French existentialists. These four positions are mediated through the introduction of the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. Finally, the proposed alternative theory of literature is applied to the test case of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim.

Lau, Chi Sum Garfield. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-137). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Introduction: Conflictual Self in the Modern Era: Conrad and Kawabata --- p.6 / Chapter Chapter One: --- Immorality and Conflictual Self in Conrad's The Return --- p.20 / Chapter Chapter Two: --- The Past and Split Self in Kawabata's Thousand Cranes --- p.50 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- Conflictual Self and Split Self in Conrad's The Secret Agent and Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain --- p.81 / Conclusion: Conflictual Self in Occidental and Oriental Contexts --- p.117 / Bibliography --- p.136