Thesis (MDiv (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The post-Apartheid South African community is still recognized by dualisms between white and black, rich and poor, public and private, men and women. In this study specific focus has been placed on John 4 which tells the story about the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman with the aim to create a lens through which we can address and breach modern dualism. The focus of the study is the symbolic use of water in the text where it is literary-theologically broken up in order for John to use Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, to firstly indicate and secondly expose gender, social, political and cultural boundaries in the Ancient-Near East.

Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The Balaam narratives of Numbers 22-24 have long proven to be a source of fascination for readers of the Old Testament. The narratives present Balaam as a faithful ‘word-of-Yahweh’ prophet. However, the Tale of the Donkey (22:22-35) portrays him as an ‘unseeing’ prophet intent on personal gain. How does one explain the conflicting views of Balaam within the narratives of Numbers 22-24? Socio-rhetorical criticism was employed as a methodology to examine the development of these conflicting views of Balaam. An analysis of the Inner Texture revealed that the repeated themes 'seeing’, ‘blessing’, and ‘cursing’ are central to the narratives, and serve to connect Balaam with the paradigmatic prophet Moses of Exodus 3 and Deuteronomy 18. The study of the narratives’ Intertexture revealed numerous inner-biblical allusions, and considered the possible relevance of the Deir ‘Alla texts to the narratives. The Social-cultural and Ideological textures of the narratives suggest that a process of prophetic redefinition took place during either the late pre-exilic or exilic periods, which resulted in the exclusion of divination from Israel’s prophetic tradition. Prophets entered into an alliance with the priests in order to centralise religious authority and place the focus of ‘prophecy’ on the exposition and application of Torah. A consideration of the theological texture of the narratives suggested that this process of prophetic redefinition continued into the early post-exilic period, and ultimately led to a re-evaluation of Balaam. Wide-spread xenophobia within early Yehud contributed to Balaam’s final demise, as later reception history within the Old Testament portrays Balaam as responsible for inciting Israel’s apostasy in Numbers 25. The Tale of the Donkey is integrated into the narratives of Numbers 22-24 by priestly writers in order to distance Balaam from Israel’s prophetic tradition. The result is a dynamic theological synthesis that recalls both an earlier period in which divination was accepted as part of Israel’s prophetic tradition, and a new perspective focused on the exposition and application of Torah. The Balaam narratives of Numbers 22-24 serve as the theological ‘hinge’ or ‘fulcrum’ of the book of Numbers, recalling both the old generation of rebellion, and the new generation of hope that will re-enter the land of promise. The Balaam narratives of Numbers 22-24 serve to powerfully proclaim that Yahweh’s purpose to bless his people will not be thwarted by the intrigues of Israel’s enemies, or Israel’s past disobedience.

This study posits that a deconstructive socio-historical reading of Ruth will elicit aspects of ancient Israelite women’s agency which can then be used to inspire greater socio-economic agency amongst poor rural women today. While it is difficult to establish the date of Ruth with any precision, the study argues that the book was first written to legitimise David’s kingship and then used as a polemic against Ezra-Nehemiah’s intermarriage policies some 550 years later. Accordingly, it discusses the socio-economic conditions pertaining to both periods, namely the early monarchic and the early post-exilic periods. The study shows that Israel began as a loosely organized tribal confederation, which lacked a structured political system, in the pre-monarchic period, and that far-reaching changes ensued upon the institution of the monarchy. During the monarchic period, the political structure of the land was increasingly centralised around the king. Despite the political changes, and variances within the mode of production, the family remained the basic economic production unit throughout Israel’s history. Similarly, Israelite society remained patriarchal in nature, and women derived their identity and economic wellbeing from the men in their lives. Women did not have any economic rights per se; their rights, if any, were secured and safeguarded by the men to whom they belonged. Furthermore, land was the most important economic commodity but Israelite law deprived the majority of women of the opportunity to own land. These factors disenfranchised and impoverished women, particularly childless widows. Within this context, Naomi and Ruth devised strategies which subverted the oppressive patriarchal structures of their time and overcame their socio-economic distress. The principles underlying their actions may be used to encourage poor rural women to develop greater socio-economic agency today. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding about the police profession's impact on the singular individual, with a focus on roles, regions and emotions. The main question is to understand if and then so, how individuals outside of work will be affected of the profession and professional events. In order to answer this question I carried out six semi-structured in-depth interviews with police officers who worked at the main office in a police region in a midsize city in Sweden. To ensure reliability and allow readers to conduct their own assessments the quotations in this study are anonymous. The analysis of the collected material is based on selected parts of Goffman's theories about dramaturgical perspective as well as selected emotion theories. Those theoretical frameworks are focused to explain, understand and see the consequences for the individual roles, role characters, emotions and the emotional work; which is what this study focuses on. Previous researches has brought inspiration for this study purpose and question, but also given me a deeper understanding of the professionalism of the Police. This study confirms that a certain distinction about the professional role and the individual role is desirable when a small or no personal distinction at all regarding the occupation or workplace can result in stress or burnout. The study shows that Police employees may also be imposed on the front region professionally, when interacting with others when the audience knows the profession of the individual, which results in a lack posterior region where the individual is forced to act upon the audience's expectations of police professionalism. The fact that it is the audience that decides the region and role definition as well as the persona identity of the police together with the social norms and legislation that the police is obliged to act upon it shows that it is hard for the police to step out of the profession and the role of the police even out of duty. The study also shows that the police profession also could be seen thru an emotional aspect where the emotions of the individual both are bought and sold. The emotions of the police could be restricted to the time duty when the police are inclined to act with confidence, respect and self-control. / Syftet med studien är att få en ökad förståelse kring det polisiära yrkets påverkan på den enskilde individen med fokus på roller, regioner samt emotioner. Påverkas individen utanför arbetet av yrket och yrkeshändelser och i så fall hur? För att besvara studiens frågeställning genomfördes sex stycken halvstrukturerade djupintervjuer med poliser som arbetar i yttre tjänst i en mellanstor svensk stad. För att säkerställa reliabiliteten samt tillåta läsarna att genomföra egna bedömningar lyfts anonymiserade och analyserade citat i studiens resultat och analysdel. Analyseringen av materialet sker utifrån valda delar av Goffmans dramaturgiska perspektiv samt valda emotionsteorier. De teoretiska referensramarna fokuserar på att förklara, förstå samt se konsekvenser för individuella roller, rollgestalter, emotioner och det emotionella arbetet utifrån olika faktorer. Tidigare forskning inom ämnesområdet har tillfört både inspiration för denna studies syfte och frågeställning, men även gett en djupare förståelse för det polisiära yrket. Denna studie visar att en viss distinktion kring yrkesrollen och den individuella rollen är önskvärd då en liten eller ingen distinktion kring yrket eller arbetsplatsen kan resultera i både stress och utbrändhet. Polisanställda kan även påtvingas den främre yrkesrollsgestalten under interaktion med andra om publiken får veta individens yrkesroll, detta resulterar i en avsaknad bakre region där individen tvingas agera utifrån publikens polisära egenskapsförväntningar. På grund av att publiken bestämmer region och rollgestalt samt polisförordningens lagar, som inkluderar bestämmelser som även tjänstlediga poliser måste tillämpa, kan en personlighetsförändring upplevas av antingen omgivningen eller av individen själv. Polisyrket ska även ses som ett emotionsarbete där individens känslor både är köpta och sålda. Polisens emotioner är begränsade under arbetstid då poliser ska agera med aktning, utge en förtroendegivande känsla samt ha självkontroll.

<p>Ova disertacija posvećena je istraživanju romana Grethen sa osnovnim ciljem da se ukaže na njegovu vi&scaron;eznačnost i vi&scaron;eslojnost, kao i da se interpretiraju rezultati dobijeni njegovom analizom sa određenih metodolo&scaron;kih polazi&scaron;ta.<br />Rad je strukturisan u &scaron;est većih celina. U poglavlju o pripovedanju ukazuje se, primenom Ženetovog pristupa narativnom diskursu, na smenjivanje nulte i interne fokalizacije, kao i na prisustvo i vi&scaron;estruke kombinacije mnogobrojnih tehnika predstavljanja govora i misli naratora i figura.<br />U poglavlju posvećenom prostoru analiziraju se unutra&scaron;nji i spolja&scaron;nji prostori, njihovi delovi i mesta radnje, tumače se njihove funkcije, kao i njihov značaj za analizu likova.<br />U poglavlju o vremenu ukazuje se na odlike vremenskog redosleda, narativnog tempa i frekventnosti, koje doprinose kasnijem interpretiranju romana.<br />Poglavlje o radnji posvećeno je analizi statičnih i dinamičnih događaja, motivaciji radnje i njenoj kompleksnosti, kao i sagledavanju ovog fenomena sa &Scaron;mitovog stanovi&scaron;ta uz primenu teorije mogućih svetova.<br />U poglavlju o figurama analiziraju se i interpretiraju najznačajniji likovi, njihov mogući razvoj i interpersonalni odnosi, kao i funkcije koje imaju u delu.<br />Poslednje poglavlje posvećeno je utvrđivanju (sub)žanrovskih odlika romana Grethen, te se ovo književno delo posmatra i interpretira kao istorijski, psiholo&scaron;ki, &bdquo;ženski&ldquo; roman, ali i kao roman o zločinu.</p>

L’entraînement délibéré joue un rôle essentiel dans le développement de l’excellence sportive. Cette pratique est décrite comme étant une activité menée dans un but d’amélioration exigeant un niveau élevé d’effort et de concentration et n’étant pas nécessairement plaisante. Bien que les aspects quantitatifs de la pratique délibérée aient grandement été explorés, peu d’études se sont attardées à qualifier ce processus de façon précise. Ainsi, l’objectif de la présente étude est de définir précisément ce qu’est un entraînement de qualité ainsi que le processus psychologique s’y rattachant. Pour ce faire, des entrevues semi-structurées ont été menées auprès de douze patineurs élites québécois. L’analyse des données, par théorisation ancrée, démontre qu’un entraînement de haute qualité est le résultat d’une interaction dynamique de plusieurs facteurs liés à l’athlète, à son environnement, au contenu de son entraînement et à son état psychologique. Plus précisément, la confiance, la motivation, la concentration et l’attitude positive sont les habiletés psychologiques qui peuvent affecter l’entraînement. En fait, l’analyse démontre qu’un processus psychologique important s’opère lors de l’entraînement délibéré. Tout d’abord, des stratégies cognitives et comportementales comme l’imagerie mentale, la fixation d’objectifs et la routine sont utilisées par les athlètes pour se préparer à l’entraînement. Puis, lorsque son état psychologique est affecté négativement, l’athlète a recours à différentes stratégies afin d’optimiser cet état. Si ces stratégies s’avèrent efficaces, la qualité de l’entraînement est maintenue et l’athlète en ressort avec l’impression d’avoir progressé autant sur le plan technique, mental qu’émotionnel. / Deliberate practice plays an important role in the development of sport excellence. This practice is described as being aimed at the improvement of performance and requires a high level of effort and concentration and is not inherently enjoyable. The quantitative aspect of deliberate practice has been explored in several studies, but very few studies have examined the qualitative side of this process. Thus, the goal of the present study is to describe precisely what deliberate training is and the psychological process underlying it. To reach those goals, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve elite Quebec figure skaters . Data analyse, using grounded theory, demonstrate that high quality training is the result of a dynamic interaction among many factors related to the athletes, their environment, the content of their training and their psychological state. Specifically, confidence, focus, motivation and positive attitude are psychological skills that can affect performance. In fact, the results show that an important process occurred during deliberate training. First, cognitive and behavioral strategies such as mental imagery, goal setting and routine are used by athletes to prepare themselves to train. Then, when the athletes' psychological state is negatively affected, they use different strategies to try to optimize this state. If these strategies are efficient, they help maintain the quality of training and the athletes experience the perception of having progressed technically, mentally, and emotionally.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Are the threshold experiences encountered between waking and sleeping similar to the liminal space between life and death? The sights, sounds, and bodily sensations experienced in the unconscious void blur the lines between the unknown and our conscious existence. Using the figure, I portray how the body might exist in these transitional moments. Through my investigations into sleep paralysis, dream states, and notions of an afterlife and the soul, I explore how we perceive the self in these altered states of consciousness.

Aucune figure, au XXe siècle et aujourd'hui, n'est comparable au zombie. Sa prolifération et sa réitération en font un cas d'étude exceptionnel. Or, une figure est inséparable des discours qui la voient naître. Il existe un subtil et profond arrimage entre la production d'une figure, son interprétation et l'économie de sens qui la voit naître. Ma modeste ambition, dans ce mémoire, s'insère dans une réflexion à caractère épistémologique où les enjeux narratifs et les notions critiques encadrant le phénomène zombie seront interrogés. De même, afin de faire émerger cette économie de sens, les modalités de sens de la métaphore doivent être cernées. Ce mémoire est donc une série de prolégomènes nécessaires à l'intelligence d'un important problème contemporain : l'interprétation d'une figure telle que le zombie. Le premier chapitre est une synthèse des manifestations de la figure et de sa compréhension. Les années 60 opèrent une importante transformation dans le corpus filmique zombie (et d'horreur) qui s'incarne dans Night of the Living Dead, de George Romero. Le second chapitre s'intéresse aux enjeux narratifs et aux notions critiques qui encadrent le phénomène zombie. La distinction entre thématique et esthétisme s'incarne alors dans la séparation stricte entre forme et contenu et se fait sentir dans les interprétations offertes du phénomène de l'horreur et dont les études sur le zombie sont tributaires. Cela fait, je rappellerai la vision de Todorov et d'Ingarden sur la représentation afin de cerner les enjeux véritables d'une interprétation. En définitive, la question sera de savoir si le zombie peut être pris à la lettre. Le troisième chapitre sera le moment d'interroger la métaphore afin qu'émergent les modalités de sens qui lui sont inhérentes. Ce chapitre se divisera en deux parties qui reprennent les moments essentiels de la métaphore : sa production et sa lecture. Pour ce faire, je parcourrai la tradition théorique sur la métaphore afin de saisir la portée de l'affirmation poétique qui établit un rapport métaphorique entre les zombies et les humains. Quelle est la signification de cette affirmation qui assume et guide la mise en récit d'une figure (le zombie), et qui assume et guide une lecture métaphorique de l'être humain? En guise de conclusion, je réfléchirai sur les modalités de la lecture en vue d'une interprétation de la figure du zombie. En ce sens, j'explorerai cette inséparabilité entre la manière, c'est-à-dire la métaphore, et son contenu, c'est-à-dire ses interprétations. / No figure, in the Twentieth Century, and today, is comparable to the zombie. Its proliferation and reiteration make it an exceptional case study. Yet a figure is inseparable from the discourses that give birth to it. There is a profound and subtle correlation between the figure’s productions and interpretation, as well as the economy of meaning generating it. My modest ambition, in this thesis, is anchored in an epistemological reflection in which the narrative stakes and the critical notions framing the zombie phenomenon will be examined. For that economy of sense to emerge, the metaphor’s modalities of meaning must be grasped. Thus, this thesis takes the form of a series of prolegomena necessary for understanding an important contemporary problem: the interpretation of a figure such as that of the zombie. The first chapter presents a synthesis of the figure’s manifestations. The 60s bring an important transformation in the zombie (and horror) corpus that is conveyed in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. The second chapter focuses on narrative issues and critical notions framing the zombie phenomenon. The strict separation between form and content shapes the horror discourse and many of its interpretations from which Zombie Studies emerge. Subsequently, I revisit Todorov’s and Ingarden’s thought about representation in order to grasp the fundamental issues of interpretation. Ultimately, the question concerns knowing whether the zombie can be taken à la lettre. The third chapter examines metaphor’s inherent modalities of meaning. This chapter is divided into two sections that represent the essential aspects of metaphor: production and reading. In this connection, I refer to the theoretical tradition on metaphor so as to discern the nature of the poetic affirmation that, through metaphor, links zombies and humans. What does this affirmation signify, as it takes up and guides both the zombie figure’s narrative and the metaphorical reading of the human being? In conclusion, I reflect on the modalities of reading underlying interpretations of the zombie figure. In this sense, I will explore the inextricable link between the mode - that is, the metaphor - and its content or, rather, interpretations.