There is a supposition that with the current progress in artificial intelligence (AI), machines that surpass the cognitive functioning of human beings is imminent. There is no doubt that singular human functions can be performed more efficiently by machines. however. the complexity of human functioning involves the simultaneous cognizance of information received through the various senses. The complexity of human functioning is best reflected in the perceptions of Marcel Jousse in The Anthropology of Geste and Rhythm (I997). Whilst proponents of AI envisage the cognitive functioning of the computer surpassing human cognitive functioning, they fail to acknowledge that human cognitive functioning extends beyond mere information processing and expression of predictable responses. The complexity of human expression is influenced by a variety of sensory environmental stimuli as well as previous experience. The fundamental 'law' of the indivisibility of the psycho-physiological complexus of the human composite identified by Jousse, indicates that human memory emanates from human interaction with the environment. The computer is incapable of interacting with the environment in the way that the human being interacts, which implies that it cannot replicate human memory. This study argues that: • The human being operates simultaneously as a psychological, physiological and biological being, which implies that human memory, is simultaneously biological, psychological and emotional. • Human memory arises out of mimism and is biologically rhythmed, and that this rhythm operates in synchrony with the universal cosmoiogicai rhythms. • Computer rhythms do not operate in synchrony with universal cosmological rhythms. which implies that the operation of its memory is very different to that of the human being. Therefore the computer will not be able to replicate human functioning. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The object of this dissertation is to illustrate the significance of Prana (life breath):- -As it obtains in the oral tradition -With reference to the Aramaic Rouhah -In Pranayama (breath control) -In Surya Namaskar (Obeisance to the sun) The role of Prana in man was recognised and venerated since time immemorial. In the introduction, Prana is perceived as a global, anthropological phenomenon. Chapter one provides a theoretical framework linking Pranato Oral Tradition by focusing on Marcel Jousse and his teachings; the Orality Perspective and the Orality - Literacy interface. Since the earliest record of the terms; yoga, Prana and Pranayama appear in the Vedas, the significance of the Vedas, especially as they exemplify oral expression, is mentioned. Chapter two focuses on: firstly, Prana within the context of yoga and secondly, Prana and its relation to the Aramaic Rouhah. The congruency of thought on the breath suffices to entrench Prana as a global entity. In chapter three, the enhancement of the quality and quantity of Prana via Pranayama (control of the breath) is discussed. Pranayama sets out with the purpose of achieving complete harmonisation of the body-mind axis, and thereby proceeding to the divinisatlon of energy. A cohesive whole is established by three essential and integrated elements; the breath (Prana), the physical gesture (asana) and the spoken gesture (mantra) in Surya Namaskar. Oral features in these elements are analysed in chapter four. The conclusion serves to emphasize that the wealth of oral tradition is amply evident in the concepts of Prana, Rouhah and Prananayama. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1991.

This study investigates the trends. modifications and motivations of ukuhlolwa kwezilllombi (virginity testing) among the Zulu in KwaMashu district of Kwa Zulu Natal. The study reveals that:- • Ukuhlolwa kwezillfombi has been historically regarded as a vital social tool to bring pride to the virgin girl, the parents and the community as a whole. • The big motive was to receive the full lobola especially uikomo kamama (the eleventh cow). Urbanization, industrialization, acculturation, education and religious beliefs led ukuhlolwa kwezintombi to its near demise in twenty years ago. • In recent years its resurgence has been noticed in most areas of Kwa Zulu Natal and townships to fight against women abuses, teenage pregnancies and HIV/Aids . • It is met with a variety of views and emotions with others considering it as valuable while others consider it outdated and irrelevant. • Virginity testing is regarded as a custom of cultural value and the country is in the process of African Renaissance. • Regarding the mY/Aids catastrophe, one can count on 'True Love Waits ' and virginity testing as means of prevention. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.

Orientador: Ana Lucia Guedes-Pinto / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T20:23:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tempesta_MariaCristinaSilva_D.pdf: 2632285 bytes, checksum: 606f036f984dc02f224e0ad564823b7f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Esta pesquisa abrange um trabalho de campo que se refere a minha participação, durante dezoito meses, das atividades de um grupo de estudos de professores de uma escola municipal de Campinas do Ensino Fundamental. Tal grupo teve como objetivo principal estudar a alfabetização, levando em conta as várias abordagens teóricas sobre o ensino da leitura e da escrita nos anos iniciais da escola básica. Dentro desse contexto, na dinâmica interlocutiva que se constituiu entre nós, procurei problematizar os vários modos como os professores das séries iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, que atuam no trabalho de alfabetização, fazem referência aos conhecimentos teóricos relativos à alfabetização aos quais têm sido sistematicamente expostos na formação continuada da qual têm participado nos últimos anos. Para a análise dos dizeres dos professores baseei-me na perspectiva dos estudos da linguagem tomando como referência a teoria enunciativa de Bakhtin (1992b). Também fiz uso dos estudos de Vygotsky (1989) no que tange a relação pensamento e linguagem. Entendendo a formação continuada como um processo que se realiza de diversas formas e em diversos lugares, tomei o grupo de estudos focado pela pesquisa como um lócus privilegiado de formação profissional. Ancorei-me assim, na perspectiva qualitativa, assumindo o princípio da pesquisa participante. Tomando como base, portanto, a dinâmica interlocutiva vivida no transcurso de minha participação no grupo de estudos, creio que este estudo ajuda a compreender uma das facetas constitutivas do processo de apropriação de conhecimento dos professores revelada nos dizeres sobre seu trabalho de alfabetização. Tal processo é permeado por disputas, por aproximações e por resistências dos professores em relação à divulgação das teorias sobre o ensino da leitura e da escrita. / Abstract: The present research comprehends a fieldwork of 18 months studying activities of a group of teachers from an elementary public school of Campinas, S. Paulo, Brazil. The mentioned group had as a main concern study the literacy, considering the several theoretical approaches regarding reading and writing on the first years of the basic school. In this context, from the interaction experienced, I have tried to discuss the several theoretical approaches presented by the teachers to the literacy courses, considering the theoretical background learned in the recent years of their education. To analyze the teachers' speech, I adopted the principles of language studies taking as references the Bakhtin theory (1992b). I also adopted the Vygotsky (1989) studies concerning the connection between thought and language. Considering that the continuous education is a process that involves several approaches and different places, I choose the mentioned group as a particular subject of professional education. I took support, in this case, on the qualitative perspective, assuming the principle of the participative research. Therefore, taking the dynamic interaction experienced by me with the group, I believe that the present study facilitated the comprehension of the learning process of the teachers revealed on their speech about literacy course. Such a process is permeated by disputes, approximations, and by resistance of the teachers regarding the transmission of literacy theories. / Doutorado / Ensino, Avaliação e Formação de Professores / Doutor em Educação

This thesis addresses academic writing using two practice-led disciplines, academic literacies and ethnomethodology. It is first concerned to evaluate the possibilities of cooperation between these cognate endeavours, and concludes that where academic literacies provides a locus and set of topics for academic writing studies, ethnomethodology can contribute a sharpening of focus and of analytic tools. Ethnomethodology provides a reassuring message in that it confirms the value of detailed local studies, in this case of literacy. However, it is also the source of critique for those literacy scholars who have tried to site their studies in dualisms. This is seen as a rejection of situated studies. There is therefore a prominent methodological focus in this thesis. These methodological issues are then discussed in regard to how they translate into agendas and technologies for the study of social literacies. It is shown that ethnographic-type methods are necessary for such studies, even where they do not qualify as ‘full’ ethnographies by traditional standards. This study itself took on a quasi-ethnographic or ethnographic-type approach, using a longitudinal method to track the academic writing practices of eight undergraduate students with the aim of ascertaining the social and collaborative ways in which their work is accorded plausibility. Material from the study is presented in the form of interview analysis, and in a series of ethnographic case studies that use a variety of material, including interviews with students and staff, student essays, and various other materials that were accrued throughout the administrative life of the essays. Various methods for achieving or according plausibility, on the part of both students and staff, are discussed and analysed. Although all protagonists involved in essay writing and marking looked for and dealt in conventions wherever possible, the material presented here demonstrates that participants were generally aware of the limits to the possibilities of phenomena, and that there may be cause to locate, challenge, change, and adapt to the things that can acceptably be said and done in essay writing.

Vykortsraseriet i Sverige och på kontinenten är en anonym företeelse som blossade upp med en väldig kraft i början på 1900-talet och som sedan avtog igen. Den ofantliga mängd vykort som skickades under den här tiden gav upphov till uttrycket vykortsraseri. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att studera attityderna till vykortspraktiken genom att genomföra en textanalys av opinionsartiklar från dagspressen vid den här tiden. Analysen besvarar frågorna om vilka attityder till vykortsraseriet som går att urskilja, om det finns både positiva och negativa attityder samt vilka aspekter av vykortspraktiken som lyfts fram som positiva eller negativa. Studien visar att attityderna som framkommer i analysen främst tar avstamp i klassfrågan och moralen och att de främst rör sig kring temana vykortgenrer, moral och ekonomi och vykortssamlande. Det är tydligt så att vykortspraktiken är en form av vardagligt skriftbruk vilket avser det skriftbruk som händer i människors vardag. Den låga värderingen som det vardagliga skriftbruket har visar sig tydligt i studien i form av negativt värderade vykortsgenrer men även en mer accepterade och högre värderad del av vykortspraktiken framträder. / <p>Godkänt datum 2020-06-15</p>

Den samtida debatten om att unga skriver sämre än förr har fokuserat det samhälle- liga behovet av en befolkning med god skrivförmåga. Att samhället har behov av skrift och skrivande är bara ett av många syften med att skriva. Debattens snäva syn på skrivande har föranlett denna studie som undersöker vilka syften med skrivande som framkommer i tre läromedel för gymnasiekursen Svenska 1. Med kritisk dis- kursanalys som metod syftar studien till att beskriva och öka förståelsen för den bild av skrivandets syften som elever möter i de tre undersökta läromedlen samt diskutera bilden i relation till sentida samhällsutveckling den heterogena gruppen elever sett till bakgrund och förmåga. Med stöd i Peter Hannons teori inom New Literacy Studies undersöks läromedlen i förhållande till dels en autonom syn på li-teracy som en enhetlig och mätbar förmåga och dels en ideologisk syn på literacy som föränderlig och kontextberoende. Resultaten visar att de tre läromedlen inne-håller olika bilder av vad skrivande syftar till som i olika grad kan förstås som att de återspeglar sentida samhällsutveckling. Den huvudsakliga slutsatsen för studien är att det spelar roll vilket läromedel man använder i klassrummet om man med skrivundervisningen vill möjliggöra att alla elever kan äga sitt skrivande och identifiera sig som skrivande människor.

This study investigates TikTok audios and hashtags through the lens of digital literacy studies, using Ron Scollon's nexus of practice as a theoretical framework. The researcher sought to investigate literacy practices on TikTok, such as how lurkers and posters interact with the app in ways that both define and are defined by their individual identities. Relative to other social media platforms, there is a dearth of research on TikTok. This study contributes to the gap while also building off the findings of Kaye et al., who investigated authorship and (mis)attribution on the app, and Sachs et al.'s claim that Goffman's metaphorical front stage is weakening as users are able to select audiences for identity performance on TikTok. Through ethnographic semi-structured interviews and textual analysis, the researcher found that hashtags and audios work in tandem on TikTok; both hashtags and audios work to traditionally sort videos for users, hashtags offer creators an additional boost to their views, and audios act as an additional sorting mechanism. Furthermore, the study found evidence that audios signal a video's content prior to viewing. The findings additionally opposed Sachs et al.'s claim about the front stage weakening; rather, the participants were acutely aware of the “mortifying ordeal of being known,” with TikTok allowing users to have multiple “front stages'' to perform different aspects of themselves on, while still keeping certain parts to the “backstage.”