In this dissertation two art works of two female artists, Cindy Sherman and Berni Searle, are analysed comparatively using a method developed in semiotics. The artworks of Sherman that are used in this dissertation forms part of her Untitled Film Stills series and the artworks of Searle that are discussed forms part of her Looking Back series. The artworks and artists are contextualised within the postmodernism and within the realm of performance art. The study focuses on and discusses the way in which these two artists depict identity in their artworks. In Sherman's artworks this identity is linked to a Western, white identity. In contrast with this, the identity that Searle depicts is linked to an African, coloured identity. The study is concluded by a comparative summary of the different identities Sherman and Searle represent in their artworks as well as the way in which they represent these identities. / Thesis (M.A. (History of Arts))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Master of Social Work / This research is about evidence based practice, which is an area of increasing interest and emphasis in social work today. Initially apparent in medical and health care settings, evidence based practice now has widened applicability to a broad range of contexts and professional disciplines. The ways in which research evidence is translated into policy and practice is itself a topic area for social work research. The study investigates evidence based practice in child welfare, specifically the out-of-home care system. Out-of-home care provides alternative placements for children and young people who cannot live with their families because of abuse and neglect, and generally consists of placement with foster carers or in a residential/group care setting. This research is an exploratory study which investigates through individual interview how nineteen out-of-home care Senior Managers and Team Leaders in the states of New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory interpret and understand evidence based practice, and the degree and depth of knowledge they transfer from research awareness into out-of-home care practice and policy development. The research has three main objectives. Firstly to investigate the understanding of out-of-home care managers of evidence based practice, secondly to determine the influence of relevant research on practice and policy in out-ofhome care, and thirdly to explore potential barriers to evidence based practice. Looking After Children, a social work case management system for children and young people in out-of-home care, provides the context for this research, in which evidence based practice is critically examined. A thematic analysis of the interview data identified five major themes. These included: the benefit of broadening definitions of evidence based practice to include a wide range of influences on practice; the value and importance of 2 considering a broad range of research approaches in connecting research with policy and practice AND the potential for influencing outcomes of social work intervention via research based and influenced guided practice systems and techniques; factors which constitute barriers and also those that enhance the implementation of evidence based practice; the potential for instigating and supporting new research via the use of evidence based practice for purposes such as data aggregation, in addition to practice development and enhancement of client outcomes. Implications and conclusions are drawn from this study in relation to out-ofhome care policy and practice, with particular reference to use of the Looking After Children case management system in the Australian context. These include the potential of a consistent system such as LAC to provide common language and assessment tools and procedures in a welfare sector that is fragmented by lack of national legislation, and the potential for development of national out-of-home care research projects as a result of cross agency LAC implementation resulting in data aggregation opportunities.

Cette thèse de doctorat est une étude interdisciplinaire portant sur la question de la représentation de la nudité dans la littérature, la médecine et les discours artistiques en France dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle. À partir du constat que le corps nu est indissociable du sens de la vue se développe l’idée selon laquelle l’élaboration d’un regard conditionne l’existence de représentations plurielles du corps dévêtu. À travers l’étude de textes de différentes natures, cette thèse propose un parcours démontrant le lien entre la construction du regard et la fabrique des « nudités » au siècle des Lumières. Des mots techniques dévoilant le détail anatomique aux demi-mots formant le langage « gazé », l’écriture et la lecture des nudités sont pensées comme une interaction de nature textuelle et visuelle (chapitre I. Lire, écrire & dévêtir). Le second chapitre (Révéler & Eveiller) est consacré aux effets attribués à la vision du nu au XVIIIe siècle et présente, à partir de l’étude des planches d’anatomie, la façon dont le regard porté sur le corps dénudé peut être construit. Les chapitres suivants examinent successivement les nudités selon l’élaboration de différents regards. Le voyeurisme (chapitre III. Dénuder & inciter) et l’observation (chapitre IV. Exposer & observer) favorisent la représentation du détail anatomique, la création de figures topiques et la mise en scène du corps nu. Les chapitres suivant montrent que le corps peut également être déshabillé du regard et le nu parcouru des yeux : étoffes et draperies, proportions et couleurs, participent de la construction d’une trajectoire permettant de voir, de toucher, de sentir et d’imaginer la nudité (chapitre V. Déshabiller & parcourir). Du costume à la peau, des muscles aux os, le corps apparaît comme un ensemble de couches superposées offrant la possibilité un regard pénétrant. Une fois l’habit et le tégument ôtés, la nudité est l’image d’une intériorité physique et morale explorée par les médecins et les écrivains (chapitre VI. Dévoiler & explorer). Le septième et dernier chapitre (Découvrir & réfléchir) montre que décentrer ou recentrer son regard permet de faire du corps dans son plus simple appareil un outil de réflexion renvoyant l’homme vêtu des Lumières à sa propre image. Les modes vestimentaires, l’exhibition des « sauvages » et l’auscultation sont également des situations dans lesquelles la figure du médecin se construit par rapport au corps féminin dénudé.Les représentations du corps dénudé au XVIIIe siècle se pensent notamment dans les rapports entre la vue et le toucher, entre l’ensemble et les parties du corps, entre le vêtu et le nu, entre la surface et la profondeur. Elles procèdent du morcellement, du grossissement, du dépouillement et de la réification du corps et de ses parties. Elles passent par la mise en œuvre de procédés textuels, par des phénomènes de contamination générique et disciplinaire, par la création de figures que sont entre autres les baigneuses, les athlètes, les hommes de lettres, les Vénus en tous genres, les allégories et les anatomies. Reposant sur la construction du regard et sur les interactions entre les arts, la littérature et la médecine, cette thèse invite à partir à la découverte des « nudités » du siècle des Lumières. / This doctoral thesis is an interdisciplinary study on the question of the representation of nudity in French literature, medicine and artistic discourse in the second half of the eighteenth century. Considering that the naked body is inseparable from the sense of sight, we reveal the idea that the elaboration of a gaze determine a plurality of representations of the undressed body. By the study of texts of different types, this thesis presents a process demonstrating the link between the looking and the nudities in the Enlightenment. From technical words revealing the anatomical detail to descriptions in veiled terms, the writing and the reading of the undressed body are such as a textual and visual interaction (Chapter I). The second chapter is devoted to the effects attributed to the nude in the eighteenth century and presents, through the study of anatomical plates, how the gaze on the bare body can be constructed. The following chapters examine successively the nudities according to different ways of seeing. Voyeurism (Chapter III) and observation (Chapter IV) promote the representation of anatomical detail, the creation of topical figures and the staging of the naked body. The following chapters show that the body can also be mentally undressed. Clothes and draperies, proportions and colors guide a trajectory allowing to see, to touch, to feel and to imagine the nudity (Chapter V). From “costume” to skin, from muscles to bones, the body appears as a set of superimposed layers offering the possibility of a penetrating eye. Clothes and integument once removed, nakedness becomes the image of a physical and moral interiority explored by doctors and writers (Chapter VI). The seventh and final chapter shows that nudity is a way of thinking through decentered or focused gazes. The naked body reflects to the dressed man of the Enlightenment his own image. The fashions, the exhibition of "savages" and the auscultation are also situations in which the physician's figure is drawn in relation to the naked female body.The representations of the undressed body in the eighteenth century are created between sight and touch, between the whole body and its parts, between the clothed and the naked, between the surface and the depth. They proceed from the fragmentation, the magnification, the stripping and the reification of the body and its parts. They involve textual processes, generic and disciplinary contaminations, creations of figures such as bathers, athletes, men of letters, Venus of all kinds, allegories and anatomies. Based on the construction of the gaze and the interactions between arts, literature and medicine, this thesis invites us to discover the nudities of the Enlightenment.

In this study, the function of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope in John Green’s young adult novels Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns is researched using feminist criticism and postfeminist theory. My claim is that The Manic Pixie Dream Girls in Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns perpetuate stereotypical gender roles and thereby help maintain a glorified image of the muse. I support this claim by researching how Alaska and Margo fit into the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope and, as such, how they perpetuate stereotypical gender roles. Furthermore, this study shows how the MPDG is connected to the traditional archetype of the muse.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, through a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods, whether Swedish citizens with two foreign-born parents feel that everyday racism is expressed in the society. Collected empirical data were conducted through an online questionnaire and eight interviews, in which all key informants were born in Sweden but originated from Lebanon, Syria, Spain and Kosovo. Previous research shows that the concept of immigrants tends to represent only a homogeneous cultural of non-indigenous ethnicities and that this unit is subordinate to the dominant Swedish identity. Being categorized as immigrants in Sweden can lead to stigmatization, racism, discrimination and exclusion in areas such as education, working life and income regardless of generation. It is therefore believed that cultural and social rankings have emerged between “Swedes” and “immigrants”, which means that the concept of immigrants has become a category that also subordinates individuals and collectively. Collected empirical data was analysed on the basis of Erving Goffman, Jan Inge Jönhill and Charles Horton Cooley theories and the results showed that informants carry experiences of racism that are a combination of structural knowledge and personal experiences. One can therefore describe the experiences as a cultural legacy of consciousness or a high knowledge of both previous social and current existing exclusions that have historically occurred or usually occur within a society today.

During the early stages of infant development the capacity for perceptual (i.e., visual) discrimination is shaped by infants' perceptual experience. Perceptual narrowing is one process hypothesized to account for developmental change. Perceptual narrowing research often demonstrates that infants before 6 months of age are able to discriminate a wide variety of events whereas infants beyond 6 months of age seemingly "lose" some perceptual abilities. Two investigations are proposed to examine the claim that younger, but not older infants can discriminate faces across species. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to determine whether an increase in familiarization and trial times would result in cross-species facial (i.e. faces of macaques) discrimination in 12-month-olds. The hypothesis was supported, adding evidence that perceptual discrimination becomes more constricted, or less efficient with age, but does not decline. Experiment 2 examined whether reducing both the time of familiarization and comparison time by 50% would allow infants sufficient time to discriminate. Results were consistent with the hypothesis and previous studies were corroborated. These findings highlight the important role of perceptual experience in young infants' perceptual discrimination abilities and provide a greater degree of clarity regarding present use of the concept perceptual narrowing.

Breast awareness is a topic related to women's daily life. The purpose of this project is to explore the behaviors of knowing breasts from the perspective of women themselves, intending to design body experiences that facilitate the awareness of breast muscles and skin movements. The thesis begins with early-stage explorations of the meanings and methodologies of breast awareness and illustrates the entire process from preliminary research to prototyping procedure. Concepts and design methods of soma design are used to explore what kinds of interactions could be outlined in the breast sensing journey. The research process and design results propose new ways of interaction design for breast awareness, exploring the application of new material properties in soma design and breast knowing approaches. As the outcome, Sensorial Pads are made out of silicone, intending to emphasize skin tactile feeling and visual interaction for breast cognition. / Att förstå bröst är ett ämne relaterat till kvinnors dagliga liv. Syftet med detta projektär att utforska beteendet med bröstigenkänning ur kvinnors perspektiv och är avsett att utforma en fysisk upplevelse som hjälper till att förstå bröstmuskel- och hudrörelser. Denna avhandling undersöker betydelsen och metoderna för bröstigenkänning från ett tidigt skede och förklarar hela processen från preliminär forskning till prototypprocedurer. Med hjälp av konceptet och designmetoden för soma design, ta reda på vilken typ av interaktion som kan beskrivas i medvetenhet om brösten. Forskningsprocessen och designresultaten syftar till att föreslå en ny interaktiv designmetod för bröstkognition och utforska tillämpningen av nya materialegenskaper i soma design och ökad kunskap om brösten. Som ett resultat är sensorkudden gjord av silikon, som är avsedd att betona hudens brösttaktilitet och visuell interaktion.

Thesis advisor: Micah Lott / How do we rectify structural injustice? Iris Marion Young presents a Social Connection Model that states those who participate in social processes that produce injustice have a forward-looking responsibility to redress the resulting injustice. Within some philosophical discourse, however, there is a general consensus that SCM is not action-guiding and is overly demanding. To supplement Young’s ideas, I explore Robin Zheng’s Role-Ideal Model; Zheng fills some necessary gaps left by Young. My aim in this paper is to use Young's SCM and Zheng's RIM in tandem to create a more action-guiding and ameliorative project for structural injustice. I offer a structurally sensitive account of responsibility for disempowerment that avoids passively repeating domination. I establish a prefatory set of tasks that can be applied to all roles. These tasks are an expansion of the terms mentioned in Zheng Role-Ideal:“raised consciousness” and “boundary pushing.” / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Philosophy.

In this dissertation, we seek to improve collision avoidance for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). More specifically, we consider the case of a small AUV using a forward-looking sonar system with a limited number of beams. We describe a high-fidelity sonar model and simulation environment that was developed to aid in the design of the sonar system. The simulator achieves real-time visualization through ray tracing and approximation, and can be used to assess sonar design choices, such as beam pattern and beam location, and to evaluate obstacle detection algorithms. We analyze the benefit of using a few beams instead of a single beam for a low-cost obstacle avoidance sonar for small AUVs. Single-beam systems are small and low-cost, while multi-beam sonar systems are more expensive and complex, often incorporating hundreds of beams. We want to quantify the improvement in obstacle avoidance performance of adding a few beams to a single-beam system. Furthermore, we developed a collision avoidance strategy specifically designed for the novel sonar system. The collision avoidance strategy is based on posterior expected loss, and explicitly couples obstacle detection, collision avoidance, and planning. We demonstrate the strategy with field trials using the 690 AUV, built by the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics at Virginia Tech, with a prototype forward-looking sonar comprising of nine beams. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation focuses on improving collision avoidance capabilities for small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Specifically, we are looking at the scenario of an AUV equipped with a forward-looking sonar system using only a few beams to detect obstacles in our environment. We develop a sophisticated sonar model and simulation environment to facilitate the design of the sonar system. Our simulator enables real-time visualization, offering insights into sonar design aspects. It also serves as a tool for evaluating obstacle detection algorithms. The research investigates the advantages of utilizing multiple beams compared to a single-beam system for a cost-effective obstacle avoidance solution for small AUVs. Single-beam sonar systems are small and affordable, while multi-beam sonar systems are more complex and expensive. The aim is to quantify the improvement in obstacle avoidance performance when adding additional sonar beams. Additionally, a collision avoidance strategy tailored to the novel sonar system is developed. This strategy, developed using a statistical model, integrates obstacle detection, collision avoidance, and planning. The effectiveness of the strategy is demonstrated through field trials using the 690 AUV, constructed by the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics at Virginia Tech, equipped with a prototype forward-looking sonar using nine beams.

Cette thèse de doctorat part du constat qu'un portefeuille de crédit est soumis à plusieurs risques qui proviennent principalement de la qualité de crédit de l'emprunteur et de son comportement de tirage et de pré-paiement sur ses lignes de crédit. Il s'avère que les risques observés sont dynamiques et dépendent de facteurs divers, autant micro que macro-économiques.Nous avons eu la volonté de comprendre l'articulation de ces risques pour avoir une gestion efficace de ceux-ci dans le présent, mais aussi une vision prospective si les conditions économiques changent, cela pour une gestion pro-active. Pour traiter cette problématique, nous avons articulé nos recherches autour de trois axes qui ont abouti à trois chapitres sous forme d'articles.(i) Analyse des changements des notations de crédit en fonction des facteurs de risque.L'utilisation des modèles de migration multi-factoriels nous a permis de reproduire des faits stylisés cités dans la littérature et d'en identifier d'autres. Nous reconstituons aussi le cycle économique entre 2006 et 2014 qui réussit à capter les crises de 2008 et 2012.(ii) Conception d'un modèle de cash-flow qui tient compte de l'évolution des comportements des emprunteurs sous l'influence de leurs environnements micro et macro-économiques.Nous prouvons l'influence de la notation de crédit, du cycle économique, du taux de recouvrement estimé et du taux d'intérêt court terme sur les taux d'utilisation. Ce modèle permet aussi d'obtenir des mesures de risque comme le Cash Flow-at-Risk et le Stressed Cash Flow-at-Risk sur des portefeuilles de crédit grâce à des simulations de Monte Carlo.(iii) Réflexion sur la Disposition-à-Payer (DAP) d'un décideur neutre à l'ambiguïté pour réduire le risque en présence d'incertitude sur les probabilités. Nous montrons que la présence de plusieurs sources d'ambiguïté (possiblement corrélées) change le bien-être d'un décideur averse au risque bien que celui-ci soit neutre à l'ambigüité / This thesis starts from the observation that a credit portfolio is subject to several risks, mainly due to the credit quality of the borrower and his behavior toward his credit lines (drawdown or prepayment). It turns out that the observed risks are dynamic and depend on various factors, both micro and macroeconomic. Our goal in one hand is to understand the articulation of these risks in order to efficiently manage them in the current time, in the other hand, we want to have a forward looking vision of these risks with respect to the changes in the economic conditions in order to have a pro-active management. To address our objectives, we have articulated our research on three axes that have resulted in three chapters in the form of articles.(i) Analysis of changes in the credit ratings with respect to risk factors. The use of factor migration models allowed us to reproduce some stylized facts mentioned in academic literature and to identify some others. We have also estimated the business cycle between2006 and 2014, which manages to capture the crises of 2008 and 2012.(ii) Design of a cash-_ow model that considers the changes in borrowers' behavior under the influence of their micro and macroeconomic environments. We prove the influence of the credit ratings, business cycle, estimated recovery rates and short-term interest rates on the utilization rates of a credit line. This model also provides risk measures such as Cash Flow-at-Risk and Stressed Cash Flow-at-Risk on credit portfolio using Monte Carlo simulations.(iii) Discussion on the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) of an ambiguity neutral decision maker (DM) in order to reduce the risk in presence of ambiguity over probabilities. We show that the introduction of ambiguity through several ambiguity sources modifies the welfare level of all ambiguity-neutral and risk-averse DM when ambiguity and risk interact