Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2008. / Vita. Appendix: leaves 68-70. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-86). Also available on microfilm.

This study was designed with the aim of exploring from a qualitative point of view the communicative abilities of people affected by dementia. From among the different discourse genres, narratives were selected as these appear frequently in conversation and at the same time are a complex activity in which different cognitive and social skills interact. In spite of their apparent simplicity, they require an extended effort by the teller, who needs to choose an appropriate point in the conversation when the narrative can be introduced, recall all the necessary details and organize them in a comprehensible order, possibly employing a series of devices to hold the audience's attention. The focus on the investigation of communicative disorders was chosen with the aim of gaining a better understanding of what is normal or neurotypical in narrative discourse production. As a possible cause for impairment in communication I opted for dementia because it is a major health issue of which we have only a partial understanding. In particular, inconsistencies in the diagnostic practices have been pointed out, revealing an urgent need for a more accurate description of the behavioural symptoms. The data under examination have been collected in informal conversations with sixteen people affected by dementia. Further information on the communicative behaviour of the person affected by dementia was elicited from a family member by means of a semi-structured interview. The application of a simplified version of Labov and Waletzky's (1967) framework of narrative analysis, integrated with insights from Conversation Analysis, and contributions from anthropology, social sciences, narratology, as well as cognitive psychology, yield a number of results. Although a certain amount of variation was observed in the behaviour of the participants, the overall results seem to reflect findings from previous research and show how the progressive deterioration of the ability to retrieve and encode autobiographical memory is reflected in the diminishing ability to structure narrative discourse. Complex or canonical narratives seem to become frequent as dementia progresses, narratives become more fragmented, and contain more pauses and fillers, confusion in the chronological organization and confabulation, which is often fitted into previously established storylines; stories and story chunks are frequently repeated, then are reduced to brief comments that are scattered throughout discourse, so that they are no longer recognizable as narratives, but only as traces. The findings also add information on this process, such as that the ability to provide all the necessary details of orientation seems to be compromised since the early stages of the condition, as well as the ability to plan the narration, due to impairment of the executive function. Speakers in the moderate to severe stages displayed either a tendency to withdraw from the conversation or the opposite tendency to rely on a number of repetitions of small stories, story chunks and formulaic expressions, and on confabulation, in order to provide their contribution to the interaction. Some instances of potentially disordered behaviour displayed by mildly impaired participants have highlighted that both the interactional outcome and the frequency with which they appear in discourse can help make decisions on the level of acceptability of apparently deviant linguistic expressions. This may contribute to the description of the early symptoms of dementia. More research is urgently needed on the discourse abilities of neurotypical elderly speakers, as well as more collaboration between the clinical and linguistic field.

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Notre étude se propose d’analyser les enjeux et les formes de la représentation d’une figure d’auteur dans la fiction narrative comique du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle en Europe. Cette figure, extérieure à la diégèse ou appartenant au personnel narratif, exhibe un discours d’auteur, mime un dialogue avec le lecteur, instaurant une communication narrative fictive avec le lecteur. Cette communication apparaît paradoxale, elle représente une parole orale, problématique dans un texte écrit, et la présence réelle de l’auteur est insituable dans le texte, la figure auctoriale appartenant déjà à l’univers fictionnel. Le dialogue avec le lecteur repose sur une fiction de présence et sur un dispositif rhétorique séducteur dont les enjeux sont pragmatiques. Le récit est donné comme porteur d’enseignements. Il thématise une formation du héros souvent sujette à caution, dont le lecteur doit démêler les enjeux. La structure comique du récit et de l’énonciation contribue à une mystification du lecteur, appelé à interpréter un texte ludique, à la fois comique et sérieux, qui refuse de livrer son sens de façon univoque. Du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle se mettent en place, en relation avec leur contexte d’écriture, les formes d’un genre sério-comique, qui repose sur la parodie et le détournement des codes et des formes de la littérature contemporaine, sur l’instauration d’une attitude intellectuelle ironique et critique et d’une communication fictive avec le lecteur. Nous analyserons les formes de l’ambiguïté énonciative et narrative chez Rabelais, chez l’auteur anonyme du Lazarillo, chez Mateo Alemán, Cervantès, Charles Sorel, Grimmelshausen, Marivaux et Henry Fielding. / Our study intends to analyse the stakes and forms of a figure of author’s representation in the comical narrative fiction in Europe from 16th to 18th century. Such figure, either external to the diegesis or belonging to the narrative characters, produces the speech of an author, mimes a dialogue and by doing so, establishes an imaginary narrative communication with the reader. This kind of communication seems paradoxical. It represents oral speech, which is problematic in a written text; the actual presence of the author cannot be placed within the text whereas the auctorial figure already belongs to the fictional world. The dialogue with the author is set on an imaginary presence and on a seducing rhetorical device with pragmatic stakes. Lessons are expected to be drawn from this narrative. It topicalizes the forming of the hero, which is often questionable, and it is up to the reader to untangle the stakes. The comical structure of the narrative and of the enunciation contributes toward a deception of the reader who is expected to give an interpretation of an entertaining text which is both comical and serious, and which refuses to deliver its meaning in a univocal way. From 16th to 18th century forms of a serio-comic gender are established within their writing context. They rely on parody and diversion of the forms and codes of contemporary literature, on the introduction of an ironic and critical intellectual attitude as well as an imaginary interaction with the reader. We will analyse the different forms of enunciative and narrative ambiguity in Rabelais, in the anonymous author of Lazarillo to Mateo Alemán, Cervantès, Charles Sorel, Grimmelshausen, Marivaux to Henry Fielding.

Master thesis "Discursive approach to natural science in Czech media in 2013" is focused on natural science and its presentation in Czech media in 2013. Main objectives of this master thesis are an interpretation of media picture of natural science and presentation of current communication trends which are typical for this topic. Moreover the master thesis is written for purpose to interpret the main discourse of natural science, narrative frames and structures which are used by media. Another part of the study aims to determine an existence of metanarrative of natural science, the big story of natural science. The master thesis is based on complex approach to analyzed theme - natural science. For purpose to achieve the objectives this master thesis analyses natural science from perspective of quantitative and qualitative research. First of all is made a pilot study and second of all quantitative content analysis. The topic is analyzed from perspective of discourse analysis and narrative analysis in qualitative part. Finally, there are presented some recommendations, how to improve science communication. Recommendations are proposed on a base of research results. This master thesis provides a complex research study, which enables me to interpret a media picture of natural science in Czech Republic...