Esta tese é sobre o preconceito e intolerância contra a homossexualidade, a partir da análise semiótica de depoimentos de mães heterossexuais e de filhos homossexuais, brasileiros. O trabalho divide-se em introdução, quatro capítulos principais, conclusão, bibliografia e anexos. Na introdução, delineou-se o contexto externo em que se desenvolve a dificuldade de aceitação das mães heterossexuais a seus filhos homossexuais e um apanhado geral do trabalho. O contexto interno foi considerado como o resultado do cruzamento comparativo de centenas de depoimentos analisados, de mães e filhos. Utilizou-se, como embasamento teórico, a semiótica de tradição francesa e seu instrumental de análise e a tese divide-se como segue: O primeiro capítulo traz a metodologia que foi utilizada e os objetivos do trabalho. O principal objetivo foi analisar como são construídos os discursos de rejeição e/ou os discursos de aceitação da homossexualidade de filhos por suas mães, heterossexuais. Em contrapartida, foram analisados os discursos dos filhos. O segundo capítulo tratou do preconceito, de mães e dos filhos, anterior à descoberta da homossexualidade. No terceiro e quarto capítulos da tese, relacionou-se o percurso discursivo passional de rejeição/aceitação das mães à sua influência no percurso passional de autoaceitação dos filhos e levantou-se os principais tipos de paixões e ações apaixonadas que esses discursos manifestam. Examinou-se também a organização discursivo-passional e da enunciação de milhares de depoimentos, relacionando texto e contexto via enunciação. A partir disso, foi feito o levantamento de semelhanças e diferenças qualitativas, entre os percursos de aceitação das mães a seus filhos homossexuais, na última década (2001 a 2010). / This dissertation deals with prejudice and intolerance against homosexuality, based on the semiotic analysis of statements of Brazilian heterosexual mothers of homosexual sons and daughters. The study is divided in an introduction, four main chapters, conclusion, bibliographic references and addenda. The introduction discusses the external context in which mothers develop a difficulty in accepting the homosexuality of their sons, and an outline of the whole dissertation. The internal context of the problem, on the other hand, is taken to be the outcome of the comparison of hundreds of statements, by mothers and sons. French semiotic theory was used as the theoretical background for the analysis and the dissertation is divided as follows: The first chapter lays out the methodology used and the objectives of this study. The main objective was to analyze how rejection and/or acceptance discourses are constructed with respect to the homosexuality of their sons by their heterosexual mothers. In tandem, the discourses of homosexual sons and daughters were analyzed. The second chapter deals with prejudice, from the perspective of mothers and sons, preceding the unveiling of homosexuality. The third and forth chapter explain the relation between the rejection/acceptance passional discoursive trajectory of the mothers and the autoacceptance passional trajectory of the sons. There, the main kinds of passions and passionate actions that are manifested in the discourses are listed and discussed. Other objects of inquiry are the discoursive-passional organization and the enunciation of thousands of statements, relating text and context through the enunciation. Based on that, the study maps the qualitative similarities and differences between the trajectories of acceptance by mothers of their homosexual sons in the first decade of the XXI century.

Esta dissertação é constituída de dois volumes: i) um corpus em que estão transcritas e traduzidas as falas proferidas por cerca de quarenta índios guaranis durante uma reunião realizada em dezembro de 1996 na A. I. Ribeirão Silveira, localizada no município de São Sebastião, em São Paulo. O material é inédito e foi coletado por mim durante a pesquisa de campo. ii) uma análise de alguns aspectos do nível narrativo e do nível discursivo das falas, procurando relacioná-los à visão de mundo guarani, às concepções que esse grupo temde alma e discurso. Analisa-se: a projeção da categoria de pessoa utilização dos pronomes pessoais e designativos de parentesco procurando explicitar os efeitos de sentido que dela decorrem. Aborda-se o valor para mostrar como os objetos que circulam entre os sujeitos o palmito, a pinga, etc. vão sendo enquadrados em categorias diferentes à medida que a reunião vai transcorrendo, e como as falas se relacionam umas às outras para formar uma teia discursiva. Num capítulo dedicado às bebidas alcoólicas trata-se da temática mítica e da tradição da cauinagem entre os grupos tupi-guaranis. / This dissertation consists of two volumes: i) a corpus in which they are transcribed and translated the speeches made by some forty Guarani Indians during a meeting in December 1996 in A. I. Ribeirão Silveira, located in São Sebastião, São Paulo. The material is unpublished and was collected by me during the fieldwork. ii) an analysis of some aspects of the narrative level and the level of discursive statements, trying to relate them to the worldview Guarani, the conceptions that group have soul and speech. It is analyzed: the projection of the category of person - use of personal pronouns and kinship designative - trying to explain the meaning effects that flow from it. Discusses the value to show how objects moving between the subjects - the palm, the drip, etc.. Are being grouped in different categories as the meeting goes elapsed, and how the lines relate to each other to form a web discourse. In a chapter devoted to alcoholic beverages it is the mythic themes and the tradition of \"cauinagem\" among the Tupi-Guarani groups.

The present research deals with the application of Julia Kristeva s psychoanalytic theories of the mind to a selection of William Shakespeare s plays. Kristeva s key psychoanalytic terms the symbolic, the semiotic and the abject are first elaborated in detail and are then applied to different situations and characters in the plays. The plays discussed in this thesis are A Midsummer Night s Dream, As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew for the comedy section, Richard II, 1 & 2 Henry IV and Coriolanus for the English and Roman History section, and Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King Lear for the Tragedy section. The reason for choosing the above plays is that I believe there is a gap of knowledge in this regard and no thorough research on this scale has been conducted up to this time. The intention is to discuss and explicate the moments in which the dramatic heroes undergo some unconscious-driven experiences that can be best explained by Kristeva s post-Freudian psychoanalytic approach. In short, what I am going to show in the present study is the psychoanalytic assumption that Shakespearean characters, forced by internal or external elements, leave the symbolic and take refuge in the semiotic. In such moments, the characters inevitably face the abject which is an archaic memory comprising the elements of enchantment and horror. The abject can be best described as the archaic memories of a distant past when the self had no border and was associated with the semiotic, a subject s harmonious beginning. In its early childhood, to become a subject, an individual breaks its semiotic ties and, by so doing, enters the realm of the symbolic which is associated with grammar and law. The symbolic awards a subject a distinct identity and helps it stay on the route to signification. Kristeva s understanding of the process of individuation is explained by her subject in process , a journey in which a subject always oscillates between the symbolic and the semiotic. The key point in Kristeva s psychoanalytic thought is that the semiotic does not fade away and hovers around a subject s border of identity and remains a constant threat for its symbolic identity. To remain immune from the annihilating forces of the semiotic, a subject has to remain vigilant and protect its borders of identity. My main goal in this thesis is to show that, in some particular situations in the plays, Shakespearean characters fail to remain vigilant and, inevitably, their subjects are exposed to the abject. In other words, in moments of ambition, anger, love or fear, they surrender or take refuge in the semiotic and face the abject. Although Shakespearean plays have previously been approached by Sigmund Freud s (and some other major practitioners ) theories, the application of Kristeva s psychoanalytic theories of the mind gives the opportunity to approach the plays from a new perspective that would otherwise have remained unknown. Thus, the originality of this research lies in its extensive application of Kristeva s theories to the selected Shakespearean plays, theories that, although they derive from those of Freud, have the potential to shed light on those psychoanalytic aspects of the plays that Freud either neglected or left unfinished.

Considerando que é no ensino fundamental que fenômenos de natureza química são tratados pela primeira vez e que as imagens podem auxiliar no processo de aprendizagem e possibilitar a construção de significados para o conhecimento, o presente trabalho propõe-se a analisar as escolhas, as ações e os comportamentos de uma professora de ciências durante suas aulas para o 9° ano do ensino fundamental II, com o objetivo de explorar o uso de recursos imagéticos propostos por ela. Para tanto, fizeram parte desta aferição questões como: quais os tipos de imagens foram utilizados no desenvolvimento da disciplina? O que a professora almejou ao utilizá-las? Em qual contexto estão inseridas? Como se deu o processo de comunicação acerca da imagem? A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma escola municipal localizada na cidade de Salto - SP, onde foram acompanhadas e gravadas as aulas por um período de seis meses, durante o qual foi trabalhado o conteúdo de química. Caracteriza-se, assim, como um estudo de caso. Cada imagem utilizada pela professora em sala de aula foi considerada signo e explorada a partir da teoria da semiótica de Charles Sanders Peirce. Considerá-la como signo é atribuir-lhe uma carga de materialização, ou seja, o objeto é materializado na representação, possibilitando a transição entre o domínio imaterial e o visual e a compreensão de como podem ou não colaborar para a construção do conteúdo de química, considerando, ainda, o discurso da professora acerca do signo. As imagens foram classificadas de acordo com modos de relação pelo qual o signo se constitui (quanto à sua própria natureza) e quanto ao seu objeto. Essas relações pertencem às denominadas tricotomias estabelecidas por Peirce, resultando em diversas classes, como quali-signo icônico, sin-signo icônico, sin-signo indicial, legi-signo icônico, legi-signo indicial e legi-signo simbólico. Essas análises e classificações somadas aos argumentos e construções apresentados pela professora durante a pesquisa evidenciaram sua postura fortemente realista durante a leitura das imagens. / Whereas in the elementary school that chemical nature phenomena are treated for the first time and the images can assist the learning process and enable the construction of meanings for knowledge, this paper explores the actions and behaviors of a science teacher for their classes to the 9th grade of elementary school II, in order to explore the use of pictorial resources proposed for it. So, were part of this assessment questions such as what types of images were used in the development of the discipline? What the teacher aspired to use them? In what context are inserted? How was the communication process about the image? This research is characterized as a case study and was developed in a municipal school in the city of Salto - SP, where classes were monitored and recorded in a period of six months, a period in which they worked the chemical content. Each image used by the teacher in the classroom was considered a sign and explored from the theory of Charles Sanders Peirce semiotics. Consider it as a sign is to attribute it a load of materialization, in the other words, the object is materialized in the representation, enabling the transition between immaterial domain and the visual and understanding of how may or may not contribute to the construction of the chemical content considering also the speech of the teacher about the sign. The images were classified according to modes of relationship in which the sign is constituted (about its nature) and about its object. These relationships belong to called trichotomies established by Peirce, resulting in several classes, as qualisign iconic, sinsign iconic, sinsign indicial, legisign iconic, legisign indicial and legisign symbolic. These reviews and ratings added to teacher\'s arguments and buildings presented during the research showed a strongly realistic posture while reading the images.

Through the observation of conversations on Internet Relay Chat and the quantitative analysis of “chat-logs”, I investigate the characteristics of this form of communication unique to the digital realm. My research rests on a theoretical framework integrating the semiotic and pragmatism of Charles S. Peirce (as primary groundwork) with the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the sociology of Erving Goffman, to grasp shared significations in cyberspace simultaneously as logical process and as social practice. This exploratory case study yields evidence supporting the potential fruitfulness of Peircean philosophy as the foundation for a new paradigm in empirical communication research, and successfully puts to the test a particular type of method (computational and diagrammatic) suggested to accomplish such research.

This thesis seeks to shed some light on the study and practice of visual communication across cultural boundaries, Using a semiotic approach, it examines how a selected range of Western brand images that are promoted in the People's Republic of China are 'read' and interpreted by the local urban population. The case studies include symbolic images, such as logomarks and logotypes, as well as iconic images such as photographic material in advertisements. The political, economic and social context, and cultural aspects, such as attitudes, values and various cultural codes, are considered as influencing factors tha t affect the decoding of the meaning of visual unages. The research indicates that the intended and perceived meanings of a branding image rarely match when there is a significant difference between the cultures in which the image is encoded and decoded. While in a few instances the local population interprets the Western brand images in the manner intended by the Western communicator, most are interpreted differently. Some images are interpreted with a positive, albeit different, connotation, others are seen as rather negative. In the worst-case scenario, the messages are severely misunderstood and totally rejected by the readers due to cultural incompatibility. Rather unexpectedly, symbolic images, acknowledged as arbitrary and culture-specific in nature, are more readily interpreted in a positive way and close to the intended meaning than are the iconic images. The latter tend to be interpreted almost exclusively in the reader's (rather than the author's) cultural context and thus may be prone to misunderstanding or even rejection. The thesis concludes that the challenge in communicating visually across cultural boundaries is to recognise cultural differences, and draw on cultural compatibility to generate shared meaning and avoid cultural clashes that cause negative interpretation

Alternate reality games (ARG) are a relatively new type of game that distributes game content across several media without explicitly identifying that content as part of a game. While players benefit from this aesthetically immersive experience the type of game has the potential to cause confusion over the status of its dispersed content as real or as part of a game. This thesis offers a case study of the 2012 game. The case is contextualized within the disciplines of media studies and games studies, in a wider digital culture where the ubiquity of technology converges to user experience design. A theoretical framework based on Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s frame analysis and James J. Liszka’s transvaluation theory is used to explain the ARG’s problematic relation to the experience of reality.

The main purpose of this thesis was to explore if there existed one single underlying semiotic function for representation. The problem was examined from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. In the first part of this thesis the theoretical considerations about Piaget's hypothesis of a single semiotic function are described and compared with a number of alternative approaches. The hypothesis is critically analyzed and its limitations are pointed out. In the second part of this thesis the empirical studies are reported. One of the guiding lines for the experiments performed was the distinction made by Piaget between figurative and operative aspects of representation. The main conclusions to be drawn from the four studies were that they all supported, however tentatively, Piagets hypothesis of a single underlying semiotic function. In terms of figurative and operative aspects of cognition it was concluded that the underlying form (the operative aspect) at different ages is constant across the different representation modes. The differences found in the figurative aspect of representation were bound to the representation media, and could vary as a function of media, task demands and individual differences. In the third part of this thesis problems with representation media and task demands are discussed together with research in related areas of the semiotic function. The general conclusions drawns from this thesis were that there might exist a single underlying semiotic function for representation. The issue is neither simple nor uncomplicated. The distinction made between the figurative and operative aspect of representation is considered as one attempt to narrow down the generality of the hypothesis, and to distinguish between what is expected to be a universal aspect of the semiotic function and what varies as a function of media, task demands and individual-, social- , and cultural differences. / digitalisering@umu

Alternate reality games (ARG) are a relatively new type of game that distributes game content across several media without explicitly identifying that content as part of a game. While players benefit from this aesthetically immersive experience the type of game has the potential to cause confusion over the status of its dispersed content as real or as part of a game. This thesis offers a case study of the 2012 game. The case is contextualized within the disciplines of media studies and games studies, in a wider digital culture where the ubiquity of technology converges to user experience design. A theoretical framework based on Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s frame analysis and James J. Liszka’s transvaluation theory is used to explain the ARG’s problematic relation to the experience of reality.

This thesis aims to analyze poems by Emily Dickinson and John Milton according to Julia Kristeva&rsquo / s theories of poetic language and abjection, and to see the extent to which these concepts are applicable to two such different poets and also to see how the poets compare within such analytic framework. Kristeva adapts a psychoanalytic approach to poststructuralist theory. Psychoanalytic criticism with its two leading figures, Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, has been analyzed to see its reflections on Kristeva&rsquo / s theory. As regards, the semiotic, the symbolic, the abject and the paragrammatic structure of poetic language are four main concepts which have been found to be critical tools to be used in the analyses of Dickinson and Milton&rsquo / s poems. What has been concluded from the analyses in this thesis is that in both Dickinson and Milton&rsquo / s poems, according to Kristeva&rsquo / s theory of poetic language, there is the intrusion of the semiotic into the symbolic which is further supported with the concept of the abject. Also, the difference between a seventeenth century and a modern poet in terms of a Kristevan approach has been deduced in this thesis. That is, Kristeva&rsquo / s theory of paragrammatic structure has proved that in v Dickinson&rsquo / s poems, each and every word helps to sustain an image. Contrary to this, in Milton&rsquo / s Comus, which is a work of the seventeenth century, it has been somewhat difficult to apply Kristeva&rsquo / s theory of paragrammatic structure.