This essay argues, with the help of Lacanian psychoanalysis, that Dorian Gray, the protagonist in Oscar Wilde’s novel, fails to abide by the rules governed by the culture of society. It is argued that Lacan’s theories about the mirror stage develop Dorian’s character and his realizations of his true self as part of the culture which shapes him. The mirror is represented by the four characters Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton, Sibyl Vane, and Sibyl’s brother James. Basil, Henry, and Sibyl are all representations of different aspects of the mirror explained by Lacan’s theories, and these three characters help Dorian realize his true identity and self.

My dissertation explores two critical points in understanding John Updike's recent career. First, I examine him from a perspective outside the heavily-studied Rabbit tetralogy. Focusing on Updike's novel Terrorist, I attempt to counter the misperception that he offers little beyond the chronicling of middle-class, suburban America. Instead, this work digs for a deeper understanding of Updike. Next, I consider Updike's role as an artist, professional writer, and celebrity to draw out a sense of the writer's life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Using him as a case study enables the analysis to include his changing role as a literary writer who also had major bestsellers, as well as his standing as a celebrity and public intellectual. Rather than dismiss these cultural influences, I explore how they intersect with audiences, readers, and critics. Piecing together his commentary regarding fame and celebrity creates a model of the public Updike for scholars to examine. The central task of this dissertation is a close examination of Terrorist, including the themes Updike addressed and literary techniques he employed to advance those ideas. From this textual analysis, Updike's vision of America and the world in the twenty first century emerges. By reassessing Updike's evolution as a writer, both in subject matter and literary technique, one realizes how his work reflects an increasing preoccupation with global issues, from American imperialism to terrorism. This study broadens the general conceptualization critics and scholars hold regarding Updike's work by exploring the themes and literary devices he used to portray the broader world. Focusing on Updike the writer and Terrorist, his final standalone novel, this dissertation helps Updike scholars and critics address a central point that may well define his historical reputation: Is there an Updike beyond the Rabbit novels and is there an Updike beyond suburban nostalgia? I argue that Terrorist reveals a great American writer at his full powers as the world around him undergoes a watershed moment.

Low participation of racially ethnic minority youth in snow sports activities may be caused by racism through structural and symbolic factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of teachers from school-based programs and resort ski school programs as well as coaches from afterschool club and community-based organizations regarding the structural and symbolic influences on the participation of racially ethnic minority youth in snow sports. Using critical race theory as the conceptual framework, a qualitative, phenomenological inquiry was centered on the experiences of ethnic minority youth related to potential racism in structural and symbolic factors regarding participating in snow sports activities. Participants were selected by a purposeful, homogenous sampling strategy, and data were collected from semistructured interviews of the 12 participants. Data were analyzed through the use of NVivo12 to search for codes, categories, and themes related to racism and the structural and symbolic factors that influence racially ethnic minority youth participation in snow sports activities. The findings of this study help bring an increased understanding of why there continues to be a lack of racially ethnic minority youth in snow sports through themes, such as exposure and access, cultural representation, and racism, which may be useful to schools, resorts, clubs, and similar organizations who educate youth and promote snow sports activities. The results of this study may help bring about positive social change by supporting culturally responsive practices throughout the snow sports industry, which aim to provide fair, equitable, and inclusive opportunities for racially ethnic minority groups to participate in snow sports.

Sweden has one of the most sexually segregated labor markets in the world, which creates unbalanced working groups. In this paper we have analyzed women and men's experiences of a male dominated workplace in electricity industry. The purpose of the study was to analyze men and women's experiences of the male dominance in a workplace where women are in minority. The study also aimed to investigate the perceived organizational culture and whether the interviewees perceived that the workplace was equal. Previous research shows that male dominated workplaces create problematic working conditions for women in particular. Our study was based on semistructured interviews. Six people have been interviewed, of which as many women as men. The result of the study showed that the differences between men and women's experiences are relatively small. Both men and women was satisfied with their work situation, however it appears that women felt a greater need to prove themselves unlike men. Women and men agreed that the culture was perceived as hard and humorous, it differed depending on whether you worked in the office or out in the production.

This essay studies the use of history concerning the Swedish nineteenth century painter Ivan Aguéli. It places itself in the field of didactics of history where, in this case, the use of history on a societal scale is being analyzed. With the theoretic typology of Klas-Göran Karlsson both the interests, needs and functions of the use of Aguéli can be illuminated and compared. The groups of people that use the memory of Aguéli in the Swedish culture of history are very broad. To sort these out, the essay borrows the theoretical framework stemmed from Jörn Rüsen and applied by Anders Dybelius. Using this analytical typology of the educational, popular, and commemorative spheres, the journey of Aguéli’s memory in Sweden between 1920 and 2020 can be illuminated and understood. The empirical material is very broad and includes, among others, novels, exhibitions, a rock band, a museum, biographies, and newspapers. Regarding the theoretical typologies in the essay, a deductive method is used to sort these artifacts in their relation to their abode. Ivan Aguéli was introduced in the Swedish historical culture after his death. He is remembered mainly as one of the great Swedish modernist landscape-painters, and his extravagant personality and bohemian lifestyle has made him an object of both reverence and wonderment. But why has this person been used and remembered in this way? Ivan Aguéli has often been described as a mystery. This is the one main quality that has followed his memory through the millennia, disregarding which group has been using it. This study points out that the refusal to un-mystify Aguéli has kept his memory in the style of a “bottomless well”, where different groups and individuals has been able to pick up quality’s that answer to their own particular interests and needs. This “bottomless well” contains a flurry of positive characteristics and has something that is appealing for everyone: what’s not to like? Ivan Aguéli is more popular today than ever before. His legacy as an artist is getting challenged when much of his metaphysical, political, and philosophical legacy becomes accessible through translation from French and Arabic into Swedish. Aguéli’s theories of the correlation between religious truths and the political organization of society answers to an increased need for both political and spiritual renewal. This fact makes this essay, and the use of Ivan Aguéli’s memory, an example of how history is being produced and used as a tool to aid man in her aspirations. / I denna uppsats studeras historiebruket kring den svenska sekelskiftskonstnären Ivan Aguéli. Studien har sin hemvist i det historiedidaktiska fältet där, i detta fall, ett samhälleligt bruk av historia analyseras. Med Klas-Göran Karlssons analytiska typologi som bejakar de olika mänskliga intressen, behov och funktioner som historiebruket fyller, kan användningen av Aguélis minne i den svenska historiekulturen avslöjas och analyseras. Bruket av Aguélis minne i den svenska historiekulturen är väldigt brett och kräver något typ av sorteringsverktyg för att begripliggöras. Uppsatsen lånar därför Jörn Rüsens teoretiska ramverk, vilket applicerats i den svenska historiebruksforskningen av Anders Dybelius. Genom att använda de analytiska kategorierna utbildningskultur, populärkultur och minneskultur kan vandringen av Aguélis minne i Sverige mellan 1920 och 2020 belysas och förstås. Det empiriska materialet är väldigt brett och består av bland annat facklitteratur, skönlitteratur, konstutställningar, ett rockband, ett museum och tidningsrecensioner. I ljuset av uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk används en deduktiv metod för att sortera dessa artefakter utifrån deras förhållande till de tre kultursfärerna. Ivan Aguéli blev introducerad i den svenska historiekulturen först efter sin död. Han är ihågkommen som främst en av de stora modernistiska landskapsmålarna, och hans extravaganta personlighet och bohemiska livsöde har kommit att prägla särarten i hans minne. Men varför har han blivit ihågkommen på just detta sätt? Aguéli har ofta beskrivit som ett mysterium. Detta är det enskilda karaktärsdraget som följt hans minne genom århundradet, oavsett vilken grupp som har brukat det. Uppsatsens resultat pekar på att en ovilja att avmystifiera Aguéli har gjort hans minne till något av en ”bottenlös brunn” där olika grupper och personer har kunnat plocka upp värden som svarat på deras specifika intressen och behov. Ivan Aguéli är mer populär idag än någonsin tidigare. Hans arv som i första hans konstnär har kommit att utmanas då mycket av hans metafysiska, politiska och filosofiska tänkande tillgängliggjorts genom översättningar från franska och arabiska till svenska. Aguélis teorier kring korrelationen mellan religiösa sanningar och den politiska organiseringen av samhället har svarat på ett ökat behov av både andlig och politisk förnyelse. Detta faktum gör denna uppsats, och bruket av Aguélis minne i den svenska historiekulturen, till ett exempel på hur historia produceras och brukas av människor för att svara på deras behov och intressen.

Vad hände med leopardens döttrar? En kulturpsykologisk analys av kvinnorollen inom Bénin och Togos Vodoukult. (What happened to the daughters of the Leopard? A cultural psychological analysis of the role of women in Bénin and Togo´s Vodoucult). Syftet med studien var att öka förståelsen för hur Vodoukulten kan bidra till hur kvinnorollen uttrycks och manifesteras. Det uppnåddes genom kvinnornas och andra utövares berättelser, samt iakttagelser av hur rollen uttrycktes i kulten och om det bidrog till eller frigjorde kvinnorna från etablerade könsroller. Studien utgick från Kvale & Brinkmanns intervjumetodik. Intervjuerna med informanterna och observationerna var viktiga för förståelsen av hur kulturen formade deltagarnas uppfattning om sig själv, samhället och religionen. Undersökningen utgick från Belzens tolkning av kulturpsykologi, Bourdieus teori om habitus, samt Lacans symbolic order. Studien tar också upp genus som Sky definierar den. Slutsatsen blev att kvinnor bidrar till formandet av sin roll inom Vodoun och att Vodoun är rigid när det kommer till könsroller.

Orientador: Paula da Cruz Landim / Resumo: O mobiliário e o espaço litúrgico católico são repletos de simbolismos, os quais perduram por milênios. Criar estes espaços e móveis dotados de complexos significados, exigências e materiais que evoquem nobreza não é uma tarefa fácil para designers e arquitetos. Além disso, esta é uma área pouquíssima explorada cientificamente. Neste sentido, esta pesquisa tem por objetivo possibilitar que estes profissionais executem, com rigor semântico-simbólico, projetos de mobiliário e espaço litúrgico. Sabendo da estreita relação das áreas do Design e da Arquitetura com a linguagem simbólica dos objetos e espaços, este trabalho apresenta referencial teórico que aborda como o simbolismo fundamenta e pode ser observado nas religiões, especialmente na religião católica, já que esta é uma das poucas religiões que se utiliza de símbolos para fortalecer a fé de seus seguidores. Apresenta ainda as alterações históricas ocorridas no mobiliário litúrgico da igreja católica até a sua última grande modificação ocorrida no Concílio Vaticano II. Além disso, são descritos como o simbolismo do mobiliário litúrgico deve ser empregado dentro do espaço sagrado e como a linguagem do Design, da Semiótica e da percepção visual se fundem para embasar as interpretações estético-simbólicas. Esta pesquisa se classifica como Exploratória e Descritiva e adota Modelo de Análise Semiótica proposto por Cardoso e Pacheco (2017) para compreensão de como ocorre o processo de leitura visual e percepção do simbolismo em ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The catholic furniture and liturgical space are full of symbolism, which last for millennia. To create these spaces and furniture with complex meanings, requirements and materials that evoke nobility is not an easy task for designers and architects. In addition, this is a scarcely scientifically explored area. In this sense, this research aims to enable these professionals to execute, with semantic-symbolic rigor, furniture and liturgical space projects. Knowing the close relationship between the areas of Design and Architecture with the symbolic language of objects and spaces, this work presents a theoretical framework that addresses how symbolism is based and can be observed in religions, especially in the Catholic religion, since this is one of the few religions that use symbols to strengthen the faith of their followers. It also presents the historical changes that occurred in the liturgical furniture of the Catholic Church until its last major change occurred in the Second Vatican Council. In addition, they describe how the symbolism of liturgical furniture must be used within the sacred space and how the language of Design, Semiotics and visual perception merge to support aesthetic-symbolic interpretations. This research is classified as Exploratory and Descriptive and adopts Semiotic Analysis Model proposed by Cardoso and Pacheco (2017) to understand how the process of visual reading and perception of symbolism occurs in relation to furniture and liturgical space. This... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Software testing remains one of the most important but expensive approaches to ensure high-quality software today. In order to reduce the cost of testing, over the last several decades, various techniques such as formal verification and inductive learning have been used for test automation in previous research. In this thesis, we present a specification-based black-box testing approach, learning-based testing (LBT), which is suitable for a wide range of systems, e.g. procedural and reactive systems. In the LBT architecture, given the requirement specification of a system under test (SUT), a large number of high-quality test cases can be iteratively generated, executed and evaluated by means of combining inductive learning with constraint solving. We apply LBT to two types of systems, namely procedural and reactive systems. We specify a procedural system in Hoare logic and model it as a set of piecewise polynomials that can be locally and incrementally inferred. To automate test case generation (TCG), we use a quantifier elimination method, the Hoon-Collins cylindric algebraic decomposition (CAD), which is applied on only one local model (a bounded polynomial) at a time. On the other hand, a reactive system is specified in temporal logic formulas, and modeled as an extended Mealy automaton over abstract data types (EMA) that can be incrementally learned as a complete term rewriting system (TRS) using the congruence generator extension (CGE) algorithm. We consider TCG for a reactive system as a bounded model checking problem, which can be further reformulated into a disunification problem and solved by narrowing. The performance of the LBT frameworks is empirically evaluated against random testing for both procedural and reactive systems (executable models and programs). The results show that LBT is significantly more efficient than random testing in fault detection, i.e. less test cases and potentially less time are required than for random testing. / QC 20111012

Background: Globalization and the aggravation of world economic integration make lots of overseas enterprises enter the Chinese market and win the market share by integrating Chinese elements into their brand names, logos, advertisements, and products. Therefore, what should local brands do to gain market share? Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to investigate the different effects of local Chinese brands with global, foreign, or local elements on consumers' perceived brand globalness, perceived functional benefits, perceived symbolic benefits, and purchase intentions. Methods: In this study, a quantitative method was used to collect data online through a pre-test questionnaire and a formal experimental questionnaire. And then statistically analyzed for valid data using SPSS. Findings: The results of the study show that consumers have higher perceived brand globalness for local brands that incorporate global and foreign elements, and higher purchase intentions for local brands that incorporate global elements. Perceived symbolic benefits have a higher impact on purchase intentions than the Perceived functional benefits. Perceived functional benefits and symbolic benefits mediate the effect of perceived brand globalness on purchase intention.

Internet has become increasingly ubiquitous and with the introduction of Web 2.0 technologies and concepts it has almost become second nature for many Internet users. This study attempts to view the “social life” of this “new” online environment through its current manifestation in the form of the popular social networking site Facebook. It argues that Facebook has become a tool for the management of one's self both online and offline and that people's reflexive relation to their self-identity is made visible through their engagement with this social media. How such a new form of social media incorporates itself into everyday life but also how the media acts as an extension of the reflexive self has been the main focus of this study.