Issued also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1939. / "Chronological list of magazines (1765-1800) on which present study is based": p. 170-173; "General bibliography": p. 174-176; Gothic fiction in American magazines ... original sources": p. 177-181.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-124).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 204-209).

Inaug.-dis.--Leipzig. / In German. Lebenslauf. "Litteraturnachweis": p. [7]-10.

Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2003--Berlin.

Techn. University, Diss., 2004--Berlin.

Cette réflexion se propose de cerner, les diverses modalités par lesquelles la quête de l’identité s’impose comme matière privilégiée de la structure du récit des quatre romans. Parti de l’interrogation : qu’est-ce que la littérature ?, nous entendons démontrer que la quête de l’identité se signale comme le motif central dans la composition du roman francophone postcolonial. Le choix pour ces quatre écrivains repose sur la volonté de montrer le fonctionnement romanesque du thème de la quête de l’identité. En effet, appliqué à la dynamique interne des récits qui structure les récits, la quête de l’identité surgit comme la problématique qui traverse l’écriture du roman francophone postcolonial, notamment dans l’écriture d’Alain Mabanckou, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Ananda Dévi et Suzanne Dracius. Par exigence scientifique, cette étude est divisée en trois axes. D’abord l’axe historiographique. Il s’attache à faire une compréhension assez simple des notions de cette étude et à illustrer les différentes facettes dans l’histoire littéraire. Ensuite l’axe poétique où analytique. Il a pour titre les « figures de la quête de l’identité ». Il s’attèle à montrer comment le motif de la quête de l’identité se déploie dans le corpus. Enfin, le troisième axe herméneutique ou d’interprétation qui entreprend de poursuivre l’analyse et de porter un certain nombre d’interrogation sur les notions abordées lors de la séquence analytique. / This study addresses the titled "The Quest for identity in the francophone postcolonial novel : Comparative approach of African literatures, island, north African and Caribbean. Broken glass case Alain Mabanckou, Ananda Devi Sigh, The Other Dancing Dracius Suzanne and The Sacred Night Tahar Ben Jelloun". It proposes to identify the various ways in which the quest for identity itself as privileged material of the structure of the four novels narrative. Party of the question: what does theliterature, we intend to demonstrate that the quest for identity is distinguished as the central motif in the composition of francophone postcolonial novel?. The choice for these four writers based on the desire to show the romantic theme of the operation of the search for identity. Indeed, applied to the internal dynamics of stories that structure the stories, the quest for identity emerges as the issue that crosses the writing of francophone postcolonial novel, especially in the writing of Alain Mabanckou, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Ananda Devi and Suzanne Dracius. By scientific standards, this study is divided into three areas. First historiographical axis. It attaches to a fairly simple understanding of the concepts of this study and illustrate the different facets in literary history. Then poetic axis where analytical. He has the title of "figures of the search for identity." It is striving to show how the pattern of the search for identity unfolds in the corpus. The third axis hermeneutic or interpretation undertaking further analysis and carry a number of interrogation on the concepts covered in the analytical sequence.

Orientador: Karin Volobuef / Banca: Álvaro Luiz Hattnher / Banca: João Batista Toledo Prado / Resumo: J. R. R. Tolkien afirmou que o tema central de sua principal obra, O Senhor dos Anéis, é a tensão provocada entre a morte inevitável e a busca pela imortalidade. Diante disso, procurase nesse trabalho verificar de que maneira essa temática influencia a forma do romance e desenvolve uma crítica acerca do papel da arte e da técnica enquanto artigo de valor e fonte memória para seres cuja existência é finita ou seres ligados a um universo em constante transformação. Por um lado, há seres como os elfos que estão ligados diretamente à natureza de Arda e são fadados a não deixá-la até que chegue o seu fim. Esses seres, aparentemente imortais, sofrem com as constantes mudanças no planeta e tentam, através da técnica, agir diretamente sobre o mundo, tentando conservá-lo tal como ele é. Por outro lado, há os homens mortais, que, diante de sua própria mortalidade, buscam ter seus feitos eternizados em obras de arte, como esculturas, tapeçarias ou textos literários. / Abstract: J. R. R. Tolkien declared that the central issue of his major work, The Lord of the Rings, is the tension emerging between the unavoidable death and the search for immortality. Therefore, this study is a research about how that aspect affects the structure of the novel and how it discusses the role of art and technique as a piece of value and a resource of memory available for finite or "immortals" beings, whose existence is linked to a continuously changing world. On the one hand, there are in novel beings such as elves that are directly connected to the nature of Arda and are doomed to remain there until its end. These apparently immortal beings can't bear such constant changes on the planet and employ technical means in order to have an affect on the world and keep it as it is. On the other hand, mortal men, faced with their own mortality, seek out art as a way to have their deeds registered and so kept alive forever in works such as sculptures, tapestry or literary texts. / Mestre

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) have evolved from traditional video games in that they embrace both the technology of the Internet and video games. The massive “exodus” from the physical offline world to online gaming communities brings with it not only a number of unique and exciting opportunities, but also a number of emerging and serious risks. This research set out to examine the unique opportunities and risks to vulnerable individuals, namely, young adults, teenagers and young children; all of whom are considered by many to be priority groups in the protection from harm. The purpose was to examine the reality of vulnerable individuals encountering these opportunities and risks. This research combined a number of methodologies supported by underpinning qualitative and quantitative theories. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups gathered information from teenagers, adults and children in order to critically examine the unique opportunities and risks encountered in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. The findings from these interactions identified specific examples of opportunities and risk posed to vulnerable individuals. The findings demonstrated that there was a need for a support and protection mechanism that promoted the identification and awareness of the potential risk among vulnerable individuals. Emerging from these findings was a set of concepts that provided the evidence base for a Novel Taxonomy of Opportunities and Risks in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game environments that was designed to assist in the assessment of risk. Validation of the proposed taxonomy was achieved by means of an ethnographic study of (World of Warcraft) online gamers’ behaviour and social interactions through unobtrusive video capture of gaming sessions. The Novel Taxonomy of Opportunities and Risks provided a basis for the development of a proof-of-concept Decision Support System; the purpose of which was to assist both social work practitioners and individuals to identify and reduce risks. Representatives from both user groups were consulted for evaluation of the acceptability of such an approach. Favourable responses from participants demonstrated acceptability of the aforementioned approach. The evaluation process also demonstrated how the prototype would serve as a useful tool to make individual users aware of potential dangers. This research presents three novel facets: (1) it advances understanding of the unique opportunities and risks within MMORPG environments; (2) provides a framework for the assessment of risks in MMORPGs through the Novel Taxonomy and (3) demonstrates a novel Decision Support System to assist in the identification and reduction of risk through a proof-of-concept prototype.