Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Globalization and the inherent shrinking of geographical boarders have rendered modern societies progressively culturally heterogeneous spaces. Increased encounters between people from different cultures have thus become a normal occurrence. Germany is in no way an exception to this socio-cultural phenomenon and has witnessed an emergence of multi-cultural societies, leading to concerted efforts in developing intercultural competence in all spheres of influence. Literature plays a pivotal role in the representation and transfer of culturally determined imaginations and perceptions of the “other”. This role is further emphasized in the case of children’s and youth literature, which has an imminent pedagogical function. For a long time, research in children’s and youth literature has received very little attention as an integral part of literary studies; this is observed both in English and in German literature, though the pace of development differs slightly (Hunt 1999; Weinkauff and Glasenapp 2010; Ewers 2000). In Germany, historical development of children’s and youth literature as an autonomous area of literature and field of study was influenced by societal values and attitudes as well as perceptions of childhood. This has continued to be the case, though recent research indicates a growing emphasis on children’s literature as a tool to develop literacy as well as an appreciation of the aesthetic value of literature. A third component is the intercultural aspect it is able to offer. Impelled by the paucity of systematic analyses of the representation of Africa in German children’s and youth literature, this dissertation sets out to offer a critical appraisal of intercultural aspects and the image of Africa in contemporary German youth literature. A corpus of literary works has been selected for this purpose. The central thesis of the study is that these literary works are involved in a sustained debate of questioning and contesting numerous representations of Africa and Africans. Given the fact that the study touches on several overarching issues, it draws from diverse theoretical perspectives that include intercultural theories on perceptions of the cultural “other” and “imagology” as well as postcolonial studies, with reflections on the pedagogical nature of youth literature. The study considers intercultural and postcolonial theories as conceptualized by Hofmann (2003; 2010), Mecklenburg (2003, 2006; 2008), Gutjahr (2002; 2010) and Göttsche (2003; 2010; 2011; 2012) as well as considerations on imagology as conceptualized by O’Sullivan (1989; 2000) and Beller (2007). In its exploration of the representation of Africa and Africans, this dissertation shows how literary works make use of diverse artistic, stylistic and narratological strategies and devices as possible ways of presenting and rethinking long-held perceptions about Africa. The present study proposes a reading and an appraisal of the corpus of literary texts as important discursive tools that allow for the expansion of self-conception and definition of otherness and the relationship to this otherness, thus contributing to increased intercultural awareness and competence among young readers. / AFRIKKANSE OPSOMMING: Globalisering en die gepaardgaande krimping van geografiese grense het moderne samelewings algaande omskep in kultureel heterogene ruimtes. Sodoende het toenemende ontmoetings tussen mense van verskillende kulture ʼn normale gebeurtenis geword. Duitsland, geen uitsondering op hierdie sosiokulturele verskynsel nie, was getuie tot die totstandkoming van multikulturele samelewings en dit het gelei tot doelgerigte pogings om interkulturele vaardigheid in alle invloedsfere te ontwikkel. Letterkunde speel ʼn deurslaggewende rol in die verteenwoordiging en oordrag van kultureel bepaalde verbeeldings en persepsies van die “ander”. Hierdie rol word verder beklemtoon in die geval van kinder- of jeugliteratuur, wat ʼn belangrike pedagogiese funksie het. Vir ʼn lang tyd het navorsing in kinder- en jeugliteratuur baie min aandag geniet as ʼn integrale deel van literêre navorsing en dit kan in Engelse sowel as Duitse letterkunde opgemerk word, hoewel die pas van ontwikkeling effens verskil (Hunt 1999; Weinkauff en Glasenapp 2010; Ewers 2000). In Duitsland is die historiese ontwikkeling van kinder- en jeugliteratuur as ʼn outonome veld van letterkunde en van navorsing beïnvloed deur die samelewing se waardes en houdings sowel as persepsies van kindwees. Dit word steeds voorgesit hoewel onlangse navorsing toon dat daar groter klem geplaas word op kinderliteratuur as ʼn manier om geletterdheid asook ʼn waardering vir die estetiese waarde van letterkunde te ontwikkel. ʼn Derde komponent is die interkulturele aspek wat dit kan bied. Aangespoor deur die gebrek aan sistematiese analises van die uitbeelding van Afrika in Duitse kinder- en jeugliteratuur, beoog hierdie proefskrif om ʼn kritiese waardering te bied van interkulturele aspekte en die beeld van Afrika in kontemporêre Duitse jeugliteratuur. ʼn Korpus van literêre werke is geselekteer vir hierdie doel. Die sentrale hipotese van die navorsing is dat hierdie literêre werke betrokke is, dikwels ten spyte van hulself, in ʼn volgehoue debat oor die bevraagtekening en betwissing van verskeie uitbeeldings van Afrika en Afrikane. Die studie raak verskeie oorkoepelende kwessies aan en steun daarom op diverse teoretiese perspektiewe wat interkulturele teorieë oor persepsies van die kulturele “ander” en “beeldstudies” insluit, sowel as postkoloniale studies en beskouings van die pedagogiese aard van jeugliteratuur. Interkulturele en postkoloniale teorieë soos voorgestel deur Hofmann (2003; 2010), Mecklenburg (2003; 2006; 2008), Gutjahr (2002; 2010) en Göttsche (2003;2010; 2011; 2012) asook oorwegings oor “beeldstudies” soos voorgestel deur O’Sullivan (1989; 2000) en Beller (2007) sal in aanmerking geneem word. In die ondersoek na die uitbeelding van Afrika en Afrikane wys hierdie dissertasie hoe literêre werke gebruik maak van diverse artistieke, stilistiese en narratologiese strategieë en middele as moontlike maniere om tradisionele persepsies oor Afrika voor te stel en te heroorweeg. Hierdie studie stel ʼn lees en waardering van die korpus van literêre tekste voor as belangrike diskursiewe instrumente wat ruimte laat vir die uitbouing van selfbeskouing en definisie van andersheid en die verhouding tot hierdie andersheid, om sodoende ʼn bydrae te maak tot die verhoogde kulturele bewustheid en vaardigheid onder jong lesers.

PURPOSE: Gait during obstacle negotiation is adapted in visually normal subjects whose vision is temporarily and unilaterally blurred or occluded. This study was conducted to examine whether gait parameters in individuals with long-standing deficient stereopsis are similarly adapted. METHODS: Twelve visually normal subjects and 16 individuals with deficient stereopsis due to amblyopia and/or its associated conditions negotiated floor-based obstacles of different heights (7-22 cm). Trials were conducted during binocular viewing and monocular occlusion. Analyses focused on foot placement before the obstacle and toe clearance over it. RESULTS: Across all viewing conditions, there were significant group-by-obstacle height interactions for toe clearance (P < 0.001), walking velocity (P = 0.003), and penultimate step length (P = 0.022). Toe clearance decreased (approximately 0.7 cm) with increasing obstacle height in visually normal subjects, but it increased (approximately 1.5 cm) with increasing obstacle height in the stereo-deficient group. Walking velocity and penultimate step length decreased with increasing obstacle height in both groups, but the reduction was more pronounced in stereo-deficient individuals. Post hoc analyses indicated group differences in toe clearance and penultimate step length when negotiating the highest obstacle (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Occlusion of either eye caused significant and similar gait changes in both groups, suggesting that in stereo-deficient individuals, as in visually normal subjects, both eyes contribute usefully to the execution of adaptive gait. Under monocular and binocular viewing, obstacle-crossing performance in stereo-deficient individuals was more cautious when compared with that of visually normal subjects, but this difference became evident only when the subjects were negotiating higher obstacles; suggesting that such individuals may be at greater risk of tripping or falling during everyday locomotion.

In this study human color constancy was tested for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) setups with real objects and lights. Four different illuminant changes, a natural selection task and a wide choice of target colors were used. We found that color constancy was better when the target color was learned as a 3D object in a cue-rich 3D scene than in a 2D setup. This improvement was independent of the target color and the illuminant change. We were not able to find any evidence that frequently experienced illuminant changes are better compensated for than unusual ones. Normalizing individual color constancy hit rates by the corresponding color memory hit rates yields a color constancy index, which is indicative of observers' true ability to compensate for illuminant changes.

Background: When a person has a pattern of psychoactive substance and/or alcohol use that is causing damage to health family members are affected. The quality of life of parents, siblings, children, partners and other relatives may be severely impaired. When young adults transition from child/youth to adult care it involves changes for the patients as well as for relatives. To be able to support relatives, deeper knowledge is needed about the way nurses perceive the situation of relatives. Aim: The aim is to investigate how nurses perceive the situation for relatives when a person is being treated in addiction care, as well as the consequences for relatives when patients are being transferred from children/youth care to adult care.  Method: This is a qualitative study with an inductive approach. Eight semi-structured interviews have been carried out with nurses working within addiction care. The collected data was analysed according to qualitative content analysis. Result: Data analysis resulted in the formulation of two categories, with two sub-categories in each. The first category describes relatives’ situation at transition from child/youth care to adult care with two sub-categories are lack of transparency and changed life situation. The second category describes relatives’ situation with constant worry when having a relative with pattern of psychoactive substance and/or alcohol use. This category formulated with sub-categories psychological burden and social burden. Discussions: The result is discussed in relation to Afaf Ibrahim Meleis’ transition theory and other relevant research. Transition theory provides support for changed life situation of relatives within addiction care, which may be important to know in order to develop nursing care. / Bakgrund: I samband med att en person har ett skadligt bruk av alkohol eller droger påverkas anhöriga. Livskvaliteten kan försämras allvarligt för såväl föräldrar, syskon, barn, partner som andra anhöriga. När unga vuxna byter vårdform och övergår till vuxenlivet sker förändringar för patienten men även deras anhöriga. För att stödja anhöriga till närstående som har ett skadligt bruk av alkohol eller droger behövs fördjupade kunskaper om hur sjuksköterskor uppfattar anhörigas situation. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur sjuksköterskor beskriver anhörigas situation när närstående vårdas i beroendevården samt vad som händer med anhöriga när närstående övergår från barn och ungdomsvård till vuxenvård. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ studie med induktiv ansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med åtta sjuksköterskor verksamma inom beroendevården. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Dataanalysen resulterade i två kategorier med två underkategorier vardera. Den första kategorin är den som beskriver anhörigas situation vid övergång från barn och ungdomsvård till vuxenvård med underkategorier: bristande insyn och förändrad livssituation. Den andra kategorin beskriver anhörigas situation med ständig oro när man har en närstående med skadligt bruk av alkohol eller droger. Denna kategori formuleras i två underkategorier vilka var psykisk merbelastning och social merbelastning. Diskussion: Resultatet diskuteras utifrån Afaf Ibrahim Meleis transitionsteori samt annan relevant forskning. Transitionsteorin ger stöd för den förändrade livssituationen för anhöriga inom beroendevården, vilket kan vara viktigt att känna till för att utveckla omvårdnaden.

This study of atomic-bomb literature on Hiroshima will be through a critical lens, largely through postcolonial theory and reader-response criticism. It will be a discussion on the social and political implications behind the popularization of certain works. The discussed texts will not necessarily be written by the Japanese or by survivors of the atomic bomb: in the first case, I will be examining authorial intent and its relation to the intended reader responses from the implied American audience to study perpetuations of propaganda after the war. This paper will also be examining the interlingual translatability of psychological and physical trauma surrounding the atomic bomb and will be exploring the capacities of language to express an emotional and often sensitive topic.

Ce mémoire porte sur les raisons qu’ont de jeunes adultes québécois de discuter ou non de politique sur Internet. Il s’inscrit dans le contexte général de l’avènement du Web 2.0 et dans le contexte particulier des élections canadiennes de mai 2011. Au niveau théorique, nous avons mobilisé la théorie de l’agir communicationnel du philosophe allemand Jürgen Habermas ainsi que sa conception de la sphère publique. Du point de vue méthodologique, nous avons étudié un échantillon composé de jeunes adultes québécois, hommes et femmes, âgés de 19 à 30 ans, qui habitent à Montréal et dans ses environs. Ces jeunes citoyens ont été interrogés dans le cadre de quatre focus groups. Les données recueillies ont été analysées selon une méthode d’extraction des arguments en accord avec la méthodologie de la reconstruction rationnelle. Les résultats ont permis d’exposer plusieurs raisons qu’ont avancées les jeunes adultes interrogés pour expliquer leur degré de participation à des discussions politiques sur Internet. Celles-­‐ci ont été regroupées en quatre thèmes: le manque de connaissances et l’aspect public; la conscientisation et l’obtention de feedback; la réaction par rapport au contenu, la composition du réseau et la valeur de l’information; le face à face, l’anonymat et les sujets controversés. Ces résultats ont été discutés en considérant ceux obtenus par d’autres chercheurs afin de faire ressortir les apports de cette étude au domaine de la communication. La discussion a également permis d’adopter un point de vue théorique critique pour explorer ce que les résultats de ce mémoire révèlent sur l’état de la sphère publique québécoise. / This master thesis deals with the reasons some young adult Quebecers have to be or not to be involved in political discussions on the Internet. It was written within the general context of the rise of Web 2.0 and within the specific context of the Canadian elections of May 2011. At the theoretical level, we have worked with German philosopher Jürgen Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action along with his conception of the Public Sphere. From a methodological standpoint, we have studied a sample made up of young adult Quebecers, both men and women, aged between 19 and 30, living in Montreal and its surroundings. These young citizens were questioned throughout four focus group sessions. The collected data was analysed with an argument extraction method in accordance with the rational reconstruction methodology. The results allowed us to expose many reasons that could explain the questioned young adults' level of involvement in online political discussion. These reasons were regrouped in four themes: the lack of knowledge and the public aspect; awareness and feedback; reaction based on content, the nature of the network and the value of information; face-­‐to-­‐face conversation, anonymity and controversial topics. In order to highlight the contributions of this study to the field of communication, the results were discussed while considering those obtained by other researchers. The discussion also allowed us to adopt a critical and theoretical point of view to explore what the results of this thesis reveal on the state of the Public Sphere in Quebec.

Ce mémoire porte sur l’efficacité des campagnes sociales sur Internet afin d’encourager les jeunes adultes à voter. La constatation du déclin de la participation électorale des jeunes adultes nous a poussés à vouloir comprendre quels sont les enjeux qui touchent à cette problématique et comment les campagnes sociales incitatives au vote peuvent répondre à un certain besoin. La campagne électorale des élections générales canadiennes du 2 mai 2011, durant laquelle plusieurs outils Internet ont été développés pour inciter la population à voter, le plus connu étant la Boussole électorale, a constitué un contexte clé pour nous permettre d’explorer le sujet. À l’aide des théories sur l’influence des médias et de celles de la persuasion, nous allons mieux comprendre les possibilités qu’offre le Web pour la mobilisation sociale. Deux cueillettes de données ont été faites, soit une première quantitative par questionnaire pour voir le niveau de pénétration de ces outils Internet ainsi que leur appréciation, soit une deuxième qualitative par groupe de discussion afin d’approfondir la problématique de la désaffection politique et d’analyser la pertinence des campagnes sociales incitatives au vote. La mise en commun des résultats nous a permis de comprendre, entre autres, que les campagnes sociales sur Internet peuvent constituer un outil de conscientisation politique dans certaines circonstances et qu’elles peuvent bénéficier des réseaux sociaux comme Facebook et Twitter. Toutefois, le besoin d’éducation civique demeure une solution récurrente lorsqu’on parle d’encourager les jeunes adultes à voter. / This master thesis analyses the effectiveness of social campaigns on the Web that attempt to motivate youth to vote. Political apathy among young adults led us to try to understand how social campaigns reach their public and what stakes are involved in the process. The 2011 Canadian elections were a perfect opportunity to analyse such campaigns given that Internet tools were created to encourage Canadians to vote, the most notable being the Vote compass. With theories on the influence of medias and theories of persuasion, we will trace a portrait of how the Internet can help social mobilization. First, a survey allowed us to understand to what degree young adults were familiar with these Internet tools and if they appreciated them. Then, focus groups were conducted for a better understanding of political apathy and to evaluate the relevance of such social campaigns to motivate youth to vote. Results allowed us to conclude that social campaigns on the Internet could be used as educational tools to foster solid awareness of citizenship issues and that they can profit from social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Captain America and Iron Man are both iconic American heroes, representing different American values. Captain America was created during the Golden Age of comics and represents a longing for the past, while Iron Man was created at the height of the Cold War and looks forward to a new America. This paper will first establish the historical and cultural relationship between comic books and propaganda, beginning with the first appearance of Superman. It will pay special attention to the similarities and differences of Captain America and Iron Man, focusing on their representation of American values over time, and discuss how that aspect of the characters affects their ongoing titles today.

This is a research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Diversity Studies, in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. / Prior to and immediately following 1994, South African youth literature has largely focused on atypical groups, especially young people’s participation in political protest and violence (Marks 2001; Ntsebeza 1993; Seekings 1993; Straker 1992; Van Kessel 2000). The challenge for new research is to grapple more broadly with the question of how young people construct ordinary lives and identities amid the changing and transforming socio-cultural, economic and political landscape. As such, this study aimed to focus on the ordinary, quotidian narratives of youth in an extraordinary place of Marikana, where the massacre of striking mineworkers took place in 2012. Face-to-face, individual interviews were conducted with 8 participants (aged between 19 and 31 years) living in Marikana, including people who were born in or had migrated to Marikana. Both structural and thematic analyses were used to analyse the transcribed texts. The structural analysis was used to examine how poverty plays a role in the form of stories told. The thematic analysis focused on the content of the narratives, drawing linkages across participants’ stories to understand how they make meaning of events and experiences in their lives. The themes identified were organised as follows: Marikana (nostalgia about the place of Marikana, and belonging to the place of Marikana), childhood in Marikana and elsewhere (growing up in Marikana, and growing up elsewhere), families and their structure (single-parent headed and transnational families, (grand)mothers as pillars of family, and (inter)generational absence/presence of fathers), education (lack of funds for schooling), and possibilities for the future (dreams and futures deferred, and fantasies of escape). The findings indicate that the trauma and violence of the Marikana Massacre was remarkably marginal in their narratives. Instead, participants stressed poverty as a systemic problem that is far more pervasive in how they (re)produce(d) their stories. This core finding reveals poverty as a perpetual structural violence, a repeated state of trauma that is inflicted on their lives and reflected in their stories. Further findings show that many biological fathers are absent in the lives of their children, mostly due to migration or death. Consequently, sons follow in their fathers’ footsteps, leaving their new families behind (some becoming transnational parents). This produces a prevalent intergenerational absence of fathers in Marikana. As a result, mothers and grandmothers are the main breadwinners and emotional pillars of the family. / MT2017

This essay aims to study workplace obedience from the perspective of young adults in precarious work environments. The study was delimited to young adults that had experienced what they viewed as irrational management. These informants were interviewed to research the new and largely untested theory of functional stupidity. Functional stupidity means that employees at a workplace can become more functional by minimizing their critical capacities for reflections about the stupid practises that exist in that organization.  Functional stupidity is one mode of obedience that in this essay was researched in the context of cynicism, despair, seduction and authoritarianism (Paulsen, 2017). This was done in an explorative small-scale study with a convenience sample of six informants that had this experience. Their age was 21-27.  The informants were from western industrialized countries in the service sector in private companies with no work security. These informants were interviewed which were than interpreted in a thematic analysis. The major findings were that the informants deliberately move between different modes of obedience including functional stupidity in these workplaces. The context of precariousness made the management very threatening and age was one way used to reproduce stupid practises. The experience of stupid practises is a new aspect that makes the precariousness worse. Age was one factor that formed experience of the different modes of obedience. Age was one way to the set the agenda, individualising organizational problems and central to feeling of having to prove themselves. The major contribution of this study is on one hand test the theory of functional stupidity in a new context and on the other hand to introduce the perspective of stupid practises in the scholarly debate on young adults in precarious work.