456 research outputs found
Place, paradox, and transcendental connection in three of E. M. Forster's novels : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University
E. M. Forster's fiction reflects his own concern with the spirit of place and his seemingly fruitless search for a spiritual reconciliation between people and places. Three novels, Where Angels Fear to Tread, Howards End and A Passage to India, set out how place functions in Forster's fiction. In these, Forster poses what appears to be an insoluble question for the reader, and proves himself reluctant to achieve closure. This reluctance to provide answers to the theme of place is a reflection of the philosophical uncertainty which pervades his fiction. Readers are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions and to negotiate the ambivalence of his novels in order to find their own answers to the baffling nature of life and relationships. Place, in Forster's fiction, contains an unseen force that is almost tangible. It determines the movement of the characters and guides them towards their intended destinations. The characters in his novels are transformed and manipulated by the device of genius loci; yet their changes never enable them to achieve permanent attachments with others nor with places. Although Forster's fiction shows no final harmonious home where ancestry and roots are established, the eponymous house in Howards End offers us a window. In it, the sisters achieve an affinity with place; however, there is still no space in which all of humanity can connect, and paradoxically, exclusion is essential to the final scene of reconciliation. Contradiction and opposition inform all of Forster's fiction. In each novel there are localities which represent the socially-controlled space on the one hand, and on the other, the unfettered region. Although Forster shows a Modernist tendency to nostalgically idealise the past, he continues to search for that delicate equilibrium between people and place. But just as he criticises and praises culture, he sees that the rural regions have their own contradictory attributes. This thesis traces Forster's treatment of place through personal, social, cultural, and spiritual sites, and the search for an esoteric home and transcendental reconciliation, becoming as it does an increasingly tentative and paradoxical theme
TAX REFORM AND REVENUE SHARING CHANGES: FISCAL IMPACTS ON SMALL, RURAL MASSACHUSETTS TOWNS
Public Economics,
Assessing the Effects of Collaborative Professional Learning: Efficacy Shifts in a Three-Year Mathematics Study
Researchers examine the outcomes of professional collaborative inquiry in mathematics on teacher efficacy in a three-year study of teacher professional learning in Canada. The study applies a mixed methods approach involving over 200 teachers and 1000 students as well as case study sites in English and French. The collaborative inquiry-based professional learning program (called CIL-M) focuses on teacher collaboration, mathematics knowledge for teaching, and student mathematical thinking. The program, which was refined annually based on research report recommendations, was found to increase teacher efficacy, student achievement and positive student beliefs.Les chercheurs ont Ă©tudiĂ© les rĂ©sultats dâune enquĂȘte collaborative professionnelle en mathĂ©matiques portant sur lâefficacitĂ© des enseignants et lâapprentissage professionnel du personnel enseignant au Canada. La recherche sâest dĂ©roulĂ©e sur trois ans, a reposĂ© sur une approche de mĂ©thodes mixtes, et a impliquĂ© plus de 200 enseignants, 1 000 Ă©tudiants et des sites dâĂ©tudes de cas en anglais et en français. Le programme dâapprentissage professionnel par investigation vise la collaboration entre enseignants, les connaissances de lâenseignement des mathĂ©matiques et le raisonnement mathĂ©matique chez les Ă©lĂšves. Ce programme a Ă©tĂ© affinĂ© Ă chaque annĂ©e en fonction des recommandations dĂ©coulant du rapport de recherche. On a trouvĂ© quâil augmentait lâefficacitĂ© des enseignants et amĂ©liorait les croyances et le rendement des Ă©lĂšves
Young people leaving out-of-home care in Victoria, Australia: An exploration of factors influencing positive transitions
Young people transitioning from out-of-home care are globally regarded as a vulnerable group due to traumatic experiences pre-care and within the out-of-home care system, stigmatisation by the wider community, and limited and ineffective support beyond 18 years of age. Yet, many care leavers overcome this adversity to achieve positive life outcomes post-care. This exploratory qualitative study examines the views of a small group of care leavers and foster carers within Victoria on the key factors that influenced positive transition outcomes. Particular attention is drawn to the importance of ongoing support from a close relationship with a trusted adult, a sense of belonging within a placement or extended family or community, the value of advocacy by care leavers and their key support persons, and a connected autonomy beyond 18 years which allowed care leavers to assert their independence without losing their âsafety netâ of support. These findings are highly relevant to policy makers given the recent introduction of extended care until 21 years for care leavers in Victoria
Passive Tactile Feedback Facilitates Mental Rotation of Handheld Objects
Mental rotation of objects improves when passive tactile information for the rotating object accompanies the imagined rotation (Wraga, Creem, & Proffitt, 2000). We examined this phenomenon further using a within-subjects paradigm involving handheld objects. In Experiment 1, participants imagined rotating an unseen object placed on their upturned palms. The participants were faster at mental rotation when the object was rotated on their palm than when the object remained stationary. Experiment 2 tested whether the performance advantage would endure when the participants received tactile information for only the start- and endpoints of the rotation event. This manipulation did not improve performance, relative to a stationary control. Experiment 3 revealed that ambiguous tactile information, continuous with the rotation event but independent of object shape, actually degraded performance, relative to a stationary control. In Experiment 4, we found that continuous tactile rotation discrepant from imagined object movement also hindered performance, as compared with continuous tactile information aligned with imagined object movement. The findings suggest a tight coupling between tactile information specifying continuous object rotation and the corresponding internal representation of the rotating object. Copyright 2008 Psychonomic Society, Inc
Femmes autochtones en milieu urbain et violence conjugale : étude exploratoire sur l'expérience et les besoins en matiÚre d'aide psychosociale selon des hommes et des femmes autochtones concernés par cette problématique
La violence conjugale affecte d'une façon particuliĂšre les femmes autochtones du Canada. Les dĂ©marches de demande d'aide rĂ©alisĂ©es en milieux autochtones sont complexifiĂ©es par de nombreuses difficultĂ©s (Agence de la santĂ© publique du Canada, 2008). La fuite vers les rĂ©gions urbaines apparaĂźt une solution Ă considĂ©rer pour Ă©chapper Ă la violence, mais les diffĂ©rents rĂ©seaux d'aide pouvant les accueillir sont considĂ©rĂ©s comme racistes et discriminatoires (FAQ, 2008). Ătant donnĂ© les diffĂ©rents dĂ©fis auxquels les femmes autochtones en milieu urbain et victimes de violence font face, il importe de documenter leur expĂ©rience et leurs besoins. Cette Ă©tude a pour objectif d'explorer l'expĂ©rience des femmes autochtones victimes de violence des rĂ©gions de QuĂ©bec et de MontrĂ©al, en lien avec la problĂ©matique et les diffĂ©rents rĂ©seaux d'aide qui y sont associĂ©s. Elle vise Ă©galement Ă identifier leurs principaux besoins en matiĂšre d'aide psychosociale. Ce mĂ©moire est rĂ©alisĂ© Ă partir de l'analyse des donnĂ©es secondaires extraits d'une recherche sur l'Ă©tat des connaissances et des pratiques auprĂšs des femmes autochtones de QuĂ©bec victimes de violence, menĂ©e par Lyse Montminy, RenĂ©e Brassard, MylĂšne Jaccoud, Elizabeth Harper et Marie-Pierre Bousquet. Le corpus est composĂ© de trois groupes de discussion regroupant les propos de 24 hommes et femmes autochtones de QuĂ©bec et de MontrĂ©al, concernĂ©s par la problĂ©matique de la violence conjugale. Le cadre d'analyse choisi adopte l'angle de l'intersectionnalitĂ©, une thĂ©orie critique permettant l'Ă©tude des diffĂ©rentes manifestations des rapports de pouvoir auxquelles les femmes autochtones sont soumises qui sont impliquĂ©s dans la construction de la problĂ©matique de la violence conjugale chez les Autochtones. L'intersectionnalitĂ© favorise la mise en contexte de l'expĂ©rience des femmes autochtones en milieu urbain victimes de violence et l'analyse de leurs principaux besoins identifiĂ©s: 1) le besoin de mieux connaĂźtre l'aide l'aide disponible; 2) le besoin d'un accompagnement continu; 3) le besoin de faire connaĂźtre la problĂ©matique et le vĂ©cu des femmes autochtones victimes de violence; et, enfin 4) le besoin d'une aide qui tient compte de la rĂ©alitĂ© culturelle des Autochtones. Ces besoins sont perçus comme des processus dynamiques, interdĂ©pendants et variables dans le temps et dans l'espace. Des modes d'intervention et formes d'aide prometteuses permettant de rĂ©pondre Ă ces besoins ont Ă©galement Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©s. Ceux-ci s'inscrivent dans une perspective de conscientisation et d'une action de responsabilisation collective sur la violence conjugale et misent sur l'empowerment et l'autodĂ©termination des femmes autochtones, de leur famille et de leur collectivitĂ©
Projet Dauphine : laisser la parole aux jeunes femmes de la rue et agir ensemble pour lutter contre la violence structurelle par le biais de la recherche-action participative
Cette recherche-action participative sâinscrit dans un paradigme fĂ©ministe intersectionnelle. Elle prĂ©sente la façon dont sept jeunes femmes de la rue (18-23 ans) de QuĂ©bec ont fait lâexpĂ©rience de la violence structurelle et ont dĂ©ployĂ© des stratĂ©gies pour y faire face. Elle sâarticule autour dâune dĂ©finition de la violence structurelle inspirĂ©e de celle proposĂ©e par Farmer, Bourgois, Scheper-Hugues et al. (2004) qui la prĂ©sentent comme Ă©tant le processus Ă la racine des inĂ©galitĂ©s sociales et de lâoppression vĂ©cue par diffĂ©rents groupes sociaux. Ce processus sâopĂšre dans trois dimensions complĂ©mentaires soit : 1) la domination symbolique, 2) la violence institutionnelle et 3) la violence quotidienne.
Une analyse de contenu thĂ©matique a permis de dĂ©gager lâexpĂ©rience des participantes dans chacune de ces dimensions. Lâanalyse de la domination symbolique a montrĂ© que les participantes ont Ă©tĂ© perçues Ă travers le prisme de quatre visions ou prĂ©jugĂ©s : 1) lâimage de la jeune dĂ©linquante (Bad girl), 2) le discours haineux envers les personnes assistĂ©es sociales, 3) la culture du viol et 4) lâhĂ©tĂ©ronormativitĂ©. Les diffĂ©rentes expĂ©riences de violence quotidienne et institutionnelle vĂ©cues par les participantes peuvent ĂȘtre mises en lien avec ces manifestations de la domination symbolique. Les participantes ont expĂ©rimentĂ© la violence institutionnelle Ă travers leurs trajectoires au sein des services de protection de lâenfance, durant leurs dĂ©marches pour obtenir un emploi, un logement ou du soutien financier de la part des programmes offerts par lâĂtat et pendant leurs demandes dâaide auprĂšs dâorganismes communautaires ou dâĂ©tablissements du rĂ©seau de la santĂ© et des services sociaux. Lâanalyse de lâexpĂ©rience des participantes a permis de rĂ©vĂ©ler deux processus imbriquĂ©s de façon cyclique de violence structurelle : lâexclusion et le contrĂŽle social. La plupart des stratĂ©gies
ii
expĂ©rimentĂ©es par les participantes pour combler leurs besoins fondamentaux les ont exposĂ©es au contrĂŽle social. Le contrĂŽle social a exacerbĂ© les difficultĂ©s financiĂšres des participantes et a accru leur crainte de subir de lâexclusion.
Bien que la violence structurelle expĂ©rimentĂ©e par les participantes se situe Ă la croisĂ©e des rapports de pouvoir liĂ©e au genre, Ă la classe sociale, Ă lâĂąge et Ă lâorientation sexuelle, il se dĂ©gage que la domination masculine sâest traduite dans le quotidien des participantes, car lâexclusion et le contrĂŽle social ont crĂ©Ă© des contextes oĂč elles ont Ă©tĂ© susceptibles de subir une agression sexuelle ou de vivre de la violence de la part dâun partenaire intime. Lâanalyse de la dimension intersubjective de la grille dâanalyse de Yuval-Davis (2006) montre la prĂ©sence de certains rapports de pouvoir liĂ©s Ă la classe sociale au sein mĂȘme de la population des jeunes de la rue. Cette analyse souligne Ă©galement la difficultĂ© des participantes Ă dĂ©finir les contours de la violence et dâadopter des rapports Ă©galitaires avec les hommes.
Enfin, le processus de recherche-action participative expĂ©rimentĂ© dans le cadre de cette thĂšse a Ă©tĂ© analysĂ© Ă partir des critĂšres de scientificitĂ© prĂ©sentĂ©s par Reason et Bradbury (2001). LâĂ©laboration de deux projets photos, choisis par le groupe en guise de stratĂ©gie de lutte contre la violence structurelle, a contribuĂ© Ă ouvrir le dialogue avec diffĂ©rents acteurs concernĂ©s par la violence structurelle envers les jeunes femmes de la rue et sâest inscrit dans une perspective Ă©mancipatoire.This participatory action-research shows how seven street involved young women (18-23 years) in Quebec have experienced structural violence and how they deployed strategies to overcome. It is based on a definition of structural violence inspired by Farmer, Bourgois Scheper-Hughes et al., (2004) who presents this as the root of social inequality and oppression experienced by several social groups. This process operates in three complementary dimensions: 1) the symbolic domination, 2) institutional violence, and 3) the daily violence.
A content analysis has identified the participants experience in each of these dimensions. The analysis of symbolic domination revealed that participants were seen through four prejudices: 1) the bad girl, 2) prejudices against welfare recipients, 3) rape culture and 4) heteronormativity. The violence of everyday life and institutional violence experienced by participants may be connected with symbolic domination. Participants experienced institutional violence during their paths within the child protective system, through their efforts to get a job, housing or financial support from government programs, and during their requests for help from community organizations or establishments of the health and social services. It reveals two patterns of structural violence that mutually reinforce each other in a cycle: Social exclusion and social control. Most of participantâs strategies to overcome social exclusion and to fulfill their needs make them vulnerable to social control. Social control helps increase their financial difficulties and their fear of exclusion. These two patterns of structural violence had created context for sexual victimization and intimate partner violence. While structural violence experiences by participants is at the crossroads of power relationship related to gender, social class, age and sexual orientation, it emerges that male domiiv
nance is reflected in participants daily life. The analysis of the intersubjective dimension of Yuval-Davis grid (2006) identifies power relationship within the population of street youth, participants struggle to defining violence and to adopt egalitarian relationships with men.
Finally, an analysis of the participatory action-research process experienced in this thesis was conducted from Reason and Bradbury (2001)âs criteria of validity. The development of two photo projects, selected by the group as a strategy against structural violence, helped open a dialogue with various stakeholders involved in structural violence against street-involved young women
Recommended from our members
A Comparison of Null and Pronominal Anaphora in First Language Acquisition
- âŠ