Showing papers on "Theme (narrative) published in 1985"

Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea

Abstract: The idea that human thinking and machine computing are "radically the same" provides the central theme for this marvelously lucid and witty book on what artificial intelligence is all about. Although presented entirely in nontechnical

Zen and Western Thought

Abstract: ‘Zen and Western Thought’ is one of the intellectual areas which must by all means be studied and elucidated in today’s world. And yet it is an extremely difficult subject. To deal, in all its ramifications, with this theme which is so vast and difficult to grasp in its core, is quite beyond the powers of the present writer. I shall attempt here only a preliminary sketch with the hope that I can revise it in the future after I have obtained the criticisms of my learned readers.

Flies and Germs: A Geography of Knowledge

Abstract: This little vignette in which the child uses what knowledge is available to her to interpret her mother’s interdiction, illustrates the central theme of this chapter, namely that what we know is an important constraint on what we can think and do. It also illustrates two other important themes which grow out of and into this central theme. The first is that knowledge is historically specific. Thus, before 1871, knowledge of ‘germs’ did not exist.2 The mother could not have known of their presence and the child would not have had to answer her interrogator. Second, knowledge is geographically specific. Even now, the knowledge of germs does not stretch everywhere in the world and in these nescient places mothers do not have to tell their children something they cannot know.

The Oxford companion to Australian literature

Abstract: A comprehensive account of Australian literature from the first settlement in 1788 to the current day, this book represents the most important achievements in Australian poetry, drama, and fiction as well as non-fictional prose--journals, diaries, biographies, and autobiographies--and details the impact on the writing caused by those historical events that often serve as a work's theme. More than 3,000 informative entries cover subjects such as transportation, exploration, gold discoveries, bushranging, and outback ethos, all of which played a part in the development of the continent's literature as did the pervasive presence and influence of the Aboriginal culture. Entries range from lengthy articles on special topics to brief factual paragraphs explaining words or references. Also provided is information and reference sources on important past and contemporary writers as well as anything and everything that may have influenced their development: the growth of publishing and periodicals; the impact of movements such as nationalism, racialism, and feminism; and the contributions made by booksellers, critics, and literary associations. A major new Oxford Companion, this book makes an intriguing new genre of literature accessible to all readers.

Thematic metaphors in relational communication: A conceptual framework

Abstract: A framework is presented for analyzing the role of episodic communication in relationship construction. The framework consists of two key concepts: metaphor and theme. A detailed case study is presented to support and illustrate the framework. Conceptual linkages are made between main metaphors (such as “relationship is captivation,” “relationship is worship”) and themes (such as “commitment,” “manipulation,” “respect”). The external systematicity between these metaphors and themes also is discussed.

Signifying Acts: Structure and Meaning in Everyday Life

Abstract: The theme of "Signifying Acts "is that social acts are created by human agents engaging in signifying gestures and eliciting determined responses from which flow a number of consequences. This theme is developed by a critical synthesis of various strands of early and contemporary thought in symbolism, meaning, language, and grammar. These strands have been classified as pragmatism and interactionism, structuralism and grammatical theoryPerinbanayagam brings together for the first time the writings of G. H. Mead and his followers, who label their efforts symbolic interactionism, and the recent developments in the philosophical and anthropological studies of mind and meaning. Through his wide-ranging analysis, he demonstrates the sociological relevance of Chomsky, Derrida, and Searle and particularizes their contributions to a more comprehensive theoretical framework. The interdisciplinary scope of his thesis recalls Ernest Becker s "Birth and Death of Meaning, "and his stylistic flair will stimulate readers at all levels of sophistication."

The Ritual Establishment of Home

Abstract: The theme of this essay is centered upon ritual processes involved in the transformation of inert physical and spatial fabric into living, participating, and richly experienced home places. Through such rituals not only is the physical environment transformed but so too are the human participants and their relationships with the changed place. This theme emerged from my studies of Pueblo house-building procedures and, although these studies focused upon the Pueblo world during the past 100 years, there appear to be lessons for learning about homes in other cultures and times (Saile, 1977, 1985).

The Figure of the Reader in Petrarch's Secretum

Abstract: A NUMBER OF critics have recently argued that the aim of literary studies should be not the interpretation of individual texts but the study of the conventions of interpretation, and thus of the production and reception of texts, in different historical periods.2 Scholars in the field of Renaissance studies have accordingly made renewed attempts to characterize the changing role of the reader from the early Italian to the later Northern Renaissance. Both Terence Cave and Cathleen Bauschatz have suggested that the active role of the reader is only recognized in the sixteenth century. Before that time, the text itself is seen to be authoritative and the reader the passive recipient of its meaning.3 Whether this reception is governed by a patristic, Augustinian notion of allegory or by a conservative Ciceronianism, the imperative is the disappearance of the reader as a "willful, independent subject" (Cave 150). In Augustinian terms, the problematic act of reading is replaced by an "epiphany of grace": "caritas equals claritas." With Erasmus, Rabelais, and Montaigne, on the other hand, an active rhetoric of quotation is said to emerge from the earlier passive or submissive practice of imitation (Cave 156).4 The literary text is no longer the privileged authority but, rather, something to be dismantled or plundered by would-be authors who, in critically appropriating other texts, redefine the roles of the eventual readers of their own. The redefinition is apparent not least of all, according to Cave, in the fact that "the figure of the reader emerges in textual practice" (152). In other words, the reader in the act of making sense is a theme of sixteenth-century texts in a way that is not true of earlier works. The first problem with this "history" is that it ignores the programmatic statements and rhetorical practice of the early quattrocento humanists who were concerned about defining reading not simply as an act of allegorical or Ciceronian appropriation but as the productive, practical exercise of the reader's judgment (see Kahn, "Pontano's Rhetoric" and "Rhetoric of Faith"). In fact, it was because these authors recognized the potential arbitrariness of interpretation that they wanted to engage and thereby actively educate the reader. Furthermore, this process of education was seen to be not only compatible with but actually dependent on the rhetoric of quotation (i.e., the willful manipulation of prior texts) that Cave and others find characteristic of sixteenth-century works. What is new in the sixteenth century is not the stress on the activity of reading but the refusal, by some authors, to make moral and pedagogical claims for that activity. Yet ambivalence about these claims, an ambivalence embodied in the literary representation of the reader, is apparent in many works of the early Renaissance. This ambivalence leads us to the second problem with Cave's and Bauschatz's histories. While the suppression of the act of reading may be the ideal in some texts of the earlier Renaissance, there are so many exceptions-so many ironic commentaries on this hermeneutic utopia-that the argument soon loses all heuristic value. As the epigraph from the Familiares illustrates, Petrarch in particular was aware of reading as a dangerous activity, one that could only succeed if guided by divine truth, that is,

Surplus, Labor, and Stress in Late Classic Maya Society

Abstract: A persistent theme in Maya studies is that the political, social, and economic systems of the Late Classic Maya were heavily stressed by elite demands, contributing to their collapse in the 7th--8th centuries A.D. This article investigates, in a systemic fashion, the relationships between energy flow, stress, and major social, political, and economic structural components of Late Classic Maya systems. New data from the recent Copan project are brought to bear on issues of economic and sociopolitical structure. The conclusion is that elite engendered stresses probably contributed only slightly to a syndrome of fundamental ecological problems.

Do We Really Know What ‘The Family’ Is?

Abstract: The theme of this book not only implies a relationship between family life and economic life but also presupposes a clear understanding of the two concepts of ‘family’ and ‘economy’. This chapter focuses upon the former concept and will present evidence and argument to support the contention that we are, as scholars and as everyday participants, remarkably ignorant about family life. Following this, it will be made clear that a critical reappraisal of the nature of family life is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of an adequate understanding of the relationship between family life and economic life. Further, it is concluded that the issues of ideology and the social construction of reality are both central to any examination of this relationship.

A Bormannean Fantasy Theme Analysis of “The Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous

Abstract: Utilizing fantasy theme analysis, this study examined the rhetoric of The Big Book, the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous. This study suggests the rhetorical vision of AA may be described as Alcoholism as Treatable Illness of Body, Mind, and Soul. The accompanying fantasy themes of dramatis personae, setting, plotline, and sanctioning agent are delineated. In addition, this essay argues that the rhetorical vision of AA is a variation of the rhetorical form “Fetching Good Out of Evil” suggested by Bormann (1977).

Chaucer on interpretation

Abstract: Chaucer on Interpretation enters the current dialogue about whether modern literary theory can illuminate medieval works. Dr Fester argues that the insights of modern phenomenological hermeneutics can enrich our understanding of Chaucer and shows that interpretation is one of the central concerns of his poems. The book demonstrates that the hermeneutical circle is a model for the interdependent relationship between self and other, between characters, between the poet and his literary sources and between a poem and its readers. Ferster shows how Chaucer examines different aspects and consequences of the hermeneutical circle and its implications for personal identity, political power and literary meaning. Taking interpretation as a theme, she gives readings of the Knight's Tale, the Parliament of Fowls, the Clerk's Tale, the Wife of Bath and the narrative frame of the Canterbury Tales.

The Way of the Physician

Abstract: This address to practising doctors discusses matters of medical ethics, but is especially aimed at re-establishing idealism in the face of increasing disillusionment and materialism among physicians. The main theme of the book is the question - what is it to be a healer rather than a mechanical fixer of bodies? Typically, this book transcends medicine and broaches principles which apply generally.

Questions and Answers: ACSM 1985.

Abstract: 'The unanswered question' seemed to be the theme at the 1985 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, last May. Our reporters look at three symposiums and one colloquium.

Spatial Structure and Behavior Response in Outdoor Recreation Participaton

Abstract: A central theme in outdoor recreation has been the development of general models that can be used to forecast future participation levels. These models have traditionally included measures of dista...

Blooming and Contending: Chinese Literature in the Post-Mao Era

Abstract: Chinese literature has been the slave of politics at least since 1948 and especially during the Cultural Revolution. So repressed and convoluted is most Chinese literature that the West cannot read it as literature at all but rather as sociological and political texts. Professor Duke believes this has changed enough since 1977 to permit genuine literary analysis. This book surveys and analyzes the most important literary events in the PRC from 1977 to 1982. Chapter I covers the significant changes in the Chinese Party line on literature and art during this period and thus provides the backdrop for literary and artistic endeavor. Subsequent chapters deal with the critique of Chinese literature by China's own writers, the neo-realistic fiction of 1979-80, the nonfiction works of a courageous investigative reporter for "The People's Daily", and the theme of humanism and its treatment in the works of Bai Hua and Dai Houying. The final chapter discusses the post-Mao generation of young writers, who are trying to create works that go beyond narrowly ideological boundaries of the past and reach toward a true modern Chinese literature.

Phantasy in Everyday Life: A Psychoanalytical Approach to Understanding Ourselves

Abstract: This text is mainly concerned with Melanie Klein's contribution to the field and with the everyday application of her theories. Central to the author's theme is this concept of phantasy - the unconscious fantasies which control our assumptions, our thoughts, our emotions and our behaviour.

Designing for Quality.

Abstract: Mention "quality" in higher education today and someone immediately steps forward with an opinion on the subject. Much has been said about examining, assessing, and supporting quality in our colleges and universities. Most composers on the theme of qual­ ity begin on discordant notes like "fewer students, less money, fewer satisfied faculty and administrators, less public support," proceed to variations on the theme with chords of "stress and strain, restraint and constraint," and attempt to end with a chorus of "quality, quality, quality." Although some valuable information has come out of the swelling chorus, a problem remains amid these blending tones: if ex­ treme care for quality is not present, all of the creative efforts that have gone before that could aid in interpreting it anew will dissolve into little more than noise. Concepts of quality, like all enduring works, need an organizing design. The proof of the design resides in the vitality of the original theme - its fit amid successive reconceptualizations and replayings. This article presents a framework for reflecting on, assessing, and improving institutional quality in American higher education. Although drawing on the current literature, we go beyond extant writings to suggest a dynamic approach to people designing for quality in colleges and universities. To this end, our discussion unfolds in five parts: the first offers a perspective for design; the second examines extra-institu­ tional approaches to quality and their relevance to designing for quality; the third explores the need for continuous quality assessment; and the remaining two sections elaborate a design framework.

The rhetoric of romance: A fantasy theme analysis of Barbara Cartland novels

Abstract: This essay explores as rhetoric the romance novels of bestselling author Barbara Cartland. Arguing that formula romances are a source of powerful influence, the author applies fantasy theme analysis to thirteen Cartland novels. The analysis reveals a vision which teaches readers three lessons about malelfemale relationships. First, desirable women are vulnerable, tractable, nurturing, self‐sacrificing, and spiritual. Second, undesirable women are assertive, persistent, independent, immoral, and sexual. Third, true love is powerful because it is based in female fear and sanctioned by a superhuman force. The author argues that the Cartland vision provides readers with stability and validation for traditional role models in a time of sex role confusion and transition.

The Africa theme in Trinidad Calypso

Abstract: (1985). The Africa Theme in Trinidad Calypso. Caribbean Quarterly: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 67-86.