Theme (narrative)

About: Theme (narrative) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13050 publications have been published within this topic receiving 159511 citations. The topic is also known as: narrative theme.

Curating South African flute compositions : landscape as theme of exhibition

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Rhetorical uses of theme in newspaper editorials

Abstract: In this paper we look at some ways in which thematization can be used to control hortatory rhetoric. Varying the complexity of thematic structure, for instance, can produce minimalistic, informal text or an academic formal style, reminiscent of Bernstein's restricted and elaborated codes, respectively. More or less discourse participant themes can create an impression of outspokenness or impartiality and marked themes may be a measure of hortatory content in general. We examine how different choices of thematic progression as text organizers can produce different effects. Constant progression, for example, may suit the demagogue, while derived progression is calculated to appeal to a more intellectual audience. Then we find correlations with the problem-solution patterns: different theme types may signal the various sections, and opponents or friends may be attacked or supported by thematizing them within problem or solution sections. Lastly, we draw pedagogical implications from the study.

Information Systems Development: Towards a Service Provision Society

Abstract: This volume of Information System Development, Towards a Service Provision Societyis the published proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Information Systems Development (ISD2008) that was hosted by the Department of Computer Science of the University of Cyprus at the Annabelle Hotel, Paphos, Cyprus from August 25-27, 2008. The theme of the conference was "Towards a Service Provision Society". In total, 131 delegates from 34 different countries registered for the conference, making it a truly international event. Papers presented at the conference strongly reflected the conference theme. Of 165 papers submitted, 99 were presented at the conference, representing an acceptance rate of approximately 60%. All papers were peer reviewed by three or four referees (a total of 543 review reports were submitted, corresponding to an average of 3.29 reviews per paper). Over the course of three days, 28 paper sessions were held, covering a range of areas such as: "Information Systems Engineering & Management", "Business Systems Analysis & Design", "Intelligent Information Systems", "Agile and High-Speed Systems Development Methods", "Enterprise Systems Development & Adoption", "Public Information Systems Development", "Information Systems Development Education", "Information Systems Development in Developing Nations", "Legal and Administrative Aspects of Information Systems Development", "Information Systems Research Methodologies", "Service-Oriented Analysis and Design of Information Systems", "IT Service Management", "Philosophical and Theoretical Issues in Information Systems Development", "Model-driven Engineering in ISD", "Human Computer Interaction (HCI) in Information Systems Development". The book is organised by order of the conference sessions. While all the presented papers were of high quality, we have selected two of them to share the Best Paper Award. The first one is: "Modeling the contribution of enterprise architecture practice to the achievement of business goals" by Marlies van Steenbergen & Sjaak Brinkkemper. The second one is: "Why cant we bet on ISD Outcomes?: ISD "Form" as a Predictor of Success" by Mike Newman, Shan L Pan & Gary Pan. Furthermore, to acknowledge the quality of the reviews he completed, the quality of the paper he submitted, his role as a track and session chair, and his general participation in the conference, we have awarded an Ovreall Contribution Award to Michael Lang of the National University of Ireland, Galway. Details of these awards can be found on the conference Web site at http://isd2008.cs.ucy.ac.cy. Our gratitude is extended firstly to all those who attended and authored work for the conference. The contribution of the International Program Committee was invaluable in identifying track chairs and reviewers to commit to doing vital work. While volunteering to host a conference is a highly personal undertaking, without support it would be impossible. Thus, we wish to thank our sponsors for their financial support and other aid. The ISD conference community has developed over the years a real sense of collegiality and friendliness, perhaps unusually so for a conference. At the same time it has been a stimulating forum where a free exchange of views and perspectives is encouraged. Perhaps what brings the community together is a belief that the process of systems development is important; whether it is systematic or structured or improvised or spontaneous, there is something about the process and the outcomes that excites us. We form a spectrum of thought from those who see the activity as somewhat scientific to others that see it as wholly sociological; we span a divide between abstract and conceptual, to hard code and artefacts somewhere in-between lies the truth. If our work is to make a meaningful contribution to both practice (by teaching students) and research (by sharing our experiences and studies with others), then hopefully this conference will have done a little of the former and much for the latter.

Economic Behaviour in Adversity

Abstract: Conflict, disaster, and destruction despite their historical and current significance have not yet been adequately studied from the economic point of view. "Economic Behaviour in Adversity" brings together ten important essays, several previously unpublished, dealing with the choices people make in times of disaster and conflict. These essays help explain the possibilities and limits of human cooperation under severe environmental pressure. Part I, "Disaster and Recovery," contains previously unpublished studies of major historical catastrophes, among them the Black Death of the fourteenth century, the Civil War in Russia that followed the Bolshevik revolution, and the mass bombing of Germany and of Japan during World War II. Accompanying the historical studies are several analytical papers that interpret the disaster experience. The essays in Part II, "Cooperation and Conflict," represent innovative theoretical analyses based on a common theme that cooperation and conflict are alternative strategies whereby individuals, groups, and different forms of social organization struggle with one another for evolutionary survival. Ultimately, these essays indicate, the political economy of the human species is an instance of Darwin's "economy of nature.""