511 research outputs found
Alien Overtures : Speculating about Nonhuman Experiences with Comic Book Characters
No full textThe fourth chapter, “Alien Overtures: Speculating about Nonhuman Experiences with Comic Book Characters”, continues the experiential line of inquiry introduced in the previous chapter but recombines it with the multimodal storytelling of comics and the tricky, anthropomorphizing concept of the fictional character. More specifically, the article penned by Essi Varis explores – first theoretically and then through a cognitive analysis of Neil Gaiman and J. H. Williams III’s fantastical graphic novel The Sandman: Overture (2015) – whether markedly nonhuman comic book characters are able to convey, or at least gesture toward, nonhuman experiences.
On the one hand, cognitive narrative theory has repeatedly underlined that the ways we think and speak about narratives in general – and characters in particular – are highly subjective and, thus, heavy with human bias. On the other hand, the interactions between reading minds and experimental or imaginative texts can make these limits of our human subjectivity more visible, and even counteract our automatic human-centric assumptions through different techniques of defamiliarization and speculation. The verbal-pictorial hybridity of comics, which enables displaying countless different amalgamations of human and nonhuman traits and viewpoints, is an especially flexible tool for such explorations.peerReviewe
Motivation at the workplace
No full textThe purpose of this master’s thesis was to produce information of the target department’s state of motivation. Also, to explain the issues that affect motivation in a workplace. The objective of this theses was to improve employee’s motivation proactively that can lead to engagement to the employee company. The research was targeted to one specific department that consisted of 31 employees at the time of the research. In the target department there had been problems with high turnover of employees. Motivation was seen by the author as an important theme in working life and the goal of this thesis was to find out issues that explain motivation.
The combination of real-life target department’s experience and theoretical and conceptual background was seen as an appropriate way to research the subject. The theoretical part of the thesis was constructed by getting to know the self-determination theory and the concepts of knowledge work and engagement. The research was conducted by a mixed method research design. Data was gathered by a survey by using a questionnaire.
The results of this thesis showed that the content of the work, ability to influence one’s own work and pay and benefits were the most important issues that affected motivation in the target organization. The theory used and the concepts analysed supports the findings of this research.
The state of motivation was seen to be on a good level in the target organization but there came up some suggestions that could help to maintain and develop good motivation in the future. The most important lesson was seen as being the importance of a more individualistic view to motivation needs. Conversations between the team-leader and employee were seen as an important way to find out what could be done to improve overall motivation.
In the future, this type of motivation survey can be used to repeatedly give information of the status of motivation and lead to deeper conversations inside the department. This is seen as a tool to increase engagement to the organization
Staff perspectives on working with Aboriginal offenders who self-injure: What works, what doesn’t, and the role of culture
No full text
A culturally-informed and culturally-safe exploration of self-injury desistance in Aboriginal offenders
No full textTribological properties of plasma sprayed Cr2O3, Cr2O3–TiO2, Cr2O3–Al2O3 and Cr2O3–ZrO2 coatings
No full textPlasma sprayed Cr2O3 is widely used to protect industrial components against wear. The present study seeks to clarify how its properties can be modified by alloying with other oxides. Therefore, pure Cr2O3 and Cr2O3–25%TiO2, Cr2O3–16%Al2O3, Cr2O3–35%Al2O3, Cr2O3–10%ZrO2 and Cr2O3–20%ZrO2 coatings were studied. All samples were obtained from pre-alloyed feedstock, resulting in rather homogeneous solid solutions. Compared with pure Cr2O3 and Cr2O3–Al2O3 coatings, the Cr2O3–25%TiO2 and Cr2O3–ZrO2 ones exhibit lower indentation hardness (HIT) but higher toughness, qualitatively assessed by scratch testing. Cr2O3 and Cr2O3–16%Al2O3 also exhibit higher hardness/elastic modulus ratios (HIT/E*, HIT3/E*2) than all other samples. The sliding wear resistance of the coatings against Al2O3 and ZrO2 balls is most closely correlated to indentation hardness and, secondarily, to the hardness/modulus ratios. Pure Cr2O3 is therefore the most sliding wear resistant of all samples, whilst Cr2O3–25%TiO2 suffers very severe wear. However, ZrO2 counterparts cause systematically more severe wear than do Al2O3 ones. Dry particles' abrasion, which proceeds through flake formation, is controlled by toughness. The resistance to abrasive wear is, therefore, predicted by scratch testing. The various coatings rank almost the opposite as they did in sliding wear tests, with comparatively lower wear losses for Cr2O3–25%TiO2 and (most of all) Cr2O3–ZrO2 samples
Public deviance: An experimental study
No full textDiscusses social deviance within a sociocultural framework and the level of honesty of the public, citing an experimental study of 125 convenience store cashiers in Ottawa, Canada, as evidence that employment offers no guarantee of acceptable social behavior. In almost 1 out of every 6 cases, the cashier failed to return the appropriate change due to an investigator who feigned forgetfulness. No gender-based differences in behavior of the cashiers were observed. Although the apparent level of honesty was not inordinately high, it was not negligibl
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