Browsing by Subject "semiotics"

The purpose of this study was to find out, in retrospect, how the polytechnic students chose their study place and how their conception of the reputation of an educational institute affected their choices during the application process. The study was based on the narrative interviews of 17 first year students from three degree programs of one polytechnic. The analysis of the interviews proceeded in two successive stages. The first stage consisted of a narrative analysis in accordance with the classification of Donald Polkinghorne (1995). In the second stage, the analysis was complemented by A. J. Greimas’ three-level semiotic approach, comprising the discursive, narrative (actantial model) and deep levels. The conclusions were based on both analyses, i.e. on methological triangulation. The narrative analysis prepared the way for the construction of three meta-narratives in accordance with the applicants’ aims. The three aims that guided the applicants’ choices were (i) the up-dating of one’s professional skills, (ii) the choice of a profession and (iii) the taking of a degree in a polytechnic. The semiotic analysis showed two dimensions along which the choices were made. Firstly, the applicants aimed to have a study place in which they could combine both practical skills and theoretical knowledge (pragmatic-professional dimension). Secondly, the analysis also showed that emotions and values affected the choices they made (dimension of social values). The reputation of a polytechnic was considered an important factor of the application process. The applicants’ conception of reputation turned out pragmatic, since the stories they had heard about the daily routines of a polytechnic were regarded as essential for its reputation. The stories about a high number of drop-outs and graduation without employment prospects were considered negative for reputation. The applicants highly valued the information they received directly from the polytechnic students. Grapevine proved to be an effective means of communication, but the applicants also resorted to general information guides and the institutes’ Internet pages, whereas the media’s role turned out less important during the application process. The most important communicational channel was face-to-face communication. E-mail, mobile phone and various platforms in the Internet also provided forums or networks for meeting peers and spreading stories about the polytechnics.

This study explores the spatial structure of power and its dynamics in Hrafnkels saga. The focus lies on how power is manifested and dynamized in space and how the characters place themselves in that spatial structure. Further, this study aims to investigate how well Lotman’s spatial models and theories can be applied to an Icelandic saga. The material consists of the Swedish translation of the saga Islänningasagorna: Samtliga släktsagor och fyrtionio tåtar (2014). Hrafnkels saga is popular amongst researcher, not least due to its simple structure and plot. The saga tells the story of Hrafnkell, a powerful chieftain from eastern Iceland, who loses his power and regains it six years later. Power is an eminent theme in Hrafnkels saga and in the sagas of Icelanders in general. Power is a complex construct comprised of honour, wealth and virility. Thus, someone’s power is dependent on all these components and the interaction between them. Even slight changes within the construct can have a big impact on someone’s status in society. In order to identify the spatial structure of power, a combination of Lotman’s spatial models and semiotic theories is applied to the saga. With the help of the models and theories, spatial structures, borders, elements and the dynamics between them can be identified. They also enable the detection of eventful and uneventful texts as well as mobile and immobile characters within these texts. The analysis shows that the spatial structure of power in Hrafnkels saga is built on two dimensions (up-down and west-east) that undergo a cycle of destruction and reconstruction within three subsemiospheres. The mobile characters Einarr, Sámr, Þorkell and Þorgeirr Þjóstarsson as well as Hrafnkell cross borders and spur the dynamics of power, which leads to a shift in power. The crossing of the borders is only possible with the help of certain recurring, immobile characters that manipulate the mobile characters. The manipulation itself is bound to a system of cycles that consist of recurring elements symbolizing power that manifest themselves in space. Hence, the system of cycles and the recurring, immobile characters are initiating the dynamics of power resulting in the shifts in power in Hrafnkels saga.