Musta teksti valkean päällä : pohjatekstit merkityksenantajina Toni Morrisonin romaanissa Beloved

English summary: The significance of intertexts in Toni Morrison's novel Beloved

Unca Don and Unca Scrooge’s Guide to History. Representations of the Past in the Disney Comics of Don Rosa

This thesis studies the various forms and layers of representations of the past that can be found in the Disney comics of Don Rosa. To stay true to the legacy of renowned comic book artist Carl Barks, Rosa has stopped time in the duck universe to the 1950’s: the decade when Barks created his most noted stories. There is a special feel of historicalness in Rosa’s duck stories, as his characters recall events that occurred in both Rosa’s own stories as well as Barks’. Rosa has shed new light to the past of the characters by writing and illustrating the history of Scrooge McDuck, one of the most beloved Disney characters. Rosa is also adamant that the historical facts used in his stories are always correct and based on thorough research. The methodological tools used in the analysis of the comics come from the fields of comic book studies, film theory, and history culture. Film and comics are recognized by many scholars as very similar media, which share elements that make them comparable in many ways. This thesis utilizes studies on historical film, narrative and genre, which provide valuable insight and comparisons for analysis. The thesis consists of three main chapters, the first of which deconstructs the duck universe in the stories in order to understand how the historicalness in them is created,and which outside elements might affect them, including the genre of Disney comics, publishers, and the legacy of Barks. The next chapter focuses on The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck series, i.e. the stories which are located in the past. Such stories feature similar representations of history as for example Westerns. They also compress and alter history to meet the restrictions of the medium of comics. The last part focuses on the adventure stories which draw inspiration from for example mythology, and take the characters to strange and mystical, but yet historical worlds. Such treasure-hunting stories show similarity to the action-adventure genre in film and for example their stereotypical representations of foreign cultures. Finally, the chapter addresses the problematic of historical fiction and its capability to write history.

m-Equine : IS support for the horse industry

The horse industry is in many ways still operating the same way as it did in the beginning of the 20th century. At the same time the role of the horse has changed dramatically, from a beast of burden to a top athlete, a production animal or a beloved pet. A racehorse or an equestrian sport horse is trained and taken care of like any other athlete, but unlike its human counterpart, it might end up on our plate. According to European and many other countries’ laws, a horse is a production animal. The medical data of a horse should be known if it is to be slaughtered, to ensure that the meat is safe for human consumption. Today this vital medical information should be noted in the horse’s passport, but this paperbased system is not reliable. If a horse gets sold, depending on the country’s laws, the medical records might not be transferred to the new owner, the horse’s passport might get lost etc. Thus the system is not fool proof. It is not only the horse owners who have to struggle with paperwork; veterinarians as well as other officials often use much time on redundant paperwork. The main research question of this thesis is if IS could be used to help the different stakeholders within the horse industry? Veterinarians in particular who travel to stables to treat horses cannot always take with them their computers, since the somewhat unsanitary environment is not suitable for a sensitive technological device. Currently there is no common medical database developed for horses, although such a database with a support system could help with many problems. These include vaccination and disease control, food-safety, as well as export and import problems. The main stakeholders within the horse industry, including equine veterinarians and horse owners, were studied to find out their daily routines and needs for a possible support system. The research showed that there are different aspects within the horse industry where IS could be used to support the stakeholders daily routines. Thus a support system including web and mobile accessibility for the main stakeholders is under development. Since veterinarians will be the main users of this support system, it is very important to make sure that they find it useful and beneficial in their daily work. To ensure a desired result, the research and development of the system has been done iteratively with the stakeholders following the Action Design Research methodology.