Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [41]).

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

1990 was International Literacy Year. A decade later, both our essential understandings of what 'literacy' means and our approaches to literacy have developed immensely. We now know that literacy is situated and multiple, complex and ideological; it is no singular, autonomous entity but an intricate mosaic of practices. It is part of the rich and varied social tapestry that is fashioned through the playing out of lives. This text explores some of the social practices of literacy in rural communities of Usulutan, El Salvador. It aims to form part of the New Literacies body of work, by taking an ethnographic / ideological approach to the study of literacy. Its main substantive foci are firstly, the uses of 'local' literacies as they relate to the socio-political and cultural environment of rural Usulutan, and secondly, the ways in which existing and imported discourses are taken up and used by people in Usulutan according to their own determined agendas, conceptualisations and visions. The study seeks to reveal the diversity and dissonance within local ideologies and literacy practices that seem often to lie hidden in research. It takes as its theoretical framework Bakhtin's noticon of discourse, to explore the meanings which are created when dominant and subordincated discursive streams meet and challenge one another. Experience in Usulutan has revealed that 'literacy' here is a totemic creation of discourses, an invention of ideology, actualised through its continuing iteration by dominant voices. This discourse of power is critiqued by the voices of adults in the rural communities of Usulutan, who engage with literacy as part of their creative strategies in negotiating struggles for resources and positioning within relationships. It forms a dynamic part of the imaginative and ingenious management of lives. This study has found that labels such as 'literate' and 'illiterate' cannot capture the extensive range of practices which are ongoing as people act out their own cultural texts within the complex and ever-changing social world of Usulutan. It contests autonomous notions of literacy as a site of deficit or deprivation, and challenges oversimplified views of literacy as 'empowerment'. Instead, it constructs a vision of local literacies in Usulutan as performances, as part of an original and inventive process of reshaping the social fabric and challenging subordination. Literacies form in this arena a site for the recreation of history and the construction of identity; they are not only reflective of social process but a powerful force for 'marching onwards'. The experiences in whcih this text is grounded have revealed that the struggle for voice int his corner of the world is no polarized conflict of 'oppression', no binary battle of wills, but rather a reflection of the fluid and shifting boundaries of language. Dominant and subordinated streams of discourse meet, reshape and co-construct each other ont he vast, uncertain plain of dialogue; Bakhtin's 'living and unrepeatable' play of language and light. It is here, at the moment of discursive encounter, and in the surrounding intricacies of social practices, that hte most powerful and meaningful of Geertz's webs of human significance are spun.

No description available.

Prepared by the Arid Lands Information Center, Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona ; Steven L. Hilty, compiler.

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Gestión y Políticas Públicas / La problemática del aislamiento y la segregación que se produce en las ciudades latinoamericanas como parte de su morfología, las dinámicas económicas y productivas, así como el contexto de la sociedad que, se ve reflejada en las condiciones de vida en los grupos de vulnerabilidad y de manera más específicas en las mujeres, ha sido una preocupación que persiste en los gobiernos de la región. Debido a esta preocupación se han implementado diversas medidas a nivel internacional para dar solución al problema. Entre ellas destaca el Modelo de Servicios Integrados , llevado a cabo por el Gobierno de El Salvador, a través de Ciudad Mujer , modelo novedoso y sistematizado que ofrece servicios integrados y especializados, bajo un mismo techo, a las mujeres salvadoreñas para el mejoramiento de su calidad de vida. Al tener en cuenta los puntos anteriores, la presente tesis tiene por objetivo analizar desde un enfoque de intervención del espacio público, el diálogo que guarda el Modelo de Ciudad Mujer con la influencia derivada de los Principios Unificadores del Enfoque de Derechos Humanos, convirtiéndolo en un factor vital para brindar servicios a las mujeres en situación de vulnerabilidad. El análisis se realizó a través de un enfoque cualitativo de Estudio de Caso. Los resultados se sustentan en entrevistas semiestructuradas (19), distribuidas entre las usuarias del programa, funcionarias de la entidad ejecutora, técnicos gubernamentales, así como técnicos financieros. También, se desarrolló el análisis de diversas fuentes de información acerca del diseño y el funcionamiento del programa, con la finalidad de establecer la trayectoria de la intervención del espacio público; aportando una propuesta de referencia para futuros estudios. Entre los principales resultados del estudio, se constata que la multiplicidad de criterios técnicos y políticos, coincidieron para viabilizar los procesos de intervención del espacio público, sin modificar el Enfoque de Derechos Humanos del modelo. Los centros de Ciudad Mujer, redujeron las barreras para acceder a los servicios, resaltando principios trascendentales como accesibilidad, integración y territorialidad. Por otra parte, los elementos principales que permiten que el modelo pueda ser replicable en otros contextos se concentran en el buen trato, la armonía y la innovación.

Many development organizations now recognize the importance of culturally sensitive project design and implementation. Unfortunately most of these groups continue to disregard the significance of gender. This qualitative research examines a women's cooperative in rural El Salvador which formed in order to find a means of generating income and to improve the general status of women in this region. One purpose of this qualitative research was to investigate what, if any, economic and social benefits the cooperative members received through their involvement. Another purpose was to analyze the models of development employed by the agencies involved in implementing four cooperative projects, as well as the member's attitudes toward those projects. Data presented in this thesis was collected during a fifteen-month period in 1994 and 1995, and a one-month period in 1998. Twenty-six cooperative members were interviewed in 1998. The four projects investigated include cows and nutrition, land and reforestation, artisan crafts and corn mills. These findings indicate that the empowerment model of development, in which self-reliance is maintained and strategic gender needs are met through mobilizing around practical gender needs, is the most successful. Focusing on local knowledge and preserving the agency of the target population are critical to project success. The findings also show that social power is attained by many women in the cooperative as increased self-esteem and involvement lead to gaining a legitimate voice in community affairs. Economic power, however, is only achieved by maintaining a paid leadership position within the cooperative. This research makes recommendations centered on improved access to credit. / Graduation date: 2001

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Global Affairs." Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-180).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Sociology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 357-369). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ59144.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 362-389).