The Appalachian region has long been regarded as an economically disadvantaged area, with a lower percentage of individuals pursuing higher education than in the nation as a whole . Improving the educational status of residents of Appalachia may foster some economic transition in the region, shifting the employment focus from an unskilled labor emphasis to more professional and career opportunities. Better understanding of the influences in the decision processes of Appalachian students is needed in order to design and implement intervention programs to increase enrollment in higher education. The concept of possible selves is introduced as a way to examine individuals' goals and beliefs about themselves in future contexts. Other factors (academic preparation, family, and culture) influencing the decision regarding college attendance were considered and evaluated in relation to possible selves. A model was developed to examine the influences of academic preparation, family, and culture on Appalachian students' educational goals and aspirations, as they are mediated by possible selves. It was hypothesized that the mediated influences model sufficiently predicts students' plans for college attendance. Statistical analysis and a revision of the original model were conducted, and results indicate that the model was adequately supported. Interpretations for these results were offered, and implications and limitations of the study were discussed.

The advancement of quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) technology depends on optimizing directional charge transfer between light absorbing quantum dots, TiO2, and a redox mediator. Kinetically, reduction of oxidized quantum dots by the redox mediator should be rapid and faster than the back electron transfer between TiO2 and oxidized quantum dots to maintain photocurrent. Thermodynamically, the reduction potential of the redox mediator should be sufficiently positive to provide high photovoltages. To satisfy both criteria and enhance power conversion efficiencies, we introduced charge transfer spin-crossover MnII/III complexes as promising redox mediator alternatives in QDSSCs. High photovoltages ~ 1 V were achieved by a series of Mn poly(pyrazolyl)borates, with reduction potentials ~0.51 V vs Ag/AgCl. Back electron transfer rates were slower than Co(bpy)3, where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine. This is indicative of a large barrier to recombination imposed by spin-crossover in these complexes. By capitalizing on these characteristics, efficient MnII/III-based QDSSCs can be achieved with more soluble Mn-complexes. In hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells (HBHJs), light-absorbing conjugated polymers are interfaced with films of nanostructured TiO2. Photovoltaic action requires photoelectrons in the polymer to transfer into the TiO2, and therefore, polymers are designed with lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels higher in energy than the conduction band of TiO2 for thermodynamically favorable electron transfer. Currently, the energy level values used to guide solar cell design are referenced from the separated materials, neglecting the fact that upon heterojunction formation material energetics are altered. With spectroelectrochemistry, we discovered that spontaneous charge transfer occurs upon heterojunction formation between poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and TiO2. It was determined that deep trap states in TiO2 accept electrons from P3HT and form hole polarons in the polymer. This equilibrium charge separation alters energetics through the formation of interfacial dipoles and results in band bending that inhibits desired photoelectron injection into TiO2, limiting HBHJ solar cell performance. New guidelines for improved photocurrent are proposed by tuning the energetics of the heterojunction to reverse the direction of the interfacial dipole, enhancing photoelectron injection. / Master of Science

Scholarly work on international mediation suggests that how third parties mediate influences the resolution of armed conflicts. However, our understanding of what explains mediator style is limited. This dissertation addresses this gap by offering the first systematic study on explanations for mediator styles at the level of the individual. It explores the research question: what explains mediator styles of individuals mediating for peacemaking organizations in armed conflicts? Mediator style is studied as themes in goals and behaviors along two dimensions: directiveness and orientation. Directiveness covers a mediator's use of leverage and varies from non-directive to directive, while orientation covers a mediator's prioritized type of outcome and varies from relationship-oriented to settlement-oriented. The dissertation develops a theoretical framework on the effects of conflict context and mediator characteristics on mediator style. It formulates a set of theoretical expectations concerning how context in the form of conflict intensity, and characteristics such as the mediator's background profile and personality, influence mediator style. The framework is evaluated and developed based on the findings of a mixed-method design combining a survey experiment and 46 semi-structured in-depth interviews with a broad variety of IGO and NGO mediators. The results on context suggest that high-intensity conflicts make mediators on average more directive than low-intensity conflicts as a result of heightened humanitarian concerns. Furthermore, on characteristics, high-profile mediators are shown to be overall more settlement-oriented than low-profile mediators as a result of their views on conflict causes and mediator accountabilities. These findings are complemented with evidence for contingent relationships between conflict intensity, mediator personality and directiveness as well as conflict intensity, mediator profile and orientation. The study thus contributes with a refined understanding of the mediator styles of international mediators that both facilitates its further scholarly exploration and provides input to the practice of peacemaking.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-12-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:41:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_rj_dr_mar.pdf: 4184353 bytes, checksum: 96549d12b0ce8d95c2b4dc9bc62d1628 (MD5) / Esta tese apresenta uma proposta de formação do mediador de leitura que atua em biblioteca escolar. Desde sua origem, este estudo tomou dimensões teórico-práticas da pesquisa-ação, uma vez que houve a intervenção na Rede Municipal de Ensino de Londrina, por meio da estruturação do projeto de leitura Bibliotecas Escolares: Palavras Andantes no período de 2002/2004. Posteriormente, em Barcelona de 2005/2006, foram coletados dados a respeito da mediação de leitura em duas bibliotecas escolares, a fim de estabelecer uma correlação dese processo entre Barcelona e Londrina/PR. Além disso, foram entrevistados professores participantes do referido Projeto e especialistas das áreas de leitura, formação de leitores e biblioteca escolar do Brasil e da Espanha, respectivamente: Edmir Perrotti, Regina Zilberman, Teresa Colomer e Teresa Mañà. As conclusões obtidas no estudo apontam para a necessidade de fundamentar a prática do professor mediador com conteúdos voltados à concepção de leitura e suas relações com a do ato de ler na biblioteca da escola. / The thesis presents a proposal for reading mediator formation, who directly acts at school libraries. The methodology used was the action research approach, which is divided into two periods. During the first period (2002/2003), the research was based on the Bibliotecas Escolares: Palavras Andantes (School Libraries: Walking Words) project, which is an initiative of the public educational system of the Londrina Municipality in Brazil. The second period (2005/2006) was located in Barcelona, Spain. The study has collected data regarding mediation activities in two Spaniard library schools, in order to establish a correlation of this process between Barcelona and Londrina. During the research, project participants and specialists in the field were interviewed in Brazil an Spain. The names are: Edmir Perrotti; Regina Zilberman; Teresa Colomer; and Teresa Mañà. The work conclusion presents that the reading mediator requires a bond among three aspects: the reading practice itself, the literature concept, and the relation betweem the initial two aspects with the reading experience in the school library.

<p style="text-align: justify;">Извршено је моделирање и имплементација&nbsp;система који омогућава претраживање и&nbsp;преузимање библиотечких записа по&nbsp;дефинисаним стандардима. Систем је базиран&nbsp;на сервис-оријенисаној архитектури и&nbsp;mediator/wrapper шаблону. Систем је&nbsp;имплементиран у програмском језику Java, а&nbsp;модел је приказан у UML 2.0 нотацији. У&nbsp;оквиру система развијени су сервиси који&nbsp;представљају серверске стране за протокол&nbsp;Z39.50 и SRU и развијена је посебна&nbsp;софтверска компонента која омогућава&nbsp;интеграцију тих сервиса са постојећим&nbsp;библиотечким системом. Верификација овог&nbsp;система извршена је интеграцијом у&nbsp;софтверски систем БИСИС верзије 4.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Такође, показано је да се упит формиран&nbsp;помоћу Z39.50 упитног језика може&nbsp;трансформисати у упит који је дефинисан SRU&nbsp;упитним језиком. Дата је и трансформација&nbsp;SRU упитног језика у Lucene упитни језик. Дат&nbsp;је предлог проширења SRU стандарда у циљу&nbsp;да се овај стандард користи и за комуникацију<br />између клијента и сервера када је потребно&nbsp;снимање података у удаљену базу података.</p> / <p style="text-align: justify;">Izvršeno je modeliranje i implementacija&nbsp;sistema koji omogućava pretraživanje i&nbsp;preuzimanje bibliotečkih zapisa po&nbsp;definisanim standardima. Sistem je baziran&nbsp;na servis-orijenisanoj arhitekturi i&nbsp;mediator/wrapper šablonu. Sistem je&nbsp;implementiran u programskom jeziku Java, a&nbsp;model je prikazan u UML 2.0 notaciji. U&nbsp;okviru sistema razvijeni su servisi koji&nbsp;predstavljaju serverske strane za protokol&nbsp;Z39.50 i SRU i razvijena je posebna&nbsp;softverska komponenta koja omogućava&nbsp;integraciju tih servisa sa postojećim&nbsp;bibliotečkim sistemom. Verifikacija ovog&nbsp;sistema izvršena je integracijom u&nbsp;softverski sistem BISIS verzije 4.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Takođe, pokazano je da se upit formiran&nbsp;pomoću Z39.50 upitnog jezika može&nbsp;transformisati u upit koji je definisan SRU&nbsp;upitnim jezikom. Data je i transformacija&nbsp;SRU upitnog jezika u Lucene upitni jezik. Dat&nbsp;je predlog proširenja SRU standarda u cilju&nbsp;da se ovaj standard koristi i za komunikaciju<br />između klijenta i servera kada je potrebno&nbsp;snimanje podataka u udaljenu bazu podataka.</p> / <p> Modeling and implementation of software system for retrieval of bibliographic records using defined standard has been done. System is based on service &ndash; oriented architecture as well as on mediator/wrapper architecture. System implementation is realized in programming language Java and modelling of system is performed using UML 2.0. Also, services presenting server side of protocols Z39.50 and SRU have been developed. In addition, software component based on mediator approach used for connecting services for retrieval with legacy system is developed. Verification of described system is done by integration of that system into library system BISIS, version 4. Moreover, it is proved that transformations of Z39.50 query into SRU query are possible, and it has been made a suggestion how to transform SRU query into Lucene query. Also, it has been made suggestion how to extend existing SRU standard in order to use that extension when it is necessary to update bibliographic records on remote databases via Internet.</p>

Text in German / This thesis takes as a starting point the societal change in Germany with its concomitant economic risks for substantial parts of the population. Evangelical churches in Germany have yet to react to this change. While the relationship between social work and mission has been a point of widespread discussion within the evangelical movement internationally, it fails to have any impact on local churches. The question is thus: how can a mission-oriented church benefit from Christian social reform movements? Transformative as well as holistic understandings of mission have already yielded an enlarged vision of mission as encompassing social justice. But how about a missiological paradigm which is practically translatable into cultural and social relevance as far as the local church’s vision for becoming an agent of societal change/reform is concerned? When interpreted missiologically, mediation can be such a useful paradigm, as its essence is conflict as a constant anthropological signifier of human/divine distance on the one side and God’s purpose of redemption as reflected in the church’s mission on the other. Thus mediation could be called a category of the missio dei. This practical implementation into the church’s work as being relevant for its community is reached by reverting to the sciences of social work, namely the concept of community development. As mediative community work, this approach will add to the profile of a mission-oriented church as determined to serve a holistic vision of the gospel. At the focus is thus the immediate social environment of a local church, in which it can trigger spiritual, personal, social, cultural and economic processes of transformation. In the social context of Germany this way of expressing the missiological drive of a local church seems to be a hopeful avenue, since the social and economic risks are likely to remain and are threatening a large percentage of the population with social marginalisation. It is here that the economy of community work will be furnishing useful aspects to help a mission-oriented church develop its mediative-communal thrust into its immediate social context in order to proclaim God’s redemptive purpose. / Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit ist die Beobachtung des gesellschaftlichen Wandels in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland samt seiner sozialen und ökonomischen Risiken für weite Teile der Bevölkerung. Eine Antwort auf diesen Transformationsprozess ist seitens der evangelikalen Kirchen in Deutschland ausgeblieben. Die Frage nach der Verhältnisbestimmung zwischen sozialer Arbeit und Mission ist in der evangelikalen Bewegung zwar international breit diskutiert worden, doch hat sie kaum Wirkung auf die Praxis der örtlichen Gemeinden in Deutschland gezeigt. Bearbeitet wird daher die Fragestellung, wie eine missionarisch orientierte Gemeinde in ihrem Sendungsauftrag Initiativen christlicher Sozialreformen umsetzen kann. Transformative und ganzheitliche Missionskonzepte haben bereits ein erweitertes Missionsverständnis hervorgebracht, welches die soziale Gerechtigkeit als missionarischen Auftrag mit einschließt. Die Frage stellt sich nun nach einem missionstheologischen Paradigma, welches praktisch in eine kultur- und gesellschaftsrelevante Tätigkeit einer missionalen Gemeinde umgesetzt werden kann, durch die sie zu einem Träger einer christlich geprägten Sozialreform wird. Das Paradigma, das hierfür erarbeitet und missionstheologisch gedeutet wird, ist das der Mediation. Sie offenbart in ihrem Wesen zum einen den Konflikt als anthropologische Konstante und somit die Distanz zu Gott und zum anderen die Heilsabsicht Gottes, die sich im Missionsauftrag an die Gemeinde widerspiegelt. So stellt sich die Mediation als Kategorie der missio dei dar. Die konkrete Umsetzung dieses Paradigmas in eine die Gesellschaft gestaltende Arbeit gelingt durch die Hinzuziehung des Arbeitsprinzips der Gemeinwesenarbeit aus der Sozialarbeitswissenschaft. In Form einer mediativ-gemeinwesenorientierten Arbeit gibt sie einer missional ausgerichteten Gemeinde die Möglichkeit ihren Sendungsauftrag mit einem umfassenden Heilsverständnis umzusetzen. Dabei steht der unmittelbare Sozialraum der lokalen Kirchengemeinde im Fokus des Interesses, in dem geistliche, persönliche, soziale kulturelle und ökonomische transformative Prozesse eingeleitet werden können. Bezugnehmend auf den Kontext der Bundesrepublik Deutschland erweist sich diese Art den Sendungsauftrag umzusetzen als hoffnungsträchtig, da die sozialen und ökonomischen Risiken in Zukunft weiter bestehen werden und ein nicht unerheblicher Teil der Bevölkerung bereits als sozial ausgegrenzt ist. Hier gibt insbesondere die Gemeinwesenökonomie Anhaltspunkte, wie eine mediativ-gemeinwesenorientierte missionale Gemeinde in ihrem Sozialraum den Heilswillen Gottes verkündigen kann. / Christian Spirituality,Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

A new type of worker, the gig worker, is acknowledge and problematized as to what challenges mediators can face with managing them as previous research points out their differences from other workers. The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze challenges that a mediator can face when managing gig workers and also elevate the knowledge regarding gig workers on how to work with them. A semi-structured interview was conducted with four participants, three mediators of established gig firms in Sweden and one management consultant and expert in the field of gig economy. The finding indicated that there exist two challenges that mediators can face when managing gig workers: 1) The expectations of the matchmaking 2) Allowing gig workers to be independent

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo traçar o perfil, entender a ação e os conceitos formados por agentes culturais que foram responsáveis pela relação direta entre o Projeto Educomunicação pelas Ondas do Rádio - Educom.rádio e os cursistas, representados por professores, estudantes e membros das comunidades educativas, das escolas de Ensino Fundamental da Prefeitura do município de São Paulo. A atuação desses agentes, denominados mediadores, ocorreu no período compreendido entre o início do segundo semestre de 2001 e o final do segundo semestre de 2004, totalizando três anos e meio. O objetivo da atuação dos mediadores era o de criar, em cada um dos Pólos, onde a proposta foi desenvolvida, as condições indispensáveis para o entendimento do conceito de educomunicação e para a sua aplicação no planejamento de ações educomunicativas, mediante o uso da linguagem radiofônica, entre outras mídias. / This research aims to establish the profile, understand the action and the concepts formed by cultural agents that were responsible for the direct relationship between the Educommunication Project by Radio Waves - Educom.rádio and the course attendants, represented by teachers, students and members of the educational societies of the Elementary Schools of the City of São Paulo. The action of those agents, named mediators, occurred in the period between the second semester of 2001 and the end of the second semester of 2004, totalizing three and a half year-period. The purpose of the mediators actions was to create, in each of the poles where the proposal was developed, the necessary conditions for the understanding of the concept of educommunication and its impact at the planning of educommunicational actions, with the utilization of radiophonic language, among other medias.

Cette thèse se propose d’étudier le rap français dans une pratique biographique à visée éducative et formative. Elle s’intéresse aux ressources biographiques que le rappeur met en œuvre lors de l’écriture d’un texte de rap. L’écriture rappologique peut être considérée comme une écriture biographique où le sujet se (re)configure par la voie de la création de textes et de musique en tant que son propre objet de recherche. Pour explorer cette dimension d’écriture biographique du rap, ce travail s’est efforcé de réaliser la biographie de la rappeuse Diam’s en s’appuyant sur la théorie des moments de Remi Hess et en prenant comme seul support les textes de la rappeuse, qui sont autant de récits de vie. Ce travail rend également compte de la formation de soi qui s’élabore pour le rappeur au moment de l’écriture du rap. Les entretiens de recherche qui ont été effectués avec des rappeurs placent la pratique du rap en tant que pratique formative, puisque celle-ci sollicite des savoirs acquis qu’elle développe en même temps qu’elle s’exerce. Cette thèse met également en évidence le caractère social du rap qui participe à la socialisation de soi et de l’autre. Pensée en tant que pratique éducative, cette recherche s’intéresse à la portée formative que le rap apporte à celui qui l’écoute. Elle présente les différentes formes de construction et de formation de soi qui se font par l’intermédiaire du rappeur, en mettant en évidence l’hétérobiographie (Delory-Momberger). Le rap apparait aussi comme un médiateur social qui ferait le lien entre les institutions et le jeune. Le rappeur prend alors le rôle d’éducateur en transmettant des valeurs à ses auditeurs et en mettant en place des dispositifs favorisant le développement du jeune adulte. / This thesis is intended to study the French rap music in a biographical practice with an educational and formative goal. This research is focusing on the resources implemented by the rap artist when he writes. The rap writing can be described as a biographical writing in which the subject (re)considers himself through the creation of lyrics and music as a matter of research. To explore the biographical dimension of the rap writing, this thesis strived to achieve the biography of the rap artist named Diam's by relying on the « Théorie des moments » of Remi Hess (2003) and by using as a unique base the lyrics of this artist which describe her stories of Life. This thesis underlines also the self-education process which is put in place during the rap writing. The different interviews of many rap artists necessary for the writing of this thesis show that rapping is a formative practice because it requires knowledge already acquired which develops as it is implemented. This thesis points out the social aspect of the rap music which contributes to the socialization of the artist and to the socialization of the listener. Conceived as an educational practice, this thesis studies the educational impact of the rap music on the listener. Thus, this thesis introduces the different types of self-development and of self-education through the rap artist by underlining the “hétérobiographie” (Delory-Momberger). Rap music appears as a social vehicle that would do the link between the institutions and young people. The rap artist becomes a youth worker transmitting values to the listeners and implementing measures easing the development of the young adult.

Cette thèse propose d'élaborer une typologie des médiateurs culturels et artistiques, par une approche d'inspiration sociohistorique. Ces catégories prendront en compte la diversité et le caractère dynamique de cette profession en constante évolution. Nous interrogerons la fonction de médiateur culturel et artistique, à l’intersection du monde de la culture et du monde de l’école, en étudiant historiquement, un corpus de textes de référence, ainsi que le cadre d’exercice actuel, en France. Nous contextualiserons cette analyse, en observant des styles de médiateurs culturels et artistiques, lors de médiations en présence des publics scolaires et leurs effets. Au cœur de notre problématique, nous interrogerons la frontière entre transmission et médiation. La thèse conclura sur une proposition d’indicateurs favorables à une pleine rencontre des élèves avec les œuvres d’art, au sein des institutions. / This thesis proposes to develop a typology of artistic and cultural mediators by a socio-historical-inspired approach. These categories will take into account the diversity and the dynamic nature of this occupation in constant evolution. We will examine the function of cultural and artistic mediator, at the intersection of the world of culture and the world of school, by studying historically, a corpus of texts of reference, as well as the exercise of the mediator function in France. We will contextualize this analysis, observing styles of artistic and cultural mediators in mediations in the presence of schoolchildren and their effects. At the heart of our problem, we will examine the border between transmission and mediation. The thesis will conclude on a proposal for favourable indicators at a full meeting of students with work art.