Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-170).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Kentucky, 2007. / Title from document title page (viewed on June 11, 2007). Document formatted into pages; contains: vii, 94 p. : ill. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-92).

The Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, often described as an ‘elite minority’, holds a special position in the country. With linguistic rights protected by the constitution of Finland, Swedish-speakers, as a minority of only 5.3%, are often described in public discourse and in academic and statistical studies as happier, healthier and more well off economically than the Finnish-speaking majority. As such, the minority is a unique example of language minorities in Europe. Knowledge derived from qualitatively grounded studies on the topic is however lacking, meaning that there is a gap in understanding of the nature and complexity of the minority. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in four different locations in Finland over a period of 12 months, this thesis provides a theoretically grounded and empirically informed rich account of the identifications and sites of belonging of this diverse minority. The thesis makes a contribution to theoretical, methodological and empirical research on the Swedish-speaking minority, debates around identity and belonging, and ethnographic methodological approaches. Making use of novel methodology in studying Swedish-speaking Finns, this thesis moves beyond generalisations and simplifications on its nature and character. Drawing on rich ethnographic empirical material, the thesis interrogates various aspects of the lived experience of Swedish-speaking Finns by combining the concepts of belonging and identification. Some of the issues explored are the way in which belonging can be regionally specific, how Swedish-speakers create Swedish-spaces, how language use is situational and variable and acts as a marker of identity, and finally how identifications and sites of belonging among the minority are extremely varied and complex. The thesis concludes that there are various sites of belonging and identification available to Swedish-speakers, and these need to be studied and considered in order to gain an accurate picture of the lived experience of the minority. It also argues that while identifications are based on collective imagery, this imagery can vary among Swedish-speakers and identifications are multiple and situational. Finally, while language is a key commonality for the minority, the meanings attached to it are not only concerned with ‘Finland Swedishness’, but connected to various other factors, such as the context a person grew up in and the region one lives in. The complex issues affecting the lived experience of Swedish-speaking Finns cannot be understood without the contribution of findings from qualitative research. This thesis therefore points towards a new kind of understanding of Swedish-speaking Finns, moving away from stereotypes and simplifications, shifting our gaze towards a richer perception of the minority.

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This thesis takes as its object of study issues emerging from the synthesis of documentary practice and theoretical discourse. Its context is formed by the production of four published works commissioned and broadcast by the BBC in 2011/2012. These comprise: a drama-documentary, an observational documentary and two radio programmes. The programmes gathered archival and recorded memories and oral histories from Scarp, a small, now abandoned, island off the coast of Harris in the Outer Hebrides whose oral history and memories are in danger of being lost forever. The thesis argues for the acknowledgement of the 'situatedness' of the producer by exploring background, cultulral positioning and professional training, specifically within the context of Gaelic culture and broadcasting. The thesis makes the specific claim that the published works and the research appendices, in combination with the critical essay, make an important contribution not only to our understanding and ethnographic knowledge of island cultures on the west coast of Scotland, but also to our understanding of the processes of media production and respresentation as critically reflected upon by an academic practitioner. Through a cross-disciplinary engagement with debates within documentary, ethnography and oral history, this thesis will also demonstrate that narrative, subjectivity, generic delivery, commissioning constraints and intervention need not exclude television programmes, and the research produced to create them, from containing valuable ethnographic information that (under academic analysis) makes a contribution to our understanding of culture. A self-reflexive methodology reveals the extent to which the producer intervenes in, changes, and brings their own subjective perspective to, any work of ethnographic data gathering or oral history collection, and how this research is constrained by the commissioner.

Thesis (B.A.)--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. / This paper analyzes the relationship between the global discourse on the environment and the discourse occurring in Nahuel Huapi, Argentina over the 20th century through the year 2007. This paper applies discourse analysis theory as used by Antonio Gramsci and Michel Foucault to the history of environmental discourse on a global, national, and local level. It assesses the institution of language and dialog through personal narrative , metaphor, rhetorical devices, and formal documentation in order to interpret the ways in which global environmental discourse has reached Nahuel Huapi. The primary examples of global discourse used are historical accounts by environmental sociologists , histories of the United Nations' incorporation of environmental discourse , and anthropological accounts of the global indigenous discourse. National linkages are made through studies of international treaties ratified by the Argentine government and laws implemented throughout the state. Local linkages are further made through anthropological assessments of local discourse as well as personal interviews . I analyze the global, national and local discourses in that order with a chronological focus throughout. Existing analyses of environmental institutions and their effectiveness tend to focus on the formal proceedings of international organizations, private citizens , or community actors but most fail to assess the informal mechanisms by which these global institutions can affect action at the local level. By arguing that language and dialog are indeed socialand political institutions, I conclude that through discourse, the international environmental regime has strongly affected local environmental discourse in Nahuel Huapi Argentina through two channels: 1) the National Parks System, which the international regime has impacted mainly through United Nations forums such as conferences and summits on the environment and development. 2) The Mapuche community , which the international regime has impacted mainly through the inclusion of indigenous communities in the international forum and the legitimization that the United Nations provides these communities with regard to environmental stewardship and selfdetermination. The study shows that early in the 20th century, when the Mapuche community and the government of Argentina were isolated from any global discourse , the dialog between them was virtually non-existent. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-02

This thesis examines how states develop and implement urban planning and governance policies and programmes in response to segregation and socio-spatial inequalities. Rio de Janeiro has long been constructed as both a “marvellous city” and as strictly “divided” between the so-called formal city and the self-built favelas that developed into “consolidated” neighbourhoods. While never granted full legal tenure and continuously denied basic rights as guaranteed in the 1988 “Citizens’ Constitution,” public policy in the late twentieth century recognised the permanence of the favelas and state interventions evolved from demolishing to “upgrading.” Since the early 2000s, the municipal, state-province, and federal governments have all pursued objectives to “integrate” the favelas. These include participatory urban planning interventions, militarised occupation and policing of favelas, implantation of social and cultural infrastructure, and technocratic good-governance projects. I argue that these combined efforts amount to a new paradigm of “favela integration,” and I seek to understand how “favela integration” is produced and contested; in what ways state interventions meant to “integrate” the favelas transform urban space; and how techniques of urban planning and governance establish favela space as legitimate and constitutive of the city. Based on 18 months of mixed-method qualitative fieldwork, and drawing on the literatures of landscape and critical mobilities, I argue that “favela integration” is hegemonically defined through state facilitation and regulation of flows of people, goods, and services in and out of the favelas. Discursively produced based on liberal notions of citizenship and favela residents’ right to the city, I use critical mobilities analysis to reveal how “favela integration” reproduces spatial inequalities. I then consider the paradigm as a state spatial strategy of territory. I build on contemporary theories of state space and territory as effect and consider how planning, technocratic governance, and infrastructure employ social technologies to bridge the favela/city binary and produce the “integrated city.” I engage with literature concerning state spatiality under neoliberalism to examine how “favela integration” follows hegemonic socio-economic ideology, but I argue for a nuanced understanding of the state and discuss how such ideology is contested at various scales.

This thesis explores the care experiences of looked-after, dual heritage young people with one white and one black African Caribbean parent. These young people have a history of spending longer periods in care than others and the assumption is that they experience identity confusion because they are neither white nor black. Given that very little is actually known in this domain, it has been necessary to examine their care experiences in order to unpack the myths and assumptions surrounding them. Perspectives from their carers, practitioners and, in some cases, the young people’s files informed this thesis. The term dual heritage has been used throughout to refer to this group except when making reference to other people’s work. When considering placements for all children and young people, Section 22 (5) (c) of the Children Act 1989 stresses the importance of taking into account their religion, race, language and cultural background. In addition to these factors, I found that practitioners also took into account the placement family’s ability to support dual heritage young people in coping with racism. In most cases, this resulted in the young people being placed in black families. Thus, the implementation of Section 22 (5) (c) can result in the neglect of dual heritage young people’s ‘white heritage’. This qualitative study used in-depth, semi-structured interviews involving sixteen young people, carers, practitioners, and case files. The stories told by the young people highlighted respect as the most important factor in placement and the need to be seen as individuals with different personalities rather than labelled purely on the basis of their skin colour. Like all looked-after individuals, these young people need to be listened to, loved and cared for at all times. This thesis found that looked-after, dual heritage young people are a heterogeneous group with diverse needs and for them; the ethnicity of their practitioners or carers is irrelevant. Although they used different terms to identify themselves, these young people were all comfortable with their dual heritage identity. They reported experiences of racism from black and white people, institutional racism, as well as racism within the family. Perhaps, given the diverse groups of vulnerable children and young people in Britain today, the time has come to re-examine practitioners’ interpretation of the ‘best interest’ of the dual heritage young person or child under Section 22 (5) (c) of the Children Act 1989.

Formal volunteering, through an organisation, is frequently associated with providing benefits to individuals and to communities. However, surveys consistently show that participation in formal volunteering varies by class, ethnicity, age and gender. This research seeks to expand upon existing theories which have identified that participation in formal volunteering is shaped by the possession of human, social and cultural capital, by applying Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and field to the study of volunteering in the National Trust. Drawing on over 12,000 responses to a National Trust volunteer survey, and 50 semi-structured interviews with volunteers and paid staff, this research explores the relationship between different types of capital and volunteering. To date, the perspective that formal volunteering requires the possession of resources or capital has not been integrated with literature which recognises that volunteering can be a form of work or leisure. Interviews reveal that people volunteer for the National Trust as a replacement for the positive aspects of paid work in retirement, as a way of gaining work experience, for pleasure and enjoyment, and as a way of participating in heritage or the countryside. Explanations for the inequality in particip ation of formal volunteering can be improved by recognising that volunteering is a form of work or leisure, which requires capital to perform, and which produces further capital. While formal volunteering is often promoted as a way to tackle social problems, in practice, the case of the National Trust suggests that volunteering can exacerbate social inequality by enabling those with resources the opportunity to gain more. This thesis argues that Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and field, and the work and leisure perspectives on volunteering, can be applied to extend existing resource explanations and improve understanding of why participation in formal volunteering varies by class, ethnicity, age and gender.

India is a cultural melting pot. It has a rich and illustrious history with many different people from the Greeks to the Moghuls and latterly the English, Portuguese and French influencing its traditions that were initially set by the Indo Aryans. India’s classical dances and songs have a strong presence on the world stage. India’s cuisine can be found in all major cities of the world. Yoga has become the new-age mantra for healthy living with millions of people practicing it every day. Bollywood’s reach and effect on the pop culture is becoming more prominent, and some of the Indian film stars are even more popular than Hollywood stars. The country has various other soft attributes that it has contributed to the world, such as dance, music, and food. This work will explore the various soft attributes that contribute to communicating India as a soft power. A communication model is proposed that develops the idea of understanding how various people perceive India as a soft power and to overlay this with how these attributes are communicated to individuals. While there are many positive soft power attributes of India as seen above, the vicarious attributes of India outshine its positive counterpart; at least in the CBI Rankings (Futurebrand.com, 2014) and Monocle soft power rankings, (Monocle, 2012) where India has been constantly dropping in the ratings. While studying the soft power attributes it was found that there is little significant research undertaken to understand international perception about India as a soft power. This piece of work will attempt to find the missing piece of the jigsaw. i India is a complex set of nation states unified by Bollywood, deep spirituality, food and dance culture, so a study in these areas would help to understand the impact that they have outside India’s borders. One could argue that none of the attributes discussed is mutually exclusive as Bollywood for instance can portray dance, food and spirituality in one go. At the same time yoga philosophy and practice also incorporates food principles via Ayurveda. Dance looks at spiritual aspects and history together with music that is often incorporated in Bollywood. The soft issues pervade Indian culture together with a passive acceptance of an oftenrigid caste system that rarely flares into riots such as those witnessed recently in Egypt. The study therefore needed to reconcile these opposites and the fluid interweaving of softness that comes across internationally and appears to exert such an influence on so many nations. Why does softness create such a popular nation and how does the hardness or vicariousness of the way people and women are treated create imbalances? The research throws light on how a nation can use its soft power attributes to define its status and to move forward in the world. The study looks at soft power from a new perspective. First of all, a qualitative approach was undertaken where a country’s influence on media (content analysis of newspaper articles), influence on a group (focus group on four different cultural groups) and influence on an individual (visual case study of 22 individuals belonging to four different cultural groups) was studied through triangulation method. This was done to understand how people from different parts of the world perceived India and to what extent Indian culture influenced them. Secondly, it was proved that the influence of soft power varies from one country to another. Some countries may like a certain cultural aspect while another country may not find that aspect interesting and influential. In this way new ideas about understanding soft power have been developed. The research indicated that people’s perception of India as a soft power varies depending on which country they originate from and at the same time media (newspapers) can influence people’s perceptions of a country as well. It is also interesting that the main finding indicates that a country like India needs to be country specific in terms of the key cultural attributes that it wishes to broadcast.