Med utgångspunkt från Karlstads kommuns stadskärna vill jag genom denna studie ta reda på vad som händer med det offentliga rummet när privata aktörer gör anspråk på platsen och om detta påverkar det demokratiska värdet. Empirisk data är inhämtad från stadsplaneringens kommunala styrdokument och praktiker eftersom det ligger till grund för hur staden planeras. Det teoretiska ramverket belyser hur förändring av stadskärnan påverkar det offentliga rummet, bland annat genom ett privat-offentligt samarbete i en nyliberal kontext. Varför detta är av vikt i denna studie är för att den offentliga sektorn visar i enlighet med den nyliberala ansatsen på en form av entreprenörsanda när det kommer till planeringen av staden. I den urbanpolitiska vardagen har det offentliga rummets demokratiska funktion trängts undan till förmån för andra funktioner på platsen, exempelvis uteserveringar på stadens trottoarer. Tidigare forskning visar på att det handlar i mångt och mycket om ökad konkurrens mellan städer som ständigt strävar efter tillväxt. Det handlar om att förstärka de kvaliteter som staden har och nya eller fler funktioner som lockar människor att flytta till staden. Dessa funktioner handlar bland annat om ökad konsumtion då staden har blivit en arena för konsumtion där det hela tiden skapas nya arenor för att konsumera. Genom detta undergrävs de offentliga platserna av privata aktörer eftersom de offentliga rummen inte inbringar något kapital. De privat-offentliga samarbetena som förekommer när en kommun har ett marknadsinriktat förhållningssätt kritiserats eftersom detta sker till fördel för det privata intresset och då på bekostnad av den demokratiska planeringsprocessen. Analysen av studiens empiri och teoretiska ramverk visar på det som då sker är att det offentliga rummets demokratiska värde kan påverkas. När de offentliga rummen privatiseras så ändras dess karaktär från en allmän plats, för vilket alla har tillträde, till att bli en del av den privata sektorn. På en sådan plats finns andra förhållningsregler vilket gör att alla inte upplever att de har tillträde till platsen. Detta påverkar den demokratiska faktorn då offentliga rum är ett ställe att mötas, träffas och inte minst ger utlopp för demokratiska rättigheter som att demonstrera, manifestera och protestera. Där demonstranternas aktioner och deras fysiska närvaro förkroppsligar de mest bokstavliga sätt innebörden av det offentliga rummet i den rättvisa staden men på privata arenor inskränker på denna rättighet. Men analysen visar även på att en stad måste växa för att inte stagnera och att ökad konsumtion leder till att fler människor lockas till att vistas i och omkring stadens centrum. Och vad vore ett folktomt torg när demonstranter med sina plakat vill föra fram viktiga politiska budskap?

The purpose of this study was to examine the training and development of teachers in multi-grade teaching in selected Eastern Cape primary schools with a particular focus on the integration of vertical and horizontal knowledge in post-training. Multigrade teaching is the combining of learners of different grade levels in one classroom taught by one teacher. To gain better understanding of the construct of vertical and horizontal integration of knowledge within post-training environment, this qualitative case study design sampled eight teachers, four school principals and three trainers, purposively. In order to evaluate the training and development provided for teachers in multi-grade classrooms the researcher examined the training programmes, the training curriculum and transfer of training inputs. The results of the study indicate that post-training is the determinant of the extent of the effectiveness of the transfer of training skills, knowledge and attitudes gained in multi-grade teaching training. The study found a massive gap that currently exists between training in multi-grade teaching and the actual transferability of such training in multi-grade contexts. Positive transfer of training in multi-grade teaching strategies was found to be skills related to teaching strategies, lesson management, curriculum integration and social components of multi-grade teaching. Negative transfer of training included classroom organisation, lesson planning, timetabling, curriculum adaptation and assessment. Although multi-grade teacher training programme is assumed to change behaviours, attitudes, impart knowledge and improve teaching skills, the results of the study indicate that training inputs might not necessarily transform into classroom practice. In order to facilitate and ensure vertical and horizontal integration of knowledge and skills and transfer of training to classroombased teaching, recurrent training in multi-grade teaching is therefore, suggested.

This study examines the Corvette, an automobile with a distinct place in American literature and culture. For more than fifty years, the Corvette has been in the process of becoming what is described as an "icon," although this progress has never been satisfactorily approached and explained. Why this particular machine has not just survived, but come to be recognized--by and large by most if not all Americans--as the signifier of various virtues (and some vices) is a question of some significance: in analyzing the reasons for the Corvette's long life and success as an overwhelmingly positive and distinctively American car, we look at the literature and culture of the United States. What this reveals is a complex web of ideas and attitudes that centers on one thing--a material object with six different forms over fifty years, yet one that has always retained its identity and power to signify. The approach here is thematic rather than historical. As a popular subject, the Corvette already has historians who look at it as a tangible thing that can be described, measured, and defined. My assignment is different: through the lens of critical theories, several of them, and a wide range of materials--film, novels, songs, and more--I seek to discover some essential aspects of the car that make its image dynamic and permit it to evolve over time. This is not an easy process; it has demanded an open mind to materials not often looked at in an English dissertation. The Corvette and its image are described in four areas and a conclusion: * The Corvette: the Empty, the American, and the Deadly Signifier (the original that becomes America's image of itself and the danger of speed and technology out of control) * The Image of Potency: the Corvette, Males, and Minorities (aggressive sexuality, African-American males, and male domination) * Women, Sex, and Identity as Power: the Corvette, Baddest Mother of Them All (phallic females, the car as sexual power and identity) * Corvette as Art: the Expressive Image (the car's own self-reflexive nature, the automobile as fashion--belonging ["I stand out, yet I belong"] and sense of self--and its presence in "art") * The Corvette: Image and Object

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind (GWTW) has long been termed an "epic" of the American South. The implications of that term, however, have not been fully investigated, particularly as they concern generic criteria. How can we assign the generic characteristics of the epic narrative to GWTW? Using theories of the epic as postulated by Hegel, Lukács, Merchant, and Bakhtin, this study examines the ways in which GWTW writes the Southern nation into history, and how the objective portrayal of its epic heroine reflects the emergence of the New Southern nation. More specifically, it looks at how the depiction of Scarlett O'Hara's "everyday" existence reflects the larger New Southern identity and consciousness. The "everyday" or quotidian experience has been defined by such scholars as Henri Lefebvre, Michel deCerteau and Joe Moran as the space in which the life as lived is developed in all its minutia and the manner by which the state acts upon that existence. Using these ideas as a framework, we begin to see how the narrative of Scarlett's day-to-day existence functions as a voice for the New South. Finally, questions of how GWTW enters into the "everyday" of contemporary American culture are explored.

In the United States, regional sports networks broadcast games of home teams to audiences in specific communities, or geographical areas. Ownership of regional sports network by sports teams presents a unique type of vertical integration. Regional sports networks use distinctive programming to connect to local sports culture. This dissertation explores the historical significance of New England Sports Network (NESN), a team created, owned and operated regional sports network, which broadcasts Boston Red Sox baseball games and Boston Bruins hockey games throughout the New England region. Using elements of cultural studies, specifically political economy and textual analysis, this dissertation examines the impact of the ownership structure of NESN on NESN programming and how NESN uses programming to connect to local sports culture. This dissertation employs the theoretical frameworks of the sports/media complex and the base and superstructure model to support the argument that regional sports networks function not only on an economic level, but on a political economic and cultural level as well. Historically, NESN is the first successful team created, owned and operated regional sports network. NESN's creation established a new form of sports media ownership where sports team owners could essentially form private media corporations to increase earnings and extend operations across industries. NESN utilizes specific visual and aural techniques to differentiate NESN programming from other national and regional sports broadcasters. NESN also uses the same techniques to connect to local sports culture and to the everyday lives of sports consumers. The televised sports text offers NESN a space where the network can function on both a political economic and cultural level. Additionally, NESN presents a real world example of how the sports/media complex has become a more intricate theoretical framework.

For purposes of this background study, previous research findings relating to the development of the concept of field dependence - independence may be traced in five clearly distinct and logical stages: Stage 1: The Determination of the Factors Responsible for the Maintenance of Proper Orientation to the Upright. Stage 11: The Investigation of Individual Differences in the Manner of Establishing the Upright. Stage III: The Consideration of Possible Hypotheses to Account for Consistent Individual Differences in this Mode of Perception. Stage IV: An Investigation of the Relationship Between an Individual's Characteristic Way of Perceiving and his General Personality Organisation Stage V: The Ultimate Extension and Elaboration of this Work into the Construct of Psychological Differentiation which proposes that individuals are likely to function at a more differentiated or less differentiated level in many areas of behaviour. Some discussion of these stages is necessary to provide background for the present study. Chapter 1, p. 1.

This is an exploratory study to compare the vocational interests of Black and White school-leaving boys in South Africa. The aim of the study is, first, to test the hypothesis that the samples hold similar stereotypes of vocations and that they structure interest fields in a similar way; and, second. to test the hypothesis that the vocational interests of the samples are different. The samples comprise four hundred and ten matriculants from schools in Johannesburg and Soweto. The methodological requirements for conducting cross-cultural research are adhered to as far is practically possible. The main findings provide general support for the hypotheses. It is found that the Black and White samples have similar vocational stereotypes and that they structure interest fields similarly, and in a way which closely approximates the reported structures characteristically found in Western culture. The Black and White samples differ in their vocational interests, although there are also similarities.

Nesta dissertação, discuto e problematizo a educação do corpo. Ancorado no aporte teórico dos Estudos Culturais, tomo como corpus de análise um periódico produzido e distribuído pelo Instituto Adventista Cruzeiro do Sul – IACS chamado Revista Sinos. A intenção é analisar as representações referentes à educação dada ao corpo pela pedagogia adventista neste periódico pertencente à instituição confessional de ensino em apreço. O estudo está concentrado nas onze edições da revista, publicadas entre 1968 e 2008, em que foram analisados textos e imagens ali veiculados. Recorro à história para caracterizar o Adventismo em suas crenças e determinações dogmáticas, que uma vez incorporadas pelo pensamento educacional adventista, atravessam as práticas escolares de suas instituições educacionais. Desta forma, apresento o pano de fundo em que ocorrem as representações na revista, favorecendo o entendimento das questões relativas à educação do corpo nesse contexto. Da análise do material empírico emergiram três categorias em que a educação do corpo é representada e significada na revista, a saber: saúde, trabalhos manuais e práticas corporais. No tocante à saúde, as representações evocam a necessidade de se manter um corpo limpo e saudável. Para tanto, a higiene e a alimentação vegetariana são trazidas à tona como práticas responsáveis por inculcar hábitos que propiciem esta condição ao indivíduo e, por conseguinte ao seu corpo. Quanto aos trabalhos manuais, as significações giram em torno da necessidade de banir a ociosidade dos corpos e promover-lhes a utilidade. Desta forma, diferentes trabalhos físicos são propostos com o fim de contribuir no desenvolvimento de um corpo saudável e ainda garantir que as atividades corporais realizadas pelos indivíduos sejam proveitosas à ele próprio, à sociedade e à Deus. Já nas práticas corporais, além de intentar sobre a saúde dos alunos, uma vez que podem prevenir, aliviar e mesmo curar algumas enfermidades, tais práticas ainda requerem atividades em que a ênfase esteja na recreação para que a mente possa receber descanso e esteja preparada para o desenvolvimento das atividades do cotidiano. As representações trazidas pela revista dão voz ao pensamento adventista de que, tudo o que afeta o corpo, afeta também a mente e o espírito. Sendo assim, todas as ações e cuidados dispensados para o desenvolvimento do físico, intentam o desenvolvimento do intelecto e um melhor relacionamento com Deus. / On this dissertation, body education is discussed and problematized. Anchored on the theory of Cultural Studies, analyses corpus is a periodical produced and distributed by IACS (Instituto Adventista Cruzeiro do Sul – Seventh-day Adventist Academy) called Sinos Magazine. Our intention is to analyze representations referring to body education given by Seventh - day Adventist pedagogy on this periodical that belongs to a confessional education institution. The study is centered on eleven editions of the magazine, published between the years of 1968 and 2008, in which texts and images published were analyzed. With the Adventism historical background characterization, its beliefs and dogmatic determinations, that once incorporated by the Adventist educational thought reaches school practices on educational institutions. This way the background in which representations are made on the magazine are presented, favoring the understanding of questions related to body education on this context. From the analyzes of the empirical material three categories in which body education is represented and signified on the review emerge, as follows: health, manual labor and body practices. On relation to health, representations evoke the need to maintain a healthy and clean body. On that purpose, hygiene and vegetarian diet are brought into discussion as practices responsible for inculcating habits that will allow this condition to the individual and, as a result, to his body. As to manual labor, the significations are related to the banishment of body ociousness and promote their utility. This way, different physical activities are suggested aiming to contribute on the development of a healthy body and guarantee that the activities developed by the individuals are worthwhile to themselves, to society and to God. As to body practices, further than worry about the student’s health, once they can prevent relief and even heal some infirmities, these practices still require activities in which the emphasis is on recreation so that the mind can receive rest and get prepared for developing daily activities. The representations brought by the magazine give voice to the Adventist thought that everything that affects the body, also affects mind and spirit. On this way, every action and care driven to the physical aspects’ development, also aims the development of the intellect and a better relationship with God.

Esta Dissertação está ancorada no campo dos Estudos Culturais e tem como objetivo investigar e mostrar práticas culturais que funcionam entre um grupo de jovens homoafetivos – que trocam afetos com pessoas de mesmo sexo – num espaço urbano de Porto Alegre – RS. Analiso os modos através dos quais tal grupo vem lugarizando o espaço e como tais práticas atuam como possibilidade de resistência em sua constituição identitária. Os jovens se referem a este lugar como point, um ponto de encontro, onde se reúnem, conversam, namoram, ‘desfilam’ efusivamente, onde podem – e fazem questão de – ver e serem vistos, sugerindo um modo singular de ser jovem, que não somente transita por um espaço, mas ocupa, trans-figura e, muitas vezes, incomoda. O grupo é composto, predominantemente, por jovens da periferia urbana de Porto Alegre, que se encontra nos finais de tarde de domingo, nos arredores do Shopping Nova Olaria, no bairro Cidade Baixa. A entrada e freqüência de tais jovens nas dependências do Shopping vêm sendo barradas, justificadas pelo não consumo e comportamentos considerados inadequados, levando-os, então, a ocuparem a rua, marcando-a fortemente com performances homoafetivas, utilizando-se das paredes das casas, dos carros estacionados, do ponto de ônibus, do meio-fio das calçadas. Ficam expostos sob as luzes dos postes públicos, dos faróis dos carros, alvo de olhares passantes: palco perfeito para uma juventude trans-viada. No estudo, trato tais jovens sem a idéia de uma cultura juvenil universal e homogênea, mas, sim, juventudes plurais, fluidas e transitórias que, ao expressarem publicamente seus homoafetos, acabam trans-viando, de várias formas, as configurações espaciais, criando um novo lugar. As análises – compostas por observações, diários de campo, fotografias, imagens, sons, músicas, vestimentas, adereços, conversas, documentos, materiais impressos diversos – indicam que tais jovens utilizam-se de performances homoafetivas lugarizantes para demarcar um território, como forma de resistência à ordem heteronormativa e de consumo instituída. Forma-se uma comunidade de resistência a tal ordem, um grupo específico de jovens que adota e compartilha práticas, não necessariamente criando um novo modelo de juventude, mas, outras formas de fazer e viver no espaço instituído, para produzirem outros caminhos. / This Dissertation is anchored in the field of Cultural Studies and aims to know and show cultural practices that run between a group of young homoafetivos - that exchange affection with people of same sex – in an urban area of Porto Alegre – Brazil. I analyze the ways by which this group comes lugarizando the space and how such practices can act as resilient in its constitution identity. Young people refer to this place as point, a meeting point, where they meet, talk, date, 'parade' extend warm, where they can - and are keen to - see and be seen, suggesting a natural way of being young, that not only passed by a space, but occupies, trans-figure and often uncomfortable. The group is composed, predominantly by young people in the urban periphery of Porto Alegre, which is in late-afternoon on Sunday, on the outskirts of Shopping Nova Olaria in the Cidade Baixa neighborhood. The entry and frequency of such couples in dependencies of Shopping have been barred, not justified by consumption and behaviour deemed inappropriate, causing them then to occupy the streets, marking it with strong performances homoafetivas, using the walls of the houses, of parked cars from the bus, from the mid-wire of sidewalks. They exposed under the lights of public posts, the headlights of cars, bystanders target of eyes: perfect stage for a youth trans-viada. In the study, treatment such young people without the idea of a youth culture universal and homogeneous, but youths plural, fluid and transitory that by publicly expressing their homoafetos, end trans-viando, in many ways, the settings space, creating a new post. The analyses - composed of comments, diaries, field, photographs, images, sounds, music, clothing, props, conversations, documents, materials printed matter - indicate that these young people are using performance homoafetivas lugarizantes to demarcate a territory, as form of resistance to the order established heteronormative and consumption. Form is a community of resistance to such a specific group of young people who adopts and share practices, not necessarily creating a new model for youth, but other ways of living in space and set up to produce other ways.

Expectations about interpersonal distance during social encounters (distance schemata) and body orientation (orientation schemata) were investigated among White English-speakers and Xhosa groups which included illiterate traditionalists (Reds), poorly educated urban dwellers, and highly literate students and nurses. In a series of six experiments a doll placement task was used in which subjects represented dyadic encounters by placing pairs of standing dolls. For each situation represented the responses of each group of subjects were summarised in the form of a profile which showed the mean of the distance and three angle measures (IPOS profile). Independent variables included culture of subject, type of situation represented (friendly encounter, quarrel, accusation and denial, request) and the sex, age or relationship of the persons represented. In the culminating experiment (Experiment 6), females from three Xhosa groups (Reds or XR, poorly educated urban or XU, and urban nurses or XN) made twenty-three placements. In some respects the schemata of the four groups were very similar, while in others both distance and orientation schemata were a function of cultural group. The experiments allowed an assessment of the validity of the doll placement method to be made, and results were discussed in terms of the effects on interpersonal distance and body orientation of cultural norms concerning the showing of respect and the nature and strength of the emotions present in the various types of situation. It was concluded that with cultural movement away from the traditionalist pattern the schemata of the urban Xhosa showed a transition towards those found among the Whites in some respects. However, while the schemata of the XN group showed features of both those of the XR and White groups, those of the XU group showed features found in neither which seemed to reflect the insecurity of the cultural milieu of the urban poor.