L’objectif de ce travail est de mieux saisir le concept de qualité de vie quand il est associé aux personnes âgées, afin de proposer un modèle et un outil d’évaluation facilement administrable. Si la qualité de vie est un concept clé dans la mise en œuvre et l’évaluation des solutions à destination des personnes âgées, les modèles et outils actuels permettant son évaluation n’intègrent pas les spécificités des modes de vie de cette population. Par ailleurs, il existe un manque de consensus quant aux dimensions à prendre en compte pour évaluer la qualité de vie des personnes âgées, et par extension, sa dimension environnementale, facteur pourtant majeur pour les individus âgés, est largement oubliée dans la littérature.Une première étape a mis en évidence la manière dont les séniors et les professionnels intervenant au domicile se représentent le vieillissement et l’habitat idéal pour personnes âgées. Ancrée dans l’approche structurale des représentations sociales, cette étape a permis de dégager des indicateurs issus du sens commun révélateurs de ce que devrait être l’habitat dans son caractère idéal et normatif, associé à la façon de penser le vieillissement. Une seconde étape a permis de proposer un modèle de qualité de vie spécifique aux personnes âgées, s’appuyant tant sur des éléments empiriques que théoriques et donnant une place significative à la dimension environnementale. Ce modèle a donné lieu à la construction et à la validation d’une échelle de mesure de la qualité de vie des individus de plus de soixante-cinq ans, vivant à domicile ou en logement institutionnel. Les analyses factorielles exploratoires et confirmatoires ont permis de mettre en avant une structure latente à quatre facteurs. La première dimension décrit l’environnement physique de l’individu, appréhendée à travers des critères objectifs et subjectifs. La seconde dimension renvoie au réseau social réel et perçu de l’individu ainsi qu’à son état émotionnel. La troisième dimension relève de l’autonomie, en évaluant les capacités fonctionnelles et décisionnelles du répondant, ainsi que le rôle social et le type d’habitat qui en découlent. Enfin, la quatrième dimension renvoie aux pathologies physiques rencontrées par le répondant et à ses conséquences sur la vie quotidienne. La validation statistique de l’échelle auprès d’un panel de 456 répondants a permis de valider ces quatre composantes et de mettre en avant de bonnes qualités psychométriques de l’instrument de mesure. Sa bonne acceptation par la population âgée et sa rapidité de passation en fait un outil facilement utilisable sur le terrain. / The aim of our research is to better understand the concept of quality of life among senior citizens, in order to propose a model and an easy-to-use measurement scale. Although quality of life is a central issue in finding and evaluating solutions for the elderly, current models and tools used to evaluate it omit the specificities of their lifestyles. Furthermore, the dimensions to be considered to evaluate senior citizens’ quality of life are not consensual, and by extension, environmental factors, which are central for the elderly, are largely forgotten in the literature.First, we explored how senior citizens and professionals intervening at their homes perceive aging and the ideal habitat for the elderly. Drawing on the structural approach to social representations, this first phase provided indicators based in common sense that revealed what a home should be in ideal and normative terms, which we associated with social thinking about aging. Next, we proposed a quality of life model specifically designed for the elderly, which is both empirically and theoretically based and places significant importance on environmental factors. This model led to the development and validation of a measurement scale intended for individuals over 65 years of age who live either at home or in an institution. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a latent structure composed of four factors. The first describes the individual’s physical environment using objective and subjective criteria. The second factor refers to the individual’s real and perceived social network as well as his/her emotional state. The third factor deals with autonomy by evaluating participants’ functional and decisional skills in relation to their social role and type of home. Last, the fourth factor deals with physical problems the respondent may encounter and their consequences on everyday life. These four factors and the psychometric quality of the scale were statistically validated with a sample of 456 senior citizens. It was well received by the elderly and was fast to administer, making it an easy-to-use scale.

The topic of this dissertation is the democratic deficit of the European Union and the normative and empirical assessment of the likelihood that the existing forms of institutionalized transnational civic engagement would act as the point of anchoring democratic practices at the EU level. If the democratic deficit reflects the apparent lack of legitimacy and accountability of EU institutions and a lack of influence of its citizens, the question the project attempts to answer is why the existing democratic innovations within the EU constitutional framework fail to attract political allegiance and mobilization necessary for a functioning EU democracy? The thesis attempts to bridge the gap between normative political theory and more empirical and policy oriented approaches to the issue of EU democratic deficit. In a theoretical sense, this research covers a broad spectrum of topics within political theory and the theory of political culture. Parting ways with most of the current literature on the subject, which usually ends with institutional prescriptions derived from descriptions that rely on the nation-state as the benchmark for the prospects of democratisation of the EU, the project seeks to analyse the democratic innovations that the Lisbon treaty introduced within a more comprehensive framework of transnational deliberative democracy - demoicracy. The underlying idea behind the project is to apply, for the first time and with necessary modifications, the basic notions of the founders of the discipline of Political Culture, Almond and Verba, to the EU. That means to draw on their seminal work, ‘The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations’, and hypothesize that further democratization of EU decision-making requires a 'civic political culture'. By definition, it presupposes the dominance of 'participative' over 'subject' and 'parochial' dimensions of orientation towards the political system. After extensive theoretical and methodological considerations, following a brief investigation into political culture in the EU, the empirical focus shifts to the European Citizens’ Initiative and the framings around the struggle for its reform in order to draw findings on which types of political cultures the European Commission has fostered. The principle aim of the research is to investigate if and how the democratic legitimacy of the EU can be enhanced by a shift from a parochial and subject to a more participation-enhancing dynamics. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

v anglickém jazyce The diploma thesis deals with the institutions offering their services to handicapped citizens in Chomutov and surroundings. Its goal is to chart this area, specifically the towns Chomutov, Jirkov, Klášterec nad Ohří and Kadaň and explain the work of the institutions, which are working with the handicapped people. It will also deal with the social services in the Czech Republic in general. There will be two research methods in the diploma thesis - investigating of the relevant internet sources and also the personal visits of the chosen institutions, observations and conversations, if their realisation is possible. The investigation's object will primarily be the operation of these institutions, financing, legislation or clients' and employees' satisfaction and so on. The thesis can well serve as a map of the institutions for the handicapped citizens for those interested in these services as well as for the public who will be interested in getting to know more about these institutions. Key words: institutions helping the handicapped citizens, the Chomutov area, social services in the Czech Republic, Social Service Law. Souhlasím s půjčováním diplomové práce v rámci knihovnických služeb.

Le branding territorial est perçu aujourd’hui comme un élément central de la stratégie de développement et de promotion des territoires, permettant de construire autour d’un nom de marque une identité et une offre singulière du territoire. Cependant, bien qu’une marque territoriale puisse paraître comme un véritable levier de différenciation et de dynamisme, la réalité a montré qu’elle n’engendre pas systématiquement une amélioration de l’attractivité ou du développement du territoire. D’ailleurs, certaines marques ont réussi alors que d’autres ont échoué. La présente thèse cherche donc à explorer en profondeur ce nouveau phénomène et concourir à la compréhension du processus de création et de gestion des marques territoriales pour aboutir in fine à des marques réussies et pérennes. Sur la base d’une revue de littérature foisonnante et des modèles existants, un nouveau cadre de branding territorial est présenté. En adoptant une approche interprétative, cette recherche combine deux postures méthodologiques : une étude qualitative a été menée auprès de 30 principaux acteurs de Casablanca pouvant avoir un rôle dans la création et la gestion de la marque de la ville, et une enquête quantitative par questionnaire a également été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 1016 citoyens casablancais pour évaluer leur perception et leur ressenti quant à la marque WeCasablanca. Grâce à la méthode du jeu de cartes employée dans l’étude qualitative, nous avons pu confirmer l’importance de l’ensemble des éléments identifiés dans le cadre théorique, examiner les relations d’influence entre les composants et entériner le modèle qualitativement. Aussi, l’étude quantitative a permis de valider les relations d’influence définies dans le cadre conceptuel entre les six composants retenus pour le test, et nous avons pu tester et mettre en relation les différentes variables relatives à la perception, au ressenti et à l’appropriation d’une marque territoriale par les citoyens, ainsi qu’expliquer leur formation. / Place branding is perceived today as a central element of the development and promotion strategy of places, allowing to build around a brand name an identity and a singular place offer. However, although a place brand may seem like a real lever for differentiation and dynamism, reality has shown that it does not systematically generate an improvement in the place attractiveness or development. Besides, some brands have succeeded while others have failed. Therefore, this thesis seeks to explore in depth this new phenomenon and contribute to understand the place brands creation and management process to achieve successful and sustainable brands. Based on a rich literature review and existing models, a new place branding framework is presented. By adopting an interpretative approach, this research combines two methodological postures: a qualitative study was conducted among 30 main actors of Casablanca who could have a role in the city brand creation and management, and a quantitative questionnaire survey was also realized among a sample of 1016 citizens of Casablanca to assess their perception and feelings about the WeCasablanca brand. Thanks to the card game method used in the qualitative study, we were able to confirm the importance of all the elements identified in the theoretical framework, examine the influence relationships between the components and validate the model qualitatively. The quantitative study also validated the influence relationships defined in the conceptual framework between the six components selected for the test, and we were able to test and connect the different variables relating to the place brand perception, feeling and appropriation by the citizens, and to explain their formation.

This study examines the return of Japanese Americans to Portland, Oregon, following their mass incarceration by the United States Federal government between 1942 and 1945. This essay examines the motivations of both returning Japanese Americans and various groups within the white community with equal focus in the hopes of writing a history that provides agency to both groups. The return of Japanese Americans to Portland was an event with broader implications than a mere chapter in the history of Japanese Americans. The rise of the Japanese Exclusion League and other groups interested in preventing the return of Japanese Americans to Oregon had their roots partly in the Oregon progressive coalition of the 1930s known as the Oregon Commonwealth Federation (OCF). Unified behind the cause of public ownership of electricity distribution, racially exclusive progressives such as Oregon Governor Walter M. Pierce and civil rights progressives such as American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Gus J. Solomon sought to protect Oregon's producer class of farmers and workers from exploitation by Portland business interests. After the dissolution of the OCF in 1940 and the attack on Pearl Harbor, the two progressive factions took opposite sides on the issues of the rights of Japanese Americans. In 1945, anti-Japanese organizers across the state, including Pierce, American Legion officials, and Portland politicians called for the permanent exclusion of Japanese Americans. The racist rhetoric of these organizers drew the ire of the Portland Council of Churches, civic leaders, and War Relocation Authority officials, who formed the Portland Citizens Committee to Aid Relocation, the main white group to help returners find housing and employment. Their arguments for tolerance depended heavily on the story of Japanese American military service during World War II. Responding to the shape of debates within the white community, returning Japanese Americans community leaders, especially Toshi Kuge and George Azumano of the Portland Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL), used the rhetoric of military service to demonstrate their Americanness after World War II. The rhetoric of valorous military service provided the ideological center of both remerging Japanese American leadership organizations and connections between the Nikkei community and white civic leaders. After the reestablishment of Japanese American community organizations in Portland, Issei leaders lead a successful fundraising campaign to support a legal challenge to overturn the Oregon Alien Land Law and fund the Portland JACL. Subsequently, between 1946 and 1948, the Portland JACL served as liaisons between the Japanese American community and the white Portlanders interested in overturning laws that challenged Issei social and economic rights. Despite their efforts, Japanese Americans in the early postwar period, along with other Portland minority groups,faced significant discrimination in housing options, employment, and even blood supply. Their experience demonstrates both the power and limitations of arguments for racial tolerance in the early postwar period.

Nearly 700,000 prisoners return to communities annually, and approximately two-thirds are rearrested within 3 years of release. The cyclic pattern of recidivism presents risks to both returning offenders and the communities that accept them. Reentry research tends to include the voice and experiences of juveniles, community members, and service providers, and narrowly focuses on the socioeconomic conditions of adult ex-offender populations pre- and post-release. Few researchers have explored the attitudes of those returning citizens or the perceived impact on treatment success, as related to employment-based, post-release reintegration programs. This study investigated the attitudes of 32 participants of Project Empowerment, the District of Columbia's post-release program. The ecology of public administration theory and empowerment theory provided the theoretical frameworks for understanding offender reentry within employment-based programming. Interview data were coded and analyzed consistent with a modified van Kaam method. A key finding indicates job-readiness training completion is largely contingent upon development of positive attitudes from both public administrators and participants. Additionally, participants were cognizant of the attitudes of community members regarding reentry and employment, and were more likely to see program participation as beneficial if perceived community support was high. The implications for positive social change include recommendations for reentry programs, such as Project Empowerment, to create an empowerment environment conducive to attitude development concerning self and society. Such an environment creates trust and opportunities for successful engagement in employment programs and decreases the risk of recidivism among communities that support individuals returning from incarceration.

Die Einführung der Städteordnung 1808 wird den preußischen Reformern unter Stein und Hardenberg als wichtiger Schritt zur städtischen Selbstverwaltung zugerechnet. Die Bedeutung der Städteordnung ist in der Wissenschaft und Praxis unbestritten. Sie gilt als die erste Konstituierung des modernen Gemeindeverfassungsrechts. Mit der Schaffung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung und der damit verbundenen Einführung des freien Mandats der Mitglieder trug sie die Merkmale des ersten modernen „Parlaments“ in Deutschland. Die Stein’sche Städteordnung gewährte der Stadtverordnetenversammlung ein hohes Maß an Autonomie, insbesondere Budget- und Steuerbewilligungsrecht, ohne an staatliche Gesetzesnormen gebunden zu sein. Auch in Potsdam wurde im Zuge der preußischen Reformen im März 1809 erstmals eine Stadtverordnetenversammlung gewählt. Das 200jährige Jubiläum war für Wissenschaftler und Experten aus Politik und Verwaltung Anlass, verfassungsrechtliche Grundlagen, Entscheidungskompetenzen, Aufgaben und Strategien der Stadtverordnetenversammlung im Wandel der Zeit zu diskutieren.

The question of whether or not school makes a difference in preparing students for democratic citizenship has been debated for a long time in political science and curriculum studies. These discussions are mostly based on the results of international surveys measuring students’ political attitudes, values and participation. However, we first need to define what kind of prepared citizens are needed. This article takes on the definition issue and presents new perspectives by exploring how teachers in Social Science (Samhällskunskap) and their students in Sweden reason about engagement when they address complex societal issues such as globalisation. Based on interviews with a number of teachers and students I will argue that in order to understand what is going on in school we need to interpret Social Science teaching in terms of first- and second-order concepts, where the second-order concepts could be seen as "how to think like a social scientist". I will make a case that there is a didactic dilemma for teachers trying to educate students who are both trained in disciplinary thinking and leave school as politically engaged. However, this dilemma is not unsolvable and I will hold a position that it might contain answers to some of the questions that political scientists deal with in terms of engagement.

This essay follows a Media Teacher in her work as a coordinator and an artistic leader for a European project called Legalopoli concerning laws and ethics in a senior level school for 13-16 year-olds in Mora, Sweden. The students write film stories about how their characters have to make choices in ethical dilemma situations. Then the learners create interactive computer games together through practical film work. At the same time we can see how the educator also gets into difficult ethical situations, when she is working with the students. This forces her to self-reflection. She realizes that the practical knowledge in her work has a greater deal of an ethical dimension, than she earlier has been aware of. She understands that the convincing force in the project consists of the confidence and trust she has to create and develop among the students, who, in the start, were unsure and lacked in respect for one another. Through the practical film work they all get close and learn to see both themselves and each other. The students develop from being afraid of saying anything in the group to become confident and capable media producers, where their voices get listened to. They have started a journey into becoming democratic and caring citizens with wider perspectives of themselves and of the world. / Denna essä följer en mediepedagogs arbete som koordinator och konstnärlig ledare för ett Europeiskt projekt kallat Legalopoli, om lagar och etik i en högstadieskola i Mora. Eleverna skriver filmberättelser om rollkaraktärer, som ställs inför olika etiska dilemman i det interaktiva dataspel, som studenterna gemensamt skapar genom praktiskt filmarbete. Samtidigt får vi följa hur pedagogen på samma sätt, ställs inför olika svåra valsituationer i det pågående arbetet med eleverna. Hon tvingas till självreflektion och inser att den praktiska kunskapen i hennes arbete innehar en större etisk dimension än hon tidigare trott. Hon inser att bärkraften i projektet är det förtroende och den tillit, som hon måste skapa och utveckla bland eleverna, som från början var osäkra och betedde sig respektlöst mot varandra. Genom det praktiska filmarbetet kommer de alla nära varandra och får efter hand syn på både sig själva och varandra. Eleverna utvecklas från att ha varit rädda för att yttra sig i gruppen, till att bli tillitsfulla och kapabla medieproducenter, där de får göra sina röster hörda. De påbörjar en bildningsresa till att bli demokratiska och solidariska medborgare med vidgade perspektiv på sig själva och världen.

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