[pt] Este estudo investiga os significados atribuídos ao lazer por consumidores de Terceira Idade que frequentam grupos de reunião musical e aulas de dança de salão. Especificamente, buscou-se estudar a experiência desses consumidores em atividades de lazer em grupo e de que forma atribuem significado às vivências e às relações sociais e de amizade que ocorrem em espaços sociais de lazer. No contexto desta pesquisa, o consumo de lazer não é visto apenas por seu aspecto utilitário, mas é compreendido a partir de seu conteúdo simbólico, em que os consumidores atribuem significados ao consumo expressando seus valores, estilos de vida, categorias, identidades sociais e projetos coletivos. Ao privilegiar, a dimensão simbólica do consumo sob a perspectiva de marketing, o presente estudo se insere em uma linha de estudos em marketing que se apresenta como CCT – Consumer Culture Theory. Nesse contexto, a presente tese se filia ao paradigma interpretativo, ao partir dos aspectos subjetivos do consumo para perceber as relações dinâmicas das ações de consumidores e os significados socialmente construídos. Para condução do presente estudo, optou-se por utilizar métodos de inspiração etnográfica – a observação participante e as entrevistas em profundidade – buscando fazer parte da experiência vivida pelo idoso para compreender os significados a ela atribuídos. A pesquisa de campo incluiu dois grupos de idosos. O primeiro grupo é um encontro musical de seresta, sendo realizada a observação participante por um período de aproximadamente seis meses. As entrevistas em profundidade foram realizadas com 15 idosos participantes do grupo e com o fundador e líder do grupo. O segundo grupo estudado é voltado para dança de salão. Novamente, foi feita a observação participante durante um período de seis meses e entrevistas em profundidade com 16 idosos participantes. Os registros em diário de campo e as entrevistas foram analisados conjuntamente e permitiram identificar os significados que os idosos associam ao consumo das atividades de lazer analisadas. Realizou-se, inicialmente, uma análise de cada atividade de lazer. Para cada grupo, os significados identificados emergiram das análises. Em seguida, foi feita uma análise cruzada dos resultados obtidos para os dois grupos. Verificou-se que, embora possa haver significados comuns às atividades de lazer, há também significados distintos atribuídos à mesma atividade e a diferentes atividades. Estes resultados sugerem a existência de grande variedade de necessidades por detrás das escolhas de lazer dos idosos. Tais resultados sugerem ainda que a pesquisa sobre lazer de idosos deve levar em conta a heterogeneidade deste grupo de consumidores, evitando trata-los de forma reducionista, como se se tratasse de grupo homogêneo, caracterizado unicamente a partir de suas dificuldades físicas. Já no que se refere à aplicação empresarial, os resultados do estudo sugerem que os consumidores idosos podem ser segmentados a partir de distintos significados atribuídos ao lazer, que parecem traduzir os benefícios buscados por esses consumidores. / [en] This study investigates the meanings of leisure for the elderly people who attend a musical encounter and a ballroom dancing class. Specifically, the study investigates these consumers experience of leisure group activities; and how they extract meaning from these experiences and from the social relationships that occur in these social spaces of leisure. In the context of this research, consumption is not seen only by its utilitarian nature, but it is rather understood in its symbolic aspects, as consumers create meanings in order to express their values, lifestyles, categories, social identities, and collective projects. By focusing on the symbolic dimension of consumption from the marketing perspective, this study is positioned as part of a line of research in marketing known as CCT - Consumer Culture Theory. In this context, this thesis is affiliated to the interpretive paradigm, departing from the subjective aspects of consumption to understand the dynamic relationships between the consumers actions and the social and cultural meanings created. Methods of ethnographic inspiration – participant observation and in-depth interviews – were used to conduct this study. These methods permitted to be part of the leisure experience lived by the elderly as a means of understanding the meanings attributed to the experience. Fieldwork included two groups of elderly people. The first group is a musical encounter group called Seresta. Participant observation covered a six-month period; 15 elderly participants were interviewed in-depth, plus the founder and leader of the group. The second group included the elderly that participated in ballroom dancing classes. Again, participant observation lasted for six months and in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 participants. Fieldnotes and transcripts of the interviews together permitted to extract the meanings assigned by older people to these leisure activities. First, each activity was analyzed separately. For each group, meanings emerged from the analyses. Then a cross-group analysis was performed. The results showed that, despite meanings that are shared by the two leisure activities, each activity showed different meanings, or different nuances of the same meaning, and some of the meanings identified only appeared in one of the activities. These results suggest that there is a great variety of needs behind the leisure choices made by the elderly. In addition, the results indicate that leisure research focusing the elderly should take into account the heterogeneity of this group of consumers, therefore avoiding a reductionist approach that considers the elderly as a homogeneous group based on their physical limitations. As to managerial implications, the results of the study suggest that firms can segment the elderly consumers by the different meanings attributed to leisure, which can be equated to the benefits aimed when choosing their leisure activities.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / There is a major urban housing crisis in South Africa expressing itself in the failure of the government to provide low-income housing to urban residents. Considering this crisis, the specific purpose of this study was to examine the challenges to effective distribution of low-income housing with specific reference to the Delft Symphony community, focussing on the epoch from the years 2000-2015. The study was motivated by the fact that while there is an abundance of research conducted in the Cape flats, research focusing on the Delft Symphony community (DS community) is scanty especially on low-income housing distribution. This research gap became the focus of this thesis. To understand the challenges to effective distribution of low-income housing, this study was grounded in two theories namely the theory of justice and the self-help housing theory. The study employed qualitative methods in which semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted to collect the necessary data. This research used twenty-eight (28) key informants, and these were selected through snowball and stratified samplings. Qualitative data were analysed using content and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that government internal bureaucratic procedures and due processes such as the land approval process seem to contribute to the sluggish distribution of low-income housing in the DS community. The study also found that the low-income housing processes in the DS community are seemingly driven by politics manifesting in the allocation of houses based on political affiliations. The main recommendation from this study is that to improve the distribution of low-income housing, there is a need for the government to revitalise transparency and reduce bureaucratic delays in the processes of low-income housing.

The purpose of the study is to investigate teachers’ perceptions regarding the task of raising pupils into democratic citizens. Therefore, I will investigate how teachers apply this task in teaching. Research shows that Swedish adolescents to a very small extent engage in democtatic processes, compared to other countries. At the same time, the amount of studies performed in Sweden is very limited regarding how teachers integrate the assignment of democracy in primary school, specifically in year 4-6. Thus, it sparked an interest in how teachers apply and include the civics subject. The study was conducted by a qualitative in terms of semi-structured interviews. Six teachers participated and everyone are currently teaching civics in grade 4-6. The theoretical approach has been based on John Dewey and pragmatism. The theory has been used in combination with previous research to analyze the statements of the respondents.   Firstly, the results show that teachers experience their role of educating democratic citizens as unique and important. They believe that there are great opportunities in affecting students' roles as democratic citizens. However, the teachers also describe certain difficulties while teaching about the democratic processes, since the subject is very complex. A large part in the complexity is that school accommodates many different individuals with various sociocultural backgrounds, perceptions and opinions about the world, which constantly needs to be addressed. Additionally, the teachers also experience that using assignments where students actively practice democratic participation should be given a larger share in school. The most effective way to practice this, according to the teachers, is by using communicative methods, e.g., conversations. Finally, the studies conclude that there is a need for developing the communicative parts in the education materials, especially concerning the democracy education. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur verksamma lärare ser på uppdraget att fostra demokratiska medborgare. Därför kommer jag att undersöka hur lärare applicerar detta uppdrag i undervisningen. Forskning visar att svenska ungdomar i mycket liten utsträckning engagerar sig i demokratiska frågor jämfört med andra länder. Samtidigt finns det en mycket begränsad forskning vad gäller hur lärare applicerar demokratiuppdraget i grundskolans årskurs 4-6. Det skapade ett intresse för hur lärare tillämpar och inkluderar demokratiuppdraget i ämnet samhällskunskap. Undersökningen genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det deltog sex lärare, samtliga verksamma i ämnet samhällskunskap för grundskolans mellanår, årskurs 4-6. Den teoretiska ansatsen utgår från John Dewey och pragmatismen. Teorin har sedan tillsammans med tidigare forskning använts för att analysera och diskutera respondenternas utsagor.   Resultatet visar att lärare upplever sig ha en mycket viktig och unik roll i att fostra demokratiska medborgare. De anser att det finns stora möjligheter att påverka eleverna i deras medborgarskap. Lärare ser också vissa svårigheter i fostrandet då det stundtals är mycket komplext. En stor del i komplexiteten uppges vara att skolan rymmer många individer med olika sociokulturella bakgrunder, uppfattningar och åsikter om världen som alltid måste bemötas. Lärare uttrycker också att övningar där elever praktiskt tränar på det demokratiska deltagandet bör få en större plats i skolan. I resultatet framgår även att lärare ser kommunikativa metoder i form av samtal som den mest effektiva metoden. Resultatet visar på ett behov av att utveckla de kommunikativa delarna i läromedlen som riktar sig mot demokratiundervisningen.

Diploma thesis "The citizen participation on the decision-making process of Czech health policy" deals with the patients participation in the Czech republic. The thesis is separated into two parts, one is a theoretical background and the second one is analytic. In the first part there you can find definitions of the key words such as health policy, democracy, citizen participation or public policy. It describes the key words and shows the history and their development through the last 20 years. There is also a chapter which deals with methodology. The second part describes situation of citizen participation in the Czech republic, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Canada. It deals with citizen participation in health policy in these countries and describes their practical life. It compares countries above with the situation in the Czech republic.

This dissertation is focused on the transfer of citizens of German nationality after the Second World War from the borderlands of the North Moravian Velké Losiny village as well as on the impact of this transfer on the current community in Velké Losiny. The goal of this dissertation is to learn whether the transfer of the former German community from Velké Losiny and the resettlement with new residents influences the newly created community and how. A comparative study was created to support this goal and compare the originally populated Bludov village and the newly populated Velké Losiny village. Their development was analysed in seven periods (to 1918; 1918-1938; 1938-1945; 1945-1948; 1948-1960; 1960-1989; 1989 until today) and in eleven categories (population, nationality, regional origin, political orientation, administration, settlement type, living conditions and architecture, popular culture, languages of daily communication, relationship towards their home). These categories were selected on the basis of studies and research undertaken in the North Moravian, South Moravian and Bohemian borderlands describing the influence of the resettlement of the German population. Data used to describe the development of these villages has been collected from chronicles and other annals deposited in the...

Diploma thesis "Health care system development from the perspective of citizens" deals with the current state of Czech healthcare system, how is perceived by the citizens who are the target population of health policy and the main goal of health system is to improve their health. The main goal of this thesis is to find out, if the current state of Czech healthcare system meets with the requirements of citizens, having regard to the citizen's information and compared with the expectations. Qualitative and quantitative research methods (questionnaire, expert and semi structured interviews) were used to achieve the objectives. Theoretical and empirical part of the thesis is focused on the wider context of the role of citizens in the society and enforcement and respect of their human rights. There is emphasized the participation of citizens on health policy and importance of the human rights related to health in the thesis. Results of the survey show the lack of awareness of the human rights related to health and of news in healthcare that does not allow effective participation on creation and implementation of health policy and fulfillment of the role and responsibilities of the state in enforcement of the public interest. One of the biggest weaknesses of citizens is the lack of knowledge about the...

The fresh idea of including men in feminist campaigning might be a reaction to a postfeminist context with much uncertainty towards the feminist movement and arises a never-ending complex and contested issue within the feminist theory. This research aims at understanding the rise of feminist communication on social media, particularly on Instagram, with a special focus on men’s representation and involvement. Therefore, this paper will study men’s engagement in feminist digital campaigning on Instagram; and their representation and participation in this type of activism without ostracizing women. In recent years, social media have gained an increasing number of users, transforming these platforms into daily communication tools. Notably, Instagram has achieved considerable success with a growing use in e-commerce campaigns and social activism. In this context, this report will reduce its scope to Instagram feminist accounts in Spain and will consider the potential of social media for change by conducting surveys to feminist organisations and social media users and analysing the contents published by feminist influencers. All in all, this study responds to existing debates on how (or if) men should be included in the feminist movement. The clear conclusion to this DP is that there is not a simple answer to this matter.

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Den svenska gymnasieskolan ska uppmuntra och fostra elever till att bli aktiva samhällsmedborgare, samtidigt som elevernas rätt att engagera sig på olika sätt i nutiden debatteras. Ungas möjligheter att göra sina röster hörda är enligt forskningen låg, samtidigt som tidigare forskning inte fokuserat på elevernas syn på medborgerligt engagemang. Därav har följande studie som syfte att undersöka hur unga definierar och värderar medborgerligt engagemang. Studien har genomförts kvalitativt, genom semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer. Photo-elicitiation har använts för att skapa det diskussionsunderlag som intervjun utgick ifrån. Föreliggande studies resultat synliggör att ungdomar ser medborgerligt engagemang som i första hand en frivillig, positiv och icke-egoistisk aktivitet. Dessutom uppfattar eleverna att engagemanget kan värderas både positivt och negativt utifrån deltagarens syfte och val av engagemangsformer. Studien synliggör att de unga till viss del skildrar medborgerligt engagemang likt tidigare forskning, även om de öppnar upp för en till viss del ny förståelse av vad som kan innefattas och vad som är den huvudsakliga kärnan enligt eleverna. Enligt föreliggande studies resutalt av elevernas uppfattningar, så synliggör eleverna en bild av att det framförallt är barn, studenter och äldre som engagerar sig mest , medan vuxna i medelåldern varken har tid eller energi att engagera sig i samhället. Eleverna betonar det lilla och det fysiska engagemanget, samt till viss del att sprida information om samhällsproblem, även om de önskar att man engagerar sig för att lösa dessa och inte enbart prata om dem. / One of the goals stated in the curriculum for the Swedish upper secondary school is to foster students into becoming active citizens. At the same time, young peoples' possibilities to engage in contemporary society, is being debated. Young peoples' possibilities to make their voices heard, are according to research restricted. At the same time, research has not focused frequetly or primarly on students' view on civic engagement. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how young people defines and values civic engagement. This study has been conducted through semi-structured foucs group interviews with students in upper secondary school. Each participant was at the time of the interviews currently taking a course in social studies. Photo-elicitation has been used to create the discussion material that the interview was based on. The results of the present study indicate that the participants view civic engagement as primarly a voluntary, positive, and non-selfish activity. Moreover, they tend to value different kind of civic engagement as good or bad, depending on the form and the purpose of the activity. This study makes clear that young people in some ways understand civic engagement as the former research defines it, but they clearly show what types of engagement that are the most meaningful and important for them. According to this study's participants: children, students, and elderly are the most engaged citizens, while the adults don't have either time or energy to engage in society. The students describe the small and the physical forms of engagement as important, as well as the forms that encourage and informs other people. But they also want those people to engage to solve problems and not only talk about them.

This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between pet ownership, attachment, and psychological health among community-dwelling senior citizens and evaluated the impact of the placement of an aquarium into a regional senior center. General health, depression, social support, pet attitudes, pet attachment, pet relationships, and attitudes about the aquarium were assessed among 104 members of a senior center. Symptoms of depression were identified in 17.3% of the participants. Pets were a significant form of social support and attachment to pet owners. No significant relationship was observed between pet ownership, pet attachment, and psychological health. Positive health effects were reported among participants who observed the fish aquarium. While the relationship between pet ownership, human-animal interactions, and psychological well-being remains unclear, it appears that older adults can benefit from animal-assisted activities and therapy programs. Animal-assisted activities and therapy programs may be useful adjunctive therapies for depression in community-dwelling senior citizens.