This thesis examines the experiences of girl child soldiers in Uganda in order to explore the gender gaps that exist in post-conflict programming and to engender meaningful policy solutions that target these gaps. This thesis uses a gender lens to analyze the challenges faced by Ugandan girls and to explore how entrenched gender norms feed into a singular narrative of conflict – dangerous boys and traumatized girls – that renders particular combatants – and their unique needs – invisible. Adopting a feminist methodology that prioritizes the importance of girls’ narratives and self-perceptions, the author argues that girl child soldiers must be meaningfully included in the design and implementation of programming aimed at serving their needs. A participatory action research methodology is presented as a promising way forward. It can help address specific gendered challenges in the post-conflict environment, while also recognizing and drawing upon the resiliency and strengths of the girl child soldiers themselves.

<p>Cilj istraživanja je konstrukcija profesionalnog<br />identiteta vizuelnih umetnica koje stvaraju u<br />Vojvodini krajem 20. i početkom 21. veka,<br />analiza njihovog umetničkog rada i života,<br />ukazivanje na mogućnosti njihovog povoljnijeg<br />položaja.<br />Hipoteza 1: Nedovoljna je valorizacija<br />vizuelnih umetnica Vojvodine, naročito onih<br />koje se bave novim tehnologijama.<br />Hipoteza 2: Nevidljiv je njihov doprinos<br />značaju za razvoj aktuelne umetničke prakse i u<br />sistemu visokog obrazovanja.<br />Hipoteza 3: Značaj umetničkog rada ovih<br />vizuelnih umetnica ne prepoznaju masovni<br />mediji, &scaron;to jo&scaron; vi&scaron;e doprinosi njihovoj<br />nevidljivosti u javnosti.<br />U istraživanju su primenjene analize:<br />svedočenja (intervjui) umetnica; analize<br />tekstova o umetnicama, analize umetničkih<br />radova umetnica.<br />Osnovni korpus istraživanja čine razgovori<br />autorke sa umetnicama, ukupno 12 umetnica<br />vezane za Vojvodinu, tekstovi o njima i njihovi<br />umetnički radovi.<br />Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da je<br />umetnicama profesionalni identitet<br />najistaknutiji, ostalim pristupaju kao<br />promenljivim kategorijama; da pridaju važnost<br />preno&scaron;enju znanja i formiranju novih kadrova,<br />te uvođenju ženskog identiteta u umetnost;<br />ističu da im nedostaje finansijska sigurnost u<br />profesiji, te da re&scaron;enje vide u udruživanju i<br />izgradnji mreže saradnica (međugeneracijskih,<br />umetničkih, interdisciplinarnih, lokalnih,<br />regionalnih i internacionalnih).<br />Zaključujem da je istraživanje ukazalo da su<br />umetnice koje se bave novim medijima u<br />Vojvodini delimično valorizovane. O njima je<br />pisan veći broj tekstova, ali su oni rasutu po<br />različitim izvorima, na mnogim jezicima i<br />mestima (lokalno, regionalno, internacionalno).</p><p>Politika institucija kulture im nije posvetila<br />dovoljno pažnje kada su u pitanju monografske<br />publikacije i retrospektivne izložbe, otkupi<br />umetničkih radova i sl. Njihov doprinos nije<br />dovoljno vidljiv u sistemu visokog obrazovanja,<br />a značaj njihovog umetničkog rada ne<br />prepoznaju dovoljno mas-mediji.<br />Istraživanjem su prvi put umetnice koje se bave<br />novim medijima u Vojvodini krajem 20. i<br />početkom 21. veka okupljene u jednu celinu.<br />Izneti podaci o njihovoj generacijskoj,<br />medijskoj, umetničkoj i drugoj povezanosti<br />predstavljaju samo početak budućih istraživanja<br />u okviru istorije i teorije umetnosti. Za njih je<br />izgrađivanje profesionalnog identiteta kao<br />bogatstva različitosti najvažnije, ali je on<br />uklopljen u mnogostruke ženske mreže i<br />povezanosti jer je to jedan od načina njegovog<br />razvoja i opstanka.<br />Ukupni podaci o različitim aspektima identiteta<br />umetnica novih medija mogu doprineti op&scaron;toj<br />diskusiji o prirodi identiteta.<br />Preporuka je da se uspostavi sistem čuvanja ne<br />samo radova, već arhiviranja dokumentacije o<br />umetnicama novih medija budući da su podaci<br />rasuti po različitim izvorima i privatnim<br />kolekcijama, slabo dostupni javnosti; da se u<br />galerijama i muzejima koji nemaju posebno<br />izdvojena sredstva za mlade umetnike/ce, za<br />produkciju umetničkih radova i sl. uvede slična<br />praksa; takođe nedovoljno kritičara i kritičarki<br />koji prate nove medije predstavlja problem koji<br />treba re&scaron;avati.<br />Iz svega izloženog pokazali smo da je reč o<br />umetničkim izrazima i umetničkim praksama<br />koje osvajaju prostor i otuda je prvi važan<br />rezultat analize u ovom radu to &scaron;to su na<br />jednom mestu pokazane različite prakse i to<br />tako da se sučeljavaju ocene o njihovom radu sa<br />svedočenjem samih umetnica o sopstvenim<br />radovima i dilemama.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> / <p>The aim of the research is the construction of<br />the professional identity of female visual artists<br />who are creating in Vojvodina in the late 20th</p><p>and early 21st century, an analysis of their<br />artistic work and life, pointing to the<br />possibilities of their favorable position.<br />Hypothesis 1: Valorization of female visual<br />artists of Vojvodina is insufficient, especially<br />those dealing with new technologies.<br />Hypothesis 2: Their contribution for the<br />development of current art practice and in the<br />higher education system is invisible.<br />Hypothesis 3: The importance of the artistic<br />work of these female visual artists is not<br />recognized by the mass media, which further<br />contributes to their invisibility in the public.<br />The research involved these analyzes: female<br />artists testimonies (interviews); analysis of texts<br />about female artists, analyzes of art works by<br />female artists.<br />The main research corpus is the interviews of<br />the author with female artists, a total of 12<br />female artists related to Vojvodina, texts about<br />them and their art works.<br />The results of the research have shown that for<br />the female artists the professional identity is the<br />most prominent identity, to other identities they<br />approach as to variable categories; they give<br />importance to the transfer of knowledge, to the<br />formation of new personnel and to the<br />introduction of women&#39;s identity in art;<br />emphasize that they lack financial confidence in<br />the profession and that they see the solution in<br />the merging and building of a network of<br />collaborators (intergenerational, artistic,<br />interdisciplinary, local, regional and<br />international).<br />I conclude that the research indicated that<br />female artists dealing with new media in<br />Vojvodina are partially valorized. A number of<br />texts are written about them, but they are spread<br />across different sources, in many languages and<br />places (locally, regionally, internationally). The<br />politics of the cultural institutions did not give</p><p>them enough attention when it comes to<br />monographic publications and retrospective<br />exhibitions, the purchase of art works, etc. Their<br />contribution is not sufficiently visible in the<br />higher education system and the importance of<br />their artistic work is not sufficiently recognized<br />by mass media.<br />This research is the first time that female artists<br />who are engaged in new media art in Vojvodina<br />in the late 20th and early 21st century have been<br />integrated into one whole. The presented data<br />on their generational, media, artistic and other<br />connections are only the beginning of future<br />research within the history and theory of art.<br />For them, building the professional identity as<br />the wealth of diversity is the most important,<br />but it is integrated into multiple women&#39;s<br />networks and connections because it is one of<br />the ways of its development and survival.<br />The overall data on different aspects of the<br />identity of female new media artists can<br />contribute to a general discussion of the nature<br />of identity.<br />It is recommended to establish a system for<br />storing not only works, but also archiving<br />documentation about female new media artists,<br />since the data that is scattered across different<br />sources and private collections is not readily<br />available to the public; that in galleries and<br />museums that do not have special funds<br />allocated for young artists/female artists, for the<br />production of works of art, etc., introduce<br />similar practices; also insufficient critics and<br />female critics who follow new media art is a<br />problem that needs to be addressed.<br />From all of the exhibited we have shown that it<br />is about artistic expressions and artistic<br />practices that conquer space and hence the first<br />important result of the analysis in this paper is<br />that different practices have been shown in one<br />place, so that the evaluation of their work is<br />confronted with the testimony of the female</p><p>artists themselves about their own works and<br />dilemmas.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

No description available.

This thesis provides an ethnography and critical phenomenology of undocumentedness in the Swedish context. By attending to the forces and processes that circumscribe the life-worlds of undocumented persons, as well as the phenomenology and essential experiences of their condition, a complex and multi-layered illustration of what undocumentedness is and means is successively presented. Employing a dual conceptualization of the state, as a juridico-political construct as well as a practiced and embodied set of institutions, the undocumented position emerges as a legal category defined only through omission, produced and reproduced through administrative routine and practice. The health care sector provides empirical examples of state-undocumented interaction where the physical and corporeal presence of the officially absent becomes irrefutable. This research suggests that the Swedish welfare state – universalistic, comprehensive and with digitized administrative routines – becomes a particularly austere environment in which to be undocumented. Drawing on interviews with regional and local health care administrators, NGO-clinics’ representatives and health professionals, as well as extensive participatory observation and interviews with undocumented persons, I argue that the undocumented condition is characterized by simultaneous absence and presence, and a correspondingly paradoxical spatiality. I suggest that the official absence and deportability of undocumented persons deprives them of the capacity to define space and, in an Arendtian sense, appear as themselves to others. There are, however, some opportunities for embodied political protest and dissensus. The paradoxical qualities of the absent-present condition manipulate the undocumented mode of being-in-the-world and I argue that alienation and disorientation are essential experiences of the undocumented situation.

This thesis seeks to uncover women’s concerns about chemicals in the household, and, more specifically, in cleaning products. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with women who are primarily responsible for household cleaning and who consciously avoid conventional cleaning products. From a sociological standpoint, the topic remains unstudied. The women were critical of greenwashing and the institutions responsible for chemical regulation. Further, the women’s chemical-free lifestyle defied conventional definitions of activism. Sociological theories of risk are used to help understand women’s avoidance of chemicals. It was found that tenets of the precautionary principle were reflected in their reasoning for avoiding chemicals. Recent biomonitoring and body burden studies have influenced women’s knowledge of chemical risk and their decision to avoid them. The thesis demonstrates that risk-management, in this context, has become an individualized pursuit reflective of the neo-liberal ideology informing chemical regulation. / Canadian Institutes of Health Research

This thesis provides an ethnography and critical phenomenology of undocumentedness in the Swedish context. By attending to the forces and processes that circumscribe the life-worlds of undocumented persons, as well as the phenomenology and essential experiences of their condition, a complex and multi-layered illustration of what undocumentedness is and means is successively presented. Employing a dual conceptualization of the state, as a juridico-political construct as well as a practiced and embodied set of institutions, the undocumented position emerges as a legal category defined only through omission, produced and reproduced through administrative routine and practice. The health care sector provides empirical examples of state-undocumented interaction where the physical and corporeal presence of the officially absent becomes irrefutable. This research suggests that the Swedish welfare state – universalistic, comprehensive and with digitized administrative routines – becomes a particularly austere environment in which to be undocumented. Drawing on interviews with regional and local health care administrators, NGO-clinics’ representatives and health professionals, as well as extensive participatory observation and interviews with undocumented persons, I argue that the undocumented condition is characterized by simultaneous absence and presence, and a correspondingly paradoxical spatiality. I suggest that the official absence and deportability of undocumented persons deprives them of the capacity to define space and, in an Arendtian sense, appear as themselves to others. There are, however, some opportunities for embodied political protest and dissensus. The paradoxical qualities of the absent-present condition manipulate the undocumented mode of being-in-the-world and I argue that alienation and disorientation are essential experiences of the undocumented situation.

Queer-identified women in Canada and elsewhere are underserved as a community with regard to the provision of support for drug use related problems. In order to provide much needed inclusive support services, researchers, policy makers and treatment providers must recognize and act on the interface of oppression with substance use in populations of queer women. The homophobia and heterosexism endemic to our society is an issue that necessitates the exploration, development, and inclusion of responsive policies and services for queer women who seek - or desire to seek - support for problematic substance use. This research study explores the support needs of queer-identified women who experience difficulties as a result of drug use. Through qualitative, interview-based research, my inquiry examines responses to the question: What are the support needs of women who are impacted by the confluence of heteronormativity and problematic drug use? Data are derived from nine, semi-structured in-depth interviews with women in the Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland areas of British Columbia. The methodological framework incorporates a critical feminist approach. A thematic analysis technique was utilized to analyse the interviews, with data categorized into three primary themes of discrimination, resistance, and support. Findings indicate that queer women require distinct support services for problematic substance use issues in an effort to redress systemic heteronormativity.

No description available.

No description available.

The study sought to uncover the constitution of migrant women's agency as they rebuild their lives in Australia, and to explore how contact with any publicly funded services might influence the capacity to be self determining subjects. The thesis used a framework of lifeworld theories (Bourdieu, Schutz, Giddens), materialist, trans-national feminist and post colonial writings, and a methodological approach based on critical hermeneutics (Ricoeur), feminist standpoint and decolonising theories. Thirty in depth interviews were carried out with 6 women migrating from each of 5 regions: Vietnam, Lebanon, the Horn of Africa, the former Soviet Union and the Philippines. Australian based immigration literature constituted the third corner of triangulation. The interviews were carried out through an exploration of themes format, eliciting data about the different ontological and epistemological assumptions of the cultures of origin. The findings revealed not only the women's remarkable tenacity and resilience as creative agents, but also the indispensability of Australia's publicly funded infrastructure or welfare state. The women were mostly privileged in terms of class, education and affirming relationships with males. Nevertheless, their self determination depended on contact with universal public policies, programs and with local community services. The welfare state seems to be modernity's means for re-establishing human connectedness that is the crux of the human condition. Connecting with fellow Australians in friendships and neighbourliness was also important in resettlement. Conclusions include a policy discussion in agreement with Australian and international scholars proposing that there is no alternative but for governments to invest in a welfare state for the civil societies and knowledge based economies of the 21st Century.