In this case study I explore why the conflict of the Basque country which involves Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) persists. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the existence of ETA. Working somewhat  as an ethnographer the method has been to observe Basque society and through semi- structured interviews gain an understanding of ETAs existence. As exemplified with the hermeneutic circle, this case study starts out with a preunderstanding of the reasons for the existence of ETA, a preunderstanding which alters many times during my visit to the Basque country. Keys to understanding the continued existence of ETA is that historical “injustices” are perceived to still exist in the Basque country. Perceptions which question the legitimacy of the Spanish state in the Basque country. Further the social base of ETA, as exemplified in election support for Herri Batasuna (HB), still remains rather strong despite the party‟s illegalization and finally, the perceived lack of a functioning democracy in Spain and the lack of legitimacy of the Spanish state in the Basque country are among the reasons for the continued existence of ETA.

This practiced-based thesis examines how a new Visual Communication methodology helps interaction designers to improve their future designs. This is achieved by engaging in creating visual interpretations from a lived experience that they need to design for, to reveal the phenomenological essence of what users have actually experienced, rather than what they say they have. This new Visual Phenomenological Methodology (VPM) places interaction designers into a specific communicational situation, in order to understand the phenomena of users’ lived experience ‘through their eyes.’ Thus immersed, interaction designers montage visual interpretations of what users saw/felt/did in the lived experience. The VPM facilitates interaction designers into designer-interpreters, who can interpret sensory data into a behavioural story of what its like to be the user in a lived experience. This thesis has developed the VPM across three peer reviewed, practice-based projects, using a synthesis of the pragmatic semiotics of Peirce, Hermeneutic Phenomenology, and visual communication techniques. Following the Frascaran view that the design discipline of Visual Communication (graphic design and illustration) is a positive facilitator of behavioural change, the VPM employs this hermeneutic-semiosis synthesis to facilitate interaction designers to develop a deeper and emergent understanding of the hidden motivations behind user behaviour. Through a contextual review into Visual Communication, Interaction Design, Phenomenology and Semiosis, this thesis develops the VPM from a theoretical concept, to a set of designer-friendly method cards that interaction designers can employ during their ideation phase. Throughout its development the VPM and its method cards were workshopped and peer reviewed by interaction designers. This thesis, over the following seven chapters, demonstrates how the VPM successfully provided Visual Communication design with a fresh way to re-influence Interaction Design, as a new contribution to knowledge.

abstract: The emergence of social media in concert with improved camera and cell phone technologies has helped usher in an age of unprecedented visual communication which has radically changed the tourism industry worldwide. Serving as an important pillar of tourism and leisure studies, the concept of the tourist gaze has been left relatively unexamined within the context of this new visual world and more specifically image based social media. This phenomenological inquiry sought to explore how image based social media impacts the concept of the tourist gaze and furthermore to discover how the democratization of the gaze in concert with specific features of image based social media applications impacts the hermeneutic circle of the tourist gaze. This in-depth analysis of the user experience within the context of travel consisted of 19 semi-structured photo elicitation interviews and incorporated 57 participant generated photos. Six salient themes emerged from the study of this phenomenon; 1) sphere of influence, 2) exchange of information, 3) connections manifested, 4) impression management and content curation, 5) replicated travel photography, and 6) expectations. Analysis of these themes in conjunction with examples from the lived user experience demonstrate that the tourist gaze is being accelerated and expanded by image based social media in a rapid manner. Furthermore, democratization of the gaze as enabled by technological developments and specialized social media platforms is actively shifting the power role away from a small number of mass media influencers towards a larger number of branded individuals and social media influencers. Results of this inquiry support the theoretical assertions that the tourist gaze adapts to social and technological developments and demonstrates that the concept of the tourist gaze is increasingly important within tourism studies. Practical implications regarding the prevalence of real-time information, site visitation, and “taking only pictures” as sustainable touristic behavior are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Community Resources and Development 2019

Photography and tourism have been developing in parallel with each other and leaving memories of the trip in photographs still remains as a significant part of traveling today. Tourist photograph is an effective tool to display the way tourists see the destination they visited. However, while there are studies regarding general relationships between photography and tourism, what tourists see and photograph in each destination has not yet profoundly been investigated.This study first investigates images of Kiruna, Sweden, utilized in its promotion as atourist destination to understand how it is expected to be perceived by tourists. Then these images are compared with tourist photographs to understand how they actually respond to this expectation.Also, this thesis aims to add a new perspective to the concept of ‘hermeneutic circle’ proposed by John Urry (1990). Specifically, it takes particular note of ‘nationality’ and ‘culture’, and focuses on two specific tourist groups in Kiruna, Japanese and German tourists, to investigate differences between these nationality groups in the way they perceive Kiruna as a tourist destination. In order to fulfill this aim, Volunteer Employed Photography (VEP) was applied and photographs they took in Kiruna were collected. In order to enrich the photographic data, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with each study participant.The results revealed that the study participants photographed subjects that were both appeared and not appeared in the promotional images of Kiruna. The study also revealed that there were certain differences between Japanese and German tourists in the way they perceived Kiruna and each nationality group has its own hermeneutic circle.

Background: Breastfeeding is globally recognised as a gold standard of nutrition, recommended for the first six months of an infant’s life. Despite its benefits, most women in Ghana do not breastfeed, as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Aim: To gain in-depth understanding of first-time Ghanaian mother lived experience of breastfeeding. Design/Method: A longitudinal qualitative design was adopted, underpinned by the hermeneutic phenomenological approach, as described by van Manen (1990). The study explored the lived experiences of thirty first-time women recruited from antenatal clinic. A series of three semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted; the first in late pregnancy, the second in the first week following childbirth and the final one between four and six months postpartum. Findings: Inductive thematic analysis informed by van Manen (1990) and principles of hermeneutic interpretation allowed the emergence of four main themes: the ‘Breastfeeding Assumption,' Breastfeeding as Women’s Business,’ the Postnatal Experience of Breastfeeding and ‘Family as Enabler or Disabler’. Within the context of this study, breastfeeding is expressed as an activity within the family and social environment. The overall phenomenon that emerged was ‘Social Conformity’. This demonstrates an understanding of the breastfeeding experience suffused with emotions as women project an image of themselves as successful breast feeders in order to conform to family and social expectations. Conclusion: Findings from the study demonstrated the multifactorial dimensions of breastfeeding. Most importantly, it was identified that first-time breastfeeding women use emotion work to cope with their experience of breastfeeding, within the social context. It was suggested that midwives play a pivotal role in helping women develop realistic expectations prior to breastfeeding. Furthermore encouraging family centered education that promotes holistic support for women. The findings therefore suggested the need for better antenatal education based on evidence-based practice. Breastfeeding women require individualised support that assesses their emotional needs and offers encouragement. Developing policies that ensure training of midwives and breastfeeding advocates was recommended. Future research could explore the impact of these interventions on breastfeeding practices, helping first time women to breastfeed effectively.

The traditional workplace evolved over time, moving through different waves or phases of change. The phases, although prevalent in different stages in different countries, have been characterised by various technological developments. The virtual workplace evolved as part of the Information Age or Fifth Wave, bringing with it its own unique characteristics and requirements. These unique characteristics, such as the speed at which information is communicated, crossing of time and space boundaries, social networks and requirements, such as sustainable high speed internet connectivity, are evident in the relationship between people, processes and the virtual workplace. This study explored the manner in which virtual workers executed their activities through the use of technology, the type of business processes supporting them and the challenges experienced by them. The proposed framework for the management of people, processes and places in the virtual workplace was subsequently derived. The framework has as aim to represent the relationship between people, processes and places components in the virtual workplace and in doing so providing a management framework supporting the virtual workplace. The people, processes and places components have been incorporated in the management, technology and practice sections of the framework, thereby providing a framework based on the relationship between people, processes and places. This study also developed the Extended Hermeneutic Circle of Learning which was used as guideline for the research conducted as part of this thesis. The deeper understanding created through the use of this research guideline assisted in providing structure to the research, thus enabling the researcher to derive the proposed framework for the management of people, processes and placed in the virtual workplace. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Informatics / unrestricted

The purpose of an Institutional Repository (IR) is to disseminate information to the public through technology networks. This entails numerous and complex Information System (IS) processes and a ‘state of the art’ Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, which need to be strategically managed to successfully meet an organization’s goals. Therefore, the focus of this research is to investigate and justify how Information Systems Strategic Planning (ISSP) is utilized by a Greek University when developing an IR. This study was based on the Technological Educational Institute of Athens (TEI-A). The gathering of evidence involved reviewing key institutional documents and a qualitative case study research method using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. The interviewees were informed about the study beforehand and were required to sign a consent form to ensure ethical integrity. The analysis of this data was based on hermeneutics interpretive phenomenology with specific focus on the hermeneutic circle in ISSP. In conclusion, the empirical findings and analysis showed that ISSP is essential when creating an IR as provides order in the chaos relating to IS and IT processes. This is done through ISSP continually reassessing each of its stages to ensure best practices are being applied.

Submitted by (lucia.rodrigues@ufrpe.br) on 2016-11-22T12:12:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria do Carmo da Silveira Xavier.pdf: 2981610 bytes, checksum: 8f296c9522d8a863e14670d85db94332 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-22T12:12:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria do Carmo da Silveira Xavier.pdf: 2981610 bytes, checksum: 8f296c9522d8a863e14670d85db94332 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-26 / In this research we investigate the construction of concepts, through technological material of artistic production of Conceptual Art, a transdisciplinary procedure with Science. It is confirmed the potential of continuing towards art, and its contribution to the learning of scientific concepts for students in high school. As expressive materials for the conceptual artistic productions, it is mentioned: the PET (Ethylene Politereftalate) and a bioplastics (made by students). These materials support the discussions and conceptual constructions about the curriculum content of high school to the Chemistry of Materials, to Biology and Ecology (environment), with the themes: polymers, synthetic and natural biopolymer, and transversal issues as: garbage, recycling, reuse, sustainability, environmental aesthetics and new technologies. As theoretical and methodological we have Kelly’s, Theory of Personal Constructs with emphasis on the Cycle of Experience is had. The hermeneutic-dialectic methodology the research’s methodology, seek refuge alteration of CHD and enables the structuring of interactive methodology/constructive, new learning tool, from proposed changes of CHD, allows you a closer cross between areas of knowledge, Art and Science. Personal Constructs that allows the simultaneous participation of all involved in the project and it grants primordial speech of freedom for the students through the spoken language and the conceptual constructions of art;collected data and allowing following the attitude and cognitive process of students. The project involves a group of 10 students from 1st year grade of high school of CODAI, institution associated to UFRPE, in the City of SAO LOURENCO DA MATA, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. The research results presents a satisfactory development from the participants and it also presents in the consensus final constructions, a very approach of the formal definition that could be found in the sciences literature as well as in the conceptual art. / Nesta pesquisa investiga-se a construção de conceitos através do material tecnológico da produção artística de Arte conceitual, em procedimento transdisciplinar com a Ciência. Verifica-se a potencialidade do material expressivo utilizado na produção conceitual da arte e na sua contribuição para a aprendizagem de conceitos científicos de alunos do ensino médio. Como materiais expressivos têm-se: o PET (Politereftalato de etileno) e um bioplástico (confeccionado pelos alunos). Esses materiais auxiliam nas discussões e construções conceituais sobre conteúdos curriculares do Ensino Médio relativos à Química dos Materiais, à Biologia e à Ecologia (meio ambiente), com o tema: polímero (sintético, naturais e biopolímero), e abordagens transversais como: lixo, reciclagem, reaproveitamento, sustentabilidade, estética ambiental e novas tecnologias. Como aporte teórico e metodológico tem-se a Teoria dos Construtos Pessoais de Kelly, com destaque para o Ciclo da Experiência. A metodologia hermenêutica-dialética fundamenta a metodologia da pesquisa. Também ampara as modificações efetivadas no círculo hermenêutico-dialético (CHD) e viabiliza a estruturação da metodologia interativo/construtiva como um novo instrumento pedagógico, eficiente tanto para construir dados em pesquisa qualitativa, quanto, como ferramenta pedagógica para construção da aprendizagem. O novo instrumento proposto a partir das modificações do CHD facilitou a aproximação transdisciplinar entre as áreas do conhecimento, Arte e Ciência, e possibilitou a participação simultânea de todos os pesquisados na mostra. Assim, envolveu: entrevistados e observadores, privilegiando a liberdade de expressão dos envolvidos através da fala e das construções e reconstruções conceituais durante as fases do instrumento. O CHD modificado viabilizou a construção dos dados da pesquisa e também facilitou acompanhar os processos atitudinais e cognitivos dos envolvidos durante a construção da aprendizagem. Foram pesquisados 10 alunos do 1º Ano do Ensino Médio do CODAI, Instituição vinculada a UFRPE situada no Município de São Lourenço da Mata, PE. Os resultados da pesquisa indicaram satisfatório desenvolvimento das construções conceituais dos participantes e mostraram nos resultados consensuais finais, muita proximidade às definições formais encontradas na literatura da área de Ciência, bem como da Arte Conceitual.

Universidade Estadual do MaranhÃo / Em vista da crescente importÃncia que a pesquisa vem adquirindo no Ãmbito das discussÃes e dos espaÃos de formaÃÃo docente, este estudo se propÃs investigar os fatores que interferem na prÃtica de pesquisa do corpo docente do curso de Pedagogia no Centro de Estudos Superiores de Caxias-CESC, pÃlo da Universidade Estadual do MaranhÃo â UEMA. A investigaÃÃo preocupou-se em discutir as dificuldades e possibilidades de desenvolvimento da pesquisa pelos professores como prÃtica inerente ao ensino e como forma de concretizaÃÃo das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais do curso. O estudo objetivou: a) Identificar o significado que os professores atribuem à pesquisa para o processo de formaÃÃo docente e para a prÃpria formaÃÃo; b) Investigar a disposiÃÃo dos professores para a prÃtica de pesquisa e, c) Caracterizar as prÃticas de pesquisa desenvolvidas pelos professores do curso. Utilizou-se a metodologia qualitativa do cÃrculo dialÃtico-hermenÃutico, proposta por Guba e Lincoln, tendo como instrumento de coleta de dados entrevistas abertas aplicadas aos professores do Departamento de EducaÃÃo e CiÃncias Sociais e Filosofia que atuam na Pedagogia. Os respondentes manifestaram livremente seu pensamento sobre os temas propostos: formaÃÃo docente, pesquisa no curso de pedagogia, professor reflexivo. Inicialmente sÃo abordados os aspectos histÃricos e legais relacionados à inserÃÃo da pesquisa nos cursos de graduaÃÃo no Brasil e suas possibilidades de articulaÃÃo com o ensino nos cursos de formaÃÃo docente. Em seguida sÃo discutidos os desafios da pesquisa nos cursos de formaÃÃo docente, os fundamentos que orientam a pesquisa realizada por professores, e os pressupostos de aplicaÃÃo destes fundamentos na pesquisa docente em Pedagogia. Os resultados obtidos nas investigaÃÃes indicam uma incipiente prÃtica do trabalho coletivo por parte dos docentes e a necessidade de lideranÃa e de diÃlogo a nÃvel departamental e institucional. Isto nos levou a sugerir, com base na Teoria da AÃÃo Comunicativa de Habermas, a busca de diÃlogo como estratÃgia para construÃÃo de senso de coletividade que favoreÃa aos docentes organizarem-se em torno de um trabalho direcionado para a produÃÃo cientÃfica. / In view of the importance that research has acquired in teacherâs formation current discussions, this study proposes to investigate factors that interfere in the research practice of the teachers of the Pedagogy Course of the Center of Superior Studies of Caxias (CESC), State University of MaranhÃo (UEMA). The study was dedicated to discuss the difficulties and possibilities for the development of research by teachers as a practice inherent to teaching as a way to follow Pedagogy National Curricular Directions. The study objectified: a) To identify the meaning given by teachers to research as part of the process of their own formation; b) To investigate the teacherâs disposition for research; e c) To characterize research practices developed by teachers in the Pedagogy course. The methodology used was the dialectic-hermeneutic circle proposed by Guba and Lincoln. Data collection was done in open interviews applied to the teachers of the Department of Education and Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy. The respondents manifested their thoughts freely about the following themes: teacherâs formation, research in the Pedagogy course, reflexive teacher. First, historical and legal aspects are approached in relation to the insertion of research in the graduation courses in Brazil and the possibilities of its articulation with teaching. Next, the challenges of research in the teacherâs formation courses, the theoretical basis of research and assumptions that orient the application of theories are discussed. Results indicate an insipient practice of collective work in the part of teachers and the need for leadership and dialogue in the level of the department and of the institution. It is suggested that the Theory of Communicative Action can supply the basis for an ideal speech situation as a strategy for building a sense of collectivity which will favor teachers to organize themselves around scientific production.

This thesis is an attempt to contribute a fresh perspective on marriage and related subjects, making use of public theology in dialogue with the Christ narrative. The phenomena of post secularism, postmodernism and film hermeneutics are explored. Critical hermeneutics are used as a point of departure. This study aims to bridge the gap between the Christ narrative and public theology as it surfaces in the cinema. In Chapter 2 the terms of the concepts public theology and posttheism are investigated. Public theology is understood as the contribution of people in the public sphere participating in “God-talk”, as an exponent of post theism. Chapter 3 investigates the historical development of marriage. This investigation shows that social-political and philosophical influences caused different forms and models of marriage to evolve. It becomes clear that it is practically impossible to define one specific form of marriage that dominated history. Chapter 4 is divided into two parts. The first part explores New Testament texts related to the themes of marriage and relationships. It is shown that these New Testament texts are part of a broader context and therefore cannot be applied directly to marriage in modern times. On the other hand the Christ narrative, seen as an ancient biography, does outline important values applicable to marriage, intimacy and sexuality. These values were identified and are used in following chapters to define intimate relationships. The investigation of biblical models in the second part of this chapter shows that biblical models of marriage were also rooted within a historical situation. Certain values that are found within these models can still serve as guidelines for relationships, while others are influenced by an androcentric background. Chapter 5 is a theoretical investigation using Gerhard Ebelings’ “new hermeneutics” as model, applied to the field of the public theology of film. From a hermeneutical perspective recent films with biblical themes are important to communicate the gospel and morals in our times as the postmodern generation is primarily influenced by visual media. In Chapter 6 three films are discussed as examples of film hermeneutics and public theology: Roepman, As it is in heaven and Les misérables. Similarities with the Christ narrative surfaced, for instance: critique is expressed against destructive ideologies; selfless acts are commendable and unconditional love and acceptance, forgiveness, faith and hope are essential for an authentic existence. These films do not focus on ethical dogmas about marriage, intimacy and sexuality, although some ethical values can be derived. In the concluding chapter a bifocal melting of horizons, based on the findings of the research, are described. Both the public theology of film hermeneutics and the Sache Jesu highlight the importance of the inner values that constitute a meaningful relationship. The study argues that the church should reconsider their traditional view on marriage and sexual relationships by emphasizing the values found in the Sache Jesu instead of concentrating on enforcing the outward form of wedlock. In doing so, the church will help postmodern and postsecular people to again understand the meaning of a loving relationship in the presence of God. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / New Testament Studies / PhD / Unrestricted