Prior research has studied extensively technology mediation in services. Yet, much of this work focuses on the consumer (or customer) viewpoint and there is a scarcity of research that focuses on the service provider perspective. By extension, there is little empirical work on how service providers experience and interpret technology use that is discretionary in nature (i.e., not imposed at an organisational/firm level). This study focuses on the context of healthcare and aims to unpack healthcare service providers discretionary use of mobile applications (apps). The aim of this thesis is to gain new insights on the discretionary use of technology in professional services by investigating its multifaceted nature. In doing so, I bring together the theoretical constructs of legitimacy, institutional work, and institutional logics of neo-institutional theory, role theory, as well as theories of professional identity construction to study healthcare service providers experiences. The emergent findings are structured upon three chapters (articles) and develop specific research questions that address the overarching aims and objectives of the thesis. In essence, this research highlights three core aspects of discretionary technology use; (a) how it is experienced by service providers in regards to the logics and rules of a given institutional context (macro level), (b) how it is approached by service providers based on changes in their roles in the organisation (meso level), and (c) how it is interpreted by service providers in relation to their professional identity (micro level).

Orientador: Rodrigo Duarte Fernandes dos Passos / Banca: Tullo Vigevani / Banca: Eduardo Barros Mariutti / Resumo: Partindo da identificação de um número considerável de discrepâncias conceituais nas obras desenvolvidas durante a década de 1970 por Robert Keohane e Joseph Nye, de um lado, e Kenneth Waltz, do outro; este trabalho se propõe a examinar o processo de sintetização que ambos os corpos teóricos passaram durante a década de 1980, conhecido como "síntese racionalista", ou "síntese neo-neo". A pergunta que guia este trabalho é como é possível em termos teórico-conceituais e científico-filosóficos (portanto, metateóricos), que ambas as construções teóricas fossem sintetizadas, entendendo como "possível" sua sintetização de maneira a superar um evidente "ecletismo". Recorrendo a uma revisão bibliográfica centrada, portanto, nos dois corpos teóricos em questão, nossa pesquisa remonta à década de 1970 buscando compreender o desenvolvimento conceitual dos autores e como a articulação teórica desses conceitos se dá através de seus referenciais de construção teórica, tomando como guia o conceito de cooperação em ambos os casos. Num momento posterior, focamo-nos sobretudo na discussão levada a cabo por Keohane sobre regimes internacionais durante a década de 1980, chegando à conclusão de que os termos utilizados por este último autor não se modificam entre as duas décadas e, apesar de a "síntese neo-neo" não ser eclética em termos conceituais, pois se vale do conteúdo conceitual de um só corpo teórico, ela o é em termos metateóricos, uma vez que o autor e Kenneth Waltz partem de pressupost... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Having identified a number of considerable conceptual discrepancies between the works developed during the 1970s by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, on one hand, and by Kenneth Waltz on the other, this research proposes to examine the synthetization process that both theoretical sets have undergone during the 1980s, known as "rationalistic synthesis", or "neo-neo synthesis". Our research question is about the possibility, in both conceptual-theoretical and scientific-philosophical (therefore, meta-theoretical) terms, of synthetization between these two constructions, "possibility" standing for synthetization in such a way to overcome an evident case of "eclecticism". Resorting to a bibliographical review centered on both theoretical sets under scrutiny, our research takes us back to the 1970s, looking for comprehending the conceptual development of the authors and how the theoretical articulation of these concepts is made through their references on theory construction, taking for guide the concept of cooperation in both cases. In a posterior moment, we focus on the discussion made in the 1980s by Keohane on international regimes, reaching the conclusion that the terms used by this author do not change between these decades and, despite the fact that the "neo-neo synthesis" is not eclectic in conceptual terms because it uses the conceptual content of only one theoretical set, it is eclectic in meta-theoretical terms, once Keohane and Waltz start from different presuppositions o... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Milton Koji Nakata / Banca: José Carlos Plácido da Silva / Banca: Paulo Kawauchi / Resumo: A presente pesquisa verificou se os problemas enfrentados por alguns alunos de curso superior de Design ao desenhar, podem ser solucionados ou amenizados por técnicas que melhoram a capacidade representativa no desenho de observação. Inicialmente, por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, o desenho foi explorado como manifestação artística e ferramenta projetual, abordando seu conceito, taxonomia, ensino, sua contribuição para o Design e alguns dos problemas comuns que as pessoas enfrentam. Em seguida, por meio de pesquisa experimental, foi aplicada uma metodologia com os materiais para desenho de observação e de coleta de informações, utilizando duas técnicas na produção de desenhos lineares e tridimensionais. Essa pesquisa se destinou a contribuir com o desenho de observação e a forma como é ensinado, com foco especial em estudantes de Design com deficiência na prática do desenho e nos problemas ocorridos em disciplinas de desenho de observação. Os resultados indicaram melhoria significativa nos resultados dos desenhos com o emprego de duas técnicas auxiliadoras. / Abstract: The present research sought to verified if the problems faced by some students of graduation in Design can be solved or ameliorated by techniques that improve the representative capacity in the drawing of observation. Initially, through a bibliographic research, the drawing was explored as an artistic manifestation and a project tool, approaching its concept, taxonomy, teaching, its contribution to Design and some of the common problems that people face. Then, through an experimental research, a methodology was applied with materials for observation design and information collection, using two techniques in the production of linear and three-dimensional drawings. This research was intended to contribute to the observation design and the way it is taught, with a special focus on Design students with a disability in the practice of drawing and the problems that have occurred in observation drawing discipline. The results indicated a significant improvement in the results of the drawings with the use of two auxiliary techniques. / Mestre

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No. of bitstreams: 1 paschoalotte_lm_dr_arafcl.pdf: 3219474 bytes, checksum: 3d1561985da9b8d968b144a96442458a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-03 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Há pelo menos três décadas a esfera pública vem sendo banhada pela figuração do humano como um ser de natureza igual – nem mais nem menos – a todos os outros seres viventes sob a rubrica da biologia molecular, mais precisamente da genômica. Do DNA como representação da “essência do nosso ser” aos “homens geneticamente criminosos”, vemos inúmeros enunciados serem vocalizados em livros, em reportagens e mídias em geral – especializados ou não – que, como diria Gyorgy Lukács, derivam ontologicamente as características do ser social daquelas constitutivas do ser natural. Desde a inauguração, na década de 1970 com a sociobiologia de Edward Wilson e Richard Dawkins, até os dias de hoje, a figuração do humano baseado na Teoria Sintética da Evolução vem se aperfeiçoando e se propagando nas distintas áreas do saber e da cultura. De forma geral, parte dominante desse pensamento interpreta as qualidades ontológicas dos humanos e, por consequência, suas características como resultados adaptacionista da evolução da nossa espécie com base na fitness genética. Sendo assim, no sentido de contribuir na compreensão do cenário no qual subiu ao palco tal figuração, este trabalho assume a tarefa de capturar alguns de seus significados históricosociais contemporâneos. Por consistir numa figuração com suportes teórico-científicos, a intenção, num primeiro momento, é identificar alguns dos seus fundamentos epistemológicos e ontológicos através da construção do que denominamos de grade de inteligibilidade genômico derivacionista, cuja característica central consiste na “dedução ontológica” das esferas menos complexas do ser em geral as mais complexas. Posteriormente, para levarmos a cabo o nosso objetivo, explicaremos o que consideramos efetivamente novo em seu significado histórico-social mediante as suas manifestações ideológicas – pelas quais práticas políticas e econômicas se operacionalizam. A nossa tese é de que, sob a crise estrutura do capital e seus aportes financeiros, emergiram tanto uma bioeconomia quanto uma biopolítica que imprimiram significados radicalmente novos ao modo com que tal figuração do humano se transmuta de discurso científico ao ideológico. / For at least three decades the public sphere has been bathed by the figuration of the human as a being of an equal nature – no more and no less – to all other living beings under the rubric of molecular biology, more precisely genomics. From DNA as a representation of the “essence of our being” to "genetically criminal men," we see innumerable utterances being spoken of in books, in reports, in advertisements and media in general – specialized or not – which, as Gyorgy Lukacs would say, derive ontologically the characteristics of the social being of those constitutive of the natural being. Since the inauguration in the 1970s with the sociobiology of Edward Wilson and Richard Dawkins, to this day, the human figure based on the Synthetic Theory of Evolution has been improving and spreading in the different areas of knowledge and culture. In general, a dominant part of this thought interprets the ontological qualities of humans and, consequently, their characteristics as an adaptational result of the evolution of our species based on genetic fitness. Thus, in order to contribute to the understanding of the scenario in which such figuration came to the stage, this work assumes the task of capturing some of its contemporary social-historical meanings. In the first place, the intention is to identify some of its epistemological and ontological foundations through the construction of what we call a “reductionist genomic intelligibility grid”, whose central characteristic consists of the "ontological deduction" of the less complex spheres of “being in general” the more complex. Subsequently, to accomplish our goal, we will explain what we consider to be effectively new in its historical-social meaning through its ideological manifestations – by which political and economic practices become operational. Our thesis is that, under the crisis of capital structure and its financial devices, both a bioeconomy and a biopolitics have emerged that have given radically new meanings to the way in which such figuration of the human transmutes from scientific to ideological discourse / 2014/27003-2

This thesis is an investigation into fundamental questions concerning the aims, purpose and goals of the university within the emerging 21st Century post-industrial, Knowledge Society (KS). Inquiries of this nature are often referred to as the 'idea' of the university and whilst a growing academic literature questions what an 'idea' for the institution may look like in light of the arguably unique context of the Knowledge Society, it has yet to be fully addressed. In order to do so, this thesis is methodologically framed by the sociological school of neo-institutionalism. This is a perspective within institutional theory which views institutions as not passive recipients of social values but able to dictate their own ideals upon society. The university in this view becomes a 'primary institution' capable to imprint its values upon the KS and thus giving it a prominent role in that society. In order to articulate an 'idea' of the university, the thesis begins with a critical review of the literature, specifically the manner in which university-KS relations are conceived. This concludes with a summative statement about such relations in the form of the 'problem of knowledge' i.e. an attitude which increasingly reduces knowledge in the university to means-end and economic propositions. An alternative conceptualisation is proposed which offers an optimistic approach to the university in the KS, one conceived through presumptions by the neo-institutionalist school and coined 'Knowledge Plasticity'. As there are no formal methods for creating an 'idea', the second part of the thesis undertakes an extensive review of seminal works in the field revealing three conditions to which such proposals generally conform. Taken together, these conditions serve as the methodological frame for creating an 'idea' for the university. The first of these, contextual clarity, having been achieved through the literature review, moves to the second condition, theoretical development, and entails an exploration of Knowledge Plasticity. This investigation reveals a 'tension of imbalance' within this concept which the 'idea' of the university must resolve, this being the final condition of the 'idea'. In order to do this, the 'University of Imagination' is identified as the 'idea' whose purpose is to bring about dynamic balance within the institution. Finally, the proposed University of Imagination is compared with the classical Liberal university suggesting a more effective means for the liberal 'idea' to become realised in the KS namely, through engaging with the former. As a philosophical contribution to the literature, the University of Imagination encourages us to be optimistic and emboldened by the project of education and offers a path to navigate the challenges and uncertainties facing the university in the 21st Century.

It is widely acknowledged that the phenomenon of prophecy was not restricted only to ancient Israel, but is well attested throughout the ancient Near East, not least but in the textual material retrieved from the Mesopotamian capitals of Mari and Nineveh. A number of recent studies have utilized these sources to discuss the literary history and rhetorical content of Hebrew prophecy. The following thesis differs from these by undertaking to examine and compare the institution of prophecy as it occurs in the Mari, Neo-Assyrian, and Hebrew sources. -Prophecy‖ is considered to be a mode of non-inductive divination, separate from dreams, that, ideally, is denoted by the active intermediation of allegedly divine messages to a human audience. Thus, texts that record the direct speech of a deity and are communicated to an audience by a human intermediary-without recourse to dreams or technical divination-may potentially reflect prophecy in the Mari and Neo-Assyrian sources. Along with a selection of preexilic Hebrew oracular sources, the image of prophecy in all three corpora is independently examined along seven lines: Prompting Prophecy, Prophets, Prophetic Deities, Venues, Means of Delivery, Content of Oracles, and the Responses to Prophecy. Observations gleaned from this analysis are then compared and contrasted with one another to derive a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of prophecy in each source. Among other conclusions, it is observed that it is insufficient to simply silhouette Hebrew prophecy against its Mesopotamian counterparts, as if the images of prophecy in Mari and Neo-Assyrian sources themselves represent indistinguishable phenomena. Indeed, despite considerable overlap, they are not completely consistent. This result, it is argued, places in context some of the more glaring discrepancies between these sources and the image of prophecy in the Hebrew sources.

My main argument in this dissertation is that popular nationalism in post-war South Korea, unlike the conventional claim to it among many South Korean critical intellectuals and unification policy-makers, cannot serve as an antidote to anti-North Koreanism. On the contrary, it is problematic that the cultural politics of national identification, prescribed as an authentic critical tool of challenging anti-North Koreanism, helps program hierarchical inter-Korea relationships by exposing the South Korean public to anomalous cultural-political characteristics of North Koreans. It also does so by creating popular discourses that have reinforced unification policy agendas that frame the development of North Korea in terms that would make it amenable to the needs of transnational capitalism and the legitimacy of liberal human rights discourse. This critical endeavor claims that the critique of anti-North Koreanism cannot be successful without problematizing the idea of discontinuity that stresses there is a rupture between cold war and post-cold war forms of anti-North Koreanism. This is because any un-scrutinized presumption of the historical transition can only confuse critical interpretations of the role of national identification while thereby reinforcing policy-driven resolutions for inter-Korea sociability. Thus, I locate the significance of my work in a democratic call for South Korean critical communication and cultural studies as well as the public to effectively deconstruct the contingent discursive collaboration of national identification and anti-North Koreanism that complies with transnational globalization.

The management of international waterways presents riparian nations with a challenging set of political, economic, environmental, and geographic difficulties. Historically, the Nile Basin has exemplified many of these problems as witnessed by inter-basin conflict, devastating floods, crippling drought, and unstable political and economic development. Despite their tumultuous past the ten riparian nations of the Nile Basin established a supranational water management institution in 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), in order to develop collective solutions to their common water related problems. However, serious challenges to the cooperative process threaten to derail the NBI and enflame underlying causes of conflict. This thesis seeks to determine how the NBI has affected water related decision making in the Nile Basin. This will be achieved by examining patterns of decision-making before and after the establishment of the NBI. Specifically, the impact of the NBI will be tested by examining patterns of decision-making within three measures of conflict, namely the allocation of water resources, the sharing of technical data and expertise, and the financing of water related projects and programs.

Personality neuroscience is a rapidly expanding field of study fueled by a growing interest in understanding the structural brain correlates of individual differences in personality. Data on the structural brain correlates of personality are especially lacking from large-scale studies, and are nearly nonexistent in the adolescent age group. Furthermore, the role of sex differences in structural brain changes associated with personality are rarely considered. To address this gap in knowledge, this thesis investigates the structural brain correlates of personality and sex differences in structure at age fourteen. A large sample of adolescents (N = 2000) were drawn from the IMAGEN project. Data on adolescents’ puberty status, IQ, and personality were collected through adolescent-reported questionnaires and interviews. The structural brain correlates of personality were examined utilizing personality variables from the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM). Our results showed few correlations between any dimension of the NEO-FFI and regional grey matter volume (GMV). In the total sample, a negative correlation was found for agreeableness and bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), which was also present in the male subsample. The female sample showed a significant negative correlation between extraversion and the right SMA, and a positive correlation in the left cerebellum. A non-linear effect of extraversion positively correlated with the right precuneus in females. The present study suggests personality traits are not strongly reflected in GMV during adolescence. This thesis includes a discussion on future directions and suggestions for assessing the brain correlates of personality.

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