<p>Using the novels, <em>The Bluest Eye, Sula </em>and <em>Song of Solomon</em>, the purpose of this essay is to examine Toni Morrison’s characters in the setting of the black community with emphasis on gender, participation in society and the class differences which exist within the black collective. All of the characters in the narratives exist in communities which are defined by the racial barriers formed by the surrounding white societies. Due to her concern with the inter-relatedness of race, gender and class as they are lived by the individuals, Morrison gives her characters physical and psychological qualities which enhance their chances for survival and fulfillment, thus leading to the survival of the black community. Through her characters in <em>The Bluest Eye, Sula </em>and<em> Song of Solomon</em>, Toni Morrison portrays the black community with reference to blackness and the inner struggles of the individual as well as the class differences and social structures within the collective. It can be concluded that the black community is an important part of today’s society as the contemporary individual must embrace his/her culture and heritage, which is found in the unity of the collective.</p>

Using the novels, The Bluest Eye, Sula and Song of Solomon, the purpose of this essay is to examine Toni Morrison’s characters in the setting of the black community with emphasis on gender, participation in society and the class differences which exist within the black collective. All of the characters in the narratives exist in communities which are defined by the racial barriers formed by the surrounding white societies. Due to her concern with the inter-relatedness of race, gender and class as they are lived by the individuals, Morrison gives her characters physical and psychological qualities which enhance their chances for survival and fulfillment, thus leading to the survival of the black community. Through her characters in The Bluest Eye, Sula and Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison portrays the black community with reference to blackness and the inner struggles of the individual as well as the class differences and social structures within the collective. It can be concluded that the black community is an important part of today’s society as the contemporary individual must embrace his/her culture and heritage, which is found in the unity of the collective.

Active and engaged citizens are the backbone of a strong democracy and a vibrant civil society. Yet recent trends of low electoral turnout in Europe and decreasing levels of civic engagement have called into question the legitimacy of governments and the stability of democracy in the long term, particularly in Europe. Against the background of such developments this research sets out to provide a comparative study of civic engagement and analyse the variations in civic engagement between countries. The study is mainly based on the analysis of the European Social Survey 2002, covering 35,000 individuals from 19 European countries and applies advanced statistical modelling techniques including Multiple Correspondence Analysis MCA) and Multi-level modelling. Although there is a good deal of research examining civic engagement using individual level data or aggregate level data, very few studies have combined both approaches. This study addresses this gap and applies multi-level modelling to examine the relative importance of an individual’s socio-demographic characteristics and his/her country in determining levels and types of civic engagement. Thus, it has the advantage of identifying whether civic engagement is significantly affected by country characteristics or the converse, whether a person’s characteristics (age, education, social class etc.) are all that is needed in order to account for the variations in civic engagement. The innovative application of MCA to explore indicators of civic engagement has led to the identification of three dimensions of civic engagement; political activities, political consumerism and associational involvement. Moreover, by projecting all activities on a two-dimensional map it become evident that citizens who tend to carry out ‘individual’ types of political consumerism such as ‘buycotting’, boycotting and signing petitions are also more likely to be involved in New Social Movement organisations. These significant results shed new light on activities usually regarded as ‘individualistic’ type of activities and suggest viewing them in the context of a wider array of collective actions. Furthermore, in addition to the standard contextual measures such as economic development, welfare regime, income inequality, and levels of democracy, this study introduced two innovative policy measures. To consider the impact of government policies on levels of civic engagement measures of governments’ support of the voluntary sector and civic education at school (comparing the education policies of 19 European countries from 1945-2002) were developed. The results confirmed the importance of both individual level characteristics as well as country level characteristics in explaining civic engagement in Europe. However, differences between countries were reduced to a greater degree when contextual factors were introduced. Particularly the welfare state, showed the greatest effect. This implies that socio-economic conditions and in particular social policy and the degree to which it reproduces egalitarian structures determine to a great extent citizen involvement. In other words the results of this study suggest that the national context matters and that governments can and do shape the nature and levels of civic engagement.

BALTAZAR, A. C. S. Qualidade da Energia no Contexto da Reestruturação do Setor Elétrico Brasileiro, 2007. 137 p. Dissertação de Mestrado ? Programa Interunidades de Pós-graduação em energia. Universidade de São Paulo. A reestruturação do setor elétrico brasileiro privatizou as empresas distribuidoras de energia. A concepção do estado mínimo relegou ao estado o papel de mero mediador, exigindo que se estabelecessem regras e padrões mínimos de qualidade para o fornecimento de energia. Estas regras foram estabelecidas pelo poder concedente, o governo federal, através da Aneel ? Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica. A falta de oportunidade da sociedade de participar do controle social da energia diante da ausência do espaço público e a tendência de avaliar sua qualidade somente através de indicadores quantificados matematicamente mascara os conflitos existentes. Este trabalho pretende debater a qualidade da energia elétrica fornecida por uma empresa de distribuição a partir dos vários agentes envolvidos neste processo e não só pela análise de dados fornecidos pelas próprias empresas. A partir das definições dos vários distúrbios que podem afetar a qualidade da energia elétrica são apresentados os parâmetros avaliados pelos órgãos reguladores e a legislação pertinente ao tema. Por outro lado, são analisados dados referentes à relação das distribuidoras com a sociedade: consumidores, clientes, trabalhadores, órgãos de defesa do consumidor e reguladores. A dissertação procura apresentar as questões referentes à falta de controle social no serviço de distribuição de energia elétrica no estado de São Paulo, utilizando principalmente o conceito de espaço público de Hannah Arendt. De acordo com os documentos estudados, observa-se a ausência de espaços de discussão nos quais sejam debatidos os diversos conflitos nesta relação que não pode ser vista como só de mercado. / BALTAZAR, A. C. S. Quality of Energy in Context of Restructuring of Brazilian Electric System, 2007. 137 p. Work. Programme of Post-Graduation in Energy, University of São Paulo. The restructuring of the Brazilian electric power privatized distributors of power. Concept of minimum state allowed to the state a mere role of mediator and demanded that rules and minimum patterns of quality be settled for power supply. Federal Government through Aneel ? National Agency of Electric Energy established those rules. The lack of opportunities for the society to participate in the social control of energy due to the absence of public space and a tendency of having its quality indicators only mathematically quantified mask existent conflicts. This work intends to debate the quality of electric energy supplied by a distributor through several agents that are involved in this process and not only by the data provided by the distributors themselves. Based on disturbances definitions that can affect electric energy quality, the parameters appraised for regulators agencies and pertinent legislation are presented. On the other hands, data concerning the relationship between distributors and society: consumers, clients, workers, organizations of consumer?s defence and agencies, are analysed. Making use of Hannah Arendt concept of public space, dissertation seeks questions concerning lack of social control in the distribution of electric energy service in São Paulo state. According to studied documents, it is observed absence of discussion spaces, where the various conflicts of this relationship, which cannot be understood just as a market relationship, can be debated.

BALTAZAR, A. C. S. Qualidade da Energia no Contexto da Reestruturação do Setor Elétrico Brasileiro, 2007. 137 p. Dissertação de Mestrado ? Programa Interunidades de Pós-graduação em energia. Universidade de São Paulo. A reestruturação do setor elétrico brasileiro privatizou as empresas distribuidoras de energia. A concepção do estado mínimo relegou ao estado o papel de mero mediador, exigindo que se estabelecessem regras e padrões mínimos de qualidade para o fornecimento de energia. Estas regras foram estabelecidas pelo poder concedente, o governo federal, através da Aneel ? Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica. A falta de oportunidade da sociedade de participar do controle social da energia diante da ausência do espaço público e a tendência de avaliar sua qualidade somente através de indicadores quantificados matematicamente mascara os conflitos existentes. Este trabalho pretende debater a qualidade da energia elétrica fornecida por uma empresa de distribuição a partir dos vários agentes envolvidos neste processo e não só pela análise de dados fornecidos pelas próprias empresas. A partir das definições dos vários distúrbios que podem afetar a qualidade da energia elétrica são apresentados os parâmetros avaliados pelos órgãos reguladores e a legislação pertinente ao tema. Por outro lado, são analisados dados referentes à relação das distribuidoras com a sociedade: consumidores, clientes, trabalhadores, órgãos de defesa do consumidor e reguladores. A dissertação procura apresentar as questões referentes à falta de controle social no serviço de distribuição de energia elétrica no estado de São Paulo, utilizando principalmente o conceito de espaço público de Hannah Arendt. De acordo com os documentos estudados, observa-se a ausência de espaços de discussão nos quais sejam debatidos os diversos conflitos nesta relação que não pode ser vista como só de mercado. / BALTAZAR, A. C. S. Quality of Energy in Context of Restructuring of Brazilian Electric System, 2007. 137 p. Work. Programme of Post-Graduation in Energy, University of São Paulo. The restructuring of the Brazilian electric power privatized distributors of power. Concept of minimum state allowed to the state a mere role of mediator and demanded that rules and minimum patterns of quality be settled for power supply. Federal Government through Aneel ? National Agency of Electric Energy established those rules. The lack of opportunities for the society to participate in the social control of energy due to the absence of public space and a tendency of having its quality indicators only mathematically quantified mask existent conflicts. This work intends to debate the quality of electric energy supplied by a distributor through several agents that are involved in this process and not only by the data provided by the distributors themselves. Based on disturbances definitions that can affect electric energy quality, the parameters appraised for regulators agencies and pertinent legislation are presented. On the other hands, data concerning the relationship between distributors and society: consumers, clients, workers, organizations of consumer?s defence and agencies, are analysed. Making use of Hannah Arendt concept of public space, dissertation seeks questions concerning lack of social control in the distribution of electric energy service in São Paulo state. According to studied documents, it is observed absence of discussion spaces, where the various conflicts of this relationship, which cannot be understood just as a market relationship, can be debated.

<p>The background to this thesis lies in the great changes that have occurred in the disability field during the last threes decades. The purpose of this thesis is to describe, analyze and try to understand how these changes impact on life conditions for adult persons with mild intellectual disabilities. The main focus in this study is to listen to the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities themselves. The questions addressed in the study are; how do people with intellectual disabilities experience participation, citizen-ship, social exclusion and social inclusion in society? Where are their daily arenas and what characterizes those arenas in terms of citizenship, exclusion and inclusion? What type of experiences do they have from encountering people in the community, from encountering the organisations and staff that provide support and service and from the consequences of disability policies in practise? How do staff close to them work to reach the goals of participation? What role can professionals play in supporting participation? Which possibilities and barriers do the staff experience?</p><p>Empirical data for the study has been gathered by qualitative methods, mainly participant observations and interviews but also from document analysis of local authority documents, official guidelines, laws and national and international disability policy documents.</p><p>The theoretical framework is based on theories about citizenship and participation. Social exclusion and social inclusion are the sensitizing concepts in this study. For the interpretation and analysis theories about citizenship, participation and categorization were used.</p><p>In the light of the empirical findings the results of the study show that three main themes were promi-nent. The first theme concerned the daily arenas, were there were both excluded arenas and included are-nas with various forms of interaction with the society. The arenas for support and service in housing and daily activities are described as excluded arenas with mainly internal social interaction. On the other hand the new arenas such as daily activity centres, located in the community, such as cafés, shops run by peo-ple with intellectual disabilities together with staff had frequent interaction with other people in the soci-ety. The second theme concerned the content in the encounters between respondents with intellectual disabilities and different actors in the community. The informants had both positive and negative experi-ences of these encounters. The encounter with the disability policy was, according to this dissertation, that the user informants hade many experiences of lacking social citizenship but also that they experienced structural inclusion when politicians listen to them and answered their questions. The third theme con-cerned how the staff works to reach the goals of participation where both possibilities and barriers exist on structural and individual levels. This study illustrates the user informants’ many experiences of citi-zenship and social exclusion but also examples of social inclusion.</p><p>In the concluding chapter the results are discussed and analyzed in relation to the theoretical frame-work, where the concept of categorisation was very important. Finally, the description of the process clearly illustrates the difficulties for disability service organisations to develop support and services that are adapted to the actual disability policy. The results shed light on the gap between theory and practise.</p><p>Some of the most positive changes towards inclusion in society for people with intellectual disabilities come from services run by users and staff close to them. Final conclusions and reflections of the results in the study are that support and service also can be discussed in terms of universalism in order to reduce the process of categorisation.</p>

The background to this thesis lies in the great changes that have occurred in the disability field during the last threes decades. The purpose of this thesis is to describe, analyze and try to understand how these changes impact on life conditions for adult persons with mild intellectual disabilities. The main focus in this study is to listen to the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities themselves. The questions addressed in the study are; how do people with intellectual disabilities experience participation, citizen-ship, social exclusion and social inclusion in society? Where are their daily arenas and what characterizes those arenas in terms of citizenship, exclusion and inclusion? What type of experiences do they have from encountering people in the community, from encountering the organisations and staff that provide support and service and from the consequences of disability policies in practise? How do staff close to them work to reach the goals of participation? What role can professionals play in supporting participation? Which possibilities and barriers do the staff experience? Empirical data for the study has been gathered by qualitative methods, mainly participant observations and interviews but also from document analysis of local authority documents, official guidelines, laws and national and international disability policy documents. The theoretical framework is based on theories about citizenship and participation. Social exclusion and social inclusion are the sensitizing concepts in this study. For the interpretation and analysis theories about citizenship, participation and categorization were used. In the light of the empirical findings the results of the study show that three main themes were promi-nent. The first theme concerned the daily arenas, were there were both excluded arenas and included are-nas with various forms of interaction with the society. The arenas for support and service in housing and daily activities are described as excluded arenas with mainly internal social interaction. On the other hand the new arenas such as daily activity centres, located in the community, such as cafés, shops run by peo-ple with intellectual disabilities together with staff had frequent interaction with other people in the soci-ety. The second theme concerned the content in the encounters between respondents with intellectual disabilities and different actors in the community. The informants had both positive and negative experi-ences of these encounters. The encounter with the disability policy was, according to this dissertation, that the user informants hade many experiences of lacking social citizenship but also that they experienced structural inclusion when politicians listen to them and answered their questions. The third theme con-cerned how the staff works to reach the goals of participation where both possibilities and barriers exist on structural and individual levels. This study illustrates the user informants’ many experiences of citi-zenship and social exclusion but also examples of social inclusion. In the concluding chapter the results are discussed and analyzed in relation to the theoretical frame-work, where the concept of categorisation was very important. Finally, the description of the process clearly illustrates the difficulties for disability service organisations to develop support and services that are adapted to the actual disability policy. The results shed light on the gap between theory and practise. Some of the most positive changes towards inclusion in society for people with intellectual disabilities come from services run by users and staff close to them. Final conclusions and reflections of the results in the study are that support and service also can be discussed in terms of universalism in order to reduce the process of categorisation.

The major aim of this study is to evaluate the role of Turkish non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the consolidation of democracy in Turkey regarding the characteristics defined by the classical pluralist theories, starting with the ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville, and by contemporary pluralist approaches to civil society. To that end, characteristics of two examples, iHD and KiH-Y&Ccedil / V will be examined using three dimensions: effectiveness, enhancing solidarity and responsibility, and the dimension of inner democracy. As the methodology of the case study, in-depth interview techniques were adapted for capturing the qualities of the organizations in a detailed way. At that level, in-depth interviews from each organization were conducted with members having different positions. In addition to this, all written documents obtained from the organizations were scanned and the relevant ones have been examined for the sake of the study. Since the aim of the study is to understand what part Turkish NGOs play in the consolidation of democracy in Turkey considering the assumptions of classical and contemporary pluralist school in their analysis of voluntary associations and interest groups, this study espoused an associational concept of democracy as the method of work, which is a contemporary concept that underlines the democratic role of free and voluntary associations. In this context, this study tries to discuss the following questions: To what extent are Turkish NGOs independent from the state? To what extent can they have leverage on governmental policies? Do they mitigate conflict through overlapping interests? Do they enhance social trust, tolerance, compromise and a sense of solidarity in society and within their organization? To what extent are they democratic, pluralist and horizontally structured inside their organization and to what extent they are democratic regarding their decision making process? Are they open and inclusive enough in their membership recruitment techniques?

O trabalho versa sobre um processo de elaboração de um plano diretor, o qual observou o procedimento participativo de formulação. A participação é identificada como requisito de legitimidade do produto com base nas noções de democracia e de soberania popular. A efetividade da participação, considerada condição de legitimidade do plano diretor, é examinada mediante a verificação de como as decisões tomadas no processo de elaboração se refletiram no produto final. Para a realização da pesquisa examinou-se o processo de elaboração do Plano Diretor de Desenvolvimento Urbano Ambiental - PDDUA, de Porto Alegre, e para a verificar a efetividade da participação foram examinadas as decisões tomadas acerca da densidade urbana e seu reflexo na norma aprovada. A pesquisa teórica baseou-se na produção bibliográfica relacionada aos temas democracia e soberania popular, legitimidade, participação e planejamento urbano, buscando-se as contribuições na filosofia do direito, direito constitucional, direito urbanístico, urbanismo e planejamento urbano. A pesquisa empírica baseou-se em pesquisa documental. O estudo de caso abordou três áreas da cidade, estabelecendo-se a análise do regime urbanístico estabelecido no PDDUA e sua aplicação em casos concretos. Indica-se que no processo de interpretação e de aplicação das normas elaboradas mediante processo participativo o fator histórico e a análise da linguagem assumem especial relevância. Conclui-se que iluminam a interpretação e a aplicação da norma os princípios da função social da propriedade, da função pública do urbanismo, da precaução e da proteção ao meio ambiente. / This study describes a master plan formulation process, which included a participatory procedure. Participation is required to legitimize a product based on democracy and popular sovereignty principles. Effective participation - considered as a condition for the legitimacy of the master plan - is examined by analyzing how decisions made during the elaboration process were reflected on the final product. The elaboration process of the Urban and Environmental Development Master Plan (PDDUA) of Porto Alegre was examined, and the decisions made on urban density and their reflexes on the approved rule were analyzed. A literature review on democracy and popular sovereignty, legitimacy, participation and urban planning was carried out, considering contributions on law philosophy, constitutional law, urban law, and urban planning. The empirical research was based on documents. The case study included three city regions, analyzing the urban regimen established in the PDDUA and its actual application. It was observed that, during the process of interpretation and application of the rules created by the participatory process, the historical factor and language analysis are particularly relevant. It was concluded that the principles of the social function of property and of the public function of urban planning, precaution principles, and environmental protection principles influence the interpretation and the application of the rules.

O trabalho versa sobre um processo de elaboração de um plano diretor, o qual observou o procedimento participativo de formulação. A participação é identificada como requisito de legitimidade do produto com base nas noções de democracia e de soberania popular. A efetividade da participação, considerada condição de legitimidade do plano diretor, é examinada mediante a verificação de como as decisões tomadas no processo de elaboração se refletiram no produto final. Para a realização da pesquisa examinou-se o processo de elaboração do Plano Diretor de Desenvolvimento Urbano Ambiental - PDDUA, de Porto Alegre, e para a verificar a efetividade da participação foram examinadas as decisões tomadas acerca da densidade urbana e seu reflexo na norma aprovada. A pesquisa teórica baseou-se na produção bibliográfica relacionada aos temas democracia e soberania popular, legitimidade, participação e planejamento urbano, buscando-se as contribuições na filosofia do direito, direito constitucional, direito urbanístico, urbanismo e planejamento urbano. A pesquisa empírica baseou-se em pesquisa documental. O estudo de caso abordou três áreas da cidade, estabelecendo-se a análise do regime urbanístico estabelecido no PDDUA e sua aplicação em casos concretos. Indica-se que no processo de interpretação e de aplicação das normas elaboradas mediante processo participativo o fator histórico e a análise da linguagem assumem especial relevância. Conclui-se que iluminam a interpretação e a aplicação da norma os princípios da função social da propriedade, da função pública do urbanismo, da precaução e da proteção ao meio ambiente. / This study describes a master plan formulation process, which included a participatory procedure. Participation is required to legitimize a product based on democracy and popular sovereignty principles. Effective participation - considered as a condition for the legitimacy of the master plan - is examined by analyzing how decisions made during the elaboration process were reflected on the final product. The elaboration process of the Urban and Environmental Development Master Plan (PDDUA) of Porto Alegre was examined, and the decisions made on urban density and their reflexes on the approved rule were analyzed. A literature review on democracy and popular sovereignty, legitimacy, participation and urban planning was carried out, considering contributions on law philosophy, constitutional law, urban law, and urban planning. The empirical research was based on documents. The case study included three city regions, analyzing the urban regimen established in the PDDUA and its actual application. It was observed that, during the process of interpretation and application of the rules created by the participatory process, the historical factor and language analysis are particularly relevant. It was concluded that the principles of the social function of property and of the public function of urban planning, precaution principles, and environmental protection principles influence the interpretation and the application of the rules.