INTRODUÇÃO: Tem-se afirmado que a divulgação da ciência ao público não acadêmico permite uma atuação mais efetiva nas intervenções que possam daí advir, sejam educacionais, culturais ou relacionadas à saúde. OBJETIVO: Analisar as possibilidades e limites de atuação de um Laboratório de produção científica do porte do Laboratório de Poluição Atmosférica Experimental (LPAE) da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo em Comunicação Pública da Ciência. MÉTODOS: Utilizou-se como referencial metodológico a pesquisa qualitativa. Foram levantadas todas as publicações do LPAE de janeiro de 1982 a junho de 2007; quatorze cientistas do LPAE foram entrevistados; 19 jornalistas que contataram o LPAE para realização de entrevistas que envolveram este laboratório entre janeiro de 2006 e junho de 2007 responderam a um questionário; e foram levantadas as ações de educação ambiental realizadas pelo LPAE. RESULTADOS: A comunicação pública da ciência realizada pelo LPAE ocorre através de todos os veículos de comunicação da mídia não acadêmica de forma constante. A percepção de divulgação pela imprensa não acadêmica é bastante discordante entre o grupo de cientistas pesquisados. Observa-se certa insatisfação manifesta por alguns, indicando que gostariam que essa inserção fosse mais expressiva. Alguns cientistas defendem a idéia de que todas as pesquisas podem ser transmitidas ao público não acadêmico enquanto outros declaram haver limites para a transmissão dessas informações. Ao analisarmos as relações entre jornalistas e cientistas, observamos importantes pontos de conflitos. Os cientistas criticam o despreparo destes para a entrevista. Jornalistas percebem suas relações com os cientistas em claro desequilíbrio onde o cientista se entende ocupando um lugar de destaque. Entre os jornalistas emerge a noção de direito da mídia, a ser exercido a fim de transpor as barreiras entre a academia e os demais membros da sociedade. Apontam dificuldades relacionadas à compreensão da linguagem utilizada, ao entendimento do processo científico, desconfiança da academia em relação à imprensa, pouca abertura dos cientistas a outras opiniões e difícil acesso ao cientista. As ações do LPAE em parceria com escolas de Ensino Básico têm conseguido alcançar total ou parcialmente seus objetivos tanto com o corpo docente como com o discente. Este estudo propõe uma subcategoria de modelo de comunicação pública da ciência denominada de modelo de participação pública educacional. Tanto professores de Ensino Básico como cientistas demonstraram interesse no trabalho em conjunto. Porém, as ações somente ocorreram quando intermediadas por um profissional ligado tanto ao LPAE quanto à escola. CONCLUSÃO: Ao longo de sua existência, o LPAE vem se mantendo na mídia não acadêmica constantemente. Vários pontos de tensão emergiram nas declarações tanto de cientistas como de jornalistas permitindo uma avaliação das principais questões que permeiam as relações entre estes profissionais. É possível e de interesse tanto de professores como de cientistas o intercâmbio de forma continuada entre os centros de produção científica e a escola básica. Entretanto, a estruturação das redes públicas de ensino não estimula tal prática, dificultando a implantação ou continuidade de iniciativas deste porte. Para que se tornem viáveis, é necessário um profissional responsável pela intermediação do processo. / INTRODUCTION: Many authors have stated that the popularization of the science to the nonacademic public allows a more effective performance in educational, cultural or health-related interventions that can occur. OBJECTIVE: Analyze the acting possibilities and limits of a scientific production laboratory with the importance of the Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution (LPAE) from the University of São Paulo Faculty of Medical Sciences in Public Communication of the Science. METHODS: The qualitative research was the methodological reference adopted in this study. All papers published by LPAE, from January 2006 to June 2007 were analyzed; fourteen LPAE´s researchers were interviewed; nineteen journalists that contacted LPAE for accomplishment of interviews that involve this laboratory between January of 2006 and June of 2007 answered a questionnaire; and environmental education actions accomplished by LPAE were surveyed. RESULTS: The science public communication accomplished by LPAE happens through all of the nonacademic media communication vehicles in a constant way. The perception of the disclosure by the nonacademic press is very discordant among the researchers group. Certain dissatisfaction is manifested by some of the researchers, indicating that they would like a more expressive insertion. Some of them assume that all researches can be transmitted to the nonacademic public, while some of them declare that there are limits to the transmission of that information. The analysis of the relationship between journalists and scientists reveals important conflict points. The scientists criticize the journalists\' unpreparedness to the interview. Journalists indicate that they perceive an unbalanced relationship, where the scientists put themselves in a prominence place. Among the journalists the notion of right of the media emerges, to be exercised in order to transpose the barriers between the academy and the other members of the society. They point out difficulties related to the comprehension of the language used and the understanding of scientific process, distrust of the academy in relation to the press, little opening of the scientists to other opinions and difficult access to the scientist. The LPAE actions in partnership with Basic Schools have reached total or partially their objectives with both the teachers and the students. This study proposes a subcategory of the public communication of science denominated education public participation model. Both teachers of elementary schools and scientists demonstrated interest in working together. However the actions only happened when intermediated by a professional linked to both LPAE and the school. CONCLUSION: Along its existence, the LPAE remains in the nonacademic media in a constant way. Several tension points emerged in declarations of both journalists and scientists allowing an evaluation of the main subjects that permeate the relationships among these professionals It is possible and of interest to the teachers and scientists the exchange in a continuous way between the scientific production centers and the basic school. However the public schools net structuring does not stimulate such practice, hindering the implantation or the continuity of initiatives of this load. To make them viable, it is necessary a responsible professional for the intermediation of the process.

Geoscience operates at the boundary between two worlds; the visible and the invisible. Increasingly, new geological technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and radioactive waste disposal are drawing the public’s attention to the ‘invisible’ world of the geological subsurface. This presents unique communication challenges because these technologies exist in a realm that can never be physically seen. This thesis addresses this issue by examining the psychological perceptions of residents in three villages in the south west of England. A representative sample from each village was qualitatively interviewed and mental models were constructed from the resultant data using the ‘mental models’ technique (Morgan et al, 2002). The mental models were then quantitatively tested using a questionnaire to assess the perceptions that a broader sample of the residents of these locations hold towards the geological subsurface. The results from the mental models assessment identified the principal perceptions held by the majority of the public surveyed. In particular, the study revealed the connection between the visible surface and the invisible subsurface and how different participants engaged with that boundary; choosing either a geoscience-centric or an anthropocentric approach to penetrating the surface. These approaches utilised by non-experts differed from those employed by the experts, who used a regionally specific geoscience-centric approach to visualising the subsurface. The work provides an important empirical baseline from which to develop a science-led strategy to engage the general public with new technologies and to increase our understanding of the more broadly held conceptions of the invisible subsurface.

INTRODUÇÃO: Tem-se afirmado que a divulgação da ciência ao público não acadêmico permite uma atuação mais efetiva nas intervenções que possam daí advir, sejam educacionais, culturais ou relacionadas à saúde. OBJETIVO: Analisar as possibilidades e limites de atuação de um Laboratório de produção científica do porte do Laboratório de Poluição Atmosférica Experimental (LPAE) da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo em Comunicação Pública da Ciência. MÉTODOS: Utilizou-se como referencial metodológico a pesquisa qualitativa. Foram levantadas todas as publicações do LPAE de janeiro de 1982 a junho de 2007; quatorze cientistas do LPAE foram entrevistados; 19 jornalistas que contataram o LPAE para realização de entrevistas que envolveram este laboratório entre janeiro de 2006 e junho de 2007 responderam a um questionário; e foram levantadas as ações de educação ambiental realizadas pelo LPAE. RESULTADOS: A comunicação pública da ciência realizada pelo LPAE ocorre através de todos os veículos de comunicação da mídia não acadêmica de forma constante. A percepção de divulgação pela imprensa não acadêmica é bastante discordante entre o grupo de cientistas pesquisados. Observa-se certa insatisfação manifesta por alguns, indicando que gostariam que essa inserção fosse mais expressiva. Alguns cientistas defendem a idéia de que todas as pesquisas podem ser transmitidas ao público não acadêmico enquanto outros declaram haver limites para a transmissão dessas informações. Ao analisarmos as relações entre jornalistas e cientistas, observamos importantes pontos de conflitos. Os cientistas criticam o despreparo destes para a entrevista. Jornalistas percebem suas relações com os cientistas em claro desequilíbrio onde o cientista se entende ocupando um lugar de destaque. Entre os jornalistas emerge a noção de direito da mídia, a ser exercido a fim de transpor as barreiras entre a academia e os demais membros da sociedade. Apontam dificuldades relacionadas à compreensão da linguagem utilizada, ao entendimento do processo científico, desconfiança da academia em relação à imprensa, pouca abertura dos cientistas a outras opiniões e difícil acesso ao cientista. As ações do LPAE em parceria com escolas de Ensino Básico têm conseguido alcançar total ou parcialmente seus objetivos tanto com o corpo docente como com o discente. Este estudo propõe uma subcategoria de modelo de comunicação pública da ciência denominada de modelo de participação pública educacional. Tanto professores de Ensino Básico como cientistas demonstraram interesse no trabalho em conjunto. Porém, as ações somente ocorreram quando intermediadas por um profissional ligado tanto ao LPAE quanto à escola. CONCLUSÃO: Ao longo de sua existência, o LPAE vem se mantendo na mídia não acadêmica constantemente. Vários pontos de tensão emergiram nas declarações tanto de cientistas como de jornalistas permitindo uma avaliação das principais questões que permeiam as relações entre estes profissionais. É possível e de interesse tanto de professores como de cientistas o intercâmbio de forma continuada entre os centros de produção científica e a escola básica. Entretanto, a estruturação das redes públicas de ensino não estimula tal prática, dificultando a implantação ou continuidade de iniciativas deste porte. Para que se tornem viáveis, é necessário um profissional responsável pela intermediação do processo. / INTRODUCTION: Many authors have stated that the popularization of the science to the nonacademic public allows a more effective performance in educational, cultural or health-related interventions that can occur. OBJECTIVE: Analyze the acting possibilities and limits of a scientific production laboratory with the importance of the Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution (LPAE) from the University of São Paulo Faculty of Medical Sciences in Public Communication of the Science. METHODS: The qualitative research was the methodological reference adopted in this study. All papers published by LPAE, from January 2006 to June 2007 were analyzed; fourteen LPAE´s researchers were interviewed; nineteen journalists that contacted LPAE for accomplishment of interviews that involve this laboratory between January of 2006 and June of 2007 answered a questionnaire; and environmental education actions accomplished by LPAE were surveyed. RESULTS: The science public communication accomplished by LPAE happens through all of the nonacademic media communication vehicles in a constant way. The perception of the disclosure by the nonacademic press is very discordant among the researchers group. Certain dissatisfaction is manifested by some of the researchers, indicating that they would like a more expressive insertion. Some of them assume that all researches can be transmitted to the nonacademic public, while some of them declare that there are limits to the transmission of that information. The analysis of the relationship between journalists and scientists reveals important conflict points. The scientists criticize the journalists\' unpreparedness to the interview. Journalists indicate that they perceive an unbalanced relationship, where the scientists put themselves in a prominence place. Among the journalists the notion of right of the media emerges, to be exercised in order to transpose the barriers between the academy and the other members of the society. They point out difficulties related to the comprehension of the language used and the understanding of scientific process, distrust of the academy in relation to the press, little opening of the scientists to other opinions and difficult access to the scientist. The LPAE actions in partnership with Basic Schools have reached total or partially their objectives with both the teachers and the students. This study proposes a subcategory of the public communication of science denominated education public participation model. Both teachers of elementary schools and scientists demonstrated interest in working together. However the actions only happened when intermediated by a professional linked to both LPAE and the school. CONCLUSION: Along its existence, the LPAE remains in the nonacademic media in a constant way. Several tension points emerged in declarations of both journalists and scientists allowing an evaluation of the main subjects that permeate the relationships among these professionals It is possible and of interest to the teachers and scientists the exchange in a continuous way between the scientific production centers and the basic school. However the public schools net structuring does not stimulate such practice, hindering the implantation or the continuity of initiatives of this load. To make them viable, it is necessary a responsible professional for the intermediation of the process.

Les relations entre eau et sociétés se comprennent en contexte et reposent sur des représentations. Les discours permettent de cerner leurs évolutions, notamment à travers des jeux d’acteurs. Les trajectoires du Rhône en France sont éclairées par celles du Sacramento aux Etats-Unis. Les observations au bord de ces fleuves sont mises en perspective au moyen de l’analyse d’un corpus principal de 5 985 articles de presse écrite. Les traitements mêlent approche quantitative et qualitative, inductive et déductive, en croisant analyse de contenu, analyse de données textuelles, représentation cartographique et étude de citations. Ce corpus offre un regard rétrospectif pour appréhender des discontinuités exogènes et endogènes, des contraintes statiques et dynamiques et des trajectoires. Les luttes définitionnelles autour d’un problème social entraînent des interactions entre différentes arènes, mettant au premier plan des porte-paroles et des logiques de pouvoir. Le cadre conceptuel de l’Advocacy Coalition Framework permet de mieux comprendre les hybridations, combinant politiques ascendante et descendante, ainsi que les processus de légitimation des discours. Différents espaces-temps s’inscrivent dans une dialogique entre ici et ailleurs, aujourd’hui et hier, risque et catastrophe. L’étude diachronique est couplée à une approche synchronique. Lors du XXème siècle, le Rhône et le Sacramento sont le fruit d’arbitrages souvent portés par l’Etat. Or, depuis une trentaine d’années, des coalitions de cause sont prêtes à se mobiliser pour que les représentations locales de l’eau soient prises en compte. Si les textes juridiques et les travaux scientifiques français invitent à une potentielle gestion intégrée à l’échelle d’un fleuve, l’exemple rhodanien montre la variabilité spatio-temporelle des représentations de l’eau et des problèmes identifiés, ce qui peut générer des tensions et rendre les compromis complexes. / A given society’s relationship with water is contextual, based on individual and public perceptions. This research investigated how public perception has been shaped by different stakeholders in two different river systems. To do so, we compared the trajectories of the Rhône River (France) and the Sacramento River (United States) by combining field observations with a principal dataset of 5,985 newspaper articles. Because the definition of social problems occurs within public arenas, this retrospective study of newspaper coverage allowed us to evaluate exogenous and endogenous discontinuities, static and dynamic constraints, and environmental and social trajectories. Media coverage was analyzed using content, quotation, and textual data analysis as well as GIS. Conflict between values entails interaction between different arenas, mobilizes spokespeople, and consolidates power relations. The Advocacy Coalition Framework promotes the hybridization between bottom-up and top-down policies and legitimizes different processes of discussion and problem-solving. Dialog between stakeholders exists in space and time between here and elsewhere, present and past, and risk and disasters. These temporal factors were addressed with a synchronic study. During the twentieth century, the Rhône River and the Sacramento River have undergone a great number of changes, primarily due to different decisions made at the national level. Nevertheless in both basins, advocacy coalitions have been key sources of political changes for thirty years: they share a set of beliefs and act in concert to address local concerns in water policy. Finally, a more detailed case study is presented for the Rhône basin, where French law and scientific knowledge require integrated river basin management. The Rhône case study demonstrates the spatial and temporal variability of opinions, debates, and discourses about water, which often embody tensions because of conflicting demands.

The South Florida Everglades is a unique ecosystem. Intensive water management in the system has facilitated agricultural, urban, and economic development. The Everglades offers a variety of ecosystem services (ES) to the people living in this region. Nevertheless, the ecosystem is under imminent threat of climate change, which would alter the way water is managed today and ultimately affect the ES offered by the system. On the other hand, substantial restoration is underway that aims to restore the Everglades closer to its historic condition. This research tried to map the public’s preference for Everglades restoration. Using a geocoded discrete-choice survey dataset, the study showed variation in the public’s preference by changing the levels of ES. Additionally, the general public’s attitude toward climate change risk to the Everglades and preference for mitigation were also assessed using the survey data.

No description available.

No description available.

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-02-16T16:02:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissTGZS.pdf: 2361976 bytes, checksum: bfe12588fa033582865bc65e7d00b822 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-04-24T11:38:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissTGZS.pdf: 2361976 bytes, checksum: bfe12588fa033582865bc65e7d00b822 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-04-24T11:38:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissTGZS.pdf: 2361976 bytes, checksum: bfe12588fa033582865bc65e7d00b822 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-24T11:46:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissTGZS.pdf: 2361976 bytes, checksum: bfe12588fa033582865bc65e7d00b822 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-15 / Não recebi financiamento / Quali-quantitative diagnosis of São Carlos Institute of Physics (IFSC/USP) website to verify its communicational effectiveness with intern (IFSC/USP teachers, employees and students) and extern public. The quantitative analysis, that considered 2.441 news, posted between June 2011 and December 2015, it was based on data provided by Google Analytics tool, considering three main topics: geographic and demographic users profile, views and time remaining on each one of the pages. The qualitative analysis considered topics related to website´s content, usability and functionality. It was concluded that news related to Everyday Physics, Health and Medicine and Opportunities were responsible for the biggest accesses and time of permanence of the users on the website. The study proposes the insertion of more interactive tools e multimedia resources on the website to attract more extern users as well as to bring more visibility to the website and the institution. / Diagnóstico quali-quantitativo do portal institucional do Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC/USP) para verificar sua efetividade comunicacional com o público interno (docentes, funcionários e alunos do IFSC/USP) e público geral. A análise quantitativa, que considerou 2.441 notícias, postadas no portal entre junho de 2011 e dezembro de 2015, teve como base dados fornecidos pela ferramenta Google Analytics, considerando-se três tópicos principais: perfil geográfico e demográficos dos usuários, visualização e tempo de permanência em cada uma das notícias. A análise qualitativa considerou tópicos relacionados ao conteúdo, usabilidade e funcionalidade do portal. Concluiu-se que notícias relacionadas à Física do Cotidiano, Saúde e Medicina e Oportunidades foram as responsáveis pelos maiores acessos e tempo de permanência dos usuários no portal. O estudo propõe a inserção de mais ferramentas interativas e recursos multimídia no portal para atrair mais usuários externos, bem como trazer maior visibilidade ao portal e à instituição.

Since the introduction of economic reforms in the late 1970s, China has experienced phenomenal economic growth along with rapid urbanization. The accelerated urbanization coincides with remarkable social-economic transformations and urban landscape changes. A city, as an urban system, is composed of social and physical subsystems that interact with each other. Equally assessing each component is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the urbanization process. The goal of this thesis research is to deconstruct the urbanization process through a social-ecological perspective. More specifically, this study examines social transformations, physical evolutions, and their relationships. Four research questions are proposed as (1) How does urban social landscape transform in time and space? (2) What trends are apparent in the urban land growth process and spatial heterogeneity? (3) How does social transformation relate to urban land growth, within a spatio-temporal perspective? and (4) How do social-demographic features relate to residents’ use and perception of urban green open spaces, focusing on the ecological services provided by and the need to improve those spaces? Given the lack of research on second-tier cities’ growth processes, this study selects Wuhan, a megacity in central China, as a case study, with a focus on its urban development zone (UDZ). A social-ecological approach is applied to study the multi-dimensional features of an urban system. The thesis is in paper format, containing five chapters. Besides the Introduction (Chapter 1) and Conclusion (Chapter 5), the main body consists of three articles. These three articles correspond to the four research questions proposed. Chapter 2 responds to the first research question by addressing how the urban social landscape transforms. Chapter 3 seeks to answer the second and third questions by evaluating urban land growth and its links with social factors from a spatio-temporal perspective. Chapter 4 matches the fourth question by seeking to understand residents’ preferences and feelings toward the urban green open space. Chapter 1 introduces the research context, reviews the urban ecology theory and relevant empirical research, as well as assesses the social-ecological approach related to studying the urban system. In this chapter, we also propose an improved social-ecological system (ISES) framework which guides the equally weighted study of both social and physical subsystems in an urban area. Chapter 2 (the first paper) seeks to investigate progressive transformations in the social dimensions of Wuhan UDZ while also focusing on their spatial transformations, using national census data in 1990, 2000, and 2010. We used varimax rotated principal component analysis (PCA) for the extraction of social dimensions and ArcMap for spatial visualization. This allows us to further analyze the spatial distribution of social clusters. The results suggest that industrial relocation, educational attainment increase, population aging, and migration are the main characteristics of social transformation during 1990 and 2010. Industrial relocation along with the spatial separation appeared as principal social dimensions in the 1990s but became more prominent in the 2000s, accompanied by the improvement of workers’ education levels. Aging population presented spatial movement outward from the city center. Population mobility increased significantly, and immigration became an important social dimension and presented spatial expansion in the 2000s. The socio-spatial patterns transform with a combination of concentric rings and sectoral clusters in different stages. These transformations are formed by the regional push-pull forces and the centripetal-centrifugal forces inside the city. We conclude that the social landscape transforms in a way with diversity and inclusion. Government dominates socio-spatial transformations in the initial stages, while market plays an increasing role in the later stages. To build a more inclusive society requires continuous and systematic improvement of relevant policies. Chapter 3 (the second paper) discusses urban land growth patterns and answers how social factors are associated with the evolution patterns between 1990 and 2010. We extract land cover information based on Landsat images with the vegetation area – impervious surface –water area (V-I-W) model and examine the urban growth patterns during various stages using landscape metrics of the area, aggregation, and shape. Then, we apply geographically weighted regression (GWR) to depict the link between urban land metrics and social factors. The results show that urban land coalescence and diffusion simultaneously exist; the city center is dominated by redevelopment, infilling, edge expansion; and the peripheral areas by outlying expansion. GWR coefficient surfaces show little differences in the models between social factors and urban land area metrics PLAND while remarkable differences are present in the coefficients of GWR models for the urban land patch shape irregularities and social factors. Urban land growth patterns relate to the government-led land supply system, the functional zoning of urban space planning, and the agglomeration and dispersion of social space under the market orientation. The authors conclude that urban management should consider the coexistence of different spatial growth modes and introduce factors such as social preferences in the urban land layout. This may apply to rapidly urbanizing areas. Chapter 4 (the third paper) aims to understand social-natural relationships, with a focus on how socio-demographic features can shape residents’ preference toward green open spaces and their perceptions of ecological services and improvements. Data is collected through online questionnaire surveys and interviews. The results indicate that preferences toward green open spaces vary among different social groups. Demands for improvement to green open spaces are rooted in residents’ appreciation for daily relaxation and health benefits, and link with their preference for visiting. However, how residents perceive green open spaces’ benefits does not rely only on an in-person visit. Interaction experience with nature and knowledge of natural development affect perception of daily use and health-related services. Residents’ perceptions of green open space’s ecological functions are associated with the changes in nature reported by those respondents. Responses to improving green open space reflect the residents’ pursuit of the aesthetics and practicality of such spaces. Though respondents are commonly aware of the ecological importance of green open space, there are differences in their willingness to voluntarily participate in its management. We conclude that to encourage the public to participate in configuration and improvement of green open spaces through a variety of ways, including considering residents’ opinions, is an efficient way in order to better social-ecological relationships. Chapter 5 reviews the main findings and conclusions, research limitations as well as future possibilities. This study establishes a dialogue between urban social and physical subsystems, with an integrated quantitative study of the urbanization process, emphasizing the relationships between two urban subsystems. It provides a comprehensive social-ecological view on a second-tier city based on the social and physical transformations that occurred in Wuhan during a transitional period of a socialist market economy. We conclude that the development of China's second-tier cities between 1990 and 2010 is characterized by the transformations of social dimensions and landscape, the coexistence of multiple urban spatial development modes, and the spatial differentiation between the center and the periphery of the city. The GWR models present spatial non-stationary relationships between social factors and the urban patch shape regularities. The further examination of social-natural relationships finds that residents’ social-demographic features and environmental experience affect their perceptions toward green open space, especially ecological services and improvement necessity. The evolution of urban social and physical systems and their relationships has brought increased attention to inclusive urban social management, public participatory planning, and people-centered social and ecological interactions. This research provides a constructive rethinking of second-tier cities’ growth in China and may serve as a reference for other rapidly urbanizing areas.

VACULIKOVA, K. The profession of social worker in selected states of the USA. Prague: Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, 2012. 109 pp. Diploma thesis. The goal of this diploma thesis is to introduce the profession of social worker in selected U.S. states - State of California, State of Iowa, State of New York, and State of Texas. In order to achieve the goal, the thesis first discusses the development and professionalization of social work, the values and ethics within the profession, the forms of the profession regulation and the scope of social work practice in the overall context of the U.S. Subsequently, it describes the specifics of social work profession in the selected states, including geographic and demographic description that significantly influences the focus of social work in each state. In a separate chapter, several aspects of the social work profession in the U.S. and the Czech Republic are compared. The thesis also presents the results of previous research on the public perception of the social work profession in the U.S. The follow-up research part uses the comparative analysis method and determines whether the social workers in the U.S. have realistic notions on the public perception of the social work profession in the U.S. and whether the public perception of the...