This thesis presents a new approach to the long-standing question of how electoral rules influence the behaviour of legislators. It begins with the argument that fresh empirical advances can be made by moving beyond the pervasive but rigid assumption that all legislators want to be re-elected and, by extension, that every incumbent values this goal to the same degree. Rather, I propose that individual Members of Parliament (MPs) vary in the extent to which they personally desire or depend upon re-election. Following the principles of a difference-in-differences design, this observation allows me to devise a theoretical framework capable of testing whether MPs' vote-seeking behaviour differs within parliaments in a way that varies predictably across countries. Specifically, I propose that in electoral systems where party-centric behaviour increases re-election chances, MPs particularly invested in the goal of re-election should cater to the party to an even greater extent than their colleagues. Conversely, in systems where a personal vote can generate electoral gains, MPs most ambitious for re-election should engage in this type of vote-winning strategy to the greatest extent. I test this prediction across the UK House of Commons and the German Bundestag, and within Germany's mixed-member system. Newly-collected biographical data on over 1700 MPs is used to conduct the first systematic MP-level operationalisation of re-election ambition based on legislators' career backgrounds. Career politicians are thereby identified as those most ambitious for re-election. Using voting behaviour from 1.8 million vote choices in legislative roll-calls as a proxy for the degree to which an MP caters to the party or to his or her personal reputation, the quantitative multilevel analysis reveals strong evidence for the proposed behavioural pattern. The contribution made by this study is two-fold. First, it uncovers the interaction between electoral rules and individual re-election ambition as a new explanation for MP-level variation in legislative behaviour. Second, its research design overcomes shortcomings in previous empirical tests for the existing theory on how electoral rules impact MP behaviour (e.g. Carey and Shugart 1995), producing more robust evidence in support of this influential framework.

Sociology of dance is an evolving discipline that takes as a central focus the social makeup of dance – the societal structures and individual agency that are inherent within dance activity and practice. Relevant ethnographic literature that adopts particular sociological concepts and models is generally narrow in focus, with attention centred on the frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault and the conformation of vocational and professional ballet and contemporary dancer minds and bodies, to particular practice-specific behaviours and beliefs. Through drawing on Erving Goffman's (1959/1990) model of dramaturgy, this interdisciplinary thesis uncovers and interrogates the two-way relationship between sociological micro relations (social interactions), and various types of dance activity and practice. Six case studies undertaken encompass a wide range of dance and social settings; the professional ballet class, inclusive creative dance class, line dancing class, salsa club, Highland dancing class, and dance in primary education. Data was collected through undertaking participant observation (primary method) and qualitative interviews (secondary method): each specific combination was influenced by the reflexive approach followed, the nature and setting of each case study and as researcher, my own dance ability. The transcripts and field notes were analysed and situated within Goffman's (1959/1990) framework to interrogate the social and dance ‘performances' given. The research aims to firstly, uncover and present the nature of the ‘realities' (Goffman, 1959/1990) within each setting and secondly, to interrogate and demonstrate the applicability of the dramaturgical model to dance scholarship. The findings reflect the sociological binary of individual agency and societal structures as realities were shaped by the ‘place' of each dance activity and practice in the field of dance, and challenged, maintained or supported existing dominant perceptions.

O objetivo geral deste estudo foi: avaliar as diferenças e semelhanças dos resultados em análises de dados do crescimento somático e índice de massa corporal de uma mesma população de crianças e jovens provenientes de desenhos transversais, longitudinais e longitudinais mistos. A amostra foi dividida da seguinte forma: (a) para a análise dos dados transversais foram avaliados 973 meninos e 1095 meninas com idades entre os 10 e os 15 anos. (b) para a análise dos dados longitudinais a amostra foi formada por 71 alunos, dos dois sexos, seguidos dos 10 aos 15 anos de idades, entre os anos de 2003 e 2008. (c) já a amostra coletada de forma longitudinal mista foi elaborada a partir de 4 coortes da seguinte forma: Coorte 1 = dez, onze e doze anos, Coorte 2- onze, doze e treze anos, Coorte 3- doze, treze e quatorze anos, Coorte 4 – treze, quatorze e quinze anos de idade. Para a análise do crescimento somático utilizou-se as medidas da estatura e da massa corporal. O índice de massa corporal foi obtido através do quociente entre a massa corporal em quilogramas pela estatura em metros ao quadrado. Os dados foram analisados a partir de seus valores médios e representação gráfica. A identificação do Pico de Velocidade de Estatura (PVE) e do Pico de Velocidade da Massa Corporal (PVMC) foi realizada subtraindo-se os valores médios de um ano pelos valores médios do ano anterior, sendo considerado o pico aquele em que as maiores alterações nos valores médios foram identificadas. Todas as análises foram realizadas no pacote estatístico SPSS for Windows versão 18.0. Os principais resultados demonstraram que existem diferenças importantes em todas as variáveis em um curto tempo; que existem diferenças na determinação do PVE e do PVMC entre os desenhos longitudinais e longitudinais mistos; e que não existe um padrão entre as diferenças dos desenhos de pesquisa analisados. Conclui-se que existe a necessidade de avaliações em períodos de tempo mais curtos, principalmente quando se trata de crianças e adolescentes, tendo em vista que os estudos seculares parecem mascarar mudanças que podem ser significativas; que a utilização do desenho longitudinal misto na determinação do PVE e PVMC não se caracteriza como o melhor método para esse fim; e que não é aconselhável comparações de resultados provenientes dos diferentes desenhos de pesquisa. / The aim of this study was to verify the differences and similarities between results of three different research methods design (cross-sectional, longitudinal and mixed longitudinal) in a study about somatic growth and body mass index in the same population of children and adolescents. Participate of the study in: (a) cross-sectional design, 973 boys and 1095 girls aged between 10 and 15; (b) longitudinal design, 71 students of both sexes, followed from 10 until 15 years, between 2003 and 2008; (c) mixed longitudinal design, with four cohorts: cohort 1- 10, 11 and 12 years; cohort 2 – 11, 12 and 13 years; cohort 3 – 12, 13 and 14; cohort 4 – 13, 14 and 15 years. Weight and height were measured. Body mass index was obtained by kg/cm2. Results were showed through mean values and, a graphic representation. Peak Height Velocity (PHV) and Peak Weight Velocity (PWV) were calculated by the mean values for one year less the mean value of one year before. It was considerate the highest values which one that showed the highest mean values alterations. All analyses were performed by 18.0 SPSS for windows. Results of this study showed: (a) there were significant differences between all analyses of children and adolescents somatic growth during a short time: (b) differences in determining PHV and PWV between longitudinal and mixed longitudinal design; (b) differences between standard of research designs analyzed. Thus, researches for showing modification in children and adolescents somatic growth seems to be during shorter periods of time. For the reason that secular studies seem not to be able to show important somatic growth changes. Consequently, mixed longitudinal design research appears not to be the best research design to evaluate and determine PHV and PWV. Finally, comparison between results found in different research design is not the best approach to study children and adolescents somatic growth.

abstract: The present thesis explores how statistical methods are conceptualized, used, and interpreted in quantitative Hispanic sociolinguistics in light of the group of statistical methods espoused by Kline (2013) and named by Cumming (2012) as the “new statistics.” The new statistics, as a conceptual framework, repudiates null hypothesis statistical testing (NHST) and replaces it with the ESCI method, or Effect Sizes and Confidence Intervals, as well as meta-analytic thinking. In this thesis, a descriptive review of 44 studies found in three academic journals over the last decade (2005 – 2015), NHST was found to have a tight grip on most researchers. NHST, much discredited outside of linguistics, confused authors who conflated the theories of Fisher and Neyman-Pearson, who themselves battled acrimoniously until the end of their publishing lives. Within the studies reviewed, with exceptions, dichotomous thinking ruled the quantitative approach, and binary reporting ruled the results and discussions. In addition, this thesis revealed that sociolinguistics, at least within the studies reviewed, is not exactly a “statistical monoculture” as suspected by Gorman and Johnson (2013), rather ANOVAs have joined Goldvarb’s logistic regression in its dominance. As described insightfully by Plonsky (2015), these two methods are exposed as extensions of the dichotomous thinking that attaches itself to NHST. Further, little evidence was found that the methods of the new statistics were being implemented in a coordinated fashion, including far too few meta-analyses. As such, quantitative Hispanic sociolinguistics, and linguistics in general, were shown to be vulnerable to problems with reliable quantitative theory building. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Spanish 2015

O objetivo geral deste estudo foi: avaliar as diferenças e semelhanças dos resultados em análises de dados do crescimento somático e índice de massa corporal de uma mesma população de crianças e jovens provenientes de desenhos transversais, longitudinais e longitudinais mistos. A amostra foi dividida da seguinte forma: (a) para a análise dos dados transversais foram avaliados 973 meninos e 1095 meninas com idades entre os 10 e os 15 anos. (b) para a análise dos dados longitudinais a amostra foi formada por 71 alunos, dos dois sexos, seguidos dos 10 aos 15 anos de idades, entre os anos de 2003 e 2008. (c) já a amostra coletada de forma longitudinal mista foi elaborada a partir de 4 coortes da seguinte forma: Coorte 1 = dez, onze e doze anos, Coorte 2- onze, doze e treze anos, Coorte 3- doze, treze e quatorze anos, Coorte 4 – treze, quatorze e quinze anos de idade. Para a análise do crescimento somático utilizou-se as medidas da estatura e da massa corporal. O índice de massa corporal foi obtido através do quociente entre a massa corporal em quilogramas pela estatura em metros ao quadrado. Os dados foram analisados a partir de seus valores médios e representação gráfica. A identificação do Pico de Velocidade de Estatura (PVE) e do Pico de Velocidade da Massa Corporal (PVMC) foi realizada subtraindo-se os valores médios de um ano pelos valores médios do ano anterior, sendo considerado o pico aquele em que as maiores alterações nos valores médios foram identificadas. Todas as análises foram realizadas no pacote estatístico SPSS for Windows versão 18.0. Os principais resultados demonstraram que existem diferenças importantes em todas as variáveis em um curto tempo; que existem diferenças na determinação do PVE e do PVMC entre os desenhos longitudinais e longitudinais mistos; e que não existe um padrão entre as diferenças dos desenhos de pesquisa analisados. Conclui-se que existe a necessidade de avaliações em períodos de tempo mais curtos, principalmente quando se trata de crianças e adolescentes, tendo em vista que os estudos seculares parecem mascarar mudanças que podem ser significativas; que a utilização do desenho longitudinal misto na determinação do PVE e PVMC não se caracteriza como o melhor método para esse fim; e que não é aconselhável comparações de resultados provenientes dos diferentes desenhos de pesquisa. / The aim of this study was to verify the differences and similarities between results of three different research methods design (cross-sectional, longitudinal and mixed longitudinal) in a study about somatic growth and body mass index in the same population of children and adolescents. Participate of the study in: (a) cross-sectional design, 973 boys and 1095 girls aged between 10 and 15; (b) longitudinal design, 71 students of both sexes, followed from 10 until 15 years, between 2003 and 2008; (c) mixed longitudinal design, with four cohorts: cohort 1- 10, 11 and 12 years; cohort 2 – 11, 12 and 13 years; cohort 3 – 12, 13 and 14; cohort 4 – 13, 14 and 15 years. Weight and height were measured. Body mass index was obtained by kg/cm2. Results were showed through mean values and, a graphic representation. Peak Height Velocity (PHV) and Peak Weight Velocity (PWV) were calculated by the mean values for one year less the mean value of one year before. It was considerate the highest values which one that showed the highest mean values alterations. All analyses were performed by 18.0 SPSS for windows. Results of this study showed: (a) there were significant differences between all analyses of children and adolescents somatic growth during a short time: (b) differences in determining PHV and PWV between longitudinal and mixed longitudinal design; (b) differences between standard of research designs analyzed. Thus, researches for showing modification in children and adolescents somatic growth seems to be during shorter periods of time. For the reason that secular studies seem not to be able to show important somatic growth changes. Consequently, mixed longitudinal design research appears not to be the best research design to evaluate and determine PHV and PWV. Finally, comparison between results found in different research design is not the best approach to study children and adolescents somatic growth.

O objetivo geral deste estudo foi: avaliar as diferenças e semelhanças dos resultados em análises de dados do crescimento somático e índice de massa corporal de uma mesma população de crianças e jovens provenientes de desenhos transversais, longitudinais e longitudinais mistos. A amostra foi dividida da seguinte forma: (a) para a análise dos dados transversais foram avaliados 973 meninos e 1095 meninas com idades entre os 10 e os 15 anos. (b) para a análise dos dados longitudinais a amostra foi formada por 71 alunos, dos dois sexos, seguidos dos 10 aos 15 anos de idades, entre os anos de 2003 e 2008. (c) já a amostra coletada de forma longitudinal mista foi elaborada a partir de 4 coortes da seguinte forma: Coorte 1 = dez, onze e doze anos, Coorte 2- onze, doze e treze anos, Coorte 3- doze, treze e quatorze anos, Coorte 4 – treze, quatorze e quinze anos de idade. Para a análise do crescimento somático utilizou-se as medidas da estatura e da massa corporal. O índice de massa corporal foi obtido através do quociente entre a massa corporal em quilogramas pela estatura em metros ao quadrado. Os dados foram analisados a partir de seus valores médios e representação gráfica. A identificação do Pico de Velocidade de Estatura (PVE) e do Pico de Velocidade da Massa Corporal (PVMC) foi realizada subtraindo-se os valores médios de um ano pelos valores médios do ano anterior, sendo considerado o pico aquele em que as maiores alterações nos valores médios foram identificadas. Todas as análises foram realizadas no pacote estatístico SPSS for Windows versão 18.0. Os principais resultados demonstraram que existem diferenças importantes em todas as variáveis em um curto tempo; que existem diferenças na determinação do PVE e do PVMC entre os desenhos longitudinais e longitudinais mistos; e que não existe um padrão entre as diferenças dos desenhos de pesquisa analisados. Conclui-se que existe a necessidade de avaliações em períodos de tempo mais curtos, principalmente quando se trata de crianças e adolescentes, tendo em vista que os estudos seculares parecem mascarar mudanças que podem ser significativas; que a utilização do desenho longitudinal misto na determinação do PVE e PVMC não se caracteriza como o melhor método para esse fim; e que não é aconselhável comparações de resultados provenientes dos diferentes desenhos de pesquisa. / The aim of this study was to verify the differences and similarities between results of three different research methods design (cross-sectional, longitudinal and mixed longitudinal) in a study about somatic growth and body mass index in the same population of children and adolescents. Participate of the study in: (a) cross-sectional design, 973 boys and 1095 girls aged between 10 and 15; (b) longitudinal design, 71 students of both sexes, followed from 10 until 15 years, between 2003 and 2008; (c) mixed longitudinal design, with four cohorts: cohort 1- 10, 11 and 12 years; cohort 2 – 11, 12 and 13 years; cohort 3 – 12, 13 and 14; cohort 4 – 13, 14 and 15 years. Weight and height were measured. Body mass index was obtained by kg/cm2. Results were showed through mean values and, a graphic representation. Peak Height Velocity (PHV) and Peak Weight Velocity (PWV) were calculated by the mean values for one year less the mean value of one year before. It was considerate the highest values which one that showed the highest mean values alterations. All analyses were performed by 18.0 SPSS for windows. Results of this study showed: (a) there were significant differences between all analyses of children and adolescents somatic growth during a short time: (b) differences in determining PHV and PWV between longitudinal and mixed longitudinal design; (b) differences between standard of research designs analyzed. Thus, researches for showing modification in children and adolescents somatic growth seems to be during shorter periods of time. For the reason that secular studies seem not to be able to show important somatic growth changes. Consequently, mixed longitudinal design research appears not to be the best research design to evaluate and determine PHV and PWV. Finally, comparison between results found in different research design is not the best approach to study children and adolescents somatic growth.

No description available.

Magister Public Health - MPH / This was a descriptive qualitative study. Eight people living with HIV, four of which had disclosed their status, were individually interviewed. Two focus group discussions (each comprising 6 participants) were also conducted with health workers. The study was based at an urban TB hospital which is currently providing a range of HIV-related services including HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing, case management and treatment. / South Africa

Citizens of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation fight for justice with their bodies at the frontlines of environmental catastrophe. This dissertation employs a biopolitical and interpretive analysis to examine these struggles in the polluted heart of Canada’s ‘Chemical Valley’. Drawing from a discursive analysis of situated concerns on the ground and a textual analysis of Canada’s biopolitical ‘policy ensemble’ for Indigenous citizenship, this dissertation examines how citizens and public officials respond to environmental and reproductive injustices in Aamjiwnaang. Based upon in-depth interviews with residents and policy-makers, I first document citizens of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s activities and practices on the ground as they cope with and navigate their health concerns and habitat. Second, I examine struggles over knowledge and the contestation over scientific expertise as the community seeks reproductive justice. Third, I contextualize citizen struggles over knowledge by discussing the power relations embedded within the ‘policy ensemble’ for Indigenous citizenship and Canadian jurisdiction for on-reserve environmental health. From an interpretive lens, inspired by Foucault’s concepts of biopower and governmentality, the dissertation develops a framework of “ecological citizenship”, which confronts biopolitics with a theoretical discussion of place to expand upon existing Canadian citizenship and environmental studies literature. I argue that reproductive justice in Aamjiwnaang cannot be separated from environmental justice, and that the concept of place is central to ongoing struggles. As such, I discuss “ecological citizenship’s double-edge”, to contend that citizens are at once bound up within disciplinary biopolitical power relations and also articulate a radical form of place-based belonging.

This thesis explores how people struggle to make livable lives in the conditions of existence of seeking asylum in the UK. The study is based on ethnographic research, conversations and participant observation, with people seeking asylum in Manchester. Grounding the research in their narratives is a contribution to decolonizing knowledge and doing justice to the sentience of people who are marginalized and pathologized. The narratives are brought into dialogue with feminist and decolonial philosophy and political theory, and with empirical studies of 'refugeedom' from a number of disciplines, to produce a new field of connection from which to map the terrain involved in theorizing livability. While the whole thesis seeks to respond to the narratives, there is a detailed focus on three dimensions which participants emphasize as crucial to livability: settlement in Manchester; the prohibition of employment; the asylum application procedures. These are moments in which livability is claimed as both ethics and practice. From the perspective of the narratives and the ethics which permeate them, livability opens up into questions of recognition, social justice and care. People claim commonality: recognition as human, equality and inclusion in social goods, and care in public settings. These are the practical and ethical supports of livability. The narratives point also towards critiques of 'refugeedom', the policies and practices that form the discursive and material conditions within which people seeking asylum attempt to make livable lives.