A tese utiliza o conceito de paisagem para discutir questões relacionadas às áreas da Arquitetura e Urbanismo e de Planejamento Urbano e Regional, focando essencialmente na questão patrimonial. Assume como pressuposto que a paisagem enquanto construção social evidencia valores não usualmente considerados pela prática profissional, mas que participam efetivamente na criação e/ou manutenção de identidades, por isso essenciais para o êxito de projetos e planos em diferentes escalas de atuação. A pesquisa sustenta que tais valores estão presentes nas paisagens comuns, cotidianas, evocadas aqui como paisagens ordinárias, em contraponto àquelas porções de território tradicionalmente destacadas como patrimônio por seu caráter excepcional. O percurso da investigação considera uma aproximação filosófica histórica com o conceito de paisagem no ocidente, identificando vertentes estruturais para seu estudo, de onde derivam os parâmetros de atuação nas disciplinas em que a tese se inscreve. A investigação também discute distintos métodos de leitura e interpretação da paisagem de diferentes realidades, analisando seus contextos técnicos e administrativos para, finalmente, construir uma interpretação sobre as paisagens de Agudo, no Rio Grande do Sul, a partir de suas representações técnica e comuns, indicando outra perspectiva para as práticas profissionais diretamente envolvidas. Por fim, evidencia o papel decisivo das paisagens ordinárias na conformação de identidade territorial, requisitando uma postura mais ampla, integrada e ativa em relação ao patrimônio e à paisagem na área do planejamento urbano e regional e da arquitetura e urbanismo. / The thesis uses the concept of landscape to discuss questions related to the fields of Architecture and Urbanism and of Urban and Regional Planning, focusing essentially on heritage aspects. It assumes that the landscape, while social construction, conveys values that are not usually considered by professional practice but that effectively participate in the creation and/or maintenance of identities, and are thus essential for the success of the projects and plans in different scales of activity. The research sustains that such values are present in the usual, daily landscapes, evoked here as ordinary landscapes, in contrast to those areas of the territory, which are traditionally highlighted as patrimony by their exceptional character. The investigation considers a philosophical-historical approach with the concept of western landscape, identifying structural frameworks for its study, from which derive the parameters of action in disciplines related to the thesis. The investigation also discusses distinct methods of reading and interpreting the landscape of different realities to finally construct an interpretation about the landscapes of Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul, from its technical and common representations, indicating another perspective for the professional practices directly involved. Finally, it shows the decisive role of ordinary landscapes in the conformation of territorial identity, calling for a broader, integrated and active attitude towards heritage and landscape in the field of urban and regional planning and architecture and urbanism. / La tesis utiliza el concepto de paisaje para discutir cuestiones relacionadas a las áreas de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, así como de Planificación Territorial, enfocando en la cuestión patrimonial. Asume como premisa que el paisaje en cuanto construcción social evidencia valores no usualmente considerados por la práctica profesional, pero que participan efectivamente en la creación y/o mantenimiento de identidades, por lo tanto, esenciales para el éxito de proyectos y planes en diferentes escalas de actuación. La tesis sostiene que tales valores son parte de los paisajes comunes, cotidianos, evocados aquí como paisajes ordinarios, en contraposición a aquellas porciones de territorio tradicionalmente destacadas como patrimonio por su carácter excepcional. El curso de la investigación considera una aproximación histórico-filosófica con el concepto de paisaje en el occidente, identificando vertientes estructurales para su estudio, desde dónde derivan los parámetros de actuación en las disciplinas en las que la tesis se inscribe. La investigación también discute distintos métodos de lectura e interpretación del paisaje de diferentes realidades, analizando sus contextos técnicos y administrativos para, por fin, construir una interpretación de los paisajes de Agudo, en Rio Grande do Sul – Brasil, a partir de sus representaciones técnicas y comunes, indicando otra perspectiva para las prácticas profesionales directamente involucradas. Por fin, evidencia el papel decisivo de los paisajes ordinarios en la conformación de identidad territorial, demandando una postura más amplia, integrada y activa hacia el patrimonio y el paisaje en el área de la planificación territorial y de la arquitectura.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the fear of crime in old peoples lives. Notwithstanding that the age category is exposed to crime to a low degree, old people are experiencing a great fear of crime relative younger people. This is the paradox of fear, also recognized in gender studies. The question is how this paradox can be understood. To answer this, twelve elderly men and women have been interviewed and the reports about crime in the local newspaper, Norrköpings Tidningar, has been analyzed, through discourse analysis. The discursive construction of fear is here discussed in terms of discourses of a fearful society, and stereotypes of old age. The hegemonic discourse of old age is collaborating with a discourse, in this paper called the discourse of a threatening society. Old peoples fear is produced, through the interplay of these discourses, because they are objectified and seen as victims alongside with a construction of an ever-present threat.

Quels types de connaissance (re)produisent et défont les conflits dits « ethniques »? Pourexplorer cette question, cette thèse investit trois champs de recherche : celui des processusidentitaires ; celui du conflit ; celui de l'éducation/formation, en particulier la constructionsociale et la transmission informelle de récits d'histoire. Elle s'intéresse à la période dite «des Événements » en Kanaky-Nouvelle-Calédonie. L'analyse se base sur plusieurs mois deterrain (principalement Nouméa, nord-est et Lifou) et sur une vingtaine d'entretienssemi-directifs, réalisés avec des personnes vivant pour la plupart en tribu, nées entre 1939 et2005 et ayant expérimenté cette période de diverses façons. Elle s'attache à mettre en lien levécu des Événements, leur transmission et les représentations construites autour de la notionde destin commun. D'un point de vue théorique, elle tend à s'éloigner progressivement d'unelecture du conflit en termes culturels, pour en privilégier une analyse pragmatique. / What kind of knowledge (re )produce or undo « ethnie » conflicts? To explore this question, thisthesis invests three fields of research: identical processes; conflict; education/learing, in particularsocial construction and informai transmission of history narratives. It is interested in the said periodof« Events» in Kanaky-New-Caledonia. The analysis is based on several months offieldwork(mainly Nouméa, Northeast and Lifou). It covers about twenty semi-directive research interviews,realized with people living for the most part in tribe, having been born between 1939 and 2005.andhaving experimented this period of diverse ways. It attempts to link the real-life experience of theEvents, their transmission and the social construction of representations about « common fate ».From the theoretical point ofview, it goes away from a culturalist reading of the conflict, promotinga pragmatic analysis.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / The African continent has over the past 40 years witnessed a continued scourge of violent conflict and human rights abuses. These conflicts have significantly undermined the social, political, and economic prosperity of African citizens. Additionally, women and children are particularly affected by these conflicts. Women and children are regarded as ‘the most vulnerable’ as they often become the targets of sexual abuse by the enemy. The African Union (AU) is primarily responsible for the resolution of conflicts on the continent. It professes to be committed to the prevention of human rights abuses and the protection of African women (and children) during armed conflicts. It has thus developed an array of mechanisms, protocols, and instruments to address the exploitation and sexual abuse of women during conflict periods. These instruments include: The Constitutive Act of the AU (2000); The Solemn Declaration of Gender Equality in Africa (2003); the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa- ACHPRWA (2004); and the Protocol relating to the Peace and Security Council. In this research project, I consider whether the narratives used in these AU documents sufficiently and explicitly address the use of rape as a strategic weapon during armed conflicts; or whether these narratives inadvertently contribute to a culture that perpetuates war-time rape. My analysis shows that these AU documents deal with war-time rape in very vague and euphemistic terms. Although gender discrimination, sexual violence, exploitation, discrimination, and harmful practices against women are condemned, the delegitimization of rape as a weapon of war is not specifically discussed. This allows for varying interpretations of AU protocols, including interpretations which may diminish the severity of strategic rape. This has lead me to propose that the narratives used in these AU protocols and related documents draw on patriarchy, perpetuate patriarchy, and thus inadvertently perpetuates a culture that perpetuates the use of rape as a weapon of war

Black women in historically challenged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple oppression: (a) the social engineering policies synonymous with apartheid have marginalised women economically and socially, (b) patriarchy, embedded in cultural and religious discourses, has rendered women voiceless and powerless and (c) HIV/AIDS targets the most vulnerable: women and children. Not only are women carrying the brunt of HIV infections, but they also carry the extra burden of caring for the sick and the orphaned. The main aim of this research was to reach a holistic understanding of the untold stories of women in historically challenged communities, infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, and specifically about their experiences of care and the lack of care. The two secondary aims were: 1) to research alternative ways and means of making the unheard stories known in South African society; and 2) to disseminate research findings on the stories of these women in such a way that developmental policies could be influenced to enhance alternative, holistic stories of care in the South African society. A family of three women and a translator participated as co-researchers with the writer in this research experience. The researcher reflected on the research experience with volunteers from two home-based care programs in the community. The researcher uses drama as metaphor to document her ‘colourful’ research experience and to make sense of the many intricate and intertwined narratives and discourses, documented over a period of six months in her research diary, through recorded interviews, through her participation with the co-researchers and through the ethnography she had engaged in. The research experience has found that to be able to ‘care someone else into existence’; it is paramount that you as carer experience ‘empowering care’ yourself. ‘Empowering care’ is not possible if injustice prevails. This research experience challenges Government to investigate the ethical implications of the policy of placing the burden of care for the dying and the orphans on the shoulders of women in historically challenged communities. / Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Le interfacce aptiche, ovvero le tecnologie che trasmettono delle sensazioni tattili digitalizzate, si stanno diffondendo in vari contesti sociali come telerobotica, comunicazione mobile, arte, videogiochi e cinema. Queste tecnologie stanno permettendo agli ingegneri di realizzare qualcosa mai fatto prima: la digitalizzazione del tatto (che ora può quindi essere registrato e mediatizzato). L’obbiettivo di questa tesi è di decostruire il tatto digitalizzato come un artefatto tecnologico socialmente costruito, il quale sta prendendo forma in un sistema di pratiche interrelate performate da attori in campi disparati della conoscenza. Questi attori si muovono all’interno e attorno ad una comunità di ingegneri apticisti. Adottando un approccio ispirato alla grounded theory, sono stati raccolti dati qualitativi attraverso interviste presso un campo etnografico multi-situato composto da laboratori europei e conferenze internazionali, in cui la conoscenza riguardo il tatto è collettivamente creata e condivisa. Due framework teorico-metodologici sono stati presi in considerazione: la tradizione dei Science and Technology Studies (STS) è stata scelta come principale guida metodologica; in seguito, l’intreccio tra pratiche sociali e tecnologie è stato approfondito attraverso una prospettiva practice-based tipica della cosiddetta ‘practice theory’. Al fine di cogliere il processo in corso di costruzione sociale e flessibilità che caratterizzano il tatto digitalizzato, lo studio si è concentrato sull'assenza di standardizzazione che caratterizza gli aspetti sia hardware che software di questa tecnologia emergente. Inoltre, è stata prestata attenzione alla distinzione controversa e scivolosa tra feedback tattile simbolico e realistico usata nel gergo degli apticisti. Infine, sono stati analizzati i diversi significati, o potenzialità d'uso, che gli intervistati attribuiscono a questa tecnologia. Questi significati si collegano a specifici immaginari sociotecnici geograficamente situati, ad ampi discorsi sociali riguardo l’innovazione tecnologica, e a diverse visioni riguardo le pratiche che possono beneficiare dell’implementazione di queste interfacce. / Devices that provide tactile feedback, called haptic interfaces, are spreading in various contexts such as tele-robotics, prosthetics, videogames, mobile communication, and arts. These technologies are allowing engineers to accomplish something never done before: the digitization of touch (which can now be stored and mediatized). This dissertation aims to deconstruct the digitized touch as a socially constructed technological product, emerging from a system of interrelated practices enacted by actors performing in disparate fields which revolve around the community of haptics engineers. Using a grounded-theory inspired approach, qualitative data were collected through interviews in a multi-sited ethnographic field consisting in European laboratories and international conferences, where knowledge about touch is collectively created and shared. Two theoretical-methodological frameworks have been taken into consideration: the tradition of Science and Technology Studies (STS) has been chosen as the main methodological guide; moreover, the interlacements between social practices and technology have been deepened through the adoption of a practice-based perspective proposed by different approaches in social sciences gathered under the umbrella term ‘practice theory’. In order to grasp the ongoing process of social construction and flexibility that characterize digitized touch, the study focused on the absence of standardization involving both hardware and software aspects of this emerging technology. Furthermore, attention has been paid to the controversial and slippery distinction between ‘symbolic’ and ‘realistic’ tactile feedback which is used in engineers’ jargon. Finally, the different meanings or potentialities of use, which respondents attributed to this technology, have been analysed. These meanings are connected to geographically located socio-technical imaginaries, to broad social discourses about technological innovation, and to different visions regarding the practices that can benefit from the implementation of these interfaces.

Memoria para optar al título de Geógrafo / En esta investigación se realiza un análisis y comparación respecto de la incorporación de la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (GRD) en los instrumentos de ordenamiento y planificación territorial de las comunas de San Bernardo y Calera de Tango, identificando factores críticos que determinan las diferencias entre ellas. Si bien las comunas en estudio son colindantes y poseen características físicas similares, cada una ha ido adoptando caracteres de acuerdo a su funcionalidad dentro de la Región Metropolitana. Sin embargo, las dinámicas que se han desarrollado no responden a la planificación vigente, lo que ha generado condiciones de riesgo para la población, sus bienes y economía. En la investigación fue posible determinar que los instrumentos de planificación y ordenamiento territorial aún no incorporan de manera íntegra la GRD debido en parte, a que existen confusiones conceptuales, y al tipo de gestión que se intenta proponer, ya que sigue siendo mayoritariamente reactiva. La principal diferencia entre las comunas estudiadas radica en que San Bernardo, al poseer un Plan Regulador Comunal, gestiona y ordena el territorio disminuyendo la exposición de la población a las amenazas de origen natural y antrópico existentes en la comuna, vale decir presenta una gestión preventiva. Por su parte, Calera de Tango nunca ha contado con este instrumento en particular. Al ser una comuna de carácter rural, los instrumentos de planificación actuales no son de gran ayuda debido a que se enfocan en la gestión de las zonas urbanas principalmente, por lo cual gran parte del territorio comunal no tiene regulación. A pesar de las ventajas con las que cuenta San Bernardo aún son insuficientes para reducir el riesgo de desastre. / This project consists of comparative analysis of the integration of the Disaster Risk Management (GRD) in the regulation and territorial planning of the San Bernardo and Calera de Tango municipalities, with the intent of identifying critical factors differentiating the two. While these municipalities are adjacent to each other and share many physical characteristics, they have developed distinct characteristics in accordance with the role each plays within the wider Metropolitan Region. The dynamics developed within each nonetheless do not share policy frameworks – something that has created risky conditions for their local populations, properties and economies. This investigation determined that the current methods used for territorial planning and legislation have yet to meaningfully integrate the GRD due to both conceptual ambiguities and the fact that management has up until now been largely reactive. The principal distinguishing factor separating the municipalities under investigation is that San Bernardo, in possessing a Regulatory Communal Plan, manages its territory with an eye towards reducing its population’s exposure to local natural and man-made threats. In contrast, Calera del Tango has never possessed this particular policy framework. As a rural municipality, current planning frameworks are of limited effectiveness due to their focus on urban locations. In spite of their advantages San Bernardo possesses, the current policy framework is insufficient as a means of reducing risk in the face of possible disasters.

This research concerns disciplinary practices within a school system in Lesotho. The school that has been researched is a girl’s high school in Maseru (the capital of Lesotho). The school belongs to the Anglican Church. I (the researcher) am a Mosotho man and an English and Religious Studies teacher in this school. For a while I have been concerned about the way punishment happens in the school, often leaving girls feeling shamed and powerless in the face of authority. I have also noticed that these disciplinary practices are losing their effectiveness, in that girls are showing resistance to the system. In other words corporal punishment, which has been the traditional form of discipline, is proving ineffective in today’s world. The researcher also considers this form of discipline abusive of power. It is in the light of this that I worked within this system, both with pupils, as well as teachers, to explore alternative practices that might work with pupils, that are respectful of all parties concerned. The research is a participative action research, using collaborative narrative practices in working with both students and staff at the school. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

Diploma thesis "From construction of media reality towards a social stereotype in the printed advertising" deals with stereotypical portrayals of people emerging in Czech magazine production in the first decade of 21st century. The first part of the thesis describes the theoretical fundamentals of the field, including the theory of the social construction of reality by Berger and Luckmann. In its second part, using the sample of magazines Týden, Reflex, Maxim (formerly Quo), Cosmopolitan and Žena a život, the thesis surveys the occurrence of stereotypical depictions in the period from 2000 to 2008, materialized using semiotic codes. These depictions are named, described and it is shown how are they used in the process of constructing a complex communicate. This thesis is trying to point out the disproportion in the depictions of males and females in advertising and (based on previous classifications available) comes up with an original classification of the stereotypical depictions. The thesis also describes the results of a quantitative content analysis in order to find out about the occurrence frequency of the stereotypes in pictorial texts used in advertising production and it segments the occuring stereotypes in three categories according to the frequency of their occurrence. The categories are...

Diploma thesis deals with competencies of local municipalities in social inclusion policy. Social exclusion is a key phenomenon of contemporary policy, and municipalities play an important role in such policy. Though, municipalities often tend to fail in their role. The thesis describes and analyse the competencies of local governments and tries to set up and ideal local inclusion policy: a complete set of possible measures that a municipality can use in dealing with social inclusion. This ideal is further on used in two case studies: formative evaluation of local policies in two small towns in South Bohemia. The result is interpreted in perspective of social construction of target groups theory, explaining why do or do not municipalities use concrete inclusive measures. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)