The study of European integration has increasingly become an important topic for IR-scholars and has developed into a field of its own. Scholarly interest in the role of identities in these regional integration processes has also risen over the last decades. This study can be comprised within this line of study. By using social constructivism as a theoretical framework, the paper seeks to understand the role of national and European identities in the case of Brexit. The paper also looks at identity formations of citizens and their attitudes towards European integration in relation with these identities. Although the UK has always stood on the sidelines of the European project, the results of the vote indicate that there are deeper processes that need to be studied. By using qualitative content analysis, the paper looks at framings in two national British newspapers and by two political leaders. The paper comes to the conclusion that these identities are both portrayed as compatible and competing with each other.

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In this thesis, I explore the concept of a scientific fact through the work of Polish physician Ludwik Fleck (1896-1961). Fleck has had an alleged influence upon contemporary philosophy of science, primarily through the work of Thomas Kuhn with subsequent echoes from the direction of the sociology of science. Most writers, however, have restricted their focus upon only one of Fleck's publications, The Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact (1935), and have highlighted the Polish philosophical community as a primary influence upon Fleck's ideas. I argue in this thesis that since Fleck was a doctor by trade, his views must be understood in the context of the medical issues and philosophy of medicine of his time. Furthermore, in order to appreciate Fleck's concept of a scientific fact, one must turn to his other philosophical works. A more judicious picture of Fleck and his concept of a scientific fact is provided by this analysis even though, I conclude, his approach remains philosophically unsatisfactory. / Master of Arts

South African schools are learning environments that are defined by heterogenity, which means the relating and interaction of teachers and learners from different cultural, language and religious backgrounds. Viewed in terms of a social constructivist theoretical framework, teachers’ perceptions of their interaction with their learners are defined by their personal experiences, as well as their observations of concrete learner behaviour in class which are mostly shaped by the learners’ perceptions. ,. Broad cultural influences, including the unique school culture and climate where the teachers are operating, also contribute to teachers’ perception of the teacher-learnerinteraction. The nature and quality of teacher-learner interactions must be viewed as a contextual feature of school culture and climate as these relations shape the classroom experience. This study sought to generate broad themes on how teachers perceive teacher-learner interactions within diverse school cultures and climates. The research was conducted within a social constructivist, interpretive paradigm and it utilised Kenny’s PERSON Model of Interpersonal Perception. The PERSON Model of Interpersonal Perception is a model used to explore the formation of perceptions during interpersonal interaction and it is in line with the social constructivist position as it takes into account the dynamic and socially embedded nature of the interaction process. A research study of this nature was needed because teachers’ perceptions of their regular contact and connecting with learners influence teacher-learner relations. This in turn serves to shape learners’ perceptions of the learning environment as well as mediate the learners’ behaviour and relationship with scholastic learning (Luckner & Pianta, 2011:257). Qualitative research was used as this method lends itself to revealing the authenticity of human experience (Silverman, 2013:6) and it is particularly useful in the study of social relations (Flick, 2009:12). The participants consisted of twenty teachers from four high schools in Johannesburg, Gauteng. Three teachers from each of the four schools participated in semistructured interviews, while two other teachers from each of the four schools participated in a single focus group activity that included a collage-making exercise. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes that articulate the teachers’ perceptions of the teacher-learner interaction. Key themes that were identified through the research study included teaching to be a vocation; teachers’ interactions with their learners as character building that serve to shape the personalities of their learners; the influence of the length of time that teachers are active in the teaching profession and teacher-learner interactions; how classroom management strategies influences teachers perceptions of teacher-learner interactions. It was found that several factors influence the teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with their learners. Teachers who considered teaching to be a “vocation” tended to report that they experience enjoyable teacher-learner interactions. The teachers whose narratives did not include references to teaching as a vocation were inclined to report more conflictual and less enjoyable interaction experiences with their learners. The findings further reveal that the teachers perceive a decrease in negative teacher-learner interactions the longer they teach. Both groups of teachers viewed the interactions with their learners as character-building exercises that served to shape the personalities of their learners. Classroom climate factors and management strategies were found to influence teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with their learners. The teachers’ narratives did not emphasise race or culture as factors (qualitative research) that moderated their interactions with the learners in a significant manner. Overall, the findings indicated that the participants showed an awareness that firstly, personal factors, secondly, the external social factors or environmental events, and, lastly that individual behaviour contributed much to the quality of the interactions. An in-depth study investigating rural teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with their learners is recommended. A wider study that compares and contrasts the perceptions of teachers from the various provinces of South Africa would provide valuable insight into whether or not teachers’ perceptions of teacher-learner interaction vary from province to province. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

South African schools are learning environments that are defined by heterogenity, which means the relating and interaction of teachers and learners from different cultural, language and religious backgrounds. Viewed in terms of a social constructivist theoretical framework, teachers’ perceptions of their interaction with their learners are defined by their personal experiences, as well as their observations of concrete learner behaviour in class which are mostly shaped by the learners’ perceptions. ,. Broad cultural influences, including the unique school culture and climate where the teachers are operating, also contribute to teachers’ perception of the teacher-learnerinteraction. The nature and quality of teacher-learner interactions must be viewed as a contextual feature of school culture and climate as these relations shape the classroom experience. This study sought to generate broad themes on how teachers perceive teacher-learner interactions within diverse school cultures and climates. The research was conducted within a social constructivist, interpretive paradigm and it utilised Kenny’s PERSON Model of Interpersonal Perception. The PERSON Model of Interpersonal Perception is a model used to explore the formation of perceptions during interpersonal interaction and it is in line with the social constructivist position as it takes into account the dynamic and socially embedded nature of the interaction process. A research study of this nature was needed because teachers’ perceptions of their regular contact and connecting with learners influence teacher-learner relations. This in turn serves to shape learners’ perceptions of the learning environment as well as mediate the learners’ behaviour and relationship with scholastic learning (Luckner & Pianta, 2011:257). Qualitative research was used as this method lends itself to revealing the authenticity of human experience (Silverman, 2013:6) and it is particularly useful in the study of social relations (Flick, 2009:12). The participants consisted of twenty teachers from four high schools in Johannesburg, Gauteng. Three teachers from each of the four schools participated in semistructured interviews, while two other teachers from each of the four schools participated in a single focus group activity that included a collage-making exercise. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes that articulate the teachers’ perceptions of the teacher-learner interaction. Key themes that were identified through the research study included teaching to be a vocation; teachers’ interactions with their learners as character building that serve to shape the personalities of their learners; the influence of the length of time that teachers are active in the teaching profession and teacher-learner interactions; how classroom management strategies influences teachers perceptions of teacher-learner interactions. It was found that several factors influence the teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with their learners. Teachers who considered teaching to be a “vocation” tended to report that they experience enjoyable teacher-learner interactions. The teachers whose narratives did not include references to teaching as a vocation were inclined to report more conflictual and less enjoyable interaction experiences with their learners. The findings further reveal that the teachers perceive a decrease in negative teacher-learner interactions the longer they teach. Both groups of teachers viewed the interactions with their learners as character-building exercises that served to shape the personalities of their learners. Classroom climate factors and management strategies were found to influence teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with their learners. The teachers’ narratives did not emphasise race or culture as factors (qualitative research) that moderated their interactions with the learners in a significant manner. Overall, the findings indicated that the participants showed an awareness that firstly, personal factors, secondly, the external social factors or environmental events, and, lastly that individual behaviour contributed much to the quality of the interactions. An in-depth study investigating rural teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with their learners is recommended. A wider study that compares and contrasts the perceptions of teachers from the various provinces of South Africa would provide valuable insight into whether or not teachers’ perceptions of teacher-learner interaction vary from province to province. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The aim of this study was to, with a social constructivistic approach, examine how parents,regarded as neglecting their children, are depicted in 12 LVU-legal cases from the Supreme Administrative Court in Sweden. By using a document analysis influenced by discourse analytical tools, we found that there are repeated descriptions of the parents, which constructs an image of parents as shortcoming in the care of their children. The categories lack of emotions, mental disorder, substance abuse and physical maltreatment were the main reasons for child neglect that the parents were described from. Attitudes towards authority, aggression and immaturity, lack of insight, and deficiencies in the home were repeated in the description of the parent. We further found that mothers were regarded as more responsible of the children compared to fathers. According to Goffman, describing certain groups of individuals with discredited words has a stigmatizing effect. It helps to reinforce what is considered normal or abnormal. Furthermore, we have found that the language of the LVU-legal cases, possess a power in the construction of parents who neglect their children, which was analyzed on the basis of Foucault's theory of power.

Constructing Arctic Sovereignty: Rules, Policy and Governance 1494--‐201 is a meta-narrative of the development of state sovereignty in the Arctic. It investigates the evolution of the rules of the international system over the longue durée, in so far as they frame Arctic sovereignty. It examines in particular the increasing importance of the legal dimension of territory and the transitions that have occurred with the introduction of new rules used by states to establish sovereignty. The thesis analyses the policy of the United States, Canada and Russia as they pursue their national interests in the region with reference to (and at times in contravention of) international rules and codes, and it situates governance within the framework of the international system as a mechanism for states to pursue their interests in the Arctic beyond their sovereign borders. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge through its distinctive methodology and theoretical approach, as well as through its analysis of primary materials. Using the pillars of a constructivist research framework including rules and interests over the longue durée to develop a meta- narrative of Arctic sovereignty, it situates contemporary Arctic foreign policy and governance within the evolving framework of the international system, identifying imperialism as a common thread in the relationship between the Arctic states and Arctic territory. It concludes that the expansion of sovereignty over this new territory represents the continuation of imperialism within the international system by states, perpetuating an asymmetric relationship that allows states to absorb this territory for the purposes of resource exploitation in the pursuit of national interests with international cooperation maintaining the primacy of the Arctic states within the region.

Through its portfolio of practical case studies and its engagement with critical thinking from a range of disciplines, the PhD investigates the following key question: what are the technical, aesthetic and conceptual impacts of using binaural technology to create a soundscape? ‘Using binaural technology’ implies users and users are essentially at the heart of this impact because users mediate the technical and aesthetic aspects of binaural technology and also inherently shape the theoretical ideology of this technology. By analysing users’ interactions with binaural technology from a social constructivist perspective, this thesis gains rich insights into the impact of using binaural technology when creating soundscapes. Chapter One explores sound artists’ and field recordists’ work that use binaural technology for the shared purpose of documenting urban soundwalks. The first case study “Audio Postcards” is also informed by questions drawn from acoustic ecology, socio-political theories on the practices of everyday life and the challenges that arise in finding, recording and preserving ‘soundmarks’. Chapter Two outlines practitioners’ applications of binaural technology to create an intimate connection to an art piece such as theatre director David Rosenberg’s productions. Peter Salvatore Petralia’s concept of headspace is applied to the chapter’s case study: “From Austria To America” to further understand binaural technology’s psychoacoustic effects. Chapter Three studies the impact of social groups who use binaural technology to record classical music performances. Traditional stereo and binaural classical music recording conventions are shaped in a new direction in two case studies: “Point of Audition” and “From Page to Stage”. Questions of ‘fidelity’ also arise from this creative practice. The outcomes of this reflective binaural practice unearth deep layers of understanding. This thesis discovers the impact of binaural technology moves beyond the effect it has on a listener to realise this recording practice also impacts a recordist’s decisions in the field and a sound artist’s creative choices when crafting soundscapes. The beneficial impact of binaural technology including its inconspicuous nature, the ability to imprint an artist’s subjective signature on recordings and its lifelike immersive qualities in playback are revealed through practice and reflection. Representing the real, the role of artist and point of audition are also themes explored throughout each chapter. Ultimately, insights gained are woven together as a means of constructing an original theoretical framework for an under-theorised subject: understanding how social user groups shape the impact of using binaural technology when creating soundscapes.

The aim of the study is to analyse the discursive construction of the immigrants‟ identity within the EU‟s common migration policy. More specifically, this study seeks to identify what discourses are constituted within the EU, and how these discourses are constructed. Moreover, the study efforts to understand what consequences these discourses may have to the identity of immigrants. In order to achieve the aim of the study, a number of policy documents and agreements have been analysed. This analysis is implemented by applying a social constructivist approach, based on the notion about ethnic identities, securitisation theory, discourse theory and the theoretical concepts of Eurocentrism and Europeanisation. The methodological approach applied to the analysis is the Foucauldian genealogical discourse analysis.The conclusion of the study is that the EU, through its policy documents, has contributed to the construction of the following discourses: identity discourse, threat discourse and power discourse. Consequently, the analysis showed that these discourses may affect the image of immigrants negatively. The strengthening of “we” and “them” identities is emphasised through categorisation of immigrants, integration provisions, and through managing security and migration questions together.

Title: Preschool – a social language environment and an arena for emergent literacy processes. Author: Martina Norling By focusing on preschool, as an arena for emergent literacy and language learning processes, this thesis put the lens on preschool staff´s approaches and strategies in the social language environment in Swedish preschools. Taking its point of departure in real preschool settings, the overall purpose of this thesis is to develop a greater understanding of this social language environment, with particular emphasis on the quality dimensions of strategies, such as the preschool staff´s sensitivity and approaches in the preschool environment. Two didactic issues are of special importance to the thesis: preschool staff´s descriptions of what kind of strategies and approaches they use in the social language environment as well as how preschool staff support children’s language learning processes in literacy-related activities. The thesis consists of four articles aimed at capturing, variations of dimensions of preschool staff strategies as well as approaches that contribute to highlighting essential strategies for supporting children in the social language environment. The theoretical framework in this thesis consists of social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1997) and bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). The four empirical studies in this thesis have made possible a mixed method design. The data production consists of questionnaires with questions regarding background information of the participants, observation instruments (scoring the quality of the social language environment), focus group interviews, video observations as well as a systematic literature review. In this thesis, three dimensions of preschool staff strategies in social language environment emerged: play strategies, emotional strategies and communicative strategies. The social language environment in Swedish preschool can be described in terms of those three strategy dimensions and continuous interplay processes among children, peers and preschool staff, over time. The quality dimensions of strategies focus, on preschool staff efforts and children’s prerequisites of learning processes, rather than focusing on children’s individual performance. Keywords: Preschool, social constructivism, bioecological theory, preschool staff, emergent literacy, social language environment, language learning processes