This thesis investigates the impact of traditional societal norms on LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Armenia. Grounded in anthropological and human rights theories, it employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews and secondary sources such as human rights reports and academic literature. The research reveals that deeply entrenched societal norms and institutional barriers significantly contribute to the prevalence of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals. Findings indicate that while LGBTQ+ organizations provide essential support and advocacy, their efforts are often hindered by legal and societal challenges. This study concludes that comprehensive legal reforms and increased societal awareness are crucial for improving the safety and rights of LGBTQ+ individuals in Armenia.

This study focuses on volunteers within the non-profit organization ‘WWOOF’ World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farming, which provides individuals the opportunity to experience a sustainable organic farming through volunteering.  As sustainability needs to be more valued within society and as individuals are seen to develop similar values from their social surrounding, the study examines how being a volunteer on a WWOOF farm influences the volunteer’s personal development. The material findings of 20 semi-structured interviews from previous WWOOF volunteers were collected and indicated four main outcomes: increased environmental awareness, community awareness, a sustainable lifestyle and personal growth among the volunteers. The outcomes are discussed in relation to the following main theories and concepts: sustainable worldview theory, symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, the Third Space and narrative identity theory. The sustainable societal values achieved among the volunteers indicated that being a volunteer on a WWOOF farm, can contribute to improve the global community

This study deals with the impact of the legislative bill that enabled the creation of a regulated cannabis market in Uruguay as a means to combat organized crime in the country. This study will also explore the hypothesis that this legislative bill changed the legal character of criminality as well as reformulating narcotic issues from being a criminal issue into a public health issue. Analyzing the very specific case of Uruguay’s current narcotic policies becomes a means to explore the ideas that constitute Law Nr 19.172 “Marijuana and its derivatives” which might be indicative of the attitudes in society regarding criminality. This ties into the new iteration of the dichotomy between law and democracy as a result of this legislative reform in Uruguay and the possible new role of legal theory in a democratic country which is discussed in this article.

This thesis evaluates and develops a method for studying the occurrence of cascading effects between critical infrastructures. The thesis also analyzes how the results of previous research using the method may have been affected by certain aspects of the method. Applying different inclusion thresholds and exploring how material could be gathered differently, the thesis provides some tentative answers to the value of using newspaper articles when studying cascading effects. In addition, the thesis offers recommendations for future research and policy on the protection of critical infrastructures.

This thesis evaluates and develops a method for studying the occurrence of cascading effects between critical infrastructures. The thesis also analyzes how the results of previous research using the method may have been affected by certain aspects of the method. Applying different inclusion thresholds and exploring how material could be gathered differently, the thesis provides some tentative answers to the value of using newspaper articles when studying cascading effects. In addition, the thesis offers recommendations for future research and policy on the protection of critical infrastructures.

A sociedade vem crescentemente buscando formas de se organizar e se aproximar de seus representantes no Estado para participar das decisões sobre questões públicas, em um contexto em que tecnologias digitais têm cada vez mais surgido como ferramentas de apoio a processos de participação. O estudo de caso da plataforma Monitorando a Cidade apresentado nesta dissertação acompanhou as experiências de Belém (PA) e Santarém (PA), para compreender como se dá o processo de interação entre atores e grupos sociais no uso de métodos de monitoramento participativo como estratégia da sociedade no controle social. Por meio de investigação qualitativa em fontes documentais secundárias, entrevistas semiestruturadas, rodas de conversa e observações, foram realizadas a sistematização do histórico e trajetória dos objetivos da plataforma desde seu desenvolvimento, identificando-a como uma tecnologia cívica que estimula a realização de monitoramentos participativos para fortalecer o controle social. Ao traçarmos os atores e papéis chave na realização das campanhas de monitoramento da merenda escolar, identificamos que todas interfaces estabelecidas entre sociedade e Estado tem como bem básico de troca a informação / Society has been increasingly pursuing ways to organize and approach its government representatives in order to contribute with decisions on public issues, in a context in which digital technologies are more and more emerging as tools to support participation processes. The case study of the Promise Trackers platform presented in this dissertation has followed experiences in Belém (PA) and Santarém (PA) to understand the interaction process between social actors and groups in the use of participatory monitoring initiatives as a strategy of society in accountability. Through qualitative research on secondary documentary sources, semi-structured interviews, conversation wheels and observations, it was carried out a systematization of the history and trajectory of the platform\'s objectives since its development, identified as a civic technology that encourages participatory monitoring to strengthen societal accountability. By tracing key actors and roles in conducting school meal monitoring campaigns, we have identified that all interfaces established between society and state have information as basic exchange

A sociedade vem crescentemente buscando formas de se organizar e se aproximar de seus representantes no Estado para participar das decisões sobre questões públicas, em um contexto em que tecnologias digitais têm cada vez mais surgido como ferramentas de apoio a processos de participação. O estudo de caso da plataforma Monitorando a Cidade apresentado nesta dissertação acompanhou as experiências de Belém (PA) e Santarém (PA), para compreender como se dá o processo de interação entre atores e grupos sociais no uso de métodos de monitoramento participativo como estratégia da sociedade no controle social. Por meio de investigação qualitativa em fontes documentais secundárias, entrevistas semiestruturadas, rodas de conversa e observações, foram realizadas a sistematização do histórico e trajetória dos objetivos da plataforma desde seu desenvolvimento, identificando-a como uma tecnologia cívica que estimula a realização de monitoramentos participativos para fortalecer o controle social. Ao traçarmos os atores e papéis chave na realização das campanhas de monitoramento da merenda escolar, identificamos que todas interfaces estabelecidas entre sociedade e Estado tem como bem básico de troca a informação / Society has been increasingly pursuing ways to organize and approach its government representatives in order to contribute with decisions on public issues, in a context in which digital technologies are more and more emerging as tools to support participation processes. The case study of the Promise Trackers platform presented in this dissertation has followed experiences in Belém (PA) and Santarém (PA) to understand the interaction process between social actors and groups in the use of participatory monitoring initiatives as a strategy of society in accountability. Through qualitative research on secondary documentary sources, semi-structured interviews, conversation wheels and observations, it was carried out a systematization of the history and trajectory of the platform\'s objectives since its development, identified as a civic technology that encourages participatory monitoring to strengthen societal accountability. By tracing key actors and roles in conducting school meal monitoring campaigns, we have identified that all interfaces established between society and state have information as basic exchange

No description available.

O trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a agilidade nas contratações de projetos de pesquisa no âmbito do Programa de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento da Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL). A pesquisa foi motivada pela demora na contratação de alguns projetos e pelo insucesso na contratação de outros, com o concorrente acúmulo de recursos a serem investidos. O primeiro objetivo específico foi a identificação das restrições do programa de P&D da ANEEL e seleção daquelas que afetam a contratação de projetos de pesquisa. O segundo objetivo é a proposição de alternativas para aumentar a agilidade na contratação de projetos de pesquisa. O trabalho foi dividido em duas etapas que correspondem aos objetivos específicos e são apresentadas em dois artigos. A primeira procurou investigar as variáveis do problema. A segunda etapa procurou propor alternativas para agilizar o processo de contratação de projetos de pesquisa das empresas. Na primeira etapa foi aplicado método para lidar com problemas sociais complexos ao longo de reuniões específicas. Uma das reuniões foi realizada com especialistas em pesquisa e outra com os envolvidos no programa de pesquisa. As informações foram trabalhadas e validadas com os participantes. Para desenvolver a segunda etapa, foram realizados três estudos de caso em que foram realizadas entrevistas e o mapeamento dos processos de contratação de empresas de diferentes naturezas jurídicas. Os procedimentos buscaram investigar se existiam diferenças na agilidade de contratação entre as empresas, tendo como base de comparação uma configuração específica de projeto, investigar a motivação para tais diferenças e levantar alternativas para disseminar entre as empresas a agilidade nas contratações. Na primeira etapa, as restrições do programa de P&D foram identificadas e a maior parte delas está relacionada com a gestão interna das empresas. Em seguida, estão as restrições relacionadas a contratação de projetos, mais especificamente a questões de propriedade industrial e de equipamentos comprados ou produzidos pelo projeto. Na segunda etapa, foram confirmadas diferenças na agilidade de contratação entre as empresas. A padronização de procedimentos e as relações recorrentes foram identificadas como motivações para tais diferenças. Entre as alternativas encontradas na literatura para tratar as restrições constatadas na primeira etapa, a formação de relações de longo prazo parece beneficiar a celebração de contratos. A formação de comitês para ajustes nos contratos não foi alvo de questionamento na presente pesquisa, mas também pode ser uma alternativa para agilizar a celebração de contratos. A atribuição da propriedade dos resultados para a parceira que mais contribui é alvo de controvérsia por questões legais. A presente pesquisa contribuiu para o campo gerencial ao propor a criação de uma certificação de qualidade para disseminar a padronização de processos, sendo que a padronização não foi abordada na teoria revisada que trata sobre a contratação de projetos de pesquisa. Essa alternativa contribuiria para tratar as restrições encontradas na contratação de projetos entre as empresas e as executoras com benefícios que extrapolam o escopo da presente pesquisa, visto que as instituições de pesquisa envolvidas no programa de P&D ANEEL estão dentre as principais do sistema de pesquisa brasileiro. Propõe-se desenvolver novas pesquisas que evoluam o conhecimento sobre a agilidade de contratação ao investigar os perfis de contratações, os mecanismos de governança utilizados e as diferenças de agilidade obtidas. / The work´s objective was the investigation of research contracting agility in the context of R&D Program for the Brazilian Electric Energy Sector. The research was motivated by the delay on some projects contract negotiation and by others unsuccessful contracting process, while the funds to invest keep growing. The first specific objective was to discover which constraints of the R&D Program for the Brazilian Electric Energy Sector, which guidelines and instructions are established by the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency – ANEEL, affects research projects contracting process. The second objective is the proposition of alternatives to increase contracting agility. The work had two main stages to address the specific objectives and they are presented in two papers. The first stage investigated problem´s topics. The second stage intended to propose alternatives to make the utilities contracting process more agile. The first stage has applied a method for handling complex societal problems. A discussion meeting involved research experts and other the utilities and academy. The information collected was summarized and then validated with the participants. At the second stage, three case studies were developed using interviews and process mapping with public, private and mixed utilities. The procedures applied intended to investigate if there was agility differences in utilities contracting processes, using as reference a specific project configuration, identify the motivation for the differences founded and raise alternatives to make all utilities contracting processes agile. The constraints were identified in the first stage and most of them are related with utilities management. In second place, there are constraints related with project contracting, especially issues about industrial property and equipments developed or bought in the project. At the second stage, contracting agility differences were found. Process standardization and recurrent relationships were identified as possible motivations for these differences. Among the alternatives found in the literature review to handle the constraints identified in the first stage, the long term relationships seems to make contracting easier. The development of committees to adapt contracts during evolution of the collaboration was not in the scope of the present research, but also can be an alternative to make contracting more agile. Share property rights according with technological contribution can be refused because of legal aspects. The present research evolve the management knowledge as it proposes a certification to promote process standardization, besides the standardization was not present in the reviewed theory about research project contracting. This alternative would contribute to handle constraints identified in the contracting experience, with benefits that will exceed the planned scope, as the research institutions in the ANEEL R&D program are among the most importants in the brazilian research system. New researches may expand the knowledge about contracting agility if they investigate contracting configuration, governance mechanisms used and the agility differences obtained.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study is aimed at investigating societal perception towards the hearing impaired and their psychological implications. The study concentrated on how the hearing impaired thought the hearing public perceived them and, also identified the psychological implications of these (perceived) societal perceptions on the hearing impaired. The research design is qualitative in nature, wherein, a convenient and purposive sample of ten hearing-impaired participants was used. Video recorded interviews of open-ended questions and questionnaires were used in combination to gather information. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was applied as the method of data analysis. Three super-ordinate themes were identified. These themes primarily indicated that the hearing impaired hold the view that they are negatively perceived by the hearing society. The findings of the study were that negative societal perceptions result in negative self-perceptions and discourage social interactions between the hearing impaired and the hearing communities.