The purpose of this thesis is to reveal some of the behavioral characteristics of a specific type of laughter that I term "feigned laughter," and how it is used in the context of face-threatening-utterances (FTUs), or utterances that threaten the face needs of an individual.

This work critically examines the justiciability of the Sudan model of constitutionalising socio-economic rights (SER) and the legal implications of this model. Discusses the following questions: (1) What is the scope and extent of the Sudan Bill of Rights? (2) What is the effect of section 27(3) on section 22 of the Sudan Interim National Constitution? (3) Does the Constitution provide for justiciable SER, if yes, can the South African model of rendering SER justiciable and their standard of review provide a useful guide to the Sudan? / Mini Dissertation (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen of the Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This interdisciplinary project investigates the extents and limits of alternative news translation in the era of globalization and virtualization and is guided by the insights drawn from actor-network theory, material semiotics, ethnomethodology, anthropology, news sociology, and the philosophy of translation. It visually represents the semiotic, sociological and material components of news translation as well as describes the patterned and concerted actions of human and non-human actors that go into making news stories in the context of IPS, a global news agency. A contribution is made to both theoretical knowledge and the development of the conceptual research method, which is given scarce attention in translation studies as compared to prevailing empirical research. A meta-semiotic concept of sociological translation that I formulate helps bridge the gap between tackling ‘translation’ in terms ofJakobson’s triadic classification as either an intralingual, interlingual or intersemiotic phenomenon, and the recurrent metaphorical usage of ‘translation’ in the humanities, social sciences and beyond. The concept is informed by the networked ontology of actor-network theory and embodies the idea that meanings and translation are created by means of social interactions rather than by language alone. It is suggested that sociological translation stands for any linguistic, material-semiotic transformations and social articulations, which are all enmeshed with IPS journalistic and interlingual translation practices. On the other hand, in view of the absence of methodological tools for studying nonlanguage-based translation in translation studies, I have assembled my own methodology drawing on the traditions of the wider humanities and the social sciences. My case study adopts Law’s ideas on method assemblage and Latour’s elaborations on infra-reflexivity which are well-suited for conveying the serendipity and messiness of ‘real-life’ research. It incorporates traditional ethnography, virtual ethnography and digital methods. Visualizing a network of sociological translations at different junctures as well outlining a holistic map of the concept allows one to observe the practices of journalist-editor-translators from both micro- and macro-perspectives. Finally, the studied phenomenon reflects modern conditions of life: non-stopping globalization and virtualization and is transdisciplinary in nature. Delineating and comparing the articulations of sociological translation in a wider connected and virtual context illuminates the concept’s mechanisms and contributes to the scholarly awareness of the complexity of news translation in a digital age. In conclusion, the thesis offers a new conceptual space within TS—translational sociology—which would strike up a conversation between TS and other disciplines in the social sciences with the goal of cross-fertilization of knowledge and finding better-informed interdisciplinary solutions to the shared problems including their linguistic, discursive and cultural aspects.

Production, processing, transport and consumption of food form a significant part of the environmental burden. Organic farming and organic food production represent for many experts, policymakers and for a part of lay public a way to reduce the environmental burden. The volume of organic food production hinges on, among others, the willingness of consumers to prefer organic food to conventional food and also to change consumer behaviour. Although organic food consumer and purchase behaviour is sometimes found to be environmentally motivated, health motives are prevailing in many developed countries. Recently, organic food consumption has grown significantly in developed countries. The diploma thesis is for these reasons aimed at analysis of motivational factors and barriers that affect consumer's purchase decision-making related to organic food. First, the overview of scientific literature concerning organic food consumption behaviour is presented. Factors that explain it can be divided into four major types: attitudinal variables, contextual forces, personal capabilities and habits. In the diploma thesis, we focus on risk perception, which can be classified as the attitudinal variable. Considering the perception of health and environmental risks, it is important to point out that manufactured...

Between the researcher and the participant: Requirements on sociological research methods and techniques Abstract The dissertation thesis deals with the design of methods and techniques which mediate the commnunication between a researcher and a participant (in-depths, surveys, etc.). The aim of the paper is to comprehensively assess a research practice by a number of criteria and thought experiments. The paper discusses 24 requirements which could be set on the method. It is rooted in the revised moderated neopositivist paradigm specifically from Carnap's concept of observation and theoretical language. It is further enhanced with the concept of conceptual spaces and the social representations concept. The extended theoretical approach is called "achieving the explanation" and it emphasizes (1) the meaning of theoretical assumptions of the scientific model including methodological aspects. (2) The common knowledge is approached as a complex social representation not only an attitude. (3) It stresses the importance of so called fix points which enable the translation between common and scientific knowledge. The thesis is focused on the process of designing the research in all its stages, on the theoretical and conceptual principles and on specific aspects of cooperation with participants.

The main subject of the presented work is the question of power within the context of sociological theory, and in relation to the mechanism of psychological mimesis and the phenomenon of the sacred. Our starting point is René Girard's mimetic theory, which systematizes the relationship between the mechanism of psychological mimesis and the sacred - in the light of the phenomenon of violence. We, firstly, present Girard's mimetic theory, explicate its main concepts, and situate all into a broader context. Further, we critically examine Girard's theoretical scheme and come to the conclusion that his theoretical and conceptual framework calls for a revision, if it is to be utilized within the context of sociology and social theory. Consequently, we try to "sociologize" Girard's thinking. First, we position his line of thought into the wider sociological context, and then examine his theory in the light of thinking of two classical sociologists, Gabriel Tarde and Émile Durkheim. We then project this examination into a theoretical and conceptual synthesis on the basis of which we formulate our own conceptual scheme, which is based on the assumption of psychological mimesis as an anthropological constant, and which overcomes the main shortcomings of Girard's theoretical framework. On the basis of this...

L’histoire de la noblesse au cours du XIXeme siècle est un champ historiographique peu exploité par les historiens français. La première grande étude étant celle de David Higgs. Auparavant, l’histoire de la noblesse post-révolutionnaire a toujours été envisagée comme partie de l’histoire des élites telles qu’établie par Louis Bergeron et Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret. Pour envisager la noblesse du XIXeme sujet spécifique, il faut dépasser le bilan dressé par Karl Marx et Jean Jaures qui ont voulu voir dans la noblesse l’expression d’une société sclérosée disparue au cours des événements révolutionnaires.Le premier point à résoudre est de trouver une définition de la noblesse qui permette d’établir une base de travail non équivoque. Ainsi, la noblesse du XIXeme siècle n’est plus celle de l’Ancien Régime. Elle n’est plus protégée par des statuts et des privilèges qu’elle a souhaité elle-même supprimer. Par conséquent la noblesse est composée d’hommes et de femmes qui ont une conscience ethnologique d’appartenir à un groupe ayant des valeurs et des comportements similaires.Le cadre géographique de la recherche est élargi à l’ensemble des cinq départements normands afin de mieux repérer et suivre les particularismes de la noblesse ainsi que l’influence de Paris limitrophe avec la région.La période s’étend de 1789 à 1910 afin de saisir l’ensemble des variations de l’influence politique de la noblesse normande. L’impact de chacune des révolutions ainsi que le rôle de la noblesse dans l’émergence des mouvements révolutionnaires entrent ainsi dans le champ de l’étude.De manière connexes seront envisagés les influences économiques et intellectuelles de la noblesse, notamment son rôle sur les tracés de chemins de fer ou sur la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie. / The history of the nobility during the 19th century is a historiographical field less strudied by historians. The first of them were the one of David Higgs. Previously, the history of the post-revolutionary nobility was always envisaged as part of elites hystory, such as established by Louis Bergeron and Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret. To envisage the nobility of the specific subject 19th, it is necessary to exceed the balance assessment raisedby Karl Marx and Jean Jaures who wanted to see in the nobility the expression of a calcified society, which has disappeared during the revolutionary events.The first point to be solved is to find a definition of the nobility which allows to establish basis of not ambiguous work. So, the nobility of the 19th century is not any more the one of the Ancien Régime.It is not any more protected by statutes and privileges which she wished herself to rease. Consequently the nobility consists of men and women who have an ethnological consciousness to belong to a group having values and similar behavior.The geographical frame of the search is widened to the set of five Norman departments in order to find and follow the senses of identity of the nobility as well as the influence of bordering Paris.The period extends from 1789 till 1910 to seize all the variations of the political influence of the Norman nobility. The impact of each of the revolutions as well as the role of the nobility in the emergence of the revolutionary movements so enter the field of the study.In a related way will be envisaged the economic and intellectual influences of the nobility, in particular its role on the plans of railroads or on the Société des Antiquaires de Normandie.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to prove the applicability of sociological methods in the research of audiovisual production. The theoretical part of this thesis is based especially on the approaches of the authors G. H. Gallup and R. L. Nafziger and further the methods used in the given type of research are described. Based on the proven empirical research, the subject of which is a trailer for the upcoming film Adam Ondra: Pushing the Limits and which used qualitative and quantitative methods, which were also described in the theoretical section, the thesis demonstrates the applicability and effectiveness of the use of these methods in research of audiovisual production. In the final section of the thesis, recommendations for optimizing the film trailer in terms of more effective targeting of selected audiences are proposed.

This diploma thesis is a single-case study analyzing promotion of the concept of Flexicurity principle in the CR through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). The concept of flexicurity began raising European integration actors' awareness since early 2000s. That was due to considerations how to strenghten competitiveness of the EU Member States' economies during growing expansion of more liberal markets such as China, and in the same time to maintain the European social model based on the concept of welfare state. In 2007, there was adopted EU's definition of Flexicurity. Flexicurity began to be promoted by the OMC. This thesis responds to the lack of studies analyzing the influence of the OMC in specific policy areas. The author analyzes literature, relevant legislation as well as their explanatory reports, National Reform Programmes, Czech government's policy statements, and interviews with representatives of tripartite actors who take part in social dialogue. The study explores how does the OMC work in the case of Flexicurity promotion. The aim is to find out which of the selected theories is more suitable for describing the way Flexicurity is anchored in the CR. Selected theories are the Rational Choice Theory (RCT) and the theory of Sociological Institutionalism (SI). The author concludes...

This diploma thesis is a single-case study analyzing promotion of the concept of Flexicurity principle in the CR through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). The concept of flexicurity began raising European integration actors' awareness since early 2000s. That was due to considerations how to strenghten competitiveness of the EU Member States' economies during growing expansion of more liberal markets such as China, and in the same time to maintain the European social model based on the concept of welfare state. In 2007, there was adopted EU's definition of Flexicurity. Flexicurity began to be promoted by the OMC. This thesis responds to the lack of studies analyzing the influence of the OMC in specific policy areas. Tha author analyzes literature, relevant laws as well as thier explanatory reports, National Reform Programmes, Czech government's policy statements, and interviews with representatives of tripartite actors who take part in social dialogue. The study explores how does the OMC work in the case of Flexicurity promotion. The aim is to find out which of the selected theories is more suitable for describing the process of Flexicurity promotion through the OMC. Selected theories are the theory of Multi-Level Governace (MLG) and the theory of Sociological Institutionalism (SI). The author...