Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This study examines the nature and characteristics of the informal sector within the Makana municipal area in South Africa. The focus is on the socio-economic characteristics of the informal sector operatives; operational characteristics of the microenterprises that we studied, such as longevity, employment generation, growth potential, and linkages of the informal sector with the formal sector of the economy. Extensive studies on the informal sector have been conducted in many parts of the world relative to South Africa. The key finding in most of these researches is that the informal sector is highly heterogeneous. These studies provide us with the parameters for analysing the nature and characteristics of the informal sector in the Makana Municipality. The results of the thesis show that the majority of people in Makana Municipality join the informal sector as a result of such push factors as unemployment, retrenchment and the need to survive. While there is evidence of lucrative activities amongst the surveyed enterprises, most of the informal sector micro-enterprises are concentrated in the lower segment of the sector where earnings are very low. Results from this study reveal that employment generation (beyond owner-operator) is very limited. The co-existence of a small number of remunerative activities alongside a large proportion of relatively unproductive activities is not only a sign of restricted economic potential but, most importantly, it points to the heterogeneous nature of the informal sector. Precisely, the informal sector encompasses activities which are different in terms of asset holdings, earnings, etc. From the study, it is also evident that the informal sector micro-enterprises play a crucial role in distributing goods produced in the formal sector. Evidence indicates that these micro-enterprises are Iinked to the formal sector. The idea of a 'second economy' devoid of linkages with the 'first economy' is of limited heuristic value. Thus, the 'second economy' is an extension of the first.

M.A. / Squatter settlements have mushroomed all over South Africa. The Government no longer can turn the blind eye on this phenomenon. There is an urgent need to develop policy to deal with this matter and also to intervene in a manner that is not only going to control the problem but also bring satisfaction to all the parties involved. This study was undertaken to, investigate the needs of communities in squatter settlements. This study was based on literature and research from South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal. The respondents of the study were people who are involved with settlements, Community leaders, Social workers and Community Workers. Qualitative design of exploratory nature was conducted. Thirteen people participated in focus groups. Three focus group interviews were conducted. The sample was representative of the population under study. One limitation was that some interviews were conducted in Zulu and later translated into English, which might have resulted in a loss of meaning in some instances since there are some Zulu words that do not exist in English. The results showed that most of the needs of squatter settlements are basic. Valuable results emerged as how those needs can be met, to the satisfaction of the communities. Conclusions and recommendations for further research were discussed according to results from the study.

Ph.D. (Sociology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A presente tese analisa as práticas de leitura de estudantes de Cursos Superiores de Tecnologia de uma instituição pública especializada em Educação Profissional e Tecnológica, investigando em que medida os contextos sociocultural e acadêmico atuam sobre essas práticas. A fundamentação teórica baseia-se, principalmente, na Sociologia da Leitura, a partir dos estudos de Horellou-Lafarge e Segré (2010), Chartier (1999a, 1999b, 2001, 2011), Bourdieu (2011, 2015), Petit (2009a, 2009b), Zilberman (1999, 2001, 2012), Escarpit (1968), Candido (2000), Darnton (2010), Manguel (1997), Aguiar (2007) Abreu (2001, 2015) e Carlino (2017), complementada pela perspectiva cognitivo-sociológica de teóricos como Giasson (2000), Marcuschi (1999, 2004, 2008), Paviani (2006, 2013), Kleiman (2013) e Gabriel (2005). A pesquisa, de caráter descritivo e explicativo e motivada pela experiência empírica enquanto docente de Língua Portuguesa e Literatura, deu-se a partir de um estudo de caso com estudantes de cinco Cursos Superiores de Tecnologia do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul – Campus Bento Gonçalves, com aplicação de questionários, entrevistas e testes de leitura. Ao longo da tese, demonstra-se que não apenas o contexto sociocultural, como a origem social, as condições econômicas, a trajetória escolar, as atividades sociais e culturais de que os estudantes participam atua sobre as suas práticas de leitura, mas também que o contexto acadêmico possui fundamental importância na configuração dessas práticas, condicionando leituras, restringindo ou promovendo o acesso a determinados gêneros textuais, favorecendo a utilização de um ou outro suporte de leitura. No entanto, apesar de sua relevância, os contextos sociocultural e acadêmico revelam-se condicionantes, e não determinantes das práticas de leitura dos sujeitos, pois, sendo elas constituintes da ação humana, mostram-se sempre dinâmicas e flexíveis. Os resultados evidenciam que as práticas de leitura dos estudantes atendem a necessidades pragmáticas do cotidiano, priorizando textos curtos de tipologia expositiva, e ocorrendo principalmente em suportes digitais, além da leitura com vistas a atender às exigências dos componentes curriculares do curso superior, com destaque para o gênero artigo científico. A leitura de literatura ficcional não constitui uma atividade consolidada e perene entre as práticas socioculturais dos sujeitos pesquisados, sendo que o próprio Curso Superior de Tecnologia não favorece ou estimula essa prática. Além disso, a característica de estudantestrabalhadores dos sujeitos pesquisados implica não apenas menor disposição para os estudos, como também menos tempo disponível para as leituras acadêmicas e de lazer, compreendida aí a literatura ficcional, interferindo nos níveis de competência leitora. Finalmente, como intervenção prática, propõe-se a democratização da leitura no Ensino Superior Tecnológico a partir de duas vias: a) auxiliando os estudantes na compreensão dos textos que circulam no contexto acadêmico; e b) ampliando a diversidade de gêneros textuais lidos pelos estudantes, incluindo a literatura ficcional. / The present thesis analyzes the reading practices of students of Technology Degree Courses of a public institution specializing in Professional and Technological Education, investigating to what extent the sociocultural and academic contexts act on these practices. The theoretical foundation is based mainly on the Sociology of Reading, from the studies of Horellou-Lafarge e Segré (2010), Chartier (1999a, 1999b, 2001, 2011), Bourdieu (2011, 2015), Petit (2009a, 2009b), Zilberman (1999, 2001, 2012), Escarpit (1968), Candido (2000), Darnton (2010), Manguel (1997), Aguiar (2007) Abreu (2001, 2015) e Carlino (2017), complemented by the cognitive-sociological perspective of Giasson (2000), Marcuschi (1999, 2004, 2008), Paviani (2006, 2013), Kleiman (2013) e Gabriel (2005). The research is descriptive and explanatory and motivated by empirical experience as a Portuguese and Literature teacher. It was based on a case study with students of five Technology Degree Courses of the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul – Campus Bento Gonçalves. During data collection, questionnaires, interviews and reading tests were applied. Throughout the thesis, it was observed that not only the sociocultural context, such as social origin, economic conditions, school trajectory, social and cultural activities that students participate in act on their reading practices, but also the academic context has fundamental importance in the configuration of these practices, conditioning readings, restricting or promoting access to certain textual genres, favoring the use of one or another reading support. However, in spite of their relevance, sociocultural and academic contexts are conditioning, not determinant, of the individuals' reading practices, being constituents of human action, and also, they are always dynamic and flexible. The results emphasize that students' reading practices meet the pragmatic needs of daily life, prioritizing short texts of expository typology, and occurring mainly in digital media, in addition to reading in order to meet the requirements of the curricular components of the degree course, especially scientific papers.The reading of fictional literature does not constitute a consolidated and perennial activity among the sociocultural practices of the individuals studied, and the Technology Degree Course does not favor or stimulate this practice. Besides, the individuals studied are student-workers, it involves not only less willingness to study, but also less time available for academic and leisure readings, including fictional literature, interfering in the levels of reading competence. Finally, as a practical intervention, we propose the democratization of reading in Technological Higher Education in two ways: a) helping students to understand the texts that circulate in the academic context; and b) broadening the diversity of textual genres read by students, including fictional literature.

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"The influx of children adopted into the United States from other countries has increased the need for social workers experienced in practice techniques that asssist in building rapport between the parents and children in these newly formed families. This study explored the use of employing the kinetic family drawing as a tool to build rapport between parents and children. This was an exploratory multiple case design. Six families participated in the process of drawing a picture of their family engaged in an activity together. It was anticipated that the drawings would be an effective tool to build rapport between parent and child."

The purpose of this study was (1) to review programs directed towards students defined "at risk" in the literature, (2) to construct a profile of the at-risk population served by the Gang Risk Intervention Program (GRIP) in Riverside County, and (3) to make future recommendations towards enhanced service delivery to the same.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a different personality trait between Department of Children's Services, intake and carrier workers. If there is a difference, does it effect job satisfaction when the worker is placed in a position that is not compatible with their personality trait?