The purpose of this qualitative thesis is to describe and analyse the implementation of an education system in the newly independent state, Timor Leste. One question to be discussed is whether an emergency phase is still going on in the development of a functioning school system, or if Timor Leste already reached a capacity building phase? Via the participant's answers in field observations and interviews, the study analyses the clashes between generations, social classes and different levels in relation to the choice of Portuguese as an official language and the international environment in the country. The thesis concludes that a lot of work remains in creating a fully functioning education system. We enjoyed the writing - and hope you will enjoy the reading!

En linguistique, la politesse vise la préservation de l’harmonie interactionnelle. Que se passe-t-il dans les situations où le dissensus se trouve au cœur des échanges, tel le cas de nos talk-shows ? Le rôle de l’impolitesse, de la violence et leurs rapports à la politesse dans On n’est pas couché et Tout le monde en parle ont constitué le point de départ de notre recherche. Le présent travail est une analyse du système de la politesse confronté aux défis des émissions mentionnées, défis qui nous ont amenée à explorer la dichotomie politesse-impolitesse et qui nous ont conduite à articuler ces dernières avec les notions d’adéquation au contrat de communication, de violence et de mise en scène.Afin de rendre compte du fonctionnement de ces phénomènes, deux démarches nous ont semblé nécessaires. Premièrement, abandonner la conception selon laquelle la politesse désignait les comportements jugés adéquats et l’impolitesse était conçue comme sa « contrepartie » négative. Deuxièmement, tenter de « re-conceptualisation » la notion d’adéquation aux normes tout en allant au-delà des classements rigides et des formules conventionnelles polies ou impolies.Partant de ces réflexions, nous nous sommes fixé une double ambition : dans le premier volet, nous avons voulu aménager le cadre théorique de la politesse ─ qui, appliqué à notre corpus, présentait certaines insuffisances ─, et formuler des critères pour l’évaluation des notions présentées. Ainsi, nous avons proposé, avec prudence et modestie, un cadre et des outils théoriques adaptés à nos talk-shows. Dans le second volet, nous avons analysé ─ manipulant les outils présentés et nous appuyant sur ce nouveau cadre ─, le fonctionnement du système de la politesse ainsi que les mises en scène de la parole polie, impolie et violente. / In linguistics, politeness, considered omnipresent, aims at preserving the interactional and interpersonal harmony. But what happens when conflict is at the very heart of verbal interactions, as is the case with our talk-shows? The role of impoliteness and violence, as well as their relationship with politeness in “On n’est pas couché” and “Tout le monde en parle” are to be considered as the starting point for our research. Thus, the present work is an analysis of the notion of politeness confronted to the “challenges” raised by the televised shows mentioned above, an analysis in which we explored the politeness/impoliteness dichotomy that we articulated, thereafter, with the notions of appropriateness (in respect to the communication contract), violence and representation or “mise-en-scène”.In order to give a proper account of the functioning of these phenomena, firstly, we gave up the general view according to which politeness was defined as adequate behaviour while impoliteness was seen as its negative counterpart. Secondly, we tried to reconceptualise the notion of appropriateness going beyond rigid classifications or conventionalised polite and impolite formula.Given these considerations, we established a twofold objective. On the one hand, we tried to adjust the theoretical framework of politeness that, applied to our data, presented certain deficiencies, and to come up with some evaluation criteria for the analysed notions; consequently, we modestly and prudently proposed a framework and several theoretical “tools” adapted to our talk-shows. On the other hand, we analysed ─ using the presented tools and framework ─, the mechanisms of politeness and impoliteness as well as the divers “mises-en-scène” of polite, impolite and violent speech.

<p>This paper will answer which factors are important for the business relation between a small Swedish import company and a Chinese contractor. The problem is based partly in theories that points to cultural and organizational differences between Sweden and China, and partly in current examples from Swedish companies. The relevant data has been collected by interviews with three small Swedish companies that are currently using Chinese contractors.</p><p>The result is that the differences between the countries and organizations exist, but that they do not interfere with the inter-company relations. The conclusion is that our result contradicts</p><p>the established theories in the field, and that a more comprehensive investigation is warranted.</p> / <p>Denna uppsats skall svara på vilka faktorer som är viktiga för en handelsrelation mellan ett litet svenskt importföretag och en kinesisk leverantör. Problemet grundar sig dels i teorier som visar på kulturella och organisatoriska skillnader mellan Sverige och Kina och dels aktuella exempel från svenska företag. För att få fram relevant data har vi intervjuat tre svenska småföretag som använder sig av leverantörer i Kina.</p><p>Resultatet är att skillnaderna mellan länderna och organisationerna finns, men att det inte stör relationen företagen emellan. Slutsatsen blir därför att vårt resultat motsäger dom etablerade teorierna i ämnet, och att en mer omfattande undersökning är befogad.</p>

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de analisar como a criança lida com o encontro acentual no português brasileiro da perspectiva fonético-acústica. Os parâmetros analisados foram o da duração e da freqüência fundamental das vogais, já que estes são os principais correlatos acústicos para determinação do acento primário em português brasileiro (cf. Moraes 1987; Massini-Cagliari 1992; Barbosa 1996). A fonologia e a fonética apresentam diferentes comportamentos no português brasileiro com relação à resolução do encontro acentual (stress-clash) na linguagem adulta. Seguindo Nespor & Vogel (1986) para o italiano e Selkirk (1984) para o inglês, Abousalh (1997) e Santos (2001) afirmam que no português brasileiro os falantes utilizam-se das estratégias da retração acentual (stress-shift) e do alongamento para desfazer o encontro acentual, e estas estratégias ocorrem dentro da frase fonológica. Por outro lado, Barbosa (2002), em um estudo com linguagem adulta, argumentou acusticamente que nem aparente, nem sistematicamente acontece retração acentual com relação ao parâmetro acústico da duração em PB. Este estudo trata de um estudo de caso no qual a criança analisada, minha filha, então com 5 anos e 7 meses, foi gravada para a análise da possível estratégia de retração acentual e alongamento na fala infantil. Para a elaboração do corpus, foram criadas 12 frases-alvo, 6 com encontro acentual e 6 sem o referido fenômeno, com o cuidado de controlar o número de sílabas dos pares frasais para manter o mesmo tamanho das sentenças a fim de não alterar a estrutura rítmica. Cada frase foi repetida 5 vezes de forma aleatória, com um total de 60 frases para serem analisadas. Os resultados da análise estatística mostram que, do ponto de vista da fonética acústica não houve favorecimento para as estratégias de retração acentual e alongamento de vogal, em contexto de encontro acentual na análise deste corpus. Isto é, pode-se então sugerir, pois se trata da análise de um caso, que o encontro acentual, em português brasileiro, é mais tolerado do que se supõe (cf. Barbosa 2002 e Madureira 2002) / The aim of this essay is to analyze the way children deal with stress-clash in Brazilian Portuguese from the acoustic phonetic point of view. The analyzed parameters were the duration and fundamental frequency of vowels since these are the main acoustic parameters of primary stress in this language (cf. Moraes, 1987; Massini-Cagliari, 1992). In Brazilian Portuguese, adult language phonology and phonetics present different behavior in relation to stress class resolution. In phonological terms, following Nespor and Vogel (1986) for Italian and Selkirk (1984) for English, Abousalh (1997) and Santos (2002) claim that Brazilian Portuguese speakers use the strategy of stress shift in order to undo stress clash, and this strategy occurs inside the phonological phrase level. From a phonetic point of view, Barbosa (2002) has shown that stress shift occurs neither apparently nor systematically, in relation to the acoustic parameter of duration in Brazilian Portuguese, the main parameter for the duration of primary stress in this Brazilian Portuguese (cf. Moraes, 1987; Massini-Cagliari,1992). In this study, the child analyzed, my daughter, was recorded at age 5;7 in order to examine the possibility of stress shift and duration strategy in children. For the elaboration of the corpus, 12 target sentences were created. Six of them with stress clash and another six without the referred phenomenon. Care was taken so as to control the number of phrase pairs in such a way that same number of syllables of the sentences and rhythmic structure were maintained. The child repeated each sentence of stressclash X non stress-clash conditions 5 times, for a total of 60 acoustically analyzed sentences. According to the results of the statistical analyses, from the phonetic acoustic point of view the findings point to a trend of maintaining the stress-clash in the contexts of \"clash\" and this trend is one for the maintenance of the duration of the vowels in the control sentences contexts on the non stress-clashes in this corpus. That is, one can suggest, since the case under analyses, even with the stress-shift representing an optional strategy to undo the stress-clash in the PB, it is more tolerated than generally assumed (cf. Barbosa 2002 and Madureira 2002)

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de analisar como a criança lida com o encontro acentual no português brasileiro da perspectiva fonético-acústica. Os parâmetros analisados foram o da duração e da freqüência fundamental das vogais, já que estes são os principais correlatos acústicos para determinação do acento primário em português brasileiro (cf. Moraes 1987; Massini-Cagliari 1992; Barbosa 1996). A fonologia e a fonética apresentam diferentes comportamentos no português brasileiro com relação à resolução do encontro acentual (stress-clash) na linguagem adulta. Seguindo Nespor & Vogel (1986) para o italiano e Selkirk (1984) para o inglês, Abousalh (1997) e Santos (2001) afirmam que no português brasileiro os falantes utilizam-se das estratégias da retração acentual (stress-shift) e do alongamento para desfazer o encontro acentual, e estas estratégias ocorrem dentro da frase fonológica. Por outro lado, Barbosa (2002), em um estudo com linguagem adulta, argumentou acusticamente que nem aparente, nem sistematicamente acontece retração acentual com relação ao parâmetro acústico da duração em PB. Este estudo trata de um estudo de caso no qual a criança analisada, minha filha, então com 5 anos e 7 meses, foi gravada para a análise da possível estratégia de retração acentual e alongamento na fala infantil. Para a elaboração do corpus, foram criadas 12 frases-alvo, 6 com encontro acentual e 6 sem o referido fenômeno, com o cuidado de controlar o número de sílabas dos pares frasais para manter o mesmo tamanho das sentenças a fim de não alterar a estrutura rítmica. Cada frase foi repetida 5 vezes de forma aleatória, com um total de 60 frases para serem analisadas. Os resultados da análise estatística mostram que, do ponto de vista da fonética acústica não houve favorecimento para as estratégias de retração acentual e alongamento de vogal, em contexto de encontro acentual na análise deste corpus. Isto é, pode-se então sugerir, pois se trata da análise de um caso, que o encontro acentual, em português brasileiro, é mais tolerado do que se supõe (cf. Barbosa 2002 e Madureira 2002) / The aim of this essay is to analyze the way children deal with stress-clash in Brazilian Portuguese from the acoustic phonetic point of view. The analyzed parameters were the duration and fundamental frequency of vowels since these are the main acoustic parameters of primary stress in this language (cf. Moraes, 1987; Massini-Cagliari, 1992). In Brazilian Portuguese, adult language phonology and phonetics present different behavior in relation to stress class resolution. In phonological terms, following Nespor and Vogel (1986) for Italian and Selkirk (1984) for English, Abousalh (1997) and Santos (2002) claim that Brazilian Portuguese speakers use the strategy of stress shift in order to undo stress clash, and this strategy occurs inside the phonological phrase level. From a phonetic point of view, Barbosa (2002) has shown that stress shift occurs neither apparently nor systematically, in relation to the acoustic parameter of duration in Brazilian Portuguese, the main parameter for the duration of primary stress in this Brazilian Portuguese (cf. Moraes, 1987; Massini-Cagliari,1992). In this study, the child analyzed, my daughter, was recorded at age 5;7 in order to examine the possibility of stress shift and duration strategy in children. For the elaboration of the corpus, 12 target sentences were created. Six of them with stress clash and another six without the referred phenomenon. Care was taken so as to control the number of phrase pairs in such a way that same number of syllables of the sentences and rhythmic structure were maintained. The child repeated each sentence of stressclash X non stress-clash conditions 5 times, for a total of 60 acoustically analyzed sentences. According to the results of the statistical analyses, from the phonetic acoustic point of view the findings point to a trend of maintaining the stress-clash in the contexts of \"clash\" and this trend is one for the maintenance of the duration of the vowels in the control sentences contexts on the non stress-clashes in this corpus. That is, one can suggest, since the case under analyses, even with the stress-shift representing an optional strategy to undo the stress-clash in the PB, it is more tolerated than generally assumed (cf. Barbosa 2002 and Madureira 2002)

This thesis examines the rich and layered intertextual relationship between five artisticrepresentations of the razed neighborhoods of Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles, and its former residents. These works include Seattle-based photographer Don Normark’s 1999 photography collection Chávez Ravine, 1949: A Los Angeles Story; the full-length dramatic play Chavez Ravine, written and first performed by Los Angeles-based Chicano comedy troupe Culture Clash in 2003; Jordan Mechner’s 2004 short documentary film Chávez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story; Ry Cooder’s musical album Chávez Ravine: A Record by Ry Cooder; and lastly, high school history teacher Ken Aven’s 2006 debut novel, Chavez Ravine Echoes. Together, these five productions make up a case study that engages with the theoretical debate about privileged groups speaking for, or on behalf of, underrepresented groups. This analysis emphasizes a process of representation that is shared and driven by dialogue between the artists of these productions and the place and people they represent. Through the inclusion of resident involvement in the production process and the weaving of narrative elements from both Mexican American and dominant cultural traditions, these projects promote the Ravine’s cultural wealth and visibility within a popular culture dominated by the symbol of Dodger Stadium. This study, through close readings and textual analysis, demonstrates how these works, considered together, open up spaces for cross-cultural discussions about Chavez Ravine and the various roles it plays within U.S. cultural history. More importantly, these five representations of Chavez Ravine figuratively practice and promote a “speaking to and with” model of intercultural communication between dominant and minority cultures.

<p>Högskolan i Gävle har på senare år påbörjat ett samarbete med utländska universitet och en stor andel utbytesstudenter vid högskolan kommer från Kina (Högskolan i Gävle, 2007). Att lyckas akademiskt är till viss del beroende av individens förmåga att anpassa sig till den akademiska kulturen och de rådande normerna. Studenter utbildade i konfucianistisk kultur har ofta annan syn på läraren än studerande i västerländsk kultur då man inom konfucianismen anser att läraren är en person med hög auktoritet och forskning visar att stressnivån för nyanlända utbytesstudenter är stark i början av deras akademiska utbildning i ett främmande land (Brown, 2008). Syftet med vår uppsats var att undersöka de kinesiska utbytesstudenternas kulturella upplevelser av att studera på Högskolan i Gävle och se hur dessa påverkar dem.</p><p>En kvalitativ metod genomfördes med inspiration av ett fenomenologiskt förhållningssätt. Detta skedde i form av en semistrukturerad fokusgruppsintervju med sex stycken utbytesstudenter från Kina som studerat minst två år på Högskolan i Gävle. Resultatet visade att respondenterna upplevt kulturskillnader som de fått anpassa sig till under sin tid som utbytesstudenter. De största kulturkrockarna skedde i att anpassa sig efter den svenska undervisningen och ett främmande språk. Språkliga brister var troligen den största faktorn till att de inte hade kontakt med svenska studenter. Dock verkade respondenterna inte uppleva kulturchock i så stor utsträckning. Störst stress upplevde de i början av en ny kurs då de var tvungna att anpassa sig efter främmande ord på engelska och inför tentamenstillfällen. I början av respondenternas vistelse som utbytesstudent upplevde de dock hemlängtan och svårigheter att följa med i undervisningen vilket kunde upplevas som stressande. Detta verkade dock ha avtagit med tiden och utbytesstudenterna upplevde situationen vara tillfredställande trots en annorlunda kultur.</p> / <p>The University of Gävle has in recent years started a relation with foreign universities and a large share of exchange students come from China (Högskolan i Gävle 2007). To succeed academically is to some extent dependent on the individual´s ability to adapt to the prevailing standards in the academic culture. Students educated in a konfucianistic culture have often a different view of the teacher than students in Western culture when in Confucianism believe that the teacher is a person of high standing and research shows that stress levels for newly arrived exchange students are strong in the beginning of their academic training in a foreign country (Brown, 2008). The purpose of our study was to get an insight into the Chinese</p><p>exchange student’s cultural experiences of studying at the University of Gävle and to see how this can affect them.</p><p>A qualitative method with inspiration of the phenomenogical approach was carried out. This took the form of a semistructrued focus group interview with six exchange student´s from China who has studied at least two years at the University of Gävle. The result implied that the respondents experienced differences in culture that they had to adapt to during their time as exchange students. The largest clash of cultures came when they were trying to adapt to the Swedish education and a foreign language. Linguistic deficiencies were probably the largest factor to affect the lack of contact with Swedish students. However, the respondents didn't seem to experience culture chock at a large extent. They experienced most stress at the beginning of a new course when they were forced to adapt to unfamiliar words in English and for examinations. At the beginning of the respondents sojourn however, they experienced homesickness and difficulties in keeping up with the tutoring which could be experienced as stressful. However, this seems to have declined by time and the exchange students experienced the situation as satisfying despite a different culture.</p>

This thesis offers a comparison, which rarely, if ever, has been made between Isaiah Berlin and Charles Taylors account of the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder on the relationship of language, culture and nationality. It argues that Berlin misrepresents Herders ideas in emphasizing the extent to which differences in language and culture necessarily result in ethnic and national conflicts between incompatible cultural worldviews, while Taylor does correctly understand that Herder sees no reason for why such conflict between cultural entities should be inevitable either within a single state or between states. The thesis concludes by offering reasons for why Herder, properly understood, allows us to be optimistic about the future of both intrastate and interstate relationships among diverse cultural groups.

This thesis offers a comparison, which rarely, if ever, has been made between Isaiah Berlin and Charles Taylors account of the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder on the relationship of language, culture and nationality. It argues that Berlin misrepresents Herders ideas in emphasizing the extent to which differences in language and culture necessarily result in ethnic and national conflicts between incompatible cultural worldviews, while Taylor does correctly understand that Herder sees no reason for why such conflict between cultural entities should be inevitable either within a single state or between states. The thesis concludes by offering reasons for why Herder, properly understood, allows us to be optimistic about the future of both intrastate and interstate relationships among diverse cultural groups.

The purpose of my thesis was to counter Samuel Huntington’s argument that the world’s conflict is over differing civilizations, religions, or cultures. Whether or not religion is declining or growing, it cannot be used to portray the world in a 'cosmic war,' or a battle between 'good and evil'. Natural resources, not religions, rest at the basis for the Islamic fundamentalist and militant movement due to its response to the Western structural pressures that are modernizing Muslim societies. Oil and water become vital tools for exercising power and authority of one nation over another, and are identified as the true culprits for a conflict that is often furtively concealed.