This thesis investigates the role that philosophy and science play in Gramsci's Prison Notebooks. While there is growing recognition of the importance of philosophy in Gramsci's prison work, the importance of science and its relationship to philosophy often go unremarked. Yet both fields were important to Gramsci's prison project. The bulk of the thesis consists in a detailed philological study of the unabridged Italian edition of the Prison Notebooks by Valentino Gerratana which brings out the importance of both philosophy and science to Gramsci's work, as well as their inter-relationship. In fact a crucial part of Gramsci' work while in prison, the part belonging to a second and most productive phase of the prison work according to current scholarship on Gramsci, consists in an effort to reconstruct Marxism as a philosophy of praxis within which a special place was reserved for science. Gramsci in fact dealt extensively with both natural science in its relationship to philosophy and, even more importantly, with social sciences like economics and political science. This was in keeping with the insight that Marxism was born out of the encounter between philosophy, economics and politics, which constituted the three keystones of Marx's new theory for Gramsci. The first part of this thesis analyzes Gramsci's reconstruction of Marxism as a philosophy of praxis, examining how the foundational concepts of praxis and human nature were interpreted by Gramsci in such a way as to lay the foundations for his theory of science. It then considers this theory of science in detail, examining first the place that Gramsci's reflection on natural science played within his reconstruction of Marxism, then considering how he laid the foundations for economics and political science within Marxism. Two novel concerns emerge in this discussion: the centrality of social science to Gramsci's reconstruction of Marxism and the importance that the individual played in both his philosophy and in this social science, particularly in economics. / Cette thèse explore le rôle de la philosophie et de la science dans les Carnets de prison de Gramsci. Alors que l'importance de la philosophie dans les écrits de prison de Gramsci continue de gagner en reconnaissance, l'importance de la science et de son rapport avec la philosophie est souvent négligée. Ces deux champs de recherche sont toutefois aussi important l'un que l'autre dans le projet réalisé par Gramsci lors de ses années passées en prison. La plus grande partie de cette thèse consiste en une analyse philologique détaillée de la version italienne complète des Carnets de prison établie par Valentino Gerratana. Elle met en évidence la double importance de la philosophie et de la science dans les écrits de Gramsci et le rapport qui les unit. Effectivement, une part essentielle de l'oeuvre de prison de Gramsci, identifiée par la recherche portant sur Gramsci comme un second volet distinct et plus productif de ses écrits de prison, se présente comme un effort de reconstruction du marxisme comme philosophie de la praxis au sein de laquelle une place particulière est réservée à la science. En fait, Gramsci s'est largement intéressé aux sciences naturelles dans leur rapport avec la philosophie et, de manière plus importante encore, avec des sciences sociales comme l'économie et la science politique, et ce en cohérence avec l'idée que le marxisme est né de la rencontre de la philosophie, de l'économie et de la politique, les trois piliers de la nouvelle théorie de Marx chez Gramsci. Dans un premier temps, cette thèse analyse la reconstruction du marxisme comme philosophie de la praxis par Gramsci en examinant comment les concepts fondamentaux de praxis et de nature humaine sont interprétés par Gramsci de manière à jeter les bases de sa théorie de la science. La thèse s'intéresse ensuite à cette théorie de la science en détails, examinant d'abord la place des réflexions de Gramsci sur les sciences naturelles au sein de sa reconstruction du marxisme, puis en considérant la manière dont il établit les fondements de l'économie et de la science politique au sein du marxisme. Deux préoccupations nouvelles émergent de cette discussion : la centralité des sciences sociales dans la reconstruction du marxisme par Gramsci et l'importance de l'individu dans sa philosophie et dans ces sciences sociales, particulièrement en économie.

<p> Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth are disproportionately the targets of discrimination, hostility and violence (Kosciw et al, 2012). This pattern of oppression can follow LGBT youth onto the college campus, and play a shaping force in their development as young adults (Robison, 2011; Longerbeam et al, 2007). As compared to the larger campus population, LGBT students have to be constantly concerned for their safety and inclusion in all contexts of the college experience: residence halls, bathrooms, locker rooms, classrooms, and transportation, to name just a few (Fanucce &amp; Taub, 2010; Burney, 2012; Evans, 2002; Finkel et al, 2003). The treatment of LGBT youth and college students in school settings reflects the larger issues of a homophobic society. Instead of falling victim to the pathologizing effect of discussing issues of the LGBT community (Renn, 2010; Harper, Bashir &amp; Wilson, 2007), many LGBT youth and young adults have begun to stand and fight. It is within the confluence of a need for civic re-awakening of the present generation and action against LGBT oppression that college LGBT activism shines. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to take an exploratory approach to assessing and describing the experiences of a group of first year LGBT students forming an LGBT-focused social justice group titled the Queer &amp; Ally (Q&amp;A) Action Research Team at Northern Arizona University. Specifically, I examined the perceptions that these first year undergraduate students hold towards the LGBT movement, other social justice movements, and sustainability. Though just as importantly, I explore with students what led them to be passionate about LGBT rights, through exploring their experiences as youth and new college students, and how it shapes their civic participation in college. Through representing the voices of student participants, I provide key insights regarding how the students articulate their process of civic re-engagement as students beginning their journeys in higher education. </p><p> A participant observer method was adopted as a means to gain access to this unique group of students. Through collaborating and building rapport with the students of Q&amp;A, I conducted ten in depth, semi-structured interviews. Through the use of methodological triangulation (multiple participants, researcher journal), data triangulation (conducting interviews of a span of time and with multiple persons) analytic memos, member checking, peer checking, coding, structural analysis, thematic analysis and writing with rich, thick description, I analyzed the words shared by participants, and related them to pertinent literature and research sources. Findings of the study provide insight into students' experiences in the LGBT community and becoming engaged in LGBT activism, and highlight the difficulties, discrimination, and concerns for personal safety that many LGBT people are affected by. However, in the face of the difficulties that some participants shared, the students of Q&amp;Arepresent noteworthy resiliency, strength, and tenacity. The story of Q&amp;A in its first year of functioning represents a success story of students learning to support one another, and enacting meaningful change for the LGBT community and beyond.</p>

<p> This project proposes a program designed to reduce the likelihood of abuse to children with developmental disabilities by teaching and training their parents. It begins with the evidence of abuse of children with developmental disabilities. The causes behind higher than average abuse rates are enumerated. The correlation between parental stress and abuse is covered. Violence prevention programs for schools, inmates and children are reviewed for viability. Components of these programs may be useful for a program focused on children with developmental disabilities. Violence prevention programs that serve children with developmental disabilities are reviewed. Possible solutions for reducing stress in general and in relation to raising a child with developmental disabilities are addressed. </p>

<p> In recent years the video game community has undergone a drastic transformation. What began as a communal pastime for programmers in federally-funded research laboratories during the late 1950s and 1960s has erupted into a multi-billion dollar industry enjoyed by millions of Americans. Reflecting this transformation, social scientists from a wide variety of fields have begun to explore video games' social significance. Sadly, so far very little work has examined video games from a sociological viewpoint. In this work I attempt to remedy this serious omission by adopting a cultural sociology framework to study video games' social meanings in three different mediated spaces, including <i>The New York Times,</i> the popular video game media outlet <i>Kotaku,</i> and the internet discussion forum NeoGAF. Consistent with recent work on entertainment commentary's capacity to function as an aesthetic public sphere, my analysis demonstrates that discussions occurring in all three spaces address broader sociopolitical concerns. However, the frequency in which these spaces engage in sociopolitical discussions, the type of topics they address, and the manner in which they do so vary. Consequently, my work adds new insight to the literature by highlighting how aesthetic public spheres are not isomorphic, but instead assume a variety of forms. Moreover, my work demonstrates how the particular type of aesthetic public sphere that an entertainment public facilitates is influenced by that entertainment public's position in civil society, the specific meaning the space attaches to the entertainment form under discussion, and civil society's overarching cultural structure. In this sense, my work strengthens the literature's understanding of entertainment's role in civil society by revealing the multiple forms entertainment commentary can assume and the sociological factors that influence the shape of these discourses.</p>

Ce travail en sciences sociales presente la theorie generale du sujet proposee par le Professeur Goux. Il s'agit de la theorie de l'equivalent general des echanges, c'est-a-dire de la fonction symbolique universelle et alienante---theorie que Goux a recemment completee grace a une interpretation nouvelle du mythe d'OEdipe. Selon cette theorie, il y aurait toujours dans l'histoire une forme de conscience dominante a un moment donne du proces logico-historique de la meditation universelle. L'histoire de la symbolisation presenterait ainsi trois grands types de sujet: (1) le sujet symboliste "aspectiviste" archaique; (2) le sujet realiste "perspectiviste" moderne; (3) le sujet operatif "transpectiviste" contemporain (ou "signe").

In this paper I focus on the arguments made by some feminist writers against the disclosure of biographical information concerning the donor to children conceived through the use of donor insemination. In particular I concentrate on the effects of disclosure in terms of its personal effects on women of certain groups in less conventional family relationships, and on its implications with respect to ideas of the importance of social environment to personal development. An important aspect of this discussion is an examination of different notions of identity. I try to articulate a notion of identity which may be reconciled with ideas of social construction, important to feminists.

<p> In contemporary American society, the nonprofit board is accountable for ensuring that an organization has sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Filling the gap between demands for services and the resources to meet them is often a struggle for small, local nonprofit organizations. This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how board members of small, local nonprofits in the focal community perceive organizational effectiveness. Understanding the nature of nonprofit organization effectiveness according to board members contributes to understanding how those accountable meet their organizational objectives. A review of the literature revealed that nonprofit effectiveness involves the action of contributing and the motivation behind the action, both of which are associated with trust and reciprocity. Guided by social constructivism, this study employed a qualitative analysis of repeated iterations of semiotic data from board members (<i>n</i> = 30) and text analysis of organizational mission statements (<i>n</i> = 21), generating thick descriptions of the board members' understanding of effectiveness. Findings were derived from successive coding iterations starting with the raw data, through locating text related to specific codes, to verifying relationships among codes, and incorporating researcher reflection. The analysis revealed that strategies focused on developing reciprocity and mitigating mistrust among board members contribute to board members' perceiving their organizations as effectively achieving their objectives. The study's findings support positive social change by informing social scientists and members of local nonprofit boards of the perceived gap between services demands and the resources to meet them among board members.</p>

<p> This study examines the legal barriers of those engaged in identity loan face when filing for workers' compensation. Farm workers are among the most marginalized groups of unauthorized migrants laborers. Those workers engaged in identity loan are further exploited because of their precarious employment status. Identity loan is a when a worker borrows another persons Social Security Number in order to be employed. When that individual is injured on the job they do not file a workers' compensation claim because fear of employer retaliation, exposure to the government and misinformation. Everyone in California has a right to workers' compensation no matter his or her legal or employment status. Workers' compensation attorneys were interviewed to understand the obstructions farm workers' using identity loan are up against when filing for workers' compensation. Proof of identity and misinformation are among the most substantial barriers to successfully filing a workers' compensation claim.</p>

<p> Post-abortion support groups are a new sub-movement or strategy of the broader anti-abortion movement that provide support to women who understand their prior abortions as problematic. These groups construct abortion as a form of trauma that causes post-abortion syndrome (PAS), a broad array of negative mental health and behavioral problems similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. Although these claims are not substantiated by empirical evidence, claims that abortion causes PAS are increasingly featured in the public domain to bolster national anti-abortion claims that abortion represents a public health issue. </p><p> A majority of PAS support groups are offered by crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) affiliated with one of two national pregnancy resource centers whose approach to healing from abortion reflects the increased presence and influence of evangelical women in the CPC movement. The increased presence of evangelical women in the CPC movement is reflected in the growing influence of conservative Christian beliefs in the support services offered by CPCs in general and PAS groups specifically. This research examined a PAS group in Mississippi sponsored by an evangelical CPC affiliated with Care Net, a national pregnancy resource center, to understand the motivations of women who participate in a PAS group, how PAS group participation shapes participants' understandings of abortion to conform to broader anti-abortion claims that abortion is a public health issue, and how PAS claims are diffused into the public domain. </p><p> To discern the relationship between PAS groups and broader anti-abortion claims, I analyze state and national media coverage of the 2011 Mississippi political campaign in which voters overwhelmingly defeated a constitutional amendment to pass a personhood amendment to confer legal status to the fetus. Together these analyses show how evangelical groups are working through legislative and individual-level processes to shape the abortion debate and climate in contemporary American society.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 11, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2974. Adviser: Elisabeth A. Lloyd.