La vitalité du secteur jeunesse de l'édition est un indice, parmi d'autres, de la place importante qu'occupent encore aujourd'hui les livres dans le quotidien des enfants. Si le contenu des albums a été étudié par quelques sociologues français, la manière dont les jeunes « lecteurs » reçoivent les normes et les représentations transmises par la littérature de jeunesse n'a en revanche fait l'objet que de bien peu d'investigations sociologiques. A travers l'analyse de la manière dont les enfants comprennent et (ré)interprètent le contenu textuel et iconographique des livres, cette thèse entend non seulement mettre en lumière ce qui se joue dans l'acte de réception, mais également apporter des éléments contribuant à une meilleure compréhension du processus de socialisation. Nous centrons pour cela notre regard sur l'« alimentation », observatoire emblématique de l'ensemble des modalités de ce processus ainsi que de ses nombreuses différenciations. Par la mise en place, sur le terrain, d'un protocole expérimental permettant d'approcher le point de vue d'enfants âgés de 5 à 8 ans (et issus de milieux sociaux contrastés), cette thèse permet ainsi d'appréhender la manière dont s'agencent - de façon toujours particulière - les messages délivrés par différentes instances socialisatrices (famille, médias, école), et dont se construisent d'éventuelles appartenances à un genre et/ou à un milieu social. La capacité d'action (agency) des très jeunes enfants est de cette façon, ici, mise en jeu. / Among other signs, the vitality of the children's book publishing field bears testimony to the important place books still occupy today in children's everyday lives. However, despite the fact that some French sociologists have already studied the content of children's books, the way young "readers" receive the norms and representations conveyed by this literature has been the object of very little sociological investigation. In the present thesis I analyze the way children understand and (re)interpret the textual and iconographic content of children's books, with a view to both shedding light on what is really at stake in the act of reception, and also bringing elements that might contribute to better understanding the process of socialization. I focus on "food," as it is an iconic observation tool for the entirety of this process's modalities and its many differentiations. An experimental protocol implemented on the field has allowed me to approach the point of view of 5- to 8-year-old children coming from various social backgrounds, and thus to study the way the messages conveyed by the various agents of socialization (such as family, mass media, and school) are organized, as well as the construction of potential belongings to a gender and/or social group. In this regard, the agency of very young children is also addressed.

Em 1.º de junho de 1953, a administração do presidente norte-americano Dwight D. Eisenhower fundou a United States Information Agency (USIA), reunindo sob a coordenação da nova agência os programas de informação dos Estados Unidos da América (EUA) no exterior. O intuito era o de aproximar as audiências internacionais dos valores do sistema democrático e de livre empresa encenado pelo país, granjeando governos às posições norte-americanas na Guerra Fria. A atuação da agência se deu no âmbito das disputas entre os governos dos Estados Unidos e da União das Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas (URSS) em programas de propaganda cultural naquilo que a historiografia tem chamado de Guerra Fria Cultural (Cultural Cold War). Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar a atuação da USIA no Brasil, entre os anos de 1953, data de fundação da agência, e 1964, quando as questões de que se ocupava foram reorientadas em função, no plano internacional, da Guerra no Vietnam e, no Brasil, do golpe civil-militar. Para tanto, analisamos o material da agência matérias, artigos, notícias, notas e fotografias veiculado nos jornais cariocas Correio da Manhã e Tribuna da Imprensa, duas das mais importantes publicações da mídia impressa brasileira do período. Verificamos que a agência passou, paulatinamente, a empregar atividades secretas, além das atividades não secretas, driblando as resistências que a opinião pública brasileira mostrava à presença oficial norte-americana no debate de questões políticas nacionais. Embora as estratégias utilizadas pela USIA fossem realizadas em nome das liberdades democráticas, a agência não vacilou em lançar mão de operações secretas para a consecução de seus objetivos políticos na Guerra Fria. / On June, 1st, 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhowers administration founded the United States Information Agency (USIA) for gathering U.S. information programs overseas under its umbrella. The aim of the new agency was to broadcast democratic system and free enterprise values portrayed by the country to international audiences in order to garner nations to U.S. positions during the Cold War. The Agency proceedings took place in the context of disputes between the heads of government of the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in programs of cultural propaganda called the Cultural Cold War by historiography. The present study aimed at investigating USIAs performance in Brazil between the years 1953, founding date of the Agency, and 1964, when the Agencys previous issues were redesigned on account of Vietnam War, at an international level, and of the civil-military coup, in Brazil. Therefore, we analyzed the Agency material newspaper reports, articles, news, notes and photos released in Correio da Manhã and Tribuna da Imprensa newspapers, two of the most important publications of the Brazilian Press for the period edited in Rio de Janeiro. We found that the Agency has, gradually, carried out covert activities, besides the overt ones, dodging Brazilian public opinion resistance against official U.S. presence in the debate on national political issues. Although the strategies used by the USIA were held in the name of democratic freedoms, the Agency did not hesitate about resorting covert operations to achieve its political objectives in the Cold War.

Das Gefühl der Kontrolle über die eigenen körperlichen Handlungen, und dadurch über die externe Umwelt ist einer der Grundpfeiler unserer menschlichen Existenz. Dieser fundamentale Aspekt der Identität ist bekannt als ‘Sense of Agency’ (SoA). Innerhalb der Neurowissenschaften begann die intensive Untersuchung dieses faszinierenden Konzepts erst innerhalb der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte. Das vorliegende Forschungsprojekt befasst sich mit zwei zentralen Aspekten des Sense of Agency. Zum einen wurden die zwei zugrundeliegenden neurokognitiven Mechanismen ‘Vorhersage’ und ‘Retrospektive Inferenz’ untersucht. Zum anderen wurde die Zuschreibung von Agency bei weiteren Ko-Akteuren, mit denen eine gemeinsame Aufgabe bewältigt werden musste untersucht. Das durchgeführte Forschungsprojekt trägt somit zu einem tieferen Verständnis menschlicher Agency auf individueller Ebene und im sozialen Kontext bei. Außerdem liefert es Implikationen für die Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion und die Verbesserung zukünftiger Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstellen. / The seamless feeling of control over one’s own bodily actions, and through them, over the external environment is one of the cornerstones of our existence as human beings. This fundamental aspect of personal identity has been termed the sense of agency (SoA). It is only within the last two decades that this intriguing concept has begun to be intensively studied in the cognitive neurosciences. In the current research project we addressed two central aspects of the sense of agency. First, we investigated its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms: prediction and retrospective inference. Second, we looked into the attribution of agency to other co-actors when cooperating in a joint task. Overall, the current research project has made a step towards a better and deeper understanding of human agency in the individual as well as the social contexts. Additionally, the findings presented in this work inform the field of human-computerinteraction and contribute to the improvement of future interface designs.

Em 1.º de junho de 1953, a administração do presidente norte-americano Dwight D. Eisenhower fundou a United States Information Agency (USIA), reunindo sob a coordenação da nova agência os programas de informação dos Estados Unidos da América (EUA) no exterior. O intuito era o de aproximar as audiências internacionais dos valores do sistema democrático e de livre empresa encenado pelo país, granjeando governos às posições norte-americanas na Guerra Fria. A atuação da agência se deu no âmbito das disputas entre os governos dos Estados Unidos e da União das Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas (URSS) em programas de propaganda cultural naquilo que a historiografia tem chamado de Guerra Fria Cultural (Cultural Cold War). Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar a atuação da USIA no Brasil, entre os anos de 1953, data de fundação da agência, e 1964, quando as questões de que se ocupava foram reorientadas em função, no plano internacional, da Guerra no Vietnam e, no Brasil, do golpe civil-militar. Para tanto, analisamos o material da agência matérias, artigos, notícias, notas e fotografias veiculado nos jornais cariocas Correio da Manhã e Tribuna da Imprensa, duas das mais importantes publicações da mídia impressa brasileira do período. Verificamos que a agência passou, paulatinamente, a empregar atividades secretas, além das atividades não secretas, driblando as resistências que a opinião pública brasileira mostrava à presença oficial norte-americana no debate de questões políticas nacionais. Embora as estratégias utilizadas pela USIA fossem realizadas em nome das liberdades democráticas, a agência não vacilou em lançar mão de operações secretas para a consecução de seus objetivos políticos na Guerra Fria. / On June, 1st, 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhowers administration founded the United States Information Agency (USIA) for gathering U.S. information programs overseas under its umbrella. The aim of the new agency was to broadcast democratic system and free enterprise values portrayed by the country to international audiences in order to garner nations to U.S. positions during the Cold War. The Agency proceedings took place in the context of disputes between the heads of government of the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in programs of cultural propaganda called the Cultural Cold War by historiography. The present study aimed at investigating USIAs performance in Brazil between the years 1953, founding date of the Agency, and 1964, when the Agencys previous issues were redesigned on account of Vietnam War, at an international level, and of the civil-military coup, in Brazil. Therefore, we analyzed the Agency material newspaper reports, articles, news, notes and photos released in Correio da Manhã and Tribuna da Imprensa newspapers, two of the most important publications of the Brazilian Press for the period edited in Rio de Janeiro. We found that the Agency has, gradually, carried out covert activities, besides the overt ones, dodging Brazilian public opinion resistance against official U.S. presence in the debate on national political issues. Although the strategies used by the USIA were held in the name of democratic freedoms, the Agency did not hesitate about resorting covert operations to achieve its political objectives in the Cold War.

Abstract Purpose: A part of this research is to explore if there are partnership firms that voluntarily get an audit of their business. The purpose is to understand and explain why these partnership firms have chosen to get an audit of their business voluntarily. Additionally, the authors research how external stakeholders, such as creditors, view and assess partnership firms that do not execute an audit of their accounts and reports. Method: To initiate this research, the authors conducted a telephone survey as a pre-study, to assure the viability of this research. As a major part of this research study, qualitative interviews with partnership firms, banks and the Swedish Tax Agency have been conducted to obtain professional opinion in the subject of interest. Previous researches are presented to provide a broader perspective of the debate. Frame of Reference: The authors present an extensive background to auditing and accounting. Stakeholder model and agency theory have been applied to facilitate in understanding the relationship between a partnership firm and its stakeholders. Advantages and disadvantages of auditing, as well as the concept of voluntary auditing are presented to facilitate a discussion of the motives of voluntarily executing an audit firms. Conclusion: After extensive research the authors have identified and determined the most probable motives of voluntary audits as well as understood how these external stakeholders view and assess these partnership firms that do not execute an audit of their accounts and reports. The authors can after a broad research conclude that partners’ central motives to voluntary auditing is to seek the value that is added through it, as the firm obtains professional assistance to raise the credibility of the firm’s financial reports. Auditing frees them from additional burden and time to manage the work related to accounting records and enables them to devote more time to the core business. Through an audit, partners’ quest for orderliness is fulfilled. Moreover, indications have been seen that partners are open to voluntarily execute an audit to achieve a sense of security in relation to the other partners. Another essential motive to why partners voluntarily execute audits is to be assured that there are no significant inaccuracies or errors in their book-keeping. Overall, partners’ intentions of getting an audit of their accounts and reports are to gain an overview of the business as well to obtain enhanced business image externally. Creditors are concerned about a firm’s ability to reimburse the obligation. In a newly started firm, banks require annual reports, forecasts and budgets ensure the firm’s solvency. The Swedish Tax Agency receives audit reports from auditors that guide them with hints and directions on what to assess further. Moreover, the Swedish Tax Agency performs tax audits on firms, whereby they conduct an assessment to ensure that the accounts and other documents are in accordance with what is declared to them. / Sammanfattning Syfte: Avsikten med denna uppsats är att utforska om det finns handelsbolag som frivilligt upprättar revision i sin affärsverksamhet. Syftet är att få förståelse för samt förklara de bakomliggande motiven till handelsbolags val av frivillig revision. Författarna utforskar ytterligare hur externa parter, såsom kreditgivare samt skatteverket, granskar och ser på handelsbolag som inte upprättar revision på sin verksamhet. Metod: Författarna genomförde en förstudie i form av en telefonenkät, för att försäkra sig om att denna studie är genomförbar. För att erhålla en professionell åsikt kring ämnet i fråga, har denna studie till största del bestått av kvalitativa intervjuer med respondenter från delägare av handelsbolag, banker och skatteverket. Tidigare studier är även presenterade för att tillföra debatten ett bredare perspektiv. Referensram: Författarna ger en omfattande beskrivning av redovisning och revision. Intressentmodellen och agentteorin har tillämpats i syfte att underlätta förståelsen av relationen mellan företag och dess intressenter. Dessutom beskrivs för- och nackdelar av revision för att underlätta diskussionen kring motiven till frivillig revision i handelsbolag. Slutsats: Författarna har efter omfattande forskning fastställt de troligaste motiven till frivillig revision samt fått en djupare förståelse för bankernas och skatteverkets ståndpunkt och granskning av handelsbolag som inte är revisionspliktiga. Sammanfattningsvis kan författarna hävda att grundmotiven till frivillig revision är värdet som den tillför, då bolagen erhåller professionell samråd som höjer redovisningens trovärdighet i bolaget. Revision underlättar för delägarna då de inte behöver ta på sig bördan av att tillägna tid och kraft på att själva utföra bokföringen. Detta tillåter delägarna i sin tur att ägna mer tid till själva kärnverksamheten. Genom revision, fullgörs delägarnas strävan efter ordning och reda i bolaget. För övrigt har man sett indikationer på att delägarna är positivt inställda på att frivilligt upprätta revision i handelsbolagen, då revisionen bidrar till att de erhåller en känsla av trygghet. Ett annat motiv, är att revisionen försäkrar dem om det inte förekommer väsentliga felaktigheter eller misstag i boksluten. Delägarnas främsta avsikt till användandet av revision kan i det stora hela summeras till att de får en översiktsbild av sina bolag, såväl som att de erhåller en kvalitetsstämpel och därmed en förhöjd bild av bolaget utåt sett. Kreditgivare är angelägna över bolagens återbetalningsförmåga. Därför kräver banken att nystartade bolag ska framföra sin årsredovisning, budget och framtida prognoser, för att försäkra sig om och fastställa deras återbetalningsförmåga. Skatteverket mottar årsredovisningar från revisorer, som med fördel förser skatteverket med råd och vägledning kring eventuell vidare granskning i bolagen. Skatteverket utför därtill skatterevision, genom att de granskar bolagen i syfte att intyga att de presenterade räkenskaperna och rapporterna överensstämmer med det som har deklarerats och kommit till skatteverkets förfogande.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

Esta investigación apoya el argumento de que las empresas se benefician de la adopción de políticas y estrategias retributivas para sus directivos cuando las características de las mismas se adaptan o adecuan a los requerimientos de control y motivación de los directivos que, en última estancia, vienen impuestos por la orientación estratégica de la empresa y por las características del entorno en el que opera. En este sentido, y en consistencia con la teoría de la agencia, el concepto de discrecionalidad directiva se ratifica como un elemento crucial en la explicación de las relaciones entre retribución directiva y contexto. La empresa diseña el sistema retributivo del directivo en función del grado de discrecionalidad del que éste dispone. Además, el ajuste entre discrecionalidad y retribución directiva tiene efectos positivos en los resultados de la empresa. / This research supports the arguments of that firms obtain benefits of implementing executives' compensation politics linked to supervision and control requirements which are imposed by firms strategic orientations and environment characteristics. In that way, and consistent to agency theory, executive discretion concept is confirmed as a key element in the explanation of relationships between executive compensation and context. Firm design executives compensation system according to the degree of discretion they dispose. Moreover, adjustment between executive discretion and executive compensation has positive effects on firm performance.

Abstract This thesis focuses on the oversight mechanism used by congress to supervise the intelligence department, mainly through examining the historical development of the oversight mechanism that the U.S. Congress uses over the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, as well as evaluating the mechanism¡¦s successes and failures, in order to find a suitable direction for establishing an oversight mechanism for our country¡¦s Legislative Yuan over the National Security Agency, NSA. First of all, the inceptive backgrounds and historical developments of the CIA and the NSA are introduced. After establishing an understanding of the special backgrounds and developments of the two agencies, the writer, using the Institutional Process Theory, analyzes and discusses how the U.S. Congress¡¦ oversight mechanism over the CIA has progressed, thereby determining the key to the successes and failures of the U.S. Congress¡¦ intelligence oversight mechanism. Having analyzed the intelligence oversight mechanism of the U.S. Congress, the writer brings up suggestions as to how our country¡¦s Legislative Yuan can develop an oversight mechanism over the NSA in the future. Lastly, from these discussions, the writer addresses the contributions, propositions, and limitations of this research and hopes that these research and discussions can assist the Legislative Yuan in institutionalizing a comprehensive intelligence oversight mechanism over the NSA.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Purpose: A part of this research is to explore if there are partnership firms that voluntarily get an audit of their business. The purpose is to understand and explain why these partnership firms have chosen to get an audit of their business voluntarily. Additionally, the authors research how external stakeholders, such as creditors, view and assess partnership firms that do not execute an audit of their accounts and reports.</p><p>Method: To initiate this research, the authors conducted a telephone survey as a pre-study, to assure the viability of this research. As a major part of this research study, qualitative interviews with partnership firms, banks and the Swedish Tax Agency have been conducted to obtain professional opinion in the subject of interest. Previous researches are presented to provide a broader perspective of the debate.</p><p>Frame of</p><p>Reference: The authors present an extensive background to auditing and accounting. Stakeholder model and agency theory have been applied to facilitate in understanding the relationship between a partnership firm and its stakeholders. Advantages and disadvantages of auditing, as well as the concept of voluntary auditing are presented to facilitate a discussion of the motives of voluntarily executing an audit firms.</p><p>Conclusion: After extensive research the authors have identified and determined the most probable motives of voluntary audits as well as understood how these external stakeholders view and assess these partnership firms that do not execute an audit of their accounts and reports. The authors can after a broad research conclude that partners’ central motives to voluntary auditing is to seek the value that is added through it, as the firm obtains professional assistance to raise the credibility of the firm’s financial reports. Auditing frees them from additional burden and time to manage the work related to accounting records and enables them to devote more time to the core business.</p><p>Through an audit, partners’ quest for orderliness is fulfilled. Moreover, indications have been seen that partners are open to voluntarily execute an audit to achieve a sense of security in relation to the other partners. Another essential motive to why partners voluntarily execute audits is to be assured that there are no significant inaccuracies or errors in their book-keeping. Overall, partners’ intentions of getting an audit of their accounts and reports are to gain an overview of the business as well to obtain enhanced business image externally.</p><p>Creditors are concerned about a firm’s ability to reimburse the obligation. In a newly started firm, banks require annual reports, forecasts and budgets ensure the firm’s solvency. The Swedish Tax Agency receives audit reports from auditors that guide them with hints and directions on what to assess further. Moreover, the Swedish Tax Agency performs tax audits on firms, whereby they conduct an assessment to ensure that the accounts and other documents are in accordance with what is declared to them.</p> / <p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Syfte: Avsikten med denna uppsats är att utforska om det finns handelsbolag som frivilligt upprättar revision i sin affärsverksamhet. Syftet är att få förståelse för samt förklara de bakomliggande motiven till handelsbolags val av frivillig revision. Författarna utforskar ytterligare hur externa parter, såsom kreditgivare samt skatteverket, granskar och ser på handelsbolag som inte upprättar revision på sin verksamhet.</p><p>Metod: Författarna genomförde en förstudie i form av en telefonenkät, för att försäkra sig om att denna studie är genomförbar. För att erhålla en professionell åsikt kring ämnet i fråga, har denna studie till största del bestått av kvalitativa intervjuer med respondenter från delägare av handelsbolag, banker och skatteverket. Tidigare studier är även presenterade för att tillföra debatten ett bredare perspektiv.</p><p>Referensram: Författarna ger en omfattande beskrivning av redovisning och revision. Intressentmodellen och agentteorin har tillämpats i syfte att underlätta förståelsen av relationen mellan företag och dess intressenter. Dessutom beskrivs för- och nackdelar av revision för att underlätta diskussionen kring motiven till frivillig revision i handelsbolag.</p><p>Slutsats: Författarna har efter omfattande forskning fastställt de troligaste motiven till frivillig revision samt fått en djupare förståelse för bankernas och skatteverkets ståndpunkt och granskning av handelsbolag som inte är revisionspliktiga. Sammanfattningsvis kan författarna hävda att grundmotiven till frivillig revision är värdet som den tillför, då bolagen erhåller professionell samråd som höjer redovisningens trovärdighet i bolaget. Revision underlättar för delägarna då de inte behöver ta på sig bördan av att tillägna tid och kraft på att själva utföra bokföringen. Detta tillåter delägarna i sin tur att ägna mer tid till själva kärnverksamheten. Genom revision, fullgörs delägarnas strävan efter ordning och reda i bolaget. För övrigt har man sett indikationer på att delägarna är positivt inställda på att frivilligt upprätta revision i handelsbolagen, då revisionen bidrar till att de erhåller en känsla av trygghet. Ett annat motiv, är att revisionen försäkrar dem om det inte förekommer väsentliga felaktigheter eller misstag i boksluten. Delägarnas främsta avsikt till användandet av revision kan i det stora hela summeras till att de får en översiktsbild av sina bolag, såväl som att de erhåller en kvalitetsstämpel och därmed en förhöjd bild av bolaget utåt sett. Kreditgivare är angelägna över bolagens återbetalningsförmåga. Därför kräver banken att nystartade bolag ska framföra sin årsredovisning, budget och framtida prognoser, för att försäkra sig om och fastställa deras återbetalningsförmåga. Skatteverket mottar årsredovisningar från revisorer, som med fördel förser skatteverket med råd och vägledning kring eventuell vidare granskning i bolagen. Skatteverket utför därtill skatterevision, genom att de granskar bolagen i syfte att intyga att de presenterade räkenskaperna och rapporterna överensstämmer med det som har deklarerats och kommit till skatteverkets förfogande.</p>

This thesis examines civil defense in the United States under the Nixon, Carter and Reagan administrations. Throughout the late Cold War period civil defense policy planners employed a philosophy of dual-use. The Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) instructed the American public to plan for a nuclear attack as well as natural disasters. Civil defense directors implemented crisis relocation plans for Americans that lived in designated high-risk areas. In an imminent nuclear attack, Americans in high-risk areas would temporarily relocate to host communities in low-risk areas of the county. This study is a blend of both civil defense policy and the reactions to nuclear war through the prism of popular culture in the late Cold War period.