No / A culturally sensitive approach needs to be adopted in disseminating evidence-based preventive programs internationally, and very little is known about effective dissemination into low-resource settings such as low and middle income countries. Following guidelines on optimizing the fit of evidence-based parenting programs worldwide, a cultural relevance study was conducted in Panama, Central America. Parents (N = 120) from low-resource communities were surveyed to explore cultural relevance of material from the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program. Intention to participate and views on delivery formats and program features were also examined. Descriptive statistics and regressions were carried out to analyze the results. Parents found program materials highly relevant and reported that they would be willing to participate in a program if one was offered. A large proportion of the sample expressed a preference for self-directed formats such as books, articles and brochures (77.6 %). Regression analyses suggested that most parents considered material as relevant, interesting and useful, regardless of other factors such as socio-economic status, gender, the level of child behavioral difficulties, parental stress, parental confidence and expectations of future behavioral problems. The study provides a potential approach for dissemination of research and offers an insight into the needs and preferences of a particular segment of the world’s population—parents in low-resource settings. Strategies for meeting the needs and preferences of these parents in terms of service delivery are discussed.

Estudos sobre a manutenção da diversidade cultural sugerem que o mecanismo de interação social, normalmente considerado como responsável pela homogeneização cultural, também pode gerar diversidade. Com o intuito de estudar esse fenômeno, o cientista político Robert Axelrod propôs um modelo baseado em agentes que exibe estados absorventes multiculturais a partir de uma interação homofílica homogeneizadora entre os agentes. Nesse modelo, a diversidade (ou desordem) cultural é produzida pela escolha dos fatores culturais iniciais dos agentes e a interação homofílica age apenas no sentido de reduzir a desordem inicial. Em virtude de sua simplicidade, várias releituras e variações do modelo de Axelrod são encontradas na literatura: introdução de uma mídia externa, alterações da conectividade dos agentes, inserção de perturbações aleatórias, etc. Entretanto, essas propostas carecem de uma análise sistemática do comportamento do modelo no limite termodinâmico, ou seja, no limite em que o número de agentes tende a infinito. Essa tese foca primariamente nesse tipo de análise nos casos em que os agentes estão fixos nos sítios de uma rede quadrada ou nos sítios de uma cadeia unidimensional. Em particular, quando os fatores culturais iniciais dos agentes são gerados por uma distribuição de Poisson, caracterizamos, através de simulações de Monte Carlo, a transição entre a fase ordenada (pelo menos um domínio cultural ´e macroscópico) e a fase desordenada (todos os domínios culturais são microscópicos) na rede quadrada. Entretanto, não encontramos evidência de uma fase ordenada na cadeia unidimensional. Já para fatores culturais iniciais gerados por uma distribuição uniforme, observamos a transição de fase tanto na rede unidimensional como na bidimensional. Por fim, mostramos que a introdução de um campo externo espacialmente uniforme, cuja interpretação é a de uma mídia global influenciando a opinião dos agentes, elimina o regime monocultural do modelo de Axelrod no limite termodinâmico. / Studies on the maintenance of cultural diversity suggest that the mechanism of social interaction, generally regarded as responsible for cultural homogenization, may also generate diversity. In order to study this phenomenon, the political scientist Robert Axelrod proposed an agent-based model that exhibits multicultural absorbing states, despite the homophilic and homogenizing character of the interaction between agents. In this model the cultural diversity (or disorder) is produced by the choice of the initial cultural traits of the agents, and the homphilic interaction acts towards the reduction of the initial disorder. Due to its simplicity, several re-examinations and variants of Axelrods model are found in the literature: the introduction of an external media, changes in the connectivity of the agents, introduction of random perturbations, etc. However, these proposals lack a systematic analysis of the behavior of the model in the thermodynamic limit, i.e., in the limit that the number of agents tends to infinity. This thesis focuses mainly on that type of analysis in the cases the agents are fixed in the sites of a square lattice or in the sites of a chain. In particular, when the initial cultural traits of the agents are generated by a Poisson distribution we characterize, through Monte Carlo simulations, the transition between the ordered phase (at least one macroscopic cultural domain) and the disordered phase (only microscopic domains) in the square lattice. However, we found no evidence of an ordered phase in the one-dimensional lattice (chain). For initial cultural traits generated by a uniform distribution, we find a phase transition in both the one and two-dimensional lattices. Finally, we show that the introduction of a spatially uniform external field, which can be interpreted as a global media influencing the opinion of the agents, eliminates the monocultural regime of Axelrods model in the thermodynamic limit.

Estudos sobre a manutenção da diversidade cultural sugerem que o mecanismo de interação social, normalmente considerado como responsável pela homogeneização cultural, também pode gerar diversidade. Com o intuito de estudar esse fenômeno, o cientista político Robert Axelrod propôs um modelo baseado em agentes que exibe estados absorventes multiculturais a partir de uma interação homofílica homogeneizadora entre os agentes. Nesse modelo, a diversidade (ou desordem) cultural é produzida pela escolha dos fatores culturais iniciais dos agentes e a interação homofílica age apenas no sentido de reduzir a desordem inicial. Em virtude de sua simplicidade, várias releituras e variações do modelo de Axelrod são encontradas na literatura: introdução de uma mídia externa, alterações da conectividade dos agentes, inserção de perturbações aleatórias, etc. Entretanto, essas propostas carecem de uma análise sistemática do comportamento do modelo no limite termodinâmico, ou seja, no limite em que o número de agentes tende a infinito. Essa tese foca primariamente nesse tipo de análise nos casos em que os agentes estão fixos nos sítios de uma rede quadrada ou nos sítios de uma cadeia unidimensional. Em particular, quando os fatores culturais iniciais dos agentes são gerados por uma distribuição de Poisson, caracterizamos, através de simulações de Monte Carlo, a transição entre a fase ordenada (pelo menos um domínio cultural ´e macroscópico) e a fase desordenada (todos os domínios culturais são microscópicos) na rede quadrada. Entretanto, não encontramos evidência de uma fase ordenada na cadeia unidimensional. Já para fatores culturais iniciais gerados por uma distribuição uniforme, observamos a transição de fase tanto na rede unidimensional como na bidimensional. Por fim, mostramos que a introdução de um campo externo espacialmente uniforme, cuja interpretação é a de uma mídia global influenciando a opinião dos agentes, elimina o regime monocultural do modelo de Axelrod no limite termodinâmico. / Studies on the maintenance of cultural diversity suggest that the mechanism of social interaction, generally regarded as responsible for cultural homogenization, may also generate diversity. In order to study this phenomenon, the political scientist Robert Axelrod proposed an agent-based model that exhibits multicultural absorbing states, despite the homophilic and homogenizing character of the interaction between agents. In this model the cultural diversity (or disorder) is produced by the choice of the initial cultural traits of the agents, and the homphilic interaction acts towards the reduction of the initial disorder. Due to its simplicity, several re-examinations and variants of Axelrods model are found in the literature: the introduction of an external media, changes in the connectivity of the agents, introduction of random perturbations, etc. However, these proposals lack a systematic analysis of the behavior of the model in the thermodynamic limit, i.e., in the limit that the number of agents tends to infinity. This thesis focuses mainly on that type of analysis in the cases the agents are fixed in the sites of a square lattice or in the sites of a chain. In particular, when the initial cultural traits of the agents are generated by a Poisson distribution we characterize, through Monte Carlo simulations, the transition between the ordered phase (at least one macroscopic cultural domain) and the disordered phase (only microscopic domains) in the square lattice. However, we found no evidence of an ordered phase in the one-dimensional lattice (chain). For initial cultural traits generated by a uniform distribution, we find a phase transition in both the one and two-dimensional lattices. Finally, we show that the introduction of a spatially uniform external field, which can be interpreted as a global media influencing the opinion of the agents, eliminates the monocultural regime of Axelrods model in the thermodynamic limit.

Numerous studies examine Irish traditional music influencing old-time music, but few examine the influence of old-time on contemporary Irish. As our societies become more global, folk music travels faster and becomes more open to influence. Thes influences can be heard in the music of “Alfi” and “Lankum,” two ensembles steeped in Irish traditional music. This study defines common musical elements of old-time and examines the use of those elements in two recordings: Alfi’s, “Jubilee” and Lankum’s, “The Old Man from Over the Sea.” Much of my data comes from interviews with Irish and American musicians and my own professional knowledge, gaining a deeper understanding of the musical decisions made by members of Alfi and Lankum. This study adds to the formal literature relating to old-time and Irish traditional music. More importantly, it helps fill a gap in the literature by adding to the discussion of the dissemination of traditional music.