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Book Summary: Based in the idea that social phenomena are best studied through the lens of different disciplinary perspectives, Empty Churches studies the growing number of individuals who no longer affiliate with a religious tradition. Co-editors Jan Stets, a social psychologist, and James Heft, a historian of theology, bring together leading scholars in the fields of sociology, developmental psychology, gerontology, political science, history, philosophy, and pastoral theology. The scholars in this volume explore the phenomenon by drawing from each other's work to understand better the multi-faceted nature of non-affiliation today. They explore the complex impact that non-affiliation has on individuals and the wider society, and what the future looks like for religion in America. The book also features insightful perspectives from parents of young adults and interviews with pastors struggling with this issue who address how we might address this trend. Empty Churches provides a rich and thoughtful analysis on non- affiliation in American society from multiple scholarly perspectives. The increasing growth of non-affiliation threatens the vitality and long-term stability of religious institutions, and this book offers guidance on maintaining the commitment and community at the heart of these institutions.

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This thesis examines the contemporary forest landscape of northern Värmland in Sweden in terms of practices, meanings and time-space relations. The increasing urbanization worldwide also affects the countryside landscape to produce what is generally referred to as  “new ruralities”, which are the result of changed conditions for livelihood and leisure. What does the concept new ruralities mean in relation to the sparsely populated forest landscape of northern Värmland, Sweden? The thesis adopts a relational approach to landscape, which means that landscape entails and forms relations between the material, the immaterial, and the human. Landscapes stretches out in time and space, which means that they rests on and progresses from layers of earlier and contemporary activities. Landscape practices and meanings are therefore important for understanding changes as well as continuities in the context of new ruralities. Inspired by the Heideggerian basic assumption about dwelling the thesis methodologically draws on phenomenology, but also on ethnography to clarify the relation between the individual and the society. Interviews, field studies and participant observations with special focus on the settlement, community engagement, and forest and hunting were conducted in four parishes in northern Värmland. Proximity and distance turn out to be the common denominators in the meanings of the forest landscape that emerge from the study, but attention is also clearly drawn to the problems of depopulation, changing social relations, and the tension between the private and the common good. The new ruralities of the northern Värmland forest landscape seem to rest on the tension between flow and fixity, between change and continuity, as traditional practices are performed with new meanings and extended time-space relations. / I den här avhandlingen studeras det samtida nordvärmländska skogslandskapet och nya ruraliteter utifrån praktiker, betydelser och tidsrumsliga sammanhang. I takt med en tilltagande urbanisering i Sverige och världen uppstår nya relationer till och inom landsbygder som har sin grund i förändrade betingelser för försörjning och fritid, något som brukar beskrivas som nya ruraliteter. Vad innebär då nya ruraliteter i det glesbebyggda nordvärmländska skogslandskapet? Vilka praktiker, upplevelser och betydelser framträder i fast- och fritidsboendes relationer till det individuella, skogen och det kollektiva, och hur kan dessa förstås i förhållande till tidsrumsliga sammanhang? I avhandlingen behandlas särskilt praktiker knutna till det egna boendet och fastigheten samt jakten och jaktmarkerna. Närhet och avstånd visar sig vara gemensamma nämnare för vad som ger skogslandskapet betydelser, men rymmer såväl möjligheter som svårigheter. Frihet, gleshet och oberoende framträder som positiva upplevelser bland intervjuade i studien, men uppenbarar samtidigt en avfolkningsproblematik, förändrade sociala relationer och spänningsfält mellan det privata och det gemensamma. Nya ruraliteter i det nordvärmländska skogslandskapet syns vila i skärningsfältet mellan bevarande och förändring.

144 f. / Submitted by PPGE PPGE (pgedu@ufba.br) on 2013-09-12T12:43:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Final.pdf: 1783232 bytes, checksum: 2f4f6bad63c451f6e7b523e71ef8b03d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Auxiliadora Lopes(silopes@ufba.br) on 2013-09-17T19:42:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Final.pdf: 1783232 bytes, checksum: 2f4f6bad63c451f6e7b523e71ef8b03d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-17T19:42:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Final.pdf: 1783232 bytes, checksum: 2f4f6bad63c451f6e7b523e71ef8b03d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / FAPESB / Esta dissertação teve como objetivo investigar os significados de violência entre sujeitos de uma escola pública em Salvador. Interessou-nos entender como estes significados são compartilhados e orientam as ações dos sujeitos no ambiente escolar. Para tal, optamos por um método qualitativo que privilegiou a observação direta e a interação dialógica com diferentes atores envolvidos, qual seja, professores, alunos, funcionários e gestores. Do ponto de vista conceitual, procedemos a um deslocamento de uma perspectiva de cunho ora estritamente psicologizante ora estritamente sociologizante para uma perspectiva histórico-social. Partimos do pressuposto da Teoria Sociohistórica segundo a qual os significados orientam as ações humanas. Deste modo, o significado de violência não é considerado aqui como um simples fenômeno sígnico-simbólico, mas algo que incide e perpassa as ações e estratégias da violência na vida cotidiana das pessoas. A partir de uma ampla revisão de literatura acerca do tema foi possível perceber o importante papel que tem a escola na sociedade. A abordagem metodológica utilizada foi qualitativa. O grupo focal e entrevistas foram técnicas adotadas na coleta de dados. Os resultados foram analisados a partir da análise de conteúdo de Bardin (2002) e organizados em três categorias: Violência e Estado; Violência e Família; Violência e Práticas Escolares. Eles indicam que a escola, no que concerne à violência, muitas vezes está a serviço de uma visão de mundo da classe hegemônica, reproduzindo um discurso amordaçado pelos preconceitos e estigmas contra aqueles que são violentados cotidianamente ao sofrerem a exclusão dos seus direitos básicos. A construção de estratégias para lidar com a violência passa por uma constante produção de significados. É necessário, muitas vezes, romper com explicações cristalizadas, a partir de uma reflexão crítica das próprias práticas escolares. Por fim, acreditamos que este estudo poderá contribuir para o debate, tanto no campo acadêmico, quanto nas práticas exercidas pelos educadores. / Salvador

This ethnographic exploration tackles meanings of childhood in Qondwa village, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, by illustrating how childhood is constantly shifted, negotiated and contested. These attempted definitions of childhood defy the Western constructs of childhood, regarding the ethnography here is undertaken in African context. I dedicated six months carrying out qualitative research on these meanings. For purposes of my research, I adopt the local term, rather than recorded Western definition of a 'child' in Qondwa which is expressed as any boy or girl who is financially dependent on parents or guardians, regardless of age. Furthermore, a boy only transitions into a man, as a girl into a woman, when financially independent of their parents/guardians, regardless of age. I hereby argue that there is no universal meaning of childhood and provide comparative ethnographies of childhood to cement this argument. I adopt Karp's theory of personhood to further argue that personhood of children determines how children experience realities. I go further to discuss childhood in the context of parents/guardians, childhood in the context of defined socio-geographic spaces, childhood in the context of traditional cultural events which show that there is no universal meaning of childhood, even within a culture displaying the complexities of such definitions. / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MSocSci / Unrestricted

The primary aim of the research was to examine the ways in which Psychology Honours students interactionally made sense of their career choices. In addition, the research examined how these students interactionally made sense of psychology as a discipline and field of study, particularly in the context of discussions of career choices. The participants were selected for inclusion into the study (through purposive sampling) if they were currently in their psychology honours year. An interview schedule that contained open-ended questions and prompts was used to guide the focus groups. The findings showed that the participants were contextually creating meanings of career choice and psychology as seen by the acknowledged, additive or at times challenged responses, statements, descriptions etc. in the focus groups. Further research could be performed on students from other disciplines to see if the meanings of ‘psychology’ and ‘career choice’ vary or are similar across disciplines. This would provide the field of psychology with a better understanding of how it is perceived and might provide some constructs that have not been considered yet, with regards to career

Abstract Not Provided / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Developed forest camping has received little attention in the recreation research since the late 1960s and early 1970s. Changes in socio-demographics, technology, and the public's expectations for amenities over the past forty years suggested that the nature of the developed camping experience may have changed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand the modern developed forest camping experience and associated meanings and the influence of technology on developed forest camping. In-depth interviews were conducted in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area with thirty-eight camping groups in three campgrounds which varied in their level of development. Developed forest camping experiences were described by participants as a combination of what they were doing (i.e., activities), who they were interacting with (i.e., social interaction), where they were camping (i.e., setting), and what they were feeling while they were there (i.e., psychological states/feelings). The camping experience occurred in stages and it emerged over the course of participants' trips, with emotional highs and lows. Camping was a social experience, with participants defining much of their experience in terms of who they were with. The developed camping experience was influenced by the natural environment, particularly scenic beauty and other aesthetic setting qualities. The majority of participants in this study suggested that they were able to get a nature-based experience even in highly developed camp settings in which large motor homes, televisions, and satellite dishes were common. Participants used a range of camping gear and electronics, and this technology was important to promote comfort and conveniences and for a distraction during inclement weather. The associated meanings of developed forest camping were restoration (i.e., rest, escape, and recovery), family functioning, special places, self-identity, social interaction, experiencing nature, association of God and nature, novelty, and the opportunity for children to learn. Restoration was the most commonly expressed meaning across all three campground types. The most commonly expressed life-context meanings were restoration and sharing positive family memories and stories. These family memories and stories often developed into important camping traditions. Recommendations for recreation managers, study limitations, and opportunities for future research are identified and discussed. / Ph. D.