abstract: A pressing question in public policymaking is how best to allocate decision-making authority and to facilitate opportunities for input. When it comes to science, technology, and environmental (STE) policy decisions, persons impacted by those decisions often have relevant information and perspectives to contribute yet lack either the specialized, technical knowledge or the means by which to effectively communicate that knowledge. Consequently, due to a variety of factors, they are frequently denied meaningful involvement in making them. In an effort to better understand why this is so, and how this might change, this dissertation uses an activity systems framework to examine how three factors mediate the circulation of information in STE public engagement mechanisms. In this project, I examine the transcripts of a 2015 administrative hearing and community meeting about the Santa Susana Field Lab—a former nuclear- and rocket engine-testing facility 30 miles from Los Angeles, where an experimental nuclear reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1959. Specifically, I identify (1) who was designated as an "expert" versus a member of "the public," (2) the structural features, and (3) the stylistic features of participants' remarks at these events; and I study how these factors mediated the flow of information at each. To do so, I view "expert" and "public" as what Michael McGee has termed ideographs, and consider the structural and stylistic features that prior scholarship has identified to impact information flow. Based on my analysis, I theorize that role designations, structural features, and stylistic features work together to mediate whose, what, and how information flows in public engagement mechanisms. Based on my findings, I also suggest that this mediation impacts policy outcomes. As such, I contend that better understanding the relationships among these mediational means, information flow, and policy outcomes is an important step towards developing public engagement mechanisms that most effectively use the relevant knowledge and other insights of all who have a stake in policy decisions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2016

O Sistema Penitenciário é objeto de estudos e pesquisa nas mais diversas áreas do conhecimento: direito, educação, assistência social, economia, sociologia, psicologia. Considerando a importância e diversidade das relações eu-outro- mundo que este sistema cria e perpetua, nos propusemos a responder à seguinte indagação: de que forma se dão, e que implicações trazem, as relações eu-outro- mundo no âmbito das relações entre psicólogos e sentenciados do sistema penitenciário no contexto do Exame Criminológico? Levantamos questões e tentamos respondê-las a partir da perspectiva do Construtivismo Semiótico-Cultural (Simão, 2010). A pesquisa se deu por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com psicólogos funcionários desta instituição que realizam ou já realizaram Exames Criminológicos. Os resultados apontaram para a procedência e relevância, para as relações em questão, de se tomar o Exame Criminológico como meio mediacional, desde a perspectiva de Wertsch (1995) / The correctional system is a research and study object in areas as diverse as: law, education, social work, economy, sociology, psychology. Considering the importance and diversity of the I-other-world relations that this system creates and perpetuates, we proposed to address the following issue: how do the I-other-world relations take place in the scope of the relations between psychologists and convicts, in the context of the Criminological Examination, and what are their implications? We put forth questions and attempted to answer them from the perspective of the Semiotic-Cultural Constructivism (Simão, 2010). The research was carried out through semi-structured interviews with psychologists employed in this institution who perform or have performed criminological examinations. The results suggest that the criminological examination is justified and relevant for the relations in question. It is suggested that the criminological examination may be used as a mediational means, from Wertschs perspective (1995)

O Sistema Penitenciário é objeto de estudos e pesquisa nas mais diversas áreas do conhecimento: direito, educação, assistência social, economia, sociologia, psicologia. Considerando a importância e diversidade das relações eu-outro- mundo que este sistema cria e perpetua, nos propusemos a responder à seguinte indagação: de que forma se dão, e que implicações trazem, as relações eu-outro- mundo no âmbito das relações entre psicólogos e sentenciados do sistema penitenciário no contexto do Exame Criminológico? Levantamos questões e tentamos respondê-las a partir da perspectiva do Construtivismo Semiótico-Cultural (Simão, 2010). A pesquisa se deu por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com psicólogos funcionários desta instituição que realizam ou já realizaram Exames Criminológicos. Os resultados apontaram para a procedência e relevância, para as relações em questão, de se tomar o Exame Criminológico como meio mediacional, desde a perspectiva de Wertsch (1995) / The correctional system is a research and study object in areas as diverse as: law, education, social work, economy, sociology, psychology. Considering the importance and diversity of the I-other-world relations that this system creates and perpetuates, we proposed to address the following issue: how do the I-other-world relations take place in the scope of the relations between psychologists and convicts, in the context of the Criminological Examination, and what are their implications? We put forth questions and attempted to answer them from the perspective of the Semiotic-Cultural Constructivism (Simão, 2010). The research was carried out through semi-structured interviews with psychologists employed in this institution who perform or have performed criminological examinations. The results suggest that the criminological examination is justified and relevant for the relations in question. It is suggested that the criminological examination may be used as a mediational means, from Wertschs perspective (1995)

The subject of this study is engineers’ activities, writing and texts in their profession and education. Fieldwork for the study was conducted in three professional workplaces and a major technical university (called Tekniska Institutet in the study). The aim of the study is to explore what kind of writing the engineers are supposed to handle and practice, situated in their professional environment, and to compare this with the writing practices and texts engineering students are prepared for in their higher education. The theoretical framework is a sociocultural approach inspired by Lave & Wenger (1991), Wenger (1998), Wertsch (1998) and Engeström (1987). The theoretical concepts of activity systems, mediational means or cultural tools and trajectory of practice are applied, partly on a linguistic level, to the writing and the work that engineers carry out in their professional community and the university. The engineers in the study write every day in their profession, in different roles, something they are not quite prepared for in their higher education. The study examines whether there are cultural tools that are typical for engineers and their work. One central construction is the list, which can be seen as a cultural tool on both a cognitive and a social or communicative level: the study shows that the list is used both to structure or construct content and to instruct readers, for example, or show them how a soft ware system or a computer programme is structured. The list is also used within the education community, in teachers’ instructions and course material as well as in the students’ texts, such as lab reports and different types of essays.

This study use the theory of community of practice and the theory of mediating tools to explore how teachers develop student’s writing in the Swedish subject in Swedish upper secondary school. The aim of the study is to display the potential to learn and develop writing through participating in the community of practice that is the classroom, as well as with the help of mediational means in the classroom and in other contexts. Five teachers are interviewed on their ideas about teaching students to develop writing. Results from the study show potential for learning through communities of practice and mediational means in the teachers’ use of collaborative writing and interaction between students as well as their aspiration to connect school writing with writing in other contexts. The way in wich some teacher’s switch from collaborative and interactive work forms to individual, when the student’s texts are to be assessed and graded, could on the other hand be considered problematic. The results also imply that the teachers’ choices and positions must be understood in relation to ideas on writing expressed by the students and in the curriculum and in national writing tests.

The subject of this study is student writing in its institutional setting, examining students’ texts, professional discourse and educational practices. Fieldwork for the study was conducted at the departments of History and Economics of Stockholm University. The general aim of the study is to increase our understanding of the relationships between student writing, educational settings and professional discourse. The theoretical framework is the sociocultural approach as outlined by Wertsch from Bakhtin and Vygotsky, and applied on writing research by above all Dysthe. The theoretical-methodological attempts are an operationalisation of the concept of dialogicity in different aspects and an application of the concept of mediational means at the linguistic level of text type or speech act. The type of dialogicity and epistemology of a setting is shown to have major influences on students’ writing. The epistemology of economics is defined as rationalistic, and that of history as critical-pluralistic. In economics, linear logical reasoning with clear-cut solutions is a key mediational means, while reasoning with a multitude of perspectives is given precedence in history. Students adjust their texts to the kind of dialogicity in the setting. However, in interviews, some students, mainly in economics, exhibit a resistance to the epistemology and mediational means of their discipline. This resistance seems not to influence their texts, but in all probability the depth of their learning. In addition, the socialisation seems to be a more prolonged process in economics. The reasons may be that the mediational means have a weak connection to students’ previous knowledge and that they are not collectively applied in economics to the same extent as in history. Thus, a pedagogical conclusion is that the important mediational means of a discipline should be collectively applied during study. Moreover, student writing should be considered in relation to students’ previous knowledge, their course of study and their future professional activity.

Practically all pupils leaving the nine-year compulsory school continue their studies at the upper secondary school, which consequently faces the challenge of meeting the whole range of varying needs and conditions of students. Daily school practice is constituted by a number of communicative contexts, formal as well as informal. In these social and linguistic contexts, conversations are held about and with students. The dissertation, which focuses on students in need of support, is expected to contribute to the creation of knowledge about how communication and interaction constitute daily work and how this ultimately may be manifested in exclusion and inclusion processes during the upper secondary school education of the young. The research is directed at the organisation of the work of the upper secondary school as well as at students’ experience of and learning from their participation, communication in various contexts and their own learning. The dissertation has its point of departure in the communicative relational perspective (KoRP), which is founded on socio-cultural theory formation. In addition, concepts from dramaturgy have been used as analytical tools for deepened analysis and interpretation of interaction. The study is ethnographic and longitudinal in its nature. During slightly more than three years of field work, eleven case study students have been followed on their journey through upper secondary school education. The outcome indicates the complexity of the upper secondary school, where communication and actions in a number of communicative contexts not always have the expected effect. To formal contexts that shall have a precautionary and supportive function belong pupil welfare team meetings, transition conferences and class meetings. For the group of case study students, however, these turn out to have limited significance. Among other things, the study uncovers how work organisation, mediational tools and the interaction of participants may become obstacles. Further, waiting for support efforts as well as inadequate collaboration between various communicative contexts have negative consequences for students concerned. For students who prosper in spite of complicated schooling and life situation in general, the experience of participation in a community of friends has a prominent position, but above all participation in one’s own learning process appears to be a decisive factor. This calls for continuous talks and follow-ups, in which teachers and not least class teachers/mentors have a central role. / I stort sett alla elever som lämnar grundskolan fortsätter sina studier i gymnasieskolan, som därmed står inför utmaningen att kunna möta hela variationen av elevers skiftande behov och förutsättningar. Skolans dagliga praktik byggs upp av en mängd kommunikativa kontexter, formella såväl som informella. I dessa sociala och språkliga sammanhang förs samtal om och med elever. Avhandlingsarbetet riktar intresset mot elever som av olika skäl har bedömts vara i behov av stöd och studien förväntas utgöra ett bidrag till kunskapsbildningen om hur kommunikation och samspel konstituerar den dagliga verksamheten samt hur detta i sin förlängning kan ta sig uttryck i exkluderings- och inkluderingsprocesser under ungdomarnas gymnasieutbildning. Forskningsarbetet är inriktat dels mot organiseringen av gymnasieskolans verksamhet och dels mot elevernas upplevelser och erfarande av sin delaktighet, kommunikationen i olika kontexter och det egna lärandet. Avhandlingen tar sin utgångspunkt i det kommunikativa relationsinriktade perspektivet (KoRP), som vilar på en sociokulturell teoribildning. Därtill har begrepp hämtade från dramaturgin använts som analysverktyg, för fördjupad analys och tolkning av samspelet. Studien har en etnografisk och longitudinell karaktär. Under drygt tre års fältarbete har elva fallstudieelever följts på resan genom den gymnasiala utbildningen. Resultatet visar på gymnasieskolans komplexitet, där kommunikation och handlingar inom en rad kommunikativa kontexter inte alltid får förväntad effekt. Till formella sammanhang som ska ha en förebyggande och stödjande funktion hör elevvårdsteamsmöten, överlämnings- och klasskonferenser. För gruppen av fallstudieelever visar sig emellertid dessa ha en begränsad betydelse. Studien blottlägger bland annat hur verksamhetens organisering, medierande verktyg och aktörernas samspel kan bli till hinder. Vidare får väntan på stödinsatser och bristande samverkan mellan olika kommunikativa kontexter negativa konsekvenser för berörda elever. För elever som når framgång trots en komplicerad skolgång och livssituation i övrigt, får upplevelsen av delaktighet i en kompisgemenskap en framskjutande plats, men framförallt framstår delaktigheten i den egna lärandeprocessen som en avgörande faktor. Detta ställer krav på kontinuerliga samtal och uppföljningar där undervisande lärare och inte minst klassföreståndare/mentor intar en central roll. / "Villkor och förutsättningar för delaktighet, kommunikation och lärande i gymnasieskolan" - ett projekt vid Göteborgs Universitet, IPD, Enheten för specialpedagogik