The recent advances in digital communication technologies have altered the way in which people socialize on a day-to-day basis. A question that has arisen in relation to this is what being somewhere together actually means at a time when our interactions are no longer confined to shared physical places. The phenomenon of being somewhere together (also: togetherness) has previously been studied within the fields of social presence theory (which focuses on digitally mediated ‘togetherness’ and primarily departs from a psychological perspective) and microsociology (which takes an arguably more interactional approach to the idea of being together but primarily focuses on face-to-face interaction). Therefore, what is missing is a conceptualization of togetherness that can account both for togetherness in contexts other than those mediated face- to-face and for the ways in which togetherness is potentially ‘created’ in social interaction. The purpose of this thesis is to address this shortcoming by examining the underlying problem of being together and the conceptualizations of being together in the two aforementioned discourses. For the theoretical analyses, the example of online chat conversation is used as the primary focus of study. The thesis comprises three main parts. In the first part, the question of why being together has become difficult to conceptualize since the introduction of electronic and digital communication technologies is explored. The second part of the thesis is a review of what being together stands for in social presence theory and microsociology, respectively. In the third part, the two reviewed understandings of being together are examined. Here, it is observed that social presence theory portrays being together as something that occurs in informational environments, while microsociology portrays it instead as something pertaining to framed (or specified) social situations. Thereafter follows a critical examination of being together in informational situations and being together in framed social situations in which the notions are analysed in relation to online chat. It is concluded that the second view of being together (as a framed activity) is more promising for the future study of togetherness in online chat environments, and potentially also for togetherness in digitally mediated environments more generally.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A Tese a seguir, apresentada ao IESP/UERJ como pré-requisito para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Sociologia, demonstra a forma como o estilo pictórico grafite teve sua percepção social subvertida a partir da assimilação de sua estética pelas instituições ditas oficiais do mundo das artes visuais no Brasil, leia-se mercado e locais de culto às obras de arte (galerias e museus, respectivamente), no início do século XXI. A partir da categoria mundo artístico em Becker (1982)1, o trabalho busca dar contornos ao mundo do grafite carioca e a seus pontos de contato com estabelecimentos e sujeitos próprios do mundo oficial das artes plásticas. A hipótese da pesquisa - investigada através de trabalho de campo microssociológico em conformidade com o paradigma de pesquisa social qualitativo inerente à Escola de Chicago (Coulon, 1995)2 - é que desta intercessão ou desses pontos de contato, estreitados nas últimas duas décadas, emergiu um subjetivo processo de legitimação do grafite como atividade artística no Brasil, promovendo o deslocamento de sua ampla percepção social, situada primariamente numa atmosfera que o classificava como poluente (Douglas, 1976) 3 e desviante (Becker, 2009)4, para uma atmosfera de valorização e conseqüente assimilação de sua estética por nichos como a moda, a publicidade, a decoração de ambientes e as políticas públicas de combate à delinqüência e ócio juvenis. / The thesis then presented to IESP/UERJ as a prerequisite for obtaining a Ph.D. in Sociology, demonstrates how the pictorial style graffiti had its social perception subverted since its aesthetic assimilation by institutions called "official" from world of the visual arts in Brazil, basically the market and places of worship to works of art (galleries and museums, respectively), at the beginning of the XXI century. From the category "art world" in Becker (1982), the work seeks to outline the "world of graffiti in Rio de Janeiro" and their points of contact with institutions and individuals own the "official world of the arts. The research hypothesis - investigated through microsociological fieldwork according to qualitative social research paradigm inherent Chicago School (Coulon, 1995) - is from this intercession or these contact points, narrowed in the past two decades, there emerged a subjective process of legitimization of graffiti as artistic activity in Brazil, promoting the displacement of its broad social perception, located primarily in an atmosphere classed as a pollutant (Douglas , 1976) and deviant (Becker, 2009), to an atmosphere of appreciation and consequent assimilation of its aesthetic by niches like fashion, advertising, home decoration and public policies to combat juvenile delinquency and idleness.

Re-evaluating classic work in the sociology of the visual arts, this Ph.D. thesis explores the tacit and practical bases of artistic mediation with reference to curatorial exhibition making in contemporary art. Data presented here derive from a visual microethnographic study of the exhibition-making process in two elite European centres for contemporary art (London’s Institute of Contemporary Art and ARC/Musée D’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris), combined with an additional thirty-five interviews with other curatorial professionals. By focusing on the visual dimensions of curatorial work, this thesis uses a case study in the sociology of art to think more broadly about aesthetic materials as active mediators of action, or actants in the sense of actor-network theory. Drawing on work in the sociology of education, communication studies, and the sociologies of science and technology, this research explores how the material, embodied, and situated interactions between curators, objects, and environments are constructed and understood in reflexive relation to more explicitly cognitive and verbal representations, interpretations, and accounts. In planning and installing an exhibition of contemporary art, curators frame artworks and build meaning based on the material and conceptual resources at hand. The plans made by curators when preparing an exhibition and composing textual documentation are altered and elaborated during the installation of contemporary art in the physical presence of the artworks and gallery space. The disjuncture between curatorial plans and these situated actions has consequences for the public presentation and comprehension of the final exhibition. In documenting these processes as they take shape in real time and in relation to material objects, the body, and the built environment, this work aims to contribute to the on-going developments and debates that centre on the creation of a ‘strong’ cultural sociology and to extend core sociological thinking on the social structures and bases of action.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / ABSTRACT Background: Since British arrival, Aboriginal people have experienced marginalisation and extreme disadvantage within Australian society. Urban-based Aboriginal people, even more than those living in remote communities, have been subject to the impact of racism and discrimination on self-identity. Nonetheless, many urban-based Aboriginal people proudly identify with their Aboriginality. Having long been the subject of others’ research, it is only in recent times that the question of identity has attracted attention in Aboriginal research. Furthermore, few studies have addressed urban Aboriginality from an insider’s perspective. Aim and significance: The main aim of this research was to understand better the process of the construction of Aboriginal identity. Knowing how Aboriginal people see themselves and their future as Aboriginal within the broader Australian community is significant in providing a foundation for both the protection and the preservation of urban-based Aboriginal identity, while helping to create positive practical benefits and minimising the damage to Aboriginal culture that result from collective memory loss. A secondary aim was to test whether tools of narrative analysis could be used within an Indigenous Australian context, utilising Aboriginal Australian English language, and in the context of a specific urban setting. Method: The study used purposeful sampling to recruit 11 individuals from three age cohorts of mixed-descent Aboriginal people living in urban communities on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews which were tape-recorded and then transcribed in full. Both thematic and narrative methods were employed to analyse the data. Interpretations benefitted from an insider perspective, as the researcher is a member of the community under study. Results: Findings from both methods of analysis show that participants experience their Aboriginality as problematic. Nonetheless, they make strong claims to Aboriginal identity. In making such claims, they link the personal to the social in a variety of ways, drawing on both negative and positive aspects of being part of a marginalised culture to explain the construction of the problem of Aboriginal identity and, as importantly, its on-going resolution through processes of identity construction and re-construction. The Shoalhaven Aboriginal worldview is revealed thorough a thematic analysis of 11 interviews and shows that participants are able to construct positive versions of self when they perceive themselves as living in accordance with the prescribed worldview. Results from case study analyses reveal how four participants distinctly craft the Shoalhaven worldview. The adoption of multi-method qualitative analysis documents the construction of both collective and personal Aboriginal identities and shows how these become core elements of the various strategies for solving the broader problems of Aboriginal identity in contemporary urban Australian society. Conclusion: Understanding the construction of Aboriginal identity from a micro-sociological perspective, with the added benefit of an insider’s analysis, can point the way to the development of more meaningful and appropriate strategies to both address and alleviate the broader problems of Aboriginal marginalisation in Australia. The findings from this research have documented the narrative construction of urban Aboriginal identity revealing the positive and negative aspects of the urban Aboriginal identity concept. A starting point to address the broader problem of Aboriginal marginalisation in Australia is to focus on the positive elements of the urban Aboriginal identity concept, with a view to devise, develop and implement culturally appropriate strategies and policies. The researcher’s life experience, informed by the ontology (collective values and perspectives) of the community, influenced and informed the analysis and results of the study. This shared ontology and community acceptance was integral in the process of developing and maintaining rapport and trust with participants which ultimately shaped the interaction process influencing personal accounts told in the interview.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A Tese a seguir, apresentada ao IESP/UERJ como pré-requisito para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Sociologia, demonstra a forma como o estilo pictórico grafite teve sua percepção social subvertida a partir da assimilação de sua estética pelas instituições ditas oficiais do mundo das artes visuais no Brasil, leia-se mercado e locais de culto às obras de arte (galerias e museus, respectivamente), no início do século XXI. A partir da categoria mundo artístico em Becker (1982)1, o trabalho busca dar contornos ao mundo do grafite carioca e a seus pontos de contato com estabelecimentos e sujeitos próprios do mundo oficial das artes plásticas. A hipótese da pesquisa - investigada através de trabalho de campo microssociológico em conformidade com o paradigma de pesquisa social qualitativo inerente à Escola de Chicago (Coulon, 1995)2 - é que desta intercessão ou desses pontos de contato, estreitados nas últimas duas décadas, emergiu um subjetivo processo de legitimação do grafite como atividade artística no Brasil, promovendo o deslocamento de sua ampla percepção social, situada primariamente numa atmosfera que o classificava como poluente (Douglas, 1976) 3 e desviante (Becker, 2009)4, para uma atmosfera de valorização e conseqüente assimilação de sua estética por nichos como a moda, a publicidade, a decoração de ambientes e as políticas públicas de combate à delinqüência e ócio juvenis. / The thesis then presented to IESP/UERJ as a prerequisite for obtaining a Ph.D. in Sociology, demonstrates how the pictorial style graffiti had its social perception subverted since its aesthetic assimilation by institutions called "official" from world of the visual arts in Brazil, basically the market and places of worship to works of art (galleries and museums, respectively), at the beginning of the XXI century. From the category "art world" in Becker (1982), the work seeks to outline the "world of graffiti in Rio de Janeiro" and their points of contact with institutions and individuals own the "official world of the arts. The research hypothesis - investigated through microsociological fieldwork according to qualitative social research paradigm inherent Chicago School (Coulon, 1995) - is from this intercession or these contact points, narrowed in the past two decades, there emerged a subjective process of legitimization of graffiti as artistic activity in Brazil, promoting the displacement of its broad social perception, located primarily in an atmosphere classed as a pollutant (Douglas , 1976) and deviant (Becker, 2009), to an atmosphere of appreciation and consequent assimilation of its aesthetic by niches like fashion, advertising, home decoration and public policies to combat juvenile delinquency and idleness.

<p>This dissertation presents a new theoretical solution to the sociological <i>problem of observability</i>: the question of the extent to which and by what means individuals "observe" or infer mental states of other individuals, thereby sharing knowledge with them. The answer offered here states that the social situation of <i>dialogue</i> permits a speaker to use utterances to compel a hearer to generate specific and expectable assumptions about some of the speaker's intentions and beliefs.</p><p>In order to show precisely why and how dialogue possesses this capacity, the dissertation proceeds deductively. Dialogue is defined as a situation where interlocutors (1) are <i>compelled to overhear</i> what the respective other is saying, (2) apply <i>socially shared semantic rules</i> to decode utterances into private cognitive representations, and (3) act <i>as if </i>they expect that any utterance they make will be met with a <i>reply of acceptance </i>rather than a reply of rejection. It is demonstrated that the bilateral operation and anticipation of these constraints allows the hearer of an utterance to make a systematic guess at the intentions and beliefs that led its speaker to produce it.</p><p>Drawing on the works of H. Paul Grice, the dissertation shows that the hearer's guess becomes systematic by focusing on an <i>underlying informative intention</i>. It corresponds to the intention the speaker could anticipate<i> </i>the hearer would ascribe to him. By means of this expectable imputation, the hearer arrives at an <i>adequate </i>explanation of what social goal the speaker's utterance was meant to achieve.</p><p>The treatise concludes by analyzing the specific conditions under which a minimum sequence of three turns leads to <i>mutually ratified shared knowledge</i>. Whereas the status of merely shared knowledge is fundamentally precarious, mutually ratified shared knowledge is mutually recognized to be mutually known and, therefore, constitutes a societal solution to the problem of observability.</p>

This dissertation presents a new theoretical solution to the sociological problem of observability: the question of the extent to which and by what means individuals "observe" or infer mental states of other individuals, thereby sharing knowledge with them. The answer offered here states that the social situation of dialogue permits a speaker to use utterances to compel a hearer to generate specific and expectable assumptions about some of the speaker's intentions and beliefs. In order to show precisely why and how dialogue possesses this capacity, the dissertation proceeds deductively. Dialogue is defined as a situation where interlocutors (1) are compelled to overhear what the respective other is saying, (2) apply socially shared semantic rules to decode utterances into private cognitive representations, and (3) act as if they expect that any utterance they make will be met with a reply of acceptance rather than a reply of rejection. It is demonstrated that the bilateral operation and anticipation of these constraints allows the hearer of an utterance to make a systematic guess at the intentions and beliefs that led its speaker to produce it. Drawing on the works of H. Paul Grice, the dissertation shows that the hearer's guess becomes systematic by focusing on an underlying informative intention. It corresponds to the intention the speaker could anticipate the hearer would ascribe to him. By means of this expectable imputation, the hearer arrives at an adequate explanation of what social goal the speaker's utterance was meant to achieve. The treatise concludes by analyzing the specific conditions under which a minimum sequence of three turns leads to mutually ratified shared knowledge. Whereas the status of merely shared knowledge is fundamentally precarious, mutually ratified shared knowledge is mutually recognized to be mutually known and, therefore, constitutes a societal solution to the problem of observability.

Cette thèse porte sur la recrudescence notable depuis une décennie de certains phénomènes singuliers de mystification mettant en jeu des dispositifs communicationnels assez élaborés, connus sous l’appellation de canulars médiatiques. Apparu au XVIIIe siècle et en filiation étroite avec certaines pratiques populaires plus anciennes, l’acte canularesque associé à l’usage des médias engage la mise en œuvre de procédés audacieux qui, au fil du temps et de l’émergence de nouveaux moyens de communication, n’ont cessé de se sophistiquer.L'analyse d'un corpus de neuf canulars ayant recueilli d'un fort retentissement médiatique au cours de la période 2004-2008 souligne l’importance du jeu des interactions qui s’établissent entre l’auteur, sa cible et le public exposé.Elle témoigne également de la forte incidence du contexte sur la réussite de l’acte. Les transformations profondes qui traversent actuellement la société à l’échelle internationale, ainsi que les importants bouleversements qui modifient et parfois fragilisent le monde de l’information, représentent à l’évidence un terrain propice à la multiplication des canulars médiatiques. Entre la précarisation des conditions d’exercice du journalisme, la concurrence effrénée qui affecte les médias, l’attrait grandissant pour les fictions se donnant pour vraies et la recherche permanente de l’inédit et du spectaculaire, les fausses nouvelles et autres mystifications malicieuses trouvent toute raison de proliférer.La tournure très transgressive prise par les canulars médiatiques au cours de ces dernières années a conduit récemment à la mise en place de législations plus coercitives et entraîné de la part de leurs victimes des mesures de rétorsion qui nous amènent, en dernière partie de cette thèse, à nous interroger sur le devenir incertain de l’objet et de sa pratique. / This thesis deals with the issue of a decade-long rise in the number of particular phenomena of mystification that use very elaborate communication mechanisms : the media hoaxes. Appeared in the 18th century and closely linked to ancient and popular practices, the elaborate hoax, associate with media and new technologies, implements audacious processes that became increasingly sophisticated. The analysis of nine hoaxes cases that have benefited from a wide media echoe during the period 2004 to 2008 emphasizes the significance of interaction between the author, his target and the audience. It also testifies the context's high impact upon the success of the action. The profound transformations that go through worldwide societies and the upheavals that modify and often weaken the information world obviously represent a favourable ground for a multiplication of media hoaxes. From the erosion of conditions in journalism practices, the fiercecompetition which affects various media, the growing attraction for fictions as true, to the constant search for novelty and the spectacular, false information and other mischievous mystifications find every reason to proliferate.As the transgressive course taken by media hoaxes in recent years has led to a stringent legislation and the victims' retaliations, we question the uncertain future of this research topic as a practice in the final part of the thesis.

The aim of this study, which is part of a research project called LÄRK at the University of Kristianstad, is to further examine how a group of pre-service teachers reason about relational competence, as well as examining their opinions regarding the importance of relational competence in the teaching profession. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate whether the project has had some kind of long term impact on the students’ ideas with regards to their way of reasoning about their pedagogical practice in stimulated recall interviews and how their understanding of their own relational competence may have been influenced by the process. The results show that the students have the conviction that relational competence is of great importance to the teaching profession and that good relationships based on trust and confidence are fundamental to learning. The results that have emerged also indicate that the students developed increased knowledge of relational competence and what distinguishes a teacher with relational competence. It is suggested that the students find it easier to apply a more general theoretical understanding of relational competence rather than engaging in a self-reflective analysis of their behavior in the recorded film sequences from VFU. It is likely that the project’s three educational sessions did not generate sufficient progression for students to develop a glimpse of the competencies that underlie the definition of relational competence. Although such an assumption supports the idea that relational competence should be initiated in an early stage in teacher education, the result indicates that more research is needed on the competence and how it should be implemented in teacher education.

Child protection is a reactive, non-linear, social process carried out in a context of unpredictability, uncertainty and complexity. One way professionals respond to this context is by negotiating almost every aspect of the work, negotiating both with people and through practice problems. This negotiation process has a cultural basis. I contend that: 1) skillful negotiation is culturally embedded in the activities and practices of child protection teams and individual workers; 2) child protection practice in this team is the skillful negotiation of practice problems while maintaining a balance between helping and enforcement activities that protect children; and 3) workers’ negotiation is not only activity-based but also a cultural way of thinking and being in the midst of this complex environment. I use the idea of a cultural repertoire as a framework for how professionals think and act and use ethnographic observation and participant interviews to explore its use in every-day practice.