The purpose of this research is to determine whether or not meaningful differences exist along these dimensions in the manner in which social workers view their work role, and whether or not any such differences are related to the bureaucratic and professional nature of the agencies and their employees. The analysis will attempt to define the points at which the bureaucratic organization conflicts with professional patterns of organization and attempt to discover the mode of accommodation which results from these conflicts.

The modern environment regarding the media and its scenery has changed. Throughout time, in terms of political standpoint, the press seems to have become homogenous regarding both ownership and divergence; and while the link between politics and the press are seemingly decreasing, larger companies and corporate groups focusing primarily on economy and profit has conceivably taken over. Centrally located, enclosed by this phenomenon remain the journalists. An occupational group which in the name of democracy seems to have taken the initiative to survey and inspect society as a whole. This study aim to conceptualize how parts of this group are reflecting on their occupation, how they reflect on the media regarding its democratic value and foremost how journalists reflect on professionalized journalism in which they sustain to be working by. By examining articles of The Swedish Union of Journalist’s Journal Journalisten, which is examined using a content analysis, specifically Framing Theory and The Swedish Union of Journalist’s outset of 1972, findings suggest that the environment by which journalists are working in and their commitment to professionalized journalism appear to clash, which in terms of media as a whole make its democratic role rather uncertain.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:25:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2007-Pre-textuais.pdf: 3686529 bytes, checksum: 88f2a95092c9bca469e3382e565421a9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-04 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This dissertation has the general objective of contributing to the theoretical and empirical comprehension of the implications of the internet for democracy and electoral processes. We analyze the cyberparadigms and the normative assumptions that influenced thematic production. The adopted analytical standpoint aims to apply the premises deriving from the theoretical apparatus of reference to a concrete empirical context, trying to balance the strong normative assumptions and overcome the notion of technological determinism present in much of the literature. This way, we delimit the way the internet is being used in electoral processes, its possibilities and limits, promoting an adaptation of expectations. We use a critical approach to be able to scrutinize the potential of the internet in reinvigorating democracy and its processes and exploring its actual conditions of production in specific political-electoral contexts, bringing elements of political culture to the center of the debate. For this analysis we used a systematic empirical base and a temporal specification: the Brazilian political-electoral context during the presidential race of 2006. The objects of investigation in a comparative perspective were the websites of the two main candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in the 2006 contest: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB). Specifically, the empirical investigation was guided by the following research queries: 1) What are the functions and possibilities of interaction and participation in electoral websites? 2) Are there differences between the websites of the Alckmin and Lula campaigns in terms of sophistication and design that indicate different levels of professionalism? 3) What are the strategies of the cybercampaigns? 4) According to the options on offer, what is the main targeted public of the websites? This investigation began from four hypotheses: 1) the electoral websites will reflect more the function of top-down and one-way, neglecting the interactive possibilities of the new media in promoting dialogue with the electorate; 2) there will be convergence and standardization, instead of differentiation between parties, in the way of usage of the Brazilian political websites; 3) the online strategy will be centered more in attracting predisposed and politically active constituents, as well as grabbing the attention of media professionals, then apathetic and demobilized citizens, and finally 4) the Internet will be an important space for negative campaigning on part of Alckmin, due to his position of challenger in the contest and due to the political context that preceded the electoral race, highly scarred by accusations of corruption, as well as legal loopholes in relation to the internet. The reelection candidacy of President Lula will be centered in the publication of endorsements and in the retrospective strategy of incorporating symbols of the post of president and exploring actions of his first term in office. The methodological strategy adopted is based on the research design of Content Analysis of websites, applied on three levels of analysis: functional, formal, and content of the clippings and persuasive strategies of the candidates. These analytical dimensions are composed by indicators, typologies, and many categories that comprise diverse dichotomous variables. / A presente dissertação tem como objetivo geral realizar uma revisão da literatura acadêmica sobre Internet e democracia e contribuir empiricamente com a discussão sobre as implicações da Internet para os processos eleitorais. Analisam-se os ciberparadigmas e os pressupostos normativos que influenciaram a produção temática. A postura analítica adotada visa aplicar as premissas oriundas do aparato teórico de referência a um contexto empírico concreto, buscando equilibrar seus pressupostos normativos e questionar a noção de determinismo tecnológico presente em boa parte da literatura. Neste sentido, delimita-se a forma como a Internet vem sendo utilizada nos processos eleitorais pelos agentes políticos, suas possibilidades e limites, com a intenção de promover uma adequação das expectativas. Realiza-se uma abordagem crítica a fim de perscrutar o potencial da Internet para revigorar a democracia e seus processos e investigar sua forma de utilização em contextos político-eleitorais específicos, trazendo para o centro do debate elementos da cultura política. Para a presente análise empregou-se uma base empírica sistemática e um recorte temporal: o contexto político-eleitoral brasileiro durante a corrida presidencial de 2006. Os objetos de investigação em perspectiva comparada foram os websites dos dois principais postulantes à Presidência da República no pleito 2006: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) e Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB). Especificamente, a investigação empírica foi guiada pelas seguintes perguntas de pesquisa: 1) Quais as funções e possibilidades de interação e participação dos websites eleitorais? 2) Há diferenças entre os websites das candidaturas de Alckmin e Lula em termos de sofisticação e design que indiquem diferentes níveis de profissionalismo? 3) Quais as estratégias das cibercampanhas? 4) De acordo com as opções oferecidas, qual o público-alvo primordial dos websites? Esta investigação partiu de quatro hipóteses: 1) os websites eleitorais refletirão mais a função top-down (de cima para baixo) e de one-way (mão única), negligenciando as possibilidades interativas da nova mídia para promover diálogo com o eleitorado; 2) haverá uma convergência e padronização no modo de utilização dos websites políticos brasileiros ao invés de uma diferenciação entre partidos; 3) a estratégia on-line estará centrada mais em atrair eleitores pré-dispostos e politicamente ativos e a atenção de profissionais da mídia do que os cidadãos apáticos e desmobilizados e, por fim, 4) a Internet será um espaço primordial para realização de campanha negativa para a candidatura de Alckmin, devido a sua posição de desafiante na disputa e ao contexto político que precedeu a corrida eleitoral, altamente marcado por denúncias de corrupção, bem como às lacunas legais em relação à Internet. A candidatura à reeleição do mandatário Lula será centrada na publicação de endosso e na estratégia retrospectiva de acionar símbolos do cargo de presidente e explorar ações de seu primeiro mandato. A estratégia metodológica adotada baseou-se no desenho de pesquisa de Análise de Conteúdo dos websites, aplicado em três níveis de análise: funcional (functional analysis), formal (formal analysis) e conteúdo da agenda de notícias e estratégias persuasivas dos candidatos. Estas dimensões de análise são compostas por indicadores, tipologias e várias categorias que, por sua vez, abrangem diversas variáveis dicotômicas.