O estudo aborda as mudanças vividas no campesinato brasileiro a partir das obras e pesquisas realizadas por Carlos Rodrigues Brandão. Utilizando como informação e referência os estudos deste autor em comunidades, bairros, vilas e distritos rurais – particularmente nos Estados de Goiás, São Paulo e Minas Gerais –, a ênfase desta pesquisa está voltada ao cotidiano de populações rurais. Da reunião de diferentes observações, trabalhos de campo, depoimentos e relatos deste antropólogo, o foco do trabalho voltou-se aos temas terra, trabalho e família, que correspondem aos primeiros capítulos da dissertação. E falar de terra, de trabalho e de família é, também, falar de campesinidade. Assim, a partir da descrição de características qualitativas e comportamentais da cultura e da reprodução social de camponeses, observadas em seus cotidianos, busca-se seu entendimento enquanto ordem moral. Utilizaram-se, ainda, os livros e publicações de Carlos Rodrigues Brandão para abordar o alimento e, como não há nada mais cotidiano do que comer, é esse o tema tratado no último capítulo. Afirma-se aqui que as pesquisas e a trajetória de mais de trinta anos de trabalhos de campo realizados por Carlos Rodrigues Brandão são importantes fontes para o entendimento e compreensão de segmentos do campesinato em regiões brasileiras, principalmente da segunda metade do século XX. Referente às práticas, saberes, cotidianidade e cultura, de modo geral, de algumas populações rurais em nosso país, é fundamental conhecer as obras deste autor, ainda que a partir da perspectiva de alguns temas específicos, uma vez que a densidade de suas descrições e abordagem enriquece e auxilia àqueles que desejam compreender o rural brasileiro, principalmente, as mudanças vividas por indivíduos e grupos sociais. / This thesis discusses the changes experienced in Brazilian peasantry from the works and researches conducted by Carlos Rodrigues Brandão. Using as reference information the studies by this author in communities, neighborhoods, towns and rural districts – particularly in the states of Goiás, São Paulo and Minas Gerais –, the emphasis of this research is directed to rural populations’ everyday life. From the meeting of this anthropologist’s different observations, field work, interviews and reports, the focus of the work turned to the themes land, work and family, which correspond to the first three chapters of the thesis. To speak about land, work and family is also to speak about peasantry, i.e. from the description of qualitative and behavioral characteristics of culture and social reproduction of peasants, and, through their daily lives, we seek to their understanding as moral order. We used the books and publications by Carlos Rodrigues Brandão to address food and, as there is nothing else more associated to everyday life than eating, such is the subject addressed in the fourth and final chapter. It is argued here that the research and the history of more than thirty years of field work conducted by Carlos Rodrigues Brandão are important sources for understanding and comprehension of groups and segments of the peasantry in Brazilian regions, especially in the second half of the twentieth century. Related to the practices, knowledge, daily life and culture, in general, of some rural communities in our country, it is essential to know the works of this author, albeit from the perspective of some specific issues, since the depth and descriptions of their approach enrich and assist those who want to understand the Brazilian countryside, mostly, the changes experienced by individuals and social groups.

Implantado em 1994, o Programa Saúde da Família (PSF), hoje Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF), vem buscando garantir o acesso equânime à saúde a partir de um modelo que tem como princípios básicos: a integralidade, hierarquização, territorialização, equipe multiprofissional e o caráter substitutivo do modelo de assistência à saúde. A tradução destes princípios na prática, nem sempre efetiva, tem sido discutida, principalmente no que diz respeito ao seu caráter substitutivo. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo, enquadrado no campo da saúde coletiva, foi realizado junto aos usuários de famílias adscritas a uma equipe rural do PSF de Sacramento/MG. O objetivo foi identificar elementos para sistematizar determinantes do processo de apropriação pela comunidade, sobre o trabalho conjunto de profissionais de saúde, no contexto do atendimento junto ao PSF. Os dados foram obtidos em grupos focais compostos por representantes das famílias de três comunidades rurais microáreas da área de abrangência do PSF Rural. A análise das entrevistas grupais foi processada via identificação de conteúdos ex post facto, agrupados em categorias temáticas, relacionadas ao processo de apropriação do trabalho oferecido pelo PSF. Tais resultados foram analisados à luz do referencial teórico da saúde na comunidade. Quatro categorias temáticas agruparam alguns determinantes ligados ao objetivo do trabalho: A) Disponibilidade, em que foram reunidos os conteúdos sobre a quebra de barreiras para o atendimento e acesso aos serviços prestados, tendo o Rapport como facilitador do vínculo com o usuário. B) Acesso a Recursos, crenças e representações voltadas à avaliação dos elementos necessários à atenção primária à saúde e com a garantia de serviços secundários e terciários. C) Condições Materiais, relacionadas à vulnerabilidade social e processos de anomia frente à manutenção das conquistas, dada à falta de organização e depreciação dos espaços coletivos para promoção da saúde. D) Movimento Social, relacionado à politização/apropriação do trabalho coletivo e à legitimidade do convívio entre a equipe e a comunidade. Considerando as crenças e representações identificadas, observamos que a compreensão da práxis é balizada pela vinculação do trabalho com os componentes históricos, políticos, ideológicos e culturais que a determinam. O enfrentamento do processo saúde-doença pela comunidade aliada à Equipe de Saúde da Família envolve outros elementos além do conhecimento técnico, o que determina uma simetria no vínculo profissional-paciente, viabilizando a construção conjunta das condições do trabalho em saúde. Assim, a sistematização da aprendizagem informal decorrente da atuação conjunta representa uma alternativa à superação do modelo hegemônico em saúde e de reorientação do ensino em saúde no sentido de favorecer a atuação profissional voltada para os aspectos psicossociais do cuidado em saúde. / Established in 1994, the Family Health Program (PSF), today called Familys Health Strategy (ESF), is trying to guarantee an equal access to health through a model that has as basic principles: the integrability, hierarchization, territorialization, multiprofessional group and the substitutive character of health assistance. The translation of these principles in practice, not always effective, has been discussed, especially in what concerns to its substitutive character. In this sense, the present study, comprehended at the field of collective health, was accomplished close to the users of families inscribed on a rural group of the PSF from the city of Sacramento, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The aim was to identify elements to systematize causal factors of the appropriation process by the community, over the joined work of the health area professionals, attending at the Family Health Program (PSF). The data were got in focused groups composed by family representatives from three rural communities microareas from the Rural Family Health Program scope. The analysis of the grouped interviews was processed by ex post facto contents identification, gathered in thematic categories, related to the work appropriation process offered by the Family Health Program. These results were analyzed according to the theoretical reference of health at community. Four thematic categories gathered some determinants joined these work aims: A) Availability, in which were gathered contents about the breaking barriers of attendance and access to health services, having the Rapport as a facilitator of the bond with the user. B) Resource Access, beliefs and representations toward to evaluation of necessary elements to primary health care and with guarantee of secondary and tertiary services. C) Material Conditions, related to social vulnerability and anomie before the maintenance of the conquests, due the absent organization and depreciation of the public spaces of health promotion. D) Social Movement, related to politicization/collective work appropriation and the legitimacy of the relationship between the professional group and the community. Considering the beliefs and representations identified, its observed that the practice comprehension is oriented by the work entailment with historical, political, ideological and cultural components which determine them. The community facing of the health-disease process combined to the Family Health Group involves other elements besides the technical knowledge, what determines an entailed symmetry between the professional and the patient, making feasible the conjunct construction of the work in health conditions. Thus, the informal learning systematization resulting from the conjunct labor represents an alternative to the overcome of the health hegemonic model and reorientation of the health teaching in the sense of facilitate the professional actuation faces to psychosocial aspects of the health care.

Le projet de recherche réalisé avec cette thèse vise à étudier la structure e le fonctionnement des écoles pré-universitaires entre le bas Moyen-Âge et la première époque moderne (XV-XVI siècle) dans une partie des régions italiennes Emilia-Romagna et Lombardie. En particulier, les formations politiques considérées correspondent aux états des Gonzagues et d'Este et aux municipalités qu'ils contenaient. L'analyse examinera plusieurs aspects de nature culturel, social, politique et, bien sûr, pédagogique, liés au phénomène éducatif dans ce contexte encore peu étudié dans le panorama de l'historiographie italienne. / My doctoral thesis focuses on the theme of pre-university educational structures and their connections with communal and princely institutions in the context of Gonzaga and Este states. The research was conducted on two distinct moments of the evolution of Renaissance political structures, the 15th and 16th century. This approach gives the possibility to address the issue not only in horizontal terms but also diachronically. The first central element of the thesis, which is the conceptual framework upon which all the work was carried out, is the idea that in both urban and non-urban communities of the political entities thay I have taken into account existed a mutual influence and a close connection between the political and the educational structures.

Le soja est l'un des produits alimentaires les plus importants et en croissance rapide sur le marché mondial. Grace à l'introduction de variétés de soja GM, l'Argentine est devenue le troisième producteur mondial, ce qui a entraîné des impacts relevant au niveau environnemental, social et économique. Objectif de l'étude est d'évaluer la résilience sociale des communautés rurales cultivant du soja en Argentine et d'évaluer la durabilité actuelle du système du soja. Au même temps, l'analyse de l'expansion de la production de soja de l’Amérique latine vers les pays africains représente un élément de continuité dans l'évaluation du phénomène au niveau mondial. Le cas d’étude du système de soja en Argentine - fortement influencé par l'introduction des OGM et par les changements qui en découlent dans l'utilisation des terres, la modernisation et l'organisation du travail - avec son accent particulier sur les communautés rurales, souligne que la résilience sociale et la résilience écologique sont étroitement interconnectées pour garantir la durabilité sociale, qui, à son tour, est en corrélation étroite avec la durabilité environnementale et économique. Le secteur agricole argentin a montré une bonne capacité d'adaptation et de réorganisation démontrant être économiquement performant, mais les coûts sociaux et environnementaux qui en découlent sont lourds, consistant en une perturbation profonde de la structure originaire des communautés rurales et de l'écosystème naturel. Le système du soja est extrêmement rigide - en raison de la hyper spécialisation et de la dépendance marquée de l'exportation - ce qui le rend très vulnérable aux changements de la demande internationale de soja. Le système actuel est fortement critiqué par la société civile, le blâmant d'être la cause de problèmes environnementaux et de risques pour la santé humaine. Pour contraster efficacement les conséquences négatives du modèle du soja, un rôle important doit être joué par les politiques, qui devraient définir des mesures de développement durable pour améliorer la résilience des communautés rurales et favoriser une transition vers des systèmes de production alimentaire plus durables / Soy is one of the most important and fast growing food commodities in the global market. Thanks to the introduction of GM soy varieties, Argentina has become the third producer in the world, what entailed significant impacts at environmental, social and economic level. Objective of the study is to assess the social resilience of the rural communities cultivating soy in Argentina and to evaluate the current sustainability of the soy system. At the same time, the analysis of the expansion of the soy production from Latin America to African countries represents an element of continuity in the evaluation of the phenomenon at global level. The case study of the soy system in Argentina – strongly influenced by the introduction of GMOs and the consequent changes in land use, modernization and work organization – with its specific focus on rural communities, highlights how strongly social and ecological resilience are intertwined in the identification of mechanisms to guarantee social sustainability, which, in turn, is strictly interrelated with environmental and economic sustainability. The agricultural sector showed a good capacity of adaptation and reorganization demonstrating being economically performing, but social and environmental costs were heavy, consisting in a deep disruption of the original rural communities structure and of the original natural ecosystem. The soy system appears extremely rigid – because of the hyper specialization and the marked dependence on export – what makes it very vulnerable to changes in the international demand for soy. The current system is strongly criticized by the civil society, blaming it to be the cause of environmental problems and of health risks. To effectively contrast the negative consequences of the soy model, a significant role must be played by policy makers, who should define sustainability policies to enhance the resilience of the rural communities and to move towards more sustainable food production systems.

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions nurses have regarding PHC in rural communities in Kasoa, Ghana.The study was carried out in Kasoa in the Central Region of Ghana. The data were collected purposively using individual in-depth interview; the data were analysed using thematic data analysis approach. A total of 24 nurses were interviewed. This sample size was attained at saturation. The population for this study included all the nurses irrespective of category, qualification and experience and who are working in the PHC facilities in Kasoa rural areas. The categories of nurses were registered general nurses, enrolled nurses, midwives and community health nurses. The thematic analysis yielded 5 themes as follows: Participants’ interpretation of the meaning of Primary Health Care.The participants further perceived health education and patients’ rights provided at PHC facilities as helpful in achieving health outcomes. The participants had the perception that the provision of outreach services seems to be acceptable to communities and there are referral systems at PHC facilities, which are well-structured, clear and acceptable. The participants also perceive the CHPS zones as helpful to provide PHC services / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

The global economy infuses every aspect of our day to day lives, from the clothes we wear, to the food we eat, to our political choices. And with its ability to “mutate, shudder and shatter” (Dicken et al), the unpredictable ruptures associated with the global economy elude our ability to grasp its impact and to govern its activities. So how, as citizens, do we imagine governing ourselves when ‘nobody appears to be in charge any longer’? How does our understanding of the state apparatuses– the legislation, regulations, policies –speak to people’s day to day experience in their communities? This research addresses two broad questions: how are communities responding to externally generated ruptures and how do they govern themselves in response? I propose that responding coherently to rupture events is inhibited by community members’ lack of awareness of the complex interrelationships of the constituent elements of the economy, and secondarily, a tendency to see the state as the primary site of governance. Through interviews, surveys, and documentary research, this interdisciplinary study (political science, human geography, sociology and history) examines how three British Columbia communities – Tumbler Ridge, Tofino and Gabriola Island – were affected by recessionary ruptures and how they responded. Each of these communities exists within Indigenous spaces. Understanding how communities perceived their relationships with their Indigenous neighbours grounds the stories within the historical impacts of colonization, although it is not part of this thesis to investigate both sides of the ‘settler’-Indigenous relationship in these communities. By telling the story of each community’s response to rupture over time and comparing their trajectories, I draw conclusions comparing each community’s response and the outcomes. I pursue four areas of investigation: the degree to which communities understood their relationship with what I call the “capital economy” and others refer to as the market or capitalist economy, and how that understanding affected their response to rupture; how attitudes toward place shaped community responses to rupture; how community perceptions about their local economies affected the decisions they made and the strategies they employed to address economic and social challenges; and how the deployment of governance at various scales impacted the socio-economic health of the communities. The communities embraced a range of strategies from individual autonomous action, to networked autonomous action, to the creation of place-based governance entities as sites for action. Their effectiveness was determined by three factors. First of these is the degree to which communities saw the state as the locus of political action and the market economy as the primary agent for achieving community health and wellbeing had consequences for life control, self-determination and self-governance. Second is the extent to which the community was willing to work outside of the normative governance structures (normative in the sense that the state and corporate decision-making are commonly accepted as the primary and proper sources of governance and problem-solving) affected their ability to consider and create adaptive strategies that could respond to the unpredictable mutations of global capital. Finally, the failure in some communities to understand the ongoing impacts of colonization hampered their ability to create meaningful and ultimately productive relationships with their Indigenous neighbours, relationships that may have opened up valuable avenues to the wellbeing of all parties. I conclude that effective governance strategies capable of seeing communities through unpredictable ruptures will require five capacities: building on deeply situated knowledge; developing relationships across interests and social strata; employing ‘loose’ structure strategies; adopting approaches based on incremental persistence; and learning from Indigenous self-governance aspirations. Developing these local capacities will lay the foundation for a broader scope of political action. / Graduate

This study explored the roles and responsibilities of social workers providing services to nonmedical prescription drug users (NMPDU). Researchers have indicated NMPDU disproportionately affects people living in rural communities. The overarching research question sought to explore the concerns of social workers when providing services to patients coping with NMPDU in the rural community of Ulster County, New York. The intention was to examine systemic challenges facing rural social workers when attempting to decrease morbidity risks and increase the health of Ulster County residents. A total of 7 social workers participated in 3 focus groups to explore their ideas for defining, clarifying, and identifying solutions to the problem. The social exchange theory was used to frame the roles and responsibilities of social workers within rural communities at the macro, mezzo, and micro levels. Qualitative content analysis identified 5 themes: roles and responsibilities, barriers, education, treatment interventions, NMPDU and illicit substances of use. The results of the study included advocating for the fair and equitable distribution of resources for all residents coping with NMPDU in Ulster County, their responsibility to collaborate on pressing matters and educate physicians, community service providers, local legislators, individuals, and families of the warning signs and harmful effects of NMPDU. Findings may effect social change by enhancing the role of social workers by reducing overdose and death rates of NMPDUs.

In this study, increasing electricity demand requires considerable attention to increasing the diversity of power generation. Alternative energy can produce heating and power systems and thermal storage. Our objective and every organization’s objectives are to minimize its energy consumption cost under electricity demand uncertainty. In rural areas, heat and power availability and stability are also crucial. Combined heat and power have proven their effectiveness as a subsequent to Electricity. This paper identified four criteria and eleven sub-criteria to determine the most appropriate structure location for combined heat and power in the rural community. The Bayesian Network technology has been applied to analyze these criteria comprehensively. A case study including multiple sites across the Mississippi state was used to validate the proposed approach, and propagation and sensitivity analysis were used to evaluate performance. Results showed the summarized eleven criteria proposed Bayesian Network approach could aid location selection for Combined heat and power location in the rural area. Supplementary, the created model can support decision-makers to select the best alternatives under different electricity demand variability levels.

Ziele der Arbeit sind die Bestimmung der dominanten Landnutzungsarten im Untersuchungsgebiet von Edd Al Fursan (Sudan) sowie die Kartierung und Analyse der Veränderungen der Landnutzung im Zeitraum 1972 bis 2008 mit Hilfe von multi-temporalen Satellitenbildern (Landsat MSS, TM und ETM sowie Terra ASTER). Des weiteren erfolgt eine Evaluierung des Einflusses von Veränderungen der Landnutzung auf die Lebensbedingungen der ländlichen Bevölkerung in Hinblick auf die Verfügbarkeit von Ressourcen mit Hilfe von quantitativen Untersuchungsmethoden. Um diese Aussagen treffen zu können, werden drei Methoden der Bestimmung von Veränderungen der Landnutzung angewandt, und zwar Post Classification Comparison (PCC), Change Vector Analysis (CVA) basierend auf Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCT) sowie Iteratively Reweighted Multivariate Alteration Detection (IR-MAD) mittels Maximum Autocorrelation Factor (MAF). Neben den fernerkundlichen Untersuchungen wurde eine sozio-ökonomische Feldstudie durchgeführt, die vorstrukturierte Fragenkataloge, Interviews und Gruppendiskussionen mit Personen in regionalen und lokalen Schlüsselpositionen und mit älteren Menschen durchgeführt. Fünf Klassen der Landnutzung und Landbedeckung ergeben sich aus einer Klassifikation der Satellitenbilder mit der Methode der größten Wahrscheinlichkeit (Maximum Likelihood), explizit die Klassen Grasland, Waldland, Brachland, bebautes und landwirtschaftlich nicht genutztes Land. Die Klassifikation schafft eine genaue Grundlage für die Kartierung, Quantifizierung und Analyse der Änderungen. Die Gesamtgenauigkeit der Flächenermittlung beträgt 83% für die Jahre 1972 und 1984, 85% für 1989, 87% für 1999 und 92% für 2008. Die Untersuchungen zeigen, dass die Post Classification Comparison (PCC) eine vollinhaltlich geeignete und leicht anzuwendende Methode der Flächenanalyse darstellt. Change Vector Analysis (CVA) beruhend auf Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCT) wird ebenfalls für die Kartierung und Bestimmung von Landnutzungsänderungen verwendet. Durch TCT wird der spektrale Bildinhalt in die Komponenten Greeness und Brightness transformiert sowie in dem dadurch neu definierten Koordinatensystem die CVA durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse in Form von Vektoren der Veränderung mit messbarer Richtung und messbarem Ausmass der Flächendynamik beweisen, dass die Methode für die Kartierung von Vegetationsbedeckung und insbesondere von Entwaldung und Wiederbewaldung geeignet ist. Durch die Anwendung der Multivariate Alteration Detection (MAD) in Kombination mit dem Maximum Autocorrelation Factor (MAF) werden Veränderungen der Landnutzungsklassen während des betrachteten Zeitraumes visualisiert. Die Ergebnisse beweisen, dass die MAD für die Veränderungsanalyse in multi-spektralen Satellitenbildern sehr gut geeignet ist. Darüber hinaus wird nachgewiesen, dass die Kombination mit dem MAF die Ergebnisse der MAD entscheidend verbessern kann, da Rauschen und geringfügige Änderungen unterdrückt und signifikante Änderungen klarer herausgestellt und damit besser interpretierbar werden. Um die Ursachen für die Veränderungen der Landnutzung und den Einfluss dieser Änderungen auf die Lebensbedingungen der ländlichen Bevölkerung im Projektgebiet zu identifizieren, wurde eine Befragung mittels vorstrukturiertem Fragenkatalog, Interviews und Gruppengesprächen mit 100 GesprächspartnerInnen im Alter zwischen 42 und 65 Jahren in vier nach dem Zufallsprinizip ausgewählten Dörfern ausgeführt. Die Auswertung der sozio-ökonomischen Daten erlaubt die Extraktion der Faktoren, die Landnutzung und deren Änderung beeinflussen, und die zu bestimmten Auswirkungen dieser Änderungen auf die Lebensbedingungen in den Dörfern in Hinsicht auf die Verfügbarkeit von Natur-Ressourcen führen. Die Ergebnisse der Forschungsarbeiten zeigen, dass Fernerkundung und sozio-ökonomische Datenanalyse effizient verknüpft werden können, um anthropogene Einflüsse auf Art und Dynamik von Landnutzung sichtbar zu machen. In bezug auf die gegenständliche Zeitreihe wird durch die Untersuchungen bewiesen, dass zunehmende Bevölkerungszahlen im Gebiet von Edd Al-Fursan in direktem Wirkungszusammenhang mit Veränderungen der Landnutzung stehen.

<p>The majority of people in the world that lack access to sustainable water supplies reside in the rural regions of low- and middle-income countries. Lacking this access they depend on unprotected water sources that are contaminated from environmental factors and poor land-use practices. Access to safe water is a key determinant of public health, and hence rural, remote, and otherwise marginalized (RRM) communities suffer high rates of waterborne disease. The sustainability of water supply in RRM communities is influenced by the level of community participation as well as an holistic array of issues that correspond to the challenges faced by RRM communities.</p> <p>The purpose of this research is to develop a prototype computer-based tool to support RRM communities in an holistic water security self-assessment as a front-end to decision support. The aim of this assessment is to facilitate a systematic consideration of water security issues and to consolidate the results into key graphics that could help identify relative strengths and threats.</p> <p>First, a literature review was conducted on relevant water security indices, resulting in a water security framework and indicator database (n=285). Second, the Community Self-Water Assessment Tool (Community-SWAT) was developed. Third, Community-SWAT was beta-tested to demonstrate its ability to differentiate challenges between communities, identify water security challenges within a community, and visualize heterogeneity in water point security. A sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the majority of changes in that dimension’s scores were small (less than 5) when at least half of its questions were answered.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)