Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological condition which affects motor control, in almost all cases involving speech, and is frequently of many years duration. Much is known about speech production but less of the psychosocial consequences of the speech impairment (dysarthria). Accounts of people with dysarthria have shown that its impact on quality of social participation can be varied and profound. However, level of participation has not been investigated. Reduction in social activity and social networks has been found following onset of other neurogenic communication disorders. In Parkinson's disease there is some evidence of social activity reduction but this has not been studied in relation to severity of dysarthria. Social anxiety has been found to be raised in speakers with other speech production impairments and this may be a contributor to reduction in social engagement. Investigation of social variables is of importance in understanding relationships within a biopsychosocial model of health which underpins intervention for therapies for communication disorders. Aims The study aimed to investigate the impact of dysarthria on social participation and whether presence of dysarthria in Parkinson's disease (PD) resulted in changes to social anxiety, social networks and social activity. It further sought to investigate whether severity of dysarthria resulted in changes to the same variables. Method A group of 43 mild-moderately dysarthric speakers with PD were recruited. Exclusion criteria were applied to control for cognitive impairment, depression, apathy, movement disability and co-occurring neurological and communication impairment. A group of 30 non-neurologically impaired participants were recruited matched for age, sex, socioeconomic status and educational attainment. Participants with PD were further grouped using measures of sentence intelligibility and motor speech impairment into higher and lower functioning groups. All participants completed a social anxiety questionnaire, a social activity checklist and detailed their social network. Group data were compared to address the research questions. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with all participants to explore change to social life and perceptions of causes of change. Results Participants reported a range of changes to interaction and social engagement arising from speech and other impairments and also from intra and interpersonal contextual factors. Quantitative data showed that presence of dysarthria was associated with social anxiety and avoidance but not changes to social activity level or social network size. Greater severity of dysarthria was associated with deterioration in social activities and social network. There was wide individual variation on these variables. Outcomes Impact of dysarthria may be significant and unrelated to severity of impairment and satisfaction with level of activity is low in dysarthric speakers. Mild - moderately dysarthric speakers with PD may experience social anxiety in particular types of social situation. Moderately dysarthric speakers may experience loss of social capital in terms of quantitative changes in social networks and social activities. Motor speech impairment was a better predictor of social functioning than intelligibility in this sample. It is possible that a threshold for change lies at a more severe level of speech involvement. How speakers with PD perceive and experience their social interactions is discussed and limitations to the research are considered. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the ICF framework and the concept of social capital.

The beginning of this decade has seen a phenomenal raise in the amount of data generated in the world. While this increase provides us with opportunities to understand various aspects of human behavior and mechanisms behind new phenomena, the technologies, statistical techniques and theories required to gain an in depth and comprehensive understanding haven't progressed at an equal pace. As little as 5 years back, we used to deal with problems where there is insufficient prior social science or economic theory and the interest is only in prediction of the outcome or where there is an appropriate social science or economic theory and the interest is in explaining a given phenomenon. Today, we deal with problems where there is insufficient social science or economic theory but the interest is in explaining a given phenomenon. This creates a big challenge the solution to which is of equal interest to both academics and practitioners. In my research, I contribute towards addressing these challenges by building exploratory frameworks that leverage a variety of techniques including social network analysis, text and data mining, econometrics, statistical computing and visualization. My three essay dissertation focuses on understanding the antecedents to the quality of user generated content and on subscription and un-subscription behavior of users from lists on Social Media. Using a data science approach on population sized samples from Wikipedia and Twitter, I demonstrate the power of customized exploratory analyses in uncovering facts that social science or economic theory doesn't dictate and show how metrics from these analyses can be used to build prediction models with higher accuracy. I also demonstrate a method for combining exploration, prediction and explanatory modeling and propose to extend this methodology to provide causal inference. This dissertation has general implications for building better predictive and explanatory models and for mining text efficiently in Social Media.

This study examined, via a meta-analysis, the relations among stressors, social support, and stress reactions. Unexpectedly, small to medium negative, but robust effect sizes were found for the stressors-social support relation. As expected the stressor-stress reaction relation was positive, and the social support-stress reaction relation was negative. Both relations had small to medium effect sizes that ranged from weak to very robust. The direct effect of social support on the stressor-stress reaction was generally supported, whereas the suppressor and mediating models were not supported. Furthermore, the findings were inconclusive for the moderator effect of social support. Non-interpersonal traumas appear different in the stressor-social support and social support-stress reaction relations compared to other trauma types. These findings have important clinical implications.

La visualisation d'informations est un domaine qui connaît un réel intérêt depuis une dizaine d'années. Dernièrement, avec l'explosion des moyens de communication, l'analyse de réseaux sociaux fait l'objet de nombreux travaux de recherches. Nous présentons dans cette thèse des travaux sur l'analyse de réseaux sociaux dynamiques, c'est à dire que nous prenons en compte l'aspect temporel des données. [...] / Since ten years, informations visualization domain knows a real interest.Recently, with the growing of communications, the research on social networks analysis becomes strongly active. In this thesis, we present results on dynamic social networks analysis. That means that we take into account the temporal aspect of data. We were particularly interested in communities extraction within networks and their evolutions through time. [...]

This research investigated the impact of social support on people living with HIV/AIDS. The main aim of the research was to establish the impact that social support or lack thereof has on the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS at Vhembe District in Limpopo Province. HIV/AIDS is a stigmatized disease and such stigmatisation together with lack of knowledge and unrealistic fears can lead to communities, families and friends of the infected people treating them inappropriately or detrimentally. Infected people can also choose not to disclose their status because of fear of being stigmatised. However, despite all the negativity surrounding HIV/AIDS epidemic, there are those who are brave enough to disclose their status not only to their families but to their communities as well. In this research ten (10) respondents, both male and females were interviewed by making use of a semi-structured interview schedule. And since HIV/AIDS is a sensitive and personal topic, an availability sampling method was used. The semi-structured interview schedule consisted of both closed and open ended questions. The researcher used the qualitative method. The findings and responses of all the respondents were analysed and discussed in line with the findings that were described in the literature on HIV/AIDS issues by various authors. The findings of this research can be used by the department, social workers, families of infected people, home based care workers, doctors and nurses and other professionals who work closely with HIV/AIDS infected people. These findings can be used to broaden people’s understanding on the importance and impact of social support or lack thereof to those who are HIV/AIDS infected. / Dissertation (MSD (Employee Assistance Programme))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Orientador: Fernando Antonio Lourenço / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T08:07:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pereira_JoseCarlosAlves_D.pdf: 12999130 bytes, checksum: 97f07c4fb02eb4d3f26100bb7ab9b545 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Pesquisas recentes revelam que muitos jovens rurais têm se integrado a fluxos migratórios articulando habitação, lazer e trabalho entre campo e cidade, como uma forma de viabilizar projetos de melhores condições de vida para si ou suas famílias, ou ainda, para tornar viável a constituição de novas unidades familiares. Nessas migrações, sobressai a migração nacional de caráter sazonal. Mas, simultaneamente e reagindo às precárias condições de trabalho, ou almejando realizar um sonho de bonança, os jovens se enveredam em rotas de migração internacional e expressam novas formas de organização de redes de migrantes e lutas por reconhecimento. Nessa pesquisa, procuro analisar as articulações entre amigos, parentes, agenciadores e a migração sazonal nacional como um canal de acesso à migração internacional de jovens rurais do Vale do Jequitinhonha-MG para Portugal, Espanha em um contexto de contrabando humano, migração de retorno, supressão ou restrição do direito de migrar, lutas por reconhecimento e expectativas de alcançar melhor padrão de vida / Abstract: Recent research shows that many young people from rural areas have integrated flux of migration articulating housing; leisure and work between country and city, as a way of accomplish projects better living condition for themselves or their families, or accomplish the creation of new family units. In these migrations, stand out the migrations national of seasonal character. But, simultaneously, and reacting precarious conditions of work, or aiming to realize a dream of prosperity, the young people accessing international migration routes, and they express new forms of organization of social networks. In this research, I analyze the connections between friends, kin, migration agents clandestine, and the seasonal migration national as a channel of access to international migration of rural youth of Jequitinhonha Valley for Portugal, Spain in a paradoxical context of return migration, suppression or restriction the right to migrate, and expectations of to achieve better standard of living / Doutorado / Sociologia / Doutor em Sociologia

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2017-06-09T18:24:14Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertacao Gesa Karla Maia Cavalcanti_DEPOSITO.pdf: 4718272 bytes, checksum: 0024b6534d43a7db92f38cb5aed05a61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-09T18:24:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertacao Gesa Karla Maia Cavalcanti_DEPOSITO.pdf: 4718272 bytes, checksum: 0024b6534d43a7db92f38cb5aed05a61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / CNPQ / Com o título "Televisão e Internet: configurações de TV Social em Malhação" esta dissertação explora o modo como cada vez mais a televisão busca oferecer uma experiência interacional a seus telespectadores. Para isso, explora,agora por meio das tecnologias digitais interativas, o potencial conversacional que a caracteriza como forma sociocultural. As estratégias de produção televisiva apoiadas na exploração das redes sociais digitais (Facebook, Twitter, sobretudo) permitem, por meio de aplicativos integrados ao televisor ou disponibilizados em dispositivos móveis, a criação de um sentimento de compartilhamento em torno dos conteúdos televisivos, comparado frequentemente a um “sofá expandido” pelo modo como permitem aos espectadores comentarem e conversarem em rede sobre os programas. Essa nova configuração da experiência televisiva tem sido associada à ideia de “TV Social”, fenômeno do qual nos ocupamos neste trabalho. O primeiro objetivo assumido pelo presente trabalho foi a tarefa de conceituação do fenômeno e delimitação desse tipo de experiência. Para isso, realizamos uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório-descritivo através da qual analisamos diferentes conceitos do termo TV Social e seus distintos significados, buscando recorrências nas descrições empregadas em campos disciplinares distintos (Tecnologia e Comunicação). Essa análise bibliográfica nos permitiu a delimitação de uma conceituação mais precisa da noção de TV Social, caracterizando melhor o fenômeno dentre as tantas manifestações da cultura participativa. Com apoioda conceituação proposta, ocupamo-nos do nosso segundo objetivo, a identificação e descrição desse fenômeno em Malhação, seriado juvenil produzido e exibido pela Rede Globo, buscando assim evidenciar os experimentos de TV Social na produção televisiva ficcional brasileira em um dos produtos da emissora que mais têm apelado para as formas interativas. Para isso, utilizamos um método de natureza descritiva, tendo como universo de análise as três últimas temporadas de Malhação (21ª, 22ª e 23ª temporadas), e objetivando a identificação de recorrências estratégicas de TV Social nas mesmas. Como principais achados encontramos seis diferentes tipos de estratégias de TV Social, são elas: hashtags diárias, aplicativo Malhação, Malhação no Ar, chats com o elenco e gratificações. / With the theme “Television and Internet: Social TV settings in Malhação”, this dissertation explores how increasingly television moves away from the status of passive media to offer an interactive experience to the viewers. To do this, television explores now, trough interactive technologies, the potential conversational that characterizes it as sociocultural form.The television production strategies based on the exploitation of digital social networks (Facebook, Twitter, above) allow, trough integrated applications to the TV or made available on mobile devices, the creating of a sense of sharing around television content, often compared to an "expanded couch" by the way that allow viewers to comment and talk about TV shows. This new configuration of the television experience has been associated with the idea of "Social TV", phenomenon that we study in this work. Our first objective was to conceptualize Social TV and the delimitation of this kind of experience. To do that, we conducted an exploratory and descriptive research through which we analyze different concepts of the term Social TV and its distinct meaning, seeking recurrences in the descriptions used in different disciplines (Technology and Communication). This literature review has enabled us to the definition of a more precise conceptualization of the concept of Social TV, featuring best the phenomenon among the many manifestations of participatory culture. Supported by the concept proposed, we are concerned the identification and description of this phenomenon in Malhação, brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by Rede Globo, seeking to highlight the Social TV experiments in Brazilian fictional television production in one of the products of the station have most appealed to interactive forms.For this, we use a method of descriptive nature, with the universe of analysis the last three seasons Malhação (21th, 22th and 23th seasons), and aiming to identify strategic recurrences of Social TV in them. The main findings found six different types of social TV strategies, they are: they are: daily hashtags, Malhação application, Malhação Up, chats with the cast and bonuses.

Orientador: Fernando José Von Zuben / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T03:14:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kurka_DavidBurth_M.pdf: 1660677 bytes, checksum: 7258daf8129b4dac9d1f647195775d3c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Com o surgimento e a popularização de Redes Sociais Online e de Serviços de Redes Sociais, pesquisadores da área de computação têm encontrado um campo fértil para o desenvolvimento de trabalhos com grande volume de dados, modelos envolvendo múltiplos agentes e dinâmicas espaço-temporais. Entretanto, mesmo com significativo elenco de pesquisas já publicadas no assunto, ainda existem aspectos das redes sociais cuja explicação é incipiente. Visando o aprofundamento do conhecimento da área, este trabalho investiga fenômenos de compartilhamento coletivo na rede, que caracterizam eventos de difusão de informação. A partir da observação de dados reais oriundos do serviço online Twitter, tais eventos são modelados, caracterizados e analisados. Com o uso de técnicas de aprendizado de máquina, são encontrados padrões nos processos espaço-temporais da rede, tornando possível a construção de classificadores de mensagens baseados em comportamento e a caracterização de comportamentos individuais, a partir de conexões sociais / Abstract: With the advent and popularization of Online Social Networks and Social Networking Services, computer science researchers have found fertile field for the development of studies using large volumes of data, multiple agents models and spatio-temporal dynamics. However, even with a significant amount of published research on the subject, there are still aspects of social networks whose explanation is incipient. In order to deepen the knowledge of the area, this work investigates phenomena of collective sharing on the network, characterizing information diffusion events. From the observation of real data obtained from the online service Twitter, we collect, model and characterize such events. Finally, using machine learning and computational data analysis, patterns are found on the network's spatio-temporal processes, making it possible to classify a message's topic from users behaviour and the characterization of individual behaviour, from social connections / Mestrado / Engenharia de Computação / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Orientador: Cristiane Pereira Dias / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem e Laboratório de Estudos Avançados em Jornalismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T09:28:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pequeno_Vitor_M.pdf: 1673328 bytes, checksum: 6c971150145b2aa5951e0bc1f9c7e58f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Essa pesquisa centrou suas investigações sobre as redes de relacionamento como dispositivos tecnológicos de comunicação e estabelecimento das relações sociais. Por meio da apropriação e aplicação de diversos dispositivos teóricos da teoria discursiva e do materialismo histórico, buscou analisar aspectos técnicos dessas redes como produções de cunho ideológico, desconstruindo as formulações de sujeito, relação social e circulação do sentido implícitas em sua estruturação. Essa pesquisa também se apoiou fortemente no método filosófico de Jean Baudrillard para repensar certas operações nocionais de dualização, principalmente no caso de online e off-line, e sua relevância, tanto epistêmica, quanto social, na contemporaneidade. Nos apropriamos aqui da noção de Arquivo como princípio ideológico de circulação do sentido, e desenvolvemos a noção de clivagens subterrâneas, que Pêcheux sugere em Ler o Arquivo Hoje (1982). Apesar da intensa heterogeneidade possibilitada pela materialidade do online, o que de predominante que acabamos por encontrar na estrutura técnica das redes de relacionamento foi a forma-histórica do capitalismo contemporâneo, estruturando as relações sociais, e a própria constituição da subjetividade, através do que acabamos por categorizar como relações de consumo / Abstract: This research centered its investigation on social networks as technological devices for communication and the establishment of social relations. By means of the appropriation and application of several theoretical dispositifs from discursive theory and historical materialism, this paper sought to analyze technical aspects of these networks as ideologically structured, deconstructing the implied formulations for subjects, social relations, and the circulation of meaning imbedded in this structuring. This research also heavily relied on the philosophical methods of Jean Baudrillard in order to rethink certain notional operations of duality, especially in the case of online/off-line, and their relevance, both epistemic and social, for the present. This research appropriates itself of the notion of Archive as an ideological principal for the circulation of all meaning, and develops the idea of subterranean cleavages, which Pêcheux suggests in Lir L¿archive Aujourd¿hui (1982). In spite of intensely heterogeneous material possibilities intrinsic of the online environment, what we have predominantly found in the technical structure of social networks is the historic-form of contemporary capitalism, structuring social relations, and even the constitution of subjects, through what we have come to categorize as relationships of consumption / Mestrado / Divulgação Científica e Cultural / Mestre em Divulgação Científica e Cultural

Orientador: Inês Signorini / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T23:11:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paschoal_LucianeCristina_D.pdf: 5542321 bytes, checksum: 1fc746aaad65369794c42f3122678fab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A pesquisa aqui apresentada tem como objeto de estudo as interações em nove grupos da rede social Facebook que, no período de março de 2012 a julho de 2013, tinham em seu título a palavra "mulheres" e eram administrados por perfis que se declaravam mulheres. O objetivo geral desta pesquisa é identificar e analisar os temas e as dinâmicas sociointeracionais nos nove grupos estudados. Para isso, este estudo tem como objetivos específicos: a) identificar os temas desenvolvidos nesses grupos no período de seis meses; b) mapear as redes de comentários no período observado; c) identificar a dinâmica sociointeracional dos grupos e os papéis sociointeracionais desempenhados no mesmo período; d) verificar se alterações nos temas alteram a dinâmica sociointeracional identificada. Tendo como metodologia a etnografia online, foram feitas observações sistemáticas durante dezesseis meses e foram utilizadas as seguintes técnicas para coleta dos registros: observação participante e captura. A observação participante foi realizada por meio da participação da pesquisadora nos grupos focalizados e também por meio de envio de dez postagens com indicação de links para notícias de assuntos atuais e que pudessem gerar alguma discussão. Para a técnica de captura dos registros foi utilizada a função print screen do computador, que possibilita que o que está projetado na tela seja capturado como imagem. A análise temática das postagens dos grupos estudados evidencia que seis dos nove grupos estudados retomam os temas comuns na imprensa feminina, tradicionalmente considerados de interesse das mulheres, enquanto os três outros abordam outros assuntos, como tecnologia e política. Esses últimos parecem tentar romper os estereótipos ligados aos gêneros, buscando abordar temas que tradicionalmente não são considerados como de interesse das mulheres. Em relação às redes de comentários, identificamos três tipos de redes de comentários: fechada, pivotante e rizomática. Nos grupos que retomam os temas tradicionais da imprensa feminina, as redes fechada e pivotante são predominantes. Nos demais grupos, que abordam temas não comumente relacionados à imprensa feminina, a rede rizomática é predominante. Em relação aos papéis sociointeracionais, identificamos os papéis de: anfitrião, remetente casual, comentarista casual, produtor, interlocutor, debatedor e animador. Verificamos que em sete dos nove grupos pesquisados, os administradores exercem o papel institucional de administrador oficial que é, então, coincidente com o papel de anfitrião. Considerando a dinâmica sociointeracional, verificamos que em seis dos nove grupos focalizados, as alterações nos temas habitualmente discutidos alteraram a dinâmica sociointeracional anteriormente identificada. Nesses seis grupos, a proposta de temas para discussão que fugiam aos habituais no período investigado teve impacto sobre a conformação das redes de comentários e sobre a dinâmica sociointeracional / Abstract: The research presented here has as object of study the interactions of nine groups on social network Facebook that, from March 2012 to July 2013, had in their title the word "women" and were administered by profiles that were declared women. The main objective of this research is to identify and analyze the themes and interacional dynamics of the nine groups studied. For this, the research has the following objectives: a) identify the themes developed in these groups in six months; b) map the comment networks in the observed period; c) identify the interactional dynamics of groups and interacional roles played during the same period; d) check whether changes in themes alter the interacional dynamics identified. Adopting as methodology the online ethnography, we observed these groups during sixteen months, using the following techniques for collecting data: participant observation and data capture. The participant observation took place through the participation of the researcher in the focalized groups and through ten posts with indication of links to internet news. To the technique of capture, we used the computer print screen function, that allows that what is being projected on the screen be captured as image. The thematic analysis of the group posts shows that six of the nine studied discuss themes that are common in feminine press, traditionally considered of interest to women, while the other three groups address other subjects, such as technology and politics. These groups seem to try to reject stereotypes related to gender, seeking to address issues that are not traditionally considered as women's interest. Regarding the comment networks, we identified three types of networks: closed, axial and rhizome. In the groups that discuss traditional themes of women's press, the closed and axial networks are prevalent. In the other groups, which address issues not commonly related to women's press, the rhizome network is prevalent. Regarding interactional roles, we identified the roles: host, casual sender, casual commentator, producer, speaker, debater and animator. We found that in seven of nine focused groups, administrators perform the institutional role of official administrator, which matches to the host role. Considering the interactional dynamics, we find that in six of nine focused groups, changes in commonly discussed topics altered the previously identified interactional dynamics. In these six groups, the proposal of topics for discussion that differ from the usual in the period investigated had an impact on comment networks and on interactional dynamics / Doutorado / Lingua Materna / Doutora em Lingüística Aplicada