As citizens of the Arabian Gulf states struggle to maintain identity and heritage in a swarm of economic boom and social modernization and mobilization, they are bombarded with media messages which conflict with the essential tenets of modernization and development: individualism, economic independence, freedom of expression, and elevated social status for women. The largely popular Gulf Arabic television miniseries genre is an important vehicle for those conflicting media messages, presenting stereotypical and simplistic representations of family life, the divide between good and evil, and prescribed gender dichotomies. Those messages which idealize traditionalism and conservative belief systems are crafted and informed by those who dominate the media apparatus in the Arabian Gulf: the ruling, male, Muslim, hegemonic elite. The miniseries genre keeps audiences glued to the television in the month of Ramadan, a time at which Muslims throughout the world are at a heightened sense of religiosity and devotion to family and are thus more susceptible to the persuasion of media messages related to religion, faith, virtues, and morals. This research examines the themes of patriarchy, gender dichotomies, family values, and the omnipresence of Islam in the genre and the relationship of all of these themes to the value and belief systems of the ruling hegemonic elite and audience members alike. The research is based on a data pool which includes 152 episodes, totaling roughly 101.5 televised hours. The data also include the results of a survey about audience interaction and interpretation of the genre. The survey is comprised of 35 questions to which 56 participants responded. It discusses the implications of the messages contained within the genre and communicated through the aforementioned themes, and examines the potential for them to influence audience members’ outlook on society as seen through the lens of relevant media theories. / text

Child maltreatment is extremely prevalent and leads to a host of negative effects, both immediately and long term. Instances of maltreatment are often accompanied by deception, both by the perpetrator, as well as by the victim in order to avoid stigma and protect family. Thus, this study investigated social learning of deception through instances of maltreatment. 413 young adults completed an online survey assessing current attitudes toward deception, childhood maltreatment including child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, witnessing interparental violence, psychological abuse, neglect and parental addiction, social support, and participant addiction. Results indicated that neglect and psychological abuse during childhood, and current addiction were associated with a positive attitude toward deception. Severity of CSA and severity of neglect each interacted with role (agent or target) in the deceptive scenario to determine attitude toward deception. Severity of CPA interacted with perceived social support to determine attitude toward deception. Furthermore, victim's awareness of deception by perpetrators of CSA was associated with a more negative attitude toward deception. These findings support both attachment theory and social learning explanations for adulthood attitude toward deception. Attachment theory explains why neglected and psychologically abused individuals find their own deception more acceptable and other's deception less acceptable than their non-neglected counterparts, and why the opposite pattern is true for victims of CSA; and social learning theory's emphasis on attention and reinforcement to motivate behavior are supported by these findings.

The purpose of this study is to learn about the professional development practices of physiotherapists working in long-term care homes in Ontario. A survey was created based on relevant literature and piloted for this study. The survey included both quantitative and open-ended questions. 44 Physiotherapist responded, which represents approximately 10% of physiotherapists working in long-term care in Ontario. The results indicate that physiotherapists are isolated from their physiotherapist peers and lack access to communities of practice, professional socialisation, professional culture and social regulation. Although physiotherapists’ interactions with interprofessional teams added breadth to their knowledge, these interactions did not enhance their profession-specific skills. Many physiotherapists are seeking professional community and social supports in healthcare settings outside of the long-term care context. The implications of this study are that physiotherapists, their professional associations, and their college must understand the importance of professional socialization in learning, and ensure that physiotherapists working in long-term care have access to and seek such social support. Physiotherapy service providers in long-term care should provide mentoring, support and opportunities for social learning for their clinicians. Finally, long-term care homes and the Ministry of Health and Long-term care need to ensure that policies provide a better definition of the role of physiotherapists in long-term care.

This thesis explores social learning in mother-reared and “enculturated” capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). At the outset a framework for understanding the social influence on learning is discussed, followed by a review of the social and cognitive abilities of capuchin monkeys, establishing the rationale for studying social learning in this species. Studies of wild capuchins suggest an important role for social learning but experiments with captive subjects have generally failed to support this. Some potential reasons for the lack of evidence in experimental settings are given. An example of using the two - method design to test social learning in acquiring behaviour by enculturated subjects is addressed. The results are related to findings with other species tested with a similar apparatus. Before testing mother-reared monkeys, an observational study of the object manipulation and tool-use repertoire of the subjects was carried out in order to facilitate the design of suitable social learning tasks for these monkeys. The first empirical study in Chapter 6 reports results of experiments with the enculturated and mother-reared capuchin monkeys employing the two -action method together with a third control group. The enculturated monkeys exhibited high fidelity copying that included the specific tool use technique witnessed while opening the foraging box. Mother-reared monkeys exhibited fidelity at a lower level, tending only to re-create the results the model had achieved. The second empirical study in Chapter 7 tested whether capuchin monkeys could show cumulative cultural learning manifested in the ability to switch from an established mode of manipulating a dipping box to a complex yet more advantageous one. Both populations were able to do so. The enculturated monkeys, as in the previous study, showed higher fidelity copying of the model. The last experiment was a preliminary study employing the “do as I do” method which was carried out with four of the enculturated monkeys. It provides suggestive evidence for at least one monkey's understanding of the task. The results of the studies are discussed in relation to previous experimental research as well as to data from capuchin monkeys in nature. The possible role of enculturation in social learning ability is considered.

This study used the university discussion-based seminar with the aim of exploring and improving students' experiences of face-to-face group work in Higher Education. The purpose was to devise a pedagogic strategy to address the communicative barriers that extant research and literature suggests often arise between ethnically and/or internationally different student groups in universities. A critical examination of literature relevant to co-operative behaviours in groups was undertaken across disciplines. The result was the assembly and development of a theoretical basis for designing a pedagogy that attends explicitly to compassion in HE teaching, learning and assessment. Compassion is relevant to co-operative behaviours. It is recognised across disciplines and it is valued across cultures. It is defined as the noticing of distress or disadvantaging of others, and then taking action to reduce this. The compassion-focussed pedagogy was then applied in discussion-based seminars across different subjects in a UK university. The study adopted an action research approach, which was divided into two cycles. Cycle 1 was conducted amongst mainly white, local students in a Humanities department where (n=105) students were observed in their seminars, some of whom (n=14) participated in one-to-one interviews or focus groups. Cycle 2 was conducted amongst more diverse cohorts of students in the same HEI's Business department where (n=135) students were observed, some of whom (n=20) participated in one-to-one interviews or focus groups. In total (n=9) seminar tutors were observed and interviewed. Five sampling methods and seven data collection tools were combined to support the use of Template Analysis for comparative, thematic data analysis. Overall, most students made use of the compassion-focused pedagogy, adapting and developing it in seminar discussions to benefit the learning and social experiences of themselves and others. Data from three students helped explore why the pedagogy might not be suitable for all students. There was evidence of a positive impact on seminar academic outcomes in terms of assessment for critical thinking skills, particularly for BME students, although this result is offered cautiously and requires further research. The main indications from the study are that explicit work with the concept of compassion, including overt formal assessment of its use, can be unintrusive on subject material (a tutor concern), ethically appropriate, and beneficial to enhancing social and learning interconnectivity between students. Traditional/ standard categorisations of students as local or international in origin are also found to be extremely problematic and profoundly unhelpful in understanding and unlocking communicative barriers between students.

The thesis presents a qualitative study which examines teachers’ and pupils’ experiences of drama tasks in secondary school subject lessons other than Drama, where the tasks are incorporated in pursuit of curriculum-defined teaching and learning goals. I take a cultural-historical perspective in my analysis, interrogating the possibilities for meaningful appropriations of drama as a pedagogical toolkit by examining social interaction and communication within the cultural context of the classroom and how these practices may have developed over time. Set in four secondary school classrooms in the UK, the study focused on the experiences of teachers, (who are not trained drama specialists), and their pupils as they undertook drama tasks as part of curriculum lessons. I carried out a series of lesson observations, supplemented by interviews with participants. Using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (Cole 1996, Engeström 1987, Engeström 1999) as a heuristic tool, I created an analytical framework that explored the tensions between communicative tools, rules of the classroom space, and teacher-pupil and peer relations. This theoretical stance appreciates both the dynamic nature of classrooms and the possibilities for pedagogies of choice. The emphasis on tool-mediated action offers a fresh perspective in that it creates a structured and detailed framework for exploring the subtle and complex process of empathetic thought. This study reveals some of the ways in which tensions occur and existing and historically-embedded cultural practices are brought to the surface, and reinforced or challenged. I provide extracts from the data to illustrate a concern for an assessment-driven acquisition of curriculum content is a particular constraint, along with varying opportunities for both teacher and pupils to construct a framework for spontaneous in-role action within the dramatic form. The appropriation of communicative tools, although influential in achieving goals, does not always preclude emotional investment in the tasks. Although there are shifts from teacher authority to increased pupil decision-making, the way in which the teacher and pupils operate in these drama tasks reveals as much about the established and reinforced learning and social practices of the classroom, as the way these practices are changed. The research considers how drama as a pedagogical toolkit has developed historically, and it reveals implications for future study and practice relating to the understanding of drama-as-toolkit within formal educational settings.

This thesis investigates how collective decisions in bird flocks arise from simple rules, the factors that give some birds more influence over a flock's direction, and how travelling as a flock affects spatial learning. I used GPS loggers to track pigeons homing alone and in flocks, and applied mathematical modelling to explore the mechanisms underlying group decisions. Across several experiments, the key results were as follows: Flying home with a more experienced individual not only gave a pigeon an immediate advantage in terms of taking a more direct route, but the followers also learned homing routes just as accurately as pigeons flying alone. This shows that using social cues did not interfere with learning about the landscape during a series of paired flights. Pigeons that were faster during solo homing flights also tended to fly at the front of flocks, where they had more influence over the direction taken. Analysis of momentary interactions during paired flights and simulations of pair trajectories support the conclusion that speed increases the likelihood of leading. A pigeon's solo homing efficiency before flock flights did not correlate with leadership in flocks of ten, but leaders did have more efficient solo tracks when tested after a series of flock flights. A possible explanation is that leaders attended more to the landscape and therefore learned faster. Flocks took straighter routes than pigeons flying alone, as would be expected if they effectively pooled information. In addition, pigeons responded more strongly to the direction of several neighbours, during flock flights, than to a single neighbour during paired flights. This behaviour makes sense adaptively because social information will be more reliable when following several conspecifics compared to one. Through a combination of high-resolution tracking and mathematical modelling, this thesis sheds light on the mechanisms of flocking and its navigational consequences.

In the early 90’s the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh (HP) initiated Joint Forest Management (JFM) in order to share responsibilities for managing, protecting and making decisions about government owned forests with local users. The purpose of this study was to consider how the JFM approach is currently being practiced, particularly the role of women in decision-making and the learning outcomes for all participants as a result of their involvement. The research used a qualitative, case study approach involving two mountain communities, Solang and Khakhnal. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews and transect walks. The study revealed that a number of factors, including ownership rights, sharing management responsibilities and underrepresentation of women within village forest committees, greatly influence collaboration among the forest-dependent communities, NGO’s and the forest department. Further, the data indicate that individual and social learning did occur through participation in JFM activities. / October 2016

Comprendre comment les processus de transmission non génétique comme la transmission sociale influencent l’évolution comportementale des espèces est une problématique importante en biologie de l’évolution. Cette thèse cherche à appréhender les mécanismes de diffusion et de maintien d’une information au sein d’un groupe par l’étude de la transmission sociale d’un choix de site d’oviposition chez Drosophila melanogaster. Le premier volet de cette thèse met en évidence l’existence d’une transmission du choix de site de ponte entre des femelles démonstratrices possédant l’information et des femelles observatrices naïves ainsi qu’à déterminer le processus d’apprentissage social sous-jacent. Le transfert de l’information sociale du choix d’oviposition se fait par le biais d’interactions directes entre les démonstratrices et observatrices. L’analyse de ces interactions par une méthode de vidéo tracking révèle l’existence d’un transfert de l’information bidirectionnel : plus les observatrices et les démonstratrices interagissent plus les observatrices acquièrent le choix d’oviposition et plus les démonstratrices le perdent. L’acquisition d’une information personnelle de la part les démonstratrices n’induit pas systématiquement sa transmission sociale aux observatrices suggérant que les deux processus sont dissociés. Le deuxième volet vise à comprendre dans quels contextes l’information sociale est employée et comment un individu réalise la balance entre l’utilisation des informations sociales et personnelles présentes dans son environnement. L’influence du groupe est examinée sur l’efficacité de la transmission par l’étude de paramètres tels que le ratio entre démonstratrices et observatrices, la taille du groupe, ou la présence d’une variabilité génétique. Les drosophiles montrent une stratégie d’apprentissage social de « copier la majorité » pour choisir leur site de ponte. Lorsque deux informations sociales sont présentes et contradictoires, les drosophiles acquièrent celle en adéquation avec leur préférence innée. La taille du groupe n’influence pas la transmission sociale mais perturbe l’utilisation de l’information personnelle des démonstratrices. La présence d’une variabilité génétique au sein du groupe, issue du polymorphisme du gène foraging, montre des différences de stratégies d’apprentissage social entre les individus des différents variants alléliques. L’utilisation de l’apprentissage social est parfaitement intégrée dans les prises de décision des drosophiles laissant envisager sa prévalence dans le règne animal. Cette thèse permet d’apporter de nouveaux éléments sur les mécanismes d'adaptation du comportement basé sur les processus de transmission sociale et de dégager les futurs enjeux liés à son étude. / Understanding how the process of non-genetic transmission as social transmission influence species behavioral evolution is an important issue in evolutionary biology. This thesis seeks to understand the diffusion mechanisms and information maintenance within a group studying social transmission of a choice of oviposition in Drosophila melanogaster. The first part of this thesis show social transmission occurrence of oviposition choice between informed demonstrator and naive observer females and try to determine social learning processes underlying. Social information transfer of oviposition choice occurs through direct interactions between demonstrators and observers. Analysis of these interactions by a video tracking method reveals a bidirectional information transfer: the more observers and demonstrators interact, the more observers gain oviposition choice behavior and the more demonstrators lose it. Personal information acquisition of oviposition choice by demonstrators is not sufficient to induce its transmission to observers, observers social learning seems to require special conditions. The second part of this thesis analyzes how social context influence social information use and how an individual realizes the balance between social and personal information use. The influence of group composition on social transmission efficiency is studied through different parameters such as the ratio between demonstrators and observers, group size, and the presence of genetic variability within the group. Flies show a “copy the majority” social learning strategy in their oviposition site choice behavior. Females acquire social information matching with their innate preference in presence of two contradictory social information. Group size does not affect the social transmission but perturbs demonstrator’s use of personal information. Genetic variability within the group stems from foraging gene polymorphism shows differences of social learning strategy between allelic variants. This thesis highlights a social learning use fully integrated into individuals’ decision-making and brings new elements on behavioral adaptation mechanisms based on social transmission processes.

Nesta tese estudam-se processos de Aprendizagem Social ocorridos na comunidade ribeirinha de São Carlos do Jamari, localizada às margens do rio Madeira em Rondônia, desencadeados pela situação de desastre ocorrida na inundação total da comunidade durante cerca de quatro meses no ano de 2014. O contexto histórico é concomitante com a implantação de duas grandes usinas hidrelétricas no leito do Madeira: Santo Antônio e Jirau. A hipótese utilizada é a de que ocorreram e ocorrem processos de Aprendizagem Social na comunidade de São Carlos do Jamari decorrentes do desastre socioambiental vivido, mas que não são potencializados pelo poder público e, consequentemente, não influenciam os processos de tomada de decisão da gestão ambiental. O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi de compreender processos de Aprendizagem Social em São Carlos do Jamari decorrentes da inundação da comunidade em 2014. E os objetivos específicos foram: analisar qual a leitura dos principais atores sociais sobre o desastre causado pela inundação e de qual forma o poder público lida com isso; analisar o que e como os habitantes da comunidade de São Carlos do Jamari aprenderam e aprendem com a ocorrência do desastre; sistematizar os conhecimentos e práticas que os atores envolvidos consideram necessários para lidar com a nova situação de vulnerabilidade em que se encontram. A metodologia de pesquisa pautou-se no Estudo de Caso, com a realização de três idas a campo 2015, 2016 e 2017 , trabalhando-se com três atores sociais envolvidos no caso: moradores da comunidade, lideranças do Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) e trabalhadores da Defesa Civil municipal de Porto Velho. Os instrumentos de coleta de dados utilizados foram entrevistas, grupos focais, conversas informais e observação direta. As entrevistas e grupos focais foram gravados e transcritos, e as observações diretas e conversas informais registradas em diário de campo. Por meio da Análise de Conteúdo dos dados, foi revelado que os comunitários manifestaram uma leitura do desastre associando suas causas ao barramento contemporâneo do rio Madeira. As lideranças do MAB expressam uma leitura do desastre complexa, articulando elementos da natureza maior precipitação com causas humanas, a instalação das usinas e sua operação orientada por interesses de maiores lucros. Já os trabalhadores da Defesa Civil têm uma leitura naturalizada da catástrofe, escamoteando as variáveis humanas que possam ter influenciado no fenômeno, e assumindo uma postura tecnicista de relação com a natureza. No tocante aos processos de aprendizagem estabelecidos na comunidade no contexto estudado, os dados revelaram três dimensões da aprendizagem que permeiam os momentos do desastre: a relação Comunidade-Comunidade, a relação Comunidade-Território e a relação ComunidadeEstado. Nesse contexto, os participantes da pesquisa elencam como conhecimentos e práticas necessárias para lidar com essa nova situação de vulnerabilidade que se encontram: a ampliação da democracia participativa, um novo modo de organização social, e meio suporte do poder público. Os achados são amplamente dialogados com a visão sociológica da Sociedade de Risco e a literatura científica do referencial da Aprendizagem Social. Confirmase a hipótese inicial de pesquisa, e apontam-se possibilidade de superação da situação atual, por meio da implantação de plataformas multiatores de processos de Aprendizagem Social. / In this thesis are studied Social Learning processes occurring in the community of São Carlos do Jamari, located on the banks of the Madeira River in Rondônia, triggered by the disaster situation that occurred as a consequence of the complete flood of the community throughout four months in the year 2014. The historical context is concomitant with the implementation of two large hydroelectric plants in the Madeira river: Santo Antônio and Jirau. The hypothesis used is that Social Learning processes occurred in the community of São Carlos do Jamari due to the socioenvironmental disaster, but they are not promoted by the public power and, consequently, do not influence the decision-making processes of the environmental management. The general objective of the research was to understand Social Learning processes in São Carlos do Jamari resulting from the flood of the community in 2014. The specific objectives were: to analyze the reading of the disaster caused by the flood manifested by the main social actors involved and how the public power deals with this; analyze what and how the inhabitants of the community of São Carlos do Jamari learned and learn from the occurrence of the disaster; systematize the knowledge and practices that the actors involved consider necessary to deal with the new situation of vulnerability in which they are. The research methodology was based on the Case Study, with three field trips - 2015, 2016 and 2017 -, working with three social actors involved in the case: residents of the community, leaders of the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) and workers of the Municipal Civil Defense of Porto Velho. As data collection instruments were used interviews, focus groups, informal conversations and direct observation. Interviews and focus groups were recorded and transcribed, and direct observations and informal conversations registered in field diaries. Through the Content Analysis of the data, it was revealed that the community showed a reading of the disaster associating its causes to the contemporary damming of the Madeira River. The MAB leaders express a complex reading of the disaster, articulating elements of nature - greater precipitation - with human causes, the installation of the power plants and its operations driven by interests of higher profits. On the other hand, Civil Defense workers have a naturalist reading of the catastrophe, veiling the human variables that may have influenced the phenomenon, and assuming a technicist position regarding nature. With regard to the learning processes established in the community in the context studied, the data revealed three dimensions of learning that permeate the moments of the disaster: the community-community relationship, the community-territorial relationship and the community-state relationship. In this context, the participants of the research list as knowledge and practices necessary to deal with this new situation of vulnerability: the expansion of participatory democracy, a new mode of social organization, and a stronger support of the public power. The findings are widely discussed with the sociological view of the Risk Society and the scientific literature of the Social Learning framework. The initial hypothesis of research is confirmed, and it is possible to overcome the current situation through the implementation of multi-platform platforms of Social Learning processes.