Orientador: Maurício Compiani / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T05:00:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ortega-Fraile_Ofelia_D.pdf: 5534768 bytes, checksum: 53da75c7be97b00fefe12d17379bb225 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A pesquisa em educação científica tem percorrido diferentes tendências. Entre elas, os trabalhos sobre processos educativos com enfoque em Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade (CTS) tem ganhado protagonismo no contexto brasileiro e os pesquisadores convergem ao respeito do potencial que esse enfoque tem na educação para a cidadania. No entanto, são incipientes as análises com foco na educação para a participação, havendo apenas algumas pesquisas sobre a estratégia didática dos Casos Simulados CTS, que são jogos de papéis organizados em torno de conflitos e controvérsias científicas. A pesquisa foi realizada sobre um processo de pesquisa-ação na Escola Estadual Ana Rita Godinho Pousa (Campinas-SP) no âmbito do projeto de pesquisa colaborativa escola-universidade "Ribeirão Anhumas na Escola". As análises foram realizadas a partir de diversas fontes de dados: entrevistas, depoimentos, mapas e produções textuais de estudantes, trabalhos acadêmicos, teses e dissertações de pesquisadores e professores envolvidos no projeto. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se analisar mais concretamente os processos de participação ocorridos durante o projeto, tendo como referência a pedagogia crítica do lugar/ambiente no ensino de Geociências. A educação para a participação foi abordada em três âmbitos do projeto: a) A implementação da estratégia didática dos Casos Simulados com problemas reais locais; b) A formação de um grupo de alunos como Monitores Ambientais que deviam potencializar as relações escola-comunidade; c) A participação de professores, estudantes e pesquisadores na coprodução de conhecimentos docentes e conhecimentos sobre o lugar/ambiente da escola. Estas dimensões articularam-se com o objetivo de recuperar uma "praça" atravessada pelo Ribeirão Anhumas que foi adotada pela escola. A área adotada e o rio sofriam degradação social e ambiental. Partiu-se da premissa de que mudanças sobre a percepção do espaço e sua ressignificação poderiam orientar as análises da dimensão educativa e da dimensão participativa do processo. Para tal, foram utilizadas categorias freirianas, analisadas as práticas pedagógicas e as produções dos estudantes buscando a ressignificação do rio e da praça. Identificou-se o potencial dos trabalhos de campo, práticas pedagógicas do ensino de Geociências, no processo de problematização crítica do lugar e como complemento aos Casos Simulados organizados em torno de problemas reais, locais, atuais e históricos. Também foram utilizados referenciais teóricos em diversos campos de estudo para uma compreensão mais profunda dos processos de educação para a participação em C&T e sobre questões ambientais: na educação CTS, no Ensino de Geociências e Ensino de Ciências, nos Estudos Sociais em Ciência e Tecnologia e na área de Política que trata sobre democracia participativa / Abstract: Research in science education has gone through differents directions, among them work on educational processes with a emphasis on Science, Technology and Society (STS) has gained prominence in the Brazil and researchers concur that this approach has potential in citizenship education. However, analyses focusing on education for participation are scarce, with only some research on the teaching strategy Casos simulados CTS, which are role-playing games organized around conflicts and scientific controversies. The survey was conducted on a process of action research in the state school Ana Rita Godinho Pousa (Campinas-SP) within the collaborative research project school-university Ribeirão Anhumas na Escola. Analyses were performed from multiple data sources: interviews, statements, maps and written samples of students, academic papers, theses and dissertations of researchers and teachers involved in the project. In this research we analyze more specifically the participation processes happened during the project, with reference to the critical pedagogy of place/environment in Geoscience Education. Education for participation was addressed in three design dimensions: a) the implementation of the teaching strategy of Simulated Cases with local real problems; b) The formation of a group of students as Environmental Educators which should enhance the school-community relations; c) The participation of teachers, students and researchers in the coproduction of knowledge and teaching about the place/school environment. These dimensions are articulated in the purpose of the recovery of a "square" crossed by the Ribeirão Anhumas that had been adopted by the school. The area adopted and the river suffered social and environmental degradation. We started from the premise that changes on the perception of space and its redefinition could guide the analysis of the educational dimension and participatory dimension of the process. To do this, we used freirian categories and analyzed the pedagogical practices and the productions of students seeking to reframe the river and the square. We identified the potential of Fieldwork, pedagogical practices of Geoscience Education, the critical questioning process of the place and in adition to role playing games organized around real problems and current and historical sites. We also sought theoretical references in various academics fields for a better understanding of educational processes for participation in S&T and environmental issues: the STS education in Geosciences Education and Science Education in Social Studies in Science and Technology and Policy area that deals with participatory democracy / Doutorado / Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra / Doutora em Ciências

As ações que permeiam a Educação e o Ensino das Ciências da Natureza estão em constante transfonnação, buscando sempre atender anseios para o desenvolvimento de um educando apto a enfrentar os desafios de uma sociedade cada vez mais complexa. Neste contexto, procuramos analisar a formação e a atuação dos docentes, relacionando tais realidades com os pressupostos da abordagem Ciência-Tecnologia-Sociedade (CTS). Esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento e os resultados obtidos com a realização de uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, tendo como objetivo principal, identificar quais são os fatores e as condições que influenciam a utilização da referida abordagem, na área das Ciências da Natureza, no sistema de ensino público da região Norte do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tal intento, de início, objetivamos também desvelar pontos de concordância entre os documentos oficiais atuais que norteiam a educação brasileira e as proposições apontadas pelos teóricos do enfoque CTS, bem como ainda, entender, junto aos Planos Pedagógicos dos Cursos de Licenciatura da área de Ciências da Natureza, como as atividades desenvolvidas nestas graduações relacionam-se com as características do enfoque estudado. O estudo utiliza como referencial teórico os trabalhos de Glen Aikenhead (1994), John Ziman (1980), (1994), Cerezo (1998), Cachapuz (1999, 2004), Santos e Mortimer (2002), Auler (2002), entre outros, e foi realizado em duas etapas: a primeira, com característica exploratória e bibliográfica, frente aos documentos oficiais que servem como orientadores para os gestores da educação básica e superior, e a segunda, com dois estudos de caso, de cunho mais regionalizado, com uma pesquisa junto aos coordenadores dos cursos de licenciatura na área de Ciências da Natureza em Instituições de Ensino Superior (TES) da referida região, e a outra pesquisa, junto aos egressos destes cursos, que já estão inseridos no quadro dos professores das escolas públicas no entorno destas IES. A etapa inicial foi dividida em três buscas distintas, onde, na primeira, realizamos um estudo junto às Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais (DCN s) para a Educação Básica, na segunda, voltamos nosso olhar para as DCNs para os Cursos de Licenciatura e na terceira fase, imergimos nos Planos Pedagógicos dos Cursos (PPCs) de Licenciatura em Química, Física e Ciências Biológicas nas IES da região. A segunda etapa foi dividida em dois estudos de caso, ambos por meio do uso de entrevistas semi estruturadas, submetendo os dados levantados, ao procedimento de Análise Textual Discursiva. O primeiro, promovendo um diálogo com os coordenadores de curso e o segundo, com professores da rede de educação básica. As discussões e os resultados obtidos nas três fases da primeira etapa, juntamente com os dois estudos da segunda etapa, geraram cinco artigos científicos que integram o desenvolvimento desta tese. Com esta pesquisa, conseguimos identificar como estes documentos vigentes apresentam as orientações que estão alinhadas com o enfoque CTS, influenciando assim, de maneira direta, nas principais atividades desenvolvidas nos cursos de graduações selecionados na região. Estas informações sobre os momentos em que estas licenciaturas promovem ações vocacionadas com a abordagem CTS, somadas com as ponderações realizadas por coordenadores de curso e pelos docentes da educação básica, nos ajudaram a emergir alguns fatores e condições que influenciam os professores da educação básica a utilização da abordagem CTS em suas práticas pedagógicas. Acreditamos que, com esta pesquisa, estaremos oferecendo subsídios para novas discussões acerca da formação, da atuação e do uso do enfoque CTS, visando assim, promover motivações junto aos atores da educação, melhorando a qualidade do ensino de Ciências em nossas escolas. / The actions that permeate the Education and the Teaching of Nature Sciences are in constant transformation, always seeking to meet the yearnings for the development of leamers qualified to face the challenges of an increasingly complex society. In this context, we seek to analyze teachers qualification and performance, relating this reality to the assumptions o f the Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach. This thesis presents the development and results obtained with the accomplishment of a study on qualitative approach, aiming, as its main objective, to identify which factors and conditions influence the use of such approach in Nature Sciences, in the public education system in the Northern region of Rio Grande do Sul. Bearing this in mind, we also aimed to reveal points of agreement between the cunent official documents which serve as a guideline for Brazilian education and the proposals put forward by theorists of the STS approach, as well as to understand in which ways the activities developed in these majors are related to the characteristics of the studied approach together with the Pedagogical Plans ofthe Undergraduate Courses in the area ofNature Sciences,. This study uses the works of Glen Aikenhead (1994), John Ziman (1980), (1994), Cerezo (1998), Cachapuz (1999, 2004), Santos and Mortimer (2002), Auler (2002) among others, as a theoretical reference and it was carried out following two stages: the first one, with an exploratory and bibliographical characteristic, compared to the official documents that serve as guidelines for managers in basic and higher education, and the second, using two case studies, with a research envolving the coordinators o f the undergraduate courses in the area o f N ature Sciences in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the selected region, and the third research, focusing on the graduates from these courses, who have already been teaching in public schools around these HEis. The initial stage was divided into three distinct searches: in the first, we carried out a study of the National Curricular Guidelines (DCNs) for Basic Education, in the second, we turned our attention to the DCNs for the Undergraduate Courses and in the third phase, we focused on the Pedagogical Plans of the Courses (PPCs) in Chemistry, Physics and Biological Sciences in the HEis of the region. The second stage was divided into two case studies, both using semi-structured interviews, submitting the collected data to the Discursive Textual Analysis procedure. The first one, promoting a dialogue with the course coordinators and the second, with teachers of the basic education network. The discussions and the results obtained in the three phases in the first stage, together with the two studies in the second stage, were the basis for five scientific articles that integrate the development of this thesis. With this research, we were able to identify how these current documents present the orientations that are aligned with the STS approach, thus directly influencing the main activities developed in the undergraduation courses selected in the region. The information on when these majors promote actions related to the STS approach, together with the analysis carried out by course coordinators and teachers in basic education, have helped us to emerge some factors and conditions that influence teachers in basic education to use the STS approach in their pedagogical practices. We believe that, this study will provide subsidies for new discussions on training, action and the use of the STS approach, aiming at motivating education subjects and also improving the quality of science teaching in our schools.

Aus der riesigen Vielfalt organischer Materialien sind gerade die Phthalocyanine dafür bekannt geworden, auf verschiedenen kristallinen Substraten geordnete Strukturen auszubilden. Außerdem dienen diese Moleküle als Modellsysteme für grundlegende Untersuchungen zur Einstellung elektronischer und struktureller Eigenschaften durch gezielten Einbau eines Metallatoms in den zentralen Hohlraum. Die Strukturen der Adsorptionsschichten von verschiedenen Metallphthalocyaninen, funktionalisierten Phthalocyaninen und Naphthalocyaninen auf der Basaldebene des Graphits werden verglichen, um die Adsorptionsstruktur der einzelnen Moleküle innerhalb der Adsorptionsschicht zu verstehen. Das erlaubt uns die Untersuchung der Molekül-Molekül- und Molekül-Substrat-Wechselwirkungen in Abhängigkeit von Molekularadsorption des zentralen Metallatoms, der Geometrie, einzelner funktionellen Gruppen oder ähnlichem am Molekül. Der Vergleich der Adsorptionsstrukturen von Phthalocyaninen wie PdPc und PtPc, welche d8-Metalle enthalten, dient dem Verständnis für den Effekt des Metallatoms, speziell bei großen Ordnungszahlen. Während beide Moleküle ähnliche Arten von Adsorptionsstrukturen ausbilden weist die PtPc-Adsorptionsschicht eine außergewöhnlich hohe thermische Stabilität auf. Das wurde auf die stark Molekül-Molekül-Wechselwirkung zurückgeführt, die durch die Metallatome in der Adsorptionsschicht vermittelt wird. Der Effekt langer molekularer ‚Flügel’ wird durch den Vergleich der Adsorptionsstrukturen ebener Naphthalocyanine mit denen von ebenen Metallphthalocyaninen demonstriert. Naphthalocyanine bilden viel lockerer gepackte Adsorptionsschichten als Phthalocyanine, was von der stärkeren sterischen Abstoßung zwischen den Wasserstoffatomen in benachbarten molekularen ‚Flügeln’ herrührt. Cyano-funktionalisierte metallfreie Phthalocyanine zeigen als Adsorptionsschicht eine poröse Netzwerkstruktur. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass durch die Sondenspitze hervorgerufene Störungen dieser Struktur durch die elektrostatische Wechselwirkung zwischen den Molekülen in der Adsorptionsschicht bald weider ausheilen. Schließlich ist durch den Vergleich von Adsorptionsstrukturen ebener Naphthalocyanine und nichtebener Zinn-Naphthalocyanine auch der Geometrieeffekt untersucht worden. Abweichend von allen anderen untersuchten ebenen Molekülen haben Zinn-Naphthalocyanine eine Adsorptionstruktur, die der des Graphits ähnlich ist (hexagonal). Deshalb überwiegt in diesem Fall die Wechselwirkung zwischen Molekül und Substrat, und die Adsorptionsstruktur folgt der Geometrie des Graphitsubstates. Darüberhinaus sind mit der Tunnelspektroskopie in Abhängigkeit vom Abstand zwischen der Spitze und der Probe die elektronischen Eigenschaften der Molekül-Substrat-Grenzfläche für Naphthalocyanin und Zinn-Naphthalocyanin untersucht worden.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

No description available.

No description available.

The concept of BIM is nascent but evolving rapidly, thus, its deployment has become the latest shibboleth amongst both academics and practitioners in the construction sector in the recent couple of years. Due to construction clients buy-in of the BIM concept, the entire industry is encouraged to pursue a vision of changing work practices in line with the BIM ideas. Also, existing research recognises that the implementation of BIM affects all areas of the construction process from design of the building, through the organisation of projects, to the way in which the construction process is executed and how the finished product is maintained. The problem however is that, existing research in technology utilisation in general, and BIM literature in particular, has offered limited help to practitioners trying to implement BIM, for focusing predominantly, on technology-centric views. Not surprisingly therefore, the current BIM literature emphasises on topics such as capability maturity models and anticipated outcomes of BIM rollouts. Rarely does the extant literature offer practitioners a cohesive approach to BIM implementation. Such technology-centric views inevitably represent a serious barrier to utilising the inscribed capabilities of BIM. This research therefore is predicated on the need to strengthen BIM implementation theory through monitoring and analysing its implementation in practice. Thus, the focus of this thesis is to carry out a sociotechnical systems (STS) analysis of BIM implementation in construction organisations. The concept of STS accommodates the dualism of the inscribed functions of BIM technologies and the contextual issues in the organisations and allows for the analysis of their interactive combination in producing the anticipated effect from BIM appropriation. An interpretive research methodology is adopted to study practitioners through a change process, involving the implementation of BIM in their work contexts. The study is based on constructivist ontological interpretations of participants. The study adopts an abductive research approach which ensures a back-and-forth movement between research sites and the theoretical phenomenon, effectively comparing the empirical findings with the existing theories and to eventually generate a new theoretical understanding and knowledge regarding the phenomenon under investigation. A two-stage process is also formulated for the empirical data collection - comprising: 1) initial exploratory study to help establish the framework for analysing BIM implementation in the construction context; and 2) case studies approach to provide a context for formulating novel understanding and validation of theory regarding BIM implementation in construction organisations. The analysis and interpretation of the empirical work follows the qualitative content analysis technique to observe and reflect on the results. The findings have shown that BIM implementation demands a complete breakaway from the status quo. Contrary to the prevailing understanding of a top-down approach to BIM utilisation, the study revealed that different organisations with plethora of visions, expectations and skills combine with artefacts to form or transform BIM practices. The rollout and appropriation of BIM occurs when organisations shape sociotechnical systems of institutions, processes and technologies to support certain practices over others. The study also showed that BIM implementation endures in a causal chain of influences as different project organisations with their localised BIM ambitions and expectations combine to develop holistic BIM-enabled project visions. Thus, distributed responsibilities on holistic BIM protocols among the different levels of influences are instituted and enforced under binding contractual obligations. The study has illuminated the centrality of both the technical challenges and sociological factors in shaping BIM deployment in construction. It is also one of the few studies that have produced accounts of BIM deployment that is strongly mediated by the institutional contexts of construction organisations. However, it is acknowledged that the focus of the research on qualitative interpretive enquiry does not have the hard and fast view of generalising from specific cases to broader population/contexts. Thus, it is suggested that further quantitative studies, using much larger data sample of BIM-enabled construction organisations could provide an interesting point of comparison to the conclusions derived from the research findings.

This study explores the social, technological economic, and environmental development of single-family residential water conservation programs at the Austin Water Utility and asks: What makes a conservation program successful? I hypothesize that water conservation programs will be successful if both institutional-producer goals and citizen-consumer goals are satisfied. While the findings suggest that this may be partially true, it also has become clear that my original actor-network model was too simple to predict the various types of influences on program success. Not only did I find other significant ‘actors’ involved in water conservation, I also found that utility and participant groups themselves represent a wide variety of interests. This study seeks to answer the research question by creating a series of narratives that critically explore water infrastructure and water conservation programs in Austin, Texas. Through a methodological lens referred to as ‘critical constructivism,’ I use mixed methods to analyze and interpret historic documents, interviews, and quantitative data as primary sources. Literature from Science and Technology Studies (STS) are used as secondary sources. This study will add to a body of knowledge that describes how and why we manage our environmental resources. The subject of conservation is especially relevant as urban growth continues with fewer affordable opportunities to increase regional water supplies. As we enter an era of expected water conflict, knowing how to conserve water effectively will help provide more opportunities for sharing a common resource amongst communities, industry, agriculture, and the environment. / text

In this thesis, graphene (i.e. monolayer carbon film) and carbon clusters supported on a transition metal surface are systematically studied by local probe techniques, with respect to their structures, electronic properties and formation mechanisms. The main tools used are low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS), which are introduced in Chapter 2. The mechanism of the resonance tunnelling at electron energies higher than the work function of the surface is discussed in detail, and a qualitative explanation of the Gundlach oscillations in the corresponding spectroscopy is presented. Epitaxial graphene synthesised on the Rh(111) surface by ethylene dehydrogenation is investigated by STM in Chapter 4. Such carbon film exhibits a hexagonal Moiré pattern due to a lattice mismatch between graphene and the rhodium substrate. The periodicity and local registries of the graphene/Rh(111) superstructure are carefully analysed. Based on a thorough discussion about the “commensurate vs. incommensurate” nature of the Moiré pattern in surface science field, the graphene/Rh(111) system is identified to have a non-simple-commensurate superstructure. The surface electronic properties and geometric buckling of graphene/Rh(111) are investigated by resonance tunnelling spectroscopy (RTS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations in Chapter 5. Spectroscopy measurements reveal a modulation of the electronic surface potential (or work function Φ) across the supercell of epitaxial graphene. Based on the microscopy/spectroscopy data and the extended DFT calculations, we examined the electronic coupling of the various local C-Rh registries, and identified both experimentally and theoretically the local atomic configurations of maximum and minimum chemical bonding between graphene and the rhodium substrate. We studied in Chapter 6 the growth mechanism of graphene on Rh(111) at elevated temperatures. This part starts by investigating the dehydrogenation of ethylene into ethylidyne. When the dehydrogenation process is complete, monodispersed carbon species, identified as 7C6, are found to dominate the cluster population on the rhodium terraces. A significant coalescence of the 7C6 clusters into graphene islands occurs at temperatures higher than 873 K. The structural and electronic properties of the 7C6 carbon clusters are examined by high-resolution STM and STS, and compared with coronene molecules, i.e. the hydrogenated analogues of 7C6. DFT calculations are further used to explain the stability of 7C6 supported on the Rh(111) surface, and also the structural characteristics of such magic-sized carbon clusters.

Internet évolue avec la société et les nouvelles technologies, mais ses usages restent centrés sur le principe communicationnel de partager ses idées, ses histoires avec d’autres personnes. Comprendre les modes de communication des internautes offre des défis de taille aux chercheurs. Malgré une riche littérature sur les usages d’Internet, peu d’études se sont penchées sur l’analyse en profondeur des habitudes des internautes ordinaires. Cette thèse a pour objet d’étude le partage de contenus en ligne, car il s’agit d’une pratique permettant de réfléchir sur le rapport des usagers à la technologie. En m’inspirant des travaux d’Henri Lefebvre et de Michel de Certeau, je mobilise le concept de la vie quotidienne, concept qui met en lumière les processus à travers laquelle les gens font sens de leur vie. Afin de mieux saisir le quotidien, lequel est mobile, fluide et multiple, des métaphores spatiales tirées d’études des sciences, technologies et société (STS) seront mobilisées. Les concepts d’espace fluide et de feu sont idéaux pour étudier les pratiques de partage de vidéo que l’on peut qualifier de mutables et adaptables. Dans cette thèse, l’accent est mis sur les expériences subjectives des internautes ; ainsi, j’ai adopté une méthodologie qualitative pour recueillir les témoignages d’une dizaine de participants décrivant longuement leurs pratiques. En effet, j’ai rencontré chaque personne à plusieurs reprises et nous avons discuté d’exemples spécifiques. À travers les thèmes récurrents qui ont émergé des verbatims, et dans la tradition de la théorisation ancrée, la première partie de l’analyse fournit une riche description du quotidien des participants. J’explore en particulier la façon dont les internautes adaptent leur partage sur leurs expériences des sites de réseaux sociaux, comment la vidéo est utilisée dans le maintien de leurs relations sociales, et comment le partage des vidéos complémente leurs conversations. Sachant que les pratiques en ligne et hors ligne se fondent l’une dans l’autre, la deuxième partie de l’analyse articule la complexité de la vie quotidienne et la fluidité des pratiques de partage à l’aide du concept de l’objet fluide pour traiter des aspects complexes, dynamiques et souples des pratiques des internautes ordinaires. Cette recherche qualitative fournit un portrait de l’expérience humaine qui est autant détaillé que possible. Elle permet de souligner que c’est dans une variété contextes non remarquables – car faisant partie intégrante de la vie quotidienne – que les Internautes naviguent et que les activités humaines sont sans cesse construites et transformées, ouvrant des possibilités vers de nouvelles façons de faire et de penser. La thèse poursuit un dialogue interdisciplinaire entre la communication (les Internet Studies notamment) et les études des sciences, technologies et société (STS), tout en apportant de nombreuses données empiriques sur les pratiques des internautes « ordinaires ». De plus, la thèse offre des métaphores capables d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives pour l’analyse des usages du Web social. Elle apporte également une contribution originale en intégrant des approches théoriques des pratiques quotidiennes avec la théorisation ancrée. Tant les fondements conceptuels et des approches méthodologiques développées ici seront des exemples très utiles pour d’autres chercheurs intéressés à poursuivre la compréhension des pratiques quotidiennes impliquant l’Internet, surtout quand ces derniers impliquent le visuel, l’émotif et le relationnel. / The Internet evolves continually with society and the development of new technologies, but its uses remain centered on the communicative principle of connecting with others and sharing ideas, stories and information. Understanding the communication modes of the Internet offers a sizable challenge to researchers. Despite a rich literature on Internet usages, few studies offer in-depth analysis of the habits of ordinary users. This study specifically addresses the question of online content sharing, as a practice that enables reflection on users' relationships with technologies. Drawing inspiration from the work of Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau, this dissertation mobilizes the notion of daily life (the quotidien), a concept that highlights the processes through which people make sense of their lives. In order to best apprehend daily experience that is mobile, fluid and multiple, I draw on spatial metaphors from science and technology studies. With their sensitivity to both social and material characteristics, fluid object and fire space concepts are well-suited for studying video-sharing practices that are highly mutable and adaptable. Since I emphasize subjective experiences, the research design involved a qualitative methodology. I met with ten participants three times each. During these meetings, they described their video sharing practices and told stories around using and sharing videos. Building on recurrent themes that emerge from transcriptions of various conversations, in the tradition of grounded theory, the first part of the analysis provides a rich description of everyday life and video sharing. In particular, I discuss how people regulate their sharing behavior on social networking sites, how they use video to maintaining their social relationships and how sharing videos complements their conversations. The second part of the analysis focuses on the complexity of everyday life, and draws attention to how one context flows almost imperceptibly into another, and how online and offline worlds intersect. Fluidity offers a metaphor to support the complex, dynamic and flexible aspects of ordinary users’ video sharing practices in a continually changing space. This qualitative approach produces a picture of the human experience that is rich and detailed, and allows us to highlight the different contexts in which the participants navigate their daily lives. It is in these often unremarkable contexts that human activities are constantly constructed and transformed, creating opportunities for new ways of doing and thinking. The dissertation engages in an interdisciplinary dialogue between communication (particularly Internet Studies) and science and technology studies (STS) in order to offer new perspectives for the analysis of uses of the social Web. It also makes an original contribution by integrating theoretical approaches to daily practices with grounded theory. The conceptual foundations and methodological approach developed here provide a useful guide for other researchers interested in pursuing the understanding of everyday practices involving the Internet, especially when these involve visual, emotional and relational elements.