No / The rise of reassurance policing in the UK, informed by ideas drawn from a Signal Crimes Perspective, replaced a narrow focus on controlling crime with a broader emphasis on communicating security. This paper provides a sympathetic critique of dominant assumptions implied in this policy shift concerning the reassurance function of policing. Important in these theoretically informed policy debates is the idea that the police and their partners, through symbolic communications, can influence the extent to which individuals perceive that order and security exist within urban spaces. The paper draws on research findings to illustrate the contrasting ways visible signifiers of crime and formal controls are received and interpreted by diverse audiences. It challenges assumptions about the impact of criminal activities upon perceptions of safety and contributes insights into the unintended effects of formal controls that have implications for our understanding of local social order.

This thesis consists of six publications presenting a theoretical framework, a methodological proposal and three empirical studies. The aim of the work is; to gain knowledge on how children with severe multiple disabilities communicate with their caregivers, to analyse how different research strategies can add knowledge from different perspectives on communication, and to develop models for analysing and describing the dyadic interaction. The theoretical framework addresses the impact of multiple disabilities on the child’s communicative development, as well as the role of the communication partner, and implications for interventions. In the methodological framework, different research approaches are discussed and a system theory-based approach is proposed. The empirical studies are focused on pre-school children with intellectual disabilities in combination with vision disability and/or motor disability. When relationships between use of communication and child characteristics and setting conditions were investigated, the results showed relationships between disability and the use of communication but also that children with similar disability profiles could display quite different communicative patterns. When the communicative process was investigated with the proposed system theory-based approach, it was found that the child and caregiver continuously co-regulated their actions and together created consensual frames and that the process went through phases of instability and stability. Models for a system theory-based analysis of dyadic interaction are presented. The discussion is concentrated around how the results from the studies along with the theoretical aspects can contribute to evidence-based practice. The main conclusions are that, in communication involving a person with severe multiple disabilities, meaning is something that is co-constructed and communication cannot be regarded as a personal competence, the competence is within the dyad.

In the recent decades, alternative notions regarding the role of symbols in intelligence in natural and artificial systems have attracted significant inter- est. The main difference of the so-called situated and embodied approaches to cognitive science from the traditional cognitivist position is that symbolic repre- sentations are viewed as resources, similar to maps used for navigation or plans for activity, instead of as transparent stand-ins in internal world models. Thus, all symbolic resources have to be interpreted and re-contextualized for use in concrete situations. In this view, one of the primary sources of such symbolic resources is language. Cognitivism views language as a vessel carrying informa- tion originally located in the processing mechanisms of the individual agents. Situated approaches, on the other hand, view language both as a communicative mechanism and as a means for the individual agents to enhance and extend their cognitive machinery, by e.g. better utilizing their attentional resources, or mod- ifying their perceptual-motor means. Taking inspiration from these ideas, and building on multi-agent models developed in other fields, the field of language evolution developed models of the emergence of shared resources for communi- cation in a community of agents. In these models, agents with various means of categorization and learning engage in communicative interactions with each other, using shared signs to refer either to pre-given meanings or entities in a situation. In order to avoid falling into the same mentalist pitfalls as cognitivism in the design of these models, such as the stipulation of an inner sphere of mean- ings for which communicative signs are mere labels, the role of communication should be viewed as one of the social coordination of behavior using physically grounded symbols. To this end, an experimental setup for language games, and a robotic model for agents which engage in such games are presented. The setup allows the agents to utilize shared symbols in the completion of a simple task, with one agent instructing another on which action to undertake. The symbols used by agents in the language games are grounded in the embodied choices presented to them by their environment, and the agents can further use the symbols created in these games for enhancing their own behavioral means. The learning mechanism of the agents is similarity-based, and uses low-level sensory data to avoid the building in of features. Experiments have shown that the establishment of a common vocabulary of labels depends on how well the instructors are trained on the task and the availability of feedback mechanisms for the exchanged labels.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertação final Carina Leal 29 Jullho 2011.pdf: 1212878 bytes, checksum: 69862cec1382a3ce763da4d2ea435f9c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / O estudo do comportamento dos consumidores  nomeadamente, os rituais de consumo associados ao consumo de café e os fatores envolvidos nesse processo  é importante para podermos compreender e comparar o comportamento dos consumidores cariocas e lisboetas no que tange ao consumo de café. Por outro lado, também é importante averiguar a influência da cultura e da sociedade nesses rituais de consumo, de forma a compreender a evolução do varejo de café pronto no Brasil. Os modelos que vêm sendo aplicados aqui se adaptam às características do público local, o que traz para a nossa discussão, a noção de cultura. Como em Portugal o uso do café expresso já é mais maduro que no Rio de Janeiro, a comparação entre as duas culturas pode ser interessante para ajudar o varejo brasileiro a se desenvolver. Para tal, neste estudo, foram entrevistados moradores das cidades do Rio de Janeiro e de Lisboa, a fim de descrevermos de que modo consomem café, os rituais associados a esse bem de consumo, assim como seus hábitos, motivações e justificativas para esse consumo, mostrando que não trata apenas de uma decisão de compra utilitária, mas também simbólica. Com esse objetivo, foram entrevistadas 69 e pessoas e os resultados dessas entrevistas avaliados de forma interpretativa. A conclusão foi a de que a bebida é consumida por uma parcela heterogênea dos entrevistados e que, geralmente, os consumidores associam o consumo de café a hábito, prazer, círculo de amizades, trabalho – como break –, colegas e família. Isso revela que o significado social da bebida está enraizado no âmbito doméstico, no trabalho ou no círculo de amizades e que esse significado está intrinsecamente associado aos hábitos e costumes das sociedades brasileira e portuguesa como fruto de suas culturas. Consequentemente, grande parte dos rituais de consumo dessa bebida está interligada ao seu significado social. Observou-se a necessidade de expansão desse mercado, particularmente, entre os jovens no Rio de Janeiro, e que muitas vezes o aroma é preferível ao sabor, pois mesmo aqueles que não apreciam muito a bebida, de uma forma geral, afirmaram gostar bastante do aroma. Assim, é fundamental para os gestores de estabelecimentos de varejo de café pronto conhecerem o cliente, serem inovadores e anteciparem as tendências, de modo a satisfazerem as necessidades deste. A preocupação não deve ser apenas com a qualidade do produto oferecido e com o conforto do cliente, mas também em agregar valor ao café e ao serviço prestado, proporcionando à clientela uma experiência única, a qual pode ser um diferencial importante, pois a conotação simbólica associada a esse bem de consumo é cada vez mais destacada. / The study of consumer behavior, including consumption rituals associated with coffee consumption and the factors involved in this process, is important to enable one to compare and understand consumer behavior both among Cariocas and Lisboetas with respect to coffee consumption. On the other hand, it is important to ascertain the influence of culture and society in this type of ritual consumption. To this end, this work aimed to interview the residents of the city of Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon - to identify customers, to profile them, the history of its use, type of usage, to describe their rituals associated with this consumer good, their habits, influence, motivational factors and their justifications for coffee consumption, showing that coffee consumption is not only an economic acquisition, but also a symbolic communication. We also found non-coffee drinkers and checked why they refuse the drink. To this end, 69 people were interviewed and the results interpretively evaluated. The results revealed that the beverage is consumed by a heterogeneous portion of the population, and that in general consumers associate the consumption of coffee to habit, pleasure, circle of friends, as a break from work, colleagues and family. This reflects that the social significance of the drink is domestic rooted, in work situations or in a circle of friends and that this meaning is strongly associated with the habits and customs of the Brazilian and Portuguese societies as the product of their cultures. As a consequence, most of the rituals of consumption of this drink are linked to their social meaning. There is a need for expansion of this market especially among young people in Rio de Janeiro. The smell is often preferable to the taste. Even those who do not like much to drink, in general, said like the smell quite well. Thus, it is crucial for managers of such establishments to know the customer, be innovative and to anticipate trends in order to meet their needs, worrying not only with the quality of its products and with the comfort of their clients, but also in adding value to coffee and to service. Giving the customers a unique experience may be an important differentiating factor since the symbolic connotation associated with this commodity is increasingly highlighted.

Manifestation extérieure des secrets mouvements de l’âme, l’émotion possède un caractère universel, mais les sociétés fondent pour partie leur cohérence sur des pratiques communes de l’affectivité qui peuvent l’emporter sur cette expérience individuelle. Le prince, dont le corps et le geste concentrent les regards, n’échappe pas aux injonctions d’un habitus idéal dans lequel les émotions jouent un rôle essentiel, entre valorisation et transgression. Cette étude a l’ambition de montrer en quoi celles-ci sont convoquées en renfort de la communication politique. L’espace des Pays-Bas bourguignons des deux derniers siècles du Moyen Âge a été retenu, et l’on a voulu délimiter le contexte culturel à l’origine d’un discours de l’émotion pour le gouvernant, en retenant un corpus de sources diversifié. Une réflexion préalable sur la dimension protéiforme du corps et sur le portrait émotionnel du prince idéal permet de mettre en évidence une affectivité et une expressivité particulières pour celui-ci. Ces caractères sont des préalables pour l’usage privilégié de la colère, omniprésente dans les sources, dont la représentation sert l’exercice de la justice mais peut également conduire à des passages à l’acte préjudiciables pour la dignité et la majesté. Entre la joie des manifestations festives et les souffrances qui semblent consubstantielles à l’exercice du pouvoir, les auteurs esquissent un portrait du prince d’émotion bourguignon difficilement réductible à nos catégories modernes, ce dont rend bien compte la polysémie des larmes. Au-delà des stratégies narratives, il est cependant possible de proposer des pistes pour élucider la nature des émotions proposées ainsi que leur insertion dans un discours global sur le pouvoir. / As an outward manifestation of the soul’s secret moves, emotion has a universal dimension. However, societies establish part of their consistency upon a common practice of feelings which may override individual experience. The ruler, whose body and gesture are the centre of every attention, cannot elude injunctions of an ideal habitus in which emotions play a substantial part, between promotion and transgression. This study emphasizes the extent to which emotions support political communication. The Burgundian Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages have been examined, and the cultural context in which emotion as a ruling practice emerged has been outlined, thanks to a diversified corpus of sources. In a first part, the study of the body’s protean dimension reveals that the ruler’s ideal image embodies specific feelings and expressiveness. These characteristics prelude to a privileged use of an omnipresent anger in sources, to which the exercise of power and justice owe more than a little. Yet, this emotion is also likely to drive the ruler to a detrimental acting out for his dignity and majesty. Between joy demonstrated in the context of a culture of feasts, and pain which seems to be consubstantial to power, emerges the portrait of the emotional prince of Burgundy which can not be outlined with modern categories of language, as shown by the ambiguity of tears. Beyond narrative strategies, it is yet possible to propose some perspectives of interpretation to elucidate the nature of proposed emotions and the way they may be integrated in a general ideology of power.

The presented diploma thesis deals with the election and coronation of archduke Joseph to become the king of Rome that took place in January 1690 in Augsburg. It focuses on a reconstruction of the individual ritual steps of coronation ceremonies that had fixed ceremonial rules. It aims to interpret the rich symbolic message of all performance parts that the author describes chronologically as they followed one another. They included the ceremonial entrance of the imperial family into Augsburg, the arrival of the individual electors of the Roman-German Empire into the city, the pre-election negotiations, the election of the new king of Rome as such and the coronation of the elected archduke Joseph that followed. Attention was also paid to the sumptuous celebrations and the spectacular coronation feast that took place after the young Habsburg was enthroned. Presenting precious gifts to the emperor, his wife and son was also part of the performances. Members of the reigning dynasty accepted priceless objects from the representatives of the municipality of Augsburg and of the Estates of the Roman-German Empire, the allegoric decoration of which bore rich symbolism. The thesis therefore attempts to uncover the individual symbolic elements of the decoration constituted mostly by motives from ancient mythology and scenes from Christian catechism. They celebrated the recipients of the gifts and mirrored ideal virtues that a ruler from the House of Habsburg should possess.