The Portuguese programme one laptop per child: political, educational and social impact

In 2008, the XVII Portuguese Constitutional Government launched the ‘e.escolinha’ programme, within the Technological Plan for Education, which set out the distribution of a computer, called ‘Magalhães’, designed for chil-dren attending the 1st cycle of basic education. Suspended in 2011 by the XIX Government, this programme has allowed, however, almost 500 000 children to have access to a personal computer. It was expected that this political measure would “revolutionise” the national education system by bringing changes to the pedagogical practices of teachers and the learning processes of children and by achieving educational success, in general. Based on documental analysis and on a set of interviews with key decision-makers in conceiving, implementing and monitoring this governmental initiative, the fi rst part of this chapter presents and analyses the ‘e.escolinha’ initiative and the policies be-hind that governmental programme, seeking to disassemble those objectives and provide some insights into the relationship between discourses, rhetoric, and reality. After that, the chapter focuses on children’s uses and practices with the ‘Magalhães’ laptop, at school and at home. Based on the results of questionnaires fi lled in by approximately 1500 children from 32 First Cycle public schools of the municipality of Braga (north of Portugal) and also from questionnaires applied to their parents and teachers, this chapter intends to analyse the real impact of this initiative for children, family and school. It also seeks to discuss the contribution of this educational policy to children’s digital literacy and also to their own and their families’ social and digital inclusion. To understand if it represented an added value to teachers’ pedagogical practice is another of its aims. The fi ndings point out a major focus on technology and access rather than on uses and competences or even on social, educational and cultural change. In fact, a major conclusion is the existence of a strong gap between the policy and the practices, typical of a top-down policy design. This study is an integrant part of a research project titled “Navigating with ‘Magalhães’: Study on the Impact of Digital Media in Schoolchildren” conducted at the University of Minho, Portugal, financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/CCI-COM/101381/2008] and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund [COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009056].

O autorretrato em literatura: ilustração e ruína

A aplicação ao caso literário do termo e do conceito de retrato, aqui incluindo a espécie mais tardia do autorretrato, não é hoje fluente, apesar da reconhecida permeabilidade do género a inúmeras linguagens artísticas e apesar de uma longa tradição de descrições de figura – particularmente no que toca a representação poético-retórica da beleza feminina – que recua à poesia clássica. Partindo de uma possível distinção entre autorretrato literário e variantes várias de escritas intimistas e autobiográficas com as quais delineia fronteiras nem sempre rigorosamente nítidas, é nosso propósito ilustrar, recorrendo a casos selecionados, modos de concretização verbal de autorretrato que se distanciam progressivamente de um paradigma representativo fundado na perceção e na semelhança, aproximando-se ao contrário de registos de rasura, apagamento, ruína, cegueira que questionam uma noção de identidade estabilizável em imagem (visual ou mental), encaminhando o gesto autorrepresentativo para uma meditação sobre a diferença e sobre o irreconhecimento; no limite, para uma condição fora do visível e porventura, arriscando os seus mais básicos pressupostos, para lá da representação.

The EU as a security provider in its neighbourhood: the case of non-proliferation of WMD in the Mediterranean area

As a consequence of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the US-led war against Iraq, WMD and their proliferation have become a central element of the EU security agenda. In December 2003, the European Council adopted even a EU Strategy against Proliferation of WMD. The approach adopted in this Strategy can be largely described as a ‘cooperative security provider’ approach and is based on effective multilateralism, the promotion of a stable international and regional environment and the cooperation with key partners. The principal objective of this paper is to examine in how far the EU has actually implemented the ‘cooperative security provider’ approach in the area which the Non-proliferation Strategy identifies as one of its priorities – the Mediterranean. Focusing on the concept of security interdependence, the paper analyses first the various WMD dangers with which the EU is confronted in the Mediterranean area. Afterwards, it examines how the EU has responded to these hazards in the framework of the Barcelona process and, in particular, the new European Neighbourhood Policy. It is argued that despite its relatively powerful rhetoric, the EU has largely failed, for a wide range of reasons, to apply effectively its non-proliferation approach in the Mediterranean area and, thus, to become a successful security provider.

Collective victimisation and collective guilt in the former Yugoslavia : the interplay between individual, local and societal levels

The thesis examines the impact of collective war victimization on individuals' readiness to accept or assign collective guilt for past war atrocities. As a complement to previous studies, its aim is to articulate an integrated approach to collective victimization, which distinguishes between individual-, communal-, and societal-level consequences of warfare. Building on a social representation approach, it is guided by the assumption that individuals form beliefs about a conflict through their personal experiences of victimization, communal experiences of warfare that occur in their proximal surrounding, and the mass- mediatised narratives that circulate in a society's public sphere. Four empirical studies test the hypothesis that individuals' beliefs about the conflict depend on the level and type of war experiences to which they have been exposed, that is, on informative and normative micro and macro contexts in which they are embedded. The studies have been conducted in the context of the Yugoslav wars that attended the breakup of Yugoslavia, a series of wars fought between 1991 and 2001 during which numerous war atrocities were perpetrated causing a massive victimisation of population. To examine the content and impact of war experiences at each level of analysis, the empirical studies employed various methodological strategies, from quantitative analyses of a representative public opinion survey, to qualitative analyses of media content and political speeches. Study 1 examines the impact of individual- and communal- level war experiences on individuals' acceptance and assignment of collective guilt. It further examines the impact of the type of communal level victimization: exposure to symmetric (i.e., violence that similarly affects members of different ethnic groups, including adversaries) and asymmetric violence. The main goal of Study 2 is to examine the structural and political circumstances that enhance collective guilt assignment. While the previous studies emphasize the role of past victimisation, Study 2 tests the assumption that the political demobilisation strategy employed by elites facing public discontent in the collective system-threatening circumstances can fuel out-group blame. Studies 3 and 4 have been conducted predominantly in the context of Croatia and examine rhetoric construction of the dominant politicized narrative of war in a public sphere (Study 3) and its maintenance through public delegitimization of alternative (critical) representations (Study 4). Study 4 further examines the likelihood that highly identified group members adhere to publicly delegitimized critical stances on war. - Cette thèse étudie l'impact de la victimisation collective de guerre sur la capacité des individus à accepter ou à attribuer une culpabilité collective liée à des atrocités commises en temps de guerre. En compléments aux recherches existantes, le but de ce travail est de définir une approche intégrative de la victimisation collective, qui distingue les conséquences de la guerre aux niveaux individuel, régional et sociétal. En partant de l'approche des représentations sociales, cette thèse repose sur le postulat que les individus forment des croyances sur un conflit au travers de leurs expériences personnelles de victimisation, de leurs expériences de guerre lorsque celle-ci se déroule près d'eux, ainsi qu'au travers des récits relayés par les mass media. Quatre études testent l'hypothèse que les croyances des individus dépendent des niveaux et des types d'expériences de guerre auxquels ils ont été exposés, c'est-à-dire, des contextes informatifs et normatifs, micro et macro dans lesquels ils sont insérés. Ces études ont été réalisées dans le contexte des guerres qui, entre 1991 et 2001, ont suivi la dissolution de la Yougoslavie et durant lesquelles de nombreuses atrocités de guerre ont été commises, causant une victimisation massive de la population. Afin d'étudier le contenu et l'impact des expériences de guerre sur chaque niveau d'analyse, différentes stratégies méthodologiques ont été utilisées, des analyses quantitatives sur une enquête représentative d'opinion publique aux analyses qualitatives de contenu de médias et de discours politiques. L'étude 1 étudie l'impact des expériences de guerre individuelles et régionales sur l'acceptation et l'attribution de la culpabilité collective par les individus. Elle examine aussi l'impact du type de victimisation régionale : exposition à la violence symétrique (i.e., violence qui touche les membres de différents groupes ethniques, y compris les adversaires) et asymétrique. L'étude 2 se penche sur les circonstances structurelles et politiques qui augmentent l'attribution de culpabilité collective. Alors que les recherches précédentes ont mis l'accent sur le rôle de la victimisation passée, l'étude 2 teste l'hypothèse que la stratégie de démobilisation politique utilisée par les élites pour faire face à l'insatisfaction publique peut encourager l'attribution de la culpabilité à l'exogroupe. Les études 3 et 4 étudient, principalement dans le contexte croate, la construction rhétorique du récit de guerre politisé dominant (étude 3) et son entretien à travers la délégitimation publique des représentations alternatives (critiques] (étude 4). L'étude 4 examine aussi la probabilité qu'ont les membres de groupe fortement identifiés d'adhérer à des points de vue sur la guerre critiques et publiquement délégitimés.

Hezbollah's identities and their relevance for cultural and religious IR

This working paper analyses the role of religious and resistance identities in Hezbollah’s transformation and foreign relations. It argues that this Islamist movement has privileged material concerns over the religious dogma when both factors have not been coincidental. To do so, it uses a theoretical framework that presents the main characteristics of the anthropological and political interpretations of the role of culture and religion in defining the behaviour of international actors. In the chapter dedicated to Hezbollah, close attention is paid to the domestic and regional levels of analysis. When assessing Hezbollah’s religious identity, this paper argues that the salience of the pan-Islamic religious identity in Hezbollah’s origins has been replaced by an increased political pragmatism. It also argues that the fight against Israel represents Hezbollah’s raison d’être and that its resistance identity has not suffered major transformations and has been easily combined with religious rhetoric. Linking Hezbollah’s case study with the theoretical framework, this paper argues that political conceptions of cultural and religious identities provide the best analytical tool to understand the evolution of this Islamist movement.

Una petita novel·la en prosa en l'àmbit del Renaixement català : Paràmetres teoricoliteraris renaixentistes que expliquen la paròdia de l'estil culte de Les estil·lades y amoroses lletres trameses per Berthomeu Sirlot a la sua senyora, y per ella a ell

Aquest treball pretén esbrinar fins a quin punt se segueixen els criteris teòrics establerts pels autors catalans del Renaixement en la literatura catalana de ficció del segle XVI. Per examinar l'adequació als models proposats pels humanistes he triat una obra anònima de caràcter paròdic escrita en forma d'epístoles entre dos llauradors de l'Horta de València, Les estil·lades y amoroses lletres trameses per Berthomeu Sirlot a la sua senyora, y per ella a ell. El procediment de treball consistirà a analitzar com els teòrics del Renaixement de l'àrea catalanoparlant van interpretar i assimilar en la seva obra alguns dels conceptes més importants de les poètiques i les retòriques dels clàssics grecs i llatins (els principis d'imitació, decòrum, harmonia i ordre), en aquest cas Aristòtil i Horaci, i si l'autor anònim de Les estil·lades y amoroses lletres els va tenir en compte a l'hora de compondre la seva obra. A la vegada, en tractar-se d'una paròdia satírica amb clara voluntat humorística, aquesta anàlisi també pot donar compte de quina opinió tenien els intel·lectuals catalans del Renaixement sobre la ficció i l'humor.

Procedural Meaning Explicatures in the Development of New Subordination Strategies in Romance

The sociocultural changes that led to the genesis of Romance languages widened the gap between oral and written patterns, which display different discoursive and linguistic devices. In early documents, discoursive implicatures connecting propositions were not generally codified, so that the reader should furnish the correctinterpretation according to his own perception of real facts; which can still be attested in current oral utterances. Once Romance languages had undergone several levelling processes which concluded in the first standardizations, implicatures became explicatures and were syntactically codified by means of univocal new complexconjunctions. As a consequence of the emergence of these new subordination strategies, a freer distribution of the information conveyed by the utterances is allowed. The success of complex structural patterns ran alongside of the genesis of new narrative genres and the generalization of a learned rhetoric. Both facts are a spontaneous effect of new approaches to the act of reading. Ancient texts were written to be read to a wide audience, whereas those printed by the end of the XV th century were conceived to be read quietly, in a low voice, by a private reader. The goal of this paper is twofold, since we will show that: a) The development of new complex conjunctions through the history of Romance languages accommodates to four structural patterns that range from parataxis tohypotaxis. b) This development is a reflex of the well known grammaticalization path from discourse to syntax that implies the codification of discoursive strategies (Givón 2 1979, Sperber and Wilson 1986, Carston 1988, Grice 1989, Bach 1994, Blackemore 2002, among others]

EU “actorness” in International Relations: The Non-Proliferation Policy of the EU in the Southern Mediterranean

El punt de partida d'aquesta investigació és una retòrica molt utilitzada que la UE és un actor global. En vista d'això, la no proliferació de la política comunitària al sud de la Mediterrània s'examina. L'estudi es realitza sobre la base de la conceptualització de la UE "actorness" ia través d'alguns criteris (context extern, l'evolució de l'aparell de política exterior de la UE, la Unió Europea l'auto-presentació i la percepció de tercers, la consistència i la disponibilitat d'instruments de política i accions concretes) que involucren tant factors ideacionals i materials, d'acord amb el "pluralisme metodològic". Aquest marc conceptual va ajudar a avaluar la no proliferació de la política comunitària en aquesta regió en particular on la UE té interessos i bones raons per actuar. Cada un dels criteris de manifest els avantatges i desavantatges de la UE "actorness" en aquest camp seleccionat i la caixa. Aquest document sosté que la no proliferació "actorness" de la UE a la regió del sud de la Mediterrània ha estat limitat a causa d'una varietat de raons.

La Implicació de Hollywood en la Segunda Guerra Mundial: el cas Why we fight

Why we fight és un grup de set pel·lícules de format documental que van formar part d’un ampli programa d’informació, formació i propaganda impulsat per l’exèrcit nord-americà, en el moment en què els Estats Units ja s’havien implicat en la Segona Guerra Mundial. És també un dels més reeixits exercicis de retòrica cinematogràfica nord-americana d’aquell període que permet analitzar com els països democràtics van gestionar qüestions tan compromeses com la propaganda de guerra. La pretensió d’aquest treball de recerca és aprofundir en la complexitat ideològica i formal de la sèrie, que faci possible descobrir-ne els orígens, els objectius i la manera com aquests van ser assolits per un grup d’especialistes cinematogràfics, coordinats pel director Frank Capra, tots els quals havien triomfat fins llavors a Hollywood

Approche interdisciplinaire de la decision de don d'organes: l'experience lausannoise [An interdisciplinary approach of the organ donation decision: the Lausanne's experience].

Since 2007, the Interdisciplinary Ethics Platform (Ethos) of the University of Lausanne is leading an interdisciplinary reflection on the organ donation decision. On this basis, the project "Organ transplantation between the rhetoric of the gift and a biomedical view of the body" studies the logics at stake in the organ donation decision-making process. Results highlight many tensions within practices and public discourses in the field of organ donation and transplantation and suggest lines of inquiry for future adjustments.

Am I my brain or my genitals? A nature-culture controversy in the hermaphrodite debate from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s.

The groundbreaking and prophetic rhetoric of neuroscience has recently highlighted the fetal brain as the most promising organ for understanding why transsexuals feel "trapped in the wrong body", and for predicting whether children born with "ambiguous" genitalia will grow up to feel like a man or a woman.This article proposes a recent history of the cerebralization of intersexuality and of transsexuality as atypical neurodevelopmental conditions. It examines the ways in which the organizational theory of brain sex differentiation developed in the late 1950s in behavioral neuroendocrinology has gained increased prominence in and through controversies over best practice issues in the case management of intersex newborns, and the etiology of transsexuality.It focuses on the American context and on the leading warrior in this battle: Milton Diamond, now a most prominent figure in professional debates about the clinical management of intersexuality, and the intersex person's best friend. Persons with an intersexed or transsexual condition consider, not their gonads, but their brains, their core sense of self, as the primary determinant of sex. (Diamond and Beh 2005, 6-7, note 1)

Tasa-arvosta yrittäjäminään - hyvinvointivaltion murros ja muuttuva korkeakoulupoliittinen retoriikka

Summary: From equality to entrepreneurial self - the crisis of the welfare state and changing policy rhetoric of higher education

Feminist Perspectives on Motherhood and Reproduction

Motherhood and reproduction have been at the core of the feminist discourse about women's rights ever since its onset. For the first and second feminist movements, the right to abortion and the public recognition of motherhood have been main issues in the discourse on reproduction. Since the last two dec- ades of the 20th century, the potentials of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have opened up new venues of feminist discourse.In this paper we sketch the main feminist lines of argumentation regarding motherhood and reproduction since the 1970s, and we identify specific shifts in their recurrent issues. We argue that an essential contribution of feminism to the understanding of motherhood as a structuring category has been its insis- tence on the distinction between biological and social motherhood. Feminist discourse shows how ART has further decomposed biological motherhood and has altered the meaning of motherhood and reproduction. Feminist analysis maintains that despite the rhetoric of choice surrounding ART, these technolo- gies have not increased women's reproductive freedom. The decomposition of biological motherhood, the medical, legal, and commercial development of re- production, and the change in the social perception of motherhood have rather established new forms of control over female reproduction.

Gorgias y el final del Ion de Eurípides

En las últimas décadas, los estudios de narratología han subrayado la función estructuradora que cumple el final de una obra en el conjunto de la trama, advirtiendo que, desde la lógica de una narración que progresa hacia un final, es éste el que da sentido al proceso. En tragedia griega el fenómeno resulta especialmente sensible en Sófocles, que ha diseñado sus propias pautas genéricas, las que mejor responden a nuestro concepto de intriga conclusiva. Eurípides resulta desde esta perspectiva un radical innovador del género trágico , pues el final de la performance es, con frecuencia, una pausa arbitraria en la acción. F.M. Dunn ha estudiado minuciosamente cómo esa suspensión del final de la tragedia en Eurípides viene acompañada de una «formal rhetoric of closure» (p. 7), consistente en una serie de recursos como el deus ex machina , el relato etiológico o profecía final, el discurso de aquiesciencia y la declaración de salida del coro («Closing Gestures», pp. 13-64). Tales mecanismos convencionales, afirma, son exteriores a la acción dramática y zanjan el argumento al tiempo que lo abren a soluciones múltiples, anticipando el camino a la novela.

Vencer en el diálogo. Justicia y retórica en Esquilo y Platón

«Tú (Polo) sostenías que los injustos son felices si no pagan justicia» «Exacto». «Yo en cambio digo que son muy desgraciados, pero los que pagan justicia, menos. ¿Quieres refutar también esto?» «Eso, Sócrates, es aún más difícil de refutar que aquello» « No difícil, Polo, sino imposible, pues lo verdadero jamás puede refutarse» (Gorg. 473b). En este momento del diálogo con Polo, Sócrates introduce el presupuesto que está en la base de su práctica dialogal, a saber, que la verdad no es refutable, y, por tanto, el discurso que vence en el diálogo es el verdadero. Claro que las implicaciones de tal proposición varían considerablemente según se enfatice el sujeto o el predicado: lo primero supone la existencia de una verdad objetiva, que va descubriéndose a través del debate; lo segundo, la dependencia de la noción de verdad de la de triunfo lógico, lo que deja abierta una amplia casuística.