A Discursive Perspective on China's Global Politics of Climate Change, 1992-2013

This dissertation investigates China’s recent shift in its climate change policy with a refined discourse approach. Methodologically, by adopting a neo-Gramscian notion of hegemony, a generative definition of discourse and an ontological pluralist position, the study constructs a theoretical framework named “discursive hegemony” that identifies the “social forces” for enabling social change and focuses on the role of discursive mechanisms via which the forces operate and produce effects. The key empirical finding of this study was that it was a co-evolution of conditions that shaped the outcome as China’s climate policy shift. In examining the case, a before-after within-case comparison was designed to analyze the variations in the material, institutional, and ideational conditions, with methods including interviews, conventional narrative/text analysis and descriptive statistics. Specifically, changes in energy use, the structure of decision-making body, and the narratives about sustainable development reflected how the above three types of social force processed in China in the first few years of the 21st century, causing the economic development agenda to absorb the climate issue, and turning the policy frame for the latter from mainly a diplomatic matter to a potential opportunity for better-quality growth. With the discursive operation of the “Science-based development”, China’s energy policy has been a good example of the Chinese understanding of sustainability characterized by economic primacy, ecological viability and social green-engineering. This way of discursive evolution, however, is a double-edged sword that has pushed forward some fast, top-down mitigation measures on the one hand, but has also created and will likely continue creating social and ecological havoc on the other hand. The study makes two major contributions. First and on the empirical level, because China is an international actor that was not expected to cooperate on the climate issue according to major IR theories, this study would add one critical case to the studies on global (environmental) governance and the ideational approach in the IR discipline. Second and on the theory-building level, the model of discursive hegemony can be a causally deeper mode of explanation because it traces the process of co-evolution of social forces.

Projecte RIU: cambios percibidos por agentes de salud y profesionales tras una intervención en salud en un barrio en situación de vulnerabilidad

Objetivo: Describir los cambios percibidos por la población y los profesionales en relación con la salud y el uso de servicios tras la intervención RIU con agentes comunitarios en un barrio vulnerable. Diseño: Estudio descriptivo cualitativo con entrevistas individuales y grupales y observación participante de octubre de 2008 a julio de 2009. Emplazamiento: Barrio Raval (Algemesí-Valencia). Participantes: Selección por muestreo opinático de 7 mujeres agentes de salud, todas las que finalizaron la intervención, y 10 profesionales implicados en la misma. Método: Con las mujeres se mantuvo una entrevista grupal a los 6 meses, y una entrevista grupal y 7 individuales a los 9 meses de intervención. Se realizó un análisis temático de tipo descriptivo desde el modelo de promoción de salud. Con los profesionales se utilizó observación participante en una reunión a los 9 meses, analizándose las notas de campo según: valoración del proyecto, cambios detectados, dificultades y recomendaciones. Resultados: Las mujeres adquirieron información sobre salud, anticoncepción, embarazo y servicios sanitarios; señalaron cambios en autocuidados y habilidades sociales y liderazgo; interiorizaron el rol de agente de salud difundiendo lo aprendido y manifestando mejor autoestima y reconocimiento social. Provocaron cambios en su entorno relativos al cuidado de la salud y el acceso a los servicios. Los profesionales no incorporaron a su trabajo la perspectiva comunitaria; valoraron el proyecto, coincidieron con las mujeres en la mejora del acceso y uso de servicios y en el acercamiento población-profesionales. Conclusiones: RIU aumenta las capacidades de las personas participantes, su reconocimiento social y mejora el acceso y uso de servicios sanitarios.

Obesity, knee osteoarthritis, and polypathology: factors favoring weight loss in older people

Aim: We aimed to explore the meaning of obesity in elderly persons with knee osteoarthritis (KO) and to determine the factors that encourage or discourage weight loss. Background: Various studies have demonstrated that body mass index is related to KO and that weight loss improves symptoms and functional capacity. However, dietary habits are difficult to modify and most education programs are ineffective. Design: A phenomenological qualitative study was conducted. Intentional sampling was performed in ten older persons with KO who had lost weight and improved their health-related quality of life after participating in a health education program. A thematic content analysis was conducted following the stages proposed by Miles and Huberman. Findings: Participants understood obesity as a risk factor for health problems and stigma. They believed that the cause of obesity was multifactorial and criticized health professionals for labeling them as “obese” and for assigning a moral value to slimness and diet. The factors identified as contributing to the effectiveness of the program were a tolerant attitude among health professionals, group education that encouraged motivation, quantitative dietary recommendations, and a meaningful learning model based on social learning theories. Conclusion: Dietary self-management without prohibitions helped participants to make changes in the quantity and timing of some food intake and to lose weight without sacrificing some foods that were deeply rooted in their culture and preferences. Dietary education programs should focus on health-related quality of life and include scientific knowledge but should also consider affective factors and the problems perceived as priorities by patients.

Étude exploratoire sur le point de vue des enfants placés vivant l'expérience d'avoir des visites supervisées avec leurs parents

L’objectif de ce mémoire est de mieux comprendre, à partir de leur point de vue, le vécu des enfants âgés de 6 à 12 ans qui sont placés dans des ressources d’accueil et qui vivent l’expérience d’avoir des visites supervisées avec leurs parents. Pour ce faire, des entrevues semi-dirigées ont été réalisées auprès de douze enfants hébergés dans des unités de vie, foyers de groupe ou ressources intermédiaires du Centre jeunesse de Montréal – Institut Universitaire et du Centre jeunesse de la Montérégie. Les entrevues réalisées auprès des enfants ont été soumises à une analyse de contenu thématique. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que les enfants ne comprennent pas toujours bien les raisons qui justifient la mise en place de visites supervisées, ni le rôle des adultes dans les décisions, ni celui du tiers durant les visites. De façon générale, les enfants sont favorables au maintien des contacts avec leurs parents, mais sont plus critiques face aux cadres imposés par ces visites. Il ressort également de l’étude que les enfants sont très peu consultés en lien avec l’organisation et la planification de leurs visites et qu’ils souhaiteraient l’être davantage. Les enfants ont rapporté de nombreuses insatisfactions en lien avec les modalités organisationnelles des visites. L’analyse du discours qui a été menée a permis de mettre en évidence le fait que les visites supervisées sont une source de stress importante pour l’enfant. La création d’un guide d’information destiné aux enfants pour expliquer ce qu’est une visite supervisée, les raisons de sa mise en place, ses buts et ses objectifs serait une piste intéressante à explorer.

Étude exploratoire sur le point de vue des enfants placés vivant l'expérience d'avoir des visites supervisées avec leurs parents

L’objectif de ce mémoire est de mieux comprendre, à partir de leur point de vue, le vécu des enfants âgés de 6 à 12 ans qui sont placés dans des ressources d’accueil et qui vivent l’expérience d’avoir des visites supervisées avec leurs parents. Pour ce faire, des entrevues semi-dirigées ont été réalisées auprès de douze enfants hébergés dans des unités de vie, foyers de groupe ou ressources intermédiaires du Centre jeunesse de Montréal – Institut Universitaire et du Centre jeunesse de la Montérégie. Les entrevues réalisées auprès des enfants ont été soumises à une analyse de contenu thématique. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que les enfants ne comprennent pas toujours bien les raisons qui justifient la mise en place de visites supervisées, ni le rôle des adultes dans les décisions, ni celui du tiers durant les visites. De façon générale, les enfants sont favorables au maintien des contacts avec leurs parents, mais sont plus critiques face aux cadres imposés par ces visites. Il ressort également de l’étude que les enfants sont très peu consultés en lien avec l’organisation et la planification de leurs visites et qu’ils souhaiteraient l’être davantage. Les enfants ont rapporté de nombreuses insatisfactions en lien avec les modalités organisationnelles des visites. L’analyse du discours qui a été menée a permis de mettre en évidence le fait que les visites supervisées sont une source de stress importante pour l’enfant. La création d’un guide d’information destiné aux enfants pour expliquer ce qu’est une visite supervisée, les raisons de sa mise en place, ses buts et ses objectifs serait une piste intéressante à explorer.

Black Koreans in Korean children’s literature : A study of Won You Soon’s book “Please find Chartlon Sunja Kim”

The purpose of this study is to depict and examine the perception of black Koreans in South Korean children’s literature. This study examines my research questions through four theoretical frameworks: “culture and identity”, “post-colonialism, nationalism and racism”, “blackness and black Koreans’ portrayal in Korean media” and “multiculturalism in Korea”. My study raises the question how multicultural literature can help or not promote a new perception of otherness in South Korea. The method used for this study is qualitative text analysis. The primary source of information is a close-reading of Won You Soon’s book “Please find Charlton Sunja Kim” and interviews with the author of this book. The findings show that there are still some stereotypes about black Koreans and blackness that prevail in South Korean society and can still be found in recent literary works.

Att marknadsföra med musik : en studie kring musik i reklamfilm och en artistprofils påverkan på ett varumärke

Due to the current digitalization of the music industry it has become more important than ever for musicians to get their music placed in advertising. This process is frequently described as a win-win situation for both sides: the musician gets money and exposure while the brand gets to ride on the musician’s pop-cultural position in society. The following thesis is focused on identifying the different ways brands work with music in their TV-advertising, and what effects the brand of the featured artist might have on the brand itself. Using text analysis, six advertisements all shown on Swedish TV during the first half of 2016 were analyzed, with the result that four major recurring themes were identified: nostalgia, text-related usage, making the advert memorable and making the advert into entertainment. The study also found three ways in which a band profile could serve a brand: (I) to make the advert an artifact of popular culture, (II) to let the brand ride on the bands success, (III) to give credibility to the brand. The study was based on brand theory, sensory branding and semiotics as well as David Hurons theory on the different usages of music in advertising. 

State Social Safety Net Programs and the Great Recession: The First Line of Defense and the Last Resort for the Economically Disadvantaged

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

FORMAÇÃO CONTINUADA DE PROFESSORES ALFABETIZADORES: COMO APRENDE O PROFESSOR?

Este estudo versa sobre a análise do processo de aprendizagem de alguns professores alfabetizadores da Rede Estadual de Educação de São Paulo e buscou compreender onde e como este grupo de profissionais aprende os conteúdos necessários para alfabetizar na perspectiva da construção de conhecimento. A hipótese que orienta esta análise é a de que um professor bem-formado tem mais condição de intervir na aprendizagem de seus alunos e, gradativamente, contribuir para a garantia do direito de todas as crianças se alfabetizarem. Parte também da hipótese de que, compreendendo o processo de aprendizagem destes educadores, as ações de formação podem ser mais eficazes. Por meio de pesquisa empírica, revisão bibliográfica e análise documental, esta dissertação organiza-se da seguinte forma: na Introdução é anunciada a trajetória profissional da proponente e sua relação com os programas de alfabetização e com as propostas de formação de educadores das Redes Públicas de Educação de São Paulo. O primeiro Capítulo tece a fundamentação teórica na qual os programas de formação de professores alfabetizadores de São Paulo são organizados. No segundo Capítulo é realizado um breve histórico sobre os programas de formação de professores alfabetizadores da Rede Estadual de Ensino, no período de 1984 a 2010, com uma análise sobre a coerência entre as concepções de ensino e aprendizagem, e as concepções que embasam os diferentes programas institucionais. No terceiro Capítulo são descritos os caminhos percorridos no processo de realização da pesquisa empírica. Nas Considerações Finais foram retomadas, em síntese, as discussões realizadas no desenvolvimento dos capítulos, recuperando a essência das análises a partir dos dados coletados, expressando os resultados da investigação. Foram aplicados questionários de perfil e realizadas entrevistas com 13 sujeitos envolvidos com o Programa Ler e Escrever da Rede Estadual de Ensino de São Paulo, envolvendo desde professores alfabetizadores até os organizadores do Programa. A fundamentação teórica deste estudo ocorreu, principalmente, a partir das contribuições de Piaget (1967); Ferreiro e Teberosky (1985); Ferreiro (1989; 1992; 2002; 2007); Becker (1993); Coll (1992); Lerner (2002) que se orientam pela concepção de construção de conhecimento e tratam da aprendizagem da leitura e escrita, da formação do professor e da didática da alfabetização e da Matemática; e Alarcão (2008), Lerner (2002) e Tardif (2002) que abordam a formação docente. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir da fundamentação e dos procedimentos de Análise Temática do Conteúdo, conforme Bardin (2008) que resultou na elaboração de apreciações de condições que devem ser consideradas na formação de professores alfabetizadores. Os resultados obtidos apontam para algumas inferências sobre o processo de aprendizagem dos professores alfabetizadores que, se consideradas nas propostas, podem contribuir para a maior eficiência dos programas de formação, resultando em melhor apropriação pelos professores dos conteúdos envolvidos na alfabetização, na melhoria da qualidade da aprendizagem dos alfabetizandos e, consequentemente, na formação de leitores plenos e escritores eficientes.

BALAÃO – O QUE OUVE AS PALAVRAS DE EL, TEM O CONHECIMENTO DE ELYON E VÊ A VISÃO DE SHADDAI: UM ESTUDO DE NÚMEROS 22-24

A presente pesquisa busca avaliar exegeticamente o texto que se encontra na Bíblia, especificamente no livro de Números capítulos 22-24 que relata sobre um personagem conhecido como Balaão. A pesquisa tem também como objeto o estudo sobre o panteão de divindades relatado no mesmo texto, assim como também o estudo dos textos descobertos em Deir Alla, na Jordânia, que apresentam um personagem designado como Balaão, possivelmente o mesmo personagem de Nm 22-24. A motivação que levou ao desenvolvimento dessa pesquisa foi o fato de se ter deparado com os conceitos dos diversos nomes divinos exibidos no texto, além da questão do profetismo fora de Israel, assim como as possibilidades hermenêuticas que se abrem para a leitura desse texto bíblico. O conceito geral sempre foi o de que Israel era a única nação onde existiam “verdadeiros” profetas e uma adoração a um único Deus, o “monoteísmo”. O que despertou interesse foi perceber, especialmente por meio da leitura dos livros bíblicos, que o profetismo não se restringiu somente a Israel. Ele antecede à formação do antigo Israel e já existia no âmbito das terras do antigo Oriente Médio, e que Israel ainda demorou muito tempo para ser monoteísta. Quem é esse Balaão, filho de Beor? Estudaremos sobre sua pessoa e sua missão. Examinaremos os textos de Deir Alla sobre Balaão e sua natureza de personagem mediador entre o divino e o humano. Esse personagem é apresentado como um grande profeta e que era famoso como intérprete de presságios divinos. Analisaremos a importante questão sobre o panteão de deuses que são apresentados na narrativa de Balaão nomeados como: El, Elyon Elohim e Shaddai, além de Yahweh. Entendemos, a princípio, que o texto possui uma conexão com a sociedade na qual foi criado e usando da metodologia exegética, faremos uma análise da narrativa em questão, buscando compreender o sentido do texto, dentro de seu cenário histórico e social. Cenário este, que nos apresentou esse profeta, não israelita, que profere bênçãos dos deuses sobre Israel e que, além disso, pronuncia maldições sobre os inimigos desse mesmo Israel. Percebemos que, parte do texto pesquisado é apresentado sob a ótica de Israel sobre as outras nações. A pesquisa defende, portanto, que o texto de Nm 22-24, além de nos apresentar um profeta fora de Israel igual aos profetas da Bíblia, defende que, o panteão de divindades também era adorado por Israel e que tais nomes são epítetos de uma mesma divindade, no caso YHWH. Defende, também, um delineamento de um projeto de domínio político e militar de Israel sobre as nações circunvizinhas.

"It's no skin off my nose":Why people take part in qualitative research

In this article, the authors analyze participants' accounts of why they took part in a repeat-interview study exploring newly diagnosed patients' perceptions of diabetes service provision in Lothian, Scotland. The study involved three semistructured in-depth interviews with each patient (N = 40), which spanned a year. The authors provide a thematic discursive analysis of responses to the question, Can I ask you what made you decide to part in the study and why you've stayed involved over the past year? The main themes are (a) recruitment within health contexts ("the nurse said it would help"), (b) altruism ("if it can help somebody"), (c) qualitative research being seen as inherently innocuous ("nothing to lose"), and (d) therapeutic aspects of interviewing ("getting it off my chest"). The analysis contributes both to the qualitative literature about generic research participation and to a germinal literature exploring qualitative health research participation. © 2006 Sage Publications.

Taking the biscuit? A discursive approach to managing diet in type 2 diabetes

Adopting and maintaining a healthy diet is pivotal to diabetic regimens. Behavioural research has focused on strategies to modify/maintain healthy behaviours; thus 'compliance' and 'non-compliance' are operationalized by researchers. In contrast, discursive psychology focuses on the actions different accounts accomplish-in this case regarding diets. Using thematic discourse analysis, we examine dietary management talk in repeat-interviews with 40 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients. Women in our study tended to construct dietary practices as an individual concern, while men presented food consumption as a family matter. Participants accounted for 'cheating' in complex ways that aim to accomplish, for instance, a compliant identity. Discursive psychology may facilitate fluidity in our understandings of dietary management, and challenge fixed notions of 'compliant' and 'non-compliant' diabetes patients. Copyright © 2005 SAGE Publications.

Paediatric 'care closer to home':stake-holder views and barriers to implementation

In this study we explore the views of NHS stakeholders on providing paediatric ‘care closer to home’ (CCTH), in community-based outpatient clinics delivered by consultants. Design: Semi-structured interviews and thematic framework analysis. Setting: UK specialist children's hospital and surrounding primary care trusts. Participants: 37 NHS stakeholders including healthcare professionals, managers, commissioners and executive team members. Results: Participants acknowledged that outreach clinics would involve a change in traditional ways of working and that the physical setting of the clinic would influence aspects of professional practice. Different models of CCTH were discussed, as were alternatives for improving access to specialist care. Participants supported CCTH as a good principle for paediatric outpatient services; however the challenges of setting up and maintaining community clinics meant they questioned how far it could be achieved in practice. Conclusions: The place of service delivery is both an issue of physical location and professional identity. Policy initiatives which ignore assumptions about place, power and identity are likely to meet with limited success.

Applied Problems of Functional Homonymy Resolution for Russian Language

Applied problems of functional homonymy resolution for Russian language are investigated in the work. The results obtained while using the method of functional homonymy resolution based on contextual rules are presented. Structural characteristics of minimal contextual rules for different types of functional homonymy are researched. Particular attention is paid to studying the control structure of the rules, which allows for the homonymy resolution accuracy not less than 95%. The contextual rules constructed have been realized in the system of technical text analysis.

Personalized Question-Answering Mobile System

Mobile messaging is an integral and vital part of the mobile industry and contributes significantly to worldwide total mobile service revenues. In today’s competitive world, differentiation is a significant factor in the success of the business communication. SMS (Short Message Service) provides a powerful vehicle for service differentiation. What is missing, however, is the availability of personalized SMS messages. In particular, the exploitation of user profile information allows a selection and content delivery that meets preferences and interests for the individual. Personalization of mobile messages is important in today’s service-oriented society, and has proven to be crucial for the acceptance of services provided by the mobile telecommunication networks. In this paper we focus on user profile description and the mechanism for delivering the relevant information to the mobile user in accordance with his/her profile.