Surveying theories and philosophies of mathematics education

Any theory of thinking or teaching or learning rests on an underlying philosophy of knowledge. Mathematics education is situated at the nexus of two fields of inquiry, namely mathematics and education. However, numerous other disciplines interact with these two fields which compound the complexity of developing theories that define mathematics education. We first address the issue of clarifying a philosophy of mathematics education before attempting to answer whether theories of mathematics education are constructible? In doing so we draw on the foundational writings of Lincoln and Guba (1994), in which they clearly posit that any discipline within education, in our case mathematics education, needs to clarify for itself the following questions: (1) What is reality? Or what is the nature of the world around us? (2) How do we go about knowing the world around us? [the methodological question, which presents possibilities to various disciplines to develop methodological paradigms] and, (3) How can we be certain in the “truth” of what we know? [the epistemological question]

The role for police in addressing alcohol-related harm inside and outside licensed premises

Alcohol consumption is enmeshed with Australian culture (Palk, 2008) and the use and misuse of alcohol contributes to considerable health and social harms (Barbor et al., 2010; English et al., 1995; Gutjahr, Gmel, & Rehm, 2001; Palk, 2008; Steenkamp, Harrison, & Allsop, 2002). Despite shifts in the way that alcohol is consumed and how it is used, it has been reported that one-third of all alcohol consumed is done so within licensed premises (Lang, Stockwell, Rydon, & Gamble, 1992). Consequently, licensed premises are over-represented as settings in which alcohol-related harms occur. These harms, particularly those related to violence, are associated with particular licensed premises operating in the night-time economy (Briscoe & Donnelly, 2001b; Chikritzhs, Stockwell, & Masters, 1997; Homel, Tomsen, & Thommeny, 1991; Stockwell, 1997). Police have a role in not only responding to the manifestation of harms, such as crime, injuries, assaults, domestic violence, stealing and sexual offences, but they also have a role in preventing problems, and thereby reducing alcohol and other drug-related harms (Doherty & Roche, 2003). Given the extent of alcohol consumption within licensed premises and the nature and extent of the harms, as well as the lack of opportunity to influence outcomes in other settings (e.g. the home), licensed premises offer police and other stakeholders a significant opportunity to influence positively the reduction of alcoholrelated harm. This research focuses specifically on the police role in policing licensed premises. Primarily, this research aims to investigate the factors which are relevant to why and how police officers respond to alcohol-related incidents inside and outside licensed premises. It examines the attitudes and beliefs of police and assesses their knowledge, capacity and ability to effectively police licensed premises. The research methodology uses three distinct surveys. Each contributes to understanding the motivations and practice of police officers in this important area of harm reduction. Study One involved a survey of police officers within a police district (Brisbane Central District) in Queensland, Australia and used a comprehensive questionnaire involving both quantitative and qualitative techniques. A key research outcome of Study One was the finding that officers had low levels of knowledge of the strategies that are effective in addressing alcohol-related harm both inside and outside licensed premises. Paradoxically, these officers also reported extensive recent experience in dealing with alcohol issues in these locations. In addition, these officers reported that alcohol was a significant contextual factor in the majority of matters to which they responded. Officers surveyed reported that alcohol increased the difficulty of responding to situations and that licensed premises (e.g. nightclubs, licensed clubs and hotels) were the most difficult contexts to police. Those surveyed were asked to self-assess their knowledge of the Liquor Act (Qld), which is the primary legislative authority in Queensland for regulating licensed premises. Surprisingly, well over half of the officers (65%) reported ‘no’ to ‘fair’ knowledge of the Act, despite officers believing that their skill level to police such premises was in the ‘good to very good range’. In an important finding, officers reported greater skill level to police outside licensed premises than inside such premises, indicating that officers felt less capable, from a skill perspective, to operate within the confines of a licensed premise than in the environment immediately outside such premises. Another key finding was that officers reported greater levels of training in responding to situations outside and around licensed premises than to situations inside licensed premises. Officers were also asked to identify the frequency with which they employed specified regulatory enforcement and community-based strategies. Irrespective of the type of response, ‘taking no action’ or passive policing interventions were not favoured by officers. The findings identified that officers favoured taking a range of strategies (sending home, releasing into the custody of friends, etc.) in preference to arrest. In another key finding, officers generally reported their support for operational stakeholder partnership approaches to policing licensed premises. This was evidenced by the high number of officers (over 90%) reporting that there should be shared responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the Liquor Act. Importantly, those surveyed also identified the factors which constrain or prevent them from policing licensed premises. Study Two involved interviewing a small but comprehensive group (n=11) of senior managers from within the Queensland Police Service (QPS) who have responsibility for setting operational and strategic policy. The aim of this study was to examine the attitudes, perceptions and influence that senior officers (at the strategy and policy-setting level) had on the officers at the operational level. This qualitative study was carried out using a purposive sampling (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Guba & Lincoln, 1989), focused interview and thematic analytic approach. The interview participants were drawn from three tiers of management at district, regional as well as the whole-of-organisational level. The first key theme emerging from the study related to role, in terms of both the QPS broader organisational role, and the individual officer role with respect to the policing of licensed premises. For the QPS organisational role, participants at all three strategic levels had a high degree of congruity as to the organisations service role; that is, to enhance public safety. With respect to participants’ beliefs as to whether police officers have knowledge and understanding of their individual roles concerning licensed premises (as opposed to the QPS role), participants reported most commonly that officers had a reasonable to clear understanding of their role. Participant comments also were supportive of the view that officers operating in the research area, Brisbane Central District (BCD), had a clearer understanding of their role than police operating in other locations. The second key theme to emerge identified a disparity between the knowledge and capability of specialist police, compared with general duties police, to police licensed premises. In fact, a number of the responses to a variety of questions differentiated specialist and general police in a range of domains. One such example related to the clarity of understanding of officer role. Participants agreed that specialist police (Liquor Enforcement & Proactive Strategies [LEAPS] officers) had more clarity of understanding in terms of their role than generalist police. Participants also were strongly of the opinion that specialist police had higher skill levels to deal with issues both inside and outside licensed premises. Some participants expressed the view that general duty police undertook purely response-related activities, or alternatively, dealt with lower order matters. Conversely, it was viewed that specialist police undertook more complex tasks because of their higher levels of knowledge and skill. The third key theme to emerge concerned the identification of barriers that serve to restrict or prevent police officers from policing licensed premises. Participant responses strongly indicated that there was a diversity of resourcing barriers that restrict police from undertaking their roles in licensed premises. Examples of such barriers were the lack of police and the low ratio of police to patrons, available officer time, and lack of organisational investment in skills and knowledge acquisition. However, some participants indicated that police resourcing in the BCD was appropriate and officers were equipped with sufficient powers (policy and legislation). Again, the issue of specialist police was raised by one participant who argued that increasing the numbers of specialist police would ameliorate the difficulties for police officers policing licensed premises. The fourth and last key theme to emerge from Study Two related to the perception of senior officers regarding the opportunity and capability of officers to leverage off external partnerships to reduce harms inside and outside licensed premises. Police working in partnership in BCD was seen as an effective harm reduction strategy and strongly supported by the participants. All participants demonstrated a high degree of knowledge as to who these partners were and could identify those government, non-government and community groups precisely. Furthermore, the majority of participants also held strong views that the partnerships were reasonably effective and worked to varying degrees depending on the nature of the partnership and issues such as resourcing. These senior officers identified better communication and coordination as factors that could potentially strengthen these partnerships. This research finding is particularly important for senior officers who have the capacity to shape the policy and strategic direction of the police service, not only in Queensland but throughout Australasia. Study Three examined the perceptions of those with links to the broader liquor industry (government, non-government and community but exclusive of police) concerning their understanding of the police role and the capacity of police to reduce alcohol-related harm inside and outside licensed premises, and their attitudes towards police. Participants (n=26) surveyed represented a range of areas including the liquor industry, business represenatives and government representatives from Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, Brisbane City Council and Queensland Health. The first key theme to emerge from Study Three related to participant understanding of the QPS organisational role, and importantly, individual officer role in policing licensed premises. In terms of participant understanding of the QPS role there was a clear understanding by the majority of participants that the police role was to act in ways consistent with the law and to otherwise engage in a range of enforcement-related activities. Participants saw such activities falling into two categories. The first category related to reactive policing, which included actions around responding to trouble in licensed premises, monitoring crowd controllers and removing trouble-makers. In the second category, proactive approaches, participants identified the following activities as consistent with that approach: early intervention with offenders, support of licensed premises operators and high visibility policing. When participants were asked about their understanding of individual officer roles in the policing of licensed premises, a range of responses were received but the consistent message that emerged was that there is a different role to be played by general duty (uniformed) police compared to specialist (LEAPS Unit) police, which reflects differences in knowledge, skill and capability. The second key theme that emerged from the data related to the external participants’ views of the knowledge and capability of specialist police, compared with general duty police, to police licensed premises. As noted in the first key theme, participants were universally of the view that the knowledge, skill and capability of police in specialist units (LEAPS Unit) was at a higher level than that of general duty police. Participants observed that these specialist officers were better trained than their colleagues in generalist areas and were therefore better able to intervene knowledgeably and authoritatively to deal with problems and issues as they emerged. Participants also reported that officers working within BCD generally had a positive attitude to their duties and had important local knowledge that they could use in the resolution of alcohol-related issues. Participants also commented on the importance of sound and effective QPS leadership, as well as the quality of the leadership in BCD. On both these measures, there was general consensus from participants, who reported positively on the importance and effectiveness of such leadership in BCD. The third key theme to emerge from Study Three concerned the identification of barriers that serve to restrict or prevent police officers from policing licensed premises. Overwhelmingly, external participants reported the lack of human resources (i.e. police officers) as the key barrier. Other resourcing limitations, such as available officer time, police computer systems, and the time taken to charge offenders, were identified as barriers. Some participants identified barriers in the liquor industry such as ‘dodgy operators’ and negative media attention as limitations. Other constraints to emerge related to government and policy barriers. These were reflected in comments about the collection by government of fees from licensees and better ‘powers’ for police to deal with offenders. The fourth and final key theme that emerged from Study Three related to the opportunities for and capability of police to leverage off external partnerships to reduce harms inside and outside licensed premises. Not surprisingly, participants had a comprehensive knowledge of a broad range of stakeholders, from a diversity of contexts, influential in addressing issues in licensed premises. Many participants reported their relationships with the police and other stakeholders as effective, productive and consistent with the objectives of partnering to reduce alcohol-related harm. On the other hand, there were those who were concerned with their relationship with other stakeholders, particularly those with a compliance function (e.g. Office of Liquor & Gaming Regulation [OLGR]). The resourcing limitations of partners and stakeholders were also raised as an important constraining factor in fulfilling the optimum relationship. Again, political issues were mentioned in terms of the impact on partnerships, with participants stating that there is at times political interference and that politicians complicate the relationships of stakeholders. There are some significant strengths with respect to the methodology of this research. The research is distinguished from previous work in that it examines these critical issues from three distinct perspectives (i.e. police officer, senior manager and external stakeholder). Other strengths relate to the strong theoretical framework that guides and informs the research. There are also some identified limitations, including the subjective nature of self-report data as well as the potential for bias by the author, which was controlled for using a range of initiatives. A further limitation concerns the potential for transferability and generalisability of the findings to other locations given the distinctive nature of the BCD. These limitations and issues of transferability are dealt with at length in the thesis. Despite a growing body of literature about contextual harms associated with alcohol, and specific research concerning police intervention in such contextual harms, there is still much to learn. While research on the subject of police engaging in alcohol-related incidents has focused on police behaviours and strategies in response to such issues, there is a paucity of research that focuses on the knowledge and understanding of officers engaged in such behaviours and practices. Given the scarcity of research dealing with the knowledge, skills and attitudes of police officers responding to harms inside and outside licensed premises, this research contributes significantly to what is a recent and growing body of research and literature in the field. The research makes a practical contribution to police agencies’ understanding of officer knowledge and police practice in ways that have the potential to shape education and training agendas, policy approaches around generalist versus specialist policing, strategic and operational strategy, as well as partnership engagements. The research also makes a theoretical contribution given that the research design is informed by the Three Circle

Parent-teacher engagement : a coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing approach

The accumulated evidence from more than four decades of education research strongly suggests that parent involvement in schools carries significant benefits for students as well as for the success of schools (e.g., Henderson & Mapp, 2002). Governments in Australia and overseas have supported parent involvement in schools with a range of initiatives while parent groups have indicated a strong desire for expanded school roles that include participation in formal educational processes namely curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Research has also signalled the need for teachers to engage parents rather than adopt traditional parent-school involvement practices so that parents can participate as joint educators in their children's schooling alongside teachers (Pushor, 2001). Actually improving the quality of contact and relationships between parents and teachers to enable engagement however remains problematic. Coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing originally emerged as an innovative approach in the context of teaching secondary school science. Coteaching brings together the collective expertise of several individuals to expand learning opportunities for students while cogenerative dialogues refer to sessions in which participants talk, listen, and learn from one another about the process (Roth & Tobin, 2002a). Coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing reportedly benefits students academically and socially while rewarding educators professionally and emotionally through the support and collaboration they receive from fellow coteachers. These benefits ensue because coteaching theoretically positions teachers at one another's elbows, providing new and different understandings about teaching based on first-hand perspectives and shared goals for assisting students to learn. This thesis proposes that coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing may provide a vehicle for improving quality of contact and relationships between parents and teachers. To investigate coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing as a parent-teacher engagement mechanism, interpretive ethnographic case study research was conducted involving two parents and a secondary school teacher. Sociological ideas, namely Bourdieu's (1977) fields, habitus, and capitals, together with multiple dialectical concepts such as agency|structure (Sewell, 1992) and agency|passivity (Roth, 2007b, 2010) were assembled into a conceptual framework to examine parent-teacher relationships by describing and explaining cultural production and identity construction throughout the case study. Video and audio recordings of cogenerative dialogues and cotaught lessons comprised the chief data sources. Data were analysed using qualitative techniques such as discourse and conversation analysis to identify patterns and contradictions (Roth & Tobin, 2002a). The use of quality criteria detailed by Guba and Lincoln (2005) gives credence to the way in which ethical considerations infused the planning and conduct of this research. From the processes of data collection and analyses, three broad assertions were proffered. The findings highlight the significance of using multiple coordinated dialectical concepts for analysing the affordances and challenges of coteaching and cogenerative dialogues that include parents and teachers. Adopting the principles and purposes of coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing promoted trusting respectful relationships that generated an equitable culture. The simultaneous processes and tensions between logistics and ethics (i.e., the logistics|ethics dialectic) were proposed as a new way to conceptualise how power was redistributed among the participants. Knowledge of positive emotional energy and ongoing capital exchange conceived dialectically as the reciprocal interaction among cultural, social, and symbolic capitals (i.e., the dialectical relationship of cultural|social|symbolic capital) showed how coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing facilitated mutual understandings, joint decision-making, and group solidarity. The notion of passivity as the dialectical partner of agency explained how traditional roles and responsibilities were reconfigured and individual and collective agency expanded. Complexities that surfaced when implementing the coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing approach were outweighed by the multiple benefits that accrued for all involved. These benefits included the development of community-relevant and culturally-significant curricula that increased student agency and learning outcomes, heightened parent self-efficacy for participating in and contributing to formal educational processes, and enhanced teacher professionalism. This case study contributes to existing theory, knowledge and practice, and methodology in the research areas of parent-teacher relationships, specifically in secondary schools, and coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing. The study is particularly relevant given the challenges schools and teachers increasingly face to meaningfully connect with parents to better meet the needs of educational stakeholders in times of continual, complex, and rapid societal change.

Evaluación de los programas de tercer ciclo universitario y su aplicación a los programas de doctorado de la UPV/EHU en América Latina

XIV,357 p.

Reżyserki na indeksie. Historia kina kobiet w Europie Środkowej w Wschodniej

Autorka dokonuje krytycznej rekapitulacji wskazówek metodologicznych dotyczących pisania historii kina kobiet w anglojęzycznej literaturze przedmiotu, odnosząc je do specyfiki kinematografii środkowo- i wschodnioeuropejskiej. Projekt dyskursu historii kina kobiet wpisuje w postulaty ponowoczesnej historiografii i nowej humanistyki, poszukującej tradycji grup mniejszościowych oraz krytycznie odnoszącej się do historii tradycyjnej. Problematyka kina kobiet w dyskursie historii kina powinna, zdaniem autorki, objąć także doświadczenia edukacyjne i zawodowe kobiet, związki biografii zawodowej i prywatnej oraz publiczne i wyobrażone wizerunki reżyserek.

Can they go it alone? Addressing criticisms of coteaching.

This paper responds to Wassell and LaVan’s paper on the transition from a preservice coteaching experience to independent teaching as a beginning inservice teacher. Wassell and LaVan describe coteaching as an alternative to traditional teaching. In our response, we argue that coteaching can also be applied alongside independent teaching in preservice courses, as opposed to an alternative to independent teaching, which has been shown to alleviate some of the transition issues described by Wassell and LaVan. We then present a critical discussion of different models and vocabularies of coteaching which apply in different sociocultural settings to expand the concept of coteaching. We attempt to extend Wassell and LaVan’s use of Guba and Lincoln’s (Fourth generation evaluation, 1989) authenticity criteria from the research methodology towards considering the criteria also as a framework for coteaching as practice for preservice and cooperating teachers. Finally, we reflect on the role of critical ethnography in Wassell and LaVan’s study in terms of the researchers’ intervention and whether improvements in the transition can be effectively introduced which do not require such intervention. We conclude our discussion with some suggestions to take forward this important work.

Gestão curricular da língua cabo-verdiana : sua integração nos curricula

Com esta investigação pretendemos analisar as perspectivas e opiniões dos professores de Portugugs, relativamente A questáo da Gestão Curricular da Língua Cabo-vediana e sua integração nos curficula. O trabalho divide-se em duas partes, sendo a primeira parte abrangendo a coniextualizaç~od o problema e objecto de estudo, e o enquadramento tebrico, com base nos suportes te6ricos de referência e a segunda parte abarca a enquadramento metodológico de um estudo prospectivo, concretizado através da realização de um inquérito por questionário aplicado a uma amostra dos professores de Português de Cabo Verde. Na primeira parte do trabalho, para além do conceito de curriculo. que foi largamente descrito a nível teórico, o estudo centra-se no conceito de gesfão cvrricular da Ccv e as suas inter-relaçáes com os conceitos de adequaçio, diferenciação e integra@ curricuiares, a luz das novas tendemias curriculares e de inovação educativa. Um outro ponto que tem merecido destaque, nesta primeira parte diz respeito aos conceitos de crioulo e pidgin e a formação do Ccv e a sua conversão em Ccv. Assim, atribuímos A política linguística ai legiiimaçào da criação de estruturas e meios indispensáveis para a afirmação e valorizaç8a da Lcv e sua integração nos curricula. A concepção da nossa investigação situa-se dentro do paradigma construtívista, conforme definido por Guba & Lincoln (19941, que permite a compreensão da realidade sob a forma de construções mentais e sociais, baseadas na interpretação e analise de conteúdo de dados obtidos junto dos sujeitos, Para a abordagem metodológica utilizada nesta pesquisa utilizou-se o inquérito por question8rio1 com recurso ao método quantitativdqualitativo, visto que se trata de um estudo descritivolinterpretativo de natureza exploratória, que se preocupa mais com o processo do que com os prdutos. A síntese dos resultados demonstra que os professores têm a noção dos conceitos de currículo e de gestão curricular, embora haja algumas divergências na conceptualização dos mesmos. No tocante à Lcv, é clara a ansiedade que os professores deixam transparecer de ver a sua Ilngua materna valorizada, no sentido da sua ascensão A língua oficial em paridade com a Lp. Assim, advoga-se a criação de estruturas e de gestão de meios materiais a humanos para a oficialiração da Lcv e sua integração nos çurricula escolares.

Cinéma et sens de la ville : la ville idéelle

C’est principalement par le cinéma que nous connaissons et partageons le réel des villes, même celles dans lesquelles nous vivons. Par le cinéma, nous découvrons plus de villes que nous n’en visiterons jamais. Nous connaissons des villes que nous n'avons jamais vues. Nous apprenons à découvrir des villes que nous connaissons déjà. Nous avons en mémoire des villes qui n'existent pas. Que nous soyons spectateur ou créateur, les villes existent d'abord dans notre imaginaire. Percevoir, représenter et créer sont des actes complémentaires qui mobilisent des fonctions communes. Toute perception est conditionnée par le savoir et la mémoire, elle dépend de la culture. Toute représentation, si elle veut communiquer, doit connaître les mécanismes et les codes mémoriels et culturels du public auquel elle s’adresse. Le cinéma ne fait pas que reproduire, il crée et il a appris à utiliser ces codes et ces mécanismes, notamment pour représenter la ville. L’étude du cinéma peut ouvrir aux urbanistes et aux professionnels de l’aménagement, de nouveaux champs de scientificité sur le plan de la représentation et de la perception comme partage du réel de la ville. La ville et le cinéma doivent alors être vus comme un spectacle dans son acception herméneutique, et de ce spectacle il devient possible d’en faire émerger un paradigme; ou dit autrement, the basic belief system or worldview that guides the investigator, not only in choices of methods but in ontologically and episemologically fundamental ways. (Guba & Lincoln, 1994) Ce paradigme, que nous proposons de décrire, de modéliser et dont nous montrons les fonctions conceptuelles; nous le désignons comme la Ville idéelle.

Évaluation constructiviste de l’application du Guide des meilleures pratiques de soins aux endeuillés auprès des familles ayant vécu une perte périnatale

Cette étude avait pour but d’évaluer, à partir d’un processus de co-construction avec les personnes concernées, dans un contexte de 1ère ligne, la mise en application d’interventions infirmières inspirées du Guide des meilleures pratiques de soins pour les endeuillés (GMPSE) auprès d’un couple ayant vécu une perte périnatale au cours des six dernier mois. Un devis de recherche d’étude de cas basé sur la démarche d’évaluation de la quatrième génération de Guba et Lincoln (1989) a été utilisé. Une infirmière expérimentée auprès des familles endeuillées, s’est inspirée de la guidance du GMPSE pour intervenir auprès d’un couple lors de cinq rencontres thérapeutiques, dont quatre ont été précédées d’une entrevue avec les personnes concernées . Ces entrevues ont permis à ces personnes d’identifier ensemble les interventions les plus utiles et les moins utiles. Le verbatim des rencontres et entrevues ont été enregistrées et transcrites à des fins d’analyses qualitatives, Les résultats de ces analyses font ressortir la pertinence des interventions inspirées du GMPSE et l’apport spécifique de la pratique infirmière auprès de la population visée. Il appert que la sensibilisation des décideurs et des cliniciens aux enjeux des personnes endeuilles soit nécessaire pour favoriser l’implantation du Guide dans les milieux de soins. Enfin, une meilleure appropriation du GMPSE est recommandée autant dans le cadre de la formation, que de la recherche et de la pratique en sciences infirmières.

INFO2009 2012-13 Group 17 - The 8 Team “Do You Know the Equality Act” video

a video called “Do You Know the Equality Act”. The video is aimed at undergraduate and A level students. This was produced by 17 and our name is “The 8 Team”. The group consists of Elizabeth Bolton, Aisha Guba, Zoe Butler, Caroline Lee, Yingyi Emily Liu, George Lovegrove and Annie Relfe. Our content is based on the topic of legal awareness through

Cambios ocurridos a nivel de flexibilidad y actitud postural a través de la aplicación del método pilates en una muestra de cinco pacientes entre los 30 y 50 años de edad durante 15 sesiones

En los últimos años, no se ha podido precisar con exactitud la cantidad de personas que se encuentran sometidas a problemas de origen muscular, debido a factores como el trabajo, la violencia, la cultura y otras circunstancias que terminan en desórdenes crónicos reflejados en su actitud postural y más grave aún, dolores incapacitantes que llevan a ausentismo laboral y social. Es por esto, que el propósito del siguiente trabajo de grado es identificar los cambios obtenidos a nivel de flexibilidad y actitud postural con la aplicación del Método Pilates durante quince sesiones, con el fin de analizar los resultados obtenidos en una muestra especifica.

Incompatibilidad de paradigmas y compatibilidad de técnicas en Ciencias Sociales.

La publicación recoge resumen en Inglés

Natureza da decisão estratégica em organizações desportivas: estudo das associações de modalidade na Região Autónoma da Madeira

Segundo os pressupostos do planeamento e da gestão estratégica, as organizações desportivas sem fins lucrativos devem aumentar a autonomia e melhorar a capacidade de antecipar e perceber as mudanças do meio envolvente (face às oportunidades e ameaças), e precisam de intervir activamente na formulação de estratégias (Correia, 2000; Handy, 1988; Kikulis, Slack & Hinings, 1995; Pires, 1995; Santos, 2002; Slack & Hinings, 1992; Thibault, Slack & Hinings, 1993; Thibault, 1999). Nesta perspectiva, o estudo procura compreender as decisões estratégicas das associações desportivas (AD’s), o que pressupõe a análise descritiva da estrutura organizacional e dos principais corpos sociais que têm competências em matéria de decisão e desenvolvimento da organização. No âmbito da análise da estrutura interna, e tendo por base o modelo político das organizações - jogos de poder e de interesses (Mintzberg, 1995; Mintzberg, Lampel & Ahlstrand, 2000) - procurámos identificar e descrever o papel dos principais actores e unidades de apoio que evidenciaram maior influência nas decisões da Direcção e nos seus resultados. Assim, e de acordo com as opções epistemológicas e metodológicas, o estudo fundamenta-se segundo uma perspectiva construtivista e interpretativa (Erickson, 1986; Guba, 1990) das intervenções dos actores em contexto de reunião de Direcção, tendo por objectivo central compreender as decisões estratégicas e as suas determinantes (internas e externas). Só através de um acompanhamento próximo e sistemático dos principais actores organizacionais - Presidente da Direcção (PD), dirigentes, gestores desportivos e directores técnicos (DT’s) - podemos identificar os elementos e as suas intervenções, e, consequentemente, compreender e interpretar as lógicas que estão subjacentes ao processo e tomada de decisão.

Vozes sociais em diálogo: uma análise bakhtiniana dos diários de leituras produzidos por alunos do ensino médio

The work aims to analyze high school students utterances, in reading diary discursive genre, starting from the language concept proposed by the Bakhtin Circle. The genre in question has peculiar characteristics which justify its choice for this work, especially with regard to subjectivity marks, that reveal, through the ideological clash, positions on various issues. From the utterances selected for the corpus, categories were created, during the research, according to the guidelines of Guba and Lincoln (2006), Mazzotti and Gewandsznajder (1998) and Amorim (2002), for whom the research in human sciences cannot be based on pre-established categories. We consider diary as a discursive genre (BAKHTIN, 2010a), which carries the characteristics of composition, style and content. Other concepts of the Circle, concerning to utterance, dialogical relations, social voices, responsiveness and exotopy also formed the basis for the study. Moreover, during the analysis of the utterances that compose the corpus of research, we used the concepts of discursive polemics (BAKHTIN, 2010b) and Framework (2010a). At the end of the research, we realized that the assessment situation of students, the fact that they are in an institution whose policy follows national documents, based on diversity and plurality, and live together in a classroom space where there are differences of social class, age, and finally, different realities, were not sufficient factors for this diversity be well accepted in their positions. Thus, their utterances bring voices that demonstrated a difficulty in accepting others that are different from themselves. In view of this, we conclude that teachers need to be prepared to handle these discourses, creating strategies for mediating these dissonant voices, with which must make contact every day at school