Relocating the American Dream : The America of the 1960s as Portrayed by the New Journalists Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe

The concept of the American Dream was subject to a strong re-evaluation process in the 1960s, as counterculture became a prominent force in American society. A massive generation of young people, moved by the Vietnam War, the hippie movement, and psychedelic experimentation, created substantial social turbulence in their efforts to break out of conventional patterns and to create a new kind of society. This thesis outlines and analyses the concept of the American Dream in popular imagination through three works of new journalism. My primary data consists of Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1967), Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1971), and Norman Mailer’s Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History (1968). In defining the American Dream, I discuss the history of the concept as well as its manifestations in popular culture. Because of its elusive and amorphous nature, the concept of the American Dream can only be examined in cultural texts that portray the values, sentiments, and customs of a certain era. I have divided the analytical section of my thesis into three parts. In the first part I examine how the authors discuss the American society of their time in relation to ideology, capitalism, and the media. In the second part I focus on the Vietnam War and the controversy it creates in relation to the notions of freedom and patriotism. In the third part I discuss how the authors portray the countercultural visions of a better America that challenged the traditional interpretations of the American Dream. I also discuss the dark side of the new dream: the problems and disillusions that came with the effort to change the world. This thesis is an effort to trace the relocation of the American Dream in the context of the 1960s counterculture and new journalism. It hopes to provide a valuable addition to the cultural history of the sixties and to the effort of conceptualizing the American Dream.

Action learning in partnership with Landcare and catchment management groups to support increased pasture sowings in southern inland Queensland

The incorporation of sown pastures as short-term rotations into the cropping systems of northern Australia has been slow. The inherent chemical fertility and physical stability of the predominant vertisol soils across the region enabled farmers to grow crops for decades without nitrogen fertiliser, and precluded the evolution of a crop–pasture rotation culture. However, as less fertile and less physically stable soils were cropped for extended periods, farmers began to use contemporary farming and sown pasture technologies to rebuild and maintain their soils. This has typically involved sowing long-term grass and grass–legume pastures on the more marginal cropping soils of the region. In partnership with the catchment management authority, the Queensland Murray–Darling Committee (QMDC) and Landcare, a pasture extension process using the LeyGrain™ package was implemented in 2006 within two Grain & Graze projects in the Maranoa-Balonne and Border Rivers catchments in southern inland Queensland. The specific objectives were to increase the area sown to high quality pasture and to gain production and environmental benefits (particularly groundcover) through improving the skills of producers in pasture species selection, their understanding and management of risk during pasture establishment, and in managing pastures and the feed base better. The catalyst for increasing pasture sowings was a QMDC subsidy scheme for increasing groundcover on old cropping land. In recognising a need to enhance pasture knowledge and skills to implement this scheme, the QMDC and Landcare producer groups sought the involvement of, and set specific targets for, the LeyGrain workshop process. This is a highly interactive action learning process that built on the existing knowledge and skills of the producers. Thirty-four workshops were held with more than 200 producers in 26 existing groups and with private agronomists. An evaluation process assessed the impact of the workshops on the learning and skill development by participants, their commitment to practice change, and their future intent to sow pastures. The results across both project catchments were highly correlated. There was strong agreement by producers (>90%) that the workshops had improved knowledge and skills regarding the adaptation of pasture species to soils and climates, enabling a better selection at the paddock level. Additional strong impacts were in changing the attitudes of producers to all aspects of pasture establishment, and the relative species composition of mixtures. Producers made a strong commitment to practice change, particularly in managing pasture as a specialist crop at establishment to minimise risk, and in the better selection and management of improved pasture species (particularly legumes and the use of fertiliser). Producers have made a commitment to increase pasture sowings by 80% in the next 5 years, with fourteen producers in one group alone having committed to sow an additional 4893 ha of pasture in 2007–08 under the QMDC subsidy scheme. The success of the project was attributed to the partnership between QMDC and Landcare groups who set individual workshop targets with LeyGrain presenters, the interactive engagement processes within the workshops themselves, and the follow-up provided by the LeyGrain team for on-farm activities.

Oxidative stability of phytosterols in food models and foods

An important safety aspect to be considered when foods are enriched with phytosterols and phytostanols is the oxidative stability of these lipid compounds, i.e. their resistance to oxidation and thus to the formation of oxidation products. This study concentrated on producing scientific data to support this safety evaluation process. In the absence of an official method for analyzing of phytosterol/stanol oxidation products, we first developed a new gas chromatographic - mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method. We then investigated factors affecting these compounds' oxidative stability in lipid-based food models in order to identify critical conditions under which significant oxidation reactions may occur. Finally, the oxidative stability of phytosterols and stanols in enriched foods during processing and storage was evaluated. Enriched foods covered a range of commercially available phytosterol/stanol ingredients, different heat treatments during food processing, and different multiphase food structures. The GC-MS method was a powerful tool for measuring the oxidative stability. Data obtained in food model studies revealed that the critical factors for the formation and distribution of the main secondary oxidation products were sterol structure, reaction temperature, reaction time, and lipid matrix composition. Under all conditions studied, phytostanols as saturated compounds were more stable than unsaturated phytosterols. In addition, esterification made phytosterols more reactive than free sterols at low temperatures, while at high temperatures the situation was the reverse. Generally, oxidation reactions were more significant at temperatures above 100°C. At lower temperatures, the significance of these reactions increased with increasing reaction time. The effect of lipid matrix composition was dependent on temperature; at temperatures above 140°C, phytosterols were more stable in an unsaturated lipid matrix, whereas below 140°C they were more stable in a saturated lipid matrix. At 140°C, phytosterols oxidized at the same rate in both matrices. Regardless of temperature, phytostanols oxidized more in an unsaturated lipid matrix. Generally, the distribution of oxidation products seemed to be associated with the phase of overall oxidation. 7-ketophytosterols accumulated when oxidation had not yet reached the dynamic state. Once this state was attained, the major products were 5,6-epoxyphytosterols and 7-hydroxyphytosterols. The changes observed in phytostanol oxidation products were not as informative since all stanol oxides quantified represented hydroxyl compounds. The formation of these secondary oxidation products did not account for all of the phytosterol/stanol losses observed during the heating experiments, indicating the presence of dimeric, oligomeric or other oxidation products, especially when free phytosterols and stanols were heated at high temperatures. Commercially available phytosterol/stanol ingredients were stable during such food processes as spray-drying and ultra high temperature (UHT)-type heating and subsequent long-term storage. Pan-frying, however, induced phytosterol oxidation and was classified as a rather deteriorative process. Overall, the findings indicated that although phytosterols and stanols are stable in normal food processing conditions, attention should be paid to their use in frying. Complex interactions between other food constituents also suggested that when new phytosterol-enriched foods are developed their oxidative stability must first be established. The results presented here will assist in choosing safe conditions for phytosterol/stanol enrichment.

Moral Professionalism in Interaction : Educators' Relational Moral Voices in Urban Schools

The aim of this study was to investigate educators relational moral voices in urban schools and to listen to what they told about moral professionalism and moral practices in challenging urban schools. Their relational moral voices were investigated through the following three questions: 1. What are the educators moral voices in relation to themselves and other people? 2. What are the educators moral voices in relation to their work and society? 3. What kind of interaction process lies between the educators moral voices and the urban school context? The research data of this study were gathered in four urban schools in Jyväskylä and Helsinki. The research schools were chosen for this study according to the criteria of the international Socrates Comenius project called Leading Schools Successfully in Challenging Urban Context: Strategies for Improvement. This study formed part of this project, which investigated successful urban schools as challenging learning environments in nine European countries and explored the principals success in leadership in particular. The data, which included 37 narratively constructed interviews with four principals and key informants selected by the principals, were gathered in interviews conducted in 2006. In other words, the data comprised three interviews with each of four principals, and interviews with two teachers, two parents, and two pupils from each school. In addition, the school deacon from one school was also interviewed. Furthermore, part of the data from one of the research schools included a medium report of the school deacon s work. This study combined the case study method, the narrative approach and the critical incident technique as the methodological framework. In addition, all of these methods served as practical tools for both analyzing and reporting the data. The educators' narrations and the results of the study appear in the original articles (Hanhimäki & Tirri 2008; Hanhimäki 2008b; Hanhimäki & Tirri 2009; Hanhimäki 2008a). The educators moral voices in relation to themselves and other people emerged through the main themes of moral leadership, the development and evaluation process, moral sensitivity, gender, values, and student well-being. The educators moral voices in relation to their work and society emerged through the main themes of multiprofessional cooperation, families and parental involvement, and moral school culture. The idea of moral interaction connected moral professionalism and the methodological combination of this study, which together emphasized social interaction and the creation of understanding and meaning in this interaction. The main point of this study was to state that the educators moral voices emerged in the interaction between the educators themselves and the urban school context. In this interaction, the educators moral professionalism was constructed and shaped in relation to themselves, other people, their work and society. The loudest relational moral voices heard through the main themes were those of caring, cooperation, respect, commitment, and professionalism. When the results were compared to the codes of ethics which guided these educators moral professional work, the ethical principles and values of the codes were clearly visible in their moral practices. The loudest message from the educators narration could be summarized in the words caring, respect and cooperation: at its best, there is just a human being and a human being with caring, respect and cooperation between them. The results of this study emphasize the need for practical approaches such as case studies and the narrative approach in teacher education to encourage educators to become moral professionals capable of meeting the needs of people of varied backgrounds. In addition, opportunities for moral, religious and spiritual education should be noticed and utilized in the plural interaction of urban schools when nurturing pupils and creating a moral school culture. Furthermore, multiprofessional cooperation and parents as the school s primary cooperation partner are needed to carry out the shared duty of moral education in urban schools. Keywords: moral professionalism, educator, relational moral voice, interaction, urban school

Method of Design Through Structuring of Meanings

This research shows a new approach and development of a design methodology, based on the perspective of meanings. In this study the design process is explored as a development of the structure of meanings. The processes of search and evaluation of meanings form the foundations of developing this structure. In order to facilitate the use and operation of the meanings, the WordNet lexical database and an existing visualization of WordNet — Visuwords — is used for the process of meaning search. The basic tool used for evaluation process is the WordNet::Similarity software, measuring the relatedness of meanings in the database. In this way it is measuring the degree of interconnections between different meanings. This kind of search and evaluation techniques are later on incorporated into our methodology of the structure of meanings to support the design process. The measures of relatedness of meanings are developed as convergence criteria for application in the processes of evaluation. Further on, the methodology for the structure of meanings developed here is used to construct meanings in a verification of product design. The steps of the design methodology, including the search and evaluation processes involved in developing the structure of the meanings, are elucidated. The choices, made by the designer in terms of meanings are supported by consequent searches and evaluations of meanings to be implemented in the designed product. In conclusion, the paper presents directions for developing and further extensions of the proposed design methodology.

Evaluación de la política de Espacios Naturales Protegidos: una propuesta metodológica para la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

395 p.

Biological Platforms for Environmental Sensor technologies and their uses as indicators of the marine environment, Seward, Alaska, September 19-21, 2007: workshop proceedings

The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) Workshop entitled, "Biological Platforms as Sensor Technologies and their Use as Indicators for the Marine Environment" was held in Seward, Alaska, September 19 - 21,2007. The workshop was co-hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC). The workshop was attended by 25 participants representing a wide range of research scientists, managers, and manufacturers who develop and deploy sensory equipment using aquatic vertebrates as the mode of transport. Eight recommendations were made by participants at the conclusion of the workshop and are presented here without prioritization: 1. Encourage research toward development of energy scavenging devices of suitable sizes for use in remote sensing packages attached to marine animals. 2. Encourage funding sources for development of new sensor technologies and animal-borne tags. 3. Develop animal-borne environmental sensor platforms that offer more combined systems and improved data recovery methodologies, and expand the geographic scope of complementary fixed sensor arrays. 4. Engage the oceanographic community by: a. Offering a mini workshop at an AGU ocean sciences conference for people interested in developing an ocean carbon program that utilizes animal-borne sensor technology. b. Outreach to chemical oceanographers. 5. Min v2d6.sheepserver.net e and merge technologies from other disciplines that may be applied to marine sensors (e.g. biomedical field). 6. Encourage the NOAA Permitting Office to: a. Make a more predictable, reliable, and consistent permitting system for using animal platforms. b. Establish an evaluation process. c. Adhere to established standards. 7. Promote the expanded use of calibrated hydrophones as part of existing animal platforms. 8. Encourage the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) to promote animal tracking as effective samplers of the marine environment, and use of animals as ocean sensor technology platforms. [PDF contains 20 pages]

Meteorological Buoy Sensor Workshop, Solomons, Maryland, April 19-21, 2006: workshop proceedings

The co-organized Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) and National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) Workshop "Meteorological Buoy Sensors Workshop" convened in Solomons, Maryland, April 19 to 21,2006, sponsored by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Chesapeake Bay Laboratory (CBL), an ACT partner institution. Participants from various sectors including resource managers and industry representatives collaborated to focus on technologies and sensors that measure the near surface variables of wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity and air temperature. The vendor list was accordingly targeted at companies that produced these types of sensors. The managers represented a cross section of federal, regional and academic marine observing interests from around the country. Workshop discussions focused on the challenges associated with making marine meteorological observations in general and problems that were specific to a particular variable. Discussions also explored methods to mitigate these challenges through the adoption of best practices, improved technologies and increased standardization. Some of the key workshop outcomes and recommendations included: 0cean.US should establish a committee devoted to observations. The committee would have a key role in developing observing standards. The community should adopt the target cost, reliability and performance standards drafted for a typical meteorological package to be used by a regional observing system. A forum should be established to allow users and manufacturers to share best practices for the employment of marine meteorological sensors. The ACT website would host the forum. Federal activities that evaluate meteorological sensors should make their results publicly available. ACT should extend their evaluation process to include meteorological sensors. A follow on workshop should be conducted that covers the observing of meteorological variables not addressed by this workshop. (pdf contains 18 pages)

A língua portuguesa no vestibular: ensino, leitura e conhecimento prévio

Esta tese objetiva a análise de provas discursivas de Língua Portuguesa de vestibulares, na perspectiva da leitura, focando a compreensão de texto, suas estratégias e os conhecimentos prévios necessários ao egresso do Ensino Médio. São analisadas as provas discursivas de Língua Portuguesa da UERJ, UNIRIO, UFF e UFRJ, realizadas nos vestibulares 2006, 2007 e 2008. Parte-se das seguintes hipóteses: as provas solicitam conhecimentos prévios baseados nos programas, habilidades e competências a serem desenvolvidos no nível médio; a dificuldade apresentada na realização das questões está relacionada não só ao conhecimento disciplinar de língua portuguesa, mas também à capacidade/estratégia de leitura dos enunciados e à dificuldade de seleção e interação de diferentes conhecimentos específicos relacionados ao seu uso pragmático. A partir de tais hipóteses, propõem-se os seguintes objetivos: levantar os conhecimentos específicos relativos ao ensino de língua portuguesa; compreender a relação do processo de leitura na ativação do conhecimento prévio; relacionar o processo de avaliação do vestibular ao contexto da educação básica; buscar explicação para as questões com nota média baixa. Para atingir os objetivos, contextualiza-se o ensino de Língua Portuguesa no Ensino Médio; aborda-se a leitura, no viés da compreensão de texto, focalizando principalmente conhecimentos prévios e inferências; faz-se uma breve história do vestibular, seus objetivos e seu papel; a seguir, analisam-se as provas indicadas, levantando-se conhecimento prévio, habilidades e competências envolvidas no processo de compreensão de texto. As principais conclusões são: as questões das provas analisadas estão de acordo com os programas publicados pelas universidades e com os PCNs; o nível de exigência é graduado, conforme as competências e habilidades variadas; o conhecimento prévio organizado e esquematizado é fundamental para a realização de inferências adequadas

Subjetividade e gestão: a dinâmica entre o legal e o legítimo no processo de avaliação de indicadores do INCA

Esta pesquisa buscou compreender a dinâmica entre o legal e o legítimo a partir de um processo de avaliação de indicadores do INCA. Os objetivos foram relatar a opinião dos profissionais sobre a avaliação de desempenho institucional, descrever a percepção de pertencimento e corresponsabilidade dos profissionais nas contratualizações institucionais e apontar obstáculos ao fortalecimento da cultura de avaliação. O objeto do estudo foi construído a partir do referencial teórico da Psicossociologia Francesa. Como trajetória metodológica, para o alcance dos objetivos propostos, foi realizado um estudo de natureza qualitativa, empregando entrevistas semiestruturadas. As entrevistas foram organizadas com auxílio de anotações realizadas pela autora em 62 reuniões cujo tema era avaliação e monitoramento de indicadores. As entrevistas constituíram-se como o material empírico para proceder às análises, visando, sobretudo, a interpretação dos entrevistados sobre demandas estratégicas da gestão. Ao analisar a dinâmica entre o legal e legítimo, concluímos que organização do instituto por normativos dispositivos legais não garante legitimidade das ações propostas. Aspectos (inter) subjetivos contemplados na elaboração de normas diretrizes dificultam capilaridade necessária da informação. Por fim, estudo defende ampliação abordagem valor subjetividade nos processos gestão INCA.

Geração e Simplificação da Base de Conhecimento de um Sistema Híbrido Fuzzy-Genético.

Geração e Simplificação da Base de Conhecimento de um Sistema Híbrido Fuzzy- Genético propõe uma metodologia para o desenvolvimento da base de conhecimento de sistemas fuzzy, fundamentada em técnicas de computação evolucionária. Os sistemas fuzzy evoluídos são avaliados segundo dois critérios distintos: desempenho e interpretabilidade. Uma metodologia para a análise de problemas multiobjetivo utilizando a Lógica Fuzzy foi também desenvolvida para esse fim e incorporada ao processo de avaliação dos AGs. Os sistemas fuzzy evoluídos foram avaliados através de simulações computacionais e os resultados obtidos foram comparados com os obtidos por outros métodos em diferentes tipos de aplicações. O uso da metodologia proposta demonstrou que os sistemas fuzzy evoluídos possuem um bom desempenho aliado a uma boa interpretabilidade da sua base de conhecimento, tornando viável a sua utilização no projeto de sistemas reais.

Política Pública de Formação Continuada do Professor: O PDE no Paraná - Implicações no Trabalho Docente

Este estudo tem como objeto e análise a compreensão da Política Pública de Formação Continuada dos Professores da rede estadual de ensino do Paraná, materializada no Programa de Desenvolvimento Educacional entre os anos de 2003-2010. A pesquisa se constitui em uma investigação de natureza bibliográfica, documental e de campo, a partir do método materialista histórico dialético, no entendimento que os dados levantados nesses três processos investigativos se articulam para uma análise qualitativa de compreensão da realidade. Os objetivos foram compreender a partir da formação do professor PDE em que medida os pressupostos, a concepção e os objetivos anunciados no referido Programa foram objetivados nas relações sociais, no trabalho docente, na socialização do conhecimento e no redimensionamento das práticas coletivas. Da mesma forma, entender o processo de implantação e articulação entre os dois níveis de ensino (educação básica e o ensino superior) uma vez que o Programa foi desenvolvido em parceria entre os dois níveis de ensino. Ainda, explicita de que forma e em que medida foram incorporadas as proposições históricas dos trabalhadores da educação por formação continuada. O trabalho conclui que: ao considerar o espectro mais amplo do contexto social, político, econômico e educacional, no bojo da sociedade capitalista neoliberal, a Política Pública de Formação Continuada, materializada no Programa de Desenvolvimento Educacional entre os anos de 2007-2010, cuja concepção político-metodológica é orientada pelo princípio ontológico do trabalho, apresenta-se como uma proposta inovadora de qualificação, que contribui para o aperfeiçoamento e para o avanço na carreira e na valorização dos professores; se contrapõe à visão da educação, da formação e do trabalho docente estritamente vinculada ao mundo do trabalho e que, em certa medida, acolhe as reivindicações e proposições dos trabalhadores da educação; esse Programa produziu importantes contribuições no campo da formação continuada dos professores da rede estadual de ensino paranaense quanto aos fundamentos políticos e disciplinares de caráter teórico-prático com impactos significativos na melhoria no processo ensino-aprendizagem, mesmo que não diretamente por meio da implementação dos projetos de intervenção, mas pela própria condição de aprofundamento no conhecimento do professor participante no Programa e, com isso, a incidência na sua prática pedagógica, na preparação das aulas, na organização dos conteúdos, na metodologia de trabalho e no processo avaliativo; que mesmo considerando os problemas, as dificuldades encontradas durante o Programa não anulam os esforços empreendidos até aqui, ao contrário, indicam possibilidades sempre de superação

Enterprise resource planning: Analysing the impact

Describes a study that set out to evaluate the performance impact of a SAP R3 implementation. The SAP system was implemented by a major multinational business in four of its European plants. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected over a two-year period, through surveys and interviews with systems users and by accessing company records. While users were able to identify the operational benefits of SAP, they were still doubtful at the end of the evaluation process whether the system had resulted in any significant positive financial benefits for the business. Two themes related to this observation are explored. First the time lag between operational improvements and subsequent financial impact. Second the importance of learning as a means of reducing the time lag. Learning in this context is a multi-dimensional concept and covers learning how to use the system, learning how to improve the system and learning how to improve the implementation process.

Computer perception of topological symmetry by all-paths algorithm

During the development of our ESESOC system (Expert System for the Elucidation of the Structures of Organic Compounds), computer perception of topological symmetry is essential in searching for the canonical description of a molecular structure, removing the irredundant connections in the structure generation process, and specifying the number of peaks in C-13- and H-1-NMR spectra in the structure evaluation process. In the present paper, a new path identifier is introduced and an algorithm for detection of topological symmetry from a connection table is developed by the all-paths method. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Impacto das variáveis sociodemográficas no potencial dos jovens com formação superior em Portugal

Dissertação apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa, como parte dos requisitos para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia, ramo de Psicologia do Trabalho e das Organizações