How much cultural events are "worth" for host communities: Case of Faz M��sica Lisboa

This paper studies the economic and social impact of Faz M��sica Lisboa on the segment of society that feels from any direct or indirect consequence due to its existence. A qualitative research based on surveys and interviews is made to retract a list of the benefits and costs that each stakeholder perceives. Relying on the quantifiable variables, it is performed a cost-benefit analysis to measure how much the event is ���worth��� for the community. I conclude this is a viable project, as it brings a positive net benefit to the society, value that could increase with a higher institutional support.

Cultural journalism in a digital environment : new models, practices and possibilities

Both culture coverage and digital journalism are contemporary phenomena that have undergone several transformations within a short period of time. Whenever the media enters a period of uncertainty such as the present one, there is an attempt to innovate in order to seek sustainability, skip the crisis or find a new public. This indicates that there are new trends to be understood and explored, i.e., how are media innovating in a digital environment? Not only does the professional debate about the future of journalism justify the need to explore the issue, but so do the academic approaches to cultural journalism. However, none of the studies so far have considered innovation as a motto or driver and tried to explain how the media are covering culture, achieving sustainability and engaging with the readers in a digital environment. This research examines how European media which specialize in culture or have an important cultural section are innovating in a digital environment. Specifically, we see how these innovation strategies are being taken in relation to the approach to culture and dominant cultural areas, editorial models, the use of digital tools for telling stories, overall brand positioning and extensions, engagement with the public and business models. We conducted a mixed methods study combining case studies of four media projects, which integrates qualitative web features and content analysis, with quantitative web content analysis. Two major general-interest journalistic brands which started as physical newspapers ��� The Guardian (London, UK) and P��blico (Lisbon, Portugal) ��� a magazine specialized in international affairs, culture and design ��� Monocle (London, UK) ��� and a native digital media project that was launched by a cultural organization ��� Notodo, by La F��brica ��� were the four case studies chosen. Findings suggest, on one hand, that we are witnessing a paradigm shift in culture coverage in a digital environment, challenging traditional boundaries related to cultural themes and scope, angles, genres, content format and delivery, engagement and business models. Innovation in the four case studies lies especially along the product dimensions (format and content), brand positioning and process (business model and ways to engage with users). On the other hand, there are still perennial values that are crucial to innovation and sustainability, such as commitment to journalism, consistency (to the reader, to brand extensions and to the advertiser), intelligent differentiation and the capability of knowing what innovation means and how it can be applied, since this thesis also confirms that one formula doesn��t suit all. Changing minds, exceeding cultural inertia and optimizing the memory of the websites, looking at them as living, organic bodies, which continuously interact with the readers in many different ways, and not as a closed collection of articles, are still the main challenges for some media.

Estudo da influ��ncia cultural no Design de Cal��ado

Disserta����o de mestrado em Design e Marketing

Intera����o cultural e interpretatio na epigrafia votiva: o caso da fachada ocidental do conuentus Bracaraugustanus

Disserta����o de mestrado em Arqueologia

Cultural circuits of climate change in U.K. broadsheet newspapers, 1985���2003

This article argues for a cultural perspective to be brought to bear on studies of climate change risk perception. Developing the ���circuit of culture��� model, the article maintains that the producers and consumers of media texts are jointly engaged in dynamic, meaning-making activities that are context-specific and that change over time. A critical discourse analysis of climate change based on a database of newspaper reports from three U.K. broadsheet papers over the period 1985���2003 is presented. This empirical study identifies three distinct circuits of climate change���1985���1990, 1991���1996, 1997���2003���which are characterized by different framings of risks associated with climate change. The article concludes that there is evidence of social learning as actors build on their experiences in relation to climate change science and policy making. Two important factors in shaping the U.K.���s broadsheet newspapers��� discourse on ���dangerous��� climate change emerge as the agency of top political figures and the dominant ideological standpoints in different newspapers.

Po��ticas y pol��ticas de los cuerpos juveniles. Tres estudios en caso en C��rdoba. The poetics and politics of youths' bodies.Three cases studies.

��Qu�� formas adquieren los cuerpos de los j��venes bajo las actuales condiciones de producci��n? ��Cu��les son sus po��ticas? ��Qu�� relaciones de fuerza se realizan en estas formas? ��C��mo se inscriben en los cuerpos las relaciones de dominaci��n, el "ethos" y la cosmovisi��n de un grupo social? Estas son algunas de las cuestiones que orientan el presente proyecto, interesado en explorar y describir sistem��ticamente los procesos sociales del devenir "joven" en C��rdoba. La investigaci��n aborda algunas de las problem��ticas propias de los j��venes en tanto grupo social heterog��neo y diferenciado a partir del an��lisis de las pr��cticas de producci��n, consumo, interpretaci��n y circulaci��n de bienes culturales asociados con la diversi��n y el tiempo libre. Los tres objetos emp��ricos, localizados en la ciudad de C��rdoba, son:o las salidas nocturnas de j��venes estudiantes universitarios o la formaci��n y el entrenamiento de los bailarines cl��sicos en el Teatro del Libertador Gral. San Mart��n. o las pr��cticas de entretenimiento y socializaci��n l��dica entre los j��venes de la comunidad de sordos de C��rdoba.La hip��tesis central de la investigaci��n sostiene que la m��sica y el baile tienen la capacidad de producir las identidades que nombran. Esta producci��n de cuerpos y subjetividades se realizar��a en las performances sociales ("las salidas nocturnas" y "fiestas de la comunidad sorda") y las performances art��sticas (clases, ensayos y funciones de ballet) donde se da la interacci��n entre las identidades actuadas por los sujetos y las ofrecidas por las diferentes m��sicas, bailes y movimientos corporales. En este sentido, proponemos que las performances articulan una particular identidad cuando quienes la protagonizan experimentan que la m��sica y el baile se "ajusta" a la trama argumental que organiza sus narrativas identitarias.ObjetivosGENERAL:o Describir, de modo denso, las pr��cticas y representaciones implicadas en el proceso de materializaci��n de los cuerpos y relacionarlas con los procesos de subjetivaci��n y formaci��n de identidades juveniles. ESPEC��FICOS.o Explorar la relaci��n entre las diversas formas de consumo cultural en la formaci��n de un estilo de vida y en la formaci��n de identidades colectivas. o Describir los procesos de entrenamiento de los bailarines de m��sica cl��sica.o Analizar los procesos de comunicaci��n no verbal entre j��venes de la comunidad sorda.Materiales y m��todos.Para realizar esta investigaci��n se construir�� por medio de t��cnicas cuali y cuantitativas un corpus heterog��neo de materiales textuales, gr��ficos y audiovisuales, as�� como de entrevistas en profundidad, de experiencias etnogr��ficas de observaci��n participante y de investigaci��n cuantitativa. Dicho corpus recibir�� un tratamiento diferencial seg��n el soporte y g��nero, pero en todos los casos trabajando desde una matriz de an��lisis que considere los procesos de construcci��n de sentido y las relaciones entre cuerpo, subjetividad e identidad. En el an��lisis de los datos se pondr��n en juego herramientas conceptuales tomadas de la Antropolog��a Simb��lica, la Antropolog��a de la Danza, el An��lisis del Discurso, la Sociolog��a del Arte y los Estudios de la Performance. Resultados esperados.Se espera elaborar indicadores para medir la producci��n, circulaci��n y consumo de bienes simb��licos. El desenvolvimiento del proyecto permitir�� tambi��n la formaci��n de recursos humanos en investigaci��n y se contempla presentaciones a reuniones cient��ficas, publicaci��n en revistas nacionales e internacionales y la elaboraci��n de dos libros. Por ��ltimo se implementar��n actividades de capacitaci��n y asesoramiento para instituciones relacionados con los j��venes. Importancia del ProyectoLos resultados de la investigaci��n permitir��n una interpretaci��n m��s comprehensiva de los sentidos que poseen para j��venes cordobeses problem��ticas sociales como las adicciones, el alcoholismo, la salud sexual y reproductiva, las pr��cticas discriminatorias o los usos de las nuevas tecnolog��as.

Relations of the job demands-control-support model of job strain with personality attributes : a cross-cultural study in Switzerland and South Africa

Among the various work stress models, one of the most popular to date is the job demands-��‐control (JDC) model developed by Karasek (1979), which postulates that work-��‐related strain will be the highest under work conditions characterized by high demands and low autonomy. The absence of social support at work will further increase negative outcomes. However, this model does not apply equally to all individuals and to all cultures. In the following studies, we assessed work characteristics, personality traits, culture-��‐driven individual attributes, and work-��‐related health outcomes, through the administration of questionnaires. The samples consist of Swiss (n = 622) and South African (n = 879) service-��‐oriented employees (from health, finance, education and commerce sectors) and aged from 18 to 65 years old. Results generally confirm the universal contribution of high psychological demands, low decision latitude and low supervisor support at work, as well as high neuroticism predict the worse health outcomes among employees in both countries. Furthermore, low neuroticism plays a moderating role between psychological demands and burnout, while high openness and high conscientiousness each play a moderating role between decision latitude and burnout in South Africa. Results also reveal that culture-��‐driven individual attributes play a role in both countries, but in a unique manner and according to the ethnic group of belonging. Given that organizations are increasingly characterized with multicultural employees as well as increasingly adverse and complex job conditions, our results help in identifying more updated and refined dynamics that are key between the employee and the work environment in today's context. -- L'un des mod��les sur le stress au travail des plus r��pandus est celui d��velopp�� par Karasek (1979), qui postule qu'une mauvaise sant�� chez les employ��s r��sulte d'une combinaison de demandes psychologiques ��lev��es, d'une latitude d��cisionnelle faible et de l'absence de soutien social au travail. N��anmoins, ce mod��le ne s'applique pas de fa��on ��quivalente chez tous les individus et dans toutes les cultures. Dans les ��tudes pr��sent��es, nous avons mesur�� les caract��ristiques de travail, les traits de personnalit��, les traits culturels et les effets lies �� la sant�� �� l'aide de questionnaires. L'��chantillon provient de la Suisse (n = 622) et de l'Afrique du Sud (n = 879) et comprend des employ��s de domaines divers en lien avec le service (notamment des secteurs de la sant��, finance, ��ducation et commerce) tous ��g��s entre 18 et 65 ans. Les r��sultats confirment l'universalit�� des effets directs des demandes au travail, la latitude d��cisionnelle faible, le soutien social faible provenant du sup��rieur hi��rarchique, ainsi que le n��vrosisme ��lev�� qui contribuent �� un niveau de sant�� faible au travail, et ce, dans les deux pays. De plus, un niveau faible de n��vrosisme a un effet de mod��ration entre les demandes au travail et l'��puisement professionnel, alors que l'ouverture ��lev��e et le caract��re consciencieux ��lev�� mod��rent la relation entre la latitude d��cisionnelle et l'��puisement professionnel en Afrique du Sud. Nous avons aussi trouv�� que les traits culturels jouent un r��le dans les deux pays, mais de fa��on unique et en fonction du groupe ethnique d'appartenance. Sachant que les organisations sont de plus en plus caract��ris��es par des employ��s d'origine ethnique vari��es, et que les conditions de travail se complexifient, nos r��sultats contribuent �� mieux comprendre les dynamiques entre l'employ�� et l'environnement de travail contemporain. personnalit��, diff��rences individuelles, comparaisons culturelles, culture, stress au travail, ��puisement professionnel, sant�� des employ��s.

Epidemiology and Anthropology: an integrated approach dealing with bio-socio-cultural aspects as strategy for the control of endemic diseases

The control of endemic diseases has not attained the desired level of effectiveness in spite of the use of modern efficient thecnologies. The classic interventionist approach for the control of schistosomiasis is centered on systemic control of the snail hosts combined to large scale medical treatment and is usually carried out without social preocupation due to the assisted communities. It is easy to understand the interest and the ethical compromise of public health research while producing studies in which the biological and social determinants as well as the cultural components should be considered and also encompass the historical dimensions and symbolic representations. In face of the recent political decision in favor of decentralizations of health administration to municipal level, we suggest, in the present paper, an integrated approach for the epidemiological diagnosis of an endemic situation at local level. Theoretical and methodological aspects from both, epidemiology and anthropology are discussed. Epidemiological methods can be used to detect the dependent variables (those related to the human infection) and the independent variables (demographic, economic, sanitary and social). Another methodological approach of anthropological /etnographic nature can be conducted in order to make an articulation of the knowledge on the various dimensions or determinant levels of the disease. Mutual comprehension, between researchers and the people under investigation, on the dynamic transmission process would be relevant for a joint construction, at local level, of programmed actions for the control of endemic diseases. This would extend reflections on the health/disease process as a whole.

A cross-cultural study of the higher-order structures underlying personality disorders in French-speaking Africa and Switzerland

Most studies about the higher-order dimensions to be considered in order to parsimoniously describe Personality Disorders (PDs) have identified between two and four factors but there is still no consensus about their exact number. In this context, the cultural stability of these structures might be a criterion to be considered. The aim of this study was to identify stable higher-order structures of PD traits in a French-speaking African and Swiss sample (N = 2,711). All subject completed the IPDE screening questionnaire. Using Everett's criterion and conducting a series of principal component analyses, a cross-culturally stable two- and four-factor structure were identified, associated with a total congruence coefficient of respectively .98 and .94 after Procrustes rotation. Moreover, these two structures were also highly replicable across the four African regions considered, North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and Mauritius, with a mean total congruence coefficient of respectively .97 and .87. The four-factor structure presented the advantage of being similar to Livesely's four components and of describing the ten PDs more accurately.

The ethnography of study abroad: what is study abroad as a cultural event?

Recent research in the field of study abroad shows that study abroad participation among all U.S. students increased 20% since 2001 and nearly 200,000 U.S. students currently go abroad each year. Additionally, about 8% of all undergraduate degree recipients receive part of their education abroad. Although quantitative studies have dominated research on study abroad, my research project calls for a qualitative approach since the goal is to understand what study abroad is as a cultural event, what authentic cultural immersion is, how program stakeholders understand and perceive cultural immersion, and how cultural immersion in programs can be improved. Following the tradition of ethnographic and case study approaches in study abroad research, my study also pivots on ethnography. As an ethnographer I collected data mainly through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The study abroad participants were a group of undergraduate native speakers of English studying Spanish for seven weeks in C��diz, a small costal city in southern Spain, as well as program coordinators, host community members, and professors. I also examined the specific program design features, particularly the in-class and out-of-class activities that students participated in. The goal was to understand if these features were conducive to authentic immersion in the language and culture. Eventually, I elaborated an ethnographic evaluation of the study abroad program and its design features suggesting improvements in order to enhance the significance and value of study abroad as a cultural event. Among other things, I discussed the difficulties that students had at the beginning of their sojourn to understand local people, get used to their host families��� small apartments, get adjusted to new schedules and eating habits, and venture out from the main group to individually explore the new social and cultural fabric and interact with the host community. The program evaluation revealed the need for carefully-designed pre-departure preparation sessions, pre-departure credit-bearing courses in intercultural communication, and additional language practice abroad and opportunities to come in contact with the local community through internships, volunteer or field work. My study gives an important contribution in study abroad research and education. It benefits students, teachers, and study abroad directors and coordinators in suggesting ideas on how to improve the program and optimize the students��� cultural experiences abroad. This study is also important because it investigated how US undergraduate learners studying the Spanish language and culture approach and perceive the study abroad experience in Spain.

The initial epidemiological studies in the low endemicity schistosomiasis area in esteio, Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost Brazilian State, 1997 to 2000

Nor Biomphalaria glabrata neither Schistosoma mansoni were reported from Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost Brazilian state before 1997. Their detection next to the Sinos River, Esteio, confirmed predictions of schistosomiasis expansion to the south. Parasitological examinations both in snails and fecal samples from the human population were performed from 1997 to 2000. The last 3 out of 5 surveys were performed after a preliminar serological screening procedure in a risk group identified at a population census. A total of 11 infected individuals were found infected and snails from 2 different sites were positive for S. mansoni. Samples from these 2 and other sites were identified as B. glabrata. Egg counts in feces were below 1 per gram in 6 out of 11 patients. Some socio-cultural perceptions of water contact activities next to the Sinos River may cause difficulties to control efforts, but they also may be partially acting against a very rapid increase in transmission intensity. The southernmost schistomiasis mansoni foci in Americas rise the alert for its ongoing expansion.

A review of the cross-cultural equivalence of frequently used personality inventories

Personality inventories are frequently used for career guidance. Some should theoretically depend on cultural context, while others are supposed to be universal. The cross-cultural equivalence is only partial for culture-dependent models, as the locus of control. Concerning models that are supposed to be universal like the one proposed by Cattell or the Five-Factor Model, a partial and a full structural equivalence are, respectively observed. The extent of the scalar equivalence is difficult to assess indicating that more studies should be conducted to understand how culture affects processes underlying the evaluation of personality.

El arte que traduce. 1995-2010: la traducci��n como mediaci��n cultural en los procesos de transmisi��n y recepci��n de las obras de arte

El trabajo de investigaci��n realizado durante los tres ��ltimos a��os de beca se centra en las teor��as cr��ticas y en las pr��cticas art��sticas contempor��neas que utilizan la traducci��n como mediaci��n cultural en los procesos de transmisi��n y recepci��n de las obras de arte contempor��neo. En el contexto artistico contempor��neo la traducci��n es entendida como intercambio, adaptaci��n, traslado o transacci��n. Tomando como referentes conceptuales las teor��as nacidas en el marco interdisciplinar de los Estudios Visuales y de los Estudios de Traducci��n, dicha investigaci��n se ha centrado en el an��lisis del fen��meno de la traducci��n en la producci��n art��stica. A partir de este an��lisis se han investigado las conexiones entre estas disciplinas human��sticas y la pr��ctica art��stica, as�� como la problem��tica que ��stas conllevan en la formulaci��n de nuevos criterios y nuevas categor��as de la Historia del Arte actual. En la pr��ctica art��stica cuestiones relativas a la traducci��n se han podido integrar al arte visual: por un lado como pr��ctica indispensable para la comprensi��n e interpretaci��n de la obra de arte entre diferentes contextos geogr��ficos o culturales, y por otro, como elemento ���formal��� indispensable para la realizaci��n de los artefactos art��sticos que, a su vez, quieren interpretar diferentes realidades sociales, antropol��gicas o pol��ticas. Sobretodo a partir de la serie On Translation del artista catal��n Antoni Muntadas, as�� como de otros artistas de varios contextos geogr��ficos y culturales, se han analizado las din��micas pr��cticas y te��ricas de la traducci��n que acompa��an el proceso de la realizaci��n de los artefactos art��sticos. Muchas de estas obras de arte contempor��neo asimilando los significantes propios del contexto cultural, social, pol��tico, econ��mico, y utilizando elementos formales variados (sobretodo tecnol��gicos) necesitan de un an��lisis interdisciplinar.

Bladder cancer index: cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish and psychometric evaluation.

BACKGROUND The Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) is so far the only instrument applicable across all bladder cancer patients, independent of tumor infiltration or treatment applied. We developed a Spanish version of the BCI, and assessed its acceptability and metric properties. METHODS For the adaptation into Spanish we used the forward and back-translation method, expert panels, and cognitive debriefing patient interviews. For the assessment of metric properties we used data from 197 bladder cancer patients from a multi-center prospective study. The Spanish BCI and the SF-36 Health Survey were self-administered before and 12��months after treatment. Reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed through the multi-trait multi-method matrix. The magnitude of change was quantified by effect sizes to assess responsiveness. RESULTS Reliability coefficients ranged 0.75-0.97. The validity analysis confirmed moderate associations between the BCI function and bother subscales for urinary (r���=���0.61) and bowel (r���=���0.53) domains; conceptual independence among all BCI domains (r���������0.3); and low correlation coefficients with the SF-36 scores, ranging 0.14-0.48. Among patients reporting global improvement at follow-up, pre-post treatment changes were statistically significant for the urinary domain and urinary bother subscale, with effect sizes of 0.38 and 0.53. CONCLUSIONS The Spanish BCI is well accepted, reliable, valid, responsive, and similar in performance compared to the original instrument. These findings support its use, both in Spanish and international studies, as a valuable and comprehensive tool for assessing quality of life across a wide range of bladder cancer patients.