Reading together: an ethnographic study of a reading group for visually-impaired people

Because reading groups historically have been under-researched (Long, 2003), the literature in this field is limited, presenting this as an interesting area for researchers. A need for further research is also explained by the fact that the traditional model of a reading group has been expanded through recent library policies leading to the development of specific group types such as groups for visually-impaired people (VIPs). To date, there have been no long-term empirical studies of these groups. This thesis, therefore, makes a significant contribution to the literature in this field by providing an in-depth exploration of a VIP reading group. The thesis is an ethnographic study which follows a library-run reading group for visually-impaired people from its formation in September 2007 and concentrates on five of the group members. The methodology for the study is influenced by participatory approaches to research involving disabled people by inviting the participants to participate in the co-creation of knowledge about themselves (French & Swain, 2000, p. 1). It is also influenced by new ethnography’s preference for multi-layered texts by exploring both the individual and collective experiences of the participants. While the participants are defined throughout as readers, visual-impairment plays a role in their experiences. I show that visually-impaired readers and reading groups sit within a complex web of factors which impact on their experiences both as individual readers and as a group. The study also shows that VIP reading groups challenge traditional definitions of reading as a visual activity. The study explores issues of power and concludes that, because ownership of the group lies with the library, this challenges the idea of reading groups empowering their members. Furthermore, offering discrete groups for visually-impaired readers means that the role these groups play in contributing to agendas for social inclusion is problematic. The study concludes by making suggestions as to how these groups might develop to be more inclusive and empowering.

The Construction of Identity in Edwidge Danticat's The Farming of Bones

The Farming of Bones deals with issues surrounding the dynamic connections between identity and boundary construction in post-colonial context. It will present an analysis of how the novelist problematizes and communicates her idea of social and national identity construction to her readers and how the readers can identify themselves with the struggles and challenges of the protagonist Amabelle who is trying to find her own identity. This essay will show how Danticat’s novel contributes to an understanding of national identity beyond borders and makes the reader take the role of an individual who constructs her identity by uncovering moments of raw humanness. Until now, no literary scholar has examined the protagonist’s therapeutic role in bridging this social and national gap. Instead critics have discussed other issues of the novel like crossing and re-crossing the border, love, dreams, etc. Although this scholarship has been very effective and rewarding, it lacks any focus on the complexity of the characters’ identity construction. Therefore, this paper will reconsider Danticat’s The Farming of Bones with a closer attention to the question of identity.

Geometrias não-eucludianas como anomalias: implicações para o ensino de geometria e medidas

This present research the aim to show to the reader the Geometry non-Euclidean while anomaly indicating the pedagogical implications and then propose a sequence of activities, divided into three blocks which show the relationship of Euclidean geometry with non-Euclidean, taking the Euclidean with respect to analysis of the anomaly in non-Euclidean. PPGECNM is tied to the line of research of History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science in the Teaching of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Treat so on Euclid of Alexandria, his most famous work The Elements and moreover, emphasize the Fifth Postulate of Euclid, particularly the difficulties (which lasted several centuries) that mathematicians have to understand him. Until the eighteenth century, three mathematicians: Lobachevsky (1793 - 1856), Bolyai (1775 - 1856) and Gauss (1777-1855) was convinced that this axiom was correct and that there was another geometry (anomalous) as consistent as the Euclid, but that did not adapt into their parameters. It is attributed to the emergence of these three non-Euclidean geometry. For the course methodology we started with some bibliographical definitions about anomalies, after we ve featured so that our definition are better understood by the readers and then only deal geometries non-Euclidean (Hyperbolic Geometry, Spherical Geometry and Taxicab Geometry) confronting them with the Euclidean to analyze the anomalies existing in non-Euclidean geometries and observe its importance to the teaching. After this characterization follows the empirical part of the proposal which consisted the application of three blocks of activities in search of pedagogical implications of anomaly. The first on parallel lines, the second on study of triangles and the third on the shortest distance between two points. These blocks offer a work with basic elements of geometry from a historical and investigative study of geometries non-Euclidean while anomaly so the concept is understood along with it s properties without necessarily be linked to the image of the geometric elements and thus expanding or adapting to other references. For example, the block applied on the second day of activities that provides extend the result of the sum of the internal angles of any triangle, to realize that is not always 180° (only when Euclid is a reference that this conclusion can be drawn)

Os espaços poéticos de um cronista contador

This study discusses chronicler Rubem Braga and his chronicles published in O Estado de São Paulo newspaper (supplement Caderno 2), from 1988 to 1990. The analysis of the 84 chronicles focuses on the study of poetic spaces, mainly based on Gaston Bachelard s book The Poetics of Space. Narrator s characteristics are also shown in the analyzed chronicles, as he resembles a traditional storyteller, even though participates in a genre that belongs to a modern vehicle: the newspaper. The storyteller-chronicler moves in time and space, reporting his experiences to the readers, and also travels inside of himself, discovering places which were kept in his memory

Do teatro Elisabetano ao sertão do século XIX: a presença de Shakespeare em Inocência

The Shakespearean theater is a result of the genius of this playwright alongside the material provided by the period in which they came out the Elizabethan Age. Most of his works bring up themes and elements which keep them up-to-date, arousing an ongoing interest of readers and theatergoers, and also serving as inspiration for other writers to create their own works. Taking these ideas into account, this work aims to bring up questions concerning the presence of Shakespeare in a nineteenth-century Brazilian novel, Inocência, by Viscount of Taunay. In this novel, Taunay makes references to this playwright, using some epigraphs taken from Romeo and Juliet, from which we seek to understand how the novel dialogues with this Shakespearean drama. In order to develop such a study, we take into account some theoretical assumptions of hypertextuality, as proposed by the French scholar Gerard Genette, whose ideas about the dialogue between literary works support the analysis of the relationship between Taunay s novel and the above-referenced play of Shakespeare.

Por dentro da cidade: solidão e marginalidade em Rubem Fonseca

The fictional work of the author Rubem Fonseca, since its debut in 1963, with the book of tales entitled Os Prisioneiros, it has been evoking a continuing interest in their readers and in the specialized criticism. The doctoral thesis entitled Por dentro da cidade solidão e marginalidade em Rubem Fonseca turns itself to his tale, it is considered by many as the most pungent of the author s literature. It is chosen a corpus of varied tales of the author, and still having as foundation the ideas from scholars of literary narratives, among them Antonio Candido (1980; 1987; 2006), Alfredo Bosi (1999; 2006) and still Walter Benjamin, (2000a; 2000b), the thesis discusses the contemporary Brazilian literature, more specifically the fonsequiana fiction, which exposes in an intense way the modern human condition in big cities: our dramas, inconstancies, desires and loneliness.

Propolis: Is there a potential for the development of new drugs?

Introduction: Propolis has plenty of biological and pharmacological properties and its mechanisms of action have been widely investigated in the last years, using different experimental models in vitro and in vivo. Researchers have been interested in the investigation of isolated compounds responsible for propolis action; however, there is lack of clinical research on the effects of propolis.Strategy and objectives: Since propolis-containing products have been marketed and humans have used propolis for different purposes, the goal of this review is to discuss the potential of propolis for the development of new drugs, by comparing data from the literature that suggest candidate areas for the establishment of drugs against tumors, infections, allergy, diabetes, ulcers and with immunomodulatory action.Conclusions: The efficacy of propolis in different protocols in vitro and in vivo suggests its therapeutic properties, but before establishing a strategy using this bee product, it is necessary to study: (a) the chemical nature of the propolis sample. (b) Propolis efficacy should be compared to well-established parameters, e.g. positive or negative controls in the experiments. Moreover, possible interactions between propolis and other medicines should be investigated in humans as well. (c) Clinical investigation is needed to evaluate propolis potential in patients or healthy individuals, to understand under which conditions propolis may promote health. Data point out the importance of this research field not only for the readers and researchers in the scientific community waiting for further clarification on the potential of propolis but also for the pharmaceutical industry that looks for new drugs. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fostering economic policy coordination in Latin America: the REDIMA approach to escaping the prisoner's dilemma

Includes bibliography

As inversões sujeito-verbo e a concordância verbal: um estudo sobre a influência da posposição do sujeito em gêneros escritos de imprensa do português brasileiro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A gramaticalização de então no português paulista: um estudo pancrônico

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise discursiva de dicionários bilíngues Português-Espanhol

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

Ilustração: passeio pela poesia visual

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ler e escrever na contemporaneidade: o que dizem estudantes do 1º ano do ensino médio de uma escola pública?

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Leitura, leituras de leitores e leituraleitores: texto e espaço narrativa

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Programa Ensino Médio em Rede: formação continuada para o desenvolvimento da leitura e escrita dos professores

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)