W. Somerset Maugham and a philosophy of life

'Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself'. This, which is the first principle of Existentialism, is the starting point of the present study on Maugham's production. The heroes and heroines of the works analyzed here are people who, at a certain time in their lives and due to different circumstances, wonder about the meaning of life. They reach the conclusion that life has no meaning and that it is each person who has to create his own pattern and thus make of life something bearable. Starting from the idea that life has no meaning, it is clear that these characters are not going to find a blissful happiness; first, because we know that 'happiness is something you must under no circumstances seek, it just comes if you interest yourself in absorbing pursuit'; and second, because this kind of happiness can never exist in a meaningless world. Thus, what they are looking for is a kind of life to which they can resign themselves with a certain degree of contentment, and in which they feel fulfilled. All this, of course, without having any great expectations from life. Maugham proposes in his works three different ways by means of which his characters can reach this state of satisfaction: through Love, Art, and Truth. Although this writer also reminds us that the only other way open for those who cannot come to terms with life is suicide, he seems also to suggest that the best thing one can do is resign oneself to the fact that life is meaningless and try to make the most of it

Retiring to paradise? : reassessing liminality through leisure migration to Spain

Over the last forty years, we have witnessed the birth of a new phenomenon in the Western world, that of 'the dream retirement. ' This study examines a group of (mainly) Northern European older people who move to Spain in search of the culmination of their life-project. Following years of working to the clock they move away from the 'rat-race' to find warmth, good health, company, friendship and enjoyment. Yet [...] the experience is often judged negatively by outsiders. The Costa is portrayed as a slightly unreal world, a liminal zone beyond the 'normal' realm of work. This thesis, an ethnographic exploration of life for older migrants in Spain takes seriously this 'unreal' world. It explores the negotiation of the designated 'free-time' at the end of the working life. The creation of retirement at a determined legal cut-off point has forced a separation between working identities and identities in the life beyond, which previously had (if at all) a ragged boundary between them. In short, it is a modern-day rite of passage. Now, as retirement approaches, new questions come to the fore. Where should we retire? How do we negotiate that culturally created 'time off' at the end of the working years? Do we find satisfaction, companionship, hope and fulfilment of dreams? Perhaps more mundanely,what do we actually do with that time?This thesis is an ethnographic study devoted to exploring the lives and worlds of older people who, in answering the above questions, chose to migrate to Spain from Northern Europe. Its focus is the new brand of 'woopies' (well off older persons) seeking the 'rewards' of leisure following a lifetime of working. They enter an interstitial space devoted to the pursuit of adult play. The thesis interrogates the reality of such rewards, looking at the tensions inherent in the 'freedom' sought within utopian spaces such as Spain. I reveal how the imagined freedoms necessitate some form of regulation, and I employ a re-examination of anthropological models of ritual to do so

Changing skills formation and lifelong learning in South Korea

This thesis explores how skills fonnation and lifelong learning policies have changed in South Korea in response to the challenges of globalisation and democratisation. It examines the modes of regulation of VET and lifelong learning with regard to qualifications, funding and the labour market.\ud The thesis combines a theoretical analysis with an empirical study undertaken in South Korea. It examines, historically, why and how developmental skills formation and lifelong learning have been changing into a 'state-coordinated partnership' model. In addition, it analyses the characteristics of the 'state-coordinated partnership' model of skills fonnation and lifelong learning, focusing on the relation between the state and mobilised civil society (or civic participation). Five different international models of skills fonnation and lifelong learning are compared with changing models in Korea. Analysis of the changing framework for skills fonnation in Korea is based on multiple sources of evidence, including secondary and documentary sources, and interviews with social partners.\ud The thesis argues that developmental skills fonnation was a part of developmental state fonnation, which focused on economic modernisation as a major means for national security at the expense of political freedom. Therefore, since the developmental state came to an end with the rise of civil society and democratisation in the 1990s in Korea, skills fonnation has been changing from the developmental to state-coordinated partnership model on the basis of the increasing involvement of social partners. More important, the widened civic participation has not resulted in the demise of the state's role. By contrast, it demands the state coordination of social partners in building the holistic framework of lifelong learning on the basis of social cohesion and participatory citizenship.\ud Finally, this study contributes to an understanding of the implications of globalisation and democratisation on developmental skills fonnation and lifelong learning policies in Korea and other East Asian economies. \u

Transnational mobility and European belonging : a demos without an ethnos?

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Co-productions of technology, culture and policy in North America's community wireless networking movement

This thesis investigates the visions and realities of community WiFi's social and political impact, examining how communication technology and social forms are co-produced and providing a communication studies perspective on the transformation of social visions of technology into technological, social, and policy realities. By following the development of local WiFi projects and the emergence of broader policy-oriented mobilizations, it assesses the real outcomes of socially and politically progressive visions about information and communication technologies (ICTs). The visions of advocates and developers suggest that community WiFi projects can inspire greater local democratic engagement, while the realities suggest a more subtle bridging of influence from community WiFi actors into policy development spheres. The thesis describes local WiFi networks in Montreal and Fredericton, NB, and the North American Community Wireless Networking (CWN) movement as it has unfolded between 2004 and 2007, arguing that its democratic visions of technology and their institutional realities have been integral to the politicization of computing technology over the last four decades. Throughout the thesis, WiFi radio technology, a means of networking computers and connecting them to the internet by using unlicensed radio spectrum, acts as an example of how a technology's material form is co-produced along with its symbolic social and political significance

Mission-Critical Communications from LMR to 5G: a Technology Assessment approach for Smart City scenarios

Radiocommunication networks are one of the main support tools of agencies that carry out actions in Public Protection & Disaster Relief (PPDR), and it is necessary to update these communications technologies from narrowband to broadband and integrated to information technologies to have an effective action before society. Understanding that this problem includes, besides the technical aspects, issues related to the social context to which these systems are inserted, this study aims to construct scenarios, using several sources of information, that helps the managers of the PPDR agencies in the technological decisionmaking process of the Digital Transformation of Mission-Critical Communication considering Smart City scenarios, guided by the methods and approaches of Technological Assessment (TA).As redes de radiocomunicações são uma das principais ferramentas de apoio dos órgãos que realizam ações de Proteção Pública e Socorro em desastres, sendo necessário atualizar essas tecnologias de comunicação de banda estreita para banda larga, e integra- las às tecnologias de informação, para se ter uma atuação efetiva perante a sociedade . Entendendo que esse problema inclui, além dos aspectos técnicos, questões relacionadas ao contexto social ao qual esses sistemas estão inseridos, este estudo tem por objetivo a construção de cenários, utilizando diversas fontes de informação que auxiliem os gestores destas agências na tomada de decisão tecnológica que envolve a transformação digital da Comunicação de Missão Crítica considerando cenários de Cidades Inteligentes, guiado pelos métodos e abordagens de Avaliação Tecnológica (TA)

Investigation of virtual worlds as a platform to support healthy aging for older people

Due to the aging of the population in recent years, it is becoming essential to find innovative activities to help the increasing older population maintain an active lifestyle and delay the need for institutionalized care. Virtual worlds, which have many potential values such as in providing social engagement, could be used to support older people in this aspect. Despite this, most research and design of virtual worlds today are based on young users and do not coincide well with the interests and requirements of older people. It is therefore necessary to investigate how virtual worlds can be designed to not only meet the needs of older users but also to provide opportunities for social engagement and support healthy aging. In the first stage of the research, a series of studies were carried out with older virtual world users to investigate their characteristics, interests and activities. This includes a qualitative interview study and an empirical study. Older users were able to develop interpersonal relationships in virtual worlds and were interested in activities which made useful contribution to society or those which allowed them to socialize with people who share similar interests. Next, two experiment studies were carried out, the first to investigate age related differences in virtual social interaction and the second to determine how different factors influence the social interaction experience. Factors such as navigation were found to influence social interaction and the study revealed limitations relating to the usefulness of the avatar. The findings from this thesis helps extend our theoretical understanding of the interactions and activities of older people in virtual worlds and how previously identified concepts regarding virtual social interaction relate to older users. In addition, the findings were also applied into guidelines to aid developers in creating better virtual worlds to facilitate social interaction and healthy aging