302 research outputs found

    Cooperatives in the social and solidarity economy: Sustainable development and decent work in Africa’s informal economy

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    How can the contribution of cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE) to global development frameworks (the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Decent Work Agenda (DWA) be made more effective, impactful and visible, in particular with regard the informal economy in sub-Saharan Africa? This thesis seeks to provide an answer to this question through the journey of my professional practice, bridging the gap to academic theory. The thesis critically analyses and builds upon the contributions to knowledge of my portfolio of seven ‘professional practice’ papers published between 1993 and 2020. The papers were written upon request or invitation by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, the Plunkett Foundation, and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation. The thesis starts with a contextual overview of the state of the field from both practice and theory. This is followed by a literature review which examines academic theory in relation to, and interaction between, the five focus areas of my thesis (cooperatives, SSE, DWA, SDGs, informal economy) within the context of neoliberal policies in Africa. I then critically reflect on the methodological, theoretical and political aspects of my seven publications. Finally, I pin-point directions for future research. I conclude that the SSE’s potential to contribute to sustainable development and decent work in Africa is far from being fully harnessed, for the reason that most policy-makers, researchers and practitioners lack cognizance of the existence and agency of member-based organizations that constitute the SSE. Through the journey of writing the theses I have developed a conceptual model and an accompanying tool to systematically identify and evaluate the synergies and complementarities between the four dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social, environmental and institutional), the four pillars of decent work (jobs, protection, dialogue, rights), and the four functions of the SSE (economic opportunities, social security, societal empowerment, environmental protection). This then helps to identify SSE-pertinent SDG targets, and to determine which types of organizations in the SSE are best suited to contribute to specific SDG targets. I consider this conceptual model and its accompanying tool as an original contribution to knowledge of theoretical and practical applicability

    The Bibliography of New Cold War History, Sixth enlarged edition

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    Populism, affect and meaning-making: a discoursive (de)construction of the Brazilian people

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    As political crises and social unrest proliferate worldwide, the appeal of populism grows steadily in various fora, including academic fora. In this respect, an abundance of scholarly publications has sought, through the study of populism, to unravel important aspects of contemporary political and social dynamics. Discourse theory scholars, in particular, have played an important role in pushing the boundaries of populism studies forward. They have challenged objectivist perspectives in the (social) sciences by foregrounding the role of meaning-making and by treating populism as a discursive logic that better characterises the political (dis)articulation of social reality. In situating its analytical focus at the frontier of populism studies, this paper-based dissertation contributes to this literature from both an empirical and a theoretical point of view. Through the four papers which make up this thesis, I contribute to discourse theory by presenting three main lines of analysis in the study of populism in Brazil, a case that is frequently referenced but which remains under-explored. Firstly, by exploring Brazil’s fourth republican period (1946-1964), this thesis shows how populism is best understood as both a concept and a signifier, revealing the way the dynamic interplay of populism discourses shape our sense of social reality. Secondly, by studying a leading magazine with an upmarket readership in Brazil (Veja), I explore the affective force running through anti-populist discursive articulations, affirming the value of the category of fantasy from an empirical and analytical point of view. Thirdly, by focusing on the collective candidacy of the Bancada Ativista in the Sao Paulo State elections, I explore the potential of the concept of populism, conceived as a logic, to shed light on aspects of political life beyond populist phenomena. Finally, in recognising a gap in the literature in relation to the constitutive role of desire in social meaning-making processes, the fourth paper constructs, through the psychoanalytic category of hysteria, an approach to knowledge production informed by desire, which constitutes the main theoretical contribution to the discourse theory tradition. By paying close attention to Brazilian politics, this thesis explores some of the distinctive virtues of a discourse theoretical approach to populism by drawing out the normative, ideological, and politico-strategic implications of complex political dynamics and social meaning-making processes within and beyond the study of populist phenomena

    Executive function in children and adolescents with Down Syndrome: a systematic review and Kuwait-based intervention

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    Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have been found to exhibit significant atypicalities in most executive functions (EFs), such as working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility/shifting, inhibition, self-regulation and attention. However, to date there has been limited research into the relative strengths and weaknesses in their EF profiles. Moreover, EFs in DS have received very little attention in the Kuwaiti research context, despite the need for greater support and resources for those with DS in non-Western countries. There is broad agreement in the research literature, however, that WM is one of the more affected EFs in children and adolescents with DS. This thesis therefore set out to investigate EF profiles in, and WM support for, children and adolescents with DS, through two interlinked studies. Study 1 was a systematic review of EF research in DS. Relevant databases were searched for studies that were published prior to January 2020, involving children and adolescents with DS, comparing their EFs with various comparison populations. Fifty-five studies were included in the final review. The results revealed that, in general, all EFs are atypically developed in individuals with DS. WM appeared to be the most challenged EF, particularly verbal (though not necessarily visuospatial) WM, and emotional control appeared to be the least atypical, relative to controls. Furthermore, there are significantly fewer studies focusing solely on adolescents than on children or mixed-age samples, and even fewer that compare the EF performance of children and adolescents. There are also no studies that draw comparisons between different tools measuring the same EF in the same samples, to ascertain whether different results are gained from different measures. Finally, studies use a variety of comparison approaches, including mental age and chronological age matching, or normative data. They also involve a range of different comparison groups, allowing only tentative conclusions to be drawn from current research. In study 2 an intervention that aimed to support teachers in Kuwait to use different strategies in the classroom that could encourage the development of WM in children and adolescents with DS, was devised, conducted and evaluated. The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the WM intervention on teachers‘ knowledge surrounding WM, their use of WM strategies in the classroom and on cognitive, behavioural, and academic outcomes for children and adolescents with DS. Study 2 involved 31 children and adolescents with DS (aged 7 to 16 years) and 28 literacy and numeracy teachers from specialist units in 4 mainstream primaries schools. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design, involving 2 groups of teachers: an experimental group (enrolled on the WM intervention) and an active control group (enrolled on a positive behaviour support intervention). Outcomes were assessed using a range of measures to test EF, WM, and challenging and social behaviour. Teachers‘ knowledge of WM was also evaluated to examine the effectiveness of the intervention, and the experimental group was also observed to explore any difference on their use of WM strategies, pre- and post intervention. Teachers‘ perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention process were also gathered, using focus groups. Results showed that the WM in the experimental group significantly improved from pre-intervention to follow-up compared to the control group. In contrast, the control group had significantly lower incidence of challenging behaviour and an increase in prosocial behaviour compared to the experimental group at follow-up. There was no significant difference on academic achievement in literacy and numeracy outcomes between the two groups at follow-up. Moreover, teachers‘ knowledge about WM was found to improve significantly in the experimental group compared to the control group, and the use of WM strategies significantly improved from pre- to post-intervention in the experimental group. Overall, the systematic review in study 1 provides a novel contribution to understanding EFs in the DS population, revealing that WM is the EF that those with DS struggle with the most. These findings indicate the necessity of effective interventions to address and improve this EF in children and adolescents with DS. Furthermore, the systematic review revealed significant gaps in current understanding and research knowledge of executive functioning more generally in DS: for example, a need for further studies focusing solely on WM functioning in groups of children and adolescents with DS, especially studies that compare a range of measures to test WM functioning. Moreover, the relative strengths of emotional control in those with DS should be further explored. The findings from study 2 established the effectiveness of the WM intervention aimed at teachers - a novel approach in Kuwait - in the short-term, although the long-term efficacy of the intervention is unknown. Therefore, it would be beneficial to conduct a longer-term follow-up assessment in the future. Additionally, it may be helpful in future studies to conduct an intervention to improve WM at home, so there is a consistency of approach between home and school. The results of these studies therefore have practical implications for teachers, given the finding that when teachers employ strategies to boost WM, the WM functioning of children and adolescents with DS is improved. Helping teachers to become experts in a range of EF support strategies may also lead them to interact differently with children and adolescents with DS, which could improve students‘ abilities in other areas (such as other cognitive function or social behaviour). Importantly, the study also altered teachers‘ understanding of, and attitudes towards, the learning capabilities of individuals with DS, with important implications for reducing cognitive difficulties in children with DS in Kuwait

    Universal rewriting via machine translation

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    Natural language allows for the same meaning (semantics) to be expressed in multiple different ways, i.e. paraphrasing. This thesis examines automatic approaches for paraphrasing, focusing on three paraphrasing subtasks: unconstrained paraphrasing where there are no constraints on the output, simplification, where the output must be simpler than the input, and text compression where the output must be shorter than the input. Whilst we can learn paraphrasing from supervised data, this data is sparse and expensive to create. This thesis is concerned with the use of transfer learning to improve paraphrasing when there is no supervised data. In particular, we address the following question: can transfer learning be used to overcome a lack of paraphrasing data? To answer this question we split it into three subquestions (1) No supervised data exists for a specific paraphrasing task; can bilingual data be used as a source of training data for paraphrasing? (2) Supervised paraphrasing data exists in one language but not in another; can bilingual data be used to transfer paraphrasing training data from one language to another? (3) Can the output of encoder-decoder paraphrasing models be controlled

    DIGITAL CO-CREATION Digitalization within Service Design : Transformation from analog thinking towards digital doing

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    The German automotive industry has accelerated its digital transformation as OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) moving from car manufacturers towards becoming mobility providers, striving for new mobility solutions like offering Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Self-Driving-System (SDS). OEMs focus on expanding their core product-driven businesses to access service-orientated business models, the transformation from ownership towards shared mobility. Considering internal and external factors, this requires a new set of expertise, capabilities and an underlying approach to fulfill the demands in the complexity of human-centered development and front- and backstage alignment within the organization. At the same time, Service Design as a practice has risen in attraction by industry, being recognized and increasingly requested for its integration in the functions and divisions of the organization. The scale of Service Design in influence and impact has reached professional practice, making its way from a trendy buzzword to professional practice of turning complex problems collaboratively into tangible solutions. It is seen as a powerful opportunity for combining Business, Human-Centered Design and Engineering. Service Design establishes new ways of exploring business opportunities towards agile problem-solving but focuses on the ‘doing’ side towards further implementation. The contribution of this industrial-based doctoral thesis shall define how Service Design can be deployed and implemented in the field of organizational transformation and mobility development in the era of digital transformation (Digitalization). This research approach seeks to acquire new knowledge on how the Service Design practice can be applied and executed to be perceived as a practical approach to improve the enterprise’s processes and operating procedures and also provide a strategy to grow Service Design within the organization. This research has followed developing a pilot in a lean start-up approach of build, measure, learn with various business units and brands within the Volkswagen Group, this also implies that this research case study consisted of analyzing the Volkswagen Group needs for Service Design. The ‘10X-Service Design Lab’ (10X-SDL) has been designed as the framework of a combination of modular lab space, facilitation enhanced process, methodological driven tool box, operational model in alignment with a digital workflow and workspace striving for accelerated decision making. It is based on the hypothesis that the proposed framework enhances Service Design practice and, at the same time, it increases its attractiveness for business purposes. The 10X-SDL is designed to accelerate project development in a human-centered and holistic way by an open workspace platform lead by facilitators on which project developers, participants, and stakeholders can digitally co-create products, services, systems, and strategies. This research has been conducted as a case study within the Volkswagen Group from 2015 to 2019 in cooperation with the main partners of Service Innovation Corner (SINCO) of the University of Lapland and visual collaboration software company DEON

    Analyzing Tweets For Predicting Mental Health States Using Data Mining And Machine Learning Algorithms

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    Tweets are usually the outcome of peoples’ feelings on various topics. Twitter allows users to post casual and emotional thoughts to share in real-time. Around 20% of U.S. adults use Twitter. Using the word-frequency and singular value decomposition methods, we identified the behavior of individuals through their tweets. We graded depressive and anti-depressive keywords using the tweet time-series, time-window, and time-stamp methods. We have collected around four million tweets since 2018. A parameter (Depressive Index) is computed using the F1 score and Mathews correlation coefficient (MCC) to indicate the depressive level. A framework showing the Depressive Index and the Happiness Index is prepared with the time, location, and keywords and delivers F1 Score, MCC, and CI values. COVID-19 changed the routines of most peoples\u27 lives and affected mental health. We studied the tweets and compared them with the COVID-19 growth. The Happiness Index from our work and World Happiness Report for Georgia, New York, and Sri Lanka is compared. An interactive framework is prepared to analyze the tweets, depict the happiness index, and compare it. Bad words in tweets are analyzed, and a map showing the Happiness Index is computed for all the US states and was compared with WalletHub data. We add tweets continuously and a framework delivering an atlas of maps based on the Happiness Index and make these maps available for further study. We forecasted tweets with real-time data. Our results of tweets and COVID-19 reports (WHO) are in a similar pattern. A new moving average method was presented; this unique process gave perfect results at peaks of the function and improved the error percentage. An interactive GUI portal computes the Happiness Index, depression index, feel-good- factors, prediction of the keywords, and prepares a Happiness Index map. We plan to create a public web portal to facilitate users to get these results. Upon completing the proposed GUI application, the users can get the Happiness Index, Depression Index values, Happiness map, and prediction of keywords of the desired dates and geographical locations instantaneously

    The Sloane Correspondence at Ushaw College: the Study of an Expatriate English Catholic (1815-1863)

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    This thesis closely examines the letters housed in the archives of Ushaw College, a former Catholic school and seminary located in the outskirts of Durham, written by the alumnus Francis Joseph Sloane to his Alma Mater between 1815 and 1863. The letters are mostly addressed to the Fifth President of the College, Mons. Charles Newsham, an old classmate of Sloane’s. Sloane and Newsham had been pupils in the first cohort of the newly-built college, in 1808, the transplantation of the Catholic College at Douay (‘Le Collège des Grands Anglais’), a school for the children of Catholic English families since the late sixteenth century who, due to the legal proscription of the time, had no opportunity to study in a Catholic school in their own country unless they converted to the established Anglican Church. At the time of the correspondence Sloane, of Scottish/Swiss emigrés parentage, was residing in Florence, first as a tutor and librarian to the family of Count Boutourline and later on, as the owner of Tuscany’s most productive and profitable copper mine. The letters show how Sloane remained an affectionate and generous alumnus, staunch friend to Ushaw, a concerned and spiritually propinquitous alumnus, ready to support the College, its students and clergy at any request. The letters give us a glimpse of the munificent gifts bestowed, such a Renaissance chalice, precious vestments, sums of money to help finance and enlarge the College buildings, and the establishment of the Sloane Fund for a poor student. The letters are historically significant as a contemporary record of the development of the fabric of Ushaw College, the development of the new freedom for Catholic believers in England and the philanthropy and dedication which allowed such a fertile renaissance to take place. Additional letters (from Sloane to the Ushaw College clergy and vice-versa) have also been consulted and transcribed to supplement the original collection. By means of the letters at Ushaw College, an attempt has been made to study the nature of Sloane’s philanthropic demeanour towards Ushaw and Florence (his place of domicile) during the period specified above, with a particular emphasis on the extent of his substantial financial largesse towards the College at a time when such English institutions required as much pecuniary support as they could muster. Moreover, Sloane’s financial support provided an illustration of his role, from his home in Italy, as facilitator and host for Ushaw students and alumni, a tightly knit community, which he maintained for many years out of genuine affection for his Alma Mater. This research has also discovered further facts of Sloane’s life and antecedents which, it is hoped, provide an additional and fascinating context for his life and his support for the fledgling existence of Roman Catholicism in nineteenth-century Britain
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