Reality of Love: The Heteronormative Agenda of ABC’s the Bachelor

This project provides an oppositional reading of ABC’s popular Bachelor franchise, arguing that these reality dating programs present viewers with specific narratives of gender, sexuality, class, and race that contribute to greater hegemonic discourse that reifies heterosexual marriage. Through a close reading of one season of The Bachelor and one season of The Bachelorette, this project details the ways in which these programs manipulate both cast members and audiences to reinforce the heterosexuality and the institution of marriage, thereby suggesting that these programs are both a product and a tool of a heteronormative society. I conclude these readings by urging audiences to always remain cognizant and critical of the hidden agendas of entertainment media and popular culture; I do not, however, suggest that audiences reject these programs altogether. Instead, I call for an increase in Stuart Hall’s notion of the negotiated viewing, suggesting that audiences can enjoy “mindless” entertainment, so long as they understand that they cannot be mindless in their viewings

A structural decomposition analysis of global and national energy intensity trends

This paper analyses recent energy intensity trends of 40 major economies. Our main focus lies on the question whether improvements in energy efficiency were due to structural change towards a greener economy or a consequence of technological improvements. We account for intersectoral trade by using the World Input-Output database and adjust sector-specific energy use via the environmentally extended input-output analysis. We find strongdifferences between adjusted and unadjusted energy consumption across sectors, particularly in the construction and electricity industry. Using the three factor Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index method, our decomposition analysis shows that recent energy intensity reductions were mostly driven by technological advances. Structural changes within countries played only a minor role, whereas international trade by itself even increased global energy intensity. Compared to a previous study that used unadjusted sectoral energy data, we find structural effects on energy intensity reductions to be systematically weaker under adjusted data. The differences are particularly striking on a country-level, e.g. for Japan and Turkey

Gentrifiering - en segregerande process?

Denna uppsats har med kvalitativa metoder undersökt begreppet gentrifiering och hur processen påverkar området Seved i Malmö. Här avhandlas hur begreppet definieras i vetenskaplig litteratur och hur gentrifieringsprocessen kopplas till segregationsprocessen. Genom en fallstudie på området Seved, med analys av planeringsdokument och intervjuer med inblandade aktörer, undersöks om Seved gentrifieras och stadsplanerares inställning till detta. Gentrifiering innebär att invånarna i ett område byts ut från socioekonomiskt svagare grupp till en socioekonomiskt starkare grupp. Sedan begreppet myntades på 60-talet har dess innebörd vidgats och har idag en bred definition. Processen kan beröra såväl urbana som rurala områden samt påverka både låginkomstområden och höginkomstområden. Processen kan analyseras genom ett ekonomiskt och kulturellt perspektiv. Dagens forskning pekar på att gentrifieringen är en del i segregationsprocessen och att den i vissa fall påskyndas av kommunala och statliga målsättningar. Dess konsekvenser är enligt vissa forskare allvarliga då socioekonomiskt svaga grupper trängs bort från sitt bostadsområde. Andra menar att processen endast har positiv påverkan på områden och att den har en integrerande effekt. Gentrifieringsprocessen beror till stor del på bostadspolitiken som har påverkat dess historiska utveckling. Flera tecken indikerar att Seved befinner sig i en tidig gentrifieringsfas. Fallstudien visar att stadsplanerare och andra makthavare kopplade till utvecklingen i området i viss grad är medvetna om processen. Då gentrifiering är komplext är det svårt att veta vilka konsekvenser detta får. Mötesplatser som odling och kulturella aktiviteter lockar en urban medelklass med stort kulturellt kapital vilket på sikt kan tränga bort svagare grupper. Samtidigt bidrar dessa inslag till mötesplatser där medborgarinflytandet kan bli högt vilket kan bromsa gentrifieringen eller undvika dess negativa konsekvenser.This study is done with qualitative methods and explores the concept of gentrification and how this process affects the area Seved in Malmö. It discusses how the term is defined in the scientific literature and the links between the gentrification and segregation processes. Through a case study done at Seved done by analysing documents and interviews with the involved actors the study examines if Seved is gentrified and how the city planners approach this. The term gentrification describes how the inhabitants of an area are changed from a socio- economically disadvantaged group to a socio- economically stronger group. Since it was coined in the 1960's the meaning has expanded into a broader definition. The term may now involve both urban and rural areas and can affect both low-income and high-income areas. Gentrification can be analysed from both an economic and cultural perspective. Today's research suggests that gentrification is part of the segregation process and that it in some cases is accelerated by municipal and state objectives. According to some studies the consequences of gentrification are negative as socio- economically disadvantaged groups are forced to move from their neighbourhood. Others argue that the process has a positive impact on areas and that it has integrating effects. The level of gentrification is largely dependent on the housing policies that have formed the development of the area in question. Several signs indicate that Seved is at an early stage of gentrification. The case study shows that planners in Malmö stad responsible for the development of the area are aware of this only to some extent. As gentrification is complex it is difficult to know what impact this process will have on the area. Venues such as urban gardening initiatives and arenas for cultural activities attract an urban middle class with high cultural capital. This may accelerate the gentrification and eventually displace the current social groups inhabiting Seved. At the same time these venues bring the inhabitants of the area together as the citizen participation level is high. This can slow the process of gentrification down or help avoid negative consequences

Girls’ conditions in sportparks for spontaneous use : How to encourage young girls’ spontaneous physical activity on a sports field - a case study on Alby Folkhälsopark (Public Health Park)

Denna uppsats bygger på en litteratur- och en fallstudie om unga tjejer i det offentliga rummet och idrottsplatser. Den problematiserar och undersöker det faktum att tjejer, i lägre grad än killar nyttjar idrottsplatser för spontan fysisk aktivitet. Den första delen är en litteraturstudie som undersöker varför tjejer inte är lika fysiskt aktiva som killar i det offentliga rummet och vad man som planerare eller landskapsarkitekt kan göra åt det. Studien bygger på utredningar och litteratur om genusvetenskap, det offentliga rummet och ungdomar, samhällsplanering med ett genusperspektiv och litteratur om tjejer och idrott. Denna del innehåller även exempel på hur svenska planerare har arbetat med genusperspektiv på samhällsplanering i Malmö, Trelleborg, Göteborg och Sundbyberg. Den andra delen av uppsatsen är en fallstudie om användningen av Alby Folkhälsopark- en park i Alby utanför Stockholm som kombinerar idrott och kultur. Målet med parken är att vara en mötesplats för alla i Alby och att öka den fysiska aktiviteten hos tjejer. Syftet med studien är att definiera och diskutera verktyg och aspekter som är viktiga att tänka på när man arbetar med ett genusperspektiv på samhällsplanering. Uppsatsens resultat visar att en väl genomarbetad utformning av det offentliga rummet stimulerar tjejer till att bli mer fysiskt aktiva. Trygghet, roliga aktiviteter, en variation av aktiviteter, en användbar design och små rumsligheter inom en större yta är viktiga aspekter. Det verkar som att platser som används av många olika personer (åldersmässigt och könsmässigt) uppmuntrar tjejer att vara mer närvarande. Det finns ingen officiell definition av ett jämställt offentligt rum. Planerare och landskapsarkitekter har därmed, på en lokal nivå, frihet att välja definitioner och åtgärder för en jämställd plats. Detta har resulterat i olika lösningar och tillvägagångssätt på liknande problem.This thesis is based on a literature and a case study about girls in public space and sportparks. It investigates and problematize the fact that girls, less then boys, uses public space for spontaneous exercise. The first part is a literature study that examines why girls aren’t as physical active as boys in public space and what to do about it as a planner or landscape architect. The study is based on investigations and literature about gender studies, public space and young people, planning theory with a gender perspective and literature about girls and sports. This part also includes examples of how Swedish planners have been working with a gender perspective on urban design in Malmö, Trelleborg, Göteborg och Sundbyberg. The second part of the thesis is a case study about the use of Alby Folkhälsopark - a park in Alby outside Stockholm that combines sports and culture. The goal of the park is to be a meeting place for everyone in Alby with a focus on to increase the physical activity of girls. The aim of the study is to define and discuss tools and aspects that are important to consider when working with a gender perspective on urban design. The result shows that well made urban design can stimulate girls to be more physical active. Safety, fun activities, variation of activities, a useful design and small spaces within a bigger area are important aspects. It seems that places that are used by many different people (age-wise and sex-wise) encourage girls to be more present. There is no official definition of an equal public space. Therefore planners and landscape architects have the freedom to decide, on a local level, what an equal site is and how to create one. This has resulted in different solutions and approaches on similar problems

Comparability of Microarray Data between Amplified and Non Amplified RNA in Colorectal Carcinoma

Microarray analysis reaches increasing popularity during the investigation of prognostic gene clusters in oncology. The standardisation of technical procedures will be essential to compare various datasets produced by different research groups. In several projects the amount of available tissue is limited. In such cases the preamplification of RNA might be necessary prior to microarray hybridisation. To evaluate the comparability of microarray results generated either by amplified or non amplified RNA we isolated RNA from colorectal cancer samples (stage UICC IV) following tumour tissue enrichment by macroscopic manual dissection (CMD). One part of the RNA was directly labelled and hybridised to GeneChips (HG-U133A, Affymetrix), the other part of the RNA was amplified according to the ?Eberwine? protocol and was then hybridised to the microarrays. During unsupervised hierarchical clustering the samples were divided in groups regarding the RNA pre-treatment and 5.726 differentially expressed genes were identified. Using independent microarray data of 31 amplified vs. 24 non amplified RNA samples from colon carcinomas (stage UICC III) in a set of 50 predictive genes we validated the amplification bias. In conclusion microarray data resulting from different pre-processing regarding RNA pre-amplification can not be compared within one analysis

Formação superior em ciência arquivística na Républica Popular da China : um estudo comparativo entre a Escola de Gestão da Informação da Universidade de Wuhan e a Escola de Gestão de Recursos de Informática da Universidade Renmin da China

Embora a história dos arquivos na China ascenda à dinastia Shang (1600 – 1045 a. C.) o mesmo não pode ser dito acerca da ciência arquivística no país, que apenas surgiu na década de 30 do século XX. Sendo a formação superior em arquivística na República Popular da China um tópico ainda pouco explorado no Ocidente, o presente estudo tem como principal objetivo dar a conhecer de uma forma geral tal realidade formativa nesse país. Começando por apresentar uma contextualização diacrónica em que são definidos os principais desenvolvimentos dos arquivos e da arquivística chineses, o estudo prossegue com uma lista das principais fontes bibliográficas de origem chinesa e internacionais sobre o tema a ser estudado. Partindo de um estudo de caso coletivo entre duas das principais escolas da ciência da informação no país: a Escola de Gestão da Informação da Universidade de Wuhan e a Escola de Gestão de Recursos de Informação da Universidade Renmin da China, são realçados aspetos como as diversas etapas do desenvolvimento da ciência arquivística, os principais modelos de influência externa seguidos, as diferentes instituições com cursos superiores na área e sua respetiva distribuição geográfica, as reformas de ensino levadas a cabo pelas diversas administrações governamentais e a certificação profissional necessária para a entrada no mercado de trabalho. Para sustentar este estudo de caso foi necessário recorrer à utilização de métodos de investigação como a pesquisa documental e a análise de dados, a observação das webpages de ambas as instituições que foram complementadas com a realização de entrevistas a docentes em cada uma das instituições observadas. Os resultados obtidos revelam um gradual aumento na admissão de alunos ao longo dos anos, um exponencial aumento de docentes especializados na área e a adoção de bibliografia de cariz internacional por forma a potenciar um estável e coeso desenvolvimento dos futuros arquivistas chineses.Although the history of Chinese archives rises to the Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1045 BC), the same cannot be said about archival science in the country, which only emerged in the 1930s. Since archival higher education in the People's Republic of China is still a topic still little explored in the West, the main purpose of this study is to make known in a general way the formative reality in that country. Starting by presenting a diachronic context where the main developments of the archives are defined but also of the Chinese archives, the study then proceeds with a list of the main bibliographical sources of Chinese and interntional origin on the subject to be studied. Starting from a collective case study between two of the leading schools of information science in this country: the School of Information Management at Wuhan University and the School of Information Resource Management at Renmin University of China, there are outlined aspects such as the various stages of the development of archival science, the main models of external influence followed, the different institutions with higher education courses in the area and their respective geographical distribution, the educational reforms carried out by the various governmental administrations and the or the professional certification required for entry into the job market. In order to support this case study it was necessary to resort to the use of research methods such as documentary research and data analysis or the observation of the webpages of both institutions which were complemented by interviews with teachers from each of the institutions observed. The results show a gradual increase in the admission of students over the years, an exponencial increase of specialized teachers in the area and the adoption of international bibliography in order to foster a stable and cohesive development of the future Chinese archivists

Perceived Proficiency and Confidence of Korean Mothers as English Teachers

As the proliferation of private academies in Korea continues, the cost of child education to families also grows. This study discusses the emergence of the teaching mother on the educational scene in South Korea and examines a group of graduates of a young learner TESOL program in Seoul who intend to teach their own children. Participants are surveyed about their perceived proficiency in English and their confidence in teaching various skill areas to their own children. The results of the survey indicate strong relationships between self-reported language proficiency and confidence in teaching speaking and listening skills, as well as some reading skills, but no relationship with teaching writing skills