Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Upper middle class rich'

This study examined the social class of African American students in an upper middle class high school and their engagement in school influenced by a parent advisory group consisting of upper and middle class African American men. Student engagement has become a hot topic for school policy makers, administration, teachers, and parents at all educational levels. The question of how best to engage students for academic success is the priority. Although research suggests middle and upper class students do well in school as compared to lower class and working class students, the upper and middle class African American students in this particular school were failing until a group of parents intervened. The school experienced increased student engagement resulting in higher GPA, increased graduation rates, increased numbers of college enrollments and graduation rates, and a reduction in the achievement gap. Using the narrative inquiry method, a qualitative approach, the researcher listened to the participants' authentic voices and conveyed their story. Using a semi-structured conversational interview protocol, the participants shared their "lived" stories about the impact that a parent advisory group had on student engagement at the high school of interest. Findings suggest that when adults exhibit care, build meaningful relationships, and communicate that students are valued, student engagement increases and students are successful in school. The participants explained how the identity, behavior, and status of a group of parents gave options to a group of students in order to increase their academic success and hope for the future.

Moins soumis à l’investigation sociologique, les « Beaux quartiers » n’en demeurent pas moins en France des espaces ségrégatifs de premier plan. Les études et travaux de recherche relatifs à la bourgeoisie et aux espaces de la bourgeoisie sont en outre souvent orientés vers les grandes villes françaises à l’instar de Paris, Lyon ou Marseille. Une ville de taille plus modeste comme Metz n’a jamais été étudiée au seul prisme de sa population bourgeoise.Ce travail de thèse a ainsi pour objectif de rendre compte des caractéristiques socio-économiques de la bourgeoisie messine et de la manière dont elle se distribue au sein de l’aire urbaine messine entendue comme la ville centre de Metz augmentée de sa banlieue et de sa couronne périurbaine. Notre recherche s’appuie sur un matériau empirique constitué d’entretiens semi-directifs menés auprès de membres représentatifs de la bourgeoisie messine ou de grandes familles messines mais aussi auprès de spécialistes divers (agents immobiliers spécialisés dans les biens de prestige, historiens de l’art, etc.). Afin d’appréhender la bourgeoisie messine dans toute sa complexité, nous avons également eu recours à divers indicateurs statistiques, cartographiques ou encore à du matériau photographique.L’étude se propose d’abord de présenter un état de l’art sur les fragmentations sociales et territoriales en France visant notamment à mettre en exergue la ghettoïsation vers le haut. L’étude fait ensuite apparaître les grands repères sur la richesse et son estimation tout en en précisant les aspects représentationnels et multidimensionnels. En outre, sont également explicités les enjeux et les difficultés à étudier la richesse et la bourgeoisie. La bourgeoisie messine est par ailleurs étudiée ensuite au quadruple prisme de sa distribution résidentielle, de ses espaces de sociabilité, de ses caractéristiques socio-économiques et socio- électorales mais également - après une mise en perspective historique – de quelques grandes familles emblématiques de la ville.Enfin, l’étude décrit et analyse de manière comparative, un espace de la bourgeoisie messine – le quartier Nouvelle-Ville – en donnant à voir et à comprendre des éléments de morphologie urbaine et sociale et en y explicitant les moteurs de choix résidentiels et les pratiques de l’entre-soi afférentes aux habitants de ce quartier
Although the "Beaux quartiers” are less subject to sociological investigation, they remain prominent segregated spaces in France. Studies and research on the bourgeoisie and on specific spaces of the bourgeoisie are often focused on large French cities such as Paris, Lyons or Marseilles. A smaller city such as Metz has never been studied solely in terms of its bourgeois population.The objective of this dissertation is to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of the Metz bourgeoisie and the way in which it is distributed within the Metz urban area. The latter encompasses the central city of Metz and also its suburbs and suburban ring. Our research is based on empirical material consisting of semi-structured interviews conducted with representative members of the Metz bourgeoisie or highly regarded bourgeois and aristocratic Metz families, as well as with various specialists (real estate agents specialising in prestigious properties, art historians, etc.). In order to grasp the complexity of the Metz bourgeoisie, various statistical and cartographic indicators but also photographic material were used.Firstly, the study presents a state of the art on social and territorial fragmentation in France so as to highlight upward ghettoization.Secondly, the study sheds light on the main benchmarks of wealth and its estimation, while specifying the representational and multidimensional aspects. In addition, the challenges and difficulties of studying wealth and the bourgeoisie are also explained.The Metz bourgeoisie is then studied through the fourfold prism of its residential distribution, its sociability spaces, its socio-economic and socio-electoral characteristics, but also the prism of some of the city's great emblematic families – after a historical perspective.Finally, the study describes and comparatively analyses a particular space of the Metz bourgeoisie – the “Nouvelle Ville” neighbourhood – by showing elements of urban and social morphology and by explaining the criteria of residential selection and the forms of sociability specific to the inhabitants of this rich self-segregated neighbourhood

The main objective of this study is to investigate reproduction strategies of upper-middle class group of people in Ankara and their differentiation propensities in the fragmentation process of urban space. Dispositions and everyday life practices of upper-middle group on Bourdieu&rsquo
s approach in the urban space of Ankara are analyzed on the basis of intensive interviews with upper-middle class women. In this sense, special emphasis is placed on this group&rsquo
s close family relations, investment strategies in education, housing and living space strategies.

The original research element of this thesis consists of the study of an emerging· professional association of senior managerial employees in business and industry in Weimar Germany. This association which went by the name of VELA, Vereinigung der leitenden Angestellten, or the Organisation of Leading Salaried Employees, was founded in December 1918, and continued in existence until December 1934. Utilising a complete collection of VELA's bi-monthly members' periodical, the development of a coherent ideology of elitism is traced from 1919 to 1933, with the emphasis upon the crystallisation of a world-view compatible and congruent with that of National Socialism by 1924/25. Political convergence with, and support for, the Nazi Party then followed some time after the onset of the Great Depression. A detailed study of the process of Gleichschaltung, or co-ordination, in the spring and summer of 1933 is used to illustrate how easily, readily and enthusiastically VELA embraced the coining of a New Order in the Third Reich.

This study shows the findings of a qualitative study undertaken in the homes of seven primary participants of middle school age in Tucson, Arizona, Southern California, and New York City. The purpose of the study was to determine whether mainstream media has commodified these children into saleable audiences who would consume its media products. Findings show that all participants, at all levels, were ready to buy, and wanted to buy, at least one kind of mainstream media at any time. All participants with the exception of one, who did not seem to care about one form of media over another, pursued at least one form of mainstream media, usually more, during most of his waking hours and often. During the ninety hours of observation, at least two or more mainstream media products were used consistently. All participants expressed the desire to buy more specific products and wanted to have more than one title at a time. No regionally or locally distributed media were desired by any subject, only the mainstream media on forced-choice menus. Limitations of the research included difficulty of finding parents and children willing to allow the researcher into the home. Another problem was the invasion of privacy that some subject felt during the study. These were the major two limitations. Further research should be conducted on preschoolers' use of media. This study suggests that children aged one to five may already be addicted to Disney media in ways that preclude their enjoyment of other mainstream media. This study also suggests that these children may be so affected cognitively by their constant use of mainstream media products that their placement in school must be reassessed. Another area that requires more research is the ability of students with diagnosed learning disabilities to concentrate on, and operate, interactive media and to read any manual, article or electronic text having to do with their chosen media, without any problem. The conclusion is that participants in this study are, by their desire and willingness to buy, members of a commodity audience. Thus, the commodity audience actually exists.

This study examined the holiday and leisure aspirations of the new upper black middle class in East London using qualitative approach. The study investigated aspirations of the black middle class on international travels through the lens of Veblen’s (2002) conspicuous consumption theory which entails that black middle class citizens spend in order to assert their status and belongingness to the middle class. The aim of the study was to understand their holiday and leisure aspirations, what the idea is behind or what motivates their international travels, their travel experiences and class affirmations. This exploration included the challenges and frustrations such as Ebola scare, racism, issues with foreign exchange and variations from these international visits. Data was collected through interviews with upper black middle class who are based in the Buffalo City Metro Municipality in East London, Eastern Cape. Findings from this study revealed that consumption patterns of the emerging black middle class to diverge substantially from the other groups, in terms of greater signalling of social status via visible consumption and preoccupation with reducing an historical asset deficit. Various themes emerged as meanings attached to international travelling and leisure by those black middle class international travellers. These are sense of wealth, status, religion, self-esteem, sense of reward, bonding with friends and conspicuous/visible consumption.

The state's retreat from its traditional post-1952 role of providing trajectories for the reproduction of social status and distinction created new formative social processes of political agency for the Egyptian upper middle class. The de facto handover of such processes to mechanisms of the neoliberal market since the early-1990s has changed the modes of conditioning the relationship between the upper middle class and the Egyptian state. As a result, the social contract sustaining the upper middle class' traditional consent to the Egyptian state's successive political orders suffered serious erosion. In this context, the political discontent of the Egyptian upper middle class steadily grew beneath a thick layer of apathy towards farcical formal politics under Mubarak. In 2011, the active participation of the upper middle class in the Egyptian revolution represented the debut onto the political stage of a social segment previously thought to be at the heart of crafting renewed legitimacy for authoritarian rule. The study uses gathered narratives of upper-middle-class Egyptians to demonstrate the dynamics of the upper middle class' negotiation of status preservation and privilege reproduction in the neoliberal environment. By contextualising these narratives within structural transformations in the areas of education, employment and lifestyles, the study analyses the development of new upper-middle-class modes of socio-political critique of the state based on the social experience. Furthermore, the study examines the effect of class-typical encounters with the state in the social space as a medium for sharpening critical appraisals of the latter's role, informed by a neoliberal ethos acquired during the various stages of the process of status reproduction. These discursive inferences about the nature of the state as a political composition accumulatively informed the development of an appetite for political change, and will arguably continue to shape the patterns of future politicisation of Egypt's upper middle class.

The Giles Creek and upper Chandler formations crop out in the northeastern Amadeus Basin from the north flank of Ross River syncline south to the Pillar Range, and from the nose of Ooraminna anticline east to the Simpson Desert. 'Twenty-four sections of the Giles Creek and nineteen sections of the upper Chandler were measured by the author in this area. The Giles Creek lies disconformably above the upper Chandler Formation and conformably below the Shannon Formation. The upper Chandler is conformably underlain by the lower Chandler throughout the area except at Ross River Gorge and Wallaby No. 1 well. There the upper Chandler overlies the Todd River Dolomite. The Giles Creek and upper Chandler consist of interbedded carbonates, terrigenous-rich carbonates, and mudrocks. Terrigenous-rich carbonates and mudrocks comprise over half of the volume of the Giles Creek at most locations in the area. Lime mudstones and cryptalgalaminated boundstones with dorral stromatolites are common in the Giles Creek. The Phillipson and Northern Facies of the Giles Creek are locally fossiliferous at the base. Ooids are present at the top of the Southern and Phillipson Facies of the Giles Creek at most locations. Anhydrite is present in the carbonates and mudrocks of the Giles Creek at Dingo No. 1 and Wallaby No. 1 wells. Gypsum is present in dolostones of the Giles Creek at Wallaby No. 1 well. Oncolite grainstones and boundstones, crystalgalaminated boundstones, and birdseye-rich lime mudstones are common in the upper Chandler. The mudrocks of the Giles Creek and upper Chandler are composed of quartz, K-feldspar, illite, muscovite, biotite, kaolinite, smectite, plagioclase, and anhydrite, with minor amounts of limonite, hematite, vermiculite, chlorite, and zircon. Calcite and dolamite cement the mudrocks. Acid-insoluble residues of the carbonates are comprised of the above noncarbonate minerals, organic matter, pyrophyllite, and witherite. The size and amount of terrigenous material in the Giles Creek increases to the west-southwest, which indicates that the terrigenous sediments were derived from a source area in that direction. Sediments of the Giles Creek and upper Chandler were dolomitized by seepage-reflux of a hypersaline brine. Lateral and vertical variations in the amount of dolanite are inversely related to the amount of terrigenous material, and indicate that permeability of the sediments was a controlling factor in the distribution of dolomite in the Giles Creek. Sediments of the Giles Creek and upper Chandler accumulated on shoals, in shoal-margin lagoons, on tidal flats, and in intracoastal lagoons. Shallow, open-shelf deposits are also present at the base of the Giles Creek at Ross River Gorge. Cyclicity in the sediments of the Giles Creek was caused by lateral shifts in the position of the tidal flats and intracoastal lagoons during continual subsidence of the basin. Both the Giles Creek and upper Chandler -were deposited during major regressions of the sea. Lateral relations of lithofacies in the Giles Creek indicate that the area was bounded by deeper water to the north and south during the Middle Cambrian. Differential subsidence of the basin resulted in deposition of greater thicknesses of Giles Creek sediments in the Phillipson Pound and Ross River-Fergusson syncline areas. Differential subsidence in the Phillipson Pound area was partially offset by salt-induced growth of Ooraminna, Tood River-Windmill, Brumby, and Teresa anticlines. Facies relations and lateral variations in thickness of the Giles Creek suggest that the amount of offset on the Rodinga and Carrel Flat faults is minor, perhaps on the order of 1 to 2 kilometers at most. Initial carbonate sediments of the Giles Creek and upper Chandler were altered by syngenetic inversion of aragonite to calcite, recrystallization of calcite, precipitation of pyrite, and replacer-rent of calcite by dolomite; anagenetic silicification, compaction, and fracturing; and epigenetic oxidation, precipitation of calcite, dedolomitization, and silicification. Post-depositional changes in the terrigenous sediments include syngenetic oxidation, alteration of clay minerals, precipitation of silica, and dolomitization.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2006.
"Title from dissertation home page (viewed June 26, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: A, page: 2345. Advisers: Pamela B. Walters; Donna Eder.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the effects of gated communities in the increasing fragmentation of urban space and in the increasing polarisation among different classes in the Turkish context, more specifically in the capital, Ankara. Since the case study is based on an upper-middle class suburban gated community, first, suburbanisation &ldquo
as a wave of urbanisation&rdquo
is analysed. Then, the debates about the middle class and the transformation that this social stratum has undergone are discussed. Later, the formation of gated communities around the world and in Turkey are analysed within the general framework of the transformation of the urban sphere. Finally, the theoretical arguments are scrutinised by incorporating the findings of the case study carried out in Angora Houses. In this study Angora Houses is concluded to be a gated community which is &ldquo
fortified&rdquo
for the preservation of an upper-middle class lifestyle rather than for security concerns and which reproduces socio-spatial inequalities among Ankaraites rather than standing as only the expression of them.

This dissertation examines the influence of social capital through social relations on student engagement. Specifically, it examines how the resources of social capital through the social relations developed with a group of high school students may have influenced their engagement in school. A narrative inquiry method was used to elicit the voices of students, teachers, administrators, community members, and parents belonging to an advisory group. Open interviews were conducted with participants so they could freely express their insights concerning the influence of social capital through social relations on student engagement. Data from the "authentic voices" of the participants were gathered and analyzed to discover commonality in the experiences and perceptions of the participants. Common themes were found concerning the influence of building positive social relations through social capital resources by looking at social interactions in group memberships, networks and social connections, and personal relationships. The investment of social capital resources through social relations reflected positive student engagement, according to responses of the participants interviewed. Bourdieu claimed, "The economic, social and symbolic 'profit' that follows from belonging to the associations establishes a concrete base for the growth of solidarity," according to Siisianen (2003, p. 294).

Parent involvement has been shown to have positive effects on student achievement and engagement, yet the lack of necessary social and/or cultural capital prevents some parents from being involved. Applying a conceptual framework based on Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural capital, this study examines the social and cultural capital that one parent advisory group possessed and the influence their involvement had on student engagement at an upper middle class high school. This qualitative study used a semi-structured interview protocol and narrative inquiry approach. Using NVivo software, 15 participants' interviews were coded and analyzed for emergent themes in the areas of social and cultural capital. Twelve themes emerged. Social capital themes included: Group memberships that provided a sense of empowerment and responsibility, social networks that highlighted the importance of the community and knowing the right people, and relationships that were purposeful, caring, supportive, and trusting. Cultural capital themes included: having privileged status, knowing how the system works, setting priorities for action and change, and having high expectations and values. Despite the fact that these parents had an extensive network of social and cultural capital, the findings from this study suggests caring relationships that instill a value in education, and that high expectations might be the most important form of capital parents need to be effectively involved. Implications and recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.

The intent of this study was to explore the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers as they relate to teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools. Participants included 11 senior early childhood education preservice teachers at a historically Black college in the southeast region of the United States. The study was conducted using qualitative inquiry. Background questionnaires, individual interviews, and a group interview served as the data sources. While there is an extensive body of knowledge focused on the increasing number of White preservice teachers who lack experience with students in diverse communities, there are limited studies pertaining to the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers who may lack experience with students in high poverty urban schools. In the Black community, color and social class have been inexorably linked for generations. Social class is conceivably one of the most significant sources of inequality in schools and was one of the first factors, after intelligence, researched by scholars as a source of difference in achievement. The study answered the following questions: (1) What are the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers regarding teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools? (2) To what extent do Black middle and upper class preservice teachers believe they can be successful teachers in high poverty urban schools? The data demonstrated that Black middle and upper class preservice teachers (a) prefer to teach in communities similar to their own school experiences; (b) believe students from high poverty urban schools can achieve at the same level as students in middle and upper class schools, but are uncertain of the value their informal knowledge brings to the classroom; (c) recognize effective teaching strategies and best practices in classroom instruction; and (d) have mixed feelings regarding their ability to connect with students and parents in high poverty urban schools. Implications from the study include expanding the scope of field experiences for Black middle and upper class preservice teachers in high poverty urban schools and recognizing Black middle and upper class preservice teachers in teacher education research.

When residential segregation is mentioned in news coverage and when it is talked about in everyday discourse in Sweden, it is very often associated with immigration and minority groups living in the poorer areas of the city. A common assumption is that “immigrants” actively withdraw from society and that they choose to live together rather than integrating with the majority population. This study, however, argues that discussions about segregation cannot be limited to the areas where minorities and poorer-income groups live, but must understand segregation as a process occurring in the whole system of urban neighbourhoods. In order to reach a more complete understanding of the ways in which segregation processes are at work in contemporary Swedish cities, knowledge is needed about the inhabitants with greater resources and power to choose their dwellings and residential areas. The neighbourhood choices of more privileged groups, and the socio-spatial reproduction of the areas of the upper-middle class, are investigated by applying a qualitative ethnographic framework. The thesis studies two neighbourhoods located in the post-industrial city of Malmö: Victoria Park, a US-inspired “lifestyle community” which is the first of its kind in Sweden, and Bellevue, older but still one of the most exclusive and high-status neighbourhoods in the city. In order to understand self-segregation among privileged groups, the study especially scrutinises the concepts of class and security as well as the impacts of neoliberalisation on the Swedish housing market. The main argument of the study is that the self-segregation by members of the upper-middle class demonstrates a rift which runs through the urban fabric of Malmö, splintering the city up into perceived separate worlds. The existence of physical, symbolic and social boundaries in Victoria Park and Bellevue reproduces these neighbourhoods as exclusive, private and tranquil spaces of the upper-middle class. By locating themselves in the calm and safe part of the city, the upper-middle class can buy security as a commodity, rather than relying on the welfare state to provide it for them.

Post financial crisis, economic and business news has generated conflicting narratives where, for example, bankers and corporate executives enjoy large salaries while ordinary people find their lifestyles under increasing pressure. Accordingly, the issues of income inequality, wealth and poverty have attracted increased scholarly attention. Citizens make sense of such issues via the media, and most often via TV news which is still the U.K’s primary news provider. Given that U.K broadcast media are bound by public service obligations, the intellectual puzzle addressed here is whether either side of the financial crisis (2007 and 2014), two TV news providers (BBC1 and ITV1) address financial news generally, and income inequality more specifically, in ways that serve all citizens. Large-scale content analyses are used to identify recurrent themes within economic, business and financial news, and stories containing elements of income inequality, poverty, wealth and the “squeezed middle”. To further explore how these issues are covered, typical cases are developed using critical discourse and multimodal analyses. The study finds that while economic and business news has increased and has been partially redefined by the crisis, income inequality is covered less in 2014 than in 2007, and since it is embedded within various news stories, the issue is not covered in ways helping citizens to make sense of causes and consequences. Despite indicators that “trickle down” economics is broken and that wealth remains concentrated among a few, even post-crisis, economic growth is presented as a universal solution to ease discomfort and inequality. Although coverage of business actors and corporations is often critical, the wider model of capitalism within which they operate remains unchallenged. In conclusion, despite the seismic financial events and normative expectations that they should discuss issues of social significance, because of institutional, economic and historic causal mechanisms, these channels do not provide any such critique.

Within media and communications studies, questions of taste have often been associated with the dichotomy of high versus popular culture. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has also used mass media products in his studies of class determined tastes and dispositions. In this paper the author uses the theoretical framwork of Bourdieu to examine aspects of social class and legitimate taste in the interior design magazine "Sköna Hem", a market leading magazine within it's genre of lifestyle magazines in Sweden. A specific type of feature article, where a real-life home is portrayed, is studied using the critical discourse analysis of Norman Fairclough. The homes portrayed are predominantly affluent and display elements of conspicuous consumtion as mediated through legitimate taste and cultural capital. Common traits are identified in writing style as well as the furnishings of the homes portrayed. Deviations from the norm are also discussed. The author also discusses text production with an emphasis on the impact of informal chriteria of quality on the selection of homes portrayed. The results show that the aesthetic ideals represented in the magazine correlate well to the "aesthetic disposition" described by Bourdieu as closely tied to haute bourgeois habitus. Shared discoursive elements include an emphasis on form as a characteristic of quality, an attitude of detachment as a way of relating to the objects of culture and a distancing from questions of economic neccessity. These elements are projected rhetorically through modality markers of high affinity, leaving the impression of a general defintion of style and beauty. Given that these results are representative of lifestyle journalism as a whole, the author interprets this as a hegemonizing process wherein a subjective defintion of taste typical of the haute bourgeois comes to represent an absolute. She proposes that this contributes to a pathologizing of powerless groups in society.

O presente estudo procura compreender como um grupo de 15 (quinze) crianças entre 8 (oito) e 12 (doze) anos de idade, moradores do Bairro Lomba do Pinheiro, localizado na zona leste da cidade de Porto Alegre e distante cerca de 20km do centro, apreendem a cidade e a si mesmas nessa relação com o espaço urbano. No intuito de acessar os conteúdos infantis e assim conhecer suas experiências cotidianas, na maioria das vezes segredadas aos adultos, a pesquisadora valeu-se do conceito de adulto atípico de William Corsaro. A interação com o grupo isentou-se de intervenções ou sanções punitivas, mesmo diante das situações conflituosas presenciadas na escola municipal de ensino fundamental onde a pesquisa de campo foi realizada. O reconhecimento da distinção entre a figura da professora e da pesquisadora foi o marco inicial e fundamental do processo de vinculação e aceitação por parte das crianças. Conversar foi a palavra de ordem da metodologia para a geração de dados. A cidade de Porto Alegre compreendida enquanto conteúdo de educação, conteúdo educativo e agente educador (Cavalcantti, 2008), é o foco central dos diálogos estabelecidos entre a pesquisadora e o grupo. A observação de alguns elementos da paisagem urbana, como a arquitetura, infraestrutura e serviços, aliada às experiências de corpos e imaginação no mundo, compõem o repertório a partir do qual a cidade vai sendo interpretada, ao mesmo tempo em que vivida. E o reconhecimento de diferenças, que ao impactarem na qualidade de vida dos indivíduos tornam-se desigualdades, conduz o eixo argumentativo através do qual as crianças demonstram serem conhecedoras do complexo arranjo socioeconômico ao qual estão atreladas as (importantes) possibilidades de legitimação da cidadania portoalegrense. A cidadania e o direito à cidade, irremediavelmente perpapassam pelas condições de materialidade de vida das crianças e, portanto, de suas condições financeiras.
This study seeks to understand how a group of 15 (fifteen) children between 8 (eight) and 12 (twelve) years old, residents of the Lomba do Pinheiro district, located on the east side of the city of Porto Alegre about 20km away from the center, seize the town and themselves in this relationship with the urban space. In order to access the children's content and thus meet their everyday experiences, most often whispered to adults, the researcher drew on the concept of atypical adult by William Corsaro. The interaction exempted itself from group interventions or punitive sanctions if exempted, even in the face of conflicting situations witnessed in municipal elementary school where the fieldwork was conducted. The recognition of the distinction between the figure of the teacher and the researcher was the initial and fundamental milestone of the process of binding and acceptance by children. Talking was the watchword of the methodology for the generation of data. The city of Porto Alegre understood as educational content, educational content and teacher agent (Cavalcantti, 2008), is the central focus of the dialogues between the researcher and the group. The observation of some elements of the urban landscape, such as the architecture, and infrastructure services, combined with the experiences of bodies and imaginations in the world, compose the repertoire by which the city is being interpreted, at the same time that it is lived. And the recognition of differences, which while impacting on the quality of life of individuals become inequalities, leads the argumentative shaft through which children show they are knowledgeable of the complex socioeconomic arrangements which the (important) possibilities of legitimation of the Porto Alegre citizenship are linked to. Citizenship and the right to the city hopelessly pervade the materiality of life of those children and, therefore, their financial conditions.

Esta pesquisa objetivou identificar padrões formais, plásticos, sintáticos, semânticos e simbólicos eventualmente mais característicos de estamparias têxteis voltadas ao vestuário de usuárias das classes sociais média e alta. O estudo, de natureza mista, quantitativa e qualitativa, apresentou caráter essencialmente fenomenológico, buscando percepções de usuárias e especialistas (designers), ao comparar padronagens de estamparias gráficas utilizadas por mulheres das classes sociais média e alta. Do ponto metodológico, a pesquisa foi dividida em três estágios principais. Em um primeiro estágio foram selecionadas quatrocentas amostras de imagens de estampas voltadas para usuárias das classes média e alta, sendo duzentas amostras de cada classe. Estes dois grupos de duzentas amostras foram, então, reduzidos, aleatoriamente, a dois grupos de vinte amostras. Cada amostra, a partir deste ponto, foi minuciosamente isolada e abstraída do desenho da roupa, da pessoa que a estivesse trajando e de seu entorno, evitando-se variáveis contaminantes. No segundo estágio, as vinte amostras, já isoladas e abstraídas, foram individualmente apresentadas a especialistas (designers), com objetivo de estimulá-los a verbalizar categorias conceituais que pudessem ser utilizadas como norteadoras de um diferencial semântico a ser elaborado no terceiro estágio. Por fim, no terceiro estágio, sete amostras de cada um dos dois grupos foram reunidas, aleatoriamente, e apresentadas a dois grupos de respondentes (especialistas e usuárias) de maneira a atribuírem valores numéricos de 1 a 5 quanto a dez parâmetros (bipolarizados) induzidos a partir das análises obtidas dos dados oferecidos por especialistas no segundo estágio. Participaram do terceiro e último estágio 55 respondentes, sendo seis designers e 49 usuárias. Os resultados deste estudo foram, então, estratificados em vários quadros, entre os quais: amostras apenas da classe média, com respostas de especialistas e de usuárias; amostras apenas da classe alta, com respostas de especialistas e de usuárias; amostras da classe média e da classe alta, com respostas apenas de especialistas; amostras da classe média e da classe alta, com respostas apenas de usuárias; e amostras da classe média e da classe alta, com respostas da média de especialistas e usuárias. O cruzamento geral destas várias estratificações revelou singular e pouco antecipada convergência das respostas de especialistas e de usuárias sobre padrões de estampas têxteis atribuídos às classes média e alta. Notou-se, por exemplo, coincidências acentuadas nas respostas nas categorias simbólico/literal, cromático/acromático, sofisticado/rústico, linear/aleatório, clássico/moderno e geométrico/orgânico, entre amostras de padronagens têxteis voltadas às usuárias das classes média e alta. Divergências discretas foram, entretanto, observadas nas categorias equilibrado/desequilibrado, simetria/assimetria, comum/incomum e figurativo/abstrato. Este estudo conclui que variações qualitativas no vestuário das classes média e alta estariam, portanto, localizadas menos no âmbito das características formais, semânticas, simbólicas e estéticas das padronagens têxteis, residindo, muito possivelmente, sobretudo, na qualidade da impressão, acabamento, coloração, fiação, tecelagem, costura e em minúcias de seus desenhos apenas perceptíveis pela proximidade física e tátil dos referidos tecidos e peças de vestuário
This research aimed to identify formal, syntactic, esthetic, semantic, and symbolic patterns possibly more closely associated with textile designs geared to the clothing of female middle and upper class users. The study, of a mixed nature, combined both the quantitative and qualitative approaches. It was of an essentially phenomenological character, searching for the perceptions of both users and design specialists, as they compared graphic design patterns utilized in the clothing of middle and upper class women. From a methodological standpoint, the study was divided into three main stages. In the first stage, 400 samples of photographs of textile design geared to female middle and upper class users, 200 corresponding to each group, were randomly selected from a variety of sources. Out of these two groups, another selection was then randomly conducted as well, narrowing both groups down to 20 samples each. Each textile sample, at this point, was thoroughly isolated and taken from the actual design of the clothing, from the person who might be wearing it and from its surroundings, therefore avoiding contaminant variables. In the second stage, those 20 samples, already isolated and taken out of their surroundings, were individually shown to textile and fashion design specialists, aiming to stimulate them to verbalize conceptual categories that could be utilized to guide the elaboration of a semantic differential in the third stage. Finally, in the third stage, seven samples from each of these two groups were randomly ordered and displayed to two groups of participants (design specialists and users). They were asked to grade them with numeric values from 1 through 5 regarding ten parameters (bipolarized) which were previously developed based on data provided by design specialists during the second stage. In this final stage, 55 respondents took part, six of which were design specialists and 49 of which were users. The results of this research were then stratified and displayed into various tables and charts, amongst which were: exclusively middle-class samples, featuring answers of both design specialists and users; exclusively upper-class samples, featuring answers of both design specialists and users; samples of both middle and upper class, featuring answers exclusively of design specialists; samples of both middle and upper class, featuring answers exclusively of users; and, finally, samples of both middle and upper class, featuring combined answers of design specialists and users. Cross-referencing of the various data stratifications revealed a unique and little-anticipated convergence of answers from both design specialists and users regarding textile graphic patterns linked to either middle or upper class clothing. Significant, coinciding patterns of responses were noted in conceptual categories such as symbolic/literal, chromatic/achromatic, sophisticated/rustic, linear/random, classic/contemporary and geometric/organic, among samples of graphic textile patterns associated with middle- and upper-class female users. Discrete divergences were identified, however, in categories such as balanced/unbalanced, symmetrical/asymmetrical, plain/rare and figurative/abstract. This study, then, reached the conclusion that qualitative variations in graphic design patterns in clothing of middle- and upper-class female users might, therefore, occur less in the realm of the studied formal, semantic, symbolic and aesthetic graphic textile patterns, as they seem to most likely reside, above all, in the printing quality, finishing, coloring, threading, weaving, sewing and in minute drawing details of the actual graphic textile patterns which can only be ascertained and appreciated by means of physical and tactile proximity to these graphic patterns and the actual clothing itself

In this thesis, I analys suburb- and housing planning and interior decoration carried out primarily in Stockholm between the 1930s and the 1950s. Functionalism, the overall concept of the period, has perhaps been interpreted in terms of ideological concepts, interpreted as "democratic" and as a progressive dividing line between the past and the future. I examine how housing and suburban planning in Sweden in the mid-20th century was affected by how housing and town planning related to that period's clear class boundaries and well-defined gender roles. I analyse both rhetoric and physical planning. Whether the architect had explicit ambitions to achieve spatial differentiation of socio-economic categories, how suburban planners dealt with their historical inheritance and the principles about categorisation and spatial separation. I also analyse how ideas of class, gender and spatial differentiation of family members affected the organisation and design of rooms in the housing planning of the mid-20th century. The general conclusion of the thesis as a whole is that ideas about class, sex and familial hierarchy were reflected in functionalist housing and interior decoration. The planned suburbs in Stockholm involved explicit strategies for differentiating population categories in different suburbs. The planned suburbs, which were regarded as paradigmatic cases for the suburban planning of the period, involved explicit strategies for differentiating population categories in different suburbs, a strategy that was concretised in physical suburban planning. Terraced housing in one area, småstugor in another, blocks of flats in a third, detached houses in a fourth. Sociological arguments justified this type of suburban planning. The emotional affinity between neighbours was considered to be better if the neighbours belong to the same socio economic category. Planned homes, which were regarded as paradigmatic cases for the housing planning of this period, involved explicit strategies for differentiating family members into different rooms, distinguishing between private and public rooms within the sphere of the home, a strategy that was concretised in physical housing planning. I analyse how the magazine's editorial content contributed to producing a middle-class housing ideal. A central aspect of modern housing planning and the debate in around 1930 was the launch of the home as an essentially private sphere. The editorial team behind the magazine Hem i Sverige launched the home as a reaction against the idea of the home as essentially a private sphere, with a clear spatial hierarchy and division between different family members, between private and public spheres. I examined the participation of the Nordiska Kompaniet department store in the 1930 Stockholm exhibition. As an influential commercial actor, the store's management had a strategy of combining consumption with both benefit and enjoyment, dreams, pastimes and goal-oriented purchases. The starting point for Nordiska Kompaniet's interior decoration approach was the organisation and content of the upper middle-class home. The drawing rooms, the dining room, the serving area, the homes with clear dividing lines between private and public sphere. Family structures and familial hierarchy were emphasised on the basis of the upper middle-class family's tradition.
Forskarskolan för estetiska vetenskaper

This thesis investigates discourses surrounding upper and middle class Afrikaner women living in Johannesburg during the years 1948, 1949 and 1958. It uses magazines aimed at upper and middle class women as primary sources and also makes use of interviews with upper and middle class women who lived in Johannesburg during 1948. 1949 and 1958. The thesis uses women's magazines. educational magazines and church magazines, as well as the Vrou en Moeder magazine, mouthpiece of the Suid Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie. Conclusions are drawn about the status and role of Afrikaner middle class women in society, as well as the value systems operating at the time. Differences in discourse and changes over time are accounted for. The thesis also draws attention to the importance of using gender as an historical category, and attempts to broaden the method of history by utilising discourse analysis.
History

This thesis investigates discourses surrounding upper and middle class Afrikaner women living in Johannesburg during the years 1948, 1949 and 1958. It uses magazines aimed at upper and middle class women as primary sources and also makes use of interviews with upper and middle class women who lived in Johannesburg during 1948, 1949 and 1958. The thesis uses women's magazines, educational magazines and church magazines, as well as the Vrou en Maeder magazine, mouthpiece of the Suid Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie. Conclusions are drawn about the status and role of Afrikaner middle class women in society, as well as the value systems operating at the time. Differences in discourse and changes over time are accounted for. The thesis also draws attention to the importance of using gender as an historical category, and attempts to broaden the method of history by utilising discourse analysis.
History
M.A. (History)

This thesis is framed by a contemporary debate between feminist theorists and clinicians concerning the role of culture in the etiology of problem eating. Feminists argue that it is a mistake to pathologize disordered eating since it is arguably the norm in contemporary society. From this perspective, problem eating lies along a continuum and constitutes a response both to the current era of gender upheaval, and to tremendous social pressure on girls and women (hereafter: women) to cultivate slender bodies. Clinicians counter that it is highly objectionable to gloss over the reality of extremely disordered eating in the name of a political agenda to universalize the problem. Moreover, they argue that while cultural messages appear to shape symptoms, our efforts are appropriately directed toward understanding core psychological (and/or familial, or biological) difficulties. The effort within the thesis to resolve this debate begins with a review of empirical literature which has researched whether women with problem eating are particularly feminine, or reject their femininity (or both). This review yields the assessment that white, middle or upper class women with more severe eating problems are deeply conflicted about their gendered personality. In particular, it seems likely that these women seek to address the "gender double-bind" according to which women must be what is devalued (i.e., feminine), and only be what is valued (i.e., masculine) within acceptable limits. The psychocultural model of the gendered nature of problem eating which is developed on the basis of this material shows how women seize upon social-cultural input concerning female body management in their attempt to answer the double bind. An autobiographical inquiry on the part of the author helps to confirm the validity of this approach, but also reveals the deeper psychological structures of a "lack of developed self," and "lack of womaninity." These structures give rise to intense heeds for guidance concerning how to develop as persons and as women. And the confluence of these needs with the concern to address the gender double bind is shown in the model to generate more severe problem eating along the continuum.

Tsang, Tsz Wai.
Thesis M.Phil. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2015.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-212).
Abstracts also in Chinese.
Title from PDF title page (viewed on 11, November, 2016).

Praca jest poświęcona analizie stylów konsumpcji współczesnej polskiej klasy wyższej. Pierwszy rozdział przedstawia socjologiczne i ekonomiczne teorie konsumpcji, koncentrując się głównie na idei myślicieli takich jak Karol Marks, Thorstein Veblen, Daniel Bell, John Kenneth Galbraith i Jean Baudrillard. Rozdział drugi zawiera analizę polskiego społeczeństwa w odniesieniu do socjologicznych teorii klas Karola Marksa, Maxa Webera, Thorsteina Veblena i Pierre'a Bourdieu. Analiza ta jest podstawą do budowy definicji współczesnej polskiej klasy wyższej. Rozdział trzeci omawia metody i techniki badawcze zastosowane w pracy, w szczególności pogłębione jakościowe wywiady z członkami polskiej klasy wyższej i tzw. kluczowymi informatorami – osobami pracującymi w branży luksusowych dóbr i usług. Rozdział ten prezentuje także problemy związane z prowadzeniem badań socjologicznych wśród trudnodostępnych grup społecznych, takich jak przedstawiciele klasy wyższej. Kolejny rozdział zawiera wyniki badań na temat stylów konsumpcji polskiej klasy wyższej. Otrzymane dane empiryczne są analizowane w odniesieniu do teorii Thorsteina Veblena i Pierre'a Bourdieu. Rozdział ten jest podzielony tematycznie na cztery sfery konsumpcji obejmujące kolejno: samochody, ubrania, mieszkania i konsumpcję w czasie wolnym. Rozdział ten zawiera także analizę kulturowych wzorców konsumpcji w serialu TVP "Rezydencja" oraz w czasopismach "Sukces" i "Essence". Piąty i ostatni rozdział pracy formułuje wnioski końcowe z przeprowadzonych badań: styl konsumpcji typowego przedstawiciela polskiej klasy wyższej może być opisany jako synteza nastawienia na utylitaryzm i prestiż. Proporcje, w jakich te dwie postawy są odzwierciedlone w konsumpcji dóbr i usług, zależą głównie od rozpatrywanych obszarów. Rozdział ten zawiera także porównanie wyników uzyskanych w przeprowadzonych przez autora z rezultatami podobnych badań zrealizowanych w 1992 roku przez Jacka Kurczewskiego.
The work is devoted to the analysis of consumption styles of contemporary Polish upper class. The first chapter presents sociological and economical theories of consumption, concentrating mostly on ideas of thinkers such as Karl Marks, Thorstein Veblen, Daniel Bell, John Kenneth Galbraith and Jean Baudrillard. The second chapter analyzes Polish society in reference to sociological theories of classes of Karl Marx, Max Weber, Thorstein Veblen and Pierre Bourdieu. This analysis is a basis for the construction of the definition of contemporary Polish upper class. Chapter three discusses the methods and techniques of the study, in particular qualitative in-depth interviews with members of Polish upper class and people working in the luxury goods industry, which were the basis of my research. This chapter specifies unique challenges of conducting sociological research amongst unavailable social groups such as upper class representatives. In the next chapter, I present the results of my research on the styles of consumption of Polish upper class. Collected empirical data is analyzed in relation to Thorstein Veblen’s and Pierre Bourdieu’s theories, and is divided thematically into four spheres of consumption: cars, clothing, housing and leisure activities. This chapter contains also the analysis of various cultural patterns of consumption in the TVP series "Rezydencja" and in the magazines "Sukces" and "Essence". The fifth and final chapter formulates conclusions of the conducted research: the consumption style of a typical representative of Polish upper class can be described as a synthesis of utilitarianism and prestige. The proportions in which these two attitudes are reflected in consumption of goods and services depend mainly on the areas of consumption that are considered. This chapter also contains a comparison between the results obtained in my research and those of similar research conducted in 1992 by Jacek Kurczewski.