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Becoming a parent is a time of transition and learning new practices. Friendship networks change, and there is a risk of social isolation. Although many mothers find social support in Australian community playgroups, others do not feel welcome. The processes of inclusion and exclusion are not well understood. This thesis employs intersectionality theory to examine the processes of inclusion and belonging that operate through identities and power. A mixed methods approach is utilised to investigate how playgroup parents understand their choices about and experience of participating in community playgroups, and how playgroups are constructed in policy. Interviews with 18 mothers across four playgroups are combined with an analysis of the membership database of a playgroup peak body, narrative policy analysis based on interviews with policy practitioners, and interviews with the founders of the playgroup movement. The four playgroups are a Japanese language playgroup, an LGBTQ playgroup, and two local playgroups. This research demonstrates that social support is intimately connected to parents’ existing identities, and their newly developing parenting identity. Parents need to feel that they belong in a playgroup to feel supported. In a search for such a community, many mothers seek an identity-based playgroup, where they can connect with people like themselves in some way. Other playgroups are organised around a strong sense of being local. However, in a number of ways, the community playgroup spaces in this research reflect Australia’s wider Anglocentric heteronormative culture. I find four narratives present in playgroup policy and practice. The classic narrative positions playgroups as sites of child development and adult social support. The vulnerability narrative is concerned with targetted intervention through supported playgroups. The third, a belonging narrative, is that playgroups are for everybody, but since we are all different, families should search for the playgroup that suits them. The fourth is a narrative of interculturality, where playgroup are spaces where people meet across difference, based on a well-established concept of local connection being paramount in playgroups. Because social support is embedded in identity specific practices and a sense of belonging in a playgroup, additional resources and support are required for more families to feel welcomed and included in both identity-based and location-based community playgroups.

Background: Stories are a natural and powerful way for humans to make sense of complex situations. Prior research suggests that when people are faced with complex problems, like underrepresentation in engineering, they construct and defer to stories, sometimes even in the face of contradicting evidence, as a basis for decision making and action. Purpose/Hypothesis: We examined the public discourse to identify stories about underrepresentation in engineering, and about engineering more broadly, that inform and underwrite efforts to address the dual problem of a general lack of interest in engineering careers and a lack of diversity in engineering graduates and professionals. Design/Method: Drawing on the theory of framing and concepts from narrative policy analysis (NPA), we qualitatively analyzed one year of online news articles (from August 2011 to August 2012) sourced from a news briefing service for engineering educators. Results: We describe five dominant stories about engineering that define the field in terms of math and science, building things, the need for societal appreciation, diversity-driven innovation, and hard-earned career rewards, respectively. These stories share a common premise—that a chronic shortage of engineers threatens the economic growth and international competitiveness of the United States. Each story includes explanations for perceived low levels of interest in the field and recommendations to address this problem. We note that increasing the participation of groups from diverse ethnic backgrounds was not a prominent theme in the discourse we analyzed compared to, for example, attracting more women or increasing the overall number of young people who are interested in engineering careers. Consistent with NPA, we also describe a nonstory that critiques the premise of the dominant stories. Conclusions: We discuss how the dominant stories reflect a particular set of values and practices, centered on competition, economic gain, and the design of technological artifacts that, in turn, shape efforts to attract, educate, and retain students. We further discuss how alternative narratives may open up new opportunities for systemic, cultural change in engineering education with important implications for diversifying the field.

This paper analyzes, from a post-structuralist epistemological approach, the discourses on "development" included in the national policy of "Food Security" and those on "Food Sovereignty" promulgated by the peasant, ethical and popular social movements in Colombia. For this, the methodology of public policy narrative analysis is used and it is concluded that the concept of "Food Security", that constitutes the official narrative of the Colombian Government to attack the problems of malnutrition and famine, understands development mainly as economic growth, an objective that is pursued by increasing agricultural productivity with genetic modifications, large-scale production, the reduction of trade barriers and the transfer of technology while the discursive logic of "Food Sovereignty", proclaimed by subaltern groups, advocates the inclusion of ancestral knowledge in agro ecology, short production and distribution circuits, the defense of the territory, the protection of nature and the protection of life, concepts related to the alternatives to "development". Finally, as a meta-narrative, the case of rural policies and the eradication of hunger in Bolivia is reviewed, which present food security and sovereignty as complementary objectives and illustrate the strategies of transition towards a “Living Well" model.

Master's Thesis in Energy, Environment and society The “newest” science presented in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C show the severity of the climate change issue and the urgency required to meet it. A consensus in the climate science community agrees that a profound transition of our civilisation’s energy systems and socio-economic structures must rapidly take place if the world is to meet the common goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C – as stated in the Paris Agreement. However, increasing emissions and systemic carbon lock-in suggests that this goal might fall out of reach if urgent and significant measures are not taken within the next decade. Norway is doing especially poor in this respect with emissions still increasing despite high and outspoken ambitions for reduction. Norway’s increasing emissions are mostly due to deep economic dependency on the country’s petroleum industry. According to poststructuralist theory, narratives are central to both the power structures within societies and to processes of cultural, historical and socio-economic change. Thus, a narrative perspective on climate change can provide insight and valuable guidance in the transitions that must occur if we are to limit or halt global climate breakdown. The thesis assumes two different angles of inquiry, 1) what climate science and transition theory can teach us about the severity of climate change and how to meet the challenge politically and technically, and 2) what prominent official climate change narratives and policies in Norway entail. Thus, the study aims to give insight into whether Norway’s climate change response is consistent with the critical reality of climate change. The thesis adopts a narrative analysis framework to inquiry into climate change narratives from within the official institutions most relevant to the climate change issue in Norway – the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. It looks at the consistency of narratives over time and the relation between the two ministries in terms of there being any apparent narrative clashes or correlations. The thesis further assesses how the various actors incorporate science into the narratives and what role the IPCC’ SR15 might play. The analysis finds several dominant narratives with a varying degree of correlation between the two ministries. Most prominent are the narratives framing Norway as a ‘world leader’ on climate action, the narrative emphasising the importance of economic (green) growth and the narrative reconciling petroleum expansions with emission reductions by arguing the importance of replacing coal (abroad) with Norwegian gas. The thesis also finds that Norway’s current and intended climate policies are not in line with meeting the target set through the Paris Agreement for domestic emissions reduction nor with the 1,5°C target. I also argue that green growth is unfeasible for Norway as long as the petroleum sector remains the backbone of the country’s economy. Green growth through decoupling the economy from carbon emissions is also shown to be highly unlikely to occur at the rate required to limit global warming to below 2°C globally. Adopting a poststructuralist perspective, I conclude that Norway will remain a climate change mitigation laggard if official policies remain subject to current narratives. Within the scope of the 1,5°C target, I argue that continued economic dependence on the petroleum sector through expansion, is not reconcilable with reaching national emission reduction goals, the goals of the Paris Agreement nor consistent with global climate change mitigation.

Esta dissertação busca compreender as mudanças ocorridas na Organização das Nações Unidas para a Alimentação e a Agricultura (FAO) entre 1996 e 2017 a partir da análise das narrativas políticas presentes nos relatórios State of Food and Agriculture e State of Food Insecurity publicados neste período. Neste exercício, esta dissertação envolveu a realização de pesquisa documental e 19 entrevistas semiestruturadas. O ponto de partida é o pressuposto de que por de trás das narrativas contadas nos relatórios da FAO existem diferentes interpretações de segurança alimentar e propostas de soluções aos problemas relacionados à agricultura e à alimentação. Nesta perspectiva, considerando o impacto que as publicações da FAO possuem no ambiente científico e também político, este trabalho apresenta as seguintes questões de pesquisa: quais narrativas são acionadas pela FAO no debate sobre segurança alimentar e nutricional? Em que estão fundamentadas essas narrativas? Desta forma, o objetivo é analisar as narrativas sobre Segurança Alimentar acionadas pela FAO. Através deste estudo foi possível perceber a convivência de quatro paradigmas distintos nas narrativas acionadas pelos relatórios da Organização: Neoliberal, Neomalthusiano, NovoDesenvolvimentista e Seniano. Esta convivência por vezes se dá de forma complementar, por outras de forma contraditória. A partir de 2012 foi possível identificar o aumento da ocorrência do paradigma Novo-Desenvolvimentista, assim como a exclusão do paradigma Neoliberal, fato este que pode ser associado à atual gestão, de José Graziano da Silva, que teve início neste mesmo período. This dissertation seeks to understand the changes that occurred in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) between 1996 and 2017 from the analysis of policy narratives in the State of Food and Agriculture and State of Food Insecurity reports published in this period. In this exercise, this dissertation involved the accomplishment of documentary research and 19 semi-structured interviews. The starting point is the assumption that behind the narratives in the FAO reports there are different interpretations of Food Security and proposals for solutions to problems related to agriculture and food. In this perspective, considering the impact that the FAO publications have on the scientific and political environment, this paper presents the following research questions: Which narratives are triggered by FAO in the debate on Food Security? What are these narratives based on? In this way, the objective is to analyze the narratives on Food Security triggered by the FAO. Through this study, it was possible to perceive the coexistence of four distinct paradigms in the narratives triggered by the reports of the Organization: Neoliberal, Neo-Malthusian, NewDevelopmental and Senian. This coexistence sometimes occurs in a complementary way, by in other times it occurs in a contradictory way. From 2012 on, it was possible to identify the increase in the occurrence of the New-Developmental paradigm, as well as the exclusion of the Neoliberal paradigm, a fact that may be associated with the current management of José Graziano da Silva, which began in this same period.

Submitted by Boris Flegr (boris@uerj.br) on 2020-07-05T16:09:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao marina deschamps silveira.pdf: 1003257 bytes, checksum: d235e002dbba8660fa4b74ffcb870900 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2020-07-05T16:09:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao marina deschamps silveira.pdf: 1003257 bytes, checksum: d235e002dbba8660fa4b74ffcb870900 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-09 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico The aim of the study was to analyze the responses submitted by the State for the health of youth in rehabilitation centers in the deprivation of liberty from documents originating from the governmental sphere, social movements and academic productions. Specifically, we were wanted to identify the actors that voice the demands of young in conflict with the law health, understand the concept of health expressed in health policies, discuss the perspective about the phenomenon of youth in conflict with the law health and finally, problematize the priorities chosen by health policy and the mechanisms that led to its adoption. We used the methodology of narrative policy analysis that makes possible the understanding changes, such method proposes that stories have beginnings, middles, and ends, as in scenarios; they are employed by actors in order to act under conditions of uncertainty, conflict and complexity. Through documentary analysis we have identified the main characters and three narratives, each of them with different perspectives and understandings. The narratives are the following: (1) The potentially dangerous youth: the referential of violence, (2) The youth in conflict with the law: Human rights referential, (3) The Delinquent Youth: Mental health referential. We observed that the hegemonic narrative was associated with the human rights referential talking with founding milestones of Brazilian democracy as the 1988 constitution, the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) and Health system (SUS) guidelines. In addition, it was pointed to the endogenous character in the formulation of the policy, without the strong presence of social movements and civil society. Finally, he wondered about stigmas and prejudices that hinder the recognition of young people as citizens of rights. O Objetivo geral do estudo foi analisar as respostas apresentadas pelo Estado para a saúde de jovens que cumprem medida socioeducativa de internação a partir de documentos provenientes da esfera governamental, dos movimentos sociais e de produções acadêmicas. Especificamente, buscou-se identificar os atores que vocalizam as demandas de saúde de jovens em conflito com a lei, compreender a concepção de saúde expressa nas políticas e normas de saúde, discutir a perspectiva acerca da transgressão juvenil presente nas políticas e normas de saúde e problematizar as escolhas de prioridades apontadas pela política de saúde e os mecanismos que conduziram a sua adoção. Recorreu-se a estratégia metodológica de análise de narrativas políticas que possibilita a compreensão de mudanças no campo das políticas, tal análise reconhece a formulação de políticas públicas atrelada ao poder de certos discursos e personagens e aposta na ideia de que as narrativas contam uma história, com começo, meio e fim, onde atores chaves foram essenciais para o desenvolvimento do enredo. Através da análise documental identificamos os principais personagens e três narrativas que apresentam compreensões e proposições distintas entre si no que concerne a saúde dos jovens em conflito com a lei, foram elas: (1) O jovem potencialmente perigoso: perpassado pela violência, (2) O jovem em conflito com a lei: o cidadão de direitos e (3) O jovem delinquente: o adolescente portador de transtorno mental. Observou-se que a narrativa hegemônica estava associada ao referencial dos direitos humanos e aliada a marcos fundantes da democracia brasileira como a constituição de 1988, o ECA e o próprio SUS. Ademais, apontou-se para o caráter endógeno apresentado na a formulação da política de saúde para os jovens em conflito com a lei, sendo possível detectar poucas aberturas para diálogos com movimentos sociais e sociedade civil. Por fim, ponderou-se estigmas e preconceitos ainda vigentes que dificultam a legitimação de políticas de saúde que reconheçam os jovens em conflito com a lei cidadãos de direitos.

Decentralization has been the most remarkable reform process that has occurred in the institutional arrangements and framework in Italy, a country of contrasts and contradictions with neglected – but increasing – forest resources and a limited range of actors’ networks able to make the sector more modern and dynamic. On the basis of a qualitative-based document analysis and observations collected in three case-study Regions (Veneto, Molise and Sicily), our paper aims to provide interpretations of the failures in network forest governance in Italy connected with the decentralization policy process. Our findings show that Italy is experiencing several of the recurrent problems highlighted for decentralization in other countries, including difficulties in creating the conditions for more network-based governance initiatives with the involvement of local community and civil society. Problems have been exacerbated by the financial and political crisis and the consequent spending review. However, some encouraging signals also exist.

Esta investigación analiza el papel de las narrativas en la construcción de las políticas públicas, investigando específicamente el proceso de formulación del Plan Alimentario y Nutricional Indígena y Afro de Tumaco –PANIAT, el cual buscó impulsar la formulación de planes departamentales y municipales mediante un proceso de construcción participativa con actores sectoriales y comunitarios, y generar rutas para alcanzar la Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional en Tumaco. El enfoque de investigación es el Análisis Narrativo de Políticas sustentado en métodos cualitativos como mapeos de actores, entrevistas abiertas, análisis de documentos escritos y análisis de redes. Se encontraron un conjunto de narrativas implicadas en la controversia de este caso de política pública, que luego fueron analizadas para identificar una serie de giros y situaciones que permiten contar la historia de la formulación desde un ángulo alternativo que resalta factores cognitivos, retóricos y subjetivos entre los actores para la construcción de este Plan. El análisis narrativo del PANIAT permite hacer aportes metodológicos que sean insumo para fortalecer otras experiencias de innovación social y de formulación de políticas públicas participativas en Colombia. (texto tomado de la fuente) This research analyzes the role of narratives in the construction of public policies, specifically investigating the process for the formulation of the Indigenous and Afro Food and Nutrition Plan of Tumaco - PANIAT, which sought to promote the formulation of departmental and municipal plans through a process of participatory construction with sector and community actors, and generate routes to achieve Food and Nutrition Security in Tumaco.The research focus is the Narrative Pollicy Analysis based on qualitative methods such as actor mapping, open interviews, analysis of written documents and networks analysis. Were found a set of narratives involved in the controversy of this case of public policy, which were then analyzed to identify a series of turns and situations that allow to tell the history of the formulation from an alternative angle that highlights cognitive, rhetorical and subjective factors between actors for the construction of this Plan.The narrative analysis of the PANIAT allows to make methodological contributions that are an input to strengthen other experiences of social innovation and formulation of participatory public policies in Colombia. Maestría Análisis de las Políticas Públicas

El presente estudio describe los cambios en la políticas públicas de niñez en Colombia entre 1991 y 2014, mediante el análisis tanto de las narrativas y contranarrativas de política gestadas en este periodo de tiempo, como de los factores que propiciaron la conformación de una red de política pública y el posterior desarrollo de diversos modos de interacción entre los grupos de actores identificados. Parte esta investigación de situar antecedentes y factores relevantes que permiten contrastar, por un lado, contenidos y perspectivas entre diferentes periodos de tiempo, y por otro lado, el número, tipo, y dinámica de relaciones entre los diversos actores involucrados en este campo antes de 1991, y posterior a este año hasta 2014. En síntesis, a través de los hallazgos y análisis realizados se busca no solo plantear qué se transformó entre 1991 y 2014 respecto a la construcción de la niñez como referente de políticas públicas, sino también, cómo se gestó esta transformación, con el fin de proveer elementos que permitan comprender principalmente los énfasis y las variaciones que han tenido las políticas públicas de niñez en el país, pero también, algunas continuidades por periodos más específicos de tiempo. This research describes the changes in childhood public policy in Colombia between 1991 and 2014. It analyses public policy narratives and counter-narratives during this time period, and it considers factors which generated the creation of a policy network, and subsequent development of different types of interactions between the identified actors. Firstly, this study identifies background information and relevant factors to contrast, on the one hand, content and perspectives between different time periods, and on the other hand, the number, type, and relationship dynamics between the various actors involved in the field before 1991, up to 2014. In summary, this study, seeks not only show the changes regarding the construction of childhood as a referent of public policy between 1991 and 2014, but also, it discusses how such changes were made, in order to provide elements to understand childhood public policy’s specific emphases, and continuities over time.

While there is renewed interest to promote agricultural development, there is a lively policy debate on the appropriate instruments to achieve this goal. While some actors argue that agricultural development requires strong government support and input subsidies, others criticize those state-focused instruments and favor market-oriented approaches. Applying a narrative policy analysis approach, this paper addresses the question: Who has a better story-line? The study aims to contribute to a better understanding of contested policy debates using the case of Senegal as an example. The study applies the Advocacy Coalition Framework, and combines quantitative cluster analysis with qualitative narrative policy analysis. Transcripts of in-depth interviews conducted with policy stakeholders in Senegal are the primary data source. The empirical analysis reveals that, there are two coalitions with opposing policy narratives: a large “agricultural support” coalition and a small “agricultural support critique” coalition. The story-line of the agricultural support critique emphasizes that, the government provision of input subsidies is ineffective while story-line of the proponents of such policies consider support essential to promote agricultural development. The analysis of the narratives suggests that, the agricultural coalition has a convincing story-line with a clear beginning (low productivity caused by lack of inputs), middle (providing subsidized inputs) and end (increased productivity). In contrast, the agricultural support critique essentially presents “non-stories” (focusing on what should not be done without providing a convincing alternative story-line of what should be done). Based on the proposition that a more consensus-oriented approach will ultimately lead to more effective agricultural policies, the study explores strategies to achieve a “discursive turn” and examines the role of policy brokers in this context.

In the last 40 years, climate change has been increasingly taken intoaccount. Various observers have started to tell a story: the story of small Pacific atollisland states that might disappear beneath the rising seas. The argument developedin this thesis is that this story is a "public action narative" which aims at drawingattention towards those states and at inciting policy makers to prevent the risk or tofind a solution. Those "sinking island States narratives" display two particularcharacteristics: they are not linked to an existing policy and they are used by variousactors from the political sphere and the civil society.Building on the policy narratives literature, this thesis aims at analysing theproduction, the dissemination and the framing of the sinking island states narratives.It is based on mixed methods and combines a qualitative framework and a statisticalanalysis of textual data., Depuis la prise en compte croissante du changement climatique, denombreux commentateurs ont commencé à raconter une histoire : celle des petitsÉtats insulaires du Pacifique sud, entièrement constitués d’atolls, qui risquent dedisparaître en raison de l’élévation du niveau marin. Nous considérons que cettehistoire est un « récit d’action publique » destiné à attirer l’attention et à convaincreles décideurs politiques d’agir pour empêcher la réalisation du problème ou luitrouver une solution. Ces « récits de la disparition » présentent deux particularités :ils ne sont associés à aucune politique publique déjà mise en oeuvre et ils sontmobilisés par des acteurs variés issus des milieux politiques et de la société civile.À partir de la littérature sur l’analyse cognitive des politiques publiques et plusparticulièrement l’analyse des récits de politiques publiques, cette thèse se proposed’étudier la production, la diffusion et les cadrages de ces récits de la disparition àl’aide de méthodes mixtes associant une démarche qualitative d’enquête avec laréalisation d’une analyse statistique textuelle.