Den här studien har undersökt hur föräldrar till barn 0-2 år i Karlstad kommun konsumerar till sina barn inom tre produktkategorier; kläder, mat och leksaker. Syftet har varit att se om att få barn kan vara en drivande faktor för att bli en mer medveten konsument. Har personernas konsumtionsbeteende förändrats efter att de har fått barn? Enkäter och fokusgrupper har använts på fyra öppna förskolor i Karlstads kommun för att samla in data. Som teoretiskt ramverk har ekologisk modernisering, politisk konsumtion samt svag och stark hållbar konsumtion använts. Inom de tre produktkategorierna går det att se vissa skillnader. Enkätsvaren säger att respondenterna handlar kläder efter behov, men fokusgrupperna talar om att de handlar för att det är roligt, ett fritidsintresse. Inom mat har många blivit noggrannare med att handla ekologiskt, främst till barnet. Det är dock inte en stark ståndpunkt eftersom de flesta väljer oekologiskt om varan inte finns som ekologisk. Kategorin leksaker hade de flesta deltagarna inte hunnit handla så mycket från än, då deras barn fortfarande är små. De uttrycker dock att det är en svår kategori att veta så mycket om och de går oftast efter vad barnet visar intresse för. Överlag går det att se ett visst förändrat beteende, men deltagarna saknar en helhetssyn över konsumtionskedjan. Resultatet visar också att föräldrarna är starkt styrda av sociala normer som bestämmer vad som anses vara ett behov. Deltagarna reflekterar inte över konsumtionsnivån utan håller sig inom svag hållbar konsumtion där de istället väljer att byta ut vissa saker mot mer hållbara alternativ. Avsaknaden av helhetssynen märks också genom att de inte praktiserar politisk konsumtion i så stor utsträckning, de räknar helt enkelt inte med sig själva i konsumtionskedjan. Detta är kvalitativ studie som möjligen skulle fått andra resultat i andra sammanhang. / This study has examined how parents of children, age 0-2, in Karlstad consumes for their children within three product categories; clothing, food and toys. The aim was to see if having children could be a driving factor to become a more aware consumer. Have the participants consumption behaviour changed after they have had children? Surveys and focus groups have been completed in four open preschools in Karlstad municipality to collect data. As a theoretical framework has ecological modernization, political consumption and weak and strong sustainable consumption been used. Within the three product categories it is possible to see some differences. The survey result say that respondents shop for clothes according to need, but the focus groups talk about that they shop because it is fun, a hobby. It has become more important for the parents to buy organic food, mostly to the child. However, it is not a strong position because most respondents choose to buy conventional produced products if they don’t have an ecological alternative in the store. Because most of the respondents children where still small they hadn’t purchased that many toys yet. They express, however, that it is a difficult category to know that much about and they usually goes on what the child shows interest for. Overall, it is possible to see some changes in behaviour, but participants lack a comprehensive view of the consumption chain. They don’t reflect on the level of consumption and so they pursue on the path of weak sustainable consumption where they consumes the same amount but change to more sustainable materials. The lack of overall vision is also evident in that they don’t practice political consumption to any wider extent, they simply don’t see their own impact on the consumption chain. The result also shows that the parents are strongly guided by social norms that sets the rules for what they consider to be their needs. This is a qualitative study and could therefore have gotten a different result in another context.

Determinants influencing consumer eco-innovation adoption and green curtailment behaviors in a travel context are at the center of this thesis. Previous research on green consumer behavior has uncovered that internalized personal attitudinal factors such as values, beliefs, and norms are influential in determining mainly non-consumption and post-purchase behaviors. This thesis extends the understanding of a moral basis of green consumer behavior by exploring the influences of attitudinal factors on both car curtailment behaviors, and on consumer adoption of a high involvement eco-innovation – the alternative fuel vehicle. The integrated influences of innovation specific characteristics, car habits, knowledge and social norms, are also examined. Furthermore, differences between AFV adopters and non-adopters are explored, and the notion of consumers performing purchase and curtailment behaviors for different reasons is utilized in the development of nuanced profiles of three distinct consumer groups. Four studies, which build on two quantitative data collections on adopters and non-adopters of AFVs in Swe­den, are included in this thesis. In the first study, similarities and differences among adopters and non-adopters of AFVs, and the effects of attitudinal factors (values, beliefs, and norms), knowledge, and sociodemo­graphics on the adoption decision are analyzed. The results show that knowledge and personal norms are strong predictors of AFV adoption and that the VBN theory is applicable in this context. The main implication from the study is that high-involvement green purchase deci­sions, such as eco-innovation adoption, can be viewed as morally based. In the second study, a set of determinants influencing both curtailment of car use and willing­ness to adopt a less environmentally harmful vehicle are analyzed. Biospheric values, per­sonal proenvironmental norms, and car habit strength are found to influence both types of behaviors in different ways. The main implication from this study is that green purchase deci­sions and curtailment behaviors within a specific context are determined by partly different factors but personal norm is a strong predictor of both types of behaviors. The third study extends the findings from the previous one in segmenting consumers on cur­tailment behaviors and proenvironmental purchases. Three distinct types of consumers emerge from the data. The Non-greens are found to exhibit the lowest levels of green attitudes and behaviors, and the strongest car habits. The Curtailers are distinguished by performing primar­ily reductionist behaviors, and by being the most willing to reduce negative environ­mental impact of car use. The Ecovators are found to be the most inclined to purchase eco-innovations and also display the greenest values. The study shows that green consumers are a heterogeneous group that can be separated on the basis of green curtailment behaviors and proenvironmental purchase decisions, and that there seems to be no inherent contradiction in being an early adopter of new green technology (such as the AFV) and also having high levels of proenviron­mental values, beliefs, and norms. In the final study, innovation specific characteristics and consumer innovativeness factors are integrated with normative and attitudinal determinants influencing AFV adoption. The results show that personal and social norms, consumer novelty seeking, and four perceived innovation characteristics influence the adoption decision. Differences between AFV adopters’ and non-adopters’ ratings of AFV specific attributes are also analyzed. The contribution of this study is the integration of VBN theory and the DOI framework and the empirical conclusion that eco-innovations need to deliver on both traditional and proenvironmental attributes in order to be perceived as attractive by consumers. In sum, this thesis demonstrates the importance of proenvironmental personal norms for consumer adoption of a high involvement eco-innovation such as the AFV.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka om människors intentioner att donera pengar påverkas av deskriptiva normer. Följande hypoteser användes: 1) Både sociala närhetsnormer (du agerar som personer du känner samhörighet med gör) och provinsiellas normer (du agerar efter de lokala normer som gäller för platsen du befinner dig på) ökar människors intentioner att donera till välgörande ändamål jämfört med ett standardförfarande där välgörenhetsorganisationen enbart signalerar altruistiska ideal och 2) Sociala närhetsnormer leder till starkare intentioner att donera jämfört med provinsiella normer. En kvantitativ metod har använts, instrumentet var ett självskattningsformulär. Etthundraåttio personer, deltog i studien och blev således tilldelade ett av experimentets tre villkor (social närhetsnorm, provinsiell norm, eller standard villkor). Den provinsiella normen bidrar till en högre frekvens av donationer än standardförfarandet och det sociala närhetsvillkoret. Slutsatsen är att välgörenhetsorganisationer kan ha nytta av att ta hänsyn till och använda sig av provinsiella normer vid insamlingar. / The aim of this study was to examine whether people´s intent to donate money is influenced by descriptive norms. Our hypotheses were as follows: 1) Both the social closeness norm (you behave as people close to you do) and the provincial norm (you behave as the local norms of the location where you are at prescribe) increase people´s self-reported intent to donate money to charity compared to the control group where the welfare organisation only try to activate your altruistic ideals and 2) Social closeness norms induce a stronger intent to donate money compared to provincial norms. A qualitative method has been used and the instrument was a self-report questionnaire. One hundred eighty people participated in the study and were thereby given one of the tree conditions (social closeness norm, provincial norm, or the standard condition). The use of provincial norms leads to a higher donation frequency than the standard condition and the social closeness condition.

MA / Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Consumers are gradually becoming influential actors in the international arena. The 21st century consumer has taken on a new identity, namely that of a citizen-consumer. A rising awareness of the importance of ethical purchasing behaviour has made political citizen-consumers a vehicle through which change in normative behaviour in the capitalist world economy could be attained. Activists have realised the support that political consumers could give to campaigns that strive to achieve norm change. Consumers have the power to hold multinational corporations (MNCs) accountable for unjust practices, and through their purchasing decisions, pressure MNCs to change the manner in which they operate. In order to determine to what extent political consumerism could contribute to international norm change, one has to understand how norms emerge, when norms are accepted and at which point norms become internalised. The theoretical framework of the life-cycle of norms is ideal to test the possibilities that political consumerism holds in the quest for norm change. The application of norm life-cycle framework to case studies provides evidence that political consumerism has already announced itself as a vehicle for change. Campaigns such as the conflict diamonds campaign and the Fair Trade movement have already successfully co-opted consumers to support the goals of these campaigns and have achieved some results in changing the behaviour and policies of MNCs. Political consumers have therefore already embarked on the journey towards norm change, but have not yet been able to bring the norm to internalisation. The study determines which stage in the norm life-cycle political consumerism has managed to reach. Related to this, it asks whether it is in fact possible for activists and political consumers to complete the norm life-cycle and thereby effect norm change to enhance capacity for social justice in capitalism. The study also concerns itself with the persuasion strategies that have been used and could still be used by activists to pursue change in the normative behaviour of consumers and MNCs. Persuasion is central to convincing actors to accept and internalise a new norm. The study situates these persuasion strategies within the norm life-cycle, in order to identify the challenges facing the consumer movement and possible solutions to assist political consumerism to reach its full potential. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die internasionale arena het verbruikers gaandeweg die rol van invloedryke akteurs begin aanneem, naamlik dié van burgerlike-verbruikers. ‘n Toenemende bewustheid van die belangrikheid van etiese aankope het gedurende die 21ste eeu die politieke burgerlike-verbruiker in ‘n akteur omskep, wat normatiewe verandering in die kapitalistiese globale ekonomie te weeg kan bring. Aktiviste het besef dat politieke verbruikers steun aan veldtogte kan verleen wat na norm verandering streef. Omdat verbruikers oor die vermoë beskik om multi-nasionale korporasies (MNKs) vir onregverdige gebruike aanspreeklik te hou deur aankoop besluite, kan hul sodoende MNKs dwing on hul gebruike te verander. ‘n Begrip van die ontstaan en aanvaarding van norme, kan ook help om vas te stel tot watter mate politieke verbruiking tot internasionale norm verandering bydra. Die teoretiese raamwerk van die lewens-siklus van norme is ideaal om die potensiaal van politieke verbruiking te toets. Die toepassing van die norm lewens-siklus op gevallestudies bewys dat politieke verbruiking alreeds as ‘n middel vir verandering uitgekristaliseer het. Veldtogte, soos die konflik diamante veldtog en die “Fair Trade” beweging, het alreeds daarin geslaag om verbruikers te werf om die doelwitte van hierdie veldtogte te steun. Hierdie veldtogte het sodoende daarin geslaag om die verandering van MNKs se gedrag en beleid te bewerkstellig. Politieke verbruikers het hul reeds met die veldtog geassosieer om norm-verandering te laat plaasvind. Die studie het bepaal watter stadium in die norm lewens-siklus politieke verbruiking reeds bereik het, asook of dit moontlik vir aktiviste en verbruikers is om die siklus te voltooi en norm-verandering te laat plaasvind. Hierdie norm-verandering sal ook die vermoë vir die sosiale regverdiging van die kapitalistiese stelsel verbeter. Die studie het ook die aktiviste se oorredingstrategië uiteengesit, asook watter strategië in die toekoms kan gebruik word om die normatiewe gedrag van verbruikers en MNKs te verander. In die aanvaarding van nuwe norme speel oorreding ‘n belangrike rol. Die studie plaas daarom hierdie oorredingstrategië binne die norm lewens-siklus, sodat dit die uitdagings kan identifiseer wat die verbruikers-beweging in die gesig staar. Dit sal daarom vir die studie moontlik maak om werkbare opplossings voor te stel, wat politieke verbruiking tot sy volle potensiaal kan voer.

Clear changes occurred in the field of conventional arms control in the last two decades. States adopted a multitude of norms on especially small arms control in various multilateral control instruments. In addition, non-governmental advocacy actors often established themselves as active participants in control debates with governments. The changes are surprising because they took place in the security sphere and therewith in an area traditionally understood to be the exclusive domain of governments. This research project investigates the significance of the changes for the traditional understanding of security governance. Specifically, it investigates the emergence of control norms and the role and policy impact of non-governmental actors in the promotion of the norms. It asks whether the normative changes and significance of nongovernmental actors therein challenge the understanding of security governance that underpins many established approaches to international relations theory.

Studien undersöker hur könsroller gestaltas ur ett genusperspektiv i bilderboken Se upp för krokodilen! (Moroni & Eriksson, 2013). Syftet är att få djupare kunskaper om hur dessa skildringar speglar målen i läroplanen för förskolan om att motverka traditionella könsnormer och främja jämställdhet och likabehandling mellan könen. Forskare menar att bilderboken är ett användbart och didaktiskt verktyg för att fånga barns intressen och påverka deras tankegångar. Tidigare forskning (Kåreland, 2005) visar att könsstereotypa föreställningar lever kvar i en stor del av utbudet av barnböcker. I studien analyseras bilderboken Se upp för krokodilen! (Moroni & Eriksson, 2013) både utifrån bilder och text. Analysen fokuserar på karaktärernas yttre- och inre personskildringar, det vill säga, karaktärernas utseende, ansiktsuttryck, kroppsspråk respektive karaktärernas egenskaper och personligheter. Studiens resultat visar att karaktärerna i boken, till viss del avviker från de stereotypa föreställningar om vad som anses som maskulint och feminint, dock visar karaktärerna att de båda har egenskaper som kan representera båda könen. / The study examines how gender roles are portrayed from a gender perspective in the picture book Watch out for the crocodile! (Moroni & Eriksson, 2013). The aim is to get deeper knowledge about how these depictions reflect the goals of the Swedish syllabus for preschool that counteracts traditional gender norms and promote equality and equal treatment between the genders. Researchers consider that the picture book is a useful and didactic implement to capture childrens’ interests and influence their thoughts. Previous research (Kåreland, 2005) shows that gender-stereotyped conceptions persist in a large part of the range of children’s books. The study analyzes the picture book Watch out for the crocodile! (Moroni & Eriksson, 2013) both from photographs and text. The analysis focuses on the characters external and internal personal depictions, that is, the characters appearance, facial expressions, body language and the characters properties and personalities. The results of the study show that the characters in the book, partially differ from the stereotypical conceptions of what is considered as masculine and feminine. However, the characters show that they both have properties that can represent both sexes.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att belysa hur pedagoger tänker kring och arbetar med genus på fritidshemmet. Frågeställningarna behandlar även hur genusordningen på skolan och skolkulturen påverkar verksamheten ur ett genusperspektiv. Som empirisk grund för arbetet har vi gjort fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med pedagoger som arbetar på fritidshemmet på två mångkulturella skolor i Stockholm samt på en svensk skola i ett spansktalande land. Med hjälp av genusteoretiska perspektiv visar resultatet av studien att pedagoger på fritidshemmet tänker och arbetar olika med genus i verksamheten. Vi har sett exempel på att pedagoger bidrar till upprätthållandet av stereotypa könsdefinitioner genom att till exempel tala om flickor och pojkar som två olika enhetliga grupper. I resultatet har vi även sett hur pedagoger kan möjliggöra elevers identitetsskapande genom att inte göra skillnad på elever grundat på föreställningar om kön. Det har också framgått att det råder olika kulturer på varje skola och gemensamt för alla tre skolor i undersökningen är att skolkulturen påverkar hur pedagoger tänker kring och arbetar med genus i verksamheten. / The purpose of this study is to illustrate how educators relate to gender in after-school programs and how school culture affects educators and students. Our questions also deal with gender order in school and how cultural factors affect the gender perspective in after-school programs. As empirical basis for our study we did four qualitative interviews with educators at two multicultural schools in Stockholm and one Swedish school in a Spanish-speaking country. The results of the study show that the educators at the after-school programs relate different to the students in school from a gender perspective. We have seen examples of educators maintaining stereotyped gender definitions by talking about girls and boys as two different uniform groups. The results also show how educators can create possibilities for students to find different identities by not making any differences between the students based on gender. It has also emerged that there are different cultures at each school and common to all three schools in the survey is that the school culture affects how educators think about and work with gender.

Im Sinne einer nachhaltigen und ganzheitlichen Firmenentwicklung lässt sich in der Unternehmenslandschaft ein Trend in Richtung einer kontinuierlichen Erweiterung des unternehmerischen Zielsystems beobachten. Neben etablierten Aspekten, wie dem Qualitätsmanagement und der Arbeitssicherheit, erlangen weitere Themen, wie beispielsweise das betriebliche Umwelt- und Energiemanagement, zunehmend an Bedeutung. Um die Berücksichtigung dieser Aspekte nachzuweisen, steht Unternehmen die Möglichkeit zur Zertifizierung nach funktionsspezifischen Managementsystemnormen offen. Die Einführung und Dokumentation entsprechender Managementsysteme erweist sich jedoch als ein zeitintensiver Prozess, dessen Schwierigkeit vor allem in der unternehmensspezifischen Interpretation der allgemein formulierten Normanforderungen liegt. Strebt ein Unternehmen die Zertifizierung nach mehreren Managementsystemnormen an, so eröffnet sich die Möglichkeit zur Integration der Managementsysteme. Allerdings sind auch die Aufgaben der Integration durch verschiedene Herausforderungen gekennzeichnet, die den Bedarf nach einer systematischen Unterstützung verdeutlichen. Im Bereich der Wirtschaftsinformatik haben sich konzeptuelle Modelle als Instrument zur zielorientierten und verständlichen Beschreibung komplexer Informationssysteme etabliert. Entsprechende Modelle können die Durchdringung und Kommunikation komplexer Sachverhalte durch eine zweckmäßige Abstraktion und Strukturierung vereinfachen und eine Überführung in Anwendungssoftware vorbereiten. Für die vorliegende Dissertation leitet sich unter Berücksichtigung dieser Aspekte folgende zentrale Forschungsfrage ab: Wie kann die konzeptuelle Modellierung bei den Aufgaben der Dokumentation und Integration standardisierter Managementsysteme unterstützen? Der Forschungsmethode des Design Science Research folgend, präsentiert die vorliegende Arbeit funktionsspezifische und funktionsunspezifische Artefakte, die bei der Dokumentation standardisierter Managementsysteme und deren Integration modellbasiert unterstützen. Die Anwendbarkeit der Artefakte wird anhand eines realen Anwendungsfalls demonstriert. Die Ausführungen der vorliegenden Arbeit basieren auf einer Analyse der Anforderungen nach ISO 9001 für Qualitätsmanagementsysteme, ISO 14001 für Umweltmanagementsysteme, ISO 50001 für Energiemanagementsysteme, OHSAS 18001 für Arbeitsschutz- und Arbeitssicherheitsmanagementsysteme sowie des durch die Internationale Organisation für Standardisierung veröffentlichten Annex SL.

The aim of this study was to identify high school student’s thoughts and experiences about discrimination based on background. Six students, all with foreign origin, was interviewed where different questions about discrimination and stigmatization was asked. The results of this qualitative research show that there are students who are experiencing discrimination based on their origin and that the discrimination differs very much dependently on how deviant the person is from the swedes in terms of background and appearance. Students with foreign origin notice how this affects their conditions and possibilities in school where they are more easily categorized and stigmatized as worse. This is a problem that should be recognized not least because the teacher as official has an obligation to treat every student equally but also because the proceeding discrimination contributes to the maintenance of existing ethnical power hierarchies.

Étant donnée une fonction bornée (supérieurement ou inférieurement) $f:\mathbb{N}^k \To \Real$ par une expression mathématique, le problème de trouver les points extrémaux de $f$ sur chaque ensemble fini $S \subset \mathbb{N}^k$ est bien défini du point de vu classique. Du point de vue de la théorie de la calculabilité néanmoins il faut éviter les cas pathologiques où ce problème a une complexité de Kolmogorov infinie. La principale restriction consiste à définir l'ordre, parce que la comparaison entre les nombres réels n'est pas décidable. On résout ce problème grâce à une structure qui contient deux algorithmes, un algorithme d'analyse réelle récursive pour évaluer la fonction-coût en arithmétique à précision infinie et un autre algorithme qui transforme chaque valeur de cette fonction en un vecteur d'un espace, qui en général est de dimension infinie. On développe trois cas particuliers de cette structure, un de eux correspondant à la méthode d'approximation de Rauzy. Finalement, on établit une comparaison entre les meilleures approximations diophantiennes simultanées obtenues par la méthode de Rauzy (selon l'interprétation donnée ici) et une autre méthode, appelée tétraédrique, que l'on introduit à partir de l'espace vectoriel engendré par les logarithmes de nombres premiers. / Given a (lower or upper) bounded function $f:\mathbb{N}^k \To \Real$ by a mathematical expression. The problem to find the extremal points of $f$ on any bounded set $S \subset \mathbb{N}^k$ is well-defined from a classical point of view. Nevertheless, from a computability theory perspective, it should be avoided the possibility of pathologies when this problem has infinite Kolmogorov complexity. The main constraint is that the order relationship between computable reals is not effectively solvable. We solve this problem by means of a structure containing two algorithms. The first one allows to evaluate the cost function while the second one transforms each value of the cost function in a point in an infinite dimensional vector of a space. We develop three particular cases, one of them corresponding to the Rauzy approximation method. Finally, we make a comparison between the best simultaneous Diophantine approximations obtained by the Rauzy method (our optimization-oriented version of it) and our tetrahedral method, that is one of the main achievement of this work.