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This dissertation attempts to explore the nature of a particular food consumption pattern using a number of different deviance theories in order to outline the career path of vegetarianism. Using semi-structured interviews with 45 practicing vegetarians from two regions of the United States, the career path of the vegetarians was developed around David Matza's (1969) theory of becoming deviant. Within each stage of Matza's classic work, more specific theories were applied to explain the friction between vegetarianism and the more socially-accepted practice of meat eating within the United States. The framework of the stages includes the affinity for, affiliation with, and signification of vegetarian ideology and practice. Each stage within the theory is also a stage in the development of the vegetarian identity. The more specific theories utilized to explain phenomena within each particular stage attempt to show a progression from initially being interested in the ideals and practice of vegetarianism to becoming and verbalizing as a mature, practicing vegetarian. Finally, the vegetarians interviewed were asked to give the prognosis for the future of vegetarianism. / Ph. D.

This research is unique because it represents the first sociological study of pedophiles who use the Internet. The data were gathered from a Usenet newsgroup that is frequented by pedophiles. A content analysis was performed on all of the postings from admitted pedophiles (N=41) that appeared on this newsgroup during a one month period. Scott and Lyman’s classic formulation of accounts served as the conceptual framework for this study. The primary research question was: "How do pedophiles who use the Internet account for their deviance?” There were four ancillary objectives to this analysis: (1) to ascertain the degree to which pedophiles who participate in this newsgroup provide validation to, and seek validation from, other users; (2) to investigate the extent to which pedophiles who participate in this forum provide information to, and seek information from, other users; (3) to assess the degree to which pedophiles use this newsgroup to seek correspondence with other pedophiles; and (4) to determine the extent to which users of this newsgroup are members of the pedophile organization NAMBLA (the North American/Man Boy Love Association). Slightly more than one-half of the pedophiles in the sample provided some type of account in defense of pedophilia or adults having sex with children. Thirty-nine percent offered a denial of injury account; 31.7% proffered a condemnation of condemners account; 14.6% provided a BIRGing account; and 4.9% used an appeal to loyalties account. Also, nearly one-fourth of these pedophiles used polythematic accounts. The results of this research also indicate that this computer forum serves a validation function for these pedophiles. Moreover, many of the postings that appeared on this newsgroup contained information that should be of interest to pedophiles. Some of these on-line pedophiles use this newsgroup to establish correspondence with other pedophiles. Although only a few of the pedophiles in this sample indicated a NAMBLA affiliation, these individuals frequently provided accounts which reflect the ideology of that pedophile organization. / Ph. D.

Yes / The importance of involving members of the public in the development, implementation and dissemination of research is increasingly recognised. There have been calls to share examples of how this can be done, and this paper responds by reporting how professional and lay researchers collaborated on a research study about falls prevention among older patients in English acute hospitals. It focuses on how they worked together in ways that valued all contributions, as envisaged in the UK standards for public involvement for better health and social care research. The paper is itself an example of working together, having been written by a team of lay and professional researchers. It draws on empirical evidence from evaluations they carried out about the extent to which the study took patient and public perspectives into account, as well as reflective statements they produced as co-authors, which, in turn, contributed to the end-of-project evaluation. Lay contributors' deep involvement in the research had a positive effect on the project and the individuals involved, but there were also difficulties. Positive impacts included lay contributors focusing the project on areas that matter most to patients and their families, improving the quality and relevance of outcomes by contributing to data analysis, and feeling they were 'honouring' their personal experience of the subject of study. Negative impacts included the potential for lay people to feel overwhelmed by the challenges involved in achieving the societal or organisational changes necessary to address research issues, which can cause them to question their rationale for public involvement. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for working together effectively in research. These cover the need to discuss the potential emotional impacts of such work with lay candidates during recruitment and induction and to support lay people with these impacts throughout projects; finding ways to address power imbalances and practical challenges; and tips on facilitating processes within lay groups, especially relational processes like the development of mutual trust. / Funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme (Project Number NIHR129488).

Syftet med studien var att undersöka om exposekonton reproducerar befintliga maktstrukturer och samhällsnormer bland unga. Därtill hur fenomenet påverkar dagens unga i deras liv och relationer. Målet var att öka kunskapen och lyfta ämnet kring exposekonton då det är ett socialt fenomen som saknar omfattande vetenskaplig forskning. Det är viktigt att vuxna har kunskap om ämnet, eftersom det är en del av ungas digitala vardag. Att bidra med kunskap hoppas vi leder till en ökad dialog bland vuxna. Studien genomfördes med kvantitativ metod och enkätundersökningar, totalt deltog 109 respondenter mellan 15–18 år i undersökningen i Skåne län. Resultatet i studien visar att det främst är killar som är förövare och tjejer som blir utsatta för att blir uthängda på exposekonto, vilket visar på att det finns en tydlig maktförskjutning. En stor andel av respondenterna menar på att exposekonton skapar förväntningar och normer på respektive kön. Det är tydligt att den utsatta påverkas på flera plan i livet samt upplever starka känslor av skam, nedstämdhet och ilska. Resultatet analyseras utifrån Michel Foucault & Judith Butlers teori om könsmakt samt Thomas Scheffs teorier om skam och sociala band och Raewyn Connells teori om maskuliniteter. / The aim of the study was to investigate if expose accounts reproduce society's existing power structure and social norms among young people. In addition, how the phenomenon affects the lives and relationships of today's youth. The goal was to raise awareness about the topic, as it is a social phenomenon that has no scientific research. It's important for adults around young people to have knowledge about the subject, as it is a part of young people's digital life. The study was conducted using a quantitative method with surveys. A total of 109 respondents participated in the region Skane. The results of the study show that primarily boys are the perpetrators and girls are the ones who become victims for being exposed, indicating a clear power imbalance. A large percentage of the respondents believe that expose accounts create expectations and norms for each gender. It is clear that the victim is affected on several levels in life and experiencing strong emotions of shame, sadness, and anger. The results are analyzed based on Michel Foucault & Judith Butler's theory of gender power, Thomas Scheff's theories of shame and social bonds, and Raewyn Connell's theory of masculinity.

Student Number : 9908223M - PhD thesis - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / This thesis examines the status and role of parliamentary committees in democratic theory with a view to critically assessing the performance of one such committee, the South African version of the PAC, SCOPA. It advances a pluralist theory of popular sovereignty according to which there is no single institutional complex or site, which exclusively expresses the will of the people. The latter is the case in monist theories, which reduce democracy to its practice in a single site. Rousseau and Weber are critically examined in this connection. In the pluralist notion advanced in this thesis the popular will is expressed and realized in a plurality of institutional sites and modalities of exercise. On this perspective parliamentary committees perform a function vital to the constitution of popular sovereignty itself. They are indispensable to the formation by the people of an accurate perception by it of what the Executive is doing in its name. Their investigative work is thus constitutive of the formation of a democratic subject and will. Parliamentary committees are thus central to the satisfaction of the conditions of the deliberative dimension of democracy. On this definition, parliamentary committees must in addition themselves conform to the principles of deliberation in their own practice. This specifically deliberative conception of democracy is then further delineated by distinguishing it from the aggregation – majoritarian perspective and defending it against a variety of criticisms, including that of Chantal Mouffe. With this conceptual and normative framework in place, the British and American committee systems are examined in order to establish some reference points in terms of the institutional practice of parliamentary committees. The focus then shifts to the parliamentary committees of the South African Parliament. The constitutional and legal foundation for parliamentary committees (in the South African system) is examined with particular reference to SCOPA itself and the first five years of the new parliamentary committee system identified as a period during which several South African parliamentary committees, including SCOPA, effectively exercised their “oversight” function. Once the Government’s SDP entered the scene all things changed. This thesis examines the formation of the JIT, paying particular attention to the exclusion of the HSIU and the interventions of the Speaker, Hon Frene Ginwala. It identifies in close detail all the flaws in the SDP procurement process as well as the contradictions and lacunae in the final JIT Report itself. These are of such a magnitude as to render unreasonable any claim to the contrary and in endorsing the Report SCOPA thus clearly failed in its essential function. The notion of a threshold concept of reasonable adequacy is introduced as limiting the conditions under which committee decisions can legitimately be taken via majority voting. The argument is advanced that these were clearly not met in the case of the SCOPA decision under discussion. The implications of this “collapse” of SCOPA for South African democracy more broadly are then identified and discussed in terms of deliberative democratic theory.

This study examines poor travellers who were on the move during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The focus is the County of Devon, with Exeter dealt with only briefly as it was a separate county. It is shown that the travellers, including numbers of Irish in the seventeenth century and foreign-born, particularly in the eighteenth century, were affected by a number of factors, but that the most important influence on their numbers and types was the incidence of wars. Economic factors, such as food supply, were of some importance, but the economy too was influenced by the effects of wars. Legislation also was found to have had less influence than expected. However, the legislation effective from 1700 did have a marked impact on the documentation available. The main sources used for this study are the parochial documents provided by churchwardens’ accounts of payments made to travellers in need and some of those of the parish overseers. These are supplemented by the records of Devon’s County Quarter Sessions. A combination of Devon’s geography, its strong international maritime connections and the influence of wars and their locations combined to affect the chronological and spatial variations in the numbers and types of travellers through the two centuries.

Efter det svenska pensionssystemets reform 1998 har ett missnöje väckts hos många pensionssparare. Den allmänna pensionen tillsammans med tjänstepensionen räcker inte alltid till och därför finns det möjlighet till ett eget avdragsgillt privat pensionssparande. Det har dock visat sig att det avdragsgilltiga privata pensionssparandet är en ekonomisk förlustaffär för 76 procent av pensionsspararna. Då ett privat pensionssparande inte alltid är lönsamt, finns det frågeställningar angående om hur spararna bör agera. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka långsiktiga sparalternativ som finns för ett privat pensionssparande, utifrån en sparares perspektiv. Vidare ska vi belysa vilka faktorer som påverkar en individs val mellan de långsiktiga sparalternativ som finns. Slutligen ska vi förklara hur ett långsiktigt sparande skiljer sig åt beroende på vilken beskattningsbar förvärvsinkomst individen har. Studien har använt sig av metodtriangulering, genom att först genomföra en kvalitativ undersökning med bankaktörer, för att sedan genomföra en kvantitativ webbenkät. Analysen ledde fram konklusionen att det finns många långsiktiga sparformer att välja mellan, dock är valet av sparform högst individuellt. Vad gäller ett privat pensionssparande är denna sparform lönsammast för höginkomsttagare, på grund av skattesystemets utformning. Enligt denna uppsats empiriska resultat, har ett privat pensionssparande vissa fördelar jämfört med ett alternativt sparande. Detta indikerar att ett privat pensionssparande aldrig bör bytas ut, utan bör ses som ett komplement till ett alternativt långsiktigt sparande. / The aim with this paper is to examine which long-term saving alternatives there are for a private pension saving, from a savers perspective. Furthermore, we shall illuminate which factors that influence an individual’s choice between the long-term saving options that exists. Finally, we are going to explain how a long-term saving deviate due to which taxable income the individual have. In the frame of reference we introduce how the saving looks like in Sweden. Furthermore, former research and theories are introduced, which aims to illuminate the factors that influence the saver’s decision about saving alternative. The paper uses method triangulation, by first implementing a qualitative interview study with bank participants, followed by a quantitative questionnaire study online. The analysis leads to the conclusion that there are many saving forms to choose amongst, but the choice of saving form are very individual. In terms of a private pension saving this saving form are most profitable for high income earners, due to how the tax system is designed. According to the empirical results of this paper, a private pension saving have certain advantages compared with an alternative saving. This indicates that a private pension saving should not be replaced, but rather should be seen as a compliment to an alternative long-term saving.

The theoretical part of the graduation theses describes the theoretical basis of the exist broad issue and involves the basic processes and methods of bookkeeping and creating of the final accounts at accounting period of the year 2009 in accordance with actual legislation. The practical part of the graduation theses includes practical application of the theoretical basis onto the concrete company. The output of the graduation theses will be the methodology of accounting and creating of the final accounts at accounting period of the year 2009 for the concrete company.