This research study explores how future educational and occupational aspirations are constructed by young Sikh adults. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten young Sikh adults, both their parents, and their teachers at one school in West London to investigate how future aspirations are constructed, which resources are employed, and why certain resources are used over others. In some previous research on aspirations and future choices, Sikhs have either been ignored or, instead, subsumed under the umbrella category of 'Asian' and this study seeks to address this. Furthermore, the study seeks to shed light on how British-Sikh identities are constructed and intersected by social class, caste and gender. This is important to explore since it can have an impact upon how young adults are structured by educational policy. A 'syncretic' social constructionist framework which predominantly draws upon Pierre Bourdieu's notions of habitus, capital and field, along with the cultural identity theories of Avtar Brah and Stuart Hall, is employed to investigate the construction of identities and aspirations. In addition, the study contains ethnographical elements as it is conducted on my 'own' Sikh group and at my former secondary school. Consequently, I brought a set of assumptions to the research which, rather than disregard, I acknowledge since they highlight how I come to form certain interpretations of phenomena over others.

Libya, one of less advanced countries, has experienced extensive demographic change in recent decades. Although, efforts have been made to collect descriptive statistics relating to population change (such as Censuses), there has been no serious explanations of demographic change by academics of the reasons behind population trends in Libya.This thesis sought to explore in a rigorous fashion the extent to which socio-economic circumstances, particularly increased levels of female education, has influenced female fertility behaviour. This hypothesis was examined for the population of El Gebel El Akhdar, Libya.The study was based on a sample of 600 married women categorised by location (urban and rural), age (below and above 45 years) education level and socio-economic status. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to understand fertility differentials for both the older and younger women included in the survey both in urban and rural areas. It was demonstrated that there were important changes in female fertility behaviour taking place both in relation to the intermediate variables (marriage, post-partum infecundability, contraception) as presented in Bongaarts? theory (1982, 1985) and in relation to socio-economic factors (education, occupation, income, age difference of partner, place of birth and residence). Female education was given special attention in the research following the general research framework of Jeffery and Basu theory (1996).Females with higher educational attainment, and thus higher employability, were characterised by relatively higher ages at first marriage, a smaller family size and a concurrently positive attitude towards approval and use of family planning and using contraceptive. They also engaged in a period of shorter breastfeeding. The inverse emerged as true for uneducated women.In addition to the effect of education on fertility, it emerged that change in female fertility behaviours and attitudes were also influenced by the interaction of many other socio-economic factors such as income, occupation, and partner age difference. On the contrary, the place of birth and place of residence did not help to explain fertility outcomes.

This study explores how tertiary education supports and prepares students to take up a career today. The research question is: How can the preparation for the transition from school to work be streamlined at Ibri College of Technology with reference to globalisation? Classroom-based practices were considered in this case study in Oman, to establish how the objectives of stakeholders can be met in pursuit of their goals, within the set curriculum and culture. The objectives were to: • Interpret and evaluate the respondents' responses to the research-instruments appropriate to existing literature and current employer demands; • explore perceptions of educational activities considering cultural diversity; and • provide guidelines for streamlining the transition. It is concluded from the didactic triangle that the better lecturers are prepared to comply with expectations of the students and curricula, the more positively learner achievement is impacted at college. Continuously updating the curricula embraces global occupational requirements as well as didactic goals. This theory applies equally to all the stakeholders and influences how students eventually manage modern workplace demands. Prioritising structured communication practices alongside EFL and technology as skills, support school to work transitions in tandem with the adolescents' progression towards adulthood. The value of this study lies in its contribution to the body of knowledge on this complicated transition in Oman. The findings and conclusions assist instructors as well as their students whose transition from school to work can subsequently be streamlined. It also sustains economic and social occupational processes, in the Sultanate and globally, now and in the future.

Sammanfattning Den finansiella marknaden har under de senaste decennierna till stor del präglats av både stark ekonomisk tillväxt och stora kriser, detta har lett till att risken relaterad till sparande och investeringar har blivit allt viktigare att kontrollera och undersöka. Samtidigt visar statistik från SCB att de svenska hushållen investerar allt mindre i aktier vilket kan skapa problem, både för den finansiella branschen i sig och det framtida välståndet. Dagens pensionssystem riskerar att inte klara framtidens ökande utbetalningsnivåer som krävs för att underhålla en allt större, äldre befolkning, som även lever allt längre. Detta är ett problem som gäller för hela EU och därför blir det allt viktigare med ett privat sparande, och därigenom att investera rätt. För att hjälpa privatpersoner att investera rätt, genom att utnyttja sin nivå av risktolerans, samtidigt som man gör det lättare för kreditgivare och rådgivare att kunna erbjuda korrekta produkter och investeringsstrategier, syftar denna studie huvudsakligen till att undersöka om det finns samband mellan olika demografiska och socioekonomiska variabler och nivåer av risktolerans. Med hjälp av tidigare studier valdes följande variabler att undersökas: kön, ålder, utbildningsnivå, relationsstatus, sysselsättning och inkomstnivå. Som verktyg för att mäta nivåer av risktolerans valdes Grable och Lyttons 13-items risk assessment instrument, vilken har genomgått ett flertal validitetsprövningar. Då majoriteten av forskningen inom finansiell risktolerans har genomförts på den amerikanska marknaden särskiljer sig denna studie då den riktar in sig på svenska individer, från 18 år till pension. Metoden för att få in svar har varit med hjälp av en enkätstudie, både via internet och genom pappersenkäter på ett antal arbetsplatser runt om i landet. Resultatet blev totalt 206 fullständiga enkäter och stark signifikans återfanns hos kön (99 procent konfidensintervall), där män i genomsnitt hade högre risktolerans än kvinnor. Även inkomstnivå var signifikant, med ett konfidensintervall på 90 procent, men visade att sambandet inte var perfekt positivt linjärt (låg inkomst = låg risktolerans, hög inkomst = hög risktolerans). Studien syftade även till att söka övriga förklaringar och samband som risktolerans också påverkar, med hänsyn till: sparande, pensionssparande, investeringsval, framtidsutsikt för den finansiella marknaden samt förändring av investeringsbeteende på grund av de senaste årens finansiella oro.Detta resulterade i att: 13,5 procent svarade att de inte hade något som helst privat sparande; mer än hälften av individerna uppgav att de inte har något privat pensionssparande; individer med högre inkomster valde oftare aktier som främsta investeringsval än de med lägre inkomster, som föredrog sparkonton; en övervägande majoritet har inte ändrat sitt investeringsbeteende men 25 procent av respondenterna angav att de investerar mindre nu till följd de senaste årens finansiella oro på marknaden samt att 40,6 procent angav att det är mer riskfyllt med värdepapper idag; mer än hälften av respondenterna angav att de känner en viss oro inför sin framtida pension.

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The main aim of this thesis is to examine the educational and occupational structure of non-EU labour migration to the Czech Republic. Using insights from human capital theory and the sociology of migration this thesis explores the extent to which there is an educational-occupational mismatch among non-EU migrant workers in the Czech Republic. This thesis uses currently available statistical data and evidence from qualitative and quantitative sociological studies. The dissertation exploits data from two unique surveys conducted by the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in 2006 and 2010.