Dans l’histoire des femmes de l’occident, les corps féminins, régis et interpelés par des règles qui régulaient, surtout, leur sexualité, ont été pensés en couples antinomiques : les mères et les prostituées, les saintes et les « diaboliques ». L’umbanda, religion afro-brésilienne qui détient la capacité d’accueillir les discours et les pratiques de la société brésilienne, a incorporé cette dualité dans sa religiosité, mais de manière particulière : la pombagira prend corps dans la figure d’une « prostituée sacrée » et occupe une place de premier plan pour ses fidèles. A partir d’un travail de terrain dans des terreiros d’umbanda de l’état de São Paulo au Brésil en réalisant aussi des entretiens avec les adeptes du culte et avec les pombagiras elles-mêmes (pendant la possession), nous avons cherché à comprendre les significations associées a ce culte. L’analyse des données s’est effectuée par la combinaison de la méthode ethnographique et d’une écoute psychanalytique lacanienne afin de rechercher comment la pombagira « participe » à la vie des adeptes de cette religion. Le travail présente comment, en interagissant avec la pombagira, l’ « être femme » est associé à la séduction, la force, la beauté, le sexe, le désir, l’intelligence et, également, la maternité, intégrant ainsi des significations dissociées des dichotomies mentionnées plus haut. Les signifiants qui caractérisent les pombagiras produisent des sens qui façonnent de manière significative les expériences personnelles de ses adeptes. Par le biais d’une narration prenant en compte le sensible et intégrant le vécu de la chercheuse elle-même dans son intéraction avec les groupes étudiés, le travail présente une compréhension ethnopsychologique du genre à l’écoute des significations qui s’élaborent dans le contexte umbandiste et circulent socialement. / In the history of the western women, female bodies, especially governed by their sexuality, were conceived in opposite pairs: the mothers and the prostitutes, the saints and the “demoness”. The umbanda, an afrobrazilian religion that holds the discourses and practices of Brazilian society, included this duality in its religiosity, but in a peculiar way: the pombagira is embodied in the figure of a “sacred prostitute” and is worshiped in prominent place by faithfuls of this religion. In umbanda’s terreiros in the state of São Paulo, we interviewed spiritualist mediuns as well as embodied pombagiras to understand the meanings associated with the cult of the pombagiras. The data were analyzed from a combination of the ethnographic method and the lacanian psychoanalytic listening to investigate how pombagiras “participate” in the life of the supporters of this religion. This work presents how, through the relationship with the pombagira, the “woman being” is associated with the seduction, the strength, the beauty, the sex, the desire, the intelligence and even the maternity, integrating the decoupled senses with the mentioned dichotomy. The pombagira’s meanings produce senses that build the personal experiences of their faithfuls. Using a narrative that concerns the sensible and by the researcher’s experience in the relationship with the surveyed groups, this work presents an ethnopsychological comprehension of the gender and considers the senses that are elaborated in the umbanda and that circulate socially. / Na história das mulheres do ocidente, os corpos femininos, regidos e interpelados por normas que regulavam, sobretudo, sua sexualidade, foram compreendidos em pares de oposição: as mães e as prostitutas, as santas e as “satanizadas”. A umbanda, religião afro-brasileira detentora da capacidade de acolher os discursos e práticas da sociedade brasileira, incluiu essa dualidade em sua religiosidade, mas de maneira peculiar: a pombagira foi corporificada na figura de uma “prostituta sagrada” e passou a ser cultuada em lugar de destaque por seus fieis. A partir de trabalho de campo em terreiros de umbanda do estado de São Paulo, foram realizadas entrevistas com médiuns, pais e mães-de-santo, bem como com as próprias pombagiras incorporadas para compreender os sentidos associados ao culto das pombagiras. A análise dos dados contou com a combinação do método etnográfico a uma escuta psicanalítica lacaniana para investigar como a pombagira “participa” da vida dos adeptos da religião. O trabalho apresenta como, na interação com a pombagira, o “ser mulher” é associado à sedução, à força, à beleza, ao sexo, ao desejo, à inteligência e, inclusive, à maternidade, integrando sentidos dissociados pelas dicotomias mencionadas. Por meio de uma narrativa atenta ao sensível e incluindo a vivência da própria pesquisadora na interação com os grupos pesquisados, o trabalho apresenta uma compreensão etnopsicológica de gênero ao dar ouvidos a sentidos que se elaboram no contexto umbandista, circulam socialmente e ressoam intimamente.

La littérature suppose implicitement l'existence d'un déterminisme biologique pour expliquer les différences entre les hommes et les femmes entrepreneurs. Par l'analyse des représentations de la performance, nous questionnons les stéréotypes sexués en mobilisant les notions de sexe (homme/femme) et de genre (féminité/masculinité) : le sexe est-il une variable pertinente pour expliquer les différences hommes/femmes en matière de représentation de la performance d'entreprise ?Trois études quantitatives utilisant une ANOVA et des t-Test ont analysé les données issues de 244 entrepreneurs. Une étude qualitative auprès de 6 entrepreneurs a permis de modéliser les représentations de la performance. Nous montrons que les différences de représentations de la performance d'entreprise ne sont expliquées ni par les catégories de sexe (Homme et Femme), ni par celles du genre (Masculin, Féminin, Androgyne, Indifférencié) définies par le Bem Sex Role Inventory. Nous confirmons également que les représentations collectives de la performance ont évolué et vont bien au-delà de la simple quête de profit, et sont plus rattachées à des valeurs sociales actuelles. / Literature tends to assume implicitly the existence of a biological determinism to explain the differences between men and women entrepreneurs. Our aim was to study the representations of business performance based on the notion of sex (biological sex: female & male), and gender (the social sex: feminity & masculinity). Could masculinity and/or femininity reveal differences in representing business performance between men and women entrepreneurs? Three quantitative studies, based on ANOVA and t-Test, were used to analyze data collected by questionnaire from 244 entrepreneurs. A qualitative study was used to model data collected during individual interview of six entrepreneurs.We found that differences in representing business performance cannot be revealed neither by the distinction of category of sex (male / female), nor by gender categories (Male, Female, Androgynous, Undifferentiated) as defined by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Also, we confirm that collective representations of the performance by the entrepreneurs have evolved and go well beyond the simple pursuit of economic profit, and can be more closely related to current social values.

De nombreuses recherches empiriques montrent que la façon dont les locuteurs et locutrices parlent peut varier en fonction du contexte, des dispositions mentales des locuteurs·trices, du type de la relation interpersonnelle (horizontale ou verticale) qu’entretiennent interlocuteurs·trices, de l’environnement culturel, etc. Mais en continuant d’exposer le grand public à des données incomplètes s’appuyant sur des stéréotypes de genres, les médias continuent d’entretenir l’idée, que les hommes et les femmes parlent différemment ; il y a donc une discordance entre la réalité des pratiques langagières et la représentation que les individus s’en font (Freed 2014). Notre étude du masculin et du féminin dans quatre séries de BDs de science-fiction franco-belges a pour but de vérifier si les héros et héroïnes de ces quatre séries sont représenté·e·s selon des stéréotypes de genre. Concernant le physique, comment héroïnes et héros sont-ils représentés ? Y a-t-il une frontière nette entre représentation de la féminité et de la masculinité ? Et, concernant la requête du type demande de faire, les héroïnes et héros formulent-ils différemment leurs requêtes ? Ces trois questions nous permettent de savoir si le lectorat des quatre séries de BDs analysées est exposé aux stéréotypes de genre. Les seuls stéréotypes de genre exposés s’appliquent aux corps et au vêtements (sauf dans une série). Pour le reste, attitudes, comportements, façons de parler, les stéréotypes sont globalement évacués. Il en ressort que la féminité et la masculinité s’inscrivent sur un continuum du genre. Pour ce qui est de la requête, dans deux séries les héroïnes se distinguent de leurs partenaires masculins du point de vue du fond de la requête (c.-à-d. de son objet), mais pas du point de vue de la forme et ce schéma est un corrélat de l’absence de leadership des partenaires masculins et révèle l’état mental de ces derniers ou la crainte de la prise de risque. Nous parlons alors de schémas de requêtes différenciées (et non genrées). Dans la troisième BD, le schéma des requêtes est genré dans la forme (et non dans le fond) dans la mesure où l’héroïne emploie davantage de requêtes indirectes que le héros, mais ce schéma n’est aucunement corrélé au manque de pouvoir de l’héroïne, qui, bien au contraire, jouit d’un grand pouvoir symbolique (probablement raison pour laquelle, le fond de ses requêtes est identique à celui du héros). Dans la quatrième série, celle où la représentation corporelle des hommes et des femmes est globalement similaire, on ne trouve ni schéma de requête genré ni schéma de requête différencié. La variation stylistique qui caractérise la nature directe ou indirecte des requêtes des personnages fictifs étudiés est fonction de l’urgence de la situation (contextuel), de leur expertise ou pouvoir (relation verticale) ou de leur état mental. Ils et elles privilégient la sauvegarde des faces à mesure que le caractère anxiogène du contexte de l’énonciation s’éloigne ou s’ils·elles entretiennent une relation interpersonnelle horizontale avec leur(s) allocutaire(s). Nos résultats sur la requête sont ainsi conformes avec les recherches empiriques : dans un cas ils illustrent la manifestation d’un des aspects du style langagier féminin et dans les trois autres, ils invalident l’existence de stéréotypes langagiers féminins dans le sens ou ces derniers sont dépassés par le contexte situationnel ou la relation interpersonnelle. / A significant number of case studies have shown that the way individuals speak, be they men or women, varies according to variables as the kind of relationship (vertical or horizontal) existing between interlocutors, mental state of speakers, context, culture and so forth. However, as Freed (2014) states, the mass media keep exposing their large audience to incomplete or erroneous data and stereotypes concerning the way men and women speak. Thus, individuals keep thinking that there is such a thing as «women and men speak differently». To put it in a nutshell, the way men and women speak is at odds with what occurs in reality. Our study about masculinity and femininity within four series of Franco-Belgian science-fictional comics aims at verifying how masculinity and femininity are represented in the four heroines and their male counterpart or partner(s). On the ground of non-linguistics representation, how are the female and male characters represented ? And does a clear line delineate masculinity and femininity ? Second, on the ground of linguistics, do the heroines phrase their requests differently than do the hero or male partner(s) ? In other words, are female characters more enclined than male characters to formulate indirect requests ? These three questions lead us to determine if the lectorate is exposed to gendered stereotypes. Our results show that stereotypes are only confined into the bodies (and at a certain point, the clothing). Other than that, attitudes and the way the characters speak are not bound to gendered stereotypes. Concerning the analysis of the requests, in two of our series, there is a difference between the requests made by the heroine and the ones made by the male in terms of the content of the requests. Therefore, we say that their request schema is not gendered but differentiated. That is to say, the content of the requests made by the males is correlated to their lack of power and reveal either their mental states or their being concerned with risk taking. In the third comic, we observe indeed a gendered schema of requests between the heroine and her male counterpart, the latter phrasing more direct requests. Conversely to the two previously mentioned comics, here, the stylish gendered request schema is not correlated with the heroine lack of power, that’s probably why both characters’ content of requests is the same. In the fourth series, which is the one where men and women are almost physically alike, we neither observe differentiated pattern of request nor gendered pattern of requests. Globally, in the four series, male and female characters articulate direct requests according to the emergency (contextual), their expertise or power (vertical relationship with interlocutor) or their mental state ; moreover, they indulge themselves into face-saving speech strategies as the emergency diminishes or disappears or if they have an horizontal type of relationship with their interlocutors. Thus, the variation is either stylistic or due to interpersonal relationship. Our results are not at odds with the empirical data : in one case, they illustrate the display of one aspect of the feminine language stereotype, and in the three other ones they invalidate the existence of stereotyped language styles in the sense that the stereotypes are overcome by the context or the interpersonal relationship.

MGS / Institute for Gender and Youth Studies / Masculinity forms are identified as forms that perpetuate gender-based violence. This study analyzed and challenged the entire cultural and patriarchal attributes that constructively create current male roles and identities that play a significant part in gender discrimination and oppression around the world. The way masculinities shape gender role stereotypes have left a legacy whereby women are disadvantaged in relation to men. Masculinities continue to define power dynamics between men and women. Women have less access to resources, benefits, information and are also denied access to decision making processes, both within and beyond household realms. The major objective of the study is to explore the connection between masculinity and gender-based violence. This study described the importance of using Participatory Action Research Design and the use of qualitative methodological process which is followed by the study’s location and population, sampling and data collection methods. The researcher explains the reasons for using qualitative methods for both data collection and analysis. Face to face semi structured interviews was used as data collection instruments with open-ended questions. Purposive and snowball sampling were adopted with a total of 10 research participants including both women and men (young and old). Furthermore, this study explored the researcher’s reflexivity or positionality, and epistemic privilege. This study also outlined the ethical issues that have been taken into consideration which include informed consent, confidentiality, and privacy. Data was analyzed thematically by identifying and expanding significant themes that emerged from respondents’ responses. The findings of this study entail that unemployment and alcohol abuse are among the factors that lead to gender-based violence. The findings had it that cultural practices such as polygamy in families, initiation schools, media are among models of masculinities that had imparted the notion or belief that a man is a provider, decision-maker, and head of the family and no other member of the family should contest that responsibility. This study concludes that the cultural and social norms socialize males to be aggressive, powerful, unemotional and controlling and contribute to a social acceptance of men as dominant. Lastly, this study also looked at the limitations of the study as well as the conclusion. This study recommended that both men and women should collectively diagnose masculine relationships that are borne out of the system of patriarchy, to usher in a non- sexist society devoid of gender discrimination. / NRF

Governments are becoming increasingly aware of SMEs as economical role players. As a result many initiatives were introduced to address the unique challenges of the SME sector. One of these initiatives was the introduction of a global accounting framework for SMEs by the International Accounting Standards Board entitled the IFRS for SMEs. South Africa became the first country to formally adopt the contents thereof as the Statement of GAAP for SMEs. The adoption of a formal accounting framework by SMEs is however challenged by, amongst other factors, the informal nature of SMEs, limited global focus, the involvement of owner–managers and different classifications of SMEs worldwide. Owing to these unique attributes it is possible that SMEs have alternative informational needs and as a result the impact of environmental factors on the adoption of the Statement of GAAP for SMEs was considered. Culture is considered the most important environmental factor affecting the accounting environment. The Value Survey Model of Hofstede was utilised to determine cultural dimensions of accounting students (n = 301) in South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK). The cultural dimensions were extended to the accounting values of Gray after which a distinct set of accounting values was identified for i) the adoption of formal, global and prescriptive accounting standards, ii) based on principles iii) by an informal SME sector. The results also revealed distinct cultural differences within South Africa as well as between South Africa and the UK. Thereafter the contents of the Statement of GAAP for SMEs/IFRS for SMEs were evaluated against reporting practices of the SME sector in South Africa. Firstly, an assessment of the contents was conducted amongst SME accountants (n = 157) using a five–point Likert–type scale. Secondly, financial statements compiled by the SME sector in South Africa were analysed to determine the relevance of the contents of the illustrative financial statements contained in the Statement of GAAP for SMEs. The analysis entailed a consolidation of a sample of SME financial statements from South Africa (n = 100). The study revealed that the accounting environment of the SME sector is affected by a wide range of environmental and related factors. These factors were summarised and discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Governments are becoming increasingly aware of SMEs as economical role players. As a result many initiatives were introduced to address the unique challenges of the SME sector. One of these initiatives was the introduction of a global accounting framework for SMEs by the International Accounting Standards Board entitled the IFRS for SMEs. South Africa became the first country to formally adopt the contents thereof as the Statement of GAAP for SMEs. The adoption of a formal accounting framework by SMEs is however challenged by, amongst other factors, the informal nature of SMEs, limited global focus, the involvement of owner–managers and different classifications of SMEs worldwide. Owing to these unique attributes it is possible that SMEs have alternative informational needs and as a result the impact of environmental factors on the adoption of the Statement of GAAP for SMEs was considered. Culture is considered the most important environmental factor affecting the accounting environment. The Value Survey Model of Hofstede was utilised to determine cultural dimensions of accounting students (n = 301) in South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK). The cultural dimensions were extended to the accounting values of Gray after which a distinct set of accounting values was identified for i) the adoption of formal, global and prescriptive accounting standards, ii) based on principles iii) by an informal SME sector. The results also revealed distinct cultural differences within South Africa as well as between South Africa and the UK. Thereafter the contents of the Statement of GAAP for SMEs/IFRS for SMEs were evaluated against reporting practices of the SME sector in South Africa. Firstly, an assessment of the contents was conducted amongst SME accountants (n = 157) using a five–point Likert–type scale. Secondly, financial statements compiled by the SME sector in South Africa were analysed to determine the relevance of the contents of the illustrative financial statements contained in the Statement of GAAP for SMEs. The analysis entailed a consolidation of a sample of SME financial statements from South Africa (n = 100). The study revealed that the accounting environment of the SME sector is affected by a wide range of environmental and related factors. These factors were summarised and discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.