The main purpose of this thesis is to examine how different welfare and production regimes may have structured individuals’ work orientations into cross-national patterns by the late 1990s and early 2000s. Three different aspects of work orientations are considered in the three studies. Study 1: Welfare Regimes, Production Regimes and Employment Commitment: A Multi-level analysis of Twelve OECD countries. Since the introduction of the first social insurance schemes, questions have been raised regarding the trade-off between the adequacy and equity of benefits, and their effects on individuals’ work orientations. This study examines the role of both welfare and production regime institutions for explaining cross-national patterns in individuals’ employment commitment across twelve OECD-countries in the late 1990s. Results from multi-level analyses show firstly how employment commitment is stronger within more generous welfare regimes as well as within more extensively coordinated production regimes. Secondly, institutions are found to be more important for structuring the attitudes of persons with less stable labour market attachment. Thirdly, for men, there are clear positive cross-level interaction effects between institutional structures and individuals’ socio-economic status, whereas institutions matter more equally regardless of socio-economic status for women. In relation to the concerns with the allegedly negative unintended consequences of welfare regime institutions for creating distortions, these seem to be unwarranted with regards to employment commitment. To the contrary, there appears to be a ‘paradox of employment commitment’: clearly earnings-related benefits of more generous welfare regimes appear to generate stronger commitment to take part in paid work. Study 2: Unemployment Insurance and Work Values in Twenty-Three Welfare States. This study addresses the question of whether extended ‘social rights’, specifically in the form of unemployment insurance, is undermining people’s willingness to perform their ‘social duties’ in the form of productive work. Multi-level analyses is used to evaluate how three aspects of institutional design may explain cross-national patterns of work values across twenty-three industrialized countries in 2000. There is a consistent tendency for a positive relationship between more traditional work values with higher generosity of benefit levels as well as more demanding eligibility conditions. To the contrary, a negative relationship is found in relation to duration periods. The strength and significance of these relationships however differ across the three value dimensions studied. Firstly, the clearest pattern is found in relation to how work is valued as a ‘duty towards society’, where all institutional effects are significant. Secondly, in relation to valuations of how ‘unemployed persons should accept job offers or lose their benefits’, the positive effects of the eligibility factor are non-significant, and the negative duration effects are only significant among working men. Thirdly, in relation to how work is not valued as a ‘free choice’, institutional effects are only significant when working women within the sixteen ‘older’ welfare states are compared. The effects of economic development are inconsistent across value dimensions and in the opposite direction expected from modernization theory; more traditional work values are found to be stronger in countries with higher levels of economic development. Study 3: Continued Work or Retirement? Preferred Exit-age in Western European countries. The combination of greying populations, decreasing fertility rates and a marked trend in falling retirement age is profoundly challenging the sharing of resources and supporting responsibilities between generations in the developed world. Previous studies on earlier exit-trends have focused mainly on supply-side incentives and generally conclude that people will exit given available retirement options. Substantial cross-national variations in exit-ages however remain unexplained. This suggests that also normative factors such as attitudes to work and retirement might be of importance. Through multi-level analyses, this study evaluates how welfare regime generosity, as well as production regime coordination explains cross-national patterns of retirement preferences across twelve Western European countries. Analysis firstly shows how both men and women on average prefer to retire at 58 years, meaning on average approximately 7 or 5.5 years before statutory retirement age in the case of men and women respectively. Contrary to what is expected from previous research on supply-side factors, preferences for relatively later retirement is found within more generous welfare regimes and also within more extensively coordinated production regimes. For women, however, institutional effects do not remain once substantial cross-national differences in women’s statutory retirement ages are taken into account.

Cette thèse porte sur l’évaluation du leadership par une approche multi-évaluateurs (dite à 360 degrés). Tout d'abord les différents modèles du leadership, allant d'une conception unitaire, à une conception interractionniste puis à une définition en termes d'effet, sont détaillés. Puis en étudiant la question de la mesure, on met en évidence qu'avec la popularité croissante de leurs modèles, certains outils d'évaluation sont devenus des questionnaires psychométriques à part entière. Pourtant, du fait des limites de l’auto-évaluation, une nouvelle approche du leadership à vu le jour: l'évaluation à 360°. Elle évalue les qualités d'un manager en interrogeant les personnes travaillant avec lui (subordonnés, collègues, supérieurs...) et en comparant leurs évaluations avec la propre évaluation du manager. Un des points central de notre recherche a été d’étudier les apports et les limites de cette méthode. Tout d'abord on a vérifié dans quelle mesure les caractéristiques souvent utilisées pour expliquer la variabilité entre les catégories d'observateurs permettaient réellement de comprendre les écarts observés. Ces analyses ont montré que malgré des résultats significatifs, ces variables n’expliquent que très partiellement la variance existante. De par ces conclusions l’accent a été mis, non plus sur les différences inter-groupes, mais sur l'accord et le désaccord au sein des groupes d'observateurs. Enfin, la dernière partie revient aux bases méthodologiques et théoriques de la mesure en cherchant à proposer un modèle psychométriques qui conviendrait aux résultats de questionnaires à 360°, permettant de donner un cadre conceptuel au recours à des évaluateurs multiples. / This thesis is centered on leadership assessment through multi-rater evaluation, commonly known as 360 degrees assessment. First, leadership models were presented, and then, we discussed the measurement aspects of leadership, wherein we observed that some tools became full fledged psychometric assessments owning to the growing popularity of their underlying theory. Nevertheless, the concerns over the inherent limitations of self-report measures continued to be a major challenge in leadership assessment. This led to a new assessment approach called 360 degrees in which the characteristics of leaders are assessed by people working with them (subordinates, colleagues, superiors...) and compared with the leaders' self-appraisals. The focal point of this thesis was to study the advantages as well as the limitations of this approach. The study started with examining how well the variables which are supposed to explain the inter-rater variability were actually helpful in understanding the observed variance among observers. Those analysis yielded significant results despite the fact that those variables could explain only a very limited amount of variance. Following these observations, the study switched its focus from inter-group differences to intra-group / inter-rater agreement and disagreement. Finally, the last part of this thesis gets back to methodological and theoretical basics of measurement theory and proposes a psychometric model that would suit the 360 degrees assessments followed by a conceptual framework for the studies using multi-rater techniques.

The aim of this thesis has been to study boundary-making in addiction care practitioner’s perceptions of substance use and treatment. The four papers are based on three data collections in Swedish outpatient addiction care: a) a survey conducted in 2006 (n=655), b) a factorial survey using randomly constructed vignettes conducted in 2011 (n=474), and c) a focus group interview study from 2013 (n=30) with a sample of the respondents from the factorial survey. The analyses show that practitioners tend to draw boundaries between various forms of substance use, with alcohol use being perceived as a less severe problem than narcotics use and requiring less extensive treatment measures. There are also partially varying perceptions in different parts of addiction care. By comparison with social services staff, regional healthcare staff generally see a greater need for treatment, recommend medical treatment to a greater extent, and display less confidence in the possibility of handling problematic use without professional treatment. Despite an ongoing medicalization at the policy level, psychosocial treatment interventions appear to have legitimacy in both regional healthcare and social services settings. Boundary-making processes are also found in relation to the specific user’s age, family situation, socio-economic status and in some cases gender, with young women’s drinking being seen as more severe than young men’s drinking for example. The boundary-making between different substance users may be interpreted as a sign of an approach based on a professional consideration of the person’s socially exposed situation, which might require more comprehensive support. At the same time, it may be an expression of a stereotyped approach, involving a normative evaluation of women’s behaviour as being more deviant than men’s, thereby having a limiting effect on the conduct norms that regulate women’s behaviour and making the problems of men invisible. To avoid disparities in addiction care delivery, it is of major importance that practitioners are given room to reflect upon the assumptions and values that underlie the assessments they make in practice. Combining a factorial survey with focus group interviews is proposed as one means of facilitating this type of reflection. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 4: Submitted.</p>

Ce mémoire aborde l’inclusion des personnes issues de l’immigration dans le tissu social municipal de la Ville de Sherbrooke, offrant une analyse de l’action municipale déployée à partir du point de vue des personnes concernées. À partir du terrain ethnographique effectué dans la Ville de Sherbrooke visant à observer l’interculturel qui y est déployé, des perceptions de plusieurs concepts sont mises de l’avant – par exemple : l’appartenance, l’administration municipale et ce qui constitue la diversité. Pour se faire, ce mémoire débute avec une vue d’ensemble du projet de recherche et installe les bases théoriques, conceptuelles et méthodologiques nécessaires à l’approfondissement des enjeux soulevés. L’entrée en la matière est poursuivie alors que se décline le contexte ethnographique dans lequel s’insère la problématique étudiée, tout en portant une attention aux dynamiques multiniveaux qui se déclinent à l’échelle du Canada, du Québec, et de la Ville de Sherbrooke. Des données sur la Ville de Sherbrooke ainsi qu’une part de l’action municipale déployée pour l’inclusion de la diversité y figurent. L’entrée dans le vif du sujet débute ensuite avec la présentation des données issues du projet de recherche International Intercultural Cities Comparative Study (IICCS), offrant un portrait du point de vue administratif sherbrookois quant aux relations interculturelles et à la diversité. Dans la même trame, sont subséquemment présentées les données récoltées auprès de résidents sherbrookois issus de l’immigration, qui ont participé à des groupes de discussion portant sur leur perception de l’inclusion de la diversité à Sherbrooke. Enfin, une discussion porte sur les données issues des groupes de discussion des fonctionnaires et des Sherbrookois issus de l’immigration. Cette discussion se veut une réflexion sur l’inclusion des personnes issues de l’immigration dans le tissu social sherbrookois et abordant les écarts de perception des différents acteurs. Finalement, les points saillants du projet de recherche et quelques constats finaux sont mis de l’avant, et la boucle sera bouclée en soulevant d’éventuelles pistes de réflexion. / This dissertation addresses the inclusion of people of immigrant background in the municipal social fabric of the City of Sherbrooke, offering an analysis of municipal action deployed from the perspective of the people concerned. Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in the City of Sherbrooke to observe interculturality in action, perceptions of several concepts are put forward - for example: belonging, municipal administration and what constitutes diversity. To this end, this dissertation is divided into five chapters. It begins with an overview of the research project, laying the theoretical, conceptual and methodological foundations required to explore the issues raised. The introduction to the subject is followed by a description of the ethnographic context in which the issue under study is embedded, with particular attention to the multi-level dynamics at play in Canada, Quebec and the City of Sherbrooke. Data on the City of Sherbrooke are included, as well as an overview of municipal initiatives undertaken in favour of inclusiveness and diversity. This is followed by a presentation of data from the International Intercultural Cities Comparative Study (IICCS) research project, providing a snapshot of Sherbrooke's administrative perspective on intercultural relations and diversity. This is followed by a presentation of data gathered from Sherbrooke residents of immigrant background, who took part in focus groups on their perceptions of diversity inclusion in Sherbrooke. Lastly, a discussion focuses on the findings of the focus groups with municipal representatives and residents. This discussion is intended as a reflection on the inclusion of people of immigrant background in Sherbrooke's social web, and address gaps in the perceptions of the various players. To conclude, the highlights of the research project and some final findings are put forward, and we come full circle by raising possible avenues for further reflection.

Physical education is important to promote physical activity of adolescents with and without disabilities, but many adolescents are not active during physical education classes. Innovative instructional strategies are imperative to change this phenomenon, but it will be challenging to develop effective instructional strategies without thorough understanding of students' physical activity behavior in physical education settings. Two studies were conducted to comprehensively understand physical activity behavior of adolescents with and without disabilities in inclusive physical education classes at middle schools. The first study investigated the utility of the integrative theory to predict students' physical activity intentions and behavior at the intrapersonal level. A total of 577 participants, including 24 adolescents' with disabilities, were recruited from 8 middle schools in Korea. In a prospective design, participants' psychosocial constructs and physical activity data were collected by survey questionnaires and electronic pedometers. A multilevel (design-based) structural equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard error correction found that students' attitudes, subjective norms, and barrier-efficacy significantly predicted students' goal intentions. Students' implementation intentions and task-efficacy were significant predictors of physical activity behavior. In addition, implementation intentions completely mediated the relationship between goal intentions and physical activity behavior. The second study investigated three conceptual models, including process-product model, student mediation model, and ecological model, to predict students' physical activity behavior at the interpersonal and environmental levels. A total of 13 physical educators teaching inclusive physical education and their 503 students, including 22 students with disabilities, were recruited from 8 middle schools in Korea. A series of multilevel (model-based) regressions with maximum likelihood estimation showed that the ecological model was the most effective model in prediction of students' physical activity behavior. Specifically, it was found that teachers' teaching behavior and students' implementation intentions were significant predictors of the students' physical activity behavior when interacted with gender, disability, lesson contents, instructional models, and class locations. In conclusion, findings suggest that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental predictors provide a systematic account in the understanding of students' physical activity behavior in physical education settings. Future studies should consider all three factors simultaneously to effectively develop instructional strategies that promote physical activity of adolescents' with and without disabilities in physical education classes. / Graduation date: 2013

La thèse porte sur les processus de transition énergétique urbaine et leur caractère multi-niveaux. Sachant que les processus de transition ne peuvent être pensés indépendamment du contexte local dans lequel ils évoluent et qu’ils se construisent en interaction avec les autres niveaux d’action, leur compréhension appelle une analyse multi-niveaux, mettant en lumière les articulations en jeu entre les échelles de décision et d'action. La première partie montre que le caractère systémique et transversal des enjeux climat-énergie complexifie les processus de gouvernance et participe à leur reconfiguration à toutes les échelles d’action, remettant en question les cadres conceptuels et les champs disciplinaires conventionnels. Les deuxième et troisième parties mobilisent des études de cas contrastées, Munich et Bristol. Cette analyse révèle un choc des modèles de transition, entre Bristol, privilégiant une stratégie de décentralisation et de résilience énergétique, portée par la municipalité, les communautés énergétiques et les acteurs industriels, et Munich, adoptant une stratégie de délocalisation de la production d’électricité et d’internationalisation des activités de la régie municipale d’énergie (SWM) – 7ème géant allemand. On observe à l’échelle locale et non sans paradoxe une inversion des dynamiques et des modèles énergétiques nationaux. Le centralisme britannique agit comme une contrainte structurante sur la stratégie décentralisée de Bristol ; tandis qu'à Munich, l’Energiewende est un catalyseur pour la stratégie industrielle délocalisée de la SWM, qui devient en retour un acteur majeur de la transition fédérale au vu de son envergure. / The PhD addresses the processes of urban energy transition and their multi-level dimension. Given that these processes cannot be considered independently from the local context in which they apply and that they are built in interaction with the other levels of action, understanding them calls for a multi-level analysis to shed light the articulations between the different scales of decision and action. The first part shows that the systemic and cross-cutting nature of the climate-energy issues makes governance processes more complex and contributes to their reorganization at all scales of action by questioning the standard conceptual frameworks and disciplinary fields. The second and third parts develop mixed case studies, Munich and Bristol. This analysis reveals a contrast in the transition models, between Bristol, which favors a strategy of decentralization and energy resilience supported by the municipality, the energy communities and the industrial actors, and Munich, which adopts a strategy organized around the relocation of electricity generation and the internationalization of activities of the municipal energy company (SWM) – 7th largest German producer. A reversal of the dynamics and national models of energy is paradoxically observed between the national and the local scales. The UK centralism acts as a structural constraint for the decentralized strategy of Bristol, in Munich, the EnergieWende is a driver for the industrial and delocalized strategy of the SWM, which becomes a major player in the federal transition given its scale.