Girls’ withdrawal from school is posing a major challenge to female literacy in Afghanistan. The aim of this research was to examine the influence of Afghan traditions and cultural norms on girls’ school withdrawal by parents or guardians in Khinjan District of Baghlan Province. To achieve this aim the accounts of 12 mothers with daughters pulled out of school were obtained through semi-structured interviews and analyzed via the theoretical lens of Existentialist Feminism and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model. The findings suggest that in order to address the problem of girls’ withdrawal from school in Khinjan, the informal communication networks that reinforce the tendency of parents/guardians, especially male ones, to withdraw the girls from school should be influenced by communication channels in the district. Grounded on Paulo Freire’s concept of dialogue for liberation, it is recommended that credible members in the community should initiate and engage in a transforming dialogue about education of girls, with Khinjanis.

This thesis deals with issues surrounding the management of IS/ICT projects, primarily from the point of view of ČSN ISO/IEC norms. I will list and analyse those norms used to define important indicators and processes, which are subsequently mapped to PMBOK process groups. Every norm is accompanied by a brief evaluation describing its suitability for use in IS/ICT projects, its anticipated benefits and the approach taken in its application. The next part of the thesis consists of an analysis of norms from the point of view of methods of estimation in the planning of IS/ICT projects. An analysis is made of the majority of norms that directly or tangentially affect estimation in the planning of IS/ICT projects. The practical section of the thesis contains a metric for the monitoring of projects from the point of view of ISO/IEC norms and the dissemination of the "MMaHPISICTv5.7" model, as created by Ondřej Kmoníček in the thesis "Sledování a vyhodnocování IT projektů - Monitoring and Evaluation of IT Projects" [38]. The model is supplemented by ISO/IEC metrics and also other functionalities, focussing primarily on the depiction of individual metrics over a period of time.

L’impact du niveau d’études sur les performances cognitives est largement connu. Aussi, l’évaluation des sujets de bas ou très bas niveau d’études est un réel challenge pour les cliniciens. D’une part, les outils habituellement utilisés dans le bilan du sujet âgé ne sont pas adaptés aux individus analphabètes ou de bas niveau d’éducation, et, d’autre part, les normes nécessaires à l’interprétation des scores cognitifs ne prennent pas suffisamment en considération cette population de bas niveau scolaire. Ainsi, la question que pose ce travail de thèse est de savoir comment optimiser l’évaluation neuropsychologique de ces sujets de bas niveau scolaires. L’objectif poursuivi par la première étude de cette thèse est de déterminer s’il existe un effet propre du fait de savoir lire et écrire indépendamment de celui de la scolarisation. Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons pu accéder aux données recueillies dans la cohorte mexicaine de Coyoacán qui a la particularité d’avoir un échantillon important de sujets n’ayant jamais été scolarisés. Cette première étude a montré que des sujets n’ayant jamais accédé au système éducatif mais ayant des notions rudimentaires de lecture et d’écriture acquises de manière informelle, ont des performances plus élevées à tous les tests considérés, hormis pour le Set test d’Isaacs (IST), que des sujets ne sachant pas lire et écrire. Ainsi, ces résultats illustrent l’effet des capacités de lecture et d’écriture, un effet distinct de l’effet du niveau de scolarisation. Une seconde difficulté à laquelle doivent faire face les cliniciens est l’absence de normes adaptées aux sujets de bas niveau d’études. Ainsi, un travail autour de l’élaboration de normes adaptées aux sujets de bas niveau d’études a été réalisé dans la cohorte de Coyoacán et nous a permis d’élaborer des normes pour le Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), le Rappel libre/Rappel indicé 16 items (RL/RI-16) et l’IST, jusque-là inexistantes pour la population âgée mexicaine et qui a la particularité de présenter une forte proportion de sujets de bas niveau d’études. Un second travail de normalisation a été réalisé dans la cohorte AMI, une cohorte menée en milieu rural dans le département de la Gironde dans laquelle la proportion de sujets de bas niveaux est plus élevée qu’en population générale, pour un nouveau test de mémoire visuo-spatiale, le test des gobelets pour lequel nous avons également étudié sa validité dans la détection de la démence. Ces normes classiques, corrigées pour des variables démographiques sont essentielles à l’interprétation des scores cognitifs. Dans le même temps, dans le cas de la démence où l’âge et le niveau d’études sont deux facteurs de risque majeurs, cette pratique habituelle de corriger pour ces variables afin d’établir ou de prédire un diagnostic de démence peut être remise en question. Si des travaux antérieurs ont montré que l’utilisation de scores corrigés diminue la qualité de détection de la démence, la dernière étude de cette thèse a montré qu’il en est de même lorsqu’il s’agit de prédire la démence : les sujets qui deviennent déments à court terme sont mieux classés lorsque les scores ne sont pas corrigés que lorsqu’ils sont corrigés pour l’âge et le niveau d’études. Ainsi, loin de régler le vaste problème de l’évaluation du sujet de bas niveau d’études, cette thèse tente d’apporter des éléments pragmatiques au clinicien sous la forme de tests ou de normes adaptées, mais aussi des éléments de réflexion sur l’utilisation de ces scores. / The effect of education on cognitive performances and neuropsychological assessment outcomes has been well documented so far. Indeed, the assessment of cognitive performance of individuals with low and very low educational level remains a major clinical challenge for several reasons. Firstly, conventional cognitive assessment tools used with elderly patients are not suitable for illiterate or poorly instructed individuals. Secondly, traditional norms used to identify strengths and weaknesses of cognitive performance are not sensible enough to detect cognitive impairments among illiterate or scarcely instructed individuals. Therefore, how to improve the neuropsychological assessment of individuals with low formal educational level is the main research question of this doctoral thesis. To adequately answer to this prior question, four studies have been conducted. The aim of the first study presented in this thesis was to investigate the specific effect of literacy acquisition on cognitive performances independently of education. For this work, we used data collected from the Coyoacán study, a Mexican population-based cohort which presents an important sample of uneducated participants. The main finding of this study was that participants who never attended school but counting with informal literacy abilities, presented better performances for all cognitive tests, except for the Isaacs Set test (IST), compared to their uneducated illiterate counterparts. These findings illustrate the specific effect of literacy skills acquisition on cognitive performances independently of the influence of schooling. The lack of adapted comparative norms is the second major challenge of neuropsychological assessment of individuals with low-educational level. Consequently, our second study aimed at establishing comparative norms for the MMSE, the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test and the IST, three tests widely used for cognitive evaluation in elderly people. Of note, these norms were specifically established for the Mexican elderly population, which presents a high rate of illiteracy and low-educational level. Finally, a third study aiming at establishing comparative norms for a new visuo-spatial memory-test: the goblets test. For this study, we used data collected from the AMI cohort study which is conducted in rural areas in the South-West of France. Within this third study we also studied the validity of this test in detecting dementia illness. These comparative norms are necessary to interpret cognitive scores. However, as age and education are major risk factors for dementia, correcting for these demographic variables to improve the accuracy of detection or prediction of dementia may be questionable. Consistently with other studies showing that dementia detection accuracy is compromised when corrected scores are used; findings of our last study showed that regarding dementia prediction accuracy, participants developing dementia, in the short term, are better classified when using uncorrected scores for age and education than the corrected ones. To conclude, cognitive assessment of elderly individuals with low-educational level remains still a major clinical barrier to correctly diagnose dementia. However, besides providing clinicians with several pragmatic inputs such as cognitive tests and appropriated comparative norms, we believe that our findings will encourage clinical reflection regarding the use of these scores.

Notre thèse porte sur le recours à l’avortement au Cameroun dans deux villes, Eséka et Maroua. Nous avons pour ambition de comprendre les sollicitations liées au recours à l’avortement en milieu urbain dans un contexte où existent des dispositions médicales et légales particulières. Une étude empirique a été réalisée dans les deux localités. De ce travail de terrain, nous avons observé qu’il existe pour les femmes au niveau médical, la possibilité d’une prise en charge des soins après un avortement, quelles que soient les conditions de sa réalisation. Au niveau légal, la décision d’avorter en dehors des conditions légales définies reste problématique pour les femmes et pour ceux qui recourent à l’avortement en dehors de ce cadre-là. Nous affirmons que les normes procréatives auxquelles les femmes sont confrontées au quotidien, surtout celles relatives à la grossesse en particulier, peuvent les amener à recourir à l’avortement, bien que cela soit fortement et légalement réglementé. L’approche du sujet associe à la fois la théorie sociologique de l'expérience, la démarche ethnographique du contexte (global et local) et l'étude des cas liés au recours à l'avortement. Partant de cette perspective, nous analysons le recours à l’avortement à partir des expériences et vécus individuels des femmes en matière de procréation et de la grossesse d’une part, ainsi qu’à partir des difficultés liées aux normes imposées par les institutions sociales comme la famille ou l’État d’autre part. Il s’agit surtout de montrer par cet exemple local, les difficultés de mise en œuvre des recommandations formulées à l’échelle internationale au niveau local dans le cas particulier de l’avortement. / Our thesis is about the abortion in Cameroon in two cities Eséka and Maroua. We aim to understand the stresses related to abortion in urban areas in a context where there are specific medical and legal provisions. An empirical study was conducted in two locations. This fieldwork, we observed that there is for women at the medical level, the possibility of support for post-abortion care, regardless of the conditions of its realization. From a legal standpoint, the decision to have an abortion outside the defined legal requirements remains problematic for women and for those who resort to abortion outside this framework. We affirm that procreative norms that women face daily, in particular those related to pregnancy, can encourage them to resort to abortion, although this is highly regulated. The theoretical framework combines both sociological theory of experience, the ethnographic approach of the context (global and local) and the cases studies related to abortion. From this perspective, we analyze the abortion from the experiences and individual stories of women related to procreation and pregnancy in one hand, as well as from difficulties related to norms imposed by social institutions like the family or the State in the other hand. This is mostly to show through this specific experience, implementation challenges that come with the translation of recommendations made at the international level to the local level in the particular case of abortion.

The purpose of this study has been to survey Swedish students of social workers views on gender in correlation to delinquency. By doing so, we hoped to gain knowledge in how opinions on gender differences are constructed, with focus on femininity. The study was conducted through interviews with two focus groups, containing two vignette case. In total, 12 students of social work from the Linnéuniversitetet in Växjö participated and the students where participating in different semesters of the social work program. The material was analyzed through a quality content analysis and interpreted based on Hirdmans theory on gender. The results showed that the student's views and opinions on gender and crime affected their construction of gender differences. The students reported male and female beliefs that were in line with what crimes men and women do. The survey also showed that the student's excused women's delinquency, which was not shown when asked for opinions on men's crime.

Den nuvarande forskningen kring positiv kroppsuppfattning bland kvinnor är bristfällig. Kvinnors syn på sin egen kropp handlar snarare om att nedvärdera än att förhålla sig positivt till den. Den tidigare forskningen på ämnet har främst berört en negativ kroppsuppfattning samt sambandet mellan media och kroppsuppfattning. Viktig forskning för denna uppsats har varit Frisén (2014) och Kristina Holmqvist Gattarios (2013) studier. Forskningen har berört motiven bakom en positiv kroppsuppfattning, dessa har varit fokus på kroppens funktion snarare än utseendet. Syftet med denna studie är att försöka ta reda på hur unga kvinnor utvecklar en positiv kroppsuppfattning om sig själva. Denna studie är av kvalitativ karaktär där åtta intervjuer har utförts bland unga kvinnor i åldrarna 20-26 år. Teoretiska utgångspunkter som valts för arbetet är Roland Paulsens (2010) utveckling av Pierre Bourdieus (1979/2010) teori om kroppsligt kapital samt Fanny Ambjörnssons (2003) teori om normalisering och skapandet av en tjej/kvinna. Resultatet från denna studie har visat att de unga kvinnornas omgivning har spelat en avgörande roll för uppfattningen av en positiv kroppsbild, exempelvis relationer till pojkvän eller familj. / As women's perception of their own body focuses on devaluing it rather than responding positively to it, current research on positive body image among women today is scarce. Previous research on the topic has mostly examined a negative body image and the relationship between media and the body. Considerable research for this study has been done by Frisén (2014) and Christina Holmqvist Gattario (2013), their studies have discussed the motives behind a positive body image, which has proven to be a focus on the body's function rather than appearance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out how young women develop a positive body image. This study is qualitative in nature and consists of eight interviews conducted among young women aged 20 to 26 years. The theoretical framework selected for this essay is Roland Paulsens’ (2010) development of Pierre Bourdieus’ (1979/2010) theory of Physical capital and Fanny Ambjörnsons’ (2003) theory of Making of femininity. The results of this study show that relationships with a boyfriend or family, have played a crucial role for the perception of a positive body image.

Previous authors have suggested that reducing rape and sexual assault will require dismantling the rape culture that exists in the U.S. that supports and condones sexual violence against women (e.g., Brownmiller, 1975; Burt, 1980). Sexual media maintain rape culture by frequently portraying rape myths and sexual stereotypes (e.g., Cuklanz, 1999; Ward, 1995), like traditional heterosexual scripts. These portrayals then increase acceptance of these myths and stereotypes in viewers (e.g., Emmers-Sommer, Pauley, Hanzal,& Triplett, 2006; Kahlor & Eastin, 2011). A two-month longitudinal panel survey was conducted to better understand the theoretical mechanisms that may explain how college students' sexual media use may indirectly influence their propensity for engaging in unwanted hookups through their endorsement of traditional heterosexual scripts, sexual self-efficacy, and perceived peer norms. The results were different for men and women. For women, the results suggested that their sexual media diet at Time 1 increased their endorsement of traditional heterosexual scripts at Time 2, their endorsement of traditional heterosexual scripts at Time 1 increased their propensity for engaging in unwanted hookups at Time 2, and their propensity for engaging in unwanted hookups at Time 1 decreased their sexual self-efficacy at Time 2. For men, the results suggested that their sexual media diet at Time 1 decreased their sexual self-efficacy at Time 2 and their perceived peer norms regarding hookups at Time 1 increased their propensity for engaging in unwanted hookups at Time 2. Together the results suggest sexual media may be negatively impacting college students' sexual attitudes and beliefs and their sexual self-efficacy, which may lead them to be more likely to engage in unwanted hookups. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Mexico's cultural norms have been the subject of repeated inquiries because democratic and authoritarian patterns appear concomitantly. However, few have focused on the potential demographic and contextual sources of these divergent results. This study attempts to clarify the sources of Mexico's political culture, and then determine the extent to which these factors affect political participation. Statistical analysis of a LAPOP dataset from 2006 makes limited progress to this end. The sources of Mexican political culture remain somewhat a mystery, although some intriguing results were found. Most notably, demographic traits appear to have little influence on political culture variables and political participation rates in Mexico. In fact, political culture norms and political participation appears consistent across Mexico's infamous social and economic lines.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Hence, in this mini-thesis I argue that community participation does not automatically facilitate gains for the poor. My main assumption is that internal rigidities in communities, such as weak social capital, culture, trust and reciprocity, affect mutual cooperation towards collective community gains. I used two communities, where a community empowerment project is implemented, as a case study to demonstrate that the success of community participation is contingent on the stocks of social capital in the community. The results show that the responsiveness of the two communities to the project activities differs with the stocks of social capital. I found that trust among community members facilitates information flow in the community. The level of trust is also related to the sources of information of community members about development activities in the community. I also found that solidarity is an important dimension of social capital, which determines community members’ willingness to help one another and to participate in activities towards collective community gain. The research also demonstrated that perception of community members about target beneficiaries of projects - whether they represent the interest of the majority of the community or only the interest of community leaders - influences the level of confidence and ownership of the project. From my research findings, I concluded that, in order for community participation to work successfully, development managers need to identify the stocks of social capital in the community that will form the basis to determine the level of engagement with community members in the participatory process. / South Africa

In 1979 the United Nations passed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), an international bill of rights for women. Much scholarship has focused on the degree to which states have adopted these new international gender norms, but have paid little attention to the fact that norms change in the processes of implementation. This dissertation focuses on that process assessing the translation of international gender equality norm in Lebanon. The study traces global gender equality norms as they are translated into a complex context characterized by a political structure that divides powers according to confessional groups, a social structure that empowers men as heads of families, and a geopolitical structure that opposes a secular West to the Muslim East. Through a comparison of three campaigns – the campaign to combat violence against women, the campaign to change personal status codes, and the campaign to give women equal rights to pass on their nationality – the study traces different ways in which norms are translated as activists negotiate the structures that make up the Lebanese context. Through ethnographic research, the process of norm translation was found to produce various filters, i.e., constellations of arguments put forward by activists as they seek to match international norms to the local context. The dissertation identifies six such filters and finds that these filters often have created faithless translations of international norms.