Risk is inherent in many social and economic decisions, such as the choice of pathway in secondary school, the choice of major at university, job decisions, health-related behaviour, marriage, parenthood, migration and the allocation of financial assets. Investigating the determinants of attitudes towards risk is therefore essential to fully understand how people make such decisions. Recent research has shown that individual risk attitudes are not immutable personality traits, but are influenced by external factors with the potential to change them in more or less enduring ways, such as the characteristics of the environment, emotional states, life experiences such as poverty, job loss or violence, and social relationships. This thesis studies external factors that play a role in shaping risk attitudes. Specifically, it focuses on two important environmental factors: social relationships and the incentive structure that individuals face (e.g., competition or teamwork). It is composed of three chapters. Each chapter of the thesis presents the results of a different laboratory experiment, in which individual risk behaviour is always measured using the Bomb Risk Elicitation Task - BRET (Crosetto and Filippin, 2013). This task asks participants to choose how many boxes to collect out of 100, knowing that 99 boxes contain £0.10 while one contains a bomb, but without knowing in which box the bomb is located. They can therefore choose their preferred lottery among 100 lotteries whose outcomes and probabilities are fully described only by one parameter, i.e., the number of collected boxes. Earnings increase linearly with the number of boxes collected, but they are all lost if the bomb lies in one of the collected boxes. In the first two chapters, risk behaviour is measured both before and after the treatment manipulation, and feedback on the peers’ ex-ante risk behaviour is used as a channel to study peer influence on the subjects’ ex-post risk behaviour. The first two chapters provide new evidence that individual risk behaviour is influenced by the risk behaviour of the peer group and offer one explanation for why peer effects are not always present and vary in intensity. This is due to the fact that individuals are more influenced by those peers with whom they feel more bonded. Specifically, in the first chapter I study how group identity (that is, the portion of an individual’s self-concept derived from the sense of belonging to the social group) affects peer effects on risk behaviour. I induce different levels of group identity through different matching protocols (random or based on individual painting preferences) and the possibility of interacting with group members via an online chat in a group task. I find that subjects are affected by their peers when taking decisions and that a stronger group identity amplifies the influence of peers: painting preferences matching significantly reduces the heterogeneity of risk behaviour compared with random matching. On the other hand, introducing a group task has no significant effect on behaviour, possibly because this interaction does not always contribute to enhancing group identity. The second chapter digs deeper into this evidence by investigating the role of the incentive structure that characterizes the individuals’ environment. Since the first chapter shows that peer effects vary in intensity, I hypothesize that different types of incentive schemes may have different effects on peer relationships and, therefore, affect peer effects on risk behaviour. Using a real effort task, which consists of recognizing the value and the country of origin of a random sequence of Euro coins, I compare piece-rate compensation first with a cooperation-based and then with a competition-based incentive scheme. I find that competition significantly reduces attachment to peers and more than halves peer influence on risk behaviour compared with piece-rate compensation, despite the fact that the latter effect is not statistically significant. Such findings suggest that, when designing and evaluating an optimal compensation scheme, it may be important to also consider how peer effects on subsequent risk behaviour will in turn affect future decisions involving risk. For example, in research and development, competition may improve the results of current projects, but risk attitudes will shape the types of future projects that are attempted. The third chapter restricts the attention to competition and enquires whether this type of incentive scheme has a direct effect on risk-taking behaviour, beyond any social comparison, and whether its impact on subsequent risk behaviour is heterogeneous according to gender. Risk behaviour is measured after the performance of a real effort task, consisting of recognizing the value and country of origin of Euro coins, incentivized either as a tournament with fixed rewards or as a random draw with the same monetary payoffs. The data show that competition does not significantly affect subsequent risk-taking behaviour when considering the full sample. However, there is a positive relationship between competition and risk aversion for males, who become significantly more risk-averse after losing a competition than after randomly earning the same low payoff. In contrast, males do not become more risk-seeking after winning the tournament, while the average risk-taking behaviour of females is unaffected by tournament participation and outcomes. The reaction of males to negative outcomes might be driven by intrinsic motives, such as emotions or a shift in the locus of control from internal to external. Overall, the evidence presented here shows that risk attitudes are not immutable but may be shaped by external factors. Of particular importance is the role played by the risk behaviour of peers, which begins to emerge even when bonds are weak and becomes stronger as the social link intensifies. Any policy that aims to change risk attitudes (or that does so indirectly) will thus see its effects spread to the target subjects’ peers, and may amplify its success if the peer group is chosen wisely. Changing the characteristics of the subjects’ environment by introducing competition weakens their attachment to the competing peers and may attenuate peer effects on risk behaviour. In addition, competition per se has no impact on subsequent risk behaviour, except for males who become more risk-averse after losing.

Le travail présenté ici propose une étude sociolinguistique d’un corpus oral recueilli récemment, auprès de différents locuteurs en rapport avec les milieux multiculturels et plurilingues, en Île-de-France.Partant de l’hypothèse que la variation (socio)linguistique (et ses locuteurs) reste encore aujourd’hui sous estimée en dépit de l’idéologie du standard, ce travail s’interroge sur les pratiques langagières des locuteurs qui sont significatives, non en tant que formes entièrement à part, mais en tant que formes à part entière de l’environnement socioculturel des locuteurs. Pour ce faire, notre réflexion sur ces formes dites non standard se base sur la proximité communicative entre les protagonistes (Koch & Oesterreicher, 2001) qui partagent des connivences et forment un réseau serré (Eckert, 2006), favorisant l’émergence de variétés linguistiques.L’analyse des unités formelles dans les parlers jeunes ordinaires montre qu’elles sont en constantes dynamiques tant au niveau lexical qu’au niveau sémantique, par lesquelles les locuteurs situent leurs identités. En d’autres mots, des marqueurs d’identités dans lesquels s’inscrivent les représentations sociolinguistiques du sujet se font jour (Mendoza-Denton, 2000). / The following thesis offers a sociolinguistic study of a recently collected oral corpus, from various speakers who belongs to different multicultural and multilingual milieu in Île-de-France.Starting from the hypothesis that the sociolinguistic variation including its speakers remain today undervalued despite of the standards’ ideology. The following research seeks to question the language dialects of the speakers which is very significant, not a as apart dialect practice, but as sociocultural environment dialects of the speakers in its own right. With this in mind, our reflexion about these dialects identified as non-standards, is based on the communicative proximity of the protagonists (Koch & Oesterreicher, 2001) who exchange connivance and constitute a tight network (Eckert, 2006), promoting the linguistic varieties emergence. The analysis of formal unities in basic young dialects shows that the language practice is constantly progressive lexically as well as semantically, through which the speakers situate their identities. In other words, the identity markers in which are inscribed the sociolinguistics representations of the subject are updated (Mendoza-Denton, 2002).

Abstract The formation of a physician's professional identity and conception of him/herself as a doctor is often taken for granted and considered a by-product of learning. During professional socialization, medical students internalize knowledge, skills, attitudes, behavioral models as well as ethical and moral values of medicine. However, certain critical experiences may trigger an active construction of professional identity. The aim of this research was to explore the process of constructing professional identity during medical education in the framework of cultural-historical activity theory. Multiple methods (questionnaires, videotapes of medical students' reflection group sessions, and interviews of the supervisors) were used in data collection and analysis. Medical students were found to have differing orientations towards learning and practising medicine. Some of the students, more commonly females, expressed a need for more support for their professional development. Reflection groups offered medical students a possibility to share their experiences of critical situations. The topics of discussion dealt with career choice, medical education (teaching, patient encounters, communication), working experiences and career opportunities. Medical students' narratives of their experiences in university hospital learning situations revealed the way in which various interaction situations laid the basis for the development of professional identity. In constructing a physician's professional identity, medical students had to solve dilemmas encountered in three different activity systems: Personal life, Medical education and Work. Encountering critical situations is part of the daily practice in medical schools. These situations may induce reflection on action and conscious development of professional identity. Medical students should be provided with more possibilities to elaborate on especially dilemmas concerning professionalism, communication skills, encountering death, and biomedical versus psychosocial aspects of medicine during their medical education.

M.Ed. / This study focuses on a tutor development programme within an academic literacies module called Language for the Economic Sciences (LES). Coordination of the LES module encompasses tutor development as tutors are the primary facilitators of the module. LES forms part of an Extended Degree Programme within the Faculty of Economic Sciences devised to meet the needs of “underprepared” first year students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). To this end, LES falls within the ambit of academic development at UJ as it is designed and coordinated by an Academic Development practitioner. Higher Education in South Africa has in the recent past shifted from relatively elitist to a mass system of education with the aim to foster democratic nation building. One of the major changes that has occurred is the merger of a number of institutions of higher learning. As a result of the mergers, a new type of comprehensive institution offering a broad spectrum of academic formative, as well as vocationally oriented programmes, has been established. This study focuses on the UJ, as an example of a merged institution, and will examine how teaching and learning has been effected by the changes at UJ. This research is informed by the notion that the interface between tutor and student is vital for students to attain literacy as well as academic language and skills proficiency in their chosen field. Thus, the research problem posed in this study is: What is the role of tutor development in an academic literacies module? Much of the literature on tutoring practice discusses the need to train tutors and offers various means through which this can be done. Using an Action Research design and a global analysis of the data collected, the findings of this study suggest that in addition to the appropriate, focused and rigorous training of tutors, they also need to be developed for effective tutoring to occur. Moreover, the sustained support and mentorship of both individual tutors and tutor groups allows for the maximum benefits of tutoring to be realized by all stakeholders.

The aim of the study was to explore the influence of social factors on adolescent drug abuse. The researcher's interest in the study evolved from her involvement with adolescent drug patients at Magaliesoord Centre. Drug abuse is recognised as one of the greatest social problems in South Africa. Youth, particularly adolescents, are found to be amongst the high risk groups. The exploratory design was selected for conducting this research. This design is approprate for this study particularly as it is aimed at exploring to what extent social factors influence adolescent drug abuse. A face-to-face structured interview schedule was used as a data gathering instrument. Adolescent drug abuse is a phenomenon which is determined by multiple factors. These factors are imbedded in the cultural and social structures within communities. Family and peer behaviour and standards are for most youth the greatest sources of influence. The objectives of the study were as follows: <ul> <li> To explore the extent to which poor family relationships influence adolescent drug abuse</li><li> To explore the influence of the home environment on adolescent drug abuse</li><li> To explore if peer pressure influence adolescent drug abuse. </li></ul> From the data acquired, it can be concluded that multiple factors influence adolescent drug behaviour. Of the social environmental factors influencing adolescent drug abuse, the family and peers are perceived as having the strongest influence. Poorfamily relationships, particularly those characterized by poor communication between parents and their adolescent children, do contribute towards adolescent drug behaviour. Adolescents who experience their home environment as unstable often resort to drugs as a response to or an escape from their home situation. Peer pressure resulting from association with drug taking friends often lead adolescents to experiment with drugs, thus leading to eventual abuse. Recommendations<ul><li> Parents should strive to create a positive atmosphere within the home. This can be achieved by encouraging open communication amongst the family members</li><li> Parents should communicate openly with their children regarding both acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This will enable the children to know where they stand in relation to their parents regarding their behaviour. </li><li> Adolescents should be guided in their selection of friends. Parents should know who their children associate with outside the home. </li><li> Children should be encouraged and supported at an early age to take part in recreational activities. This will enable them to use their leisure time constructively. </li></ul> / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a peer mentoring program incorporating learning styles impacts upon the achievement and persistence of entry-level academically underprepared college students. PROCEDURE: Subjects were freshmen at Bemidji State University during the fall terms of 1985 and 1986 who were assigned to remedial/developmental English because of low placement test scores. An experimental group of 31 English 100 students participated in Connections: The Student-to-Student Mentoring Network, a pilot program designed to help underprepared students make a successful transition into college. The experimental group was compared to a control group of 40 students who were not mentored but who took the course the previous year from the same instructors. Analysis of covariance procedures and chi-square statistics were used to assess the effects of peer mentoring on grades and reenrollment status. Effects of mentors and students matching and mismatching in learning style, age-level, and gender were analyzed by comparing grades and reenrollment status of matched and nonmatched pairs. The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator was used to assess level of learning style match. FINDINGS: 1. Students in remedial/developmental English who received peer mentoring achieved a more favorable reenrollment status than comparable students who took the course without mentoring. 2. Mentored students attained more satisfactory grades than nonmentored students. 3. Matching students and mentors by learning style was not found to be a factor in improving students' grades or reenrollment status. 4. Matching students and mentors by gender was not found to be a factor in improving students' grades or reenrollment status. 5. Matching students and mentors by age-level was not found to be a factor in improving students' grades or reenrollment status. Contrary to the research hypothesis, the findings suggested that students who had mentors of a higher age-level attained a more favorable reenrollment status. 6. Mentored students were more knowledgeable about campus resources and used them more frequently.