The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to investigate the relationship between self-rationalization and self-concept, and (2) to investigate the relationship between two different types of self-concept, the private self or what a person thinks about himself and the social self or what a person thinks other people in his psychological group think about him.

The current study examines two psychological experiences—rationalization and regret—among smokers from Thailand and Malaysia and the behavioural impact of rationalization and regret—intentions to quit. More specifically, the goals of the study were not only to examine differences between the two countries in rationalization, regret, and intentions to quit, but also to explain country differences by using the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychological construct of collectivism (via mediation and moderation analyses). The data were from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Southeast Asia Survey, a cohort survey of representative samples of adult smokers in Thailand (N = 2,000) and Malaysia (N = 2,006). The ITC Southeast Asia Survey was conducted January-March 2005. Participants were asked to complete a 40-minute in-person survey. Thai smokers were more likely to have intentions to quit smoking than Malaysian smokers and this country difference in quit intentions were, in part, explained by differences between the two countries in rationalization and regret, and that those variables, in turn, were significant predictors of quit intentions. Next, the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychology construct of collectivism were used to explain the country differences in rationalization and regret. Thai smokers were more traditional and family oriented (high in vertical collectivism) and thus, they are more sensitive about their social norm and familial rejections about smoking. This, in part, contributed the fact that Thai smokers, compared to Malaysian smokers, were less likely to rationalize and more likely to regret smoking. Finally, the predictive models of rationalization and regret for Thailand and Malaysia were mirror images. The current study points to the importance of understanding smokers’ rationalization and regret. Rationalization and regret are negatively related and have an important implication for future behaviour. Different social norms against smoking, which are shaped by different regulatory environments and cultural values, contribute to the country differences in rationalization and regret. This study has demonstrated the benefits/value of psychological constructs in understanding smoking in a cultural context.

There has been a substantial change in cemetery administration over the last century. Where once cemeteries were predominantly run by religious organizations, now they are mostly run by local municipalities. This thesis examines the change in cemetery administration, using the cemeteries in the city of Hamilton, Ontario as a case study, drawing on material taken from an inventory of Hamilton cemeteries. The Ontario Cemetery Act of 1913 is examined to see how it helped to consolidate municipal power over cemeteries. <br /><br /> In addition to secularization theory, relevant concepts are also applied from the works of Talcott Parsons, Max Weber and Michel Foucault. The analysis suggests that the laicization of cemeteries is part of ongoing rationalizing trends in the larger society. The connection between cemeteries and changes in how we think about human bodies and death is also investigated. Rationalization is linked to a marginalization of the meaning of death as death itself moves from a religious understanding to the control of professionals and bureaucracies like hospitals and funeral homes.

The current study examines two psychological experiences—rationalization and regret—among smokers from Thailand and Malaysia and the behavioural impact of rationalization and regret—intentions to quit. More specifically, the goals of the study were not only to examine differences between the two countries in rationalization, regret, and intentions to quit, but also to explain country differences by using the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychological construct of collectivism (via mediation and moderation analyses). The data were from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Southeast Asia Survey, a cohort survey of representative samples of adult smokers in Thailand (N = 2,000) and Malaysia (N = 2,006). The ITC Southeast Asia Survey was conducted January-March 2005. Participants were asked to complete a 40-minute in-person survey. Thai smokers were more likely to have intentions to quit smoking than Malaysian smokers and this country difference in quit intentions were, in part, explained by differences between the two countries in rationalization and regret, and that those variables, in turn, were significant predictors of quit intentions. Next, the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychology construct of collectivism were used to explain the country differences in rationalization and regret. Thai smokers were more traditional and family oriented (high in vertical collectivism) and thus, they are more sensitive about their social norm and familial rejections about smoking. This, in part, contributed the fact that Thai smokers, compared to Malaysian smokers, were less likely to rationalize and more likely to regret smoking. Finally, the predictive models of rationalization and regret for Thailand and Malaysia were mirror images. The current study points to the importance of understanding smokers’ rationalization and regret. Rationalization and regret are negatively related and have an important implication for future behaviour. Different social norms against smoking, which are shaped by different regulatory environments and cultural values, contribute to the country differences in rationalization and regret. This study has demonstrated the benefits/value of psychological constructs in understanding smoking in a cultural context.

There has been a substantial change in cemetery administration over the last century. Where once cemeteries were predominantly run by religious organizations, now they are mostly run by local municipalities. This thesis examines the change in cemetery administration, using the cemeteries in the city of Hamilton, Ontario as a case study, drawing on material taken from an inventory of Hamilton cemeteries. The Ontario Cemetery Act of 1913 is examined to see how it helped to consolidate municipal power over cemeteries. <br /><br /> In addition to secularization theory, relevant concepts are also applied from the works of Talcott Parsons, Max Weber and Michel Foucault. The analysis suggests that the laicization of cemeteries is part of ongoing rationalizing trends in the larger society. The connection between cemeteries and changes in how we think about human bodies and death is also investigated. Rationalization is linked to a marginalization of the meaning of death as death itself moves from a religious understanding to the control of professionals and bureaucracies like hospitals and funeral homes.

No description available.

The aim of this study has been to analyse the effects of state subsidies within agriculture. The goal of these policies was to build up long-term sound and profitable farms by means of both general and selective support measures. The investments affecting structure gave rise to the following questions: (a) What were the effects on a farm of a given type of aid? (b) How were the farms and the surrounding community affected? (c) In what respect was a desirable effect achieved, and in what respect were the results problematical? The investigation was carried out in three municipalities in Norrland, and considered three different forms of subsidy (SR-, A- and B-support) which were utilized during the years 1961-1978. In addition to these so-called "subsidized farms", a similar number of "comparative farms" that had not received support were selected. In all, 650 farms were investigated. The evaluation was mainly divided into five areas of interest: (a) Farm reconstruction, (b) Farm development, (c) The farmers, (d) Economic effects, (e) Social effects in the locality. The principal findings were as follows: (1) SR- and A-supported farms were characterized by farmers who were relatively young, had good education and who used a portion of their working-hours for carrying out organizational measures. The comparative farms were distinguished rather by older farmers with less education and with a higher degree of employment outside the farm. (2) All of the SR-and B-supported farms had survived. Some A-supported farms were abandoned, while the number of comparative farms was greatly reduced. (3) All types of subsidized farms exhibited growth in their areas of arable land and forest and in their stock of milk cows, whereas the comparative farms were relatively unchanged. (4) Improved production results within crop husbandry could be derived simultaneously from the increased use of pipe drainage, shorter periods between ploughing, new methods of harvesting, etc. Within all these areas the subsidized farms had higher proportions of improvements than the comparative farms. (5) Since SR-farms in particular (but even A-farms) financed their rationalization measures by means of bank loans, they all became extremely sensitive to risks. In thi s way they all too easily ended up with economic difficulties when major increases in interest rates or changes in costs or revenues occurred. (6) In the short term the rationalization of the size of subsidized farms had little effect on outmigration from the areas concerned. (7) The households were larger on subsidized farms than in the comparative group. This meant that the subsidized farms, which were increasing their relative share of the population, also comprised a stabilizing factor in a locally-dependent service sector. / digitalisering@umu

Few works have created such memorable characters as the Iliad and Odyssey. Readers come away from these works with the impression that the characters described in the stories are larger than life: Achilles is strong, Ajax is enormous, Patroclus is bloodthirsty, Nestor is ancient, Stentor is loud. Nobody leaves Homer’s epics thinking his heroes are not worthy of their lasting fame. This study argues that, although the heroes of the two Homeric epics are meant to be impressive, their characterization in the Iliad and Odyssey is the result of a process of rationalization whereby the hyperbole traditionally ascribed to such figures was toned down when the two poems were finally committed to writing. I argue this by showing that the hyperbole used to describe these heroes is paralleled across many Indo-European epic traditions and that, for the most part, it is much more exaggerated in these related epics. From the scant remains of the Epic Cycle, there is reason to believe that the context in which Homeric poetry was formed was receptive to the fantastic. The best explanation of these two pieces of data is that the Iliad and the Odyssey rationalize traditional hyperbole. This was done so that the poems would have a broader appeal and greater clarity, vividness, and simplicity, traits which have long been considered hallmarks of Homer’s style.

This study aims to investigate how the U.S. military presence has become possible and why the U.S. military bases have concentrated in Okinawa. Since 1945, the U.S. military and the Japanese government have maintained U.S. military bases in Okinawa. U.S. military accidents and soldiers’ crimes have been serious problems in Okinawa. Moreover, Okinawans have not been protected from military violence by adequate judicial measures for over a half century. I employ the analytical insights of Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben to analyze archival and secondary documents and investigate historical and current U.S. military problems in Okinawa. Foucault’s insight allows me to analyze American rationalizing discourses and power relations that have contributed to the U.S. military presence and concentration on the Okinawa islands. The analytical insight of Giorgio Agamben is a useful reference to investigate juridical contradictions of U.S. military presence in Okinawa. I argue that the U.S. military and the Japanese government have attempted to make the American military presence in Okinawa legitimate through multiple tactics of governance. Given Okinawans’ persistent resistance against the U.S. military and the Japanese government, the U.S. military base presence does not seem wholly accepted in Okinawa. Nevertheless, the military burden has been imposed on Okinawans who are represented and treated by the U.S. military and the Japanese government as the insignificant “Other.” I argue that the analytical approaches that I develop in this study can be applicable to grasp patterns of modern domination in other cases of governance wherein political elites realize their interests by suspending the juridical rights of minority groups.

Šiuo darbu buvo siekiama įvertinti manipuliavimo žmogaus gyvybe moderniojoje medicinoje situaciją, išaiškinti to priežastis, išanalizuoti įvairius aspektus, ieškoti jų sąryšių sąryšių. Šio tikslo buvo siekiama analizuojant literatūrą. Modernioji medicina – sudėtingas valstybės, naujausių technologijų, mokslo, komercijos, teisės interesų susidūrimo ir veiklos sfera, todėl čia nuolat randasi naujos etinės problemos, kurių sėkmingas sprendimas reikalauja susikalbėjimo ir visų suinteresuotųjų grupių veiksmų suderinimo. Manipuliavimas žmogaus gyvybe moderniojoje medicinoje – institucionalizavimo, racionalizavimo, komercializavimo, technologizavimo rezultatas, dėl to moderniosios medicinos situaciją galima būtų įvertinti, kaip krizę Manipuliavimas žmogaus gyvybe tampa įmanomas, kai gydymo procese technologijos, instituciniai ir komerciniai interesai tampa tikslu, o ne priemone. Medicinos technologizavimas išplėtė medicinos veiklos sferą, medicina tapo atsakinga ne tik už žmogaus gydymą, bet ir už visuomenės problemų sprendimą. Jungiantis technologijoms ir komercijai, manipuliavimas įgavo dar platesnį mąstą. Technologijų ir komercijos sąjunga mediciną pavertė žmogaus įgeidžių tenkinimo priemone. Tai po truputį keičia ir gali iš esmės pakeisti tradicinę visuomenės struktūrą, žmonių tarpusavio santykius, moralę, žmogaus prigimtį. Sustabdyti manipuliavimą žmogaus gyvybe, grąžinti visuminį žmogaus suvokimą medicinoje galima per dialogą ieškant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The purpose of this work is to evaluate the situation of manipulation with the human life in modern medicine, to find out the reasons, to analyze various aspects, to look for their connections. In pursuance of this objective the literature was analyzed. Modern medicine - complex sphere of the collision of state, ultimate technologies, science, commerce, law interests and activities, so new ethic problems arise therein permanently. The successful solution of these problems requires reciprocal understanding and coordination of the actions of all interested groups. Manipulation with the human life in modern medicine is the result of institutionalization, rationalization, commercialization and technological approach, therefore the situation of modern medicine could be evaluated as a crisis. Manipulation with the human life becomes possible when technologies, institutional and commercial interests become the objective of the treatment process rather than the instrument. Technological approach in medicine had expanded the sphere of medical activity; the medicine became liable not only for the treatment of the man, but for the solution of the society problems as well. In the process of cooperation of the technologies and commerce, the manipulation had taken even wider dimension. Due to the conjunction of technologies and commerce the medicine became the instrument for meeting of the human’s fancies. It little by little changes and can change... [to full text]