Aim: The aim is to identify the institutional pressures affecting audit firms in different local contexts. Theoretical approach: We develop a model by using institutional theory, socialization theory and other relevant literature. We use this model to identify differences in the socialization process in different audit firms and different local contexts. We also identify the strength of some institutional pressures in the local context. Empirical methodology: We conduct qualitative interviews with eight auditors working in large and small firms in three different local contexts Conclusions: We find that the socialization process in audit firms is dependent on both the size of the audit firm and on the local context in which it is located. We also identify that mimetic pressure between firms of different sizes is stronger in a local context with low client diversity than in a local context with high client diversity.

The absense or presence of death in the public discourse has been on the death studies agenda for a long time. Although the tone of this debate was once set by writers who bemoaned the hidden nature of contemporary death and the un-healthy, dishonest modern death ways, recent research has focused on death’s re-emergence into public discourse, not least via mass and social media. This study aims to contribute to the debate by mapping teenagers’ perceptions of death and the process by which they arrive at them. Furthermore, this study looks into religion’s role in this process. This is a relevant aspect considering that the Church of Sweden is still responsible for funeral organization, despite the 2000 church/state split. This mixed methods study combines data from a survey of three upper sec-ondary schools in three different Swedish cities with data from semi-structured interviews with students from each of the three schools. Socialization theory (more specifically death socialization) and unpacked religion are used to analyse what shapes the teenagers’ perceptions of death. The author concludes that alt-hough the teenagers are well aware of the presence of death in media, this pres-ence does not shape the way they think about death. Death socialization instead takes place in the primary group and only in connection to primary group deaths. The religious funeral remains important to the teenagers, but it is disconnected from their personal beliefs and primarily important as a tradition.

Cooperation in international organizations is to a large degree driven and sustained by socialization – the process of inducting actors into the norms and rules of a given community. In the context of international organizations, the most influential state agents are the permanent representatives, the member states’ ambassadors to an international organization. However, systematic studies on the conditions for the socialization of permanent representatives are conspicuously absent in the literature. Instead, most previous research has focused on the conditions for socialization of “high-level officials” in the European Commission. This quite narrow perspective has led to a “N=1” problem and the generalizability of these studies have suffered as a result. In this thesis, I have aimed to broaden this perspective by testing six hypotheses on the conditions for socialization within two committees of permanent representatives in two different international organizations, the PSC (EU) and the NAC (NATO). This has been done by conducting elite interviews with 21 permanent representatives and deputies in Brussels. In contrast to previous research, the results of this thesis suggest that four of the six tested hypotheses should be disregarded, while two hypotheses – the representative’s relation to its MFA and the ambiguity of the international organization’s norms– should be given more theoretical consideration in future research. In addition, the interviews have shown that the degree of “internalization”, which can be understood as the goal and outcome of socialization, is stronger in the NAC than in the PSC. This outcome also contests the conventional wisdom that the EU is a sui generis case of socialization. On the basis of these results, I argue that the socialization of permanent representatives in international organizations is likely to occur if the organization’s norms have unambiguous, existential and materialistic consequences.

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared A. Durtschi and Sandra M. Stith / Early binge drinking (i.e., five or more drinks on a single occasion) is associated with a greater risk of later substance abuse or dependence, and other non-alcohol related problems in adulthood, (e.g., adult civil or criminal convictions). Identifying alcohol use trajectories has mainly been limited to within single developmental periods (i.e., adolescence or emerging adulthood) or between developmental periods up until around the legal drinking age. Using N = 1,864 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) dataset, this paper sought to identify trajectories of binge drinking beginning in adolescence and into adulthood using growth mixture modeling. Family factors (e.g., parent-child communication, shared activities, connectedness, and parental control) were used to predict the various trajectories. Two class trajectories were identified, a low initial-escalating group (87%), and a high initial-deescalating group (13%). Being male and having more close friends using alcohol were predictive of a greater likelihood of being in the high initial-deescalating group. Results can inform therapeutic interventions in an effort to affect an adolescent’s trajectory of use and reduce the risk of long-term heavy alcohol use.

Adults associate their childhood with playing outdoors, often in natural settings. This type of free play is valuable to child development. Children tend to use outdoor play areas in physically active ways, and time spent outdoors relates positively to increased physical activity in children. However, children today are spending an increasing amount of time indoors rather than outdoors. Recent research has shown that the amount of time children spend in outdoor play is directly related to parental concerns about their children's exposure to outdoor hazards. The purpose of this project was to investigate the relationship between parental attitude toward nature and the development of fine and gross motor skills in young children. The sample for this study was drawn from parents of children ages 3 to 5 years old enrolled at one of two University Child Development Centers. The assessment tool used was composed of sections that ask parents about their attitudes toward nature, about their young children spending time outdoors, how much time their children actually spend in outdoor and indoor activities, and standard demographic questions. The childcare centers independently assessed d correlations and ANOVA. Results from this study indicated that parents had positive views toward nature and towards their child's recreation. Children who participated in certain indoor activities tended to score higher in the area of fine motor skills. However, children who spent more time indoors in free play had lower gross motor skill scores. Parents who scored better on the Parental Attitude toward Their Child's Outdoor Recreation scale reported that their child spent more time in outdoor free play and outdoor organized sports and activities. Parents preferred outdoor play spaces when compared to indoor play spaces and specifically those outdoor spaces that were constructed with more nearby natural components.

Although more nuanced understandings of assessment have been proposed in the physical education literature, assessment practices remain relatively underdeveloped, and when used, tend to focus on traditional, summative evaluations of learning. However, physical education teacher education programs can be used as an intervention to help pre-service teachers develop assessment knowledge and skill. Toward this end, the purpose of this article is to propose an evidence-based framework for helping pre-service teachers develop assessment literacy that is rooted in occupational socialization theory. The framework provides a four-phase approach to integrating assessment into teacher education, and includes suggestions for how physical education teacher educators can progressively help build pre-service teachers’ assessment knowledge in line with the focus given to instruction and planning. These suggestions acknowledge the technical and sociocultural aspects of learning to use assessment. Implications are discussed along with the need to help graduating pre-service teachers transfer lessons learned into the workplace.

Syftet med denna studie var att förstå hur ledare och tränare inom föreningsidrotten upplever idrott som en möjlig preventiv insats för ungdomar som befinner sig i riskzon för kriminalitet eller annat socialt nedbrytande beteende samt att utforska vilka erfarenheter de har av föreningsidrott som en möjlig preventiv insats. Utifrån detta syfte så användes två frågeställningar: Vilka upplevelser och erfarenheter har ledare och tränare av föreningsidrott som preventiv insats för ungdomar som befinner sig i riskzon för kriminalitet eller annat socialt nedbrytande beteende? Samt vilka för- respektive nackdelar upplever ledare och tränare inom föreningsidrotten med idrott som en möjlig preventiv insats för ungdomar som befinner sig i riskzon för kriminalitet eller annat socialt nedbrytande beteende? En kvalitativ metod användes i form av intervjuer och i studien användes en hermeneutisk ansats. Totalt så intervjuades tio personer som är verksamma inom föreningsidrotten i form av ledare eller tränare. Som teoretisk grund så användes socialisationsteori och främst begreppet sekundär socialisation. Studien visar att respondenterna utifrån sina upplevelser och erfarenheter anser att föreningsidrotten kan ha en preventiv påverkan för ungdomar som befinner sig i riskzon. Bland annat så beskrivs det att det finns en naturlig fostrans- och läroprocess inom föreningarna som lär ut normer och värderingar som ungdomarna kan ha nytta av. Några av de fördelar som lyftes fram var bland annat den disciplin som följer av att vara del av en idrottsförening. Även de hälsofördelar som kan ha en preventiv effekt för att undvika att hamna i kriminalitet. Nackdelarna som respondenterna såg var dels att det förekom oseriösa föreningar som kan ha en negativ effekt på ungdomarna. Risken att ungdomarna fick en sämre självkänsla till följd av idrottsutövandet lyftes även fram som en nackdel. / The purpose of this study was to understand how leaders and coaches in club sports experience sport as a possible preventive measure for young people who are at risk of criminal or other socially degrading behaviour and to explore what experiences they have with club sports as a possible preventive measure. Based on this purpose, two questions were asked: What experiences do leaders and coaches of club sports have from using sports as a preventive measure for young people who are at risk of criminal or other socially degrading behaviour? And what advantages and disadvantages do leaders and coaches of club sports experience with sports as a possible preventive measure for young people who are at risk of criminal or other socially degrading behaviour? A qualitative method with interviews was used and the study used a hermeneutic approach. Ten people who are active as leaders or coaches in club sports were interviewed. As a theoretical basis, socialization theory and primarily the concept of secondary socialization were used in this study. The study shows that the respondents, based on their experiences believe that club sports can have a preventive effect for young people who are at risk. Among other things, it is described that there is a natural education and learning process within the clubs that teaches norms and values that young people can benefit from. Some of the advantages highlighted were, among other things, the discipline that comes from being part of a sport club. Furthermore, the health benefits can have a preventive effect to avoid falling into crime. The disadvantages which the respondents saw were partly that there are unserious clubs that could have a negative effect on young people. The risk that young people developed poorer self-esteem as a result of participating in club sports was also highlighted as a disadvantage.

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This dissertation adds to the growing body of research on L2 academic discourse socialization in classroom contexts. Although the importance of students' writing in socializing them into their target discourse communities has been well documented, much less has been made of how students learn through online activities when the division between more and less knowledgeable individuals are blurred. Addressing this gap, this qualitative extended case study explored the experiences and perspectives of novice L2 graduate students in academic literacy practices that involved online writing activities. The focal participants included five first-year female graduate students from different cultural backgrounds enrolled in a graduate class during fall 2008 semester. Data sources included interviews with focal students and with the professor, class observations, field notes, questionnaires, handouts, and students' reflective essays. Anchored in language socialization theories (Duff, 1996, 2003; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986) and the notion of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998), this study provides an ecological perspective on these five L2 students' socialization into academic literacy activities. The findings revealed how the students negotiated competence, relations, and identities to participate legitimately as competent members of their classroom communities. This study also contributes to an understanding of the changing role of novice learners in a given academic community by analyzing how they variably exercise their agency and develop their subject positioning in academic literacy activities that are imbricated in social, cultural, and discoursal contexts. Ultimately, this study enriches the notions of academic discourse socialization by demonstrating the dialogic and transformative nature of academic literacy practices mediated by online discourses in order to highlight ever more contextual information. / text