We study the role of performance differences in a task requiring cognitive effort on in-group bias. We show that the in-group bias is strong in groups consisting of high-performing members, and it is weak in low-performing groups. This holds although high-performing subjects exhibit no in-group bias as members of minimal groups, whereas low-performing subjects strongly do. We also observe instances of low-performing subjects punishing the in-group favoritism of low-performing peers. The same does not occur in high-performing or minimal groups where subjects generally accept that decisions are in-group biased. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

This paper investigates the impact of social norms on the performance and valuation of “controversial stocks”- publicly traded companies involved in the production of Adult Entertainment, Alcohol, Gambling, Nuclear Energy, Tobacco, Uranium, and Weapons. Their performance and valuation is directly compared with compare non-controversial stocks. The paper consider an international sample of 941 controversial stocks. Employing a multi-factor performance measure, seven countries provide a significant outperformance of controversial stocks across all relevant control factors. The valuation analysis, however, provide mixed results on a country level, but on the global market-to-book ratio provide a significant overvaluation of controversial stocks compared to comparable non-controversial stocks, which contradicts the prediction of an undervaluation.JEL classification:

Text in Afrikaans / The actuality of the pedagogical question concerning the role of ideology, values and norms in the life of man in general and education specifically stimulated the interest of the author and prompted her to examine the past in this respect. The contemporary image of ideology, values, norms, personal and global philosophies are looked at in this study. Particular attention is paid to the ideologies that developed from the Renaissance e.g. Humanistic oriented Realism, Rationalism and Naturalism. Certain role players are briefly referred to. The Communist Educational System influenced more than half of the human race over a period of seventy years resulting in a thorough investigation into this system. The influence of People's Education in education in general was also scrutinized. Because so many South Africans are adherents of Calvinism it was important that attention was paid to: The philosophy of Calvinism; What it entails; How it originated and its impact on South African Education. Particular reference was made to the role of Christian National Education. It is fairly generally accepted that a new period in history of the West in relation to values, norms and education is being entered into. The period discussion is more concerned with spiritual development, culture knowledge and religion of the human race than political and military power, although, the latter is not excluded. It was also necessary to take note of the influence of the New Age movement on values and norms. The study is concluded with the evaluation of ideology, values, norms, personal and global philosophies. Some of the most important conclusions arrived at are that these aspects are interwoven and that education is pertinently influenced by the values, norms, culture, personal and global philosophies of the individual, community and government. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’interroger la controverse autour de l’élevage et d’en étudier sa dynamique pour analyser le processus par lequel elle aboutit à une transformation des normes sociales. Pour cela, la controverse est abordée par une analyse systémique permettant de rendre compte de la complexité des relations causales entre ses multiples dimensions et ses différentes échelles d’expression. Les techniques de collecte et d’analyse des données reposent sur des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives pour cerner au plus près les processus sociaux étudiés. Une analyse sociohistorique permet d’ancrer le processus de transformation des normes dans le long terme et montre que, depuis le XIXème siècle, le système productiviste suscite des incertitudes quant à son application dans le domaine agricole, en particulier dans ses conséquences sur les animaux et l’environnement. La description des éléments de la controverse montre qu’elle se structure autour d’incertitudes scientifiques et éthiques auxquelles les parties prenantes de la controverse, que sont le monde de l’élevage et le monde associatif, doivent apporter des réponses. L’analyse de l’audience de la controverse auprès du public permet d’identifier une variété des manières de penser l’élevage, qui s’exprime au sein d’un forum hybride dans lequel une multitude d’acteurs contribuent à donner du sens à l’activité. Les rapports de force entre les acteurs déséquilibrent toutefois les capacités de chacun à influencer cette construction des normes. Globalement, c’est vers une prise de distance avec une forme d’élevage perçue comme industrielle et artificielle qu’évoluent les normes règlementaires, professionnelles et culturelles / The objective of this thesis is to question the controversy about livestock farming and to study its dynamic to then analyse the process by which this controversy results in a transformation of social norms. For that purpose, the controversy is addressed by a systemic analysis that enables to reflect the complexity of causal relations between its various aspects and its different scales of expression. Techniques of data collection and analysis lie on qualitative and quantitative methods in order to understand more precisely the social processes studied. A sociohistorical analysis enables to integrate the process of norms transformation in the long run and to show that, since the 19th century, the productiondriven system creates uncertainty regarding its application in the agricultural area, mainly in its consequences on animals and the environment. The description of the controversy elements shows that the controversy is structured around scientific and ethical uncertainties. Stakeholders of the controversy (the livestock sector and the associative sector) must come up with some answers to these scientific and ethical uncertainties. The analysis of the interest of the public for this controversy enables to identify a variety of ways of thinking the livestock farming that express among a hybrid forum in which a large number of actors contribute to make sense to this activity. However, power relations between the actors unbalance the capacities of each one to influence this norms construction. Globally, regulatory standards, professional and cultural norms are changing towards a distancing with a livestock farming form that is perceived as industrial and artificial.

In what has been described as “the age of migration” by Castles et al. (2014) the international transfers of remittances is an ever-growing phenomenon, which has generated an increased interest among both scholars and policy-makers. According to the World Bank (2016), the flow of remittances to developing countries is today exceeding the amount of official development aid by three times. The objective of this study is to contribute to a more nuanced view of the motivations for remittances by conducting a qualitative interview study with remittance senders in Sweden. The study uses data obtained from 18 interviews in order to receive an in-depth understanding of remittance attitudes. An analytical framework departing from Lucas and Stark’s hypotheses on motives to remit (1985) combined with the conjugal contract model (Whitehead, 1984) is constructed and used for the analysis of the findings. The paper argues that the relationship between household members can be seen as a social contract, and the findings suggest a correlation between social norms and gender roles within the family. The results of the interviews indicate that social norms do influence remittance behaviour, and the determinants of time and expectations from the household are also proven relevant to the topic. The findings thus show that the concept of social contracts between family members can be usefully employed in order to extend our understanding of remittance behaviour. In conclusion, this study shows that viewing remittances as part of a social contract within households can provide a useful tool for further research on the topic.

The present dissertation evaluates the internal dynamics of a specific type of common-pool resource, an information commons. Employing a novel dataset related to more than 800,000 transactions in distinct libraries during a 10-year period (2005-2015), I address distinct questions in the fields of organizational economics, law and economics, and public economics. This dissertation contains three chapters in the format of academic papers, besides the introduction and conclusion. The second chapter evaluates the behavioral responses of library users to monetary sanctions. I exploit variation in the timing of introduction of fines in a library, as well as differences among users, in terms of fine incidence. In the case of this chapter, I report two results: first, the introduction of fines reduces users\' delays, as predicted by standard models of law enforcement. Second, when evaluating the dynamic effects of such an introduction, I uncover a result in which fines lose efficacy over time since its nominal value remains the same after instauration. The third chapter measures externalities in an information commons. I estimate the magnitude of the impacts of actions of library users who were subject to a non-monetary sanction (professors and university employees) over users who were subject to a monetary sanction (students). Additionally, I estimate peer effects among users, considering the number of items they borrow from the library. When investigating external effects, I uncover a \"crowding-out\" effect: for an additional unity in professors and employees\' counts, there is an approximate one-to-one decrease in students\' counts. In the case of peer effects, I find that a rise in the borrowings of a user\'s peer group correlates with her own borrowings, an evidence of positive peer effects. Finally, the fourth chapter explores the interplay between common-pool resources and transaction costs. In particular, I try to answer the following question: what happens when transaction costs go down in a common-pool resource setting? I exploit variation in the timing of introduction of a cost-saving technology (return boxes) and its impacts on library performance measures. Contrarily to standard arguments based on transaction costs, I find a result in which the instauration of return boxes tend, on average, to raise the probability of delays and borrowings\' effective durations. The results reported in this dissertation have important implications for theories based on common-pool resources\' management, and constitute novel empirical evidence for the areas of law and economics, public economics, and organizational economics. / A presente tese avalia a dinâmica interna de um tipo específico de recurso comum, um \"information commons\". Utilizando uma nova base de dados contendo mais de 800.000 transações ocorridas em distintas bibliotecas, ao longo de um período superior a 10 anos (2005-2015), o trabalho busca responder distintas questões relacionadas às áreas de economia das organizações, direito econômico e economia do setor público. A tese contém três capítulos, em formato de artigos, além da introdução e conclusão. O segundo capítulo da tese avalia as respostas comportamentais de usuários de uma biblioteca a sanções monetárias, ao explorar variação no timing de introdução de multas, assim como diferenças entre usuários, em termos de incidência dessas multas. No caso deste capítulo, são reportados dois resultados: em primeiro lugar, a introdução da multa tende a reduzir atrasos dos usuários, conforme previsto por modelos convencionais de cumprimento da lei. Em segundo lugar, uma análise dos efeitos dinâmicos de instauração da multa sugere que ela perde eficácia ao longo do tempo, uma vez que seu valor nominal permanece o mesmo, desde a data de instauração. O terceiro capítulo da tese apresenta estimativas das magnitudes de externalidades em um recurso comum. Neste capítulo, são estimados os impactos das ações de usuários da biblioteca sujeitos a uma sanção não-monetária (professores e funcionários) sobre usuários sujeitos a uma sanção monetária (alunos). Adicionalmente, são estimados efeitos sobre pares (peereffects), considerando o número de itens emprestados por usuários da biblioteca. A análise da magnitude de efeitos externos leva à descoberta de um efeito \"crowding-out\": para cada unidade adicional emprestada por professores e funcionários, há uma redução, na escala de um por um, nos empréstimos de estudantes. No caso de estimações de efeitos sobre pares, um aumento nos empréstimos por parte do grupo ao qual um usuário pertence é correlacionado com seus próprios empréstimos, o que constitui evidência favorável à ocorrência de efeitos positivos sobre pares, no caso. Finalmente, no quarto capítulo, explora-se a interação entre recursos comuns e custos de transação. Especificamente, busca-se responder a seguinte questão: o que ocorre quando custos de transação são reduzidos em um contexto envolvendo recursos comuns? Para tanto, explora-se a variação no timing de introdução de uma tecnologia redutora de custos de transação (caixas de devolução), assim como seus impactos sobre medidas de desempenho na biblioteca. No caso deste capítulo, tem-se um resultado onde a instauração de caixas de devolução tende, em média, a aumentar a probabilidade de atrasos entre usuários da biblioteca, assim como a duração efetiva dos empréstimos, contrariamente a argumentos baseados em custos de transação. Os resultados reportados nesta tese têm importantes implicações para teorias baseadas no gerenciamento de recursos comuns, assim como correspondem a um novo conjunto de evidências empíricas relacionadas às áreas de direito econômico, economia do setor público e economia das organizações.

HIV/AIDS continues to challenge prevention, care and treatment efforts and presents an increasingly urgent threat to population health. In the context of prevention, this fatal sexually transmitted infection (STI) underscores the importance of providing youth (the fastest growing risk group) with adequate information, motivation, behavioural skills, and access to resources that support the achievement and maintenance of sexual health across the lifespan. However, youth have proven to be a difficult audience to reach, particularly with educational programs that approach adolescent sexuality from an adult frame of reference, one that often stresses the negative aspects of human sexuality. Yet many of the tasks associated with a successful transition into adulthood and social integration depend upon the ability to initiate and maintain long-term, intimate sexual relationships. Using a case study methodology, this research—which was conducted in British Columbia, Canada—investigated the potential effects of an innovative theatre-based, peer-led HIV prevention/sexuality education program on four groups of high school students and the peer leaders. The potential of theatre-in-education was examined to determine if this format would engage youth audiences—and keep them engaged—and if it would have a positive impact on self-reported confidence in performing risk-reduction behaviours. The results from the four case studies strongly suggest that peer-led theatre presented in conjunction with peer-led discussion has the potential to not only engage youth between 12 and 17, but to also increase self-reported confidence in their ability reduce risk. In two of the cases, engagement was high and constant; while the two other cases demonstrated that the format has a strong potential for drawing more reluctant audiences into discussions over time. In all cases, confidence reportedly increased. Further to this, audiences reported gains in knowledge, improvements in behavioural and communication skills, and increased motivation to use condoms and to access sexual health care. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, there were reports of increased communication about sexual health issues, the development of greater compassion and tolerance, along with the desire to avoid stigmatizing HIV-positive individuals and sexual minorities. The peer leaders reported comparable effects. Given that stigma has been identified as the most persistent barrier to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, embedding peer-led theatre programs—focused on sexuality and HIV prevention—into currently existing theatre arts curricula within the public school system offers a powerful and cost-effective means of providing comprehensive sexual health education. It would be shrewd (from both a social and economic perspective) for education ministries and school districts to capitalize on the positive aspects of adolescent peer networks and youths’ natural tendency to learn from one another. This research, while based on informed judgment, adequacy and plausibility rather than on the gold standard of a randomized control trial, arguably provides initial evidence that the theatre-in-education format is worthy of implementation on a wider scale. Investing in the set-up, maintenance and rigorous evaluation of peer-led theatre-in-education programs which focus on sexuality has the potential to normalize safer sexual practices and improve population health, for this generation and generations to come.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The aim of the study was to explore the socio-cultural influences in decision making involving sexual behaviour among adolescents in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Cultural beliefs associated with adolescents' decision to become sexually active were explored, as well as the social norms influences involved in adolescents' sexual behaviour. The theoretical framework used for the study was Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory of development. The results indicated that adolescent pregnancy was perceived as unacceptable behaviour although found widespread in communities. Social influences such as peer influence, low socioeconomic status, alcohol use and lack of parental supervision were found to play a role in adolescents' risky sexual behaviour. Cultural beliefs, cultural myths and social norms were identified as socio-cultural influences that endorsed issues such as gender disparities, which made adolescent mothers vulnerable. Findings from this study suggest that female adolescents are faced with sexual behaviour complexities. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Alcohol consumption among adolescents is increasing due to the general availability of alcohol in many community settings. Binge drinking (defined as drinking 5 or more drinks per occasion) (Parry, 2000) is considered the most common type of harmful alcohol consumption among young people. The United States Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance report proposes that patterns of health risk behaviours are established during youth (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention,2006). The abovementioned report highlights behaviours such as alcohol misuse, drug use and risky sexual behaviour that have the potential to undermine the health and development of youth. Adolescent developmental theories recognise risk behaviours as central to normal adolescent development but there are complex predisposing risk factors that can cause these behaviours to compromise the healthy development of our youth. In order to design and implement effective intervention schemes, we need to understand the dynamics of alcohol use among local youth better, as these play out in their specific social environmental and personal contexts.Aim: The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of what influences the patterns of alcohol use among adolescents in a peri-urban historically disadvantaged community in the Western Cape. The study identified some of the factors that promote and inhibit drinking within the study community from the perspective of the adolescents themselves and a few of the adults who work with adolescents. The study also determined some of the harmful consequences to drinking as described by the adolescents.Method: This was an exploratory study using qualitative research methods. Four focus group discussions were conducted with adolescents aged between 14 and 19 years that were both attending and not attending school. Three key informant interviews with adults who were involved with the youth were conducted.Convenience sampling was used for the non-school attending participants and snowball sampling was used for the school attending youth. The adults in the study were purposively sampled. The study was conducted within the study setting during March and April 2009. Thematic and content analysis was used to interpret the data.The descriptive data was coded and categorised according to themes that emerged during analysis.Results: In general the youth of this study are drinking on weekends. They spend their time on the streets and access alcohol from the many illegal taverns in their neighbourhood. Some of the reasons why adolescents drink include just for the fun of it and because their friends drink and to cope with stress or boredom (risk factors for problem behaviour). Those who don’t drink generally have strong parental role models, have observed some of the harmful effects of alcohol use and seem able to resist peer pressure (protective factors for problem behaviour). There were no significant differences between the perceptions of male and female adolescents regarding alcohol consumption. The black adolescents in general appeared to be more affected by poverty than the coloured adolescents, a factor that influenced their choices around alcohol use. Risky sexual behaviour, rape and fighting seem to be some of the harmful consequences to drinking that are described by the youth of this study. The social environment in which the adolescents of this study live seemed to play a significant role in their attitudes toward drinking. Factors such as a lack of infrastructure for leisure, poverty and a tolerance for public drunkenness are community factors that affect these adolescents but over which they have little or no control.Conclusion: The potential for problem behaviour as perceived by the participants is determined by the balance of risk and protective factors that emanate from their social environment, the community itself and their own personality. Those fortunate enough to have cohesive families with interested adults around them are more likely to be protected from problem behaviour due to drinking.Recommendations: Recommendations from this study include engaging with the youth directly when designing intervention programmes; using peer-led programmes to effect change and to help adolescents to clarify their values; equip them with skills to plan for the future in order to develop their self-efficacy to make the right choices when it comes to alcohol consumption. It is also recommended that intervention programmes address relationships within the community itself such as strengthening parent-child communication; building positive adult role models and empowering community members to challenge issues such as illegal tavern owners serving alcohol to minors.

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