De toutes les musiques populaires contemporaines, le rap, né dans le South Bronx à New York vers le milieu des années 1970, est probablement celle que l’on associe le plus communément à l’expression d’un discours masculin misogyne. Les rappeuses elles-mêmes décrivent fréquemment le rap comme un environnement masculin voire hostile aux femmes. Pourtant, depuis 1979, plusieurs générations de rappeuses ont fait le choix d’investir cet espace, écoulant des dizaines de millions de disques et participant de manière significative au développement de cette musique, sans être reconnues à la hauteur de leur contribution la plupart du temps. Cette thèse, inscrite au croisement de la science politique et des sciences de l’information et de la communication, s’intéresse à la façon dont des femmes noires des classes populaires négocient leur place dans une industrie dominée par les hommes. Grâce au rap, elles accèdent à une forme de visibilité sociale dans l’espace public qui leur permet de faire entendre un discours sur le genre, la race et la sexualité à rebours des représentations hégémoniques. La représentation étant un principe organisateur des relations sociales réelles, l’analyse du discours des rappeuses aide à mieux comprendre la façon dont se constituent et sont contestées les normes de genre, de race et de sexualité aux États-Unis. Le rap est aujourd’hui l’un des principaux lieux de (re)production de ces normes, et le terrain d’une guerre de position culturelle à propos des différentes idéologies de genre et de race. Dans le rap, des artistes femmes performent leur genre et leur race et construisent autrement leur identité, loin des modèles dominants de la féminité. / Of all popular music genres, rap – a music born in the South Bronx in New York in the mid-1970s – is the one most commonly linked to a masculine and misogynistic discourse. Even female rappers often describe the genre as a male-dominated and even hostile environment. Still, numerous female rappers have entered this space since 1979, selling millions of records and contributing to the development of this genre, even though they usually don’t get the recognition they deserve. At the crossroads of political science and media studies, this study focuses on how working-class, black women find success in a male-dominated industry and reach social visibility in the public sphere. In their lyrics, female rappers openly discuss gender, race and sexuality and dispute hegemonic representations. Because representation is an organizing principle of social relations, a study of female rappers’ discourse provides us with a better understanding of the way norms of gender, race and sexuality are constituted – and challenged – through rap music. Rap is now one of the main spaces where these norms are (re)produced. It is the battlefield of an ongoing "war of position" involving ideologies of gender and race. In this space, black women express gender and race through performance and negotiate their identity far from the traditional gender norms.

La politique agro-environnementale de l’Union Européenne s’appuie fortement sur des incitations financières, les Contrats Agro-Environnementaux (CAE), pour stimuler l’adoption par les agriculteurs de pratiques respectueuses de l’environnement. Selon l’hypothèse de rationalité économique, les agriculteurs adoptent ces contrats si les paiements couvrent leurs coûts d’opportunité. Toutefois, l’Économie comportementale considère que des facteurs psychologiques pourraient intervenir dans cette décision. Le premier objectif de cette thèse est de déterminer le rôle des facteurs comportementaux dans l’adoption des CAE. Dans le chapitre 1, nous utilisons un modèle de psychologie sociale, la Théorie du Comportement Planifié, pour mesurer le poids de ces facteurs dans la décision d’adopter un CAE pour la réduction de l’utilisation de pesticides. L’enquête révèle que les agriculteurs sont à la fois influencés par des motivations économiques classiques et par les normes (sociales et personnelles). Dans le chapitre 2, nous étudions plus en détails le rôle des normes. A travers un modèle théorique, nous mettons en évidence que ces normes peuvent faciliter ou faire obstacle à l’adoption de CAE. Une enquête web nous permet de confirmer l’importance des normes sociales injonctives et des normes personnelles. Dans la deuxième partie de la thèse, nous analysons les performances de dispositifs innovants et comment ces performances sont influencées par les facteurs comportementaux. Dans le chapitre 3, pour traiter le problème des seuils environnementaux, nous testons avec une expérimentation économique un contrat dont le paiement est conditionné à une participation collective des agriculteurs. Ce contrat se révèle plus efficace et efficient que les CAE classiques. Les deux derniers chapitres traitent d’une nouvelle application des CAE à la compensation écologique. A partir d’une enquête, nous identifions dans le chapitre 4 les facteurs qui influencent la participation à ce type de contrats ainsi que des problèmes d’efficacité et d’efficience. Dans le chapitre 5, nous montrons à partir d’une expérience de choix, que les agriculteurs, notamment les plus sensibles à l’environnement, sont sensibles à la manière dont est formulée l’objectif d’un CAE : ils préfèrent des contrats dont l’objectif est la préservation de la biodiversité, plutôt que la compensation de pertes de biodiversité. Nous concluons en insistant sur la complémentarité entre les instruments traditionnels et comportementaux dans la politique environnementale. / The agri-environmental policy of the European Union strongly relies on financial incentives provided through Agri-envrionmental Schemes (AES) to stimulate farmers’ adoption of pro-environmental practices. A rational economic assumption is that farmers enroll if they are paid enough to cover their opportunity costs. However, behavioral economics consider that psychologic factors may be involved in this decision. The first aim of this thesis is to determine the role of behavioral factors in AES adoption. Chapter 1 uses a social-psychology model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, to measure the weight of behavioral factors in farmers’ decision to enroll in a pesticide-reduction AES. The survey reveals that farmers are both driven by traditional economic motivations and norms (social and personal). Chapter 2 studies in more details the role of norms. A theoretical model reveals that social norms may either hamper or facilitate the participation in AES and a web-survey, confirms the importance of social injunctive norms and personal norms. In the second part of the thesis, we analyze the performance of innovative designs and how it may be affected by behavioral factors. In chapter 3, to address cases of environmental threshold, we test with an economic experiment a contract in which payment is conditioned to collective farmers’ participation. This contract appears to be more effective and efficient than traditional AES. The two last chapters analyze a new application of AES: biodiversity offsets. Based on a survey, chapter 4 highlights factors that influence the participation in such contracts as well as issues of effectiveness and efficiency. In chapter 5, we show with a choice experiment that farmers, especially the most environmentally sensitive, are influenced by the contracts’ goal framing: they prefer contracts that aim at biodiversity conservation rather than at the compensation of biodiversity losses. We conclude by insisting on the complementarity between traditional and behavioral environmental policy instruments.

My final thesis deals with women's employment in USA and its changes during two historical moments of the World War II and Great Depression. Because of the continuous changes in this area an analysis of historical trends is a valuable source of information for understanding these changes. For a correct understanding of the influence of chosen historical periods the beginning of the thesis deals with an analysis of the situation before these periods. In the main part one chapter deals with the period of Great Depression, when women faced the pressure of the society to leave the labor market and leave the jobs to men, as to a main breadwinners. Next chapter describes trends during the World War II, when women work was promoted and the pressure was in the opposite direction. The last chapter analyzes a situation after the war and an impact of the World War II in both the short and long term. Special attention is given to two groups of women, married and Afro-American. These groups were influenced in given periods in a specific way. The reason why is mostly social norms within married women and disadvantages position of the Afro-American women in a labor market within this group. Aim of the thesis is not only description of the trends but also deeper analysis of governmental approaches, economical factors and social norms and it's interdependence and causality. From the trends we can see that changes in women's employment were strongly influenced by economic situation of the country and that social norms were able to adapt to these economic circumstances in a short term. In long term they were constant.

Ce travail de thèse questionne la perception de la féminité et sa relation au maquillage. Cette recherche est initiée par l’étude de l’impact du maquillage sur la modification d’une caractéristique du dimorphisme sexuel : le contraste facial (CF) (Russell, 2003, 2009). Nous avons démontré que malgré la pertinence du CF, celui-ci est insuffisant pour rendre compte du lien maquillage/féminité. Ces résultats nous interpellent quant à la seule présence du maquillage pour évaluer la féminité sans se référer aux caractéristiques biologiques. Le maquillage, par sa représentation sociale, est fortement lié à celle de la féminité. Le soin du corps qu’il représente en fait un élément central pour la féminité des femmes. Huguet et al. (2006) démontre l’existence d’un stéréotype « ce dont on a pris soin est bien » pouvant être activé par la présence de maquillage. Nous avons démontré l’existence d’une norme sociale astreignant les femmes à se maquiller pour être féminine, où le maquillage est une condition nécessaire pour obtenir non seulement des jugements de féminité élevés mais également un ensemble de caractéristiques positives. La perception de la féminité intègre dans son processus de réalisation à la fois des indices perceptifs mais fait également appel aux connaissances disponibles en mémoire, les stéréotypes, les représentations et les normes sociales rendues accessibles par le maquillage. Nous pouvons alors conclure que le maquillage n’est pas, par nature, féminin et positif mais qu’il est utilisé comme un élément de référence dans une conception multidimensionnelle de la féminité. / This project questions the perception of femininity and its relationship to make-up. It is prompted by the impact makeup has on the alteration of a sexual dimorphism characteristic : the facial contrast (FC) (Russell, 2003, 2009). We have shown that in spite the FC’s prominence, it remains insufficient to account for the link between make-up and femininity. The results challenge the presumption that makeup is present in assessing femininity, without taking into account biological characteristics. By its social representation, make-up is strongly linked to the idea of femininity. Because makeup is representative of self body-care in women, it becomes a central element for the representation of femininity. Huguet et al. (2006) demonstrates the existence of a stereotype such as « what has been cared for is good », which can be activated by the presence of makeup. We have demonstrated the existence of a social norm that compels women to wear make-up in order to be feminine exists, where makeup becomes a necessary condition for obtaining not only feminine judgements, but also a set of positive characteristics. The process of acknowledging the perception of femininity incorporates perceptive characteristics, as well as using available knowledge in memory, stereotypes, social representations and social norms brought to the fore by makeup. We can then conclude that make-up is not feminine and positive by nature, but that is used as a reference element in multi-dimensional perceptions of femininity.

Cette thèse étudie l'influence du travail sur la qualité de l'emploi et la qualité de vie des individus. Cette dernière est approximée par la perception que les individus ont de leur santé. Le premier chapitre étudie les conséquences de la perte d'emploi liée à la fermeture d'un établissement sur l'ensemble des dimensions de la qualité de l'emploi retrouvé. Nous montrons que ce choc induit une dégradation, y compris sur le long terme, des salaires, de l'insécurité de l'emploi perçue, de la qualité de l'environnement de travail et de la satisfaction des travailleurs. Les deux derniers chapitres tentent de comprendre les déterminants des différences de santé perçue selon le genre. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous analysons le rôle de la santé mentale dans les écarts de santé déclarée selon le genre. Le troisième chapitre étudie l'influence des normes sociales au travail, sur la santé perçue. Nous montrons que les femmes comme les hommes travaillant dans des collectifs de travail féminins déclarent davantage de problèmes de santé spécifiques que celles et ceux travaillant dans des collectifs masculins. Ce travail souligne donc, d'une part, l'effet négatif de la perte d'emploi sur la qualité de l'emploi retrouvé et la satisfaction à long terme et, d'autre part, l'importance du mal-être et des normes sociales au travail pour comprendre les différences de santé perçue entre les genres. / This thesis studies the influence of work on job and life quality, the latter being considered through the perception that individuals have of their own health. The first chapter focuses on the long-term effects of job losses due to plant closure on job quality. We show that job loss negatively affects wages, perceived job insecurity, the quality of the working environment and job satisfaction, including in the long run. The two last chapters investigate gender differences in self-reported health. The second chapter provides descriptive evidence on the relationships between self-assessed health, gender and mental health problems, i.e. depression and/or affective pains. Finally, in the last chapter, we study the influence of social norms as proxied by the gender structure of the workplace environment, on gender differences in self-reported health. We show that both women and men working in female-dominated environments report more specific health problems than those who work in male-dominated environments. The overall findings of this thesis are twofold. First, losing a job has a negative impact on several dimensions of job quality and satisfaction in the long run. Secondly, mental diseases and social norms at work are important to understand gender-related differences in health perceptions.

M. Tech. (Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology / In the case of cosmetic products, which convey both psychological and symbolic benefits to consumers, it is imperative for marketers to expand the scope of product trial as it presents a novel strategy for signalling the success of new products. In lieu of this, considerable attention should be accorded to the ubiquitous role of influential consumers who are instrumental in influencing the behaviour of other consumers through exemplary conduct and/or interpersonal word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. In this vein, this study sought to examine the influence of selected factors on market maven tendency and the ultimate trial of new cosmetic products by female consumers in the southern Gauteng. This presents the need to examine empirically the role of market mavens who play an indispensable role in filling the omitted information gaps existing within the market. Particularly, this research is in response to calls for unremitting replications of the work seeking to establish the nomological variables that are antecedent to the market mavenism construct. The study drew from the confluence of the Two-step flow theory and the Stimulus Organism Response (SOR) theory, which provided theoretical lenses in understanding how various stimuli could possibly influence the maven tendency (organism) and the ultimate trial of new cosmetic products (response) by those mavens situated in the southern Gauteng region of South Africa. In view of achieving the overarching objective of this study, a sample survey was conducted in 2018 using a sample of female market mavens that were selected on referral basis, after applying the snowball sampling technique. In the cross-sectional based sample survey, a self-administered questionnaire was utilised. Drawing from the responses, a trichotomisation was developed, enabling the researcher to categorise the participants by including those individuals reporting either low (n=86), moderate (n=141) or high (n=248) maven tendency scores. Resultantly, the findings from a cross-section of 475 female mavens were admissible for statistical analysis. Drawing from the statistical analysis, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) procedure steered the extraction of six components that are salient towards calibrating the tendency towards market mavenship among female consumers of cosmetic products. The scale items along these six components yielded acceptable internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged between 0.792 and 0.876), whereas the results of the descriptive statistics revealed mean score rankings above 4.0 across the six components, thereby signalling agreeability among the participants with regard to the determinants of market maven tendency. Likewise, weak to moderate correlation coefficients that were positive and statistically significant (p <0.01) were also established in this work (ranging between +0.297 and +0.639). This inferred the existence oflinear and direct relationships among the variables examined in this work. Based on this, it was possible to conduct a structural equation modelling procedure. Prior to testing the hypothesised relationships, model fit of the measurement model was evaluated. Moreover, analysis of the statistical accuracy measures in terms of the reliability and validity of the measurement model pointed to the existence of a six-variable structure of new product trial, comprising consumer innovativeness, aspirational attractiveness, social norms influence, advertising efficacy, market maven tendency and new cosmetic products’ trial. Correspondingly, the direction and prediction among these constructs was tested by specifying a structural model. The structural model yielded adequate fit indices. In terms of prediction, the four constructs, namely consumer innovativeness (ß=+0.441; Z=9.292; p<0.01), social norms influence (ß=+0.339; Z=7.272; p<0.01), advertising efficacy (ß=+0.293; Z=6.607; p<0.01) and aspirational attractiveness (ß=+0.182; Z=4.099; p<0.01) were proven to have positive and statistically significant predictive influence on market maven tendency, in that order. Together, the four stimuli are presumed to explain approximately 43 percent of the variance in the tendency towards market mavenship among the responding female consumers. Market maven tendency was confirmed as a predictor of new product trial in this research (ß=+0.478; Z=8.448; p<0.01). This latter path proved that the tendency towards market maven behaviour explains approximately 23 percent on the variance in new product trial among female mavens. These maiden findings suggest that it is possible to anchor the construct of market maven tendency along a broader behavioural science theory, comprising selected stimulus elements. In particular, the results derived in this study demonstrate the three-fold orientation of the female maven in terms of innate (consumer innovativeness), context-based (social norms influence and advertising efficacy) as well as the desired or sought-after (aspirational attractiveness) stimuli that influence market maven tendency. In addition, the study confirmed that new product trial could act as an invaluable tool for raising awareness about the features and benefits of new cosmetic products. Based on these results, it is recommended that marketing managers capitalise on the contribution of market mavens as auxiliary dispensers of new beauty product information.

Background. By defining what is “normal,” appropriate, expected, and unacceptable, social norms shape human behavior. However, the individual-level mechanisms through which social norms impact population-level trends in health-relevant behaviors are not well understood. Aims. To test the ability of social norms mechanisms to predict changes in population-level drinking patterns. Method. An individual-level model was developed to simulate dynamic normative mechanisms and behavioral rules underlying drinking behavior over time. The model encompassed descriptive and injunctive drinking norms and their impact on frequency and quantity of alcohol use. A microsynthesis initialized in 1979 was used as a demographically representative synthetic U.S. population. Three experiments were performed in order to test the modelled normative mechanisms. Results. Overall, the experiments showed limited influence of normative interventions on population-level alcohol use. An increase in the desire to drink led to the most meaningful changes in the population’s drinking behavior. The findings of the experiments underline the importance of autonomy, that is, the degree to which an individual is susceptible to normative influence. Conclusion. The model was able to predict theoretically plausible changes in drinking patterns at the population level through the impact of social mechanisms. Future applications of the model could be used to plan norms interventions pertaining to alcohol use as well as other health behaviors.

Notre mémoire se veut une lecture de la version américaine de la série à succès The Office (NBC, 2005-2013) à travers la métaphore dramaturgique du sociologue Erving Goffman (1922-1982). Ce rapprochement permet une riche analyse, puisque la série comme le penseur placent le malaise au cœur de leurs projets respectifs. En ayant comme prémisse fictive d’être un documentaire, ainsi qu’en se faisant une satire de l’auto-spectacularisation des participants de télé-réalité, The Office explicite la métaphore dramaturgique goffmanienne. Les personnages de la série, et particulièrement le protagoniste Michael Scott, rendent constamment sensible le fait qu’ils sont en représentation. Le malaise étant une émotion fondamentalement désagréable, la série semble désigner les règles qu’elle considère comme essentielles à la cohésion du groupe en nous faisant subir leur transgression. Le malaise que nous éprouvons deviendrait l’occasion pour nous d’expérimenter les conséquences sociales de transgressions, nous apprenant du même coup l’importance de respecter les normes. D’abord, nous essayerons de déterminer si la série permet quelque chose comme un apprentissage par la négative des règles sociales. Dans un deuxième temps, nous tenterons de prouver que certains épisodes présentent un discours différent de celui de Goffman sur la transgression des normes sociales, présentant des moments où le malaise peut être vécu par les personnages comme des opportunités d’approfondir certaines relations interpersonnelles ou de faire des gains politiques. / Our study is intended as a reading of the American version of the successful series The Office (NBC, 2005-2013) through the dramaturgical metaphor of sociologist Erving Goffman (1922-1982). This rapprochement allows for a rich analysis as both the series and the sociologist place social embarrassment at the heart of their respective projects. With the fictional premise of being a documentary, as well as satirizing the self-spectacularization of reality TV participants, The Office makes Goffmanian dramaturgy explicit. The characters in the series, especially protagonist Michael Scott, constantly make us sensitive to the fact that they are in performance. Embarrassment being a fundamentally unpleasant emotion, the series seems to point to the rules it sees as essential to group cohesion by making us suffer their transgression. The discomfort we feel could become an opportunity for us to experience the social consequences of transgressions, teaching us the importance of upholding norms. First, we'll try to determine if the series allows for something like "negative learning" of social norms. Second, we will try to prove that some episodes convey a different narrative than Goffman's on the transgression of social norms, presenting moments when embarrassment can be experienced by the characters as opportunities to deepen some interpersonal relationships or to make political gains.

Advertising is a reflection of society. At the same time, it has impacts on society. This diploma thesis looks at advertising as an important social phenomenon. Based on the examples of controversial commercials, it deals with relationship between advertising and society. The main objective of this work is to explore the relationship of controversial commercials and society. With the use of qualitative research methods the author examines how the contemporary society is reflected in the communication of controversial commercials and whether our society is affected by them. For clarification purposes, this diploma thesis first identifies relevant terminology and sets the difference between key concepts, ie., advertising and controversial commercials. Moreover, the theoretical part of the thesis deals with the mutual relationship between advertising and society. Based on the analysis of the Grounded Theory the author acknowledges that the controversial commercials are in fact a reflection of society. Controversial commercials are communicated to their target groups in a common manner that is easy to understand. Yet, their presence in society is not always considered as acceptable and appropriate. In conclusion, this diploma thesis is devoted to the elaboration of the mutual relationship between...

<p>Land use change is a major cause of degradation to freshwater ecosystems. Excess nutrients and toxins, physical infrastructure, and habitat removal can lead to deleterious impacts on water quality, flooding, and biological integrity. The overarching inquiry of this dissertation was to assess how social and ecological dimensions of stormwater interact to influence stormwater and its management. A three-part study was conducted to investigate the ecological and social dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. In part one, I investigated the impacts of urbanization on stream metabolism— a fundamental ecological process. The proliferation of inexpensive water quality sensors has allowed researchers to investigate stream functional processes at a high temporal resolution. I used high-resolution dissolved oxygen data to estimate gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) across 12 urban creeks in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. I used descriptive statistics and regression models to investigate the influence of light, temperature, and hydrological disturbances on GPP and ER. The results demonstrate that urbanization shifts metabolic regimes towards highly productive summers with substantial declines in GPP following summer storm events. My research shows that ER is associated with water temperature and is resistant to hydrological disturbances. These findings have management implications because as summer heat and storms intensify with climate change, my work suggests that stream organisms will become more vulnerable to scour and hypoxia.</p><p> </p><p>In part two, I conducted a systematic literature review to identify salient social norms impacting water quality best management practice (BMP) adoption across urban and rural lands. Furthermore, I synthesized situational factors that mobilize and reproduce social norms associated with BMP adoption. The results demonstrate that social norms create expectations for conventional farming practices and manicured residential lawns, as well as a social responsibility for neighborly cohesion and environmental stewardship. Social norms supporting water quality BMPs were fostered during times of management uncertainty and in response to social sanctions and benefits. I found that social norms supporting water quality BMPs were more readily mobilized when supported by key community leaders, knowledge brokers, and institutional actors.</p><p> </p><p>In part three, I examined if and how an individual’s race, gender, and education level shape one’s concern about and willingness to participate in stormwater management. Stormwater risks can be immediate burdens and at times life-threatening for marginalized people because environmental injustices based on race, gender, and class can dictate exposure to and recovery from environmental risks like flooding and water pollution. Although marginalized groups bear the brunt of environmental risks, they are not likely to be perceived by others as highly concerned about the environment. I investigated differences, if any, in peoples’ willingness to participate in stormwater management based on their race, gender, and educational level by analyzing community opinion surveys in Charlotte, North Carolina. Results suggest that socially marginalized individuals are more concerned about creek flooding than others and subsequently more likely to participate in conservation behaviors. This analysis calls attention to how adverse environmental conditions may shape the perspectives of those experiencing them and facilitate a greater willingness to engage in conservation practices. Collectively, this dissertation highlights the interconnectedness of human and ecological drivers of function and resilience in aquatic freshwater ecosystems with implications for future directions of freshwater management that prioritize social equity and sustain social infrastructures.</p>