The research problem for the study was the low entrepreneurial activity in South Africa that leads to high unemployment rates. The research question wanted to investigate the effect that entrepreneurship education may have on the students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Intentions were measured because the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which was employed as the framework, postulates that intention is the best predictor of behaviour. The study also investigated the effect of social norms on the students’ entrepreneurial intentions; whether the students who have self-employed parents and/or have personal entrepreneurial experience, would show higher levels of entrepreneurial intentions than students with a different background. A quantitative research design was employed to answer the research questions, and to test the hypotheses. An online survey was sent to the entire target population and anonymous responses were received. This was important and ethical as it protected the respondents’ identity. A total of 92 responses out of 1 743 students were received, and 73 were complete. The collected data was analysed using a Stata 15 statistical package. The study found that entrepreneurship education does indeed have an effect of raising the students’ entrepreneurial intentions, attitudes and their perceived entrepreneurial skills gained from studying entrepreneurship. The students who come from communities where entrepreneurship is less prevalent showed the highest gain in intentions, attesting to the effect of education in an open distance learning context on their intentions. The students’ entrepreneurial background did not show any effect on their intentions; those who have self-employed parents did not have higher intentions than the students with a different background. To increase the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education, it is recommended that more practical ways of teaching entrepreneurship should be implemented. It is also recommended that entrepreneurship education should be extended to more students, and particularly to science and engineering students. This is because the latter are more likely to produce innovative products that will lead to high growth, high impact businesses that will employ more people for longer, therefore raising entrepreneurial activity and reducing unemployment. / Business Management / M. Com. (Entrepreneurship)

This study examines the effects of gender and social bonds on the experience of prescription painkiller misuse for men and women. The theoretical framework for the project is Travis Hirschi's social control theory (1969), and the social bond elements of attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief, which emphasizes the importance of these bonds in creating a "stake in conformity" for the individual, leading to acceptance of social norms and desistence from deviance. This theory, however, is relatively silent with regard to gender differences and was developed to examine delinquency in an all male sample of adolescents. The elements of this theory were used to further test the effects of these social bonds and add to the literature gap on the gendered experience of the misuse of prescription painkillers. Data for this project comes from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual nationally representative, cross-sectional survey. Multivariate logistic regression analyses reveal that, being white, not being married, having less than a high school diploma, a having a job are all significant predictors of increased prescription painkiller misuse. Characteristics associated with a significant decrease in the odds of misusing prescription painkillers are being older, having a college degree, and placing importance on religious/spiritual beliefs. Multivariate logistic regression also reveals that female respondents are less likely to misuse prescription painkillers than are their male counterparts. Interaction effects are operationalized to measure the relationship between gender and the social bond elements of interest. Most of the interaction effects are not statistically significant, but some of the main effects remain significant, which indicates that the main effect has little impact on prescription painkiller misuse for women, but remains significant for men (marriage, education, work status). Significant interaction effects are found for gender (female) x income and gender (female) x religiosity, which indicates that for both men and women, increased income and higher levels of religiosity are significantly associated with decreased odds of prescription painkiller misuse, that the effect is stronger for women and that this difference between men and women is significant. These results provide further insight into the experiences of prescription painkiller misuse for men and women.

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The rise of social media has emerged the social phenomena called cancel culture, where individuals hold influencers and endorsed brands accountable for perceived immoral actions. Cancel culture originates from a desire for social justice, where the consequences of those cancelled could be temporary and long-lasting reputational damage. The behavior to cancel is individually complex and has many different drivers influencing the performance of behavior.  Despite its significant impact, cancel culture within research is just in its early stage and has received limited research from a qualitative perspective. Previous studies have researched cancel culture through the perspective of consumer power, celebrity transgressions, psychological drivers, and social identity. Moreover, previous research has studied the intended behavior to cancel, not the actual performance to cancel. There still remains a research gap in understanding the personal and social drivers that influence the process to cancel an influencer and endorsed brand. By this, it led us to our research question: “What are the personal and social drivers that could influence the behavior to engage in cancel culture?”. With an aim to provide a deeper understanding of the complex phenomena of cancel culture between consumers, influencers and the endorsed brands. By examining drivers such as norms, beliefs, values and traits our study seeks to shed light on the drivers and how they influence the behavior of cancel culture.  The findings revealed an interesting insight from the consumer perspective. An actual cancellation has a higher chance of occurring if the influencer's action is perceived to cross an moral barrier of a follower. However, our study found that subjectivity increases complexity of the behavior as every individual has their own moral barrier. For example, if the action is perceived to clash with the followers’ personal beliefs and values, cancellation might occur, however another individual might not perceive the action to cross their moral barrier. Moreover, our study found that the desire of social belongingness and social acceptance has a significant role when making a decision to cancel. From our study we have revealed that cancel culture is both an individual and social phenomenon, where the influence of one's own personal drivers is just as influential as the social influence. More specifically, followers' idea of their self- concept is just as influential as the pressure from their social environment. In conclusion, personal and social drivers influence the decision to cancel an influencer and endorsed brands. However, as subjectivity matters, these personal and social drivers influence the process differently for each individual. From a managerial perspective, our findings could contribute to influencer marketing strategies trying to improve their selection process or response strategy if an cancellation would occur.

Hederskultur är ett komplext och djupt rotat fenomen som påverkar individer på många olika sätt. Denna socialpsykologiska studie använde sig av teorier om Ackulturation, Social påverkan, Sociala normer, Maktstrukturer och Social inlärning för att förstå hurhederskultur påverkar identitetsskapande hos kvinnor. Syftet med studien var att utforska kvinnors identitetsskapande i samband med hederskultur och förtryck mellan två sociokulturella världar. För att skapa en djupare förståelse för fenomenet användes en socialpsykologisk ansats. Genom användning av kvalitativ metod och tematisk analys kunde denna studie fånga de komplexa och djupt rotade upplevelserna av hederskultur och dess påverkan på individens identitet. Urvalet var sex kvinnor som intervjuades och gav upphov till en empiri som sedan jämfördes med en självbiografi av en kvinna med hederskultur i bagaget. De upplevde en stark press från den kulturella krocken, vilket skapade rädsla och begränsningar. Resultaten ger viktig information som kan användas för att skapa en bättre förståelse för hederskultur och dess effekter på individerna, samt för att utveckla effektiva åtgärder och stödstrukturer för personer som befinner sig i liknande situationer. / Honor culture is a complex and deeply-rooted phenomenon that affects individuals in various ways. This social psychological study utilized theories of acculturation, social influence, social norms, power structures, and social learning to understand how honor culture affects identity formation in women. The aim of the study was to explore women's identity formation in the context of honor culture and oppression between two sociocultural worlds. A social psychological approach was used to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Through the use of qualitative methods and thematic analysis, this study captured the complex and deeply-rooted experiences of honorculture and its impact on individual identity. The sample consisted of six women who were interviewed, and their experiences were compared with a self-biography of a woman with a background in honor culture. The results showed that all six respondents in the study shared similar feelings and experiences related to honor culture and Swedish culture. The results provide important information that can be used to create a better understanding of honor culture and its effects on individuals, as well as to develop effective interventions and support structures for individuals in similar situations.

Consumption of everyday products is an unintentional behavior most individuals act out without thinking of it. These products can end up as litter discarded in nature. Littering is an important field to study in order to achieve a sustainable future. Littering has large consequences on the environment, animals, and humans as it contributes to pollution, biodiversity loss and unsafe environments. Municipalities in Sweden have large expenses from cleaning up wrongfully placed litter. It is illegal to litter in Sweden and despite this, many municipalities struggle with high amounts of litter. Strängnäs municipality, Sweden, have acknowledged this problem and are looking for new strategies to change the current behaviors of their residents. Residents in Strängnäs answered a questionnaire regarding their current littering behaviors, their attitudes towards the field and how communication can influence their behaviors to understand which influences are important regarding littering. The aim of this study was to understand what behaviors individuals currently have, what influences these behaviors and how Strängnäs municipality can work more with communication towards the residents. The background and theoretical approach provided and understanding of previous studies on littering, but also the importance of social norms and social environment. The theories used in this study was Social Practice Theory and Cognitive Dissonance Theory. The results from this study were that social norms influence the respondents’ behaviors; however, their current social environment did not tend to have the same influence as their upbringing. Younger residents also tended to litter more than older. The key results were that the individuals who participated in the study were very unhappy with the current situation and the work that Strängnäs municipality currently are doing regarding littering. The respondents thought the city center to be very littered and unsafe, and there was a norm not to tell others not to litter if seen. However, many of the participants did not know what strategies the municipality already used which implies that the communication from the municipality could be improved. This study highlights the importance of communication and information and how these affect individuals littering behaviors through social norms.

Denna kvalitativa studie syftar till att undersöka hur det praktiska arbetet med studie- och yrkesvägledning för grundskolans årskurs 1–6 ser ut och vilka förutsättningar studie- och yrkesvägledare anser sig få för att utföra detta arbete. Undersökningen har belyst frågan om studieoch yrkesvägledare arbetar med att undersöka normativa uppfattningar om studier och yrken hos elever i årskurs 1–6. Vi har under uppsatsarbetet använt oss av en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer, och vi har använt oss av ett målstyrt urval för att välja ut våra respondenter. För att hjälpa oss att besvara våra två första frågeställningar har vi använt oss av Herzbergs tvåfaktorteori och för den tredje och sista frågeställningen har vi använt oss av Gottfredsons teori om begränsningar och kompromisser. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det finns en stor variation av hur det praktiska arbetet ser ut med studie- och yrkesvägledning för årskurs 1–6 hos respondenterna, och att det finns många olika förutsättningar som skapar möjligheten för detta arbete att ske, och dessa förutsättningar kommer att benämnas som motivations- och hygienfaktorer. Resultatet visar även att respondenterna arbetar aktivt med att belysa normativa uppfattningar om studier och yrken hos elever i årskurs 1–6. / This qualitative study aims to find out how the practical work with career guidance counseling for primary school students in year 1–6 looks like and which conditions career counselors consider themselves to have to do this work. The study will also aim to answer the question whether career counselors work with the perceptions of social norms that primary school students in year 1–6 have.During the writing of this paper we have used a qualitative method with semistructured interviews, and we have used a goal-oriented sampling technique to choose our respondents. To help us to answer the first two issues we will use Herzbergs two-factor theory and for the third and last issue we will use Gottfredsons theory of circumscription and compromise. The result of the study shows that there is a large variation in how the practical work is carried outwhen it comes to career guidance counseling in primary school’s year 1–6 for the respondents, and that there are many diffrent conditions wich create the possibility for the work to take place, and these conditions will be named motivational- and hygienefactors. The result also shows that the respondents activley work with bringing light on the normative views that students in year 1–6 have when it comes to studies and work.

Recent scholarly work in mathematics education has included a focus on learning mathematics with understanding (Hiebert & Carpenter, 1992; Hiebert et al., 1997; Fennema & Romberg, 1999; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Hiebert et al. (1997) discussed two processes that they suggested increase understanding and that are central to this study: reflection and communication. Learning mathematics with understanding requires that the students create a deeper knowledge of mathematics through reflection and communication. The environment in which such learning can take place must include patterns of behavior, known as social norms that promote deeper thinking. When the social norms encourage reflection and communication among the members of the classroom community, or supports learning with understanding, it becomes what I term a productive discourse community. The purpose of this study is to find out what a teacher does to create and maintain a productive discourse community where students can reason and learn with understanding. To accomplish this purpose, this research asks the following question: In what ways does the teacher in the study direct mathematical discourse in order to facilitate understanding? To answer this research question, data was gathered from eight class periods. The classroom discourse was analyzed and six discourse generating tools were found to be used by the teacher: (1) using lower-order questions to engage students, (2) persisting in eliciting students' reasoning, (3) encouraging as many student participations as possible, (4) encouraging students to analyze and evaluate each other's comments, (5) encouraging students to share as many strategies as possible and (6) using a focusing discourse pattern. There were also three social norms found to be established in the classroom at the time of the data collection. These norms are: all students are expected to (a) participate (b) share their reasoning when called upon, and (c) listen to, analyze, and evaluate each other's comments. Through further analysis, it was found that the six discourse generating tools reinforced the social norms, while the social norms supported the six discourse generating tools. Thus creating an environment where reflection and communication occurred in a way that promoted learning mathematics with understanding.

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