Health pursuing is one of the most important and common aspirations of people in a modern society. However, what is their concept about health? What are the conditions of their cognitions about being healthy? As people¡¦s income has increased, nutritious diet supplements (generally called health foods) have become a popular product category. But, while types of health foods in the market are numerous and competition between the different products are fierce, how do consumers make their decision, facing these various choices? How do Taiwanese people understand and acquaint with particular types of health foods? How do they switch between them, if there is a need for switch among the particular products. The current research tried to develop a measurement scale for the concept of health suitable for Taiwanese people based on their daily life, using health confidence, health dieting, living adaptation, and social interaction as the four fundamental dimensions. This scale is different from those health concept measurement developed based on the traditional medical perspective. The major testing products of this research are ¡§Tong-Chong-Sia-Tsau¡¨ (Cordyceps Sinensis for medical terminology) and ¡§Ling-Zhi,¡¨ two of new categories of Chinese health supplements developed from special plants. Two other categories of health foods product, ¡§traditional Chinese herb medicine¡¨ and ¡§Western vitamin pills,¡¨ are also included in the observation of category switching. Adoption of innovation is an important issue in the buying behavior research of health foods. The current research developed a measurement scale of innovation adoption, adopting many measuring items from Kirton (1976). Regarding the choice behavior, this research observed and analyzed both ¡§need for cognition¡¨ and ¡§need for change¡¨ aspects, referring to Wood and Swait¡¦s (2002) choice research. The consumer samples of this research were collected from two groups of people in Taiwan: travel agents and land administration agents. The number of valid sample was 414. The relationship between health foods buying behavior and the demographic variables were as well analyzed and discussed for the valid sample.

This thesis explores diaspora experiences among Somali-Swedish parents and their daughters where the girls are enrolled in a Muslim-profiled school. The thesis uses migration theory with a transnational perspective, with findings that depart from the traditional view of migrants’ rootedness in a single country. It adopts the new paradigm for the sociology of childhood, where childhood is regarded as a social construction and children are considered to possess agency and competence. Anthony Giddens’s structuration theory and its main concept ‘duality of structure’ was employed as a theoretical tool. Methods that were used were participant observation, interviews (individual and in group) and analysis of essays. The thesis consists of three studies. The first study explores how Somali-Swedish parents explain their choice of a Muslim-profiled school for their children. The results refute the traditional view that such choices are solely faith-based, showing faith as important but not determining. Important factors were finding a school that met their high educational ambitions and  made both parents and children feel trusted, safe and not disrespected because of their faith and skin-colour. The second study explores transnational experiences, particularly the transfer of transnational practices from the Somali-Swedish parents’ to their children and the construction of a transnational social space, built on close global relationships. The results show that transnational practices are feasible irrespective of physical travel. The study also exemplifies the group’s readiness to relocate between countries by the onward migration from Sweden to Egypt, and implications for the children are illuminated. Somalis in diaspora often explain their propensity to move by their past nomadic life-patterns, but this study shows as strong factors the desire for better opportunities in combination with experiences of cultural and economic marginalisation in the West. The third study analyses how girls in grade 5 (about eleven years old) imagine their future career and family life by analysing essays. The findings reveal that their dreams are both consistent with the expectations of their families (in particular, high educational ambitions) and inspired from elsewhere (particularly in terms of future family life). How the girls imagine their adulthood could be seen as an example of how their original culture is subject to change in a new environment. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript.</p><p> </p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:53:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FlaviaABP_DISSERT.pdf: 1345332 bytes, checksum: d533f1e298a64a1d12f47363e43a64b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-27 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Esta disserta??o tem como objetivo geral investigar e descrever as metodologias utilizadas pelas escolas de ensino m?dio que contribuem com a escolha do aluno pelo curso de Engenharia de Produ??o da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Foram identificadas as pr?ticas pedag?gicas das escolas que contribuem/auxiliam o aluno do ensino m?dio na escolha da carreira. O objeto de investiga??o foram as escolas de ensino m?dio que mais aprovam no curso de engenharia de Produ??o da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). A abordagem da pesquisa ? qualitativa e quanto aos objetivos a pesquisa ? considerada explorat?ria, pois as informa??es obtidas n?o podem ser quantific?veis e os dados obtidos s?o analisados indutivamente. O m?todo utilizado ? o estudo de caso, pois se trata de um estudo contempor?neo dentro do contexto da vida real. A pesquisa foi realizada com os coordenadores pedag?gicos do ensino m?dio das escolas selecionadas, nos meses de setembro, outubro, novembro e dezembro de 2012. Os dados foram coletados por meio de an?lise documental, entrevista semi-estruturada e a observa??o. Os resultados mostram que as escolas que mais aprovam no curso de Engenharia de Produ??o da UFRN s?o: Instituto Federal de Educa??o, Ci?ncias e Tecnologia-(IFRN); Col?gio Salesiano S?o Jos?; Centro de Educa??o Integrada-CEI (Mirassol); Col?gio Marista de Natal; Col?gio e Curso-(CAP). Os resultados, encontrados na pesquisa, mostram que os motivos que levam a escolha pelo curso de Engenharia de Produ??o conforme os ingressantes 2000-2012 est?o relacionados ? voca??o e ? oferta de mercado de trabalho. Foi poss?vel identificar que 80% dos alunos egressos no curso de Engenharia de Produ??o da UFRN, conclu?ram o ensino m?dio em escolas particulares no turno diurno. Espera-se desta forma contribuir com estudos e pesquisas na ?rea de educa??o em engenharia de produ??o relacionando a educa??o b?sica e a escolha da carreira a fim de reduzir as taxas de evas?o em uma das profiss?es mais importantes para o crescimento sustent?vel do pa?s

Avhandlingen beskriver och analyserar hur skolvalfriheten som policy, det vill säga uppfattad möjlighet och hot tar sig i uttryck i vardaglig praktik. Aspekter av diskurser, praktiker analyseras i avhandlingen utifrån olika aktörers handlingshorisonter. Avhandlingens kontext består av en urbant belägen lokal skolmarknad, inom vilken aktörers praktiker och strategier undersöks. Avhandlingen behandlas således hur ungdomar, familjer och skolprofessionella navigerar skolvalfriheten i en alltmer polariserad och storstadsregion. Teoretiskt ramas studien in av Pierre Bourdieu sociologi samt koncept från det kulturgeografiska fältet. Metodeoliskt bygger avhandlingen på empiri insamlat med etnografiska metoder under läsåret 2012-2013. I de fem empiriska kapitlen diskuteras hur föreställda geografier, skolhabitus, rykten och symboliska gränser förhandlas av studiens aktörer. I det avslutande kapitlet diskuteras och analyseras avhandlingens främsta bidrag. Kapitlet lyfter också några frågeställningar som måste adresseras för ett mer jämlikt utbildningssystem. / This thesis explores and analyses how school choices are made and perceived in an urban local school market. The thesis uses concepts from the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and theories working with the concept of place and space. Using ethnographical methods, it explores the geography of school choice, while the empirical material describes and analyses school choices in a local school market structured by socio-economic as well as symbolic boundaries. The five empirical chapters discuss and analyse imaginary geographies, school habitus, hot and cold knowledge, and symbolic boundaries. The concluding chapter discusses the main findings and addresses some questions regarding how to make the educational system more equitable.