CHOICES, the career planning computer program, was evaluated by interviewing 35 grade 11 and 12 students. Using the critical incident technique, reports were elicited of what facilitated or hindered their career planning. These collected incidents were categorized by similarity to provide counsellors and others with a map of exactly what the program does to help or hinder career planning. This map potentially enables counsellors to capitalize on benefits and to minimize possible detriments. Secondly, this map was qualitatively compared to a similar evaluation of the Self-Directed Search. Overall, it was found that the two interventions have differing advantages and disadvantages. CHOICES stresses reality constraints, specificity and extrinsic work features. The SDS underlines self-awareness and an understanding of the matching process. It seems that CHOICES is more appropriate for planning and specific decisions regarding options while the SDS tends to focus on general exploration and decisions regarding fields. The writer wishes to express his appreciation to the following persons: To Dr. Larry Cochran, research supervisor, whose patience, availability and countless hours over six years made this study possible. To Dr. Marv Westwood, whose continual support especially for the clinical comprehensive, was greatly appreciated. To Dr. Bill Borgen, whose encouragement at the appropriate time enabled me to perservere. To Dr. Norm Amundson, whose inspired synthesis made the oral presentation smoother. To Dr. Ron MacGregor, whose suggestions were appreciated. To the students, to the staff of Matthew McNair Senior Secondary and to the counsellor Mike Casselman, whose co-operation and support made this study possible. To Mrs. Irma Eichler, for her devoted time and effort in typing this dissertation. And finally, to my parents Rene and Lucille, to my sisters Louise and Anita, and to my brother Jean, for their continual support and encouragement. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Adolescent students’ perceptions of parental influence in relation to mathematics education is an under-researched area, since most studies in this area focus on parental involvement in primary mathematics. This research study aims to fill this gap in the literature by exploring adolescent students’ perceptions of parental influence on their dispositions towards studying mathematically-demanding courses in Higher Education (HE). This study employs mixed research methods to investigate students’ perceptions of parental influence with a survey (N=563) and semi-structured interviews with six students and their parents. Additional interviews were conducted with three immigrant families in Cyprus. The study builds on Bourdieu’s theory of reproduction of social inequalities and extends some concepts of Bourdieu’s theoretical framework to discuss parental influence. The main findings of this research study are reported in three journal papers whilst the papers are under review for publication. The first paper of the thesis reports the analysis of the quantitative data of this study by combining Rasch analysis with statistical modelling. The statistical analysis showed that parental influence is not statistically significant for predicting students’ mathematical dispositions in some models, when other background variables are included in the models. However, further statistical analysis showed that the effect of parental influence is mediated through students’ choice of mathematics course and their mathematical inclination. The non-statistical significance of parental influence in some models was interpreted as a ‘misrecognition’ after Bourdieu (1980). The same phenomenon was noted in the second paper of the thesis, where students and their parents ‘denied’ parental influence during their interviews. This was again interpreted as ‘misrecognition’ and parental influence is conceptualised as a form of ‘symbolic violence’ that parents exercise on their children. Arguably, parents possess more capital in the family field and their influence on their children’s educational choices might be unconscious, thus students’ misrecognise their parents’ influence but they draw significantly on their family’s capital to make their choices for future studies in HE.Lastly, the third paper of the thesis explored cultural differences in students’ perceptions of parental influence in England and Cyprus; stronger perceptions of parental influence were identified in immigrant students’ interviews compared to indigenous students in both countries. Bourdieu’s (1977) concept of ‘hysteresis’ was adapted to theorise this phenomenon. Arguably, while immigrant students’ habitus adjust to the new field, students become more reflective on their parents’ influence because of the reflexivity the hysteresis effect entails. In all three papers Bourdieu’s theoretical framework was used to operationalise students’ mathematical dispositions and to interpret the findings of this study. The main contributions to knowledge of this study is the operationalisation of students’ mathematical habitus; the new theoretical conceptualisation of parental influence as a form of symbolic violence in the family field and the extension of the hysteresis effect to interpret immigrant students’ stronger perceptions of their parents’ influence.

Objective of this thesis is to identify potential energy savings regarding engine heating of cars within the Jämtland-Härjedalen county, northern Sweden. This could contribute to energy consumption reduction goals of Sweden. Potential energy savings are defined by comparing the current energy consumption with the energy consumption of different energy saving scenarios in terms of behavioural change and technological choices. Energy consumption, both current and potential is modeled in excel based on data derived from quantitative investigation and literature review. Engine heating is identified as an energy consumer, the energy saved by fuel consumption reduction (7,77 TJ/year) does not overcome the invested energy to heat engines (26,36 TJ/year). Engine heating reduces engine wear, fossil fuel consumption (0,34 TJ/year) and emissions currently. Regarding the choice of technology using more automatic time adjustment reduces energy consumption, engine wear, emissions and fossil fuel consumption. Other scenarios show a compromise between energy consumption reduction on one side and fossil fuel consumption reduction in combination with reduced engine wear and emissions on the other side.

Cette thèse tente d’apporter, en la sociologisant, des éléments de réponse à une question émanant du monde médical : pourquoi des individus atteints d’hypercholestérolémie et donc surexposés à des risques cardio-vasculaires ne mettent-ils pas en application les conseils diététiques formulés par leur médecin ? Trois phases d’enquête ont été menées : 1) des entretiens d’experts, dans le but d’identifier les controverses qui ont transformé l’hypercholestérolémie en un problème de santé publique majeur ; 2) des entretiens individuels et collectifs auprès de « mangeurs à risques », afin de saisir les principaux freins au suivi des règles hygiéno-diététiques prescrites et les formes de régulation sociale de la pathologie ; et 3) une enquête quantitative, avec passation de questionnaires auprès de 800 individus, ayant pour but la description socio-démographique de la population d’étude et la validation des résultats qualitatifs. Si les rapports à l’alimentation et à la santé apparaissent comme étant en partie surdéterminés par des variables sociales et culturelles, les résultats invitent surtout à resituer les individus dans leurs contextes interactionnels et familiaux. Les décisions alimentaires et les manières de faire face à cette pathologie chronique ne sont pas construites dans une perspective individuelle. Au final, l’articulation entre la sociologie de l’alimentation et les champs de la santé, du risque, de la famille et du genre a permis de renouveler la problématique de l’observance et d’ouvrir un vaste territoire de recherches sur les effets du « manger ensemble » et du « vivre ensemble ». En cela, la thèse entend contribuer à une sociologie de la décision alimentaire. / This thesis attends answering a question originated from the medical world, by framing it through a sociological perspective: why do some hypercholesterolaemic individuals not comply with their doctor’s dietetic advice although being overexposed to cardiovascular risks? Three surveys were conducted: 1) some experts’ interviews, so as to identify the controversies that have led hypercholesterolaemia to be considered as a major public health problem; some in-depth interviews and a focus group with “at risk eaters”, in order to grasp the main obstacles to the dietary compliance and the forms of social regulation for the pathology; and 3) a quantitative survey, carried out by questionnaires among 800 people and developed with the aim of collecting sociodemographic data on the population, and validating the qualitative results. Notwithstanding that the relations with food and health are partly over-determined by social and cultural variables, results underlined the need to situate individuals in their interactional and family environment. Neither eating choices nor the ways to cope with this chronic pathology are constructed within an individual perspective. Connecting the sociology of food with other works from the health, risk, family and gender domains eventually enabled revitalizing the compliance issue and initiating a vast field of researches on the effects of “eating together” and “living together”. This thesis therefore intends contributing to a sociology of eating choices.

Le premier chapitre, écrit conjointement avec Alfred Galichon, Keith O'Hara et Matthew Shum, montre l'équivalence entre les modèles de choix discrets et les modèles d'appariements. Cette équivalence permet l'estimation efficace, par des algorithmes d'appariement, de modèles qui étaient jusqu'à présent réputés comme difficile à estimer dans la littérature. Le deuxième chapitre, écrit conjointement avec Mathilde Poulhès, s'appuie sur les résultats du premier pour estimer le consentement marginal à payer des agents pour différentes caractéristiques du logement et du quartier à Paris. Il introduit une nouvelle procédure d'estimation basée sur le modèle de pures caractéristiques. Grâce à un riche jeu de données sur les achats de logements à Paris, nous montrons que le revenu moyen du voisinage et le niveau de criminalité sont de puissants déterminants du choix du quartier pour tous les types d'acheteurs, que l'accessibilité à l'emploi est également un facteur déterminant pour les ménages comptant plus d'une personne, et que la qualité de l'école du secteur joue un rôle primordial pour les ménages avec enfants. Le troisième chapitre, écrit conjointement avec Guillaume Chapelle, Alain Trannoy et Etienne Wasmer, montre que la croissance récente du ratio patrimoine sur revenu est due uniquement à l'augmentation du prix des logements, et plus précisément à l'augmentation du prix d'un facteur fixe de production: la terre. Nous montrons ensuite qu'un système de taxation du patrimoine doit taxer le facteur fixe qu'est la terre à des fins de redistribution et non le capital productif pour ne pas décourager l'investissement. / The first two of the three chapters of this thesis examine the identification and the estimation of discrete choice models. The first chapter proves the equivalence between matching models and discrete choice models, and draws the consequences in terms of identification and estimation. The second chapter builds on the results of the first, and uses matching algorithms to estimate the marginal willingness to pay of households for various housing and neighborhood characteristics in Paris (such as school performance, crime level, distance to employment areas). The third chapter deals with another topic: it first shows that the recent rise in the capital-income ratio highlighted by Thomas Piketty in his book is due to the rise in housing prices, and it then explores the consequences in terms of wealth distribution.

Bakgrund: Att som barn växa upp i en dysfunktionell familj i nära relation till förälder/föräldrar med psykisk ohälsa påverkar barnet både under uppväxten men även senare i livet. Anknytningen och de system som finns runt barnet kommer ha en avgörande betydelse för barnets förmåga att socialisera, mentalisera och för att bygga upp en resiliens. Genom maskrosbarnens berättelser om sin uppväxt skapas en större förståelse för hur uppväxtvillkoren kan påverka framtida val av yrke och yrkesprofession. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur uppväxtvillkoren kan påverka framtida val av yrke för barn som vuxit upp i en dysfunktionell familj i nära relation till förälder/föräldrar med psykisk ohälsa.Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ inriktning med utgångspunkt semistrukturerade intervjuer där sex intervjuer har utförts. Studien utgår från anknytningsteorin och systemteorin som också kopplas samman med mentaliseringsteorin och resiliens. Resultat: Resultatet visar att uppväxtvillkor har påverkat informanternas val av yrke. Utifrån intervjuerna har sex teman hittats, önskan att hjälpa andra, rädsla, bristande tillit, ombytta roller, bekräftelse och mentalisering. Uppväxtens olika roller som exempelvis den vuxna som tagit hand om familjen, ”terapeuten” som lyssnat, tillsammans med sin egen sårbarhet, rädsla och bristande tillit har byggt upp en kunskap och identitet. Detta har i sin tur byggt upp en grundtrygghet av olika rollerna som kan finnas inom socialt arbete. Att arbeta som exempelvis terapeut är något de är bra på, en roll de känner sig trygg med, en roll de identifiera sig med. Konklusion: Maskrosbarnens utbildning har pågått hela livet och med ett samlat perspektiv av erfarenheter från uppväxten, sin utökade förmåga att mentalisera, tillsammans med en akademisk grund skulle dagens socialpsykiatri kunna lyfta en ny specialkompetens. Dagens maskrosbarn är morgondagens profession. / Background: As a child, growing up in a dysfunctional family in close relation to parent / parents with mental illness affects the child both during childhood but also later in life. The attachment and the systems that exist around the child will have a decisive influence on the child's ability to socialize, mentalize and to build resilience. Through the stories of the dandelion children regarding their upbringing which gives a greater understanding of how the growing conditions can affect future choices of profession and professional profession is created.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the growing conditions can affect the future choice of profession for children who have grown up in a dysfunctional family in close relation to parent/parents with mental illness.Method: The study has a qualitative focus with semistructured interviews, which six interviews have been conducted. The study is based on attachment theory and system theory, which are also linked to the mentalization theory and resilience.Result: The results show that growth conditions have affected the informants' choice of profession. Based on the interviews, six themes have been found, the desire to help others, fear, lack of trust, exchange roles, confirmation and mentalization. The different roles of childhood, such as the adult who has taken care of the family, the “therapist” who has listened, together with their own vulnerability, fear and lack of confidence, have built up a knowledge and identity. This in turn, has built up a basic security of different roles that may exist in social work. Working as a therapist, for example, is something they are good at, a role they feel safe with, a role they identify with.Conclusion: The dandelion children's education has been going on throughout their whole lives and with an overall perspective of experiences from the upbringing, their extended ability to mentalize, together with an academic foundation, today's social psychiatry could lift a new special competence. Today's dandelion children are tomorrow's profession.

Femfaktormodellen är en personlighetsteori som används för att beskriva och utvärdera människors personligheter. Denna studie utgick från Femfaktormodellen och undersökte sambandet mellan personlighetsdrag och kostval, vilka könsskillnader som fanns avseende personlighetsdrag och kostval samt vilka de främsta självrapporterade anledningarna till att avstå eller minska köttkonsumtion var. Deltagarna (N=274) var universitetsstudenter över 18 år gamla vid ett svenskt universitet. Deltagarna rekryterades via Internet och besvarade en digital enkät. Resultaten av bivariat korrelationsanalys samt variansanalyser visade att personlighetsdraget ”Öppenhet” korrelerar med kostval och att det finns könsskillnader i en människas kostval beroende på grad av personlighetsdragen ”Känslomässig instabilitet” och ”Vänlighet”. Resultaten visade även att de främsta självrapporterade anledningarna att avstå eller minska köttkonsumtion beror på kön, kostval samt grad av ”Känslomässig instabilitet”. Sammanfattningsvis har denna studie bidragit med ny kunskap beträffande sambandet mellan personlighetsdrag och kostval. / Big-Five personality is a personality theory that is used to describe and evaluate people's personalities. This study was based on the Big-Five personality theory and examined the relationship between personality traits and food choices, what gender differences that existed regarding personality traits and food choices and which the primary self-reported reasons to abstain or decrease meat consumption were. The participants (N=274) were university students over 18 years old at a Swedish university. The participants were recruited through Internet and answered a digital survey. The results from bivariate correlational analysis and analysis of variance showed that the personality trait ”Openness” correlates with food choices and that there are gender differences in a person's food choice depending on the level of the personality traits ”Neuroticism” and ”Agreeableness”. The results also showed that the primary self-reported reasons to abstain or decrease meat consumption depends on gender, food choices and level of ”Neuroticism”. In summary this study has contributed new knowledge regarding the relationship between personality traits and food choices.

This essay provides perspectives from four teachers with over eighty years combinedexperience on their choices of content of communications in English 7. The reason forconducting this study is that in English 7, which is the last English course in Swedish uppersecondaryschool, the teacher may face a diverse group of students with different programgoals, which may lead to different content needs. The aim of the study is to explore thisquestion, considering factors that affect choices in the course and what social domain it will besituated in.Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with four experienced teachers andanalyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study reveals that one strategy for solving theabove-mentioned problem is student influence, which, in short, means that the teacher lets thestudents pick content that matches the requirements in the content of communications. Otherfindings reveal that relationships with other teachers can affect the communication content incross-subject work, the teachers second subject and personal interests affect have differentamounts of influence, what method the teacher choose in course units and what part of thecurriculum the teachers consider a priority. This essay is useful for several purposes,policymakers will be able to see how teacher reason and practice particular parts of policydocuments, teachers will be able to ask themselves the same questions and reflect on whataffects their own teaching, and teaching students will be able to see how they can include theirpassion or knowledge into subject matter.

This study explores the life stories of eight women in the South African mining industry; four older women in senior managerial positions and four younger women who have recently acquired a technical mining-related qualification that should place them on the path to management. A major goal was to understand how the women came to their careers in mining, the field being a non-traditional choice for women. The study also aimed to explore how working in a male-dominated industry affected their current life experiences and future aspirations. Life story interviews were conducted to trace the journeys they took to their present positions. The stories collected were then analysed using qualitative thematic analysis through Atlas.ti, to derive patterns in the accounts collected, as well as any differences that may exist between the two groups of women. The results indicate that each woman’s life story is unique. However, significant patterns were found during the analysis. Both the younger and older women were raised in nuclear family structures, consisting of two parents and one or more siblings. Both groups of women also displayed a high affinity towards academics and performed well throughout their basic education years, while displaying a specific interest in the scientific- and technically-related fields. This was then followed by attendance of a higher education institution, with continued high performance. At this point most of the women entered the mining industry, through a bursary from a mining company requiring them to work back the bursary as an employee of the company. The participants all have a high level of ambition and desire to succeed in their respective professions. The results provided insight on how early life and other influences shaped the women’s career choices. Although the participants were diverse in their method of entry into the mining industry and the motivations or factors that have thus far kept them there, their workplace experiences have been similar, even though their reactions to them varied. They faced challenges related to being respected professionals despite their gender, career delays, sacrificing femininity to conform to a masculine environment, and exposure to overt sexual harassment. These challenges and experiences have been a source of growth for some, mainly in the older cohort, and a signal to exit the industry for others, mainly in the younger cohort. This explains to an extent why the technically qualified women-miner statistics have remained stagnant, since half the women are leaving the industry as fast as they are entering. Overall, the results of the research paint a bleak picture of the leadership and professional pipeline for women in mining. The implications of these findings for research and organisations in South Africa are discussed. / Dissertation MCom--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Higher education in any area of sustainable development is increasingly seen as aremedy to solve the currently faced climate crisis. However, the complex,interdisciplinary, and even personal nature of Education for Sustainable Development(ESD) questions the status quo of traditional pedagogic approaches and learningtechniques. Using the example of a study trip provider specialized in ESD, therelevance of experiential real-life studies in a foreign setting is investigated and theirpotential for Sustainability Education highlighted. An online questionnaire serves as afundament for understanding the impacts of multidimensional study trips regardingpersonal but especially professional choices. Data of more than 100 formerparticipants of sustainability-related study trips were gathered and evaluatedquantitatively as well as following a deductive analysis. Focus is drawn topro-environmental behaviors and beliefs that are potentially nourished by theexposure to natural treasures and first-hand expertise in Sustainable Development.The results of this study substantiate the great potential for knowledge transfer,behavioral changes, and shifts in mindsets based on experiential learning taking placein the context of traveling. Participants are encouraged and determined to follow acareer in sustainability after participating in the program. Half of the examined alumnigroup is already in a position that supports Sustainable Development in some form,leading to the overall success of the utilization of study trips in ESD, despite existingweaknesses.