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Abstract Women claiming refugee status in Canada must demonstrate to the Immigration and Refugee Board [IRB] that their claim is valid and plausible. Canada’s legislative framework acknowledges that gender-related persecution can qualify as a ground for refugee status under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees [Refugee Convention]. Specifically, the IRB’s Chairperson’s Guideline 4 – Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution [Gender Guidelines] assist IRB decision-makers in deciding gender-related refugee claims by offering options for procedural accommodation and analytical guidance in the evaluation of gender-related claims. The Gender Guidelines aim to ensure decision-makers have “the degree of knowledge, understanding, and sensitivity” needed to make a “fair and correct judgment” of gender-related claims (Griffith v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] FCJ No 1142 (QL)). The purpose of this research is to critically examine the use of the Gender Guidelines in IRB decisions on gender-related refugee claims and Federal Court judicial reviews of those claims. Looking at 166 Federal Court of Canada judicial reviews of gender-related claims of persecution previously rejected at the IRB level from 2003 to 2013, I used a grounded theory methodological basis and content analysis approach informed by Michel Foucault’s insights on power relationships and Judith Butler’s insights on performativity to examine discursive deployment of gender in refugee determinations through the treatment of the Gender Guidelines. I examined four legal standards used in these judicial reviews of gender-related claim determination—credibility assessments, plausibility assessments, availability of state protection, and the availability of an internal flight alternative [IFA]. I analyzed the application of these standards and looked at how variables such as country of origin or type of persecution or extrajudicial factors such as Canadian political discourse and rigid understandings of gender identity result in inconsistent application of the Gender Guidelines, thereby violating women refugee claimants’ right to procedural fairness. Several recommendations are made for changes at both the IRB and Federal Court level to correct identified barriers and to ensure all claims related to gender-related persecution have a full and fair opportunity to provide evidence and have it considered on its merits.

The topic of leadership has been present in the academic world for about 100 years. In science, this is considered a rather short period of time, during which the discipline has developed enormously. Initially formulated theories and approaches have now been revised for the most part or even in their entirety. Yet, of special interest for the purpose of this research is the extremely slow development of females in this context and the lack of attention that is given to gender biased perceptions. This academic paper reviews the earliest beginnings of the subject and, as the title suggests, covers not only the history of the subject, but also the latest trends and developments in the area of leadership and gender. As it’s been said by the townsman (c.f. Anecdote), the perceptions people have of their surroundings are as diverse as the people themselves. They depend upon an infinite amount of personal experiences, shaping each and every person’s character the way they are. Therefore, during the course of this thesis, special attention is given to the role of females and especially the cognitions towards female leaders in order to address the issue of potential gender biased perceptions. By means of an online survey - which was not directed towards the general public, but rather towards persons dedicated to the field of gender and leadership - numerical and qualitative data on questions about gender-specific perceptions of leadership was collected. In summary, it can be deduced from these results, that there is a difference in the perception of leadership qualities with respect to gender. However, it should be noted that the gender biases work in two ways: The perceived differences are dependent on both, the gender of the person who answered the questions, as well as the gender of the person in the leadership position. In our opinion as researcher, the findings reveal that there are, indeed, deeply anchored, probably subconscious perceptions that seem to be associated with the topic of gender and leadership. However, all in all it can be said that the commonly assumed stereotypes of clearly male and female leader attributes do not consistently exist anymore. According to the findings of our research, the awareness of females associated with hitherto mostly male perceived leader attributes is present and will probably further consolidate in the years to come. Hence, the findings of this thesis reinforce the general positive evolution of females in leader positions. Additionally, they nurture and further strengthen growing idea of females as being naturally perceived as leaders in order to ensure fair and equitable systems for women and men in leadership.

In recent years, focus has been on asylum policies in the context of the growing numbers of asylum seekers arriving to Denmark but not much attention has been paid to the individual situations of women seeking asylum in Denmark. This thesis presents a case study on the Danish asylum system that has been analyzed using a comparative legal analysis, examining what international legal norms Denmark has implemented into the asylum system in practice. Using critical frame analysis, dominant frames and underlying narratives were identified in asylum practices, demonstrating the negative consequences female asylum seekers experience as a result. Although, great improvements have been made by Denmark, the analysis proved that there still exists gaps in the protection of women seeking asylum. This includes the recognition of gender-related grounds for asylum, gender-sensitive procedures in application assessment, and the gender responsive reception circumstances. Furthermore, this study concludes that Denmark still has steps to take to fully adopt gender-guidelines into practice, and that (non-) application of gender-guidelines and gender-sensitive approaches has negative consequences for women seeking asylum in Denmark.

I takt med den digitala utvecklingen har kommunikationen mellan företag och konsument ökat på sociala medier även inom bilbranschen. Runtom i världen använder bilförsäljare sociala medier som plattformar för marknadsföring av sina respektive verksamheter både som generalagent och återförsäljare. Empiriskt material för hur svenska bilförsäljare framställer kvinnor och män på sociala medier har sedermera visats vara bristande. Syftet med studien var därmed att undersöka och få en bredare uppfattning om jämställdhet och könsfördelning kring bilförsäljares marknadsföring på sociala medier. Ämnet undersöktes med avsikt att frambringa information som skulle kunna vara av värde för vidare arbete mot mer jämställd marknadsföring i Sverige. Baserat på teorier och akademiska artiklar presenteras vetenskaplig information inom forskningsområdet som ligger till grund för studien. I koppling till hur svenska bilförsäljare väljer att framställa kvinnor och män via sina sociala medier har tidigare forskning presenterats vilka diskuterar och berör områdena digital marknadsföring på sociala medier, sexistisk och könsstereotypisk reklam, konsumentbeteende och marknadsföringsstrategier.  Studien är genomförd med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och en abduktiv forskningsansats. Genom fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer har primärdata från två generalagenter respektive två återförsäljare insamlats, kodats och sedermera analyserats tematiskt. Vidare har samband, likheter och skillnader inom det empiriska resultatet i relation till den teoretiska referensramen analyserats för att ge svar på forskningsfrågorna. Resultatet visade att både generalagenter och återförsäljare väljer att undvika generalisering, stereotypisk framställning och distinkt fokusering på ett specifikt kön vid framtagning av strategier. Vidare visade resultatet även att det inte framgick några åtskiljande faktorer mellan generalagenter och återförsäljare gällande framställning av kön samt arbete med könsrelaterad marknadsföring på sociala medier. / In step with the digital development, communication between companies and consumers has increased on social media also in the automotive industry. Around the world, car companies use social media as platforms for marketing their respective businesses both as general agents and dealers. Empirical material regarding how Swedish car salesmen portray women and men on social media has since been shown to be deficient. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate and gain a broader perception of gender equality and gender distribution regarding car companies marketing on social media. The subject was investigated with the intention of producing information that could be of value for further work towards more equal marketing in Sweden. Based on theories and academic articles, scientific information is presented in the research area that forms the basis of the study. In relation to how Swedish car salesmen choose to portray women and men via their social media platforms, previous research has been presented which discusses the areas of social media marketing, sexist and gender stereotypical advertising, consumer behavior and marketing strategies. The study was conducted with a qualitative research method and an abductive research approach. Through four semi-structured interviews, primary data from two general agents and two dealers were collected, coded and thereafter analyzed thematically. Furthermore, connections, similarities and differences within the empirical result in relation to the theoretical frame of reference have been analyzed to provide answers to the research questions. The results showed that both general agents and resellers choose to avoid generalization, stereotypical presentation and distinct focus on a specific gender when developing strategies. Furthermore, the results also showed that there were no distinguishing factors between general agents and dealers regarding the production of gender and work with gender-related marketing on social media.

No description available.

Despite the potential of immersive virtual environments (VEs) as educational tools, little is known about how VE system parameters impact a child using the environment. Designers of VE applications targeted at children must rely on studies done with adults to guide their design decisions. The failure to understand how children differ from adults in their responses to VEs poses a serious obstacle to the design of effective learning environments for children. The main goal of this research was to quantify the impact of varying one VE system parameter, field-of-view, on large-scale, spatial learning in middle elementary schoolchildren and the incidence of side-effects in that population in an immersive VE. The other goals of this research were to identify 1) how, and if, middle elementary schoolchildren's responses to this environment differ from that of adult participants, and 2) how, and if, gender changed participant performance and responses. Adults and 7-9 year old children were taught a U-shaped route through a six room virtual house, while wearing a helmet mounted display (HMD). Participants viewed the environment under monoscopic conditions with the horizontal field-of-view (HFOV) of the display set at either 30 or 48 degrees. Head tracking was not enabled as the children were unable to maintain a normal head position while wearing the HMD. After the learning period, participants performed tasks designed to assess spatial knowledge of the space: 1) locomotion efficiency was measured by the number of collisions with objects, 2) landmark knowledge was measured by the participant's ability to recognize photos of objects found in the environment 3) route knowledge was measured by the participant's ability to correctly re-trace the route and name the sequence of landmarks along the route, 4) configuration knowledge was measured by the participant's ability to point to occluded landmarks, make spatial inferences, and construct a model of the environment. Participants also completed a simple questionnaire which assessed the incidence of equipment difficulties and side-effects, general enjoyment, and the sense of presence in the VE. Additionally, the participant's vision and balance was checked before and after immersion in the VE. Locomotion, route knowledge, and configuration knowledge efficiency increased significantly with both age and FOV. At the smaller FOV, both adults and 7-9 year olds developed a significantly lesser degree of spatial knowledge, with the effect being amplified in the 7-9 year olds. In general, the more sophisticated the level the spatial knowledge required by a task, the greater the impact of FOV and age, with configuration knowledge being achieved significantly less frequently than route knowledge. Gender also significantly impacted the development of configuration knowledge. Only landmark knowledge did not change with age, FOV, or gender. Also, the incidence of VE balance side-effects decreased significantly with age and was impacted by gender. The incidence of equipment difficulties also decreased with age,with significantly more, and longer, breaks being taken by 7-9 year olds than by adults. Further, general enjoyment of VE immersion and presence decreased significantly with age. / Master of Science

<p>The first aim of this work has been to analyse and understand the ways in which a group of ANC-women politicians reason about bridewealth/<i>lobola</i> – an institution about which they express differing views, in particular about whether or not it is oppressive to women. The main body of the empirical material is based on 27 interviews conducted in South Africa in the period 1996-1998. </p><p>One finding of the study is that there are <i>explicit defining</i> discourses on <i>lobola </i>as well as more <i>implicitly </i>expressed understandings. The explicit discourses make a distinction between ’good <i>lobola</i>’ – which is expressed in a family-related discourse as ’a bond between families’ – and ’bad <i>lobola</i>’ which is expressed in, for instance, an economic discourse about ’the purchase of women’. The family-related discourse is interpreted as part of a discursive strategy to create <i>spaces for action</i> with respect to relations of gender-related power. (Re)definitions of <i>lobola</i> may be used not only to counter men’s abuse of monetary <i>lobola</i> but also to counter ’traditional’ gender meanings associated with <i>lobola</i>. Furthermore, explicit discourses on <i>lobola</i> are interpreted as a ‘political discourse’ which is formed both in relation to pragmatic ‘political realities’ but also in relation to hegemonic Western discourses. The political discourse on <i>lobola</i> in connection with ‘African identity’ constitutes a discursive strategy to provide <i>discursive space</i> in order for ’Africans’ to be able to (re)interpret a cherished but also controversial institution. </p><p>A second aim of the study has been of a self-reflexive character. It consitutes a critique of a ‘doing gender’ theoretical perspective as well as an attempt to transcend the ‘actor/structure dichotomy’ in sociological analysis. </p>

The first aim of this work has been to analyse and understand the ways in which a group of ANC-women politicians reason about bridewealth/lobola – an institution about which they express differing views, in particular about whether or not it is oppressive to women. The main body of the empirical material is based on 27 interviews conducted in South Africa in the period 1996-1998. One finding of the study is that there are explicit defining discourses on lobola as well as more implicitly expressed understandings. The explicit discourses make a distinction between ’good lobola’ – which is expressed in a family-related discourse as ’a bond between families’ – and ’bad lobola’ which is expressed in, for instance, an economic discourse about ’the purchase of women’. The family-related discourse is interpreted as part of a discursive strategy to create spaces for action with respect to relations of gender-related power. (Re)definitions of lobola may be used not only to counter men’s abuse of monetary lobola but also to counter ’traditional’ gender meanings associated with lobola. Furthermore, explicit discourses on lobola are interpreted as a ‘political discourse’ which is formed both in relation to pragmatic ‘political realities’ but also in relation to hegemonic Western discourses. The political discourse on lobola in connection with ‘African identity’ constitutes a discursive strategy to provide discursive space in order for ’Africans’ to be able to (re)interpret a cherished but also controversial institution. A second aim of the study has been of a self-reflexive character. It consitutes a critique of a ‘doing gender’ theoretical perspective as well as an attempt to transcend the ‘actor/structure dichotomy’ in sociological analysis.

Few would disagree that the media landscape has undergone significant changes the last decade. From bulky computers and plain mobile phones to portable High-Definition computers and multi-functional smartphones. Other media, such as newspapers and music, have evolved and prospered in a digitalized environment. The constant urge to digitalize aspects and functions of our daily lives seems almost instinctive. Television has taken further steps into this environment as it is now accepted and featured via the Internet. This essay investigates in the ways the new platforms of television will affect the traditional one. More specifically, whether the Internet Streaming Media functions as an extension or as a replacement to the current form of television.  Furthermore, this essay explores age- and gender-related content-preferences in Streaming, as well as speculating on the subject of the consequences of Streaming consumption.  The method in acquiring the empirical data is through a quantitative one, in a survey.  The conclusions made are that the survey respondents, at this current time, are using Streaming as an extension to traditional TV, that there are, in some genres, significant gender-related content preferences when watching TV over the Internet (these include: Drama, reality and sports) and that there are age-related content preference when using Streaming; as the younger age-groups watch “entertainment-shows” more than the older age-groups but neither of the groups do so exclusively. When it then comes to the discussion concerning increased individualization it is, at this point in time, too early to speculate since the respondents mostly use Streaming as an extension to the traditional television.