The study looked at how misperceptions of randomness (the gambler’s fallacy or the hot-hand fallacy) would show differences in self-serving-bias through different levels of perceived control. In order to investigate this relationship between misperceptions of randomness, self-serving bias, and perceived control, the study manipulated perceived control by varying who threw the coin (experimenter/participant) and by showing a skill prime to some participants. Thus, in the experiment, participants either saw a skill prime or not by random assignment. Afterwards, the participants predicted an outcome, rated the confidence of the prediction, then the participants would throw a coin for half of the trials while the experimenter would for the other trials. Due to little variability of the self-serving bias, the analysis could not test the hypothesis. However, the study found that other variable such as confidence was able to predict the misperception of randomness when the participants threw the coin.

Tension has been the most significant and constant factor in the relationship between North and South Korea over the past sixty years. The differences in the political systems and the economic disparity between the two countries have resulted in what was once one nation moving in two radically divergent directions. These differences have led to a state of imbalance and resulted in constant political instability that has been playing out within the boundaries of the two countries, explicitly in no-man’s land, the demilitarized zone (DMZ). As one of the world’s most heavily militarized borderline, the DMZ embodies a wide range of political and social tensions. Among these is the action-reaction relationship between the Imnam Dam of North Korea and the Peace Dam of South Korea; the Imnam Dam was built as an act of offence to flood Seoul by bombing the dam down, and the Peace Dam was built as an act of defense to prevent overflow of water into Seoul. The historical and present conditions of this relationship maximize the military limitations and the possibilities of greater exchange between the two Koreas in creating a mutually beneficial relationship. In this thesis, this relationship is realized through “faction space”, a specific space situated in a fictional reality that does not reflect on its immediate surroundings, but of its own world, a speculative fictional idea of what it could become. Four different types of borderline conditions are studied to find out how these conditions can be translated into opportunities of creating spaces not only for the military, but also for the public. Each condition focuses on a topic derived from the existing surroundings. The final faction spaces perform as architectural stimuli within the feuding landscape of the two Koreas, striving to relieve or intensify the social and political tension between each other. Conditions of these faction spaces may begin to exist in various places around the DMZ, redefining the borderscape. A time may come when the most heavily militarized zone in the world shifts its focus to become a space for reciprocity.

This thesis focuses on the analysis of the role of adhesion between substrate and cell and factors of Quorum sensing on the migration of Dictyostelium amoeba. Tools to automate the recordings of videomicroscopy and image analysis have been developed to work with very large samples of cells and toquantify cell migration. A microfluidic device for cell detachment in hydrodynamic flow combined witha motorized stage has allowed a statistical study of adhesion but also the dynamics of detachment. The analysis of the migration of Dictyostelium in non nutritive medium highlights the role of density on celldifferentiation and migration capacity. We observe the presence of a maximum speed of migration after6 hours of starvation. We show that the adhesion to glass is twice as low in deprivation buffer as inthe nutrient medium. The experiences of migration in growth medium revealed the presence of a factorof detection of density secreted by the cells and regulating their random migration. The diffusion coefficient, the persistence of the movement and morphology of cells vary depending on the concentrationof this factor. This factor does not affect cell adhesion but only the dynamics of detachment. Finally, the testing protocol developed allowed us to make a comparative study of migration by varying otherparameters such as surface or the chemical composition of experimental medium. This work concludesby outlining the possible role of adhesion to the migration of Dictyostelium in nutrient medium.

Social and temporal comparison researchers to date have only looked at comparisons involving the self. The present investigation aims to extend comparison theory by examining social and temporal comparisons people make of others. Using movie reviews, the results support Festinger’s (1954) similarity hypothesis, such that lateral comparisons were more frequent than either upward or downward comparisons when the comparisons were social in nature. For temporal comparisons, on the other hand, there was no difference in the use of upward, downward, and lateral comparisons, which does not support Albert’s (1977) hypothesis that people are motivated to maintain a stable sense of self over time and should therefore prefer lateral comparisons over upward or downward comparisons. Implications about the use of between-individual comparisons as a way to expand comparison theory and the benefits of examining these types of comparisons for their own sake are discussed.

L’étude qui suit a pour le but une juxtaposition des textes de chansons sociales produites au Québec et au Nicaragua de 1960 à 1980. Les auteurs choisis sont : Raymond Lévesque, Georges Dor, Carlos Mejía Godoy et Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy car leurs textes reflètent les inquiétudes et les attitudes populaires de l’époque de la Révolution tranquille et de la fin du régime somoziste, deux périodes cruciales dans l'histoire récente de ces deux collectivités. Il s’agit d’une prise de parole dont la forme reflète le caractère social de chaque nation comme l’explique Raymond Williams et il s’agit de l’utilisation de tactiques qui relèvent d’occasions comme l’explique Michel de Certeau. La chanson sociale, une des formes de la prise de parole, constitue une réaction contre -culturelle contre le bricolage proposé par les producteurs de la culture officielle. Dans les détails que cette étude examine, le texte de la chanson sociale fait découvrir toute une manière de vivre de chaque nation. En effet, la chanson sociale se sert des éléments de la culture officielle de façon à exposer l’essence de ce que la société réellement éprouve. Notre analyse textuelle touche plus particulièrement les thèmes de la pauvreté et de l’espoir pour l’avenir. La juxtaposition Québec-Nicaragua révèle que les auteurs-chanteurs-compositeurs de chaque nation trouvent des moyens de prendre la parole en accord avec les exigences du caractère social de la culture d’origine.

Social and temporal comparison researchers to date have only looked at comparisons involving the self. The present investigation aims to extend comparison theory by examining social and temporal comparisons people make of others. Using movie reviews, the results support Festinger’s (1954) similarity hypothesis, such that lateral comparisons were more frequent than either upward or downward comparisons when the comparisons were social in nature. For temporal comparisons, on the other hand, there was no difference in the use of upward, downward, and lateral comparisons, which does not support Albert’s (1977) hypothesis that people are motivated to maintain a stable sense of self over time and should therefore prefer lateral comparisons over upward or downward comparisons. Implications about the use of between-individual comparisons as a way to expand comparison theory and the benefits of examining these types of comparisons for their own sake are discussed.

L’étude qui suit a pour le but une juxtaposition des textes de chansons sociales produites au Québec et au Nicaragua de 1960 à 1980. Les auteurs choisis sont : Raymond Lévesque, Georges Dor, Carlos Mejía Godoy et Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy car leurs textes reflètent les inquiétudes et les attitudes populaires de l’époque de la Révolution tranquille et de la fin du régime somoziste, deux périodes cruciales dans l'histoire récente de ces deux collectivités. Il s’agit d’une prise de parole dont la forme reflète le caractère social de chaque nation comme l’explique Raymond Williams et il s’agit de l’utilisation de tactiques qui relèvent d’occasions comme l’explique Michel de Certeau. La chanson sociale, une des formes de la prise de parole, constitue une réaction contre -culturelle contre le bricolage proposé par les producteurs de la culture officielle. Dans les détails que cette étude examine, le texte de la chanson sociale fait découvrir toute une manière de vivre de chaque nation. En effet, la chanson sociale se sert des éléments de la culture officielle de façon à exposer l’essence de ce que la société réellement éprouve. Notre analyse textuelle touche plus particulièrement les thèmes de la pauvreté et de l’espoir pour l’avenir. La juxtaposition Québec-Nicaragua révèle que les auteurs-chanteurs-compositeurs de chaque nation trouvent des moyens de prendre la parole en accord avec les exigences du caractère social de la culture d’origine.

This study was carried out in Ronneby municipality during May 2006. I chose to compare three senior schools with regards to the implementation of objective orientated directives based on the teachers understanding of the task, motivation, resources allocated and their significance for the disparity between boys’ and girls’ grades. I carried out nine in-depth interviews: three at each senior school. From the interviews it emerged that teachers perceive objectives differently from parents and students. Teachers claim that they understand the directives but say that they lack the resources. According to those interviewed, the disparity in grades between boys and girls is due to biological factors, class affiliation and group dynamics. None of those interviewed feel that they contribute to the difference in grades. This study should not be seen as a generalisation but rather as a preliminary study to further research within the topic area.

Departing from the statement of the Swedish member of the European Parliament Eva-Britt Svensson that the EU could threat the Swedish development in gender politics this essay aims to investigate if this is possible and probable. In order to acquire a view of the actual differences between European and Swedish gender politics in the domain of family- and employment policies and how they affect one another I have conducted interviews with Swedish members of the European Parliament, civil servants and a lobbyist. By subjecting the answers to critical feminist theory the essay tries to explain the difference in the view of women and gender between the EU and Sweden and what it implicates. It seems that the basic ambition of equality between women and men is to be found at both the European level and at Swedish level. But the view of the family and the role of the women as responsible for care work differ. Swedish gender politics don’t seem to have been affected in any negative way by EU rulings so far. The risk of Sweden to compare itself with other European countries could, however, lead to stagnation in the struggle for equality between women and men as an effect of Sweden considering itself to be far ahead.

I detta examensarbete har jag främst försökt besvara två olika frågeställningar: Vad anser lärare på högstadiet om jämställdhet och jämställdhetsarbete i skolan? Och används några metoder för att jobba med jämställdhet och i så fall vilka?        För att besvara dessa frågor valde jag att skicka ut enkäter till 91 yrkesverksamma högstadielärare i Karlstads och Trollhättans kommun. Av dessa 91 enkäter fick jag in 30 svar vilka i sin tur utgör grunden för denna undersökning.  Av svaren framkom bland annat att 83% av pedagogerna ansåg sig dagligen eller flera gånger i veckan jobba medvetet med att främja jämställdheten i skolan och att 80% av lärarna har uppfattningen om att pedagoger på högstadiet i allmänhet tycker att jämställdhetsarbetet är viktigt. Men det framkom också att 85 % av pedagogerna tycker att skolan endast delvis uppfyller läroplanernas mål om jämställdhet och att 77.7 % anser att de har fått för lite utbildning inom området. 70% av pedagogerna i undersökningen kunde ge exempel på olika metoder som de använde sig av för att främja jämställdheten i skolan. / In this report I have tried to answer two different questions: What do senior level teachers think about the ability of schools work to promote equal opportunities between the sexes ? Do teachers use any methods to promote equal opportunities between the sexes? And if so, which methods do they use?            To answer these questions a questionnaire was distributed to 91 senior level teachers in Karlstad and Trollhättan.  Of these 91 questionnaires 30 answers came in, and these 30 answers underlie the results of this report.  The results of the questionnaires showed that 83% of the senior level teachers consider themselves to promote equality between the sexes every day or several times a week and 80% of the teachers think that senior level teachers in general consider the work to promote equality between the sexes important. But the results also showed that 85% the senior level teachers think that schools only partly fulfil the schools goal to promote equality between the sexes and 77.7% thinks that they have had too little education in how to work with this problem. 70% of the senior level teachers could give example of method they use to work with equality between the sexes.