Truth commissions are bodies established in political transition, and they have the stated purpose of reckoning with human rights abuses committed by members of former regimes. The question driving this research is "Why have truth commissions increased so rapidly in the last 20 years?" This study moves beyond current research, which suggests that particular domestic political circumstances alone determine choice of transitional justice mechanisms. I argue that an international rule of behavior, the transitional restorative norm, has emerged and spread to decision-makers in countries of transition. In support of this notion, I perform a pre-theoretical historical analysis of transitional justice and develop a theory of decision-making in transition-which is later tested with quantitative statistics. This integrated approach allows for increased scientific rigor in the examination of international norms. Ultimately, the study demonstrates an interrelationship between shared ideas and political environments in the determination of domestic policy.

The first chapter relates the size of the present-day LGBT population to the discovery of gold during the nineteenth century gold rushes. Comparing the surroundings of gold rush counties to other mining counties, we find that there are currently 15% more same-sex couples in former gold rush counties and that residents of these counties have more favorable attitudes toward homosexuality. Gold rush counties were initially isolated, mostly uninhabited and lacked strong formal institutions, which helped shaping pro-LGBT attitudes. Examining channels of persistence, we provide empirical evidence for selective migration and the lack of strong religious institutions. The second chapter examines the impact of gender focused labor legislation on women’s labor force participation and economic empowerment. We rely on historical legislative acts passed by state legislatures and exploit whether or not states passed regulatory laws regulating overall and industry specific employment and work conditions for women, night work laws and labor laws requiring provision of seats for working women. We exploit the fact that not all states enacted these laws as well as the variation in the timing of enactment of such laws. Our results show that women in comparison to men in treated states are more likely to be in the labor force post introduction of night work laws in comparison to control states. We also document the effect of industry-specific labor policies on women’s likelihood to be employed in the affected industry and in higher-wage occupations within the industry of interest. Policy implications of our findings endorse the adoption of labor laws in favor of women to advocate their empowerment through a higher involvement in the labor market and financial independence. The third chapter tests the doctrine of first effective settlement by relating early settlers’ culture to within state variation in gender norms in the United States. In 1973, the cultural geographer Wilbur Zelinsky postulated that the distinctive traits of early settlers at initial stages of institutional development may be crucial for cultural formation. I capture settlers’ culture using past female labor force participation, women’s suffrage and financial rights at their place of origin. I document the distinctive characteristics of settlers’ populations and provide suggestive evidence in support of the spatial (across locations) and vertical (over time) transmission of gender norms. My results show that women’s labor supply is higher, in both the short and long run, in U.S. counties that historically hosted a larger settler population originating from places with favorable gender attitudes. My findings shed new light on the importance of immigrants’ characteristics and their countries/states of origin for cultural formation in hosting societies.

Background: Transgender people are a growing group in society that does not fit into the norms and structures on which the environment is built. Even thoughthe living conditions of transgender people have improved in recent years in the form of the introduction of laws and rights, studies show that they are a vulnerable group who often fall victim to, among other things, violations and discrimination.It is the nurse's responsibility to alleviate suffering and promote health, as well as to work based on laws and ethical codes in order to provide good care. Aim: To describe nurses' experiences of care encounters with trans people Method: A literature study of eleven qualitative articles. Results: The results showed three themes. The first theme was "Emotional collisions", which describe nurses' inner emotional conflict of when they felt a lack of understanding for trans people but at the same time compassion for them. The second theme was "Uncertainty in care" which describes nurses' insecurity when caring for transgender people and their experience of lack of knowledge about this patient group. The last theme, "Fear of insulting the patient" describes nurses' experience of fear of misgendering or objectifying transgender people and their confusion about what the patient's gender identity means. Conclusion: Nurses experience a need for more knowledge about how to care for transgender patients. The norms need to be changed to include minorities for better inclusion in the healthcare system.

abstract: The aim of this dissertation was to explore the construct and experiences of gender norm resistance (GNR) using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The purpose of Study 1 was to standardize and universalize what is already known about GNR by creating a quantitative GNR measure. In so doing, I operationalized the implicit and explicit GNR framework described by Way and colleagues (2014). On a sample of adolescents (484 6th grade students; girls = 234; 10-13 years old, Mage = 11.44 years, SD = .56) the GNR measure was tested for gender differences and to explore how GNR aligns with and differs from other constructs related to gender identity and peer relations. The results supported the two-factor model (implicit and explicit forms of GNR), supported convergent and discriminant validity, and identified mean level differences depending on GNR form, gender, ethnic identity, and gender typicality. The purpose of Study 2 was to explore why young men resist gender norms, what motivates their acts of resistance, and how they understand those motives. I expected that implicit GNR would be motivated by the pursuit of authentic nonconformity and would involve an awareness of norms, feeling gender atypical, and authenticity. I expected that explicit GNR would be motivated by a dislike of gender norms, and that it would involve an awareness of, dislike of, and pressure to conform to gender norms. The results supported these expectations and indicated a subtype of GNR, activist GNR, defined by the desire to change gender norms to benefit the social group. Both studies rely on the resistance/accommodation framework to describe the balance of conformity and resistance as individuals navigate systems of power and oppression. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2020

This study examined how Trump frames various countries and their leaders and whether the framing changes from different factors. It also observed whether foreign leaders were following the same path as Trump in their diplomatic communication and interaction on Twitter. This was to contribute more knowledge that connects global politics with social media to see if changes of frames through Twitter caused any global political consequences. Theories including realist constructivism and framing theory, along with concepts of social norms, political context, events, and enemy images, were applied to the study. Using directed content analysis, together with longitudinal and comparative elements, the findings showed a separation between Trump’s and the other leaders’ tweets. Almost all tweets were connected to the concepts, and various techniques of framing were identified in tweets from most leaders. However, Trump’s informal,disdain, and dramatics in his tweets have distanced himself from the rest of the leaders’ posts. Although a couple of leaders’ attempt to be hostile towards Trump and the U.S. in their tweets, they were still formal. It shows that not only is Trump’s Twiplomacy a reflection of American superpower forcefulness, but also a unique form that the rest choose to ignore.

Previous research has shown that when children choose to play an instrument, their gender and preconceived notions tied to it, has been a big factor. Gender norms have ruled the expectations and choices available for girls. It has also been shown that more often the boys would play instruments and the girls would sing. The guitar is one instrument that has been closely paired with these stereotypes and therefore often unattainable for girls, but what is the situation like today in Sweden?  In Sweden musical education is available through your municipality’s “kulturskola”. It is the biggest educational institution in Sweden for kids when it comes to cultural activities, and many kids go there for the purpose of learning an instrument. Sweden’s capital Stockholm is the city which has the largest number of students, spread over 42 establishments, which will be the focus here.  This study will research how many girls partake in musical education through the municipalities in Stockholm, focusing on the guitar in particular, by compiling statistics from the schools. It will also try to answer how the girls perceive the guitar by doing an interview study with female guitar students.

In response to increasing demands placed on public education, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have emerged as a means of providing teachers with opportunities to collaborate together. Collaboration has been shown to improve teaching practices and lead to better student outcomes. Trust has been shown to be an important factor contributing to the success of PLC teams. Adherence to collaborative norms is also an important factor in the ability to collaborate successfully in PLC teams, yet few studies exist that empirically assess the relationship between trust and adherence to norms regarding the collaboration process. Participants in this study are public high school teachers, grades 9–12, who on average have been working together in their current PLC team for over three and a half years. Team trust is measured by established tool developed by Costa and Anderson (2011) based upon 4 dimensions of team trust including both psychological (propensity to trust and perceived trustworthiness) and behavioral (cooperating and monitoring behaviors) dimensions. The tool used to measure adherence to PLC team norms was based upon the Meeting Inventory by Garmston and Wellman (2009) and The Collaborative PLC Norming Tool developed by Jolly (2008). These instruments were used with permission, and some survey items were generated by the author. Multiple regression analyses assessed the strength of the relationship between PLC team trust and team norms. Four dimensions of team trust were examined by confirmatory factor analyses: Propensity to Trust, Perceived Trustworthiness, Cooperating Behaviors, and Monitoring Behaviors. All 4 showed a good fit. Team adherence to 3 different types of collaborative team norms was examined by confirmatory factor analyses: Teacher Dialogue, Decision Making, and Norms of Enforcement. All 3 outcomes showed a good model fit. Findings showed gender within the norms of enforcement regression model to be the only significant demographic variable. All 4 dimensions of team trust were significantly and positively related to adherence to norms of teacher dialogue at the bivariate level. Both significant positive and negative correlations exist between dimensions of team trust. When examined collectively, Perceived Trustworthiness and Cooperating Behaviors are directly related to adherence to Teacher Dialogue norms, whereas Propensity to Trust and Monitoring Behaviors have an indirect impact. This study confirms a positive relationship between the two constructs and presents the value of both direct and indirect relationships amongst the psychological and behavioral dimensions of team trust in impacting adherence to collaborative PLC team norms. Teachers and administrators who are aiming to improve or sustain high quality collaboration within PLC teams would do well to focus on Perceived Trustworthiness and Cooperating Behaviors, as those dimensions of team trust are directly related to adherence to collaborative team norms.

Tajikistan is the only post-Soviet republic that went through a civil war after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which negatively impacted all aspects of the country as well as education, particularly girls’ education. The limitations on Tajik girls’ education are due to economics and gender norms that are critical factors. This paper highlights the girls’ education condition in the period from 1995 to 2019, which is the post-war period, in the capital city, Dushanbe, and rural areas of the country. The review answered why girls most likely choose family life (marriage and children) rather than pursuing higher education in their life. In order to study this issue, the study used primary data. This paper studied the traditional culture (gender norms) factor as a barrier to keep girls out of school while providing the context of the social and occurred political changes during the post-war to the present time.

Purpose: The report investigates the manner in which spaces are currently designed and provided for learning in the context of higher education institutions, and whether these designs take into account the technology available for use in an educational environment. It therefore looks at the impact that these spaces have on the learning process and the related ability of planners to provide the necessary spaces for teaching, in relation to the context of a technologically enhanced teaching environment. Design/methodology/approach: A review of current literature is used to establish what types of spaces should be provided for teaching with technology in line with what is being done in universities abroad. Case studies of three universities will be used to gather data on the current trend in terms of the actual provision of space in universities. Interviews will be conducted with the participants of the case studies. Findings: Once the case studies are complete, data will be analysed to assess how well the selected universities are doing in terms of providing space that is suitable for the latest technology that is used in the field of education. Practical implications: In evaluating the spaces provided and the technology available, it will become apparent if the spaces provided are indeed relevant in terms of the technological world we live in. Originality/value: Most of the current research documented in the literature examines technology and how it influences learning space design. As such, this report compares these concepts with the reality of space provision in universities today and questions the relevance of Space Norms in the age of E-learning. Limitations: The report is limited to an investigation into Gauteng HEIs. Technology investigated is limited to types that are useful to teaching and is not an exhaustive range of technology available in the world. Spaces referred to are education spaces only. Institutions investigated are limited to face-to-face HEIs which are public institutions.

abstract: The paper reviews some of the models of consequentialist justice, the nature of social contracts, and the social coordination of behaviors through social norms. The challenge with actualizing justice in many contemporary societies is the broad and often conflicting individual beliefs on rights and responsibilities that each member of a society maintains to describe the opportunities and compensations they attribute to themselves and others. This obscurity is compounded through a lack of academic or political alignment on the definition and tenets of justice. The result of the deficiency of commonality of the definition and tenants of justice often result in myopic decisions by individuals and discontinuity within a society that reduce the available rights, obligations, opportunities, and/or compensations that could be available through alternative modalities. The paper begins by assessing the challenge of establishing mutual trust in order to achieve cooperation. I then examine utility enhancement strategies available through cooperation. Next, I turn to models that describe natural and artificial sources of social contacts, game theory, and evolutionary fitness to produce beneficial results. I then examine social norms, including the dual inheritance theory, as models which can selectively reinforce certain cooperative behaviors and reduce others. In conclusion, a possible connection among these models to improve the overall fitness of society as defined by the net average increase in available utility, rights, opportunities, and compensations is offered. Through an examination of concepts that inform individual choice and coordination with others, concepts within social coordination, the nature of social contracts, and consequentialist justice to coordinate behaviors through social norms may illustrate an integrated perspective and, through additional examination, produce a comprehensive model to describe how societies could identify and foster just human coordination. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Philosophy 2019