The current study examines two psychological experiences—rationalization and regret—among smokers from Thailand and Malaysia and the behavioural impact of rationalization and regret—intentions to quit. More specifically, the goals of the study were not only to examine differences between the two countries in rationalization, regret, and intentions to quit, but also to explain country differences by using the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychological construct of collectivism (via mediation and moderation analyses). The data were from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Southeast Asia Survey, a cohort survey of representative samples of adult smokers in Thailand (N = 2,000) and Malaysia (N = 2,006). The ITC Southeast Asia Survey was conducted January-March 2005. Participants were asked to complete a 40-minute in-person survey. Thai smokers were more likely to have intentions to quit smoking than Malaysian smokers and this country difference in quit intentions were, in part, explained by differences between the two countries in rationalization and regret, and that those variables, in turn, were significant predictors of quit intentions. Next, the psychological constructs of social norms and the cultural psychology construct of collectivism were used to explain the country differences in rationalization and regret. Thai smokers were more traditional and family oriented (high in vertical collectivism) and thus, they are more sensitive about their social norm and familial rejections about smoking. This, in part, contributed the fact that Thai smokers, compared to Malaysian smokers, were less likely to rationalize and more likely to regret smoking. Finally, the predictive models of rationalization and regret for Thailand and Malaysia were mirror images. The current study points to the importance of understanding smokers’ rationalization and regret. Rationalization and regret are negatively related and have an important implication for future behaviour. Different social norms against smoking, which are shaped by different regulatory environments and cultural values, contribute to the country differences in rationalization and regret. This study has demonstrated the benefits/value of psychological constructs in understanding smoking in a cultural context.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether the subnational water agreements that apply to the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River watershed are consistent with international norms and principles as articulated at United Nations conferences in Dublin, Ireland (1992) and Bonn, Germany (2001) and to establish the significance of these findings in the context of Ontario’s role in water management. The concepts of complex governance, decentralisation, internationalisation, norms, regimes and soft law contribute the theoretical bases, while a methodological approach of qualitative research, carried out using content analysis and a literature review, is utilised. The content analysis reveals that subnational policies for water management in the GLSLR watershed, as articulated in the Great Lakes Charter, the Great Lakes Charter Annex and the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, are consistent with international norms in many regards, with nearly identical language found in some areas, such as conservation and restoration of water resources and basin-level management. However, in the subnational agreements, there is a clear avoidance of some subjects closely tied to international norms, such as the unique roles and responsibilities of women, the urgent need for action, and the importance of indigenous knowledge. Furthermore, comparison among the three GLSLR water policies, which were developed over a twenty-year period, reveals that public participation became less prominent over time while this norm was strengthened at the international level. The roles and responsibilities of the federal government are discussed and it is proposed that, in the context of Canada-Ontario shared jurisdiction, the national government must establish national standards and policies. Ultimately, the inconsistencies between subnational GLSLR water policies and international norms are less significant than the notable consistencies, which are more remarkable given the weaknesses of the federal government’s role in water policy.

The aim of this study is to point out different aspects of modernity in the cookbook Husmoderns Köksalmanack. It is a publication that has been published annually since 1933. The books have been studied in the light of Anthony Giddens´ theoretical perspective on modernity. The study is based on three different themes that all can be linked to modernity. These themes are; Time and space, Locally, regionally and globally, and Advice. I also want to demonstrate that these books can be seen as part of a larger structural context. The results show that Husmoderns Köksalmanack can be viewed as an arena for several aspects of modernity, and it can also help to create and maintain social norms in this area.

The influence of peers and peer norms is a significant health determinant of adolescent sexual activity, yet little is known in health education about differences between peer pressure and friend pressure on adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate differences between social norms among friends and social norms among peers and determine if differences influence adolescents’ sexual risk perceptions. As a secondary data analysis of the 2006 Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors Survey data, this study included 915 adolescents in grades 8, 10, and 12 who completed questions pertaining to perceived sexual activity rates and perceived risks from having unprotected sex. T-tests, analyses of variance, and linear regression analyses indicated that adolescents perceived a difference between social norms among peers and social norms among friends and that these differences influenced risk perceptions differently. Future research should explore how social norms among friends influence adolescents’ risk behaviors and how to incorporate this focus into effective and efficient sex education efforts.

The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how individuals’ preferences for resource allocation affect their attitudinal and behavioral responses towards the organization. Building on the three main allocation norms (equity norm, equality norm and need norm) and taking the perspective of the recipient of an allocation, a model that predicts the antecedents of norm preference and consequences of using different allocation norms by the organization is presented and tested with a sample of Turkish registered nurses. Results show that recipients have differential preferences for allocation norms depending on resource type being allocated and characteristics of the environment. Furthermore, the fit or misfit between recipients’ preferred allocation norm and the allocation norm used by the organization affects recipients’ justice perceptions about the organization, their outcome satisfaction and performance.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-174). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-63). Also available in print.

In despite of all attention drawn to child marriage across the world, there is a lack of improvement. The object of this research is to look into under what circumstances child marriage does exist and how girls’ living conditions can be improved. Focus shall be put on child marriage in general exemplified in particular by two countries in Africa, namely Niger and Chad, who both are countries with an extremely high rate of child marriage. This is a desk study based on various reports regarding the subject in the different countries and also in general. As the theoretical framework, the sex role theory is applied in order to analyze the phenomenon. Studies indicate a great difference in the number of young married girls in comparison to boys across the globe. Even though boys can be victims of child marriage, the consequences are less severe and therefore, focus shall be put on girls only in this thesis. The number of girls entering early marriage has not been found to stagnate everywhere, but the age of when entering marriage tends to increase. In fact, child marriage has become more common in some areas. From the research it is concluded that one cannot generalize all underlying causes of child marriage, but one must be aware of the specific circumstances in the particular areas. Conclusions regarding underlying factors and correlations are further to be found and presented in the text.

The most common neuropsychiatric diagnose among children and adolescents in Swedish schools today is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Many of these pupils are in need of special support and it is therefore important that special teachers and special educational needs coordinators (SENCO:s) have the competence required to meet their needs. The purpose of this essay was to study special teacher and SENCO students’ knowledge and attitudes regarding ADHD. This was done using a norm critical and gender perspective. Furthermore, the aim was to examine what kind of knowledge and pedagogical strategies that were transferred to the students during their university education. The study was carried out with a quantitative approach were the respondents (N=183) was asked to answer a questionnaire containing 31 questions about ADHD, gender and learning. Those selected for the study were all students attending their last semester of their university education. The response rate was 55,2 %. The result implies that the special teacher and SENCO students experience a lack of knowledge about ADHD and also that the university programs did not give the students enough education about ADHD. This was, according to the students, a shortfall which could lead to consequences in their future professions when it comes to give support to pupils in need of special support but also in the support of other teachers A majority of the respondents thought that differences exists between girls and boys when it comes to how the symptom of ADHD appears. The special teacher and SENCO students often seemed to believe that girls shows more inattentive symptoms compered to boys who more often shows symptoms of hyperactivity. However, they did not believe that the need for special support differ between girls and boys. The respondents did not support the idea that pupils with ADHD should be placed in special teaching groups; instead a majority advocated an inclusive perspective on learning. The students in general did not think that an ADHD-diagnose have a negative effect on the pupils’ learning process. Somewhat contradictory, they thought that diagnosed pupils often are in need of special support and that ADHD has a negative effect for the individual identification process. The students’ answers suggest that more education about ADHD is at need. This is important in several aspects. To be able to challenge the medical discourse in Swedish schools, knowledge about ADHD is crucial. The knowledge and awareness about ADHD also contributes to discover and challenge institutionalized norms and gender stereotypes. From a pedagogical view this is important since it makes it possible for future special teachers and SENCO:s to work against categorization, exclusion and stigmatization of pupils diagnosed with ADHD.

This thesis aims to describe and analyse how young people reason around voting and voter turnout in two different national contexts - Sweden and the United States - and how the reasoning might differ. The material has been gathered in qualitative interviews with students in both countries and ordered according to a typology of four theories, namely rational choice, new institutionalism, social identity and norm theories. Findings indicate that there is much difference in the reasoning between the countries while similarities may be due to them being students of similar ages. In the US, young people reason more according to rational institutionalism, about the system itself and seem to be rather cynical about it while the Swedish youths reason more in terms of institutional norms and seem to be satisfied with the system of voting at large. This thesis develops previous research by adding qualitative findings to hard facts which can be used to understand voters and national contexts more thoroughly.