Yes / It is often assumed that exposure to nude stimuli in advertising influences consumer behavior positively. However, the empirical evidence concerning the effects of nudity on consumer reactions is inconclusive. The goal of this study is to disentangle the effects of opposite-gender and same-gender nudity on female and male consumers' reactions. This study, thereby, offers a framework for the appropriate choice of seminude or fully clothed human stimuli based on advertisers' objectives and consumer–model gender interactions. The empirical data were derived from a large-scale market research initiative from Germany with 61,399 consumer evaluations of 147 real ads from 16 product categories. Female consumers show positive same-gender results for both seminude and fully clothed female models, indicating strong homophily, but nonsignificant opposite-gender effects on information search, positive attitude change, integration of brand into consideration set, and purchase intentions. In contrast, male consumers demonstrate a significantly positive and equally strong influence of opposite-gender and same-gender seminude stimuli on all of the four variables.

The purpose of this essay was to investigate the exposure to intimate partner violence among individuals in same-sex relationships, the consequences of such violence and the help-seeking process. The research focused on exploring the underlying causes, consequences of violence and what the help-seeking process looks like for individuals in same-sex relationships. Qualitative and quantitative studies were analyzed. Three perspectives: intersectionality, power, and heteronormativity were adopted to interpret the results. A qualitative content analysis revealed six themes: gender norms, minority stressors, physical and psychological violence, heteronormative expectations and help-seeking. Factors contributing to intimate partner violence in same-sex relationships included heteronormativity, societal perceptions of gender norms, minority stress, and internalized homophobia. Consequences of violence included isolation, poor physical and mental health. Power imbalances and the help-seeking process were linked to these outcomes. Conclusions of this essay highlighted the importance of understanding the complexity arising from a heteronormative perspective on intimate partner violence, affecting both perpetrators and victims. Additionally, the study emphasized the significance of support for victims in same-sex relationships, highlighting the current limitations in available support systems. / Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka utsattheten för våld i nära relation för individer i samkönade relationer, konsekvenserna av våldet samt hur hjälpsökande-processen ser ut. I fokus för uppsatsen hamnade forskningsfrågorna: Vilka är de bakomliggande orsakerna till våldsutsattheten för individer i samkönade relationer, vilka konsekvenser våldet kan leda till samt hur hjälpsökande-processen ser ut för individer i samkönade relationer. Kvalitativa och kvantitativa studier analyserades. Som utgångspunkt för att tolka resultaten antogs tre olika perspektiv: det intersektionella perspektivet, makt samt heteronormativitet. Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys framkom det sex teman: könsnormer, minoritetsstress, fysiskt och psykiskt våld, heteronormativa förväntningar samt hjälpsökande. De bakomliggande orsakerna till en utsatthet visade sig bland annat kunna vara heteronormativitet och samhällets uppfattning kring könsnormer, minoritetsstress och internaliserad homofobi. Konsekvenserna av våldet visade sig vara isolering, sämre fysisk och psykisk hälsa. Det framkom även att maktobalans och hjälpsökandeprocessen var kopplat till konsekvenserna. Slutsatser som kunde dras från denna uppsats var vikten att förstå komplexiteten som uppstår till följd av en heteronormativ syn på våld i nära relationer samt att denna syn påverkar både våldsutövare och våldsoffer. Ytterligare en slutsats var betydelsen av stöd till våldsoffer i samkönade relationer samt hur bristfälligt stödet är i dagsläget.

This short dissertation is an appraisal of same-sex marriages. The traditional arguments against same-sex unions are examined and rejected as being circular, unconvincing and baseless. Some of the international developments on the subject of same-sex unions are examined and it is noted that a slow but distinct change in attitude towards same-sex marriages is beginning to emerge from international judiciaries. The legal position of people with same-sex orientation in the South African legal system is examined with special reference to our Constitution. It is submitted that our Constitution is the foremost vehicle for legal change in this regard and that the equality clause of our Constitution is authority for the recognition by the law of same-sex marriages. This dissertation concludes that same-sex marriages ought to be fully accepted and recognised by the law for reasons, inter alia, of fairness and equality for people of same-sex orientation. / Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law / LL. M.

No description available.

Intimate relationships function not in isolation, but within a broader social network and social environment, in which the opinions and actions of close network members can play a role in how a relationship develops. The current study investigated how perceiving support for one’s relationship (including same-sex and mixed-sex relationships) from friends and family is associated with not only relationship well-being, but also the mental and physical health of the individuals within the relationship. After establishing that social support specifically for a relationship was indeed a separate and unique construct as compared to more general social support for an individual, the study tested a hypothesized model using structural equation modeling, finding evidence for a model in which the association between support for a relationship and the health outcomes for an individual is fully mediated by relationship well-being. Relationship type (i.e., same-sex versus mixed-sex) was not a significant moderator, indicating that regardless of relationship type, individuals who perceive more support for their relationship are also more likely to report greater relationship satisfaction and better mental and physical health. Furthermore, participants provided data up to three times over a period of three years, allowing for an examination of how social support for a relationship functions as a predictor of relationship well-being and health outcomes over time. Perceived social support for a relationship at Time 1 was found to be a significant predictor of the rate of relationship dissolution over the course of the study as well as relational and health outcomes at later points in time. With respect to the source of support for the relationship, evidence was found that support from parents and friends both have associations with relationship outcomes, but these findings were inconsistent across analyses with support from parents having stronger associations in some analyses and support from friends having stronger associations in others. Reasons for these discrepancies are discussed, as well as theoretical implications concerning the role that perceived social support for relationships plays in the prediction of relationship well-being and mental and physical health. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-29 21:04:59.381

Le Modèle Standard, qui décrit les interactions entre les particules à l’échelle quantique, est une théorie imparfaite. Il possède plusieurs problèmes théoriques non-résolus et ne permet pas d’expliquer certaines observations astrophysiques comme celles de la matière noire et de l’asymétrie baryonique. Plusieurs théories, dites au-delà du Modèle Standard, ont été proposées afin de résoudre certains de ces problèmes, et une grande partie d’entre elles prévoient l’apparition de nouveaux phénomènes à haute énergie. L’objectif principal de cette thèse est de rechercher ces phénomènes dans les collisions proton-proton produites par le Large Hadron Collider à une énergie de centre de masse de 13 TeV. Une partie des travaux présentés dans cette thèse a en particulier été dédiée à la recherche de processus de production de quarks top de même signe, c’est-à-dire de même charge électrique, qui sont prédits par des modèles de supersymétrie à R-parité violée. Ces processus engendrent des évènements composés de leptons de même charge accompagnés de b-jets, lesquels ont l’avantage d’être faiblement contaminer par le bruit de fond provenant du Modèle Standard.Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont essentiellement porté sur deux analyses, chacune recherchant des phénomènes de nouvelle physique de nature différente dans les évènements composés de leptons de même charge dans les données enregistrées par le détecteur ATLAS. Une première analyse a porté sur la recherche de processus supersymétriques sur les données enregistrées en 2015 et en 2016 avec 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ de luminosité intégrée. Des signaux de production de quarks top de même signe ont été implémentés en se basant sur des processus supersymétriques violant la R-parité, et des régions de signal associées à ces processus ont été optimisées. Une deuxième analyse a porté sur la recherche de processus non-supersymétriques, dits exotiques, dans les données enregistrées en 2015 avec 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ de luminosité intégrée. Cette analyse a surtout été motivée par les résultats obtenus à 8 TeV, dans lesquels un modeste excès de nombre d’évènements par rapport aux prédictions du Modèle Standard a été observé dans deux régions de signal. Une partie des études relatives à cette analyse a été dédiée au développement et à la validation des méthodes d’estimation des différentes sources de bruit de fond.Aucune déviation par rapport aux prédictions du Modèle Standard n’a été observée dans chacune des régions de signal considérées dans les deux analyses. L’excès qui avait été observé dans les résultats obtenus à 8 TeV n’est donc pas confirmé. Des limites d’exclusion sur les modèles de nouvelle physique ont de plus été extraites à partir des résultats obtenus, en particulier sur les modèles de supersymétrie à R-parité violée utilisés pour produire les processus de production de quarks top de même signe. / The Standard Model, which describes the particle interactions at quantum level, is an imperfect theory. It has several theoretical problems and is unable to explain astrophysical observations like the dark matter and the baryonic asymmetry of the universe. Several beyond-standard models have been proposed to solve some of these issues, and predict new-physics phenomena at high energy. The aim of this thesis is to search for these phenomena in proton-proton collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Part of the studies presented in this thesis was dedicated to the search for production of same-sign top quarks based on R-parity violating supersymmetric models. These processes lead to a signature of same-sign leptons and b-jets, which have the advantage to be lowly contaminated by the Standard Model background.The studies presented in this thesis focused on two analyses, both searching for new-physics phenomena of different nature in same-sign leptons events in data recorded by the ATLAS detector. A first analysis focused on supersymmetric processes with data recorded in 2015 and in 2016 with 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. Same-sign top quarks signals were implemented using R-parity violating supersymmetric processes, and signal regions associated to these processes were optimized. A second analysis focused on exotic (non-supersymmetric) processes with data recorded in 2015 with 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. This analysis was motivated by a modest excess seen in two signal regions in the 8 TeV results. Several studies were focused on the development and the validation of background estimation methods.No deviations from the Standard Model predictions were observed the signal regions considered in both analyses. The 8 TeV excess is therefore not confirmed with the most recent data. Exclusion limits on new-physics models were extracted, in particular for the R-parity violating supersymmetric models that were used to produce the same-sign top quarks processes.

Le Modèle Standard de la physique des particules permet de décrire le comportement des particules et leurs interactions. L’une d’elles, le quark top, est la particule élémentaire la plus lourde connue à ce jour. Cette propriété lui confère un rôle privilégié dans les théories dites de Nouvelle Physique, il pourrait se coupler préférentiellement aux nouvelles particules prédites par ces modèles.Cette thèse a été menée auprès du détecteur ATLAS installé au LHC. La première partie de ce travail a porté sur l’étalonnage du calorimètre hadronique, une partie du détecteur servant entre autres à mesurer l’énergie des hadrons produits lors des collisions. Ce calorimètre est étalonné grâce à un système laser, qui envoie des pulses de lumière dans les 9852 canaux du calorimètre. Cette étude a permis de corriger les canaux dont le gain dérive en appliquant des facteurs correctifs aux données. La deuxième partie de cette thèse a été consacrée à la recherche d’évènements à deux quarks top de même charge. La topologie avec deux leptons de même charge permet d’avoir une signature claire et présente peu de bruits de fond prédits par le Modèle Standard. Deux versions de l’analyse sont présentées : l’une avec une partie des données enregistrées par ATLAS en 2012, la deuxième plus optimisée avec le lot complet de données de 2012. Ces optimisations ont améliorées d’un facteur 3 la sensibilité sur le signal. N’ayant pas observé d’excès dans les données, une limite sur la section efficace de production d’évènements à deux quarks top de même charge a été calculée dans le cadre de deux modèles effectifs. / The Standard Model of particle physics is used to describe the behavior of the particles and their interactions. One of them, the top quark, is the heaviest elementary particle. This property gives it a favored role in the New Physics theories, it could interact preferentially with new particles predicted by these models.This thesis was performed using the ATLAS detector at LHC. The first part of this work was on the calibration of the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter, part of the detector which is used to measure the energy of the hadrons produced during the collisions. The hadronic calorimeter is calibrated with a laser system, which sends pulses to the 9852 calorimeter’s channels. With this study, drifting channels were corrected by applying correction factors on the data.The second part of this thesis was dedicated to the search of events with two same-sign top quarks. The topology with a same-sign dilepton pair is used to have a clear signature and show only a few Standard Model backgroud processes. Two versions of this analysis are discussed : one of them with a part of the data collected in 2012 and the other one, with a lot of optimizations and with the complete dataset of 2012. These optimizations permits to improve the sensitivity of the signal by a factor 3. Without any excess observed in the data events, it is possible to calculate a limit on the cross section of the same-sign top quarks pair and interpreted in the case of two effective models.

This short dissertation is an appraisal of same-sex marriages. The traditional arguments against same-sex unions are examined and rejected as being circular, unconvincing and baseless. Some of the international developments on the subject of same-sex unions are examined and it is noted that a slow but distinct change in attitude towards same-sex marriages is beginning to emerge from international judiciaries. The legal position of people with same-sex orientation in the South African legal system is examined with special reference to our Constitution. It is submitted that our Constitution is the foremost vehicle for legal change in this regard and that the equality clause of our Constitution is authority for the recognition by the law of same-sex marriages. This dissertation concludes that same-sex marriages ought to be fully accepted and recognised by the law for reasons, inter alia, of fairness and equality for people of same-sex orientation. / Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law / LL. M.

The diploma thesis is focused on the research of new ways of distribution of capacities of lodging facilities. The theoretical part introduces the reader with to the travel and tourism market and defines the importance of online and mobile market. The analytical part first descibes a selected lodging facility Y and reaserches three particular new ways of distribution and companies that use them. The results of this research, the research of the companies that use the new ways of distribution and their sales volumes at the lodging facility Y all conclude to the fact that the sales potential of new ways of distribution is considerable and that using new ways of distribution of capacities is important to maximaze the revenue of lodging facilities.

The general objective of the study is to assess the role of culture and traditions as stumbling blocks in the legal reform that would lead to the decriminalization of same-sex sexual intercourse. Focuses on the sodomy laws in Africa with specific reference to Uganda. Compares the Ugandan and South African legal regimes. Uganda is chosen because it represents one of the African countries where same-sex unions are specifically prohibited by the Constitution. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Prof Pierre de Vos of the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town South Africa. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM