Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Discrimination factor'

Sexual and gender minorities are subjected to discrimination and stigmatization which increase vulnerability to psychological co-morbidities (Mays & Cochran, 2001). The mechanisms through which discrimination contributes to distress in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) communities can be partially elucidated through the minority stress model. The minority stress model argues that minorities are subjected to negative societal attitudes and discrimination that results in excessive psychosocial stress related to their minority position, which is distinct from daily stress. Meyer’s minority stress model is supported by social stress theoriesand data linking discrimination to stress in lgb samples. Researchers suggest that self-esteem buffers the negative effects of adverse experiences but tests of the moderating effect of self-esteem on the discrimination-distress relationship in ethnic and gender minorities yielded mixed results. Szymanski found that self-esteem moderates the relationship between discrimination and psychological distress in a male sexual minority sample, but this has never been tested in a gender-balanced sexual minority sample. We hypothesized that higher levels of self-esteem are associated with lower overall perceived stress in lgbt adults, and that self-esteem acts differentially in lgbt populations to moderate perceived discrimination. We found that discrimination, self-esteem and the interaction effect between discrimination and self-esteem accounted for 53 percent of the total variance in perceived stress scores, ∆R2 = .38; adj. R2 = .53, F(12, 133) = 14.47, p < .001.When we tested whether self-esteem moderated the relationship between discrimination and stress, discrimination was positively related to stress, β = .13, t(144) = 2.14, p < .05, and self-esteem was negatively related to stress, β = -.63, t(144) = -10.26, p < .001. The interaction between self-esteem and discrimination positively correlated with stress, β = .14, t(144) = 2.29, p < .05. Our findings suggest that self-esteem may alleviate the impact of discrimination on perceived stress, which has important implications for interventions designed to reduce stress in lgbt communities.

An ageing population is changing the nature of the workplace, one outcome of which is an increase in the proportion of older workers. Unlike older workers of some twenty or so years ago, today's older workers plan to stay at work longer than at first anticipated. However, as many older workers have found, their intended and continued presence in the workplace is not always appreciated. As such, they are subject to subtle and not so subtle forms of discrimination associated with ageist practices, or ageism, and negative perceptions regarding their ability to compete on equal terms with younger workers. In turn, it is suggested that older workers, too, indulge in ageist practices and the stereotyping of younger workers. It is proposed that underlying generational differences,when combined with ageism, negative stereotyping and discriminatory organisational practices, are responsible for a new phenomenon called intergenerational tension in the workplace. The notion of tension, which can be thought of as suppressed anxiety or a strained relationship between individuals and groups, is important because intergenerational tension is presented as a latent or covert phenomenon. From this comes the following definition: lntergenerational tension in the workplace is a latent or covert form of intergroup conflict caused by value and attitudinal differences between the generations. lntergenerational tension can be thought of as an everyday fact of organisational life which exists as an undercurrent or type of background organisational noise that is so pervasive that it is rarely noticed. In this respect, intergenerational tension bears similarities to gender and ethnic tensions both of which have been recognised as counterproductive to organisational efficiency. This thesis proposes a construct to measure this intergenerational tension. To investigate the generational differences associated with this new construct, a 25-item questionnaire was developed. The first stage in the development of the questionnaire was an informal experience survey that was completed by a small sample (n=54) of adults ranging in age from 21 years to 70+ years. A pilot study questionnaire was then constructed and administered to a small, stratified random sample of employees (n=60) from the Western Australia Police Service (WAPS). WAPS has recently changed from a seniority-based promotion system to a merit-based system for most positions and is undergoing a major cultural change in response to social and political pressure. Following data analysis, the final questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire, called the Intergenerational Tension Questionnaire (ITQ) was administered to a stratified random sample of employees from WAPS. Five hundred completed responses were subject to factor analysis in which principal components analysis extracted seven factors or dimensions thought to underlie intergenerational tension. Further data analysis revealed that on average, younger workers (i.e., less than 40 years of age) displayed less intergenerational tension than did older workers (i.e., more than 40 years of age). Data for workers a generation apart (i.e., 20 years apart) were also analysed, with the younger generation being those less than 30 years of age (the Under 30s) and the older generation being those more than 50 years of age (the Over 50s). The younger generation, on average, displayed less intergenerational tension than did the older generation. Of the measures, organisational change was associated with the greatest degree of intergenerational tension for all groups. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the best predictors of intergenerational tension for younger workers and older workers were age, the length of service with one's current employer, and the number of years in the paid work force. For workers a generation apart, multiple regression analysis revealed that age was the only predictor. It was fortuitous that at the time of the study, the majority of younger workers were Generation X and the majority of older workers were Baby Boomers. This meant that to all intents and purposes, the questionnaire measured differences between two well-studied generational cohorts. The findings supported the notion that organisations should not assume they are treating all workers equitably. In particular, older workers feel disenfranchised and angry at their treatment by organisations which, in their opinion, favours younger workers. The implication for organisations is that both groups should be treated independently, with each having its own special needs and expectations. This includes, for example, implementing strategies such as training methods suited to the needs of each age group and conducting age diversity training to raise awareness of what it means to be either a younger worker or an older worker.

An ageing population is changing the nature of the workplace, one outcome of which is an increase in the proportion of older workers. Unlike older workers of some twenty or so years ago, today's older workers plan to stay at work longer than at first anticipated. However, as many older workers have found, their intended and continued presence in the workplace is not always appreciated. As such, they are subject to subtle and not so subtle forms of discrimination associated with ageist practices, or ageism, and negative perceptions regarding their ability to compete on equal terms with younger workers. In turn, it is suggested that older workers, too, indulge in ageist practices and the stereotyping of younger workers. It is proposed that underlying generational differences,when combined with ageism, negative stereotyping and discriminatory organisational practices, are responsible for a new phenomenon called intergenerational tension in the workplace. The notion of tension, which can be thought of as suppressed anxiety or a strained relationship between individuals and groups, is important because intergenerational tension is presented as a latent or covert phenomenon. From this comes the following definition: lntergenerational tension in the workplace is a latent or covert form of intergroup conflict caused by value and attitudinal differences between the generations. lntergenerational tension can be thought of as an everyday fact of organisational life which exists as an undercurrent or type of background organisational noise that is so pervasive that it is rarely noticed. In this respect, intergenerational tension bears similarities to gender and ethnic tensions both of which have been recognised as counterproductive to organisational efficiency. This thesis proposes a construct to measure this intergenerational tension. To investigate the generational differences associated with this new construct, a 25-item questionnaire was developed. The first stage in the development of the questionnaire was an informal experience survey that was completed by a small sample (n=54) of adults ranging in age from 21 years to 70+ years. A pilot study questionnaire was then constructed and administered to a small, stratified random sample of employees (n=60) from the Western Australia Police Service (WAPS). WAPS has recently changed from a seniority-based promotion system to a merit-based system for most positions and is undergoing a major cultural change in response to social and political pressure. Following data analysis, the final questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire, called the Intergenerational Tension Questionnaire (ITQ) was administered to a stratified random sample of employees from WAPS. Five hundred completed responses were subject to factor analysis in which principal components analysis extracted seven factors or dimensions thought to underlie intergenerational tension. Further data analysis revealed that on average, younger workers (i.e., less than 40 years of age) displayed less intergenerational tension than did older workers (i.e., more than 40 years of age). Data for workers a generation apart (i.e., 20 years apart) were also analysed, with the younger generation being those less than 30 years of age (the Under 30s) and the older generation being those more than 50 years of age (the Over 50s). The younger generation, on average, displayed less intergenerational tension than did the older generation. Of the measures, organisational change was associated with the greatest degree of intergenerational tension for all groups. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the best predictors of intergenerational tension for younger workers and older workers were age, the length of service with one's current employer, and the number of years in the paid work force. For workers a generation apart, multiple regression analysis revealed that age was the only predictor. It was fortuitous that at the time of the study, the majority of younger workers were Generation X and the majority of older workers were Baby Boomers. This meant that to all intents and purposes, the questionnaire measured differences between two well-studied generational cohorts. The findings supported the notion that organisations should not assume they are treating all workers equitably. In particular, older workers feel disenfranchised and angry at their treatment by organisations which, in their opinion, favours younger workers. The implication for organisations is that both groups should be treated independently, with each having its own special needs and expectations. This includes, for example, implementing strategies such as training methods suited to the needs of each age group and conducting age diversity training to raise awareness of what it means to be either a younger worker or an older worker.

Présentation mathématique des méthodes d'analyse des données. Schéma des traitements et analyses globales des dossiers. Appréciation des demandes de crédit à court terme, à moyen terme et à long terme. Evaluation du prix des biens durables d'une espèce donnée.

"This paper is therefore inspired to look at education with respect to girl children in Africa. This paper, by drawing inspriation from other settings, is also motivated by the need to find solutions on how best the rights of the girl child can be protected in conjuction with the educational policy of African countries. ... The study is divided into six chapters. Chapter one provides the context in which the study is set, the objectives of the study and its importance. Chapter two examines the importance of the right to education and in education and takes note of the issue of discrimination with respect to girl child education in Africa. In chapter three various international treaties that concern provisions on education and the discrimination factor as to gender are identified. Also in the international milieu, the role of international bodies in the effective and efficient insurance of girl child education is included. Chapter four examines on a regional level, the extent to which the African Commission has effectively monitored the provision of the African Chater. The African Children's Charter and the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women (the Draft Women's Protocol) in Africa are also discussed in relation to provisions in the African Charter and work done on girl child education by the African Commission. In this chapter, a comparative study is also done of instruments and the implementation mechanisms offered by the Inter-American and European systems to the African human rights system in terms of the girl child education. This is so because in terms of experience, jurisprudence and institutions, these systems are considered to be more advanced than the African human rights sytem. Finally chapter five discusses girl child education on a national level in Africa. This chapter focuses on the experiences of South Africa, Egypt and Cameroon. Educational policy and other national legislative instruments such as the constitutions of these countries are included. In the conclusion, the paper puts forward recommendations to assist new and old African democracies in advancing an administrative and political approach to the issue of discrimination with respect to girl child education." -- Chapter 1.
Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Enid Hill at the Department of Political Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html
Centre for Human Rights
LLM

OBJECTIVE: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) during pregnancy is associated with several adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. A reliable and valid screening tool for GAD should lead to earlier detection and treatment. Among pregnant Peruvian women, a brief screening tool, the GAD-7, has not been validated. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the GAD-7. METHODS: Of 2,978 women who attended their first perinatal care visit and had the GAD-7 screening, 946 had a Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). The Cronbach's alpha was calculated to examine the reliability. We assessed the criterion validity by calculating operating characteristics. The construct validity was evaluated using factor analysis and association with health status on the CIDI. The cross-cultural validity was explored using the Rasch Rating Scale Model (RSM). RESULTS: The reliability of the GAD-7 was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89). A cutoff score of 7 or higher, maximizing the Youden Index, yielded a sensitivity of 73.3% and a specificity of 67.3%. One-factor structure of the GAD-7 was confirmed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent validity was supported by the evidence that higher GAD-7 scores were associated with poor self-rated physical and mental health. The Rasch RSM further confirmed the cross-cultural validity of the GAD-7. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the Spanish-language version of the GAD-7 may be used as a screening tool for pregnant Peruvian women. The GAD-7 has good reliability, factorial validity, and concurrent validity. The optimal cutoff score obtained by maximizing the Youden Index should be considered cautiously; women who screened positive may require further investigation to confirm GAD diagnosis.
: This research was supported by an award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01-HD-059835) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH had no further role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication
Revisión por pares

L'impact des changements globaux sur les écosystèmes marins est sans précédent. Dans un souci de préservation des écosystèmes, les métriques trophiques servent d'indicateurs de leur fonctionnement. Les interactions trophiques sont aisément déduites des isotopes stables par méthode d'inférence. Cependant, les inférences isotopiques reposent sur l'hypothèse d'équilibre isotopique. Ce travail de thèse vise à mettre en évidence la nécessité de s'affranchir de cette hypothèse en rendant les modèles isotopiques dynamiques, grâce au taux de renouvellement isotopique. La démarche développée estde construire un cadre de travail mécaniste via un modèle dynamique, pour créer une expérience virtuelle qui nous permette de tester les inférences. Tout d'abord, l'élaboration d'un modèle de mélange dynamique a permis d'améliorer les estimations du régime alimentaire à l'échelle individuelle, qui sont biaisées de 50 % avec une approche statique instantanée. Ce biais diminue à 15 % à partir du moment où λ est pris en compte, avec une approche statique intégratrice des valeurs isotopiques. Pour une estimation non biaisée et dynamique, l'application du modèle de mélange dynamique est requise, avec une estimation précise et dynamique de λ. Puis, l'implémentation de la dynamiqueisotopique aux modèles écosystémiques a permis de confirmer à l'échelle de la communauté, que l'azote reflète bien la structure moyenne du réseau trophique dans un cas de prédation opportuniste. Toutefois, la différence d'un niveau trophique a été observée pour certains top-prédateurs, entre les estimations par les matrices de régime alimentaire et celles par l'azote. L'intégration des mécanismes de la dynamique isotopique dans les inférences est une avancée majeure, puisqu'elle modifie notre vision des interactions trophiques dans les écosystèmes marins
The impact of global change on marine ecosystems is unprecedented. In order to preserve ecosystems, trophic metrics are used as indicators of their functioning. Trophic interactions are easily deduced from stable isotopes by inference. However, isotopic inferences are based on the assumption of isotopic equilibrium. This PhD thesis work aims to highlight the need to overcome this assumption by developing dynamic isotope models, thanks to the isotope turnover rate. The approach developed is to build a mechanistic framework via a dynamic model, to create a virtual experiment that allows us to assess the inferences. First, the development of a dynamic mixing model improved the individualdiet estimates, which are biased by 50 % with a static snapshot approach. This bias in diet estimates decreases to 15 % once λ is taken into account, with a static approach integrating isotopic values. For an unbiased and dynamic estimation, the application of the dynamic mixing model is required with an accurate and dynamic estimation of λ. Secondly, the implementation of isotope dynamics to ecosystem models allowed to confirm at the community level, that nitrogen does reflect the average food web structure in a case of opportunistic predation. However, the difference of one trophic level was observed for some top predators, between the estimates by diet matrices and those by nitrogen.The integration of isotope dynamics mechanisms into inferences is a major advance, since it modifies our insight into of trophic interactions in marine ecosystems

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Commericial organizations operate in a free-market economic system. The goal of commercial organizations in a free-market economic system is to utilise scarce resources at their disposal to optimally maximise their profits. To achieve this goal, the human resources function is tasked with the responsibility to acquire and maintain a competent and motivated workforce in a manner that would add value to the bottom-line. The human resource management interventions are therefore a critical tool in regulating human capital in such a manner that it optimally adds value to the business. Personality tests are used in the world of work to determine individual differences in behaviour and performance. There was recently a dispute over the effectiveness of the use of personality tests in predicting job performance, but personality is nowadays regarded as a an influential causal antecedent in the prediction of job performance. From the first democratic elections held in 1994, greater demands have been placed on the cultural appropriateness of psychological testing in South Africa. The use of cross-cultural assessments in South Africa are therefore currently very prominent. The use of psychological tests, including personality tests, is now strictly controlled by legislation, including the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. In order to make informed decisions, industrial psychologists and registered psychology practitioners need reliable and valid information about the personality construct which will enable them to make accurate predictions on the criterion construct. This argument provides significant justification for the primary purpose of this study, namely an equivalence and invariance study of the second edition of the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire (15FQ +) in a sample of Black, Coloured and White South Africans. Bias in psychological testing can be described as ‘troublesome’ factors that threaten the validity of cross-cultural comparisons across different groups e.g., ethnic groups (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). These factors can be caused by construct bias, method bias and/or item bias. It is therefore essential that the information provided by the test results must have the same meaning across all the various reference groups. This assumption necessitates evidence of equivalent and invariant measurements across different groups. Equivalence and invariance in this study is investigated by making use of Dunbar, Theron and Spangenberg (2011)'s proposed steps. Complete measurement invariance and full measurement equivalence is the last step and implies that the observed measurements can be compared directly between the different groups.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kommersiële Organisasies word bedryf in ‘n vrye-mark ekonomiese stelsel. Die doel van kommersiële organisasies is dus om skaars hulpbronne tot hul beskikking optimaal aan te wend ten einde wins te maksimeer. Daarom is dit belangrik vir die menslikehulpbron funksie om ‘n bevoegde en gemotiveerde werksmag te verkry en in stand te hou op ‘n wyse wat waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Dit is daarom uiters belangrik om die regte menslikehulpbron intervensies in organisasies te implementeer om die menslike kapitaal so te reguleer dat hulle optimaal waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Persoonlikheidstoetse word gebruik in die wêreld van werk om individuele verskille in gedrag en werksprestasie te bepaal. Daar was onlangs ‘n dispuut oor die effektiwiteit van persoonlikheidstoetse se gebruik in die voorspelling van werksprestasie, maar persoonlikheid word hedendaags beskou as ‘n invloedryke oorsaaklike veranderlike in die voorspelling van werksprestasie. Vanaf die eerste demokratiese verkiesing van 1994 word daar sterker eise geplaas op die kulturele toepaslikheid van sielkundige toetse in Suid Afrika. Kruis-kulturele assesserings in Suid Afrika is daarom tans baie prominent. Die gebruik van sielkundige toetse, ingesluit persoonlikheidstoetse, word nou streng beheer deur wetgewing, onder andere die Wet op Gelyke Indiensneming 55 van 1998. Ten einde ingeligte besluite te kan neem, benodig bedryfsielkundiges en geregistreerde sielkundé praktisyns betroubare en geldige inligting oor die persoonlikheidskonstruk om hul in staat te stel om akkurate voorspellings van die kriteriumkonstruk te maak. Dit bied wesenlik die regverdiging vir die primêre oogmerk van hierdie studie, naamlik om ‘n ekwivalensie en invariansie studie van die tweede uitgawe van die Vyftien Faktor Vraelys (the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire, 15FQ+) op ‘n steekproef van Swart, Kleurling en Wit Suid Afrikaners te onderneem. Sydigheid in toetse kan beskryf word as ‘lastige’ faktore wat die geldigheid van kruis-kulturele vergelykings oor verskillende groepe (bv. Etniese groepe) bedreig (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). Hierdie faktore kan veroorsaak word deur konstruksydigheid, metodesydigheid en/of itemsydigheid. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat die informasie wat verskaf word deur die toetsresultate dieselfde betekenis moet hê oor al die verskillende verwysingsgroepe. Hierdie aanname noodsaak bewyse van ekwivalente en invariante metings oor verskillende groepe. Ekwivalensie en Invariansie in hierdie studie word ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van Dunbar, Theron en Spangenberg (2011) se voorgestelde stappe. Volle ekwivalensie en invariansie is die laaste stap en impliseer dat waargenome metings oor verskillende groepe direk met mekaar vergelyk kan word.

Según la teoría del estigma de Erving Goffman, una persona estigmatizada está privada de la plena aceptación social y reducida a una condición de persona manchada, con una identidad deteriorada por el hecho de tener un atributo, una diferencia no deseada que la identifica y la lleva a ser menospreciada y marginalizada. El grupo de las personas transgénero, que incluye diferentes realidades y que hace referencia a las personas que tienen una identidad de género o una expresión de género que difiere de lo típicamente asociado al sexo asignado al momento del nacimiento, es sin duda uno de los grupos sociales más estigmatizados, discriminados y marginados. La ausencia de reconocimiento legal, la exclusión, la negación de servicios y de derechos básicos contribuyen al aislamiento y marginación con consecuencias sobre la salud (exposición al VIH, problemas de salud mental, entre otras), la esperanza de vida y la capacidad de respuesta a las necesidades básicas. La discriminación múltiple o interseccional que viven esas mujeres las hacen sujetos particularmente vulnerables al VIH y aumenta aún más las probabilidades de discriminación y violencia. En un país como México, las personas transgénero portadoras del VIH deben luchar en contra de una violencia sistemática, la cual se expresa de muchas maneras. Esa violencia puede incitar esas personas a migrar, en búsqueda de una vida digna. La migración internacional de las mujeres trans sigue siendo un tema sobre el cual conocemos poco. Los conocimientos son aún más escasos al agregar la variable del VIH. En este análisis, evaluamos los marcos sociales y legales que rigen la vida de las mujeres trans y de las personas con VIH en México y en los Estados Unidos de América, para determinar las esferas de exclusión y de violaciones de los derechos humanos así como los mecanismos que existen para proteger a esas personas. Posteriormente, presentamos los testimonios de mujeres trans con VIH que migraron de México hacia California y los comentarios de personas que trabajan para ONG de defensa de los derechos trans. Esos testimonios fueron recogidos mediante entrevistas completadas en México y en San Francisco, California, entre 2017 y 2019. Usaremos conceptos de los métodos de los relatos de vida y de la fenomenología para transmitir la experiencia de esas mujeres, analizar las discriminaciones sufridas (en el país de origen como de destino) así como las razones o circunstancias que motivaron su migración. Como podremos constatar en este trabajo, los derechos de las mujeres trans con VIH son violentados en México como en los Estados Unidos. Efectivamente, la existencia de leyes no garantiza de por sí que puedan gozar de la protección necesaria debido al hecho de que esas leyes no son aplicadas o, de serlo, son afectadas por mecanismos deficientes de cumplimiento. Frente al odio y a las agresiones que atentan en contra de sus vidas, las mujeres trans consideran frecuentemente la migración como única salvación. Se concluirá este análisis con una lista de prioridades de políticas públicas a considerar para mejorar y garantizar la dignidad de esas mujeres.
According to the stigma theory developed by Erving Goffman, a stigmatized individual is deprived of social acceptance and is reduced to the condition of a stained individual, whose identity is spoiled by the presence of an attribute, an undesirable difference which brings him to be identified, scorned and marginalized. The group formed by transgender individuals, which includes different realities and includes people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differ from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth is one of the most stigmatized, discriminated and marginalized social groups. The absence of legal recognition, the exclusion, the refusal of services and basic rights contribute to an isolation and margination that lead to health consequences (exposure to HIV, mental health issues), a diminished life expectancy and hardship in fulfilling the basic human needs. The multiple forms of discrimination or intersectionality experienced by these women make them extremely vulnerable to HIV and raises the probability of further discrimination and violence. In a country such as Mexico, the transgender people with HIV need to fight against systematic violence under several forms. This violence can motivate them to migrate, in search of a dignified life. The international migration of trans women is a subject on which very few is known. The knowledge is even less common when we add the HIV variable. In this analysis, we evaluate the social and legal framework affecting the lives of trans women and people with HIV in Mexico and the United States of America in order to identify the areas of exclusion, the human rights violations and the mechanisms adopted to protect these individuals. Posteriorly, we present the testimonies of trans women who migrated from Mexico to California as well as the commentaries of individuals working for NGO specialized in the defense of trans rights. These testimonies were collected during interviews held in Mexico and San Francisco, California between 2017 and 2019. We will use concepts taken from the life stories and phenomenological methods in order to transmit the experience of these women, analyze the discrimination they suffer (in the country of origin and of destination) and the reasons or circumstances behind their decision to migrate. As we can appreciate in this investigation, the rights of the trans women living with HIV are violated in Mexico and in the United States of America. Indeed, the existence of laws does not guarantee by itself that these women will benefit from the necessary protection due to the fact that these laws are unapplied or suffer from deficient enforcement mechanisms. In the face of hate and attempts against their lives, these women frequently consider migration as their unique form of salvation. This analysis will conclude with a list of public-policy priorities to be considered in order to improve and guarantee the dignity of these women.

The present doctoral thesis work analyzes the issue of migrant women in relation to gender equality and non-discrimination in employment. In particular, the group of domestic migrant women whose condition is most vulnerable is addressed. More specifically, an analysis is made of the problems perceived by this group, such as the segmentation of work, the struggle for decent work and the complications that arise around the underground economy, which comes precisely from irregular work. That is why, in order to analyze these issues in particular, an approach to the principle of equality, non-discrimination in Chapter I, of gender equality in Chapter II, of gender equality in employment in Chapter III and finally the group of migrant women is addressed in Chapter IV. In particular, this work is a documentary and in-depth legal investigation. In addition, the special protections that these women have today in the international and community sphere are contemplated and, specifically, the regulations and doctrine that derive from two specific States: Spain and Ecuador
El presente trabajo de tesis doctoral analiza el tema de las mujeres migrantes en relación a la igualdad de género y no discriminación en el empleo. De forma particular, se aborda el colectivo de las mujeres migrantes domésticas cuya condición es más vulnerable. Más concretamente se realiza un análisis sobre los problemas que percibe este colectivo como lo son la segmentación del trabajo, la lucha por el trabajo decente y las complicaciones que se generan en torno a la economía sumergida, que proviene precisamente, del trabajo irregular. Es por ello que, con la finalidad de analizar en concreto estas cuestiones se plantea inicialmente un abordaje del principio de igualdad, no discriminación en el capítulo I, de la igualdad de género en el capítulo II, de la igualdad de género en el empleo en el capítulo III y finalmente se aborda el colectivo de las mujeres migrantes en el capítulo IV. En concreto, este trabajo es una investigación documental y jurídica en profundidad. Además se contemplan las protecciones especiales con las que cuentan estas mujeres hoy en día en el ámbito internacional y comunitario y en específico se tratan las regulaciones y doctrina que derivan de dos Estados concretos: España y Ecuador

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A asma é uma doença urbana complexa com múltiplos fatores associados ao seu desenvolvimento e remissão. Muitos fatores de risco para a doença foram identificados, e existe um debate sobre a contribuição dos fatores psicossociais na gênese da asma. A discriminação racial configura-se como um importante estressor psicossocial com efeitos negativos sobre a saúde. No entanto, os efeitos da discriminação sobre a asma infantil não tem sido investigados. Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar o efeito da exposição à discriminação em mulheres sobre a prevalência de asma nas crianças. Trata-se de um estudo transversal sobre a população integrante do programa Social Changes Asthma and Allergy in Latin America (SCAALA) em Salvador. A tese foi desenvolvida sob a forma de quatro artigos, tendo o primeiro como objetivo avaliar a confiabilidade e estrutura dimensional do “Experiência de Discriminação” (Experience of Discrimination - EOD), um instrumento de mensuração das experiências de discriminação desenvolvido nos Estados Unidos. Identificaram-se dois indicadores de discriminação: a experiência de discriminação e a preocupação com discriminação, com parâmetros aceitáveis de ajuste para o EOD no contexto brasileiro. O segundo artigo mensurou a prevalência de discriminação auto relatada utilizando analise de classes latentes. Os indivíduos foram classificados perfis de discriminação alto e baixo. A frequência das classes expostas à discriminação ou preocupadas com discriminação mostraram-se altas, principalmente no que respeita ao emprego e trabalho, com a cor da pele como um importante preditor das experiências relatadas. Já o terceiro artigo analisou o efeito da discriminação sobre a prevalência de transtornos mentais comuns nas mulheres participantes do estudo, evidenciando maiores prevalências de TMC entre aquelas mulheres que referiram alto grau de exposição à discriminação ou preocupação com discriminação. O suporte social moderou a associação entre preocupação com discriminação e sofrimento mental. Finalmente, o quarto artigo estimou o efeito da discriminação referida pelas mães sobre a prevalência de asma nos filhos. Os resultados corroboraram a hipótese de que a exposição à discriminação racial nas mães se associa com sintomas asmáticos nas crianças, e com o fenótipo atópico. Em acordo com nossa hipótese de estudo, mães com sintomas psicológicos foram mais propensas a ter filhos com sintomas asmáticos quando expostas a discriminação que àquelas sem sintomas. Os achados deste estudo destacam a importância de estudar a discriminação racial no contexto brasileiro. Embora esses resultados necessitem ser confirmados em estudos longitudinais, contribuirão com a compreensão de uma doença complexa como a asma em crianças.

This thesis investigates the foraging of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and its predators during the summer in the Canadian Arctic. Findings included the identification of Arctic cod, ringed seal (Pusa hispida), beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), and narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet shifts in response to seasonal prey availability; calculation of isotopic diet-tissue discrimination factors for Arctic cod, ringed seals, and whales based on local tissue and stomach content sampling; and determination of predatory cues to optimize foraging, such as the presence of schools. Additionally, I quantified seabird feeding and interspecific interactions such kleptoparasitism and found that black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) captured cod directly but lost many to parasitic jaegers (Stercorarius parasiticus) and glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus). Finally, I determined that schools of cod were important prey sources for northern fulmars, glaucous gulls, and whales however non-schooling cod were a significant source for black-legged kittiwakes and ringed seals.

The lack of information on price discrimination regarding which characteristics of the client are used and how they influence the definition of the initial price offered in a competitive non-regulated taxi market is the main problem that encouraged this investigation. The study differs from other studies in its use of an experimental research method which allowed analysis of the problem as close as possible to the natural context of the phenomenon. Interviews with 10 taxi drivers produced six variables affecting the process of price definition. A group of 16 people matching those variables collected rates offered by a random sample of taxi drivers. Due to the lack of normality in the distribution of the prices collected, an ordered regression model was implemented. The findings are that price discrimination exists in a nonregulated market such as that of taxis in Lima and that phenotype and the accent of the client are individual characteristics that have a significant influence on the initial price offer. The results confirm that price discrimination is applied in a context like the one of the study, but the question remains as to why it is naturally present and what conditions make it work
Tesis

The current project used data from the Health & Retirement Study (HRS) 2016 wave and assesses the relationship between everyday racial/ethnic discrimination and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The role of acculturation and social support on this relationship was also considered. The sample size consisted of 3,994 non-Hispanic White, 1,140 non-Hispanic Black, and 842 Hispanic older adults. The results suggest that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals endorse higher perceived everyday racial/ethnic discrimination (p < .001) in comparison to non-Hispanic White individuals. Additionally, non-Hispanic Black adults have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings (p < .001) than non-Hispanic White and Hispanic adults. Support for the direct and moderating role of certain aspects of social support and acculturation on health outcomes/behaviors related to cardiovascular disease risk among non-Hispanic Black (R2 = .07, F(15, 415) = 2.06, p= .011) and Hispanic (R2 = .30, F(5, 34) = 2.97, p = .025) older adults, respectively, were found. The limitations and clinical implications of the study are further discussed.

It is suggested to discriminate between different state space models for a given time series by means of a Bayesian approach which chooses the model that minimizes the expected loss. Practical implementation of this procedures requires a fully Bayesian analysis for both the state vector and the unknown hyperparameters which is carried out by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Application to some non-standard situations such as testing hypotheses on the boundary of the parameter space, discriminating non-nested models and discrimination of more than two models is discussed in detail. (author's abstract)
Series: Forschungsberichte / Institut für Statistik

This thesis examines motivation in English L1 learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) by analyzing the students' responses to a questionnaire modeled after Dörnyei's research and an observational instrument called the Motivation Behaviors of Language Learning (MBLL) modeled after Guilloteaux and Dörnyei's (2008) research on motivational teaching strategies on behaviors. The data from the questionnaires were subjected to a discriminative analysis of students answers in relation to a high grade (receiving a B- or higher) or lower (C+ or lower) in their Japanese classes. A Factor Analysis of the data was also carried out. The discriminative results could predict students' receiving higher or lower grades with 13-16% error. In addition, behaviors examined in the 200-level Japanese classes seemed to match students' responses to a questionnaire, suggesting they are not highly motivated. However, students who passed this class reported similar study habits outside of class in preparation as students from a 400-level class. The Factor Analysis also found that students with higher self-perception of their motivation and language aptitude tended to receive higher grades in the class. The results suggest that motivation can be further understood by understanding behaviors in addition to traditional questionnaires, and students' self perceptions of their language abilities may affect their grades in the language classroom. In the future, motivation research should include triangulating questionnaire data with other data, such as observational instruments. This thesis is a step in that direction.

The Italian context, in line with what is happening in many other European countries, is increasingly becoming a multicultural reality. Due to the growing number of immigrants worldwide, migrant youth are at present an integral part of our society. To ensure the successful integration and full realization of the immigrants’ potential, as well as to prevent behavioral risk and educational inequalities, it is fundamental that receiving societies invest in the well-being of immigrant youth. Early adolescence represents a critical developmental period involving changes and challenges not only at the physical level, but also in the emotional, social and psychological domains. Such developmental processes are even more complicated for immigrant youth, who additionally need to face the challenges linked to having their “feet in two worlds”. Hence, one might think that immigrant preadolescents might generally be at higher risk of socio-emotional difficulties. However, this is not always the case, and mounting evidence suggests that immigrant youngsters manage to move adaptively across their worlds, coping without undue stress with these important developmental issues. Thus, the latest evidence invites researchers to overcome the deficit perspective which dominated past research on immigration in favor of a more positive oriented one, able to shed light on the resources that immigrant minors need as to adjust well to their societies. Indeed, immigrant youths’ adaptation seems to vary according to the unique interaction of different cultural, social and personal aspects. Which variables could represent risk or protective factors for early adolescent immigrants’ socio-emotional adjustment? This question is the cradle of my doctoral thesis. Providing answers to this question would lay the ground for the development of valid interventions in cross-cultural contexts, needed now more than ever to promote the integration and well-being of immigrant populations. Such an objective necessarily requires an integrative and multidisciplinary framework, taking into consideration the complexity that arises from different levels and developmental contexts in which immigrants’ adaptation is embedded: the cultural (e.g., ethnicity, receiving society), social (e.g., family, community), and individual levels (e.g., memory, impulsivity). In our studies, we focus on Moroccan, Romanian and Chinese immigrant families as they form the largest ethnic communities in Italy, a country where immigration is a still recent, but nonetheless growing phenomenon. In Study 1, we assessed whether executive functions (EFs) moderated the association between self-construal and social adjustment among Moroccan, Romanian, and Italian early adolescents. Our results showed that the positive effect of having an interdependent orientation on social competence emerged to be stronger for Moroccan and Romanian immigrants with high levels of cognitive flexibility, as well as for Moroccan immigrants counting on high levels of inhibitory control. Last, working memory was associated with higher social competence, regardless of cultural influences. In Study 2, we sought to examine whether the discrimination-problem behavior link was moderated by youths’ acculturation orientations and impulse control among Moroccan and Romanian early adolescent immigrants. The findings indicated that the negative effect of discrimination on behavioral adjustment was stronger for immigrants who endorsed separation as acculturation strategy, but only at low levels of impulse control. In contrast, in face of discriminatory experiences, a good impulse control represented a risk for behavioral problems among assimilated immigrants. In addition, discrimination had a detrimental effect on behavioral adjustment especially for Romanian immigrants when they could not count on good levels of impulse control. In Study 3, we aimed to investigate whether EFs moderated the association between parental practices and emotional-behavioral problems among Chinese immigrant and Italian non-immigrant early adolescents. Our results indicated that a scarce level of inhibitory control represented a risk factor in situations of inadequate parental supervision for both groups. In contrast, a better cognitive flexibility put Chinese immigrant early adolescents at more risk of emotional-behavioral problems when left unsupervised. Last, working memory was associated with better emotional-behavioral adjustment, regardless of cultural and family influences. Our work highlights the complex processes involved in immigrant youth’s adaptation, which results from an intricate reality made of cultural influences, developmental contexts and personal characteristics. Overall, the findings highlight both commonalities and specificities in patterns of associations among personal, family/social, and cultural variables across groups. The acknowledgment of the complexity of such results paves the way to some potential guidelines for clinical implications and future research. Cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory may represent important assets for preadolescent immigrants’ positive adaptation. However, each of these individual abilities can assume different meanings and functions according to ethnic and personal differences which are unique to each single adolescent. Our hope is for future researchers and professionals to explore subjective meanings attributed to personal experiences, taking into account the individual and cultural specificities of each young immigrant. This is how we can build bridges between different developmental and cultural contexts, as to facilitate adjustment processes in immigration and multicultural contexts.
Il contesto italiano, in linea con la situazione di molti altri stati europei, si delinea sempre più come una realtà multiculturale. L’aumento del numero di persone immigrate a livello internazionale ha fatto sì che una parte sempre più cospicua della nostra società sia rappresentata da minori stranieri. Per garantire l’integrazione e la piena realizzazione del potenziale degli immigrati, e per prevenire il rischio di disuguaglianze educative e psicologiche, è fondamentale che le società riceventi investano nella promozione del benessere dei ragazzi immigrati. La preadolescenza è un periodo critico per lo sviluppo, ricco di cambiamenti e di sfide evolutive non solo a livello fisico, ma anche sul piano emotivo, sociale, nonché psicologico. Questi processi evolutivi sono ancora più complicati per i minori immigrati, che si ritrovano in più a dover affrontare anche le sfide legate all’“essere a cavallo tra due mondi”. Verrebbe quindi da pensare che i ragazzi immigrati siano tendenzialmente a maggior rischio di problemi socio-emotivi. Tuttavia non è sempre così e un numero crescente di studi dimostra come questi ragazzi riescano a viaggiare tra un mondo e l’altro in modo adattivo, affrontando senza particolari conseguenze negative questi importanti compiti evolutivi. Così, ricerche recenti invitano a superare la prospettiva deficitaria che ha regnato a lungo nello scenario della ricerca sull’immigrazione, per fare posto a una visione più positiva, che illumini le risorse che questi minori sviluppano per riuscire a vivere bene nella loro società. Infatti, l’adattamento degli immigrati sembra variare a seconda di come diversi aspetti culturali, sociali e personali interagiscono tra loro. Quali sono le variabili che possono rappresentare dei fattori di rischio o di protezione per l’adattamento socio-emotivo dei preadolescenti immigrati? Questa è la domanda al centro di questa tesi di dottorato. Una risposta anche parziale a questa domanda potrebbe gettare le basi per lo sviluppo di interventi validi in contesti multiculturali, necessari ora più che mai per promuovere l’integrazione e il benessere delle popolazioni immigrate. Un obiettivo del genere richiede necessariamente una cornice teorica multidisciplinare e integrativa, che riesca a tenere conto della complessità dei diversi livelli e contesti di sviluppo in cui si colloca l’adattamento dei giovani immigrati: il livello culturale (ad es., etnia, società ospite), sociale (ad es., famiglia, comunità) ed individuale (ad es., memoria, impulsività). Nei nostri studi, ci concentriamo sulle famiglie immigrate marocchine, romene e cinesi, che rappresentano le più numerose comunità immigrate in Italia, un paese in cui l’immigrazione è un fenomeno recente, ma in forte crescita. Nel primo studio abbiamo indagato come le funzioni esecutive (FE) moderassero la relazione tra concetto di sé e adattamento sociale in un campione di preadolescenti marocchini, romeni e italiani. I nostri risultati hanno evidenziato che l’effetto positivo dell’aver un orientamento interdipendente sul livello di competenza sociale è più forte per i ragazzi marocchini e romeni con un alto livello di flessibilità cognitiva, così come per i ragazzi marocchini che possono contare su alti livelli di controllo inibitorio. Infine, la memoria di lavoro è risultata associata ad una migliore competenza sociale indipendentemente dalle influenze ethniche e culturali. Nel secondo studio abbiamo cercato di capire se l’associazione tra discriminazione e comportamenti problematici fosse moderata dalle strategie di acculturazione e dal livello di controllo degli impulsi in ragazzi marocchini e romeni immigrati. Abbiamo trovato che l’effetto negativo della discriminazione percepita sull’adattamento psicologico sembra essere particolarmente forte per i ragazzi immigrati che scelgono la separazione come strategia di acculturazione, ma solo quando non possono contare su un buon livello di controllo degli impulsi. Al contrario, di fronte ad episodi discriminatori, un buon controllo degli impulsi può rappresentare un rischio di maggiori problematiche comportamentali per i ragazzi assimilati. Inoltre, la discriminazione è risultata avere un effetto dannoso per l’adattamento specialmente per quei ragazzi romeni che non possono contare su buoni livelli di controllo degli impulsi. Nel terzo studio eravamo invece interessati ad investigare se le FE moderassero l’associazione tra le pratiche genitoriali e i problemi emotivo-comportamentali in preadolescenti cinesi e italiani. I nostri risultati hanno indicato che un livello scarso di controllo inibitorio rappresenta un fattore di rischio in situazioni di inadeguata supervisione genitoriale in entrambi i gruppi. Invece, livelli più alti di flessibilità cognitiva rendono i ragazzi cinesi immigrati più vulnerabili a problematiche emotivo-comportamentali quando lasciati senza supervisione. Infine, la memoria di lavoro è risultata associata ad un migliore adattamento indipendentemente dalle influenze culturali e familiari. Il nostro lavoro mette in luce la complessità dei processi coinvolti nell’adattamento dei ragazzi immigrati, frutto di un’intricata realtà fatta di influenze culturali, contesti di sviluppo e caratteristiche personali. In generale, i nostri risultati evidenziano sia somiglianze sia specificità nei pattern di associazioni tra variabili personali, familiari/sociali e culturali nei nostri gruppi. Il riconoscimento della complessità di questi risultati ci permette di suggerire alcune implicazioni cliniche e di ricerca per il futuro. Sembra che la flessibilità cognitiva, il controllo inibitorio e la memoria di lavoro possano essere delle importanti risorse per i preadolescenti immigrati, ma sembra anche che ognuna di queste capacità possa assumere significati e ruoli diversi a seconda del background etnico e personale di ciascun ragazzo. L’invito è quindi ad esplorare i significati soggettivi attribuiti all’esperienza, tenendo conto delle specificità individuali e culturali di ciascun ragazzo immigrato. Solo così sarà possibile promuovere iniziative che sostengano la costruzione di ponti tra i vari contesti culturali e di sviluppo per agevolare i processi di adattamento nei contesti di immigrazione.

Domestic workers, also known as house maids or handmaids, are a predominately female workforce that traditionally provides labor in upper-class households. With the increase of dual income families and the global expansion of the middle class, the demand for domestic workers increased, which facilitated the practice of importing lower-cost foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from developing areas. Hong Kong has the highest concentration of FDWs when compared to other metropolitan areas, such as Taiwan, Singapore, or New York. Since the trade began in the 1970s, qualitative research and journalistic investigations have reported that FDWs frequently encounter exploitation, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; being underpaid and overworked; and racial discrimination. With sparse quantitative research identifying risk factors that predict psychological well-being, this study hypothesized two models: (a) racial and ethnic microaggressions, job satisfaction, and family concern predict psychological distress and (b) resilience mediates the association in the first model. We surveyed 478 female FDWs in Hong Kong, and the results suggested that racial and ethnic microaggressions, job satisfaction, and family concerns were significant predictors of psychological distress, supporting the first hypothesis. The women demonstrated very high levels of psychological resilience; however, due to a ceiling effect in the measure of resilience, the data collected on resilience were unrelated to job satisfaction and family concerns. Thus, the second model was not supported, apparently due to a problem in the measurement of the construct of resilience in this sample of FWDs. Overall, FDWs’ working conditions and their level of resilience to those conditions did significantly influence their levels of psychological distress. These findings serve as pilot data for future quantitative research that investigates female FDWs’ employment experience.

Understanding the connection between an organism’s genotype and its phenotype is a key question in evolutionary biology and genetics. It has been shown that many changes of morphological or other complex phenotypic traits result from changes in the expression pattern of key developmental genes rather than from changes in the genes itself. Such altered gene expression arises often from changes in the gene regulatory regions. That usually means the loss of important transcription factor (TF) binding sites within these regulatory regions, because the interaction between TFs and specific sites on the DNA is a key element of gene regulation. An established approach for the genome-wide mapping of genomic regions to phenotypes is the Forward Genomics framework. This approach compares the genomic sequences of species with and without the phenotype of interest based upon two ideas. First, the initial loss of a phenotype relaxes selection on all phenotypically related genomic regions and, second, this can happen independently in multiple species. Of interest are such regions that diverged specifically in phenotype-loss species. Although this principle is general, the current implementation is only well-suited for the identification of phenotype related gene-coding regions and has a limited applicability on regulatory regions. The reason is its reliance on sequence conservation as divergence measure, which does not accurately measure functional divergence of regulatory elements. In this thesis, I developed REforge, a novel implementation of the Forward Genomics principle that takes functional information of regulatory elements in the form of known phenotype-related TF into account. The consideration of the flexible organization of TF binding sites within a regulatory region, both in terms of strength and order, allows the abstraction from the region’s sequence level to its functional level. Thus, functional divergence of regulatory regions is directly compared to phenotypical divergence, which tremendously improves performance compared to Forward Genomics, as I demonstrated on synthetic and real data. Additionally, I developed TFforge which follows the same approach but aims at identifying the TFs relevant for the given phenotype. Given a multi-species alignment with a phenotype annotation and a set of regulatory regions, TFforge systematically searches for TFs whose changes in binding affinity between species fit the phenotype signature. The reported output is a ranking of the TFs according to their level of correspondence. I prove the concept of this approach on both biological data and artificially generated regions. TFforge can be used as a standalone analysis tool and also to generate the input set of TFs for a subsequent REforge analysis. I demonstrate that REforge in combination with TFforge is able to substantially outperform standard Forward Genomics, i.e. even without foreknowledge of relevant TFs. Overall, the in this thesis introduced methods are examples for the power of computational tools in comparative genomics to catalyze biological insights. I did not only show a detailed description of the methods but also conducted a real data analysis as validation. REforge and TFforge have a wide applicability on endless phenotypes, both on their own in the association of TF and regulatory region to a phenotype. Moreover, particularly their combination constitutes in respect to gene regulatory network analyses a valuable tool set for evo-devo studies.

Background: Schizophrenia is a pervasive and often debilitating disorder, although vulnerability is not easily assessed. Cannabis has a positive relationship with schizophrenia. To date, it is unknown whether or not this is a causal relationship. Nonetheless, those with vulnerability to psychosis have displayed a differential sensitivity to cannabis. Aims: There were two main aims to this programme of research: 1) Contribute to discussions relating to ‘causal inference’ in the relationship between cannabis and psychosis. 2) Assess the reliability and validity of the Cannabis Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ) as a measure of psychotic vulnerability based on a differential sensitivity to cannabis. Methods: Two studies were conducted. The first was a Cross-sectional investigation in which two groups of cannabis users were recruited, participants with self-reported depression (n = 85) and participants with self-reported psychotic disorder (n = 48). This investigation also considered data from a community sample recruited as part of other research studies. These consisted of cannabis users (n = 861) and non-users (n = 306). These groups were compared on measures of schizotypy and cannabis induced experience. The second study was an experience sampling investigation, in which regular cannabis users (n = 36), submitted 7 responses per day via a mobilephone, for a period of 14 days. Participants completed measures of: psychotic-like states, stressed states, calm states, drug consumption, stressful and pleasurable events, and aversive cannabis induced experience. Results: Cross-sectional investigation: There was no significant difference between cannabis users with reported depression and reported psychotic disorder in the disorganised or interpersonal domains of schizotypy. The cannabis-using groups of participants displayed a differential sensitivity to cannabis, with those who reported psychotic illness having significantly more aversive cannabis experiences than the community sample (U = 15106.5, z = 3.142, p = .002, r = 0.10) and participants with reported depression (U = 1241.0, z = 3.746, p < .001, r = 0.32) . The most effective means of identifying psychotic vulnerability consisted of a two-step process, firstly utilising assessments of schizotypy and secondly assessments of aversive cannabis induced experience. Experience sampling investigation: In a dose dependent fashion cannabis predicted increases in interpersonal (b = 0.24 95% CI 0.07 to 0.42, p = .006) and disorganised psychotic like experience (PLE) (b = 0.16 95% CI 0.04 to 0.27, p = .006). However, disorganised PLE significantly increased the odds of cannabis consumption (OR = 1.245 95% CI 1.045 to 1.247, p = .003). Cannabis positively and significantly predicted ‘calm’ states in a dose dependent fashion (b = 0.23 95% CI 0.07 to 0.39, p = .006). Cannabis and stressed states interacted to significantly predict PLEs (b = 0.33, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.49, p < .001). Aversive cannabis induced experience significantly predicted PLEs both within (b = 0.22, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.33, p < .001) and between participants (b = 0.66, 95% CI 0.06 to 1.27, p = .033). Previously documented aversive cannabis experiences significantly predicted propensity to experience stressed states (b = 0.15, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.24, p= .002). Conclusion: Aim 1): Within a continuum model of psychosis the results of these studies support three mechanisms of a cannabis-schizophrenia interaction; cannabis use causes schizophrenia; schizophrenia causes cannabis use; schizophrenia and cannabis use maintain one another. There is evidence to suggest psycho-social stressors interact with cannabis to induce PLEs. This may indicate that cannabis causes schizophrenia via a cross-sensitisation mechanism. At-risk groups should be warned against using cannabis as a stress coping mechanism. Aim 2): These results confirm a differential sensitivity to cannabis in those vulnerable to psychotic disorder. This investigation has demonstrated that psychosis vulnerability can be assessed by aversive cannabis induced experience. This investigation has demonstrated concurrent, convergent, and predictive validity of the CEQ as an assessment of psychotic vulnerability. This scale could be useful for drug education programmes and risk assessment in recreational cannabis users; screening for medicinal cannabis prescription; screening for research trials with cannabinoids or other known psychotomimetics; and in the allocation of psychological intervention for cannabis dependence, and (possibly) stress-reduction in those with disorder or at ultra-high risk.

Cette étude pose le problème de discrimination faite à l'endroit des femmes dans les instances décisionnelles et envisage la mise en place de stratégies de luttes collectives versus individuelles comme moyen pour faire face à ce phénomène. Nous partons du constat de l'existance de deux formes de discrimination observées au Bénin et en France : une discrimination forte (plafond de fer) versus une discrimination modérée (plafond de verre). Le plafond de fer est une formule que nous avons créée pour rendre compte de la situation des femmes en Afrique sub-saharienne. Cependant nous voyons dans cette étude que cette expression cache une réalité particulière au Bénin : la présence non négligeable de femmes dans des postes à haut niveau de responsabilité. Des femmes hautement qualifiées y ont transpercé le plafond de verre, formule particulièrement adaptée à la situation des femmes en Europe, et en France en l'occurence. Nous nous sommes appuyées dans cette étude sur la théorie de la privation relative promue par Tougas, Guimond et leurs collaborateurs (1999). Cette théorie met en exergue le sentiment de domination et de la revendication en vue de la réduction dudit sentiment. Les résultats des différentes analyses réalisées dans le cadre de l'étude confirme l'hypothèse principale, à savoir que les femmes béninoises s'engagent dans une action collective pour lutter plus efficacement contre le phénomène de la discrimination faite à leur encontre notamment en milieu professionnel, contrairement à leurs homologues françaises qui développeraient davantage des stratégies de lutte individuelle (action individuelle). En revanche, la perception du phénomène de discrimination est modérée en France (plafond de verre) et plus forte au Bénin (plafond de fer). D'une façon générale, la discrimination sexiste en milieu du travail est un phénomène universel, une réalité qui se vit dans toutes les sociétés. L'idée de chercher à mieux l'appréhender chez les Français comme chez les Béninois dans cette thèse s'est avérée être une ouverture pour les recherches en psychologie sur cette question. Aussi, pouvons-nous dire que dans une perspective psychosociale, cette recherche contribue à relancer la réflexion autour du phénomène de discrimination en général et ses conséquences sur les comportements sociaux. Enfin, cette étude peut s'inscrire dans une voie nouvelle de recherches basée sur une coopération Nord-Sud, dont la visée serait la co-construction de modèles théoriques qui seraient non pas universels et comme "mondialisées", mais adaptables et "requestionnables" dans les contextes nationaux et sociaux spécifiques
This study raises the problem of discrimination made towards the women in the decision-making authorities and views on the implementation of collective strategies of fight versus individual as means to face to this phenomenon. We proceed from the observation of the existence of two forms of discrimination observed in Benin and in France : a strong discrimination (iron ceiling) versus a moderate discrimination (glass ceiling). The iron ceiling is a formula which we created to report the situation of the women in sub-Saharan Africa. However we see in this study that this expression hides a particular reality in Benin : women's presence is not unimportatnt in higher position at high level of responsability. Highly qualified women pierced the glass ceiling, the formula particularly adapted to the situation of the women in Europe, and in France there in this particular case. We leaned in this study on the theory of the relative deprivation promoted by Tougas, Guimond and their coworkers (1999). This theory highlights the feeling of domination and demand with the aim of the reduction of the aforementioned feeling. The results of the various analysis realized within the framework of the study confirms the main hypothesis that is to say, the Beninese women make a commitment in a collective action to fight more effectively against the phenomenon of the discrimination made against them notably in occupational environment, contrary to their counterparts Frenchwomen who would develop more strategies of individual fight (individual action). On the other hand, the perception of the phenomenon of discrimination is moderated in France (glass ceiling) and stronger in Benin (iron ceiling). In a general way, the sexist discrimination in the workplace is a universal phenomenon, a reality which exists in all the societies. The idea to try to dread is better to the French people as to the Beninese in this thesis turned out to be an opening for the researches in psychology on this question. So, we can say that in a social psychological prospect, this research contributes to relaunch the reflection around the phenomenon of discrimination generally and its consequences on the social behaviors. Finally, this study can join a new way of researches based on a North-South co-operation, the aim of which would be to the co-construction of theoretical models which would not be universal and such as "globalized", but adaptable and "requestionable" in the specific national and societal contexts

As an immigrant in Sweden, I connect this study to my embodied experiences in the labor market and reflect throughout this research as I discuss the experiences of other immigrants who struggle with labor market integration. This qualitative study focuses on the phenomenon of the integration of immigrants in the Swedish labor market from an intersectional perspective and from my position as an immigrant which enriches the discussions. I analyzed how immigrants are integrated into the Swedish labor market and how gender intersects with other human factors to influence labor market integration. The study was based on a reflexive ethnography methodology in which interviews and documentation studies were used in collecting the empirical data. A semi-structured interview guide was used during the interviews and the documentation study was focused on scrutinizing integration policy documents in Sweden. The findings provide a detailed account on the genesis of immigration policies and how they have evolved into integration policies in Sweden. It traces this from the 1950s when integration policies were intertwined with immigration policies. Also it provides an account of how the integration policies are implemented in Sweden focusing on the activities of two main organizations namely Arbetsförmedlingen and the Linköping’s municipality. Furthermore the findings highlights that, men and women experience labor market integration differently therefore there is the need for this subject to be studied from a heterogeneous perspective instead of a homogenous perspective. It also highlights that women’s gender intersects with other human endowments factors such as education, gender roles, marital status, language and skills that complicate their labor market integration. In addition the findings highlight the transnational lives of some of the participants who hold on to traditional ideologies from their countries of origin. Furthermore, immigrants conceptualized labor market integration according to their own understanding. The results shows that the conceptualization of some of the immigrants was similar to what is common in the literatures but there was one new conceptualization of the term labor market integration that can be added to the already existing conceptualizations.

The main subject of the final thesis is to find a suitable method for measuring the partial discharge (PD) in the dielectric of high-voltage capacitor. In the theoretical part of my thesis contains from the mechanisms of origin and the harmful effects of partial discharge at high voltage insulation of capacitor. It describes the global galvanic method of partial discharge measurement, the principle of cascade voltage multiplier, its main components are high-voltage capacitor and diode, facilities quality measurement of capacitors for voltage multipliers, advantages and disadvantages and principles of HIPOTRONICS DDX-8003 with the pulse discrimination system. In the experimental part of the diploma thesis is familiar with the diagnostics of high – voltage capacitors by means of laboratory measurements on the electronic bridge and with the help of partial discharge measurement system. Design of suitable electrode arrangement is described which eliminates the influence of corona which makes it impossible to measure partial discharges and the dissipation factor (tg ). Analysis data from measurement and determination of quality level, eventual degradation of measured capacitors. The result of this project should be designed the methodology for finding of poor – quality capacitors in order to increase the reliability of the voltage multiplier.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2009.
Thesis advisor: Jennifer Hedlund. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Criminal Justice." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-48). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MTech (Tourism and Hospitality Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.
Factors that impact female managers in career development in the hospitality industry The hospitality industry is growing fast with the result there is a demand for more employees to assist in the various aspects of the industry. Together with this there is a noticeable increase in the number of females occupying management positions within the industry. The phenomenon that women are still restricted in career advancement is still evident. Several Studies show that the number of women in managerial positions is unbalanced compared to the percentage of women in the workforce including the hospitality industry. What does it take for female managers to attain and retain managerial positions? What challenges or obstacles are female managers confronting that are hindering their career development? This research project presented the general profile of female managers in Cape Town’s five and four star hotels, and examined the different factors that impact the female manager’s advancement in career development within the hospitality industry. The purpose was to identity the different factors that hinder female manager’s career development in hospitality industry. And the factors formulated are social, personally, cultural, economical, and professional or industry related and evaluate what the hospitality industry is doing in promoting and encouraging women’s career advancement. The target population for this study was female managers in Cape Town’s five and four star hotels. The criteria used included all female managers, in different departments within the selected Cape Town’s five or four star establishments. The research design consists of self administered questionnaires sent to a sample of five and four star hotels. Ethical consideration was considered important in the process of the research study. The results demonstrate that there are different factors hindering women in maintaining, obtaining and sustaining managerial postions within the hospitality industry. The significance of the research study will assist the female managers and the industry identity the different factors that interrupt women’s career development in the industry and identity different and appropriate strategies to promote and enhance women’s progression in the hospitality industry.

Magister Public Health - MPH
The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) brought new hope to HIV patients as it has transformed a fatal disease to a chronic manageable condition. In 2009 there were over 920,000 Malawians infected with HIV and 110,000 new infections. Malawi like other countries in the sub-Saharan Africa has made great strides in ensuring access to ART. The government of Malawi introduced free antiretroviral therapy (ART) in June 2004. By 2010, a total of 250,987 patients in the country were receiving ART. The success of ART requires, amongst others, a sustained adherence rate to medication of more than 95% to prevent viral replication and the development of drug resistant HIV strains. Identifying the factors that influence adherence is essential for the long-term success of public ART programmes. This study explored patient, socio-economic, cultural, and religious and health systems factors that influence adherence to ART in Zomba district in Malawi. An explorative qualitative study was conducted amongst ART patients and health workers in four health facilities in Zomba district of the Southern Region of Malawi. Data collection was through individual in-depth interviews with 25 ART patients and semi-structured key informant interviews with 13 health workers that were actively involved in the ART programme. Data was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic and content analysis of transcribed data was done. The study found high individual commitment, having social support from family and friends and continuous good counselling to be facilitators to adherence to ART. HIV-related stigma and discrimination, none disclosure of HIV status, lack of partner support, travelling to attend funerals and religious beliefs were noted barriers to adherence. Health system factors such as congestion in the clinic, negative staff attitudes and a lack of privacy at the pharmacy were also identified as barriers to clinic attendance and keeping appointments. Although pill burden was not mentioned, patients reported drug reactions as a barrier to adherence. Although there is good road network in the district, transport cost was still mentioned as a hindrance to treatment adherence. Treatment success was reported to be both a facilitator and a barrier to adherence. HIV-related stigma and discrimination among people need to be addressed to increase support to PLWHIV and encourage disclosure of HIV status. The improvement of the socio-economic status of ART patients needs to be addressed to reduce dependence on support from other people and provide money to make follow-up appointments. The health systems need to reduce clinic congestion and waiting times so that patients are not deterred from accessing ART.

A relatively new phenomenon in learning research called highlighting occurs when participants show a seemingly irrational preference to attribute a stronger cue-outcome association to a later presented perfect predictor when it is paired with an imperfect predictor than that of an earlier presented perfect predictor paired with the same imperfect predictor (Kruschke, 1996). Current research suggests that the highlighting effect depends on the ability to learn to shift attention away from an irrelevant cue toward a more relevant cue in order to reduce errors in causal judgment and preserve an earlier formed association (Kruschke, 2003). Much research has suggested that older adults have difficulty disengaging attention from irrelevant information, which could be problematic in the highlighting procedure (Cohn, Dustman, & Bradford, 1984; Tipper, 1991; Mutter, Naylor, & Patterson, 2005). However, the results of the current experiment suggest that older adults can learn attentional shifts in order to guide associative learning and reduce errors in causal judgments. These data prove to be a problem for many models of associative learning (e.g., Mackintosh, 1975; Rescorla & Wagner, 1972; Van Hamme & Wasserman, 1994), but support a model proposed by Kruschke (2006).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1993.
Title from title page screen, viewed February 20, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Pamela H. Wheeler, Paula J. Smith (co-chairs), Lanny E. Morreau, John V. Godbold, Kenneth H. Strand. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-63) and abstract. Also available in print.

The aim of this dissertation was twofold: (1) to examine task co-representation and joint action in efforts to identify necessary preconditions under which shared representations are formed and (2) to determine whether alternative explanations can account for the social Simon effect (SE). Using joint Simon effect protocols (e.g., Sebanz & Knoblich 2003), we began (Study 1) by showing that when paired participants responded to the same stimulus-response alternative, the joint SE was absent. When participants performed under a competitive context (Study 2), the joint SE was elicited, even though co-representation would have been disadvantageous with respect to the task goal. Next, we examined the influence of spatial and response discrimination factors on the joint action correspondence effect. Our first investigation (Study 3) did not support the assumption that the co-actor may be providing a reference for the spatial coding of alternative responses. Using Ansorge and Wühr’s (2004) response discrimination hypothesis as a framework, we showed in subsequent studies (Study 4 & 6) that a SE could be elicited in a Go/No-Go task when spatial codes were used to discriminate between alternative responses. This was demonstrated when a standard 2-choice task preceded a Go/No-Go task and when participants performed two independent tasks alongside each other. Examination of event-related potentials pertaining to action inhibition suggested reduced action suppression on no-go trials when performing with a co-actor compared to performing with alone under these independent task conditions. In a final study (Study 7), we explored task co-representation using a different experimental paradigm—the response-precuing task. Our results did not provide clear evidence for task co-representation. In cases where the ‘social’ SE was not observed, we propose that a form of ‘social loafing’ or an individualistic mindset approach to the joint action task may have been in operation. Our overall findings encourage further investigation of how task context can modulate the joint SE and highlights how an individualistic mindset can potentially preclude co-representation.

Background: Acculturation and perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) are established risk factors for elevated blood glucose level or type 2 diabetes mellitus (EBGL or T2DM). These factors are known to affect health of immigrants in various ways, including dietary transition, psychological, sociocultural and economic status change. Although numerous studies on acculturation and PED have been conducted among immigrants worldwide, few studies have been reported for sub-Saharan African migrants across the world. Aim and objectives: This study aims to determine the potential mechanisms by which acculturation and PED influence EBGL or T2DM and psychological health risk factors such as depression, anxiety and stress among sub-Saharan Africans in north-eastern Australia (Darwin and Brisbane). Specific objectives include the assessment of EBGL or T2DM, PED, depression, anxiety, stress (DAS), overweight and obesity prevalence, the distribution of acculturation modes and sociodemographic characteristics in the sample population; determination of EBGL or T2DM, PED, depression, anxiety and stress prevalence by sociodemographic characteristics and finally, the assessment of the associations between independent variables (acculturation, PED, depression, anxiety, stress, dietary factors, high BMI) and the dependent variable (EBGL or T2DM). Methodology: A cross-sectional design and a purposive sampling method were used to recruit participants. A questionnaire was developed by the modification of validated acculturation scales, PED questionnaire, physical activity (PA) questionnaire, DAS scale and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Face-to-face interviews with 170 adults (≥ 18 years old) sub-Saharan African migrants from 18 African countries were conducted. Fasting blood glucose levels (FBGL) of the participants were measured during the interviews. Results: The results show that the prevalence of EBGL (High risk BGL) or T2DM (Diabetic BGL) was 17.6% (2.9% or 14.7%) in the sample population. This prevalence is higher than the recent Australian-wide prevalence (5.1%) and 41.8% of the sample population are in the integrated mode of acculturation, with 14.7% reporting a high level of PED. No previous data from Australia exists to compare these findings, since this study is the first of its kind in Australia. Of those who reported PED, 22.5% were in the integrated mode of acculturation. Similarly, 29.6% of those with EBGL or T2DM were in the integrated mode of acculturation. This is consistent with a previous finding that highly acculturated migrants are more likely to have EBGL or T2DM. Severe anxiety was higher (28.8%) than severe depression (18.8%) and stress (5.3%) in the sample population. The prevalence rates for anxiety and depression in the present study are higher than in the overall population of Australia, and they are higher in males than females. Overweight and obesity prevalence are 43.5% and 24.1%, respectively with more females (34.1%) than males (14.8%) in the obesity category, but more males (45.5%) than females (41.5%) in the overweight category. This is consistent with previous studies in sub-Saharan Africans, where females are more likely to be obese than males. According to literature, the condition was attributable to some African tradition that favours big body size for females as prestigious for the family. It is seen as a sign of fertility and success and wealth in a family. Forty-one-point two percent of the sample population had low income, and those with high income status were more likely to have EBGL or T2DM, compared to low or medium-income groups. Those who migrated to Australia on skilled migration visas were more likely to report PED and have severe depression (SD) and EBGL or T2DM than those who migrated on humanitarian, student and family/spouse visa type. They are also more likely to have higher income than those in other migration visa types. This result contradicts findings of previous studies where socioeconomic status correlated inversely with EBGL or T2DM. Nearly two thirds (62.2%) of the sample population was employed, 88.8% educated. The majority (74.8%) of those that were educated were employed, while 84.2% of the uneducated were unemployed. Relative risk analysis indicates that participants who were employed were 20 times more likely to report discrimination than those that were unemployed, and participants who were educated and employed were 18 times more likely to report discrimination than those that were uneducated and employed. This is consistent with previous findings where ethnic discrimination is reported to occur in workplaces and highly educated migrants indicate being discriminated against more than less-educated migrants. There was no statistically significant association between socioeconomic status and SA or severe stress (SS). Neither was there a statistically significant association between overweight, obesity, central adiposity and EBGL or T2DM. The lack of a significant correlation between BMI, central adiposity and EBGL or T2DM is contrary to previous findings. Most previous studies that examine the relationship between BMI and EBGL or T2DM find a positive association between them. Inverse and statistically significant associations between the consumption of sweets and snacks, fast food, processed meat and EBGL or T2DM were observed. Further analysis reveals that those who were aware of their EBGL or T2DM status had low consumption rates of sweets and snacks, fast food and processed meat. This gave the assumption that perhaps those who were aware of their EBGL or T2DM status had received some instructions on what to eat to manage their diabetic conditions. Australian vegetables were consumed more than the traditional African vegetables in the sample population. This implies that dietary acculturation is taking effect in the population. Correlation and multiple regression analysis show that an integrated and traditional mode of acculturation is significantly associated with EBGL or T2DM. The traditional mode was inversely associated while an integrated mode was positively associated. Strong associations were observed between PED, SD and EBGL or T2DM, reflecting a mediation effect between PED and SD in the association between acculturation and EBGL or T2DM, because when the relation was tested for mediation, the strength of the association between acculturation and EBGL or T2DM reduced, while that of PED remained strong, indicating that PED acts as mediator to acculturation in the association between acculturation and EBGL or T2DM. Conclusion: The prevalence of EBGL or T2DM in this study is higher than the current Australian prevalence and acculturation and PED are risk factors for EBGL or T2DM in the sub-Saharan African immigrant population in north-eastern Australia. Education and employment are risk factors for PED and EBGL or T2DM, and the association between acculturation and EBGL or T2DM is partially mediated by both PED and SD. Generally, the overall results of this study are unique in comparison to previous similar studies in other migrant groups in OECD countries. Therefore, more confirmatory studies are required to develop a targeted health promotion strategy for community and workplace settings, if sub-Saharan Africans are to positively acculturate in Australia.

Family history (FH) is a risk factor for many diseases. Disease guidelines often include family history as important in assessing chronic disease risks, but the empirical evidence base to inform the routine use of family history in primary care in practice appears largely lacking. An environmental scan of how family history is represented in prevention guidelines for five conditions showed that, while family history is often included in guidelines, there is variation in the definition used, recommendation given and evidence cited. A dataset on cardiovascular health in women was analyzed to examine whether family history offers useful discrimination value above standard risk factors. Regression results showed that family history is an independent risk predictor for coronary heart disease which improves discrimination beyond classical clinical factors. However, the absolute amount of discriminatory ability alone or with other factors is moderate at best, raising issues regarding clinical utility.

Olfactory function is affected by demographic, cognitive, and genetic factors. In the present thesis, three empirical studies investigated individual differences in olfactory ability. Study I explored demographic and cognitive correlates in common olfactory tasks; odor detection, odor discrimination, and odor identification. The results indicated that old age influenced performance negatively in all tasks, and that semantic memory proficiency and executive functioning were related to odor discrimination and odor identification performance. No cognitive influence was observed for measurements of olfactory threshold. Using population-based data, Study II investigated a potential influence of the ApoE gene on olfactory identification after controlling for health status, semantic memory, and preclinical and clinical dementia. The main finding was that the ApoE- ɛ4 allele interacted with age, such that older ɛ4-carriers had an impaired odor identification performance relative to older non-carriers. Importantly, the negative ApoE- ɛ4 effect on olfactory proficiency was independent of clinical dementia conversion within five years. Study III investigated the effects of the BDNF val66met polymorphism on olfactory change over a five-year interval, in a community dwelling sample of young and old age cohorts. The results showed that age-related decline in olfactory identification was influenced by the BDNF val66met. In middle-aged subjects, no effect of BDNF val66met was observed although older val homozygote carriers showed a selectively larger olfactory decline than the older met carriers. Overall, results suggest that the relative influence of demographic and cognitive factors vary across different olfactory tasks and that two genes (ApoE and BDNF) impact age-related deficits in odor identification. Potential theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed as well as potential limitations of association studies in genomics research.

International and national reports and research have shown that between 12-75 % of the students at universities have experiences of being badly treated/humiliated, harassed or discriminated by staff or fellow students, at least once during their university studies. A newly published report by Malmö university is of importance because this report includes a broader range of variables that have a connection with experiences of being badly treated, harassed or discriminated. Nevertheless, the report is limited because the results are based on bivariate regression analysis on binary variables and thus, does not control for other correlated variables. The aim of the current thesis is to improve the results by using multivariate logistic regression. The results indicate that using multivariate logistic regression narrows down the number of significant variables, which corresponds with the complexity of interaction in everyday life, providing a more realistic perception of the interaction of the dependent variables.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014
Educational inequality still exists in South Africa and permeates lower socio-economic communities. Improving the situation in schools serving poorer communities is essential. Intense interest in school effectiveness through research and policy could provide impetus for school improvement. The study aims to understand what makes a school effective within a disadvantaged community. To address school ineffectiveness, the study proposes a substantive theory developed from within a disadvantaged community. The study further focused on determining the effect of the social conditions on the effectiveness of the school. Disadvantaged communities are characterised in the study by aspects such as weak socio-economic conditions, poverty and high unemployment rates. The theoretical underpinnings of general systems theory (von Bertalanffy, 1950) and the theory of practice (Bourdieu, 1977) were used to conceptualise the study. The conceptual constructs of these theories were used as analytical tools in the study. The research study was based within an interpretive paradigm. The study made use of qualitative approaches as part of a case study research methodology. The case study is a high school in a poor community with black learners on the periphery of Cape Town. The sample used in the study included the school management team, school governing body, teachers, alumni and current Grade 12 learners. The data collection process involved interviews, both semi-structured and focus group interviews with the principal, the SMT, teachers and parents. Data was collected from learners by means of closed and open-ended questionnaires. The results of the research study have identified five critical factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the school in a disadvantaged community: effective leadership, cross-collaboration and communication, high expectations, effective teaching and development, and supportive learning field. The study further found that cross-field factors have a major influence on learners and schools in becoming effective. The cross-field factors refer to the influence of leadership and teachers on the learners. The study contributes to existing knowledge of school effectiveness, but particularly in the context of disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape. The substantive theory on school effectiveness was developed within a relevant context to address ineffectiveness. The study concludes with recommendations pertaining to leadership, collaboration, expectations, teaching, the learning environment and motivation of teachers. Recommendations were made to improve the practice of making schools effective in disadvantaged communities.