Magister Commercii - MCom / Shopping patterns of customers in South Africa since the outbreak of COVID-19 has shifted in more ways than one way. For instance, where and when consumers purchase household items. Because of COVID-19, many consumers continue to reassess their shopping preferences and behaviour. This research aims to determine the switching behaviour of consumers in Cape Town concerning the choices of retail outlets for groceries and household items. To date especially given the novelty of COVID-19 and the unprecedented lockdowns, the factors informing consumers' choices and the resultant behaviours remain largely unknown. The research opens the opportunity for further research into the phenomena that the pandemic has revealed. Also, the research adds to the body of knowledge of switching behaviour within the retail industry. The dissertation adopts the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a conceptual framework for the research. To more realistically test the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable (change in a retail outlet), the moderating effects of gender were also investigated. A survey design in which 158 respondents participated in the study was conducted. Quantitative data collection using a questionnaire was employed using Google Forms to comply with social distancing requirements and limit the possible transmission of COVID-19 between researcher and participants and among participants themselves if pen and paper questionnaires were used.

Covid-19 har drabbat en stor del av världens befolkning och prehospitala sjuksköterskor är mitt i smittans front och vårdar patienter med akut behov av sjukvård. Vårdandet av patienter med konstaterad eller misstänkt covid-19 sker i olika miljöer och även i trånga utrymmen inne i ambulansen. Nya riktlinjer vid användning av skyddsutrustning har uppdaterats under pandemins utveckling och blivit en stor del av vårdandet. Tidigare forskning betonar vikten av användning av skyddsutrustning vid utsatthet av smitta hos sjukvårdspersonalen. Covid-19 har bedömts som riskklass tre vilket innefattar smittämnen som kan medföra allvarliga konsekvenser där smittspridningen är stor och möjligheten att förebygga eller bota är begränsade. De prehospitala sjuksköterskornas utsatthet och rädsla vid vårdmötet kan leda till ökad stress vilket kan öka risken för ohälsa. Rädslan och stressen kan vara en ökad risk till att omvården av patienter med covid-19 försämras. Syftet med studien var att belysa sjuksköterskors upplevelse av att vårda patienter med covid-19 prehospitalt. En kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats utfördes där tio sjuksköterskor som arbetar prehospitalt intervjuades. Resultatet visar att sjuksköterskor upplever olika dimensioner av känslor, rädsla för sin egen utsatthet och hälsa, men även oro av att föra smittan vidare till familjemedlemmar. Det framkommer även att skyddsutrustningen blivit en vardag för sjuksköterskor att arbeta och bidrar till en ökad trygghet under pandemin, men den beskrivs även utgöra en påfrestning i form av fysiska samt psykiska besvär. Skyddsutrustningen upplevdes även som en barriär och bidrog till kommunikationssvårigheter mellan sjuksköterskor och patient under vårdmötet.

Objetive: To evaluate the quality of life of older adults who belong to the Seniors Centers (CAM) of the Social Security during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods: Data were collected through telephone calls to older adults aged 60 years and over in the CAM. Quality of life was assessed with the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire, which considers the dimensions of mobility, self-care, activities of daily living, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression and an analog scale from 0 to 100. The presence of depression, anxiety, comorbidities and functional status were also measured. A bivariate analysis with nonparametric tests was performed to assess the association between covariates and the quality of life analog scale. In addition, a simple regression analysis was performed using generalized linear models of the Poisson family to evaluate variables associated with the presence of problems in the quality of life dimensions. Results: A total of 99 older adults participated, mostly women (84.9%) and with an average age of 73.1 years, 83.3% had a higher education level and 86.7% lived with their spouse. Older adults with obesity, lung disease, inability to manage their own money, feeling fatigued, and hearing problems reported a lower than average score (<78.9) on the analogous quality of life scale. Osteoarticular diseases and feeling fatigued increase the likelihood of having problems with mobility, performing daily activities, and pain/discomfort. Conclusions: Older adults quality of life is influenced by multiple factors that must be addressed to improve their physical and mental well-being. / Revisión por pares

Introduktion/Bakgrund: I världen pågår en pandemi och hittills har över 200 miljoner människor smittats och över 4,5 miljoner människor har avlidit. Hög ålder och underliggande sjukdomar är riskfaktorer för att drabbas av svår sjukdom av coronaviruset. År 2018 rapporterades det att världens befolkning ökar, blir äldre och lever mer ensamma.  Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att sammanställa och kritiskt granska hur internationella forskningsresultat beskriver hur de äldres psykiska hälsa har påverkats under covid-19- pandemin.  Metod: Litteraturstudien har följt Polit och Becks (2017) nio steg. Artiklar söktes i relevanta databaser som Cinahl, PubMed och PsycInfo. Artiklarna granskades utifrån Polit och Becks (2017) granskningsmallar.  Resultat: Resultatet består av elva artiklar, varav tre med mixad metod och åtta med kvantitativ metod. Resultatet utgår från fyra kategorier som identifierats: känsla av ensamhet, upplevd oro och ångest, frånvaro av sociala och fysiska aktiviteter samt möjliga skyddsfaktorer.  Slutsats: Sammanfattningsvis upplevde de äldre inte att deras psykiska hälsa påverkades markant under Covid-19 pandemin. Dock visade resultatet en ökad ensamhet, oro och ångest främst hos kvinnorna. Trots detta framkom det att de äldre besitter en högre personlig motståndskraft som tycks vara en möjlig skyddande faktor.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected everyone in the world, however the phenomenon of growth following intense suffering has been well-documented over the past few decades (e.g., Tedeschi et al., 2018). Less research has been able to explain why some experience growth from trauma while others do not. Drawing from Joseph and Linley’s (2005) Organismic Valuing Theory model of posttraumatic growth, we examined the role of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (during the onset of the pandemic and currently) in fostering posttraumatic growth. Participants (N = 289) completed an online survey assessing the impact of the pandemic, basic psychological needs, and posttraumatic growth. We hypothesized that participants with greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs during the onset of the pandemic and currently would report greater posttraumatic growth. We found that current satisfaction of psychological needs significantly predicted posttraumatic growth (β = .42, p < .001) whereas satisfaction of psychological needs at onset did not. Secondary analyses of the impact of each need (current and at onset) on posttraumatic growth revealed that current autonomy support significantly predicted posttraumatic growth above and beyond the other needs across both time points (β = .29, p < .001). Interpretations of these results are discussed, and implications and limitations of the study are addressed. / Graduate / 2023-12-31

This master's thesis is about how the primary school handles the Corona pandemic in school situations in Sweden, viewed from a children's perspective and child perspective. The empirical data is composed of observations and fifteen semi-structured interviews, with eight students and seven educators. Concepts that form the basis of the study are: being and becoming, children's perspective and the child perspective, children's participation, trust, risk and danger. Previous research shows that children have the right to participate in decisions that affect them. Some researchers advocate for children's right to participate in decision making, while others are critical of the claim. Whether children can participate in decision-making or not, is decisive for which perspectives are practiced, the children's perspective or the child perspective. The results show that children can participate in decision-making on smaller issues, such as when changing hand soap. Moreover, in larger issues, it is adults who make decisions based on what they consider to be children's best interests.

Bakgrund: Covid-19 är en pandemi som har pågått sedan slutet av 2019. Viruset har spridit sig över hela världen. Brist på planering, resurser och ledarskap har varit ett enormt problem under pandemin. Detta har lett till högre stress och vårdtyngd för samhället, sjuksköterskor har lidit av fysiska och psykiska utmaningar till följd av Covid-19. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda patienter med Covid-19. Metod: I litteraturstudien används enbart kvalitativa studier. CINAHL, Psycinfo och PubMed har använts som databaser för datainsamling. Med hjälp av inklusionskriterier samt exklusionskriterier valdes tretton studier ut till litteraturstudiens resultatdel. Studierna kvalitetsgranskades vilket ledde till att nio studier bedömdes ha hög kvalité och fyra studier ha medel kvalité. Resultat: I resultatet identifierades två teman med respektive subteman. Teman var ”Fysiska och psykiska utmaningar” samt ”Upplevelser av organisationen”. Konklusion: Resultatet påvisade att sjuksköterskor som vårdade patienter med Covid-19 upplevde negativa känslor och upplevde fysiska och psykiska utmaningar i samband med utförandet av omvårdnadsarbetet. Erfarenhet samt en utökad kunskap kring omvårdnadsarbetet erhölls av sjuksköterskorna vilket upplevdes som positivt. En del av sjuksköterskorna upplevde brist på stöd från organisationer och regeringen, brist på tydliga riktlinjer och information för att utöva säker och personcentrerad vård. Efter att ha arbetat tillsammans under en tid upplevde sjuksköterskorna en bättre teamkänsla samt ett stöd från samhället. Nyckelord: Covid-19, Omvårdnad, Pandemi, Sjuksköterska, Upplevelser. / Background: Covid-19 is an ongoing pandemic since the end of 2019. The virus has spread throughout the world. The lack of planning, resources and leadership has been an enormous problem during the pandemic. This has led to stress and pressure in the health care for the society. The nurses have been suffering physical and mental problems because of Covid-19. Aim: The purpose of this literature study was to describe nurses' experiences of caring for patients with Covid-19. Method: Only qualitative studies were used in the literature study. CINAHL, Psycinfo and PubMed were used as databases for data collection. With the help of inclusion and exclusion criteria, thirteen studies were found and selected for the result of the literature study. Each study that was found was assessed for quality which resulted in nine high quality studies and four medium quality studies. Results: Two themes were found, and each theme had its own subthemes. The themes were “Physical and mental challenges” as well as “Experiences of the organization”. Conclusion: The results showed that nurses who cared for patients with Covid-19 experienced negative emotions, experienced physical and mental challenges in relation to performing various nursing work. The nurses obtained experience and an extended knowledge around various nursing work, which was a positive experience for the nurses. Some nurses experienced a lack of support from the organizations and the government as well as a lack of clear guidelines and information regarding performing safe and person-centered care. After working together for a while, the nurses experienced a better team spirit as well as support from the society. Keywords: Covid-19, Experiences, Nurse, Nursing, Pandemic.

Through discourse analysis, this thesis explores the way in which speeches delivered by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, during the health crisis of COVID-19 are creating a meaning for the floating signifier “COVID-19”. The methodological approach highlights how the discourse used is intrinsically gendered, both grammatically and conceptually, during the construction of meaning. The focus of this analysis is the extended metaphor of war and its relationship to the concept of Nation in the way they build a field of discursivity for “COVID-19”. These concepts are ambiguous when it comes to gender, questioning the way discourse and grammar build meaning.

I uppsatsen jämförs tre företag och deras Instagramkonton för att se vilken inverkan pandemin har haft på företagens kommunikation via sociala medier. Studien är uppdelad i tre olika perioder, en före pandemin och två under pandemin. Studien har genomförts genom att analysera publicerade inlägg på Instagram som innehåller bild och text. Analysmetoderna var en kvantitativ samt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys, en stilanalys enligt Lennart Hellspongs definitioner samt en komparativ analys av de kvantitativa resultaten. Studiens resultat visar att pandemin har påverkat företagens sätt att kommunicera. Samtliga företag i studien har publicerat fler inlägg under den första coronavågen. Två av företagen har under andra och tredje perioden haft en mer omvårdande stil på texterna i inläggen och samtliga företag i studien har, mer eller mindre, skrivit om corona eller coronarelaterade ämnen vilket visar att kommunikationen har ändrats både när det gäller innehåll och stil.

Hybrid governance in Latin America A case study of the response of Mexican criminal syndicates to the COVID-19 pandemic Wordcount: 20282 International Master in Security Intelligence and Strategic Studies 2409572N 29/07/2021 Abstract In the academia, long dominated by a Western state-centric approach, the idea of the coexistence of different orders of social domination emerged in the nineties. It set the premises for the academic literature on hybrid governance. This research area is very recent and still developing. Hence, the fields of application of this concept in the academic literature are diverse but still too limited. Therefore, this dissertation arises from the consideration that it would be interesting to further investigate the applicability of this under-exploited notion. In particular, it looks at criminal organizations in Latin America through the case study of Mexican drug cartels amid the pandemic. This case presents the key characteristics of hybridity, hence making it a relevant tool to analyze it. The finding of the possibility of the applicability of hybrid governance as an analytical lens to understand Mexican drug cartels during the pandemic suggests the possibility to expand the field of application of this concept. It leads to a broader reflection on hybrid governance schemes with...