Popular media portrayals and promotion of vaccine hesitancy still rely heavily on the information-deficit model despite a push for non-information-based strategies from scholars such as increasing trust. In this study, newspaper portrayals of vaccine hesitancy during the COVID- 19 pandemic were examined to determine the prevalence of the information-deficit model. Canadian newspaper articles from The Globe & Mail and the National Post published during a 14-month period between May 2020 and June 2021 were examined. A total of 56 unique articles were identified, and a coding frame was developed through both inductive and deductive methods. Data was collected using a qualitative content analysis. Through thematic analysis, three distinct portrayals of vaccine hesitancy were identified, and the use of the information- deficit model varied depending on the portrayal. Portrayals of vaccine hesitancy in the general population and vaccine hesitancy as “anti-vaxxers” used the most rhetoric based on the information-deficit model, whereas vaccine hesitancy portrayals focusing on specific marginalized subgroups included more non-information-based explanations and suggested solutions. Media portrayals of vaccine hesitancy show signs of shifting to a non-information- based rhetoric, but is still predominantly based on the information-deficit model. This reliance on the information-deficit model, as well as its possible effects on expert-lay relationships, are discussed.

My dissertation thesis deals with information and communication technologies in the context of education and their impact on the subsequent quality of life of individuals with sight impairment. The work shows that it appears essential to provide pupils and students with impaired sight not only with the standard volume of knowledge, but also with specific and social skills and competences which will become a tool compensating their impaired sight handicap. The objective of the practical section of my thesis consists in determining the specifics of the process of instruction of pupils and students with sight impairment focussed on information technologies and in comparing the acquired data with research results aimed at the majority population of pupils and students. The said issues were analysed using the quantitative procedure of questionnaire research and evaluated under the application of frequency statistics. The testing of hypotheses was based on the Chi-square independence test. The research also incorporated the target group of parents of pupils with sight impairment and their teachers. Significant factors affecting the optimisation of the education and instruction process as a whole in the above mentioned target groups were determined and compared. Based on the acquired data and their statistic evaluation I succeeded to prove a significant correlation between the level of acquired competences in the field of information and communication technologies and the level of sight impairment. The results of the empiric section also suggest that the education of students with impaired sight within the mainstream educational process shows considerable reserves as compared with the educational process applied in special schools for pupils with a health handicap. The theoretical section of my thesis is divided into three chapters focussed on the conceptual and material specification and definition of the problem. The introductory chapter deals with the theoretical issues of sight impairment and the individuals with this type of handicap. The second chapter presents the system of the education of pupils and students with impaired sight and the concluding chapter deals with information and communication technologies as the tools compensating the information deficit in individuals with sight impairment. In co-operation with the Special Educational Centre based in České Budějovice, the results of my dissertation thesis will present the basis of recommendations targeted at an optimised formation of specific skills and competences in pupils with impaired sight educated within the mainstream educational process. The theoretical output of my thesis will result in study materials for the branch of specific educational studies in the Faculty of Health Care and Social Studies of the University of South Bohemia.

Miljömålet Levande skogar talar om frivilliga avsättningar som en viktig del i arbetet med att bevara skogens möjlighet att bidra med allt vad både människor och andra organismer behöver av skogen. Det är viktigt att frivilliga avsättningar genomförs, men de genomförs enbart om den som äger skog vet vad en frivillig avsättning är.Denna studie har undersökt andelen frivilliga avsättningar inom småskogsbruket i Östersunds kommun, om det finns någon skillnad i avsättningsgrad hos kvinnliga respektive manliga skogsfastighetsägare samt hur stor del av de tillfrågade som vet vad frivilliga avsättningar är. Detta för att kunna bidra med insikt i hur dagens informationsflöden kring frivilliga avsättningar ser ut.Studien bygger på en kvantitativ undersökningsmetod, där respondenter under telefonintervjuer svarat på ett antal ja- och nej-frågor rörande vetskap om frivilliga avsättningar samt avsättningsgrad inom respektive respondents skogsfastighet.Resultaten av undersökningen av den totala andelen frivilliga avsättningar har jämförts med vilken information som utgått till de som förväntas genomföra dessa avsättningar. Därefter har en analys av underskottet i genomförande av frivilliga avsättningar genomförts utifrån de informationsflöden som identifierats under studien. Studien har därutöver undersökt hur stort genomslag informationen om frivilliga avsättningar haft, genom att undersöka graden av vetskap kring frivilliga avsättningar bland fastighetsägare.Studien har kommit till slutsatsen att avsättningsgraden i det geografiska området studien behandlar ligger i på samma nivå som tidigare studier visar för Jämtland, men lägre än riket som helhet. Studien nådde också slutsatsen att det kontinuerligt utgår relativt stora mängder information gällande frivilliga avsättningar, men att dagens information inte fungerar då enbart 30 % av de undersökta fastighetsägarna har kunskaper om vad frivilliga avsättningar är. / The Swedish national environmental goal Sustainable forests suggests voluntary forest set-asides as an important part of preserving the ability of the forest to provide what humans and other organisms need from the forest. It is crucial that voluntary forest set-asides are implemented, but this can only happen if those who own the forests know about the term of voluntary forest set-asides.In this study, the small-scale forestry within Östersund municipality has been examined in relation to the share of voluntary forest set-asides, if; and to what extent, there is a difference in share of voluntary forest set-asides in forest properties controlled by female and male owners and lastly to what degree the respondents know what voluntary forest set-asides are. This in order to contribute with insight into the flows of information regarding voluntary forest set-asides.The study is based on a quantitative research method, in which the respondents during telephone interviews was asked a series of Yes- and No-questions concerning the level of knowledge in the area of voluntary forest set-asides and the rate of voluntary forest set-asides for each forest property.The result of the inquiry of the total share of voluntary forest set-asides was later compared to the information that has been distributed to those who are expected to voluntarily refrain from use of a part of their land. Thereafter, an analysis of the implementation deficit and the identified information flows was conducted. Finally, the study has examined how big of an impact the information of voluntary forest set-asides has had, by examination of the rate of knowledge of voluntary forest set-asides among the property owners.The study can conclude that the share of voluntary forest set-asides in the examined area is in line with what other studies conclude for the county of Jämtland, but lower than for the nation as a whole. The study also reached the conclusion that the flow of information is continuous and rather vast, when it comes voluntary forest set-asides, but that the current information does not work since only 30 % of the property owners have got enough knowledge of the concept of voluntary forest set-asides. / <p>2018-06-08</p>