This research aims to achieve a better understanding of interventions in the trajectories of practices. It is based on a case study of transport cycling in Santiago de Chile. The research uses a practice approach combined with concepts from Science and Technology Studies in order to explore the practice of transport cycling and examine interventions aimed at increasing the modal share of cycling in Santiago. The research is based on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, participant observation, photography and document analysis. While transport cycling is a recognisable practice in Santiago, it is also the site of several conflicts. The stigmatisation of cycling in its recent history as mode of transport for the most marginalised part of the urban population is challenged by new images of cycling as environmentally-friendly, healthy mode of transport for young professionals. As cycling becomes more popular, conflicts over the location of cycling emerge with motorists as well as pedestrians. Finally, different performances and understandings of cycling have generated conflicts among the urban transport cyclists. By focusing on relations between practices, the research thereby brings to the forefront the contested nature of practices which has so far been underemphasised in practice research. The research then focuses on interventions in the trajectory of urban transport cycling in Santiago, how they are developed and how they take effect. The research identifies two categories of interventions: building practice and growing practice. Building practice is the government-led provision of material infrastructure for cycling, while growing practice is led by civil society and includes a variety of small-scale interventions in the everyday engagement in the practice. The research argues that building practice produces infrastructure which is developed within the dominant system of automobility and is shaped by and reflects the inherent conflicts of the practice. Growing practice interventions are shaped by the core of the community of practice. They do not only provide targeted support for individuals, but more importantly contribute to the creation of a community of practice. This research aims to contribute to practice research by proposing a relational perspective for the analysis of practices, which emphasises five relational dimensions of practice: the individual situated experience of the performance in which meaning is created, the socio-technical system in which the practice is embedded, the relations between co-existing practices which bring to the forefront the contested nature of practices, the material infrastructure which emerges from the socio-technical system and shapes the performance of the practice, and finally the community of practice which constitutes practice and may be able to grow practice.

Background: In Pakistan, the prevalence of perinatal depression is high and is associated with adverse outcomes in both the mothers and their infant. Although effective psychosocial interventions have been developed for such settings, the scarcity of trained mental health professionals means that the majority of such women do not receive any intervention. The aim of this study was to explore the acceptability of peer volunteers (PVs) - volunteer lay women from the community with shared socio-demographic and life experiences with the target population – as delivery agents of a psychosocial intervention for perinatal depression in a rural area of Pakistan. Methods: This qualitative study was embedded in the pilot phase of a cluster randomised control trial. Participants included the entire sample of the pilot study: mothers (n=21), PVs (n=8), primary health care staff (n=5), husbands (n=5) and mothers-in-law (n=10). Data were collected, from these key stakeholders, through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Data analysis was underpinned by Framework Analysis involving five key stages: familiarisation, development of thematic framework, indexing, charting and interpretation. Results: All stakeholders viewed the PVs as acceptable delivery agents of a psychosocial intervention for perinatal depression. The PV’s personal attributes such as being local, empathic, trustworthy, approachable and of good reputation within their communities contributed to their acceptability. Their linkage with the primary health care system was vital to their legitimacy and credibility. Factors such as appropriateness of the intervention, effective training and supervision, perception of personal gain from the programme, and endorsement from their families and the community were motivational for them. Likely barriers to their work were women’s lack of autonomy, cultural beliefs around the perinatal period, stigma of depression, lack of some mothers’ engagement and resistance from some families. Conclusion: PVs are a potential human resource for the delivery of a psychosocial intervention for perinatal depression in this rural area of Pakistan. The use of such delivery agents could be considered for other under-resourced settings globally, and for other mental health conditions.

Diploma thesis analyzes market with mobile services in the Czech republic. Goal of the thesis is to answer the question, if chosen solution by Czech Telecommunication Office is optimal for increase of competition on the market. Theoretical part firstly is concerned with state interventions (and so licensing) from the point of view of well-known economists. Secondly, then the historical process of telecommunications in United States and in Europe is outlined. Finally, legislation and its current changes are mentioned . Practical part introduces market using Porter's model of five competitive forces, PEST analysis and SWOT analysis. Special chapter is dedicated to foreign mobile markets in chosen countries (in Germany and France) and compares them to the Czech one. Empirical and theoretical data doubts that the effective competition on the market can be achieved by licensing and so auctions.

The role of the government in an industrialization process of developing countries is highly debated. The opinions of scholars diverge. Proponents of extensive government involvement claim that it is a key to sustainable development, while opponents see it as an obstacle to it. The goal of my thesis is to analyze what consequences has had the reduction in the weight of the State in economies of developing countries, especially in Kenya. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first one talks about an evolution of industrial policies in the developing countries. Since the end of colonialism, import substitution had become a dominant pro development strategy in most developing countries, but in 1980s it was substituted by the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs). Those two sets of development strategies are described and assessed in this part. The second part of the thesis is a case study of Kenya. In this part I describe and assess industrialization policies of Kenyan government, analyze a change of its economic freedom since an adoption of SAPs and an influence of an increase in economic freedom on industrialization and social welfare.

The effectiveness of behavioral interventions for the treatment of young children with autism has been well documented in professional literature. The success of these procedures, however, depends on the fidelity of implementation and proper training of the therapist. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 125-skill, comprehensive staff training package that involved a graduated sequence of teaching. In addition to changes in skills, social validity and training time were also assessed. Results indicate that correct demonstration of skills increased following training, incorrect implementation decreased, teachers rated the procedures favorably, and the total training took between 20 and 32.5 hours for over 120 skills to reach mastery criteria. A discussion of the results as well as implications for future research is also provided.

Rural Agricultural Extension System in Lesotho depends on how successful extension knowledge is assembled from multiple actors and applied. Issues are wide ranging, from professional management and technical capacity constraints to the use of multiple, often overlapping and competing approaches by various role players, to mention just a few. First, the study identified multiple actors in rural agricultural extension. Second, it assessed the extent of multi-stakeholder coordination and the approaches used in rural extension. Third, it presented a comparison between best innovative models as identified in the literature and the practices in Lesotho. Fourth, it developed an innovative intervention model for knowledge transfer in consultation with the users of extension service in the two rural settlements. Using a mixed-research method conducted in two rural settlements from Ha Lejone in the Highlands and 'Muela in the Eastern Foothills of Lesotho to study the problem of coordination among actors, anecdotal evidences suggested that the patterns of interaction are not as effective and efficient as they potentially could be. The results show a mismatch of activities between service providers and farmers in terms of inputs provided and inputs required. Poor inter-ministerial and institutional coordination cultures are the majorelements preventing more effective interaction among actors. Introducing a multi-stakeholder intervention approach maps out roles and relationships within the extension knowledge systems by incorporating practices that are already known with exotic ones would give a fresh impetus to the reform of public sector agricultural extension in Lesotho. Policy recommendations for better use of innovation knowledge systems and approaches in the delivery of extension services, concludes the thesis. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Background: Stunting prevalence in children less than 5 years has remained stagnated in Peru from 1992 to 2007, with a rapid reduction thereafter. We aimed to assess the role of different predictors on stunting reduction over time and across departments, from 2000 to 2012. Methods: We used various secondary data sources to describe time trends of stunting and of possible predictors that included distal to proximal determinants. We determined a ranking of departments by annual change of stunting and of different predictors. To account for variation over time and across departments, we used an ecological hierarchical approach based on a multilevel mixed-effects regression model, considering stunting as the outcome. Our unit of analysis was one department-year. Results: Stunting followed a decreasing trend in all departments, with differing slopes. The reduction pace was higher from 2007–2008 onwards. The departments with the highest annual stunting reduction were Cusco (−2.31%), Amazonas (−1.57%), Puno (−1.54%), Huanuco (−1.52%), and Ancash (−1.44). Those with the lowest reduction were Ica (−0.67%), Ucayali (−0.64%), Tumbes (−0.45%), Lima (−0.37%), and Tacna (−0.31%). Amazon and Andean departments, with the highest baseline poverty rates and concentrating the highest rural populations, showed the highest stunting reduction. In the multilevel analysis, when accounting for confounding, social determinants seemed to be the most important factors influencing annual stunting reduction, with significant variation between departments. Conclusions: Stunting reduction may be explained by the adoption of anti-poverty policies and sustained implementation of equitable crosscutting interventions, with focus on poorest areas. Inclusion of quality indicators for reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health interventions may enable further analyses to show the influence of these factors. After a long stagnation period, Peru reduced dramatically its national and departmental stunting prevalence, thanks to a combination of social determinants and crosscutting factors. This experience offers useful lessons to other countries trying to improve their children’s nutrition. / Revisión por pares

Challenges like adversity and traumatic experiences can be especially stressful for children since they may not have fully developed certain skills and are often dependent on the support and guidance of adults. The medium of play is a powerful tool and can be used to enhance children to meet challenges better. It is mostly their preferred medium of interaction and allows them to process experiences playfully.The aim of this systematic literature review was to examine existing play therapy interventions that promote intrinsic characteristics of resilience in children. A search for scholarly articles has been carried out in 7 databases, resulting in ten articles included in the analysis. Play therapy interventions explicitly targeting resilience could not be found, as well as play therapy interventions targeting problem-solving abilities and adaptability of children. Interventions that targeted intrinsic characteristics of resilience were Child-Centered-Play-Therapy, Sandplay therapy, and Theraplay. The play therapy interventions were mostly effective but varied in their effect sizes. Results indicate that children with disabilities need a more directed form of play therapy. The field of play therapy interventions supporting explicitly intrinsic characteristics of resilience is a multi-factorial, dynamic, and complex construct that stands in its beginnings of research. Limitations of the study and further research are discussed.

Research has shown that exercise has the potential to improve couple relationships. This study contributes to current literature by examining the associations between exercise, its duration, and its intensity and daily clinical couple interactions. Participants were 22 married couples in a treatment-as-usual setting who completed daily diaries about daily behaviors and marital interactions. Multilevel models were run, and results showed that wives who exercised were more likely to report a negative interaction with their husband that day. When wives exercised longer, both they and their husbands were more likely to report positive interactions that day. Interestingly, if husbands exercised longer on a given day, their wives were less likely to report positive interactions and there was no association between husbands' perception of interactions and their own exercise duration. Finally, we found that when wives exercised more intensely, both she and her husband were less likely to report positive marital interactions. These results have implications for clinicians working with couples in therapy.

Bakgrund: Vårdrelaterade infektioner är ett problem inom hälso- och sjukvården som får stora konsekvenser för patienten men även för personal inom hälso- och sjukvården och samhället genom ekonomiska konsekvenser. Syftet: Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka hur handhygien kan förbättras för att reducera antalet vårdrelaterade infektioner. Metod: Metoden som använts till arbetet är allmän litteraturstudie med induktiv ansats. Tio vetenskapliga artiklar som framkom under studien har använts i resultatet. Resultat: Resultatet som framkom av den här studien har delats upp i tre teman: Kombination av åtgärder, Påminnelse om handhygien och Utbildning i korrekt handhygien. Utbildning inom handhygien och att påminna personal om basala hygienrutiner samt att vara uppmärksam på riskmoment har visat sig vara effektiva åtgärder för att minska antalet vårdrelaterade infektioner inom hälso- och sjukvården. Konklusion: Det behövs mer utbildning av vårdpersonal och kontinuerliga påminnelser för att det ska få en varaktig effekt samt en större uppmärksamhet på konsekvenserna av vårdrelaterade infektioner. / Background: Cross infections are a problem in the healthcare with major consequences not only for the patient but also for the healthcare staff and society thru financial consequences. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how improved hand hygiene can reduce the number of cross infections. Method: The method used in this study was a general literature study with inductive approach. Ten scientific articles that have been found during this study have been used in the result. Result: The result that was found in this study has been divided into three themes: Combination of actions, Reminder of hand hygiene and Education in correct hand hygiene. Education in hand hygiene and reminding staff of basic hygiene routines as well as being aware of risk factors have proven to be effective measures to reduce the number of cross infections in health care. Conclusion: However, more training is needed for healthcare professionals and continuous reminders to have lasting effect and greater attention to the consequences of cross infections.