<p>In this text about the mathematics education in a primary school in the Gambia, I am researching what this mathematics education consists of and what surrounding factors might be affecting it. The pupils of the school in question speak several different languages. This language situation is one of the factors considered in the research. A connection between the real life led by the pupils and their mathematics education was a second factor. The third factor is financial resources or the lack thereof. I wanted to see if a lack of sufficient financial resources was visible in forming the education and the teaching of the pupils. The teaching of mathematics in the school seemed to be based on behaviourism, but could perhaps take benefit from the ethnomathematics perspective. Through observations, analyzing documents and an interview, I realized that the government had set ambitious objectives for the teachers to follow, but due to lack of economical resources, as far as my study found, these are not achieved. As ambitious objectives, which are not followed by sufficient funding is an issue not only applicable in Gambian schools and since Sweden is a growing multicultural society, I can use my knowledge from this study in my work in Swedish schools.</p> / MFS - Minor Field Studies

<p>This is a Minor Field Study (MFS) which is a scholarship financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). It was conducted in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in 2007/2008. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of the political representative in the system of political representation and it will test the different theories of political representation based on interests or identity. This study is concerned with the function of the political representatives as they are the link between the system of representation and the electorate. Since the election system is designed for political representation based on interest and the voting in South Africa suggests voting based on identity/race the representatives must balance these different signals.</p>

In this text about the mathematics education in a primary school in the Gambia, I am researching what this mathematics education consists of and what surrounding factors might be affecting it. The pupils of the school in question speak several different languages. This language situation is one of the factors considered in the research. A connection between the real life led by the pupils and their mathematics education was a second factor. The third factor is financial resources or the lack thereof. I wanted to see if a lack of sufficient financial resources was visible in forming the education and the teaching of the pupils. The teaching of mathematics in the school seemed to be based on behaviourism, but could perhaps take benefit from the ethnomathematics perspective. Through observations, analyzing documents and an interview, I realized that the government had set ambitious objectives for the teachers to follow, but due to lack of economical resources, as far as my study found, these are not achieved. As ambitious objectives, which are not followed by sufficient funding is an issue not only applicable in Gambian schools and since Sweden is a growing multicultural society, I can use my knowledge from this study in my work in Swedish schools. / MFS - Minor Field Studies

This study was sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) as a Minor Field Study. Background: The treatment of leprosy patients in endemic countries is free of charge. Despite that, leprosy is still a disease that is spreading and can lead to severe consequences such as disability. With leprosy comes also social stigma, discrimination and poverty which often affect the decision of seeking treatment at an early stage, or even treatment at all until the resulting disability forces the patient to seek help. With this study I wish to increase the knowledge of the importance of compliance and education in health care system with patients with leprosy, and to enlightening how nurses can promote this in their daily work. Problem rationale: Even though the importance of seeking early treatment is known, people tend not to seek treatment because of reasons such as stigma. As a nurse, one has responsibilities to care for the whole patient and to give the right information to handle the situation, but because of factors, such as stigma, it constitutes a challenge for nurses within the care of leprosy. Aim: To investigate nurses’ experiences of educating patients with leprosy, with emphasis on aspects of how to handle compliance problems in the treatment and how to support a patient with leprosy. Method: A qualitative study based on interviews held according to an interview guide with semi-structured questions. Result: The findings in this study emphasize the significance of education in order to gain and maintain compliance of treatment with the patients with leprosy even though nurses had many different ways of supporting by education. The findings were divided in to four main categories with in total eleven subcategories to present the techniques and methods of supporting the patients. Discussion: The importance of supporting the patients with leprosy in different ways by education has showed very clearly in the study. Though, at the same time nurses educate with medical knowledge, the patients are the experts in this case of the lived knowledge and this could be a problem to satisfy both aspects unless they complement each other. To do so, a dialog and a relationship of trust must be present between thepatient and the nurse, and this could be done through giving the patients time to express themselves and ask their questions of concern. When the questions and thoughts have been heard, the nurse can satisfy the patient’s need in a more accurate way and continue to support the patient with education and encouragement.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of how Filipino female returnees cope with the experience of labour trafficking when reintegrated into their home communities, and how this coping relate to existing research on comparable returnee experiences. The empirical material consists of qualitative interviews with five returnees, conducted during an eight-week stay in the Philippines. The study identifies coping strategies adapted upon return, and analyzes them in the light of the local context and previous studies in the field. The results of the study indicate that, according to the women’s descriptions, strategies related to the escape/avoidance coping type are adapted to a higher extent than other types of coping strategies. These strategies seem to be highly related to the experience or fear of becoming victims of gossiping neighbours and/or patronizing family members. Distancing through humour was also appearing to a great extent in all the interviews, as well as seeking social support. It was found that the strategies expressed by the women were mostly emotion-focused or dysfunctional as opposed to problem-focused, but in many cases active as opposed to passive. The most common social support resources appearing in the interviews were the family, the church, and the supporting organization. The experiences of the respondents have a lot in common with the experiences brought forward in other studies in the same field, though it is important to be aware of the different social and cultural settings in which most of the existing research has been implemented. With this study, the author hopes to contribute to a better understanding of what kind of support Filipino female labour trafficking returnees are in need of, and how to further develop the support system for them and similar groups.

In Tanzania development has been on the agenda for a long time and one of the steps that has been taken to try to affect change is through communication and information. Under the first president of Tanzania, Julius Nyere, the media was monopolized and utilized as a tool for the government to push its agenda for development. Today, however, the media looks a bit differ-ent from the time of Nyerere, with a majority of privately owned media. Despite the focus on development the situation in public health is still poor, with both communicable diseases (i.e. HIV/AIDS and malaria) and non-communicable diseases (i.e. cancer and diabetes) claiming a lot of premature deaths. This thesis is a minor field study, financed by a scholarship from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). Its purpose is to examine the professional ideals of Tanzanian journalism today when it comes to health reporting and the development in public health. To fulfil this purpose interviews were conducted with journalists at three Anglophone daily newspapers (Daily News, The Citizen and The Guardian) in the economic capital, Dar es Salaam. Initially a quantitative content analysis was conducted. How the journalists feel that they can live up to their ideals and what obstacles they see in doing so was also examined. The study showed that the journalists want to contribute to the development, but that their ideals in how to do so differ. The most prevalent ideal was that the media should work to in­form and to educate the public. At the government owned newspaper, Daily News, the united front of the media and the government lived on. They felt responsible to stick to the govern­ment agenda. However, they also expressed that they felt responsible towards the ordinary people. The journalists felt that they could not live up to their ideals, especially the ideal of being the voice of the voiceless, because of the economic situation of the newspaper. The economic situation also affected the privately owned newspapers. The more active role of watchdog was more prevalent at these newspapers but was rarely practiced due to lack of resources. / Minor Field Study (Sida)

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) has for long been a neglected topic within development research, policy and practice, despite findings recognising how insufficient MHM poses obstacles to women and girls’ well-being and quality of life. Those living in low-resource settings are especially vulnerable to such challenges. This thesis aims to provide empirical evidence for the relationship between improved MHM and human development. Amartya Sen’s capability approach serves as the starting point, suggesting that development is the process of expanding capabilities to lead a life one has reason to value. It is argued that the use of menstrual cups enables the achievement of capabilities, by removing obstacles to these. This hypothesis is tested using material collected during a field study in Uganda. Two groups of women and girls have been interviewed and compared – one in which everyone is using menstrual cups, and one in which everyone is using pads or cloths. The results show that capabilities to a larger extent are achieved among the women and girls using menstrual cups, than among those using pads or cloths. Moreover, obstacles to capabilities were predominantly present in the second group. The findings thereby support the theoretical argument, demonstrating that the use of menstrual cups removes obstacles – positively impacting capabilities. This highlights the importance of considering MHM as a key aspect of sustainable development.

Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, Cuba tried intensively to attract foreign direct investments in order to improve the economic situation. The first reform was made in 1995, which was not a success, since both foreign direct investment and joint ventures decreased in the beginning of the 21st Century. In response, the government implemented a new law concerning foreign direct investment in 2014, with more relaxed regulations and increased benefits for the investors. This study aimed to examine whether the 2014 reform had solved the problems that existed under the previous law and the new reforms had helped Cuba’s exports. The purpose was therefore to investigate to which industry foreign direct investment should be allocated. The study took two approaches. First, it applied the Revealed Comparative Advantage model to distinguish effective from ineffective industries. It included a field study that aimed to gain understanding of the effect the new law has had so far, and whether it could improve exports. In addition, the field study attempted to determine where foreign direct investment should be allocated. The results indicated that Cuba has a comparative advantage in two industries: mining and agriculture. These industries were therefore examined in the field study. Key findings showed that ongoing issues, such as bureaucracy, lack of legal security and the wage policies of government employment agencies still exist, despite the introduction of new legislation. However, the new law may create increasing export possibilities in the food and mining industries, since Cuba has an outwardly-orientated policy and large factor proportions in agriculture and mining that could be exploited. / Minor Field Study (MFS)

This study is a Minor Field Study and is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). At the end of 2016 there were 1.4 million people living with HIV in Tanzania; That same year approximately 55.000 people were newly infected with the disease. The most frequent route of infection is through mother to child transmission (MTCT). The risk of transmission can be reduced with the help of medication and other strategies, called prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Tanzania is working actively with these prevention programs, however the rates of MTCT still remains high in the country. Due to their profession, nurses play a significant role in these prevention programs. They have an important role in educating the patients and encouraging a healthier lifestyle. Therefore, it is important to investigate nurses' experiences of working with PMTCT of HIV to gain knowledge and valuable information of their experiences. The aim of the study is to investigate local nurses' experiences of working with PMTCT of HIV in the Rufiji area in Tanzania. The data of the study have been collected through individual interviews with six nurses using a semi-structured guide with open questions. The nurses' experiences of working with PMTCT of HIV covers three key areas. First, they work actively with motivating the mothers in several significant areas, such as motivating the mothers to take a voluntary HIV-test and bringing their partners to undertake the HIV-test. Second, the nurses described the importance of counseling the mothers and their partners. One part in counseling is to get the mother's mind ready to receive the result of the HIV-test. Third, the nurses experienced stigma as something they all had to be aware of and meet in their everyday work life. Stigma from the community and relatives is one reason for poor adherence from the mothers to the PMTCT program.

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