Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur GIS-baserad multikriterieanalys kan användas för att föreslå en hållbar lokalisering av ny bebyggelse på landsbygd. Covid-19 pandemin har utmanat invanda beteendemönster och värderingar. Social distansering och att arbeta på distans har blivit det nya normala och det finns anledning att tro att distansarbete kommer att vara mer accepterat även efter det att pandemin är över. Redan innan pandemin fanns en svagt uppåt-gående trend med befolkningsökning i tätortsnära landsbygdssamhällen. Om attraktionen för bostäder inom tätortsnära landsbygdssamhällen ökar blir det viktigt att fundera på hur en nyetablering av bebyggelse kan ske på ett så håll-bart sätt som möjligt. En fallstudie genomfördes över ett mindre landsbygds-samhälle med fokus på att identifiera utmaningar ur hållbarhetssynpunkt och vilka kriterier som är viktiga att beakta vid lokalisering av nya bostäder. Plats-analys, enkät och intervju användes för att välja ut kriterier till den GIS-baserade multikriterieanalysen och för att utvärdera resultatet. En enklare känslighetsanalys genomfördes för att bedöma om den valda metoden var robust och vilken inverkan de olika kriterierna och deras viktning hade på slut-resultatet. Fem platser med en area större än 1000 m² pekades ut i analysen som de bäst lämpade platserna för lokalisering av nya bostäder. Vid utvärde-ringen av platserna i verkligheten visade sig samtliga ha brister som förbisetts i analysen. När slutresultatet vidgades till att inkludera även de näst bästa plat-serna uppvisade flera av platserna potential för etablering av nya bostäder. Slutsatsen av studien var att GIS-baserad multikriterieanalys innebär många osäkerhetsfaktorer och att det är viktigt att valet av kriterier anpassas till för-utsättningarna inom studieområdet för att resultatet ska bli tillförlitligt. Resul-tatet från GIS-baserad multikriterieanalys behöver utvärderas noggrant och be-slutsfattare bör inte enbart koncentrera sig på platserna med de högsta värdena i analysen utan behålla ett bredare perspektiv och även utvärdera de näst bästa platserna. Ett spektrum av kriterier som inbegriper såväl miljömässiga som so-ciala och ekonomiska aspekter av hållbarhet ökar förutsättningarna för att den föreslagna lokaliseringen ska bli så hållbar som möjligt. GIS-baserad multi-kriterieanalys kan, rätt använd, vara ett värdefullt verktyg för att hitta en så hållbar lokalisering som möjligt för nya bostäder på landsbygd. / The aim of the study was to examine how GIS-based multicriteria analysis can be used to propose a sustainable location for new buildings in rural areas. The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged behavior patterns and values. Social distancing and remote work have become the new normal and there is reason to believe that remote working will be more accepted when the pandemic is over. There was an upward trend of population growth in rural communities close to urban areas even before the Covid-19 pandemic. If the attraction for housing in rural communities increases, it will be important to consider how a new establishment of buildings can take place in a sustainable way. A case study was conducted over a small rural community. Focus for the study was identification of challenges from a sustainability point of view and conside-ration of the most important criteria when locating new houses. Place ana-lysis, questionnaire and interview were methods used to select criteria for the GIS-based multicriteria analysis, and evaluation of the results. A simplified sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the chosen method and impact of criteria weighting on the result. Five sites with an area larger than 1000 m² were pointed out in the analysis as the most suitable for new housing. In the evaluation of the sites, they all turned out to have short-comings that were overlooked in the analysis. When the result was expanded to include even the second-best places, several of the places showed potential for new housing establishment. The conclusion of the study was that GIS-based multicriteria analysis involves many uncertainty factors and study area conditions must be considered then criteria choices are made for the result to be reliable. The result of the analysis needs to be carefully evaluated and de-cision-makers should not only concentrate on the places with the highest value in the analysis but maintain a broader perspective and evaluate the second-best places as well. A criteria spectrum including both environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability increase the probability for the proposed locations to be truly sustainable. GIS-based multi-criteria analysis can be a valuable tool in finding a location as sustainable as possible for new housing in rural areas, if used correctly.

[pt] A reabilitação de áreas rurais degradadas no Brasil tem como principal obstáculo a revitalização de seus aspectos socioeconômicos e ambientais. Nesse sentido, a partir de um diagnóstico do processo de degradação florestal ocorrido no estado de São Paulo, com ênfase na região do Vale do Paraíba Paulista, este trabalho propõe a concepção de Sítios Florestais de Produção (SFP) como alternativa estratégica para recuperação desses espaços. A característica desta proposta é a reabilitação da vegetação nativa com posterior exploração econômica por meio de Plano de Manejo Florestal Sustentável (PMFS). Nessa perspectiva, a metodologia utilizada nesta pesquisa consiste na apresentação de um estudo de caso que descreve as fases de implantação dos SFP, com respectivo levantamento de custos para sua aplicação no município de Cunha – SP, cujo território abarca vastas extensões de terras com baixa produtividade e uma emergente demanda por reabilitação econômica e ambiental. Os resultados previstos sugerem que o emprego desta proposta na região do estudo é uma opção tecnicamente viável para recuperação produtiva e ambiental de seu território, bem como um mecanismo eficiente para o cumprimento do disposto na Lei nº 12.651 de 2012 que regula a recomposição de Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APP) e Áreas de Reserva Legal Florestal (ARLF) em propriedades rurais do Brasil. Por fim, esta pesquisa pretende colaborar de forma direta para o desenvolvimento econômico, social e ambiental de áreas rurais degradadas do território brasileiro, assim como servir de referencial teórico para futuros trabalhos nesta temática. / [en] The deforestation that occurred in the state of São Paulo-SP, throughout its history, had as its main cause the intense exploitation of forest resources. In addition, the constant expansion of agricultural frontiers and the effects of urban growth over the last decades on their rural areas have also contributed to the reduction of forested areas. Meanwhile, in the Vale do Paraíba Paulista, large areas of native vegetation were replaced by agricultural practices and extensive cattle ranching. These activities were responsible for a wide process of degradation and loss of local biodiversity, with direct consequences for important forest remnants of the Mata Atlântica Biome. In this sequence, in addition to environmental losses, the low productivity of the traditional farming and livestock practices adopted in this region caused the economic and social decline of its population. In this place, the deterioration of land due to land misuse and the process of migration of individuals from the countryside to the city, in search of better living conditions, reinforced the socioeconomic stagnation of their rural areas. In this new scenario, a significant portion of this region presents large extensions of degraded land, with little or no productive applicability. This fact indicates a growing demand for solutions that are responsible for the rehabilitation of the economy of its territory, as well as for the recovery of its environmental quality. In this sense, the use of strategic actions capable of consorting the economic revitalization and the environmental recovery of degraded rural areas in the Vale do Paraíba Paulista represents an important initiative to solve this growing problem. In this way, this research discusses a proposal that seeks to equate these aspects in the municipality of Cunha-SP, as well as to promote in this region the rehabilitation of forest fragments, their conservation and sustainable use.

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / See the attached abstract below

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Traditional medicine still plays a bigger role in people dealing with health and disease. Research shows that in some Asian and African countries, traditional medicine forms the primary mode of health care for 80% of the population. This is actively promoted in South Africa and is used by at least 70% of the country’s population. This study investigated the contributory factors leading mental health care users to use a combination of traditional and modern medicine in rural areas. The study was conducted using qualitative research methods. The population of this study were MHCUs, Mental health practitioners and traditional healers. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. Data was analyzed through a computer programme called Atlas TI. The results revealed the following as contributory factors leading mental health care users to use modern and traditional medicine in rural areas : cultural factor , belief in witch craft , influence by significant others (family members and friends), poor PHC intervention and treatment method. Recommendations to the health care practitioners and policy makers around the use of traditional and modern medicine was made based on the findings.

MSc (Microbiology) / Department of Microbiology / See the attached abstract below

MPM / Department of Public Health / The dawn of democracy in 1994 saw huge strides in the adjustment of various statutory instruments that aimed at opening the systems to all South Africans particularly the previously excluded groups. Health care system was one of the ear marked areas by the South African government for post-apartheid transformation. Resultantly, access to health care was declared a right and incorporated into the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996. Numerous legislative and practical steps towards achieving access to health care for all have been made with notable results. However, due the apartheid spatial planning which persuaded separate development left some sections of the community remote and with no infrastructure to support health care delivery. As a result, this has made the realization of the health care for all dreams elusive. Reportedly, the most affected communities were mainly homelands which were largely rural and townships. Despite notable improvements in the delivery of health care services across the Republic, there are still major challenges faced in this sector mainly in the rural areas and townships. Therefore, the study was set to investigate and evaluate the state of health care service delivery in rural Ndengeza Township. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative method following a descriptive design (cross-sectional) and data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and interview questions. The results revealed that transport, staff-patient relationship, unavailability of medication and medical staff were the major challenges of health care service delivery in rural areas. The respondents alluded that to improve health service delivery in the area, there is need to make available basic medication and trained medical personnel. It is believed, by the participants, that adding the number of staff will go a long way in changing the negative perceptions such as long queues, unavailability of critical services and unprincipled professionals that the public have of the local health care centers / NRF

PhD (Physics) / Department of Physics / The knowledge of solar radiation in this dispensation is crucial. The lack of grid lines in the remote rural areas of South Africa necessitates the use of solar energy as an alternative energy resource. Solar radiation data is one of the primary factors considered for the installation of renewable energy devices and they are very useful for solar technology designers and engineers. In some developing countries, estimation of solar radiation becomes a challenge due to the lack of weather data. This scenario is also applicable to South Africa (SA) wherein there are limited weather stations and hence there is a dire need of estimating the global solar radiation data for all climatic regions. Using a five year global solar radiation (𝐻) and bright sunshine (𝑆) data from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and South African Weather Service (SAWS) in SA, linear Angstrom – Prescott solar empirical model was used to determine regression coefficients. MATLAB interface was used whereby the linear regression plots were drawn. Annual empirical coefficients of 22 stations were determined and later the provincial values. The range of the regression coefficients, a and b were 0.216 – 0.301 and 0.381 – 0.512 respectively. The 2006 estimated global solar radiation per station in a province calculated from the modified models were compared with the observed and statistically tested. The root mean square errors were less than 0.600 MJm−2day−1 while the correlation relation ranged from 0.782 – 0.986 MJm−2day−1. The results showed the regression coefficients performed well in terms of prediction accuracy. / NRF

Problems in the public policy decision-making environments are typically complex and continuously evolve. In a resource-constrained environment, several alternatives, criteria, and conflicting objectives must be considered. As a result, solutions to these types of problems cannot be modelled solely using single-criteria techniques. It has been observed that most techniques used to shape energy policy and planning either produce sub-optimal solutions or use strong assumptions about the preferences of decision-maker(s). This difficulty creates a compelling need to develop novel techniques that can handle several alternatives, multiple criteria and conflicting objectives to support public sector decision-making processes. First, the study presents a novel scenario-based multi-objective optimisation framework based on the augmented Chebychev goal programming (GP) technique linked to a value function for analysing a decision environment underlying energy choice among low-income households in isolated rural areas and informal urban settlements in South Africa. The framework developed includes a multi-objective optimisation technique that produced an approximation of a Pareto front linked to an a priori aggregation function and a value function to select the best alternatives. Second, the study used this model to demonstrate the benefits of applying the framework to a previously unknown subject in public policy: a dynamic multi-technology decision problem under uncertainty involving multiple stakeholders and conflicting objectives. The results obtained suggest that while it is cost-optimal to pursue electrification in conjunction with other short-term augmentation solutions to meet South Africa's universal electrification target, sustainable energy access rates among low-income households can be achieved by increasing the share of clean energy generation technologies in the energy mix. This study, therefore, challenges the South African government's position on pro-poor energy policies and an emphasis on grid-based electrification to increase energy access. Instead, the study calls for a portfolio-based intervention. The study advances interventions based on micro-grid electrification made up of solar photovoltaics (PV), solar with storage, combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and wind technologies combined with either bioethanol fuel or liquid petroleum gas (LPG). The study has demonstrated that the framework developed can benefit public sector decision-makers in providing a balanced regime of technical, financial, social, environmental, public health, political and economic aspects in the decision-making process for planning energy supply interventions for low-income households. The framework can be adapted to a wide range of energy access combinatorial problems and in countries grappling with similar energy access challenges.

This study will present an analysis regarding regions effect on crime in rural areas. Thefour regional crime prevention organizations: police, the Swedish National Council forCrime Prevention (BRÅ), the county administrative board (länsstyrelse) and regions(regioner), all have a direct or indirect relation with handling crime in rural areas and/orhow it can be prevented. Through the lens of regional crime prevention, using previousresearch and interviews, the study tries to create the first reflections regarding howcrime prevention efforts in rural areas can be presented in the region’s context.Region’s new assignments, finalized in 2019, has had a distinct impact on all parts ofregional politics in Sweden. The inquisitive nature of the study is a telling sign that thisis uncharted ground in the Swedish context, and maybe the rest of Scandinavia andEurope. Because of this, the study creates an effort in explaining parts of regional crimeprevention in a rural context to consider the regions’ place within it.The study presents crime-related issues in rural areas, how the region’s processes forregional development function and a discussion regarding motivations surroundingcrime preventions place within regional development and regions. The study formulatesan attempt at a new framework of holistic dependency for crime in rural areas. Thisframework is dependent on four different recommendations, the topics of which canbe relevant for continued analysis and development regarding handling crime in ruralareas in the regional context. The four recommendations for rural crime prevention inthe regional context are: 1. Clarify whether the regional development strategy can include crime preventioninterventions based on identified crime prevention themes in regionaldevelopment, especially themes around more effective use of civil society as acrime prevention actor. 2. Investigate whether specific regions can change their responsibilities towards thestate to create better strategies based on their unique characteristics. 3. Clarify the crime prevention networks which regions take part in and how theycan be better used to prevent crime in Norrland's sparsely populated areas. 4. Interview all regional development directors and coordinators to develop thecase study presented / Denna studie kommer att presentera en analys av regioners effekt på brottslighet pålandsbygden. De fyra regionala brottsförebyggande organisationerna: polis,Brottsförebyggande Rådet (BRÅ), Länsstyrelsen och Regioner, har alla en direkt ellerindirekt relation till hantering av brottslighet på landsbygden och/eller hur det kanförebyggas. Genom att undersöka regionala brottsförebyggande åtgärder och tidigareforskning, försöker studien skapa de första reflektionerna kring hur brottsförebyggandeinsatser på landsbygden kan genomföras i regionala sammanhang.Regionens nya uppdrag, slutförda 2019, har haft en tydlig inverkan på alla delar avregionalpolitiken i Sverige. Studiens undersökande karaktär är ett talande tecken på attdetta är okänd mark i svenska sammanhang och kanske resten av Skandinavien ochEuropa. På grund av detta skapar studien ett försök att förklara delar av regionalbrottsförebyggande i ett landsbygdssammanhang för att överväga regionernas platsinom dessa sammanhang.Studien presenterar brottsrelaterade frågor i landsbygd, hur regionens processer förregional utveckling fungerar och en diskussion om motivationer kringbrottsförebyggande åtgärder förekommer inom regional utveckling och regioner.Studien formulerar ett försök till ett nytt ramverk av holistiskt beroende för brottslighetpå landsbygden. Detta ramverk sammanställs av fyra olika rekommendationer, varsämnen anses vara relevanta för fortsatt analys och utveckling när det gäller hantering avbrottslighet på landsbygden i regionala sammanhang. De fyra rekommendationerna förförebyggande av brottslighet på landsbygden i regionala sammanhang är: 1. Klargöra ifall den regionala utvecklingsstrategin kan inkluderabrottsförebyggande arbete baserat på identifierade brottsförebyggande teman iregional utveckling, speciellt teman kring effektivare användning avcivilsamhället som en brottsförebyggande aktör. 2. Utreda ifall specifika regioner kan förändra sitt uppdrag gentemot stat för attbättre kunna skapa strategier utefter sina unika egenskaper. 3. Klargöra de brottsförebyggande nätverk vilket regioner tar del av och hur de kanbättre användas för att förebygga brott i Norrlands glesbygd. 4. Intervjua alla regionala utvecklingsdirektörer och samordnare för att utvecklafallstudien som presenterats.

Bakgrund: Målet med palliativ vård är att förbättra livskvaliteten och lindra patientens lidande fram till döden. Sjuksköterskorna ansvarar för att främja patientens livskvalitet både fysiskt och psykiskt. I den palliativa vården utvecklar sjuksköterskorna nära relationer, ofta med hela familjen. I landsbygdsområden upplever patienter och närstående att den palliativa vården är begränsad. Geografisk plats är en avgörande faktor för den palliativa vårdens tillgänglighet trots att vården strävar efter att vara jämlik. Sjuksköterskorna har en central roll i den palliativa vården och de har stor möjlighet att påverka utfallet gällande vården med sin kunskap. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att undersöka sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att arbeta med palliativ vård på landsbygden. Metod: Litteraturöversikten baseras på resultatet från 13 kvalitativa studier som analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultat: Resultatet gav tre huvudrubriker; sjuksköterskornas förutsättningar för palliativ vård i landsbygdsområden, sjuksköterskornas samarbete med andra professioner och närstående i landsbygdsområden och ökat ansvar för sjuksköterskorna i landsbygdsområden. Slutsats: Denna litteraturöversikt beskriver sjuksköterskornas erfarenheter av att arbeta i landsbygden uppdelat i flera teman. Den största nämnaren som resultatet visar är att sjuksköterskorna inom den palliativa vården i landsbygden har en central och ansvarstung roll i vårdkedjan. Brister i tillgänglighet och kunskap hos övriga yrkesprofessioner i vården gör att sjuksköterskornas ansvar upplevs öka. Sjuksköterskorna efterfrågar även ytterligare kunskap inom den egna yrkeskåren. Utbildning, tydliga rutiner och riktlinjer samt stödjande interventioner för sjuksköterskorna är faktorer som skulle kunna stärka den palliativa vården i landsbygden. Samt att få sjuksköterskorna att känna sig tryggare i yrkesrollen. / Background: The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life and to alleviate the patient's suffering until death. The nurses are responsible for promoting the patient's quality of life both physically and mentally. In palliative care, the nurse often develops close relationships with the whole family. In rural areas, patients and relatives experience that the palliative care is limited. Geographical location is a decisive factor for the avaliabilty of palliative care, even though the goal is for the care to be equal. Nurses have a central role regarding palliative care and they have a great opportunity to influence the outcome regarding palliative care with their knowledge. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to explore nurse's experiences of working with palliative care in rural areas. Method: The literature review is based on the results of 13 qualitative studies that were conducted using thematic analysis. Results: The coding resulted in three main headings: Nurse’s conditions of providing palliative care in rural areas, Nurses collaboration with other professional's and relatives in rural areas and increased responsibility for nurses in rural areas. Conclusion: This literature review describes nurses' experiences of working in rural areas divided into several themes. The biggest denominator that pervades the results is that the nurses in the care of palliative patients in rural areas has a central and responsible role in the care chain. Shortcomings in availability and knowledge among other professionals in rural areas causes nurses' responsibilities to increase. The nurses are also requesting additional knowledge within their own profession. Education, clear routines and guidelines as well as supportive interventions for nurses are factors that could strengthen palliative care in rural areas. As well as making the nurses feel more secure in their professional role.