This thesis is about the use of the term social exclusion in contemporary Scotland and how it has given rise to the idea of 'excluded spaces' in political and academic commentaries on deprived neighbourhoods. It argues that, despite criticism, the term offers a useful way of re-assessing disadvantaged places, such that space (for example, in the guise of socio-spatial segregation) should be considered not only an outcome but also an input into processes of exclusion. This is illustrated through exploration of the reproduction of the frequently negative place-images surrounding two deprived neighbourhoods in urban Scotland. The thesis explores how such representation may stigmatise residents therein, ultimately resulting in the production of landscapes of exclusion. Use of a range of qualitative methods (though primarily biographical interviews) demonstrates how negative place-images are constructed and remain resilient to change while also revealing the concrete outcomes of such 'imagined' geographies. Overall, the thesis makes three main points. First, that the construction of 'imagined' and 'real' places are fluid and dynamic processes and differences between 'images' and 'realities' of places are neither as clear cut, nor as 'true' or 'inaccurate' as might be assumed. Second, that 'real' and 'imagined' representations of place are reproduced through practices in, and attitudes towards, place. And third, that migration processes are influenced by, and influential to, the construction of social and place identities. Construction of socio-spatial stereotypes reveals space to be both an outcome and input into processes of exclusion while also demonstrating how many of the taken-for-granted assumptions about disadvantaged neighbourhoods might be considered place-myths.

InterRAI is an internationally validated assessment tool used in many different contexts to assist different groups of people and patients to live fuller, safer and more productive lives. In 2008, the New Zealand Ministry of Health, after the completion a trial of the interRAI – Home Care assessment tool in the District Health Board, rolled out implementation of the interRAI – Home Care tool throughout New Zealand’s 21 District Health Boards. The Quality of Life survey itself is currently being assessed and trialled throughout the world as a follow-up to the Home Care assessment. It will enable researchers and assessors to enable for a comprehensive perspective by bringing together the views of both service providers and recipients of care service. The assessments will be completed by the person directly, as a self assessment, or through interview The overall research aim of the study itself is to evaluate the adequacy of the interRAI Quality of Life survey in assessing the Quality of Life issues and needs of the elderly living in their own homes in the community with some sort of publicly funded health care, social or community support such as meals on wheels, personal care, etc., for the purpose of demonstrating the importance of it as a useful tool within New Zealand. The objectives of the research are as follows: • Objective 1 - To review the management and application of quality of life indicators for the elderly. • Objective 2 – To understand the pressures which an ageing population places on public policy. • Objective 3 - To consider how quality of life measures can best be applied alongside interRAI in New Zealand. The research itself focused on the Quality of Life of thirty participants. Each participant was first assessed through an interRAI – HC assessment at their own home by an assessor from the Canterbury District Health Board. Upon completion of the assessment, they were given the option of being contacted by the researcher about participation in the interRAI Quality of Life Survey. Contact by the researcher by telephone ensued, which was then followed up by a face to face information session at the home of the participant. At this time, thirty out of thirty one potential participants decided to sign the informed consent form for participation. As the Quality of Life Survey itself is self reported, each participant was free to read through the survey and answer for themselves questions regarding their thoughts about their own quality of life. Participants responded to forty six statements from nine different domains on the Quality of Life Survey. Overall results showed a majority of responses of ‘Always’, which were positive. Areas of concern which emerged from the data were of possible issues of social isolation and unresolved emotional health. Limitations of the research included factors such as the small sample size of thirty, the geography of the study which was limited to Christchurch, and the fact that there was no follow up visit to the first and only interview. In conclusion, it is apparent that a larger trial throughout the District Health Board is required to overcome the aforementioned limitations of sample size and geography. Also, it is imperative that a follow-up visit is scheduled after the initial visit to allow for intervention into quality of life issues which emerge from the participant’s self-assessment.

Background: Worldwide, it is poor women who are at greatest risk of cervical cancer. These patterns are resonated in South Africa where black women, particularly in rural areas are at heightened risk for cervical cancer. The rate of morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer has increased and in the year 2000, deaths as a result of cervical cancer in South Africa exceeded maternal deaths. This increase in morbidity and mortality has been associated with the emergence of HIV and AIDS. Cancer of the cervix was listed as an HIV-related opportunistic infection and an AIDS defining illness by the Centers for Diseases Control in 1993. This research documents the challenges of implementing cervical cancer services in the context of HIV. It explores structural, gender, societal, social exclusion and practical barriers to implementing these services. Methodology: The study was conducted using qualitative methods of enquiry which employed in-depth interviews to collect data from participants. Interviews were held with government officials, Section Nine institutions, non -governmental organisations working in the fields of cervical cancer and HIV/AIDS. Results: The study found that South Africa does not have a comprehensive policy to address cervical cancer in women living with HIV neither does it have plans to enact such a policy. It found that cervical cancer was a marginalised disease. It also found that cervical cancer does not always form part of health priorities as it falls outside women as mothers‟ brackets. The study found that the social status and the level of participation and active citizenship of women living with HIV might be one of the reasons for lack of prioritisation of cervical cancer policies. Conclusion: Cervical cancer is a marginalised disease because it affects women outside of their reproductive roles, can be defined as an STI and it affects women who live in the margins of society. Cervical cancer marginalisation could be linked to the discourse of lack of political will, advocacy and action in relation to women‟s health. Policies need to be nuanced from the perspectives of women living with HIV. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)--University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

An exploration of the interpersonal experiences of loneliness by older people in a residential care facility It is estimated that there were about 3, 8 million older people in South Africa in 2010 (Statistics South Africa, 2010). Many older people have to be cared for in residential care facilities due to their weakening health, the migration of children and grandchildren, or due to limited financial resources. This has led to the attempt in this research study to explore the interpersonal experiences of loneliness by older people living in a residential care facility. Loneliness is an unpleasant experience associated with inadequate interpersonal contact. It is widely accepted that loneliness is closely associated with ageing as a consequence of multiple losses – loss of abilities, loss of and changes in personal relationships, loss of relationships with familiar environments and changed contact with friends and relatives resulting in reduced relationships. Changes in the relationship with the environment are regarded as a particular loss by older people, especially if they have to rely on institutionalized care and loose contact with familiar social networks and the free association with other people. Lonely people are isolated people. For the purpose of this study, loneliness is regarded as a relational phenomenon, and the theory of complex responsive processes of relating will be used as the theoretical framework for this study. In an attempt to understand the interpersonal experiences associated with loneliness, a qualitative and exploratory research method was used. The research was conducted in a residential care facility in Johannesburg, South Africa. The group of older people, who was purposively selected for the study, consisted of 10 older persons: 7 female and 3 male and with ages ranging between 62 and 82 years of age. The data was collected by means of various qualitative techniques, including the Mmogo-methodTM and visual drawings. The collected data was analysed by using thematic analysis, visual analysis and key-words-in-context, and crystallization was used to increase the trustworthiness of the findings. Ethical approval for the research project was obtained from the North-West University. Two themes emerged from the findings, being: 1) Relationships are experienced in terms of the interactions in relationships as well as in terms of preferred interpersonal styles; and 2) The relationships experienced in the context of the residential care facility are described as being unsafe and lacking in care, while the environment is described as non-stimulating. Some of the findings are confirmed by existing literature. However, the unique contribution of the study is the finding that the environment in which the relationships are embedded is perceived to be dangerous, and that it is perceived to be a risk to become visible to each other in order to establish meaningful interpersonal relationships. Several suggestions regarding future interventions are made and some limitations of the study are mentioned. The contribution of the study is that loneliness are expressed and described in terms of interpersonal relationships embedded in the broader environment. Thus, the potential of older people to form meaningful interpersonal relationships are limited in the broader environment if the environment is experienced as unsafe and lacking in care. / Thesis (MSc (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Syftet med denna uppsats är att förklara vilka sociala och värderingsmässiga faktorer som ökar svenska väljares benägenhet att rösta på Sverigedemokraterna samt undersöka om den mediala och allmänt vedertagna föreställningen om SD-väljaren stämmer. Detta undersöktes med bivariata analyser och ett antal binära logistiska regressionsanalyser. Materialet som användes var ett dataset från European Social Survey från år 2012/13. De oberoende variablerna bestämdes utifrån vad teorin påvisade som möjliga förklaringsfaktorer för att rösta på ett högerextremt parti. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna var; teorin om massamhället, moderniseringens förlorare, xenofobi samt politiskt missnöje. Studiens resultat visar att attityder gällande invandring och låg utbildning är mycket viktiga faktorer för att förstå varför svenska väljare röstar på SD. Resultatet visar också att den mediala och allmänt vedertagna föreställningen om SD-väljaren som en ung, relativt lågutbildad man som känner sig utanför, är politiskt missnöjd och har extrema åsikter i vissa avseenden är delvis missvisande. Detta då resultatet visar att den typiska SD-väljaren är lågutbildad, politiskt missnöjd och har extrema åsikter i vissa avseenden. / The purpose of this essay was to explain which social and attitudinal factors that affect the Swedish voters tendency to vote for the Sweden Democrats and to study if the medial and generally accepted notion of the typical voter of the Sweden Democrats is true. To examine this a number of bivariate analyses and binary logistic regressions was made. The analyses were based on the European Social Survey 2012/13. The independent variables were determined by what our theories established as possible explanatory factors. The theoretical framework consisted of; the mass society theory, the theory of modernization losers, xenophobia and political dissatisfaction. Our results show that low education as well as attitudes towards immigration is important factors for understanding why Swedish voters vote for the Sweden Democrats. Furthermore the results suggests that the medial and generally accepted notion of the typical Sweden Democratic voter as a young, relatively low educated man that feels left out, is politically dissatisfied and has extreme views in some regards are partly misleading. This because the results show that the typical Sweden Democratic voter is low educated, politically dissatisfied and has extreme views in some regards.

No description available.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Sociology, Athropology, and Social Work. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Melbourne, 2002. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 30, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-363).

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-32).