Increasing number of pregnancy applications (apps) are complementing healthcare systems to educate expectants and improve their maternal well-being. Using similar kind of applications for people from multicultural background might have varied impact on their pregnancy experiences. Especially for immigrants, cultural beliefs first set in their home country, might conflict with practices followed in country of residence and information provided in digital resources. This study aimed to compare the perceptions on pregnancy app usage by first-time expectants living in Sweden from native and migrant perspectives. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews through an online platform, Zoom, and explored the users’ opinions on app’ usage. Twelve first-time expectants were recruited through snowball sampling technique using social media group. Data was then analyzed using thematic qualitative analysis. The findings indicate the importance of understanding healthcare practices and social support in country of residence. Participants expressed that they developed a connection with unborn through pregnancy apps. However, app usage raised conflicts between user expectations from knowledge gained by apps and information provided by healthcare system, also exposed potential problems faced by immigrants due to different approaches followed by Swedish healthcare system. Participants using English apps expressed that they are receiving updates according to American healthcare system, while participants using Swedish apps asserted that they are getting relevant information adapted to Swedish society. The study advocates that the apps are not well-suited for migratory background users and provided possible solutions to improve existing pregnancy apps for maximum number of users to benefit.

Abstract in English, IsiZulu and Sepedi / Business Management / M. Com

This study aims to investigate how people's housing preferences changed during the Corona Pandemic. To achieve the purpose of the study, three questions have been formulated: Have housing preferences changed for people during the pandemic in Northeast Scania? How did real estate agents experience the housing market and their customers' housing preferences? Did the pandemic cause greater concern for young adults on the housing market? To answer these questions, a qualitative method has been used in the form of semi-structured interviews with both customers and real estate agents in Northeast Scania. The results of the study shows that people's housing preferences did change during the pandemic, where a larger living space was considered the most desirable. The real estate agents shared this view and saw a trend toward the interest of moving out of the city. Finally, the results of the study showed that young first-time buyers did not find it more difficult to enter the housing market than usual, but their feelings about working from home and involuntary isolation were affected to almost the same extent as ordinary people during the pandemic. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur människors boendepreferenser förändrades under Corona-pandemin. För att uppnå syftet med studien har tre frågor formulerats: Har boendepreferenser förändrats för människor under pandemin i nordöstra Skåne? Hur upplevde fastighetsmäklare bostadsmarknaden och deras kunders bostadspreferenser? Har pandemin orsakat större bekymmer för unga vuxna på bostadsmarknaden? För att besvara dessa frågor har en kvalitativ metod använts i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med både kunder och fastighetsmäklare i nordöstra Skåne. Resultaten av studien visar att människors boendepreferenser förändrades under pandemin, där ett större bostadsutrymme ansågs vara det mest önskvärda. Fastighetsmäklarna delade denna uppfattning och såg en trend mot intresset att flytta ut ur staden. Slutligen visade studiens resultat att förstagångsköpare inte hade svårare att ta sig in på bostadsmarknaden än vanligt, men deras känslor kring att arbeta hemifrån och ofrivillig isolering påverkades i nästan samma utsträckning som gemene man under pandemin.

In an attempt to strengthen marriages during the transition to parenthood, the Marriage Moments program was developed from Blaine Fowers' virtues based model of marital quality. Marriage Moments is a non-intrusive, mostly self-guided approach to marriage education, which is easily incorporated into childbirth education classes. The Marriage Moments curriculum stresses building marriage on a strong foundation of friendship and partnership. In this model, marital friendship is strengthened through a shared vision of life and important life goals; partnership is nurtured by the virtues of generosity, fairness and loyalty. This program was tested on 155 married couples that were expecting their first child. Couples were randomly assigned to one control or two treatment groups. The control group participated in a childbirth education class, but did not receive the Marriage Moments program. The instructor-encouraged treatment group viewed the Marriage Moments video in their childbirth education classes and were encouraged to do workbook activities by their class instructor; the self-guided treatment group couples were given the video and workbook to use at home. The Marriage Moments video is comprised of five, eight-minute segments introducing the marital virtues of friendship, generosity, fairness and loyalty. The workbook provides couples with additional information about the transition to parenthood and the possible applications of the virtues principles, including individual and couple activities. All couples were assessed using a battery of self- and spouse-report measures immediately before and after their child-birth classes and then at three and nine months after the birth of their babies. This longitudinal study examined the effect of the Marriage Moments program on marital virtues, marital quality, and intentionality. Relationship outcome measures included in this study were the Marital Virtues Profile, Revised-Dyadic Adjustment Scale, RELATE Satisfaction subscale and Transition Adjustment Scale. Treatment group couples reported high involvement in and enjoyment of the program. When asked to rate the program, couples evaluated the program as 'important' and 'worthwhile.' However, despite positive program evaluation, statistical tests revealed no consistent difference between the control and treatment groups over four times. Subgroup analysis also failed to reveal group differences when controlling for education, number of years married, and early marital distress. Suggestions for future study include contrasts of skills and virtues based curriculums, as well as high and low dosage interventions. In addition, this program should be studied in both clinical and educational settings.

Access to homeownership is a major social and economic issue in many countries. Failure to maintain affordability has been discussed as the ultimate agglomeration diseconomy. This report sheds light on the thresholds for first-time buyers in Sweden and possible solutions through financial innovation. More specifically, an increased understanding of how alternative mortgage products and attributes of financial structure could fit into the Swedish market to make homeownership more accessible for first-time buyers. We can conclude that redistribution of risk in combination with a culture of bank financing might have explanatory power in why alternative mortgage products are not more common in Sweden. Due to relatively new changes, there was no demand until recently. In combination with the bank's low incentives, there has been no supply either. Furthermore, the rules and legalization have a role in the question where the main finding is a lack of exact definition of the concept of interest. This cause problem for some of these alternative mortgage products. The different attributes investigated through the viewpoint of the Swedish market and first-time buyers found no clear winner. The different attributes have positive and negative sides concerning first-time buyers. Some models probably need a correction of a few regulations and better structures for collateral change and debtor change. However, most of the products lower at least one of the thresholds for first-time buyers, which means that a lot comes down to the product's pricing. We welcome these innovations where we believe the products need to go from one-size-fits-all solutions to offering adapted solutions for individuals in different parts of their lives. As far as we know, this paper is the first of its kind in Sweden and contributes to the affordability discussion and alternative mortgage products. / Tillgång till bostadsägande är en stor social och ekonomisk fråga i många länder. Misslyckande med att upprätthålla överkomliga priser kans ses som en stor negativ effekt med agglomerations ekonomin. Denna rapport belyser trösklarna för förstagångsköpare i Sverige och möjliga lösningar genom finansiell innovation. Mer specifikt vill vi ge en ökad förståelse för hur alternativa bolåneprodukter och attribut för finansiella strukturer skulle kunna passa på den svenska marknaden för att göra bostadsägande mer tillgängligt för förstagångsköpare. Vi kan dra slutsatsen att en omfördelning av risk i kombination med en kultur av bankfinansiering kan ha en förklaringskraft till varför alternativa bolåneprodukter inte är vanligare i Sverige. På grund av relativt nya förändringar har det inte funnits någon efterfrågan förrän nyligen, i kombination med de låga incitamenten från banken har det inte heller funnits något utbud. Vidare spelar lagstiftning en roll i frågan där huvudfyndet är brist på exakt definition av begreppet ränta. Detta orsakar problem för vissa av dessa alternativa bolåneprodukter. De olika attributen har positiva och negativa sidor när det gäller förstagångsköpare. Sannolikt behövs korrigering av ett fåtal regelverk och bättre strukturer för säkerhetsbyte och gäldenärsbyte till för några av modellerna ska vara optimala. De flesta av produkterna sänker dock minst en av trösklarna för förstagångsköpare vilket gör att mycket handlar om prissättningen av produkten. Vi tror att produkterna behöver gå från en lösning som passar alla till att erbjuda olika anpassade lösningar för individer i olika delar av livet. Den här uppsatsen är så vitt vi vet den första i sitt slag i Sverige och bidrar till diskussion om bostadsmarknaden och den svenska strukturen samt alternativa bolåneprodukter.

Under graviditeten sker en psykologisk utvecklingsprocess hos förstföderskan. Det är vanligt att förstföderskan har tankar om den kommande förlossningssmärtan under tredje trimestern. Förstföderskor har ett behov av att förbereda sig inför smärthanteringen, där barnmorskan är ett viktigt stöd. Att förstföderskan känner sig väl förberedd antas leda till ökad Känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) vilket i sin tur kan underlätta transitionen till föräldraskapet. För att barnmorskan ska kunna stötta förstföderskan i sin förberedelse behövs en ökad kunskap gällande hur förstföderskan förbereder sig. Syftet med studien var att belysa hur förstföderskan förbereder sig inför att hantera smärta vid kommande förlossning. Studien utfördes som en kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats där 11 förstföderskor intervjuades. Analysen genererade en huvudkategori: Förberedelse inför det okända - en skräckblandad längtan och tre generiska kategorier: Identifiera den egna synen på smärta, Fördjupa sina kunskaper och Dela sin förberedelse. Resultatet visade att förstföderskor har ett stort behov av att förbereda sig och partnern anses vara en viktig del i detta. Förstföderskorna upplevde att det förlossningsförberedande stödet som de blivit erbjudna av vården inte var tillräckliga. Därför har flera förstföderskor i studien använt privata alternativ som de bekostat själva. Detta anses vara ett problem då alla förstföderskor inte har samma ekonomiska möjlighet att bekosta sin förberedelse. Därför är det av stor vikt att vården i Sverige strävar efter att erbjuda ett förlossningsförberedande stöd som tillmötesgår gravida förstföderskors behov för att uppnå en mer jämlik vård. Om förstföderskan är väl förberedd inför smärthanteringen leder det till ökad KASAM vilket i sin tur antas gynna föräldratransitionen. / During pregnancy, a psychological development process takes place in the expectant first-time mother. It is common for the expectant first-time mother to have thoughts about the upcoming labor pain during the third trimester. Expectant first-time mothers have a need to prepare for pain management, where the midwife is an important support. The fact that the expectant first-time mother feels well prepared is assumed to lead to increased Sense of Coherence (SOC), which in turn can facilitate the transition to parenthood. In order for the midwife to be able to support the expectant first-time mother in her preparation, an increased knowledge of how the expectant first-time mother prepares is needed. The purpose of the study was to shed light on how the first-time mother prepares to handle pain in the upcoming birth. The study was conducted as a qualitative interview study with an inductive approach where 11 expectant first-time mothers were interviewed. The analysis generated a main category: Preparation for the unknown - a longing mixed with fear and three generic categories: Identifying one's view of pain, Deepening one's knowledge and Sharing one's preparation. The results showed that expectant first-time mothers have a great need to prepare and the partner is considered to be an important part of this. The expectant first-time mothers felt that the childbirth preparation support offered to them by the health care provider were not sufficient. Therefore, several expectant first-time mothers in the study used private options that they paid for themselves. This is considered a problem as not all expectant first-time mothers have the same financial opportunity to pay for their preparation. Therefore, it is of great importance that healthcare in Sweden strives to offer childbirth preparation support that meets the needs of expectant  first-time mothers in order to achieve more equal care. If the expectant first-time mother is well prepared for pain management, it leads to increased SOC, which in turn is assumed to benefit the parenting transition.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Barnhälsovården har funnits i Sverige sedan 1937, sedan dess är flera studier gjorda för att utveckla barnhälsovården och stärka föräldraskapet. Tidigt hembesök stärker relationen mellan förälder och BVC sköterska och är uppskattat av föräldrarna. Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet var att jämföra förstföderskor och omföderskors förväntningar och upplevelser av barnhälsovårdens innehåll de första två månaderna. Metod: Prospektiv longitudinell kohortstudie användes och resulterade i projekt ”Föda barn i Västernorrland”, delmaterial från de två inledande frågetillfällena, från mitten av graviditeten och uppföljande två månader efter barnet fötts, ingick i examensarbetet. Resultat: I examensarbetet inkluderades 918 kvinnor, jämförelse gjordes mellan förstföderskor och omföderskor som visade att förstföderskor värderade subjektiv upplevelse, (SU) lägre än omföderskor, lika så upplevd verklighet (UV) i alla frågor men när det gällde prata BB—vård och få stöd och råd de första två månaderna fanns ingen statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan förstföderskor och omföderskor. Balanserad kvalitet eller mer bedömde förstföderskor och omföderskor i frågan om att få prata om föräldrarollen samt att få ställa egna frågor. Slutsats. En betydande stor del av förstföderskorna upplevde bristande kvalitet vid information om amning/uppfödning samt när det gällde att få prata förlossning och BB—vård,vilket bör studeras ytterligare. / Background: Child health services have been in place in Sweden since 1937, since then has several studies been done to develop child health care and strengthen parenting. Early home visits strengthen the relationship between parent and child health care nurse and appreciated by the parents. Aim: The aim of the degree project was to compare first-time mothers and women who are a multiple expectations and experiences of the contents of child health care during the first two months. Method: Prospective longitudinal cohort study was used and resulted in project "Giving birth in Västernorrland", submaterial from the two initial questions, from the middle of pregnancy and follow-up two months after the child was born, was included in the degree project. Results: The degree project included 918 women, a comparison was made between first-time mothers and women who are a multiple which showed that first-time mothers valued Subjective experience (SU) lower than women who are a multiple. Perceived reality (UV) in all matters but when it came to talking BB care and getting support and advice the first two months significant difference between first-time mothers and women who are a multiple. Balanced quality or more assessed first-time mothers and women who are a multiple on the issue of getting to talk about the parental role and to ask their own questions Conclusion: A significant proportion of first-time mothers experienced a lack of quality in information about breastfeeding/rearing, as well as in getting to talk about childbirth and postpartum care, which should be studied further. / <p>Godkännandedatum: 2020-11-23</p>

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate community college student perceptions of academic advising for 12 first-time first-generation (FTFG) General Studies students attending a rural southeastern community college. The phenomenological research approach was utilized to better understand participant experiences by exploring participants' perceptions through their lived experiences. Applying purposeful sampling techniques, five females and seven males were identified, with 11 classified as full-time students and one classified as part-time. One-on-one interviews and focus group were conducted in-person or virtually, using Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with each participant to better understand student perceptions of their initial academic advising perceptions regarding feelings of being unprepared socially and academically, academic advisor connections and attributes, increased engagement in advising activities, and student success from the on-boarding process through graduation. The data collected revealed students took more responsibility for their education, were better equipped to communicate with an advisor, resulting in stronger connections, were better prepared to use college resources and tools, resulting in more intentional and meaningful conversations, and all of these factors led to overall student success. The findings of my research can be used to strengthen institutional policies and procedures, as well as to improve the academic advising experiences of first-generation community college students.

[pt] Esta dissertação se insere no campo do Design & Emoção. Seu tema é a relação afetiva que as pessoas estabelecem com os objetos e seu objetivo, estudar as experiências promovidas pelos objetos usados pela primeira vez. O método adotado para o desenvolvimento desta investigação foi o de entrevistas e conversas com pessoas de idades e origens distintas. Este estudo foi norteado pelo pensamento e pelas idéias de importantes autores do campo, como António Damásio e a idéia de que os objetos têm competência emocional e evocam emoção e sentimento; Donald Norman e os três aspectos do design: o design visceral, o design comportamental e o design reflexivo; Peter Stallybrass e sua reflexão sobre a vida social das coisas e sobre os objetos, onde imprimimos as nossas marcas e que carregam a nossa memória; e Patrick Jordan e a idéia de que os produtos podem proporcionar diversos prazeres: o físico, o social, o psicológico e o ideológico. A fim de contextualizar, enriquecer e ilustrar o pensamento destes autores, foram utilizados relatos dos entrevistados sobre suas experiências de uso de algo pela primeira vez. Este estudo foi motivado pela idéia de que o design é um processo intencional, e, assim sendo, é possível projetar objetos capazes de evocar sentimentos. Neste sentido, as conclusões gerais são que os objetos que usamos pela primeira vez inauguram e participam de importantes fases da vida e de rituais de passagem; nos apresentam novos universos; lembram pessoas; intermediam ações sociais; podem nos levar a adotar novos hábitos e condutas; e, ainda, evocam sentimentos como auto-dependência ou independência; estou crescendo ou estou podendo e incapacidade e exclusão. / [en] This dissertation inserts in the field of Design & Emotion, which subject is the affective relationship that people establish with the objects. The objective of this text is to study the first-time experiences of people with the objects. The method used for the development of this investigation was the one with interviews and talks with people from different origins and ages. This study was guided based on the thoughts and ideas of important authors on this field, as António Damásio and the idea that objects have emotional competence and evoke emotions and feelings; Donald Norman and the three aspects of design: the visceral design, the behavioral design and the reflexive design; Peter Stallybrass and his reflexion about the social life of things and about the objects, where we put our sings; that carry our memory; and Patrick Jordan and the idea that the products can provide many pleasures: the physical, the social, the psychological and the ideological. In order to context, to enrich and to illustrate the thoughts of these authors were used stories of the interviewed people about their experiences of using something for the first time. This study was motivated by the idea that design is an intentional process and, being like that, is possible to project objects able to evoke positive feelings and trigger positives changes of behavior for the society. In this direction, general conclusions are that the objects that we use for the first-time inaugurate and participate of important phases of the life and rituals of passage; in them they present new universes; they remember people; they participated of social actions; they can in taking them to adopt new habits and behaviors; and, still, evokes feelings as self-sufficiency or independence; I am growing up or I being able and incapacity and exclusion.