Yes / Women are discharged home from hospital increasingly early, but there is little evidence examining the postnatal hospital discharge process and how this may impact on the health of women and babies. In particular, there is little on sepsis prevention advice, despite it being the biggest direct cause of maternal mortality. Aim To explore the perceptions of women and senior student midwives related to the postnatal hospital discharge process and maternal sepsis prevention advice. Methods Three focus group interviews were undertaken, involving 9 senior student midwives and 14 women attending paid or specialist classes for vulnerable migrant women. Findings All participants believed that the postnatal hospital discharge process was inadequate, rushed and inconsistent. Sepsis advice was patchy and the condition underplayed. Conclusions Cost effective, time-efficient and innovative ways to impart vital information are required to support the postnatal hospital discharge process.

The aim of this study is to use empirical investigation to collect data and analyze the constructed normative ideas and concepts within the discourse of interculturality. We used the perspective of social constructions as a means of understanding the underlying normative discourses. We used critical white studies to get an alternative understanding on the constructed normative discourses. The investigation was an etnographic study of a preeschool in a multicultural suburb in Stockholm. We used quality methods such as focus groups discussions as the main material for our discourse analysis and did etnographic observations as a complement. The results showed that the preeschool teachers constructed interculturality in the same way as we understand multiculturality and thought the swedish language to be one of the most important elements in their deifinition of interculturality. They constructed the families at the preeschool in a position where they stood in opposition against the families in the inner city of Stockholm, which stands for the normative white majority society

The aim of this study was to take a closer look at attitudes concerning education using oral presentations as the main activity in Swedish language studies in a Swedish secondary school. To accomplish this, the study aimed to answer the following questions: • In what way do four groups of secondary school students talk about oral presentations in Swedish language studies? • Which preconceptions and attitudes to oral presentations do the student express? • Which discourses are actualized in the discussions and how are these constructed? Secondary school pupils were used as a primary source of knowledge here through the use of four semi-structured focus group discussions. Students were asked questions about their understanding of what the essence of oral presentations is, as well as their experiences, feelings and what expectations they felt were placed on them by their teachers. The material shows a discourse composed of a mixture of excitement and fear. The pupils attribute to the creative side to planning presentations and using esthetic or even electronic media to excitement but also express anxiousness regarding the permanence of spoken word and the stress of potentially making a fool of oneself in front of their peers.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur skolledare samtalar om elever i särskolan och de underliggande frågeställningarna är att undersöka vilka förhållningssätt som framkommer i samtalen kring dessa elever och tillhörande särskoleverksamhet. Metoden som används är fokusgruppsdiskussioner för datainsamling, samt diskursanalys som teori och metod för analys. Totalt deltog åtta stycken skolledare uppdelade på två stycken fokusgrupper. Det insamlade materialet transkriberades och analyserades sedan utifrån en diskursanalytisk metod. Resultatet visar att skolledarna i studien i många fall avsäger sig sin aktörsroll och lägger ansvaret för verksamheten på andra ramfaktorer än sin egen ledarroll. Det visar sig i diskussionerna att respondenterna ofta söker nå någon form av konsensus kring det ämne de diskuterar. De understryker att det finns mycket för den ordinarie skolformen att ta lärdom av från särskolans arbetssätt – främst med tanke på individanpassad undervisning. Det visar sig också tydligt i skolledarnas diskussioner att perspektivet den omsorgsinriktade skolan är överordnat de styrdokument som Skolverket framhåller. Det framkommer också inslag av problematisering och engagemang kring normalitet, delaktighet och mångfald. Det finns även inslag av generalisering av egenskaper hos elever i särskolan i diskussionerna. Skolledarna i studien visar ett starkt engagemang för elever i särskolan, men en slutsats av studien är att de formella kunskaperna inte når upp till samma nivå. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how school leaders talk about students in special schools and the underlying intentions is to examine the attitudes that emerge around these students and the related school activities. The method used is the focus group discussions for data collection and discourse analysis as theory and method for the analysis. A total of eight school leaders divided into two focus groups participated in the study. The collected material was transcribed and then analyzed on the basis of a discourse analytical approach. The results show that school leaders in the study in many cases waives its operator role and puts the responsibility for action in frame factors other than their own leadership. It turns out in the discussions that the respondents often seek to reach some form of consensus on the topic they are discussing. They emphasize that there is much for the ordinary school in learning from the special school, especially regarding individualized teaching. It also shows clearly in the school leaders discussions that the perspective of the care oriented school is dominant to the documents distributed by the Swedish Department of Education. The discussions also reveals elements of problematizing and commitment to the aspects of normality, participation and diversity. There arealso elementsof generalization of thecharacteristics ofstudentsin special schoolsin the discussions. School leaders in the study show a strong involvement regarding pupils in special schools, but a conclusion from the study is that the formal knowledge does not reach the same standards.

Student Number : 9904953T - PhD thesis - School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Science - Faculty of Science / This study seeks to combine the knowledge of science and society to elicit the relationship between the harvesting of woody plant species and the local availability of woody species in South African savannas. Ten villages located in the former communal areas and homelands within three broad vegetation types (i.e., Mixed lowveld bushveld, Eastern thorn bushveld, and Natal lowveld bushveld) were studied. The study, conducted in the framework of the coupled human-environment system poses challenges to both scientists and managers (e.g., setting common goals). Data were collected using modified Whittaker plots (MWP) and focus group discussions (FGD), denoting ecology and society, respectively. There were nine 1000m² MWP plots sampled per village, each having nested 1m², 10m² and 100m² subplots. The FGD involved six groups of local people based on gender and age. The study revealed that the harvesting of woody plant species is a source of local disturbance to woody vegetation. Generally, there were more woody species in locations farther from settlements, having a mean of 41.97 ± 3.9, than for the intermediate (38.27 ± 5.6) and near locations (19.9 ± 4.2) within the 1000m² plots, the result of the reduction in species closer to settlements from higher harvesting levels. The larger sampling plot size of 1000m² of the MWP had the highest diversity, decreasing sequentially to the smallest scale (1m²). The density of the woody species was highest in the intermediate locations (517 ± 80 plants/ha), followed by the far and near, relative to the settlements. The Natal lowveld bushveld broad vegetation type had the highest mean density of trees (573 ± 71 trees/ha) compared to the Mixed lowveld bushveld (366 ± 64 trees/ha) and the Eastern thorn bushveld (312 ± 40 trees/ha). The stem diameters of trees were generally higher in the villages of the Mixed lowveld bushveld than the other two vegetation types. The study reaffirmed that anthropogenic disturbances within savannas impact vegetation and need to be studied concurrently with other disturbance factors (e.g., biotic and abiotic or environmental). The mean total coppice shoots of stumps within the 1000m² plots was relatively higher in the near locations (38.4%), than the far (33.0%) and intermediate (28.7%). This difference in coppicing shows that although near locations were less species rich, which is a result of disturbance, the growth of shoots may nevertheless be greater. Harvesting disturbance will possibly favour the regeneration of some species, as well as the maintenance of biodiversity. Whilst 135 woody species (from a total 191 from 42 plant families) sampled in the field were used by the local people, the community knowledge yielded almost twice as many (267 species, from 69 plant families). The ratio of mean useful woody species to total woody species remained relatively constant at about 1.0:1.1 from the near to far locations around the villages and accompanied by increased woody species diversity with distance from village. The MWP sampling yielded eight broad use categories (i.e., medicinal, wild edible fruits, fuelwood, housing and fencing poles, craft (e.g., carving), cultural, local beverages (e.g., alcohol)), and nine for the FGD (the eight for the MWP plus indigenous furniture). According to the local people, the highest number of species was used for medicine (27.8% of species), followed by fuelwood (19.2%) and wild edible fruits/seeds (19.1%). Over half of the species had multiple uses (i.e., three to eight uses), raising questions of possible threats to their persistence. Useful woody species were not restricted to any particular location or vegetation type. Large sized trees were subjected to even more uses than smaller trees, another source of conservation concern. Fifteen of the woody plant species are presently protected by law in South Africa (e.g., Adansonia digitata, Podocarpus latifolius, Mimusops caffra, Philenoptera violacea), while others are facing various forms of regional threats (e.g., Alberta magna, Catha edulis, Ocotea bullata). There is the need to popularise and make people (both local and outsiders) aware of the state of NTFP species, using local and village level information as an additional criterion for describing conservation threat (e.g., proposed “Locally Brown List” – Chapter 4). The older generation of local people were highly knowledgeable in terms of the woody species used for medicine, craft, fencing and housing poles, the middle aged in beverage making species, and the younger generation in fuelwood species. Overall, older males were highly knowledgeable of the useful species. The generally strong correlation (r = 0.99, p <0.0001) between the cumulative woody species diversity from field and community knowledge suggests the need to integrate data using multi-disciplinary approach and also to manage NTFP species. Although threat reduction assessments (TRA) and monitoring have previously been suggested, the participation of local people, harvesters and users will be crucial in making TRAs effective. In conclusion, the harvesting of NTFPs, and the impacts of the changes in the NTFP species on total diversity in savannas need to be understood in order to move towards a more holistic approach to conserving the woody species that may be at risk of extinction through harvesting. Disturbance criteria that describe harvesting levels should be set to guide research and management protocols. Finally, when discussing NTFPs and the species from which they are harvested, management should aim at incorporating all the factors that affect sustainability, such as land and resource tenure and local participation, the political economy, appropriate production and development cycles.

<p>Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two thirds of the 33 million HIV infected individuals worldwide. In 2007 there were an estimated 1.5 million Kenyans infected with HIV, and 166 000 new infections in 2008. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy [ART] brought new hope to HIV patients. It has transformed a fatal disease to a chronic manageable condition. Kenya has made great strides in ensuring access to ART and by 2009, 308 610 patients in the country were receiving ART - which is the second highest number worldwide. The success of ART requires a sustained adherence rate to medication of more than 95% to prevent viral replication and the development of drug resistant HIV strains. Identifying the factors that influence adherence, is essential for the long-term success of public ART programmes. The current study explored patient, socio-economic, cultural, and religious and health systems factors that influence adherence to ART at the Coast Provincial General Hospital [CPGH] in Mombasa, Kenya.</p>

<p>Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two thirds of the 33 million HIV infected individuals worldwide. In 2007 there were an estimated 1.5 million Kenyans infected with HIV, and 166 000 new infections in 2008. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy [ART] brought new hope to HIV patients. It has transformed a fatal disease to a chronic manageable condition. Kenya has made great strides in ensuring access to ART and by 2009, 308 610 patients in the country were receiving ART - which is the second highest number worldwide. The success of ART requires a sustained adherence rate to medication of more than 95% to prevent viral replication and the development of drug resistant HIV strains. Identifying the factors that influence adherence, is essential for the long-term success of public ART programmes. The current study explored patient, socio-economic, cultural, and religious and health systems factors that influence adherence to ART at the Coast Provincial General Hospital [CPGH] in Mombasa, Kenya.</p>

Magister Public Health - MPH / Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two thirds of the 33 million HIV infected individuals worldwide. In 2007 there were an estimated 1.5 million Kenyans infected with HIV, and 166 000 new infections in 2008. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy [ART] brought new hope to HIV patients. It has transformed a fatal disease to a chronic manageable condition. Kenya has made great strides in ensuring access to ART and by 2009, 308 610 patients in the country were receiving ART - which is the second highest number worldwide. The success of ART requires a sustained adherence rate to medication of more than 95% to prevent viral replication and the development of drug resistant HIV strains. Identifying the factors that influence adherence, is essential for the long-term success of public ART programmes. The current study explored patient, socio-economic, cultural, and religious and health systems factors that influence adherence to ART at the Coast Provincial General Hospital [CPGH] in Mombasa, Kenya. / South Africa

No description available.

This thesis aims to analyze the affect of internalized misogyny on female self-expression. Guided by the research question “How is female self-expression affected by internalized misogyny?” a phenomenological framework of affect based on work by Sara Ahmed is applied. Through an action-oriented focus group discussion, four female-identifying individuals share their embodied experiences of internalized misogyny. This research is positioned within a Western context and includes me as an additional involved participant. Results conclude that internalized misogyny may affect female self-expression through five common themes. These include an internalized female beauty standard resulting in self-objectification, a limited range of acceptable female expression resulting in a passive acceptance of gender roles, competition and comparison among women resulting in a devaluation of ourselves and other women, self-doubt and self-censorship resulting in a distrust of ourselves and other women as well as perfectionism and fear of failure resulting in valuing men over women. These results correlate both with the previous studies presented as well as my own previous first-year master thesis. This research adds to the academic conversation by including a reflection on the internalized attitudes towards ourselves beyond those directed towards other women.