Set in 2000, with a completion date of 2015, the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals is approaching, at which time a new global development infrastructure will become operational. Unsurprisingly, the discussions on goals, topics, priorities and monitoring and evaluation are gaining momentum. But this is a critical juncture. Over a decade of development programming offers a unique opportunity to reflect on its structure, function and purpose in a contemporary global context. This article examines the topic from an analytical health perspective and identifies universal health equity as an operational and analytical priority to encourage attention to the root causes of unnecessary and unfair illness and disease from the perspectives of those for whom the issues have most direct relevance.

Syftet med den här studien har varit att lära känna skolsystemet i utvecklingslandet Tanzania för att kunna ge en bild av vilka möjligheter lärare där har att stödja elever med läs- och skrivsvårigheter. För att bättre förstå under vilka premisser lärare i Tanzania arbetar har vissa jämförelser gjorts med svenska förhållanden. Genom att studera Tanzanias policydokument har jag fått en bild av hur Tanzanias regering vill att den tanzaniska skolan ska se ut. Frågan är om den bilden stämmer överrens med den bild lärare i Tanzania ger. För att ta reda på det åkte jag till Tanzania där jag genomförde intervjuer i grundskolor och på ett universitet där man utbildar specialpedagoger/speciallärare. Som kom-plement svarade några andra lärare i Tanzania på en enkät som handlade om hur de ser på barn med läs- och skrivsvårigheter och på sina möjligheter att stödja dessa barns utveckling. Samma enkät dela-des ut till några lärare i Sverige. På så sätt fick jag en kontrasterande bild att spegla de Tanzaniska förhållandena i. På många sätt har lärare i Sverige och i Tanzania väldigt olika förutsättningar. Men det finns även likheter. Både i Sverige och i Tanzania upplever lärare att kraven från statligt håll är svåra att uppfylla och i båda länderna finns det många hängivna lärare som vill jobba för att kunna hjälpa alla barn till en god utbildning. / The aim of this study has been to learn more about the school system in the developing country of Tanzania in order to give an idea of what opportunities there are for teachers in Tanzania to support students with dyslexia. For a better understanding of the premises teachers in Tanzania have some comparisons with Swedish conditions been made. By studying the Tanzanian policy documents I have got a picture of how the government of Tanzania want the Tanzanian school to be. The question is whether that image is in compliance with what teachers in Tanzania can give. To find out, I went to Tanzania where I conducted interviews in primary schools and at a university where they train special needs teachers. As a complement a few other teachers in Tanzania answered a questionnaire about how they look at children with reading and writing difficulties and how they experience their opportunities to support these children's development. The same questionnaire was distributed to some teachers in Sweden. In this way I got a contrasting picture that I could use to reflect the Tanzanian situation. In many ways, teachers in Sweden and in Tanzania have very different conditions. But there are also similarities. Both in Sweden and in Tanzania teachers experience that the requirements of the governments are difficult to encounter and in both countries there are many dedicated teachers who wish to help all children to get a good education.

The world has made important efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015. However, it is still insufficient and inequalities prevail in the poorest settings. We tracked selected MDG, barriers for their achievement, and community actions that help to accelerate the pace of their accomplishment in two Nicaraguan communities (León and Cuatro Santos). In the first two studies we track the progress of MDG4 (reduce child mortality) using the under-five mortality rate. Inequalities in mortality were mainly assessed by means of maternal education, but other social stratifications were performed on rural-urban residence and sub-regional comparisons between both communities. The last two studies describe community interventions in Cuatro Santos and their association with progress toward MDG1 (poverty reduction). Participation in interventions and poverty were visualized geographically in this remote rural community between 2004 and 2009. Other selected MDG targets were also tracked. These communities will possibly meet MDG4 even before 2015. In León, MDG progress has been accompanied by a decline in child mortality. Despite social inequalities with regard to mortality persisting in education and places of residence, these have decreased. However, it is crucial to reduce neonatal mortality if MDG4 is to be achieved. For example, in León the percentage of under-five deaths in the neonatal period has doubled from 1970 to 2005. In the remote rural area of Cuatro Santos, progress has been accelerated and no child mortality differences were observed despite the level of a mother’s education. Cuatro Santos has also progressed in the reduction of poverty and extreme poverty. The participation of the population in such community interventions as microcredit, home gardening, technical training, safe drinking water, and latrines has increased. Microcredit was an intervention that was unequally distributed in this rural area, where participation was lower in poor and extremely poor households than in non-poor households. In those households that transitioned from poor to non-poor status, microcredit, home gardening, and technical training were associated with this transition. Furthermore spatial analysis revealed that clusters of low participation in interventions overlapped with clusters of high poverty households.

Movie and literary tourism is a genre that has been recognized around the world for a long time but that has only recently got a grip on Sweden. More and more famous books are being cinematized and because of the success of these movies we can now walk in the traces of Wallander as well as the Millenniummovies. The focus of this study is mainly about the tourists’ motivation when it comes to this form of tourism and the purpose is to try understand what needs come in to play when a movie and literary tourism attraction is chosen. The study objects are two movie and literary walks which are based on books and movies with a fictitious storyline. The performed research was based on a multiple strategy with the qualitative method - consisting of respondent and informant interviews - in focus and the quantitative investigation - in the form of an one-page questionnaire - more as a complement. On the basis of the most fundamental theory of motivation in general (Maslow, 1970) and the tourism research’s more specific travel motivation theory (Pearce, 2005), the conditions for movie and literature as sorts of tourism have been made clear. Additionally, with the help of an additional motivation theory as well as several articles within the area of movie and literary tourism, this study has made an attempt to reach a more narrow theory for movie and literary tourism. The results from the research show that movie and literary tourism is a highly qualified tourism genre where the visitors’ needs are highly set and the motivation is primarily focused on self-development and the experience of new things. Also the possibility to exchange reality for a fictional surrounding and getting the opportunity to fantasize are highly prioritized motivation aspects. Movie and literary tourism is a big future area within the tourism industry, but before its potential can be fully understood and exploited, more research is needed. / Film- och litteraturturism är en genre som länge haft stort underlag i utlandet, men som först på senare år har fått fäste även i Sverige. Allt fler kända verk filmatiseras och blir till succéer och som en följd av detta kan vi idag vandra i så väl Wallanders som i Millenniumfilmernas spår. I denna studie ligger koncentrationen främst på turisternas motivation när det kommer till denna form av turism och syftet är att försöka förstå vilka behovsaspekter som spelar in när attraktioner baserade på film- och litteratur väljs. Fokus ligger på två film- och litteraturvandringar vilka bygger på böcker och filmer vars handlingar är rent fiktiva. Studien som utförts bygger på en flerfaldig strategi med den kvalitativa metoden – bestående av respondent och informantintervjuer - i fokus och den kvantitativa undersökningen – i form av en kortare enkät - mer som ett komplement. Utifrån den mest grundläggande teorin för motivation i allmänhet (Maslow, 1970) och turismforskningens mer specifika resemotivationsteori (Pearce, 2005) så har förutsättningarna för film och litteratur som turismart klarlagts, och med hjälp av ytterligare en motivationsteori samt flera artiklar inom området film- och litteraturturism har denna studie gjort ett försök i att nå fram till en mer avsmalnad teori kring just film- och litteraturturism. Resultatet av studien visar på att film- och litteraturturism är en högkvalificerad turismgenre där besökarnas behov är högt ställda och motivationen i första hand ligger i att utveckla sig själv och uppleva nya saker. Även möjligheten att byta ut verkligheten mot en påhittad omgivning och att få tillfälle att fantisera sig bort är högprioriterade motivationsaspekter. Film- och litteraturturism är ett stort framtida område inom turismen, men innan dess potential kan förstås och utnyttjas till fullo krävs mer forskning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

As the traditional role of corporate entities have been challenged by an increased number of demands from society, companies are no longer just legal factors intended to generate profits by supplying products or services. Instead, they are expected to play the role of responsible co-citizens of the community, taking social and environmental responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Implementing sustainable practices into business strategies is considered beneficial for both organizations and society, as it brings organizations opportunities for growth and development, as well as a more sustainable future for society. One way for businesses to ensure their responsibilities regarding sustainability issues and maintaining sustainable business practices has been depicted in the United Nation’s eight goals termed the ‘Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs). Previous research argues that organizations must incorporate sustainable practices into their different organizational strategies such as marketing, purchasing, and finance in order to maintain organizational growth and contribute to sustainable development. This issue has become especially important in developing countries as emerging markets compose great opportunities for businesses in terms of growth and development. An emerging market and developing country providing humongous growth opportunities for businesses is Malaysia. However, limited research has been conducted connecting the concepts sustainable development and marketing strategies, and how these may lead to an accelerated achievement of the MDGs within developing countries. In order to answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative approach using open, - and semistructured interviews together with observations was chosen as the most appropriate research method. Four international firms operating on the Malaysian market participated in the study and the findings indicated that having a well-developed sustainability marketing strategy and striving for a sustainable future does bring organizations competitive advantage and growth opportunities, and thereby an accelerated achievement of the MDGs.

Through an analog between film and memory, I argue contemporary Japanese visual media constantly remediates this relationship in order to develop a more inclusive, plastic indexicality that allows media without direct material contiguity access to an indexicality not typically attributed to it. Amidst the early twenty-first century shift from old, mechanical media to new, electronic media, each Japanese text engages the West through intercultural discourses and intracultural responses, just as Japan has continually encountered the West since its forced opening by Commodore Perry in 1853. The plasticized indexicality figured by contemporary Japanese visual media implies the plastic nature of abstracted referents such as memory. I examine these issues through three texts, each representing three different contemporary Japanese visual media forms: the live-action film, After Life (Kore-eda Hirokazu, 1998), the anime film, Millennium Actress (Satoshi Kon, 2003), and the manga, Black Butler (Yana Toboso, 2006-ongoing). Each text remediates film and memory as analogs in ways particular to their own medium to refigure indexicality as inclusive of their own medium, revealing a cultural discourse wherein contemporary Japanese visual media engage with abstracted realities such as memory. By plasticizing and abstracting the index through its remediation of film and memory, contemporary Japanese visual media reveal visual media's, especially anime's and manga's, ability to relate to culture. Their refigured index is inclusive of all visual media, allowing each the opportunity to index subjective memory and experience. After Life introduces this possibility by privileging its memory-film recreations as a higher fidelity index to memory than documentary, though documentary's remediation informs this index. Both Millennium Actress and Black Butler extend After Life's inclusive possibilities to suggest that their painterly realities are not divorced from reality, but rather representative of its decentered reception as subjective experience and memory. As media technology extends human beings, through new media such as the internet, it also abstracts us from certain material interactions such as reading paperback books or speaking to friends rather than texting them. Contemporary Japanese visual media suggest that as old media make way for new media, we should readjust our preconceptions about media's relations to culture, for as our world becomes digitized, even animated, the painterly realities found in film, anime, and manga bear more relevance than ever to how we construct our worlds, inside Japan and across the world.

Over the last twenty years or more, Uganda has benefitted from significant strides in water and sanitation initiated by the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. While the rapid progress towards development has been vastly beneficial, it is also important that it does not occur at the expense of the environment. The environmental impacts of these water sources must be evaluated and understood. However, to develop a robust understanding of the impact requires inclusion of the community members who use these sources and their perceptions of them. Consequently, the goal of this research is to investigate the interrelationships between socioeconomic factors, water source features, and household water source and treatment choices, along with the associated environmental impacts of those choices. This research focuses on two villages in Wakiso District, Uganda--Nalugala and Kitala and includes: (1) development and implementation of a country-specific survey of 200 households to gain qualitative and quantitative accounts of socioeconomic factors (e.g., education, gender of the head of household, number of household members), water source features (cost, convenience, quality, quantity of water) and community members' water supply choices; (2) statistical analysis to investigate any correlation between socioeconomic factors, water source features and household source choice; and (3) a life cycle assessment of each water source and treatment method used in the surveyed communities to highlight their associated environmental impacts. Based on statistical findings, the water source features which are considered most significant to impacting household choice are convenience, visual water quality (turbidity), and cost. When inspecting socioeconomic factors using the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI), no significant correlation was determined between the PPI levels and source choice. Consequently, the PPI was disaggregated to further analyze any significant correlations between socioeconomic indicators in the survey (social, economic, and educational) and water source choice. Three factors (i.e. gender of head of household, number of household members, and construction material of the house's external walls) were significantly correlated with the household's choice for their water source. The combination of qualitative and quantitative survey data underscores the disconnection between community members' perceptions of water quality and the actual, laboratory-tested data. This notion (perception vs. reality) asserts itself because the treatment techniques that respondents use for local sources are based on their perceived ideas of water quality. The techniques sometimes contradict the theoretical treatment methods (based on water quality tests) needed to raise a source's water to potable standards. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on each source and (1) the treatment methods community members most frequently used in comparison to (2) the theoretical treatment methods which would be necessary to raise each source to potable standards. Tap water was found to have the highest environmental impact based on actual community practices. Although it was tested to meet drinking water standards, community members boiled it, increasing its impacts in the categories of land use and global warming. On the other hand, rainwater and surface water had the highest impacts in the same categories (global warming and land use) based on the theoretical treatment which is required for the source water to be potable. The impact of the various fuel sources used to treat water by boiling was also evaluated. The greatest impact was for the use of propane gas followed by charcoal.

Proper hand hygiene is the most effective and efficient method to prevent over 1.3 million deaths annually from diarrheal disease and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs). Hand hygiene is also indispensable in achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the childhood mortality rate by 2/3rds between 1990 and 2015. Handwashing has been found in a systematic review of studies to reduce diarrhea by 47%#37; and is, thus, capable of preventing a million deaths (Curtis et. al., 2003). Despite this evidence, hand washing rates remain seriously low in the developing world (Scott et al., 2008). This study developed and implemented a comprehensive monitoring strategy of five usage variables (i.e., soap usage, functionality, presence of cleansing agent, ground wetness under station, amount of water in the jug) for 42-64 appropriate technology handwashing stations. These stations were monitored throughout 2011-2013 in two communities in Mali, West Africa. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) results include: 1) a 29%#37; decrease in soap usage from dry (October-June) to rainy seasons (July-September), 2) 35%#37; decrease in stations with presence of cleansing agent between 2011 and 2012, 3) higher station usage for stations in households with higher scores on the Progress out of Poverty Index® , 4) 27%#37; less of the stations far from a water source (35 meters-172 meters away) had a cleansing agent present than stations close to a water source (less than 35 meters) during the rainy season. Station usage also differed based on gender of the handwashing station owner in the two communities where stations built by women were used more in Zeala than those in Nci'bugu. In contrast to Zeala, handwashing stations built by men in Nci'bugu had higher soap usage and usage variable proportions than those built by women. Handwashing training and promotions resulted in 98%#37; of households reporting that they wash their hands with soap in 2012 from 0%#37; in 2011. Altogether, this study designed and implemented a robust monitoring system that succeeded in quantifying handwashing station usage for over two years. In-depth analysis of the data established six sustainability factors for handwashing stations (gender, training, water, seasonality, wealth, and monitoring) that are critical for lasting handwashing behavior change and successful hygiene interventions to save lives.

This thesis has three objectives as follows: 1) to investigate VIP latrine design and establish if the communal school VIP latrines located on the shared campus of Tubman Wilson Institute (TWI) Junior and Senior High School and J.C. Barlee Elementary School were properly designed and constructed, 2) to explore the user preferences and motivations impacting the adoption of these school latrines, and 3) to develop a framework for factors that influence latrine adoption. These goals were formed by the author in response to her Peace Corps experience working at a high school in Zwedru, Liberia from August 2012 to August 2014 and her personal background in appropriate sanitation and environmental engineering. To complete the first thesis objective, the author conducted a detailed literature review and then compared accepted guidelines for VIP latrines to the sanitation facilities located on the TWI campus. The literature review investigated proper design of ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, school sanitation guidelines, and recommendations for sanitation in Liberia. The research focus latrines were two blocks of six stall multicompartment alternating twin-pit VIP latrines. The author conducted observations of the communal school latrines in order to compare the design and construction of these specific latrines to accepted criteria and recommendations from literature. It was found that the latrine vent pipes, cover slabs, drop holes, and pit design all appear to be designed and constructed per national Liberian and international recommendations. However, the TWI school latrines do not comply with standards for several other latrine design criteria. The latrine superstructures are built with privacy walls located in front of the boys’ and girls’ stalls and the entranceway doors do not have air gaps. These two features may impair critical odor-controlling air flow from the superstructure through the pit and out the vent pipe. The siting of the school latrines is also inconsistent with guidelines as the latrines are located too close to the classroom building and to the school’s water pump. Finally, the ratio of people to latrines on the shared TWI/J.C. Barlee campus is higher than the recommendation of 20-40 students per latrine, or when necessary 60 students per latrine. The second research objective was to investigate user perceptions of the communal latrines and identify factors that motivate latrine adoption on the Liberian school campus. The design deficiencies identified in the evaluation of thesis objective one were found to impact the user preferences regarding the school latrines. This is apparent from user comments in the surveys that were conducted with 709 participants (students from grades four to twelve, administrators, faculty, and staff) at the study site. User perceptions of the cleanliness, safety, and comfort of the school facilities were varied. For example, 51% of total respondents (n = 709) expressed that the school latrines were dirty or very dirty, while 48% claimed the latrines were clean or very clean. When asked about the safety of the communal latrines, 52% of survey participants said the sanitation facilities were not safe or very unsafe; 47% asserted that the latrines were safe or very safe. Survey participants also had mixed responses about the comfort of the communal sanitation technology: 51% of the 709 survey participants stated that the latrines were not comfortable or very uncomfortable, while 46% declared the facilities were comfortable or very comfortable. The open-ended survey questions allowed respondents to comment on positive and negative aspects of the communal school VIP latrines. Again answers included various responses, but several key themes arose, including smell and odor, latrine construction components, presence of feces in and around the latrines, the use of the facilities by outside community members, and health impacts of latrine use. The final thesis objective was to develop a framework of the factors that impact adoption of communal school latrines. The author originally assumed that user preferences and latrine adoption were directly correlated, but survey results suggest that the two factors may be independently influenced. This is based on the usage rates, 77% total survey participants stating that they use the latrines and 88% of these affirmative respondents explaining that they use the latrines daily, multiple times a week, or weekly. Although these adoption rates are quite high, satisfaction rates for latrine cleanliness, safety, and comfort are merely 50%, as previously described. VIP latrine design factors, like odor control and door construction, and communal sanitation facility characteristics, such as operation and maintenance, may prompt latrine adoption. Individual user traits, such as age, gender, and type and availability of household sanitation technology appear to have a lesser impact on latrine adoption. However, the grade level of the student respondents may have played a role in their responses because of the methods in which the survey was administered and the common practice of cheating. Additional research should be conducted to further understand the factors that impact the adoption of communal sanitation facilities on school campuses. This study accomplished its three main research objectives, yet further research and practical applications must be applied to improve school sanitation in Liberia and worldwide.