Many women have negative feelings towards their genitals, and studies show that this may be due to misconceptions about how normal vaginas look and work. This study aimed to create a prototype for an education material about the female genitals, focusing on the information needs of women between the ages of 18-30. To do this, user research was conducted in the form of two semi-structured interviews and a survey of 112 participants. The result showed that young women wanted more information about various things, such as the menstrual cycle, hormones, diseases and hygiene. The survey also revealed that several of the participants had low faith in the female health care, and that many of them had avoided going to the gynaecologist at least once when they had experienced genital problems. Most women had at least one worry about their genitals, which could be anything from pain, fear of not being able to have children or not looking according to the norm. This was incorporated in a paper prototype of a suggested education website about the female genitals. As many women experienced negative feelings towards their genitals, this is an important area to keep investigating, to further increase genital health and wellbeing. / Är jag normal?

In this qualitative study I explored how postgraduate psychology students treat gender in their accounts of their future profession, using a social constructionist framework. I considered how this group of future psychologists drew upon gendered accounts in three different settings in which they found themselves within the profession. These included exploring how participants constructed their own gendered identities in their narratives of how they came to be pursuing professional training in psychology; how gender featured in their accounts of therapeutic processes and interactions with clients; and finally, their reflections on gendered participation in the broader field of psychology. Interview data from two semi-structured focus group discussions with 12 postgraduate psychology students was analysed using social constructionist thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified that related to participants’ gendered accounts according to their personal, professional and more general constructions of gender, namely: 1) psychology as a profession of choice; 2) setting the scene within psychology in terms of gender, which was divided into: a) a construction of gender from the psychologists’ perspective, and b) psychologists’ construction of gender from their clients’ perspectives. The third and last main theme was 3) Increased competition for females as a consequence of women’s empowerment. This study intended to contribute to the expansion of existing literature by addressing the issue of gender and its related aspects in the field of psychology in a South African context, given the dearth of extended research conducted in developing countries so far. The findings supported those of previous studies to an extent, but mainly redressed the perspective of gender through the identification of new themes. By looking into postgraduate psychology students’ constructions of their own gendered accounts it appeared that upcoming psychologists viewed gender in complex ways, instead of typically reported notions of difference, inequality and inferiority or superiority. In this way, the benefit of understanding professional development within the field of psychology served as a valuable point of departure in understanding debates around how gender was implicated in the clientele psychologists serve. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

The present licentiate thesis aims to investigate students’ written reflections after reading a Kenyan short story, distant from the students’ previous experiences from a geographical, cultural and societal point of view. The study was carried out at Swedish upper secondary school with 83 16- and 17-year-old students in year one and two at a college preparatory program. After individual reading of the Kenyan short story “Treadmill love” (“Kärlek på löpande band”, Kahora, 2006/2010) the students were instructed to write down “what in the short story they took notice of”). The research questions that guide the study deal with aspects such as what themes can be identified in the students’ written reflections about the short story, what characterizes the interaction between the students and the short story, and what kind of choices connected to the teaching and learning of literature the teachers of these students face? The findings reveal a tendency to use the short story a source of factual information of society and geographical as well as cultural aspects. This may lead to a meta-perspective and suggests a critical literacy. The same students’ reading strategies tend to enhance what they consider as exotic in the text, which contributes to an imagined authenticity. At the same time, the aesthetic aspects are de-emphasized and aesthetic and literary characteristics of the text risk remaining unnoticed, The results also show how some of the students tend to define literary aspects of the text, such as choice of language, form and characters’ actions, with what they describe as “non-western” qualities. In these cases, the students move away from the text, which also tends to strengthen binary oppositions of “us and them”. A pedagogical implication of the study concerns the necessity, when reading world literature, of helping the students develop their ability to shift perspectives and observe their own subjective point of departure from a critical perspective. But equally important is the need of tools for putting focus back on fiction as an aesthetic and fictional piece of work.

Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2015. / This research ‘Nxopaxopo wa switlhokovetselo hi ku kongomisa eka tsalwa ra Swilo swa humelela’ hi KJ Ngobeni na SJ Malungana highlights what happens in schools nowadays in the era of democracy. There is lack of discipline in schools. Educators are not respected by learners. Circuit managers no longer pay visits to schools for inspection. Black people fought to dismantle separate development, racial segregation and in particular to overthrow the white minority regime commonly known as Apartheid. This research also gives the historical background of protest poetry, its characteristics and its causes. Lastly, we analyse twenty selected poems from Swilo swa humelela by K.J Ngobeni and S.J Malungana. This research consists of five chapters. Chapter one outlines the background to the research, its aim and definition of important terms used in the study. These are terms about poetry such as protest poetry, enjambment and rhetorical questions. This chapter will also present the literature review. Chapter two examines the research methodology used in the study. Explication of two types of research methods, namely qualitative and quantitative research methods are discussed. Chapter three deals with protest poetry in details, its characteristics, origin, causes and its functions. Chapter four gives a critical analysis of twenty selected poems from the book Swilo swa humelela by K.J Ngobeni na S.J Malungana. Chapter five looks at the general conclusion, which indicates the research findings and recommendations of the study.

The aspiration of this dissertation is to bring forth the significance of Shostakovich's Piano Sonata Op.12. This sonata is a hybrid of the German musical tradition, Russian Modernism, and Liszt's thematic transformation technique. It demonstrates Shostakovich's highly intellectual compositional skills influenced by the education that he received at St. Petersburg Conservatory as well as the exposure to modern music in the 1920s. This dissertation discusses composition techniques, such as the harmonic piers adapted from Alexander Scriabin, neighboring-tone technique, which involves the application of semitone cell throughout the piece, as well as the technique of thematic transformation borrowed from Liszt. These all come together by Shostakovich's design in the most controversial sonata form. The Piano Sonata Op.12 also sheds light on Shostakovich's early compositional style and proves its contribution to the evolution of sonata genre in the twentieth-century.

The aim of this paper is better understanding how children think about the world and what they know about how it goes there. The ambition of the research is to find meanings that children attach to the death. One of the prerequisites of research is the assumption that images of death can not be asked directly without causing undesirable reduction of potentially rich answers. For this reason, Thematic Apperception test was elected as a tool and the children told stories to a pre-selected board. Eleven children, at the age from 9 to 10 years collaborated on the research. As a comparative sample was subjected to the same test a group of eleven young adults aged 19 to 20 years. Stories of children and adults were subsequently subjected to thematic analysis, one category was the meaning of death for actors in the story. Results of the analysis were then put into context with Klatt (1991).

The topic of the diploma thesis is the model of integrated teaching and its potential for the development of education. If the model of integrated teaching is currently used in Czech schools, this is done primarily at the first or second stage of primary school. In my work, I would like to show that this approach to education can be used, and it also has benefits in high schools (grammar schools). The work will be primarily focused on the potential use of integrated teaching in the educational field "Man and Society. I understand integrated teaching in the sense of combining (synthesis) the curriculum of individual subjects or cognitively close educational areas into one whole with emphasis on the complexity and globality of cognition, where a number of subject relationships are applied. The aim of the work is to provide a reflection of the methodology and theoretical procedures necessary for the practical application of the curriculum based on the principles of integrated teaching. Subsequently, I would like to offer a kind of "guide" to their application in practice. On examples from abroad, I want to point out the practice in introducing this method of teaching.

No description available.

The interest for natural dye has increased together with the concern in sustainability and environmental awareness within the textile industry. Natural dye is one of the oldest techniques when it comes to textile production, but when synthetic dyestuffs were discovered, the usage of the technique decreased. Today, the technique is slowly coming back together with the awareness in sustainability. However, regarding surface patterns, the expression is quite limited, and patterns are created by dyeing techniques, muted colors and nature as an obvious inspiration. This degree work explores natural dye print by designing a screen printed surface pattern collection, and the project advocates for and is an addition to the field of natural dye print. The methods used were drawing, digital sketching and screen printing. The methods of designing were done through practical workshops, both for sketching patterns and to explore techniques within natural dye print. The female body is a design theme in the work and the intention is simply to portray the body as it is. The motive has not been chosen to provoke, to address a political issue or to evoke discussion. The result is three surface patterns printed with different printing techniques on different fibers. A significant part of the result is the reference library containing all the printed samples and can be used for further research within the field. Choice of fabric and scale of design was done with fashion fabric in mind, however, to focus on the design and technique the designs are not presented on any kind of product. Tests were done to try out the light fastness of the different colorants on different fibers. This project has expanded the field of natural dye print by adding a screen printed surface pattern collection with thematic patterns and an expression that does not reveal the use of natural dye. The project also resulted in a steppingstone for further work within the field.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this thesis, I use gender and human rights approaches to examine and analyse the major causes of maternal mortality, which result from delay in seeking maternity care and failure to attend maternity care during pregnancy. A gender approach was used to identify and analyse inequalities that arise from belonging to one sex or from unequal power relations between sexes and how these impact on women accessing maternity care. The Human Rights approach was used to identify and analyse health system related factors that led women to delay seeking care and also failing to attend maternity care. A qualitative multiple case study methodology was followed with data analysed thematically. Findings were interpreted in the context of the International Bill of Rights, the South African Bill of Rights and International Human Rights treatises. Maternity women are unable to access maternity care because of their unmet gender equity needs, and because of maternity services that are not respecting, protecting and fulfilling their human right to access health care. A Gender-Human rights model of accessibility to quality maternity care is developed to assist health care providers in promoting availability of maternity services to health consumers. The model propositions are based on the major concepts which are: Gender equity, Women empowerment, Human rights to quality health care, Evidence Based Health Care, and Support during labour.