| 1. |
- Hållen, Nicklas, 1983-
(author)
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Travelling objects : modernity and materiality in British Colonial travel literature about Africa
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This study examines the functions of objects in a selection of British colonial travel accounts about Africa. The works discussed were published between 1863 and 1908 and include travelogues by John Hanning Speke, Verney Lovett Cameron, Henry Morton Stanley, Mary Henrietta Kingsley, Ewart Scott Grogan, Mary Hall and Constance Larymore. The author argues that objects are deeply involved in the construction of pre-modern and modern spheres that the travelling subject moves between. The objects in the travel accounts are studied in relation to a contextual background of Victorian commodity and object culture, epitomised by the 1851 Great Exhibition and the birth of the modern anthropological museum. The four analysis chapters investigate the roles of objects in ethnographical and geographical writing, in ideological discussions about the transformative powers of colonial trade, and in narratives about the arrival of the book in the colonial periphery. As the analysis shows, however, objects tend not to behave as they are expected to do. Instead of marking temporal differences, descriptions of objects are typically unstable and riddled with contradictions and foreground the ambivalence that characterises colonial literature.
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| 2. |
- Svensson, Anette, 1972-
(author)
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A translation of worlds : Aspects of cultural translation and Australian migration literature
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This study explores the exchange of cultural information that takes place in the meeting between immigrant and non-immigrant characters in a selection of Australian novels focusing on the theme of migration: Heartland (1989) by Angelika Fremd, A Change of Skies (1991) by Yasmine Gooneratne, Stella’s Place (1998) by Jim Sakkas, Hiam (1998) by Eva Sallis and Love and Vertigo (2000) by Hsu-Ming Teo. The concept cultural translation functions as a theoretical tool in the analyses. The translation model is particularly useful for this purpose since it parallels the migration process and emphasises the power relations involved in cultural encounters. Within the framework of the study, cultural translation is defined as making an unfamiliar cultural phenomenon familiar to someone. On the intratextual level of the text, the characters take on roles as translators and interpreters and make use of certain tools such as storytelling and food to effect translation. On the extratextual level, Fremd, Gooneratne, Sakkas, Sallis and Teo represent cultural translation in the four thematic areas the immigrant child, storytelling, food and life crisis. The first theme, the immigrant child, examined in chapter one, explores the effects of using the immigrant child as translator in communication situations between immigrants and representatives of Australian public institutions. In these situations, the child becomes the adult’s interpreter of the Australian target culture. The role as translator entails other roles such as a link to and a shield against the Australian society and, as a result, traditional power relations are reversed. Chapter two analyses how the second theme, storytelling, is presented as an instrument for cultural education and cultural translation in the texts. Storytelling functions to transfer power relations and resistance from one generation to the next. Through storytelling, the immigrant’s hybrid identity is maintained because the connection to the source culture is strengthened, both for the storyteller and the listener. The third theme, food as a symbol of cultural identity and as representation of the source and target cultures, is explored in chapter three. Source and target food cultures are polarised in the novels, and through an acceptance or a rejection of food from the source or target cultures, the characters symbolically accept or reject a belonging to that particular cultural environment. A fusion between the source and target food cultures emphasises the immigrant characters’ cultural hybridity and functions as a strategic marketing of culturally specific elements during which a specific source culture is translated to a target consumer. Finally, the fourth theme, life crisis, is analysed in chapter four where it is a necessary means through which the characters experience a second encounter with Australia and Australians. While their first encounter with Australia traps the characters in a liminal space/phase that is signified by cultural distancing, the second encounter offers a desire and ability for cultural translation, an acceptance of cultural hybridity and the possibility to become translated beings – a state where the characters are able to translate back and forth between the source and target cultures.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Camilla, 1979-
(author)
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Changing the risk at the margin : Smallholder farming and public policy in developing countries
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis consists of a summary and four self-contained papers. Paper [I] examines whether the implementation of a social safety net programme in Ethiopia has affected the value, risk and composition of farmers‟ crop portfolios. The empirical analysis suggests that the value and risk of the crop portfolio have not been altered due to the programme. However, the programme seems to have brought about some changes in the land allocated to different crops. Paper [II] studies how a social safety net affects farmers‟ (dis)investments in productive assets. More specifically, it studies how the Productive Safety Net Programme in Ethiopia has changed livestock and tree holdings. The results indicate no significant effect on livestock holdings, but a significant increase in tree holdings. Paper [III] investigates if there is a problem of adverse selection in formal microlending in rural Bangladesh. The results indicate that farmers who only borrow formally have a shadow price of capital that is substantially higher than the average informal interest rate. This suggests that farmers that only borrow formally are perceived as poor credit risks by informal lenders. Paper [IV] explores the economic incentives surrounding the cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan. Specifically, it examines the impact of eradication policies when opium is used as a means of obtaining credit, and when the crops are produced in sharecropping arrangements. The results indicate that both these features are likely to affect the outcome of eradication policies.
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| 4. |
- Bergendal, Birgitta, 1947-
(author)
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Oligodontia and ectodermal dysplasia : on signs, symptoms, genetics and outcomes of dental treatment
- 2010
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In: Swedish dental journal. Supplement. - Umeå : Umeå universitet. - 0348-6672. ; :205, s. 13-78
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The general aim of this thesis was to broaden our knowledge of the signs and symptoms, genetics, and outcomes of dental implant treatment in individuals with oligodontia or ectodermal dysplasia. Article I is a population-based study in three Swedish counties of 162 individuals with oligodontia, which was a prevalence of 0.09%. The intent was to explore ways for dentists to assess symptoms from other ectodermal structures than teeth through a clinical interview and chair-side analyses. Thirty per cent had low salivary secretion rates while only 11% with no known syndrome reported symptoms from hair, nails, or sweat glands. These are, together with teeth, the ectodermal structures on which it is proposed that a clinical diagnosis of ectodermal dysplasia (ED) be based. Article II screened 93 probands with oligodontia for mutations in six genes known to cause oligodontia and hypohidrotic ED. Sequence alterations predicted to be damaging or potentially damaging were revealed in the AXIN2, MSX1, PAX9, and EDARADD genes in 14 (15%) of the probands. All mutations but one were novel. For the first time, EDARADD mutations were shown to cause isolated oligodontia. No individual who had reported ectodermal symptoms from hair, nails, or sweat glands had a mutation. Article III assessed orofacial function in individuals with different types of EDs using the Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S) protocol. Individuals with ED scored significantly higher in orofacial dysfunction than a healthy reference sample, especially in the Chewing and swallowing, Dryness of the mouth, and Speech domains. Article IV surveyed treatment outcome of dental implants in Swedish children up to age 16 years. In a 20-year period, only 26 patients were treated, 5 of whom had hypohidrotic ED and anodontia of the mandible. Individuals with ED had 64% failed implants compared to 6% among subjects with teeth missing due to trauma or agenesis. The main conclusions of this thesis were that (i) a check of whether one or more permanent incisors are missing will identify 65% of individuals with oligodontia and 84% of individuals missing nine teeth or more, (ii) evaluation of salivary secretion is indicated in children with oligodontia, (iii) a majority of individuals with oligodontia did not report other abnormal ectodermal organ function besides teeth, (iv) no clinical indicator discriminated between individuals with and without mutations in the tested genes, and more unidentified genes are involved in tooth morphogenesis, (v) EDARADD mutations are associated with isolated oligodontia, (vi) evaluation of orofacial function is indicated in individuals with ED, and many individuals with ED would benefit from orofacial skills training, (vii) dental implant placement is a rare treatment modality in children, (viii) individuals with hypohidrotic ED seem to present special challenges due to structural as well as direct effects of the mutations on bone, which seem to compromise osseointegration, (ix) central registers on signs and symptoms in individuals with rare disorders would help establish prevalences of various diagnoses and define treatment needs, and (x) quality registers for monitoring treatment outcomes of dental implants would promote early detection of risks and side-effects in individuals with rare disorders.
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| 5. |
- Bergman, Jonny, 1973-
(author)
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Seeking empowerment : asylum-seeking refugees from Afghanistan in Sweden
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how asylum-seeking refugees manage their lives in the situation they are in, a situation in which they are dependent and have to wait for decisions on whether or not they will get to stay in the country in which they have made their application for asylum. The elaboration upon these questions and the purpose of the study is approached through a field study of asylum-seeking refugees from Afghanistan in Sweden. The thesis presents a background of international migration, refugee migration, refugee migration from Afghanistan and the reception of asylum seekers and refugees in the EU and Sweden, which tells us both that asylum seekers and refugees are not welcome in the countries of the ‘North’, where policies of containment and repatriation are the most common features of treating the refugee ‘problem’ and that the long period of waiting and uncertainty creates a situation of passivity and ill-health among the asylum seekers. Employing grounded theory methodology in different forms based in data from fieldwork, including participant observations and informal conversations, the study applies a constructionist grounded theory approach in the analyses of the situation and the management thereof. Steered by this constructionist grounded theory approach, strengthened by a situational analysis, the thesis presents a situational frame pointing to the situation for the asylum-seeking refugees as temporal and dependent on Swedish national discourse, racism and paternalism. With this background and frame and generated by data from the field study, the thesis goes on to present the situation as disempowering. The disempowering processes are illustrated through looking at dependence and inhospitality, and are characterised by the asylum-seeking refugees’ oscillation between feelings of hope and despair. It becomes, however, also evident that the asylum-seeking refugees take action and that they are supported by latent empowering processes. The actions taken are categorised as actions of empowering in opposition to the processes presented as disempowering. The actions of empowering are connected to keeping oneself occupied, searching for and maintaining social contacts and in the asylum-seeking refugees’ representations of themselves. From the presentation of the situation as disempowering and the actions taken by the asylum-seeking refugees in response to this situation as actions of empowering, a process characterised as seeking empowerment is presented. In this process empowerment is discussed as the establishment of power to resist. During the discussion of the concept of seeking empowerment it is shown how the asylum-seeking refugees in this study, through their actions of empowering, try to resist the disempowering situation. By seeking to establish power to resist, they are seeking empowerment.
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| 6. |
- Bohman, Anna, 1975-
(author)
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Framing the water and sanitation challenge : A history of urban water supply and sanitation in Ghana 1909 - 2005
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis analyses the development of urban water supply and sanitation services in Ghana from 1909 to 2005. Special focus is put on institutional arrangements with regard to networked, large scale and centrally managed water and sewerage services. The national and international historical context is highlighted as a way to understand policy redirections in the sector. Further on, the concept of frames is used as an analytical tool in order to put light on the assumptions, arguments and reasons behind institutional reforms. The thesis finds that it was not until the water and sanitation challenge was framed from a productivity perspective, as opposed to a pure humanitarian “health frame”, that funds were released for investments in WSS infrastructure. To begin with, development strategies were largely focussed on “filling the gaps” in terms of manpower, technical and financial resources. As the water challenge was increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, a new thinking gradually emerged which emphasized entrepreneurship, business mindedness and management skills as a way to achieve more efficiency within the sector. This development was also paralleled by a shift in the favoured organisational structure from an extremely centralised state utility model to a gradual focus on decentralisation and unbundling of the sector. Here a strong focus was put on private sector participation in urban water supply whereas the non-commercially viable task of sewerage development was decentralised to local authorities. The study finds that formal institutional change in the sector has been largely donor driven. However, the privatisation element of the recent urban water sector reform did not go unquestioned and a strong opposition movement concerned with the possible negative effects of privatisation was formed. Eventually the initial lease arrangement was transformed into a management contract where its signing was brought to closure in 2005. Besides changing frames strong elements of continuity in the urban water supply and sanitation sector development in Ghana are identified. Historical evidence demonstrate that urban water delivery was a highly political issue in Ghana already during colonial times which, just as today, was closely connected to the framing of water as independence and national integrity. The issue of finance and pricing has remained a constant concern and so the debate cannot be categorized as a novel issue that solely emanates from neo-liberal political trends during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The thesis argues that a legacy of a colonial frame tends to continue normalising inequalities in access and consumption. Continuity can also be found in a neglect of the issue of sanitation which persistently lags behind the development of water distribution. The dissertation concludes that the perceived space for policy alternatives in Ghanaian WSS sector development has been largely constrained by the historical context and contemporary development theories. Therefore, to constantly strive towards a frame reflective policy dialogue is strongly encouraged as a way for policy planners and decision makers to make well informed decisions for the future.
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| 7. |
- Dapi N., Léonie, 1971-
(author)
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Socioeconomic and sex differences in adolescents’ dietary intake, anthropometry and physical activity in Cameroon, Africa
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: People in Cameroon are experiencing a dietary transition characterized by changing from traditional food habits to increased intake of highly processed sweet and fatty food. The rapid change in food pattern combined with an increased sedentary lifestyle has resulted in a rather high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Nutritional intake is important during adolescence for growth spurt, health, cognitive development and performance in school. Objective: The aim of this thesis was to assess dietary intake, anthropometry and physical activity of adolescents according to sex and socioeconomic status (SES) and to investigate food perceptions of adolescents living in urban and rural areas of Cameroon. Methods: Girls and boys, 12-16 years of age, were randomly selected from schools in urban and rural areas. Food frequency questionnaire, 24-hour dietary and physical activity recalls, anthropometric measurements, qualitative interviews and a background questionnaire were used for data collection. Results: The proportion of overweight was three times higher in girls (14%) compared to boys (4%). Stunting and underweight were more common among boys (15% and 6%) than girls (5% and 1%). The prevalence of stunting was two times higher among the urban adolescents with low SES (12%) compared to those with high SES (5%). The rural adolescents had the highest proportion of stunting but more muscle that the urban adolescents. The rural adolescents ate in order to live and to maintain health. Urban adolescents with low SES ate in order to maintain health, while those with high SES ate for pleasure. More than 30% of the adolescents skipped breakfast in the urban area. Urban adolescents with high SES and girls reported a more frequent consumption of in-between meals and most food groups compared to the rural adolescents, boys and those with low SES. Over 55% of the adolescents had a protein intake below 10% of the energy (E%). Twenty-six percent of the adolescents had fat intake below 25 E%, and 25% had fat intake above 35 E%. A large proportion of the adolescents had an intake of micronutrients below the estimated average recommendation. Boys and the adolescents with low SES reported a higher energy expenditure and physical activity level than girls and the adolescents with high SES, respectively. Both under- and over-reporting of energy intake were common among the adolescents. Conclusions: The present study showed that nutrient inadequacy, stunting, underweight, as well as overweight and obesity were common among the adolescents in Cameroon. Therefore an intervention program targeting both under- and overnutrition among school adolescents is needed. Sex and socioeconomic differences also need to be considered.
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| 8. |
- Engstedt, Olof, 1980-
(author)
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Anadromous Pike in the Baltic Sea
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The pike (Esox lucius) is a major predator and top-down regulator in the Baltic Sea where it exists in two sympatric forms. One spawn in streams and rivers and the other one spawn in the sea. During the last decades, the habitats for both of these forms have developed in a negative way. In some freshwater systems, up to 90 % of the water areas have disappeared, mainly through drainage and straightening of watercourses for agricultural purposes. In the sea, reproduction habitats decrease due to construction of harbours and human activities that create disturbances. The perhaps largest single factor negatively affecting recruitment of pike in the sea is the eutrophication. Bottoms are overgrown with filamentous algae and shallow bays are covered with dense Phragmites belts decreasing the habitats suitable for spawning. Further on, a predator on egg and fish larvae, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) has increased in abundance. It is difficult to restore and enhance pike production in the sea and probably the only economically viable alternative is to make restorations in freshwater. However, there is a limited knowledge about the freshwater spawning pike in the Baltic Sea. Thus in this thesis I, together with my coauthors, set out with an aim to increase the knowledge base regarding anadromous pike behaviour.We found that pike of natal freshwater origin were common in the Baltic Sea. Through Sr:Ca studies in otoliths, about 45 % of the pike were interpreted to be of freshwater origin. The majority of the pike had emigrated out of freshwater at a length below 6 cm. These results indicate that freshwater recruitment is successful, contrasting the vast areas available for spawning in the sea. This creates incitements that restoration measures in these watercourses could have a significant effect on the pike population in the Baltic Sea.Further, in four streams running out in the Baltic Sea, more than three thousand pike were marked to study spawning migration. About 30-40 % returned to the same river the subsequent year. Most of the pike used the lower parts of the stream for spawning. The homing of pike to a watercourse indicate that freshwater pike in the Baltic Sea consist of specific populations and this is crucial information when taking decisions on fish restoration measures.Three wetlands adjacent to streams were restored for pike production. The most successful restoration involved minimal digging, with flooded grasslands providing optimal conditions for spawning. The first spawning season after restoration increased the pike production hundredfold.In conclusion, the anadromous pike are numerous in the Baltic Sea. To compensate for the decline in pike populations in the sea, “pike-factories” created along the coastline are probably the most justifiable option.
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| 9. |
- Eriksson, Irene, 1965-
(author)
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Urinary tract infection : a serious health problem in old women
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common bacterial infection in women of all ages but the incidence and prevalence increase with age. Despite the high incidence of UTI, little is known about its impact on morale or subjective wellbeing and daily life in old women. UTI in older people can be a complex problem in terms of approach to diagnosis, treatment and prevention because in these patients it frequently presents with a range of atypical symptoms such as delirium, gastrointestinal signs and falls. Even if UTI has been shown to be associated with delirium it has frequently been questioned whether UTI can cause delirium or if it is only accidentally detected when people with delirium are assessed. The main purpose of this thesis was to describe the prevalence of UTI, to identify factors associated with UTI among very old women and to illuminate the impact of a UTI on old women’s health and wellbeing. This thesis is based on two main studies, the GErontological Regional DAtabase (GERDA) a cross-sectional, population-based study carried out in the northern parts of Sweden and Finland during 2005-2007 and a qualitative interview study in western Sweden 2008-2009. Data were collected from structured interviews and assessments made during home visits, from medical records, care givers and relatives. UTI was diagnosed if the person had a documented symptomatic UTI, with either short- or long-term ongoing treatment with antibiotics, or symptoms and laboratory tests judged to indicate the presence of UTI by the responsible physician or the assessor. One hundred and seventeen out of 395 women (29.6%) were diagnosed as having suffered from at least one UTI during the preceding year and 233 of these 395 (60%) had had at least one diagnosed UTI during the preceding 5 years. These old women with UTI were more dependent in their activities of daily living, and had poorer cognition and nutrition. In these women, UTI during the preceding year was associated with vertebral fractures, urinary incontinence, inflammatory rheumatic disease and multi-infarct dementia. Eighty-seven of 504 women (17.3%), were diagnosed as having a UTI with or without ongoing treatment when they were assessed, and almost half (44.8%) were diagnosed as delirious or having had episodes of delirium during the past month. In all, 137 of the 504 women (27.2%) were delirious or had had episodes of delirium during the past month and 39 (28.5%) of them were diagnosed as having a UTI. Delirium was associated with Alzheimer’s disease, multi-infarct dementia, depression, heart failure and UTI. Forty-six out of 319 women (14.4%) were diagnosed as having had a UTI with or without ongoing treatment and these had a significantly lower score on the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS), (10.4 vs 11.9, p=0.003) than those without UTI, indicating a significant impact on morale or subjective wellbeing among very old women. The medical diagnoses significantly and independently associated with low morale were depression, UTI and constipation. The experience of suffering from repeated UTI was described in interviews conducted with 20 old women. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The participants described living with repeated UTI as being in a state of manageable suffering and being dependent on alleviation. Being in a state of manageable suffering was described in terms of experiencing physical and psychological inconveniences, struggling to deal with the illness and being restricted regarding daily life. Being dependent on alleviation was illustrated in terms of having access to relief but also experiencing receiving inadequate care. In conclusion, UTI is very common among old and very old women and is a serious health problem. UTI seems to be associated with delirium and to have a significant impact on the morale or subjective wellbeing of old women and those affected suffer both physically and psychologically and their social life is limited. UTI was also associated with vertebral fractures, urinary incontinence, inflammatory rheumatic disease and multi-infarct dementia which might raise the suspicion that UTI can have serious medical effects on health in old women.
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| 10. |
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