“Looking and feeling good on my own terms”: Amal’s hybrid identity in Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big in This?

The present chapter investigates the origins and importance of hybrid identity in sixteen-year-old Amal, Abdel-Fattah’s protagonist in Does My Head Look Big in Th is? Amal’s hybrid identity becomes increasingly unifi ed and stable. Th e symbol of this development is the hijab. With the aid of both Homi Bhabba’s notion of cultural identity, i.e. a duality that manifests itself as a split in the identity of the colonized other, whereby humans become a hybrid of their own cultural identity and the colonizer’s cultural identity, and Nassar Meer’s theory of double consciousness, in which identity exists both in and for itself, I demonstrate that Amal not only successfully negotiates the challenges presented by a hybrid identity but also embraces them. As a result, she is able to look and feel good on her own terms. Her country, her family and her faith become integrated by the end of the novel, forming a solid foundation on which to build a successful and happy future in Australia. Fairness and tolerance guide Amal in both her relationships and her actions. Her empathy with those who are diff erent to her and her determination to be accepted by other, non-Muslims, inspire her peers and gain her the respect not only of her peers but also the adults in her community.publishedVersio

Medication in older hip fracture patients. Falls, fractures, and mortality.

Background and aim: Due to an increasingly ageing population, the number of hip fracture patients, often with multiple chronic diseases and multiple pharmacotherapy, is set to rise. The high risk of adverse outcomes that hip fractures lead to in older individuals is well described, including high first-year mortality. This thesis aim to improve our knowledge of older hip fracture patients’ treatment with drugs that potentially increases the risk of falls, fractures, bleeding, and death, in order to identify potentially effective interventions for preventing adverse outcome from the medication. Methods and results: Three general population-based cohort studies and one observational cohort study, on medication in hip fracture patients, are included. National registry data for 2,043 patients (I, II, III) and medical journals for 255 patients (IV) were analysed. Paper I aimed to describe the use of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRID) and to analyse whether there were any changes in the prescribing six months after a hip fracture, compared to six months before. A majority was exposed to FRID prior to the fracture and an increase of thirty percentage-points in post-fracture prescribing was found. Anti-osteoporosis treatment increased only marginally, but in hospitals offering geriatric support the prescribing of anti-osteoporosis drugs increased significantly compared to hospitals without this support. In Paper II, first-year mortality was shown to be significantly higher in patients exposed to ≥4 FRID, polypharmacy, psychotropic and cardiovascular drugs. Regression analyses of treatment with FRID, adjusted for age, sex and any ≥ 4 drugs, showed higher mortality in patients exposed to ≥4 FRID compared to ≤3 FRID. In Paper III, exposure to potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) was found in 81% of the patients. Logistic regression, data adjusted for age, sex, and use of ≥5 drugs, indicated that exposure to any PIM and analgesic-PIM (tramadole, dextropropoxyphene) increased six months’ mortality significantly. Exposure to other categories of opioids did not indicate higher mortality, Patients with a length of in-hospital stay (LOS) ≥10 days had a higher six months’ mortality than patients with a LOS of ≤ 9 days. In Paper IV, regression analysis of hip fracture patients’ exposure to low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (LdAA), adjusted for multiple confounders, showed higher first-year mortality and that more blood transfusions were given to patients treated with LdAA compared to non-users. Levels of coagulation factors were also significantly higher in the blood of patients treated with LdAA compared to unexposed patients. Conclusions: The thesis proposes that older hip fracture patients are frequently exposed to FRID and PIM, that exposure to ≥ 4 FRID, any PIM, analgesic-PIM, LdAA, polypharmacy, and a LOS of ≥ 10 days are factors associated with higher mortality. Additionally was found that exposure to FRID increases significantly after the fracture and that anti-osteoporosis treatment is more frequently prescribed to orthopaedic patients when geriatric support is available. The overall conclusion lies in the identification of plausible ways to reduce adverse outcome and improve the care of hip fracture patients. Further studies on ways of improving the care of hip fracture patients should be explored by evaluating methods of preventing drug-related adverse outcome, as well as of strengthening the collaboration between orthopaedic and geriatric professionals

Cohabitants’ perspective on housing adaptations: a piece of the puzzle

As part of the Swedish state-funded healthcare system, housing adaptations are used to promote safe and independent living for disabled people in ordinary housing through the elimination of physical environmental barriers in the home. The aim of this study was to describe the cohabitants' expectations and experiences of how a housing adaptation, intended for the partner, would impact their everyday life. In-depth interviews were conducted with cohabitants of nine people applying for a housing adaptation, initially at the time of the application and then again 3 months after the housing adaptation was installed. A longitudinal analysis was performed including analysis procedures from Grounded Theory. The findings revealed the expectations and experiences in four categories: partners' activities and independence; cohabitants' everyday activities and caregiving; couples' shared recreational/leisure activities; and housing decisions. A core category putting the intervention into perspective was called 'Housing adaptations - A piece of the puzzle'. From the cohabitants' perspective, new insights on housing adaptations emerged, which are important to consider when planning and carrying out successful housing adaptations

The impact of teacher characteristics on educational differentiation practices in lower secondary mathematics instruction

This study aimed to investigate how teachers’ certification status, experience in instruction, and teachers’ efficacy beliefs for teaching lower secondary students in mathematics are related to differentiated instruction practices. A total of 42 mathematics teachers and 27 special education teachers answered an electronic questionnaire regarding mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs and their frequency of use of differentiation practices. The results indicated that teachers’ efficacy beliefs were related to differentiation in content, flexible examination models, homework support, and co-teaching. Neither certification status nor teacher experience in instruction was related to the frequency of use of differentiation practices. As teacher efficacy beliefs seem to have an effect on the use of differentiation practices, and especially on co-teaching, it should be important for teacher education to focus on developing pre-service teachers’ efficacy beliefs as well as implementing a strong collaboration between different teacher groups.Peer reviewe

Hur vet vi om vi gör skillnad?

Studien undersöker Malmö stads arbete för en jämlik hälsa. 2013 släpptes Malmökommissionens slutrapport med mål och åtgärdsförslag baserade på WHOs rapport Closing the gap i a generation. Den här uppsatsen handlar om jämlik hälsa kopplat till hållbar stadsutveckling och hälsans sociala bestämningsfaktorer. Malmö stad har förutom ett arbete mot en mer jämlik hälsa även beslutat om att Agenda 2030 och de globala målen ska omsättas till lokal praktik. Uppsatsen undersöker därför också hur och i så fall på vilket sätt dessa frågor överlappar varandra. Uppsatsens syfte är att diskutera möjligheter och utmaningar kopplat till att kvantifiera och följa upp kvalitativa värden. Utöver detta är syftet även att undersöka hur Malmös målstyrda arbete fungerar. Syftet motiveras av det i dagsläget inte finns några fastställda principer för vad som utgör jämlik eller ojämlik hälsa. Att undersöka jämlik hälsa inom området för stadsutveckling är relevant för att det finns ett samband mellan sociala bestämningsfaktorer och hälsa. Forskning visar att det på grund av bristande tillgång till lika bra skola, bostäder och andra funktioner i samhället leder till en ojämn fördelning i hälsa - en fördelning som hade kunnat undvikas. Utöver detta utgör Agenda ett verktyg för att kunna följa upp olika typer av hållbarhetsutveckling. En central fråga inom folkhälsoarbetet och inom forskningen kopplad till jämlik hälsa är således hur kompatibelt Agenda 2030 är med diskursen kring jämlik hälsa. Denna studie ämnar av den anledningen fördjupa sig i hur de globala målen integrerar med kopplat till jämlik hälsa. Uppsatsens resultat är baserade på intervjuer av anställda inom Malmö stad och dokumentstudier. Studien visar att arbetet för en jämlik hälsa bör utvärderas utifrån stadens förmåga att leverera välfärdstjänster. Intervjuresultaten visar på vikten av att de anställda har känt en delaktighet i arbetet för att Malmökommissionens åtgärdsförslag skulle träda i kraft. De visar även att genom att göra tydliga kopplingar mellan den ojämlika hälsan till den egna verksamhetens skapades ett intresse, som i sin tur har lett till utveckling av verksamheten. Samtliga mål från Malmökommissionens kan kopplas till något av de globala målen i Agenda 2030. Uppsatsen visar tendenser till att det arbete som bedrivits inom ramen för att minska skillnaderna i hälsa har gynnat integreringen av Agenda 2030. Det går också att se en tydlig koppling mellan det globala och det lokala arbetet, vilket tyder på att de här frågorna är relevanta på flera olika nivåer samt att problematiken förmodligen inte är unik för Malmö.The thesis examines Malmö's work for equity health. In 2013, the Malmö Commission's final report was released with goals and action proposals based on WHO's report Closing the gap in a generation. This thesis is about equity in health linked to sustainable urban development and the social determinants of health. In addition to working towards more equity in health, the City of Malmö has also decided that Agenda 2030 and its global goals will be implemented locally. The purpose of the thesis is to discuss opportunities and challenges related to quantifying and following up on qualitative values. In addition, it also investigates how Malmö's goal-oriented work functions. The purpose is justified by the fact that there are currently no established principles in national policy or academically for what constitutes equity or inequity health. Investigating the relationship between equity health and urban development is relevant because there is a connection between social determinants and health. Research shows that, due to the lack of access to equal education, housing and other social welfare services, there is an uneven distribution in health - a distribution that could have been avoided. Agenda is a tool for tracking various types of sustainability development. A central issue in public health work and in research linked to equity health is thus how compatible Agenda 2030 is with the discourse on equity health. For this reason, this study delves into how Agenda 2030’s global goals are linked to equity health. The essay therefore also examines how and, if so, in what ways these issues overlap. The results of this thesis are based on interviews of employees within the municipality of Malmö and document studies. The research shows that the success of equity health efforts should be evaluated based on a city's ability to deliver welfare services. The results also show that all of the goals from the Malmö Commission can be linked to, and are compatible with, the global goals of Agenda 2030. The paper shows tendencies that the work carried out within the framework of reducing the differences in health has favored the integration of Agenda 2030. It also suggests a clear connection between global and local work. This indicates that these issues are relevant at different levels in society and policy as well as that the problems are not unique to Malmö

Special education and subject teachers' self-perceived readiness to teach mathematics to low-performing middle school students

Educational reforms during the last decade have led to a more inclusive environment for students with different needs and have placed demands on teachers' readiness to instruct diverse students in the general classroom. Previous research has ascertained that student achievement is correlated with teacher quality and teachers' efficacy beliefs. Today, basic competence in mathematics is more important than ever for managing routine day-to-day activities and therefore, identifying and educationally supporting students with low performance in mathematics is necessary. The aim of the study was to investigate the perceived teacher efficacy beliefs of special education and mathematics teachers when teaching mathematics to low-performing middle school students. Results indicated that special education teachers had higher teacher efficacy beliefs than mathematics teachers. Teacher experience, certification or gender had no effect on teachers' efficacy beliefs. Furthermore, subject teachers reported high pedagogical knowledge for teaching low-performing students, and special education teachers reported having moderate mathematical subject knowledge.Peer reviewe

Special education pre-service teachers' interest, subject knowledge, and teacher efficacy beliefs in mathematics

Teacher efficacy beliefs is an important characteristic to predict instructional quality and the level of cognitive activation and educational support. Since teacher efficacy beliefs are context and domain specific, this study focuses on how special education pre-service teachers' individual interest and subject knowledge in mathematics predict their efficacy beliefs in teaching mathematics. Data were collected from 57 special education pre-service teachers. The results indicated that the individual interest of pre-service teachers has a strong effect on teacher efficacy beliefs, while subject knowledge has only an indirect effect. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe