Attityd till att fullfölja nuvarande studier - En applikation av The Theory of Planned Behavior

För att förutsäga och förklara människors beteenden och intentioner har ”attityd” länge varit ett centralt begrepp inom socialpsykologin. En vanlig teori och modell för ändamålet är ”theory of planned behavior” (TpB), vilken säger att en individs beteende styrs av dess intention, som i sin tur är en funktion av den personliga attityden, det sociala trycket och den upplevda kontrollen att kunna genomföra aktuellt beteende. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka attityden och intentionen till att fullfölja nuvarande studier och göra en applikation av TpB-modellen via en Internetenkät riktad till studenter på Högskolan Dalarna (N = 1292). Hypotesen att ”den upplevda kontrollen” är den viktigaste direkta variabeln för intentionen kunde godtas, vilket kan antagas bero på beteendets karaktär. Diskussion förs också kring intentionens eventuella omvandling till verkligt beteende.

Sociala faktorers inverkan på elevers intentioner till högre studier : En applikation av Theory of planned behavior

Denna studie grundar sig på en enkätundersökning av 59 gymnasieungdomars intentioner till att inom de närmaste 5 åren påbörja studier vid högskola eller universitet. Undersökningen är baserad på Theory of planned behavior och syftar till att testa teorins pålitlighet i att besvara vilken av de socialt betingade bakgrundsfaktorerna attityd, subjektiv norm och upplevd beteendekontroll som utgör den bästa prediktorn för undersökningsdeltagarnas intentioner. Därtill undersöks dessa faktorers samband med föräldrarnas utbildningsnivå. Theory of planned behavior visade sig vara ett reliabelt mätinstrument gällande studiens övriga frågor, där den upplevda beteendekontrollen och den subjektiva normen utgjorde signifikanta prediktorer gällande undersökningsdeltagarnas intentioner. Därtill påvisades samband mellan föräldrars utbildningsnivå och deltagarnas intentioner samt subjektiva norm. Författaren menar att studier likt denna ger ett värdefullt bidrag till det viktiga arbetet med att förverkliga den svenska skolans likvärdighetsmål.

Literacy Practices in and out of School in Karagwe : The case of primary school literacy education in rural Tanzania

This study has investigated the question of relation between literacy practices in and out of school in rural Tanzania. By using the perspective of linguistic anthropology, literacy practices in five villages in Karagwe district in the northwest of Tanzania have been analysed. The outcome may be used as a basis for educational planning and literacy programs. The analysis has revealed an intimate relation between language, literacy and power. In Karagwe, traditional élites have drawn on literacy to construct and reconstruct their authority, while new élites, such as individual women and some young people have been able to use literacy as one tool to get access to power. The study has also revealed a high level of bilingualism and a high emphasis on education in the area, which prove a potential for future education in the area. At the same time discontinuity in language use, mainly caused by stigmatisation of what is perceived as local and traditional, such as the mother-tongue of the majority of the children, and the high status accrued to all that is perceived as Western, has turned out to constitute a great obstacle for pupils’ learning. The use of ethnographic perspectives has enabled comparisons between interactional patterns in schools and outside school. This has revealed communicative patterns in school that hinder pupils’ learning, while the same patterns in other discourses reinforce learning. By using ethnography, relations between explicit and implicit language ideologies and their impact in educational contexts may be revealed. This knowledge may then be used to make educational plans and literacy programmes more relevant and efficient, not only in poor post-colonial settings such as Tanzania, but also elsewhere, such as in Western settings.

Out-of-town shopping and its induced CO2-emissions

Planning policies in several European countries have aimed at hindering the expansion of out-of-town shopping centers. One argument for this is concern for the increase in transport and a resulting increase in environmental externalities such as CO2-emissions. This concern is weakly founded in science as few studies have attempted to measure CO2-emissions of shopping trips as a function of the location of the shopping centers. In this paper we conduct a counter-factual analysis comparing downtown, edge-of-town and out-of-town shopping. In this comparison we use GPS to track 250 consumers over a time-span of two months in a Swedish region. The GPS-data enters the Oguchi’s formula to obtain shopping trip-specific CO2-emissions. We find that consumers’ out-of-town shopping would generate an excess of 60 per cent CO2-emissions whereas downtown and edge-of-town shopping centers are comparable.

Evaluation of communication behavior in persons with dementia during caregivers’ singing

The number of persons with dementia (PWD) is increasing rapidly worldwide. Cognitive impairments and communication difficulties are common among PWD. Therefore, gaining mutual togetherness in caring relation between PWD and their caregivers is important. This study was to investigate the effects of music therapeutic care (MTC) during morning care situations on improving verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors in people with dementia. An observation study with 10 PWD participating. Videotaped interactions (VIO) between PWD and their caregivers were conducted during eight weekly sessions, four recordings consisted of usual morning care and four recordings were of morning care with MTC intervention. The Verbal and Nonverbal Interaction Scale was used to analyze the recorded interactions at a later time. The unsociable verbal variable Cursing decreased significantly (P=.037) during MTC when compared with the baseline measurement. A significant (P=.000) reduction was observed for the unsociable nonverbal variable Does not respond to question. MTC significantly (P=.01) increased the mean score for the sociable nonverbal variable – Calm – relaxed. For sociable verbal communication, significant differences were observed for the variables Use coherent communication (P=.012), Use relevant communication (P=.009), Responds to questions (P=.000), Humming (P=.004), Singing (P=.000). MTC during morning care situations can be an effective non-pharmacological treatment, as well as nursing intervention in order to improve sociable communication behaviors, as well as reduce unsociable communication behaviors of PWDs