no abstract available / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / (M.Th.(Pastoral Therapy)

Cerebral palsy is a condition primarily defined by damage to the developing brain primarily resulting in a physical impairment, although the affected individual may present with concomitant impairments. The number of children presenting with cerebral palsy appears to be increasing, and while the medical effects of this disability have been well documented in the literature, a paucity of knowledge exists on the parental experience of caring for a child with cerebral palsy, particularly in rural South Africa. This dissertation will report on a study conducted in Tonga, a rural area of South Africa, which assessed caregivers’ experiences of caring for a child with cerebral palsy. Qualitative methods, including participant observation and narrative interviews were used and the SiSwati narratives of 27 participants were transcribed and analysed using theoretical coding. A number of recurrent themes emerged including the impact of gender on caregiving, the influence of traditional beliefs and practices and the experience of western medicine. However, the pervasive nature of poverty served to influence all aspects of caring for a child with cerebral palsy. These themes are discussed in relation to current healthcare policies, the influence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the concept of ‘ubuntu’ and socio-political aspects of healthcare. The findings highlight the value of using cultural narratives and participant observation as a means of exposing aspects related to the experience of disability that cannot be portrayed using quantitative methods. It emphasizes the nature of disempowerment amongst marginalized communities and draws attention to the need for both multisectoral and community involvement to bring about transformation.

Background and Objectives: Missing participant data are likely to bias the results of randomized control trials (RCTs) when the reason for missingness is associated with status on the outcome of interest. Unlike dichotomous MPD in RCTs, which have been thoroughly investigated, knowledge regarding continuous MPD in RCTs is much more limited. Our objectives were 1) using an adapted checklist, to assess the reporting quality of simulation studies comparing methods to deal with continuous MPD; 2) identify optimal methods proposed by biostatisticians and tested in simulations studies for continuous MPD in RCTs; 3) evaluate how authors report MPD, and how they plan and conduct analyses to deal with MPD in RCTs. Methods: We conducted two systematic surveys. The first identified methods papers published till 2015 January that compared statistical approaches to deal with continuous MPD in RCTs using at least one simulation. In this sample, we considered both the quality of reporting and the results. The second survey identified a representative sample of individual RCTs published in 2014 in core journals reporting the results of at least one continuous variable addressing a patient-important outcome. Results and conclusion: Our survey identified important limitations in reporting quality of simulation studies that compared statistical approaches to deal with continuous MPD, particularly in the reporting of simulation procedures. Only one of 60 studies reported the random number generator used and none reported starting seeds or failures during simulation. Less then half reported software used to perform simulation (41.7%) or analysis (48.3%), and only 4 (5%) reported justification of number of simulations. When facing continuous MPD in RCTs, results of simulation studies demonstrate that trialists seeking optimal approaches may choose robust regression or mixed models and avoid using last observation caring forward. Continuous MPD frequently occurs in RCTs and the extent is typically substantial (median greater than 10%). Methods sections in trial reports typically do not provide adequate detail on how they dealt with MPD in their primary analysis. Among methods actually implemented to deal with MPD, most authors use only available data, thus excluding MPD from the analysis. Seldom do investigators apply statistical approaches to impute or taking into account of MPD nor conduct sensitivity analysis to address the impact of it. A comprehensive knowledge synthesis summarizing current available statistical approaches and its relative merits, as well as the current used methods in RCTs provide clear implications on how the practise of using methods to handle continuous MPD should shift in individual RCTs. Trialists should use mixed models and robust regressions and avoid using last observation caring forward method. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study was conducted to understand the motivations that drive participants to join user experience (UX) research studies at Red Hat (software company). Mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative nature were used to gather data and determine key insights that were supported by multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks. The findings were used to inform the client (Red Hat) on how to improve their UX research recruitment practices.

No description available.

Deux paradigmes se côtoient dans le traitement de la dépendance au Québec. Tout d’abord, il y a le paradigme de l’abstinence avec un modèle d’intervention souvent basé sur les Alcooliques Anonymes. Avec ce modèle, l’alcoolisme (ou la toxicomanie) est défini comme une maladie. En ce qui a trait à la réduction des méfaits, cette dernière vise la réduction des effets néfastes de l’usage de drogues plutôt que l’élimination de leur usage (Brisson, 1997). Nous nous sommes intéressés à une intervention inscrite dans ce paradigme soit le programme de substitution à la méthadone. Cette étude avait comme but de connaître les perceptions de personnes inscrites à ce programme, comprendre comment est vécu le rétablissement à travers la participation au programme et connaître les perceptions de ces personnes en ce qui a trait aux conséquences de la dépendance. Un cadre théorique s’inscrivant dans la perspective de l’interactionnisme symbolique a été choisi. Plus précisément, les processus de transformations normatives de Maria Caiata Zufferey, la théorie de l’étiquetage d’Howard Becker et le concept de stigmate d’Erving Goffman ont été retenus. Ensuite, dix entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’hommes et de femmes majeures inscrites à un programme de substitution à la méthadone ont été réalisées. En ce qui a trait au chapitre portant sur les résultats, il a mis en lumière différents rapports à la méthadone vécus par les participants. Pour ce faire, trois figures construites à l’aide de l’analyse typologique ont été développées. Il ressort que pour certaines personnes, la méthadone fut décrite comme un substitut nécessaire, pour d’autres, elle correspondait à une aide dont ils veulent se débarrasser et pour une minorité, elle suscitait de l’ambivalence. En définitive, bien que la substitution demeure le traitement de choix pour la dépendance aux opioïdes, il est difficile de parler de sortie du monde de la drogue à l’aide de la méthadone puisque ce traitement apparaît comme étant presque aussi stigmatisé que la dépendance à l’héroïne (Lauzon, 2011). À première vue, la méthadone permet de prendre une distance avec le monde de la drogue (l’argent facile, les vols, la prostitution) et permet de se reconstruire une existence sur la base de repères stables, mais à bien considérer les choses, elle confine les personnes interrogées dans une situation d’ambivalence puisqu’elle les rattache à une identité de toxicomane. Mots-clés : dépendance, programme de substitution à la méthadone, perception, participant, réduction des méfaits, stigmatisation. / Two paradigms are frequent when treating addiction in Quebec. First, there is the paradigm of abstinence with an intervention model often based on Alcoholics Anonymous. With this model, alcoholism (or addiction) is defined as a disease. The second paradigm, harm reduction, is aimed to reduce the harmful effects of drug use rather than eliminating their use (Brisson, 1997). We are particularly interested in an intervention found in this paradigm named methadone maintenance treatment. This research was aimed to identify the perceptions of people enrolled in this treatment, understand their recovery process while participation in this treatment and understanding the perceptions of users of methadone in regards to the consequences of addiction. A theoretical framework found in the symbolic interactionist perspective was selected. More specifically, the process of normative transformations of Maria Caiata Zufferey, the labelling theory of Howard Becker and the stigma theory of Erving Goffman were selected. A qualitative methodology was retained. Ten semi-structured interviews with men and women enrolled in a methadone maintenance treatment were conducted. The chapter that focussed on the results highlighted various reports on how methadone maintenance treatment was experienced by the participants. To do this, three figures constructed using typology analysis were developed. For some people, methadone was described as a necessary substitute, for others, it corresponded to a help that they wanted to eliminate and for a minority, it aroused ambivalence. One thing is certain, although the substitution remains the treatment of choice for opioid dependence, it is difficult to speak of the output of the drug world with the help of methadone because this treatment appears to be almost as stigmatized as the dependence on heroine (Lauzon, 2011). At first glance, the use of methadone can help distance a person from the world of drugs (easy money, theft, prostitution) and can help rebuild their lives on a basis of landmark stability, but to carefully consider, it confines the respondents in a state of ambivalence as it relates to the identity of an addict. Keywords : harm reduction, methadone maintenance treatment, perception, participant, stigma, dependency.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of honors education to student success by comparing honors-eligible community college students who met requirements to academically matched peers who opted out of honors participation. Honors program participation was defined as completing 12 or more credit hours of honors-level course work. The population for this study included 452 honors-eligible participants with 95 honors participants (HPs) and 357 non-participants (NPs) from a community college in Tennessee. The sampling frame was generated using a five-year participation window from 2008 through 2013. Propensity score matching alleviated the threat to validity for self-selection bias by controlling for confounding variables such as high school GPA, dual-enrollment participation, ACT score, declared major, community college GPA upon first term of eligibility, parental income, parental education, gender, and age. Major findings of the study were: honors program participants (a) earned a significantly higher numerical final course grade in Composition II, a first-year writing course; (b) earned significantly higher cumulative GPAs the second semester after honors eligibility; (c) earned significantly higher cumulative GPAs upon completion; (d) were significantly more likely to graduate. Conclusions generated from the data analyses indicate that honors education benefits community college students and provide empirical support for increased investment in community college honors education, especially for high-achieving students experiencing poverty. Low-income students were defined as those students receiving the maximum federal Pell Grant award provided to undergraduate students with financial need. Within the study sample, it was determined that 50% of NPs met the low-income threshold whereas 47% of HPs were identified as low-income. These participation rates suggest that more low-income high-achieving students who could substantially benefit from participating in honors are participating less. Further empirical research studies and policy levers should identify ways to increase honors participation for low-income, high-achieving students.

This legal study approaches the problems of legal entity’s participant’s civil liability under the legal entity’s obligation. In the first part of this work a historical evolution of a legal entity and its participant is being revealed, author introduces to the variety of the theoretical doctrines of a legal entity, a conception and main features of legal entity are presented. Hereafter, a conception of a juridical person’s participant is analyzed, also the peculiarities of the participant’s legal status is passed in review in light of the limited and unlimited liability. This study also presents general conditions upon which the liability of legal person’s participant may arose. Thereinafter the problematical aspects of the limited liability juridical person’s participant liability under the juridical persons’ obligation are being discussed, attention is paid to the advantages and drawbacks of the limited liability and also to the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil in Lithuanian and foreign jurisprudence and judiciary practice. This work also reveals the positive and negative features of unlimited liability in the context of social and economical life, brings up problems concerning unlimited liability legal entity’s participant liability under legal entity’s obligation in exaction, insolvency and liquidation procedures. Finally, conclusions and suggestions to the legislator and judicial bench are being brought up.

Submitted by LUIZA TEIXEIRA (luizareisteixeira@gmail.com) on 2016-10-31T15:01:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_VDeposito2_311016.pdf: 2709499 bytes, checksum: 349661b125c8859150dc06d114c55425 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Tereza Fernandes Conselmo (maria.conselmo@fgv.br) on 2016-10-31T18:30:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_VDeposito2_311016.pdf: 2709499 bytes, checksum: 349661b125c8859150dc06d114c55425 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-01T11:05:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_VDeposito2_311016.pdf: 2709499 bytes, checksum: 349661b125c8859150dc06d114c55425 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-30 / The present research work presents a theoretical-empirical reflection about the relation between political representation and social participation within the contemporary theory of Democracy. The main issue addressed here relates to the participant mechanisms and institutions that emerged in the recent Brazilian democratic context shaped in the form of deliberative spaces influencing decision-making processes. We have adopted, thus, a concept of the political representation theory that conceives representation dynamically, based on communication relating governmental agents and institutions and society. Therefore, on the theoretical level, the relation between the existing political representation and social participation is discussed. The objective of this research consists in analyzing how social participation mechanisms function in Brazil, particularly in the Legislative Power, on the local level, by means of examining their participative potential within the context of the Legislature Houses of the cities of São Paulo and Salvador. For this, we have parted from Vera’s (2012) data analysis methodological proposal, which focuses on the architecture of participation, grounded on the description of experiences from a structural language frame. The analytical framework is developed in three different levels of abstraction: macro, intermediate and micro, to which we dedicated three analytical statements. The macro level presents participant institutions from a historical perspective, the institutional architecture of Councils and Conferences, and proposes a model to represent them. The intermediate analytical level deals with the functioning of participative mechanisms in the Legislative Power, from a comparative perspective with Executive Power mechanisms, pointing some conclusions on participation in municipal legislatures in Brazil. The micro level analyses the operation of participative mechanisms in two different contexts: The Municipal Houses of the cities of São Paulo and Salvador. Finally, based in the empirical findings, we present an analysis of representation and participation theories. Final results highlight the need for a more comprehensive articulation of representation and participation theories, as a way of thinking over the existing institutions. Presently, whereas Executive Power has a well-structured participative institutional architecture, with several different institutions, in Legislature Power, these mechanisms function in isolated form, and are not reproduced in different federation spheres. Internal factors – as administrative structure and political interest, as well as external factors – as pressures from civil society organized sectors interfere in the participative potential of participant mechanisms in the two houses analyzed. / A pesquisa desenvolvida nesta tese apresenta uma reflexão teórico-empírica acerca da relação entre representação política e participação social, no contexto da Teoria Democrática contemporânea. A principal questão que buscamos responder está relacionada ao fato de mecanismos e instituições participativas, surgidas no contexto democrático brasileiro recente, estarem configuradas como espaços de deliberação com influência no processo de tomada de decisão. Adotamos, portanto, um conceito de teoria da representação política que concebe a representação dinamicamente, baseado na comunicação entre agentes e instituições governamentais e a sociedade. Assim, no plano teórico, discutimos a relação existente entre representação política e participação social, e no plano empírico, analisamos mecanismos de participação social. O objetivo da pesquisa consiste em analisar o funcionamento dos mecanismos de participação social no Brasil, mais especificamente no Poder Legislativo, em nível local, verificando o potencial participativo destes, no contexto das Câmaras Municipais de São Paulo e Salvador. Para tanto, adotou-se a metodologia de análise de dados proposta por Vera (2012), voltada para análise da arquitetura da participação, que é pensada por meio da descrição de experiências, a partir de uma linguagem estrutural. A proposta de análise é desenvolvida em três níveis de abstração, macro, intermediário e micro, aos quais dedicamos três capítulos analíticos. O nível macro apresenta as instituições participativas, em uma perspectiva histórica; as arquiteturas institucionais dos Conselhos e das Conferências; e, propõe um modelo para representar estas estruturas. O nível analítico intermediário discorre sobre o funcionamento dos mecanismos de participação no Poder Legislativo, em uma perspectiva comparada aos mecanismos do Poder Executivo, apontando algumas conclusões sobre a participação em legislativos municipais no Brasil. O nível micro analisa o funcionamento de mecanismos de participação em dois contextos diferentes: as Câmaras Municipais de São Paulo e de Salvador. Por fim, a partir dos achados empíricos, apresentamos uma análise entre as teorias da representação e da participação. Os resultados finais apontam para necessidade de uma articulação maior entre teorias de representação e participação, de forma a refletir sobre as instituições existentes. Atualmente, enquanto o Poder Executivo possui uma arquitetura institucional da participação bem estruturada e com diversas instituições diferentes, no Poder Legislativo, estes mecanismos funcionam de forma isolada, e não se reproduzem nas diferentes esferas da federação. Fatores internos - como a estrutura administrativa e o interesse político, e externos - como a pressão exercida por setores organizados da sociedade civil interferem no potencial participativo dos mecanismos de participação das duas câmaras analisadas

Public service definieras som ”i allmänhetens tjänst” och innebär att de ska finnas där för alla. Däremot har det visat sig att delar av allmänheten har tappat ett intresse och ifrågasatt dess koncept. Millennieskiftet var en vändning för digitala tjänster vilket ökade chanserna för allmänheten att medverka i skapandet av programproduktioner. Uppsatsens syfte är att öka förståelse om, när, hur och i vilken utsträckning SVT inkluderar medverkare genom medietekniska medel. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av tre kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer och en rekonstruktionsintervju. De kvalitativa intervjuerna gav en överblick över produktionen vilket i sin tur gav grund för en att få en inblick i produktionen med hjälp av rekonstruktionsintervjun. Studien resulterade till en överblick av flera programproduktioner, ett konkret fall av programmet Jobbigt och vilka aktuella möjligheter och utmaningar SVT har inför en medverkan med allmänheten. Slutsatsen påvisade att SVT i nuläget möjliggör främst deltagaraktiviteter via deltagarformen ackumulering och använder till en viss del av medverkarnas bidrag i programproduktionen. Detta sker mest i fasen före produktionen och minst i fasen under produktionen. Det visade sig också att SVT är i pågående utveckling av produktioner som utforskar medietekniska medel samt att SVT använder både externa och interna plattformar för inkludering av medverkare. SVT:s främsta utmaningen är att dem står med ena benet i traditionellt skapande och det andra benet i modern deltagarkultur. På så vis saknar hela organisationen en gemensam idé om hur de vill eller inte vill inkludera medverkare. Utifrån från deltagarkulturen är SVT:s utmaning att finnas där för alla och leverera tekniska förutsättningar och deltagarformer. Om SVT sänker kvalitén på det tekniska kravet och fokuserar på engagemanget finns det en affärsmöjlighet för SVT. / Public service is defined as "the public’s interest" and means that it should be there for everyone. However, it has become apparent that parts of the public have lost interest and question the concept of it. The millennium was a turning point for digital services which increased the chances for the public to participate in the creation of productions. The aim of the paper is to increase understanding of it, how, when, and to what extent SVT includes participants through media technology means. The study was conducted using three qualitative semi-structured interviews and one reconstructive interview. The qualitative interviews provided an overview of the production, which in turn provided a basis for gaining an insight into the production using the reconstruction interview. The study resulted in an overview of several productions, a concrete case of the Jobbigt and what current opportunities and challenges SVT faces in engaging with the public. The conclusion demonstrated that SVT currently enables participatory activities mainly through the participatory form of accumulation and uses to some extent the contributions of the participants in the production. This is done mostly in the pre- production phase and least in the last production phase. It was also found that SVT is in the process of developing productions that explore media technology means and that SVT uses both external and internal platforms for inclusion of participants. SVT's main challenge is that they have one leg in traditional creation and the other leg in modern participatory culture. Thus, the whole organization lacks a common idea of how they want or do not want to include participants. From the perspective of participatory culture, SVT's main challenge is to be there for everyone and deliver technical conditions and participatory forms. If SVT lowers the quality of the technical requirement and focuses on engagement, there is a business opportunity for SVT.