Parents in dual earner families with school-aged children report significant time constraints. Occupational balance refers to the distribution of time in various occupations in accordance with one’s values and it has been related to well-being. While occupational balance has been studied from an individual perspective, no study to date has taken a family perspective. This research explores the lived experience and meaning of occupational balance for dual earner parents and school-aged children. Multiple perspectives were obtained to capture family occupational balance as well as individual occupational balance. This research contributes to a greater appreciation of the complex phenomenon of occupational balance. Furthermore, it adds to the ongoing conversation in occupational science on the relational aspects of occupation. For this interpretive phenomenological research, semi-structured interviews were used with parents and photo-elicitation interviews with children. Four families were recruited, for a total of 18 participants. Additional methods of data collection included individual daily schedules and a family occupational map. Lived existentials and the dimensions of occupation were used as analytical frameworks to understand the phenomenon of occupational balance. Findings reveal that family occupational balance is experienced through the theme of togetherness and enacted in two occupations: the family dinner and family leisure. For adults and older siblings, individual occupational balance is experienced through refocusing on self as illustrated in intentional activities; while playing, feeling good and having fun was central to the experience of individual occupational balance in younger siblings. A reflection on these findings is provided through 3 essences of the experience of occupational balance in families: intention, restoration, and equity. Implications for occupational therapy and occupational science highlight the dynamic and relational aspects of occupational balance in families. Unique contributions include the 3 essences which are more evocative, discernable, and therefore more applicable to research and practice than the taken for granted phenomenon of occupational balance.

International trade theory suggests that trade can be advantageous to the industrial as well as to the underdeveloped countries. For the latter, specialization and exchange brings about an increase in total productions. Thailand, an underdeveloped country, has for the past decade experienced an unfavorable balance of trade. A primary producing country, Thailand principally exports rice, rubber, tin, and teak. Her principal imports are manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, mineral fuels, lubricants and chemicals. The thesis is intended to investigate the causes of this adverse balance of trade. Thailand's four principal exports accounted for an average of 74.7 percent of the total export income during the past decade, while the four major import items comprised an average of 77.1 percent of the total imports. Attempts will be made to examine Thailand's potential in agricultural and non-agricultural resources as well as in human resources and to examine the possibility of expanding agricultural export commodities in order to correct the unfavorable balance of trade.

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Introduction: Balance impairment is a commonly reported symptom of concussion. Very little research has been undertaken regarding the complexities of balance impairment after concussive injury in the pediatric population. Purpose: The objectives of this study were: 1) to identify the factors that are associated with balance impairments in children with concussion; 2) to review and evaluate four commonly used balance measures; and 3) to provide recommendations for the best methods of clinical evaluation of balance in children and youth after concussive injury. Methods: A cross-sectional balance evaluation was completed on 104 children, ages 5-18 who had a confirmed diagnosis of concussion. Four balance measures were examined to determine which was the most appropriate for evaluating balance post-concussion. Results: 37% of children were found to have balance impairment according to the BOT-2. The full logistic regression model was found to be not statistically significant however, mechanism of injury with an odds ratio of 2.1 and 95% CI [0.810, 5.027] indicates that children with sport-related injuries are twice as likely to have balance impairment than those with a non-sports-related injury. Chi-Square analyses showed a statistically significant association for mechanism of injury (χ2=11.05, p = 0.03) and age (χ2 = 0.04, p =-0.02) for children who presented with balance impairments and those who did not. Children with balance impairment may present with different symptom profiles than children without. Conclusion: Using a single method of assessment may not provide an accurate representation of balance impairment in children and youth after concussion. Based on the comparison of measurement properties and application of each measure to 104 children with concussion, the BOT-2 and the CB&M when used together provide the most comprehensive assessment of balance and postural instability in children with concussive injury. Age, mechanism of injury and site of impact may be leading factors in the development of balance impairment. / Thesis / Master of Science Rehabilitation Science (MSc)

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Today, governments function in an “anti-government era” and are forced to provide more services with fewer financial resources (Watson, 1997, p.1). To deal with this situation, they are creating savings or a budgetary cushion (e.g., unreserved fund balances) to stabilize taxes and expenditures (Wolkoff, 1987, Tyer, 1993, Shelton et al, 2000). But, prior research suggests that the recommended benchmark of savings is not adequate for stabilization. To move beyond this benchmark, researchers are seeking to identify those factors that influence the level of savings maintained by governments (Hendrick, 2006). Because there is no consensus on those factors, this research seeks to address this gap in the literature by using the Bounded Fiscal/Demographic perspective used by Marlowe (2004) to examine fiscal and demographic factors. It uses the Politico-Structure perspective also used by Marlowe to examine political factors. Moreover, it uses the organizational financial obligations perspective used by Hendrick (2006) to examine organizational factors that affect the accumulation of unreserved fund balances for Mississippi’s 82 counties. It focuses on the change in the unreserved fund balance as a percent of current general fund expenditures by examining the change between FY 1995 to FY 1999 of the unreserved fund balance during a period of fiscal plenty and the change between FY 2000 to FY 2004, a period of fiscal stress. Overall, Mississippi counties are maintaining either too much or too little of an unreserved fund balance. Their unreserved fund balances ranged from less than their current expenditures to over 10% of their current expenditures. Marginal support was also found for the Bounded Fiscal/Demographic, Politico-Structure, and Organizational Financial Obligations perspectives used to explain the behavior of the unreserved fund balances. More specifically, the findings suggest that Mississippi counties build reserves during times of fiscal plenty and dispense those funds during times of fiscal stress. Counties also showed a tendency to address short-term needs and demands of their residents when revenues were plentiful. However, during fiscal stress, they showed a tendency to be more cost-conscious by focusing more on maintaining rather than expanding current expenditures.

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N/A / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)