This study, which is part of a research project conducted to explore the experiences of quality of life of older people living in a residential facility, focuses specifically on the psychosocial needs of these residents. Psychosocial needs refer to the innate psychological nutriments that prompt older people to take purposeful, self-directed action in an attempt to satisfy these needs and ultimately foster well-being. These may include needs for mastery, acknowledgement, social interaction and care. In this study the term “older people” refers to individuals aged 60 years and older. The group of older people who participated in this study all live in a residential facility for older people. “Residential facility” refers to premises or a building where older people are provided with accommodation and access to 24-hour care. Previous research concerning the needs of older people focused mainly on their physical care, in the context of deteriorating health. Considering that many older people are leading healthy, vigorous lifestyles, however, it is also important to explore the psychosocial needs of the more functional older people in residential facilities. Psychosocial needs were initially described by Maslow, within a hierarchical system, whereby psychosocial needs emerge only when biological needs have been satisfied. In view of the exceptions described in the literature of older people who overcome the inevitable physical strains that accompany ageing, Maslow’s bottom-up approach is seen as restrictive in its view of older people. In the present study self-determination theory (SDT) has been found to be applicable in exploring psychosocial needs, because of its holistic and adaptive view of people possessing the potential to address their needs within a social environment. SDT views people as motivated to gratify their needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. A qualitative approach was used to describe the psychosocial needs of the older people studied. The research was conducted in a residential facility for older people in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The older participants comprised 16 residents, including 3 males and 13 females, aged 65 and older. Data-gathering was conducted by using the Mmogo-method®. This required each participant to use a lump of clay, sticks and beads to make something that represents their experiences of life in the residential facility. Prompting questions were asked and each participant was given an opportunity to describe his or her visual presentation. Group discussions allowing for confirmation or revision of perspectives of experiences followed. Data were analysed by means of secondary, thematic and visual analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by carefully applying specific guidelines which were produced by considering different models aimed at ensuring rigour in qualitative research. These guidelines included clear and coherent writing; conceptual coherence; ensuring a trustworthy procedure through member-checking, multiple perspectives and clarification, as well as the researcher’s attentiveness to her own biases. The research was approved by the ethical committee of North-West University. The researcher applied ethical guidelines as prescribed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa while the research was conducted, and afterwards. Findings revealed four psychosocial needs, namely a need for autonomy, interpersonal interaction within a specific context, a sense of safety, and transcendental needs. The need for autonomy included freedom of personal preference, independent living and active participation. On the interpersonal level, there was a need for general relationships, in which sharing, acknowledgement and caring were present (both instrumental and emotional), as well as close family and friendship relationships. The need for safety covers both physical and organisational safety. On the transcendental level, there is a need for space and opportunities to express and address spiritual needs. These findings may be used to facilitate the development of policies and programmes which aim to address the psychosocial needs of older people in residential facilities as well as in other living arrangements. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This thesis is about so-­‐called consensual exploitative transactions: transactions to which all parties agree voluntarily, and which are beneficial for all parties, but which are still widely considered exploitative, and for that reason legally restricted in many countries. The thesis asks two main questions: 1. What is wrong with consensual exploitation? 2.What implications does the answer to this question have for the legal restriction of consensual transactions that are regarded exploitative in modern liberal societies? In answer to the first research question, the thesis starts by distinguishing and analysing five competing views of the wrong in consensual exploitation that exist in the present-­‐day philosophical debate on exploitation; and rejects all five answers. Next, the thesis offers an alternative answer, which is that the wrong in consensual exploitation can best be understood as a matter of greediness—a failure of the virtue of generosity. The thesis then turns to the second research question: what understanding exploitation as greediness implies for the legal restriction of exploitative transactions. It discusses and rejects the view that law ought only to be used to regulate ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviour, and not to promote virtues or discourage vices, such as generosity and greediness. The thesis argues that legal restrictions on consensual exploitative transactions can be justified as a means to prevent greediness, and to promote a certain other-­‐regardingness, and illustrates this argument with two examples of laws that regulate consensual transactions which are widely regarded exploitative: minimum wage laws and payday loan laws.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur de som jobbar med brottsdrabbade inom den engelska brottsofferjouren, Victim Support, förstår brottsdrabbades behov och sin egen roll i att bemöta dessa. Avsikten var även att undersöka hur traditionella föreställningar kring brottsdrabbade, och kategorier som manligt/kvinnligt, ålder, klass etcetera, påverkar denna förståelse. Studien utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med volontärer och anställd personal inom Victim Support. Resultaten visade att jouraktiva väger in flera parametrar när de bedömer brottsdrabbades behov. Kategorierna ålder, kön och brottstyp framkom som särskilt betydelsefulla. Traditionella föreställningar om brottsoffer framträder också i intervjudeltagarnas resonemang och tycks påverka sättet man förstår sin egen roll som ”hjälpare” på. Klienter som uppfattas avvikande har ibland svårare att få adekvat stöd. Det är därför av stor vikt att alla som jobbar med brottsdrabbade blir medvetna om hur stereotypiska antaganden kan ta sig i uttryck och vad de kan få för konsekvenser. / The aim of this study was to investigate how people working in English Victim Support, understand crime victim's needs and their own role in addressing them. The purpose was also to investigate how traditional notions of crime victims and categories such as gender, age, class etcetera, affect this understanding. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with volunteers and staff of Victim Support. The results showed that the participants took several parameters in consideration when assessing crime victim’s needs. The categories of age, sex and type of crime emerged as particularly significant. Traditional notions of victims also appear to influence the participants understanding of victims and their own role. Clients perceived as deviant may also have difficulties in receiving adequate support. It is therefore important that all working with crime victims become aware of how stereotypical assumptions can manifest and the potential consequences of them. / <p>9302021242</p>

Research has previously highlighted the physical, social, affective and cognitive benefits of engagement in quality physical education (PE) (Bailey, 2006). Furthermore, practical, physical and expressive creative experiences in education have also been cited as being an important constituent when educating children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) (Cole and Visser, 1998). However, research has yet to address the experiences of the child with SEBD, as told by themselves, alongside the ideological benefits of their participation in physical education. As such, this study has examined how children and young people experience the National Curriculum of PE in England and Wales. Specifically working with those deemed by their school to have SEBD, this study aims to give voice to how participants create meaning of their PE experiences. A case study methodology was adopted whereby, after a period of piloting and familiarisation, two periods of twelve weeks were spent with six adolescent boys, each described by their schools as having SEBD. A range of participatory methods were used to elicit their perceptions of PE. Inductive processes of analysis generated outcomes which showed signs of the idiosyncratic nature of varying experiences and multiple truths. A number of themes emerged from the analysis of each case, aside to the contextualised responses of individuals. Participants spoke of their affinity towards the inherent practical nature of PE, which appeared to be forgiving of their desire for cathartic opportunities to participate physically. They regularly discussed their perception of PE being a subject allowing for relative freedoms not found elsewhere in their curricula. Narratives which described their experiences were also characterised by issues which focussed upon the non-educational aspects of the subject. The perceived pardon from the academic demands of school life, and the subsequent opportunities for socialisation with peers, were described as times which cemented the both positive and negative social systems at place in their classes. ii The case studies have resulted in the discussion of experiences which demonstrate the rich and highly individualised nature of children and young peoples‟ time in PE. The nature of their difficulties appeared to exacerbate and heighten the responses to participation which have been commonly reported in previous studies. Participants‟ time in PE was shown to be an example of the challenges that they face in their school lives more broadly. PE served to magnify both the positive and negative responses to education that were described as being experienced elsewhere in their curriculum subjects. This research has shown that, when adopting methodologies which privilege participatory methods, it is possible to gain greater depth of understanding as to how children with social emotional and behavioural difficulties experience physical education.

Adult learners bring different experiences and perspectives to their education. It is important they get opportunities to learn at their own speed, through different situations and activities. Consequently, the teaching methods and learning environment are very important to the learner. Therefore the school and it´s teachers play a big role in making the learner feel comfortable and gain new experiences which could help them develop themselves as adult learners and find the right learning path. This thesis explores how the individuals needs and life experience is utilised through the learning process in the learning environment of the Preliminary studies program at Keilir. The focus is on student’s experiences of the learning environment at Keilir in order to see if they meet the needs of adult students. That being said, interviews with former and current participants in the program will show what the students experienced during their time in the program and how they felt their needs were met. Furthermore Lave and Wenger´s (1991) concept of a community of practice will be used to explore the education at Keilir and how learning in collaboration with other students and others that impact the learner’s journey can affect the learner’s education and their learning experience.

This study aims to investigate how special needs teachers work with dyslexic pupils who are not reaching the goals of the subject of English. In addition, the focus is to examine dyslexic pupils’ experienced areas of difficulties and also how to structure the language teachings in order to facilitate for the pupils with dyslexia. The method of collecting data for this essay is based on a qualitative research approach through semi-structured interviews with special needs teachers. The results conclude that the informants do not support the pupils directly since their assignment is instead to coach the teachers, which mean that their main responsibility is to work primarily with school organization. Also, through this essay it became evident that dyslexia exists in every language and the specific learning disability is not equal with a failed grade in English.

This thesis is presented as a collection of four studies in which the associations between athlete attachment styles, perceptions of basic psychological needs, and experiences of well/ill-being are examined. The first study of this thesis examined the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction, within the coach and parent relational contexts, in the associations between athletes (N = 430) global attachment styles and their experiences of well-being. Results demonstrated that satisfaction of the athletes basic psychological needs did mediate the associations between attachment styles and well-being. Study 2 examined whether mean differences and changes in athletes (N = 110) attachment style predicted psychological need satisfaction, within two relational contexts (coach and parent), and well-being, and whether mean differences and changes in need satisfaction within the relational contexts predicted well-being. Findings from the study provide further support for the role of attachment in need satisfaction and well-being within sport psychology, as well as highlighting important within- and between-person effects. Study 3 aimed to examine the possible social mechanisms that affect insecure athletes (N = 215) perceptions of basic need satisfaction. The social factors investigated as possible mediators were social support, interpersonal conflict, autonomy supportive behaviours, and controlling behaviours, each examined within both the coach and parent relational contexts. The findings of Study 3 highlighted that social factors have an important role in explaining the associations between athletes insecure attachment styles and their perceptions of basic psychological need satisfaction within two important relationships. The final study presented in this thesis aimed to focus on how thwarting of athletes basic psychological needs impacted upon athletes experiences of both well- and ill-being. Study 4 also measured athletes (N = 241) attachment styles to the coach specifically. Findings revealed that when athletes perceptions of their basic psychological needs were actively thwarted, within both aforementioned contexts, athletes insecure attachment to the coach impacted upon experiences of well- and ill-being. Overall, the findings of the current research have supplied new knowledge and understanding concerning athletes psychological functioning through the employment of established theoretical frameworks.

<p>The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of how newly graduated social workers within the elderly care and the need assessment sector forms a professional identity through a focus on their experience of the socialization process.</p><p>The main questions concerned how work place culture socialized the newly graduated social worker in respect of her or his professional identity.</p><p>The study’s theoretical underpinning lies in Symbolic Interactionism. We have combined focus group interviews with follow-up personal interviews with the aim of deepening to our understanding of the socialization process of social workers and what it means for their professional identities.</p><p>Three main results were generated. First, that a well planned introduction and the teams’ significance to the formation of professional identity were shown to be important. Second that a needs assessment organization with a controlled and standardized professional role were noted to be too restrictive as they allowed little possibility for the new social worker to shape their own ways of working. This was particularly the case where new social workers were unclear about how to go about their work assignment. These results also showed that relation building and dialogue with clients was underemphasised and taken for granted.</p>

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) admission is often life threatening, and may cause severe anxiety within the family system. Anxiety can impair decision-making ability. A majority of ICU patients cannot direct their own treatment; therefore, family members are often required to make major decisions under stressful conditions. Patient and family-centered care (PCFF) has been shown to reduce anxiety, improve decision-making, and improve outcomes for patients and their families. However, no published study has examined outcomes of a comprehensive PFCC program in the ICU. Purpose: The study purposes were to evaluate a comprehensive program to improve PFCC within an adult ICU, and to determine the usefulness of specific PFCC interventions. Methods: An exploratory comparative design was used. Data from ICU patients' family members and ICU nurses, before and after implementation of a PFCC program, were compared using the 30-item combined Critical Care Family Needs Inventory/Needs Met Inventory (CCFNI/NMI). Convenience samples of 49 adult family members of patients admitted to the ICU for at least 36 hours and 85 nurses employed in the ICU full-time for at least six months were recruited from an adult ICU in a 337-bed tertiary care hospital in the southwestern region of the United States. The program was conducted in 3 stages: baseline assessment, program development and implementation, and evaluation. Results: After the PFCC implementation statistically significant differences between nurses' and family members' responses were reported for18 items on the CCFNI and 20 items on the NMI. Five of the10 items family members ranked highest at baseline remained in the top 10 after PFCC implementation, and 3 needs ranked lowest at baseline moved up to the top 10. Conclusions: The results show that the nurses' education was likely the most efficacious program intervention. There may be a hierarchy of needs specific to ICU patients' family members, similar to those described by Maslow. Further study is needed to determine the effectiveness of the CCFNI/NIM in measuring outcomes before and after a PFCC intervention.

No description available.