The purpose of the present study was to examine the applicability of a model of bereavement to the long-term adjustment to loss. Based on Allen's (1990) model, it was predicted that the variables experienced competence, perceived resources, and the impact of the loss would contribute strongly to overall long-term bereavement adjustment. It was also predicted that time and multiple losses would impact adjustment to loss.

Four hundred and thirty-eight participants who had lost a close friend or family in the last 2 years completed questionnaires regarding their experiences with the funeral. Results indicated individuals emotionally close to the deceased person reported higher levels of participation in funeral rituals and greater levels of bereavement adjustment. Those emotionally distant from the deceased person reported greater satisfaction with the funeral. Individuals who viewed the deceased person as a central figure in their lives had greater participation in the funeral. Those who viewed the deceased person as a peripheral figure had higher levels of bereavement adjustment. Additionally, those who viewed the death as unpreventable reported greater satisfaction with the funeral, and had higher levels of bereavement adjustment.

The present longitudinal study examined the effects and interactions of several variables thought to affect adjustment to conjugal bereavement. Questionnaires were administered to 147 conjugally bereaved subjects and to 46 persons bereaved of close relatives other than spouse. Independent variables included experienced competence (self-esteem, locus of control, coping self-efficacy, and prior coping strategies), impact of loss (anticipation and preventabillty of loss, centrality of relationship and life change), and perceived resources. All of the independent variables were found to be important predictors of adjustment in conjugal bereavement. However, hypothesized interactions among variables were generally not found. Experimental variables were better predictors of adjustment in conjugal bereavement than were demographic variables. Contrary to prediction, widowed subjects tended to become more lonely and showed increased bereavement adjustment difficulties over a six month period of time. However, post hoc analysis suggested that levels of adjustment do not decline over the long term in widowhood. The present study supports a view of widowhood as a multidimensional event, characterized by seemingly contradictory feelings, experiences, and behaviors.

Finally, some recommendations for the development of bereavement counselling in relation to social policy, service delivery, education and training, workers' personal development, as well as future research were presented. / In--depth interviews were conducted with 12 social workers working in palliative care. This figure was nearly half of the total number of palliative care social workers in Taiwan, so the research findings may reflect the general situation of bereavement counselling in Taiwan. Their stories revealed the endeavours of these social workers in the past years and showed the development of the services from nothing to multifarious. / The narratives of the workers reflected the required individual characteristics of a bereavement counsellor, such as stability in emotion, resilience, creativity, psychic energy. Due to the nature of their work they often encountered death and sufferings, as well as feeling of helplessness. In facing different obstacles and challenges, some of them might retreat themselves at times, especially for those who were still entangled in their personal bereavement. Their emotional state would affect the establishment of effective helping relationship and subsequently the effectiveness of their service. / The research revealed that most of the social workers did not apply any specific theories, or techniques in working with the bereaved. Their narratives reflected that they worked with the bereaved by establishing a meaningful working relationship. They respected and accepted their clients' needs; their empathic support helped the bereaved face the pain of losing their loved ones. Their encouragement and assurance helped them develop and change. Their skills and methods matched well with those of humanism and existentialism. They also tended to adopt postmodernism approach of storytelling in helping the bereaved. Through narration, the workers helped the bereaved re-construct the meaning of their relationship with the deceased in their life. / The study revealed that the social workers considered most of the bereaved had the ability of self-healing, but for some, due to personal or environmental factors they might be entangled in their grief and might need assistance. Their work reflected the emphases of bereavement counselling in Taiwan. Besides counselling service, they also provided assistance in medical related matters, emotional support, enhancement of family members' communication, social adjustment and religious support. Due to the socio-cultural backgrounds of Taiwan, their tasks also included special arrangements at death and discussion of funeral services and rituals. The social workers also stressed the importance of the traditional value of harmony among Heaven, Earth and Man. They paid special attention to the emotional harmony of the bereaved, harmony between the bereaved and their relatives, and harmony among the social environment, the spiritual and the bereaved. / This study is a narrative analysis of the palliative care social workers' experiences in bereavement counselling in Taiwan. It explored the characteristics of bereavement counselling, the social workers' interpretation of their experiences and the cultural and contextual factors that affected the palliative care social workers and bereavement counselling. / 李閏華. / Adviser: Mong Chow Amy Lam. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-305) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Li Runhua.

Conversations about Mortality is a series that uses installation, sculpture, painting, and audio to explore our relationship to mortality. The premise of the work relies on the quote, “The truth is rather than the images, though beautiful in themselves, come to life in the act of vanishing…” The research begins with a recorded conversation with four individuals who have all lost someone they love. The audio explores the memories each speaker has of the deceased. A portrait of the speaker is painted on watersoluble paper with a quote from the conversation laser etched into the back of the painting. The painting is then placed in a water vessel made of plexiglass, and then installed on found raw wood and steel for support. Viewers are encouraged to sit on a provided chair to listen to each speaker. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Tsang Yik Wo. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2010-2011, design report." / Preface --- p.01 / Table of Content --- p.03 / Introduction / Chapter - --- Context and Scope --- p.05 / Chapter - --- Thesis Statement --- p.09 / Chapter - --- Interdisciplinary View --- p.11 / Chapter - --- Theoretical Framework --- p.15 / Value on the Place of Death / Chapter - --- Universal value --- p.17 / Chapter - --- Cultural value --- p.21 / Chapter - --- Local value --- p.23 / Chapter - --- Function of Cemetery --- p.38 / Architectural Research / Chapter - --- general understanding --- p.39 / Chapter - --- living and deceased connection --- p.43 / Chapter - --- living and deceased connection --- p.49 / Chapter - --- living and deceased connection --- p.55 / Chapter - --- land and spatial strategy --- p.59 / Site Selection / Chapter - --- a macro studies --- p.61 / Chapter - --- a micro studies --- p.63 / Spatial Requirement Analysis / Chapter - --- study on the space requirement and expected provision --- p.65 / Chapter - --- decay & regeneration --- p.67 / Design strategy / Chapter - --- urban strategy --- p.71 / Chapter - --- program strategy --- p.73 / Chapter - --- Final Design --- p.77 / Chapter - --- Special Studies --- p.87 / Conclusion --- p.91 / Design Process --- p.93 / Bibliography --- p.101

Background This thesis addresses the topic of parental bereavement, using a multi-method approach. It aims to add to knowledge about the phenomenon of parental bereavement, outcomes for bereaved parents following the loss of their child, and factors associated with these outcomes. Method An initial literature study and qualitative investigation were carried out. Findings from these informed the choice of quantitative variables to be tested in a group of parents in early and mid-bereavement. Census records were used to provide information on long term health and social outcomes. Results The literature related to the parent’s experience following the death of their child is limited. The qualitative study indicated a variety of factors for testing, related to the circumstances of the loss, continuing bonds with the deceased child, restoration-oriented stressors, for example, employment and relationship problems, and ruminative behaviours. In early bereavement, lower grief levels were found in people who had displayed cognitive restructuring behaviours. Grief and depression were prevalent, and were found to exist independently. Rumination was associated with grief and depression in mid-bereavement. Grief was predicted by depression and self-blame and depression was, in turn, predicted by rumination and education level. Rates of mothers returning to work following the loss of a child in the first year of life were lower than those whose child lived. Mortality rates were up to four times higher in bereaved parents than non-bereaved comparisons, up to 35 years post-loss. Conclusions The loss of a child has ongoing social, emotional and health consequences for parents. Social factors are a particularly important issue, and therapeutic interventions may benefit from reducing negative aspects of coping such as rumination rather than promoting specific coping strategies. Support for bereaved parents should come from a number of sources, in order to address their complex and potentially long-term needs.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thirteen nurses were interviewed over an eight week period to explore their adaptive responses to neonatal death. A process of adaptation was identified that included several phases through which these nurses proceeded before they finalized the death experience for themselves. These phases included responses to the resuscitation of the infant; the measures taken to console the bereaved parents; feelings associated with difficult moments during the dying process; the behaviors utilized to strengthen themselves before and after the death; reactions to the silence in the unit that occurred afterwards; the values they discovered when reflecting on how the death was handled; and the development of a philosophical meaning from their experiences. Data were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methodology.

The purpose of this research study was to capture the experience of a multigenerational, resilient family who had experienced a nonnormative stressor event. A phenomenological case-study approach was utilized as methodology to guide this study. Interviews were held collectively with the entire family and individually with participating family members. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. The family's story of resilience emerged from this transcript material. In addition, the process of thematic analysis yielded nine main intergenerational themes that helped to explain this family's resilience. They included: 1) Be flexible about communication; 2) Connect with one another; 3) Have access to and accept support; 4) Detach from the experience; 5) Normalize the stressor; 6) Minimize the children's distress; 7) Focus on the positive; 8) Find strength in religion and 9) Find creative ways of coping. Results also indicated a strong multigenerational component to this family's resilience. In addition, resilience was found to be a process made up of both struggle and occasional costs. Findings were compared to relevant professional literature on family resilience, including The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation developed by McCubbin, McCubbin, Thompson and Thompson in 1995. All of these findings led to a number of implications for counselling practice, as well as for future research.