Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Also available in print.

This study draws on the theory and methodology of many fields to propose an alternative way of conceptualizing and conducting inquiry into the issues of daycare center design. The application of this approach is then illustrated using the collected data to design an actual childcare facility. Qualitative interviews were conducted with directors and selected staff members of two different childcare centers, as well as with the parents of children currently attending each center. Analysis of the data collected reveals that there are many factors which shape and affect daycare center design options, including site size, finances, geographic location, number of children to be cared for and staff size. The objective of this study was to design a prototypical proprietary daycare center in Christiansburg, Virginia for a client whose requirements were for a single building to accommodate three groups of users: 1. approximately 122 children from the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years, 2. the adults needed to staff the center, and 3. The parents of the children attending the center. Design features that were found to be advantageous to the development of a daycare center in the course of field study (i.e., full height walls for sound control, ample storage, easily reconfigured furnishings, natural interior lighting, staff break room) were incorporated into the proposed structure. This research contributes to a more complete understanding of daycare center design problems which affect the adults who interact with the center, as well as the children who attend the center. / Master of Science

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Little Office (TLO) is a proposed start-up that will enter the childcare industry as a provider of on-site day-care at office parks. The unique service offering that TLO will propose to the market is on-site day-care which will not only serve the employers in question, but also their employees. TLO offers organisations the opportunity to address employee productivity related to childcare, as well as to attract and retain skills, while being able to outsource the actual day-care function, which is unrelated to their core business. The service offering to the children and their parents will include a focus on educational, social, physical and emotional development. Market trend analysis indicates an increase in demand for day-care. Combined with the fact that companies are ramping up efforts to attract and retain employees, this results in a situation where the market size and market trends indicate significant opportunities for TLO. Competition is present but due to the size of the market and the core differences in the business model presented by TLO the threat of competition is not fierce. The strategy has been developed around the market analysis and by taking into account the opportunities and threats that exist for TLO. TLO’s strategy therefore serves to differentiate it from the rest of the market in terms of location of centres as well as primary target customers. Coupled with the research evidence of positive outcomes on employee performance, this suggests the concept will be welcomed by new economy organisations. The marketing strategy will aim at large businesses, office parks and government institutions. TLO will present custom feasibility studies to identified customers to establish whether the business is feasible in terms of space, number of employees with children in the organisation, requirements by parents etc. TLO’s strategy is to develop not only core service offerings but also distinctive competencies such as a lower child to carer ratio and high quality, cutting edge and innovative childcare. The various branches of TLO will be run by a central administrative hub, where most of the costs will initially be incurred. This centralised office will be run by the owner and would require administrative and qualified social worker staff. Each branch will require qualified educational staff in line with the number of children per branch. Due to the regulatory requirements inherent in the childcare industry, TLO will base their business operations around achieving compliance excellence in their business. In addition, a continuous evaluation of childcare sciences and re-evaluation of TLO’s service offering will ensure that the latest developments in childcare are addressed and thus TLO remains competitive and progressive. The business model is low risk and provides positive operating cash flow from year three. Through partnering with labour brokers and the use of intelligent placement strategies, TLO will ensure that they have the correct staff in the correct place. Combined with continual audits of performance, TLO will turn the human resources risk into a competitive advantage. The main objectives for the first three years of operation are:  To open four branches averaging 20 children per branch within the first year;  To increase the number of clients served by 100% in Year 2 and again in Year 3; and  To develop a sustainable, profitable, start-up business.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Data gathered from Tyler, Texas, the University of North Texas, and the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) were used to compare children from commercial, home, church, and university based day care with children not attending day care. The research group, comprised of children attending day care (N=142), were located using non-probability sampling; those not in day care (the control group) came from the NSFH (N=1775). Data from the research group were weighted to match the control group. The independent and control variables included the child's age, length of time in day care, intellectual functioning; the parent's marital status and social class; the day care's staff to child ratio and the staff's training. All data, except that pertaining to the facility itself, were gathered from the children's parents using a self-report questionnaire. The remaining data were gathered through personal interview by the researcher. The dependent variable was an index of emotional and behavioral problems reported for the child. Overall, children who attended day care had only slightly more problems reported than those who did had not attended day care. When each center was examined separately, the children in home centers had the greatest number of problems, followed by the commercial centers and university center, with children from the church centers scoring the lowest. In contrast to earlier research, intellectual functioning was not enhanced by the day care experience. While the staff's training had a statistically significant relationship to the children's well-being, no relationship was found for the staff to child ratio. Further research on the impact of other characteristics of each type of day care is recommended.

Orientador: Fabiana Cristina Frigieri de Vitta / Banca: Carla Cilene Baptista da Silva / Banca: Silvia Regina Ricco Lugato Sigolo / Resumo: O playground contém equipamentos que favorecem a aprendizagem da criança. É um dispositivo comumente presente nas creches e que pode ser apropriados pelos professores para auxiliar as crianças em seu desenvolvimento integral. O presente estudo objetivou verificar a percepção dos estudantes de Pedagogia de uma Universidade Pública do Estado de São Paulo sobre o papel das atividades com equipamentos do playground nas instituições de Educação Infantil e sua relação com a estimulação do desenvolvimento integral da criança de zero a 18 meses de idade. Para isso, foi aplicado um questionário eletrônico inserido na plataforma Google Drive e enviado por e-mail aos participantes, tratando dos temas: formação acadêmica; o papel dos equipamentos do playground e sua relação com a estimulação do desenvolvimento da criança de zero a 1a6m; e os conhecimentos necessários para a atuação junto a essa faixa etária utilizando o dispositivo playground. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Participaram 125 graduandos de Pedagogia dos seis campi da Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP. A tabulação dos resultados obtidos pelo questionário foi realizada por meio do processamento de dados em planilha Microsoft Office Excel. A análise dos dados foi feita por meio de estatística descritiva para as questões fechadas e análise de conteúdo para as abertas. Os resultados mostram o pouco conhecimento dos estudantes sobre o uso dos equipamentos do playground no berçário. Os graduandos a... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The playground is composed by resources that favor the child's learning. It is a usual device in nurseries and day care centers that can be used by teacher to help children in their full development. The present study aimed to investigate how Pedagogy undergrad students from a public university of the State of São Paulo perceive the role of playground equipment activities in early childhood education institutions and its relationship with the full development stimulation of the child from zero to 18 months of age. For this, an electronic questionnaire inserted in the Google Drive platform was e-mailed to the participants, about the themes: academic formation; the role of playground equipment as well as its relation to the stimulation of child development from 0 to 1y6m; and the required knowledge to work with this age group using the playground device. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. 125 students from the six campuses of São Paulo State University - UNESP took part in the research. The tabulation of the results obtained by the questionnaire was done through data processing in Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets. Data treatment was performed by descriptive statistics to multiple choice questions and content analyses to openended questions. The results show the little knowledge of the students about the use of playground equipment at the nursery. The graduate students have stated there is a relation of playground equipment to learning, citing sandbox... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Este trabalho descreve os mecanismos de oferta e consumo das refeições em duas creches no município de São Paulo, uma com o sistema de distribuição tipo self-service e outra tipo prato pronto. Foram verificadas as adequações e eventuais carências energéticas das dietas de 82 crianças de 3 e 4 anos, do módulo maternal, por meio da alimentação oferecida nas creches e no domicílio. O estudo apontou 48% das crianças com dietas deficientes ou em risco de deficiência, e 52% com dietas normais, somadas àquelas com risco de excesso e em excesso. / This study describes the mechanisms of supply and consumption of meals in two public day care centers in São Paulo City, one with self-select distribution system and the other with ready made dish system. Diet energy adequacy and shortage were measured through the intakes of a whole day of 82 preschool children between 3 and 4 years old, considering the meals offered at the day care center and at home. In terms of energy, this study showed 48% of the children with deficient or at risk of deficiency diets, and 52% with normal together with those at risk of excess diets.

Introdução – O desenvolvimento de programas de intervenção tem sido uma das estratégias para diminuir a ocorrência de alteração de voz em educadores de creche, mas pouco tem sido discutido sobre a sua eficácia na prevenção. Objetivos – Analisar os efeitos de um programa de intervenção desenvolvido junto a educadoras de creche, verificando sua opinião quanto à voz ideal, analisando as mudanças após o programa e os fatores associados à alteração vocal. Métodos – Participaram 58 educadoras das creches junto às quais são desenvolvidas ações do Programa Creche do Curso de Fonoaudiologia da Faculdade de Medicina da USP. As educadoras foram divididas em dois grupos – experimental e controle – e todas passaram por avaliação inicial da voz e da fala e preencheram questionários. O programa teórico-prático foi desenvolvido junto ao grupo experimental em cinco encontros mensais, com duração total de 12 horas. Ao final, todas as educadoras passaram novamente pelos mesmos procedimentos de avaliação. Resultados – As educadoras definem como clara, resistente, flexível e agradável a voz ideal de um educador. Foram observadas algumas mudanças positivas no grupo experimental e outras negativas no controle. Foi fator associado à presença de alteração vocal a auto-percepção do agravo, antes e após a intervenção. Conclusões – As poucas modificações observadas não tiveram impacto no uso da voz no trabalho. É fundamental que haja maior envolvimento das instituições para que mudanças mais robustas ocorram neste quadro, assim como políticas públicas mais efetivas. / Introduction – The development of intervention programs has been one of the strategies to decrease the occurrence of vocal disorders in day-care center educators, however little has been discussed concerning its efficacy in prevention. Objectives – to analyze the effects of an intervention program developed with day-care centers educators, verifying their opinion regarding the ideal voice, analyzing the changes after the program and the factors associated to vocal disorders. Methods – 58 educators, from day-care centers where Crèche Program of the Speech Pathology and Audiology Course of USP School of Medicine activities are developed, took part in this study. They were divided into two groups – experimental e control – and all of them were submitted to a initial vocal and speech evaluation and filled in questionnaires. The theoretical-practical program was developed with the experimental group in five monthly meetings, with total duration of 12 hours. In the end, all educators were again submitted to the same evaluation procedures. Results – The educators define the ideal voice of an educator as clear, resistant, flexible and pleasant. Some positive changes were observed in the experimental group while negative ones were observed in the control group. Self-perception of the disorder was an associated factor to the presence of vocal alteration, before and after the intervention. Conclusions – The few modifications observed did not have impact on the voice usage at work. It is essential that there is greater institution involvement so that stronger changes happen in this situation, as well as the implementation of more effective public policies.