The field of equine therapy (ET) in Canada and the USA encompasses a range of distinct approaches, such as equine-facilitated therapy, equine-assisted therapy, therapeutic riding, and hippotherapy. Due to issues like inconsistent terminology and lack of standardized practice manuals, there are gaps in the ET knowledge about how these approaches relate or differ from each other. This research reviewed 47 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles about ET approaches and applied thematic analysis to determine key themes that clarify key traits of each approach. Recognizing that children and youth are common participants in equine therapy, this research was motivated by the questions: What type of relational dynamics are modelled for children and youth in ET? How are these horse-human relationships portrayed? Which participants possess their own agency? Findings of this research provide insights about each approach of ET and highlight the therapeutic affects of interspecies relationships between humans and horses. Contradictory viewpoints about mutual agency between species are identified in language that described horses are active, intelligent subjects and/or passive, inanimate objects. This research provides insights about the different forms of ET, highlights important benefits and gaps, and invites the fields of Child and Youth Care and Animal-Assisted Therapy to critically reflect on the relational tensions of employing non-human animals in human therapy. / Graduate

Eine Untersuchung über den Zusammenhang zwischen sozialer Lage und dem Gesundheitsstatus bei Kindern und Jugendlichen.

The topic of this work is reading workshops as a means of learning German as a foreign language. The aim of the thesis is to find out whether, and if so, what is the organizational and methodically inventive form of didactic potential in teaching German as a foreign language. The work is divided into theoretical and practical part. It focuses on the literary text and its role in teaching, as well as the representation of literature in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and in the Supplement to the CEFR. Attention is paid to reading skills with an emphasis on literary reading, which is crucial for working with literary texts. The concept of reading workshops represents a bridge between the theoretical and practical part and brings four different adaptations of literary texts targeting literary, communicative, intercultural, and linguistic competence. The empirical survey contained in the fourth chapter presents the results of a questionnaire survey, which was conducted among German language teachers at the elementary faculty schools of PedF UK. The research was based on the confirmed hypothesis that teachers rarely work with literary texts, even though they consider working with literary texts to be beneficial. KEYWORDS Reading, literary reading, reading workshops, didactic adaptation...

The thesis concentrates on influence of work evaluation and supervision on motivation of workers of low threshold clubs for children and youth. Supervision and work evaluation is perceived as an obligation for providers of social services defined in quality standards of social services. The thesis concetrates on effects of supervision and work evaluation on the motivation of workers. The opening of the thesis describes roles in the process of motivation (roles of workers and the roles of their supervisors and senior executives), along with two fundamental theories of motivation (developed by Maslow and Herzberg). In the same chapter, the risks connected with work motivation (helpers' syndrome and burn-out syndrome) within helping professions are tackled. The thesis further introduces measures, which influence motivation of workers, employees of social services, namely financial recognition and education. Attention is also paid to non-financial means of motivating employees. Two selected measures of non-financial motivation, supervision and work evaluation, are described in greater detail, specifically in terms of their foundation, function, form, procedures, purpose and impact. In the pratical part of the thesis it is verified, whether all low threshold clubs for children and youth carry out...

The aim of this study was to examine how social services work with home-based solution which aim to replace residential care for children and youth. Furthermore, our intention was to see how social services argue for the interventions through policy documents and interviews. The data consisted of policy documents from eleven municipalities and two interviewees with three professionals. The result of the study was processed through a qualitative content analysis and was analysed in relation to previous research, systems theory and institutional theory. The study presented that social services strive to replace placements with other alternatives at home. Interventions, such as home-based solutions and qualified home-based care and family-oriented methods was central in the study. The analysis of the collected material resulted in three approaches to the case “alterative to placements”: home care, efficiency and eclecticism. Furthermore, it showed that home-based solutions develop in order to receive more financial gains. On the other hand, there is also an uncertainty in the way the interventions should be implemented since they are under process. One conclusion is that it is ambiguous whether home-based solutions aim to replace institutional care or if they apply as supplementary intervention for children and youth. Regardless, the municipalities described that they want to develop comprehensive home-based solutions that enable the child to grow up in his or her home environment, if not for the rights of the child and for the parents, for a sustainable social service. / Syftet med fallstudien var att undersöka hur socialtjänsten i Sveriges kommuner argumenterar för öppenvårdsinsatser som ett alternativ till placeringar av barn och unga. Vidare har intentionen varit att undersöka hur socialtjänsten genom måldokument och intervjuer argumenterar för sina insatser. Som datainsamlingsmetod användes elva måldokument följt av två intervjuer med tre informanter. Studiens resultat bearbetades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och analyserades i relation till tidigare forskning, systemteori samt institutionell teori. Resultatet utgörs av en fallbeskrivning bestående av tre förhållningssätt till ”alternativ till placering”: vård på hemmaplan, kostnadseffektivisering och eklektism. Studien visade att socialtjänsten har ett flertal insatser att tillgå för att minska placeringar men att insatserna varierar mellan kommunerna. Det framgick att kommuner framförallt vill tillämpa omfattande öppna insatser på hemmaplan för att ersätta placering utanför det egna hemmet. Begrepp som hemmaplanslösningar och kvalificerad vård på hemmaplan återfinns i måldokumenten där kommunerna skriver att de vill utveckla och implementera familjeorienterade metoder. Vidare beskriver kommunerna att utvecklingen av insatser på hemmaplan är kopplade till mindre kostnader för kommunerna. Dessutom framgick det att öppenvårdsinsatser är under en pågående process och att det finns en otydlighet kring hur insatserna ska genomföras. Slutsatsen är att det är tvetydigt om öppenvårdsinsatser används i syfte att ersätta institutionsvård eller om de tillämpas som kompletterande insatser till barn och unga. Oavsett fanns det i det insamlade materialet en beskrivning av att utveckla omfattande öppenvårdsinsatser som möjliggör att barnet kan växa upp i sin hemmiljö, om inte för barnets bästa, för att resurserna ska räcka till.

Purpose at work. Motivations of Workers of Selected Low-threshold Facilities for Children and Youth Bc. Michaela Valentová Abstract Diploma thesis focuses on the experience of purposefulness of employees of low- threshold facilities for children and youth. In theoretical part low-threshold facilities are firstly conceptualized as a part of Czech organized civil society. Secondly, relevant theories of purpose are introduced. In empirical part, qualitative research is conducted by in-depth interviews with nine employees of two typical civil society organizations. Workers of low-threshold facilities for children and youth construct their purpose around four categories: helping clients, professionality, work ethics and self-development. Each of these categories brings specific consequences for their organizations. The theory expects purpose to be inspirational for others, however research participants do not reflect on the possibility to inspire their clients that way. This work suggests it is caused by workers' strong emphasis on professionality which creates borders in relationships between clients and workers and also limits the possibility to inspire one another with purpose. Keywords low-threshold facility for children and youth, civil society organization, CSO, non-profit organization, mission, meaning of...

Denna studie är ett examensarbete utfört som en del av socionomutbildningen på Malmö universitet. Syftet är att undersöka vad personal på HVB har för perspektiv på var gränsen går mellan att vara privat och personlig i relationen till ungdomarna. Till detta hör också vad för professionella gränser som är nödvändiga att upprätthålla gentemot de barn som placerats på hemmet samt vad för närhet och distans som förväntas, är förhandlingsbara eller helt förbjudna. Sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med personal på HVB för att undersöka deras perspektiv och resultaten sammanfattades i teman. Dessa teman var “Relationen mellan personal och ungdom”, “Gränsen mellan privat och personligt”, “Konflikter mellan personlig och professionell”, “Gränssättningar och maktrelationer” samt “Hantering av olika förhållningssätt på arbetsplatsen”.Huvuddragen av vad som framkom var att det är viktigt att vara personlig med ungdomarna på HVB, men det får inte vara på bekostnad av professionalitet. Att vara privat med ungdomarna kan innebära att interaktionen är för personalens skull istället för ungdomarna, därför är det viktigt att göra gränssättningar mellan det privata och det professionella. Exakt vart denna gräns går är dock inte tydlig och är dessutom mycket individuell både i form av var personalen är bekväm med att sätta sina gränser och vad ungdomen har för behov. Genom att kartlägga och konstruktivt samtala om gränserna mellan personal och ungdom skapas tydlighet / This study is a thesis carried out as part of the social work education at Malmö University. The aim is to investigate what the resident staff's perspective at Residential care homes for children and young persons is on where the line is drawn between being private and personal in the relationship with the residents.This also includes what kind of professional boundaries are necessary to maintain towards the children who are placed in the home and what kind of proximity and distance is expected, negotiable or completely prohibited. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff at residential homes to examine their perspectives and results summarized in themes. These themes were "The relationship between staff and youth", "The border between private and personal","Conflict between personal and professional", "Boundaries and power relations" and "Managing different attitudes in the workplace". The main feature of what emerged was that it is important to be personal with the residents, but this must not be at the expense of professionalism. Being private with the residents can mean that the interaction is for the benefit of the staff instead of the resident,therefore it is important to draw boundaries between the private and the professional. However, exactly where these boundaries are placed is not clear and is also very individual, both in terms of where the staff are comfortable setting their boundaries and what the residents' needs are. Clarity is created by charting out and having constructive conversations about the boundaries between staff andresidents.

Denna kvalitativa studie ämnar till att undersöka hur bibliotek som plats verkar för barns rättigheter i samhället, och hur bibliotekarier inom olika bibliotekstyper ser på detta. Det empiriska materialet består av en kortare dokumentstudie av tre styrdokument för biblioteksverksamheten i Stockholms stad, samt två intervjuer med personal på ett folkbibliotek och ett barnbibliotek. Med en beskrivande idéanalys analyseras det empiriska materialet med hjälp av teoretiska verktyg från Giroux’s teori om gränspedagogik och radikal demokrati. Som komplement har även begreppen barnperspektiv och barns perspektiv lyfts in som teoretiska verktyg. Studien visar att bibliotekarier tänker på liknande sätt kring barns rättigheter och bibliotek som plats, men att skillnaderna i arbetet mot barns rättigheter i rummet ligger i utrymmet och de resurser biblioteket har. Studiens centrala slutsatser är att barns rättigheter bör vara en grundbult i biblioteksverksamheten för barn, att barnens eget inflytande får ta plats, och att relationsskapande och trygghet är viktiga komponenter. Även att skapa separatistiska platser för barnen och att personalens barnperspektiv formats utefter barnens perspektiv. / This qualitative study aims to examine how the public library can function as a place for children’s rights, and librarians’ views on this. The empirical material is based on a shorter document study of three governing documents for the City of Stockholm, and two interviews with personnel at a public library and a children’s library. The empirical material is analyzed with a descriptive idea analysis, using theoretical tools based on Giroux’s theory on border pedagogy and radical democracy. As a complementary theoretical tool, the concept of child perspective and children’s perspective have also been brought in. The study shows that librarians’ thoughts about children’s rights and the library as place is similar, but that there is a difference in the work towards children’s rights which lie in the space of the room and the resources given. Central conclusions of the study show that children’s rights should be a cornerstone of library operations towards children, that children’s own influence is allowed to take place, and that creating relationships and safety are important components. As well as creating separate places only for the children, and that the child perspective is shaped with the children’s perspective in mind.

This thesis is an anthropological study of Internet sexual offending, more specifically the viewing of child abuse media. It is based on 17 months of participant-observation in UK group programs for individuals who had downloaded illegal child abuse media, semi-structured interviews with participants, program staff, and police, and staff focus groups. Through engaging directly with offenders and those managing them, it provides an in-depth, qualitative understanding of how Internet use and perceptions of online spaces play a key role in Internet sexual offending, while also asking broader questions about online sociality, morality, and effects on normative behaviour. The central argument posits that in moving beyond commonplace explanations for Internet offending, more attention must be given to Internet use, perceptions and constructions of online spaces, and effects on social norms to explain this phenomenon. It then follows to suggest that for some offenders, these elements can be instrumental in their sexualization of children and choice to view abusive media. The thesis specifically explores why and how some people in the UK engage with illegal child abuse media, with particular attention to notions of risk, childhood, morality, and the Internet. Employing Foucauldian and neo-Foucauldian theory, anthropology of the Internet, and constructionist theories of childhood, focus is placed on multiple areas: the potential social, emotional, sexual, and Internet-specific factors associated with offending; participants' relationships with the Internet and constructions of online spaces; participants' perceptions of childhood and children online and offline; and, societal and institutional efforts to respond to the above, including the larger justice system and fieldwork group program. The general research areas are social science of the Internet, childhood studies, human sexuality, group therapeutic processes, policy and law, and research methodology and ethics.

All governments aim to ensure better health and nutrition to children. The Rajasthan state (India) has implemented a unique frontline coordination model where Accredited Health Social Activist (ASHA) Sahyoginis are expected to support two other frontline workers (FLWs) i.e. the Anganwadi Workers from the Integrated Child Development Services and the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives from the Health department to improve child health. This thesis focuses on examining the existing coordination between the three groups of FLWs in Rajasthan by exploring FLWs' participation in child immunisation and Vitamin A supplementation (two common activities), service coverage and beneficiary's' knowledge (expected outcomes), and the challenges faced and areas that need improvement for better frontline coordination. A mixed methods design was used. Sixteen villages from two blocks (tribal and non-tribal) of Udaipur district (Rajasthan) were selected using multistage purposive sampling. The formative stage included 12 FLWs' in-depth interviews (IDIs) as well as a review of FLWs' job descriptions to understand the process and government expectations on their participation in routine childhood immunisation, polio camps, routine Vitamin A supplementation and Vitamin A campaigns. The next stage included data collection from the 16 selected villages i.e. structured questionnaire survey of FLWs (46), observations of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Day (16), review of FLWs' immunisation and Vitamin A registers (32) and a structured questionnaire survey of registered infants' mothers (321)-all to ascertain the actual participation of FLWs in these four activities and the outcomes. IDIs with FLWs (46) and FLWs' line managers (17) were conducted to understand their experience, issues and solutions for better frontline coordination. The participation of FLWs in three of the four activities (except Polio Camps) was found to be limited. The FLWs and their line managers were also dissatisfied with coordination between FLWs. Poor outcomes also indicated unsatisfactory coordination. Overall, frontline participation and outcomes were better in tribal than non-tribal villages. A variety of factors (i.e. personal, professional, organisational, and geo-socio-cultural) appeared to affect coordination between FLWs. Appropriate recruitment, training, monitoring and supervision and rewards to the FLWs along with greater political commitment for coordinated approached and addressing intra-departmental challenges are proposed to improve frontline coordination and child health in Rajasthan.