Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 78 p. : ill. (some col.), map (part col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-55).

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Geography, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-59).

People with visible facial difference often experience other people reacting negatively to their appearance. For many, this is part of everyday life. Research has identified social support as critical in adaptation processes. This is the case both for those whose facial difference was apparent at birth, and those who experienced injury or illness. There is a lack of a comprehensive theoretical construct for exploring how personal communities provide resources needed by adults to live well with visible facial difference. The combination of semi-structured interviews and creation of personal community maps provided opportunities to explore the interplay between respondent accounts and patterns of relationships people are embedded within. Seventeen adults with visible facial difference and two unaffected ‘significant others’ were interviewed. The findings provide evidence that personal communities are important social spaces for negotiation of resources that enable adults to feel connected, valued and safer within wider communities. Social support was not described as a property of the individual, but as experienced with combinations of people that change according to situation, place, or time. A diversity of personal community patterns were found, largely consistent with findings from Spencer and Pahl (2006), with one variation which increased intimate support. Some personal communities were less supportive and consequently people were at risk of isolation. Processes within personal communities were helpful both in dealing with negative social environments and in helping establish different versions of ‘normal’ life. The importance of focussing on social contexts, when seeking to understand how people live with visible facial differences, is highlighted.

People with visible facial difference often experience other people reacting negatively to their appearance. For many, this is part of everyday life. Research has identified social support as critical in adaptation processes. This is the case both for those whose facial difference was apparent at birth, and those who experienced injury or illness. There is a lack of a comprehensive theoretical construct for exploring how personal communities provide resources needed by adults to live well with visible facial difference. The combination of semi-structured interviews and creation of personal community maps provided opportunities to explore the interplay between respondent accounts and patterns of relationships people are embedded within. Seventeen adults with visible facial difference and two unaffected ‘significant others’ were interviewed. The findings provide evidence that personal communities are important social spaces for negotiation of resources that enable adults to feel connected, valued and safer within wider communities. Social support was not described as a property of the individual, but as experienced with combinations of people that change according to situation, place, or time. A diversity of personal community patterns were found, largely consistent with findings from Spencer and Pahl (2006), with one variation which increased intimate support. Some personal communities were less supportive and consequently people were at risk of isolation. Processes within personal communities were helpful both in dealing with negative social environments and in helping establish different versions of ‘normal’ life. The importance of focussing on social contexts, when seeking to understand how people live with visible facial differences, is highlighted. / University of Bradford Studentship

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:39:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marianne Ramos Feijo.pdf: 1246800 bytes, checksum: 798b70ffd14e6f42ee9be801917971c1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-08 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The focus of the present work is the study of social projects aimed for youngsters and the impact of such projects on their families. Through this study we tried to understand the relevance of such projects to increase the possibilities of relationships, autonomy and the role of the involved parties. Through interviews, we have surveyed professionals, youngsters and their families, the changes that occurred in the participants, their families and their social relations during the study period. For such purpose, we employed the new paradigm of a systemic cybernetic focus, with emphasis in relationships and interactions. The reality is seen as built according to a social constructionistic viewpoint (GRANDESSO, 2000), where one tries to understand subjects as authors who influence and who are simultaneously influenced by their environment; subjects who build their social experience through the language; who affect and are affected by their culture (MOTA and CIURANA, 2002). It was also based on systemic studies on the importance of the social network on the health of individuals and in the development of a human being, his/her family and community (SLUZKI, 1997) as well as in proposals for social projects. A qualitative study has been developed with the analysis and interpretation of seventeen interviews, made with seven professionals who worked at three social projects and who previously worked in over ten projects in the fields of sports, culture, citizenship, assisted freedom, computing and tutorship; five youngsters and five family members of those teenagers participated in the study. Trough the interviews we identified the need to bring families closer to those respondents who participate in the social projects. Such family participation is important for the families and the youngsters involved and also helps to promote the strengthening of social networks, for these stronger social networks may give support to lower income families, who in turn may increase their social participation, implying in the reduction of misery and social inequities in the country. However, working with these families presented several difficulties such as: funds shortage, lack of preparation on part of the professionals in charge of carrying out activities where families are involved and hardships in getting access to these families in the few activities geared towards them. Work was the most frequently mentioned as the pressing need of the respondents, and it stands out as a factor related to the vulnerability and suffering of less privileged populations / O presente trabalho tem como foco o estudo de projetos sociais voltados para jovens e o impacto destes projetos nas famílias destes jovens. Buscou-se através deste, entender que alcance podem ter tais projetos no que se refere à ampliação de possibilidades relacionais, de autonomia e de protagonismo dos envolvidos. Ou seja, pretendeu-se levantar, por meio de entrevistas com profissionais, jovens e com seus familiares, as mudanças que ocorreram com os participantes, com suas famílias e em suas relações sociais, durante a participação do jovem no projeto. Para isso, partiu-se do enfoque sistêmico-cibernético novo-paradigmático, com ênfase nas relações e nas interações. A realidade é vista como construída, de acordo com a ótica construcionista social (GRANDESSO, 2000), a partir da qual procura-se entender os indivíduos como autores que influenciam e, ao mesmo tempo, são influenciados pelo meio em que vivem; indivíduos que constroem sua experiência socialmente, na linguagem; indivíduos que afetam e são afetados pela cultura na qual estão imersos (MOTA e CIURANA, 2002). Baseou-se também em estudos sistêmicos sobre a importância da rede social na saúde dos indivíduos e no desenvolvimento de um ser humano, de sua família e comunidade (SLUZKI, 1997) e, em propostas de projetos sociais. Desenvolveu-se, então, um estudo qualitativo, com análise e interpretação do conteúdo de dezessete entrevistas. Elas foram realizadas com sete profissionais que atuam em três projetos sociais e que já atuaram em mais de dez projetos: esportivos, culturais, de cidadania, de liberdade assistida, de inclusão digital e de tutoria; com cinco jovens e com cinco familiares de jovens. Foi identificada, nessas entrevistas, a necessidade de aproximar as famílias dos jovens, que participam nos projetos sociais. Esta aproximação mostrou-se importante para elas mesmas, para os jovens e para o fortalecimento de suas redes sociais; uma vez fortalecidas, estas redes podem dar suporte às famílias de menor renda, que conseqüentemente poderão ampliar a participação social implicando a redução da miséria e da desigualdade social. Porém, foram constatadas dificuldades no trabalho com as famílias por diferentes motivos, tais como: falta de verba, despreparo dos profissionais para realizar atividades em que elas estejam envolvidas e dificuldade em acessá-las, nas poucas atividades a elas direcionadas. O trabalho foi a necessidade mais apontada pelos entrevistados, o que aparece como um fator ligado à vulnerabilidade e ao sofrimento nas populações menos favorecidas do ponto de vista material