本研究根據對公共關係實務工作者訪談，瞭解實務工作者認為大學公共關係本科畢業生應具備那些公關核心知識與技能，以及實務工作者對本科教育是否能達成實務專業任用標準的看法。並透過對同時在相關科系兼任授課的實務工作者深度訪談，整理這些具備公關產學雙重身份的受訪者對目前公共關係相關科系在課程目標及課程規劃安排上的看法與建議。 本研究發現，組織及商業管理知識是被較常提及的必備知識，媒體生態及議題建構的知識是所有的受訪者都會提到而且獨立強調的核心知識。研究方法、寫作技巧及語文能力則是最常被受訪者提及的重要必備技能。受訪者者也認為應該要讓學生知道公共關係有那些特定領域（「領域知識」），以及會遭遇那些溝通情境。應以各類公共關係個案情境（情境知識）來讓學生瞭解工具策略的多元性而不是生硬的學習SOP操作程序。 另外，公關本科生並未有就業優勢，但在校任教的實務工作者會更支持本科教育及人才任用。受訪者認為公關課程目標、課程基礎配套資訊以及課程銜接等相關問題都不清楚，業界老師對公共關係教育的付出並未被善用。而學生的學習地圖也並未能被做一個更好的規劃安排，學生無法掌握學習目標及學習策略。 本研究提出的建議為，1.對公關教育及課程任務與規劃應有明確的管理指標，以利教師授課、學生學習及實務業界溝通。2.應善用業界師資資源強化公關領域知識及情境知識教育。3.應鼓勵學生參與實習及實作課程並透過參與校外相關競賽瞭解教學實力。4.應務實面對科系現況補足重要核心知識課程。 關鍵詞：公共關係、公共關係教育、核心知識技能、課程目標、領域知識、情境知識 / This study aims to learn public relations professionals’ 1) perspectives on core knowledge and skills that students majoring in public relations should be equipped with; and 2) viewpoints on whether current university public relations education has been sufficient to assist public relations graduates for related job qualification. Through in-depth interviews with public professionals who currently teach public relations-related courses in universities, I probe their philosophies of teaching, perspectives on course objectives, strategies and plans of teaching. The results of the study indicate that organization theory and business administration were the frequently mentioned as essential knowledge. Meanwhile, getting to know of ever-changing media environment and ability of agenda setting among various communication contexts were essential capability that had been particularly emphasized by all interviewees. On the other hand, research methods, writing skills, and language proficiency were skills frequently addressed by interviewees. Interviewees point out the importance of advancing public relations students’ ‘domain knowledge’ as well as communication scenarios in public relations education. In other words, for the purpose of understanding the strategies and tools of public relations, ‘knowledge of contexts’ in public relations case studies, instead of knowledge of standard operating procedures of public relations practices, should be provided to students during teaching cases. This study also shows that public relations graduates have not owned advantages in competing for public relations job applications. However, professionals who also teach in universities tend to value public relations education more and favor recruiting public relations majors than those who haven’t had the experiences of teaching. Interviewees also expressed their concern of lacking of the public relations course objectives, basic course supplement information, and curriculum linkage, it is why they tend to think public relations education still have much room to improve. They stated that students will not be able to grasp the meaning of learning if they have not developed a knowledge map of public relations. In addition, public relations educators’ contributions to the learning of public relations should be better leveraged. Based on the study, the author offers the following suggestions. 1. Instructors should make teaching objectives and class management strategies clear, as well as course assignments and project arrangement logical. This will benefit lecturers in teaching, students in learning, and public relations professionals, who may serve as guest speakers in class. 2. Department should make the best use of the resources of lecturers from public relations practicum to strengthen the education of both domain and contextual knowledge in the public relations industry. 3. Department should encourage students to take the opportunities of internship programs and to compete for off-campus public relations contests so that students will have chances to reflect what they have learned in classroom. 4. Departments should provide core public relations courses based on what public relations has to offer. Key words: public relations,education,core knowledge and skills, course objectives, domain knowledge, knowledge of contexts

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the phenomenon of “consumer competition.” The overarching objective is to help researchers and marketing practitioners understand how the phenomenon is created, how consumers experience competition, and to begin to inspect its effects. Consumer competition is defined as the active processes of striving against others for the acquisition of a consumption object. To date, this phenomenon has been under-researched, despite its prevalence in many marketing and consumer-related domains. An extensive literature synthesis provides the foundation for understanding competition and competitiveness in general from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Based on the synthesis of literature and respective theory, this research contends that a scarcity effect contributes to consumer competition. It also contends that competitive situations may be purposely created by retailers, who may or may not understand its benefits and/or consequences to the people involved. This dissertation examines the phenomenon in two manners. First, an exploratory study seeks to enrich our understanding of how consumers experience competition in a retail setting. Employing the grounded theory method, researching participants engaged in a competitive shopping context offers insight into the meaning of competition, the motivation for competing, the experiential components of competing, and the outcome of participating in a competitive shopping situation. Second, an experiment tests the influence of scarcity messages on consumers’ perceptions of a competitive purchase situation and the related purchase interest. The results of the research are multi-faceted. It provides managerial insight into an effect of scarcity not yet examined: perceptions regarding the competitive nature of a purchase situation. This is an important distinction given the influence of perceptions on behavior. It also provides insight to enrich our understanding of how consumers engage in competitive shopping behavior and how they reflect on competitive situations in the retail domain.

Risk taking (RT) and self-harm (SH) are clinically, conceptually, and empiricallyrelated, yet separate constructs, which occur most frequently during adolescence. The current study utilized retrospective reports of college students to determine reported ages of engagement in RT and SH behaviors. Reported ages were compared with predictions for ages of high frequency engagement in RT based on the Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk Taking (DSMART; Steinberg, 2010). The sample consisted of 228 college students, ranging in age from 18 to 48 years (mean 22.8), who completed a survey of commonly investigated RT (12 items) and SH (18 items) behaviors. A positive correlation between the RT and SH scales supported a relationship between RT and SH, as predicted. The mean ages of engagement reported for both RT and SH behaviors were significantly higher than the ages predicted by the DSMART. However, the mean ages of engagement varied significantly by behavior grouping (RT, SH), and by subgroups within each behavior group. The NSSI subgroup of SH and the Situational subgroup of RT were noted to have the lowest mean age of high frequency engagement at the subgroup and behavior item level. A relationship between RT and SH was supported and information regarding ages of engagement in RT relative to ages of engagement in SH in the sample provided a further basis for understanding the emergence of these behaviors. The findings are discussed with regard to the DSMART and the relationship between RT and SH behaviors

Many philosophical subjects attempt to analyze the basis of human welfare. Theories of desert, distribution of property, and happiness tend to dominate philosophical discourse. Mental credit, which is the mental acquisition of credit for one’s accomplishments and the satisfaction one derives from this credit, is absent from this discourse despite its underlying role in the way people think about their lives. Mental credit is an eternal cognitive good that deserves thoughtful attention and pious decisions for implementation. The following theory of mental credit seeks to serve as a unifying theory for the mental calculations that guide life’s most imperative decisions, satisfaction, and impact one has on the world.

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-directed learning readiness in executive fire officers in relation to the independent variables of personality type, educational attainment, and professional designation. This research utilized a quantitative design. This study utilized the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) with a sample of 250 professional firefighters. The total sample was divided equally between executive-level fire officers and firefighters at 125 each from professional departments in the Southeastern United States. Results were that the mean SDLRS score for the executive-level fire officers was 233.7 and significantly higher than the means of both the firefighters (221.6) and the adult population norm (214). Overall, results also found that the frequency of representation across the eight dominant functions of the MBTI were significantly different between the executive fire officer group and both the firefighter and the MBTI male norm group. However, only extroverted-sensors had a significant difference between the executive fire officers and the firefighters and only extroverted-thinkers had significant difference between executive fire officers and the reported male norm, respectively. Similarly, the executive fire officer sample was compared to a sample of top public managers and found that there were no differences in the representativeness of the two samples. Overall, there were no substantive differences in representativeness of dominant functions between groups. Results indicated significant relationships between education, personality type, and the dependent variable SDLRS scores. The model that was developed explained 15.4% of the variability in SDLRS scores with significant positive correlations for two categories of educational attainment (undergraduate, graduate) and four categories of dominant functions of personality type (ES, EN, ET, and IN). When examining the same model exclusively for executive fire officers, the model explained 9.5% of the variability in SDLRS scores utilizing significant positive correlations for personality type for three categories of dominant function; IN, EN, and ET, respectively. Overall, the results of this study supported the theoretical construct that a high degree of self-directedness in learning was present at the executive fire officer level.

The overall purpose of this thesis is to illuminate and critically evaluate Christian theology of atonement and redemption, in order to contribute to contemporary theology of atonement and redemption. The purpose is reached through an analysis of the work of two contemporary feminist theologians; Daphne Hampson and Rita Nakashima Brock. Hampson has formulated a sharp post-Christian position. Brock has distinguished herself through her critique of the Christian concept of atonement and through her contributions to reconciliation and redemption. Both Daphne Hampson and Rita Nakashima Brock argue that Christian atonement-theology, primarily the so called objective model, is hurtful to children and victims of abuse and violence. They both argue that theological language is not innocent. At the same time, they illustrate broken relationships, sufferings, and problems they want to change, give theological interpretations of how that change is to take place and present methodologies on how to reach reconciliation between human beings and God as well as between human beings. In two steps I undertake a critical analysis of content and presuppositions in Daphne Hampson’s and Rita Nakashima Brock’s theologies of atonement and redemption. In the first step, I describe Hampson’s and Brock’s critique of Christian atonement-theology. I analyze their theological critique and theological construction in a model "from-transition-to". My critical analysis focuses especially on internal consistency. In the second part, the analysis of presuppositions, I explain basic principles upon which they shape their theology. The analysis is made up by the analytical concepts; theoretical arguments of knowledge, understandings of faith, and the position of the subject. I also analyze other essential concepts out of which gender is one. In the last chapter I present my own constructive contribution, structured by content and presuppositions. I argue that theology is both a critical and constructive discipline. In the content-response I discuss images of God, the tragic, the cross, and the hope. In the presuppositions-response I discuss the concept "space-in-between". In conclusion I propose that theology of atonement/redemption is shaped between post and Christian. I argue that space-in-between-perspectives are necessarily experimental and critical, a space on the border where marginalized voices are to be included.

Are elementary teachers self-directed learners? If so, do their learning activities outside their classrooms translate into their classrooms? The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship, if any, between elementary teachers’ self-directed learning and activities in their classrooms. A two phase, mixed methods design first utilized a quantitative study from which the results were used to denote the type of data collected in the second, qualitative phase. The quantitative Phase I of this study involved using a survey instrument in order to identify self-directed learners and identify categories of teacher learners. These quantitative data were gathered through the use of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale [SDLRS/LPA] (Guglielmino 1977) which was administered online to 100 teacher respondents. The responses to the instruments were also analyzed statistically in order to generate descriptive statistics for this population of teachers. For the teachers in this study [N=100], the mean was 240.89 with a standard deviation of 2.019. The range was 91 and the variance was 407.735. This score fell within the “above average” range which indicated the teachers had developed an above average readiness for self-directed learning and determination of their own learning needs and goals and the ability to plan and carry out their own learning (Guglielmino 2011). In Phase II, nine teachers scoring “high” and “above average” were interviewed. Results from the interviews revealed that teachers participate in self-directed learning activities which expressed their creative and professional selves. When the teachers in this study found that professional development did not meet the immediate needs of their classroom, they planned and sought additional knowledge on their own. It was found that teacher self-directed learning actually included characteristics that research has found to be essential for successfully implemented professional development that results in improved student achievement. Implications of the study for practice and further research were also discussed.

Abstract In this thesis a socio-cultural perspective of medical science education is adopted to argue the position that undergraduate medical scientists must be enculturated into the profession as knowledge workers and symbolic analysts who can interact with computers in complex analytical procedures, quality assurance and quality management. The cue for this position is taken from the transformations taking place in the pathology industry due to advances in automation, robotics and informatics. The rise of Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine (EBLM) is also noted and the observation by higher education researchers, that knowledge systems are transforming in such a way that disciplines can no longer act in isolation. They must now collaborate with disparate fields in transdisciplinary knowledge systems such as EBLM, for which new skills must be cultivated in undergraduate medical scientists. This thesis aims to describe a theoretical basis for knowledge work by taking a semiotic perspective. This is because, semiotics, a theory of signs and representations, can be applied to the structure of transdisciplinary scientific knowledge, the logic of scientific practice and the rhetoric of scientific communications. For this purpose, a semiotic framework is first derived from a wide range of semiotic theories existent in the literature. Then the application of this semiotic framework to clinical chemistry knowledge, context, logic, and rhetoric is demonstrated. This is achieved by interpreting various clinical chemistry data sources, for example, course materials, laboratory spatial arrangements, instruments, printouts, and students' practical reports, collected from a teaching laboratory situation. The results of semiotic analysis indicate that the clinical chemist working in the computerised laboratory environment performs knowledge work, and the term is synonymous with symbolic analysis. It is shown that knowledge work entails the application of a systematic structure for clinical chemistry knowledge derived in terms of the validation procedures applied to laboratory, data, results and tests; the application of logic in the classification and selection of instruments, their rulegoverned- use, and in troubleshooting errors; pragmatic decisions based on availability of space, services and budgets; discrimination among values in laboratory test evaluations in EBLM, for the cost-effectiveness and relevance of pathology services; and the recognition of rhetorical strategies used to communicate laboratory test information in graphs, charts, and statistics. The role of the laboratory context is also explained through semiotics, in terms of its spatial arrangements and designs of laboratory instruments, as a place that constrains the knowledge work experience. This contextual analysis provides insights into the oppositional trend brought to wide attention by analysts of computerised professional work, that more skills are needed, but that there are fewer highly skilled positions available. The curriculum implications of these findings are considered in terms of the need to cultivate knowledge workers for highly complex symbolic analysis in computerised laboratories; and also the need to prepare medical science graduates for the transdisciplinary knowledge system of EBLM, and related venues of employment such as biomedical research and clinical medicine. In meeting the aims to define and demonstrate knowledge work from the semiotic perspective, this thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by the application of semiotics to a field in which it has probably never been tested. It contributes to the scholarship of teaching in higher education by formulating a structure for transdisciplinary medical science knowledge, which integrates scientific with other forms of knowledge, and with real world practice.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier l’effet d’un entraînement explicite de la conscience phonémique (CP) en anglais L2 et les apports potentiels du tableau blanc interactif (TBI) comme instrument permettant de réaliser cet entraînement avec des apprenants de CE1. A partir des travaux de pédagogues tels que Borel-Maisonny et Caleb Gattegno, nous avons conçu des aides multimodales qui sont à la fois visuelles, sonores et kinesthésiques. Les couleurs de l’approche Gattegno ont été reprises pour créer des cartes de couleur auxquelles nous avons joint une représentation sonore du phonème. La carte sonore est également manipulable sur le TBI. En ce sens, la manipulation sur TBI pourrait aider la manipulation mentale des éléments. Les représentations des phonèmes constituent des représentations externes multimodales intégrées (REMI). Ces REMI ont été intégrées à un dispositif d’apprentissage permettant de valider les hypothèses de recherche. Il s’agissait non seulement d’évaluer l’efficacité de tâches explicites de conscience phonémique dans le cadre de l’apprentissage de l’anglais, mais également d’évaluer l’efficacité de l’utilisation du TBI pour réaliser les tâches de conscience phonémique. Ces hypothèses de recherche ont été testées à l’aide de trois groupes d’apprenants : deux groupes expérimentaux et un groupe contrôle. Un groupe a effectué des tâches explicites de conscience phonémique avec les REMI sur TBI (groupe ConsPhonoTBI), un groupe a effectué ces mêmes tâches de manière classique, c’est-à-dire mentalement sans aide multimodale (groupe ConsPhono), tandis que le groupe contrôle a fait des activités de vocabulaire anglais. La comparaison du groupe contrôle avec le groupe ConsPhono permet de déterminer l’effet d’un entraînement explicite de la conscience phonémique, tandis que la comparaison du groupe ConsPhono avec le groupe ConsPhonoTBI permet de déterminer l’effet des aides multimodales et de leur utilisation sur TBI dans le cadre de cet entraînement explicite. Cette recherche a pour objet une intervention dans le domaine du travail puisque les enseignants et les apprenants sont considérés comme étant en situation de travail. Cette recherche s’inscrit alors dans le cadre de l’ergonomie cognitive. En l’occurrence, la quasi-expérimentation a été menée en 2011-2012 auprès d’apprenants issus de classes de CE1 situées dans l’Isère. Dans la méthodologie de recherche mixte adoptée, les données qualitatives et quantitatives ont été triangulées et permettent d’obtenir des résultats ayant une validité interne. L’étude indique que le travail explicite de la conscience phonémique a un effet sur le niveau atteint dans ce domaine et que l’utilisation des REMI sur TBI permet d’atteindre un meilleur niveau dans le même laps de temps. Par ailleurs, cette étude indique que l’utilisation du TBI pour mener cet entraînement explicite permet à des enseignants non-spécialistes en langue de se décentrer pour réguler l’activité, de proposer une prononciation correcte aux élèves, renforçant ainsi le sentiment d’auto-efficacité au sens de Bandura (2003). En outre, le TBI favorise les échanges entre les apprenants au niveau du groupe classe et permet une découverte collective des phonèmes anglais. / This thesis seeks to study the effect of an explicit training of phonemic awareness (PA) in English L2 and the possible contribution of an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) as a tool to carry such a training with 7-8 year old learners (in CE1 in France). Based on the work of some educators like Borel-Maisonny and Caleb Gattegno, we created some multimodal materials which are visual, sound and kinesthetic. We used the colors from Gattegno’s approach to create cards to which we attached the sound representation of each phoneme. These cards could also be moved on the IWB. Hence, the manipulation done on the IWB might help the mental manipulation that the learner should normally do mentally. The full representation for each phoneme is an external multimodal integrated representation (EMIR). These EMIR were used among a learning scenario which aimed to test research hypotheses. First of all, the aim was to know whether explicit tasks of phonemic awareness were useful or not. Then, the aim was to check the effect, in any, of the IWB in such a learning scenario concerning phonemic awareness. These research hypotheses have been tested thanks to three groups: two experimental groups and one control group. One group carried out the activities of phonemic awareness with EMIR on an IWB (PA-IWB group), one group carried out the same activities but on a traditional way, that-is-to-say mentally with any multimodal help (PA group) while the control group carried out some activities based on vocabulary. By comparing the control group with the PA group, we found out the effect, if any, of the explicit training of phonemic awareness and, by comparing the PA group with the PA-IWB group, we found out the effect, if any, of the multimodal tools used on the IWB. This research aims to take action in the field of ergonomics since teachers and learners are considered as being at work. This research fits into the field of cognitive ergonomics. Here, the quasi-experimentation was carried out during the school year 2011-2012 with 7-8 year old learners from Isère, France. Using a mixed research method, we triangulated qualitative data with quantitative data in order to get the most accurate results with an internal validity. This study shows that an explicit training of phonemic awareness (PA) has an effect on the level that learners can reach in PA and that the use of EMIR on an IWB allows learners to get an even better level in the same amount of time. Besides, it also appears that the use of the IWB for this kind of training helps the teacher when s/he is not a specialist in the target language. S/he can step aside, regulate the work and provide the correct pronunciation, which helps her/him reinforcing her/his feeling of self-efficacy as defined by Bandura (2003). Finally, the IWB urges the learners on interacting as a whole group and so discovering the English phonemes all together.

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar as oportunidades de estimulação motora em quatro diferentes contextos (Ambiente familiar, Escolas de Educação Infantil/creches, Instituições/abrigos e um Presídio) (artigo 1), descrever o desenvolvimento motor e social das crianças no quatro contextos (artigos 2 e 3) e verificar a associação entre as oportunidades de estimulação presentes nos contextos com o desenvolvimento motor de crianças no primeiro ano de vida (artigo 4). A amostra desta pesquisa foi de 89 crianças com idades entre 0 e 12 meses incompletos (25 crianças no ambiente familiar, 26 crianças nas creches, 23 crianças nos abrigos e 15 crianças no presídio). Os instrumentos utilizados na coleta de dados foram: 1) Affordances in the Home Environment Motor Development (AHEMD-SR); 2) Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS); 3) Questionários estruturados com questões referentes a caracterização das mães, educadoras/cuidadores e responsáveis legais das crianças. Os resultados apresentados no artigo 1, dos quatro contextos de desenvolvimento infantil avaliados, a creche foi o ambiente que ofereceu mais oportunidades para o desenvolvimento conforme avaliado pelo instrumento em todos os quesitos apresentados pelo instrumento e também na quantidade de itens de cada quesito, em relação aos demais contextos avaliados. Em relação ao artigo 2, que avaliou o desenvolvimento motor das crianças nos quatro contextos de desenvolvimento, foi possível verificar que a prevalência de atraso no desenvolvimento motor da amostra estudada foi no ambiente das creches, onde 39% das crianças apresentaram atrasos, seguidas das crianças dos abrigos (30%). As crianças avaliadas no ambiente familiar e no presídio apresentaram maiores percentuais na classificação de normalidade no desenvolvimento motor sendo 48% das crianças do ambiente familiar e 47% do presídio. Em relação ao artigo 3, em que avaliou o perfil social das crianças, foi possivel constatar que as crianças que as mães estiveram presentes (ambiente familiar e presídio) e com quem permaneciam a maior parte do tempo obtiveram melhores desempenhos nas áreas motora e social, quando comparados com crianças que permaneciam em ambientes coletivos na maior parte do dia (creches) ou o dia todo (abrigos). E no artigo 4, foi verificada que houveram poucas associações entre os contextos de desenvolvimento e as variáveis avaliadas pelo AHEMD-SR. O ambiente familiar foi o local que apresentou mais associações entre o desenvolvimento motor e as oportunidades de estimulação motora, e foi o local onde as crianças obtiveram melhor classificação relacionada ao desempenho motor. Conclui-se que os contextos de desenvolvimento (Ambiente familiar e Presídio) em que as relações da criança com um adulto sensível (no caso as mães), capazes de reconhecer as necessidades das crianças e responder a elas adequadamente, constituiram o ambiente mais favorável para o para o desenvolvimento. Questiona-se a adequação das creches e abrigos como ambientes de desenvolvimento, por causa dos possíveis riscos para as crianças, determinados pela incapacidade de prover os tipos de cuidados requeridos para crianças, em especial no primeiro ano de vida. / The purpose of this study was to verify motor stimulation opportunities in four different contexts (Family environment, Child Educational School, Shelters and a Prison) (article 1), to describe motor and social development of children in each context (articles 2 and 3) and to verify association between stimulation opportunities found in the contexts and motor development of children at their first year of life (article 4). The sample of this research was composed of 89 children aging between 0 and 12 incomplete months (25 children in a family environment, 26 children in child educational schools, 23 children in shelters and 15 children in a prison). The instruments used to collect the information were: 1) Affordances in the Home Environment Motor Development (AHEMD); 2) Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS); 3) Structured questionnaires with questions regarding to mothers, educators/child care providers and legal responsible adults of the children. In article number 1, the results showed that from the four evaluated contexts of child development, the child educational school was the one that offered more opportunities to development as assessed by the instrument in all categories showed by the instrument and also the items quantity in each category, regarding to the other evaluated contexts.Regarding to article number 2, that evaluated motor development in children in four different development contexts, it was possible to verify that motor development delay prevalence in the studied sample was found in the child educational schools, where 39% of the children showed delays, followed by children in shelters (30%). Children evaluated in family environment and in the prison showed higher percentage in classification of normality in motor development, 48% of the children in family environment and 47% in the prison. Regarding to article number 3, that evaluated social profile of children, it was possible to detect that children whose mothers were close (family environment and prison) and who spent a lot of time with them had better performance regarding to motor e social development, when compared to children who remained in common environments most of the day (child school) or the whole day (shelters). In article number 4 it was verified that there were few associations between development contexts and variables assessed by the AHMED-SR. Family environment was the place that showed more associations between motor development and motor stimulation opportunities, and it was the place where children had a better classification related to motor development. It’s possible to conclude that development contexts (Family environment and Prison) where there was a relationship between the child and a sensible adult (in this case the mothers), who was capable of recognizing the child’s needs and answer them appropriately, were environments more suitable to development. Making child schools and shelters environments more appropriate for child development is something questionable, because of possible risks to children, determined by incapability of providing required care and attention to children, especially in their first year of life. / El objetivo de este estudio fue verificar las oportunidades de estimulación motora en cuatro contextos diferentes (Ambiente familiar, Guarderías/Escuelas de Educación Infantil, Instituciones de Albergue y Presídio) (artículo 1), describir el desarrollo motor y social de niños en cuatro contextos (artículos 2 y 3) y verificar la asosociación entre las oportunidades de estimulación presentes en los contextos con el desarrollo motor de niños en el primer año de vida (artículo 4). La muestra de esta pesquisa fue de 89 niños con edades entre 0 e 12 meses incompletos (25 niños en el ambiente familiar, 26 niños en guarderías, 23 niños en albergues y 15 niños en presídio). Los instrumentos utilizados en el levantamiento de datos fueron: 1) Affordances in the Home Environment Motor Development (AHEMD); 2) Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS); 3) Cuestionarios estructurados con cuestiones referentes a la caracterización de las madres, educadoras/cuidadores y responsables legales de niños. Los resultados presentados en el artículo 1, de los cuatro contextos de desarrollo infantil evaluados, la guardería fue el ambiente que ofereció más oportunidades para el desarrollo conforme lo evaluado por el instrumento en todas las cuestiones presentadas por el instrumento y también en la cantidad de itens de cada cuestión, en relación a los demás contextos evaluados. En relación al artículo 2, que avaluó el desarrollo motor de niños en los cuatro contextos de desarrollo, fue posíble verificar que la prevalencia de atraso en el desarrollo motor de la muestra estudiada fue en el ambiente de las guarderías, donde 39% de los niños presentaron atrasos, seguidos de los niños de los albergues (30 %). Los niños evaluados en el ambiente familiar y en el presídio presentaron mayores percentuales en la clasificación de normalidad en el desarrollo motor siendo 48% de los niños del ambiente familiar y 47% del presídio. En relación con el artículo 3, en que se evaluó el perfil social de los niños, fue posible constatar que los niños que las madres estubieron presentes (ambiente familiar y presídio) y con quien permanecían la mayor parte del tiempo obtuvieron mejores desempeños en las áreas motora y social, cuando comparados con niños que permanecían en ambientes colectivos en la mayor parte del día (guarderías) o todo el día (abrigos). Y en el artículo 4, fue verificado que hubieron pocas asociaciones entre los contextos de desarrollo y las variables evaluadas por el AHEMD-SR. El ambiente familiar fue el local que presentó más asociaciones entre el desarrollo y las oportunidades de estimulación motora, y fue el local donde los niños obtuvieron mejor clasificación relacionada al desarrollo motor. Se concluye que los contextos de desarrollo (Ambiente familiar y Presídio) en que las relaciones del niño con un adulto sensible (en este caso de las madres), capaces de reconocer las necesidades de los niños y responder a ellas adecuadamente, constituyeron el ambiente más favorable para el desarrollo. Se cuestiona la adecuación de las guarderías y los albergues como ambientes de desarrollo, por causa de los posibles riesgos para los niños, determinados por la incapacidad de proveer los tipos de cuidados requeridos para niños, en especial en el primer año de vida.