Nobody can live without oxygen. What happens when you have a chronic disorder that prevents the oxygen from reaching your lungs? This condition is called asthma and affects millions of people. Symptoms might be from a wheezing to a severe asthma attack with airways obstruction. It is difficult, above all for children, to accept a condition that might unexpectedly come anytime.   The Super-air inhaler is thought as a Super Hero, the worship the child has for the Hero will make the child feel strong and he will not feel ashamed of using it when having an attack. The inhaler has also been designed to make it easy for the child to take his medicine during the day and at night time too.

Different stimuli have been used for doing philosophy with children (P4C/PwC), either specially designed for this reason, such as Matthew Lipman's novels or not, such as picture-books and works of art. Nevertheless, there is a gap in justifying philosophically the role of stimuli with in the context of the theory and practice of a philosophical community of inquiry. This gap is the subject of my conceptual research which aims at constructing a theory of what a stimulus is and its particular role within a philosophical inquiry. In this thesis, philosophy is viewed as a way of life that contains both, generative and evaluative aspects and it is explored how it links with the epistemological presuppositions of philosophy with children. The nature of the stimulus is explained in a more pragmatic framework and it is fully distinguished from behavioristical use. It is argued that a stimulus is suitable for doing philosophy with children if the engagement of individuals with it generates catalepsy (a sense of grasping) and moments of epiphany, that can lead to Eros for further inquiry. It is claimed that this is possible when the narrative structure of the stimuli matches with the narrative understanding of the individual when engaging with the stimulus. Zymotic thinking, a new term introduced in this thesis which refers to a mixture of critical, creative and emotional thinking that matures through a fermentative process in time is a way to explain how stimuli are linked with philosophy as a way of life with generative and evaluative aspects. Consequences of zymotic thinking such as mapping of individuals' experiences, activating self-corrective thinking and adopting diatheses of openness and alertness are introduced as ways that explain how stimuli are linked with philosophy are also used to explain the connection between the stimuli and philosophy. The philosophical points of this thesis are illustrated and supported further by: a) empirical examples of philosophical inquiries with children and adults, b) the reflective analysis of existing stimuli for doing philosophy with children and stimuli that came from children's experiences, and c) the offering of a sample of the author's stories that could be used as stimuli for doing philosophy with children.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att skapa en programteori för stödprogrammet Kids’ Club och presentera denna i en enkel logisk modell. Studiens frågeställningar är: Vad är det stödprogrammet, i manualerna och tidigare studier, sägs behandla? Vilka antaganden vilar stödprogrammet på? Vad i stödprogrammet är det som sägs bidra till förändring? Vilka är de förväntade resultaten och effekterna av stödprogrammet? För att besvara frågorna och uppfylla studiens syfte har det empiriska materialet i form av tidigare studier och manualer för programmet analyserats utifrån en kvalitativ textanalytisk ansats. Resultatet visar att programmet utgår från traumateori och social inlärningsteori och syftar till att behandla många olika symtom. Stödprogrammet skall leda till att barnen får sociala färdigheter och lär sig lösa konflikter utan våld. De barn som medverkar i stödprogrammets gruppträffar ska också få minskad psykisk ohälsa och minskade beteendeproblem. I diskussionen lyfts frågor kring den begränsade tid programmet pågår samt riskerna med att sätta samman stödgrupper där barnen har vitt skilda problembilder. Slutligen ges rekommendationer för praktiskt socialt arbete kring vad som är viktigt att reflektera över, både avseende tid och gruppsammansättning.

El presente proyecto fue elaborado debido a que identificamos un problema grave en los estudiantes de primaria. Los resultados de la última Evaluación Censal de Estudiantes (ECE) llevada a cabo a fines del 2018 no fueron nada alentadores, ya que la mitad de niños de primaria no comprendía lo que leía. Fabu Kids es una plataforma web que promueve el hábito de lectura en niños y jóvenes a través de recursos didácticos, divertidos y personalizados para hacer del proceso de lectura una experiencia única. De esta manera, crear en ellos un gusto por la lectura a través de pruebas que no resulten tediosas o aburridas, sino que le ofrezcan un momento de diversión que a su vez les deje una lección. El canal que usaremos es un aplicativo móvil fácil de usar, este servicio incluirá niveles de dificultad de acuerdo con la edad de los niños y su avance las lecturas. Además, conforme van superando los niveles, la experiencia se convertirá de forma sutil de algo más cercano a un juego a una pequeña librería personal para el usuario, con cada vez menos dinámicas visuales pero una mayor calidad y profundidad en las lecturas que impulse en cierta medida la preferencia del usuario de los medios escritos sobre los audiovisuales. La principal fuente de ingreso será la suscripción del servicio Premium de Fabu Kids, que otorgará mayor contenido a los usuarios y vales en centros de entretenimiento.

This thesis explores how Dual Income No Kids (DINK) couples within the United States approach family planning. The study is based on ethnographic work I carried out over the course of 2011, including a nationwide survey and in-depth interviews I conducted in Atlanta, Georgia, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Denver Colorado. Specifically, I was interested in investigating why these couples were “delaying” having children based on the national average. While current literature points to changes in education, healthcare, and societal values as being the catalyst for the DINK movement, I wanted to understand Americans’ childbearing decisions on a more personal level. Through this project I looked at how both the social goals (parent and peer role models) and personal pressures (prioritization of education, career and marital partnership) influence an individual’s decision about whether and when to have children. As such, I also explore themes of identity, life narrative, and choice in regards to family planning. Whereas the popular stereotype of DINK suggests that these couples are uninterested in family or “family values”, my research shows that many couples actually choose to be DINK for a time because they are actively pursuing and preparing for parenthood.

Children are constantly exposed to many chemicals via the products they come in contactwith in their everyday life. One chemical group is phthalates, the most commonly usedplasticisers in the world. Phthalates are used mainly in PVC plastic products like floors, toys,food containers and wallpaper but they are also used in rubber, glue, paint, cables etc. Sincethese chemicals are weakly chemically bound to the PVC they can leak and migrate to the air,food, water and skin. Children are exposed to phthalates mainly through food, but because ofthe hand to mouth behaviour they are also exposed via dust inhalation and dust ingestion.About ten years ago regulations of the most toxic phthalates in toys and child care productswere implemented in the EU and from February 2015 it is a general prohibition for the use ofDEHP (diethylhexyl phthalate), DnBP (di-n-butyl phthalate), DiBP (diisobutyl phthalate) andBBzP (butyl benzyl phthalate). DiNP (diisononyl phthalate) is a relatively new phthalate andit has replaced DEHP to some extent in floors and toys. In phthalate free products DINCH(1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester) is one of the plasticizer replacingphthalates. The banned phthalates have been shown to cause adverse effects on reproductionand recent research also investigates links between phthalate exposure and asthma and allergysymptoms in children. More experimental animal studies are needed to further investigate theasthma and allergy correlation. In the present project dust samples were collected from 30 preschool indoor environments inthe Stockholm city area to evaluate the levels of the six substances mentioned and thephthalate DEP (diethyl phthalate). The main aim of this thesis project was to search forrelations and links between the phthalate concentrations in dust and parameters from theindoor environment in preschools. Studied parameters are e.g. construction year, floor type,cleaning routines and quantity of toys and furniture made of plastic or foam. The project wascommissioned by the Swedish EPA and performed at the Institute of Environmental Medicine(IMM) at Karolinska Institutet. A negative relation was found between dust phthalate (DEHP and DnBP) concentrationand construction year. Also rooms with old PVC floors had higher concentrations of DEHPand DnBP in dust than rooms with new PVC floors. There was also a trend that dust frompreschools with PVC floors had higher DiNP concentration than dust from preschools withother floor types. The preschools that used foam mattresses for resting had higher DiNPconcentrations than those with no foam mattresses. Most preschools had new foammattresses, which could indicate a more common use of DiNP in new mattresses or mattress2covers compared to old mattresses that contains more DEHP. The four Waldorf preschoolsthat participated had lower DiNP dust concentrations than the other preschools, which wasexpected since Waldorf orientation includes using as little plastic material as possible. Norelation was found between the phthalate dust concentrations and the quantity of toys made ofsoft plastic in the sampled area. Many preschools had made a plastic inventory where they removed old and soft plastic toysand material. Also many preschools recently replaced old foam mattresses used for resting.This could be due to the big chemical focus in the media and authorities and the brochuresthat have been sent out the last couple of years about what preschool can do to decrease thechemical exposure of children. This interest and awareness seen in the preschools waspositive and hopefully the trend spreads to more preschools. Since children spend a big part oftheir time at preschools it is an important mission for society and the government to decreasethe exposure to hazardous chemicals there. Hopefully what has been done so far is just thebeginning.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life for patients treated at Give Kids a Smile. Methods: Participants were asked to complete a 25-question survey regarding their child’s oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), with answers ranked on a 0 to 4 point scale. Results: A total of 78 questionnaires were completed, with the mean score of 5.19. Conclusions: Give Kids a Smile was created to treat children with unmet oral healthcare needs, therefore it was hypothesized that the OHRQoL for the children treated would be negatively impacted and thus this score high. This was not demonstrated in the current study and these findings could be due to a variety of factors, including relying on the parent to report the child’s symptoms as well as low oral health literacy for parents completing the questionnaires.

Childhood is a critical time point in determining adult health. Healthy habits that are formed during childhood can not only prevent medical conditions and illnesses in adulthood, but also allow a child to learn, grow, and become a healthy adult. The importance of healthy childhood habits has been discussed in U.S. Health Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2020 initiative and numerous scientific studies regarding the importance of promoting child health and physical activity at an early age to ensure that these habits continue into adulthood. The purpose of this retrospective, qualitative study is to analyze the effectiveness of CYCLE Kids, a school-based bicycling and nutrition curriculum, in promoting physical activity and healthy behaviors in children. The CYCLE Kids program is implemented as eight physical education classes for students in the fourth and fifth grade. It was evaluated using self-reported pre- and post- curriculum assessments to determine if students showed measurable behavioral changes or knowledge gains. The assessments also contained open-ended questions to further understand the students' point of view on what they were learning and what they enjoyed most. For the evaluation, the assessment questions were divided into bicycle skills and safety, bicycling frequency and physical activity, and nutrition and physical fitness. The study sample included 1,575 children ages 8-12 years (mean 10.2 years) from public schools in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. The demographics of the students were 30% Caucasian, 16% Latino, 19% African American, 10% Asian, and 2% American Indian or Alaskan Native. Teachers and police officers involved in the implementation of the CYCLE Kids program were also surveyed to ascertain perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum, and to discern the perceived benefits of participating in the program. A total of 15 teachers responded to the survey (60%) from partner schools in eight states across the United States where the CYCLE Kids curriculum is being taught. Results from the student assessments indicate that students showed the most knowledge gain in bicycle and safety skills, with a 39% increase in the proportion of students who reported knowing how to use hand signals when riding a bicycle by program completion. This trend remained prominent in students' post-assessment open-ended responses where bicycle skills and safety made up more than three-quarters (78%) of the responses to the two most important things learned in the program. Bicycling frequency and physical activity showed moderate increases; an increase by 4% (from 76% at baseline to 80% after the unit) in the proportion of students who own a bicycle at home, an increase by 7% (from 39% to 46%) in the proportion of student who rode their bikes weekly, and an increase by 10% increase (from 68% to 78%) in the proportion of students who were exercising and playing sports more often. In the nutrition and physical fitness category, children showed only minor improvement with the greatest gains in this category for knowing how to take their heart rate and wanting to learn more about healthy eating. Teachers perceived that the CYCLE Kids program increased a student's self-confidence, helped students overcome fears, and got students excited about riding a bicycle. Additionally, all but one teacher who participated in the survey reported perceived behavioral changes in their students. Teachers also noted several implementation obstacles to the curriculum delivery including not having enough classroom time to fully teach the lessons, the difficulty of doing textbook lessons in the gymnasium, and the logistics of moving the bicycles from storage to riding areas. Overall, the student and teacher feedback indicated that the CYCLE Kids program increases bicycle knowledge and safety skills in addition to increasing self-confidence of participants. Teaching children to safely and properly ride a bike develops a life skill that they can carry far into the future. However, it is unclear if participation in the CYCLE Kids program prompts students to be more physically active. A long-term study analyzing students' behaviors and physical activity levels several years after program participating in the program is warranted. Ongoing work will revise several of the CYCLE Kids curriculum components and address implementation logistics uncovered by this evaluation.

Flera olika studier visar att det finns brister i de insatser som kommunerna erbjuder barn som upplever våld, detta trots att regeringen skärpt lagstiftningen för målgruppen. Några kommuner i Sverige har börjat använda en ny metod, Kids club, som specifikt är utformad för gruppen barn som upplevt våld. Vårt syfte med uppsatsen är att genom att undersöka motiven till att kommuner vill implementera en ny metod för barn som upplevt våld, Kids club, förstå vilken form av motivation som ligger till grund för denna vilja. Uppsatsen har en kvalitativ ansats, där vi genom att genomföra intervjuer med representanter från olika kommuner skapar förståelse för motiven bakom implementering av Kids club. De slutsatser vi fann i uppsatsen är att det finns två teman bakom motiven, dels enskilda personers motiv samt kommunen som organisations motiv. Där enskilda personers motiv till att vilja implementera en ny metod grundar sig i mer inre motivation än kommunen som organisations motiv, där deras vilja grundar sig i yttre motiv. Detta är något som vi kan utläsa har ett samband med makt då andra aktörers maktutövning påverkar kommunerna i deras val att implementera Kids club. / Several studies show that there are deficiencies in the efforts municipalities offer children who experience violence, despite the fact that the government clarified legislation for this target group. Some municipalities in Sweden have started using a new method specifically designed for the group of children who have experienced violence, Kids club. Our purpose in this study is that by examining the motives for municipalities to implement a new method for children who have experienced violence, Kids club, understand what form of motivation that underlies this desire. This thesis has a qualitative approach, and by conducting interviews with representatives from various municipalities we create an understanding of the motives behind the implementation of the Kids club. The conclusions we found in this study was that there are two themes behind the motives, individual’s motives and municipal organizational motives. Where the individual’s motives for wanting to implement a new method is based on the more intrinsic motivation than the motives that the municipality as an organization have, where their motivation is based on an extrinsic subject. Here we can discern a connection with the power perspective, where the extrinsic motives are associated with power when the external motives are influences of other actor’s domination.

This thesis explores how Dual Income No Kids (DINK) couples within the United States approach family planning. The study is based on ethnographic work I carried out over the course of 2011, including a nationwide survey and in-depth interviews I conducted in Atlanta, Georgia, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Denver Colorado. Specifically, I was interested in investigating why these couples were “delaying” having children based on the national average. While current literature points to changes in education, healthcare, and societal values as being the catalyst for the DINK movement, I wanted to understand Americans’ childbearing decisions on a more personal level. Through this project I looked at how both the social goals (parent and peer role models) and personal pressures (prioritization of education, career and marital partnership) influence an individual’s decision about whether and when to have children. As such, I also explore themes of identity, life narrative, and choice in regards to family planning. Whereas the popular stereotype of DINK suggests that these couples are uninterested in family or “family values”, my research shows that many couples actually choose to be DINK for a time because they are actively pursuing and preparing for parenthood.