Abstract Background: There has been minimal research conducted on the unique experiences of Black youth who transition out of the child welfare system, and as well as the factors that contribute to their success or failure to accessing housing. Purpose: The purpose of study is to explore the needs and experiences of Black youth using Critical Race theory, BlackCrit and Social Capital theory to better understand their experience accessing safe, affordable housing within the Greater Toronto Area after transitioning out of child welfare. Methods: Five Black youth were recruited using site sampling and snow-ball sampling to participate in an arts-based and narrative study. The data was then analyzed in a constant comparative method. Findings: The findings from this study suggest the following things: The emotional roller coaster of being in care, the importance of community and sense of family, youth voices in decision-making process, unpreparedness for independent living, the unawareness of housing options, youth definition of good housing, more resources are needed prior to departure of child welfare. Implications and Recommendations for Change: In light of the findings in this study, a number of recommendations are proposed for improving outcomes for Black youth leaving care and their access to housing. Below is a summary of recommendations: A. To focus on building and providing genuine relationships through a caring adult and permanency for Black youth in care B. Centralize and value the voices of Black youth in care throughout their post-care planning, policy development and research C. To address and respond to the unique experiences that Black youth with disabilities face within the housing market when preparing them for independence outside of the CWS D. To apply a Housing first Youth approach It is my hope that this information will be used to support policy changes and program development in child welfare and the rental housing market that can result in more successful outcomes for Black youth. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

I denna studie är syftet att skapa en förståelse kring vad som utmärker socialsekreterarnas eftervårdsarbete med ungdomar placerade på särskilda ungdomshem. Studien använder sig av semistrukturerade intervjuer som datasamlingsmetod där socialsekreterarna delat med sig av sina erfarenheter och kunskaper. Utifrån intervjuerna har det i analysen gått att urskilja tre teman som beskriver vad som utmärker socialsekreterares eftervårdsarbete. Dessa teman är: Bibehålla ungdomarnas utveckling, Motstånd i eftervården och Förväntningar på ungdomarnas framtid. De olika insatserna som socialsekreterarna lämnar samt de framgångar och motgångar de har erfarenheter av i eftervården har tolkats utifrån resilience och gräsrotsbyråkrati. Med stöd av dessa teoretiska utgångspunkter framkommer områdena boende, sysselsättning, behandling och socialt nätverk, som socialsekreterarna anser främjar ungdomarnas chans att klara sig efter avslutad placering. I studien framkommer även att socialsekreterarna upplever motstånd från ungdomarna och på vilket sätt de bemöter detta. Studien belyser även att socialsekreterarna arbetar med att integrera ungdomarna i det övriga samhället och vilka förväntningar de uppfattar de kan ställa på dessa ungdomar. / In this study the aim is to create an understanding of what characterizes social workers measures in leaving care for young people in secure units. The study uses semi-structured interviews as a qualitative data collection method where social workers shared their experiences of working with leaving care for young people in secure units. Based on the interviews, our analysis found three themes that describe what characterize social workers’ work. The themes are: Maintain young people’s achievements, Resistance in leaving care and Expectations for young people’s future. What kind of measures the social workers provided along with what they experienced benefited or hindered their work has been analyzed on the basis of resilience and street-level bureaucracy. With the support of these theoretical perspectives housing, employment, treatment and social network was found to be a part of the social workers’ measures to promote young people’s chances for an independent living. It was also found that social workers experiences resistance from young people and how they worked with these setbacks. The study also highlights how the social workers’ strived to integrate young people back into society.

Residential childcare has had an image which, at the very least, is not a positive one. It has been blamed for weakening family links and leading to poor educational and health outcomes for children (Biehal et al. 1995; Mendes and Moslehuddin 2004; Stein 2002). However, children and young people enter residential care institutions for a variety of reasons, and by examining the experiences of children and young people in Bangladesh, we can see that residential childcare has the potential to offer a positive option for many disadvantaged children and young people. UNICEF estimates that there are more than 49,000 children in residential care in Bangladesh (UNICEF 2008), but this figure fails to include thousands of children who live in madrasahs. There is neither a uniform childcare policy nor formal aftercare support provision in Bangladesh; instead, the government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and madrasahs all have their own approaches and methods and there has been no research conducted on young people in and after care. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of residential care from the perspectives of a group of young people who had lived in residential childcare institutions in Bangladesh with a view to making improvements in residential childcare in the future. Qualitative methods were employed for data collection, using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 33 young people (aged between 12 and 26) who had left the care system and observation of the four institutions where they had lived: one run by an NGO, two run by the government and one madrasah run by the religious community. All of the fieldwork was conducted and transcribed in Bangla. The findings of this study show that young people had mixed feelings about their lives in care, preparation for leaving care, and aftercare support; moreover, their experiences were diverse. Overall, most said that they had benefited from being in care and the institution had had a largely positive impact on their lives. However, the experience for those who had been evicted was much less favourable; these young people suffered a range of hardships after leaving care. The findings also show that there was a connection between the in-care experience and the success of a young person in the outside world. The type of institution, its culture, systems and practices, the amount of care received and socio-cultural-religious influences all played a part. The research further indicated that although some young people developed a measure of resilience to face the problems of their everyday lives, they were not fully able to overcome them due to societal discrimination. Those who did best where those who had developed positive attachments with at least one trusted adult, who acted as a mentor and strengthened their commitment and self-motivation. The findings demonstrate that aftercare support varied from institution to institution, but overall, was informal in nature. The study concludes by setting out implications for building better residential childcare policy and practice in Bangladesh. It identifies a number of avenues for further research, suggesting that lessons for the minority world may be learned from this study, namely the notion that the whole community should take responsibility for its children; and attention should be paid to faith and religious beliefs in children’s upbringing. The study has also demonstrated that improving financial resources may not necessarily lead to better outcomes from children and young people. Instead, building relationships with adults, peer groups, parents, and community offer the best chance for good outcomes.

Halogenation of poly(isobutylene-co-isoprene) (IIR) increases its reactivity towards sulphur and other nucleophiles. Currently brominated (BIIR) and chlorinated (CIIR) derivatives are commercially available; however, an iodinated derivative has been briefly investigated. The effects of leaving group ability and microstructure on the reactivity of halogenated poly(isobutylene-co-isoprene) were studied to put iodobutyl rubber reactivity into context and to compare existing commercial products to their isomeric derivatives. Polymers containing halomethyl (r-CIIR, r-BIIR, r-IIIR) isomers of butyl rubber were prepared from as-received BIIR to compare the effect of leaving group on thermal stability and reactivity towards nucleophilic substitution. The polymer containing (E,Z)-endo-iodomethyl isomers (r-IIIR) readily underwent nucleophilic substitution at low temperatures; however, it was sensitive towards dehydrohalogenation at temperatures above 65⁰C. At temperatures between 100⁰C and 135⁰C, the bromomethyl derivative (r-BIIR) demonstrated the best balance between reactivity toward nucleophilic substitution and dehydrohalogenation. Exceptional thermal stability at temperatures up to 190⁰C was displayed by the chloromethyl derivative (r-CIIR); however, it was unreactive at low temperatures towards certain nucleophiles. This lack of reactivity shown by r-CIIR was not consistent with all nucleophiles, as reaction dynamics with TBAAc display its variable reactivity towards nucleophilic substitution with results parallel to those of r-BIIR. Exo-methylene allylic halides (Exo-Br, Exo-Cl) and (E,Z)-endo-halomethyl (r-BIIR, r-CIIR) isomers were vulcanized with sulphur to determine the effect of microstructure on reactivity. Results showed a clear effect of microstructure on the ability to cure with sulphur. While the Exo-Cl isomer has no ability to cure, when rearranged to its (E,Z)-endo-chloromethyl isomer curing occurs readily. Both the Exo-Cl and (E,Z)-endo-bromomethyl isomers readily vulcanize in the presence of sulphur, however Exo-Br cures to a greater extent. / Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-30 12:55:25.665

This small-scale study explored plans for four young people leaving care and the perspectives of twelve key adults supporting them. Using Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis, the rationale for this research was concern about the difference in outcomes between care leavers and young people in general. Aims were to explore if contradictions in plans and ideas contributed to problems for the young people, and to examine explanations and justifications made by the adult participants. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews from an opportunistic sample. Findings indicated that the established problem of young people having to leave care too early persists in spite of initiatives to prevent this happening. Theories drawn from the psychology of child development influence the professionals’ constructions of the young people, thereby limiting the responses which adults can offer. It is proposed that neoliberal discourses of individual responsibility and continuous self-improvement constrain systems which encourage young people to leave care before they are ready. Two concepts of chop (abrupt change, such as end of school phase) and churn (disruption, such as staff turnover) are used to examine how frequent disturbance in the life of a looked after child is exacerbated by points of rupture which are caused by the structures of children’s services. This study adds to calls for increased stability for young people, and recommends earlier planning for the future of young people in care. Implications for educational practice are presented, including the need to ensure that leaving mainstream education for segregated provision is not an irreversible decision. It is suggested that educators should consider critically the labelling of looked after children as having Special Educational Needs, as this can lead to practices which encourage compliance by young people, and pathologise resistance which could instead be re-framed as self-reliance.

Title: The Positive Impact of the State School Leaving Exam on ELT Methodology. The Influence of Testing Writing on Teaching English at Czech Secondary Schools. Author: Eva Píšová Department: Department of English language and ELT Methodology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Lucie Betáková, MA, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis deals with the topic of testing writing in the context of the state school-leaving exam in English language. The research assesses the impact of clearly specified standards on teaching English to Czech secondary school students, and thus focuses on the field which no systematic investigation has dealt with. The research concentrates on specific subskills assessed within distinctive criteria, analyses the relationships between them and estimates their complexity regarding both student success and teaching challenges. Three major research strategies were used: (1) a quantitative analysis of the large-scale data, (2) a small-scale pedagogical experiment and (3) a survey. To examine the relationship between various subskills of language ability we analysed test score data from the school- leaving exams in the years 2014-2017. Data from secondary vocational schools students were mainly used, as the level of these students' language skills should correspond the most...

This diploma thesis focuses on the reading literacy and its problematics in the textbooks and workbooks for highschool students. The aim of the thesis is to find out whether the textbooks and workbooks contain exercises concerning this area and also if they contain exercises similar to these at the Graduation Exam. At first, the concepts literacy, functional literacy and reading literacy are defined. The components of the reading literacy are characterized as well as the influencing factors, especially the school environment. The influence of the schoolbooks is defined as well. Secondarily, the thesis includes two analysis. The first relates to the representation of the reading literacy in the test at the Graduation Exam 2016. The second focuses on the number of this type of exercises in the selected school books and workbooks for highschool students. Key words : reading literacy, graduation test, school books, high school

The thesis, as the title suggests, is devoted to education in Geography. More specifically, the work analyzes teaching Geography at Prague grammar schools. The work objective is to assess the effects of the ongoing curriculum amendments on teaching Geography and to assess, analyze and review: a) The differences in the approach towards education in Geography at individual Prague high schools. b) The ideas of Geography teachers themselves on how much time should be devoted to particular geographical topics or topics otherwise related to Geography. Next, the work assesses the homogeneity of opinions in this respect. It also studies the homogeneity of particular Geography theme plans at individual schools also with respect to the planned change in school leaving exams. The work is based on a critical assessment of expert materials concerning the school reform. The empirical part itself is grounded in survey results and the assessment of directed interviews with 11 respondents, who are Geography teachers at 9 Prague grammar schools.

Men's violence against women in couple relationships is a global growing social problem that occurs in all countries regardless of religion, social class or social and economic conditions. The United Nations (UN) is constructing men's violence against women as a global pandemic that is constantly on the rise, and as the most widespread and socially accepted violation of human rights. Violence maintains individual positions of power and is thus a violation of women's human rights.The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how women exposed to violence describe their experiences of violence in hetrosexual relationships, and whether the normalization of violence affects a woman's decision to leave a violent relationship. The study was based on the documentary series Våldsam kärlek",(”Violent love”) which depicts the subjective experiences of violence by four women exposed to violence. Theories about the gender power perspective, the normalization process and the breakup process were applied in the study for a deeper understanding for the subject. The results from the study show that men's violence against women involves physical, psychological and sexual violence, where violence escalates gradually. The results from the study show that the most common reason for domestic violence against women is due to manly power imbalance between men and women in society, but also because the woman normalizes violence in everyday life, which makes the breakup from the relationship more difficult.

This thesis studies the factors that make international students from non-EU countries move to Hungary for their studies, what their experience in the host society was and how this experience affected their decisions about their post-graduation plans. Using qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews, this research seeks to analyze the different factors that either pull these students to stay in Hungary or relocate to a different country or factors that push these students to return home. These factors are divided into three main groups: professional, personal and social factors. Overall, the results reveal that professional factors play the biggest role in either pulling students to stay in the host country or relocate onwards, while these factors were never mentioned as an incentive to return home. Personal and social factors, on the other hand, affected people differently, as some of the personal or social factors made one stay, while the same factors made others leave.