Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / On t.p.: "Magister in Opvoedkunde (Spesialiseringsonderwys)" Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

D.Phil. (Career and Life Orientation) / The study focuses on how extended families are involved on the wellness of orphans at a primary school in Masvingo City in Zimbabwe. Through an ethnographic research design, the study aimed to establish the involvement of extended families and challenges they face in rendering support and care to orphans. This study draws an intensive ethnographic research interrogative approach through observations, interviews, researcher made test and document analysis in order to establish the challenges by orphans and extended families and how these challenges may impact on orphans wellness. By using an integrative lens the researcher was mainly trying to get a better perspective of looking at the four wellness dimensions of orphans in a much broader way. An integrative framework lens namely Ubuntu, Bronfenbrenner’s bio- ecological systems theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs were mainly used to try and get a broader/better perspective of how extended families are involved in caring for orphans. Five orphans, five extended family heads, one school guidance and counselling teacher, one Social Welfare officer and one Non-governmental officer where purposively selected. The main data gathering instruments were; two researcher-made Mathematics tests, a teacher made test, a questionnaire with open-ended questions, observations and interviews. Interviews with the school guidance and counselling teacher were also conducted to establish learners’ performance, class attendance as well as homework assistance rendered to learners by their parents or guardians. An analysis of attendance trends of learners using class teachers’ registers was done. Mathematics Test were also analysed to establish the intellectual wellness of orphans. Data was analysed manually through hand coding and categorizing of ideas, which eventually formed themes to this study. The findings revealed that extended families are encountering a lot of difficulties during their involvement in caring for orphans. Difficulties included provision of physical needs, accommodation, and assistance with academic work. Moreover, the caregivers were in their seventies and too old to provide quality care. Voices of extended family heads, wished that projects like Isheanopa (The Lord provides) initiated by one school to support orphans, be extended to other schools within the city in order to alleviate the burden experienced by extended family heads.

M.A. (Social Work) / The purpose of this study was to provide a parent education course specially tailored to the needs of the houseparent in a childrens home. The course is intended for utilization as part of the normal in-service training programmes of resident staff. Existing materials from a large number of sources were assembled and reintegrated into a course suitable for this purpose. The focal point of the course is improvement of the relationship between houseparent and child with a view to enabling the child to utilize opportunities for growth towards a positive self-concept, responsibility, self-reliance and self-confidence. The subjects covered in the course are as follows: motivation for in-service training of resident staff knowledge of the self and self-awareness statutory procedures which precede placement in a childrens home maternal deprivation and its effect on the child in residential care developmental theory a theory of behaviour and misbehaviour factors in the family situation.

One of the challenges facing health care professionals today is the phenomenon of rendering care to children who have been orphaned in the AIDS pandemic. The number of AIDS orphans in South Africa has risen out of all proportion and is causing existing health and social structures to become stretched in providing care to this vulnerable population of children. The objectives of this study are to explore and to describe the lived experience of children living in a township who have become AIDS orphans and to develop broad guidelines for Primary Health Care Nurses (PHCN’s), related professionals and partners involved in the care of AIDS orphans living in a township. The theoretical grounding of this study is found in Kotze’s Theory on Nursing Accompaniment (Kotzé, 1998:3). The proposed research design was based upon a qualitative study using an explorative, descriptive, contextual and phenomenological strategy of inquiry. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews from a purposively selected sample and then analysed using the steps of qualitative data analysis proposed by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994). Guba’s model was used to assess the trustworthiness of the qualitative data. Based upon the findings, guidelines were developed to assist PHCN’s related professionals and partners involved in the care of AIDS orphans living in a township. Through this study the goal of the researcher was to give a voice to AIDS orphans living in a township and to represent accurately their lived experience.

The human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune-deficiency syndrome pandemic (HIV/AIDS) continues to increase in prevalence worldwide, particularly in South Africa. “AIDS, (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), has devastated the social and economic fabric of African societies, made orphans of a whole generation of children and become the epicentre of the HIV/AIDS pandemic” (Fassin, 2007: 76). Like the virus itself, the AIDS crisis mutates rapidly. Children who are AIDS orphans living in South Africa, as in other African countries, suffer from recurrent psychological trauma. It starts with the illness and death of their parents and is followed by cycles of poverty, malnutrition, stigma, exploitation, sickness and often sexual abuse. The figures concerning those affected, which are staggering, offer various predictions regarding the number of orphans left in the wake of the pandemic. Between 1990 and 2003, the number of orphaned children rose from fewer than 1 million to more than 12 million in sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF, 2005: 68). South Africa is severely affected by the AIDS pandemic, with the largest number of HIV infections in the world, a total of 5.7 million (RSA, 2010: 10), affecting approximately 3.2 million women and 280 000 children aged from 0 to14 years. There is a significant variation in HIV prevalence per province, with the Eastern Cape (EC) reportedly having an average prevalence rate of 28 percent. Hence South Africa is likely to be the country with highest percentage of children orphaned by AIDS within its population. Orphanhood is a major consequence of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa with an estimated 2.2 million AIDS-orphaned children, 11,188 per 100,000 by 2015. Most children who are AIDS orphans living in township communities live predominantly uncared for and unsupported. Therefore the purpose of this research study was to develop strategies to provide care and support to children who are AIDS orphans living in township communities. To achieve the purpose of this research study, a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used by the researcher to gain insight from health and social care practitioners who render care and support to children who are AIDS orphans living in these communities. The data from in-depth interviews with the health and social care practitoners was used by the researcher to develop strategies to provide care and support to children who are AIDS orphans living in township communities. The study comprised the following four phases: Phase One: During this phase, the researcher will present an overview of the current legislative framework policies at an international, national and provincial level, regarding the the rights of children living in South Africa. Phase Two: During this phase data from two research populations were collected and analysed. As the research process of this study dealt with two groups of participants, namely in group one health care practitioners and group two comprised social workers and psychologists, who work in the township communities to provide care and support to children who are AIDS orphans living in these communities. The researcher discussed each group separately in the discussion of phase two of the study. Phase Three: Comprised the themes identified in the data gathered from the transcribed in-depth interviews, the field notes as well as the reflective journals were cross-validated to ensure trustworthiness of the data which was then organised into a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework was used to clarify the relationships of the concepts and the themes identified during the research process and also used to link the gathered data to previously established models and theories (Schneider, 2004: 133). Phase Four: The last phase of the research design, focused on the development of the “Steps of progression strategies” to provide holistic care and support to children who are AIDS orphans living in township communities. This was done making use of the themes identified during data analysis and the literature sources used throughout this research process. The evaluation criteria of Chinn and Kramer (2008: 237-248) were used to evaluate the strategies. It is therefore concluded that the researcher succeeded in achieving the purpose of this study because strategies which were understandable, clear, simple, applicable and significant to nursing practice have been developed for use by the Department of Health and Department of Social Development as well as primary health and social care practitioners to provide holistic care and support to children who are AIDS orphans living in township communities in South Africa.

“We owe them fathers, and a family and loving homes they never knew because we know deep in our hearts that they are all our children too,” These are words from the musical Miss Saigon by Boubill and Schonberg as quoted by van Dyk (2005:278) which prompted the researcher’s interest in the study. According to a study by Kimane and Mturi (2000:8), a good number of AIDS orphaned adolescents have the responsibility of the care of siblings. Moreover, they are economically active, forced to earn income for their own survival or for their unemployed siblings or extended family household. They are the young people one sees in the streets of Lesotho’s principle cities, selling fruit or collecting fares in local taxis. For girls, the situation is particularly dire. While they too sell goods on the streets or some are employed as domestic workers, many find the lure of commercial sex work and the promise of cash irresistible (Kimane and Mturi, 2000:8). However, Fraser (2004:143) denotes that some children, when faced with stressful conditions, construct socially adverse situations as challenges and opportunities and access adequate amounts of available individual and environmental resources. This general frame of reference through which individuals appraise and react to events and situations in the environment is termed resiliency (Fraser, 2004:143). The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of AIDS orphaned adolescents. A qualitative approach with an exploratory-descriptive research design was employed to meet the aims of the study. The research was conducted in Thaba-Bosiu, Maseru. Purposive sampling was used to access a research sample with the assistance of a service rendering organisation in Lesotho. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with eight AIDS orphaned adolescents between the ages of 15 -18 years. Data was analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994:153) and Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991:217) was employed for data verification. It was anticipated that the study would contribute to the recommendations towards the development of more effective programmes for the AIDS orphans in Lesotho. In addition, undertaking this research was viewed as critical as it would provide the much needed scientific basis on which the Social Work professional body would be able to reflect on its AIDS orphan support strategies.

The diminishing provision of services by the state, coupled with the escalating numbers of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe, represents a crucial concern for Non-Governmental Organisations. The socio-economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe has created a vacuum for social service provision. In this gap, Non-Governmental Organisations have stepped in as alternatives playing a critical and positive role in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. Notwithstanding the generally valid critique of the imperialist role of Non-Governmental Organisations as agents of multi-lateral institutions and dominant western governments, the repressive despotism and the consequent socio-economic crisis in Zimbabwe has necessitated that Save the Children play a prominent role in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. This study builds upon fieldwork undertaken in the Marondera district in Zimbabwe. This fieldwork was conducted amongst children who have been left orphaned and vulnerable because of various reasons, and investigates the interventions of Save the Children in the lives of these orphans. Ethnographic research, encompassing three kinds of data collection methods, was used. These data collection methods are interviews, observation and documents. This, in turn, produced three kinds of data namely, quotations, descriptions, and excerpts of document on the basis of which narrative descriptions where derived. Interviews were transcribed and later analyzed through content analysis. The findings indicated that, as a consequence of the failure of the state in Zimbabwe, Save the Children has played a primary role in addressing the needs of Orphans and Vulnerable Children despite the idea that non-governmental organisations have expanded and consolidated the neoliberal hegemony, at a global level, in the name of mitigating the social and economic dimensions of Structural Adjustment Programmes (Kothari, 1993). Save the Children’s interventions for orphans and vulnerable children take many forms, including educational assistance, legal protection, HIV/AIDS mitigation programs, psychosocial support and material support. The formal and informal systems also act as safety nets for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. However, these have failed to appropriately assist the Orphans and Vulnerable Children with sustainable initiatives. The vacuum created by the Zimbabwean context has however necessitated the growing importance of the activities of Save the Children in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

Even today, many genes are without any known homolog. These "orphans" are found in all species, from Viruses to Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. For a portion of these genes, we might simply not have enough data to find homologs yet. Some of them are imported from taxonomically distant organisms via lateral transfer; others have homologs, but mutated beyond the point of recognition. However, a sizeable fraction of orphan genes is unambiguously created via "de novo" mechanisms. The study of such novel genes can contribute to our understanding of the emergence of functional novelty and the adaptation of species to new ecological niches. In this work, we first survey the field of orphan studies, and illustrate some of the common issues. Next, we analyze some of the intrinsic properties of orphans proteins, including secondary structure elements and Intrinsic Structural Disorder; specifically, we observe that in young proteins the relationship between these properties and the G+C content of their coding sequence is stronger than in older proteins. We then tackle some of the methodological problems often found in orphan studies. We find that using evolutionarily close species, and sensitive, state-of-the art homology recognition methods is instrumental to the identification of a set of orphans enriched in de novo created ones. Finally, we compare how intrinsic disorder is distributed in bacteria versus eukaryota. Eukaryotic proteins are longer and more disordered; the difference is to be attributed primarily to eukaryotic-specific domains and linker regions. In these sections of the proteins, a higher frequency of the disorder-promoting amino acid Serine can be observed in Eukaryotes. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

This study explores the experiences of young orphans who transition into extended families in Zimbabwe, focusing on the five- to ten-year-old age group. The study embraced a qualitative approach which is situated within the interpretivist paradigm. The choice of the qualitative mode of inquiry was to ensure that the researcher interacted with participants who were remarkably close to young orphans and, henceforth, gather as much reliable and pertinent data as possible. A multiple case study design was employed to investigate five extended family members and their five to ten-year-old young orphans, one social worker and two residential care centre administrators. All five extended families with young orphans lived in the Mutoko, Murewa, Mudzi and Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) districts. Data were gathered through interviews, drawings, narratives, and observations. The preference for the research methods were to necessitate a high level of trustworthiness and comprehensive data. The study established that although the government is mandated to provide services in the transitioning of young orphans into extended families in Zimbabwe, lack of resources inhibit efforts to support these children. Due to lack of funds social workers seldom follow up on young orphans. Although Zimbabwe has well stipulated national, regional and international agreements in its archives on transition, this research study had established that the strained Zimbabwean economy had a negative effect on children who transitioned into extended families. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that extended family members are inadequately prepared and trained to handle young orphans who transition into their families. Furthermore, extended families also face challenges on the scarcity of resources to support young orphans. Young orphans were further challenged by the fact that people stereotyped them because they came from residential care centres. These young orphans also faced several psychological challenges. The study concluded that both young orphans and extended families are victims of a system that does not have the resources, nor the political and social will to support the transition process. Based on these findings, the recommendations were made for the attention of the government of Zimbabwe, as well as the Department of Social Welfare, who act as executive body in implementing Government’s directives. The study therefore, upholds that extended family members should have relevant skills to enable them to appropriately deal with young orphans. The study further recommends the implementation of policies to take cognisance of the needs of young orphans who transition to extended families are taken on board, as they access appropriate services and resources to mitigate their impediments. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / pt2021 / Early Childhood Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis studies the way Indianapolis women and men from the 1820s to 1890s influenced the social development of the city through the creation and operation of benevolent institutions. Before the Civil War, Indianapolis citizens created benevolent institutions to aid individuals who could not care for themselves—specifically, individuals with physical and mental needs. When the city’s population drastically increased following the Civil War (and the emergence of railroads), Indianapolis citizens began founding benevolent organizations intended to shape certain behaviors/control specific societal problems—specifically, juvenile offenders and prostitution. A study of two Indianapolis orphanages reveals that some Indianapolis citizens established childcare institutions to care for individuals who could not care for themselves (i.e., dependent children) while other individuals created childcare institutions in attempts to control how children were raised. Founded in 1849 by white, Protestant Indianapolis women, the Widows and Orphans Friends’ Society (WOFS) subscribed to the belief that poor children should be raised away from the influence of their parents in orderly environments so they would grow into productive, contributing members of society. Established in 1870 by Quaker women, the Indianapolis Asylum for Friendless Colored Children (IAFCC) did not subscribe to this belief. Rather, African American parents used the IAFCC as a means of temporary childcare during a family crisis. The rich records left behind by the WOFS and the IAFCC allow for a study of these organizations’ founding, finances, and operations. This thesis concludes that African American parents had more agency with the Quaker-run IAFCC than white parents had with the WOFS.