This phenomenological qualitative study explored the parenting role of nonresidential fathers of children living in shelters. Special attention was paid to the perceived contributions of these fathers to the overall health and general well-being of their children residing in shelters. Often separations of nonresidential fathers from their children in shelters decreased their contributions to their children's health and well-being. Increased knowledge of these parental roles and contributions can enhance programs and policies to support these fathers in improving the health and well-being of their children. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 demographically diverse nonresidential fathers living in Philadelphia. The health-belief model, in conjunction with the revised health-belief model, was used as a theoretical framework for this study. The research questions were designed to explore nonresidential fathers' parenting roles, perceptions of their contributions, and the facilitators of and barriers to their parenting while their children resided in shelters. An inductive approach to data analysis informed study findings of nonresidential fathers' active participation and engagement in their children's lives, including involvement in their healthcare and health promotion. Perceived facilitators to their parenting role included internal and external motivators, whereas perceived challenges and barriers to their parenting role were externally based. Finally, study findings showed these fathers to be present and making significant contributions to the improved health and overall well-being of their children while they resided in homeless shelters.

As urban areas expand, agricultural lands become increasingly important habitat for many species. Compared to some types of agricultural land-use, ranchlands provide vast expanses of minimally modified habitat that support many threatened and endangered species. Conservation biologists can promote ecologically sound management approaches by quantifying the effects of agricultural practices on resident species. I examined the effects of pasture management, cattle grazing, and landscape characteristics on both adult and larval treefrogs in a ranchland in south-central Florida. I experimentally determined optimal deployment of artificial treefrog shelters constructed of polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipe to efficiently sample adult treefrogs (Chapter 1). Seventy-two shelters were hung on oak trees (Quercus virginiana) and cabbage palm trees (Sabal palmetto) with smooth trunks or boots (residual palm fronds), at all possible combinations of three heights (2, 3, and 4 m), four compass directions (N, S, E, and W) and two water levels (with or without 10 cm). Shelter residence was completely dominated by the Squirrel Treefrog, Hyla squirella (N = 65). Significantly fewer H. squirella were found in shelters on palms with boots than on smooth palms or oak trees (0.29 ± 0.21 [mean ± 1 SE hereinafter] versus 1.3 ± 0.21 and 1.1 ± 0.21, respectively), and shelters with water had slightly more H. squirella than those without (1.5 ± 0.19 versus 0.88 ± 0.19, respectively). Orientation and height did not affect the number of treefrogs encountered; thus, the optimal protocol is to deploy shelters on either smooth palms or oak trees, with water, at 2 m height for easy sampling, and in random compass orientations. I used this protocol to sample H. squirella in woodlots surrounding twelve wetlands and examined how time, frog stage and sex, and landscape features influenced treefrog survival, recapture and site fidelity (Chapter 2). I deployed 15 shelters/ha of woodlot within a 100 m buffer around each wetland. I sampled shelters three times during the fall breeding season, removed all shelters to force frogs to overwinter in natural refugia, and replaced shelters for the final spring sampling. During sampling periods, I sexed, measured, and individually marked each frog using visual implant elastomer (VIE) tags. I used Program MARK to build linear models that included either gender group (female, male or juvenile) or life history stage (adult, juvenile) and either time (sampling interval 1, 2, or 3) or season (fall, spring). I used the most informative model as a null model to assess effects of landscape covariates on survival and recapture. Females had higher survival than either males or juveniles, for which estimates were similar (0.867 vs 0.741 and 0.783, respectively). Survival did not vary over time, although there was some support for an effect of season, with lower survival during the final over-wintering period than in the fall intervals (relative variable importance: group = 0.730; stage = 0.134; time = 0.200; season = 0.310). Adults had higher recapture rates than juveniles (average recapture 0.214 vs 0.102), and recapture for both stages varied over time, with highest recapture in sampling interval two (relative variable importance: group = 0.262; stage = 0.514; time = 0.513; season = 0.229). Hyla squirella was extremely site loyal; no individuals moved between sampling sites, and 95% of recaptured individuals were in their original shelter. Strong terrestrial site fidelity calls into question the traditional "ponds as patches" metapopulation view of treefrog population dynamics. Area of woodlot within 250 m was the most important landscape variable in explaining additional variation in both survival and recapture. Frogs had higher survival and lower recapture in larger woodlots, indicating that intact, contiguous woodlots are higher quality habitat than more fragmented woodlots. Neither survival nor recapture varied with wetland grazing treatments or between pasture types. Finally, I experimentally assessed the effects of cattle grazing and pasture management on larval H. squirella. I selected four wetlands: two in semi-natural pastures (SN) and two in intensively managed pastures (IM). One wetland in each pasture type was fenced so that it was released from cattle grazing (R). I collected three clutches of H. squirella eggs (Clutches A, B, and C) and reared tadpoles in the laboratory until Gosner stage 25. In each wetland, I deployed a total of 50 tadpoles from each clutch into 105 L pens constructed of plastic laundry baskets and mesh window screening. Clutch significantly affected tadpole survival, with Clutch A having the highest percent survival, followed by Clutch B and finally Clutch C (41.66, 32.11 - 53.95 [mean, 95% confidence limits hereinafter]; 9.00, 6.76 - 11.88; 2.89, 2.02 - 4.01, respectively). Wetland type also affected survival, with SN wetlands supporting significantly higher survival than IM wetlands (SN-R: 53.95, 32.88 - 88.13; SN-G: 18.95, 11.30 - 31.36 vs IM-R: 7.32, 4.13 - 12.49; IM-G: 1.09, 0.29 - 2.39). Genetic variation in survival confirms the potential for H. squirella to adapt to rangeland management, but extremely low survival of some clutches indicates that few clutches may be able to survive in low quality wetlands, such as IM-G wetlands. Higher survival in SN pasture wetlands suggest this is a superior habitat and future management objectives should conserve semi-natural pastures and limit further modification of intensively managed pastures, including removing woodlots near wetlands.

No description available.

A shortcoming in the literature is the lack of information and research into how refugee children from Africa experience life in South Africa and what their degree of exposure to xenophobia is, from South Africans. This motivated the researcher to investigate the extent of xenophobia towards refugee children living in Shelters in Cape Town. A survey of refugee children was done by means of a questionnaire that assessed the forms of xenophobia and who it was that discriminated against refugee children because of their foreignness. The results of the study showed that refugee children do experience xenophobia, in various forms from different sectors of South African society. Although some of it is violent in nature, it is mostly prejudice and xenophobic comments that the children are exposed to. This research provided a baseline for more extensive research into this phenomenon. / Social Work / M.A. Diac.(Play Therapy)

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Women as a group hold little power in the social system which increases women's vulnerability to domestic violence. According to Merton (1970), social problems may be revealed through the disaster recovery process. A coraHunity1s organizational response to social problems such as wife abuse depends upon organizational members' perceptions. The data suggest that organizational perceptions of domestic violence largely depend upon the setting or environment in which an organization exists and operates. A second factor that greatly determines an organization's perception of domestic violence after disaster is organizational type. Organizations which provide services to domestic violence victims pre-disaster are more likely to perceive domestic violence following disaster than organizations which do not provide domestic violence related services prior to disaster.

The transit shelter, the space where riders make the transition from open space to more controlled buses and trains, is in many cases the site of a public-private transaction. Here, government agencies contract private companies to build and maintain shelters in exchange for governmental allowance of advertising in these locations. This dual purpose—the shelter serves concurrently as protection for transit users and as a moneymaker—means the space is contested, with economic and social needs often at odds. Bus shelter advertising contracts (BSACs), increasingly operated by large corporations, have resulted in widespread networks of bus shelters; observing these renders processes of globalization—generally not visible at the street level—more legible. Drawing from case studies of Lyon, France, and Los Angeles and New Orleans, United States, this thesis describes successes and failures both in the implementation of bus shelter contracts and in the provision of public amenities via shelters.

[pt] No dia 07/04/2010, devido a fortes chuvas na cidade do Rio de Janeiro e municípios vizinhos, o Morro do Bumba, um lixão desativado e urbanizado pelo Estado, localizado no município de Niterói, estado do Rio de Janeiro, desmoronou, arrastando mais de 50 barracos. Foram cerca de 67 mortos (40 homens e 27 mulheres) e mais de mil desabrigados. Em virtude das dificuldades de moradia muitas famílias foram alojadas em abrigos provisórios considerados inadequados para se viver, com esgoto a céu aberto, instalações precárias e banheiros sem condições higiênicas de uso, à espera de uma política pública de habitação que lhes garantisse o direito à uma moradia digna. Entendemos que um Estado Democrático de Direito deve ser regido por normas democráticas e pelo respeito das autoridades públicas aos direitos e garantias fundamentais, entre eles o direito à moradia. Toda essa tragédia, assim como as dificuldades experimentadas pelas vítimas evidencia o descaso da Administração Pública com a população menos favorecida. O direito à moradia não foi efetivamente garantido seja nos abrigos que, após mais de dois anos da tragédia não podem ser considerados provisórios, seja com a efetiva entrega de unidades habitacionais que não suprem o número de desabrigados em razão da tragédia. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo a análise do processo de busca pela garantia do direito à moradia das vítimas do Morro do Bumba, procurando identificar as ações do Poder Público para a efetivação desse direito. Para tanto, analisamos o percurso dessa população que passou pelos abrigos provisórios até a entrega de dois empreendimentos habitacionais, pelo Governo do Estado, que não atenderam à demanda por moradia dessa Comunidade. / [en] On April 4th 2010, heavy rainfall hit the city of Rio de Janeiro and the surrounding region. Morro do Bumba, a hill in the city of Niterói, located in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, collapsed bringing down more than 50 homes, causing the death of 67 (40 males and 27 females) and leaving more than 1000 people unsheltered and homeless. Due to difficulties in offering adequate accommodations to the victims of this disaster, many of them were allocated in temporary shelters unsuitable for adequate housing. Minimum sanitary conditions were not met at these provisional shelters, with precarious installations including open sewers. The victims were imposed these precarious conditions while eagerly awaiting a public habitational policy warranting their right to an adequate housing condition. We understand that a Democratic State of Right should be directed by democratic norms and the public authorities’ respect to the fundamental rights, including amongst these the right to adequate housing. All this tragedy, as well as the difficulties experienced by the victims, outlines the public administration´s negligence in the city of Niteroi with the lower income population. The right to habitation has not been effectively warranted, considering shelters - that more than two years after the tragedy - may not be considered as provisory, and the public authorities’ efforts to offer housing units that does not comply with the number of victims left unhoused by the tragedy. The present work aims to discuss the process to guarantee the housing right to the victims of the disaster in Morro do Bumba, looking to outline the public authorities actions to effectively warrant this right. For this, we analyzed the arduous route faced by this victim population through the provisional shelters up to the conveyance of two habitational enterprises by the States’ Government, which did not comply to this communities’ housing demands.

Infant mental health in South Africa has been receiving more attention in recent years. Mothers appear to be the main caregivers of infants but they face many psychosocial, economic and cultural challenges. There exists very little evidence suggesting that mothers living in shelters or institutions have access to the necessary support and education to help them to understand their circumstances and how this may impact on the attachment with their infant. The New Beginnings Programme, as an early intervention model, is aimed at improving attachment between mother and infant so as to reduce the potential risk of mental health problems later in life for the infants, the mothers and future generations. This evidence based intervention focuses on the mother and her capacity for mentalisation, which refers to the mother’s capacity to hold her infant in mind and recognise and respond to the inner states of the infant. The pilot study of the New Beginnings Programme within a South African context took place in two shelters in the Greater Johannesburg area. This particular study formed part of this bigger research effort. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the mothers who attended the New Beginnings programme. A secondary aim was to explore these mothers’ experiences of the programme within the context of living in a shelter. The adaptation of this programme to a South African context could contribute significantly to bridging the gap in mother-infant attachment which could influence the future mental health of the infant and their ability to foster ongoing healthy attachments later in life. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and a narrative analysis from the theoretical perspective of psychoanalytic attachment theory. Thirteen mothers from two shelters participated in this research study.

Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar o desenvolvimento psíquico de gêmeos abrigados no decorrer do primeiro ano de vida. Foram separados ao nascer, tendo como histórico inicial de vida, para um, a ausência do contato materno logo após o nascimento, tendo permanecido hospitalizado até os oito meses de vida e seguido para o abrigamento; e para o outro, a descontinuidade do contato materno e familiar aos dez meses de vida, seguido pelo abrigamento. No desenvolvimento deste estudo, os gêmeos estavam com cinco anos de idade, ainda abrigados, na mesma instituição e próximos da adoção. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, do tipo estudo de caso, embasada pelo método psicanalítico, à luz dos pensamentos de D. W. Winnicott. Por meio do diagnóstico psicológico do tipo compreensivo e interventivo, com o emprego das técnicas projetivas hora de jogo e procedimento de desenhos-estórias, buscou-se a compreensão da vida intrapsíquica dos gêmeos. Instrumentos auxiliares como o estudo documental do histórico familiar, como também entrevistas realizadas no abrigo, colaboraram para o alcance de uma visão totalizadora dos casos. A partir da análise dos dados, observaram-se marcantes divergências do funcionamento psíquico dos gêmeos: aquele institucionalizado desde o nascimento apresenta maior interação ambiental e facilita o emprego de intervenções, diante de angústias depressivas emergentes, mostra comportamentos regressivos; o outro separado do lar aos dez meses, diante de angústias despertadas, utiliza-se de mecanismos defensivos de negação e evitação, cujas intervenções, por muitas vezes, são evitadas de modo a afastar a quebra do sistema defensivo operante. Quanto ao sistema defensivo, o primeiro apresenta comportamentos regressivos e fragilidade frente ao ambiente, além de dissociações entre movimentos regressivos e evoluídos; o segundo, mostra comportamentos agressivos e oposicionistas frente a limites e regras, como recursos para domínio e controle ambiental e agressões e violência nas relações, desencadeando dificuldades de interação com o ambiente, permanecendo isolado. Além dos aspectos clínicos observados, é possível conjeturar sobre a influência de aspectos psicopatológicos institucionais, especialmente quanto à clivagem dos gêmeos. Esta pesquisa também permitiu vislumbrar que prejuízos ao desenvolvimento também se desencadeiam de lares vitimizadores e não só de contextos institucionais; e que o processo de adoção deve ser mais bem estruturado, a fim de minimizar estados ansiógenos decorrentes, que observamos nos gêmeos, bem como a devolução da criança ao abrigo após sua adoção, como ocorreu com o segundo gêmeo. Dessa forma, concluiu-se que as crianças, mesmo em situação de abrigamento, apresentam aspectos saudáveis propulsores para a saúde e podem aproveitar experiências boas do ambiente, além de apresentarem capacidade para amar e estabelecer relações afetivas; por isso o contexto institucional merece assistência, principalmente psicológica, a fim de favorecer o ambiente e o desenvolvimento das crianças abrigadas. / This essay is aimed at investigating the psychic development of twins institutionalized since before one year of age. Parted at birth, one child is sent to a hospital where it stays for eight months before is sent to an institution. The child undergoes the absence of the early motherly contact. As for the other child, there is the early motherly contact and from the family, however, discontinued. At ten months of age, the child is then sent to the institution. The study is set up when the twins are five years old, and are still inmates at the same institution, and are on the verge of being adopted. This research is qualitative - a case study – grounded on the psychoanalytic method - according to D.W. Winnicott’s lights. By using comprehensive and intervening psychological diagnosis, as well as projective techniques such as Hour Game and the Drawing-stories procedure, it aims at understanding the intra-psychic life of the twins. Additional tools such as the documented study of the family history, along with the interviews carried out at the shelter, contribute to a thorough view of the cases. As data analysis is performed, expressive differences in the functioning psychic of the twins come to light: on the one hand, the child sent to the institution only just after birth shows more interaction with the environment, when confronted with emerging depressive anguish shows regressive behaviour. Also, the child makes it easy for the implementation of interventions. On the other hand, the child parted from its home at ten months of age reacts otherwise. This, when confronted by desperate anguish, utilises defence mechanisms such as negation and avoidance, whose interventions are, in most cases, avoided in order to maintain the ongoing defensive system. When it comes down to the defence system, of the two twins, the first shows regressive behaviour and fragility –as it faces the environment and dissociation in regressive and evolved movements. The second twin shows aggressive behaviour and opposition to limits and regulations as means of controlling the environment followed by aggression and violence in the relationships leading into difficulty in interacting and isolation from the environment. In addition to the clinical aspects, the influence of the psychopathological institutional aspects might also be pondered, such as the split-off the twins. The research, too, permits visualising what damages to the development come from oppressive homes and not only from institutional contexts, and that the adopting process should be thought over, and restructured in order to soothe the state of anxiety, as is observed in the twins during adoption, or the sending back to shelter of the second child, after its adoption. Thus, we conclude that even children under shelter can show healthy aspects, in that the children will benefit from the good experiences of the environment, and be able to love and hold affective relations. For this reason, the institutional context should be given assistance, principally psychological assistance, and then offers the children under shelter an appropriate environment which favours their development.