published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Also available in print.

The social problem under investigation is that of widespread poverty amongst households comprising minor chidren and a lone parent, whether this household has arisen due to a birth outside a stable union, separation, divorce or widowhood. The scale and features of this poverty are identified with reference to demographic data from Canada and the United Kingdom. Possible policies for reform are identified through a thorough review of literature from the Commonwealth and the United States. Special attention is paid to empirical investigations and the relationship between public and private support of single parent families. Whilst none of the four hypothetical reforms proposed - a system of insurance, rigorous enforcement of court orders, constraining judicial discretion, expanded rights to public support - is unconditionally accepted, only insurance is rejected as offering nothing of value. The conclusion is that the non-custodial parent's responsibility for his or her children must continue to be emphasised but that public resources should be expended with a view to assisting the single parent to obtain, enforce and periodically vary orders in favour of the children. For the single parent himself or herself, the aim must be to reverse the current process of marginalisation within society and this independence can best be achieved by reforms of the labour market rather than by reforms of the legal process. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

張亦農. / 論文(神學碩士) -- 香港中文大學硏究院宗敎及神學學部, 1997. / 參考文獻: leaves 71-74. / Zhang Yinong. / Chapter 第一章 --- 緒論 --- p.1 / Chapter 第二章 --- 香港的單親家庭 --- p.5 / Chapter 第三章 --- 牧養個案探討 --- p.30 / Chapter 第四章 --- 家庭 --- p.49 / Chapter 第五章 --- 單親家庭的牧養 --- p.59 / 參考書目 --- p.70 / 附件

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This thesis focuses on the description of the child maintenance policy design in regard to adult students from single-parent families. The thesis sets a goal of describing various approaches to policy design, defining the policy design used in the Czech Republic and identifying the difficulties in policy design for young adults. The issue is viewed through the lens of public policy theory of policy design and also through the perspective of life cycle and emerging adulthood. To fulfill the research goals, I used a combination of desk research and qualitative data gathering from semistructured interviews with young adult students from single-parent families, who had the experience of not receiving child maintenance. The thesis presents several problems, which young adult students face and points out the shortcomings of the current policy design with regards to their target group. The thesis focuses on the effects of child maintenance non-payment, which affects both the financial position and the relationships of a family. In addition to that it describes the strategies affected young adults use to cope with the child maintenance non-payment.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the current study was to investigate factors that help single-parent families cope with the news that a family member has been diagnosed with HIV. The theoretical model that underpinned the study is the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation of McCubbin and McCubbin (1996). A salutogenic perspective offers a view of human suffering that moves away from pathology to focus on factors that support successful coping, hence the focus of the current study on resilience. A cross-sectional survey research design was used, incorporating a combination method inclusive of both a qualitative and quantitative component. A total of 109 families, represented by an adult and a child, answered a qualitative question about what they considered to have helped them cope, and completing a biographical questionnaire and five questionnaires based on the theoretical model. Analyses included the Grounded Theory Method, a qualitative analysis method of Strauss and Corbin (1994; 1998), Pearson correlations and ANOVAs (for a categorical independent variable – employment status) to compute the significance of correlations between a dependent variable and a number of independent variables, and regression analysis. The results of the qualitative investigation revealed that families considered internal strength (or hardiness), social supports, communication, a sense of hope, using denial (both positive and negative behaviours to get on with life despite the presence of hardship), changing or reframing thoughts about the stressor, and material support to have been helpful. The quantitative results supported the qualitative results and showed that family hardiness (working together, viewing stressors as challenges and having a belief in own coping abilities), the availability of social support, supportive communication, use of reframing, accepting help from others and spiritual support all contributed to families functioning well under adverse conditions. It was also shown that inflaming types of communication, such as fighting and doing nothing about a crisis situation, negatively influenced the family functioning. It was interesting to note that family size had a significant, positive correlation with the parents’ views of family functioning, and that the higher the children’s level of education, the lower they rated their family functioning to be. Recommendations for further studies include a focus on resilience in various family types, a focus on families successfully coping with HIV diagnoses in their families, and the development of intervention programmes, inclusive of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die huidige studie was om ondersoek in te stel na faktore wat enkelouer gesinne met ‘n MIV-gediagnoseerde gesinslid ondersteun het. Die studie is teoreties gebou op McCubbin en McCubbin (1996) se Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation. Salutogenese bied ‘n siening of waardering van die manier waarop mense terugslae hanteer wat weg beweeg van die tradisionele fokus op patologie om te fokus op faktore wat suksesvolle aanpassing ondersteun ten spyte van die teenwoordigheid van genoemde krisis. Hierdie benadering bepaal dus die fokus op veerkragtigheid of gesinsveerkragtigheid wat hierdie studie rig. ’n Deursnee- steekproefontwerp is vir die navorsing gebruik en het ‘n kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe komponent ingesluit. ‘n Totaal van 109 gesinne is bestudeer, elk deur een volwassene en een kind verteenwoordig. Die deelnemers het ‘n kwalitatiewe vraag beantwoord oor wat hulle as ondersteunend ten opsigte van hulle eie krisishantering beskou het, en het ook ‘n biografiese vraelys en vyf vraelyste wat verskillende aspekte van die teoretiese model gemeet het, voltooi. Die deelnemers se response is ontleed deur middel van Strauss en Corbin (1994; 1998) se Grounded Theory Method vir die kwalitatiewe komponent; Pearson se korrelasies en ANOVA’s (ten opsigte van ‘n katogoriese onafhanklike veranderlike – werkstatus) is gebruik om die korrelasies tussen die afhanklike en ‘n aantal onafhanklike veranderlikes te bereken en regressie-ontledings is gedoen. Die kwalitatiewe resultate het aangedui dat die volgende faktore deur die gesinne beskou is as ondersteunend van hulle vermoë om krisisse te hanteer: innerlike sterkte, sosiale ondersteuning, kommunikasie, ‘n gevoel van hoop, die gebruik van ontkenning (beide positiewe en negatiewe gedrag om met die lewe aan te gaan ten spyte van die swaarkry), verandering van of herbesinning oor die stressor, en materiële ondersteuning. Die kwantitatiewe bevindinge het die kwalitatiewe resultate ondersteun en getoon dat gesinsgehardheid (saamwerk, beskouing van stressors as uitdagings en ‘n vertroue in eie vermoëns), die beskikbaarheid van sosiale ondersteuning, ondersteunende kommunikasie, die gebruik van herbesinning, aanvaarding van hulp van ander en geestelike ondersteuning almal gehelp het om die gesin onder ongunstige toestande goed te laat funksioneer. Daar is ook gevind dat opruiende soorte kommunikasie, soos baklei en niks oor ‘n krisissituasie te doen nie, ‘n negatiewe invloed op gesinsfunksionering gehad het. Dit was interessant om te vind dat gesinsgrootte positief met die ouers se beskouing van gesinsfunksionering gekorreleer het, terwyl ‘n hoër vlak van opvoeding onder die kinders gekorreleer het met ‘n laer skatting van gesinsfunksionering. Aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing sluit in ‘n fokus op gesinsveerkragtigheid in verskillende gesinstipes, ‘n fokus op gesinne wat ‘n MIV-diagnose in die gesin suksesvol hanteer, en die ontwikkeling van ingrypingsprogramme gebaseer op die beginsels van Kognitiewe Gedragsterapie en Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Thesis (MSc (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Family resilience focuses on the salutegenic properties of families and refers to the ability of families to return to normal family functioning after experiencing adversity. The primary aim of this study was to identify factors that contribute to resilience in poor single parent families.