In contemporary Japan, approximately 85 per cent of children in alternative care are placed in large institutions. This contrasts with global discourse, encapsulated in the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, and with practice in most OECD countries, which use foster care more extensively. Explanations for Japan's outlier status often focus on a homogenous national culture, yet there is significant regional variation between local authorities in how policy is implemented, most readily visible in the percentage of children in foster care. The title of this dissertation points to the three original contributions to knowledge of this work. The first is the rich ethnographic description of the child guidance centres and the decision-making process by which a child is removed from the family and placed into care. The second contribution is the explanation of regional variation in policy implementation. This is explained with reference to regional variation in resources, in norms, on the goals of care, the functions of different types of care, and the threshold until which a child is seen as being suitable for foster care, and in the organisational cultures of the child guidance centres. The final contribution to knowledge is the construction of the family-bond, between child and 'parent'. This is understood as singular and discrete, that is, that a child can only have one family-bond at any moment in time. Where foster care is constructed as anything other than professional or semi-professional care in a family setting it is seen as a threat to the child's family-bond with their natal parent. This dissertation argues that current attempts to increase the use of foster care by national and local authorities are likely to have limited impact unless they take this construction of the family-bond into account and focus on redefining the function of foster care.

The status of women on the labour market and motherhood The main objective of this thesis is to analyse the position of women in the labour market in selected countries representing different models of family policy. The analysed countries are the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. As first step, there are introduced conditions for the reconciliation of work and family life in selected countries and in the context of legislative of European Union. As second step, there are analyzed the level of fertility and the position of women in the labour market. There are also examined impacts of reconciliation of work and family not only on reducing the impact of parenthood on women's employment, but also on the level of fertility. The last part of this thesis deals with the evaluation of the respondent's opinions from International Social Survey Programme 2012 by average scores and binary logistic regression. Topics of analysed questions are the employment of mothers with young children and the division of roles in the family. The results confirmed that in countries with better conditions for the reconciliation of work and family there are smaller impacts of parenthood on women's employment also there are higher fertility rates. In the Czech Republic, there are most...

CAPES / A presente tese trata da expatriação de profissionais qualificados, chamados de executivos/as globais. Naturalizada pela sociedade, a prática da expatriação promove alterações significativas no modo de trabalhar e de viver destes profissionais, transbordando para a vida de seus cônjuges e filhos. Como objetivo geral pretendeu-se identificar a influência das vivências de expatriação na atuação profissional e pessoal do executivo e da executiva global e de seus cônjuges. A pesquisa empírica, realizada no Brasil e na França buscou demonstrar, no contexto da globalização, como os/as executivos/as globais concebem e administram a imbricação entre o trabalho e a família no processo da expatriação. A pesquisa baseou-se em uma abordagem qualitativa, de natureza interpretativista, visando resgatar o universo simbólico das representações, dos significados, da subjetividade e intencionalidade dos sujeitos da pesquisa. Para ancorar a interpretação do conjunto de dados coletados foi utilizado um aporte teórico transdisciplinar, de cunho crítico, envolvendo a antropologia, a sociologia, a economia e a filosofia. Foi possível constatar uma expressiva diferença entre o discurso das empresas transnacionais sobre a expatriação e a realidade daqueles que a vivenciam – os/as executivos/as, seus cônjuges e filhos, o que revelou lacunas, tanto na preparação quanto no acompanhamento dos profissionais na expatriação. A mobilidade internacional requerida dos/as executivos/as globais pelas empresas transnacionais é ancorada pelo suporte oferecido pela família, resultando, entre outras consequências, em rupturas nas carreiras profissionais dos cônjuges. A expatriação oferece oportunidades de carreira e ganhos materiais, mas promove simultaneamente um comprometimento da saúde física e psíquica da família e das relações de conjugalidade e parentalidade. Constatou-se que a reduzida intensidade das trocas culturais no ambiente de trabalho e na vida social na expatriação, é tributária de uma concepção instrumental reducionista, presente nos programas de gestão de mobilidade internacional de empresas transnacionais. / The present thesis deals with the expatriation of qualified professionals, called global executives. Taken for granted by society, the practice of expatriation promotes significant changes in the way to work and living of these professionals, overflowing to the life of their spouses and children. The main objective of this thesis is to identify the influence of the expatriation experiences on the professional and personal actuation of the global executives and their spouses. The empirical survey conducted in Brazil and France demonstrates how global executives conceive and manage the imbrications between work and family during the expatriation process. The research was based on a qualitative approach, of hermeneutic nature, aiming to rescue the symbolic universe of the representations, meanings, subjectivity and willfulness of the subjects of this study. The interpretation of the collected data set was anchored on a transdisciplinary theoretical approach, involving anthropology, sociology, economy and philosophy. It was possible to note a significant difference between the discourse of the transnational companies on expatriation and the reality of those who experienced it - the global executives and their families, which revealed gaps, both in preparation and in the monitoring of the professionals in expatriation. The required international mobility of global executives is anchored by the support offered by their families, resulting, among other consequences, in ruptures in the professional career of actives spouses. While expatriation offers career opportunities and wealth, it also compromises the physical and psychical health of the family and the relations of conjugality and parenting of these professionals. It was noted that the reduced intensity of cultural exchanges in the workplace and in social life during the expatriation is considered as the result of a reductionist instrumental conception, present in the management programs of the transnational companies.

CAPES / A presente tese trata da expatriação de profissionais qualificados, chamados de executivos/as globais. Naturalizada pela sociedade, a prática da expatriação promove alterações significativas no modo de trabalhar e de viver destes profissionais, transbordando para a vida de seus cônjuges e filhos. Como objetivo geral pretendeu-se identificar a influência das vivências de expatriação na atuação profissional e pessoal do executivo e da executiva global e de seus cônjuges. A pesquisa empírica, realizada no Brasil e na França buscou demonstrar, no contexto da globalização, como os/as executivos/as globais concebem e administram a imbricação entre o trabalho e a família no processo da expatriação. A pesquisa baseou-se em uma abordagem qualitativa, de natureza interpretativista, visando resgatar o universo simbólico das representações, dos significados, da subjetividade e intencionalidade dos sujeitos da pesquisa. Para ancorar a interpretação do conjunto de dados coletados foi utilizado um aporte teórico transdisciplinar, de cunho crítico, envolvendo a antropologia, a sociologia, a economia e a filosofia. Foi possível constatar uma expressiva diferença entre o discurso das empresas transnacionais sobre a expatriação e a realidade daqueles que a vivenciam – os/as executivos/as, seus cônjuges e filhos, o que revelou lacunas, tanto na preparação quanto no acompanhamento dos profissionais na expatriação. A mobilidade internacional requerida dos/as executivos/as globais pelas empresas transnacionais é ancorada pelo suporte oferecido pela família, resultando, entre outras consequências, em rupturas nas carreiras profissionais dos cônjuges. A expatriação oferece oportunidades de carreira e ganhos materiais, mas promove simultaneamente um comprometimento da saúde física e psíquica da família e das relações de conjugalidade e parentalidade. Constatou-se que a reduzida intensidade das trocas culturais no ambiente de trabalho e na vida social na expatriação, é tributária de uma concepção instrumental reducionista, presente nos programas de gestão de mobilidade internacional de empresas transnacionais. / The present thesis deals with the expatriation of qualified professionals, called global executives. Taken for granted by society, the practice of expatriation promotes significant changes in the way to work and living of these professionals, overflowing to the life of their spouses and children. The main objective of this thesis is to identify the influence of the expatriation experiences on the professional and personal actuation of the global executives and their spouses. The empirical survey conducted in Brazil and France demonstrates how global executives conceive and manage the imbrications between work and family during the expatriation process. The research was based on a qualitative approach, of hermeneutic nature, aiming to rescue the symbolic universe of the representations, meanings, subjectivity and willfulness of the subjects of this study. The interpretation of the collected data set was anchored on a transdisciplinary theoretical approach, involving anthropology, sociology, economy and philosophy. It was possible to note a significant difference between the discourse of the transnational companies on expatriation and the reality of those who experienced it - the global executives and their families, which revealed gaps, both in preparation and in the monitoring of the professionals in expatriation. The required international mobility of global executives is anchored by the support offered by their families, resulting, among other consequences, in ruptures in the professional career of actives spouses. While expatriation offers career opportunities and wealth, it also compromises the physical and psychical health of the family and the relations of conjugality and parenting of these professionals. It was noted that the reduced intensity of cultural exchanges in the workplace and in social life during the expatriation is considered as the result of a reductionist instrumental conception, present in the management programs of the transnational companies.

The number of divorced families has been continually increasing and the Czech society accepts such families with dependent children tolerantly. Nowadays we know that a family with both parents but full of violence is much worse for children than living with a single parent. Psychosocial development of children growing in incomplete families thus does not have to be marked negatively. Despite that, in most cases a breakdown of a marriage with children is perceived as a hard and frustrating situation. And all the involved parties need to cope, particularly with the failure and loss in their lives. The objective of the thesis was to map attitudes of workers of the department of social and legal protection of children, marriage and family counselors, crisis and emergency centers and other professionals to the divorce situation of families with children in school age. Partial objectives of the thesis included mapping of opinions of the workers about the shared custody, experience of professionals with family mediation and determination whether the professionals are offered possibilities of further education. The views of the professionals were collected by means of a questionnaire survey conducted in January, February and March. 415 questionnaires were distributed at random. The research group consisted of 99 returned questionnaires. The individual categories of professionals did not demonstrate any significant differences in their attitudes to the shared custody. Divorce mediation was viewed as a suitable method for resolution of family disputes. The research has also shown that the professional community is offered sufficient opportunities of further education. According to the responding professionals, incomplete (divorced) families are capable of ensuring successful development of the children. The professionals concurred particularly on the opinion that each divorce situation needs to be approached individually.

This exploratory study examined the perceptions and realities of work life balance among medical doctors in Nigerian Public Hospitals. The study aimed to investigate the coping strategies adopted by medical doctors to manage work life balance and finally to examine the gender differences in the lived experiences of male and female medical doctors in Nigeria. The literature revealed that conceptualising work life balance models or employee flexibility in an African work setting is problematic when juxtaposed with primordial African cultural values where work and life are an indissoluble existential unit. The transition from an agrarian economy to new capitalist workplaces in many African countries is still relatively new. This study fills the gap by unveiling the implications this narrative has for understanding contemporary WLB. Forty-one semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted for this study. It involved male and female doctors from public hospitals across three geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The sample of doctors interviewed were specifically resident doctors with a wide range of specialties. Thematic method of data analysis was adopted to provide major themes which were used to discuss the findings of the research investigations. The findings reveal that work in the Nigerian medical sector is notoriously intense as it underscores challenges of long working hours, intense work demand and staff shortage. The findings further suggest women must tread a ‘delicate balance’ between subordination to male authority, domestic responsibilities and ambition/achievement in a professional career. This study makes two key contributions to knowledge. Firstly, the study contributes to existing literature on work-life balance in the Nigerian context, elaborating the situation with work-life balance initiatives and how medical doctors in Nigeria manage to cope with the shortcomings of the organisations. Secondly, the findings fostered a useful extension of the work-family border theory. The border theory explains how individuals navigate between life domains and boundary management. However, the theory has provided little information on the factors that affect how employees manage and negotiate between the domains. This led to the development of the work spiritual life balance model.

This thesis is called Social Work With Family In The Risk. The crisis has been uderstood as a crisis of the family as the institution in nowadays. Thesis is devided into three parts. In the first I¨m describing the baisics of social work with the family. Then I'm describinf definitions and functions of a familly accroding to opinions of several authors. There are also being open topics about homoparentality and crisis of the family in 21. century. Separate chapter is about theories of the family, being described by the run of differenet times and events which were forming the statute of the family till nowadays. The aim of the research part was to find out what are the opinions about chosen factors which are influencing the crisis of family. The research part was done by using a method of questionnaire. The research was done on the Theological faculty of Jan Hus at Charles University in Prague during the April in the year 2017, responded by the group of thirty students. About this topic I found democratic and open minded, students are aware of modern technologies are influencing the course of a family life. There has been also found out that individualism is not that common in families and mostly prefered are interests of the whole family than family members separately, what shows some signs of...

M.A. (Sociology) / This study investigated the effects of female cross border traders’ work on family well-being in the context of economic hardships in Zimbabwe. The research focused on ten Zimbabwean married women, who work as cross border traders between Harare and Johannesburg and it aimed to understand how their work as cross border traders impacted on the economic and emotional well-being of their families as well as on family resilience. Literature on cross border trading shows that the trade is a key livelihood strategy for families and households but the impacts of the traders’ increased mobility and prolonged absence from home on the emotional well-being of family members have rarely been explored. Using detailed data drawn from in depth interviews with the participants, this study sought to address this gap. The findings of the study reveal that cross border trading is no longer merely a survival strategy that meets the basic needs of families but instead, it has elevated the standards of living of the families, enabling traders to acquire highly valued property. Beyond such economic benefits, the women’s work is having significant effects on the emotional well-being of the family members. The women’s relationships with their spouses were found to be generally stable but in some cases were fraught with tensions and disagreements emanating from the trading work. In most instances, cross border trading work compromised the emotional care and the resilience of the children. The regular absence of the women from their homes presented additional responsibilities and burdens on their children. Older children, for instance, have to take care of their siblings in a context were the fathers do not play an active role in child care. The consequences of the women’s trading activities are evident but often overlooked by the families as they focus on increased material provision. The study sheds light on some of the effects of increased migration of Zimbabwean women on the family and calls for more extensive research on the family in Zimbabwe with the continued economic challenges in the country.

The aim of this qualitative research study is to develop insights into the dynamics involved in work- family conflict, balance and coping strategies. The study explores the experiences of seven professional women, who are also mothers, employed in professional work positions in Grahamstown. The research is interpretive in nature as it aims to explore the conflicts experienced by the professional mothers in balancing their competing roles. The study focused on the demands that these women face and the coping strategies that these working mothers develop and use, in order to balance their career aspirations as well as their family responsibilities. It set out to explore the women’s perceptions of work- family conflict and the extent to which they experience it, further examining the compromises that the women have had to make and possible feelings of guilt or regret that they may have experienced. The findings indicated that this balance is sensitive to many facilitating and hindering factors. The participants revealed that they experience work- family conflict, and that the experience of it has largely to do with the guilt of not spending enough time with their family. Another significant finding was that the women expressed their coping strategies as being organised; forming a line between work and family life as well as employing domestic workers. The women further stated that there are constant compromises that have to be made to fit in the multiple roles, and that feelings of guilt and/or regret do set in at times.

The changes that have taken place in the South African educational system over the past few years have placed teachers under increasing stress. While abundant overseas literature is available regarding teacher stress, limited studies have focused specifically on South African samples. Female teachers, and working mothers, often experience additional stressors to men. Studies on women’s health have received little attention in comparison with the magnitude of research conducted on men’s health. The aim of the current study was to explore and describe the stress, coping resources and adjustment of married mothers in the teaching profession, and to explore and describe the patterns of stress and coping resources of these women. A non-experimental, exploratory descriptive study was employed. A biographical questionnaire and three paper-and-pencil measures, namely the Experience of Work and Life Questionnaire, the Coping Resources Inventory and the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire, were administered to 31 full-time primary school teachers who are married mothers of dependent children under the age of 14 years. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was employed. Descriptive statistics and cluster analysis were used in the data analysis. The results of the WLQ for this sample indicated that the mean score for the total level of stress fell within the high range, but with regards to the mode, the majority of the participants had average scores. The results of the CRI indicated an average level of coping resources for the present sample. The sample scored slightly above average on seven of the eleven components of the adjustment areas of the PHSF and slightly below average on the other four components. The participants in cluster one had average levels of stress and an average level of coping resources. The participants in cluster two scored very high levels of stress and average levels of coping resources. The participants in cluster three had very high levels of stress and low levels of coping resources. Suggestions were made for future research involving the stress, coping resources and adjustment of married mothers in the teaching profession. Finally, the limitations as well as the value of the research were outlined.