<p>COVID-19 forced mass transitions to remote working across industries, significantly so in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). ICT divisions were significantly tested as the provided service and support for remote work/learning. The purpose of this research is to characterize successful ICT practices in support of remote work/learning within HEIs. </p> <p><br></p> <p>This study investigates the current literature on HEIs, remote work ICT support, and Critical Success Factors (CSFs). Gaps in the current knowledge inform investigation into the factors of successful support as identified by HEI ICT professionals. A narrative literature review is conducted to explore the research on HEIs, remote work ICT support, and CSFs. Thereafter, subject matter experts are interviewed through a semi-structured interview approach. Content analysis is employed to characterize successful ICT support to remote work within HEIs. </p> <p><br></p> <p>While ICT support took on many different approaches in HEIs across North America, several themes emerged as consistent to providing successful ICT support to remote learning. The characteristics of successful support to remote work/learning are organized under the following themes: leadership qualities, customer emphasis, RW ICT tools, organizational factors, and combating digital inequity. This study offers practitioners areas of consideration to examine their plans and policies. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Future research is proposed to include studies on other emergency events, the impacts of covid lockdown on future policies, military education, and demographic specific research. Remote work practices and strategies vary greatly by industry and organizational structure. This research focuses on HEIs thus generalizability may be limited. </p>

The "work first" philosophy of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act sent millions of people into the labor force, many for the first time. The result was a dramatic increase in the number of workers whose earnings failed to pull them and their families out of poverty. Assistance in the form of childcare, transportation, medical coverage, and the Earned Income Tax Credit is beginning to receive attention as support mechanisms for people who do not earn adequate wages and receive little benefits from their employers. This study examines the effectiveness of Georgia's approach to providing work support programs to its working poor citizens. No single entity is responsible for making work supports accessible. Thus, services often go underutilized because those who might qualify are not aware of their potential eligibility. Further, there is no state level strategy for ensuring that wage advancement is considered by agencies providing work support services. Using client administrative wage data from the Georgia Department of Labor and qualitative interviews from program staff, the state's structure for assisting the working poor is examined.

Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) transactional stress-strain-coping theory provides the theoretical background for the present thesis. This theory proposes that strain (i.e., burnout) occurs when demands (i.e., work stressors) exceed coping resources (e.g., social support). The current thesis explores the influence of social support on the stress-burnout relationship in nurses. A sample of Australian nurses working across three public hospitals in Brisbane's metropolitan district were recruited to investigate the nature and level of burnout experienced by nurses. Burnout is characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment. The present research addresses gaps in the empirical literature by investigating the key work stressors experienced by Australian nurses and by establishing nurses' referent levels of work stress, social support, and burnout. In addition, the research explores the complex relationships between work stress, social support and burnout. The majority of nursing studies have failed to consider how support from within the nurses' work environment mitigates burnout. The present research builds upon previous nursing literature by examining the "main&qout; and "buffering" effect hypotheses. Studies have consistently found support for the main effect model, however the hypothesis that social support buffers the negative effects of stress has resulted in highly conflicting findings. Some theorists (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Cutrona & Russell, 1990) propose that the buffering effects of social support will only be found if there is an adequate match between the needs elicited by the stressful event and the type of support an individual receives. The present study extends the stress or support matching theory by exploring the matching between specific types of stressors to specific types (i.e., emotional and instrumental) and sources (i.e.,supervisor and coworkers) of support. Cutrona (1990) suggests that the controllability of a stressor is the primary dimension in determining an appropriate match between stressors and types of support. Cutrona proposes that controllable stressful events elicit needs for instrumental support and uncontrollable events elicit needs for emotional support. Heeding Cutrona's advice, independent raters classified nurses' work stressors as controllable or uncontrollable stressful events prior to investigating the stressor-support matching theory. Three sequential studies were undertaken to explore the variables of interest to this research program. In Study 1, focus groups were conducted with 68 nurses (11 males, 34 females) from two public hospitals. The qualitative data was subjected to content analysis. The findings revealed that Australian nurses are exposed to a range of job-specific stressors (i.e., Job Conditions, Job Uncertainty, Interpersonal Conflict and a Lack of Professional Recognition and Support) and generic role stressors (i.e., Role Overload, Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity). The findings prompted the research to utilise Wolfgang's (1988) Health Professions Stress Inventory to measure nurses' job-specific stressors and Osipow and Spokane's (1987) Occupational Roles Questionnaire to measure nurses' role stressors in Study 2. The findings from Study 1 also confirmed that the way nurses perceive work support is consistent with current social support literature. Nurses indicated that their two main sources of support were their coworkers and their supervisor. Furthermore, nurses discussed social support from a multidimensional perspective, recognising different types of support that were broadly classified as emotional and instrumental support. Based on these findings, the researcher developed a work support measure specifically for the purpose of this research. Items were taken from established social support scales and were slightly modified to ensure that they were contextually relevant to nurses. In Study 2, 273 nurses (38 males, 235 females) completed a multi-measure questionnaire. While there was sufficient research evidence to indicate that the Occupational Roles Questionnaire (Osipow & Spokane, 1987) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996) possess adequate levels of reliability and validity, less was known about Wolfgang's Health Professions Stress Inventory and the work support scales designed for this research program. Factor analysis of the Health Professions Stress Inventory revealed a four-factor solution: Lack of Professional Recognition and Support, Patient Care Uncertainty, Job Conditions, and Interpersonal Conflict. Cronbach's coefficient alphas ranged from .62 to .83. Factor analysis of the Coworker Support Scale revealed a two-factor solution, representing emotional and instrumental support. Cronbach's coefficient alphas for the Emotional Coworker Support and Instrumental Coworker Support were .92 and .88 respectively. Contrary to expectations, factor analysis of the Supervisor Support Scale revealed a one-factor solution. It was therefore deemed appropriate to examine Supervisor Support as a unidimensional construct in subsequent analyses. Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the Supervisor Support scale was .96. Overall, the results from Study 2 provided supporting evidence to suggest that the measures used in the current research program were psychometrically sound. In Study 3, the data collected in Study 2 was subjected to further statistical analysis. The findings from Study 3 indicated that overall, the sample of Australian nurses reported low to moderate levels of work stress, moderate levels of work support and moderately high levels of burnout. For Emotional Exhaustion, predictor variables accounted for 42.2% of the total variance. Sociodemographic factors explained a small but significant proportion of the variance (2.7%). Work stressors however, were the main predictors of Emotional Exhaustion, explaining 41.5% of the total variance. Role Overload, Job Conditions and Role Conflict were the main determinants of Emotional Exhaustion, with Role Overload explaining most of the variance. For Depersonalisation, the predictor variables accounted for 34.2% of the total variance. Sociodemographic factors (11.5%) and work stressors (33.6%) both explained a significant proportion of the variance. Role Conflict and Patient Care Uncertainty were the main determinants of Depersonalisation, with Role Conflict explaining most of the variance. For Personal Accomplishment, Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity explained 20.5% of the total variance, with Role Conflict explaining most of the variance. Sociodemographic factors and job-specific stressors were not significant Predictors of Personal Accomplishment. Evidence for main effects of work support on burnout were limited. There was no evidence to suggest that work support had significant main effects on Emotional Exhaustion. Supervisor Support had a small, but significant main effect on Depersonalisation (â = -.15, p < .05) and Personal Accomplishment (â = -.24, p < .01). There was no evidence of main effects for Emotional and Instrumental Coworker Support. Furthermore, the present research found no significant evidence to support the buffering effect of work support on burnout. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:44:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3406.pdf: 3435374 bytes, checksum: 3b19cf7abfbb0245d22a3a09ffdfa56c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-01 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / For the Analysis of Operant Behavior, between behavior and choice there is a bidirectional relationship, because each environmental stimulus has the potential to control various responses and the repertoires of individuals are complex. The selection of the response to be emited before each stimulus in each context constitutes in a condition of choice. The choice behavior is typically studied by concurrent schedules and chain concurrent schedules of reinforcement, and practical applications of the experimental model have been increasingly frequent. The present study aimed to investigatie the choice of adults with intellectual disabilities under work conditions; assess the preference for work components and to evaluate the influence of the situation of choice and no choice on parameters performance in such conditions. Four individuals have learned a task, with and without environmental work support. The work task was to assemble notebook s cover by gluing pieces of paper on the background cover. The arrangement developed for the work task, contained devices for placement of shredded paper, background covers and glue. Its goal was to provide immediate assistance to increase or maintain the frequency of the behavior and prevent errors in routine task. Then, the chain concurrent schedules of reinforcement were introduced. The participant could choose, in the first link, pressing a button on a fixed ratio schedules (FR 1), the condition, with or without environmental work support, with which would work on the second link. In Phase 2, participants could choose, still pressing a button and under fixed ratio schedules (FR1) among multiple schedules of reinforcement, without choice, and concurrent chain schedules of reinforcement, with choice. In multiple schedules, the components alternated in an almost random manner and differed in relation to the presence or absence of environmental work support. The criterion for response stability for parameters performance in relation to time and number of errors, respectively, was maximum variation of a minute around the average for the time parameter and a maximum variation of one error around the average for the number of errors parameter, both for three consecutive trials. The criterion for stability of the choice response was to emit at least 12 choices in the initial link of the chain concurrent schedules and emission of 100% of choice responses in the initial links of the chain concurrent schedules with a preference for one of the alternatives with or without environmental work support and with and without choice in four trials (one session) in two consecutive sessions. The performance under multiple schedules, without choice of component, was compared with performance under concurrent schedules, in which participants could choose the alternative that would work to verify the function of choice on performance in the alternatives, with and without environmental work support. In the teaching phase, participants learned the six steps of the task and showed a higher amount of instructions without the environmental work support. Both in the teaching phase and in Phases 1, 2, 3 e 4, all participants completed the task, on average, faster in the presence of the environmental work support. The condition with environmental work support and the alternative with choice proved to be preferable from the point of view of the individual with intellectual disabilities. Moreover, in general, working in the presence of the condition of choice, the participants completed the task with lower average of total time, and kept the number of errors in low level. Choice was made, therefore, without prejudice to its performance in the parameters analyzed. The study contributes to the development of professional training programs of individuals with intellectual disabilities, and brings important practical implications for planning education for this population. / Para a Análise Operante do Comportamento, entre comportamento e escolha há uma relação bidirecional, porque cada estímulo ambiental tem o potencial de controlar várias respostas e os repertórios dos indivíduos são complexos. A seleção da resposta a ser emitida diante de cada estímulo em cada contexto constitui-se em uma condição com escolha. O comportamento de escolha é estudado tipicamente por meio de esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, e aplicações práticas do modelo experimental têm sido cada vez mais frequentes. O presente estudo pretendeu investigar a escolha de adultos com deficiência intelectual sob condições de trabalho; avaliar a preferência pelos componentes do trabalho; e avaliar a influência da situação de escolha e não escolha sobre parâmetros de desempenho nessas condições. Quatro indivíduos aprenderam uma tarefa, sem e com arranjo instrucional. A tarefa de trabalho ensinada consistia em montar capas de blocos de anotações por meio da colagem de pedaços de papel dobradura sobre papel cartão. O arranjo, desenvolvido para a tarefa de trabalho, continha dispositivos para colocação de papel picado, fundo de capas e cola. Seu objetivo foi prover assistência imediata, aumentar ou manter a frequência do comportamento e prevenir erros na rotina da tarefa. Em seguida, foram introduzidos os esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento. O participante pôde escolher, no primeiro elo, pressionando um botão sob esquemas de razão fixa (FR 1), a condição, com ou sem arranjo instrucional, com a qual trabalharia no segundo elo. Na Fase 2, os participantes podiam escolher, ainda pressionando um botão e sob esquemas de razão fixa (FR1) entre a alternativa de esquemas múltiplos, sem escolha, ou nos esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, com escolha. Nos esquemas múltiplos, os componentes se alternavam de forma quase randômica e diferiam com relação à presença ou ausência do arranjo instrucional. O critério definido para estabilidade de resposta para o desempenho em relação aos parâmetros tempo e erros, respectivamente, era de variação máxima de um minuto em torno da média para o parâmetro tempo e variação máxima de um erro em torno da média para o parâmetro número de erros, ambos para três tentativas consecutivas. O critério definido para estabilidade da resposta de escolha era de emissão de pelo menos 12 escolhas no elo inicial dos esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento e emissão de 100% de respostas de escolha nos elos iniciais dos esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento com preferência para uma das condições com ou sem arranjo e com ou sem escolha em quatro tentativas (uma sessão) em duas sessões consecutivas. O desempenho sob esquemas múltiplos, sem escolha do componente, foi comparado com o desempenho sob esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, em que os participantes puderam escolher a alternativa com que iriam trabalhar, para verificar a função da escolha sobre o desempenho nas alternativas, com e sem arranjo. Na fase de ensino da tarefa, os participantes aprenderam os seis passos da tarefa e ocorreu maior quantidade de níveis de ajuda na presença do componente sem arranjo. Tanto na fase de ensino da tarefa, como nas Fases 1, 2, 3 e 4, todos os participantes concluíram a tarefa, em média, mais rapidamente na presença do arranjo. A alternativa com arranjo instructional e a condição com escolha mostraram ser opções preferíveis sob o ponto de vista do indivíduo com deficiência intelectual. Além disso, no geral, trabalhando na presença da condição com escolha os participantes concluíram a tarefa com tempo médio total menor, e mantiveram o número de erros em nível baixo. A escolha foi exercida, portanto, sem prejuízo de seu desempenho nos parâmetros analisados. O estudo contribui para o desenvolvimento de programas de capacitação profissional do indivíduo com deficiência intelectual severo, e traz implicações práticas importantes para o planejamento de ensino para essa população.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2017-04-05T15:05:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Magda Sales Pinho.pdf: 1694833 bytes, checksum: a49d6b223e20ae622fcca7ac026eea6e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-05T15:05:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Magda Sales Pinho.pdf: 1694833 bytes, checksum: a49d6b223e20ae622fcca7ac026eea6e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-15 / In the organizational environment, social changes caused by access to Information Technology resources influence the production processes, specifically in the form of work and the way of seeing and interpreting work. The entry of young people into the labor market has presented a scenario of instability, dissatisfaction, and new behaviors in the procedures proposed by organizations that expect more commitment by the young employees. Currently, young people seek personal job satisfaction, self-realization, and recognition, which were less frequent behaviors in earlier generations (Twenge, 2010). The literature reports that these young people are creative, ambitious, and interested in people and groups (Tapscott, 2010). According to some authors, relational bonds (Eisner, 2005) and the role of leadership (Lipkin; Perrymore, 2009) have emerged as key factors for the stability of the young in the organization. This study aims to identify the perception of the young, digital generation on the support work offered by the organization. For that, the constructs of Perceived Organizational Support (POS) and Perceived Social Support (PSS) were studied. In this research a survey was used, replicating the questionnaires by Siqueira (2009). The study sample was composed of young, lower middle class, college students, who already work or have professional experience. The data collected in the survey were tabulated and processed by the PLS software. The Organizational Support construct was altered to identify variables that relate to the welfare of the employee, job satisfaction, the physical and environmental conditions of work, and the company's availability to assist the employee in case of need. The construct Social Support, the factor about the perception of the young regarding communication, was kept with just a small adjustment. The proposed changes in the organization of the Social Support construct suggest that respondents are less concerned about the factors that involve relationships with team members and the resources offered by companies for development of the work, and more concerned with information and communication. These areas are significant and valued factors by young people in their working environment. / No ambiente organizacional, as transformações decorrentes das mudanças sociais proporcionadas pelo acesso aos recursos da Tecnologia da Informação (TI) ocorrem nos processos de produção, na forma de trabalhar e na maneira de ver e interpretar o trabalho. Entretanto, o ingresso de jovens no mercado de trabalho tem apresentado um cenário de instabilidade, insatisfação e comportamentos novos frente aos procedimentos propostos pelas organizações, que esperam mais comprometimento por parte dos jovens empregados. Atualmente, os jovens buscam a satisfação pessoal no trabalho, autorrealização e o reconhecimento, comportamento menos frequente em gerações anteriores. (Twenge, 2010). A literatura informa que estes jovens são pessoas criativas, ambiciosas, interessadas pelas pessoas e pelos grupos (Tapscott, 2010). Segundo alguns autores, os vínculos relacionais (Eisner, 2005) e o papel da liderança (Lipkin; Perrymore, 2009) têm se mostrado fatores fundamentais para a estabilidade do jovem na organização. Este estudo tem por objetivo identificar a percepção do jovem da geração digital sobre o suporte ao trabalho oferecido pela organização. Para atingir esse objetivo, foram estudados os constructos de Percepção do Suporte Organizacional (PSO) e Percepção do Suporte Social (PSS). A pesquisa de campo utilizou uma pesquisa survey, replicando os questionários de Siqueira (2009). A população estudada foi composta por jovens estudantes universitários de classe média baixa, que já trabalham ou tiveram uma experiência profissional. Os dados levantados na pesquisa foram tabulados e processados por meio do software PLS - (Partial Least Square). Os resultados mostraram que o constructo Suporte Organizacional sofreu alteração e manteve variáveis que se relacionam ao bem estar do empregado, satisfação com o trabalho, condições físicas e ambientais de trabalho e disponibilidade da empresa em ajudar o empregado, em caso de necessidade. No constructo Suporte Social, foi mantido, quase sem alterações, o fator acerca da percepção do jovem sobre a comunicação. As alterações propostas na organização do constructo Suporte Social sugerem que os respondentes são pouco preocupados com os fatores que envolvem relacionamento com os integrantes da equipe e com os recursos ofertados pelas empresas para desenvolvimento dos trabalhos. A informação e a comunicação são fatores significativos e valorizados pelos jovens em seu ambiente de trabalho.

Thesis "The health and social worker in cooperation with a multidisciplinary team in the care of chronically ill children "deals with the verification of the need and importance of multidisciplinary cooperation of the health and social worker with other professionals in the care of chronically ill children. The theoretical part deals with chronic ill children, its impact on the child and the family, describes the function of a health and social worker and other members of a multidisciplinary team with the aim of cooperation within a multidisciplinary team in the care of a chronically ill child. In the practical part, mutual cooperation is verified using the method of qualitative research, interview and case studies. The work is supplemented by a created relationship map of multidisciplinary cooperation in relation to a chronically ill child. Keywords Social worker in healthcare, multidisciplinary team, chronic ill child, hospital, social work, support, family, doctor, psychologist, therapist.

Thesis (M.A. (Social Work)) -- University Of Lmpopo, 2022 / The study concentrated on factors that hinder the utilisation of intermediary social work support services to alleged child offenders in Mopani District. The study aimed to assess knowledge from probation officers in respect of awareness, utilisation and effectiveness of referral to intermediary services, as well as the level at which they can refer alleged child offenders to an intermediary. The study employed the qualitative research design. The Integrated Service model was employed to understand the utilisation of intermediary social work support services to alleged child offenders. Purposive sampling was used to obtain nine participants who were probation officers. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Limpopo and gatekeepers approval from the Department of Social Development. Participation was voluntary and no one was forced to participate. The findings of the study revealed that there are no clear guidelines or legislation for probation officers to guide them on how and when to recommend the alleged child offenders to the intermediary services. The study also revealed that section 158(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 is not effective to alleged child offenders but rather is used to child victims. Therefore, probation officers must have understanding of the role of an intermediary, process and referral when conducting assessments. As a result, the study recommends that the probation officers should come to the developmental level of the child, speak the language of the child and follow up assessment interviews as opposed to informed allegation interviews. However, training is also recommended to all probation officers about the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and amendments of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 with the inclusion of intermediary services to alleged child offenders

The pandemic of alcohol and drug abuse continues to ravage families, communities and societies placing many households, even communities, under siege. For persons living in an addictive home it is like living in a whirlwind where a family member’s substance use disorder (SUD) turns homes into sporadic unpredictable and out-of-control environments. The partner or concerned significant other (CSO) of the partner with the SUD becomes so engrossed in the latter, that they sacrifice their own time, needs, energies and resources to manage the whirlwind, even adopting maladaptive coping skills to survive. When partners with SUDs begin treatment, its modalities primarily focus on treating the partner with the SUD. The non-abusing CSO-partner is mostly conceptualised as an adjunct treatment collaborator for partners with a SUD and therefore instrumental to a successful treatment outcome. The CSO-partner’s own needs for professional treatment go unattended while they themselves seldom receive specialised treatment to heal and recover from the many and varied scars caused by the whirlwind of a partner’s SUD. They are thus deprived of a service to which they are entitled in their own right. This explains a lacuna in home-grown treatment which falls within the ambit of social work for a CSO-partner. Utilising a qualitative research approach, and the collective instrumental case study and phenomenological research designs complemented by an explorative, descriptive and contextual strategy of inquiry, I explored the experiences, challenges and coping strategies of CSOs living with a partner with a SUD with the view of informing guidelines for social work intervention from 12 CSO-partners and their partners with a SUD. These guidelines were informed by their suggestions for social work support. To live with a partner with a SUD was for all the CSO-participants an overall negative and stressful experience in which they felt isolated and trapped. Feelings of anger and frustration; sadness; embarrassment; shame, humiliation; despair, and hopelessness were experienced causing some of them to emotionally disengage from their partners. Their partners’ SUD-related behaviour had a negative effect on them; their relationships and the relationships with their children. The partner’s argumentative attitudes; intimate partner violence; lack of responsibility; erratic, reckless behaviour, manipulation and threatening relapse were highlighted as some of the challenges experienced. A mix of coping strategies that can be categorised as both adaptive and maladaptive, or enabling behaviours, were employed to mitigate and manage the challenges experienced. The CSO-participants also employed external sources of motivation to convince or force their partners to enter treatment. Admitting to the fact that their SUD’s had affected the CSO-partners negatively, both the partners with the SUDs and their CSO-partners offered suggestions for social work support for the CSOs of partners with a SUD. Topics to be covered during social work interventions to support to CSOs included providing information about drugs and its effects; setting of boundaries and personal safety; rebuilding self-esteem; anger-management; relapse management; and parenting and marriage counselling. Ways in which to provide such social work intervention and support suggested was through couple counselling; family counselling and support groups, and a tailor-made programme catering specifically for the CSO-partners. Based on the research findings, guidelines were formulated as recommendations for social work intervention directed at social work practice. Additional recommendations for education and training; continuous professional development, and ideas for future research were also suggested. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)

Child and youth care workers (CYCWs) provide intervention and support to children and youth in child and youth care centres (CYCCs) The purpose of this study was to investigate CYCWs’ knowledge and perceptions of attachment difficulties of children residing in CYCCs and to provide suggestions for social work support. The study adopted the Attachment Theory and Circle of Courage Theory. Drawing on qualitative methodology, 16 participants employed in CYCCs in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan region, South Africa were purposively selected for in-depth, qualitative interviews. The eight-step data analysis method by Tesch (in Creswell, 2014:198) was used. To ensure trustworthiness of the findings, the researcher mainly used Guba’s model cited in Krefting (1990:214–222).The researcher adhered to prescribed ethical considerations. The study recommended that child and youth care as a profession should be recognised and supported to ensure quality services to children with attachment difficulties living in CYCCs. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Work)