Psychology's literature regarding fatherlessness is not only grim, mainly pointing out the negative consequences of fatherlessness, but it also does not provide much specific information about fatherless individuals' experiences. A pilot study revealed that fatherless individuals do not always suffer from the loss of their father and that they also have the ability to overcome the negative consequences commonly associated with father loss. The research questions for this study presented themselves naturally after reviewing the literature and after considering the results of my pilot study, namely, “What do fatherless individuals actually experience in being fatherless, and what is the nature of the experience of being fatherless in people who seem to display successful coping and resilience?” Phenomenology and the Grounded Interpretive research method were employed to explore in depth the lived experience of three participants. My interviews show that cultural, family, and educational background and the individual's interpretations of his or her situation significantly contributed to how fatherlessness was experienced. In contrast to the generally grim literature on fatherlessness, the results of the present study suggest that the consequences of fatherlessness do not have to be as grim as they are generally portrayed. While fatherlessness is difficult, there is hope for the fatherless in that they can overcome the negative implications of their situation-a finding that contributes to a more holistic understanding and a perspective of fatherlessness that has not yet been sufficiently been documented by the literature.

The aim of the study is to use a phenomenographic approach to highlight how educators in preschool perceive that their absence can affect the phenomenon of collaboration between guardians and educators. The research questions that have been the starting point of the investigation are about how the educators describe their perception of collaboration between preschool and home, how the educators describe their perception of absence among the educators in preschool and how they describe their experience of absence in relation to collaboration. Through a qualitative approach, the survey was conducted in the form of ten individual semi-structured interviews based on a flexible interview guide. The informants consisted of principals, preschool teachers and other educators who work in preschools. The phenomenographic analysis resulted in six categories of description which then form two outcome spaces. The outcome spaces were Educators absence can affect collaboration and Educators absence does not have to have an impact on collaboration. The categories of description and the outcome spaces together highlight the educators perceptions of how the educator's absence can affect the collaboration between preschool and guardians. The result shows a variety of perceptions where the outcome space The absence of educators can affect collaboration summarized into three factors for a non-functioning collaboration, which are absent educators, lack of conditions and insecure relationships. The outcome space Educators absence does not have to have an impact on collaboration was also summarized into three factors for a well-functioning collaboration, which were educators present, good conditions and secure relationships. The conclusion was that the educator's absence in preschool is a contributing factor to the fact that cooperation with guardians is affected. On the other hand, there are clear success factors which mean that absence does not have to affect cooperation. / Studien har som syfte att genom en fenomenografisk ansats belysa hur personal i förskolan uppfattar att deras frånvaro kan påverka fenomenet samverkan mellan vårdnadshavare och personal. Forskningsfrågorna som varit undersökningens utgångspunkt handlar om hur personalen beskriver sina uppfattningar om samverkan mellan vårdnadshavare och personal, hur personalen beskriver sina uppfattningar om frånvaro bland personalen i förskolan samt hur de beskriver att de erfarar frånvaron i relation till samverkan. Undersökningen har genom en kvalitativ ansats genomförts i form av tio enskilda semistrukturerade intervjuer som utgick från en flexibel intervjuguide. Informanterna bestod av rektorer, förskollärare och barnskötare som arbetar inom förskolan. Den fenomenografiska analysen resulterade i sex beskrivningskategorier som sedan utgör två utfallsrum. Utfallsrummen blev Personalens frånvaro kan ha en påverkan på samverkan och Personalens frånvaro behöver inte ha en påverkan på samverkan. Beskrivningskategorierna och utfallsrummet belyser tillsammans personalens uppfattningar om hur personalens frånvaro kan påverka samverkan mellan förskola och vårdnadshavare. Resultatet visar en variation av uppfattningar där utfallsrummet Personalens frånvaro kan påverka samverkan sammanfattats till tre faktorer för en icke-välfungerande samverkan vilket är frånvarande personal, bristande förutsättningar och otrygga relationer. Utfallsrummet Personalens frånvaro behöver inte ha en påverkan på samverkan sammanfattades också till tre faktorer för en välfungerande samverkan vilka var närvarande personal, goda förutsättningar och trygga relationer. Slutsatsen blev att personalens frånvaro i förskolan utgör en bidragande faktor till att samverkan med vårdnadshavare påverkas. Däremot finns det tydliga framgångsfaktorer som gör att frånvaro inte behöver påverka samverkan.

Idag rapporterar media om att den problematiska skolfrånvaron ökar. Enligt skollagen har alla elever rätt till en utbildning och den svenska närvaroplikten innebär att varje skola behöver kunna främja skolnärvaro. En fullständigt genomförd grundskola med godkända betyg är en skyddsfaktor mot utanförskap i samhället och psykisk ohälsa. Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om skolans insatser för att stödja elever med problematisk skolfrånvaro i att kunna återgå till skolan. Forskningsfrågorna sökte svar på framgångsrika insatser som eleverna och deras vårdnadshavare beskriver för återgång till skolan, sett ur ett flernivåperspektiv. Studiens teoretiska ramverk var Bronfenbrenners utvecklingsekologiska systemteori. Undersökningen hade en kvalitativ forskningsansats, inspirerad av fallstudiedesign. För att samla in data användes semistrukturerade intervjuer. En pilotstudie genomfördes för att förbättra våra intervjufrågor. Urvalet till studien baserades på ett målstyrt urval. Våra respondenter var fyra elever och deras vårdnadshavare. Eleverna hade tidigare haft problematisk skolfrånvaro men återvänt till skolan. Tidigare forskning har visat att framgångsfaktorer som ökar skolnärvaro innefattar undervisning, delaktighet, inflytande, trygghet och studiero, tillitsfulla relationer och kommunikation mellan hem och skola. Studiens resultat överensstämmer med tidigare forskning. I vårt resultat framkom även betydelsen av att minska kraven på eleverna i skolsituationen för en positiv återgång till skolan. Ytterligare framkom ur ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv att faktorer på samtliga nivåer inom teorin har en inverkan på skolnärvaron. En liten förändring på någon nivå kan påverka elevens förutsättningar att närvara i skolan. Vi tänker oss att vår studie kan bidra med kunskap och vara ett stöd i skolors närvarofrämjande arbete. / Today, Media reports that the problematic school absence is increasing. According to Skollagen, all students have the right to an education, and the Swedish compulsory attendance means that each school needs to encourage school attendance. A completed schooling with passed grades is a protection factor in society and against mental illness. The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about the schools’ measures to aid students with problematic school attendance in returning to school. The research questions sought to find successful measures that students and their guardians describe were important in the students’ returning to school, seen from a multilevel perspective. The theoretical framework of the study was Bronfenbrenner’s educational system theory. The study had a qualitative research method, inspired by case study design. To collect data, semi structured interviews were used. A pilot study was carried out to perfect our questions. The selection of participants was based on goal-oriented factors. Our respondents were four students and their guardians. The students had previously had problematic school absence but then returned to school. Previous research has shown that success factors that increase the students’ attendance in school are teaching, participation, influence, security, a peaceful study situation, trusting relations and communication between home and school. The results from the study coincide with previous research. In our result, the importance of lowering the demands on the students in order to reach a successful return to school, emerged. Furthermore, from a theoretical system perspective, all theoretical factors influenced school attendance. A small alteration at some level can affect the students’ prerequisite for school attendance. Our study can contribute with knowledge about, and be supportive in, schools’ work with encouraging school attendance.

Studiens syfte var att ta reda på socialtjänstens erfarenheter av samarbete med föräldrar till hemmasittande elever samt att undersöka socialtjänstens erfarenheter av orsaker till hemmasittande. Data samlades in genom kvalitativa intervjuer tillsammans med sex socionomer verksamma inom eller på uppdrag av socialtjänsten. Det empiriska materialet har analyserats med en tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att problematisk skolfrånvaro är ett komplext problem som samverkar med flera faktorer, vilka identifierades som individuella-, sociala-, och skolrelaterade faktorer. En god samverkan mellan socialtjänsten och föräldrarna sågs som betydelsefull men även samverkan mellan olika instanser som skola och barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin (BUP). Den största utmaningen i arbetet med hemmasittande elever visade sig vara föräldrars inställning till problemet. Slutligen visade resultatet att barns anknytning till föräldern kunde påverka skolfrånvaron.

The distribution of organisms across the globe forms non-random patterns that are based on their selection for certain environmental features. Habitat selection is the study of how organisms choose where they live. It is a fundamental behavior shaping several ecological and evolutionary processes. The hierarchical nature of the environment makes it imperative to consider multiple scales in habitat selection studies. Even though there is extensive coverage of scaling in habitat selection literature, most published papers only consider one scale. To our knowledge, habitat selection studies of the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) have never included more than one spatial scale. Hence, we modeled Antillean manatee habitat selection in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, in Mexico, at two spatial scales: study area and 1 km buffer. We used GPS coordinates of opportunistic encounters (n = 102) recorded since 2009. We randomly generated 500 pseudo-absences per presence point for both scales, and extracted the environmental conditions from each point: seagrass abundance (leaf area index or LAI), water depth, and shortest distance to land, closest river and closest resting hole. We fitted a binomial regression of the probability of presence as a function of the environmental parameters using a Bayesian approach. Our results show that the probability of manatee presence increases in proximity to resting holes for both scales and increases with land proximity at the large-scale. Overall, we showed that proximity to resting holes is the most important feature of habitat selection for Antillean manatees in Sian Ka'an, followed by proximity to land. This study demonstrates the importance of multi-scale designs in habitat selection and highlights the need for more studies looking at the use and ecological implications of manatee resting holes.

To improve their services and maintain patients’ satisfaction, healthcare organisations have adopted and applied different quality tools and models in recent times, with some even developing their own quality-based initiatives. For example, the approach of Lean Six Sigma (L6σ) has recently been gradually and slowly implemented in healthcare institutions. However, the nature and complexity of healthcare environment which directly impact on humans require leaders to carefully apply appropriate Quality Management (QM) systems suitable for this critical environment. The aim of this research project is to develop a Knowledge Based System (KBS) to assist healthcare managers and practitioners during decision-making process in the context of achieving excellent benchmark and action plans prioritisation. The system will be built based on a conceptual framework for Quality Management in Healthcare Environment (QMHE) which will be modified into a model. The KBS will be developed from this model with the integration of Gauging Absence of Pre-requisite (GAP) method for benchmarking and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method for prioritisation. The contribution of this research is the use of KBS with GAP and AHP to develop an integrated Knowledge-Based Lean Six Sigma (KB-L6σ) in QMHE. This will accomplish the necessities of investigating quality problems and recommend suitable solutions according to international best practices. It will use a systematic approach that can be applied multiple times, follow defined steps to secure consistency in the approach and integrate different healthcare management levels to maintain strategic decision-making alignment. It consists of 964 KB rules that have been produced via a knowledge acquisition process from the literature and interviewing experts in the field of QM and L6σ in healthcare environment. Feedback from conferences and system testing were used for the verification of the model, whilst validation was carried out through three case studies implementation at three tertiary hospitals in Oman. The analysis of using the KB system in these hospitals has shown clearly that the developed system is a consistent and reliable methodology for assisting decision-makers in designing, planning, and implementing L6σ for QMHE.

Thèse diffusée initialement dans le cadre d'un projet pilote des Presses de l'Université de Montréal/Centre d'édition numérique UdeM (1997-2008) avec l'autorisation de l'auteur. / Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal. / La thèse appréhende le hors-travail, c'est-à-dire l'ensemble des situations d'absence d'emploi légal rémunéré à l'exception des situations de retraite, de maladie ou d'étude, comme ensemble de relations sociales. L'objectif central de la recherche est de comprendre comment les interactions stratégiques et symboliques des acteurs conduisent à la construction d'un espace politique autonome, créateur de formes citoyennes nouvelles. Nous posons l'hypothèse que cet espace existe et qu'il se caractérise par une relative stabilité dans le temps et l'espace. Nous proposons d'effectuer cette investigation au niveau des discours politiques produits au moment des réformes des systèmes de protection des chômeurs au Québec et en France, et au niveau des récits de jeunes-adultes prestataires des dispositifs d'assistance-chômage. Par l'analyse des discours politiques, nous repérons une rhétorique commune aux deux sociétés que l'on peut qualifier de «société active ». Cependant, l'articulation particulière des trois dimensions de la citoyenneté (citoyenneté économique, sociale et politique) nous conduit à considérer deux univers de discours politiques au Québec et en France. À la société active semi-libérale du Québec s'oppose une société d'insertion. Le régime de citoyenneté est en crise au Québec. Il ne permet pas la représentation des intérêts des personnes sans-emploi et aucun consensus n'existe sur la façon de traiter le hors-travail. En France, en revanche, il semble qu'un nouveau régime de citoyenneté prenne forme, qui associe légitimité de la protection sociale des situations atypiques d'emploi et de chômage à une reconnaissance politique partielle de nouveaux acteurs collectifs. À ces deux espaces institutionnels et symboliques du hors-travail correspondent une multitude de pratiques sociales et d'univers de croyances individuelles. Nous avons repéré quatre formes de non-résistance et deux formes de résistance politique à la situation de hors-travail. Ces dernières ont trois effets: elles limitent l'auto-reproduction du système, elles détournent les dispositifs de leurs objectifs initiaux, elles créent de nouvelles formes de citoyenneté politique. L'espace du hors-travail existe comme terrain de lutte et terrain d'innovations sociales et politiques. Il connaît aujourd'hui une institutionnalisation de plus en plus raffinée dans les deux sociétés, qui prend des directions différentes. Cependant, les personnes en situation de hors-travail développent, elles, des formes identiques de non-résistance et de résistance politique. Le rapport à l'absence d'emploi, par les contraintes qu'il pose et la citoyenneté qu'il confère, est plus déterminant que la structure institutionnelle dans laquelle il s'exprime. Les prestataires des programmes sociaux ont une connaissance de leurs besoins qui mériterait de servir de point de départ à l'intervention sociale. De même, l'expertise des «citoyens ordinaires» doit être prise en compte dans l'analyse de politiques. La demande de participation économique, sociale et politique des acteurs interroge la distribution du pouvoir et amène la conflictualité des rapports sociaux au centre des débats. D'après notre recherche, ce serait parce que le conflit en France a porté sur la dimension de reconnaissance des acteurs que ceux-ci ont été en mesure d'infléchir le discours dominant alors qu'au Québec, le conflit politique était davantage un conflit de positions entre des acteurs déjà constitués et reconnus par l'État. Plus que l'existence d'une structure d'opportunité politique, c'est la construction même des représentations d'intérêt en dehors de l'État qui semble favoriser l'inclusion de nouveaux acteurs dans le processus politique.

Yes / Purpose– This paper develops a Knowledge-based (KB) System for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Maintenance in environmentally Sustainable Buildings (Lean6-SBM). Design/methodology/approach– The Lean6-SBM conceptual framework has been developed using the rule base approach of KB system and joint integration with Gauge Absence Prerequisites (GAP) technique. A comprehensive literature review is given for the main pillars of the framework with a typical output of GAP analysis. Findings– Implementation of LSS in the sustainable building maintenance context requires a pre-assessment of the organisation’s capabilities. A conceptual framework with a design structure is proposed to tackle this issue with the provision of an enhancing strategic and operational decision making hierarchy. Research limitations/implications– Future research work might consider validating this framework in other type of industries. Practical implications– Maintenance activities in environmentally sustainable buildings must take prodigious standards into consideration and, therefore, a robust quality assurance measure has to be integrated. Originality/value– The significance of this research is to present a novel use of hybrid KB/GAP methodologies to develop a Lean6-SBM system. The originality and novelty of this approach will assist in identifying quality perspectives while implementing different maintenance strategies in the sustainable building context. / Ministry of Defence Engineering Services (Sultanate of Oman)

The nineteenth century was a time of rapid change, brought about by increasing industrial development and changing patterns of thought and belief. Dickens's attitude to industrialism was ambivalent. He was not averse to progress, but feared that the ills of society would remain overshadowed. This dissertation explores representations of loss in Bleak House and examines some of the challenges the subject presents. The first chapter concentrates on examples of the wide range of losses with which Dickens deals in the novel to create the cumulative impression of individuals and a nation existing in a state of chaos and decay. Chapter Two focuses on the loss of physical life and the state of death-in-life. Chapter Three deals with the narrative techniques which Dickens uses to represent loss in the novel. / English Studies / M.A.

This research deals with personality and biographical factors in absenteeism. The literature review looks at personality traits and absenteeism. The following question must then be asked: Can the construct ”personality” be analysed and described within the context of the work environment, and can the relationship between personality, biographical factors and absenteeism be studied empirically. The empirical study focuses on measuring the relationship between personality and absenteeism. The construct ”personality” is presented within the dimensional or trait perspective. The empirical investigation is presented within the functionalistic paradigm (quantitative approach). The chosen measuring instrument, namely, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF SA 92) was administered by means of a random sample to 72 Aviation Security Officers. The reliability of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire was determined using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient method. To determine if personality is a predictor of absenteeism, stepwise regression analysis was done. The results indicate that the degree (category) of absenteeism is associated only with marital status and number of dependants. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial Psychology)