Empathy of Workers in Helping Professions The term empathy means the ability to understand emotions of other people. It is the person´s ability to understand the mental condition of the other person with whom he or she is in immediate contact. Such understanding makes it possible to understand emotions, thinking, acting, behavior and attitudes of other people. To empathize with someone the person needs to efficiently focus and concentrate on the other person and to have the sufficient will to do so. Empathy is a complex psychological experience. The objective of the thesis is to determine whether the attitudes to empathy and experience of difficulties associated with empathy are different among personal assistants and nurses. The research was conducted among personal assistants operating in the district of České Budějovice and among nurses working in the hospital in Jindřichův Hradec. The respondents were of diverse ages with a different representation of men and women. The method of the research was inquiry with a questionnaire technique. I formulated three hypotheses in total. All the hypotheses have been confirmed by the completed research. The thesis may be used as a source of information for the general public, as well as for teaching purposes.

Studien syftar till att undersöka erfarenheter som handläggare av personlig assistans har av att arbeta i en kontext som är föränderlig till följd av rättspraxis och Försäkringskassans tolkning och tillämpning av den. Studien syftar även till att undersöka de konsekvenser som detta medför för LSS-handläggarna i deras yrkesutövning och vilka konsekvenser som de anser att det fått för brukarna. För att uppnå syftet har semistrukturerade intervjuer använts som datainsamlingsmetod. Den teoretiska ansatsen har bestått av Michael Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater och handlingsutrymme och Andrew Jametons koncept om etisk stress.  En bearbetning av empirin har genomförts i enlighet med tematisk analys. Olika krav och svårigheter har uppstått för LSS-handläggarna i deras yrkesutövning, såsom konflikt mellan deras professionella värderingar och den institutionella kontexten och att kunna bemöta brukare i oro och kris. Handläggarna är genomgående kritiska till Försäkringskassans restriktiva och detaljstyrda tolkning och tillämpning av den rättspraxis som ska vara styrande för dem båda. Vissa grupper av brukare har som konsekvens av förändrad rättspraxis och Försäkringskassans tolkning och tillämpning av den i stort sett uteslutits från rätten till personlig assistans. I diskussionen förs resonemang om LSS-handläggarnas yrkeskompetens, deras handlingsutrymme och etisk stress samt detaljstyrningens påverkan och konsekvenser för brukarna. / The purpose of the following study is to investigate the experiences that social workers have of working in a context that is changing with precedents and the Swedish social insurance agency's, Försäkringskassan’s, interpretation and application of them. The purpose is further to explore the consequences this has for LSS-administrators in their work and for their clients. In order to achieve this aim semi structured interviews has been used as a data collection method. The theoretical approach consists of Michael Lipsky's theory of grassroots bureaucrats and discretion as well as Andrew Jameton's concept of moral distress. The data has been processed in accordance of thematic analysis. Difficulties has emerged for LSS-administrators in their work, such as conflict between their professional values and the institutional context and meeting most anxious clients in crisis. The LSS-administrators are critical of Försäkringskassan’s restrictive and detailed interpretation and application of precedents. Some groups of clients have as a consequence of changed jurisprudence and Försäkringskassan’s interpretation and application of it more or less been excluded from the right to personal assistance.   We discuss the LSS-administrators professional competence, their discretion and ethical stress as well as the consequences detailed interpretation has for the clients.

For my thesis I have chosen the theme of the importance and possibilities of a teacher assistant in school integration of children with disabilities. The research was conducted in the district of Český Krumlov. There are currently 20 basic schools and 26 kindergartens of which eight basic schools and two kindergartens have integrated pupils with disabilities. My two hypotheses are based on the fact that teacher assistants are the ones who, in my opinion, form an indispensable part of a pedagogic team, ensuring successful and beneficial integration of disabled children into the regular type of schools and school facilities and affecting the process of integration (hypothesis 1). Moreover, I believe that the competencies of two different professional groups, being teacher assistants and personal assistants, are often confused and neither professionals nor the lay public are able to clearly distinguish between their functions (hypothesis 2). In order to obtain information in respect of the set out issues, the method of interviews in the form of questionnaires was used. The questionnaire was designed for directors and teachers of basic schools and kindergartens integrating pupils with disabilities and also for parents of disabled children integrated in a regular school. The processed data are displayed in graphs and tables. Both the raised hypotheses have been confirmed. It was revealed that the respondents consider a teacher assistant as an indispensable element without which the school integration would not be successful. Some of them refer to their previous experience when no teacher assistant was available. The hypothesis which assumed confusion of competencies of an assistant teacher and a personal assistant was also clearly confirmed. The research revealed that some respondents suggested an interesting idea to unify these two assistants' functions into one that would fall under one resort. By this diploma thesis I would like to contribute to the explanation of ambiguities in the competences of a teacher assistant and a personal assistant and to promote the importance of a teacher assistant in school integration of children with disabilities.

Modern teknik som intelligenta personliga assistenter (IPA) som finns i smartphones kan förenkla människors vardagliga liv. De kan hjälpa personer med funktionshinder och människor som lever stressfulla liv. Genom tal, kan IPA:er enkelt hjälpa personer som ofta har händerna fulla att hitta vägbeskrivningar, information eller skicka meddelanden över hela världen. För att locka människor till att förlita sig på IPA:er i det dagliga livet räcker det inte att den är intelligent och tilltalande, den måste också vara tillförlitlig. Det finns många faktorer som är involverade i att bygga ett trovärdigt system. Denna uppsats fokuserar på att ta reda på vilka egenskaper som gör en IPA:s röst trovärdig och vilken typ av röster designers bör göra tillgängliga för sina användare. Kvalitativa och kvantitativa forskningsmetoder har använts i studien. Sammanlagt 11 semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och varje innehöll ett kort användartest. 100 personer deltog i en enkätundersökning med ljudklipp och specifika frågor om egenskaper hos pålitliga IPA röster. 70 av 100 tillfrågade var överens om att röster som medför känslor, speciellt en känsla av trygghet och lugn, gör en IPA-röst trovärdig. Att låta tydlig, behaglig, människoliknande och erfaren, samt att ha en dialekt som användaren kan relatera till anses också vara viktiga röstegenskaper. Kön anses vara den minst viktiga. / Modern technologies such as intelligent personal assistants (IPA) found in smartphones can simplify the daily lives of people. They are not only useful for people with disabilities but also for those who live stressful lives. Through speech, IPAs can easily help a busy full-handed person find directions, information or send messages across the world. To entice people into relying on IPAs in their daily life, it not only has to be intelligent or appealing enough but also trustworthy. There are many principles involved in building a trustworthy system. This paper focuses on finding out what characteristics make an IPA-voice trustworthy and what kind of voices designers should make available for their users. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in the study. A total of 11 semi-structured interviews were carried out each in conjunction with a brief user test. 100 people participated in a survey with audio clips and specific questions regarding characteristics of trustworthy IPA-voices. 70 of 100 respondents agreed that voices that bring about emotions, particularly the feeling of security and tranquility, make an IPA-voice trustworthy. To sound clear, pleasant, human-like and experienced, and have a dialect that the user can relate to are also considered important voice qualities. Gender is considered the least important.

While designing an intranet for people with mobile work there are things you have to consider. This thesis is aim to bring understanding to the difficulties involved in these kinds of situations. Our focus is to develop ideas that motivate the assistants to use the intranet. We have looked into the profession of personal assistants and wish to highlight their problems to access the intranet. And we will as well demonstrate their needs for communication. We will also give different proposals for differing technical solutions that will bring them access to the intranet. To fulfill this intention we have performed observations and interviews. Through this we got the opportunity to take part of the situations that differs this profession from others. During our study it has shown that communication between coworkers, among other things, is important. We claim that this knowledge is important while designing an intranet for mobile professions. By providing the assistants a good intranet, we hope to give them a good resource in their everyday work.

Ce travail s’inscrit dans le cadre de la conception et réalisation d’un robot d’assistance à la personne. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons particulièrement à la conception, à la modélisation et à la commande d’un robot manipulateur mobile. La conception mécanique couplée à un outil de simulation dynamique multi-corps nous a permis d’obtenir un modèle virtuel très réaliste. Le modèle cinématique du système a été obtenu en utilisant la méthode D-H modifiée. L’approche Bond graph et la méthode de Lagrange ont permis de construire le modèle dynamique. Un algorithme hybride qui combine la pseudoinverse du jacobien et la méthode RRT a été proposé pour la planification de mouvement d’un manipulateur redondant et rechercher de configurations continues, stables et sans collision. Un contrôleur basé sur les réseaux de neurones a été introduit pour la commande coordonnée d’un manipulateur mobile. Cette méthode ne nécessite pas un modèle précis du robot. Les paramètres inconnus sont identifiés et compensés en utilisant des réseaux de neurones RBF. Un algorithme de contrôle similaire est présenté pour la commande force/position d’un manipulateur mobile qui est soumis à des contraintes holonomes et nonholonomes. L’étude de la main robotique a été effectuée séparément avant d’être couplée au reste du système. Les modèles cinématique et dynamique du système main-objet ont été obtenus en utilisant les approches mathématiques et bond graph. Un algorithme est proposé afin d’assurer une prise ferme, éviter les dérapages et suivre les mouvements désirés. Les validations des modèles et des différentes lois de commande ont été effectuées grâce à la co-simulation Matlab/modèle virtuel / The purpose of this thesis is to design, model and control of a personal assistant robot used for domestic tasks. In order to make the robot’s design more efficient, a virtual simulation system is built using dynamic simulation software. The kinematic model is set up based on modified D-H principle. The dynamic model is built using the Lagrange theorem and elaborated in Matlab. We also employ an energy-based approach for modeling and its bond graph notation ensures encapsulation of functionality, extendibility and reusability of each element of the model. A hybrid algorithm of combining the Jacobian pseudoinverse algorithm with Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree method is presented for collision-free path planning of a redundant manipulator. An intelligent robust controller based on neural network is introduced for the coordinated control of a mobile manipulator. This method does not require an accurate model of the robot. Unknown dynamic parameters of the mobile platform and the manipulator are identified and compensated in closed-loop control using RBF neural network. A similar control algorithm is presented for coordinated force/motion control of a mobile manipulator suffering both holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. Kinematics and dynamics of a dexterous hand manipulating an object with known shape by rolling contacts are derived. A computed torque control algorithm is presented to ensure firm grip, avoid slippage and well track a given motion imposed to the object. The validation of models and different control laws were made by the co-simulation Matlab / virtual model

This thesis is based on analytical methods stemming from established theory and uses them to examine the issue of boundaries in helping professions. The purpose of the thesis is to understand the specific aspects of a relationship between a physically disabled client and their assistant, as well as the subjective perception of the boundary in a helping relationship. The research data had been collected through seven interviews with personal assistants. An analysis of this data has brought results in the form of a description of a personal assistant's profession and a summary of factors that play a significant role in establishing the relationship. Out of all the discovered topics, the relationship plays the most fundamental role and it has shown to consist of several levels - proffesional, friendly, parental or sibling and sexual. Boundaries become established within these levels in various forms and degrees depending on personal, relationship or situational factors. This issue represents a complex and multilayered topic with a vast array of paradoxes and dilemmas. The respondents do not perceive boundaries as something static, unchanging or even absolutely necessary. Just like the relationship itself, the boundaries within - if present - undergo a process of development during which they...

The largest software companies in the world are racing to develop their Intelligent Personal Assistants. Each with more and more capabilities and ways for users to access them. The different assistants have different capabilities and one of the ways the companies are differentiating is in the interaction techniques their assistants that are controlled with, most uses voice, and some uses text. This thesis walks through these interaction techniques, give a brief overview of intelligent personal assistants today and explores how learnability differentiate when using these interaction techniques. The thesis also investigates when users have access to multiple interaction techniques to use in combination when interacting with such an assistant. To evaluate the field, a literature study was conducted covering Intelligent Personal Assistants, interaction techniques, conversational user interfaces, modalities, multimodal interaction, voice and chat interfaces. Interviews with early adopters of Intelligent Personal Assistants was performed to better understand the current state of the technology and how users were using it. To evaluate the learnability differences in different interaction techniques, a series of user tests in a wizard-of-oz setup was conducted. In the user tests the different groups was using different interaction techniques to interact with their assistants. The main findings of the user tests was that there are indications to that the type of language used differs depending on the interaction techniques. Users who interact through voice is more prone to use a more natural language, while users using a chat interface quickly started to treat the interactions with the Intelligent Personal Assistant as commands. The result observed was that users who interacted with the assistant using chat and then switched to interacting through voice used a shorter, more command-like language when they interacted through voice as well.

Title: Personal assistent'sknowledge of first aid. Objectives: The aim of this master thesis was to determine the personal assistant's knowledge of first aid in selected situations. Methods: An anonymous survey was used to determine the personal assistant'sknowledge of first aid. The questions were created on the basis of Barbora Studená'sbachelor thesis and on the basis of information obtained from centres or organization providing personal assistance. The webside Survio.com was used for data collection. Personal assistants who work or have worked in the social services sector were in the target group. A total of 54 respondents participated in the research. The data were processed into graphs and evaluated. Results: Out of the total number 54 (100 %, 46 (85 %) of respondents got above 13-point limit in the survey focused on their knowledge of first aid. Personal assistant's knowledge was evaluated as positive. From the results, we can also assume that the length of action and practical experience in personal assistance has an impact on the subjective assessment of self- confidence in providing first aid. Keywords: lay first aid, Personal assistant service, civil illness, people with special needs

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