A desnutriÃÃo deve ser entendida como expressÃo de mÃltiplas dimensÃes, caracterizando uma sÃrie de situaÃÃes e condiÃÃes de vida bastante desfavorÃveis que atuam em um indivÃduo. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo compreender as percepÃÃes de mÃes de crianÃas desnutridas sobre sua realidade de vida, com base em um contexto socialmente desfavorecido, analisando, ao mesmo tempo, suas estratÃgias de enfrentamento diante das condiÃÃes de vulnerabilidade em que vivem, assim como suas impressÃes a respeito da instituiÃÃo onde seus filhos sÃo atendidos. A pesquisa realizou-se com sete mulheres, mÃes de crianÃas desnutridas, participantes do Instituto de PromoÃÃo da NutriÃÃo e do Desenvolvimento Humano â IPREDE, situado em Fortaleza, CearÃ, no perÃodo de maio a outubro de 2011. Adotou-se a metodologia qualitativa, desenvolvendo percursos etnogrÃficos, e o referencial teÃrico ancorado no campo interdisciplinar da SaÃde PÃblica. Fez-se uma discussÃo triangulada com origem na observaÃÃo sistemÃtica e participativa, entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas, busca documental, interpretaÃÃo da pesquisadora, com o auxilio do diÃrio de campo e diÃlogo constante com a literatura especializada. O material empÃrico obtido foi analisado conforme a tÃcnica de anÃlise de discurso. Foram realizados acompanhamentos da vida dessas mulheres no seu local de moradia, nas idas ao atendimento em Unidades de SaÃde e no IPREDE. Os resultados revelam forte associaÃÃo entre desnutriÃÃo infantil e dificuldades na maternidade e no vÃnculo entre mÃe e filho. As mulheres, marcadas pelas fragilidades e pela culpa, permanecem limitadas, fixadas nas preocupaÃÃes com a maternidade, nÃo vislumbrando saÃdas e oportunidades para viver melhor. Ante tantas privaÃÃes, constatou-se que as informantes buscam estratÃgias para enfrentar as adversidades, tanto no sentido emocional quanto cognitivo, procurando lidar com as situaÃÃes de estresse presentes em seu dia a dia. Buscam apoio na famÃlia, nos amigos ou nos vizinhos, trabalham, veem novelas, passeiam, dormem, rezam, procuram uma instituiÃÃode apoio, pensam positivo, mudam de companheiro, envolvem-se com um amante e procuram a justiÃa. No IPREDE, verificou-se a especial importÃncia atribuÃda pelas mÃes aos espaÃos de troca e relacionamentos mais democrÃticos com profissionais, pois elas podem se expressar e ser ouvidas em suas âdores da almaâ. Notou-se, tambÃm, a confianÃa no saber biomÃdico quando buscam orientaÃÃo e compreensÃo quanto à saÃde dos filhos. Tais espaÃos parecem ter contribuÃdo em seu crescimento pessoal, fortalecendo suas possibilidades de enfrentamento. SupÃe-se que programas de intervenÃÃo nutricional poderÃo obter resultados mais satisfatÃrios quando valorizada a histÃria de vida das mÃes como fator coadjuvante no processo de determinaÃÃo e recuperaÃÃo da desnutriÃÃo. O fato de compreender como essa mulher convive com o filho em seu habitat natural poderà fornecer subsÃdios sobre como cuidar melhor, caso a caso. O planejamento de atividades lÃdicas e com recursos audiovisuais pode promover situaÃÃes de aprendizagem mais relaxantes e participativas. Sugere-se, tambÃm, realizar consultas Ãs opiniÃes e preferÃncias das mÃes, o que pode estimular sua inclusÃo e autoafirmaÃÃo como sujeitos ativos em seu processo de cuidado e cura dos filhos. Entende-se que uma atenÃÃo psicoemocional mais individualizada e aprofundada à dÃade poderà favorecer o fortalecimento do vÃnculo mÃe e filho. / Malnutrition should be understood as a multi-dimensional expression characterizing a series of extremely unfavorable situations and living conditions that act upon an individual. To understand the perceptions of mothers of malnourished children regarding the realities of their lives, starting with a context of social disadvantage and at the same time analyzing theircoping strategies in the face of their precarious living conditions. In addition, their impressions of the institution where their children are cared for were also recorded. The study was conducted with seven women, mothers of malnourished children cared for at the Institute for the Promotion of Nutrition and Human Development - IPREDE, located in Fortaleza, CearÃ, between May and October 2011. A qualitative methodology was adopted, developing ethnographic accounts, and the theoretical framework was grounded in the interdisciplinary field of Public Health. A triangulated discussion was carried out using systematic and participatory observation of semi-structured individual interviews, document research and interpretation by the researcher, with the aid of a field diary and constant reference to the specialized literature. The empirical material obtained was analyzed using the technique of discourse analysis. The researcher monitored the lives of these women in their place of residence, visits to health care centers and IPREDE. The results reveal a strong link between child malnutrition and difficulties in the construction of motherhood and bonding between mother and child. The women, marked by fragility and guilt remain limited, fixed on concerns about motherhood; unable to see a way out or opportunities to live better. Faced with so many hardships, the subjects try to seek strategies to deal with adversity, in both the cognitive and the emotional sense, trying to cope with the stressful situations present in their day-to-day. They look for support from their family, friends or neighbors. They work, watch soap operas, walk, sleep, pray, seek a supportive institution, think positively, change partner, get involved with a lover and seek justice. At IPREDE, the mothers place particular importance on having a space for exchanges and more democratic relationships with professionals, where they can express themselves and share their "heartaches." Their confidence in biomedical knowledge when seeking guidance and understanding about their childrenâs health was also observed.These spaces appear to have contributed to their personal growth; strengthening their chances of coping. It is concluded that nutritional intervention programs can obtain better results when the life story of the mothers is valued as a supporting factor in the process of determining and recovering from malnutrition. Understanding how a woman lives with her child in their natural environment may provide insights on a case by case basis. The planning of pleasant activities and audio-visual resources can promote more relaxed and participatory learning situations. It is also suggested that the motherâs opinions and preferences be consulted, as this may stimulate their inclusion and self-affirmation as active subjects in their childâs care and healing. Deeper and more individualized psycho-emotional care and attention to the dyad,may favor the strengthening of the mother-child bond.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Research literature regarding functional enuresis indicates that the prevalence of functional enuresis is higher in institutionalised children as opposed to non-institutionalised children. A preliminary survey conducted at the Abraham Kriel Children's Home revealed that approximately 10% of the children experience problems with enuresis. One of the childrens' personal files was studied. From this it appeared that although on a number of occasions there were therapeutic interventions, the girl still experiences problems with enuresis. To enable better understanding of this phenomenon it was decided to obtain a holistic image of the girl's construction of meaning, and, by so doing, establish whether the therapeutic interventions addressed and tackled the crux of the problem. To achieve this goal (which is exploratory and descriptive in nature, with a contextual concern), a qualitative single case study was used as the chosen research format. In this research a developmental exploration of the girl's world of meaning was performed. By means of a holistic analysis her life history was analysed in the light of Erik Erikson's developmental theory. Developmental tasks and needs that are characteristic of each life phase were identified. On the basis of this the girl's circumstances were examined in order to determine her possible self meaning. By means of a play diagnostic investigation an analysis was made of the way in which she presently perceives herself and the world...

The present study constitutes an attempt to observe and measure the emotional responses of young children to hospitalization and surgery. There has been much inquiry and comment from psychiatric and medical sources which suggests that this experience may be seriously traumatic for some children, and social workers are rightly concerned about the possibilities of modifying the frightening aspects of hospital routines on the basis of their knowledge of children's emotional needs. A sample group of children (20) referred for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy by the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of the Vancouver General Hospital was studied. The mother of each child was interviewed, three months after the hospitalization of her child, on the basis of a comprehensive questionnaire designed to determine the child's behaviour before and after surgery, including his usual reactions to punishment and the nature of the punishment. Relevant references by medical and social workers were studied, including the Albany Research Project which was a notable example of team research by a paediatrician, an anaesthetist, a psychiatrist, and a social worker, to establish patterns of child's reactions to the same operation in the Albany Hospital. Similar methods of assessing adjustment by measuring neuropathic traits before and after the experience were used. In the present study, special emphasis was laid upon ascertaining the nature of the mother-child relationship and the degree of anxiety around separation. Some follow-up was also incorporated. The same wards were observed five years later and differences in setting, policy, and procedures were noted and evaluated in terms of the earlier findings. It was found that ten of the twenty children suffered a severe emotional setback as a result of their illness and hospitalization. It was also observed that many of the children confused surgery with punishment and many had unrealistic ideas about the purpose of hospitalization. It is suggested that poor preparation contributed to this confusion, and that unimaginative methods of applying standard hospital procedures to small patients often confirmed fears and anxiety. Because the child's reaction to hospitalization is essentially based on the quality of his relationship with his mother, it is concluded that surgery should be postponed, if possible, until after five years of age; or, where postponement is impossible, mothers should be able to accompany young children to hospital. Some modifications in hospital routines applicable to children in hospital are suggested. The later observation of Vancouver General Hospital showed great changes in setting and policy, especially in regard to visiting, but found the two major procedures of admitting to hospital and preparation for anaesthesia and surgery virtually unchanged. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a multi-media presentation relating to the topic of employer-supported child care in British Columbia in the business community. Changes in the knowledge and attitude of employers, as measured by a questionaire, were the determinants of the effectiveness of the presentation. Personnel officers from the public and private sector were selected for the study subjects. Support for this study was obtained from a professional association of personnel officers, which offered to host an educational seminar on this topic. This seminar is the treatment of the study and the members of the association who elected to attend this seminar are the subjects. This study was part of a larger study that was a joint research project between the University of British Columbia and Douglas College. Each institution supplied a principal investigator, project personnel and institutional resources. The author of this thesis was the project researcher. Funding for the project was received from the Child Care Initiatives Fund, Health and Welfare Canada. A section of the larger project's findings were extracted for this study. The field of employer-supported child care is relatively recent in Canada. Since 1964 when the Riverdale Hospital opened a child care facility in Toronto, there have been just over one hundred such employer-supported child care facilities set up. Many other companies have set up company-assisted child care options that also fall within the term "employer-supported child care," but no one to date has catalogued the total number of such initiatives. In British Columbia there have been four known employer-supported child care centres; one is no longer in existence. There has been considerable interest and activity in the provincial business community since this study began in 1988. However, other than M. Mayfield's survey of employer involvement in child care in British Columbia in 1984, no research studies have been conducted on this topic. No other known studies are currently taking place, although the Child Care Initiatives Fund, Health and Welfare Canada does list several demonstration projects currently underway across Canada. This study, then, is to develop an effective multi-media presentation relating to employer-supported child care that would educate and influence employers to consider involvement in the child care needs of their employees from an economic perspective. Measurement of knowledge and attitude toward the topic would be taken to determine the effectiveness of this presentation. Results showed that the presentation was effective. Whereas before the seminar 2.5% of the respondents reported their company's level of involvement in child care at the "developing an option" stage, by the conclusion of the seminar, 32.5% of the respondents reported interest at the same level. Responses showed that the perceived obstacles of "lack of evidence of child care services providing long term benefits to the company", "corporate liability", and "equity" were significantly reduced. Employers acquired knowledge about the topic through the seminar. Perceived obstacles were overcome. The respondents were motivated to become involved in employer-supported child care. A need for future studies has been identified from the interpretation of the research results and it is hoped that issues raised from this study will form future research questions. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The home as a site for childcare is linked to notions of 'good' parenting, and the employment of a nanny is often meant to create an extended family which enables a child to be nurtured in this private space. Qualitative interviews undertaken with fifty-one families and eleven nannies indicate that this childcare arrangement is complex and involves shifting and divergent constructions of what good parenting and good childcare are. This childcare arrangement often failed because of the complexities of the employer-employee relationship, and a failed attempt at familial attachment. A partial explanation as to why this fails is that some nannies view their employment as a 'bad' parenting strategy, and suggest that it is the parents who should be nurturing the children. This tension around the appropriateness of certain childcare strategies is indicative of discourses of proper parenting and maternal ideals, and is intimately connected to place. Expanding on this theme, interviews were undertaken with ten daycares in the city of Vancouver to examine how discourses of proper parenting are reworked in a 'public' space. This inquiry introduces more directly issues of class, opportunity and the socialization of children. The maternal ideals expressed in the first part of the study are reworked, and sometimes abandoned, in the delivery of public childcare services. Further, there is a process of normalization that takes place in the designation and segregation of children based on age, and whether they are 'typical' or 'special needs'. I argue that greater attention to emotion is needed in the study of childcare, and greater appreciation of difference is needed in the delivery of childcare. This thesis also questions its original premise, that of looking at childcare as public and private options, and of seeing childcare as an employment strategy. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The quality of a child care setting is believed by many child care researchers to have an impact on the development of children in child care. While a considerable amount of research has been done regarding the impact of child care quality on child outcomes, an examination of literature reviews on the topic reveals that there is a lack of consensus in the field on the question of whether child care quality has a substantial impact on children's development. The present study assessed the impact child care quality has on child outcomes. A dataset from the NICHD Early Child Care Study involving 878 subjects was used. Analyses utilizing structural equation modeling indicated that child care quality has a substantial impact on children's development, even when the influence of demographic and family variables is taken into account.

Fruit and Flower, The History of Oregon's First Day Care Center, is a history of philanthropy in the field of child care. Using a topical approach rather than a strict chronological method, the text discusses the specific subjects of private philanthropy and public funding as applied to the Fruit and Flower institution. At the same time, it traces the exact growth of that institution through a one hundred year maturing process--from its beginning in 1885 as a girls' club of "friendly visitors" to a modern child care center in 1978. This examination of the evolution of a specific social service institution also incorporates a review of the financial factors which initiated change in a day nursery program, and analyzes how federal funding has impacted the quality of that program.

No description available.

I examined how dual-earner households manage the often-competing demands of work and family life through an in-depth analysis of time allocated to housework and child care while testing the theories of gender display and economic dependency. I developed new measures for occupational nurturance and authority and applied these measures to the housework and child care literature by conducting a series of replication studies. My work supports the relationship between employment characteristics and remaining gender inequalities in unpaid household labor. I was able to shed light on how dual-earner households attempt to manage the complicated work-family time bind, while adding to the field of replication studies in quantitative sociology. I constructed new measures for occupational nurturance and authority to offer alternative ways to assess occupational traits that were not mutually exclusive or dichotomous. I conducted year fixed effects multilevel models of General Social Survey (GSS) respondents nested within occupations. Using these models, I constructed empirical Bayes (EB) estimates of the occupational effects and aggregated the data set at the occupation-level for easy merging to any data set using Census occupation codes. I showed the utility of my new measures by merging them to the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) and American Time Use Survey (ATUS) for further analysis. I found overwhelming support for gender conventionality for married men and women working in gender atypical occupations who displayed less stereotypical gendered behavior at home. However, separate from occupational sex composition, my findings also provided support for the influence of gender ideology on married men and women’s gendered display of housework at home. For child care, I found consistent and overwhelming support for fathers’ and mothers’ time spent with children and economic dependency’s time availability perspective. These results illuminated the “time crunch” that dual-earners face as they juggle work and family obligations. Across both studies of unpaid household labor, the overall findings suggest a gendered picture. Married women completed more housework than married men, and mothers completed more child care than fathers. The housework findings were further supported by gender ideology, or that those with more traditional views on housework and family life completed more traditionally gendered housework tasks. Although, my findings also suggested more nuanced housework for those in gender atypical workplaces in support of gender conventionality. Finally, even though I found strong support for economic dependency’s time availability perspective for time spent with children in dual-earner households, mothers still completed more child care than fathers regardless of all other factors further highlighting a stalled revolution for working mothers. Women made strides in the workplace, but still faced gendered unpaid household labor at home. Throughout my studies, I added new measures to the field and I built on the great work of leaders in the field of housework and child care through replication. I conducted robustness and generalizability checks of prior work and made a case for replication studies in quantitative sociology. / Sociology