This thesis is an account of how a networking approach may assist participatory community development. The author undertakes naturalistic action research into how she can improve her social practice with a view to gaining equal participation amongst university and community members in a community development practicum. She describes how efforts to maximize group participation are typically countered with various forms of non-participation, analogous to a rebellion against authoritarianism. Dialogue with her doctoral peer group about tacit meanings from her personal history reveals that she is too heavily invested in community involvement. A stance of irreverence gives her the freedom to realize that her politically correct approach is conveying the message that "MY way of participation is THE way". She embarks on a networking programme of action in the hope of achieving more balanced participation. A multidisciplinary workshop and a study tour show her that openness to multiple inputs may free people from restrictive views and problematic styles of participation. She initiates the formation of a local network and finds that this is a more free-flowing structure that encourages fluid problem solving among community, government and university participants. The author's original anxieties are, however, revived when networking, too, becomes entangled in organizational complexities. She eventually realizes that she tends to base her actions on premises of power and justice and that it may be helpful to base new ventures on information flow and creativity instead. Her new approach to group facilitation elicits creative inputs from others. She finds that deliberate debate of the assumptions on which collective undertakings are based releases an awareness of alternative approaches to addressing unequal resource utilization in the commons. A review of the local Network's development over six years draws attention to networking resources, and its uses, structuring and management. The author's experiences continuously demonstrate that the assumptions of independence and freedom of choice may provide a more satisfactory basis upon which to manage community participation. / Social Work / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Chapter 1 describes practical theology as a communicative operational science and stresses how important it is that a hermeneutical and narrative approach compliments it. It is shown that pastoral work must be launched from the church community. The premise is that the Enlightenment paradigm causes a reductionistic, individualistic and denominational approach to pastoral work. A holistic, comprehensive and ecologically orientated approach is proposed. Chapter 2 discusses the need for an ecosystemic approach as a metaparadigrn for practical theology in terms of the move away from the Newtonian view of science and the post-modem critiques of a technocratic society. This is supported by developments in systemic family therapy, constructionism and community psychology. Chapter 3 describes an interrelated ecclesiology as a base theory for practical theology and pastoral work with reference to the church's interrelation with society and the need to include an anthropology as part of an ecclesiology. This interrelationship implies that the serving (diakonia) and caring (koinonia) functions of the church should converge, forming a diaconal pastorate. In chapter 4 the secularised modem world-vie\v and the traditional African world-view, both functioning in South Africa, are employed to shed light upon the importance of the concept community for the church's pastoral work. The term community is broadened to include the idea of networking, emphasisingg that community is more than geographical proximity. Chapter 5 is a quantitative investigation. by means of a questionnaire, of the views (ecosystemic/non-ecosystemic) of pastoral workers regarding the church and of pastoral work. Chapter 6 discusses the implications of a community pastoral work approach. Pastoral work has a serving-caring role, but should also function prophetically, to conscientise. sensitise and empower people. The church as a healing community must become the springboard from which pastoral actions can face the challenge of AIDS (chapter 7). This will require the church to shift its paradigm from the reductionist, individualist approach, presently prevalent in society and church pastoral actions, to an all-encompassing. holistic one. / Practical Theology / Th.D. (Practical Theology)

I am a collage artist working with multiple mediums such as paint, photography, video, audio, and performance. As a New Orleans’ native, I have a unique history that is unflattering, for my history echoes that of America’s historical misdeeds. I make sociopolitical art because I am of a historically oppressed people. I make art that celebrates my diverse culture that is a collage of Native American, African, and New Orleans’ French Creole.

ABSTRACT Background: Previous criminal justice policies have been non-effective leading to overpopulated prisons and unsuccessful reintegration. There is a lack of effective supportive and/or rehabilitative services resulting in high rates of recidivism and mental health implications. Objective: This study investigated the perceived impact that incarceration and reintegration with little to no supportive and/or rehabilitative services has on the mental health status of an individual. The emphasis was on participant perception and not on professional reports because of underreporting and lack of attention to mental health in the criminal justice system. Methods: Focus groups in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley were held to gather preliminary data used to develop the survey for this study. The survey was distributed to 88 male and female ex-offenders over the age of 18 who were no longer on probation or parole. Secondary data from United Way 211 and California State Reentry Initiative was collected to report current trends of supportive and/or rehabilitative services. Results: Incarceration was found to negatively impact perceived mental health status, but reintegration was not. Supportive and/or rehabilitative services continue to be rarely offered and accessed, but when accessed, perceived mental health status is better. Supportive and/or rehabilitative services are more readily available. People who are using these services are improving their quality of life, becoming productive members of society, and preventing recidivism. Conclusions: A paradigm shift is currently under way to reduce recidivism by improving supportive and/or rehabilitative services during incarceration and reintegration. Many offenders are receiving services as an alternative to incarceration, recidivism rates are being reduced, and ex-offenders are becoming productive members of society. The field of social work is an integral part of reentry services and should continue advocating for policies and services that support reintegration efforts at the micro and macro level.

Stroke recovery is complex and poorly understood. As a legacy of pervasive pessimism in the face of limited treatment, it is conceptualised and researched from biomedical and psychosocial perspectives that address impairment, problems of performance, quality of life, burden and disruption. Little stroke research is conducted once professional input has ceased, and yet considerable change occurs after this period with evidence that post-stroke wellbeing is independent of impairment and function -- many people do well in the face of poor prognoses, while others remain miserable despite 'good recovery'. Current advances in acute stroke management are generating increasing optimism, but lack of understanding about individuals' post-stroke experiences and long-term outcomes continues. While it is recognised that the impact of stroke on the lives of survivors and families is profound, rehabilitation focuses on recovery as task achievement and measured functional outcomes. For many survivors and their families 'recovery' is contested, ambiguous and extended. For some, it becomes a lifetime marathon because stroke represents an assault, not only to the body, but to the self and the lifeworld -- it is a 'life' event. This narrative inquiry into life after stroke explores recovery as a process taking place over time and conceptualised as a life transition. The work is grounded in narrative theory with the concept of transition providing the lens and focus for the research, its processes and analyses. Individuals' stories remain intact enabling evocation of diverse stroke meanings and the mapping of individual experience. Bringing these whole stories into conversation with each other elucidates post-stroke transition which is interpreted in light of theories of response to traumatic loss and informed by narrative theory. The thesis presents stories of trauma, loss and grief, situated in past lives and selves where assumptions about selves and future lives are shattered. The future makes no sense in terms of participants' past and present lives; life plots are lost and stroke therefore represents 'lost futures'. Stories of moving on to new lives are focused on being and doing in the present and have an expectant view of life. Although mindful of past lives and enduring losses, survivors actively engage in processes to reconfigure their lives with hope for a meaningful future. Transition is interpreted as 'reconfiguring the future'. The life tasks of reconfiguration are embedded in dynamic models of traumatic loss where grief is conceptualised as recursive movement between loss and meaning reconstruction evident in narratives that slowly move towards wellbeing. Despite broad recognition that loss and grief are part of the stroke experience, they are rarely addressed; where attention is paid it is likely embedded in explanatory models of staged response that oversimplify human experience. This thesis offers a new framework. It represents a fresh interpretation that highlights the ongoing traumatic impact of stroke. The post-stroke journeys of survivors and families are affected by individual circumstances and meanings. Although their stories are permeated with loss, many people move forward towards lives worth living. This interpretation suggests ways of reconfiguring lives in the face of devastation and ongoing traumatic loss. The work identifies a complex interaction of individual, emotional and social factors contributing to transitions to wellbeing following stroke and thus adds to a prospective vision of post-stroke life that can inform rehabilitation, discharge and stroke support strategies. Post-stroke transition will be enhanced when we use narrative framing and understanding to guide rehabilitative practice that uses meaning-centred models to prepare survivors and their families for a return to the lifeworld. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009

Stroke recovery is complex and poorly understood. As a legacy of pervasive pessimism in the face of limited treatment, it is conceptualised and researched from biomedical and psychosocial perspectives that address impairment, problems of performance, quality of life, burden and disruption. Little stroke research is conducted once professional input has ceased, and yet considerable change occurs after this period with evidence that post-stroke wellbeing is independent of impairment and function -- many people do well in the face of poor prognoses, while others remain miserable despite 'good recovery'. Current advances in acute stroke management are generating increasing optimism, but lack of understanding about individuals' post-stroke experiences and long-term outcomes continues. While it is recognised that the impact of stroke on the lives of survivors and families is profound, rehabilitation focuses on recovery as task achievement and measured functional outcomes. For many survivors and their families 'recovery' is contested, ambiguous and extended. For some, it becomes a lifetime marathon because stroke represents an assault, not only to the body, but to the self and the lifeworld -- it is a 'life' event. This narrative inquiry into life after stroke explores recovery as a process taking place over time and conceptualised as a life transition. The work is grounded in narrative theory with the concept of transition providing the lens and focus for the research, its processes and analyses. Individuals' stories remain intact enabling evocation of diverse stroke meanings and the mapping of individual experience. Bringing these whole stories into conversation with each other elucidates post-stroke transition which is interpreted in light of theories of response to traumatic loss and informed by narrative theory. The thesis presents stories of trauma, loss and grief, situated in past lives and selves where assumptions about selves and future lives are shattered. The future makes no sense in terms of participants' past and present lives; life plots are lost and stroke therefore represents 'lost futures'. Stories of moving on to new lives are focused on being and doing in the present and have an expectant view of life. Although mindful of past lives and enduring losses, survivors actively engage in processes to reconfigure their lives with hope for a meaningful future. Transition is interpreted as 'reconfiguring the future'. The life tasks of reconfiguration are embedded in dynamic models of traumatic loss where grief is conceptualised as recursive movement between loss and meaning reconstruction evident in narratives that slowly move towards wellbeing. Despite broad recognition that loss and grief are part of the stroke experience, they are rarely addressed; where attention is paid it is likely embedded in explanatory models of staged response that oversimplify human experience. This thesis offers a new framework. It represents a fresh interpretation that highlights the ongoing traumatic impact of stroke. The post-stroke journeys of survivors and families are affected by individual circumstances and meanings. Although their stories are permeated with loss, many people move forward towards lives worth living. This interpretation suggests ways of reconfiguring lives in the face of devastation and ongoing traumatic loss. The work identifies a complex interaction of individual, emotional and social factors contributing to transitions to wellbeing following stroke and thus adds to a prospective vision of post-stroke life that can inform rehabilitation, discharge and stroke support strategies. Post-stroke transition will be enhanced when we use narrative framing and understanding to guide rehabilitative practice that uses meaning-centred models to prepare survivors and their families for a return to the lifeworld. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009

Stroke recovery is complex and poorly understood. As a legacy of pervasive pessimism in the face of limited treatment, it is conceptualised and researched from biomedical and psychosocial perspectives that address impairment, problems of performance, quality of life, burden and disruption. Little stroke research is conducted once professional input has ceased, and yet considerable change occurs after this period with evidence that post-stroke wellbeing is independent of impairment and function -- many people do well in the face of poor prognoses, while others remain miserable despite 'good recovery'. Current advances in acute stroke management are generating increasing optimism, but lack of understanding about individuals' post-stroke experiences and long-term outcomes continues. While it is recognised that the impact of stroke on the lives of survivors and families is profound, rehabilitation focuses on recovery as task achievement and measured functional outcomes. For many survivors and their families 'recovery' is contested, ambiguous and extended. For some, it becomes a lifetime marathon because stroke represents an assault, not only to the body, but to the self and the lifeworld -- it is a 'life' event. This narrative inquiry into life after stroke explores recovery as a process taking place over time and conceptualised as a life transition. The work is grounded in narrative theory with the concept of transition providing the lens and focus for the research, its processes and analyses. Individuals' stories remain intact enabling evocation of diverse stroke meanings and the mapping of individual experience. Bringing these whole stories into conversation with each other elucidates post-stroke transition which is interpreted in light of theories of response to traumatic loss and informed by narrative theory. The thesis presents stories of trauma, loss and grief, situated in past lives and selves where assumptions about selves and future lives are shattered. The future makes no sense in terms of participants' past and present lives; life plots are lost and stroke therefore represents 'lost futures'. Stories of moving on to new lives are focused on being and doing in the present and have an expectant view of life. Although mindful of past lives and enduring losses, survivors actively engage in processes to reconfigure their lives with hope for a meaningful future. Transition is interpreted as 'reconfiguring the future'. The life tasks of reconfiguration are embedded in dynamic models of traumatic loss where grief is conceptualised as recursive movement between loss and meaning reconstruction evident in narratives that slowly move towards wellbeing. Despite broad recognition that loss and grief are part of the stroke experience, they are rarely addressed; where attention is paid it is likely embedded in explanatory models of staged response that oversimplify human experience. This thesis offers a new framework. It represents a fresh interpretation that highlights the ongoing traumatic impact of stroke. The post-stroke journeys of survivors and families are affected by individual circumstances and meanings. Although their stories are permeated with loss, many people move forward towards lives worth living. This interpretation suggests ways of reconfiguring lives in the face of devastation and ongoing traumatic loss. The work identifies a complex interaction of individual, emotional and social factors contributing to transitions to wellbeing following stroke and thus adds to a prospective vision of post-stroke life that can inform rehabilitation, discharge and stroke support strategies. Post-stroke transition will be enhanced when we use narrative framing and understanding to guide rehabilitative practice that uses meaning-centred models to prepare survivors and their families for a return to the lifeworld. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009

Chapter 1 describes practical theology as a communicative operational science and stresses how important it is that a hermeneutical and narrative approach compliments it. It is shown that pastoral work must be launched from the church community. The premise is that the Enlightenment paradigm causes a reductionistic, individualistic and denominational approach to pastoral work. A holistic, comprehensive and ecologically orientated approach is proposed. Chapter 2 discusses the need for an ecosystemic approach as a metaparadigrn for practical theology in terms of the move away from the Newtonian view of science and the post-modem critiques of a technocratic society. This is supported by developments in systemic family therapy, constructionism and community psychology. Chapter 3 describes an interrelated ecclesiology as a base theory for practical theology and pastoral work with reference to the church's interrelation with society and the need to include an anthropology as part of an ecclesiology. This interrelationship implies that the serving (diakonia) and caring (koinonia) functions of the church should converge, forming a diaconal pastorate. In chapter 4 the secularised modem world-vie\v and the traditional African world-view, both functioning in South Africa, are employed to shed light upon the importance of the concept community for the church's pastoral work. The term community is broadened to include the idea of networking, emphasisingg that community is more than geographical proximity. Chapter 5 is a quantitative investigation. by means of a questionnaire, of the views (ecosystemic/non-ecosystemic) of pastoral workers regarding the church and of pastoral work. Chapter 6 discusses the implications of a community pastoral work approach. Pastoral work has a serving-caring role, but should also function prophetically, to conscientise. sensitise and empower people. The church as a healing community must become the springboard from which pastoral actions can face the challenge of AIDS (chapter 7). This will require the church to shift its paradigm from the reductionist, individualist approach, presently prevalent in society and church pastoral actions, to an all-encompassing. holistic one. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / Th.D. (Practical Theology)

NEPOMUCENO, Léo Barbosa. Para atuar com a comunidade: estudo sobre a relação entre participação comunitária e estratégia de saúde da família do SUS no Bairro Terrenos Novos em Sobral, Ceará. 2009. 206 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2009. / Submitted by moises gomes (celtinha_malvado@hotmail.com) on 2012-01-23T14:35:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_LBNepomuceno.PDF: 1311410 bytes, checksum: a700d7975da9a8944af2fe46241cacd0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-01-27T15:30:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_LBNepomuceno.PDF: 1311410 bytes, checksum: a700d7975da9a8944af2fe46241cacd0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-01-27T15:30:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_LBNepomuceno.PDF: 1311410 bytes, checksum: a700d7975da9a8944af2fe46241cacd0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / The research part of the finding, based in several studies, that the Family Health Care Strategy (ESF), established as Primary Health in the National Public Health (SUS) in Brazil, has not encouraged a significant community participation. Supports the idea that community participation is essential to the advance of ESF work, and bring elements to enrich the debate on the theme of social participation in SUS. Studies the relationship between the Family Health Care Strategy (ESF) and community participation in Terrenos Novos neighborhood, in Sobral-CE. Analyzes the understanding of the group of users and professionals in the ESF about community participation, the ESF work and the relationship between them; evaluates community participation, the work of the ESF and the relationship between those in the community studied, presents and create proposals, with residents and professionals of the municipal health system of Sobral, to strengthen community participation and the ESF. Its theoretical mark is the Community Psychology and its interfaces with the Social Psychology of Health, Community Health and Public Health. Consists an exploratory and field research of qualitative approach. A thematic analysis is performed as the main methodological strategy, like a technique of content analysis of empirical material produced in the culture circles performed with the group of participants. As an additional methodological strategy, analyze the field notes taken and materials in work done by the researcher in the place. The search results are divided into three main themes: community participation, the ESF and the relationship between them. The theme of the Community highlights concepts of community participation related to ideas of solidarity with the other, an involvement and commitment to what is common, a need to collectively seek improvements to the neighborhood. The evaluation of community participation in Terrenos Novos neighborhood points to a "disenchantment" and decline of this process in the place. The theme of the ESF's work points to several conceptions, ranging from visions impregnated with the ideology of the biomedical model to more differentiated views that argue defends an attention focused on the family health and in tune with the reality of the territory-community. The evaluation of the work of the CSF studied mainly points to weaknesses in the health care. The discussion of the topic of the relationship between community participation and ESF highlights the importance of this relationship to the advancement of health work and the need to improve the relationship between these processes. Several relevant factors were identified in the relationship between ESF and the Community, among them: the professional commitment, the ability of social reading of the professionals, the need to resize the work process for health promotion; the power relationship between professional and user, the ability to practice the co-responsibility with the user, and need to create permanent spaces of dialogue between the CSF and the community. / A pesquisa parte da constatação, colocada por vários estudos, de que a Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF), constituída como Atenção Primária em Saúde no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) do Brasil, não tem fomentado uma significativa participação comunitária. Defende a idéia de que a participação comunitária é fundamental para o avanço do trabalho da ESF, e traz elementos para enriquecer o debate sobre o tema da participação social no SUS. Estuda a relação entre Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF) e participação comunitária no bairro Terrenos Novos, em Sobral-CE. Analisa a compreensão que um grupo formado por usuários e profissionais da ESF tem a respeito da participação comunitária, do trabalho da ESF e da relação entre estes; avalia a participação comunitária, o trabalho da ESF e a relação entre estes na comunidade estudada; problematiza e constrói propostas, junto com moradores e profissionais do Sistema Municipal de Saúde de Sobral, para o fortalecimento da participação comunitária e da ESF. Tem como marco teórico a Psicologia Comunitária e suas interfaces com a Psicologia Social da Saúde, Saúde Comunitária e Saúde Pública. Constitui-se como pesquisa de campo exploratória de abordagem qualitativa. Como estratégia metodológica principal, realiza análise temática, como técnica de análise de conteúdo, de material empírico produzido em círculos de cultura realizados com o grupo de participantes. Como estratégia metodológica complementar, analisa anotações de campo realizadas, bem como materiais produzidos em trabalhos realizados pelo pesquisador no local. Os resultados da pesquisa dividem-se em três temas principais: a participação comunitária, a ESF e a relação entre estes. O tema da participação comunitária destaca concepções de participação comunitária ligadas a idéias de solidariedade com outro, de um envolvimento e compromisso com o que é comum, de uma necessidade de buscar coletivamente melhorias para o bairro. A avaliação feita sobre a participação comunitária no bairro Terrenos Novos aponta para um “desencantamento” e enfraquecimento desse processo no lugar. O tema do trabalho da ESF aponta para diversas concepções que vão desde visões impregnadas com o ideário do modelo biomédico até visões mais diferenciadas que defendem uma atenção em saúde voltada para a família e sintonizada com a realidade do território-comunidade. A avaliação feita do trabalho do CSF estudado aponta principalmente para fragilidades na atenção à saúde. A discussão do tema da relação entre participação comunitária e ESF destaca a importância de tal relação para o avanço do trabalho em saúde e para a necessidade de se melhorar a relação existente entre esses processos. Foram apontados vários elementos relevantes na relação entre ESF e participação comunitária, dentre eles: o compromisso do profissional; a capacidade de leitura social dos profissionais; a necessidade de redimensionar o processo de trabalho para a promoção da saúde; a relação de poder entre profissional e usuário; a capacidade de praticar a co-responsabilização com o usuário; e a necessidade de criação de espaços permanentes de diálogo entre o CSF e a comunidade.

M.A. / Crime hits the poor hardest since they are least able to cope with its consequences. In South Africa violent crime especially is increasing and in communities like Mamelodi, citizens are responding by taking the law into their own hands. Vigilantism proliferates necessitating police action and further straining a historically difficult community-police relationship which Community Police Forums (CPFs) aim to transform. This study looks at how residents of Stanza Bopape, an informal settlement in Mamelodi, organise themselves against crime. It considers the implications of this organisation for the CPF, a cornerstone of the Community Policing Model now enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and examines ways in which the CPF can retain support and enhance its credibility within the community. The opportunity is provided for many different voices in the community to be heard so that diverse groups can participate in the ongoing quest for an effective strategy against crime.