Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

Reverse Auction Bidding (RAB) study into the construction industry commenced at Texas AandM (TAMU) University in 2004 from the work of a graduate student who was interested in the reasons for RAB being considered unethical by some. This thesis is the eleventh study into Reverse Auction Bidding building on the work of the previous researchers. Previous case studies investigated a number of different competitive situations ranging from three to ten players. In the last few studies, the bidding behavior and performance of participants in the RAB process is being observed with respect to their personality. Personality for each player is tested using the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) test. The KTS describes four major personalities and four role variants in each of the personalities, summing up to sixteen role variants. There appears at this stage a strong correlation between personality type and game performance. This study extends the work on the Guardian personality type to investigate the four sub-types of this personality. This study builds on the previous work by analyzing the four different Guardian role variants being Provider, Protector, Inspector and Supervisor. The aim of the research is to investigate whether there is a difference in game returns between the personality type from within this group. The study involves a game scenario involving a facility manager hiring the contractors who submit the lowest bid for the assumed renovation project. The study also gives the contractor a modified KTS questionnaire that can be used by them for hiring an individual for the position of an estimator with a competent personality. The individuals were selected from undergraduate Construction Science students with limited experience. The game lasted for nine rounds, with the statistical results of the bidding and contract data showing patterns similar to the previous studies. The results show us that the individuals with a role variant of Providers provided the highest return in this case study, although a single case study is insufficient to draw formal conclusions on this matter, the result points to future research.

The goal of this research was to uncover the needs of adolescents, who had been orphaned by the death of both parents. The intention was to search for a deeper understanding of the needs of such adolescents, as well as to identify and discuss how service rendering to them can be improved. Therefore the research focused on adolescence as a developmental stage in the life-cycle and the impact of death on adolescents who have been orphaned by both parents. To attain and enhance the goal, empirical research was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews with male adolescents who have lost both parents. The research findings highlighted the final phases of the physiological, psychological, brain and moral development towards adulthood. It uncovered the devastating effects such as numbness and emotional exhaustion that death of both parents, may have on these children. The research indicated the negative effects of this trauma on their communication skills, pain, and feelings of loss, guilt and vulnerability. Furthermore, the research confirmed the fact that they are left alone without parents a factor which pushes them into adulthood before they are ready for it. The research uncovered further needs these children may have for example good care, the need to have a guardian, protection, education, support, a place to stay, toiletries, clothes, food, information about how to date girls and to show respect to others. These findings lead the researcher to formulate several recommendations. It is clear those social workers as well as all the other professionals who work in this field of practice need to understand the needs of adolescence as developmental phase. Training in this regard should thus include the life cycle with special reference to adolescence, the impact of death on adolescents and their special needs. Finally, it is clear from the study that the principle of the best interest of the child, should always be taken in consideration when any service is being rendered to these children. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

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Bakgrund: JIA (juvenil idiopatisk artrit) är den vanligast förekommande reumatiska sjukdomen bland barn. Fysisk träning en viktig del av behandlingen där fysioterapeuten har huvudansvar. Tidigare forskning tyder på att barn med JIA inte är lika fysiskt aktiva som sina friska jämnåriga och att det i dagsläget saknas fördjupad kunskap om faktorer som påverkar fysisk aktivitet hos dessa barn.  Syfte: Syftet med arbetet var för vårdnadshavare för barn med JIA, utforska upplevelser och erfarenheter kring faktorer som påverkar barnets fysiska aktivitet.  Metod: Kvalitativ metod genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomfördes med vårdnadshavare till barn med JIA. Bekvämlighetsurval användes för att hitta deltagare. Materialet bearbetades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultat: I analysen framkom fem kategorier med faktorer som påverkar fysisk aktivitet: hitta rätt – medicineringens roll i främjandet av fysisk aktivitet, upplevt ansvar att hitta och förmedla information, anpassningar i skolmiljö, uppmuntran och integration – vikten av normalitet i livet med JIA och önskemål kring utökade vårdinsatser.  Konklusion: Vårdnadshavare till barn med JIA erfarande att en adekvat medicinering var en faktor som främjade fysisk aktivitet. Vidare upplevde informanterna att de har ett stort ansvar att söka information om sjukdomen, samt att förmedla denna till berörda parter såsom skola och idrottsorganisationer för att främja sitt barns fysiska aktivitet. Otillräcklig kunskap om sjukdomen i samhället anses vara en hindrande faktor till att barnen kan vara fysiskt aktiva, medan lyhördhet och anpassningar i skola och idrottssammanhang var underlättande faktorer. Informanterna framförde önskemål om förbättrad kontinuitet i vården för att effektivisera behandlingen. / Background: JIA (juvenile idiopathic arthritis) is the most common rheumatic disease among children. Exercise is an important part of the treatment, and physiotherapists have primary responsibility for the treatment plan. Previous research suggests that children with JIA are not as physically active as their healthy peers, and currently, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge about factors that affect physical activity in children with JIA.  Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of factors influencing a child's physical activity for guardians of children with JIA.  Method: A qualitative design was conducted through five semi-structured interviews with guardians of children with JIA. Convenience sampling was used to identify participants. The data was processed through qualitative content analysis.  Result: The analysis revealed five categories of factors that influence physical activity: the role of medication in promoting physical activity, guardians’ responsibility to find and convey information, adaptations in school environment, the importance of normalcy in life with JIA and preferences for expanded healthcare interventions.  Conclusion: Guardians of children with JIA experienced that adequate medication was a factor that facilitated physical activity. Moreover, the guardians of children with JIA felt that they had a responsibility to seek information about the disease and convey it to relevant parties such as schools and sports organizations to promote their child's physical activity. Insufficient knowledge about the disease in society was considered a hindering factor for children to be physically active, while awareness and adaptations in school and sports settings were facilitating factors. The informants expressed a desire for improved continuity in healthcare to streamline treatment.

Syftet med arbetet är att bidra med kunskap till lärare om hur de kan designa den skriftliga informationen som skickas på en veckobasis till vårdnadshavare, så att chanserna ökar att den blir läst. Arbetet har en kvalitativ ansats där en litteraturstudie, intervjuer och en observation används som metoder för empiri-insamlingen. Undersökningens metodval baseras på ett människocentrerat designperspektiv där gestaltningsförslaget baseras på teoretiska perspektiv inom kognitionspsykologin och informationsdesign.   Resultatet synliggör en brist på riktlinjer och en enhetlig struktur för veckobrevens utformning och innehåll. Detta är en anledning till att vårdnadshavare ibland inte tar del av informationen. Det finns en riktlinje som arbetet funnit när det kommer till den veckovisa informationen som skickas till vårdnadshavarna. Det är att lärarna har ett ansvar enligt läroplanen för grundskolan, LGR22, att informera om elevernas skolsituation, mående och kunskapsutveckling. Denna riktlinje talar inte om hur lärarna ska kommunicera ut informationen.   Arbetet visar att genom att ha en tydlig rubrik för veckobrevet, upplever vårdnadshavare att det är enklare att kunna förstå brevets relevans. Genom att varje veckobrev skrivs utifrån en mall, där brevets innehåll får en tydlig hierarkisk uppbyggnad med fasta rubriker skapade utifrån vårdnadshavarnas behov, kan vårdnadshavarna skapa sig en mental bild av veckobrev. Något som skapar trygghet och möjliggör att vårdnadshavarna enkelt kan orientera sig i brevet och snabbt hitta informationen som är relevant för dem. Utifrån resultaten gestaltas en mall som ska fungera som en standardiserad informationstyp för veckobreven. Vid utprovning av mallen fick en vårdnadshavare studera mallen och komma med synpunkter. Konceptet var passande för vårdnadshavarna och designen upplevdes som tydlig och lättläst, däremot kunde vissa delar möjligen innebära dubbelarbete för lärarna.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur väl den matematik som förmedlas i hjälpböcker för vårdnadshavare stämmer överens med de matematiska kompetenser som barn ska utveckla under sin tid i grundskolan. Detta för att få insikt i huruvida hjälpböcker för vårdnadshavare kan ses som en undervisningsresurs som vårdnadshavare kan använda sig utav. För att få svar på mitt syfte har jag genomfört en innehållsanalys av tre olika hjälpböcker för vårdnadshavare. Resultatet visar att samtliga kompetenser som barn ska utveckla under sin tid i grundskolan inte förekommer i lika hög utsträckning i de analyserade hjälpböckerna. Det här resultatet indikerar att dessa hjälpböcker för vårdnadshavare inte kan ses som en lämplig undervisningsresurs för att hjälpa barn att utveckla de matematiska kompetenserna. Istället verkar de vara mer lämpliga som undervisningsresurser för att skapa möjligheter att hjälpa barn att utveckla vissa delar av sin matematiska kunskap. / The purpose of this study is to examine how well the mathematics that is conveyed in help books for guardians match the mathematical competencies that children should develop during their time in compulsory school. This is done to gain insight into whether help books for guardians can be regarded as a teaching resource that guardians can use. In order to get an answer to my purpose I conducted a content analysis of three different help books for guardians. The result shows that all the competencies that children should develop during their time in compulsory school do not occur to the same extent in the analyzed help books. This result indicates that these help books for guardians cannot be seen as a suitable teaching resource to help children develop the mathematical competencies. Instead, they seem to be more suitable as teaching resources to create opportunities to help children develop certain parts of their mathematical knowledge.

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) is a growing public health problem in the United States, especially among adolescent children. Despite awareness of the diagnosis and the effects that it has on the child, little attention has been given to the effects that PBD has on the guardian. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the factors influencing guardians' experiences related to PBD. Penchansky and Thomas' Theory of Access and Family Systems Theory were used in this study to explore guardians lived experiences of PBD, its effects on the entire family system, and mental health service treatment. This approach was composed through interviewing 6 guardians caring for adolescents diagnosed with PBD. Interviews were conducted, transcribed and coded using NVivo12 software. The findings revealed the emergent themes as follows: disbelief of initial diagnosis, coping mechanisms, advice, barriers, burdens, stressors, and challenges. The themes described the experiences of guardians that led to feelings of denial, frustration, embarrassment, and resentment. Damaged relationships, medical problems, and financial hardships are only some of the challenges that guardians expressed during the interview. The issues that the guardians experienced provide evidence to fill the gap in the literature regarding effects on guardians. Further research into mental health services and guardians' perceptions on PBD is needed. This study promotes social change by informing mental health providers of the feelings and stressors of the guardians of PBD patients, which may lead to improved care for the family unit.

I den här studien har vi undersökt hur vårdnadshavarnas och pedagogernas bemötande gentemot barnen påverkar deras identitet, samt om förskolans miljö har en inverkan på dem. I läroplanen för förskolan är jämställdhet ett skrivet mål som skall genomsyra verksamheten. Vi har använt oss av den kvalitativa metoden där vi genom observationer, frågeformulär och intervjuer har fått fram ett underlag till vår studie. Resultatet visar generellt att pedagogernas och vårdnadshavarnas förhållningssätt och handlingar påverkar barnens möjligheter och hur de ser på sig själva som pojke eller flicka. Även förskolans miljö har en inverkan på barns val av aktiviteter. Vi har kommit fram till att både vårdnadshavarna och pedagogerna bör bli mer medvetna om hur de bemöter de olika könen. / This study discusses whether the guardians' and educationalists' treatment of the children affects the children's identity. Moreover it looks at whether the preschool environment has an impact on them. According to the curriculum of the preschool gender equality is a written goal, which should be implemented throughout the preschool organization. We have chosen to use the qualitative method. In order to get material to our investigation, we made observations, questionnaires and interviews. The result implies that guardians' and educationalists' attitudes and actions are affecting the children's possibilities and how they view themselves as boys and girls. In addition, the preschool environment has an impact on children's choices of activities. Our conclusion is that guardians' and educationalists' should increase their awareness of how they treat boys and girls differently.

Abstract Some gender scholars who have studied Western welfare regimes have argued that dominant cultural assumptions about women (ideational forces) should be examined in order to understand the development of these regimes. On the other hand, gender scholars working on Iran’s social policy argue that religious assumptions and institutions have shaped the position of women in Iran’s welfare regime. However, none of these researchers have thoroughly and explicitly examined the role of ideas in the development of Iran’s social policy. In contrast, this thesis studies the role of ideational forces in the formation of the only Iranian social assistance program designed exclusively for women, Empowering Women Without Guardians (EWWG). It also examines the connection of these forces to non-ideational factors in order to further elucidate their impact on policymaking. As argued, multiple cultural assumptions influence policymaking on women’s issues in Iran. Traditional cultural assumptions reinforce and legitimize the unequal position of women in society, whereas reformist and secularist ideas assume that men and women are equal. As claimed, the interaction of these assumptions with institutional and structural forces empowers some of these ideas over others at different stages of policymaking regarding the formation of EWWG: Iran’s laws (institutional forces) have reinforced previously dominant traditional assumptions about women (ideational forces) in the problem stream; in contrast, reformist interpretations of structural factors challenged previously prevailing traditional ideas and resulted in the adoption of a policy, which is more consistent with reformist and secularist ideas. The relative power of these assumptions helps explain both policy continuity and change in Iran’s context of policymaking on women’s issues.