Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / There are children in this world who are silenced by disability. The struggles of these children as they attempt to find a voice are difficult and often considered insurmountable. With advances in computer technology, devices are available to assist the child to have a voice. This voice is not found easily or acquired without difficulty. Even after finding and acquiring the necessary device, the child requires education and support to learn to use the device effectively. Challenges may be specific to the child’s disability, the support systems involved with the child, or even the technology itself. It is the adults in the child’s life, and the child’s family in particular, who provide needed support and assistance in helping him/her find an effective way of expressing his/her ideas. Families are an essential component in assisting their children to learn to use the device. My pilot study examined parents’ likes and dislikes of their child’s communication device. The preliminary data from that study illuminated several factors that increased the struggles of these children and their families as they work together to learn the device. These factors include financial, emotional, and developmental costs; as well as the lack of appropriately trained professionals; and excessive time lapses from evaluation to receipt of the device. The purpose of this study was to give a voice to the experiences of families around a child’s use of one type of augmentative and alternative (AAC), a speech generating device (SGD), by analyzing family’s experiences of the child’s use of a SGD as seen through the lens of the child’s primary caregiver. Interpretive phenomenologic methods for data collection and interpretation were used to elucidate the experience of families who have a child who is currently using or who has previously used a SGD as a method of communication. One cannot learn about the lived experience of the family without first listening to their story and allowing the family to share how their child’s use of a SGD affected the life of their family.

Submitted by Mariana Dornelles Vargas (marianadv) on 2015-04-24T13:39:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 leitura_fenomenologica.pdf: 703424 bytes, checksum: cb21d7d26ebfe1ba34e92a360b708342 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-24T13:39:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 leitura_fenomenologica.pdf: 703424 bytes, checksum: cb21d7d26ebfe1ba34e92a360b708342 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-28 / Nenhuma / Examina-se, nesta dissertação, a viabilidade da responsabilidade civil no âmbito do direito de família em um diálogo transdisciplinar com a fenomenologia hermenêutica. O tema central deste trabalho é a análise do paradoxo estabelecido entre a perspectiva de indenização de danos decorrentes do término do afeto, no âmbito da relação de família, com fundamento na dignidade da pessoa humana. Na perspectiva da Constituição Federal de 1988, a dignidade da pessoa humana tornou-se fundamento central do direito e de ordem normativa infraconstitucional, mas faz-se necessário dar novo destaque à discussão da pessoa humana, trazendo o enfoque filosófico fenomenológico. A dignidade da pessoa humana se tornou o fundamento para todo e qualquer direito que se queira justificar. Para auxiliar tanto na caracterização quanto na demonstração do objeto em estudo, estuda-se a principal doutrina e a jurisprudência acerca da matéria, notadamente da Argentina e do Brasil, países que apresentam teorias doutrinárias e decisões jurisprudenciais fundamentalmente opostas. A dissertação evidencia, em última análise, que o horizonte fenomenológico do ser humano ainda está distante das decisões judiciais, não raro lastreadas na convicção última de cada julgador. A partir do surgimento dos novos direitos, as transformações sociais impuseram aos operadores e teóricos do direito a necessidade de revisitarem conceitos humano-fundamentais, sobretudo face à complexidade da sociedade moderna. Por esta razão, o presente trabalho situa-se dentro da linha de pesquisa do programa de Pós-Graduação em Direito da Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, denominada "Sociedade, Novos Direitos e Transnacionalização". / The thesis examines the civil liability on the family law on a transdisciplinar dialogue with heideggerian phenomenology. The central theme of this work is to analyze the paradox between the prospect of liability when the affection within the relationship of family ends, based on human dignity. According to the Federal Constitution of 1988, human dignity became a central foundation of law and normative infra-constitutional order, but it is necessary to give new focus to the discussion of the person bringing the phenomenological approach. Human The dignity has became the reason for any right. In order to help in the as in the demonstration of the object under study, it examines the main doctrine and jurisprudences, especially in Argentina and Brazil, countries with theories and jurisprudential decisions fundamentally opposed. The thesis shows that the phenomenological horizon of the human being has not arrived on trials, often validated by the last conviction of each judge. As the new rights emerge, the social changes imposed on law operators and theoretical a urgent need to revisit human concepts, particularly about the complexity of modern society, which is why this work is situated within the research line of the program of Graduate Studies in Law of the University Vale do Rio dos Sinos, called "Society, New Rights and Transnationalism."

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Descriptions about the matting of hair given by medical practitioners show a significant commonality indicating it as a historic health problem prevalent across the globe, however with less clarity about its etiopathogenesis. In southwestern India, the emergence of matting of hair is considered a deific phenomenon; consequently, people worship the emerged matted hair and restrict its removal. Superstitious beliefs impose a ritualistic lifestyle on affected women depriving them of health and well-being, further leading to stigma, social isolation, and marginalization. For unmarried females, the matting of hair can result in dedication to the coercive devadasi custom whereby women end up marrying a god or goddess. To date, the state, academia, and disciplines such as medicine and psychology have paid far too little attention to the social, cultural, and health concerns of the women affected by matted hair. A Heideggerian interpretive phenomenological study was conducted to document the lived experience of women affected by the phenomenon of matting of hair. The subjective accounts of 13 jata-affected women selected through purposive sampling were documented to understand their health and human rights marginalization through harmful cultural practices surrounding matting of hair. Seven distinct thematic areas emerged from the study exemplified their lived experience as jata-affected women. The prevalent gender-based inequity revealed substantial vulnerability of women to health and human rights marginalization through harmful cultural practices. The ontological structure of the lived experience of matting of hair highlighted the unreflective internalization of religious-based discourse of matting of hair. The hermeneutic exploration revealed events that exemplified jata-affected women’s compromised religiosity, and control of their well-being, human development, and ontological security. The religious-based interpretation of matting of hair and associated practices marginalize the health and human rights of affected women through family members, institutions, society, and religious-based systems. The study demonstrates the need for collaborative, evidence-based interventions and for effective domestic as well as global policies to prevent the health and human rights violations of women through cultural practices. The study offered foundational evidential documentation of the phenomenon of matting of hair as a harmful cultural practice that compromises women’s right to health and well-being.

The study was undertaken to deepen understanding of living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (RSA). The OR Tambo District Municipality, which was selected for its accessibility to the researcher, is virtually rural, the infrastructure is poorly developed and there is low socio-economic activity in the rural areas of the old Transkei. In the RSA services for management and rehabilitation of SCIs varies from province to province. A Heideggerian phenomenological approach was used to interpret the meaning of living with SCI persons in a rural community. The purpose was to describe and interpret what being-in the-world as a spinal cord injured person meant to the particpants. A key assumption in phenomenology is that understanding human beings and their actions is best achieved through examination of human experiences. Experience, including experience with living with SCI, offers itself as a record of human encounters, the interface between persons and their world, and experience can only be understood in terms of background and the social context of the experience (Pateman & Johnson 2000: 51). Phenomenological interviews with ten people living with SCI explored their experience. The overall goal was to increase awareness of their experiences of living with SCI, and to encourage incorporation of knowledge gained into nursing practice. The central question in the study was `What is it like to live with a spinal cord injury in a rural community? Data were analysed according to Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology. Two main themes were identified, namely reconceptualising being-in-the-world as a person with a disability; and being-with-each-other: experiencing being excluded, objectified and marginalized. The participants engaged in a process of reconstructing their identities following the traumatic loss of sensory and motor functioning. Data reflect the social and economic context in which living with SCI is experienced. The respondents' life experiences were influenced by socio-political, economic and historical factors, namely geographic location, poor infrastructure, poverty, low educational status, and unemployment and the community at large. It was noted that participants experienced difficulties in several areas in their daily life realm; naming, coping with health and disability problems, family interactions and relationships, and non-accessibility of amenities, including their own dwellings. In addition, being a person living with an SCI in the rural communities of the OR Tambo District Municipality carries a high physical and social risk due to lack of resources. The inability to live up to generally expected social roles led to role dissatisfaction. There is an urgent need for social support to overcome the negative societal attitudes experienced. They are forced into isolation with a limited social life and are poorly integrated into the communities in which they live. Most of what the participants raised pointed towards inadequate preparation for the outside world. Therefore, a holistic approach to rehabilitation is recommended, as holism means addressing the physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs. Accordingly, the researcher developed guidelines for facilitating community integration. In conclusion, understanding how people experience living with SCI in a rural community is an essential prerequisite to the development of appropriate strategies to facilitate community integration. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil (Health Studies)

The study was undertaken to deepen understanding of living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (RSA). The OR Tambo District Municipality, which was selected for its accessibility to the researcher, is virtually rural, the infrastructure is poorly developed and there is low socio-economic activity in the rural areas of the old Transkei. In the RSA services for management and rehabilitation of SCIs varies from province to province. A Heideggerian phenomenological approach was used to interpret the meaning of living with SCI persons in a rural community. The purpose was to describe and interpret what being-in the-world as a spinal cord injured person meant to the particpants. A key assumption in phenomenology is that understanding human beings and their actions is best achieved through examination of human experiences. Experience, including experience with living with SCI, offers itself as a record of human encounters, the interface between persons and their world, and experience can only be understood in terms of background and the social context of the experience (Pateman & Johnson 2000: 51). Phenomenological interviews with ten people living with SCI explored their experience. The overall goal was to increase awareness of their experiences of living with SCI, and to encourage incorporation of knowledge gained into nursing practice. The central question in the study was `What is it like to live with a spinal cord injury in a rural community? Data were analysed according to Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology. Two main themes were identified, namely reconceptualising being-in-the-world as a person with a disability; and being-with-each-other: experiencing being excluded, objectified and marginalized. The participants engaged in a process of reconstructing their identities following the traumatic loss of sensory and motor functioning. Data reflect the social and economic context in which living with SCI is experienced. The respondents' life experiences were influenced by socio-political, economic and historical factors, namely geographic location, poor infrastructure, poverty, low educational status, and unemployment and the community at large. It was noted that participants experienced difficulties in several areas in their daily life realm; naming, coping with health and disability problems, family interactions and relationships, and non-accessibility of amenities, including their own dwellings. In addition, being a person living with an SCI in the rural communities of the OR Tambo District Municipality carries a high physical and social risk due to lack of resources. The inability to live up to generally expected social roles led to role dissatisfaction. There is an urgent need for social support to overcome the negative societal attitudes experienced. They are forced into isolation with a limited social life and are poorly integrated into the communities in which they live. Most of what the participants raised pointed towards inadequate preparation for the outside world. Therefore, a holistic approach to rehabilitation is recommended, as holism means addressing the physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs. Accordingly, the researcher developed guidelines for facilitating community integration. In conclusion, understanding how people experience living with SCI in a rural community is an essential prerequisite to the development of appropriate strategies to facilitate community integration. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil (Health Studies)