Sammanfattning Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva äldre änkors/änklingars uppfattningar kring det eventuella stöd som erbjudits eller saknats dem, samt övriga underlättande faktorer under perioden de vårdade sin livspartner i hemmet.   Metoden som användes var kvalitativ och datainsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Informanterna var 4 kvinnor och 2 män i åldern 60-79 år med anknytning till anhörigcenter, ett kommunalt stöd för anhörigvårdare. Data analyserades med manifest innehållsanalys enligt Graneheim och Lundman (2004). Analysen identifierade två teman; Uppfattningar kring stöd från samhället, släkt och vänner samt Övriga underlättande faktorer.   Resultatet gav sex kategorier som informanterna framhöll som viktiga; Känsla av stöttning, Praktisk assistans, Information, Fokus på anhörigvårdaren, Upplevelse av hur den närstående mår, samt; Miljöombyte. I huvudsak visar resultatet på vikten av information och tillvägagångssättet som information ges på. Även samtalsterapi och en kontaktperson knuten till offentlig sektor efterfrågas för att underlätta i anhörigvårdarens vardag. Vidare är stöd som bidrar till att bibehålla ett socialt och varierande liv av stor vikt.   Slutsatsen är att de före detta anhörigvårdarna påverkas mycket av känslan av att de fått direkt eller indirekt stöd. Denna känsla är till stor del kopplad till vilket bemötande och vilken information som getts från i första hand offentlig sektor. Väsentliga skillnader för anhörigvårdarna kan därför uppnås med relativt små medel. / Bodin, A. (2013) Elderly informal caregivers perception about support and other relieving factors. Bachelor’s thesis in public health. The faculty of health and occupational studies, University of Gävle, Sweden.   Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe widow’s/widower’s perception of the support they had been offered or missing from society and relatives/friends during their time as informal caregiver to their spouse. The purpose was also to describe other possible relieving factors.   The method used was qualitative semi structured interviews that were held with 4 women and 2 men. Data was analyzed according to Graneheim & Lundman (2004). Two themes were identified; “Experiences of support from society, relatives and family” and “Other relieving factors”.   The main results showed that the way information is given is important both when it comes to approach and procedure. A contact person is desirable. Support that benefits the informal caregiver’s social life is highly appreciated by the informants.   The conclusion is that the feeling of support is crucial and is connected to the way personnel is treating the informal caregiver. The ideal solution could proposedly be for the society to introduce a long-term course, giving adequate information and discussing the majority of aspects of being an informal caregiver, such as care, the spouse’s state of ill-health and how to preserve your own quality of life.

This study investigates the relationship between gender, social capital and resilience in four of British Columbia’s rural, island communities. Each community’s unique circumstances provide a distinctive context in which to study the interaction between these concepts. This study utilizes quantitative data from several sources, including Statistics Canada, BC Stats, and a mail out survey conducted by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP). This study also utilizes qualitative data from several sources, including two sets of RCP interviews, interviews carried out in the Haida First Nation community of Old Massett, and participant observation. The results of these case studies confirm the necessity of taking context into consideration in any study of the operation of social capital. Within this specific context, social networks operate very differently than in an urban setting. The small size of these rural communities means that the entire community functions as one social network, within which residents have ties of differing strengths. The strength of their ties determines their access to resources within the network, as access to these resources is only given to those who are accountable and trustworthy. Through visible and repeated social interaction, residents built strong ties to one another. These ties allow for processes of generalized reciprocity to take place, wherein residents give to others with no immediate expectation of receiving back, knowing that should they need help, it will be available. This process relies entirely on the trust built up through repeated interactions and the sanctions imposed on those who break it, and contributes greatly to community resilience. Women play a particular role within these communities. Unlike studies that find that women are disadvantaged by their social networks, the results of this study find that women have parlayed their higher levels of involvement in the social life of the community and the informal economy into beneficial social networks based on trust and reciprocity. In addition, their higher levels of education put them at the forefront of the new service economy with lower levels of unemployment and equal likelihood of self-employment, all of which contributes not only to individual resilience, but community resilience as well.

This study identifies informal networks as the most accepted method of sharing information. Enhancing service delivery is shown as being a key trigger of coordination while rigid funding approaches are perceived to be a major inhibitor. Organisational type, position, practice approaches and location are shown to influence people's perception of coordination.

Bibliography: leaves 252-266 / x, 266 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for Asian Studies, 1991

The constitution enacted in 1997 in Thailand contains many provisions for the Thai people to participate in decision making processes, exercise their civil rights and hold elected and public officials accountable. However, the people most in need of these reforms have little practical knowledge of their rights and liberties under this constitution. This thesis investigates the potential of democracy programs to enhance levels of citizen participation and awareness of democratic rights, and in this sense, deepen the procedural democracy established with the constitution in Thailand. Existing democratisation literature largely takes a macro, institutional approach. There is limited academic analysis of the micro aspects of how people acquire practical knowledge about their democratic rights in a way that can be of assistance in their daily lives. This thesis elaborates some of the relatively minute aspects of democratic deepening, of which there is a paucity within existing research. The dissertation pursues these concerns by investigating questions about how democracy is taught, who is doing the educating and why. Two different democracy education programs located in Isan, the northeast of Thailand, are examined as case studies. These programs are analyzed employing criteria drawn from an analysis of the characteristics of democratic deepening. A subsidiary line of inquiry is also applied to investigate whether there is a better general approach to take in democracy education, top down or bottom up. The first case study looks at the activities of two centres under the Parliament-Social Community Collaborative Activities Centre program of King Prajadhipok’s Institute. The second case study examines two of the pilot courses of the Civic Participation in Local Governance curriculum. The research establishes the potential for democracy education programs to contribute to democratic deepening in Thailand. Nevertheless, enhancement of citizen participation and awareness of rights in a manner that is effective at personal and community levels is contingent upon a number of conditions. While the research confirms the importance of bottom up approaches to democracy education, it demonstrates that these approaches can emerge in a top down structure. Conversely, it was found that bottom up project design has the capacity for distortion. Contrary to the expectations of the research it was observed that the individual attitudes of the trainers or facilitators were as, if not more, important than project design. As well as providing another contribution to contemporary Thai studies, this research extends that part of the democratisation literature that focuses on the practical aspects of democratic deepening. It will also help inform public policy makers and debates over social capital, civil society and the appropriate boundaries of the public sphere.

There exists a vital need to increase our understanding of the fast-growing informal settlements (IS) within the burgeoning mega cities of the less developed countries. Previous attempts have used descriptive speculation about underlying social, political and cultural forces, but they have not generated sufficient understanding to underpin useful and effective management policies. The result has been the piecemeal application of planning procedures and IS policies that were developed elsewhere, in developed nations. This thesis explains why such methods tend not to work within developing countries.

Utilising an interpretive descriptive approach, this qualitative study explores and identifies how spouses and partners of stroke survivors sustain their own health and wellness. Recent literature has mainly focused on identifying psychological coping strategies thought to assist in adapting to the caring role. As a consequence, there is limited knowledge regarding the experiences of how spouses and partners attend to their own health and well-being. This study aimed to explore how spouses and partners sustain their own health and wellness while supporting a stroke survivor. Purposive and theoretical sampling strategies were used to guide recruitment. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven spouses and partners who were living with, and supporting a stroke survivor. A central theme with three sub-themes became apparent when examining spouses and partners’ experiences. The theme of Meeting Needs connects the three sub-themes, in that spouses’ and partners’ health and wellness appeared to be influenced by and intertwined with attending to the stroke survivors’ needs. The context of Being in a Relationship provided a rationale for prioritising the stroke survivors’ needs and was the first sub-theme. Secondly, Living Both Lives explains how spouses/partners were busy thinking and attending primarily to the stroke survivor’s daily requirements whilst also trying to attend their own needs. The third sub-theme, Uncertain Health encompasses how a spouse’s and partner’s well-being is connected to the stroke survivors’ health and their future concerns about being able to provide care if they themselves become sick. Therefore, these circumstances shaped their ability to attend to their own health and well-being. Whilst attending to the stroke survivor was at the forefront of their minds there were some strategies which spouses/partners utilised to support their own health and well-being. These were: creating time and space for themselves; talking with others; and comparing own lives against others who were seen to be worse or better off, in order to support their own emotional well-being. This study found that the participants struggled to prioritise and attend to their own health and well-being, as most of them was busy primarily attending to the stroke survivor’s needs. Overall, results suggest that exploring what spouses/partners think and do within the relationship could be valuable for health practitioners. Given that it is the intimate nature of being in a relationship that is the foundation for spouses/partners supporting the stroke survivor, it could also be important for services and health professionals to consider the well-being and needs of the couple, not just the stroke survivor.

The constitution enacted in 1997 in Thailand contains many provisions for the Thai people to participate in decision making processes, exercise their civil rights and hold elected and public officials accountable. However, the people most in need of these reforms have little practical knowledge of their rights and liberties under this constitution. This thesis investigates the potential of democracy programs to enhance levels of citizen participation and awareness of democratic rights, and in this sense, deepen the procedural democracy established with the constitution in Thailand. Existing democratisation literature largely takes a macro, institutional approach. There is limited academic analysis of the micro aspects of how people acquire practical knowledge about their democratic rights in a way that can be of assistance in their daily lives. This thesis elaborates some of the relatively minute aspects of democratic deepening, of which there is a paucity within existing research. The dissertation pursues these concerns by investigating questions about how democracy is taught, who is doing the educating and why. Two different democracy education programs located in Isan, the northeast of Thailand, are examined as case studies. These programs are analyzed employing criteria drawn from an analysis of the characteristics of democratic deepening. A subsidiary line of inquiry is also applied to investigate whether there is a better general approach to take in democracy education, top down or bottom up. The first case study looks at the activities of two centres under the Parliament-Social Community Collaborative Activities Centre program of King Prajadhipok’s Institute. The second case study examines two of the pilot courses of the Civic Participation in Local Governance curriculum. The research establishes the potential for democracy education programs to contribute to democratic deepening in Thailand. Nevertheless, enhancement of citizen participation and awareness of rights in a manner that is effective at personal and community levels is contingent upon a number of conditions. While the research confirms the importance of bottom up approaches to democracy education, it demonstrates that these approaches can emerge in a top down structure. Conversely, it was found that bottom up project design has the capacity for distortion. Contrary to the expectations of the research it was observed that the individual attitudes of the trainers or facilitators were as, if not more, important than project design. As well as providing another contribution to contemporary Thai studies, this research extends that part of the democratisation literature that focuses on the practical aspects of democratic deepening. It will also help inform public policy makers and debates over social capital, civil society and the appropriate boundaries of the public sphere.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Flinders University, Faculty of Social Sciences. / Typescript (bound). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257 - 275). Also available online.

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Maliye Anabilim Dalı, 2007. / Bibliyografya var.