This study analyzed The Children's Hour, The Little Foxes, Watch on the Rhine, Toys in the Attic in terms of the forms of human love delineated by Erich Fromm in The Art of Loving. The motives and actions of one or more principal characters and their dramatic situations were studied. It was discovered that, in the plays that were examined, each character responded to his or her situation in a loving or a hateful manner and that these choices with regard to love provided the dramatic matrix of the play.

I find a similarity between my work and the absurd character of many of the unrealized inventions of earlier times. An example of the latter is the Saluting Device, whch allowed a gentleman to tip his hat without having to use his hand. These machines were never produced for popular use precisely because of their absurdity. Unlike these inventions, however, my sculptures are not created to perform any useful function. I intend them to be viewed as satirical, comical, and fictitious oddities through which I work to convey ideas and feelings about the dilemmas of modem society. Like a machine, our society needs careful maintenance and fuel to function smoothly, but it is, I believe, running out of energy and beginning to break down. I build my obsessive-compulsive objects to resemble household appliances and toys. Ths is an attempt to establish a comfort level for the viewer. Contemplation of ,these machnes will, I hope, spark the viewer's curiosity and stimulate their imagnation to propel and enable the objects to perform their intended satirical purpose. My creative process starts with intuitive pencil sketches that resemble crude technical drawings. The drawings suggest machnes that might perform some imagnary function. I determine the function and then fkther refine the drawing. The final drawing becomes a reference point and sometimes a template for the building process. For further interpretation and intricacy, I allow for deviation from the drawing as I build. The buildmg process begms with an interior frame which is similar to house construction, except that I use clay slabs instead of framing boards. After the skeleton is complete, I enclose the structure and make any parts that must be added or assembled after firing. I use whatever type of builQng procedure necessary to complete the object; this may include coil building, wheel throwing, extruding shapes, and surface carving. Through these odd, imagnative gizmos and gadgets, I offer social commentary. I have chosen satire and humor to engage the viewer in various ways of looking at the modem world. This is an attempt to provoke joyful imagination and intrigue through the intricacy of the pieces. I also suggest my view of the current human condition through the precariousness of the various elements in these sculptures. Finally, my work is an attempt to provide another context from whch to view and respond to our place and time in history.

Our everyday lives are surrounded by gadgets and digital devices that help us perform our daily chores with ease and efficiency. However, these digital devices can also separate us from what we should do ourselves. Although children who are exposed to high levels of technology might become attuned to the latest and the best gadgets, they might not learn to use their physical abilities. Another implication of a child’s over dependence on technology is that parental interactions such as encouragement, tutoring and reinforcement are provided by gadgets rather than living, breathing parents. Research done by Padma Ravichandran and Brandel France de Bravo, revealed the importance of child interaction with live people and games noting that “Very young children learn best by relating to real live people, but they also learn by moving and doing. Part of the problem with screen time is that young children who watch TV and DVDs or use computer games may be substituting these activities for free play”. The aim of this project is to reduce the gap between young children and the tactile world by creating toys that are attractive for the children, but are low-tech and involve parental interaction. Thus, the primary goal that this thesis seeks to achieve is the stimulation of children toward tactile games, while the secondary goal is to allow and encourage parental involvement in the playtime of the child. The research is guided by the premise that children can absorb substantial knowledge through the tactile world and that such tactile centered play will broaden the horizon of their knowledge and experience.

When a caregiver suffers from epilepsy, a child can often feel frightened, vulnerable, and alone whenever a seizure occurs. In my thesis project I intend to help children negotiate this struggle with the use of therapeutic toys. Through play, children can navigate feelings that are often overlooked by adults. The visual appeal, simplicity, and materials used in their creation help facilitate comfort through sensory cues. By applying coping mechanisms to deal with stress caused by the passage of time, provide tactile comfort, and equip the child with tools to take action, their emotional needs are met. These toys address an overlooked need for children who consistently deal with the emotionally taxing occurrences that come with having an epileptic caregiver.

This thesis demonstrates how children challenge the boundaries adults place on them, out of concern for their safety, through child-specific cultural practises. The thesis argues that these boundaries emerge from contemporary changes in the perception of risk to children and have driven the systematic limitation of spaces that children are allowed to experience on their own. Based on data collected among elementary school-age children during twelve months of fieldwork (2008-2009), across multiple sites in the city of Vancouver, Canada, I argue that children creatively adapt to spatial and social limits imposed on them through play, consumption and exchange. Moreover, the research demonstrates that through gathering social knowledge and experimenting with self-presentation and systems of social order, children create a sophisticated peer culture. This incorporates social differentiations and hierarchies that differ from those of adult society however, are interdependent with it. My work thus challenges the position of children as objects and ‘anecdotes’ in anthropology: considered ‘works in progress’ and lacking full status as persons in society. Rather, I argue that they should be treated as competent social actors in their own right with their own social meanings and cultural practises.

The focus of this study is the consumer behaviour habits of adults giving of toys to children aged 11 and under as gifts. It is borne out of a need to understand why adults buy gifts for children adding to the issues on consumption practices and materialism. It begins by discussing the issues of researching with children, outlining an exploratory artwork session conducted with children prior to making a decision to use adults as the unit of assessment for the study and to take a positivist stance. The literature review chapter explores the concepts of gift-giving of toys to children by synthesising topics of consumer behaviour and gift-giving as fields of study. It considers gift-giving models and focuses on buyer behaviour when gift-giving; information sources used in gifting; whether adults are concerned about gift-giving; adults roles and motivations in gift-gifting and relationship impacts between adults and children for incorrect gifting. These themes are researched within a demographic perspective keeping in mind the consumer socialisation issues and a figure is developed to show the hypotheses for testing. The methodology takes into account both interpretivist and positivist philosophies reaffirming the reasons for a positivist choice. Semi structured interviews are used in two phases to explore adults perceptions of gift-giving in general and gift-giving of toys to children. The main data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire which developed and extended previous researchers’ items. This questionnaire was distributed across a sample section of schools within the Aberdeen City and suburbs via a homework bag method. The value of the study lies in the contribution to knowledge through the analysis of the data. Contribution was found to exist with roles and motivations in gifting where three new roles were highlighted and one discounted. For information sources the interpersonal sources were important to mothers; the internet was found to be a new source, and mass media was found to be popular with a lower educated strata giving rise to issues for TV advertising policy. Differences existed between gifting at Christmas and birthday times and to adults’ own and other children providing contribution to the lack of birthday gifting research and to the givers’ perspective. A number of demographics such as gender, education and marital status were found to be important in understanding this gifting behaviour, whereas age on the other hand, did not. Finally, recommendations are made to policy makers from these contributions in particular regarding information sources and the education of children.

Children diagnosed with autism are often described as having limited or restricted activities that serve as reinforcers as compared to neurotypical peers. Many theories suggest that one of the many ways children develop is through participation in play. This results in children coming into contact with new environmental stimuli. The procedures used to enhance play skills for children diagnosed with autism typically involve training novel responses with novel stimuli (e.g., toys). This is often done using naturalistic procedures. Because multiple procedures are used, it is unclear what procedure or combination of procedures causes the increases in play repertoires. This study investigated an important component of the treatment package know as reciprocal imitation training. Specifically, the study examined whether increased opportunities, contingent imitation without the requirement to imitate, or contingent imitation with the requirement to imitate would increase the number of toys a child diagnosed with autism would play with. The results showed dramatic increases in the number of toys the child independently chose to play with and an increase in the spontaneous use of different response topographies across novel stimuli only when the student was required to imitate a model. The results are discussed in terms of mediated generalization, the use of common responses, stimulus class formation and stimulus class expansion.

Partindo de interrogantes derivados da clínica psicanalítica com crianças, a presente tese foi construída ao redor de três eixos principais: linguagem, setting e intervenção. Contamos com diversos casos clínicos para fomentar nossa reflexão. Os atos, gestos, mímicas e posturas que compõem a linguagem polimorfa da criança engendram a especificidade de um setting no qual corpos (do analista e do paciente) e brinquedos oferecem suporte às transferências. Trata-se de um setting montado em terreno de jogo e brincadeira. Nele, as intervenções do analista cuidam da manutenção e restauração do fluxo simbólico do brincar / Starting from interrogations derived from psychoanalytic practice with children, this thesis was built around three main axes: language, setting and intervention. We have several clinical cases to foster reflection. Acts, gestures, mimicry and postures that make up the polymorphous child\'s language engender the specificity of a setting in which bodies (the analyst\'s and the patient\'s) and toys offer support to transferences. This is a setting mounted on a área of playing. In it, the analyst\'s interventions take care of the maintenance and restoration of the symbolic flow of playing

O presente trabalho apresenta uma experiência clínica em psicanálise como disparadora de reflexões teórico-clínicas acerca da constituição do sujeito e do brincar na atualidade. A presença de imagens de TV, samrtphones, computadores e tablets, na vida dos bebês e das crianças, é um fenômeno bastante amplo e atual. Estes aparatos têm sido ofertados como brinquedos, ou imagens que ocupam um espaço do brincar, e passaram a acompanhar as crianças por todos os lugares, dentro e fora de casa. Quais seriam as implicações dessas novas experiências tecnológicas sobre o brincar, principalmente no que diz respeito de suas funções constitutivas? As formulações sobre as funções constitutivas do brincar a partir de autores da psicanálise que se dedicaram de modo aprofundado ao tema dizem que as operações subjetivantes são necessariamente apoiadas pelo outro humano. Contudo, quando João chegou para análise, suas brincadeiras e discursos diziam de uma relação muito acentuada com o universo das animações e games, além de uma dinâmica que fazia dessas experiências com a tecnologia, sua principal via de acesso ao mundo. Portanto o excesso dessas experiências imagéticas, desde uma idade muito remota, em detrimento de uma interação com o outro humano estaria impactando em processos constitutivos importantes, que podem ser evidenciados e transformados na clínica, na presença do analista / The current work presents a clinical experience in psychoanalysis as a trigger in clinical and theoretical thoughts among the formation of the subject and childs play in present days. The presence of TVs, computers, smartphones and tablets in babies and childrens lives is a wide and current phenomenon. These gadgets have been offered as toys or images that occupy the role of childs play and now accompany children everywhere inside and outside their homes. What would be the implications of these new technological experiences on childs play, and most of all on the constitutive functions? The formulations about the constitutive functions of childs play from psychoanalysis authors that dedicated deeply into this field say that the subjective operations are necessarily supported by another human being. However, when João came for therapy his speeches and childs play would establish a strong connection with the universe of animations and games, beyond a dynamic of those technological experiences, his most usual way of accessing the world. Therefore, the excess of those imagery experiences, since early ages, in detriment of an interaction with another human being would be impacting important constitutive processes, that might be seen and transformed inside the practice, in the presence of a therapist

Clothes and toys are a big part of our children's lives. Clothing reflects how individuals are seen and after that it is easier to categorize individuals by gender or economic status. There are not so many toys that are gender neutral. Often cars are considered a masculine toy while the barge doll is seen as girlish and feminine. The primary school curriculum points to the importance of teaching and permeating through a gender perspective. This is because students perceive what is feminine and masculine through the teaching and treatment of the school (Skolverket,2011:8). This study will examine six selected picture books, picture books that are published to convey a norm breaking pattern with a focus on clothes and toys. It is therefore of great importance that teachers have the knowledge about which material can be a help for the teacher when the teacher in teaching conducts student-close discussions on gender. The teacher also needs to have the knowledge and ability to carry out teaching on all subjects from a gender perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the picture books on which the essay is based can help a teacher in his or her active professional role in finding, in a student-close way, inputs to book conversations, discussions and didactic links to gender science. This must be done through the analytical part of the picture books, where the focus is on the production of clothes and toys from a gender perspective. The study will be graded on a content analysis, a qualitative study in which the result of the analysis of the picture books is weighted together with previous research on the subject.When the study is completed, there is a clear pattern that should be highlighted. This pattern shows differences between girls and boys' clothes. Girls wear clothes in bright colors while boys almost always wear clothes in cooler and darker colors. Another result that clearly appeared in the analysis is that the clothes that the children use are linked to different activities. These activities are in turn linked to gender and this affects the combination of clothes in boys and girlsway to dress. / Kläder och leksaker är en stor del av våra barns liv.Kläder speglar hurenindividsesi andras ögonoch efter det är det lättare att kategorisera in individenefter kön eller ekonomisk status. Det samma gäller leksaker, det finns inte så många leksaker som är genusneutrala. Ofta anser både män och kvinnor attbilar är en maskulin leksak medan barbiedockan ses somenflickig och femininleksak.Grundskolans läroplan markerar tydligt betydelsenavatt undervisning sker och genomsyras av ett genusperspektiv. Dettaär viktigtpå grund av att elever uppfattar vad som är kvinnligt ochmanligt genom undervisningens utformningoch hur eleverna blir bemöttai skolan (Skolverket,2011:8).Denna studie kommer granska sex utvalda bilderböcker, bilderböcker som är utgivna för att förmedla ett normbrytande mönster med inriktning på kläder ochleksaker. För att undervisningen ska genomsyras av ett genusperspektiv är det viktigtatt pedagogenhar kunskaperom vilket material som kan vara en hjälp förpedagogen när heni undervisninggenomförelevnära diskussionerom genus.Syftet med denna undersökning är att ta reda påom bilderböckerna somuppsatsenbygger på kan hjälpa pedagogeni dennes aktiva yrkesroll.Syftet med att använda litteratur är för att på ett elevnära sätt hitta ingångartill boksamtal, diskussioneroch didaktiska kopplingar till genusvetenskap. Studienska göras genom den analytiska delen av bilderböckerna där fokusligger på framställningenav kläder och leksaker ur ett genusperspektiv.Undersökningen kommer lutas på en innehållsanalys, en kvalitativstudie därresultatetav bilderboksanalysenvägs samman med tidigare forskning i ämnet. När studien färdigställts finns ett tydligt mönster som bör lyftas fram. Detta mönster visar skillnader mellan flickor och pojkars kläder. Flickor bär kläder i ljusa färger medan pojkar nästan alltid har kläder i kallare och mörkare färger. Ett annat resultat som tydligt framkom i analysen är att klädernasombarnen använder är knutna till olika aktiviteter. Dessa aktiviteter är i sin tur knutna till kön och detta påverkar kombinationen av kläder hos pojkar och flickor.