An examination of learning resulting from a transition from a directed to a self-directed work environment

~ This study focuses on the process of self-directed learning that individuals go through as they adapt to new work situations. This is a study of how one critical incident, specifically the transition from a traditional office structure to a home office structure, affected employees and what their learning process was as they adapted to the new environment. This study has 3 educational foundations: adult learning, self-directed learning, and the social context from which the learning will occur. Six women and 2 men were interviewed approximately 1 year following the transition. Analysis of the data revealed 5 themes of: impacts of the self-directed environment on participants' personal lives, their roles, skill set, productivity, and the physical environment; support offered by the organization, family, and office administration; personal development, specific learning needs, and personal skills; boundaries as they relate to family and work; and skill set and orientation requirements of new home office employees. The findings revealed the learning processes of the 8 participants. The learning processes of these participants were discussed within a theoretical framework of the learners, their immediate surroundings, and the larger social environment. The results indicated that the transition from a directed work environment to a self directed work environment is a complex, interrelated process. An element found throughout the theoretical framework is that of control. A second critical element is the need for participants to have a clearly defined work role and an opportunity to engage in discussion with peers and the community. Further findings reinforced the importance of climate and found that the physical environment is a key factor in a successful selfdirected work environment. The findings of this study revealed that no one factor makes an individual function successfully in a self-directed work environment, but that it is a complex interplay among the leamer, their immediate surroundings, and the social environment that will have the greatest impact on success. Recommendations are made which can be used to guide organizational leaders in facilitating employees' transition from a directed to a self-directed work environment. Additionally, recommendations are made for further research in the area of self-directed work environments.

Le rôle des émotions dans le processus de sensemaking : l’analyse communicationnelle de récits d’expériences de personnes travaillant dans une résidence pour personnes âgées

Au cours des dernières décennies, les chercheurs ont souligné l'importance d'étudier les émotions et le processus de construction de sens (sensemaking) de Weick (1995) dans des contextes organisationnels. Cependant, peu d'études ont examiné les relations complexes entre ces deux dimensions de l’expérience organisationnelle. Pour comprendre davantage ce lien, cette étude explore l’interprétation du rôle des émotions dans le processus de sensemaking dans le contexte d'un centre d’hébergement pour personnes âgées. Fondée sur l’analyse de récits d’expériences de six employés, cette analyse narrative révèle les principales différences et similitudes dans la manière dont les émotions marquent le sensemaking de ces employés dans leurs interactions quotidiennes au travail. De plus, cette recherche montre que l'accent mis sur les émotions peut faire ressortir des aspects organisationnels particuliers du sensemaking qui, autrement, restent pris pour acquis (ou cachés).

Localisations métropolitaines et mobilité quotidienne : relation entre l’équilibre emploi-résidence et le navettage à Montréal

Au cours des dernières décennies, l’important mouvement de déconcentration territoriale évoluant au sein de nombreuses métropoles à travers le monde a indéniablement su bouleverser leurs dynamiques territoriales, notamment en termes d’organisation spatiale des fonctions urbaines et de mobilité. Ce phénomène n’a pas manqué de susciter l’intérêt de nombreux auteurs, toutefois, face à la variété des facteurs d’influence et aux nombreuses spécificités locales, ces études se sont régulièrement révélées divergentes, voire contradictoires. Ainsi, de nombreuses incertitudes demeurent. La déconcentration des activités serait-elle en mesure de favoriser une meilleure adéquation des lieux de résidence et de travail au sein des territoires métropolitains? Quels en sont les conséquences sur les migrations alternantes? À l’heure où la mobilité constitue à la fois un facteur clé du développement des villes et un enjeu majeur quant aux ’émissions de GES et, alors que le mouvement de déconcentration demeure très actuel et poursuit sa progression, ce mémoire vise à enrichir le débat en proposant une étude basée sur l’analyse des plus récentes formes de distribution des activités métropolitaines en lien avec les caractéristiques de navettage, le tout dans une optique d’évaluation de la durabilité des déplacements. Le cas de Montréal, une métropole dont l’organisation spatiale a été considérée atypique en Amérique du nord, a été observé. L’analyse réalisée comprend trois grandes étapes. L’espace métropolitain montréalais a d’abord fait l’objet d’une caractérisation basée sur une typologie développée en France et basée sur divers critères reliés à la localisation emploi-résidence. Cette typologie a ensuite servi de base à une analyse des déplacements pendulaires, entre 2003 et 2008. Le portrait obtenu a finalement été opposé à celui résultant d’une analyse basée sur un découpage plus traditionnel « centre-banlieue-périphérie » de l’espace métropolitain. Les résultats suggèrent, à l’instar d’autres études, que la seule proximité des lieux d’emploi et de résidence ne suffit pas à favoriser des pratiques de navettage plus durables. D’un point de vue méthodologique, l’étude révèle également la pertinence des deux types d’approches proposés, de même que leur complémentarité.

Influence et facteurs incitatifs de la participation des parents dans un programme d’éducation à la nutrition implanté en milieu scolaire : Petits cuistots – Parents en réseaux

Au cours de leur croissance, les jeunes sont exposés à des facteurs de risques de maladies associés aux habitudes de vie, notamment celles alimentaires. Les interventions scolaires mises en place en vue de modifier leurs comportements nutritionnels sont plus efficaces lorsque les parents prennent part aux activités. Toutefois, les travaux réalisés dans ce domaine font état d’un faible taux de participation des parents dans les activités proposées. Les recherches effectuées sur la participation parentale dans les interventions d’éducation nutritionnelle à l’école, révèlent des lacunes importantes quant à la définition du concept. L’investissement parental y est défini par la fréquence d’apparition des parents à l’école et le rôle de ceux-ci dans les interventions; ce qui constitue, à notre avis, une vision réductionniste des dimensions du concept. De plus, ces études répertoriées dans la littérature mettent l’emphase sur la proportion de parents participants et l’influence de celle-ci quant aux effets sur les enfants, sans se préoccuper de ce qui pourrait expliquer leur implication aux activités proposées. L’objectif de cette thèse est de documenter les mécanismes qui sous-tendent la participation des parents dans les programmes de promotion de la santé dispensés en milieu scolaire. Plus spécifiquement, notre étude vise à identifier la relation entre les différentes dimensions de l’implication parentale et les comportements alimentaires des enfants suite à l’exposition de ces derniers à un projet d’éducation à la nutrition mis en place dans huit écoles primaires de milieux défavorisés de Montréal, le Projet PC-PR, tout en appréciant l’influence de certaines caractéristiques familiales sur ce lien. Puis, explorer la relation entre des facteurs qui motivent les parents à participer et l’investissement de ces derniers dans le projet. La présente recherche est conduite grâce à une analyse secondaire de données d’un échantillon de parents d’enfants fréquentant les écoles qui participent au projet PC-PR (N=502). La participation parentale est conceptualisée en quatre dimensions faisant référence à la notion du mésosystème proposée par Bronfenbrenner (1979), alors que les motifs d’implication sont définis en s’inspirant des travaux de Hoover-Dempsey et Sandler (1995, 1997). Des analyses descriptives, bivariées et multivariées sont effectuées. L’analyse du discours des parents montre une association positive entre la participation parentale aux activités (soit l’investissement à la maison, la communication et la connaissance intermilieu) et le développement de comportements alimentaires des enfants. Des effets modérateurs de certaines variables familiales (la langue, le nombre d’enfants à la maison, l’âge et l’opinion du parent sur la nécessité que l’enfant sache faire à manger) sur cette relation sont aussi identifiés. Les raisons qui poussent un parent à participer (la compréhension du rôle, le sentiment de compétence et les occasions offertes par les ateliers) sont liées à la participation de ce dernier aux activités de cuisine-nutrition. Les résultats de cette recherche contribuent non seulement à l’avancement des connaissances dans le domaine, mais servent de prémisses à une réflexion visant à mieux orienter les interventions en promotion de la santé.

Children's caring roles and responsibilities within the family in Africa

In many Sub-Saharan African countries, the care of chronically ill, disabled or elderly relatives is usually regarded as the responsibility of family members, within a broader landscape of often overburdened healthcare systems, the expense of medical fees, very limited access to social protection and policies that emphasise home-based care. Recent studies have demonstrated that children and youth, particularly girls and young women, take on considerable caring roles for chronically ill and elderly relatives in Africa. This article reviews the available research on young people’s caring roles and responsibilities within families affected by chronic illness and disability in Sub-Saharan Africa. I discuss how children’s caring roles challenge global and local constructions of childhood and suggest ways of conceptualising the socio-spatial and embodied dimensions of children’s everyday care work within diverse household forms. I analyse evidence on outcomes of care and children’s resilience in managing their caring responsibilities and examine the complex array of processes that influence whether children take on caring roles within the family. I argue that relational, intergenerational and lifecourse approaches to researching children’s caring responsibilities within the family have considerable potential for future geographical research and could provide further insights into the ways that care is embedded in social relations, cultural norms and structural inequalities operating in different configurations in particular places.

HIV care and interdependence in Tanzania and Uganda

Within many communities in East Africa, people living with HIV are increasingly involved in delivering home-based care and healthcare for family members and peers. Such interdependent caring relations blur conventional boundaries between ‘care-givers’ and ‘care-recipients’, and constructions of 'service users' as dependent, passive recipients of healthcare. The participation of people living with HIV in healthcare provision, home-based care and peer support groups can enhance ‘relational autonomy’ for both care-givers and care-recipients, although such initiatives often play out in highly gendered ways. The care and support of people living with HIV, particularly the emotion work of caring, however, continues to be associated with women's and girls' assumed 'natural' nurturing roles and has been largely devalued and overlooked in HIV policy and practice to date.

Trabalho e família no contexto de teletrabalho: o olhar de teletrabalhadores e seus co-residentes

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo contribuir para o conhecimento sobre o teletrabalho, especialmente, sobre a dinâmica da realização do trabalho na esfera familiar, a partir do home-office telework. Investigou-se de que maneira os teletrabalhadores e sua família dão sentido aos dilemas, oportunidades e exigências da realização do trabalho no ambiente familiar, à luz de suas práticas discursivas. Para tanto, entrevistas semi-estruturadas foram realizadas com 25 teletrabalhadores e seus co-residentes e analisadas sob a ótica da análise de conteúdo. A pesquisa revela que quando a casa dá lugar às atividades profissionais do indivíduo, as relações entre as demandas pessoais, familiares e profissionais se tornam mais próximas, diluídas e entrelaçadas. A aproximação das esferas de trabalho e não-trabalho conduz a uma ruptura nas dinâmicas espaciais, temporais e psicológicas desses domínios, proporcionando aos indivíduos oportunidades de desenvolvimento pessoal. No entanto, as mudanças pelas quais os mesmos terão de passar apresentam potencialidades contraditórias. Ao mesmo tempo em que o teletrabalho proporciona uma oportunidade de integração com a família e flexibilidade para o melhor aproveitamento do tempo de trabalho e não-trabalho, a dificuldade de equilibrar dois mundos construídos sobre discursos diversos, o mundo da casa e da rua, pode despontar uma crise, dependendo do preparo de cada família para essa situação de trabalho. A fim de auxiliar na interpretação dos resultados, os pontos de conteúdo mais expressivos, os quais ilustram o exposto acima, foram expostos em quatro temas relacionados ao telehomework: espaço, flexibilidade de tempo, gênero e equilíbrio trabalho-vida pessoal.

Análise de impactos ambientais e econômicos na escolha de locais para disposição final de resíduos sólidos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A TV no ecossistema dos onívoros digitais

A quick setup of the digital environment that occurs in these first decades of the twentyfirst century has involved the use of electronic devices for consume content both at home, at work and on the go (ComScore, 2011). The emergence of this vast multiplatform digital landscape impels to know of individual and complementary use of these devices with ubiquitous nature or not. The widespread adoption of smartphones, tablets and other connected devices via internet makes users / consumers of these devices to feed a diet based on a constant flow of digital content across different platforms. The objective of this paper is to describe the role of television in the context of the Media Ecology which is established by the "digital omnivores" a new group of consumers whose name, according Canavilhas (2013, p.03), "is related with the platforms that consumers use to access the Internet, but also to the type of individual and multiplatform consumption they do.”

Rural Nebraska: Looking Back at a Decade of Change and Progress: 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Nebraska Rural Poll, rural Nebraskans were asked about changes they may have experienced during the past ten years. Where have they lived during the past decade? In what types of business activities have they been involved? Have they received any education or training during that time period? What has been their experience with the Internet? This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about changes they have experienced during the past ten years. For all questions, comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged: One quarter of rural Nebraskans have lived somewhere other than their current community during the past ten years. Of those who have lived elsewhere, they have moved their primary residence an average of 2.2 times. Younger rural Nebraskans are more likely than older residents to have lived elsewhere during the past decade. Sixty-six percent of persons between the ages of 19 and 29 have lived in a different location, compared to only 12 percent of persons age 65 and older. Many rural Nebraskans who have lived in a different community during the past ten years have lived in another state. Forty-one percent of persons who have lived elsewhere during the past decade have lived in a different state. Forty-five percent have lived in a larger community (18% have lived in either Omaha or Lincoln and 27% have lived in or near a Nebraska community larger than their current one - other than Lincoln or Omaha). Thirty-six percent have lived in or near a Nebraska community smaller than their current one. Twenty percent of rural Nebraskans currently own a business. Thirteen percent started operating a business during the past ten years, 10 percent closed or stopped operating a business during this time period and four percent tried unsuccessfully to start a business. Persons living in or near the smallest communities are more likely than persons living in or near larger communities to currently own a business. Twenty-nine percent of persons living in or near communities with less than 500 people currently own a business, compared to 15 percent of persons living in or near communities with at least 10,000 persons. In general, rural Nebraskans have favorable opinions about self-employment but they also recognize the hardships and risks involved with this type of employment. Sixtyone percent agree that self-employment is desirable because they can be their own boss. Forty-four percent agree that self-employment provides a better quality of life than being an employee. However, 74 percent agree that self-employed individuals work longer hours than traditional employees and 70 percent agree that the cost of health insurance makes self-employment unappealing. Younger persons are more likely than older persons to agree that the cost of health insurance makes self-employment unappealing. Eighty percent of persons age 19 to 29 agree with that statement, compared to 55 percent of persons age 65 and older. One-half of rural Nebraskans have participated in formal education courses, workshops or other training activities during the past ten years. Sixty-nine percent of rural Nebraskans have Internet access either at home or at work. Sixty-six percent have acquired Internet access either at home or at work during the past ten years. An additional three percent had acquired access more than ten years ago. Persons with higher levels of income are more likely than persons with lower incomes to have acquired Internet access. Sixty-six percent of persons with household incomes of $60,000 or more have acquired Internet access at both home and work during the past ten years, compared to only 11 percent of persons with household incomes less than $20,000. Information searches and email are the most important reasons for having an Internet connection. Eighty-nine percent of rural Nebraskans with access to the Internet at either home or work say that information searches are an important or very important reason for having an Internet connection. Eighty-three percent say email is an important reason. In general, rural Nebraskans say their satisfaction with various features of their Internet connection has increased during the past ten years. Fifty-five percent of rural Nebraskans with an Internet connection at home say their satisfaction with the availability of service has increased during the past ten years and 50 percent report an increase in their satisfaction with the speed of their connection. Persons living in or near the larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near the smaller communities to say their satisfaction with the speed of their Internet connection has increased during the past ten years. Fifty-four percent of persons living in or near communities with populations of 5,000 or more say their satisfaction with the speed of their connection has increased over the past decade, compared to 43 percent of persons living in or near communities with less than 1,000 people.

Inspiratory Muscle Training Reduces Sympathetic Nervous Activity and Improves Inspiratory Muscle Weakness and Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure A CLINICAL TRIAL

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on cardiac autonomic modulation and on peripheral nerve sympathetic activity in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS: Functional capacity, low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) components of heart rate variability, muscle sympathetic nerve activity inferred by microneurography, and quality of life were determined in 27 patients with CHF who had been sequentially allocated to 1 of 2 groups: (1) control group (with no intervention) and (2) IMT group. Inspiratory muscle training consisted of respiratory exercises, with inspiratory threshold loading of seven 30-minute sessions per week for a period of 12 weeks, with a monthly increase of 30% in maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) at rest. Multivariate analysis was applied to detect differences between baseline and followup period. RESULTS: Inspiratory muscle training significantly increased PImax (59.2 +/- 4.9 vs 87.5 +/- 6.5 cmH(2)O, P = .001) and peak oxygen uptake (14.4 +/- 0.7 vs 18.9 +/- 0.8 mL.kg(-1).min(-1), P = .002); decreased the peak ventilation (V. E) +/- carbon dioxide production (V-CO2) ratio (35.8 +/- 0.8 vs 32.5 +/- 0.4, P = .001) and the (V) over dotE +/-(V) over dotCO(2) slope (37.3 +/- 1.1 vs 31.3 +/- 1.1, P = .004); increased the HF component (49.3 +/- 4.1 vs 58.4 +/- 4.2 normalized units, P = .004) and decreased the LF component (50.7 +/- 4.1 vs 41.6 +/- 4.2 normalized units, P = .001) of heart rate variability; decreased muscle sympathetic nerve activity (37.1 +/- 3 vs 29.5 +/- 2.3 bursts per minute, P = .001); and improved quality of life. No significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: Home-based IMT represents an important strategy to improve cardiac and peripheral autonomic controls, functional capacity, and quality of life in patients with CHF.

Effectiveness of a multifactorial falls prevention program in community-dwelling older people when compared to usual care: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (Prevquedas Brazil)

Background Falling in older age is a major public health concern due to its costly and disabling consequences. However very few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted in developing countries, in which population ageing is expected to be particularly substantial in coming years. This article describes the design of an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial falls prevention program in reducing the rate of falls in community-dwelling older people. Methods/design Multicentre parallel-group RCT involving 612 community-dwelling men and women aged 60 years and over, who have fallen at least once in the previous year. Participants will be recruited in multiple settings in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will be randomly allocated to a control group or an intervention group. The usual care control group will undergo a fall risk factor assessment and be referred to their clinicians with the risk assessment report so that individual modifiable risk factors can be managed without any specific guidance. The intervention group will receive a 12-week Multifactorial Falls Prevention Program consisting of: an individualised medical management of modifiable risk factors, a group-based, supervised balance training exercise program plus an unsupervised home-based exercise program, an educational/behavioral intervention. Both groups will receive a leaflet containing general information about fall prevention strategies. Primary outcome measures will be the rate of falls and the proportion of fallers recorded by monthly falls diaries and telephone calls over a 12 month period. Secondary outcomes measures will include risk of falling, fall-related self-efficacy score, measures of balance, mobility and strength, fall-related health services use and independence with daily tasks. Data will be analysed using the intention-to-treat principle.The incidence of falls in the intervention and control groups will be calculated and compared using negative binomial regression analysis. Discussion This study is the first trial to be conducted in Brazil to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to prevent falls. If proven to reduce falls this study has the potential to benefit older adults and assist health care practitioners and policy makers to implement and promote effective falls prevention interventions. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01698580)

Tradition, Change and Variation : Past and Present Trends in Public Old-age Care

The general aim of this dissertation is to describe and analyse how public old-age care in Sweden has developed and changed during the last century. The study applies a provider perspective on how care has been planned and professionally carried out. A broader social policy perspective, studying old-age care at central/national as well as local/municipal level, is also developed. A special focus is directed at the large local variation in care and services for the elderly. The empirical base is comprised of official documents and other public sources, survey data from interviews with elderly recipients of public old-age care, and official statistics on publicly financed and controlled old-age care and services. Study I addresses the development of old-age care in Sweden during the twentieth century by studying an important occupation in this field – the supervisors and their professional roles, tasks and working conditions. Throughout, the roles of supervisors have followed the prevailing official policy on the proper way to provide care for elderly people in Sweden; from poor relief at the beginning of the 1900s, via a generous level of services in the 1960s and 1970s, to today’s restricted and economy-controlled mode of operation. Study II describes and compares two main forms of public old-age care in Sweden today, home help services and institutional care. The care-load found in home-based care was comparable to and sometimes even larger than in service-homes and other institutions, indicating that large care needs among elderly people in Sweden today can be met in their homes as well as in institutional settings. Studies III and IV analyse the local variation in public old-age care in Sweden. During the last decades there has been an overall decline in home help services. The coverage of home help for elderly people shows large differences between municipalities throughout this period, and the relative variation has increased. The local disparity seems to depend more on historical factors, e.g., previous coverage rates, than on the present municipal situation in levels of need or local economy and politics. In an introductory part the four papers are linked together by an outline of the demographic situation and the social policy model for old-age care in Sweden. Trends that have been apparent over time, e.g. professionalisation and market orientation, are traced and discussed. Conflicts between prevailing ideologies are analysed, in regards to for instance home-based and institution-based care, social and medical culture, and local and central levels of decision-making. ’Welfare municipality’, ‘path dependency’, and ‘decentralisation’ are suggested as a conceptual framework for describing the large and increasing local variations in old-age care. Finally, implications of the four studies with regard to old-age care policy and further research are discussed.

Current Resources

Reviews include: Family Centered Services: A Handbook for Practitioners.Bonnie K. Williams (Ed.). The National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, School of Social Work, The University of Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa.Reviewed by Lois Wright Building Skills in High-Risk Families: Strategies for the Home-Based Practitioner. Jane Peterson, Paula E. Kohrt, Linda M. Shadoin, Karen J. Authier. Boys Town, Nebraska. Boys Town Press. Reviewed by Sharon Alpert

Assessing and applying evidence-based interventions at the community level in India as a model policy to reduce neonatal mortality rates in Nigeria

Background. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 aims for a two-thirds reduction in death rates for children under the age of five by 2015. The greatest risk of death is in the first week of life, yet most of these deaths can be prevented by such simple interventions as improved hygiene, exclusive breastfeeding, and thermal care. The percentage of deaths in Nigeria that occur in the first month of life make up 28% of all deaths under five years, a statistic that has remained unchanged despite various child health policies. This paper will address the challenges of reducing the neonatal mortality rate in Nigeria by examining the literature regarding efficacy of home-based, newborn care interventions and policies that have been implemented successfully in India. ^ Methods. I compared similarities and differences between India and Nigeria using qualitative descriptions and available quantitative data of various health indicators. The analysis included identifying policy-related factors and community approaches contributing to India's newborn survival rates. Databases and reference lists of articles were searched for randomized controlled trials of community health worker interventions shown to reduce neonatal mortality rates. ^ Results. While it appears that Nigeria spends more money than India on health per capita ($136 vs. $132, respectively) and as percent GDP (5.8% vs. 4.2%, respectively), it still lags behind India in its neonatal, infant, and under five mortality rates (40 vs. 32 deaths/1000 live births, 88 vs. 48 deaths/1000 live births, 143 vs. 63 deaths/1000 live births, respectively). Both countries have comparably low numbers of healthcare providers. Unlike their counterparts in Nigeria, Indian community health workers receive training on how to deliver postnatal care in the home setting and are monetarily compensated. Gender-related power differences still play a role in the societal structure of both countries. A search of randomized controlled trials of home-based newborn care strategies yielded three relevant articles. Community health workers trained to educate mothers and provide a preventive package of interventions involving clean cord care, thermal care, breastfeeding promotion, and danger sign recognition during multiple postnatal visits in rural India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan reduced neonatal mortality rates by 54%, 34%, and 15–20%, respectively. ^ Conclusion. Access to advanced technology is not necessary to reduce neonatal mortality rates in resource-limited countries. To address the urgency of neonatal mortality, countries with weak health systems need to start at the community level and invest in cost-effective, evidence-based newborn care interventions that utilize available human resources. While more randomized controlled studies are urgently needed, the current available evidence of models of postnatal care provision demonstrates that home-based care and health education provided by community health workers can reduce neonatal mortality rates in the immediate future.^