Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cognition (Methods of)'

Central auditory processing is complex and can not be evaluated by a single method. This thesis focuses on assessment of some aspects of central auditory functions by the use of dichotic speech tests and cognitive tests that tax functions important for speech processing. Paper A deals with the cognitive effects in dichotic speech testing in elderly hearing-impaired subjects. It was found that different listening tasks in the dichotic tests put different demands on cognitive ability, shown by a varying degree of correlation between cognitive functions and dichotic test parameters. Age-related cognitive decline was strongly connected with problems to perceive stimuli presented to the left ear. Paper B presents a new cognitive test battery sensitive for functions important for speech processing and understanding, performed in text, auditory and audiovisual modalities. The test battery was evaluated in four groups, differing in age and hearing status, and has proven to be useful in assessing the relative contribution of different input-modalities and the effect of age, hearingimpairment and visual contribution on functions important for speech processing. In Paper C the test battery developed in Paper B was used to study listening situations with different kinds of background noise. Interfering noise at +10 dB signal-to-noise ratio has significant negative effects on performance in speech processing tasks and on the effort perceived. Hearing-impaired subjects showed poorer results in noise with temporal variations, and elderly subjects were more distracted by noise with temporal variations, especially by noise with meaningful content. In noise, all subjects, particularly those with impaired hearing, were more dependent upon visual cues than in the quiet condition. Hearing aid benefit in speech processing with and without background noise was studied in Paper D. The test battery developed in Paper B was used together with a standard measure of speech recognition. With hearing aids, speech recognition was improved in the background condition without noise and in the background condition of ordinary speech. Significantly less effort was perceived in the cognitive tests when hearing aids were used, although only minor benefits of hearing aid amplification were seen. This underlines the importance of considering perceived effort as a dimension when evaluating hearing aid benefit, in further research as well as in clinical practice. The results from the studies contribute to the knowledge about speech processing but also to the search for more specific evaluation of speech understanding, incorporating both sensory and cognitive factors.
The ISBN 91-85297-49-6 in the printed verison is incorrect. The correct ISBN is 91-85297-93-3.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the potential for methodological exchange between the fields of naturalistic decision-making (NDM) and managerial cognition. The research outlined makes a contribution towards methodological choice and research design within these fields. It also contributes by highlighting the theoretical value of applying a naturalistic mode of enquiry to the study of investment professionals. This research is situated in response to a number of calls for inter-disciplinary conversation in the study of cognition (Hodgkinson and Healey, 2008; Hodgkinson and Thomas, 1997; Lipshitz, Klein and Carroll, 2006). As such, it is located within the wider organisational debates of the social, management and behavioural sciences. Building upon the arguable inappropriateness of existing managerial cognition - behavioural decision-making (BDM) collaborations, this thesis advocates a naturalistic approach for progressing understanding of 'real-world' decision-making. In doing so, and in addressing the methodological challenges associated with these fields, the thesis examines the utility of connectionist architectures and structured qualitative approaches for the elicitation and representation of cognition. Three studies progressively examine the boundaries of cross-fertilisation using investment professionals as a backdrop for study. The results suggest inter-disciplinary collaboration to be useful not only in developing the reperto.ire of methodological tools available to the social sciences researcher, but in progressing theoretical thought (ie. through the concepts of coherence and sense-making) and in addressing epistemological debates within these fields. This thesis therefore contributes towards rapprochement of quantitative-qualitative approaches in NDM and computational-interpretative perspectives in the field of managerial cognition by modelling their dynamic interplay. The results also draw attention to the importance of understanding the socially situated aspects of expertise and the value in obtaining a multi-perspective understanding of cognition through mixed-methods designs. This thesis suggests that further collaboration both in a theoretical and methodological sense has much to offer these two fields and is an appropriate avenue for progression.

This thesis aimed to dissociate temporoparietal contributions to semantic cognition and investigate the wider semantic control network using behavioural experiments, fMRI, and TMS. Chapter 2 investigated patients with semantic aphasia (SA) and healthy participants under conditions of divided attention and found that the selection of associative knowledge, specifically for weaker associations is reliant on semantic control processes. Chapter 3 utilised TMS to dissociate two sites in the temporoparietal region implicated in semantic cognition (posterior middle temporal gyrus, pMTG; and angular gyrus, AG), which are co-activated in semantic contrasts and often damaged together in SA. pMTG was involved in semantic control whereas the response in AG suggests that it is involved in reflexive orientation to semantic concepts. Chapter 4 examined whether the network involved in the control of semantic information overlapped with the network involved in action selection, as both semantic selection and action selection activate overlapping regions demonstrated by previous fMRI studies. Significant overlap was observed between semantic control and action selection in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and pMTG suggesting that flexibility in semantic retrieval and action selection rely on partially overlapping architecture. In Chapter 5 we extended previous work demonstrating an involvement of different parts of LIFG in different aspects of semantic control. Dorsal LIFG showed engagement in goal-driven selection while anterior ventral LIFG showed a response compatible with flexible content-driven retrieval. This distinction extended to posterior temporal cortex with pMTG recruitment only observed for context-driven retrieval demands and ITC involvement in goal-driven semantics. The findings of this thesis further elucidate the role of distinct regions within temporoparietal cortex in semantic cognition and the apparent overlap between semantic control and event/action understanding.

Agile programming methods have become popular in software development projects. These methods increase productivity and support teamwork processes. In this thesis, we have analyzed three well-known Agile methods - Scrum, Extreme Programming and Crystal Orange - from the perspective of situated cognition to investigate how well the methods support cognition. Specifically, we looked at how the methods aid memory and attention through the use of external representations. The study suggests that the methods support different aspects of situated cognition reasonably well. However, among the investigated methods, Scrum stands out due to aspects of task representation (progress charts), its approaches to externalize what-to-do (memory), and the means to focus on the important programming tasks for the day (attention).

Thesis: S.M. in Art, Culture and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2019
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 61-64).
In this thesis I discuss methods of projects that create cognitive effects that can be categorized into two situations: through sensation (outside stimulations/objective/bottom-up processing in neuroscience) or through perception (arousing background knowledge of inner mind/subjective/top-down processing in neuroscience). Similar effects can be reached through different ways. For example, to make something disappear, blending it into the environment through camouflage is changing the external stimulation, while a "lilac chaser illusion" is the result of influencing the retina and our brain. I will apply research on human sensation and perception from two perspectives: the psychological (neuroscience) realm and the phenomenological. My research mostly focuses on theories of vision, current studies on physiological information processing in visual systems, and the phenomenological theories of sensation and perception according to Kant, Hegel, Husserl, and Merleau-Ponty.
It also includes a conceptual framework for theories of perception, dreams, consciousness, imagination, and hallucination presented by Dennett, Windt, and Metzinger. I also explore case studies of artistic projects and discuss these in terms of the ways that controlling visual stimuli or influencing perception affects the ways we apprehend the visual. Practices that are famous for affecting and challenging human cognition, including light and space arts and opt arts, will be discussed. The artworks created by different artists, such as James Turrell, Ann Veronica Janssens, Richard Anuskiewicz, and Brio Gysin, will be discussed and categorized into either top-down (sensation) or bottom-up (perception) works of art based on the methodology used to affect audiences' experiences and cognition of their work.
Finally, I will also involve my own practice during past years in discovering the relationship between art and neuroscience, the outside stimulation and inside interpretation, the objectivity and subjectivity. Through this thesis, I will argue for an approach that allows for a new hermeneutics of seeing that ultimately enhances the viewer's capacity to perceive.
by Xiaoyan Shen.
S.M. in Art, Culture and Technology
S.M.inArt,CultureandTechnology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture

Advances in science and computing technology have accelerated the development and dissemination of a wide range of big data platforms such as bioinformatics into the biomedical and life sciences environments. Bioinformatics brings the promise of enabling life scientists to easily and effectively access large and complex data sets in new ways, thus promoting scientific discoveries by for example generating, validating, and refining hypotheses based on in silico analysis (performed on computer). Meanwhile, life scientists still face challenges in working with big data sets such as difficulties in data extraction and analyses arising from distributed and heterogeneous databases, user interface inconsistencies and discrepancies in results. Moreover, the interdisciplinary nature of modern science adds to significant gaps in scientists' performance caused by limited proficiency levels with bioinformatics resources and a lack of common language across different disciplines. Although developers of bioinformatics platforms are slowly beginning to move away from function-oriented software engineering approaches and towards to user-centered design approaches, they rarely consider users' value, and expectations that embrace different user contexts. Further, there is an absence of research that specifically aims to support the broad range of users from multiple fields of study, including 'wet' (lab-based) and dry' (computational) research communities. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this research is to investigate life scientists' user experiences with knowledge resources and derive design implications for delivering consistent user experiences across different user classes in order to better support data-intensive research communities. To achieve this research goal, we used the theory of distributed cognition as a framework for representing the dynamic interactions among end users and knowledge resources within computer-supported and -mediated environments. To be specific, this research focused on how online bioinformatics resources can be improved in order to both mitigate performance differences among the diverse user classes and better support distributed cognitive activities in data-intensive interdisciplinary research environments. This research consists of three parts: (1) understanding user experience levels with current bioinformatics resources and key determinants to encourage distributed cognitive activities, especially knowledge networking, (2) gaining in-depth understanding of scientists' insight generation behavior and human performance associated with individual differences (i.e., research roles and cognitive styles), and (3) identifying in-context usefulness, and barriers to make better use of bioinformatics resources in real working research contexts and derive design considerations to satisfactorily support positive user experiences. To achieve our research goals, we used a mixed-methods research approach that combines both quantitative (Study 1 and 2) and qualitative (Study 3) methods. First, as a baseline for subsequent studies, we conducted an empirical survey to examine 1) user experience levels with current bioinformatics resources, 2) important criteria to adequately support user requirements, 3) levels of knowledge networking (i.e., knowledge sharing and use) and relationship to users' larger set of distributed cognitive activities, and, 4) key barriers and enablers of knowledge networking. We collected responses from 179 scientists and our findings revealed that lack of integration, inconsistent results and user interfaces across bioinformatics resources, and perceived steep learning curves are current limitations to productive user experiences. Performance-related factors such as speed and responsiveness of resources and ease of use ranked relatively high as important criteria for bioinformatics resources. Our research also confirmed that source credibility, fear of getting scooped, and certain motivation factors (i.e., reciprocal benefit, reputation, and altruism) have an influence on scientists' intention to engage in distributed cognitive activities. Second, we conducted a laboratory experiment with a sample of 16 scientists in the broad area of bench and application sciences. We elicited 1) behavior characteristics, 2) insight characteristics, 3) gaze characteristics, and 4) human errors in relation to individual differences (i.e., research roles such as bench and application scientists, cognitive styles such as field-independent and dependent people) to identify whether human performance gaps exist. Our results (1) confirmed significant differences with respect to insight generation behavior and human performance depending on research roles, and (2) identified some relationships between scientists' cognitive styles and human performance. Third, we collected a rich set of qualitative data from 6 scientists using a longitudinal diary study and a focus group session. The specific objective of this study was to identify in-context usefulness and barriers to using knowledge resources in a real work context to subsequently derive focused design implications. For this work, we examined 1) the types of distributed cognitive activities participants performed, 2) the challenges and alternative actions they faced, 3) important criteria that influenced tasks, and 4) values to support distributed cognitive activities. Based on the empirical findings of this study, we suggest design considerations to support scientists' distributed cognitive activities from user experience perspectives. Overall, this research provides insights and implications for user interface design in order to support data-intensive interdisciplinary communities. Given the importance of today's knowledge-based interdisciplinary society, our findings can also serve as an impetus for accelerating a collaborative culture of scientific discovery in online biomedical and life science research communities. The findings can contribute to the design of online bioinformatics resources to support diverse groups of professionals from different disciplinary backgrounds. Consequently, the implications of these findings can help user experience professionals and system developers working in biomedical and life sciences who seek ways to better support research communities from user experience perspectives.
Ph. D.

To understand how the brain functions, we must investigate the transient interactions that underpin communication between cortical regions. EEG possesses the optimal temporal resolution to capture functional connectivity, but it lacks the spatial resolution to identify the cortical locations responsible. To circumvent this problem electrophysiological connectivity should be investigated at the source level. There are many quantifiers of connectivity applied to EEG data, but some are not sensitive to the direct, or indirect, influence of one region over another, and others require the specification of a priori models so are unsuitable for exploratory analyses. Transfer Entropy (TE) can be used to infer the direction of linear and non-linear information exchange between signals over a range of time-delays within EEG data. This thesis explores the creation of a new method of mapping dynamic brain connectivity using a trial-based TE analysis of EEG source data, and the application of this technique to the investigation of semantic and number processing within the brain. The first paper (Chapter 2) documents the analyses of a semantic category and number magnitude judgement task using traditional ERP techniques. As predicted, the well-known semantic N400 component was found, and localised to left ATL and inferior frontal cortex. An N365 component related to number magnitude judgement was localised to right superior parietal regions including the IPS. These results offer support for the hub-and-spoke model of semantics, and the triple parietal model of number processing. The second paper (Chapter 3) documents an analysis of the same data with the new trial-based TE analysis. Word and number data were analysed at 0-200ms, 200-400ms, and 400-600ms following stimulus presentation. In the earliest window, information exchange was occurring predominately between occipital sources, but by the latest window it had become spread out across the brain. Task-dependent differences of regional information exchange revealed that temporal sources were sending more information to occipital sources following words at 0-200ms. Furthermore, the direction and timing of information movement within a front-temporal-parietal network was identified during 0-400ms of the number magnitude judgment. The final paper (Chapter 4), documents an attempt to track the influence of TMS through the brain using the TE analysis. TMS was applied to bilateral ATL and IPS because they are both important hubs in the brain networks that support semantic and number processing respectively. Left ATL TMS influenced sources located primarily in wide-spread left temporal lobe, and inferior frontal and inferior occipital cortices. The anatomical connectivity profile of the temporal lobe suggests that these are all plausible locations, and they exhibited excellent spatial similarities to the results of neuroimaging experiments that probed semantic knowledge. The analysis of right ATL TMS obtained a mirror image of the left. Left parietal stimulation resulted in a bilateral parietal, superior occipital, and superior prefrontal influence, which extended slightly further in the ipsilateral hemisphere to stimulation site. A result made possible by the short association and callosal fibres that connect these areas. Again, the results at the contralateral site were a virtual mirror image. The thesis concludes with a review of the experimental findings, and a discussion of methodological issues still to be resolved, ideas for extensions to the method, and the broader implications of the method on connectivity research.

In explorations of the nature and operation of influences on attempts to adopt health behaviours, health psychologists have largely concentrated on developing models incorporating statistically predictive combinations of measures of social cognitions. However, this body of work is flawed by theoretical, methodological and performance based limitations. Three different approaches are reported here to moving beyond the social cognition models in order to address current gaps in knowledge and understanding. In the first approach, behaviour-specific predictors were found to contribute significantly to the explanation of variance in intentions once key social cognitions had been accounted for, but a ceiling appeared to have been reached in studies of this kind and the need to consider cognitive and emotional links between past and future behaviour was identified. The second approach therefore involved an evaluation of the Idealised Process Model of Cognitive-Affective Responses to Repeated Failure (Jerusalem and Schwarzer, 1992). Persistent, negative patterns of change in cognitive stress appraisals were found to result from repeated failure experiences in relation to cognitive tasks but the model did not generalise to health behaviour performance. A longitudinal, multiple case study was conducted in the third approach in order to explore meanings associated with experiences of trying to adopt health behaviours, together with the implications of these for outcomes. The desire to act as a positive role model emerged as a key motivating factor, while both having experienced a small number of past failures and having engaged in advanced, strategic planning were identified as beneficial to the maintenance of health behaviour change. The latter is particularly recommended in order to ensure the receipt of early, positive reinforcement in relation to the key motives for change, foster appropriate anticipatory action against potentially difficult situations and in order to identify a range of practical and psychological strategies likely to foster sustained change, alternative sources of support and relief to the original behaviour and ways in which lapses might be prevented from becoming relapses.

The current thesis addresses some of the unresolved predictions of recent models of the semantic brain system, such as the hub-and-spokes model. In particular, we tackle different aspects of the hypothesis that a widespread network of interacting heteromodal (hub(s)) and unimodal (spokes) cortices underlie semantic cognition. For this purpose, we use connectivity analyses, measures of graph theory and permutation-based statistics with source reconstructed Electro-/MagnetoEncephaloGraphy (EEG/MEG) data in order to track dynamic modulations of activity and connectivity within the semantic networks while a concept unfolds in the brain. Moreover, in order to obtain more accurate connectivity estimates of the semantic networks, we propose novel methods for some of the challenges associated with EEG/MEG connectivity analysis in source space. We utilised data-driven analyses of EEG/MEG recordings of visual word recognition paradigms and found that: 1) Bilateral Anterior Temporal Lobes (ATLs) acted as potential processor hubs for higher-level abstract representation of concepts. This was reflected in modulations of activity by multiple contrasts of semantic variables; 2) ATL and Angular Gyrus (AG) acted as potential integrator hubs for integration of information produced in distributed semantic areas. This was observed using Dynamic Causal Modelling of connectivity among the main left-hemispheric candidate hubs and modulations of functional connectivity of ATL and AG to semantic spokes by word concreteness. Furthermore, examining whole-brain connectomes using measures of graph theory revealed modules in the right ATL and parietal cortex as global hubs; 3) Brain oscillations associated with perception and action in low-level cortices, in particular Alpha and Gamma rhythms, were modulated in response to words with those sensory-motor attributes in the corresponding spokes, shedding light on the mechanism of semantic representations in spokes; 4) Three types of hub-hub, hub-spoke and spoke-spoke connectivity were found to underlie dynamic semantic graphs. Importantly, these results were obtained using novel approaches proposed to address two challenges associated with EEG/MEG connectivity. Firstly, in order to find the most suitable of several connectivity metrics, we utilised principal component analysis (PCA) to find commonalities and differences of those methods when applied to a dataset and identified the most suitable metric based on the maximum explained variance. Secondly, reconstruction of EEG/MEG connectomes using anatomical or fMRI-based parcellations can be significantly contaminated by spurious leakage-induced connections in source space. We, therefore, utilised cross-talk functions in order to optimise the number, size and locations of cortical parcels, obtaining EEG/MEG-adaptive parcellations. In summary, this thesis proposes approaches for optimising EEG/MEG connectivity analyses and applies them to provide the first empirical evidence regarding some of the core predictions of the hub-and-spokes model. The key findings support the general framework of the hub(s)-and-spokes, but also suggest modifications to the model, particularly regarding the definition of semantic hub(s).

Purpose Cancer-related cognitive change (CRCC) is a condition that is observed in a large proportion of cancer survivors, impacting activities of daily living and overall wellbeing. Objectives of this study were to identify and categorise interventions previously trialled to manage CRCC, and to analyse the impact of these interventions. Methods This study was a systematic review with meta-analysis. A search of six databases was completed, including years 2007-2017 and limited to randomised control trials (RCTs) published in English. Meta-analysis was accomplished using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Results A total of 23 studies were identified that presented interventions for CRCC and met selection criteria. Interventions fell into three categories: cognitive training based intervention, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), and alternative/complementary therapies. Overall, CBT interventions had no significant impact on cognitive functioning, while the other categories significantly improved cognitive performance. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that current research into intervention options for the management of CRCC is limited in scope, however suggests that alternative and complementary therapies are both effective and accessible to cancer survivors. Further, based on current research, CBT is not recommended as an effective CRCC intervention. Implications for Cancer Survivors This study provides insight into current options for the management of CRCC, which may improve the lives of those who experience it. The findings are significant to inform clinical practice and assist practitioners in recommending interventions. Awareness of limitations in the scope of the research, and the financial and time burdens associated with interventions will allow practitioners to make informed decisions around these recommendations. There is need for further, high-quality research in this area that addresses the broader population of cancer survivors.

Hoarding in the community involves substantial cluttering and impaired functioning, often exposing the hoarder to extensive health and safety risks. This research, based on Functionalism social theory, explores the three elements of hoarding—relentless acquisition, intense possessiveness of objects, and a reluctance to discard possessions—as a sociocultural phenomenon. The mixed methods methodology entailed a quantitative study involving a survey completed by 134 adult protective services workers throughout Virginia and a qualitative study of five randomly-selected adult protective services workers who volunteered for in-depth interviews.Findings revealed that adult protective services workers come in contact with very severe cases of hoarding, with over two-thirds of the cases cited having extremely hazardous, unsafe, and cluttered living conditions. Similar to other research studies, hoarding was most prevalent among elderly women and the most common objects hoarded included printed materials such as newspapers, magazines, and junk mail. Factor analyses resulted in three factors with high loadings and correlations, particularly the factor that associates hoarding with a relentless need or desire to acquire more possessions. Content analyses of the qualitative data found that workers recognized several ways in which hoarding was functional, including emotional attachment to possessions, reducing stress, and providing meaning and identity. The mixed methods approach demonstrated that adult protective services workers tend to ascribe mental illness explanations to many hoarding cases, often equating hoarding to an addiction, although other published research finds only a nebulous connection between mental illness and hoarding behavior.This research corroborates other studies that find that belief systems underlie hoarding behaviors, particularly how hoarders' possessions provide comfort and security; possessions are considered functional, valuable, and irreplaceable; and that the owner is responsible for maintaining control over possessions. The findings of this study have implications for social work practice and treatment models.

The nurturing of critical thinking skills is one of the cornerstones of Outcomes Based Education (OBE). This study investigated to what extent teachers create classroom climates that nurture the development of critical thinking abilities. A literature study was undertaken to highlight the importance and nature of the development of critical thinking skills, and to establish the relationship between classroom climate and the development of critical thinking abilities. The use of teaching methods and strategies, learning activities, questioning techniques, the role of the teacher and the role of the learner during teaching and learning in the classroom were explored. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study, as well as the framework for designing a questionnaire that was utilized to obtain the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding the opportunities provided by teachers for the development of critical thinking abilities in the classroom. By means of quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey research, a self-constructed questionnaire was administrated to a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of Grade 9 and Grade 11 teachers (n=241) and learners (n=403) in the Sedibeng West District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The triangulation of learner and teacher data revealed differences and similarities in opinion related to the classroom climates that teachers create for nurturing critical thinking. In essence, the data revealed that teachers are, to some extent, creating classroom climates that nurture critical thinking through their choice of teaching methods and strategies, questioning techniques and the learning activities that they choose. However, the responses did not convincingly indicate to the researcher that the nurturing of critical thinking skills takes place on a regular and frequent basis. According to the learner responses, it appeared that teaching and learning methods and strategies that promote interactive learning, are underutilized by the teachers. This study is concluded with recommendations to teachers on how to create classroom climates that promote the development of critical thinking skills. Key words: cognition, cognitive development, critical thinking, classroom climate, teaching methods and strategies, learning activities, questioning techniques.
M.Ed., North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

This dissertation introduces the model of opportunistic adaptation to explain new venture growth. In established firms processes of change and adaptation usually imply a transition from one steady-state strategy to another and a problem oriented perspective as firms change in response to potential threats to their current positions. However, in the context of new ventures, adaptation is less about moving from one existent strategy to another and more about the entrepreneur’s effort to reach a steady state for the first time by continuously experimenting and combining resources in creative and innovative ways. The model of opportunistic adaptation rests on three key assumptions: 1.) new venture growth results from actions grounded in an opportunistic (proactive) logic; 2.) entrepreneurial cognition is viewed as an antecedent to all organizational actions leading to growth; 3.) the relationship between entrepreneurial cognition and action is influenced by industry and firm level attributes. The model is tested using quantitative and qualitative data on new ventures founded between 1996 and 2006 in technology intensive industries. The results provide partial support for the notion of opportunistic adaptation as a process in which entrepreneurial cognition, firm and industry related factors are closely intertwined. The results of the dissertation suggest that some aspects of entrepreneurial cognition, such as entrepreneurial schema focus have a more direct effect on actions related to new venture growth than others whose effect is strongly moderated by contextual influences such as industry growth and social network heterogeneity. This dissertation also finds that not all types of organizational actions associated with an opportunity logic lead to new venture growth. Of the three action types included in the model (fast, diverse and frequent) only action diversity was found to have a positive impact on new venture growth. Theoretical implications of the study results for both the literature on new venture growth and the literature on organizational adaptation, as well as practical implications are discussed.

The nurturing of creative thinking skills is one of the cornerstones of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE). This study investigated to what extent teachers nurture the development of creative thinking through the choice of teaching methods, which include the application of teaching strategies and the utilization of resources, in the Grade 9 Social Sciences classroom. A literature study was undertaken to highlight the importance and nature of the development of creative thinking skills, and to establish which teaching methods, strategies and resources nurture the development of creative thinking in Social Sciences classrooms. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study, as well as the framework for designing a questionnaire that was utilized to obtain the perceptions of learners regarding the teaching methods, strategies and resources that their teachers use to nurture the development of creative thinking in the Grade 9 Social Sciences classroom. By means of a sequential explanatory mixed method research design, quantitative data were collected by means of a self-constructed questionnaire that was administrated to a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of Grade 9 Social Sciences learners (n=399) in the D7 district of the Gauteng Department of Education. Following this, a qualitative interview, which was constructed from the findings in the questionnaire, was conducted with purposively selected Grade 9 Social Sciences teachers (n=6) in order to ascertain the reasons behind the quantitative findings. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data revealed differences and similarities in opinion related to the teaching methods, strategies and resources that teachers use for nurturing creative thinking. In essence, the data revealed that teachers are, to some extent, nurturing creative thinking through their choice of teaching methods and strategies as well as the questioning techniques that they choose. However, the responses did not convincingly indicate to the researcher that the nurturing of creative thinking skills takes place on a regular and frequent basis. According to the learner responses, it appeared that teaching and learning methods and strategies that promote indirect, independent, interactive and experiential learning, are under-used by the Grade 9 Social Sciences teachers. In addition, resources that nurture creative elaboration such as political cartoons and photographs appear to be under-utilized. This study is concluded with recommendations to teachers concerning which teaching methods, strategies and resources could be implemented in order to promote the nurturing of creative thinking in the Grade 9 Social Sciences classroom.
Thesis (MEd (Learning and Teaching))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Cette recherche interroge le lien affect-cognition chez des adolescents violents, en souffrance scolaire, à travers une dynamique de dépendance vs différenciation cognitive, émotionnelle et psychique. Elle a été réalisée dans deux établissements secondaires dans la région lyonnaise. Trois phases de travail de terrain ont été articulées. La première, exploratoire, s’est intéressée à l’observation du milieu scolaire à travers des entretiens avec des professionnels (N=8). La deuxième, quantitative, a consisté, à l’aide d’un questionnaire, en un recueil de données auprès d’adolescents (N= 112) quant à leurs violences, leurs rapports aux savoirs, leur quotidien scolaire. Des échelles (Questionnaires de Styles cognitifs, SITA et TAS-20) ont également été administrées pour évaluer la dépendance cognitive, l’alexithymie et le second processus de séparation-individuation. La troisième, clinique, a permis de faire un travail approfondi autour de la singularité d’adolescents en difficulté et dits violents (N=6). Elle s’est basée sur des entretiens cliniques et le Rorschach. Les résultats des phases exploratoire et quantitative ont montré un lien entre dépendance cognitive et difficultés scolaires. La violence à l’école associée aux difficultés scolaires est en lien avec une vulnérabilité cognitive, émotionnelle et relationnelle. Quant à la violence seule, sans difficultés scolaires, elle semble au contraire porter un mouvement de différenciation. Les résultats cliniques corroborent l’idée d’une violence scolaire qui vient interpeller le lien. Elle prend valeur d’une recherche de place singulière, de différenciation et de subjectivation. Les dynamiques de dépendance et d’indifférenciation s’intriquent à un fonctionnement cognitif similaire. Une défaillance dans les contenants de pensée vient s’exprimer dans une violence non contenue, comme une recherche de support à la pensée dans le milieu scolaire, à travers un support à la relation. Le rapport cognitif au scolaire s’inscrit dans cette dynamique globale d’un rapport aux contenants, recherchés et mis à l’épreuve dans les interactions avec l’environnement. Cet environnement peine parfois à décoder, à accueillir cette quête, ou à y apporter la compréhension et la réponse adéquate. Ceci fait de l’espace scolaire un espace de lutte pour la différenciation du sujet et par là même un espace potentiel pour créer, en marge parfois des contingences strictement scolaires, un chemin pour l’identité
This research exmines the link between cognition and affectivity on adolescents with school suffuring, trough studying dependency vs differenciation dynamic on cognitive, emotionnal and affective issues. It was conducted in two secondary establishments in Lyon, France. Three steps have been articulated. The first, exploratory, was interested in the observation of the school through interviews with professionals (N = 8). The second, quantitative, was done with a questionnaire to collect data about adolescents’ violence, relationship to knowledge and school. Scales (Cognitive Styles Questionnaires, SITA and TAS-20) were also administered to assess cognitive dependency, alexithymia and separation-individuation second process. The third, clinical, focused the singularity of troubled and violents teens (N = 6). It was based on clinical interviews and Rorschach test. The results of exploratory and quantitative phases have shown a link between cognitive dependence and scholar difficulties. When associated with scholar difficulties, violence at school is linked with a cognitive, emotionnal and relationnal vulnerability. However, violence alone, without scholar difficulties, seems to be rather a sign of differentiation. The clinical results support the idea that school violence have relationship signification. It takes value of research a space force singular differentiation and subjectivity. The dynamics of dependency and lack of differentiation is also explaining similar cognitive functioning. A failure in containers of thought is expressed in a non-contained violence, as a research of support for thinking in schools, through the relationship. Cognitive relation to the school is part of this overall report to the containers witch are researched and tested in dynamic interactions with the environment. Sometimes, environment has difficulies to receive and understand this quest, and to bring appropriate response. So school may be a space of differenciation and subjectivation struggle. It may be a potential space to create, in marge of school contingency, a way for identity

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interpretation of numerical data when presented in four different graphic formats to different age groups and sexes. Fifth and sixth grade students (N=129) and eleventh and twelfth grade students (N=129) were assigned to four treatment groups. Each group viewed a different treatment slide with the same data displayed in one of four formats: table, line, Iine·tabIe, or bar. After a narrative introduction, the students, while viewing the treatment graph, were asked to answer three types of questions: specific amount, static, and dynamic comparison. The students were then asked to continue viewing the graph for one full minute. After the minute elapsed, the projector was turned off and the students were asked to answer questions concerning the data presented on the graph. A 4 (Graph Type) X 2 (Age) X 2 (Gender) multivariate analysis of l variance (MANOVA) with repeated measures for the four types of questions was implemented to determine the relations among graph type, age, gender, and four types of questions. The independent variables were type of graph (between), age (between), gender (between), and type of question (within). The dependent variable was the interpretation of quantitative information as measured by the test questions. The findings indicated that graphic format, age, and gender did affect the ability to interpret numerical data. The analysis demonstrated several statistically significant interaction effects: age and type of questions, graph and type of questions, and graph, age and type of questions. High-school students scored higher than elementary-school children on all four questions. Table graphs were effective for answering amount and static questions. As the questions became more complex, such as in a dynamic question, the table graph was one of the least effective means of graphic communication. For recall, the line-table format and line format were the most effective graphs. Age and gender differences emerged for particular graphs. Findings were discussed with regard to cognitive development implications.
Ed. D.

As the use of technology for personal, professional, and learning purposes increases, more and more assessments are transitioning from a traditional paper-based testing format to a computer-based one. During this transition, some assessments are being offered in both paper and computer formats in order to accommodate examinees and testing center capabilities. Scores on the paper-based test are often intended to be directly comparable to the computer-based scores, but such claims of comparability are often unsupported by research specific to that assessment. Not only should the scores be examined for differences, but the thought processes used by raters while scoring those assessments should also be studied to better understand why raters might score response modes differently. Previous comparability literature can be informative, but more contemporary, test-specific research is needed in order to completely support the direct comparability of scores. The goal of this thesis was to form a more complete understanding of why analytic scores on a writing assessment might differ, if at all, between handwritten and typed responses. A representative sample of responses to the writing composition portion of a large-scale high school equivalency assessment were used. Six trained raters analytically scored approximately six-hundred examinee responses each. Half of those responses were typed, and the other half were the transcribed handwritten duplicates. Multiple methods were used to examine why differences between response modes might exist. A MANOVA framework was applied to examine score differences between response modes, and the systematic analyses of think-alouds and interviews were used to explore differences in rater cognition. The results of these analyses indicated that response mode was of no practical significance, meaning that domain scores were not notably dependent on whether or not a response was presented as typed or handwritten. Raters, on the other hand, had a more substantial effect on scores. Comments from the think-alouds and interviews suggest that, while the scores were not affected by response mode, raters tended to consider certain aspects of typed responses differently than handwritten responses. For example, raters treated typographical errors differently from other conventional errors when scoring typed responses, but not while scoring the handwritten duplicates. Raters also indicated that they preferred scoring typed responses over handwritten ones, but felt they could overcome their personal preferences to score both response modes similarly. Empirical investigations on the comparability of scores, combined with the analysis of raters’ thought processes, helped to provide a more evidence-based answer to the question of why scores might differ between response modes. Such information could be useful for test developers when making decisions regarding what mode options to offer and how to best train raters to score such assessments. The design of this study itself could be useful for testing organizations and future research endeavors, as it could be used as a guide for exploring score differences and the human-based reasons behind them.

Over the last several decades, a growing awareness of the benefits of regular screening for common health conditions, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, has paved the way for preventative screenings to become routine in medical settings. Given that cognitive impairment is frequently reported as the number one worry of older adults, home-based cognitive monitoring may be an innovative solution that allows middle aged and older adults to take an active role in monitoring an important aspect of their health. Although several home-based cognitive monitoring programs have been validated for use in clinical and home-based settings, the Cogstate Brief Battery (CBB) may be the leading candidate based on its brevity, reliability, and lack of practice effects. Although home-based monitoring via the CBB tends to be well-received by participants, it remains unclear how participant characteristics such as personality traits may affect their performance over time. In addition, the factors related to participants’ adherence and satisfaction with regular cognitive monitoring have yet to be examined. Addressing these unknowns are important, as they can help determine what to expect in terms of participant performance, adherence, and satisfaction, if home-based cognitive monitoring was implemented on a population-wide level in the future. This study examined how personality traits influenced cognitive performance over time on the CBB and explored participant adherence and satisfaction with regular cognitive monitoring over 60 months, using quantitative and qualitative data from a sample of cognitively healthy older adults recruited from communities in central Florida (N=158). Statistical analyses of the quantitative data using mixed effects models showed that personality traits were associated with performance on the CBB; in particular, higher conscientiousness was related to more accurate performance at baseline and improvements in speed over time. In addition, higher openness was associated with less accurate performance at baseline and slower, yet more accurate performance over time. In general, participants’ performance was relatively stable over time and fluctuations in performance occurred mostly in the first year of the study. Intraindividual variability also decreased over time, with significant decreases in variability occurring in participants who were higher in conscientiousness and openness. Mixed methods analyses of the data also suggested that participants liked their overall experience with the CBB, exhibited good study adherence over time, and were able to complete their monthly assessments with a high degree of independence. The themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis of participants’ study feedback suggest that most participants liked that CBB was easy, convenient to use, and provided them with a way to challenge themselves. However, some participants disliked one task in particular and felt that the CBB eventually became repetitive. The findings from both studies are useful for future applications of cognitive monitoring programs, as they would help improve the accuracy of conclusions drawn from participants’ performance and could also lead to the development of strategies that encourage long-term participation among individuals whom low study adherence and satisfaction is likely.

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores
This dissertation presents a set of top-down modulation mechanisms for the modulation of the swarm-based visual saliency computation process proposed by Santana et al. (2010) in context of path detection and tracking. In the original visual saliency computation process, two swarms of agents sensitive to bottom-up conspicuity information interact via pheromone-like signals so as to converge on the most likely location of the path being sought. The behaviours ruling the agents’motion are composed of a set of perception-action rules that embed top-down knowledge about the path’s overall layout. This reduces ambiguity in the face of distractors. However, distractors with a shape similar to the one of the path being sought can still misguide the system. To mitigate this issue, this dissertation proposes the use of a contrast model to modulate the conspicuity computation and the use of an appearance model to modulate the pheromone deployment. Given the heterogeneity of the paths, these models are learnt online. Using in a modulation context and not in a direct image processing, the complexity of these models can be reduced without hampering robustness. The result is a system computationally parsimonious with a work frequency of 20 Hz. Experimental results obtained from a data set encompassing 39 diverse videos show the ability of the proposed model to localise the path in 98.67 % of the 29789 evaluated frames.

Pastaruoju metu vis labiau akcentuojamas ne mokymo turinys ar programas, bet mokymo(si) būdai ir metodai, t.y. – kaip mokyti? (Walsh, 2001; Bartkevičienė, 2008; Hargreaves, 2008). Jaunesniame mokykliniame amžiuje vyrauja pažintinis vaiko santykis su aplinka, dėl ko pradinė mokykla yra palankus metas pradėti formuoti asmens mokslinį raštingumą, ugdyti mokslinę kultūrą, pradėti taikyti mokslinio tyrimo metodus, kas neabejotinai plėtoja mokinių pažinimo kompetencijas (Lamanauskas, 2004; Savickaitė, 2005; Vilkonienė, 2005). Atsižvelgiant į tai, tyrimo problema formuluojama klausimu: ar pradinėje mokykloje šiuo metu naudojamų pasaulio pažinimo vadovėlių turinys suteikia palankias galimybes tiriamųjų metodų taikymui ir tuo pačiu – mokinių gamtotyrinės / aplinkotyrinės veiklos aktyvinimui? Lietuvoje nėra atlikta tyrimų, kurių metu būtų aiškintasi ar pasaulio pažinimui skirti vadovėliai skatina tiriamąją mokinių veiklą. Tuo pasireiškia šio tyrimo naujumas. Tyrimo objektas: I-IV klasių pasaulio pažinimo vadovėlių turinys tiriamųjų mokymo(si) metodų taikymo aspektu. Darbo tikslas: įvertinti I-IV klasių pasaulio pažinimo vadovėlių teikiamas galimybes taikyti tiriamuosius mokymo(si) metodus. Darbo uždaviniai: 1) Remiantis moksline ir metodine literatūra, atskleisti tiriamųjų mokymo(si) metodų reikšmę ugdymo turinio struktūroje. 2) Mokslinės ir metodinės literatūros analizės pagrindu išskirti vadovėlių turinio vertinimo kriterijus galimybių taikyti tiriamuosius mokymo(si) metodus aspektu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
Recently, more and more emphasis is put on the teaching/learning methods and techniques, i.e. “How to teach?”, rather than on the teaching contents or programs (Walsh, 2001; Bartkevičienė, 2008; Hargreaves, 2008). In the young school age, a cognitive child’s relationship with the environment prevails, therefore a primary school is a favourable time to start developing a personal scientific literacy, fostering a scientific culture, and introducing scientific research methods, which undoubtedly develop pupils cognitive competencies (Lamanauskas, 2004; Savickaitė, 2005; Vilkonienė, 2005). With consideration of the above, the research problem is formulated as a question: whether the content of the world cognition textbooks currently used in the primary school provides a favourable context for application of exploratory methods and, at the same time, for activation of the pupils nature research / environmental research activities? No studies have been carried out in Lithuania to investigate, if the world cognition textbooks promote the pupils research activities. This is the novelty of this research. The object of the research: the content of the world cognition textbooks of the 1st-4th forms in the respect of application of exploratory teaching/learning methods. The aim of the thesis: to assess the possibilities provided by the world cognition textbooks of the 1st-4th forms for application of exploratory teaching/learning methods. The targets of the thesis: 1) Based on the... [to full text]

This thesis is focused on the specific properties and evaluation of full-body interaction design of multi-user mixed reality environments to aid in intervention strategies for children with autism, to improve their understanding and adoption of social behaviors with peers and with society in general. This practice-based research is based upon human-computer interaction theory, and is aided by general theories of embodied cognition, embodiment and developmental psychology. The research consists of designing playful experiences for the target users in order to promote socialization and collaboration. The design of the experiences has been informed by codesign activities and collaboration with experts in autism, parents, psychologists, therapists, caregivers and the children themselves. Topics for analysis will include understanding the dynamics of goal-oriented and open-ended gameplay, proxemics, and encouraged versus enforced collaboration. Assessment methods take into account video recorded footage, system logs, user interviews and multimodal analysis, including physiology-based data such as electrodermal activity and heart rate of the children's behavioral and affective states throughout the experience. The main setting of the research is large scale floor-projected mixed environments, enabling the testing of interaction strategies and evaluation methods of experiences based on collocation of multiple users within a full-body interactive scenario, where they can practice interaction face-to-face in a natural and uninhibited manner.
Aquesta tesi es centra en l'avaluació i les propietats específiques del disseny d'interacció a cos sencer d'entorns de realitat mixta multiusuari, dissenyats per ajudar en estratègies d'intervenció per a nens amb autisme, i millorar la seva comprensió i adopció de comportaments socials amb companys i amb la societat en general. Aquesta investigació es basa en la disciplina de la interacció persona-ordinador, informada també per teories generals de la cognició encarnada i de la psicologia del desenvolupament. Aquesta recerca consisteix en dissenyar experiències lúdiques per a la població objectiu per tal de promoure la socialització i la col·laboració. El disseny de les experiències ha estat informat per activitats de co-disseny i la col·laboració amb experts en autisme, pares, psicòlegs, terapeutes, cuidadors i els propis nens. Els temes per a l'anàlisi inclouen la comprensió de les dinàmiques de joc orientat a un objectiu i joc lliure, les proxèmiques i la col·laboració encoratjada per al disseny d'aquests tipus de sistemes. Els mètodes d'avaluació tenen en compte les imatges enregistrades en vídeo, els registres del sistema, les entrevistes amb els usuaris i l'anàlisi multimodal; incloent dades fisiològiques, com l'activitat electrodèrmica i la freqüència cardíaca dels estats conductuals i afectius dels nens durant tota l'experiència. El context principal de la investigació són els entorns mixtos a gran escala projectats al terra , els quals permeten provar estratègies d'interacció i mètodes d'avaluació d'experiències d'interacció a cos sencer amb múltiples usuaris dins d'un mateix escenari, on poden practicar la interacció cara a cara, de manera natural i desinhibida.

The aim of the present thesis was twofold, first to map the semantic memory decline in Alzheimer patients over time, second to take the patient’s perspective and create a multifaceted picture of the individual with Alzheimer’s disease through the study of memory, awareness, central coherence and emotions. Further issues concerned how Alzheimer individuals handled their cognitive erosion in everyday life and if they were well calibrated with their spouse in disease related matters. Two studies were performed, the first involved a longitudinal study of sematic deterioration, the second had a mixed methods design involving both quantitative and qualitative measures as in neuropsychological assessment and interviews. Through the longitudinal study it could be concluded that the nature of semantic deterioration is best described as loss of memory information rather than problems in accessing the information. It was further concluded that semantic concepts gradually lose their specific features during course of illness. The results from the second study revealed that the Alzheimer individuals were aware of their disease although they could not foresee the implications of their cognitive shortcomings in their everyday life. They evidenced weak central coherence, in that they were unable to infer details into a meaningful whole. This implies that they perceive their surrounding world in a fragmented way as consisting of separate objects rather than a comprehensible context. Concerning emotions it was found that they responded to negatively valenced words in the same way as normal ageing individuals, although being impaired in their response to positively and neutral words. Finally, the Alzheimer individuals and their spouses were not well calibrated regarding disease related issues. The findings of the present thesis have important clinical implications and gives valuable input to the understanding of the individual with Alzheimer’s disease.
Föreliggande avhandling hade två huvudsyften; dels att kartlägga försämringen av semantiskt minne hos Alzheimerpatienter över tid; dels att ta patientens perspektiv och skapa en mångfacetterad bild av individen med Alzheimers sjukdom. Fyra begrepp studerades i relation till detta, nämligen minne, medvetande, central koherens och emotioner. Ytterligare aspekter som studerades var hur Alzheimerindivider hanterar sina kognitiva tillkortakommanden i sin vardag samt hur väl kalibrerade de är med sin make/maka angående sjukdomsrelaterade frågor. Två studier genomfördes varav den första var en longitudinell studie av semantisk minnesförsämring och den andra hade en ’mixed methods’ design, inkluderande både kvantitativa (neuropsykologiska tester) och kvalitativa (intervjuer) metoder. Resultaten från den longitudinella studien avslöjade att semantiska begrepp som inte längre är välrepresenterade hos individen har gått förlorade snarare än att det skulle vara från om att individerna inte kan plocka fram informationen. Vidare kunde konstateras att semantiska begrepp gradvis tappar sina nyanser i takt med att sjukdomen fortskrider. Den andra studien visade att Alzheimerindividerna var medvetna om sin sjukdom och sina minnesproblem men att de inte kunde förutsäga vilka problem deras kognitiva tillkortakommanden skapade i deras vardag. De konstaterades ha svag central koherens vilket innebär att de ser sin omgivning på ett fragmentariskt sätt utan att kunna få ihop de olika objekten runt omkring sig till en meningsfull kontext. Vad gäller emotioner så kunde konstateras att Alzheimerindivider reagerar likadant som normalt åldrande individer på negativt laddade ord men att de är signifikant försämrade i förmågan att känna igen positiva och neutrala ord. Alzheimerindividerna och deras make/maka var inte väl kalibrerade vad gäller sjukdomsrelaterade frågor. Avhandlingens resultat har viktiga kliniska implikationer och ger ett värdefullt bidrag till förståelsen av en individ med Alzheimers sjukdom.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the structure of jobs and burnout, and to assess to what extent, if any this relationship was moderated by individual coping methods. This study was supported by the Karasek's (1998) Job Demand-Control-Support theory of work stress as well as Maslach and Leiter's (1993) theory of burnout. Coping was examined as a moderator based on the conceptualization of Lazarus and Folkman (1984). Two overall overarching questions framed this study: (a) what is the relationship between job structure, as operationalized by job title, and burnout across different occupations in support services in a large municipal school district? and (b) To what extent do individual differences in coping methods moderate this relationship? This study was a cross-sectional study of county public school bus drivers, bus aides, mechanics, and clerical workers (N = 253) at three bus depot locations within the same district using validated survey instruments for data collection. Hypotheses were tested using simultaneous regression analyses. Findings indicated that there were statistically significant and relevant relationships among the variables of interest; job demands, job control, burnout, and ways of coping. There was a relationship between job title and physical job demands. There was no evidence to support a relationship between job title and psychological demands. Furthermore, there was a relationship between physical demands, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment; key indicators of burnout. Results showed significant correlations between individual ways of coping as a moderator between job structure, operationalized by job title, and individual employee burnout adding empirical evidence to the occupational stress literature. Based on the findings, there are implications for theory, research, and practice. For theory and research, the findings suggest the importance of incorporating transactional models in the study of occupational stress. In the area of practice, the findings highlight the importance of enriching jobs, increasing job control, and providing individual-level training related to stress reduction.

Cognitive difficulties can persist for months and years after stroke and adversely impact confidence, mood and functional recovery. Stroke survivors, carers and healthcare professionals collectively agree that improving cognition is the number one research priority for life after stroke. Future research should include measurements of outcome that service users deem important. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are a means of gaining patient perspectives that can be standardised for use in a trial. PROMs should be developed with service users to incorporate their priorities but people with cognitive difficulties are often systematically excluded from the development and use of PROMs. Study 1 used qualitative interviews (N=16) to explore stroke survivor perspectives on the important and measureable impacts of persisting cognitive problems. The results of this study generated requirements for a PROM that related to conceptual underpinning and face validity of a measurement tool. Study 2 was a systematic review of existing PROMs related to cognition. 20 Identified PROMs were critically appraised against the requirements generated in the qualitative study. No existing PROMs were identified that met all of the qualitative study review criteria. The next stage described in chapter 3, was to develop a new PROM that: utilised the strengths of existing tools; met qualitative study requirements; and was refined through consultation with different stakeholders, prioritising feedback of stroke survivors with cognitive difficulties. The result of this work was the Patient Reported Evaluation of Cognitive State (PRECiS) scale. Study 3 was a psychometric study with stroke survivors (N=164) to test PRECiS in a large sample. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on acceptability, feasibility and other psychometric properties of validity and reliability. PRECiS demonstrated good acceptability to stroke survivors and performed well psychometrically. Future validation work required for PRECiS is described in discussion chapter 4. Subject to further validation work, PRECiS may be particularly useful for pragmatic trials of cognitive rehabilitation after stroke.

A crucial component of instructional design for simulation-based training systems involves optimizing the presentation of complex material in order to maximize knowledge acquisition and application. One approach toward facilitating the learning of this complex information is to instantiate instructional strategies within the training systems themselves. However, there are few established guidelines in place which are meant specifically for real-time guidance strategies within simulation-based environments. Consequently, this study aims to apply findings from the literature on instructional information presentation to drive decisions for how to most effectively provide real-time feedback during training of simulated decision-making tasks. Research has shown that presenting text information in an auditory mode during direct instruction of operational tasks enhances learning and reduces the probability of learners experiencing cognitive overload. Similar effects have been found regarding the presentation modality of feedback during operational tasks. In the current study, this principle was extended by comparing text versus verbal real-time feedback presentation during learning of higher-level cognitive skills in a virtual environment. Participants were instructed on how to perform a simulated decision-making task, while receiving text, verbal or no instructional feedback in real-time, based on their performance. Participants then completed an assessment scenario in which no feedback was provided to any group. It was hypothesized that a linear relationship would exist across each of the three conditions, with the verbal group making the best decisions, followed by the text group, and then by the control group. Additionally, reduced cognitive load was expected throughout the instructional process for those receiving verbal feedback prompts compared to those receiving text prompts and the control.; Analyses revealed several significant linear trends across conditions regarding measures of knowledge acquisition and application. The results provide support for the hypothesis that verbal real-time feedback is more effective than text during training of primarily visual tasks for the acquisition of higher-order cognitive skills such as decision making. There were no significant linear trends regarding the amount of cognitive load subjectively reported during training and assessment. The results of this study indicate that instructional systems intended to train primarily visual tasks should present real-time feedback in verbal rather than text form.
ID: 029050250; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.S.)--University of Central Florida, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-64).
M.S.
Masters
Engineering

Antecedents: el dolor lumbar és el problema musculoesquelètic més freqüent a tot el món. Fins a un 90% de pacients amb dolor lumbar no han rebut una explicació clara sobre la font i l'origen del seu dolor. Aquestes persones normalment reben un diagnòstic de dolor lumbar inespecífic. L'educació del pacient és una manera de donar informació i consell amb l'objectiu de modificar la cognició i el coneixement que aquests pacients tenen sobre el seu estat crònic. Això s'aconsegueix a través de la reducció de la por anticipatòria a les conseqüències i la represa de les activitats normals. Les tecnologies de la informació i els processos de comunicació associats es poden utilitzar com un mitjà per donar informació mèdica als pacients. Per tant, aquestes tecnologies i la seva capacitat per proporcionar informació vital ha crescut com una eina poderosa i alternativa per a la promoció de la salut. Diversos estudis han suggerit que les intervencions educatives basades en la web poden canviar i millorar el coneixement dels pacients crònics i tenir un impacte positiu en les actituds i conductes d'aquests pacients. Objectiu: L'objectiu d'aquest projecte va ser explorar les creences dels pacients respecte a l'origen i significat del seu dolor lumbar crònic per desenvolupar i avaluar una intervenció educativa biopsicosocial sobre el dolor al web utilitzant diferents formats educatius i tècniques de gamificació. Mètodes/disseny: Aquest estudi va fer servir un disseny mixt exploratori seqüencial. Un total de 48 pacients amb dolor lumbar crònic entre 20 i 65 anys d'edat que estaven rebent tractament en atenció primària van participar en aquest estudi. Per a la fase qualitativa de l'estudi, 16 subjectes (8 homes i 8 dones) van ser contactats pel seu metge de família i convidats a participar en una entrevista personal semiestructurada. La fase quantitativa es va estructurar com un assaig controlat aleatori paral·lel. La durada de la intervenció va ser de 15 dies. 48 xii subjectes van ser assignats a l'atzar utilitzant una tècnica de mostreig aleatòria simple. L'aleatorització i l'assignació als grups es van dur a terme mitjançant un sistema informàtic central. Els pacients i investigadors van ser cegats a l'assignació de grup. El grup d'intervenció (n = 26) va tenir accés a un lloc web on se'ls va proporcionar informació relacionada amb el seu dolor lumbar crònic. Aquesta informació va ser proporcionada en diferents formats. Tot aquest material es va basar en la informació obtinguda en la fase qualitativa. El grup control (n = 22) va seguir el tractament convencional proporcionat pel seu metge de família. La variable de resultat principal de l'estudi va ser la intensitat del dolor mesurada mitjançant una escala visual analògica de 0-100. Les variables de resultat secundàries van ser les creences de por-evitació, la kinesiofòbia i la discapacitat. Resultats: Es va realitzar una anàlisi per intenció de tractar (n = 44), usant una anàlisi factorial mixt. La interacció entre tractament i temps per a la intensitat del dolor va ser estadísticament no significatiu (F[1, 42] = 0.847, p = 0.36). La interacció entre tractament i temps va ser estadísticament significatiu per a les variables de resultat creences de por-evitació (F[1, 42] = 4.516, p = 0.04), kinesiofòbia (F[1, 42] = 5.388, p = 0.02) i discapacitat (F[1, 42] = 4.379, p = 0.04), amb resultats més favorables al grup experimental. A curt termini el grup experimental va mostrar unes diferències estadísticament significatives a favor seu en la discapacitat (MD -4.1; CI 95% -7.53 to -0.68; η2 = 0.11; p = 0.02), representant una mida de l'efecte mitjà. No es van trobar diferències estadísticament significatives en la intensitat del dolor, les creences de por-evitació i la kinesiofòbia entre els grups. Conclusions: Els pacients han expressat la necessitat de comprendre millor el seu dolor, el que implica que els professionals de la salut haurien de ser més didàctics en el tractament dels pacients amb dolor lumbar crònic. Una intervenció educativa biopsicosocial sobre el dolor al web per a pacients amb dolor lumbar crònic va demostrar ser més beneficiosa que el tractament convencional proporcionat pels metges de família en atenció primària sobre la discapacitat, encara que aquest resultat podria estar més relacionat amb les puntuacions de discapacitat més elevades mostrades pel grup control post-test que amb la millora obtinguda pel grup experimental. Registre de l'estudi: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02369120 Data: 02/20/2015.
Antecedentes: el dolor lumbar es el problema musculoesquelético más frecuente en todo el mundo. Hasta un 90% de pacientes con dolor lumbar no han recibido una explicación clara sobre la fuente y el origen de su dolor. Estas personas comúnmente reciben un diagnóstico de dolor lumbar inespecífico. La educación del paciente es una manera de dar información y consejo con el objetivo de modificar la cognición y el conocimiento que estos pacientes tienen sobre su estado crónico. Esto se consigue a través de la reducción del miedo anticipatorio a las consecuencias y la reanudación de las actividades normales. Las tecnologías de la información y los procesos de comunicación asociados se pueden utilizar como un medio para dar información médica a los pacientes. Por lo tanto, estas tecnologías y su capacidad para proporcionar información vital ha crecido como una herramienta poderosa y alternativa para la promoción de la salud. Varios estudios han sugerido que las intervenciones educativas basadas en la web pueden cambiar y mejorar el conocimiento de los pacientes crónicos y tener un impacto positivo en las actitudes y conductas de estos pacientes. Objetivo: El objetivo de este proyecto fue explorar las creencias de los pacientes con respecto al origen y significado de su dolor lumbar crónico para desarrollar y evaluar una intervención educativa biopsicosocial sobre el dolor en la web utilizando diferentes formatos educativos y técnicas de gamificación. Métodos/diseño: Este estudio usó un diseño mixto exploratorio secuencial. Un total de 48 pacientes con dolor lumbar crónico entre 20 y 65 años de edad que estaban recibiendo tratamiento en atención primaria participaron en este estudio. Para la fase cualitativa del estudio, 16 sujetos (8 hombres y 8 mujeres) fueron contactados por su médico de familia e invitados a participar en una entrevista personal semiestructurada. La fase cuantitativa se estructuró como un ensayo controlado aleatorio paralelo. La duración de la intervención fue de 15 días. 48 sujetos fueron asignados al azar utilizando una técnica de muestreo aleatoria simple. La aleatorización y la asignación a los grupos se llevaron a cabo mediante un sistema informático central. Los pacientes e investigadores fueron cegados a la asignación de grupo. El grupo de intervención (n = 26) tuvo acceso a un sitio web donde se les proporcionó información relacionada con su dolor lumbar crónico. Esta información fue proporcionada en diferentes formatos. Todo este material se basó en la información obtenida en la fase cualitativa. El grupo control (n = 22) siguió el tratamiento convencional proporcionado por su médico de familia. La variable de resultado principal del estudio fue la intensidad del dolor medida mediante una escala visual analógica de 0-100. Las variables de resultado secundarias fueron las creencias de miedo-evitación, la kinesiofobia y la discapacidad. Resultados: Se realizó un análisis por protocolo (n = 44), usando un análisis factorial mixto. La interacción entre tratamiento y tiempo para la intensidad del dolor fue estadísticamente no significativo (F[1, 42] = 0.847, p = 0.36). La interacción entre tratamiento y tiempo fue estadísticamente significativo para las variables de resultado creencias de miedo-evitación (F[1, 42] = 4.516, p = 0.04), kinesiofobia (F[1, 42] = 5.388, p = 0.02) y discapacidad (F[1, 42] = 4.379, p = 0.04), con resultados más favorables al grupo experimental. A corto plazo el grupo experimental mostró unas diferencias estadísticamente significativas a su favor en la discapacidad (MD -4.1; CI 95% -7.53 to -0.68; η2 = 0.11; p = 0.02), representando un tamaño del efecto medio. No se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la intensidad del dolor, las creencias de miedo-evitación y la kinesiofobia entre los grupos. Conclusiones: Los pacientes han expresado la necesidad de comprender mejor su dolor, lo que implica que los profesionales de la salud deberían ser más didácticos en el tratamiento de los pacientes con dolor lumbar crónico. x Una intervención educativa biopsicosocial sobre el dolor en la web para pacientes con dolor lumbar crónico demostró ser más beneficiosa que el tratamiento convencional proporcionado por los médicos de familia en atención primaria sobre la discapacidad, aunque este resultado podría estar más relacionado con los puntajes de discapacidad más elevados mostrados por el grupo control post-test que con la mejora obtenida por el grupo experimental. Registro del estudio: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02369120 Fecha: 02/20/2015.
Background: Low back pain is the most frequently reported musculoskeletal problem worldwide. Up to 90 % of patients with low back pain have not received a clear explanation for the source and origin of their pain. These individuals commonly receive a diagnosis of non-specific low back pain. Patient education is a way to provide information and advice aimed at changing patients’ cognition and knowledge about their chronic state through the reduction of fear of anticipatory outcomes and the resumption of normal activities. Information technology and the expedited communication processes associated with this technology can be used to deliver healthcare information to patients. Hence, this technology and its ability to deliver life-changing information has grown as a powerful and alternative health promotion tool. Several studies have suggested that web-based educational interventions can change and improve the knowledge of patients with chronic pain and have a positive impact on their attitudes and behaviors. Objective: The aim of this project was to explore patients’ beliefs regarding the origin and meaning of their chronic low back pain in order to develop and evaluate a web-based biopsychosocial pain education intervention using different educational formats and gamification techniques. Methods/design: This study had a mixed-method sequential exploratory design. A total of 48 patients suffering from chronic low back pain between 20–65 years of age who were receiving treatment in a primary care setting in Spain, took part in this study. For the qualitative phase of the study, 16 subjects (8 men and 8 women) were contacted by their family physician and invited to participate in a personal semi-structured interview. The quantitative phase was structured as a parallel randomized controlled trial. The duration of the intervention was 15 days. 48 subjects were randomly allocated using a simple random sample technique. vi Randomization and allocation to trial group were carried out by a central computer system. Patients and researchers were blinded to group assignment. The intervention group (n = 26) had access to a specific website where they were given information related to their chronic low back pain. This information was provided in different formats. All of this material was based on the information obtained in the qualitative phase. The control group (n = 22) followed conventional care provided by their family physician. The main outcome variable was pain intensity measured using a 0-100 visual analogue scale. Secondary outcome measures were fear-avoidance beliefs, kinesiophobia, and disability. Results: A per-protocol analysis was carried out (n = 44) using a two-way mixed factorial analysis of variance. There was no statistically significant interaction between treatment and time for pain intensity (F[1, 42] = 0.847, p = 0.36). There was a statistically significant interaction between time and treatment for fear-avoidance beliefs (F[1, 42] = 4.516, p = 0.04), kinesiophobia (F[1, 42] = 5.388, p = 0.02), and disability (F[1, 42] = 4.379, p = 0.04) with more favorable results for the experimental group. In the short term, there was a statistically significant difference on disability favoring the experimental group (MD -4.1; CI 95% -7.53 to -0.68; η2 = 0.11; p = 0.02), representing a medium effect size. No statistically significant differences were found in pain intensity, fear-avoidance beliefs and kinesiophobia between groups. Conclusions: The patients have expressed the need to better understand their pain, which implies that health professionals should be more didactic in the management of patients with chronic low back pain. A web-based biopsychosocial pain education intervention for patients with chronic low back pain proved to be more beneficial than conventional care provided by family physicians in primary care on disability, although this result could be more related to the greater disability scores post-test in the control group rather than with the improvement obtained in the experimental group. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02369120 Date: 02/20/2015.

CITE/Language Arts
Ed.D.
Current teacher education research calls for investigation of the "missing paradigm," the connection between teachers' conceptions of knowledge and learning and their instructional practices. This call has been heeded in the scholarship on personal epistemology that reveals the role of knowledge in learning and instruction within and across various socio-cultural contexts. This study extends the work on the relationship between teachers' personal epistemologies and instructional practices to a previously unexamined population: international and U.S. Teaching Assistants (TAs). Employing a two-phase explanatory mixed methods approach, this study examines the relationship between personal epistemologies and instructional practices of two teaching assistant (TA) groups, international and U.S.-born, in U.S. university contexts. In the first phase of the study, an epistemological beliefs survey was conducted with two groups of TAs, 106 international and 50 U.S.-born, at four large research universities in the Mid-Atlantic States. Their answers were analyzed with a focus on the relationship between group variables and seven dimensions of personal epistemologies. Building on the initial quantitative study results, in the second phase, a qualitative case study was carried out to investigate the relationship between epistemic positions and teaching practices for four TAs representing international and domestic TA groups within two academic disciplines at a public research university in Philadelphia, PA. Forty four undergraduate student data from focus-group interviews and surveys also were collected to examine the relationship between TAs' instructional practices and student opinions about their teaching. The quantitative results showed a significant group difference in the knowledge beliefs domain and the relational views domain (p < .001). In general, ITAs held a higher degree in their beliefs about certainty of knowledge than did US TAs. In addition, US TAs assumed a closer relationship with their students than did the ITAs, while unlike common assumptions, US TAs assumed a higher degree of status differentiation from students than did ITAs. The findings of the qualitative phase of the study revealed that the relationship between TAs' epistemic positions and instructional practices was not fully consistent. In the case of the US TAs, much of the inconsistency of the relationship is explained by the lack of pedagogical knowledge and pedagogic skills, which would enable them to exercise control over the types of instructional approaches that they wanted to implement at a discourse level in class. ITAs' instructional practices were more closely aligned with learning strategies that they had developed through educational experiences in their home countries and with their generalized assumptions about attitudes of U.S. students toward learning. The results also show that ITAs are as qualified and competent instructors in teaching of undergraduate students as US TAs are, and that ITAs' teacher-centered approaches are well received by the students who expect explanation, guidance, direction, and reinforcement on the part of their instructors. In addition, the analysis of TAs' epistemic positions revealed domain specificity as well as group differences to be major compounding factors affecting TAs' professed epistemologies. Pedagogic as well as theoretical implications of the study are discussed.
Temple University--Theses

A constantly growing corpus of interdisciplinary studies support the idea that music is a complex multimodal medium that is experienced not only by means of sounds but also through body movement. From this perspective, musical instruments can be seen as technological objects coupled with a repertoire of performance gestures. This repertoire is part of an ecological knowledge shared by musicians and listeners alike. It is part of the engine that guides musical experience and has a considerable expressive potential. This thesis explores technical and conceptual issues related to the analysis and creative use of music-related body movements in instrumental music performance. The complexity of this subject required an interdisciplinary approach, which includes the review of multiple theoretical accounts, quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected in motion capture laboratories, the development and implementation of technologies for the interpretation and interactive use of motion data, and the creation of short musical pieces that actively employ the movement of the performers as an expressive musical feature. The theoretical framework is informed by embodied and enactive accounts of music cognition as well as by systematic studies of music-related movement and expressive music performance. The assumption that the movements of a musician are part of a shared knowledge is empirically explored through an experiment aimed at analysing the motion capture data of a violinist performing a selection of short musical excerpts. A group of subjects with no prior experience playing the violin is then asked to mime a performance following the audio excerpts recorded by the violinist. Motion data is recorded, analysed, and compared with the expert’s data. This is done both quantitatively through data analysis xii as well as qualitatively by relating the motion data to other high-level features and structures of the musical excerpts. Solutions to issues regarding capturing and storing movement data and its use in real-time scenarios are proposed. For the interactive use of motion-sensing technologies in music performance, various wearable sensors have been employed, along with different approaches for mapping control data to sound synthesis and signal processing parameters. In particular, novel approaches for the extraction of meaningful features from raw sensor data and the use of machine learning techniques for mapping movement to live electronics are described. To complete the framework, an essential element of this research project is the com- position and performance of études that explore the creative use of body movement in instrumental music from a Practice-as-Research perspective. This works as a test bed for the proposed concepts and techniques. Mapping concepts and technologies are challenged in a scenario constrained by the use of musical instruments, and different mapping ap- proaches are implemented and compared. In addition, techniques for notating movement in the score, and the impact of interactive motion sensor systems in instrumental music practice from the performer’s perspective are discussed. Finally, the chapter concluding the part of the thesis dedicated to practical implementations describes a novel method for mapping movement data to sound synthesis. This technique is based on the analysis of multimodal motion data collected from multiple subjects and its design draws from the theoretical, analytical, and practical works described throughout the dissertation. Overall, the parts and the diverse approaches that constitute this thesis work in synergy, contributing to the ongoing discourses on the study of musical gestures and the design of interactive music systems from multiple angles.

Many virtual team leaders lack strategies to build and maintain trust among virtual team members, which affects performance and productivity. The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to provide organizational leaders with information about the strategies that virtual team leaders use to build and maintain trust among virtual team members to enhance job performance. Cognition-based and affect-based theories of interpersonal relationships were used as a conceptual framework. In-depth, semistructured electronic interviews were conducted with 10 virtual team leaders of a multinational global organization specializing in management consulting and technology services that has headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Interview data and documents from virtual team memos and progress reports were content analyzed with NVivo software, and member checking was used to validate transcribed data. Two major thematic categories emerged from data analysis (a) the need for effective organizational and leadership skills and (b) strategies for building and maintaining trust among virtual team members. Recommendations include reevaluating the hiring processes of virtual team leaders and members, providing adequate cross-cultural training to virtual team leaders and members, creating effective strategies for interpersonal relationships, and investing in communication technologies that foster face-to-face collaboration. Building and maintaining trust among virtual team members helps increase team performance and productivity. Implications for social change include promoting social stability, reducing projects' failure, and improving the bottom line.

L'objet de cette recherche est d'elaborer une sorte d'etat des lieux, celui des methodes d'education cognitive a l'ecole primaire en france (essentiellement la gestion mentale d'a. De la garanderie et la mediation a la structuration cognitive (m. S. C. ), methode proche du p. E. I. De r. Feurestein). Si l'on considere le systeme enseignement-apprentissage comme un systeme complexe et interactif contextualise, on ne peut envisager la variable "methode d'education cognitive" comme une variable independante. Toutefois, nous avons essaye de voir en quoi l'application de ces methodes par des instituteurs pouvait etre correlee avec des performances superieures des eleves, des representations et des pratiques professionnelles particulieres de la part des enseignants. Nous avons travaille a partir des epreuves nationales organisees par la direction de l'evaluation et de la prospective ("evaluations c. E. 2") en rassemblant les performances de 1240 eleves en francais et en mathematiques. Nous avons egalement questionne 553 enseignants du premier degre et recueilli les observations effectuees dans 76 classes de l'ecole elementaire durant une semaine. Les resultats montrent que les performances des eleves confrontes a la gestion mentale et a la m. S. C. Ont plutot tendance a etre meilleures que celles des enfants appartenant aux echantillons temoins. De plus, les pratiques professionnelles des insttituteurs appliquant ces methodes sont plus variees sur certaines variables (type de periodes utilisees notamment) et non sur d'autres (evaluation, incitations au travail par exemple). Enfin, il n'a pas ete observe des representations professionnelles specifiques chez les enseignants declarant pratiquer une methode d'education cognitive
The aim of this research is to elaborate a kind of analysis of the cognitive educational methods used in french primary schools (essentially "la gestion mentale" by a. De la garanderie and "la mediation a la structuration cognitive" (m. S. C. ), a method that resembles the p. E. I. By r. Feuerstein). If we consier the teaching-learning system as a complicated and contextualized interactive system, we can not consider the variable "cognitive educational method" as an independent variable. However,we have tried to study the way in which the application of these methods, by primary teachers, could be correlated to higher performances in pupil results, representations and particular professional practices used by the teachers. We worked on the basis of national tests organized by the evaluation and prospective direction ("evaluations c. E. 2") and gathered the results of 1240 pupils in french and in mathematics. We also interviewed 553 first degree teachers and obtained observations realized in 76 elementary school classes during one week. The analysis shows that the results of the pupils confronted by "la gestion mentale" and "la mediation a la structuration cognitive" have a tendancy of being better than those of children belonging to the sample witness groups. Moreover, the professional practices of the teachers using these methods are more varied on certain variables (especially the kind of periods put into practice) and not on others (evaluation, encouragement to work for example). Finally, specific professional representations were not observed among teachers practicing cognitive educational methods

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This thesis, addressed the wrapped up professionals and participants of the process of higher education of the Accounting, proposes an reflection with relationship to curriculum proposal for the higher education of Accounting, based in systemic approach. Methodologically, this work was accomplished starting from an exploratory study and of documented research in primary sources, being used of bibliographical research the national and foreign authors in Education and Accounting; glimpses accomplished, with the specialist in higher education of Accounting, Prof. Dr. Martinho Mauricio Gomes of Ornelas; it consults to the Academic-pedagogic projects and the curriculum-full ones and Lines of Research in Accounting of FEAlPUC-SP. As result, this work presents the practical application of the pioneering proposal of the systemic teaching of the Accounting, implemented by the Pontiflcia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo, by means of FEAlPUC-SP, thankfully, an important institution researcher in the teaching of the Accounting in Brazil.
Esta disserta????o, direcionada aos profissionais envoltos e participantes do processo de ensino superior da Contabilidade, prop??e uma reflex??o quanto ?? proposta curricular para o ensino superior de Contabilidade, fundamentada na Abordagem Sist??mica. Metodologicamente, este trabalho foi realizado a partir de um estudo explorat??rio e de pesquisa documental em fontes prim??rias, utilizando-se de pesquisa bibliogr??fica a autores nacionais e estrangeiros em Educa????o e Contabilidade, entrevista realizada, com o especialista em ensino superior de Contabilidade, Prof. Dr. Martinho Maur??cio Gomes de Ornelas; consulta aos projetos Acad??mico-Pedag??gicos e aos curr??culos-plenos e Linhas de Pesquisa em Contabilidade da FEA/PUC-SP. Como resultado, este trabalho apresenta a aplica????o pr??tica da proposta do ensino sist??mico da Contabilidade, implementada com pioneirismo pela Pontif??cia Universidade Cat??lica de S??o Paulo, por meio da FEA/PUC-SP, reconhecidamente, uma importante institui????o pesquisadora no ensino da Contabilidade no Brasil.

The purpose of this study is to examine, gain, and ultimately share an understanding of certain cognitive differences, similarities, intelligence patterns, and preferences between competent monolingual (English) and multicompetent bilingual/multilingual first-year composition (FYC) college students. Within this project is an attempt to address the following questions: Do monolingual and bilingual/multilingual FYC students show different strengths and weaknesses in their cognitive abilities? Are there learning preferences and literacy differences or similarities between monolingual and bilingual/multilingual FYC students? Primarily, two cognitive concepts were used in this examination to provide perspectives and quantitative data in response to the above questions. First, is Vivian Cook’s (1992, 1999) multicompetence theory, which involves cognitive differences between monolingual (L1) and bilingual/multilingual (L2/L3) speakers/users; and second, Howard Gardner’s (1999, 2004, 2006) multiple intelligences (MI) theory, whereby two types of MI assessments were used to study any such differences and similarities among FYC students. To fulfill the requirements for this particular thesis, included is a conference proposal (abstract), a conference paper, and a publishable scholarly article. The necessary charts, graphs, tables, and appendices are provided, accordingly.

Estudamos os achados da espectroscopia de prótons no córtex parietal-cíngulo posterior e das escalas MEEM, BRDS e FAST em pacientes com doença de Alzheimer - DA, comprometimento cognitivo amnéstico - CCA e controles normais - CN. Apenas as razões NAA/Cr e MI/NAA diferenciaram (p < 0.002) os grupos DA e CN. Houve correlação significativa do NAA/Cr e do MI/NAA com o BRDS (pontuação total - PT; atividades cotidianas - AC) e FAST, e do MI/NAA com o MEEM. Houve acréscimo de 5% na especificidade (CN x DA; CN x CCA), e de 2.4% (CN x DA) e 3.4% (CN x CCA) na acurácia diagnóstica, ao adicionar as razões NAA/Cr e MI/NAA às escalas BRDS (PT e AC) e FAST, aumentando a detecção de indivíduos com CCA e DA
We studied the findings of proton spectroscopy of the posterior parietal-cingulate cortex, and of MMSE, BRDS and FAST scales in subjects with Alzheimer disease - AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment - MCI-A and normal controls - NC. Only NAA/Cr and MI/NAA differentiated (p < 0.002) the AD and NC groups. Significant correlation was found between NAA/Cr and MI/NAA with BRDS (total score - TS; everyday activities - EA) and FAST scales, and between MI/NAA and MMSE. Specificity increased in 5% (NC x AD; NC x MCI-A) and diagnostic accuracy in 2.4% (NC x AD) and 3.4% (NC x MCI-A) when NAA/Cr and MI/NAA ratios were added up to BRDS (TS & EA) and FAST scales, increasing MCI-A and AD detectability

Some scholars have formed a more expansive view of knowledge that moves beyond the cognitive notion of intellect. For example, emotional intelligence (EI) theory posits that human intelligence encompasses both cognitive and emotional competencies, providing a framework for the concept of contemplative practices in an endeavor to support an eclectic understanding of cognition. Contemplative practices may benefit graduate student disposition and inform areas of educator preparation through the use of emotional adeptness in higher education. The purpose of this study was to: (a) develop a self-report measure: Scale of Contemplative Practice in Higher Education (SCOPE); (b) address the issues of validity and reliability related to the SCOPE; and (c) expand the understanding of contemplative practices in the literature. Data collected from an extensive review of the literature, reference to personal experiences, and consultation with an expert panel were used to generate scale items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the factor model. Analyses resulted in a 30-item factor model with strong reliabilities.

Une étude sur des applications de la radio cognitive pour la localisation et l’identification de radios à courte distance et les communications coopératives entre plusieurs radios est présentée. Les radios cognitives analysant leur environnement pour estimer le gain du canal entre les noeuds peuvent coopérer et adapter leur puissance de transmission afin de maximiser la capacité du lien de communication entre deux noeuds. La capacité de communication entre deux noeuds coopérant avec un relais et utilisant une modulation orthogonal frequency-division frequency modulation OFDM, sous des contraintes de puissance d’émission pour la station de base et la station relais est étudiée. Le relais utilise une technique de relais par amplification et retransmission pour etransmettre des messages à un sous-ensemble de sous-porteuses disponibles. La puissance utilisée dans la station de base et les émetteurs des stations relais est distribuée de telle sorte que la capacité globale du système est optimisée. La sélection de sous-porteuse et l’attribution de puissance sont obtenues sur la base de formulations d’optimisation convexe et d’un algorithme itératif. De plus, des modèles de relais par décodage et retransmission incluent la possibilité de joindre les sous-porteuses de source à d’autres sous-porteuses relayées pour augmenter la capacité du système. Les technique proposées offre de meilleures performances de capacité que des méthodes de relais non sélectives pour une gamme de budgets de puissance du relais. Les radios cognitives peuvent être utilisées pour un accès opportuniste au spectre radiofréquentiel en détectant les trous laissés vacants par des utilisateurs primaires licensés dans ces bandes. Nous introduisons une approche de détection de trous spectraux, qui combine la classification de modulation aveugle, l’estimation de l’angle d’arrivée (AOA) et la détection du nombre de sources. Nous effectuons une analyse des sous-espace propres pour déterminer le nombre de sources, et pour estimer leurs AOA. De plus, nous classons les sources détectées entre utilisateurs primaires ou secondaires avec leurs caractéristiques cyclostationnarires de second ordre et conjugué primaire. De nombreuses simulations réalisées indiquent que le système proposé identifie et localise les sources individuelles correctement, même à un rapport signal à bruit de -4 dB. Dans les environnements impliquant une forte densité d’obstacles, plusieurs canaux sans fil n’ont pas de ligne de vue directe (NLOS), ce qui augmente considérablement l’erreur de localisation, même lorsque l’estimation d’AOA est exacte. Nous présentons un estimateur de localisation en temps réel (RTLS) basé sur des estimés de temps d’arrivée (TOA) en utilisant des méthodes de tracé de rayons sur la carte de la géométrie des murs et nous comparons ses performances avec les méthodes classiques de localisation de trilatération de temps d’arrivée. De nombreuses simulations et des essais sur le terrain pour de tels environnements intérieurs montrent que notre méthode permet d’augmenter la zone de couverture de 1,9 % de la surface à 82,3 % et la précision d’un facteur de 10 par rapport à la trilatération. Nous avons implémenté notre modèle de tracé de rayons en C++ en utilisant la bibliothèque CGAL d’algorithmes de géométrie computationelle. Nous démontrons, par une analyse théorique de la complexité spatiale et temporelle de l’algorithme et par un profilage de notre logiciel, comment nous pouvons maintenir la propriété “temps réel" de notre RTLS en effectuant la plupart des tâches associées au tracé de rayons dans une phase de prétraitement.

Abstract Cognitive Radio (CR) improves the efficiency of spectrum utilization by allowing non- licensed users to utilize bands when not occupied by licensed users. In this thesis, we address several challenges currently limiting the wide use of cognitive radios. These challenges include identification of unoccupied bands, energy consumption and other technical challenges. Improved accuracy edge detection techniques are developed for CR to mitigate both noise and estimation error variance effects. Next, a reduced complexity Simplified DFT (SDFT) is proposed for use in CR. Then, a sub-Nyquist rate A to D converter is introduced to reduce energy consumption. Finally, a novel multi-resolution PSD estimation based on expectation-maximization algorithm is introduced that can obtain a more accurate PSD within a specified sensing time.

With the increasing pace of technological changes in the modern society, there has been a growing interest from educators, business leaders, and policymakers in teaching important higher-order skills which were identified as necessary for thriving in the present-day globalized economy. In this regard, one of the most widely discussed higher order skills is critical thinking, whose importance in shaping problem solving, decision making, and logical thinking has been recognized. Within the domain of distance and online education, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model provides a pedagogical framework for understanding the critical dimensions of student learning and factors which impact the development of student critical thinking. The CoI model follows the social-constructivist perspective on learning in which learning is seen as happening in both individual minds of learners and through the discourse within the group of learners. Central to the CoI model is the construct of cognitive presence, which captures the student cognitive engagement and the development of critical thinking and deep thinking skills. However, the assessment of cognitive presence is challenging task, particularly given its latent nature and the inherent physical and time separation between students and instructors in distance education settings. One way to address this problem is to make use of the vast amounts of learning data being collected by learning systems. This thesis presents novel methods for understanding and assessing the levels of cognitive presence based on learning analytics techniques and the data collected by learning environments. We first outline a comprehensive model for cognitive presence assessment which builds on the well-established evidence-cantered design (ECD) assessment framework. The proposed assessment model provides a foundation of the thesis, showing how the developed analytical models and their components fit together and how they can be adjusted for new learning contexts. The thesis shows two distinct and complementary analytical methods for assessing students’ cognitive presence and its development. The first method is based on the automated classification of student discussion messages and captures learning as it is observed in the student dialogue. The second analytics method relies on the analysis of log data of students’ use of the learning platform and captures the individual dimension of the learning process. The developed analytics also extend current theoretical understanding of the cognitive presence construct through data-informed operationalization of cognitive presence with different quantitative measures extracted from the student use of online discussions. We also examine methodological challenges of assessing cognitive presence and other forms of cognitive engagement through the analysis of trace data. Finally, with the intent of enabling for the wider adoption of the CoI model for new online learning modalities, the last two chapters examine the use of developed analytics within the context of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Given the substantial differences between traditional online and MOOC contexts, we first evaluate the suitability of the CoI model for MOOC settings and then assess students’ cognitive presence using the data collected by the MOOC platform. We conclude the thesis with the discussion of practical application and impact of the present work and the directions for the future research.

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Os métodos de estruturação de problemas, ou Problem Structuring Methods (PSM) foram desenvolvidos para apoiar o processo de decisão em grupo permitindo que os atores possam entender o problema em foco e se comprometer com uma ação subsequente. No entanto, apesar de sua popularização, há uma escassez de estudos que avaliem a aplicação prática do uso de métodos de estruturação de problemas, de forma analítica e comparativa e proponham alternativas práticas para lidar com os problemas identificados. Dessa forma, esse trabalho analisou as consequências práticas do uso de PSM em um processo de decisão em grupo, identificou oportunidades de melhoria em sua prática e propôs um modelo considerando estas oportunidades. Para isso, foram realizados dois experimentos, seguindo uma abordagem de avaliação pragmática baseada na teoria. Os resultados dos experimentos sugeriram que são necessários cuidados e intervenções para que o uso de um método cumpra o seu propósito. Percebeu-se a necessidade do desenvolvimento de modelos que auxiliem na construção de mapas cognitivos, melhorando a comunicação entre os envolvidos, considerando o papel do facilitador e a influência que este exerce sobre o processo. Dessa forma, foi proposto um modelo para construção de mapas que envolve as seguintes etapas: workshop, construção de mapas individuais e agregação de mapas individuais em um mapa coletivo. Cada etapa é descrita com um exemplo ilustrativo. Finalmente, atendendo a necessidade de abordagens de validação de modelos, um questionário foi desenvolvido considerando uma matriz que engloba tipos e aspectos de validação apresentados na literatura, e assim, os participantes podem avaliar, utilizando uma escala likert, não apenas os resultados, mas todo o processo e o cumprimento dos objetivos estabelecidos. Embora o questionário de validação não possa ser recomendado para avaliar a aplicação de todos os PSMs, sua estrutura pode servir de referência para diversas práticas.
The problem structuring methods (PSM) have been developed to support the group decision process allowing the actors to understand the problem in focus and commit to a subsequent action. However, despite its popularity, there is a lack of studies that assess the practical application of the use of problem structuring methods, analytical and comparatively and propose alternative practices to deal with the problems identified. Thus, this study analyzed the practical consequences of PSM use in a group decision process, identified improvement opportunities in their practice and proposed a model considering these opportunities. For this, two experiments were carried out, following a pragmatic assessment approach based on the theory. The results of the experiments suggest that is needed caution and interventions for the use of a method fulfills its purpose. The need to develop models that help build cognitive maps and to improve communication between those involved, considering the role of facilitator and influence over the process was one of the perceived opportunities. Thus, a model was proposed to build maps that involve the following steps: workshop, building individual maps and aggregation maps. Each step is described with an illustrative example. Finally, given the need for model validation approaches, a questionnaire was developed considering a matrix that encompasses important aspects of literature, and so, participants can evaluate, using a Likert scale, not only the results, but the whole process and meet the goals established. Although the validation questionnaire can not be recommended to evaluate the implementation of all PSMs, its structure can serve as a reference for various practices.

Introdução: O AVC (acidente vascular cerebral) é uma das mais importantes causas de alterações neuropsicológicas. Uma avaliação cognitiva inicial realizada por telefone implicaria em um diagnóstico mais precoce de prejuízo cognitivo e demência, reduzindo custos e tempo. Objetivo: Examinar as propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Entrevista Telefônica para Avaliação do Estado Cognitivo - Modificada (TICS-M) em pacientes pós-AVC. Métodos: Previamente à validação da TICS-M em indivíduos acometidos por AVC, foi realizada tradução para o Português do Brasil e adaptação transcultural da versão original da TICS-M em uma amostra de 30 sujeitos não clínicos. Após esta fase, um subgrupo de 61 pacientes com AVC, participantes do Estudo da Mortalidade e Morbidade do AVC (EMMA) que ocorre no Hospital Universitário da Universidade de São Paulo, foram convidados a participar da validação da TICS-M, seis meses após o evento agudo. A TICS-M foi aplicada em três momentos: avaliação inicial (entrevista presencial), uma e duas semanas após a primeira avaliação. Na avaliação inicial, além da TICS-M, questionários adicionais foram aplicados para avaliar a cognição: MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), MEEM (Mini Exame do Estado Mental); e para a depressão, HDRS (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale). Todos os questionários foram aplicados por duas entrevistadoras treinadas para o estudo. A confiabilidade intra-observador da TICS-M foi testada através dos coeficientes de Pearson, Intraclasse e alfa de Cronbach. As características internas do TICS-M também foram avaliadas através de uma análise exploratória utilizando o método Análise de Componentes Principais. A validade discriminatória do instrumento para rastreamento de demência pós-AVC foi avaliada em comparação a MEEM pela análise da área sob a curva (AUC) determinada pela curva ROC. Foram calculadas sensibilidade e especificidade para o ponto de corte ideal para rastrear demência. Resultados: De maneira geral, a TICS-M traduzida para o português apresentou um bom entendimento dos itens na mostra de indivíduos não clínicos. Foi observada uma frequência de 23% sugestiva de demência pós-AVC. O nível de escolaridade esteve positivamente associado ao estado demencial rastreado pelo MEEM. O estado depressivo assim como outras características de base não se associou à demência sugerida pelo MEEM. A confiabilidade teste-reteste intra-observador revelou taxas quase totais nos três momentos avaliados (Pearson Coeficiente > 0,85, Coeficientes de Correlação Intraclasse > 0,85 e Coeficiente alfa de Cronbach: 0,96). A análise fatorial determinou três domínios: memória de trabalho e atenção; memória recente e de evocação e orientação. A área sob a curva (AUC) determinada para a TICS-M em comparação com MEEM foi de 0,89 (intervalo de confiança 95%: 0,80-0,98). O ponto de corte sugerido para TICS-M foi de 14 pontos (escala de 0-39 pontos) para rastrear demência com sensibilidade de 91,5% e especificidade de 71,4%. Resultados semelhantes foram observadas com o MoCA. Conclusão: A versão brasileira da TICS-M sugere ser um instrumento de pesquisa útil e confiável para rastrear demência em pacientes pós-AVC
Introduction: Stroke is one most important cause of neuropsychological disorders. An initial cognitive assessment performed by telephone resulting in an early diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia, reducing costs and time. Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status Assessment (TICS-M) for assessment of dementia in post-stroke patients. Methods: Prior to validation of TICS-M in post-stroke patients, translation was performed for the Brazilian-Portuguese and cross-cultural adaptation of the original version of TICS-M in a non-clinical sample of 30 subjects. After this phase, 61 stroke patients enrolled in the Stroke Mortality and Morbidity Study (The EMMA study) that occurs at the University Hospital of the University of São Paulo, were invited to participate in this sub-study to validate the TICS-M six months after the acute event. The TICS-M was applied in three moments: first evaluation (personal interview), one and two weeks after of the first evaluation. At the first evaluation, beyond the TICS-M, additional questionnaires were applied to assess cognition: MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), MMSE (Mini-Mental Status Examination), and for depression, HDRS (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale). All questionnaires were administered by two trained interviewers for the study. Reliability of the TICS-M was tested by intra-observer rates using Pearson, Intraclass and Cronbach´s alpha coefficients. The internal characteristics of TICS-M were also evaluated by an exploratory analysis using Principal Component Analysis. The discrimination validity of the instrument to assess dementia was evaluated by comparison to the MMSE analysis of the area under the curve (AUC) determined by the ROC curve. Sensitivity and specificity for the ideal cutoff to assess dementia were calculated. Results: In general, the TICS-M translated into Portuguese version showed a good understanding of the items in non-clinical individuals. A frequency of 23% suggestive of post-stroke dementia was observed. The level of education was positively associated with dementia status assessed by MMSE. The depressive status, as well as, other baseline characteristics was not associated with dementia suggested by MMSE. Test-retest reliability intra-observer revealed almost total rates in the three evaluation moments (Pearson coefficient > 0.85, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient > 0.85 and Cronbach\'s alpha coefficient: 0.96). The factorial analysis determined three domains: working memory and attention, recent and recall memory and orientation. The area under the curve (AUC) determined by TICS-M compared to MMSE was 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.80-0.98). The cutoff suggested for TICS-M was equal or greater than 14 points (range 0-39 points) to assess dementia (91.5% sensitivity, 71.4 % specificity). Similar results were observed with the MoCA. Conclusion: The Brazilian version of TICSM suggests being a useful and reliable research instrument to evaluate dementia in poststroke patients in epidemiological studies