Mathematics textbooks are by far the most commonly used didactic tool in classroom teaching. Currently, there is very limited research into how teacher guides, accompanying these textbooks, support the teacher’s work in the classroom. The purpose of the study was to examine to what extent teacher guides support and guide teacher in teaching mathematics. Question raised by the study was – how are variation and concretization addressed in the teacher guides? Variation theory directs focus to critical aspects of the object of learning and can be used as basis to evaluate teacher guides. Concepts like variation and concretization have been useful tools when analysing the teacher guides. To support the study’s phenomenographical approach, a coding system was developed and used as a tool in analysis. Developing the coding system was critical in order to compare the four teacher guides, as well as for the reliability and validity of the study. Data were collected from four, first grade teacher guides in mathematics. An analysis covering an overall perspective has been performed. Several specific topics have also been analysed in a more inductive approach. The results indicate that teacher guides, anchored in the Swedish curricula in mathematics, do not support teachers in how to move from concrete learning to abstract learning. Critical details are being omitted which might affect the goal of abstract thinking.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study was undertaken to address the need for a multi-sectoral approach to sexuality education among adolescents. The rise in teenage pregnancies and the rapid spread of the HIV virus urged the researcher to assess how different sectors within communities can work together to sexually educate adolescents. The goal of the research is to initiate planning of prevention- and educational strategies among all sectors of the community. It is hoped that these programmes may provide adolescents with the necessary skills to make informed decisions regarding their sexuality. The use of a multi-sectoral approach to sexuality education was evaluated by means of a exploratory study and a comparison between the findings of questionnaires and existing literature. In chapter two the nature of sexuality education is assessed. Chapter three focuses on the specific multi-sectoral approach to this sexuality education. In chapter four the findings of the empirical study is discussed. Recommendations for further research is made in chapter five. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die behoefte vir ’n multi-sektorale benadering tot seksualiteitsopvoeding was die hoof uitgangspunt van die studie. Met die verhoging in tienerswangerskappe en die verspreiding van die MIV-virus was dit vir die navorser belangrik om ondersoek in te stel na hoe verskillende sektore in die gemeenskap kan saamwerk om sodoende adolessente van seksualiteitsopvoeding te voorsien. Hierdie navorsing het ten doel om ’n raamwerk vir maatskaplike werkers in diens van gesinsorganisasies daar te stel vir die benutting van ’n multi-sektorale benadering tot seksualiteitsopvoedingsprogramme vir adolessente. Holistiese, jeugvriendelike intervensie en dienslewering deur multi-sektorale samewerking word ten doel gestel. By wyse van ’n verkennende studie asook ’n vergelyking tussen die bevindinge van vraelyste en bestaande literatuur was die kwessie rondom die benutting van ’n multisektorale benadering tot seksualiteitsopvoedingsprogramme geevalueer. In hoofstuk twee behandel die skrywer die aard van seksualiteitsopvoedingsprogramme en fokus op ’n multi-sektorale benadering tot sodanige programme in hoofstuk drie. ’n Bespreking oor die empiriese ondersoek wat geloots is word in hoofstuk vier gegee en in hoofstuk vyf word aanbevelings vir verdere studie gemaak.

Today's information and communication industry is confronted with a serious bottleneck due to the prohibitive energy consumption and limited transmission bandwidth of electrical interconnects. Silicon photonics offers an alternative by transferring data optically and thereby eliminating the restriction of electrical interconnects over distance and bandwidth. Due to the inherent advantage of using the same material as that used for the electronic circuitry, silicon photonics also promises high volume and low cost production plus the possibility of integration with electronics. In this thesis, I introduce an all-silicon optical interconnect architecture that promises very high integration density along with very low energy consumption. The basic building block of this architecture is a vertically coupled photonic crystal cavity-waveguide system. This vertically coupled system acts as a highly wavelength selective filter. By suitably designing the waveguide and the cavity, at resonance wavelength of the cavity, large drop in transmission can be achieved. By locally modulating the material index of the cavity electrically, the resonance wavelength of the cavity can be tuned to achieve modulation in the transmission of the waveguide. The detection scheme also utilizes the same vertically coupled system. By creating crystal defects in silicon in the cavity region, wavelength selective photodetection can be achieved. This unique vertical coupling scheme also allows us to cascade multiple modulators and detectors coupled to a single waveguide, thus offering huge channel scalability and design and fabrication simplicity. During this project, I have implemented this vertical coupling scheme to demonstrate modulation with extremely low operating energy (0.6 fJ/bit). Furthermore, I have demonstrated cascadeability and multichannel operation by using a comb laser as the source that simultaneously drives five channels. For photodetection, I have realized one of the smallest wavelength selective detector with responsivity of 0.108 A/W at 10 V reverse bias with a dark current of 9.4 nA. By cascading such detectors I have also demonstrated a two-channel demultiplexer.

L'une des finalités de la Biologie Moléculaire (BM) est l'étude de l'architecture spatiale (ie. structure 3D) des molécules. Les expérimentations in silico (ie. simulations numériques) permettant la modélisation 3D utilisent le plus souvent des approches automatiques. Or, ces approches présentent certains inconvénients: temps de traitement important, modélisation souvent partielle, modèle 3D généralement figé, etc. L'apport des connaissances des experts, de manière interactive, pendant le processus de modélisation automatique peut pallier certains défauts des méthodes calculatoires usuelles. Il s'agit de placer le biologiste au centre des essais virtuels plutôt qu'en observateur de résultats de simulations. C'est ce que nous appelons l'approche hybride, qui associe les avantages des expérimentations in silico (capacité de calcul) à ceux des Interactions Homme-Machine (IHM) et de la Réalité Virtuelle (RV) : commande naturelle, immersion dans l'environnement virtuel (EV), multimodalité, etc. Le résultat de cette approche est la création d'analyses in virtuo, qui comportent trois phases fondamentales: la modélisation 3D, la visualisation et l'interaction 3D (I3D). Cependant, des domaines complexes tels que la BM sont régis par un ensemble de contraintes qui peuvent être locales (liées aux objets 3D ou aux tâches d'I3D) et globales (liées à l'espace des objets 3D ou au système d'I3D). Par conséquent, l'intervention des experts ne peut pas être réalisée efficacement par des techniques d'I3D classiques, indépendantes de la complexité et des contraintes du domaine. Plus généralement, nous sommes confrontés au problème innovant de l'I3D sous contraintes qui intègre les règles de comportement imposées par l'EV. Pour y répondre, nous formalisons un modèle d'assistance qui associe les contraintes, les tâches d'interaction et des outils d'assistance que sont les guides virtuels. Nous avons appliqué ces deux concepts, d'approche hybride et d'assistance à l'I3D sous contraintes, au problème de la modélisation 3D du chromosome. Les contraintes identifiées sont ici architecturales (ie. données physico-chimiques) et fonctionnelles (ie. modèles biologiques). Ces contraintes issues des lois de la Biologie imposent l'ordonnancement spatial du chromosome. Le système d'interaction Hommme-Molécule in virtuo proposé peut être considéré plus crédible puisqu'il respecte les contraintes environnementales, tant au niveau de la structure 3D qu'au niveau de l'I3D.

Les travaux de cette thèse visaient à étudier des méthodes de photo-inscription de guides optiques monomodes avec des polymères adaptés. Pour cela, deux systèmes ont été envisagés : l'un consistant à réaliser une différence d'indice suffisante grâce à une polymérisation sélective dans un film, l'autre, mettant en jeu un polymère intrinsèquement photosensible dans l'UV moyen. C'est ce dernier système qui a été particulièrement étudié. Ainsi, avec ce polymère, l'impact, sous UV, de la rupture de la conjugaison électronique sur le contraste d'indice (entre zone insolée et non insolée) peut être relativement important, même très loin de la bande d'absorption. Par la suite, une analyse des interactions UV-matériau a permis d'améliorer considérablement la variation d'indice, si bien que les contrastes d'indice obtenus expérimentalement (delta_n=0,03 à 1550nm), sont désormais très supérieurs à ceux par exemple de la silice dopée germanium, largement utilisée en optique intégrée. Enfin, des guides monomodes photo-inscrits ont été réalisés montrant des performances intéressantes et ouvrant la voie à une technologie simple (sans gravure), permettant aussi d'exploiter après coup, la photosensibilité du matériau afin de contrôler les propriétés de guidage.

Design and evaluation of real-time descriptive mediation (RTDM) for live aquarium exhibits was proposed to support the participation of visitors with and without vision loss. RTDM was developed to address learning, entertainment, restorative, and social motivations. Data was collected during a lab study with adults to get feedback about the RTDM and compare it to traditional docent presentations and audio tours. Findings show that the RTDM made it possible for participants to address their exhibit motivations and led to specific personal and social aspects of participation. A majority of participants with and without vision loss reported that the RTDM was supportive of their motivations and perceived it to be more effective at supporting learning, social, and restoration motivations compared to audio tour and docent mediation. The main contributions of this work are in: 1) developing evidence-based information design criteria for mediation at live animal exhibits; 2) demonstrating that mediation designed to support exhibit motivations can facilitate participation in adults with and without vision loss; and 3) validating participation as a design goal.

La mission Darwin, un projet d'interférométrie spatiale initié par l'ESA, nécessite l'utilisation de filtres modaux fonctionnant dans la gamme spectrale [6-20 µm]. Dans le cadre de ce travail, nous proposons la réalisation de filtres modaux basés sur des guides d'onde « tout tellurures » obtenus par la méthode d'empilement et de gravure. L'originalité de ce travail réside dans le fait que les guides réalisés sont de grandes dimensions (couches épaisses et profondeurs de gravure importantes), pour satisfaire aux exigences du projet. La première étape a donc consisté à choisir une méthode de dépôt qui permette d'obtenir des couches épaisses. La co-évaporation thermique a ainsi été mise en place et les paramètres de dépôt optimisés. Des couches d'épaisseur pouvant atteindre 17 µm, de bonne qualité (adhérentes, amorphes, denses et homogènes), transparentes de 6 à 20 µm et d'indice de réfraction contrôlé ont pu être obtenues. La gravure physique réactive (RIE) de ces couches, en utilisant un mélange gazeux CHF3/O2/Ar, a constitué la deuxième partie de ce travail. L'obtention de marches de profondeur pouvant dépasser 10 µm, présentant des profils de gravure de qualité, a été démontrée. Les différents guides d'onde IR réalisés ont été caractérisés optiquement après préparation de leurs faces d'entrée et de sortie. L'observation d'un bon confinement de la lumière sur un banc de guidage à λ = 10,6 µm et l'obtention d'un taux de réjection de 10-3 sur un banc d'interférométrie annulante nous ont permis de confirmer que les guides d'onde à base de couches tellurures et réalisés par la méthode d'empilement et de gravure constituaient une solution de choix en tant que filtres modaux pour l'interférométrie spatiale. / The Darwin mission, an interferometric spatial project initiated by ESA, requires modal filters being able to work in the whole spectral range [6-20 µm]. In the framework of this work, we propose the realization of modal filters based on waveguides obtained by stacking and etching chalcogenide films. The originality of this work lies in the fact that the realized waveguides have large dimensions (thick films and deep etching), to satisfy the project requirements. The first step consisted in choosing the deposition method which allows obtaining thick films. The thermal co-evaporation was setting up and the deposition parameters were optimized. Films with thickness which can reach 17 µm, of good quality (adhesive, amorphous, dense and homogeneous), transparent from 6 to 20 µm and with controlled refractive index were obtained. The physical reactive etching of these films, by using a gas mixture CHF3/O2/Ar, constituted the second part of this work. The obtaining of deep rib which can exceed 10 µm, presenting etching profiles of good quality was demonstrated. The elaborated IR waveguides were optically characterized after preparation of their entrance and exit faces. The observation of light confinement on a guiding bench at λ = 10.6 µm and the obtaining of a rejection rate of 10-3 on a nulling interferometry bench allowed confirming that the waveguides based on the stacking and etching of telluride films was a choice solution as modal filters for the spatial interferometry.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 1 in every 68 children. Individuals with ASD have deficits in social, communication and behavioral skills which put them at a higher risk of injury and death than their typically developing peers. Parking lots are environments that present a number of potentially dangerous situations. Pedestrian skills, due to reliance on subtle cues and quick problem solving, can be especially difficult for individuals with ASD to master. The present study used a multiple probe design across participants to examine the effectiveness of a video modeling intervention with in situ video prompting feedback to teach five individuals with ASD to safely navigate a parking lot. Results of the study revealed that all five participants rapidly acquired the targeted skills and the skills were maintained in the absence of the video intervention at one week and two week intervals. Suggestions for further applications of the intervention package and implications for safety instruction are also offered. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

by Yeung Chiap-to. / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 166-178.

This thesis focused on the development of a curriculum guide for a cancer awareness program for older men. The background of the problem -- a lack of programs for older men -- and the methods used in developing the guide are detailed in Chapter One. The second chapter consists of current information on disease prevention, aging and cancer with the emphasis on age-related changes and learning needs of older adult men. Chapter Three is the completed instructor's curriculum guide, and the final chapter includes recommendations on implementing the program as part of a community wellness program. The guide could also be used in senior centers, hospital educational programs, or adapted for use in staff inservices.