Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are one form of neurodevelopmental disruption that negatively impacts the integration of perceptual, affective and neuroregulatory mechanisms of typical development. Individuals with ASDs categorically demonstrate difficulties with organizing their thoughts/emotions/actions and applying them in a goal directed manner. The neurobiological deficits underlying cognitive and behavioral disorganization are termed executive functioning (EF) skills deficits. This study sought to clarify the association between the defining characteristics of ASDs and their expression in general behavior and EF skills, using parent and teacher ratings. Results of this study indicated that the association between the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) and the symptoms of ASDs as measured by the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) varied by rater, with few clinical scales explaining significant variance in the ASRS outcomes. Additionally, the strongest relationship between the BASC-2 Developmental Social Disorders content scale (DSDCS) and the ASRS Scales was in behavior regulation rather than the social domain. Using the ASRS Scales as predictors of executive skills issues was generally stronger for teachers than parents. Only difficulties on the Self-Regulation Scale were consistently predictive of difficulties with Metacognition Index (MI) across parent and teacher ratings. The results give direction with regard to identifying behavioral and ecologically relevant cognitive skills and their relationship characteristics of ASDs.

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Bakgrund: AD/HD innebär en funktionsnedsättning med kärnsymptom som ouppmärksamhet, hyperaktivitet och impulsivitet. Personer med AD/HD har också ofta problem med känsloreglering. Intensiv dynamisk korttidsterapi (ISTDP) syftar till att hjälpa patienter till ökad förmåga att uppleva komplexa känslor genom att medvetandegöra dem. Terapiformens utgångspunkt är att många patienters problem skapas av känslomässigt undvikande och den betonar värdet av upplevelse av känslor i terapirummet. Studien syftade till att undersöka effekten av ISTDP på symtomen hos patienter med AD/HD som ett komplement till sedvanlig medicinbehandling. Frågan var om behandling riktad mot känsloreglering påverkar den globala symptombilden för personer med AD/HD. Metod: Studien är en naturalistisk pilotstudie med sex patienter som fick 10 sessioners behandling med ISTDP. Utfallsmåtten var Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, Adult ADHD Self Report Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory och Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Primärt utfallsmått var Adult ADHD Self Report Scale. Patientens problem mättes vid 4 tillfällen, vid första, fjärde, sjunde och sista veckan av behandlingen. Resultat: Patienterna förbättrades signifikant på Inventory of Interpersonal Problems och Adult ADHD Self Report Scale och på Beck Anxiety Inventory. Det fanns dock en stor variation inom gruppen. Vissa patienter förbättrades tydligt, andra förblev oförändrade och någon försämrades. Slutsatser: ISTDP som ett komplement till sedvanlig medicinbehandling och kan hjälpa vissa personer med AD/HD att fungera bättre interpersonellt. Det fanns också tecken på minskning av symptomen på AD/HD samt visar tendenser till reducerad ångest. Ingen följsamhetskattning till ISTDP gjordes. Detta samt det låga deltagarantalet och avsaknaden av kontrollgrupp gör att det är svårt att generalisera resultaten. De ska snarare ses som indikationer på vikten av ytterligare forskning.

ADHD is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that is mostly seen in childhood and that can also manifest or carry on into adulthood. It is of crucial importance for clinicians to be aware of the adult version of ADHD so that they can adequately recognize and treat those who are ailed by the condition. It is also important to raise awareness of the condition to clinicians in Czech Republic, as our study clearly shows that there are a fair amount of adults who are living with strong symptoms. We conducted our study on ADHD symptomatology among Czech adults and the correlated lifestyles to get a better picture of the condition and how it presents itself, to give a clear idea of questions that could be asked by clinicians to adults regarding their lifestyles and ADHD.We also decided to only stick tol symptomatology rather than previous diagnosis to further refine our research and get a clear picture. Our study was the first to assess ADHD symptoms and investigate lifestyles in the Czech adult population. The study was cross-sectional as this allowed us to assess the symptoms and lifestyles in "real time". The cross-sectional design was a strength as well as a limitation in the sense that we cannot see what the individuals will do in the future, whether symptoms have improved or worsened, or likewise...

The overall aim of the thesis was to add some pieces to the etiological puzzle of LCPD with special focus on vascular origin and hyperactivity. Furthermore we wanted to evaluate some consequences of LCPD in adulthood. Swedish registry data were used to identify a cohort of patients with the diagnosis of LCPD. This cohort was compared with a general population– based cohort without LCPD to assess the relative risk of cardiovascular diseases, blood or coagulation defects, injury, ADHD, depression and mortality. In a clinical study we assessed health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L), physical activity level (IPAQ) and screened for ADHD (ASRSv1.1) in 116 patients with a history of LCPD who were diagnosed or treated in Uppsala University Hospital between 1978 and 1995. The results confirmed our hypothesis: Patients with a history of LCPD had a 1.7-fold higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, and a 1.4-fold higher risk for blood or coagulation defects compared with gender- and age-matched individuals without LCPD. We found a 1.2-fold higher risk for injuries requiring hospital admission than in gender- and age-matched individuals without LCPD. The risk was more pronounced among females. Furthermore, we found a 1.5-fold higher risk for ADHD. Stratified analysis revealed a 2.1-fold higher risk for ADHD among females with LCPD than among females without LCPD. The risk for depression was 1.3-fold higher, and more pronounced among females with LCPD. Patients with LCPD had a slightly higher mortality risk with higher risk for death from suicide and cardiovascular causes. Patients with a history of LCPD reported a lower health-related quality of life and were more physically active than the Swedish population norm. 28% of 116 patients were likely to have ADHD or had already been diagnosed with ADHD. Both vascular and blood diseases could be present even in childhood and could, in combination with hyperactive behavior pattern and a high physical activity level, contribute to the etiology of LCPD. The lower health-related quality of life and higher risk for depression might reflect the mental burden of LCPD. Patients with LCPD have a higher mortality risk with higher risk for death from suicide and cardiovascular causes.

This essay aims to study which competencies, motives, and conditions that volunteer rescuers in the Aland Islands Sea Rescue Society consider important. An underlying aim is to investigate the importance of volunteer maritime rescue for the members themselves and for the local community from a maritime rescue and safety perspective. This is accomplished by examining qualitative ethnographic interviews through Discourse Theory. The essay explores what work tasks and competencies (such as knowledge and skills) volunteer maritime rescuers consider important and what strategies they use to acquire competencies. It even explores what motives they indicate as important for becoming involved as a volunteer rescuer and what conditions enable or limit their participation in the Sea Rescue Society The essay even explores why voluntary lifeguards need to exist in society and how com it exists.    The results show that each volunteer rescuer has an individual motive that keeps them engaged. The volunteer rescuers need a general competence but may also have special competence in maritime rescue practices. The living, health, work, and family situation of the volunteer rescuers are conditions that enable or limit their participation in the Sea Rescue Society. The finances of the maritime rescue service may also be a condition enabling or limiting.

本研究旨在調查電腦輔助英語發音學習軟體 「MyET」，對學習者在學習英語發音方面的影響。 利用電腦輔助英語發音學習軟體(CAPT)，練習英語的類化效果，也列為調查重點之一。 此外，學生使用CAPT過程中遭遇的困難和挑戰，以及互動過程中發展出來的對策也一一加以探討。 本研究的目的是要把CAPT在英語聲韻教學的領域中做正確的定位，並且探討如何使用其他的中介工具(例如人類)來強化此類軟體的輔助學習效果。 參與本次研究的大學生一共有九十名，分為三組：兩組CAPT組(亦即實驗組，使用CAPT獨自或與同儕一起使用CAPT學習英語發音)、非CAPT組(控制組)一 組。每組三十名。實驗開始，所有學生以十週的時間練習朗讀 從「灰姑娘」(Cinderella) 摘錄的文字，此段文字由發行 MyET 的公司線上免費提供。 實驗前與實驗後，兩組的學生各接受一次測驗。 每週練習結束後，學生必須將學習心得記載於學習日誌上；教師也針對每個學生的學習心得給予指導回饋。 研究結果顯示，兩個CAPT組別(亦即使用CAPT發音學習軟體的組別)的學生在學習英語聲韻的過程中，都有明顯及正面的進步與改變。尤其是語調與速度快慢方面的進步遠勝於發音的進步。再者，實驗組學生以十週的時間利用CAPT學習英語後，在朗讀新的文字時，無論是發音或語調都有類化的效應，但是在速度快慢方面則無顯著進步。然而，實驗結果三組的發音表現，在量化統計上並未達到明顯的差異。 雖然如此，在質化的探究上，經過分析學生的學習心得後得知：所有組別當中，獨自使用CAPT學習英語發音的組別，最能夠自我審視語言學習歷程 (包括模仿和學習樂趣)。至於共同使用CAPT學習的學生自述在英語流暢度、語調及發音方面獲致最大的改善。控制組的學生因為沒有同儕的鷹架教學及回饋，也沒有 MyET提供的練習回饋，練習過程中，學生自述學習困難的頻率最高，學生也認為學習收穫很少。 參與本次研究實驗組的學生認為， CAPT提供練習回饋的機制設計有改進的空間。 有關本研究結果在理論及英語教學上的意涵以及研究限制，於結論當中一一提出加以討論。 關鍵字：電腦輔助語言教學，語音辨識軟體，超音段，語調，時長，學習策略， 中介 / This present study investigated the impact of computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) software, i.e., MyET, on students’ learning of English pronunciation. The investigation foci included the generalization of the effect of practice with the CAPT system. Also examined are the difficulties and challenges reported by the students who employed the CAPT system and the strategy scheme they developed from their interaction with the system. This study aimed to position the role of the CAPT system in the arena of instruction on English pronunciation and to investigate how other kinds of mediation, such as that of peer support, could reinforce its efficacy. This study involved 90 Taiwanese college students, divided into two experimental groups and one control group. The two experimental groups practiced English pronunciation by using a computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) program either independently or with peers while the control group only had access to MP3 files in their practice. All the groups practiced for ten weeks texts adopted from a play, Cinderella, provided by MyET free of charge on line. They all received a pretest and a posttest on the texts they had practiced and a novel text. Each week after their practice with the texts, the participants were asked to write down in their learning logs their reflections on the learning process in Chinese. In the same way, the instructor would provide her feedback on the students’ reflections in the logs every week. The results showed that the ten-week practice with the CAPT system resulted in significant and positive changes in the learning of English pronunciation of CAPT groups (i.e., the Self-Access CAPT Group and the Collaborative CAPT Group). The progress of the participants in intonation and timing was always higher than in segmental pronunciation. Moreover, the ten-week practice with the CAPT system was found to be generalized (though the generalization is less than mediocre) to the participants’ performance in the production of segmental pronunciation and intonation but not in the timing component in reading the novel text. However, the improvement of the CAPT groups was not great enough to differentiate themselves from the MP3 Group. Though the quantitative investigation did not reveal significant group differences, the qualitative analysis of the students’ reflections showed that the learning processes all the three groups went through differed. The Self-Access CAPT Group outperformed the other two groups in developing self-monitoring of language learning and production, and in enjoying working with the CAPT system/texts. Among the three groups, the Collaborative CAPT Group outscored the other two groups in reporting their gains and improvement in fluency, intonation and segmental pronunciation, as well as developing strategies to deal with their learning difficulty. Though the students in the MP3 group also made significant progress after the practice, without peers’ scaffolding and the feedback provided by MyET, they reported the highest frequency of difficulties and the least frequency of gains and strategies during the practice. The participants of this study also considered necessary the improvement of the CAPT system’s feedback design. At the end of the study theoretical and pedagogical implications as well as research limitations are presented. Key words: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Automatic Speech Recognition System (ASRS), segmental pronunciation, prosody, intonation, timing, learning strategies, mediation

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