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p. 87 missing from manuscript. / This study investigated the strategie or task-specific planning skills of students of varying abilities using intelligent eomputer-assisted instruction (ICAI). The sample eonsisted of 39 boys and girls in grades four to six attending summer programs for the gifted and non-gifted in the Greater Montreal area. They were divided into three eomparison groups: a high-ability-gifted HG) group (n=13), a high-ability-not-identified-as-gifted (HNG) group .(n=11), and an average-ability (A) group (n=15). Each student created three adventure plans with an ICAI called SCARABEE (Système de Conception Assistée de Récits d'Aventure dans le But d'Enseigner l'Écriture) for three, thirty-minute sessions over an observation period of two weeks. Results of this research demonstrate no statistically significant differences among ability groups HG, and on the two levels of strategic planning skills. The good problem solving since higher levels of strategic planning could also involve other variables which remain to be investigated. / Cette recherche étudie les techniques de planification stratégique chez des enfants d'habilité moyenne ou supérieure utilisant un logiciel d'enseignement intelligent assisté par ordinateur (EIAO). Trente-neuf garçons et filles du deuxième cycle du primaire (4e à 6e année) inscrits dans des programmes d'été de la région du Grand Montréal, ont été choisis et répartis en trois groupes: le premier, d'habileté-supérieure-identifiés doués (n=13); le deuxième, d'habileté-supérieure-non-identifiés doués (n=11);et le troisième, d'habilité- moyenne (n=15). Chaque trois scénarios d'aventure à l'aide de SCARABEE (Système de Conception Assistée de Récits d'Aventure dans le But d'Enseigner l'Ecriture) pendant trois sessions de trente minutes pour une durée d'observation de deux semaines. Les résultats indiquent que les trois groupes de sujets ne diffèrent pas de façon significative sur les deux niveaux de techniques de planification stratégique. Ces données suggèrent que le niveau d'habileté ne serait pas une variable déterminante dans la résolution de problème avancé de techniques de planification stratégique impliquerait d'autres variables qu-il reste ci explorer.

To understand the grasping abnormalities in Parkinson's or stroke patients, normal grasping must be examined, and whether that normality is determined by biological factors or experiential influence must also be considered. The purpose of this thesis is to determine what normal variations of precision grasping exist in healthy, normal adults, children and elderly people. Using Eshkol-Wachmann Movement Notation, five types of contact strategies were interpolated, based on the digit that contacts the object first, and whether that digit dragged or stabilized the object for grasping. Each contact strategy was associated with an ideal graphical representation of the thumb and index finger velocities. There were seven variations of purchase patterns, based on the digits used to contact the objects, and four variations of postures of the non-grasping digits on top of the five contact strategies. Object size affected purchase pattern preference: smaller objects elicited the pincer grasp more than the larger objects. The purchase pattern distribution of variation is similar in adults and children, although children exhibit an extra purchase pattern, and older adults exhibit less variation purchase patterns. The findings from this thesis suggest that central factors, such as gender and handedness, as well as external factors, such as size of the object, determine individual preference of grasping. The loss of variation with age can be attributed to the developing corticospinal tract in children as well as the deterioration of normal hand function in the elderly. / ix, 116 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

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The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a shift from absolute to relative pitch perception occurs during early childhood. Other factors that can influence the development of absolute pitch, such as cognitive abilities and the child's environment were examined. Young children completed (n=88): (1) a variety of pitch tasks (absolute and relative pitch tests) prior to and after two months of focused instruction on absolute and relative pitch, (2) tests of cognitive abilities, and (3) a questionnaire gathering information about family musical environment. / The results indicate that a shift from absolute to relative perception occurs between the ages of 5 and 7. Children younger than six demonstrated limited ability to perform relational tasks such as ordering bells, identifying transposed intervals, and comparing pitches. However, they memorized target pitches better than the older children, matched target tones on the xylophone and sang newly learned songs in their original key more often than did the older children. Older children benefited to a larger extent from the training on relative pitch. Cognitive and spatial abilities were related to absolute pitch development: children who identified pitches better had a more sequential and a less simultaneous way of processing information. Family musical environment seems to have influenced the development of absolute pitch. Implications for the acquisition of absolute pitch are discussed.