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The goal of this study is to assess the far-transfer effects of strategy-based working memory (WM) training to a novel problem solving task. Far-transfer refers to the application of trained skills to an untrained situation and is especially important because it deals with the generalization of learning to novel contexts. However, previous working memory training studies have produced little evidence for far-transfer. In the current study, children were trained in two strategies, phonological rehearsal and semantic categorization. These strategies have been suggested to increase the efficiency in processing and encoding of information and are invoked to explain developmental increases in WM capacity. Sixteen 6-to 9-year-olds were randomly assigned to each of four training conditions: semantic and rehearsal training, semantic training only, rehearsal training only, and treated control group. The treated control group performed significantly worse on the problem solving task compared to the three training groups. Surprisingly, the treatment groups did not differ significantly from each other. There was no statistically significant difference in receiving combined training of both strategies compared to only one strategy and furthermore, neither strategy resulted in better performance compared to the other strategy. Future directions for WM training and the implications for cognitive interventions are discussed. / Graduate / 0620 / 0633 / sharonc@uvic.ca

L'objectif était d'évaluer l'effet de l'anémie pendant la grossesse et ses facteurs de risque sur le développement cognitif d'enfants à un an.Notre cohorte a inclus 636 couples de mères et d'enfants singletons nés de femmes enceintes incluses dans un essai clinique antipaludiques au Bénin. Les prélèvements sanguins ont été réalisés lors des 1er et 2nd visites prénatales (VP) et à l'accouchement (AC) afin d'évaluer la concentration en hémoglobine (Hb) et la ferritine sérique. Les selles ont été testé la présence d'oeufs d'helminthes par la technique de Kato-Katz. Toutes les femmes ont reçu 600mg de mébendazole lors de la 1er VP. À l'âge d'un an, le développement psycho-moteur des enfants a été évalué par le Mullen Scales of Early Learning.La prévalence de la carence en fer (CF) chez les femmes 1er et 2nd VP et à l'AC était de 30,5%, 34,0% et 28,4%, respectivement. La prévalence des infections helminthiques était de 11,5%, 7,5% et 3,0 % à la 1er, la 2nd VP et à l'AC, respectivement. La prévalence de l'anémie a diminué de 67,1% à la 1er VP à 40,1% à l'AC. L'infection par ankylostomes à la 1er VP était associée avec un score de motricité globale (MG) inférieure -4,9 (IC 95%:-8,6;-1,3). Nous avons observé une relation quadratique négative significative entre la MG de l'enfant et la concentration d'Hb à la première et la 2nd VP.Dans ce contexte de supplémentation en fer des femmes enceintes, la CF maternelle n'était pas associée au développement neurocognitif de l'enfant. De plus, il semble que des concentrations en Hb légèrement en-dessous de la normale (comprises entre 90 et 110 g/L) soient optimales pour la motricité des enfants à un an. / The aim was to investigate the impact of anemia during pregnancy and its risk factors on the cognitive development children.Our cohort included 636 mother-singleton child pairs from 828 eligible pregnant women who were enrolled during their first antenatal care (ANC) visit in Allada, Benin, into a clinical trial comparing two malarial drugs. Ferritin and hemoglobin (Hb) level were assessed at the first and second ANC visit of at least one-month interval and at delivery. Stool samples of pregnant women were tested for helminths using the Kato-Katz method. All women were given 600 mg of mebendazole to be taken after the first ANC visit. Cognitive and motor functions of one-year-old children were assessed using Mullen Scales of Early Learning.The prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) at first and second ANC visits, and at delivery was 30.5%, 34.0% and 28.4%, respectively. Prevalence of helminth infection was 11.5%, 7.5% and 3.0% at first, second ANC visits and at delivery, respectively. Prevalence of anemia decreased from 67.1% at first ANC visit to 40.1% at delivery. Hookworm infection at first ANC was associated with lower mean gross motor (GM) scores -4.9 (95% CI:-8.6;-1.3) in the adjusted model. We observed a significant negative quadratic relationship between infant GM function and Hb concentration at first and second ANC visits.Prenatal helminth infection is associated with poor with infant cognitive and motor development. However, in the presence of iron supplementation, ID is not associated with infant neurocognitive development. Further, there appears to be an Hb concentration range (90-110 g/L) that may be optimal for better GM function of one-year-old children.

Depression is recognized as a disabling and impairing condition, impacting mood, cognitions, and daily functioning (APA, 2013; WHO, 2017). Women are more likely to develop depression than men (Gutierrez-Lobos et al., 2002; Noble, 2005). The perinatal period is a sensitive time when mothers are vulnerable to developing depression (Noble, 2005; Schiller et al., 2015). Further, postpartum depression is a risk factor for negative outcomes for both mother and child (Goodman & Gotlib, 1999), including child cognitive development (Grace et al., 2003). The onset and course of depression involves a variety of biopsychosocial components that are often accounted for in research on maternal depression (Billings & Moos, 1993; Cummings & Davies, 1994; Nobel, 2005). Examining the severity, chronicity, and time of onset of maternal depression reveals specific patterns or trajectories for the mother’s experience; these trajectories can provide better understanding of maternal depression and its impact on child development (Brennan et al., 2000). Maternal depression is prevalent yet under-studied and under-identified in low-middle income countries (LMICs), with most research of postpartum depression centering Western and English-speaking families (Gelaye et al.,2016; Halbreich &Karkun, 2006). To better understand and treat maternal depression across cultures, research is needed in diverse locations with culturally sensitive methods. The purpose of the present study is to identify trajectories of maternal depression in diverse, international locations including LMICs. The MAL-ED Study involves eight study sites (Dhaka, Bangladesh (BGD); Fortaleza, Brazil (BRF); Vellore, India; (INV), Bhaktapur, Nepal (NEB); Loreto, Peru (PEL); Naushahro Feroze, Pakistan (PKN); Venda, South Africa (Dzimauli Community, SAV); and Haydom, Tanzania (TZH)) and incorporates several health-related factors pertaining to mothers and children (Murray-Kolb et al., 2014). The present study included five of the eight international sites. Maternal depression, as measured by the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ; Beusenberg & Orley, 1994), was assessed across the first two years postpartum, allowing for longitudinal analysis of trajectory using latent class growth analysis (LCGA). Maternal depression trajectories differed across the five sites, but demonstrated a general pattern of high, moderate, and low symptoms for the total sample. Path models were used to determine if there was a relationship between maternal depression trajectories and child cognitive development as measured by the Bayley Scales for Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd Edition (BSID-III, Bayley, 2009) for the total sample. To address the influence of contextual factors, the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME; Caldwell & Bradley, 1984, 2003) was incorporated in analysis as a mediator. However, the mediation analysis was not statistically significant and maternal depression trajectory was not a strong predictor of child cognitive development with the total sample. The results indicated that better home environment predicted improved cognitive scores, regardless of maternal depression trajectories. The present study provided evidence that maternal depression trajectories varied based on cultural group. Although maternal depression trajectories did not predict child cognitive development with the total sample, future research can explore trajectories in each location and relationships with other variables. Additionally, further investigation of how the home environment impacts child cognitive development in the five different locations can be informative for providing services to children and their families. / School Psychology

The deaf child’s primary handicap is his inability to hear human speech. The whole functioning of the deaf child is hampered by his hearing loss. This implicates that deafness can cause secondary problems such as: -- language problems; -- speech problems; -- thinking problems; -- social problems; -- emotional problems; -- educational problems; -- occupational problems; and -- family problems. These problems impose a special challenge to people who intervene with deaf children. The deaf child cannot communicate intelligibly. The therapist has to pay special attention to this problem and to the way in which communication will commence and continue. Pedotherapeutic intervention implicates effective communication. The use of language plays an important role in the Educational-psychological practice. Diagnostic tests and therapeutic techniques require an average language capability. The therapist must seek alternative concrete ways in which to assess the deaf child and to solve the child’s problems. The creation of a work of art is a concrete sensory act. A variety of authors state that, most children can project their deepest inner feelings through a work of art without fear and pain. The instructions given for art therapy are simple and most children feel safe to create. A child’s work of art has diagnostic as well as therapeutic value. It is important that the therapist will recognize and interpret the projected symbols and that he will use it to change and expand the deaf child’s world of meaning. During the assessment of a child’s drawing the therapist must take aspects of the art work, such as colour, form, line, art material, the content of the drawing, the perceptual and motor development of the child, the child’s age, non-verbal communication and verbal communication during the creative process, into consideration. The therapist must not use above-mentioned directions at random. Every individual’s work of art must be assessed in a phenomenological way, before any conclusions can be made. A private, well equipped art therapy room is necessary for the child in order to feel safe to explore and create. The therapist who intervenes with deaf children has to be well trained. He must have knowledge and experience of deafness, know sign language and should have exceptional language abilities. In this study the therapist applied art therapy with a deaf child. Both the child and his educators were involved in therapy. The therapy was successful. Most of the therapeutic goals were achieved. The therapist needed to adapt the way of communication in order to enhance the level of communication between her and the deaf child. Art therapy can be successfully used with the deaf child because adequate communication is possible, the deaf child can identify with the therapeutic content and transcendence is possible. Some deaf children do not respond well to art therapy. The uniqueness of each deaf child should be taken into consideration before a therapeutic technique can be chosen. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Orthopaedic Surgery / unrestricted

In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurde ein präsuppositionssensibles Verfahren zur Rekonstruktion von kindlichen Freunschaftskognitionen entwickelt und angewendet. Das Verfahren ist ein interaktionsanalytisches. Es eignet sich, um verbal und nonverbal preisgegebene Informationen zu identifizieren, die Sprecher in Interaktionssituationen als Präsuppositionen setzen. Als Präsuppositionen werden dabei die implizit logischen Voraussetzungen verstanden, die ein Sprecher während einer eigenen Äußerung annimmt, die er aber nicht explizit sprachlich äußert.