A diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is given when a child exhibits developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. In addition to academic and behavior problems, these children often have significant social problems. Since social problems are associated with a greater risk for developing problems later in life, a number of interventions have been attempted to normalize the social interactions of children with ADHD. These have included stimulant medication, cognitive-behavioral interventions, behavior modification, and social skills training. Additionally, attempts have been made to maximize the benefits of these interventions by combining them. Typically this involves combining stimulant medication with one of the other non-pharmacological interventions. Unfortunately, no one intervention or combination of interventions has stood out as the clear choice for improving the social problems of children with ADHD. Therefore, more research is needed to clarify this issue. Social skills training is often used in clinical and school settings for children with ADHD who experience social problems, despite the apparent lack of empirical evidence for its effectiveness. Social skills training programs frequently report success, but the evidence for success is taken only from anecdotal reports by parents and teachers. The purpose of this study was to document the effectiveness of a social skills training program for children with ADHD. A social skills intervention program was implemented for four children with ADHD. Eight weekly sessions focused on six targeted social skills. All four children were administered their prescribed stimulant medication for the duration of the training. In addition to small group training with the four target children, weekly classroom guidance lessons were conducted in each child's general education classroom focusing on the skill taught that week in small group. The target children were observed weekly in the playground setting at their schools prior to and during the training. Their parents and teachers completed the ADHD Rating Scale-IV and the Social Skills Rating System both pre-and post-training. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used. Although three of the four children showed improvement on teacher ratings scales. Further, none of the parent rating scales showed improvement. None of the children showed improvement as evidenced through direct observational data.

This thesis deals with how managerial work sets the agenda for managerial learning in small firms. Although studies of learning in organizations are numerous, research on managerial learning in the small-firm context is limited. In particular, our knowledge of managerial learning suffers from an insufficient understanding of what top managers in small firms do. The primary purpose of this thesis is to describe how the work of small-firm managers sets the agenda for managerial learning, and how their learning can be supported. Additionally, the thesis explores the use of so-called “Action Technologies” in supporting managerial learning in small firms.Drawing on an observational study of six owner-managers in small (17-43 employees) manufacturing firms, and a synthesis of earlier studies, this thesis shows that three features of managerial work shape managerial learning in small firms: The small firm’s top manager (i) operates in context with specific structural conditions that affect his/her behavior, (ii) have certain cognitive predispositions guiding his/her behavior, and (iii) have certain behavioral preferences directing his/her behavior.The main argument in this thesis is that managerial learning in small firms is made difficult due to features that make it hard to come to a point where learning (in terms of reflection and conceptualization) is given time and resources, as the manager has trouble in finding time for learning, and as learning risks to become low-priority. Learning is also difficult due to barriers related to the learning process: the work of the manager fosters a superficial learning orientation, makes it difficult to probe deeply into and to develop complicated understandings of issues at hand, and makes peer-learning rarely possible.Drawing on an action research project of managerial learning in four networks of small-firm owner-managers, the thesis also explores, in a concrete manner, how managerial learning might be supported in a way that circumvents the deficient situation for managerial learning in this kind of firm. More specifically, it seems that Action Technologies by their design constitute a learning context that supports the learning of the small-firm top manager by dissolving the barriers to learning identified above. / <p>Original papers included. Paper III, "Managerial behavior in small firms - a critical analysis of evidence from observational studies" changed title to "Managerial work in small firms: summarising what we know and sketching a research agenda".</p>

Le nombre des collisions avec des piétons aux passages à niveau restant stable dans les dernières années, c’est un problème majeur au niveau international. Suite à la revue étendue de la littérature, des lacunes scientifiques importantes liées à l’étude du comportement du piéton ont été identifiées. L’objectif principal de ce programme de recherche était de contribuer à mieux comprendre le comportement du piéton aux passages à niveau actifs en Australie, où malgré la mise en place des protections renforcées pour les piétons, le nombre de collisions reste plus important que sur les autres types de passages à niveau. Trois études ont été réalisées pour répondre aux trois buts de recherche que nous nous proposons d'examiner dans le cadre de ce programme. La première étape de recherche qui est exploratoire a été réalisée dans le cadre des études 1 et 2 dont les conclusions ont permis d'identifier les facteurs influençant la prise de décision aux passages à niveau. A la fin de cette étape un nouveau modèle systémique a été développé pour servir d’instrument à l’analyse du comportement du piéton, influencé par des facteurs de tous les niveaux du système. Dans la deuxième étape empirique de recherche, nous avons mené l’étude 3 pour examiner l’impact de facteurs clés sur les comportements à risque dans différentes situations à risque de traversée des piétons. L’articulation des trois études est une illustration des bénéfices associés avec l’utilisation à la fois des méthodes systémiques et traditionnelles, résultant des contributions théoriques et pratiques importantes. / Level crossing collisions with pedestrians are a major issue worldwide and in Australia, where their number remains stable in recent years. An extended review of the literature highlighted a number of important scientific gaps in current knowledge on the factors shaping specifically pedestrian behaviour. The main objective of this research program was to contribute to the better understanding of pedestrian behaviour at active level crossings in Austalia, where a larger number of collisions are reported despite the reinforced safety measures in place. Three research aims were formulated and supported the development of three studies.Study 1 and 2 were part of the first explorative stage of research and informed on the main factors shaping crossing decisions of pedestrians. At the end of this stage a new systems-based framework was developed as a tool for the analysis of pedestrian behaviour as influenced by factors across all system levels. Study 3, part of the empirical stage of research, examined in depth the influence of key precursors of unsafe behaviour across different crossing situations. The articulation of the three studies demonstrates the benefits of using systems-based and traditional individual-centred methods in a complementary manner resulting in important theoretical and practical contributions.