The aim of this study was to determine the role of visual language input on PCS sentence construction. Thirty-nine participants were divided into two comparable groups and exposed to two inputs of presentations of PCS to investigate the impact of each input on the sentence construction of the participants. In the SVO input the sequence of buttons was in the normal English word order sequence (Subject-Verb-Object) and in the SOV input the word order was Subject-Object-Verb. Both input groups had to answer six questions by using PCS as well as speech. The findings indicated that the participants did not sequence their output to match the word order of the unfamiliar SOV input. The participants receiving the SOV condition used fewer PCS elements than the participants receiving the SVO condition. The participants receiving the SVO and SOV inputs gave similar spoken answers. Reasons for these findings are discussed, as are the implications for further research. / Dissertation (M (Augmentative and Alternative Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

Educational simulations can help mitigate the natural gap between traditional education styles and the current professional world. Researchers at BYU have developed an educational simulation solution called Playable Case Studies (PCSs). PCSs are simulations that expose the user to real world scenarios and problems within a pre-built environment. With rising demand and use of these educational simulations, there is a need for easy and inexpensive ways to develop these simulations or Playable Case Studies (PCSs). We propose a content management system (CMS) that is tied to a system that utilizes dynamic modules that make up these simulations. We present a basic design and identify core functionality of the system. We include our results from utilizing this system and what future developments can enable the goal of easy and inexpensive development of PCSs. In this study, we identify the design features needed for an easy to use, efficient content management system for educational playable case studies. We began by identifying both pain points in our old system and the features that would address these issues. We then designed and built a new system that included these features. In the testing of this new system, we primarily looked at the ease of building a new PCS with minimal technical knowledge. Although this project was a success overall, there are still points of failure due to the direct manipulation of JSON by content creators (who were not all developers), among other minor issues that need correcting. Overall, we found that our design was effective in providing an efficient platform for creating and maintaining PCSs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the personal, cultural and structural experiences and barriers faced by highly skilled Canadian university graduate immigrants regarding finding a good job related to their qualification in the labour market, and how this struggle has shaped their lives. Data was collected through individuals by semi-structured questionnaires. Interviews were the deep source of skilled immigrants’ experiences and problems they have faced in the labour market. Applying the critical race theory perspective and using the Thompson PCS Model as investigating tool, this study sought to capture the participants’ reality. The findings suggest that immigrants are facing many structural and systemic barriers and racial discrimination in the labour market. It is affecting them not only individually but also affecting their families and because of that these skilled immigrants have a plan to leave Canada for better job opportunities because even after graduating from Canadian universities they were unable to find work according to their field of study and work experience. Major themes emerging from this research include: why skilled immigrants pursued more education if they were already graduated from their home countries; immigration policies and labour market policies mismatch; non-recognition of immigrants credentials and work experience; inadequate settlement services; racial discrimination in job market; and what difference they feel before and after graduating from Canadian university in finding a job. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

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One of the major driving elements behind the explosive boom in wireless revolution is the advances in the field of modulation which plays a fundamental role in any communication system, and especially in cellular radio systems. Hence, the elaborate choice of an efficient modulation scheme is of paramount importance in the design and employment of any communications system. Work presented in this thesis is an investigation (study) of the feasibility of whether multilevel FSK modulation scheme would provide a viable alternative modem that can be employed in TDMA cordless communications systems. In the thesis the design and performance analysis of a non-coherent multi-level modem that offers a great deal of bandwidth efficiency and hardware simplicity is studied in detail. Simulation results demonstrate that 2RC pre-modulation filter pulse shaping with a modulation index of 0.3, and pre-detection filter normalized equivalent noise bandwidth of 1.5 are optimum system parameter values. Results reported in chapter 5 signify that an adjacent channel rejection factor of around 40 dB has been achieved at channel spacing of 1.5 times the symbol rate while the DECT system standards stipulated a much lower rejection limit criterion (25-30dB), implying that CP-QFSK modulation out-performs the conventional GMSK as it causes significantly less ACI, thus it is more spectrally efficient in a multi-channel system. However, measured system performance in terms of BER indicates that this system does not coexist well with other interferers as at delay spreads between 100ns to 200ns, which are commonly encountered in such indoor environment, a severe degradation in system performance apparently caused by multi-path fading has been noticed, and there exists a noise floor of about 40 dB, i.e. high irreducible error rate of less than 5.10-3. Implementing MRC diversity combiner and BCH codec has brought in a good gain. / Higher Education Ministry

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This paper proposes novel antenna designs for cellular phones and WLAN (Wireless LAN) applications. For cellular phones, a dual- frequency PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) loaded with a chip inductor is constructed. In order to decrease the construction cost, PIFAs without a loading chip inductor for GMS/DCS phones are devised. Besides, a PIFA-monopole antenna for GSM/DCS/PCS is also proposed. For WLAN application, a dual-band PIFA for 2.4/5.8 GHz and a dual-band integrated monopole antenna for 2.4/5.2 GHz are shown. Finally, a novel metal-plate WLAN antenna, having a simple structure and being easy to construct with low cost, is presented.

It is believed that a large number of people experience remaining symptoms after COVID-19, so-called post-COVID. The formal definition and diagnostic criteria of post-COVID have been a scientific controversy. So far, there is no reliable system for distinguishing the severity of post-COVID. This type of measurement would be helpful in future targeted therapies. Therefore, this thesis aims to evaluate the relationship between an individual’s functional status today and the symptoms present as well as identify relevant groups of post-COVID based on these 17 long-term symptoms of post-COVID. Further, to produce a model for which of these groups an individual belongs to. By using cluster analysis and ordinal logistic regression, Post-COVID Syndrome scores are produced. That is based upon both subjects who were hospitalised and those who were not, collected through a project called COMBAT post-covid. The individuals are then divided into groups based on these scores, and a prediction model is made using ordinal logistic regression and backward deletion. Three well-separated groups of post-COVID are found based on the produced scores. The prediction model indicates that the nine variables Sex, BMI, Smoking, Snuff, Heart disease, Lung disease, Diabetes, Chronic pain and Symptom severity at the onset seem important for predicting someone’s group. This study showed that the remaining symptoms affected an individual’s functional status, including self-reported working ability and general health.

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