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The theme of this diploma thesis is the development of literacy of pupils with mild intellectual disability. This thesis is divided into 5 parts. The key words such as literacy, reading literacy, pupil with a mild intellectual disability and schooling of pupils with mild intellectual disability, are described in the first four parts. Chapter number five is the empirical part of the thesis. The aim of this thesis is to find out the level of the reading literacy of pupils with mild intellectual disability at the school for mentally retarded children. A handbook supporting the development of the reading literacy for pupils with mild intellectual disability has been written based on this result. Methods of quantitative research have been used to obtain the final results. One of the research instruments was also a nonofficial test of reading literacy that has for its purpose to determine the level of the reading literacy of mildly mentally disabled pupils. KEYWORDS pupil, literacy, reading literacy, reading literacy test, mild intellectual disability, school for mild mentally retarded pupils

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία, εκτιμώνται τα πλεονεκτήματα που παρέχουν οι βοηθητικές τεχνολογίες, όπως είναι τα εικονικά περιβάλλοντα, για προγράμματα σπουδών σε μαθητές με ελαφρά νοητική καθυστέρηση. Επίσης, μελετώνται οι αντιληπτικές και χωρικές ικανότητες παιδιών με νοητική καθυστέρηση συγκριτικά με αυτές των παιδιών τυπικής ανάπτυξης, χρησιμοποιώντας μία εφαρμογή εικονικής πραγματικότητας. Για την διερεύνηση των παραπάνω, πραγματοποιήθηκε μία ερευνητική διαδικασία αποτελούμενη από δύο φάσεις. Η πρώτη φάση συνίσταται σε μία πιλοτική εφαρμογή του προγράμματος εικονικής πραγματικότητας, όπου ζητήθηκε από μία ομάδα 10 ατόμων, ηλικίας 16-23 ετών, να το αξιολογήσουν ώστε να επιτραπεί η χρήση του στην επόμενη φάση. Η δεύτερη φάση περιέχει την κυρίως έρευνα, όπου συμμετέχουν δύο ομάδες παιδιών, η μία εκ των οποίων αποτελείται από παιδιά με νοητική καθυστέρηση, ενώ η άλλη από παιδιά τυπικής ανάπτυξης. Τα υποκείμενα των δύο ομάδων εξερεύνησαν το εικονικό περιβάλλον και εν συνεχεία αξιολογήθηκαν σε κάποια έργα χωρικής μνήμης και χωρικής αντίληψης. Τέλος, αξιολογήθηκε ο προσανατολισμός, η λεπτή κινητικότητα και κάποια άλλα χαρακτηριστικά της συμπεριφοράς των υποκειμένων. Βάσει των δεδομένων που προέκυψαν από την ερευνητική διαδικασία, εξήχθησαν συμπεράσματα για τα παραπάνω, τα οποία παρουσιάζουν τα παιδιά με νοητική καθυστέρηση να μειονεκτούν έναντι των παιδιών τυπικής ανάπτυξης. / The following research paper, which serves as a part of the Departments requirements leading to a Bachelor’s Degree, unfolds its goal and objectives into phases. The goal of this endeavor is to present the advantages that assistive technologies, such as Virtual Environments, offer to students with mental retardation. In addition, the conceptual and spatial abilities of mentally retarded children are examined, comparatively with the abilities of nonretarded children using an application of virtual reality. In order to investigate the above, a two-phase research had taken place. In the first phase, that is a pilot test, a group of ten subjects, 16-23 years old, evaluated this application in order to be possible to use the application in the next phase. The second phase involves the basic research, where two groups of children, one of mentally retarded children and one of nonretarded children, took part. The subjects of these two groups explored the virtual environment and afterwards they completed tests of spatial memory and spatial cognition. In the end, the orientation, the “delicate mobility” (the ability to handle small objects) and some other characteristics of the children’s behavior were assessed. On the basis of the data that emerged from the research procedure, there were extracted conclusions that indicate that mentally retarded children are deficient against nonretarded children.

Sammanfattning Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka hur lärare i idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan, år 7-10, arbetar med kunskapsbedömning och dokumentation av kunskap. Vidare syftade studien till att undersöka vilken eventuell inverkan Lgr 11 kommer ha på detta arbete. Studiens frågeställningar var: Hur resonerar lärare i idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan kring bedömning och betygssättning? Hur har lärare i idrott och hälsa i särskolan dokumenterat sina elevers utveckling med Lpo 94 som ramverk/ styrdokument? Med vilka verktyg/på vilka sätt har elevernas kunskaper bedömts med Lpo 94 som ramverk/ styrdokument samt hur uppfattar lärare i idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan Lgr 11? Metod Intresseförfrågningar skickades ut till ca 50 aktiva idrottslärare i idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan, år 7-10. Åtta lärare svarade positivt till medverkan varav två av dessa, efter vidare kontakt, sållades bort på grund av att de var verksamma i annan skolform än grundsärskolan. Intervjuer genomfördes sedan med de sex informanterna, på en tid och plats som passade informanterna. Intervjuerna var ca 40 min långa, semistrukturerade och frågeområdena omfattade tankar kring betyg och bedömning generellt, hur bedömningsarbetet sett ut med Lpo 94 som styrdokument, samt hur lärarna uppfattade Lgr 11. Intervjuerna behandlade även frågor rörande hur lärarna kunde föreställa sig att undervisningen skulle kunna se ut med Lgr 11 som styrdokument. Resultat Lärarna uppgav att deras huvudsakliga syfte med bedömningsarbetet var att samla information för att kunna anpassa undervisningen. Fem av sex ställde sig frågande till betyg i särskolan. Hälften av de tillfrågade lärarna uppgav att bedömning i särskolan är problematiskt på grund av att elevgruppen är heterogen. Lärarnas dokumentation av elevernas utveckling skiljde sig åt, några dokumenterade ingenting medan andra hade välutvecklade system. I samtliga fall bedömdes eleverna genom observation. Lärarnas samlade intryck av Lgr 11 var att kraven ävarhögre än i Lpo 94 men tre av dem menade att de är väldigt oinsatta i särskolans nya kursplan för idrott och hälsa. Slutsats Lärarnas skiftande inställning till kunskapsbedömning och dokumentation av bedömning kan relateras till deras uppfattning av syftet med ämnet idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan. Vidare verkade det som att implementeringen av Lgr 11 inte fått särskilt stort fokus i idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan på de skolor som informanterna i denna studie var aktiva. Anledningen till denna brist på fokus kan dock ej urskiljas ur resultaten i denna studie, utan kräver en annan studie med ett annat fokus. / Abstract Aim The aim of this study has been to investigate how teachers in physical education and health in schools for intellectually disabled, year 7-10, incorporates assessment and documentation of knowledge in their practice. The aim of the study was also to investigate what possible effect the introduction of the new curriculum and syllabi of Lgr 11 will have on their work. The questions this study asked were: How do teachers in physical education and health in schools for intellectually disabled argue about assessment and grading? In what way have teachers in physical education and health in schools for mentally disabled documented the progression of their pupils, with Lpo 94 as a framework? What tools of assessment have been used with Lpo 94 as a framework? and How do teachers in physical education and health in schools for intellectually disabled perceive Lgr 11? Method An inquiry of participation was sent to 50 active teachers in physical education and health in schools for intellectually disabled, year 7-10. Eight teachers agreed to participate in the study. Two of these eight teachers were excluded due to the type of school they worked in did not match the intended form of the study.  Interviews were then conducted with the six informants, at a place and time that suited the informants. The interviews were approximately 40 min long, semi-structured and the questions covered thoughts on grading and assessment in general, how the assessment process with Lpo 94 as a framework had been carried out along with  how the teachers perceived Lgr 11 and their thoughts on how their lessons will look, with Lgr 11 as a framework. Results The main purpose of the assessment process is gathering information to be able to make sure that the lessons maintain an appropriate level of difficulty, according to the interviewed teachers. Five out of six teachers questions the usage of grades in schools for intellectually disabled. Every other teacher claims that assessment in schools for intellectually disabled is difficult, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the groups of pupils. The way the different teachers document their pupils development differs from one-another, some teachers do not document the development at all, while some have elaborate methods for documentation. All of the teachers state that they assess their pupils through observation. The teachers’ collected impression of Lgr 11 is that the demands are higher than in Lpo 94 but three of the teachers mean that their familiarity with the new curricula for Physical education and health is poor. Conclusions The way the teachers in this study work with assessment and documentation of knowledge differs from one another. Some of the teachers seem to emphasize the importance of a functioning assessment process more than others. This can be related to what the teachers perceive as the purpose of physical education and health in schools for intellectually disabled. Furthermore it seems like the implementation of Lgr11 in physical education and health-classes has not received the attention needed in the schools in which the informants in this study are active. The reason for this lack of attention cannot be distinguished in the results of this study. Another study with a different focus would be necessary to investigate this matter.

1 Abstract Thesis name: Persons with mental retardation and their quality of life in context of Social Services transformation. Purpose of this thesis is to describe process, history, progress and risks of transformation of Social Services in Czech Republic. Target of this thesis is not transformation of Social Sevices in Czech Republic generally but it is targeted on Nalžovický zámek organization, Social Services provider where transformation is in progress from 2013. In thesis I investigate how clients using supported housing perceive this service in context of quality of their life. My thesis includes theoretical base focused on mental retardation, social services, institutional care. Purpose of this thesis is not representative research or academic analysis of data. Used information are extract from professional literatury and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs website. Main used method is narative interview. Thesis has six chapters. Results of my research are presented in chapter five and I consider this chapter as most important. Research shows clients of supported housing perceive this service in a very positive way and are satisfied. Feel this opportunity as a new way how to make quality of their life better.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:45:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1359.pdf: 738636 bytes, checksum: 685aa48f29438f2f91df93378290774f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-23 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Choice making is a fundamental skill for all individuals. Choice opportunities are related with important questions of human development, and of paramount importance to the development of clinical and educational programs for mentally retarded individuals. Despite its practical importance, little is known about the effects that choice may have in the work environment of this population. In this study, choice was investigated under two conditions: with and without environmental work support. Work performance was assessed as a function of conditions chosen. First, four mentally retarded adults learned to perform a work task under those two conditions. The task consisted of assembling notebook covers. An MDF (medium density fiber) board measuring 30cm by 40 cm, was employed as work support and displayed several low relief recipients to suit its different components and was designed to provide immediate feedback, to increase or maintain the rate of work response and to prevent errors during the task routine. A number of small pieces of paper, 2cm by 2cm, in different colors, pieces of thin cardboard, 10cm by 8cm, glue sticks, candies and chocolate bars previously chosen by the participants in preference tests were used. The study took place in quiet, well lit and ventilated room at the participants institution, isolated from other workshop clients. Following initial training the participants worked individually either under multiple schedules or under concurrent-chain schedules according to a multiple-element design. When the multiple schedules condition was on, the components were either presence or absence of work support, quasi-randomly distributed. Under the concurrent-chain schedules conditions a FR-1 was used on the first link, and either one of the two work alternatives, on the second link. Throughout the study, whenever the participant presented an error, verbal, gestual prompts and model were provided. Initially verbal prompts were provided and, if necessary, by gestual, verbal plus gestual prompts, and model, in this sequence, until the target responses were emitted. In relation to the parameters analyzed, the number of errors and prompts were higher working without work support than working with it, during the teaching phase. Baseline on task performance, under multiple schedules, showed prompts lower in the work support component in relation to the no work support component. Under concurrent chain schedule, however, the percentage of prompts under work support was higher in relation to the no work support alternative. As far as time spent to complete the task, in the teaching phase, two participants finished the work activity faster in the component without support. During baseline on task performance, under multiple schedules and chain concurrent schedules, three participants finished the task faster working with the work support. The results showed a preference for the work support alternative for two participants, while the other two distributed their choices evenly between the two alternatives. With the work support, time on task was relatively lower as compared to the no work support. The number of errors by P3 was different from the other participants, who showed a much smaller number of errors evenly distributed between the experimental conditions. Working with support was preferable from the participant s point of view. Besides that, under supported work, participants finished the task faster and the number of errors was kept in a low level. The participants could choose independently of his performance in the parameters analyzed. The study brings a contribution to vocational training programs for the severely retarded and to the development of a common interface with the areas of Behavior Analysis, Special Education and Ergonomics and brings practical implications for the design of teach procedures for mentally retarded. / A habilidade de fazer boas escolhas é fundamental para o sucesso da adaptação de indivíduos em seu ambiente social e relaciona-se com importantes questões de programação de ensino e de tratamento clínico para deficientes mentais. Apesar dessa importância, pouco se sabe sobre seus efeitos em ambientes de trabalho para esses indivíduos. O presente estudo analisou o comportamento de escolha de indivíduos deficientes mentais sob duas condições de trabalho e avaliou a influência da situação de escolha e de não escolha sobre parâmetros de desempenho nessas condições. Quatro indivíduos deficientes mentais adultos aprenderam uma tarefa de trabalho com e sem arranjo instrucional. A tarefa consistia em montar capas de blocos de anotações por meio da colagem de pedaços de papel dobradura sobre papel cartão. O arranjo, desenvolvido para a tarefa de trabalho, continha dispositivos para colocação de papel, fundo de capas de bloco de anotações e cola. Seu objetivo foi prover assistência imediata, aumentar ou manter a freqüência do comportamento e prevenir erros na rotina da tarefa. Em seguida, os participantes realizaram a tarefa alternadamente, sob esquemas múltiplos de reforçamento, ou sob esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, organizados em um delineamento experimental de múltiplos elementos. Nos esquemas múltiplos, os componentes se alternavam de forma quase randômica e diferiam com relação à presença ou ausência do arranjo instrucional. Nos esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, o participante pôde escolher, no primeiro elo, sob esquemas de razão fixa (FR 1), a alternativa, com ou sem arranjo instrucional, com a qual trabalharia no segundo elo. O desempenho sob esquemas múltiplos, sem escolha do componente, foi comparado com o desempenho sob esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, em que os participantes puderam escolher a alternativa com que iriam trabalhar para verificar a função da escolha sobre o desempenho nas alternativas, com e sem arranjo. Ao longo de todas as fases do estudo, à medida que o participante apresentasse erros, eram fornecidas instruções verbais, gestuais, e modelo. Inicialmente eram apresentadas instruções verbais, seguidas de gestuais e modelo, até que a resposta correta fosse emitida. Na fase de ensino, os participantes aprenderam os seis passos da tarefa e houve maior quantidade de instrução na presença do componente A, sem arranjo. Na fase de linha de base, nas tentativas com esquemas múltiplos, houve maior quantidade de instrução na presença do componente A; e nas tentativas com esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, houve maior quantidade de instrução na alternativa com arranjo. Nessa, tanto em esquemas múltiplos como em esquemas concorrentes com encadeamento, três dos participantes concluíram a tarefa mais rapidamente quando na presença do arranjo. Na situação de escolha, dois participantes apresentaram preferência pela alternativa com arranjo, enquanto dois distribuíram suas escolhas igualmente entre as duas alternativas. Três dos quatro participantes apresentaram um número de erros bastante reduzido e relativamente bem distribuído dentre as alternativas. A alternativa com arranjo instrucional mostrou ser uma opção preferível, sob o ponto de vista do indivíduo com deficiência mental. Além disso, trabalhando na presença do arranjo, os participantes concluíram a tarefa mais rapidamente e mantiveram o número de erros em nível baixo. A escolha foi exercida, portanto, sem prejuízo de seu desempenho nos parâmetros analisados. O estudo contribui para o desenvolvimento de programas de capacitação profissional do deficiente mental severo e traz implicações práticas importantes para o planejamento de ensino para essa população.

Cette thèse porte sur la gravitation et certains de ses liens avec la théorie des champs. Le point de départ de cette recherche a été l’étude de la limite newtonienne de la relativité générale. Très vite, notre intérêt s’est porté sur l’effet du temps retardé et son rôle dans l’absence d’aberration. Ce manque d’aberration est la raison pour laquelle la force pointe dans la direction instantanée (extrapolée) pour des sources sans accélération, malgré la vitesse finie de la gravitation (c’est aussi le cas pour l’électromagnétisme). Ceci nous a conduit à calculer le champ résultant entre deux masses accélérées avec la présence d’aberration. Nous avons en particulier considéré le mouvement de deux masses de telle façon que la force totale de Newton à une position s’annule alors que les effets du temps retardé soient bien différents de zéro. Nous avons pu calculer ces derniers et proposer deux situations où ils pourraient être observés dans le futur. L’étude de la linéarisation de la relativité générale a naturellement porté notre intérêt sur la physique du graviton, la version quantifiée de la théorie classique linéaire. Plusieurs travaux sur l’impossibilité d’observer directement ce graviton [1,2] ainsi que des expériences de pensée sur la possibilité de le quantifier ou non [3] ont piqué notre curiosité. C’est ce qui a lancé la recherche de la section efficace (et du potentiel) dans le cas d’une diffusion gravitationnelle sur une particule initialement dans une superposition spatiale. En parallèle de ces recherches, des discussions avec mon collègue Kévin Nguyen et la lecture de son article [4], ont attiré mon attention sur le problème de la constante cosmologique et l’élégante solution proposée. Cette dernière est basée sur l’ajout d’un scalaire couplé non minimalement avec la gravité et permet d’expliquer la valeur minuscule de la constante cosmologique par certains très petits paramètres du champ scalaire. Leur solution était cependant encore très théorique, car elle n’était valable que dans un univers sans matière. Nous avons donc analysé l’effet de la matière sur l’évolution du champ scalaire et montré que dans une partie de l’espace des paramètres, la théorie considérée résolvait le problème de la constante cosmologique tout en restant indistinguable de la relativité générale. / This thesis concerns gravitation and some of its connections with field theory. The starting point of this research was the study of the Newtonian limit of general relativity. Our interest was focused on the effect of retarded time and its role in the absence of aberration. Lack of aberration is the reason why the gravitational force points in the instantaneous (extrapolated) direction for unaccelerated sources, despite the finite speed of propagation of gravity (this also holds true for electromagnetism). Naturally this led us to compute the resulting gravitational field of accelerating masses, where aberration is not absent. In particular, we considered the motion of two masses such that their total Newtonian force at a position vanished but the retarded gravitational effects were non-zero. We were able to calculate these retarded effects and to propose two situations where they could be observed in the future. The study of the linearization of general relativity naturally arouse our interest toward the physics of gravitons, the quantized version of the linear classical theory. In particular, there has been much thought and literature on the impossibility of directly observing a graviton [1, 2] as well as thought experiments on the possibility of quantizing gravity or not [3]. This led to the calculation of the cross section (and gravitational potential) in the case of the gravitational scattering off a massive particle that is in a spatially non-local quantum superposition. In parallel with this research, some discussions with my colleague Kévin Nguyen about his article [4] on the problem of the cosmological constant, focussed my interest on this problem and the elegant solution proposed. The solution is based on the addition of a nonminimally coupled scalar and makes it possible to explain the tiny value of the cosmological constant through some small parameters of the scalar field. The solution is however very theoretical as it was only done in a matter free universe. We therefore examined at the effect of different kinds of matter on the evolution of the scalar field. We show that in one part of the parameter space, the theory we considered resolved the cosmological constant problem while being indistinguishable from general relativity.

The purposes of the study were (1) to determine the perceptions of high school principals and special education directors toward the participation by mentally retarded (MR) and learning disabled (LD) students in extracurricular activities in small, medium, and large schools, (2) to compare the perceptions of high school principals and special education directors, (3) to determine the perceptions of high school principals and special education directors toward the mandates of Public Law 94-142 which deal with extracurricular activities, (4) to compare the perceptions of principals and special education directors in regard to those mandates, (5) to compare the perceptions of high school principals in the three school sizes, and (6) to compare the perceptions of special education directors in the three school sizes. Based on the findings of this study the following conclusions are presented. 1. It appears that working closely with the special education program may help to improve perceptions toward students and laws affecting them. 2. It appears that principals’ perceptions may be improved through a more personal relationship with and awareness of MR and LD students and the laws affecting their education. 3. Low scores in regard to Public Law 94-142 may indicate an intolerance and lack of understanding of the law or philosophical differences in regard to mandated programs. 4. Low scores by principals in particular on the law section may be due to lack of ample time available to study the law. 5. There appears to be no differences in perceptions of principals in Texas high schools regardless of school size. 6. It appears that smaller schools with fewer special education students have special education directors with more positive perceptions than the directors in other school sizes.

Dans cette thèse nous avons étudié les fluctuations de courant, l'admittance quantique ainsi que la densité d'états pour un nano système en interaction. Dans la première partie de la thèse, nous avons étudié les fluctuations de courant et l'admittance pour un conducteur unidimensionnel, en décrivant le système par un liquide de Tomonaga-Luttinger. Les techniques de bosonisation et de refermionisation permettent d'avoir des résultats exacts. Ces résultats sont appliqués à un conducteur cohérent couplé à un quantum de résistance, et aux états de bord dans le régime de l'effet Hall quantique fractionnaire. Dans le cas d'un conducteur cohérent, le bruit non symétrisé à fréquence finie exhibe un profil différent de celui de la théorie de la diffusion, et la conductance à fréquence finie est directement liée au courant. Dans le cas des états de bord, nous avons établi une relation entre les corrélations de courant et l'admittance dans certaines limites. En particulier, les singularités qui apparaissent dans les corrélations de courant sont celles de l'admittance. Dans la deuxième partie, nous avons étudié un fil quantique connecté à deux réservoirs représentés par deux impuretés. Le système est décrit par un liquide de Tomonaga-Luttinger. Nous avons établi et résolu l'équation de Dyson pour la fonction de Green retardée. Ce qui permet de calculer la densité d'états pour un fil quantique homogène puis inhomogène. Dans le cas d'un paramètre d'interaction homogène, l'effet des impuretés modifie le profil de la densité d'états. Dans le cas d'un paramètre d'interaction inhomogène, le calcul de la densité d'états est plus difficile et une approche numérique est indispensable. / In this thesis we focus on the study of the current fluctuations, quantum admittance and density of states of an interacting nano system. The first part of the thesis is related to the calculation of current fluctuations and admittance for one dimensional conductor. The system is described by a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. The use of bosonization and refermionization procedures allows us to obtain exact results, valuable whatever the value of the applied voltage, for all frequencies and all temperature regimes. Tow cases are studied. In the first one, we consider a coherent conductor coupled to a quantum of resistance. We find that the finite frequency noise behavior differs from that of the scattering theory, and the finite frequency conductance is directly related to the current. In the second case, we study edge states in the fractional quantum Hall regime. We establish a relationship between the current correlations and the admittance in certain limits. Thus, the singularities observed in the current correlations are those of the admittance. The second part of the thesis is devoted to the study of an interacting quantum wire connected to tow leads modeled as two impurities. The system is described by a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. We derived and solved an exact Dyson equation for a retarded Green function. Than we calculate the density of states in two cases, homogeneous quantum wire, and next inhomogeneous one. The effect of the impurities changes the behavior of the density of states for the homogeneous case. In the case of a position depending interaction parameter, the calculation of the density of states is more difficult and a numerical approach is needed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of implementing community based care for moderately mentally retarded persons in a specific centre in the Port Elizabeth area. The objectives of the study were to identify • the needs of the moderately mentally retarded children. • the physical, psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation means of meeting these needs. • how involved the communities, parents and government were in the care of moderately mentally retarded children. A quantitative, exploratmy and descriptive design was used. A sample of 50 moderately mentally retarded children was utilised. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The major research findings indicate that community care for MMRPs could only be feasible with sufficient resources, expertise and community involvement. All these aspects appeared to be lacking in the centre where this research was conducted raising questions as to benefits which the mentally retarded children and their parents and the community could derive from these services. However recommendations were made on identified shortcomings, problems and needs. / Health Science / M.A.(Nursing Science)