The current studies addressed two questions regarding early social behaviour in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) that have not yet been directly explored. In Study 1 we examined the hypothesis that impaired imitation in this group may reflect a diminished social motivation to engage, rather than a core deficit in imitation. Young children with and without ASD engaged in imitation tasks during which controlled manipulations of reward (social and non-social) were administered for target behaviours. Children with ASD displayed increased levels of imitation with the incentive of an external reward in comparison to when this reward was absent. There was no differential impact of social versus non-social rewards. Typically developing (TD) children performed similarly, irrespective of whether or not reward was administered. We suggest that young children with ASD may be capable of imitating when appropriate incentives are present. Study 2 explored the breadth of social challenges faced in young children with ASD by examining a later-developing domain of social functioning that may be compromised by early social difficulties. We explored the tendency of children with ASD to engage in helping, sharing, and comforting behaviour in situations where the need for the prosocial behaviour was displayed and in perceptually similar situations where the need was absent. Children with ASD displayed low levels of helping and sharing, but provided comfort at levels consistent with TD children. For both comforting and sharing, children with ASD successfully discerned situations where a need was present from when it was not and adjusted their behaviour accordingly. We suggest that children with ASD may require different ‘conditions’ to engage in social behaviours at the same level as their TD peers and suggest future research to this end. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-27 22:10:12.095

No description available.

Les temps de declin de la luminescence de KCl:Ga('+), KBr:In('+), KI:Sn('2+), KI:Tl('+) ont ete mesures dans la region de temperature 3.3-300K; l'analyse des resultats permet d'obtenir des renseignements detailles sur la surface d'energie potentielle adiabatique de l'etat excite relaxe. / Une etude des temps de declin sous champ magnetique est presentee; les resultats sont interpretes a l'aide de la theorie des perturbations en premier ordre a l'interieur d'un modele ou le couplage electron-reseau (effet Jahn-Teller) domine le couplage spin-orbite. A basse temperature, la probabilite de transition radiative varie lineairement avec le carre du champ magnetique; la presence de composantes independantes du champ dans le signal de declin de luminescence permet la determination de la symetrie de l'etat excite relaxe. La valeur du parametre g (facteur de Lande) de l'etat excite est obtenue de l'analyse des donnees. / On a pu ainsi attribuer une nouvelle bande d'emission de KI:Sn('2+) a un dimere d'ions Sn('2+) accompagne de lacunes cationiques stabilisatrices. De meme, l'origine de la bande A(,x) de KI:Tl('+) a ete attribuee a un minimum de symetrie trigonale sur la surface d'energie potentielle adiabatique de l'etat excite relaxe.

Nickel molybdenum oxide catalysts with different chemical compositions have been synthesized and tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-hexane. The co-precipitation method was used for the synthesis and several methods were used to characterize these catalysts. These include inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, temperature programmed reduction, temperature programmed desorption, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy techniques as well as the Brauner-Emmet-Teller technique for surface area determination. The phase composition of the catalysts was largely dependent on the chemical composition. Catalyst testing on n-hexane feed was done with a fixed bed continuous flow reactor and experiments were performed with feed/air ratios above and below the flammability limit. Varied reaction conditions were used for the catalytic testing. Prior to the catalytic testing, blank experiments were performed. Analysis of the products were done both online and offline in conjunction with gas chromatography employing FID and TCD detectors. The influence of the catalyst on the conversion of n-hexane and selectivity to dehydrogenation products is reported. Products observed were the carbon oxides (CO and CO2), isomers of hexene (1-hexene, 2-hexene and 3-hexene), cyclic C6 products (cyclohexene and benzene), cracked products: alkanes/alkenes (propane/ene, butane/ene) and oxygenates (ethanal, acetic acid and propanoic acid). B-NiMoO4 was most selective to the hexenes, especially, 1-hexene and a reaction scheme is proposed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

In this thesis, we investigate the impact of channels that have a bursty nature in a cognitive radio network scenario. Our goal is to design a general channel usage model that can handle bursty primary user channel usage. The proposed model describes idle periods with a discrete platoon arrival process and describes busy periods with a discrete phase type distribution. The performance of the proposed model is compared with two more traditionally encountered channel usage models in three different secondary user access schemes. First, we design a reactive access scheme to show the poor performance results an in- vestigator can potentially obtain when ignoring bursty data traffic. We have also analyzed two proactive secondary network access schemes. Numerical results show that the achiev- able utilization and interference probability of the network are affected when traditional channel models are used in a bursty PU channel.

No description available.

Since the passing of the Education Act (1989) special education policies and documents have promoted partnership as a key component of establishing relevant and inclusive school practices. Professionals and families have been encouraged to work together to resolve issues for children with disabilities. However, little information is available to families and professionals about how to negotiate and achieve authentic partnerships. This thesis makes an important contribution to current knowledge about partnerships by investigating how a group of people (a parent, teacher, paraprofessional and teacher/researcher) make sense of working together to support the inclusion of a student with ASD in his regular school. It is hoped that our descriptions of how we have worked together may help other professionals and families in similar situations. In saying this, the lessons we have learned are ours and are peculiar to the context in which we worked. In New Zealand partnership between professionals and families of children with disabilities is usually enacted through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process. This study utilises an alternative partnership model, the Quality Learning Circle (QLC). The participants’ learning journeys are described and the experience of partnership for the participants is discussed. Data are drawn from a range of sources to identify those strategies that support, and barriers that hinder, the development of authentic partnerships. Findings identify those conditions that were essential for the partnership in this study to work effectively. Within this research I contrast the key dimensions of the IEP and QLC, showing the IEP process to be wanting. I suggest a partnership model that embraces a dual focus on both the student and those supporting him/her is a more effective tool for supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities. It is argued that there is a lack of recognition in current funding criteria for the difference an effective partnership can make in supporting the inclusion of students ii with severe behavioural challenges. Consideration needs to be given to the costs and issues of ineffective partnerships, with a particular focus on current Ministry of Education practices.

No description available.

In this thesis, we investigate the impact of channels that have a bursty nature in a cognitive radio network scenario. Our goal is to design a general channel usage model that can handle bursty primary user channel usage. The proposed model describes idle periods with a discrete platoon arrival process and describes busy periods with a discrete phase type distribution. The performance of the proposed model is compared with two more traditionally encountered channel usage models in three different secondary user access schemes. First, we design a reactive access scheme to show the poor performance results an in- vestigator can potentially obtain when ignoring bursty data traffic. We have also analyzed two proactive secondary network access schemes. Numerical results show that the achiev- able utilization and interference probability of the network are affected when traditional channel models are used in a bursty PU channel.

Objectives: 1) to determine if children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encounter difficulties accessing dental, 2) to identify barriers that diminish access to dental care for this population. Methods: This descriptive study is based on a web-survey conducted at the Geneva Centre for Autism in Toronto between November 2008 and March 2009. Forty-nine multiple choice questions including open-ended fields were developed. Parents of children with ASD (ages 5–18) completed the survey. Results: The majority of participants visited a dentist regularly (71%) and had private dental insurance (64%). Parents/caregivers were more likely to have difficulties finding a dentist as unmarried parents (OR=3.7, P=0.075) or when their level of education was high school/less (OR=10.4, P=0.043). Conclusions: The majority of children/adolescents with ASD had access to dental care. Difficulties accessing dental care were related to family structure, parents’ education and their perception of dentists’ knowledge of ASD.