Individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties in forming functional communication. The purpose of this study was to replicate Ishizuka and Yamamoto (2016) to determine which intervention, contingent vocal imitation or contingent vocal responses, produced the highest level of vocalizations of young children diagnosed with ASD in a play-based setting. For the contingent vocal response treatment phase, the experimenter vocally responded to each child vocalization with a response that was topographically different than the child's response. For the contingent vocal imitation treatment phase, the experimenter vocally imitated the child's vocalization with a topographically identical response. Two children diagnosed with ASD, ages 41 and 57 months, participated in this study. An alternating treatment design was used to compare the effects of each treatment on increasing child vocalizations. . Results indicated that contingent vocal imitation resulted in a higher number of child vocal imitations for both children. Results also indicated that contingent vocal responses and contingent vocal imitation produced comparable levels of overall vocalizations, which replicated the findings of Ishizuka and Yamamoto (2016). / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Hintergrund: Zur Begutachtung von Riechschäden werden immer häufiger objektive Befunde benötigt. Die bisher meist übliche Registrierung olfaktorisch evozierter Potenziale (OEP) ist technisch aufwändig und von der Atemtechnik des Probanden abhängig. Zur Diagnostik der Anosmie und Parosmie wird hier die methodisch einfachere Messung der "contingent negative variation" (CNV) eingesetzt. Patienten und Methode: An 25 Probanden mit normalem Riechvermögen und 16 Patienten mit dem subjektiven Befund einer Anosmie nach Unfallverletzung wurden OEP- und CNV-Messungen vorgenommen. Bei der "direkten" CNV sollte der Proband einen Ton aufmerksam erwarten, der einem Duftreiz nach 1,5 s folgte. Für die "selektive" CNV wurde nur einer von zwei zufällig wechselnden Duftreizen mit einem Ton als Zweitreiz markiert, der eine Erwartungsreaktion auslösen sollte. Ergebnisse: Für die beiden Versuchsarten wurde bei 21 bzw. 23 der Probanden mit normalem Riechvermögen eine eindeutige CNV gefunden. Das OEP fehlte in 4,3 % aller Messungen. Bei den Patienten mit Anosmie war in keinem Fall ein OEP bzw. eine CNV vorhanden. Die Amplituden der "selektiven" CNV sind signifikant höher als die der "direkten" CNV. Für die Ergebnisse bei weiblichen und männlichen Probanden ergab sich kein signifikanter Unterschied. Schlussfolgerung: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein objektiver klinischer Riechtest mit CNV-Ableitung möglich ist. Im Gegensatz zur OEP-Messung, deren Ergebnis von der Reaktion auf die Reizparameter abhängt, ist die CNV ein Maß für die kognitive Bedeutung des Reizes. Die einfache Reiz- und Messtechnik könnte zur weiteren Verbreitung der objektiven Olfaktometrie beitragen. / Background: An objective smelling test is indicated for a reliable assessment of olfactory disorders. Usually olfactory evoked potentials (OEP) are registered. But the technique of this measurement is complicated and the generation of the OEP depends on the respiration of the subject. Alternatively, the contingent negative variation (CNV) can be used in the diagnosis of anosmia and parosmia, requireing only a simple olfactory stimulator. Subjects and Method: OEP and CNV were derived from 25 adults with normal smelling and from 16 patients with anosmia after head injury. First, the "direct" CNV was registered when the subjects expected a tone following a smell stimulus after 1.5 s. Using two different odors in a random order, the tone only followed one of them, so the "selective" CNV was scored. Results: In both tests a distinct CNV was found in 21 and 23 normal smelling subjects, respectively. OEPs were absent in 4.3 % of this control group. No patient with anosmia showed an OEP or a CNV. The amplitudes of the "selective" CNV are significantly higher than those of the "direct" CNV. No gender dependency was found. Conclusion: The results show that an objective olfactometry can be realized by registration of CNV. Contrary to the measurement of OEP which depend on the physical parameters of olfactory stimuli, CNV correlates well with the cognitive identification of odor.

The aim of this thesis is to shed more light into practical challenges related to pricing of contingent convertibles by empirically evaluating validity of two most crucial modelling assumptions of contingent convertible pricing framework. First assumption is that contractually specified capital ratio can be proxied by stock price level. Second modelling assumption is that volatility smile characteristic for stock market can be also incorporated into the contingent pricing model. First assumption is tested by comparison of probability of conversion implied by balance sheet figures with probability implied by market spreads. Analysis of our dataset indicates that probability implied by figures reported on balance sheet of issuer is statistically higher than probability estimated by market participants, suggesting that there is a confidence that reported figures do not fully represent the capital position of issuer and its ability to raise additional capital and revert the potential conversion. New information available on balance sheet also does not tend to immediately and fully materialize in contingent convertibles market. Secondly, incorporation of volatility smile characteristic for stock market leads to very low and unstable trigger level compared to level implied by balance sheet. Finally,...

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The investment and financing instrument AT1, or Contingent Convertible bond, has become popular in the post-crisis capital markets, prompting interest and research in the academic world. The instrument's debt definition but equity boosting properties makes it rather extraordinary, and its stochastic features makes multiple mathematical valuation methodologies relevant, especially with regard to the risk of extending the call date of the instrument. With investors still relying on screening tools for valuation, there is an absence of applications using existing mathematical approaches. This report therefore aims to narrow the gap between academia and industry by evaluating the use of such mathematical approaches in a practical investment setting, in particular the Improved Credit Derivative approach and the Extension Premium Relative Value approach shall be examined. Both models strive to account for the extension risk, a commonly disregarded yet critical risk, adding computational challenges to the implementation. Besides from discovering necessary practical adjustments, and their effects, the two pricing approaches are compared in an attempt to confirm their joint purpose of accounting for extension risk. Ending up with varying results consisting of evident offsets for the improved credit derivative model but significant correlations in the case of the extension premium model, their individual performance was diverse while the hypothesis of joint behaviour could be dismissed. / Investerings- och finansieringsinstrumentet AT1, eller Contingent Convertible bond, har blivit populärt i kapitalmarknaderna efter finanskrisen, vilket lett till intresse och forskning i den akademiska världen. Instrumentets grund som skuld men egenskaper för att tillskjuta eget kapital gör det extraordinärt, och dess stokastiska funktioner öppar upp för flertalet värderingsmetoder, speciellt gällande förlängningsrisken hos datumet för kallning. Eftersom att investerare fortfarande använder sig utav screening-verktyg för värdering finns det endast begränsad forskning rörande användande av matematiska metoder. Denna rapport har därför som mål att minska avståndet mellan den akademiska världen och industrin genom att utvärdera användandet av sådana matematiska metoder för praktiska investeringar, särskillt skall Improved Credit Derivative och Extension Premium Relative Value metoderna användas. Båda modellerna strävar efter att ta hänsyn till förlängningsrisken, en risk vanligtvis bortsedd ifrån men trots det kritisk, vilket tillägger ytterligare beräkningsutmaningar vid implementationen. Bortsätt ifrån att upptäcka praktiska justeringar och dess effekter jämförs de två värderingsmetoderna i ett försök att bekräfta deras gemensamma syfte, att ta hänsyn till förlängningsrisken. Att i slutändan nå blandade resultat besående av uppenbara avvikelser för improved credit derivative modellen men starka korrelationer i fallet av extension premium modellen gjorde att man kunde dra slutsatsen att deras individuella prestanda skilde sig medan hypotesen om gemensamt beteende kunde avfärdas.

Contingent convertible bonds (often referred to as CoCo bonds, or simply CoCos) are a relatively new financial instrument designed to absorb unexpected losses. This instrument became increasingly more common after the financial crisis of 2008, as a way to decrease the risk of insolvency among banks and other financial institutions. In this thesis, we will investigate two mathematical models for valuation of CoCo bonds, known as the credit derivative approach and the equity derivative approach, previously developed by De Spiegeleer and Schoutens [1]. We will investigate how these models can be modified in order to be applied to a large set of bonds available on the market. The effect of parameter alterations will also be studied, in order to determine which parameters that influence the pricing accuracy the most. We reach the conclusion that by estimating market triggers, conversion prices and by computing a continuous interest rate from a discrete rates table, the models are indeed executable on a large set of bonds available on the market. However, these parameter estimations come at the cost of reduced accuracy. In general, both investigated models produces prices which follows the overall movements of the market prices quite well, but at the same time with a relatively large absolute distance from the market prices. In other words, the correlation with the market is often high, but the absolute error (measure by root mean square error) is often large. The sensitivity analysis of the parameters shows that the market trigger is the most influential parameter in both investigated models. The fact that we had to estimate the market trigger in order to be able to price a large number of bonds is believed to be the main cause of reduced accuracy. By utilizing a more bond-specific parameter estimation, the accuracy of the investigated models could most likely be improved. We can conclude that there is a trade-off between being able to price a large set of bonds with a mediocre accuracy, or being able to price a few bonds with high accuracy. / Det finansiella instrumentet contingent convertible bond (ofta benämnt CoCo bond, eller endast CoCo) är en relativt ny obligationstyp som används av banker och andra finansiella institutioner för att absorbera oväntade förluster. Instrumentet blev mer vanligt förekommande efter finanskrisen 2008, som ett sätt att minska risken för insolvens. I detta examensarbete undersöker vi två matematiska modeller för värdering av CoCo bonds, nämligen den så kallade credit derivative approach och equity derivative approach, som tidigare har utvecklats av De Spiegeleer och Schoutens [1]. Vi kommer att undersöka hur dessa modeller kan modifieras för att bli applicerbara på ett stort antal obligationer tillgängliga på marknaden. En omfattande parameterstudie kommer att genomföras, för att dra slutsatser kring de mest betydelsefulla parametrarna för prissättningen. Genom att skatta så kallade market triggers, conversion prices och en kontinuerlig ränta är det möjligt att exekvera de undersökta modellerna på ett stort antal obligationer. Dessa skattningar medför dock en viss försämrad noggrannhet. Generellt sett följer priserna från modellerna marknadens rörelser ganska väl, men är samtidigt ganska långt ifrån marknadspriset. Med andra ord är korrelationen hög, men absolutfelet är relativt stort. Parameterstudien visar att parametern som kallas market trigger är mest betydelsefull för prissättningen. Faktumet att vi måste skatta market triggers för att kunna prissätta ett stort antal obligationer tros vara den största anledningen till försämrad noggrannhet. Genom att använda en mer ”obligationsspecifik” skattning av parametrar bör noggrannheten kunna förbättras. I dessa modeller är det en tydlig avvägning mellan att kunna prissätta många obligationer med relativt låg noggrannhet, och att kunna prissätta få obligationer med hög noggrannhet.

Ökade flexibla anställningsformer har inneburit ett ökat intresse för det psykologiska kontraktet. Psykologiska kontrakt har visats ha en avgörande funktion i anställningsrelationen. Forskning gällande konsulters psykologiska kontrakt och specifikt ingenjörer är begränsad. Studien syftar därför till att undersöka ingenjörskonsulters upplevda innehåll i deras psykologiska kontrakt med konsult- respektive kundföretag. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sju konsulter från fyra konsultföretag och intervjuerna analyserades induktivt och tematiskt. Resultatet identifierade 4 centrala teman: kundföretagets förväntningar på konsulten, konsultens förväntningar på kundföretaget, konsultföretagets förväntningar på konsulten samt konsultens förväntningar på konsultföretaget. Vidare har 14 kategorier inordnats under respektive tema. Resultaten som bidrar med nya kunskaper avseende på innehållet i det triangulära psykologiska kontraktet utifrån ingenjörskonsulters perspektiv, diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning om psykologiska kontrakt.

The social cognitive theory of Depression proposed by Rothbaum et al. (2008) integrates theory originating from the motivation, cognitive and rumination literature. Following stressors, those with vulnerable self-beliefs are predicted to adopt performance goals that aim to avoid threats to self-worth, necessitating protective mechanisms like rumination. Both the goals themselves and rumination serve to protect self-worth but are proposed to have depressogenic consequences. This theory, combined with literature on contingent self-worth and trait rumination in depression, led to an elaborated social cognitive model whereby rumination mediates the relationship between goal orientation and depression. The current study aimed to test this model. Seventy two healthy participants participated in an experimental manipulation of goal orientation prior to a difficult anagram task and rated their sadness, anxiety, and state rumination following a stressor and during a subsequent sustained attention task. The results suggested many of the hypotheses about condition differences were not supported and this may have been due to an unsuccessful task goal manipulation. However extrinsic contingent self-worth based on other’s approval was found to moderate the effect of goal orientation on task based depressive affect and rumination. For those reporting high contingent self-worth based on other’s approval, cuing a performance goal was related to significantly higher sadness and rumination following a stressor than cuing mastery goal. Findings suggest that therapy specifically focusing on assessing extrinsic contingent self-worth and associated vulnerable self-beliefs, and encouraging the adoption of mastery goals may be therapeutically beneficial in making people less reactive to stressful life events.

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Thesis (MAcc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die belastingaftrekbaarheid van werknemerverwante voorwaardelike aanspreeklik-hede, met spesifieke verwysing na die verkoop of beëindiging van ʼn besigheid, is in meegaande studie ondersoek. Dit word bevind dat in die geval van die beëindiging van ‘n besigheid, alle voorwaardelike aanspreeklikhede op datum van beëindiging van die besigheid, waarskynlik nooit vervul kan word nie, spesifiek in geval waar dit gekoppel is aan die vereiste dat ʼn werknemer op ʼn toekomstige datum steeds in diens moet wees van die besigheid. Die voorwaardelike verpligting word dus nooit vervul nie en geen betalings hoef aan voormalige werknemers gemaak te word nie. Geen aftrekking aan die voormalige werkgewer word dus toegestaan in gevalle waar verlof- of bonusbetalings gemaak word na beëindiging van die besigheid, indien die verpligting nie reeds onvoorwaardelik bestaan het voordat die beëindiging van die besigheid plaasgevind het nie. Dit word verder bevind dat in die geval waar ʼn besigheid gelikwideer word, die voormalige en voornemende werkgewer se verpligting teenoor die werknemers se voorwaardelike aanspreeklikhede verval. Verder is dit ook waarskynlik dat geen belastingaftrekking toegestaan sal word nie, omrede die voorwaardelike aanspreeklikheid nie vervul is op datum van likwidasie nie. Dit word verder bevind dat in die geval waar ʼn besigheid as lopende saak verkoop word, die voornemende werkgewer ingevolge Artikel 197 van die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge verplig word om alle dienskontrakte, tesame met alle regte en verpligtinge wat bestaan tydens die oordrag, oor te neem asof hy in wese in die skoene tree van die voormalige werkgewer. Voorts word die voormalige werkgewer ook gebind aan die betaling van bedrae, soos deur die verkoopskontrak bepaal, of andersins in gevalle waar die voornemende werkgewer nie die verpligting om te betaal, kan nakom nie. Beide die voormalige en voornemende werkgewer bly dus wetlik aanspreeklik vir die betaling van bedrae soos uitgestippel in die verkoopskontrak, in gevalle waar ‘n besigheid as lopende saak verkoop word. Dit word verder bevind dat die Inkomstebelastingwet ‘n belastingaftrekking moet toestaan aan die voormalige of voornemende werkgewer wat ‘n werknemerverwante-betaling maak uit hoofde van die wette soos neergelê deur die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge. Sodoende sal die Inkomstebelastingwet die oogmerke van die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge onderskraag, met gevolglike voordelige uitwerking op die ekonomie en beskerming van werknemers se werksekuriteit. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the tax deductibility of employee-related contingent liabilities, with specific reference to the sale or discontinuation of a business. It is concluded that in the case of the discontinuation of business activities, all contingent liabilities at the date of discontinuation (with the specific requirement that employees will still be employed by the business at a future date) will probably never be fulfilled. The contingent liability is thus never fulfilled and no payments need be made to the former employees. No tax deduction is therefore granted to the former employer where leave or bonus payments were made after the discontinuance of business activities, if the liability did not unconditionally exist prior to the discontinuance of the business. It is further concluded that in the case of the liquidation of a business, the former and prospective employers are released from any obligation towards the contingent liabilities of the employees. Furthermore it is also unlikely that any tax deduction will be granted, due to the contingent liability being unfulfilled at the date of liquidation. It is further concluded that in the case where a business is sold as a going concern, the prospective employer is obliged to take over all existing employee contracts as well as all rights and obligations existing at the time of transfer, in terms of Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act. The former employer is also bound to the payment of amounts, as stipulated by the contract of sale, or otherwise in cases where the prospective employer cannot honour the liability to pay. Both former and prospective employers are legally liable for the payment of amounts as stipulated in the contract of sale, in cases where a business is sold as a going concern. It is further concluded that the Income Tax Act should allow a tax deduction to the former or prospective employer who makes an employee-related payment in terms of the Labour Relations Act. As a result the Income Tax Act will support the objectives of the Labour Relations Act, resulting in a positive effect on the economy as well as the protection of employees’ work security.