A study was carried out to assess the effect of parental absence upon a child's subsequent verbal and numerical aptitude. The primary focus was on father-separated children (both male and female), but small samples of students who had been separated from mother or from both parents were included. Age of separation (up to six years old), and length of separation (three months or longer), were the primary independent variables investigated. The necessary information was obtained from questionnaires that were mailed to approximately 1,000 first year University of B.C. students (academic session 1967-68). The age and length of separation was subsequently verified in a separate letter to the parents. Verbal and numerical aptitude was measured by the Cooperative School and College Ability Test (SCAT), and the achievement scores obtained in first year university English and Mathematics courses. The father-separated male students demonstrated greater aptitude in verbal abilities relative to numerical abilities. The length of the separation was insignificant, but a separation after the child was eighteen months old produced a greater increase in verbal skills (relative to numerical ability), than a separation before eighteen months. Father-separated male students attained a higher mean score in the first year English course than students from intact homes. There was no significant difference between mean mathematical scores obtained by the two groups. The presence or absence of brothers in the homes of father-separated males did not significantly affect aptitude development. Father-separated female students demonstrated greater proficiency in verbal abilities relative to numerical abilities. This superiority of verbal aptitude relative to numerical aptitude was significantly higher than that demonstrated by girls who had not been separated from a parent. The results for the two independent variables, age and length of separation, were similar to those observed for males. The samples of students who were separated from mother or both parents during childhood were too small to permit meaningful analyses. Some interesting trends in the data were discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thirty-six subjects participated in a restricted environmental stimulation technique (REST) study investigating the psychophysiological effects of flotation. Subjects floated for one hour under differing expectations regarding duration of a float session and the physical properties of the environment that was to follow. EMG and two measures of cardiac activity (T-wave amplitude and heart rate) were recorded for the entire session; however, EMG was dropped as a variable due to an excessive noise-to-signal ratio. It was found that neither durational expectations nor beliefs about a dissimilar environment had any significant effects on the patterns of response of the two remaining variables. Subjects did show a significant within-subjects trend when considered as a whole group. Further research in the area of cardiovascular and muscle activity patterns in the flotation tank is suggested. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the research was to explore the relationship between relative deprivation and the attitudes driving consumption of upwardly mobile South Africans. Various propositions presented in the literature were tested within the context of upwardly mobile South Africans. Two areas of focus of this study is (1) the extent and impact of relative deprivation on attitudes towards consumption and personal finances, and (2) an assessment of the differences in attitudes towards consumption and personal finances of this group. The study found that this group has a high level of self-esteem and cannot be defined as relatively deprived. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that social comparison within this group does not encourage consumption for the purpose of the achievement of social status. Of particular relevance to South Africa is that the study has demonstrated that there are very few differences in attitudes between the different race groups. This confirms that upwardly mobile South Africans are fairly homogenous in terms of their experience of relative deprivation given that both upwardly mobile blacks and whites have high self-esteem. It also demonstrates that the experience of relative deprivation by the different race groups may be more consistent with each other than previous studies have shown. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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The five senses are something we rely on to perceive our external world. Through an architectural sense, meditative and relaxing experiences establish themselves. How one is influenced by their surroundings a sense of self sparks a connection between body and place. Architecture, along with the phenomenon of synesthesia, brings another level of understanding of the world. With architectural spaces that enclose and water, a sense can be amplified and advanced to the forefront of the accompanying senses. Through the perception of one sense through another, the question of how the senses are in association with each other arises. With being submerged underground, a meditative refuge for the self embodies the five senses and the sense - less. Sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound work collectively to convey the experience of synesthesia. The perception of senses through another creates unique experiences and evokes self awareness. / Master of Architecture / The five senses [ sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste ] are something we rely on to perceive our external world. Through an architecture of sense, meditative and relaxing experiences establish themselves. This sense of self sparks a connection between body and place. Architecture, along with the phenomenon of synesthesia, brings another level of understanding of the world. With architecture and water, a sense can be amplified and advanced to the forefront of the accompanying senses. Through the perception of one sense through another, the question of how the senses are in association with each other arises.

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Both sleep deprivation and loss of situation awareness (SA) have been cited as primary causal factors contributing to the accident and injury rate in the military and civilian sector (e.g., transportation). Despite the numerous references to both factors as causal in nature, much of the literature on the effects of sleep deprivation on executive function is anecdotal. Research has produced mixed results regarding the nature and extent of performance degradation on a variety of lower-level and executive function tasks. Similarly, although SA has been cited as a significant contributor to operational performance, there is still considerable debate over the definition and construct validity of SA. Thus, a 29-hour hour sleep deprivation study was conducted to analyze the effects of sleep deprivation on both lower-order cognitive tasks (e.g., attention and working memory) and executive function tasks (e.g., reasoning, planning, decision making, and SA). In conjunction with the sleep deprivation analysis, the relationships among lower level cognition, executive function, and situation awareness were analyzed to form hypotheses about the SA construct and its relationship to complex task performance. Forty-eight participants were administered a series of cognitive tasks during baseline and sleep deprived testing sessions. Paired t-tests and additional post hoc analyses were conducted to determine the effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Regression and factor analysis were used analyze the relationship among lower-order cognition, executive function, situation awareness, and complex task performance. Paired t-test results showed degraded vigilance in response to sleep deprivation, but did not indicate degraded executive function. Results of additional post-hoc analyses on executive function data indicated a trend toward degraded decision making and a trend toward increased planning errors in response to sleep deprivation. The results of the regression and factor analyses provided initial support for a dynamic, process definition of SA and illustrated the importance of considering SA as part of information processing as a whole in order to improve performance prediction. Based on the results of this dissertation, engineering recommendations were made for developing an "ideal" SA measurement technique and improving existing SA measurement techniques. Additionally, future sleep deprivation and situation awareness research directions were suggested. / Ph. D.

No / Amblyopia is the condition in which reduced visual function exists despite full optical correction and an absence of observable ocular pathology. Investigation of the underlying neurology of this condition began in earnest around 40 years ago with the pioneering studies conducted by Hubel and Wiesel. Their early work on the impact of monocular deprivation and strabismus initiated what is now a rapidly developing field of cortical plasticity research. Although the monocular deprivation paradigm originated by Hubel and Wiesel remains a key experimental manipulation in studies of cortical plasticity, somewhat ironically, the neurology underlying the human conditions of strabismus and amblyopia that motivated this early work remains elusive. In this review, the authors combine contemporary research on plasticity and development with data from human and animal investigations of amblyopic populations to assess what is known and to reexamine some of the key assumptions about human amblyopia.

Yes / Area level factors, such as deprivation and urban/rural settings, have been associated with variation in local resources and services and health inequality in later life. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential impact of deprivation and urban/rural areas on capability to live well with dementia and to examine whether availability of informal carers modified the associations. The analysis was based on a large cohort study of 1547 community-dwelling people with dementia across Great Britain. Quality of life, life satisfaction, and well-being were measured as indices of "living well." Multivariate modelling was used to investigate differences in living well measures across deprivation quintiles and urban/rural areas adjusting for sociodemographic factors and number of comorbidities and stratifying by three groups: those living with a carer, those with a noncoresident carer and those without a carer. Negative dose-response relationships between deprivation and measures of quality of life (-2.12; 95% CI: -3.52, -0.73), life satisfaction (-1.27; 95% CI: -2.70, 0.16), and well-being (-5.24; 95% CI: -10.11, -0.36) were found in participants living with a carer. The associations were less clear in those with a noncoresident carer and those without a carer but these two groups generally reported lower scores on living well indicators than participants living with a carer. There was no urban/rural difference. The findings suggest inequalities in living well with dementia according to levels of deprivation. Additional resources are needed to improve postdiagnostic care in highly deprived areas and support those who have no informal carer.