The purpose of this study was to evaluate the process and outcomes of using the Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior (TTYC) with two kindergarten classroom teachers and two high functioning children with autism spectrum disorders engaging in moderate problem behavior during daily classroom routines. The focus was to evaluate the extent to which the kindergarten teachers could adequately use the TTYC toolkit with minimal behavioral consultation in the assessment and intervention process and to examine its impact on student behavior. A multiple baseline design across routines was used for each child to evaluate the child outcomes. The results indicated that the teachers successfully used the TTYC toolkit to design and implement routine-based intervention plans with fidelity, and their implementation of the intervention plan led to increased replacement behavior and decreased problem behavior across routines for both children. Improved levels of behaviors were maintained at 2-week follow up for one child.

The educational achievement and well-being of looked after children are a priority nationally and locally. The majority of looked after children enter the care system due to abuse and neglect and foster care is the most common placement type (DfE, 2012). Early experience of abuse and neglect is associated with changes to development in the frontal brain regions resulting in executive function difficulty. Executive functions are a collection of interrelated but distinct functions with responsibility for purposeful, goal-directed, problem-solving behaviour (Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000). Evidence of neural plasticity in the prefrontal cortex suggests executive function development can be supported. The two main methods of support are computer based training, such as in working memory training which yields immediate gains but may not be sustained or generalised (Melby-Lervåg & Hulme, 2013) and ecological executive function interventions, which are promising but are mainly used with pre-school samples (Bryck & Fisher, 2012).Parental involvement in children’s education is promoted nationally (DCSF, 2008) and valued by carers (Cooper & Johnson, 2007). Consultations between carers and professionals can indirectly support fostered children (Osborne & Alfano, 2011) but few studies have evaluated the use of consultation to support executive function development in fostered children (Lansdown, Burnell, & Allen, 2007). A multiple case-study design, with embedded units of analysis, was adopted to qualitatively explore the implementation processes and outcomes of a school-based intervention that adapted conjoint behavioural consultation (CBC) (Sheridan & Kratochwill, 2007) to support executive function development of children in foster care. Both cases consisted of a school-aged fostered child, living in the north west of England, with prior experience of abuse and/or neglect. The participants across cases were two educators and three carers and data gathering consisted of semi-structured interviews and participant-observation. Data analysis utilised thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and a cross-case analysis (Yin, 2009) identified common themes alongside themes pertinent to each case. The findings indicate that an adapted CBC retains the relational objectives which are received positively by participants but outcome objectives are more variable. The limitations of the study and the implications for educational psychologists, stakeholders, and future research are highlighted.

From 2008-2012, the Harper government engaged in an effort to reform Canada's copyright legislation. This thesis uses a frame analysis approach to identify two distinct frames advanced by the government during this reform. 2008's Bill C-61 was unsuccessfully framed as a "Made-in-Canada" bill in order to combat opposition claims that American pressure unduly influenced the policy process. Following the failure of this bill, the government embarked on a public consultation on copyright. Although the government did not substantively modify subsequent reform bills, it was able to leverage the consultation process and Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence to lend legitimacy to its new frame of the reform as a "balanced approach", build a coalition of support, and mitigate opposition. The thesis' analysis supports key conclusions of existing framing literature and creates a space for the role of ideas in the study of copyright reform in Canada.

This research project explores and evaluates the usefulness of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a methodological framework for Educational Psychology consultations with young people. A significant part of the role of an Educational Psychologist (EP) can be to hold consultations with young people in secondary schools who are perceived to be experiencing difficulties or challenges. These difficulties can often prevent young people from engaging positively in the learning opportunities available to them putting them at risk of under achievement and possible exclusion from school. AI is more commonly known as an organisational development methodology, however by drawing explicitly from the philosophical and theoretical paradigms of social constructionism and the social model of disability, this project’s unique contribution to knowledge is to reconfigured AI as a framework to engender the inclusion and participation of young people in identifying positive changes at school. AI is a change methodology that begins with the premise that within any system or organisation there already exist success, positive experiences, and strengths that are life giving and life affirming. The nature of the exploration is centred on uncovering narrative accounts of what is already working in order to inform any future change.The project was based within a secondary school and was designed specifically to run concurrently with an ‘in house’ programme of support run by the school’s Learning Mentor, so that data from the AI consultations could be used to inform and support the work of the Learning Mentor. The findings (both content and process) indicated that AI consultations with students can support their inclusion and participation. Students identified change through co-constructing alternative narratives that challenged the ‘authority’ view of the students’ difficulties. The process of using AI as a methodology in this way is described as a multidirectional cycle (differing from traditional AI cycles which are presented as unidirectional). Being fluid, flexible and emancipatory the AI consultation framework is considered both useful and appropriate in providing an epistemological basis for Educational Psychology practice.

Este artículo analiza la evolución de la tenencia de recursos en laAmazonía peruana y la relaciona con la protesta indígena de losaños 2008 y 2009. A través de este análisis, se plantea que existendos visiones de desarrollo contrapuestas: la del gobierno y el grancapital por un lado, y la de los pueblos indígenas por el otro. Si biendurante la protesta el gobierno reprimió desproporcionadamentea los indígenas especialmente en Bagua, con lamentables cruentosresultados, el derecho de los pueblos indígenas a la consulta, basadoen el Convenio 169 de la OIT, quedó colocado en el debate nacional.Sin embargo, el gobierno ha mostrado gran resistencia parareconocerlo, pues esta consulta implicaría una serie de restriccionessocioambientales a la forma en que se desarrollan las industriasextractivas y las grandes obras de infraestructura en la Amazonía.Se sostiene que el conflicto continuará si no se desarrollan políticaspúblicas en favor de los pueblos indígenas. Para que estas se dense requiere, a su vez, de una visión diferente de desarrollo desde elEstado y el Gobierno.El análisis de la tenencia de recursos en la Amazonía se basaprincipalmente en información del Sistema de Información sobreComunidades Nativas, base de datos georreferenciada manejada porel Instituto del Bien Común. Asimismo, el artículo basa su análisisen bibliografía secundaria y en el seguimiento a los acontecimientospor la autora, como especialista en el tema. / This article analyzes the evolution of the natural resources tenure inthe Peruvian Amazon, and its relation with the indigenous protest ofthe years 2008 and 2009. The authoress argue that during the indigenousprotest aroused two opposite visions of development: the visionof the government supporting the big capital interests in one side,and the vision of the indigenous peoples defending their territoriesas a source of their material and identity survival. Nevertheless, theAwajún and Wampis suffered the disproportional repression of thegovernment in Bagua, with bloody results, the main four decreesthat were in the origin of the protest, because they threatened thejuridical security of indigenous peoples territories were derogated,and the indigenous peoples right to be consulted, established by theConvention 169 of the International Law Organization, was placed inthe center of the national debate. Nevertheless, the government hasresisted its application, because these consultations would imply aseries of socio environmental conditionings to the extractive industriesand the big scale infrastructure constructions. The authoresssustains that the conflict will continue if public policies in favor ofindigenous peoples would not be developed. For the establishmentof these public policies another vision of development is requiredfrom the State and government.

A interconsulta cardiológica corresponde a uma parcela considerável das atividades assistenciais e de ensino do cardiologista, refletindo gasto extra de tempo e recursos. Apesar disso, essa atividade não tem recebido a devida atenção da literatura, com poucos estudos sobre o tema. O objetivo do presente estudo foi, primariamente, comparar a evolução clínica dos pacientes envolvidos na interconsulta cardiológica que tiveram as recomendações seguidas pela equipe médica solicitante (grupo ACEITADOR) com aqueles em que as recomendações não foram seguidas (grupo NÃO ACEITADOR). De forma secundária, procuramos identificar as variáveis determinantes da aceitação das sugestões da equipe cardiológica. Para isso, foi realizado um estudo observacional envolvendo pacientes internados no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, para os quais foram solicitadas interconsultas cardiológicas, no período de março a setembro de 2008. Os dados referentes às interconsultas foram coletados pelo investigador de maneira prospectiva a partir do prontuário dos pacientes. Dentre as 589 interconsultas selecionadas para o estudo, 271 consistiam em avaliações clínicas e 318 avaliações pré-operatórias. Em relação à taxa de aceitação das recomendações cardiológicas, 77% dos pacientes foram classificados no grupo ACEITADOR e 23% classificados no grupo NÃO ACEITADOR. A análise da evolução clínica demonstrou que, dentre os pacientes do grupo NÃO ACEITADOR, 38,8% evoluíram de forma desfavorável (piora clínica ou óbito) contra 5,4% dos pacientes do grupo ACEITADOR (P<0,0001). Após análise de regressão logística, pertencer ao grupo NÃO ACEITADOR (P<0,001; OR 10,25; IC 95% 4,45 - 23,62) e a idade dos pacientes (P=0,017; OR 1,04; IC 95% 1,01 1,07) estiveram associados de forma independente a uma evolução clínica desfavorável. Foram identificados quatro preditores independentes de aceitação das recomendações: a realização de visitas de seguimento (P<0,001; OR 2,43; IC 95% 1,48 4,01), reforço verbal das recomendações (P=0,001; OR 1,86; IC 95% 1,23 2,81), número de recomendações sugeridas (P=0,001; OR 0,87; IC 95% 0,80 0,94) e idade dos pacientes (P=0,002; OR 0,98; IC 95% 0,96 0,99). Portanto, na presente análise, a não aceitação das recomendações da equipe cardiológica por parte da equipe médica solicitante esteve associada a uma evolução clínica desfavorável dos pacientes envolvidos. A realização de visitas de seguimento, reforço verbal, número limitado de recomendações e a menor idade dos pacientes estiveram associados a uma maior aceitação das recomendações da equipe cardiológica / Cardiology referral represents an important part of cardiologist activities, accounting for substantial workload and demanding extra time and resources. Despite the importance of these facts, it has received little attention in the medical literature in the last years. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcome of patients involved in cardiology referral who had the cardiologic recommendations followed by the requesting service (ACCEPTING group) with those whose recommendations were not followed (NON-ACCEPTING group). Secondly, we aimed to determine which of the variables involved in cardiology referral were related to acceptance to consultants recommendations. An observational study was performed at Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, involving cardiology consultations during the months of March 2008 through September 2008. Data regarding consultations were prospectively extracted from the medical records by a physician-researcher. Among the 589 cardiology consultations selected for the study, 271 were clinical evaluations and 318 were preoperative evaluations. Regarding compliance of the referring service in following the recommendations offered by cardiology team, 77% of patients were classified in the ACCEPTING group and 23% in the NON-ACCEPTING group. A clinical outcome analysis was performed and showed that 38,8% of patients allocated to NON-ACCEPTING group had evolved unfavorably (clinical deterioration or death) against 5,4% of patients allocated to accepting group (P<0.0001). After logistic regression analysis, belong to NON-ACCEPTING group (P<0.001; OR 10.25; CI 95% 4.45 23.62) and patients age (P=0.017; OR 1.04; CI 95% 1.01 1.07) were variables independently associated to an unfavorable clinical outcome. The multivariate analysis indentified 4 independent predictors of acceptance to consultants recommendations: follow-up notes in the chart (P<0.001; OR 2.43; CI 95% 1.48 4.01), personal communication (P=0.001; OR 1.86; CI 95% 1.23 2.81), number of recommendations (P=0.001; OR 0.87; CI 95% 0.80 0.94) and patients age (P=0.002; OR 0.98; CI 95% 0.96 0.99). Therefore, in this analysis of cardiology referral, a poorer acceptance of cardiologic recommendations was associated to an unfavorable clinical outcome. Follow-up notes in the chart, personal communication, limited number of recommendations and lower patients age were associated to greater acceptance of cardiologic recommendations

Pregnancy is a condition leading to an important strain on thyroid morphology and function.A normal functioning of the thyroid gland in the mother is essential for the early fetal development, since the fetal thyroid does not produce thyroid hormones until the end of the first trimester (approximately 12 to 14 weeks).The impact of thyroid dysfunction (and especially hypothyroidism) during pregnancy is well documented and has been associated with a number of obstetrical complications, such as premature delivery, low birth weight and even fetal death. In view of all changes in thyroid physiology during pregnancy the ATA (American Thyroid Association) guidelines recommend using trimester- and population-specific normality ranges, to define thyroid dysfunction. It is proposed to determine them in pregnant women without thyroid antibodies (TPO) and without severe iodine deficiency. Due to the few numbers of randomized clinical trials, there is still no consensus whether all pregnant women should be screened or only women at risk for the development of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy.Thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy is caused in most cases by the presence of thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) and also the altered pregnancy outcomes in most studies are associated with the presence of TAI.Besides the presence of TAI, other factors might also change, influence and/or modify thyroid function. When we started our research, there were only few studies that investigated the impact of other variables, such as iron, BMI, smoking habit and/or the background of the pregnant women on the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction during the first trimester of pregnancy.The aims of the thesis were therefore, to investigate: • the association between the iron reserve status (ferritin levels), thyroid (dys)function and autoimmunity, corrected for confounders such as age, BMI, smoking habit and the time of blood sampling;• the impact of the ethnic background of the pregnant woman on thyroid function and autoimmunity, corrected for confounders such as age, BMI, smoking habit, and the time of blood sampling. Furthermore, to determine ethnic-specific reference ranges and investigate their impact on the diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction;• the impact of changes in thyroid function within the normal reference range in women free of thyroid autoimmunity on pregnancy outcomes, corrected for established covariates (age, BMI, smoking) and iron reserve as candidate new variable.• whether targeted high-risk screening for thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy could be improved with the inclusion of iron status and ethnicity to the actual risk factors defined in the ATA-GL.The results can be summarized as follows:Thyroid function during pregnancy can be influenced by variables others than thyroid antibodies such as the iron status and the ethnical background of the women. However, their impact on thyroid function is less important compared to that of thyroid antibodies. No significant impact of well-known variables (BMI, age, smoking) and others such as iron has been shown on clinical pregnancy outcomes when thyroid function remained within the normal range and no thyroid antibodies were present.We have shown that adding variables such as iron deficiency, ethnic background and obesity to the currently provided list of factors leading to a high-risk for the development of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy, might improve the detection rate of subclinical hypothyroidism to comparable rates obtained in case of universal screening. / Doctorat en Sciences médicales (Médecine) / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Non-compliance with pieces of legislation may be considered the root cause of qualified, disclaimer and adverse opinions that continue to emerge in South African municipalities. One of those pieces of legislation is the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003. The study has assessed compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act at Blouberg Municipality in terms of public consultation and management of the municipal budget. The researcher has used qualitative method in this study. Public consultation plays a significant role in a budgetory process of the Municipality, Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 requires Municipalities to take public views into consideration when compiling a budget. The objectives of local government are often defeated by maladministration because of non- compliance with legislations such as Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003. This can be supported by audit outcomes (2011-11) from the office of the Auditor General. The report states that during the year 2010-11 forty Municipalities had not been audited because they did not submit annual financial statement on time which is a requirement in terms of the MFMA. The objective of the study is to assess compliance with the Municipal Finance Management in the Blouberg Municipality in terms of Public consultation and the competency of the Municipal officials to implement MFMA. During the study, it was found that Blouberg Municipality has embarked on Municipal Finance Management training in order to capacitate its officials to be able to implement MFMA and little has been done in terms of public consultation as members of the public were not aware of their responsibilities in terms of the Municipal budget. It is recommended that the Municipality should review its communication strategy to ensure maximum participation of the public and to create a conducive environment for public participation. / Public Administration and Management / M. P. A

The Sámi are a marginalized group in Sweden, there are a lot of preconceptions of them as the indigenous group of Sweden, like most States that has indigenous groups living within their boarders, clashes with the majority population will occur. The Swedish State has created management municipalities to help the Sámi gain control over some specified collective rights. The Sámi has, for example, collective rights assigned to them specifically because they are a people who internationally and nationally are recognized as the indigenous people of Sweden. This thesis sets out to investigate what rights the Sámi have to use their language and language education in connection to the management municipalities, and if Sweden, as a state that holds itself so high concerning the rights of indigenous peoples and a guardian of human rights for all, actually grant the Sámi the rights they are entitled to. I will do so by using a qualitative method and content analysis method which will draw on a liberal theory of collective rights. The research will show, that Sweden has indeed established the management municipalities to maintain rights assigned to the Sámi, however it does not provide all rights reserved and in some cases it actually violates the rights for the indigenous population.

Vi har i vår studie undersökt vad som förväntas av specialpedagogens arbete som kvalificerad samtalspartner i förskolan samt undersökt förskollärares olika erfarenheter av specialpedagogisk handledning. Begreppet handledning diskuteras i stort för att sedan smalnas av och koncentreras på specialpedagogisk rådgivning och att vara en kvalificerad samtalspartner. Studien syftar till en ökad förståelse för vad specialpedagogisk handledning består av och komplexiteten i handledningsuppdraget.Det empiriska materialet består av nio inspelade intervjuer från förskollärare verksamma inom förskolan. Resultat består av fem teman; Att bli sedd och känna trygghet, Att bolla idéer, Att få ledning, Att få tid och Risken med råd. Utifrån tidigare forskning och empiri skapade vi en modell för att tydliggöra strategier i specialpedagogisk handledning. Med hjälp av vår specialpedagogiska handledningstriangel anser vi att specialpedagogen får ett praktiskt verktyg för specialpedagogisk handledning. Den specialpedagogiska handledningstriangeln kan därför ses som en modell och verktyg i arbetet för att säkerställa kompetensutveckling. Där pedagogers förväntningar och erfarenheten utgör grunden och specialpedagogens kompetens tillsammans bidrar till lärande som gynnar förskolans verksamhet. Slutsatserna är att pedagoger behöver känna sig trygga både i sin egen yrkesroll samt i sitt arbetslag. De behöver kontinuerlig handledning i grupp för att stärkas i sin yrkesroll och sitt arbetslag. Den specialpedagogiska handledningen bidrar då till att pedagoger vågar och kan omsätta de kunskaper och det lärande de fått i handledningen till sin yrkespraktik. Detta är av största vikt för att kunna tillgodogöra sig och omsätta kunskap och strategier för verksamhetens fortsatta utveckling. / The purpose of our essay is to examine what is expected of SENCOs´ to work as a qualified dialogue partner in preschool and to analyze the different preschool teachers' experiences of SENCOs´ guidance. The concept of pedagogical consultation is largely discussed and then narrowed down and concentrated on special educational counselling as well as qualified dialogue partners. This is to provide an understanding of what SENCOs´ consultation consists of and to give a picture of the complexity of the consultation assignment. The empirical material consists of recordings from nine interviews from preschool teachers working within the preschool. Our results consist of five themes; To be seen and feel secure, Feedback, To receive guidance, Time and Risk with advice. Based on previous research and empiricism, we created a model to clarify strategies in SENCOs´ consultation. With help from our Special Educational Tutorial Triangle, we believe that SENCOs´ gets a practical tool for special educational guidance. The Special Educational Tutorial Triangle can therefore be a model for SENCOs´ and a tool in their work to ensure development for preschool teachers. Where preschool teachers' expectations and experience form the foundation and SENCOs´ competence together form learning that benefits the preschool activities. Our conclusions are that the preschool teachers need to feel secure both in their own professional role and in their work team. They need continuous consultation in groups to strengthen their professional role as well as the team. The Special Educational Tutorial Triangle then contribute to preschool teachers’ ability to use their knowledge and learning they have gained into their work experience. This is of the utmost importance in order to be able to utilize and translate knowledge and strategies in order to develop the preschool organisation.