OF MASTER THESIS Author: Bc. Kateřina Králová Supervisor: MUDr. Tereza Gueye Title of master thesis: Evaluation of Occupational Therapy Intervention in Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation of Cerebrovascular Units Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the evaluation of occupational interventions on the specific separation of beds of early rehabilitation of the cerebrovascular center of the General University Hospital in Prague. The subject of interest is primarily the results of the assessment obtained through the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The thesis has two main objectives, namely mapping and analyzing the tools used to assess self-sufficiency and cognitive functions in the department. You can find the description of the evaluation tools in the theoretical part of the thesis. It is also an overview of the topic of the selected topic and a brief description of the system of cerebrovascular care in the Czech Republic. The second objective was to evaluate variables such as length of hospitalization and cognitive status in relation to patient self-sufficiency at the end of hospitalization. Three hypotheses have been identified to meet this goal. The practical part describes the results of the used tools for a particular department. The research group...

OF MASTER THESIS Author: Bc. Kateřina Králová Supervisor: MUDr. Tereza Gueye Title of master thesis: Evaluation of Occupational Therapy Intervention in Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation of Cerebrovascular Units Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the evaluation of occupational interventions on the specific separation of beds of early rehabilitation of the cerebrovascular center of the General University Hospital in Prague. The subject of interest is primarily the results of the assessment obtained through the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The thesis has two main objectives, namely mapping and analyzing the tools used to assess self-sufficiency and cognitive functions in the department. You can find the description of the evaluation tools in the theoretical part of the thesis. It is also an overview of the topic of the selected topic and a brief description of the system of cerebrovascular care in the Czech Republic. The second objective was to evaluate variables such as length of hospitalization and cognitive status in relation to patient self-sufficiency at the end of hospitalization. Three hypotheses have been identified to meet this goal. The practical part describes the results of the used tools for a particular department. The research group...

The difficulties experienced by children in their middle school age resemble problems with emotional intelligence. It is increased by cultural differences between the child, therapist and social environment. This research problem led to a culturally sensitive Gestalt play therapy intervention programme, to enhance primary school children's emotional intelligence. An intervention was developed, applied and the outcomes thereof studied. The outcomes relate to play therapy techniques, emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity. The researcher made use of applied research, and thus focused on solving the social problem as stated above, and making a contribution to real life issues. A literature study, related to the concepts of the unit of analysis showed the following: The primary school child has high energy levels and presents concrete reasoning abilities. His self-esteem is based on good interpersonal relationships and achieving tasks. Emotions and other physical and cognitive systems are interdependent. Emotional intelligence is the awareness, management and control of emotions, relate to the functions of the frontal lobes and also to the requirements of a healthy individual according to Gestalt therapy. Culture is connected to the field in Gestalt theory. Cultural sensitivity in this research study meant an attitude of acceptance of cultural differences. Gestalt therapy is based on holism, which includes the environment or field. Gestalt play therapy in a group context was found to be an effective way to teach emotional intelligence skills in a culturally sensitive way to primary school children. The intervention programme was applied to pilot- and research groups, compiled from children who were assessed with the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (Naglieri and Das, 1997a) and who presented weaker frontal lobe processes in relation to their other cognitive skills. The outcomes of the research study identified the most effective Gestalt play therapy techniques, which are: The healing therapeutic relationship The use of experiential learning The Gestalt principle of "biding one's time" The study also delivered some unsuspected outcomes namely a relation between right-hemisphere processes and emotional intelligence. This study is still open for further research relating to the concepts discussed above, the intervention programme as well as the unsuspected outcomes. / Social Work / D.Diac.

The changing nature of work and its competitive characteristics are global phenomena and are mainly fuelled by ongoing technological advancement. This creates unique challenges for talent attraction and the retention of high performing individuals. In addition, the global workforce is becoming more diverse due to demographic, societal and cultural changes and companies are placing greater demands on employee competency and performance. Managing the human factor as a strategic asset in organisations remains a primary challenge in securing a competitive advantage. The road construction industry in South Africa is no different. There is growing competition between civil engineering contractors to secure tenders and to maximise profitability. This is only possible with a sufficient and sustainable labour force. Valid selection processes are therefore required to ensure that the most productive individuals are selected for the most suitable jobs. Reliable and valid performance predictors will assist employers in making appropriate selection decisions. Selecting high performing individuals will support and enhance overall organisational performance. ix In this study the investigation focused on whether psychomotor ability and learning potential are statistically significant predictors of work performance - with specific reference to drivers and machine operators in a road construction company. A quantitative approach was followed to investigate the relationships between variables, or then the prediction of one dependent variable (driver and machine operator performance) by means of two independent variables (psychomotor ability and learning potential). Results from the study did not indicate any statistically significant relationships between the variables. Only scientifically validated assessment instruments were used in the study - which means the findings led to a renewed focus on the importance of performance measurement and the psychometric quality (reliability and validity) of performance data. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:40:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Aguilera Moura Antonio.pdf: 3227595 bytes, checksum: 13f68f34c956d0858fb8c908b4721f80 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-08 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The cognitive assessment in childhood enables early detection of cognitive deficits, allowing for more effective intervention. In Brazil, there is a shortage of cognitive assessment instruments available for children under 5 years old. Among the international instruments, highlights the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R) used for the evaluation of nonverbal intelligence. The Leiter-R covers the age range from 2 to 20 years old and it composed by Visualization and Reasoning Battery (VRB) and the Attention and Memory Battery (AMB). The aim of this study was to determine validity and reliability of VRB in children aged 2 and 3 years old. The study included 107 children of both genders, which 49 are children aged 2 years and 58 are children aged 3 years. All children attending public kindergartens in city of São Paulo. The Spearman-Brown coefficients were around 0.90 and the Cronbach's Alpha around 0.70, indicating good accuracy of the instrument. The analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences by age for all subtests. In addition, BVR showed significant positive correlations with the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale (CMMS), the Test of Infant Working Memory (TIWM) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). The analyzes revealed no significant differences between boys and girls. Thus, the results indicate good fit of the psychometric parameters of the BVR Leiter-R for assessing 2 and 3 years old children. These results fulfill basic requirements indicate good psychometric quality. / A avaliação cognitiva na infância possibilita a detecção precoce de déficits cognitivos, permitindo uma intervenção mais eficaz. No Brasil, há uma escassez de instrumentos de avaliação cognitiva disponíveis para crianças menores de 5 anos. Dentre os instrumentos internacionais, destaca-se a Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R), utilizada para avaliação da inteligência não verbal. A Leiter-R abrange a faixa etária dos 2 aos 20 anos e é composta pela Bateria de Visualização e Raciocínio (BVR) e pela Bateria de Atenção e Memória (BAM). O objetivo do presente trabalho foi verificar evidências de validade e fidedignidade da BVR em crianças de 2 e 3 anos de idade. Participaram do estudo 107 crianças de ambos os sexos, sendo 49 crianças de 2 anos e 58 de 3 anos. Todas as crianças frequentavam creches públicas da cidade de São Paulo. Os coeficientes de Spearman- Brown ficaram em torno de 0,90 e de Alfa de Cronbach em torno de 0,70 indicando boa precisão do instrumento. As análises de variância mostraram diferenças estatisticamente significativas em função da idade para todos os subtestes. Além disso, a BVR apresentou correlações positivas e significativas com a Escala de Maturidade Mental Columbia (EMMC), o Teste Infantil de Memória de Trabalho (TIMT) e o Teste de Vocabulário por Imagens Peabody (TVIP). As análises não revelaram diferenças significativas entre meninos e meninas. Desta maneira, os resultados encontrados indicam boa adequação dos parâmetros psicométricos da BVR da Leiter-R para avaliação de crianças de 2 e 3 anos de idade. Esses resultados preenchem requisitos básicos que indicam boa qualidade psicométrica do instrumento.

L’objet de ce travail est de mieux comprendre les modifications cognitives et cérébrales liées à la sclérose en plaques (SEP) et les facteurs pouvant les affecter afin de contribuer à améliorer la prise en charge cognitive des personnes vivant avec une SEP. Nous avons orienté nos travaux selon 2 axes. Le premier visait à optimiser les évaluations cognitives. Nous avons montré une diminution de la qualité de vie (QdV) liée à l’atteinte cognitive et à son retentissement sur le statut professionnel, ainsi que l’intérêt d’utiliser l’Echelle d’Humeur Dépressive version auto-questionnaire que nous avons validée et dont la dimension « perte de contrôle émotionnel » était particulièrement associée à la QdV. Nous avons aussi élaboré des tâches « écologiques » en environnement virtuel et montré leur potentiel à évaluer plusieurs composantes cognitives, voire leurs interactions, suggérant leur intérêt pour évaluer l’impact des troubles cognitifs dans les activités quotidiennes. Le second, pour lequel nous avons présenté les bases théoriques, la méthodologie et les résultats préliminaires, consistait à améliorer la prise en charge cognitive grâce à son évaluation et à la réhabilitation (étude REACTIV, en cours). Nous avons créé des paradigmes en IRMf et un programme de réhabilitation spécifique visant à guider les phénomènes de plasticité cérébrale afin d’optimiser le transfert des acquis dans la vie quotidienne et améliorer la QdV. Lors des résultats préliminaires, nous avons identifié en imagerie multimodale des mesures IRM de deux structures prédictives de la progression de certaines performances cognitives au cours de nos thérapies : le thalamus et le corps calleux. / The purpose of this work is to better understand the cognitive and brain changes associated with multiple sclerosis and the influencing factors to help improve cognitive support for people living with MS. We organized our work according to two axes. The first one was to optimize cognitive assessments. We have shown i) a decrease in quality of life (QoL) linked to cognitive impairment and its impact on the professional status and ii) interest in the use of Depressed Mood Scale self-questionnaire that we validated and whose lack of emotional control dimension was particularly associated with QoL. We also developed ecological tasks in virtual environment and showed their potential to evaluate several cognitive components or their interactions, suggesting an interest in evaluating the functional impact of cognitive impairment in daily activities of PwMS. The second, for which we presented the theoretical basis, methodology and preliminary results, was to improve cognitive care through its assessment and rehabilitation (REACTIV study in progress). We created fMRI paradigms and a specific rehabilitation program to guide brain plasticity phenomena in order to optimize the transfer of training in daily life and improve QoL. Preliminary results in multimodal imaging revealed MRI measures of two structures, the thalamus and the corpus callosum, which would be predictive of progression of certain cognitive performance during our therapies.

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The basal ganglia (BG) are a group of brain nuclei situated deep in the cerebral hemispheres. While BG were primarily associated with motor functions, in recent years there has been an increasing evidence that BG are also significantly involved in a wide range of non-motor functions. This work focused on some of the non-motor symptoms associated with two typical basal ganglia disorders: Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). The first study concerned spatial navigation impairment in patients with HD. Their spatial navigation skills were tested using the Blue Velvet Arena, technique evaluating spatial navigation in real space, capable to selectively differentiate between two components of spatial navigation - allocentric (environment-oriented) and egocentric (self-oriented). Allocentric navigation is linked to hippocampal function, whereas egocentric navigation is usually associated with striatum, a structure predominantly affected in HD. We found that spatial navigation is not significantly affected in the early stages of HD and that in more advanced stages, when spatial navigation is already impaired, there is no significant difference between allocentric and egocentric navigation impairment. We speculate that the striatal involvement does not contribute to the impairment of the...

La première partie de ce travail de thèse est une revue de la littérature portant toutd'abord sur les origines du concept de métacognition et sur les différentes définitions etmodélisations du concept de métacognition proposées en sciences de l’éducation etpsychologie développementale. Sont ensuite abordées les expérimentations proposées dans lechamp de la psychologie cognitive et les études menées dans le domaine spécifique de lamétamémoire. L’utilisation en psychologie cognitive du concept de métacognition estégalement évoquée, à travers la littérature portant sur les liens existants entre métacognition etconscience de soi. Enfin, le dernier point abordé dans cette revue de la littérature porte surl’utilisation en pratique clinique du concept de métacognition, notamment concernant lesaltérations métacognitives dans la schizophrénie.La deuxième partie de la thèse est consacrée aux études expérimentales réalisées.L’objectif de ces études était de développer et d’explorer dans une population non clinique lescaractéristiques d’un outil de mesure de la conscience métacognitive sur la mémoire à courtterme, la mémoire de travail, la mémoire épisodique verbale, les fonctions exécutives, et lacognition sociale. Nous avons évalué dans une première étude l’impact de cette procéduremétacognitive sur les performances cognitives. Une deuxième étude avait pour objectifd'explorer la pertinence de l’utilisation de l’évaluation « on-line » de la consciencemétacognitive, pendant la tâche neuropsychologique, comparativement à une procédure «end-line », juste après la passation du test neuropsychologique, ainsi que l’impact des mesuresd’estime de soi, anxiété et symptomatologie dépressive sur les scores de consciencemétacognitive « on-line ».Dans la troisième partie de cette thèse, les résultats sont discutés, et mis enperspectives avec l’objectif, à savoir utiliser cet outil de mesure de la consciencemétacognitive auprès d’une population de sujets souffrant de schizophrénie. / The first part of this thesis is a literature review focused on the origin, the differentdefinitions and models of the concept of metacognition in educational science anddevelopmental psychology. This literature review focused also on the cognitive psychologyexperiments, in the specific area of metamemory. The use of cognitive psychology concept ofmetacognition, through the literature on the links between metacognition and self-awarenessis then discussed. Finally, the last point in this literature review focused on the clinical use ofthe concept of metacognition, particularly concerning metacognitive alterations inschizophrenia.The second part of the thesis is devoted to experimental studies. The aim was todevelop and explore the characteristics of a metacognitive awareness measurement tool onshort-term memory, working memory, episodic memory verbal, executive functions andsocial cognition in a non-clinical population. The impact of this metacognitive process oncognitive performance, the relevance of an "on-line" metacognitive awareness measure(during the neuropsychological task), and an "end-line" metacognitive awareness measure(just after the award of neuropsychological testing) were explored. The impact of measures ofself-esteem, anxiety and depressive symptoms on metacognitive awareness scores "on-line"were studied.The third part of this thesis proposed to discuss the different results found and theappropriateness of using metacognitive awareness assessment tool with persons sufferingfrom schizophrenia.