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Entry into kindergarten marks the beginning of formal education and has the potential to pave the way for future academic success or failure. The transition into school is expected to be a challenging time for children and their families and these challenges are likely to be enhanced for children with developmental delays (DD). Despite the importance of this period, school transition for children with DD has not been well researched. Twenty-nine parents of preschool aged children with DD, and 17 parents of children without DD participated in three one-hour phone interviews throughout the course of the child’s transition into school. The Double ABCX Model was used as a framework for the current study to measure the outcome of transition (X) (using quality of life and school readiness), which is influenced by characteristics of the child (A), resources (B) and parental perceptions (C). The objectives of the study were to: 1) describe a sample of children and their families who were transitioning into school, investigate the similarities and differences between children with DD and without DD, and investigate changes over the course of transition; and 2) determine which factors contribute to a successful transition for children with and without DD. Results showed that children with DD had lower adaptive and higher maladaptive behaviour; and were utilizing more formal services and participating in less social activities than children without DD. Parents of children with DD reported lower family income, higher parental stress, different patterns and types of perceptions, and different use of coping. Very few variables changed over the course of transition. There were no significant predictors of the child’s quality of life; and only adaptive behaviour predicted all aspects of school readiness, with family income also predicting the child’s social and emotional well-being. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-03 00:38:05.333

A study has been carried out at the University of Edinburgh in order to examine how physics students’ abilities and attitudes towards study change during their time at university. This is a large topic with numerous possible avenues of research, as a result the field has been narrowed for this thesis in order to focus on three main subject areas; how students adapt during the transition from school to university, how students attitudes towards studying physics change during an undergraduate degree and, finally, student data handling skills in the undergraduate laboratory with links to whether student perceptions of their data handling skills are consistent with their ability. It has been found that students may face difficulties going from school to university study. Students potentially face gaps in their prior learning due to differences in school leaving qualification syllabi, which is compounded by instructors having expectations of student ability that are higher than student actual ability. It has been seen that students become less positive in their attitudes towards study over the course of their first year of instruction, potentially due to a drop in confidence. In the subject area of attitudes towards study, longitudinal studies have been carried out in order to examine the expert-like thinking of students. Results gathered are suggestive of a selection effect with the most expert-like thinkers possessing levels of expert thinking similar to those of physics instructors, even when initially entering the degree program. Investigation of student laboratory work has shown that there is a large gap between student estimations of their own ability and the reality of such skills. This has been demonstrated by contrasting the results of surveys examining student perceptions towards practical work with data gathered from a data handling diagnostic test that has been designed and implemented as part of this thesis.

Bakgrund: Varje år insjuknar flera hundra patienter i njursvikt i Sverige och i början av 2011 var det cirka 3000 patienten i hemodialys. Tidigare forskning visar att dialysen påverkar patienten på många olika sätt bland annat genom kroppsliga besvär så som trötthet och nutritionsbesvär som leder till begränsningar, det har framkommit att det är viktigt att patienten får känna sig delaktig och har en kunskap om sin sjukdom. Syfte: Studiens syfte har varit att beskriva livsförändringar för njursviktspatienter som genomgår hemodialys. Metod: Examensarbetet är ett kvalitativ deskriptivt arbete, baserad på 9 intervjuer med njursviktspatienter som behandlas med hemodialys och i analysen användes en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet visar att livet i hemodialys upplevs som fångenskap att livet är begränsat både i form av tid men även den egna kroppens begränsningar. När en tid har gått infinner det sig ett lugn, en stund att vara för att sedan komma vidare innan tacksamhet och acceptans till det nya kan infinna sig. Teman som framkom var; från frihet till fångenskap, övergång till det nya livet och det nya livet. Slutsats: Patienten upplever att dialysen styr deras vardag istället för att patienten kan styra sin dag med hemodialys.

The thesis discusses the main issues of demographic transition theory and uses this in a comparative analysis of fertility movements in three socio-economically different Brazilian regions over the twentieth century. The regions are the Northeast and the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The analysis points to a clear movement towards smaller family sizes in all regions. The movement started early in the twentieth century (or before) among white women living in Rio de Janeiro. These women were probably the better off. This behaviour was followed by white Sao Paulo women after about two decades and by the 1980s had reached most women independently of socio-economic status. The diffusion of the value of a small family and the legitimatization of contraception as well as some adjustment to mortality decline seem to have played an important role in this process. Although fertility declined in all regions, a single pattern of fertility change, as delineated by the classical view of demographic transition theory, was not found. Fertility rates were always in movement, declining and increasing. The strategy used for the decline was, mostly, an earlier stopping of reproduction. However, later onset and longer spacing also became important, especially at a more advanced stage of the fertility decline. A clear and single association between socio-economic variables and family size was not observed. Each variable played a somewhat different role in the reproductive behaviour of the three societies. Mass communication contributed to the diffusion of the small family size value. The process of diffusion resulted in a separation of socioeconomic and intermediate variables. This points to the existence of a component of social pressure in the fertility decline. Indications of a continuation of fertility decline in the near future are present. However, hints of a convergence in fertility rates and their stabilization at replacement level were not found. Fertility rates may reach levels below replacement in Rio and Sao Paulo. Regional fertility differences are likely to continue. This suggests the presence of regional and individual preferences in the reproduction process or conscious choice along with some degree of institutional pressure.

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