This thesis introduces a new modeling approach that allows very large power systems to be modeled on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs. The key step in achieving this is the development of an improved wide-band multi-port equivalent, which reduces a large power network into a small manageable equivalent model that preserves wideband behaviors. This approach has a foundation method that use a two part equivalent in which the high frequency behavior of the equivalenced network is represented by a terminating frequency dependent network equivalent (FDNE), with the low frequency behavior being modeled using a detailed Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) model that only models the electromechanical behavior. This approach allowed the modelling of medium size electric regions up to hundreds of buses in real time. This thesis extends the equivalent by implementing a reduced order of the detailed electromechanical TSA equivalent mentioned above. Coherency based reduction is used for the electromechanical model of the power network to be equivalenced, and is implemented as a Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) type electromechanical equivalent. A challenge in implementing the FDNE is to ensure that it is a passive network, as otherwise its inclusion could lead to unstable simulation. This thesis also introduces a practical procedure to enforce passivity in the FDNE. The validity of the proposed technique is demonstrated by comparing the approach with detailed electromagnetic simulations of the well-known 39 bus New England system and a modified 39 bus system with an HVDC infeed with coupling between the dc line and an adjacent ac line, in addition to a 108 bus ac system. The power of the method is demonstrated by the real-time simulation of a large system with 2300 busses and 139 generators. It has been shown that this approach has the potential to increase by at least one order of magnitude the size of the network that can be modeled and thus on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs.

This thesis introduces a new modeling approach that allows very large power systems to be modeled on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs. The key step in achieving this is the development of an improved wide-band multi-port equivalent, which reduces a large power network into a small manageable equivalent model that preserves wideband behaviors. This approach has a foundation method that use a two part equivalent in which the high frequency behavior of the equivalenced network is represented by a terminating frequency dependent network equivalent (FDNE), with the low frequency behavior being modeled using a detailed Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) model that only models the electromechanical behavior. This approach allowed the modelling of medium size electric regions up to hundreds of buses in real time. This thesis extends the equivalent by implementing a reduced order of the detailed electromechanical TSA equivalent mentioned above. Coherency based reduction is used for the electromechanical model of the power network to be equivalenced, and is implemented as a Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) type electromechanical equivalent. A challenge in implementing the FDNE is to ensure that it is a passive network, as otherwise its inclusion could lead to unstable simulation. This thesis also introduces a practical procedure to enforce passivity in the FDNE. The validity of the proposed technique is demonstrated by comparing the approach with detailed electromagnetic simulations of the well-known 39 bus New England system and a modified 39 bus system with an HVDC infeed with coupling between the dc line and an adjacent ac line, in addition to a 108 bus ac system. The power of the method is demonstrated by the real-time simulation of a large system with 2300 busses and 139 generators. It has been shown that this approach has the potential to increase by at least one order of magnitude the size of the network that can be modeled and thus on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs.

La thermographie infrarouge est un moyen d'analyse du comportement mécanique des matériaux. Elle a connu un essor considérable depuis les années 80 avec l'apparition des premiers capteurs. Deux techniques principales ont pu être développées ; la calorimétrie quantitative et l'analyse des contraintes par thermoélasticité (TSA en anglais). Jusqu'à aujourd'hui, la majorité des travaux a été réalisée sur les métaux et les polymères. Le présent manuscrit relève le challenge d'appliquer ces techniques aux matériaux verres, en développant une méthodologie de débruitage des films thermiques, permettant de conserver la résolution spatiale des mesures thermiques. Cela permet de caractériser de forts gradients dans des champs de variations de température de faible intensité. Cette méthodologie a été utilisée pour débruiter des films thermiques d'échantillons de verre soumis à un chargement mécanique cyclique. Dans un premier temps, elle a été appliquée pour étudier la réponse thermique d'une empreinte à l'échelle microscopique. Dans un second temps, elle a été utilisée pour remonter à des champs de contraintes et de sources de chaleur à l'échelle macroscopique. Ce travail ouvre de nouvelles perspectives à l'étude du comportement thermomécanique des matériaux fragiles présentant une faible réponse thermique sous sollicitation mécanique et de forts effets de gradients spatiaux. Les applications visées sont la fissuration et l'identification de paramètres constitutifs. / The infrared thermography is used to analyse the mechanical behavior of materials. Since the 80's, it has rised with the appearance of the first sensors. Two principal techniques has been developed; the quantitative calorimetry and the thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA). Until today, most of the works has been carried out on metals and polymers. This manuscript takes-up the challenge of applying these techniques to glassy materials by developing a methodology to denoise infrared movies, which allows to preserve the spatial resolution of the thermal measurement. It allows to caracterise high gradients of low temperature variation fields. This methodology has been used to denoised thermal movies of glass samples submitted to a cyclic mechanical test. In a first time, it has been applied to study the thermal response of an imprint at the microscopic scale. In a second time, stress and heat sources fields have been determined at the macroscopic scale. This work provides new possibilities to study the thermomechanical behavior of brittle materials which present a low thermal response and high spatial gradients under mechanical loading. The target applications are the cracking phenomenom and the identification of constitutive parameters.

No description available.

L’objectif de ce travail est d’évaluer le développement des compétences sociales chez les enfants avec TSA d’âge préscolaire. 19 enfants (âge moyen au début de l’étude = 52,44 mois ; écart-type = 10,07) scolarisés en Unités d’Enseignement en Maternelle ont été suivis pendant 10 mois. En référence au modèle de Yeates et collaborateurs (2007), les compétences sociales sont appréhendées selon 2 composantes parmi 3, le traitement de l’information sociale et les comportements d’interaction sociale. Le traitement de l’information sociale est évalué au moyen de l’exploration visuelle de scènes sociales dans un paradigme d’eye-tracking. Les comportements d’interaction sociale sont observés en situation écologique, en milieu scolaire. De façon attendue, les principaux résultats montrent que la sévérité des troubles et le niveau socio-communicatif au début de l’étude des enfants influencent le développement de leurs compétences sociales dans ces deux composantes. Toutefois, ceci est à moduler en fonction du contexte. Les patterns d’exploration des scènes sociales sont relativement stables au cours de l’année scolaire. En revanche, des progrès sont notables au niveau des comportements sociaux en classe. De plus, des liens peuvent être faits entre le développement du traitement de l’information sociale et des comportements d’interaction sociale en classe. L’analyse des profils individuels démontre une variété de trajectoires individuelles de développement des compétences sociales pouvant être mise en lien avec les profils cliniques des enfants. / The purpose of this work is to assess the development of social skills in preschool childrenwith ASD. 19 children (mean age at baseline = 52.44 months, SD = 10.07) enrolled in Kindergarten special schools were followed for 10 months. Based on the model of Yeates et al. (2007), social skills are apprehended according to two of three components, the social information processing and the social interaction behaviors. The social information processing is evaluated by the visual exploration of social scenes in an eye-tracking paradigm. The social interaction behaviors are observed in ecological situation at school. Expectedly, the main results show that the severity of the disorders and the socio-communicative level at the beginning of the study influence the development of children’s social skills in these two components. However, this need to be modulated according to the context. Patterns of social scenes exploration are relatively stable during the school year. On the other hand, a progress is notable in terms of social behavior in the classroom. In addition, links can be made between the development of social information processing and social interaction behaviors in the classroom. The analysis of individual profiles demonstrates a variety of individual social skills development trajectories that can be linked to the clinical profiles of children.

Les Troubles du Spectre de l’Autisme (TSA) représentent la deuxième pathologie neuro-développementale la plus fréquente chez l’enfant. Le handicap est présent tout au long de la vie et a des conséquences majeures sur le fonctionnement de la personne mais aussi sur l’entourage familial et notamment les parents. Comme souligné par le dernier Plan Autisme, il est urgent de développer les offres d’accompagnement des aidants familiaux. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’étudier l’ajustement et les besoins parentaux dans les Troubles du Spectre de l’Autisme en vue de développer un programme d’éducation thérapeutique et d’en mesurer son impact. Trois études ont été réalisées successivement à partir d’une méthodologie soit qualitative (Etude 1) soit quantitative (Etudes 2 et 3). Notre première étude a permis d’identifier les besoins des parents d’enfant avec un TSA par rapport à des parents tout-venants (N=162). Des cibles d’accompagnement ont été formulées à partir des besoins matériel, d’information, de guidance parentale et de soutien émotionnel rapportés majoritairement par les parents d’enfant avec un TSA. Notre seconde étude visait à étudier les déterminants de l’ajustement parental dans les TSA (N=115). Les variables liées au contexte étaient davantage associées à l’ajustement parental que les variables individuelles. Du point de vue contextuel, les caractéristiques de l’environnement familial et l’accès de l’enfant à une scolarisation semblent être des déterminants importants de l’ajustement. Du point de vue individuel la présence de comorbidités chez l’enfant et d’un phénotype autistique élargie chez le parent étaient associés à un moins bon ajustement parental. Enfin, notre troisième étude a permis de développer et d’évaluer l’impact du programme d’éducation thérapeutique ETAP auprès de parents d’enfant avec un TSA (N=40). Le programme comporte 7 séances collectives structurées. Une bonne acceptabilité ainsi que des améliorations significatives de la qualité de vie et de la symptomatologie dépressive ont été notées. En conclusion, les besoins et les difficultés d’ajustement relevés chez les parents confirment la nécessité d’accompagner, de façon plus systématique, les pères et les mères d’enfant avec un TSA. Dans une logique de prévention, il est primordial d’évaluer, de manière précoce et continue, les besoins d’accompagnement et la qualité de l’ajustement parental. Cette évaluation doit s’appuyer sur une vision globale de la situation parentale et intégrer des aspects individuels et contextuels. On retrouve ces éléments au sein du programme ETAP qui apparaît comme un dispositif prometteur pour accompagner les parents d’enfant avec un TSA. La proposition d’un modèle de compréhension de l’ajustement parental dans les TSA permet d’articuler les résultats des trois volets de cette recherche. / Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are the second most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Disability is present throughout life and has major implications for the individual functioning but also on the family environment, especially on parents. As highlighted by the last French Autism Plan, it is crucial to develop support programs for parents. The goal of this research is to study the adjustment and parental needs in ASD in order to develop and evaluate a therapeutic education program. Three studies were carried out successively using a qualitative method (Study 1) or quantitative method (Studies 2 and 3). The first study aimed at identifying needs in two groups: parents of children with ASD compared to parents of typically developing children (N = 162). Support targets were formulated from reported needs by parents with ASD child in the following areas: material, information, parental guidance and emotional support. Our second study considered the determinants of parental adjustment in ASD (N = 115). The contextual variables were more involved in parental adjustment than individual measures. From a contextual perspective, the characteristics of the family environment and children school access are important determinants of adjustment. From an individual perspective, comorbidities in children and a broader autism phenotype in parents were associated with lower parental adjustment. Finally, the last study developed and evaluated the impact of therapeutic education program to parents of children with ASD (N = 40). The program consists in seven group-structured sessions. Good acceptability as well as significant improvements in quality of life and depressive symptoms was noted. In conclusion, the parents’ needs and adjustment difficulties confirm the relevance to support fathers and mothers of children with ASD. From a prevention way, it is important to early and continually assess support needs and parental adjustment. This assessment should be based on a global vision of parental status and to consider individual and contextual aspects. These elements are present in the ETAP program, which appears as a promising device to support parents of children with ASD. A theoretical model of parental adjustment in ASD is proposed from the results of the three components of this research.

English, Afrikaans and Northern Sotho summaries / Die algemene doel van hierdie navorsing was om ’n loopbaantevredenheids- en indiensneembaarheidsprofiel vir kenniswerkers saam te stel, gebaseer op die verhoudingsdinamika tussen individue se biografiese eienskappe (ouderdom, ras en indiensnemingstatus), loopbaankognisies (loopbaanaanpasbaarheid en psigososiale loopbaanpreokkupasies as voorgangers), hulle psigososiale loopbaanhulpbronne (indiensneembaarheidskenmerke, loopbaanankers en loopbaanwaardes as moderators) en hulle loopbaantevredenheid en selfwaargenome indiensneembaarheid (gevolge of uitkomste). Die einddoel van die navorsing was om gevolgtrekkings te maak oor die verhoudingsdinamika (omvang en rigting) tussen die konsepte ten einde organisatoriese loopbaanontwikkelingspraktyke vir die kenniswerker voor te stel. ’n Kwantitatiewe deursneenavorsingsbenadering is gevolg en het ’n steekproef van N = 404 kenniswerkers behels wat by professionele Suid-Afrikaanse liggame geregistreer is. Beskrywende, korrelasie- en meerveranderlike inferensiële statistiek is ingespan. Aanvullend tot die kanoniese korrelasieresultate, het regressie and strukturele vergelykingsmodellering ontledings aangetoon dat die loopbaantevredenheidsprofiel unieke beïnvloedingsfaktore het terwyl die selfwaargenome indiensneembaarheidsprofiel ook oor sy eie unieke beïnvloedingsfaktore beskik. Moderering regressie-ontleding het gewys dat individue se loopbaankognisies (dit is die vlakke van loopbaanaanpasbaarheid en loopbaanpreokkupasies) nie voorwaardelik ten opsigte van hulle psigososiale loopbaanhulpbronne was (dit is, indiensneembaarheidseienskappe, loopbaanankers en loopbaanwaardes) om hulle vlakke van loopbaantevredenheid en selfwaargenome indiensneembaarheid te verduidelik nie. Die loopbaankognisies en psigososiale loopbaanhulpbronne het individuele, bepaalde hoofgevolge om te oorweeg ten einde kenniswerkers se loopbaantevredenheid en selfwaargenome indiensneembaarheid te verstaan. Stapsgewyse regressie en hiërargies-moderering regressie-ontleding het gewys dat ouderdom, ras en indiensnemingstatus belangrike oorwegings was wat betref die loopbaantevredenheidsprofiel van kenniswerkers. Ras in die besonder het geblyk belangrik te wees om in aanmerking te neem ooreenkomstig hulle selfwaargenome indiensneembaarheid. Verskille tussen die biografiese groepe het ook aan die hand gedoen dat unieke loopbaanontwikkeling oorweeg moet word in multikulterele, diverse werkskontekste. Die loopbaantevredenheid en indiensneembaarheidsprofiel is saamgestel, gebaseer op die belangrikste insigte wat uit die essensiële, betekenisvolle bevindings bekom is. Loopbaantevredenheid en indiensneembaarheidsteorie is in hierdie navorsing uitgebrei. Aanbevelings vir organisatoriese loopbaanontwikkelingondersteuningspraktyke is gemaak, gebaseer op die voorgestelde profiel vir die professionele kenniswerker. / Maikemisetsomagolo a dinyakisiso e bile go go hlama phrofaele ye e kgotsofatsago mosomo le go thwalega mosomong go basomi ba tsa tsebo go lebeletswe seemo sa dikamano magareng ga dipharologantsi tsa dipalopalo ka ga batho (e lego mengwaga, bong, mohlobo le maemo a mosomo), go kwesisa ka ga mesomo (go tlwaela mosomo le seemo sa menagano ya setshaba ka ga mesomo bjalo ka dilo tseo di tlago peleng), methopo ya bona mosomo mabapi le menagano ya setshaba (dikokwane tsa go kgona go thwalega mesomong, dihlohleletsi tsa go hwetsa mesomo le maitshwaro a mesomong bjalo ka dilo tseo di lekolago mesomo) le go kgotsofatsa ga dinyakwa tsa mesomo le go ipona bjalo ka yo a thwalegago (seo se tlago ka moragonyana goba bjalo ka poelo). Maikemisetso ao a nepilwego a dinyakisiso e bile go tla ka dipheto mabapi le seemo sa dikamano (bogolo bja tsona le fao di lebilego gona) magareng ga kago ya maikemisetso a go sisinya ditiro tsa tlhabollo ya basomi ka dikhamphaning go mosomi yo a somago ka menagano. Mokgwa wa dinyakisiso wa bontsi wa mafapha a mantis o dirisitswe gomme sampole ya N = 404 ya basomi ba tsa tsebo o dirisitswe le go akaretsa mekgatlo ya sephrofesenale ya ka Afrika Borwa. Dipalopalo tsa go hlatholla, tsa papetso le tsa tshupetso ya makala a mantsi di dirilwe. Dipoelo tsa papetso tsa tatelano di laeditse gore go phrofaele ya go kgotsofatsa mosomo e na le dintlha tsa khuetso tsa go swana di nnosi mola e le gore phrofaele ya go ipona bjalo ka yo a thwalegago le yona e na le dintlha tsa khuetso tsa go swana di nnosi. Tshekatsheko ya poelomorago yeo e hlokometswego e laeditse gore dikwesiso tsa batho ka ga mosomo (ke gore, maemo a tsinkelo mosomong le go tlwaelo go phethagatsa mosomo) ga se tsa lebana le seemo sa methopo ya go phethagatsa mosomo wa mabapi le menagano ya setshaba (ke gore, dipharologantshi tsa go thwalega mesomong, dihlohleletsi tsa mesomo le maitshwaro a mesomong) go hlalosa maemo a bona a go kgotsofatsa phethagatso ya mesomo le go ipona o thwalega mosomong. Dikwesiso ka ga mesomo le methopo ya mesomo mabapi le menagano ya setshaba di bile le diabe tse itsego go batho tseo di swanetsego go hlokomelwa gore re kwesise go kgotsofatsa ga mesomo ka basomi ba tsa tsebo le go ipona ba thwalega mesomong. Tshekatsheko ya poelomorago ka dikgato tse mmalwa le ya poelomorago ya basomi go ya ka tatelano ya bona di laeditse gore mengwaga, morafe le maemo a mosomo di bile bohlokwa go di hlokomela mabapi le phrofaele ya go kgotsofatsa mesomo ga basomi ba tsa tsebo. Morafe o bonagala o tloga o le bohlokwa kudu go hlokomela mabapi le go ipona ba thwalega mesomong. Diphapano magareng ga dihlopha tsa merafe le mehlobo le tsona di sisintse gore go hlokega tlohabollo ya ka mesomong ye e swanago e nnosi yeo e swanetsego go dirwa ka seemong sa mesomo fao go somago batho ba ditso tse di fapafapanego. Phrofaele ya tlhabollo ya basomi le go thwalega mesomong go hlamilwe go lebeletswe tsebo ye bohlokwa ye e hweditswego go dikutollo tsa motheo tse bohlokwa. Dinyakisiso di katolositse teori ya mabapi le tlhabollo ya basomi le ya go thwalega mesomong. Go dirilwe ditshisinyo mabapi le ditiro tsa thekgo ya tlhabollo ya basomi ka dikhamphaning ka ga phrofaele ye e sisintswego ya mosomi wa tsa tsebo wa sephrofesenale. / The general aim of the research was to construct a career satisfaction and employability profile for the knowledge worker based on the relationship dynamics among individuals’ biographical characteristics (age, gender, race and employment status), career cognitions (career adaptability and psychosocial career preoccupations as antecedents), their psychosocial career resources (employability attributes, career anchors and career values as moderators) and their career satisfaction and self-perceived employability (consequences or outcomes). The end goal of the research was to draw conclusions on the relationship dynamics (magnitude and direction) between the constructs for the purpose of proposing organisational career development practices for the knowledge worker. A quantitative cross-sectional research approach was followed and involved a sample of N = 404 knowledge workers registered with South African professional bodies. Descriptive, correlation and multivariate inferential statistics were performed. Supplementary to the canonical correlation analysis, regression and structural equation modelling analysis indicated that the career satisfaction profile has unique influencing factors while the self-perceived employability profile also has its unique influencing factors. Moderated regression analysis showed that individuals’ career cognitions (i.e. levels of career adaptability and psychosocial career preoccupations) were not conditional upon their psychosocial career resources (i.e. employability attributes, career anchors and career values) in explaining their levels of career satisfaction and self-perceived employability. The career cognitions and psychosocial career resources had individually specific main effects to consider in understanding knowledge workers’ career satisfaction and self-perceived employability. Stepwise regression and the hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed that age, race and employment status were important to consider in terms of the career satisfaction profile of knowledge workers. Race seemed especially important to consider in terms of their self-perceived employability. Differences among the biographical groups also suggested unique career development needs to consider in multi-culturally diverse work contexts. The career satisfaction and employability profile was constructed based on the key insights derived from the core significant findings. The research extended career satisfaction and employability theory. Recommendations for organisational career development support practice were made based on the proposed profile for the professional knowledge worker. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced (DSC) perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) are commonly employed in clinical practice and in research to give pathophysiological information for patients with acute ischemic stroke. DWI is thought to roughly reflect the severely damaged infarct core, while DSC-PWI reflects the area of hypoperfusion. The volumetric difference between DWI and DSC-PWI is termed the PWI/DWI-mismatch, and has been suggested as an MRI surrogate of the ischemic penumbra. However, due to the application of a contrast agent, which has potentially severe side-effects (e.g., nephrogenic systemic fibrosis), the DSC-PWI precludes repetitive examinations for monitoring purposes. New approaches are being sought to overcome this shortcoming. BOLD (blood oxygen-level dependent) signal can reflect the metabolism of blood oxygen in the brain and hemodynamics can be assessed with resting-state fMRI. The aim of this thesis was to use resting-state fMRI as a new approach to give similar information as DSC-PWI. This thesis comprises two studies: In the first study (see Chapter 2), two resting-state fMRI methods, local methods which compare low frequency amplitudes between two hemispheres and a k-means clustering approach, were applied to investigate the functional damage of patients with acute ischemic stroke both in the time domain and frequency domain. We found that the lesion areas had lower amplitudes than contralateral homotopic healthy tissues. We also differentiated the lesion areas from healthy tissues using a k-means clustering approach. In the second study (see Chapter 3), time-shift analysis (TSA), which assesses time delays of the spontaneous low frequency fluctuations of the resting-state BOLD signal, was applied to give similar pathophysiological information as DSC-PWI in the acute phase of stroke. We found that areas which showed a pronounced time delay to the respective mean time course were very similar to the hypoperfusion area. In summary, we suggest that the resting-state fMRI methods, especially the time-shift analysis (TSA), may provide comparable information to DSC-PWI and thus serve as a useful diagnostic tool for stroke MRI without the need for the application of a contrast agent.

L’implication parentale est une composante indispensable à la collaboration école-famille (ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport [MELS], 2009 ; Larivée, 2011). De plus, plusieurs enjeux demandent une adaptation chez les familles immigrantes et les familles ayant un enfant avec TSA. Lorsqu’une famille fait face à ces deux situations (immigrante et ayant un enfant avec TSA), celle-ci fait face à un double défi. Cette recherche porte sur l’implication parentale, sur celle des parents issus de l’immigration et ayant un enfant avec TSA. L’objectif principal est de mieux comprendre les pratiques parentales que les parents utilisent pour s’impliquer dans la scolarité de leur enfant. Trois objectifs spécifiques permettent d’y répondre. Le premier sert à décrire les pratiques d’implication parentales des parents issus de l’immigration et ayant un enfant avec TSA (Objectif 1). Le deuxième sert à décrire les stratégies d’adaptation que les parents utilisent au travers des pratiques d’implication parentales (Objectif 2). Le troisième sert à décrire les facilitateurs et les obstacles à leurs différentes pratiques d’implication parentale, selon ces parents (Objectif 3). En suivant une méthode qualitative interprétative, un entretien semi-dirigé a été effectué avec quatre participantes. Les données ont été analysées avec une analyse thématique et un codage ouvert. Les résultats ont montré que les pratiques parentales amenant l’implication à la maison sont souvent utilisées par la majorité des participantes, alors que celles impliquant les parents à l’école sont les moins utilisées. De plus, nous voyons que la relation avec l’école, le soutien social et l’état mental des parents peuvent grandement influencer l’implication parentale des parents. / Parental involvement is essential for family-school partnerships (ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport [MELS], 2009 ; Larivée, 2011). Additionally, several issues require adaptation among immigrant families and among families with an autistic child. When a family faces these two situations (being immigrant and having an autistic child), their challenges double. This research focuses on parental involvement, particularly that of parents with an immigrant background and an autistic child. The main objective is to better understand the parenting practices that these parents do to be involved in their child’s education. Three specific objectives are used to answer the main goal. The first one is used to describe the parental involvement practices of parents with an immigrant background and an autistic child (Objective 1). The second one allows us to describe the adaptation strategies that parents use through parental involvement practices (Objective 2). The third one is used to describe the facilitators and obstacles to their different parental involvement practices, according to these parents (Objective 3). Following an interpretive qualitative method, a semi-structured interview was carried out with four participants. Data was analyzed with thematic analysis and open coding. The results showed that parental practices applied at home are used by most of the participants, while those involving parents at school are the least used. In addition, we see that the relationship with school, social support and the mental state of parents can greatly influence parents' parental involvement.

The research examines the management of performance appraisal at institutions of higher learning: a case of the University of South Africa (Unisa). Focus is placed on the Unisa, specifically the two administrative departments, DSAR and PGAD in the centre of providing a service to the most important client, the student. The Integrated Performance Management System (IPMS) Policy is a tailor-made system that provides a systematic process for managing the cycle of events associated with ensuring that individual employees achieve their agreed performance outcomes and the university reaches its strategic goals. To enhance and contribute to the effective management of performance, at Unisa, it is necessary to research the performance appraisal system, a process in place to measure the performance of employees, using a performance rating or score to indicate the level of performance. Performance measurement is utilised by organisations to identify the strengths and developmental areas of employee and relations between the employee and the manager a need to facilitate successful operations. Provide feedback to the employees and management respectively, show flaws identified, suggested improvements to the system. To ensure achievement of performance targets and meet the set objectives of the institution, to the benefit of all stakeholders, i.e. the employer, employee and student alike. / Patlisiso e lekola botsamaisi jwa tshekatsheko ya tiragatso kwa ditheong tsa thuto e kgolwane: kgetsi ya Yunibesithi ya Aforikaborwa (Unisa). E totile mafapha a le mabedi a tsamaiso, DSAR le PGAD, a iphitlhelang a le mo bogareng jwa go tlamela tirelo go modirelwa yo o botlhokwa go gaisa, moithuti. Pholisi ya IPMS ke thulaganyo e e diretsweng lebaka le le rileng e e tlamelang ka tirego e e rulaganeng ya go tsamaisa sediko sa ditiragalo tse di amanang le go netefatsa gore badiri ba ba farologaneng ba fitlhelela dipoelo tse go dumelanweng ka tsona tsa tiragatso ya bona, mme yunibesithi e fitlhelela maikaelelo a yona a togamaano. Ka jalo, go tokafatsa le go tshwaela mo bokgoning jwa Unisa, go ne go le botlhokwa go batlisisa thulaganyo ya yona ya tshekatsheko ya tiragatso, gonne go tlhokega thulaganyo e e fetotsweng ya tshekatsheko ya tiragatso go tsweletsa tiragatso e e nonofileng le botsamaisi jo bo bokgoni. Tekanyetso ya tiragatso e dirisiwa ke ditheo jaaka sediriswa se ka sona go ka sekasekwang dikarolo tsa maatla le tse di tlhokang kgodiso tsa badiri, mme go maatlafadiwe kamano magareng ga modiri le motsamaisi. Dipholo tsa patlisiso eno di tlaa dirisediwa go tlamela badiri le botsamaisi ka pego le go bontsha moo go tlhokegang tokafatso ya thulaganyo e e dirisiwang mo tirong le mabaka a seo. Maikemisetso magolo a tshekatsheko ya tiragatso ke go netefatsa gore go fitlhelelwa diphitlhelelo tse di beilweng tsa tiragatso le maitlhomo a setheo, go ungwela baamegi, e leng, mothapi, modiri le baithuti ka go tshwana. / Public Administration and Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)