Set-shifting ability in young people with restrictive eating disorders

This thesis is presented in three parts. Part I is composed of a literature review which considers whether impaired set shifting fulfills the major criteria for an endophenotype in restrictive eating disorders. Based on 22 studies, the review evaluates whether set-shifting is reliably associated with restrictive eating disorders, co-occurs with plausible behaviours and finally shows evidence of heritability and state independence. Throughout features of the study designs and methodological issues are considered. Part II is the empirical paper which reports on a quantitative study. The study investigates the evidence for impaired set-shifting, perfectionism and behavioural rigidity in children and adolescents with restrictive eating disorders compared to age, gender and IQ matched healthy control children. The empirical study included joint data collection with another thesis (see Pooni, 2010). The challenges associated with the measurement of set-shifting and the implications of the findings are discussed. Part III is the critical appraisal which addresses the key conceptual and pragmatic issues I encountered during the study. I provide my personal reflections on the research process with a view to offering essential guidelines for future neuropsychological research in the field ofchild and adolescent eating disorders

The History and Administrative Structures of SDSU X-Team

Includes bibliographical references (pages 68-70).This thesis is a narrative account of the launch and development of San Diego State University's team in the QUALCOMM Tricorder XPRIZE competition, an analysis of organizational, team learning, and entrepreneurship characteristics of the effort. It exemplifies "Something Out of Nothing," how to build large, effective, multidisciplinary teams in a volunteer environment

A genealogical history of the Robie family in England and America

Mode of access: Internet

Realizing Sustainability: Exchanging Concepts for Solutions

Global climate change is becoming a visible global issue. Many sectors of our society are taking on the challenge of mitigating climate change through sustainable practices. The business community in particular is tackling the challenge. Sustainability may be defined as doing things today that do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, the business community has a distinct definition of sustainability. Many companies view “sustainability as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge and create tangible, economic value,” (Sommer, 2012, p. 3). Because our review of the literature demonstrated that businesses have a significant influence on trends in society, we wanted to further explore sustainable business as a platform for global and local climate change mitigation. Our project analyzed the interplay between business practices and sustainability on a local scale. We are working with a Missoula business to develop and implement, where possible, a specific sustainable business plan, which is realistic, affordable, and coincides with the goals of the business. We are working closely with the business to analyze current business practices, identify barriers in the environment that may prevent sustainable practices from being implemented, develop a current carbon footprint analysis, and look into local best practices for comparison. We also developed a survey to augment our work that was administered to local business owners to assess their understanding of sustainable business practices. This project will provide a proposal of business practices that equips the local business with ideas on how to implement sustainable practices into their current business operations

Families changing families: The protective function of multi-family therapy for children in education

The Marlborough Family Education Centre (MFEC) uses a specific multi-family group approach with families where children exhibit (primarily) conduct problems and function poorly in school. Research indicates that failure to intervene with these children carries great potential cost to both the family and society. Outcomes for 50 families receiving intervention from the MFEC were compared with a control group of 28 who had access to a range of interventions, but not the multi-family group approach pioneered by the MFEC. Data on child and family social, emotional and behavioural functioning were collected at the point of referral, and at 6 and 12 months. Parents of children receiving support from the MFEC reported statistically and clinically significant improvements in their children that were maintained at 12 months whereas there was no change in the control group. In addition, measures of family functioning were fairly stable for the MFEC group, while the control group showed significant deterioration over the same time period. Other results were not significant. These findings are interpreted within the context of early intervention. The methodological limitations of the study are considered and suggestions for future research are outlined