Autism: Causes and Characteristics

In his book 'An Anthropologist on Mars', Sacks discusses the condition of autism and its causes. He notes that while there is consensus on the characteristics of autism, researchers have differed on its causes. Asperger believed autism to be an innate defect in a child's ability to connect with the external world, whereas Kanner saw it as a result of harmful childrearing practices.

Jan 2017
Computer Security Coursework
Due Date: 20 th Feb 2017
Value: Worth 20% of final mark for the unit
Research project: This assignment tests students’ abilities to undertake independent learning
and perform a logical analysis of several areas. Students will be expected to demonstrate
research capability as well as a high degree of academic rigor and integrity. {See description for
more details}
Research Project (20%)
1. Security Planning, Policies and Risk Analysis
Research and discuss the importance of security planning, policies and risk analysis for a
medium-size organization. Discussion should include how these ensure business
continuity for the organization, appropriate security policies that should be
implemented, etc. Students should also provide design an appropriate security plan for
the organization.
Note:
Regardless of their choice of topics, students will be required to demonstrate a wide range of
reading. Students will need to demonstrate a degree of rigor that cannot be achieved simply by
repeating the contents of a single book or web page. Students will need to read widely and
perform their own analysis of the selected topics.
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Report Requirements and Format:
The requirements of your assignment submission are as follow:
Length: Not more than 3,000 words
Format: The report must be word processed and be professional in appearance i.e. in MS
Word format. The report must make use of appropriate fonts and formatting (e.g.
Arial 12)
Must Contain:
 Title Page (NOT included in the word count): An overall title page must show the title
of the report, your name, student number, and an accurate word count.
 Table of Contents (NOT included in the word count): This must accurately reflect the
content of your report.
 Executive Summary (NOT included in the 3000 word limit): This should provide a
concise snapshot of the entire report, which should not be more than 300 words.
 Introduction and Scope (Included in the word count): Students should introduce their
report, define its scope and state any assumptions made.
 Main body of report (Included in the word count): As described in the Task section.
Must be logically structured and well referenced. This should make effective use of
headings and subheadings.
 Conclusions Section (Included in the word count): This section should draw together
the main points raised in the main body of the report and round off the assignment.
 Glossary of relevant terms (NOT included in the word count): This should contain
original, but referenced definitions for appropriate terms. Only security related terms
should be included in this glossary, as opposed to general computing terms.
 List of References (NOT included in the word count): This should list the references
used in the report. Entries in this list must correspond to in-text references in the main
body of the report.
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 Appendices (NOT included in the word count): There are no marks associated with
these appendices. However they can be used to include materials to substantiate your
analysis. These could include surveys done, statistics & other relevant text materials.
Note:
As the word limit for the report is relatively low, students must be careful to make the best
possible use of this resource. Students must choose their words carefully to ensure that they
address the most important aspects of the chosen topics. The contents should not be merely
cut-and-paste from the source. Appropriate acknowledgement must be given if direct extracts
are taken. Students will be expected to identify the important points in each topic and address
the points in an efficient manner.
Assignment Submission:􀀀
You are to submit this assignment before/on the stipulated date. You must also retain a copy of
your assignment for your own records.
Resources:
Students are expected to make use of the following resources when preparing this assignment;
 Lecture notes and tutorials;
 Text book and other provided readings;
 Independent research will also be required. Students will need to demonstrate an ability
to seek and critically evaluate available material.
Referencing:
All sources of references must be cited (using appropriate in-text references) and listed (using
appropriate end-text references).
Late submission:
Penalty will be applied for late submission. If the assignment is submitted more than one week
late, a mark of zero shall be awarded.
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Assessment Criterion
Marks Assessment Criterion
80% & above  Compelling and well structured report with relevant message & information
 Comprehensive and detailed explanation
 Clear signs of sophisticated understanding of the theme under discussion
 Excellent articulation of points/views/comments
 Independent analysis, observations and comments
 Very good in terms of comprehensiveness and clarity
70% - 79%  Good effort and evidence of research and application
 Clear and covers the obvious points coherently presented
 Some effort at use of independent judgment and external sources of information.
 Good use of external sources to support points brought up
 Signs of independent analysis
 Variety of sources appropriately analyzed, applied and discussed
60% - 69%  Effort in covering important points mostly gathered from textbook and lecture
notes
 Scattered efforts at using information gathered from external sources mostly with a
purpose and sometimes with no clear purpose
 Some independent contributions and thoughts
 Shows evidence of organize arguments in logical manner
50% - 59%  Facts mostly reproduced from the source
 Addressed the purpose of the report and assignment task
 Some efforts at independent contributions/thoughts
 Simplistic or slightly unstructured /confused presentation
49% and
below
 Demonstrates low level of understanding
 Fails to present relevant points satisfactorily to answer the specific questions
 Confused presentation and unclear language
 Produces chunks of information from the sources with no signs of having
assimilated the information
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Harvard Referencing Quick Guide
What is referencing?
 Referencing is a system used in the academic community to indicate where ideas, theories,
quotes, facts and any other evidence and information used to undertake an assignment, can be
found.
Why do I need to reference my work?
 To avoid plagiarism, a form of academic theft.
 Referencing your work correctly ensures that you give appropriate credit to the sources and
authors that you have used to complete your assignment.
 Referencing the sources that you have used for your assignment demonstrates that you have
undertaken wide-ranging research in order to create your work.
 Referencing your work enables the reader to consult for themselves the same materials that you
used.
What do I need to reference?
All the information that you have used in your assignment will need to be acknowledged. It is essential
to make a note of all the details of the sources that you use for your assignment as you go along.
Harvard examples in this guide are based on guidance in: BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTE. (2010). BS ISO
690:2010. Information and documentation - Guidelines for bibliographic references and citations to
information resources. Switzerland: ISO Copyright Office.
The basics
Harvard is known as the Author & Date system:
 Citations in the text of your assignment should be made following the in-text guidelines given in
the examples on the following pages.
 A complete list of all the citations used in your text will need to be provided at the end of your
assignment. This is called your reference list or bibliography and needs to be presented in
alphabetical author/originator order.
What does it look like?
 Here is an extract showing what in-text citations look like in the Harvard Style
It has been claimed that due to funding being almost exclusively available from the Irish Film
Board (IFB), Irish film makers are restricted to the type of Ireland they can depict in their work
(MacDougall, 2009). Jervir (2011) argues that subjects such as Northern Ireland are
disproportionately represented as these are key areas of interest to the IFB.
 Here is an example of what a Reference List looks like in the Harvard Style
MacDougall, H. (2009) 'Who Needs Hollywood?: The Role of Popular Genre Films in Irish
National Cinema', The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, 35(1), pp. 39-46.
Jervir, C. E. O. (2010) 'Symbolic Violence, Resistance and how we view ourselves in Irish Film',
World Cinema, 37(6), pp. 392-407.
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Common reference types
Book with one author
REF: Author/Editor Last name, Initials. (Year) Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
Example: McDonagh, S. (2001) Why are we Deaf to the Cry of the Earth? Dublin: Veritas.
In Text Citations:
 Author Last name (Year)
 (Author Last name, Year)
Example:
 According to McDonagh (2001)
 As has been argued (McDonagh, 2001)
Book with two authors
REF: First author Last name, Initials and second author Last name, Initials (Year) Title. Place of
publication: Publisher.
Example: Shalloway, A. and Trott, J. (2001) Design patterns explained: a new perspective on
object-oriented design. London: Addison Wesley.
In Text Citations:
 First author Last name and second author Last name (Year)
 (First author Last name and second author Last name, Year)
Example:
 Shalloway and Trott (2001) suggest that…..
 It has been suggested (Shalloway and Trott, 2001)
E-journal article
REF: Author(s) Last name, Initials. (Year) ‘Article title’, Journal title, Volume (Issue), pp. page numbers.
Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year].
Example: Hawke, J, Wadsworth, S, & DeFries, J, (2006). ‘Genetic influences on reading
difficulties in boys and girls: the Colorado twin study’, Dyslexia, 12 (1), pp. 21-29 . Available
at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/112098736/PDFSTART [Accessed 10
February 2009].
In Text Citations:
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Author(s) Last name, Year)
Example
 Hawke, Wadsworth and DeFries (2006) argue ….
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 Others have shown (Hawke, Wadsworth and DeFries, 2006)…..
Electronic Book (e-Book)
REF: Authors’ Last name, Initials. (Year) Title of book. Available at: URL [Downloaded: Day Month Year].
Example: Luhr, W. (2004) The Coen brothers' Fargo: Cambridge University Press film
handbooks series. Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coen-Brothers-Fargo-Cambridge-
Handbooks ebook/dp/B001G60IQI/ref=kinw_dp_ke [Downloaded: 24 February 2014].
In Text Citations:
• Author’s Last name (year)
• (Author’s Last name, year)
Example:
• Luhr (2012) suggests that the Coen brothers…
• It has been argued that “The Coen brothers represent a revolution in cinamatography”
(Luhr, 2012, Chapter 2, 22%)
Page on a website
REF: Webpage Author(s) Last name, Initials. (Year) Page title. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month
Year].
Example: Kelly, M. (2004) Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours: Ireland in Comparative
European Perspective. Available at: http://www.ucd.ie/environ/home.htm [Accessed 8
February 2009].
In Text Citations:
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Author(s) Last name, Year)
Example:
 Kelly (2004) responded….
 In the response (Kelly, 2004)….
Website
REF: Website author. (Year published/Last updated) Title of Internet Site. Available at: URL [Accessed
Day Month Year].
 Example: International Tourism Partnership (2004). International Tourism Partnership. Available
at: http://www.internationaltourismpartnership.org/ [Accessed 8 February 2009].
In Text Citations: (Website name, Year)
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Example:
 Information available from their website (International Tourism Partnership, 2004) ….
Blog
REF: Author(s) Last name, First name. (Year site published/Last updated) ‘Title of message’, Title of
Internet Site, Day Month of posted message. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year].
Example: O’Connor, John (2010) ‘Global warming and the future’, Jane Murphy Blog, 14
January. Available at: http://janemurphyblog.com/blogs/archive/2010/01/14/115/aspx
[Accessed 13 April 2010].
In Text Citations:
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Author(s) Last name, Year)
Example
 O’Connor (2010) proposed….
 It was proposed elsewhere (O’Connor, 2010)
Facebook
REF: Author Last name, Initials. (Year page published/last updated) Title of page. Day Month Year of
posted message. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year].
Example: DSPCA (2014) Dublin, SPCA. 21 January. Available at:
https://www.facebook.com/dspca [Accessed 15 February 2014].
In Text Citations:
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Author(s) Last name Year)
Example:
 DSPCA (2014) reported the discovery of four emaciated pups…..
 It was reported that four emaciated pups were discovered on Christmas day (DSPCA, 2014).
Images/Photographs (Online)
REF: Photographer/Creator Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of image/photograph. Available at: URL
[Accessed 31 January 2014].
Example: O’Meara, S. (2014) Orchid. Available at: www.theburrenorchidcollection.ie
[Accessed 3 February 2014].
In Text Citations:
 As detailed for Images/Photographs above
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Lectures or Presentations
REF: Author(s) Last name, Initial(s). (Year) Title of lecture/presentation [Medium], (Module Code:
Module title). Institution. Day Month.
 Example: De Burca, M. (2014) Geriatric radiography services in Ireland [Lecture to BSc
Radiography Stage 3], RDGY30300: Clinical Practice of Radiography. University College Dublin.
11 May.
In Text Citations:
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Authors(s) Last name, Year)
Example:
 De Burca (2014) described the complicated system of radiographic services……
 There is a complicated system of geriatric radiographic services (De Burca, 2014).
Print Journal article with one author
REF: Author Last name, Initials. (Year) 'Article title', Journal title, Volume (Issue), pp. page numbers.
Example: Tovey, H. (2002) 'Risk, Morality, and the Sociology of Animals - Reflections of the
Foot and Mouth Outbreak in Ireland', Irish Journal of Sociology, 11 (1), pp. 23-42.
In Text Citations
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Author(s) Last name, Year)
Example:
 Tovey (2002) argues….
 It has been argued (Tovey, 2002)….
Print Journal with two or three authors
REF: First Author Last name, Initials and Second Author Last name, Initials. (Year) 'Article title', Journal
title, Volume (Issue), pp. page numbers.
Example: Lopez, I. and Rodriguez, E. (2011) 'The Spanish Model', New Left Review, 69
(May/June 2011), pp. 5 – 28.
In Text Citations:
 First author Last name and second author Last name (Year)
 (First author Last name and second author Last name, Year)
Example:
 Lopez and Rodriguez (2011) suggest that…..
 It has been suggested (Lopez and Rodriguez, 2011)….
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Print Newspaper article
REF: Author(s) Last name, Initials. (Year) ‘Article title’, Newspaper title, date, page numbers.
Example: O'Dea, W. (2006) ‘Irish role in battle group concept will help to bolster UN’, Irish Times, 10
January, p.16.
ITC:
 Author(s) Last name (Year)
 (Author(s) Last name, Year)
Example:
 O’Dea (2006) proposed….
 The article (O’Dea, 2006) argues….
When should I paraphrase, and when should I summarize?
To paraphrase means to restate someone else’s ideas in your own language at roughly the same level of
detail.
To summarize means to reduce the most essential points of someone else’s work into a shorter form.
Along with quotation, paraphrase and summary provide the main tools for integrating your sources into
your papers. When choosing which to use, consider first your discipline and the type of writing in which
you are engaged. For example, literature reviews in science reports rely almost exclusively on summary.
Argumentative essays, by contrast, rely on both.
Paraphrase and summary are indispensable in argumentative papers because they allow you to include
other people’s ideas without cluttering up your paragraphs with quotations. These techniques help you
take greater control of your essay. Consider using either tool when an idea from one of your sources is
important to your essay but the wording is not. Space limitations may guide you in your choice. But
above all, think about how much of the detail from your source is relevant to your argument. If your
reader needs to know only the bare bones, then summarize.
Though paraphrase and summary are often preferable to quotation, do not rely too heavily on them,
either. Your ideas are what matter most. Allow yourself the space to develop those ideas.
How do I paraphrase?
Whenever you paraphrase, remember these two points:
 You must provide a reference.
 The paraphrase must be in your own words. You must do more than merely substitute phrases
here and there. You must also create your own sentence structures.
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Let’s look at examples of illegitimate and legitimate paraphrase, using a passage from Oliver Sacks’ essay
“An Anthropologist on Mars”:
The cause of autism has also been a matter of dispute. Its incidence is about one in a
thousand, and it occurs throughout the world, its features remarkably consistent even in
extremely different cultures. It is often not recognized in the first year of life, but tends
to become obvious in the second or third year. Though Asperger regarded it as a
biological defect of affective contact—innate, inborn, analogous to a physical or
intellectual defect—Kanner tended to view it as a psychogenic disorder, a reflection of
bad parenting, and most especially of a chillingly remote, often professional,
"refrigerator mother." At this time, autism was often regarded as "defensive" in nature,
or confused with childhood schizophrenia. A whole generation of parents—mothers,
particularly—were made to feel guilty for the autism of their children.
Incorrect paraphrasing:
The cause of the condition autism has been disputed. It occurs in approximately one in a
thousand children, and it exists in all parts of the world, its characteristics strikingly
similar in vastly differing cultures. The condition is often not noticeable in the child’s first
year, yet it becomes more apparent as the child reaches the age of two or three.
Although Asperger saw the condition as a biological defect of the emotions that was
inborn and therefore similar to a physical defect, Kanner saw it as psychological in origin,
as reflecting poor parenting and particularly a frigidly distant mother. During this period,
autism was often seen as a defence mechanism, or it was misdiagnosed as childhood
schizophrenia. An entire generation of mothers and fathers (but especially mothers)
were made to feel responsible for their offspring’s autism (Sacks 247-48).
Most of these sentences do little more than substitute one phrase for another. An additional problem
with this passage is that the only citation occurs at the very end of the paragraph. The reader might be
misled into thinking that the earlier sentences were not also based on Sacks.
Correct paraphrasing
In "An Anthropologist on Mars," Sacks lists some of the known facts about autism. We know, for
example, that the condition occurs in roughly one out of every thousand children. We also know that
the characteristics of autism do not vary from one culture to the next. And we know that the condition is
difficult to diagnose until the child has entered the second or third year of life. As Sacks points out, often
a child who goes on to develop autism will show no sign of the condition at the age of one (Sacks 247).
Sacks observes, however, that researchers have had a hard time agreeing on the causes of autism. He
sketches the diametrically opposed positions of Asperger and Kanner. On the one hand, Asperger saw
the condition as representing a constitutional defect in the child's ability to make meaningful emotional
contact with the external world. On the other hand, Kanner regarded autism as a consequence of
harmful childrearing practices. For many years confusion about this condition reigned. One unfortunate
consequence of this confusion, Sacks suggests, was the burden of guilt imposed on so many parents for
their child's condition (Sacks 247-48).
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This paraphrase illustrates a few basic principles that can help you to paraphrase more effectively:
 Refer explicitly to the author in your paraphrase. The passage above makes explicit right away
that the ideas come from Sacks. Its indebtedness is signaled in a few strategic places. The single
parenthetical note at the end of each paragraph is therefore all that is needed by way of
citation. Referring to Sacks also strengthens the passage by clarifying the source of its ideas.
 Don’t just paraphrase. Analyze. In the paraphrase of Sacks, the decision to split the original
passage into two paragraphs adds an analytical dimension: the new passage doesn’t just
reiterate his points but lays out the two-part structure of his argument.
 Not all of the details from the original passage need to be included in the paraphrase.
 You don't need to change every word. For the sake of clarity, keep essential terms the same
(e.g., autism, culture,children). However, avoid borrowing entire phrases (e.g., reflection of bad
parenting) unless they are part of the discourse of your field (e.g., psychogenic disorder).
How do I summarize?
When you summarize a passage, you need first to absorb the meaning and then to capture in your own
words the most important elements from the original passage. A summary is necessarily shorter than a
paraphrase.
Here is a summary of the passage from "An Anthropologist on Mars":
In "An Anthropologist on Mars," Sacks notes that although there is little disagreement on the chief
characteristics of autism, researchers have differed considerably on its causes. As he points out,
Asperger saw the condition as an innate defect in the child's ability to connect with the external world,
whereas Kanner regarded it because of harmful childrearing practices (Sacks 247-48).
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