Submitted by Eunice Novais (enovais@uepg.br) on 2018-09-03T20:15:34Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Pedro J Miranda.pdf: 2542145 bytes, checksum: bb9638f5d6706faee0cb0ad113f1d1de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-03T20:15:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Pedro J Miranda.pdf: 2542145 bytes, checksum: bb9638f5d6706faee0cb0ad113f1d1de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta tese tem por principal objetivo formalizar e modelar a emergência e a Lei de Proporcionalidade Intrínseca (LPI). Ambos os conceitos são trabalhados e precisados metafisicamente e, então, matematizados. Tal formalização matemática é realizada por meio da Teoria de Categorias utilizando constructos, functores underlying e a categoria dos conjuntos. A Lei de Proporcionalidade Intrínseca é o conjunto das operações internas e suas propriedades que estão nos objetos de um constructo que compõe uma emergência. A aplicação direta desse resultado ocorre em sistemas biológicos concebidos como todos substanciais vivos. A decomposição de um sistema biológico de diversos modos suscita uma aplicação deste modelo: como é possível que diferentes decomposições de um mesmo sistema gerem categorias com propriedades tão diferentes? Esse fenômeno é modelado e explicado pela aplicação direta da emergência e da LPI. Essa aplicação é mediada por meio de Biologia Relacional concebida pelo biólogo matemático Robert Rosen. Além disso, construímos neste trabalho uma Teoria de Nocautes e a aplicamos em um estudo de caso ecológico. / This thesis has as main aim the formalization and the modeling of the emergence and of the Intrinsic Proportionality Law (IPL). Both concepts are initially worked and metaphysically specified for then, in a second moment, be turned into a mathematical concept. Such mathematical formalization is made by means of Category Theory, utilizing constructs, underlying functors and the category of sets. The Intrinsic Proportionality Law is a set of operations and its properties that are within objects of a construct that composes an emergence. The direct application of this result is made on biological systems conceived as living substantial wholes. The decomposition of such a system, by several ways, evokes an application: how is it possible that different decompositions of the same system generate categories with different properties? This phenomenon is modeled and explained by the direct application of emergence and IPL. Such application is mediated by means of Relational Biology, which was conceived by the mathematical biologist Robert Rosen. Additionally, we also built in this work a Knockout Theory and applied it in an ecological study case.

O Gerenciamento por Categoria (GC) é uma realidade nas grandes redes de supermercados e hipermercados, farmácias e lojas de material de construção e suas ferramentas vêm contribuindo para propiciar melhor exposição, melhor abastecimento, maior variedade de marcas e tamanhos, preços competitivos e calendário eficiente de promoções, medidas todas que visam reduzir os estoques e aumentar o giro, a rentabilidade, ao mesmo tempo que surpreendem e proporciona maior satisfação aos clientes. A literatura disponível, porém não se fez referências a estudos com o foco na avaliação da satisfação, relacionando-a aos níveis de serviços oferecidos pelos supermercados e hipermercados que empregam o GC. A situação-problema desta tese nasceu da observação de que se, por um lado, a implementação e operação do GC tem por meta satisfazer os consumidores, por outro, não consegue identificar o grau de satisfação proporcionado pelos serviços oferecidos. No referencial teórico, levantaram-se aspectos relacionados ao emprego dessa modalidade gerencial, ao comportamento do consumidor, aos conceitos de satisfação e às diferentes formas de mensurá-la, passando pelas escalas de avaliação da qualidade em serviços e pela influência das variáveis demográficas na formação desse construto. A análise exploratória do referencial teórico-empírico apontou a importância de realizar uma pesquisa de campo que contribuísse para identifica os fatores que influenciam o nível de satisfação dos consumidores. Adotou-se um modelo de pesquisa de campo de caráter descritivo, com procedimento de amostragem probabilística para uma amostra de 250 consumidores residentes na Região do ABC Paulista responsáveis pela decisão e aquisição de produtos de higiene pessoal e beleza em supermercados e hipermercados. Para a análise dos resultados, foram empregadas técnicas de análise multivariada de dados, como a Regressão Linear Múltipla, a Análise Fatorial Exploratória, a Regressão Logística, a Análise de Clusters, a Análise de Correspondência Múltipla (Homals), o General Linear Model (GLM) Multivariado e Testes de Hipóteses Paramétricos e Não-Paramétricos. Foi possível quantificar a influência das variáveis internas do GC (organização das prateleiras, abastecimento, variedade de marcas e tamanhos, nível de preços e freqüência das promoções) e externas ao GC (horário de funcionamento, condições de acesso, conforto do estacionamento, tempo de espera nas filas, ambiente interno, clareza dos cartazes e dos anúncios internos, formas de pagamento e condições de uso dos carrinhos e cestas) sobre o nível de satisfação geral dos consumidores, bem como definir, por meio da escala SERVPERF, as dimensões precursoras da satisfação com a qualidade em serviços: ambiente, confiança e imagem. Foi possível ainda: identificar as variáveis capazes de discriminar os locais de compra pelo conceito de saliência - localização da loja, ambiente interno e atendimento dos funcionários; constatar que as variáveis internas e externas ao GC não conseguem prever, adequadamente, o comportamento de compra dos grupos que realizam compras grandes ou pequenas; demonstrar que as variáveis demográficas (classes sociais pelo Critério Brasil, ciclo de vida da família e nível de escolaridade) não interferem no nível de satisfação decorrente das ferramentas do GC e estabelecer que as dimensões criadas para a escala SERVPERF exercem influência destacada sobre o grau de satisfação com as ações do GC. Os resultados e conclusões comprovam plenamente a tese desta pesquisa: \"O Gerenciamento por Categoria conduzido pela indústria tem efeito direto sobre o nível de satisfação dos consumidores de artigos de higiene pessoal e beleza adquiridos junto a supermercados e hipermercados\". / Category Management is an undeniable fact in large chains of supermarkets, drugstores and hardware shops and its tools have been contributing to improve the display of items on sale, supply, variety of brands and sizes, competitive prices and effective schedule of sales promotions - all of which aim at reducing stocks, increasing turnovers and profitability while surprising customers and offering them satisfaction. The literature available on the topic, however, doesn\'t refer to any studies focusing on satisfaction evaluation concerning services provided by supermarkets which have adopted CM. The issue this study addresses derived from the observation that, although implementation and management of CM intend to satisfy customers, they fall short to rate the degree of satisfaction brought about by the services being offered. On reviewing the literature on the subject, a survey covering aspects dealing with this management technique was carried out, along with customer behaviors, satisfaction conceptions and the ways to measure it, which comprised scales for service quality evaluation and the role of demographic variables in forming the construct. The exploratory analysis of empirical and theoretical bibliography pointed to the great convenience of making a field research to help identify the factors bearing on the level of consumer\'s satisfaction. A model of field research was adopted of descriptive type, with probabilistic sample procedure for 250 consumers living in the ABC Region who decided for which toiletries to buy at supermarkets. Result analysis required techniques of data multivariate analysis, such as Multiple Linear Regression, Factorial Analysis, Logistic Regression, Clusters Analysis, Correspondence Analysis (Homal\'s), GLM Multivariate Analysis, and Parametric and Non-Parametric Hypothesis Tests. That allowed measuring the influence of internal and external Category Management variables (the first being shelf display, restocking, variety of brands and sizes, price levels, and frequency of sales promotions, and the second working hours, access ease, parking facilities, time of queuing at check-outs, general supermarket atmosphere, clear written and oral communication in posters and loud-speaker announcements, forms of payment and trolley/basket conditions of maintenance) on the level of customer\'s general satisfaction, besides allowing to define - through SERVPERF scale - the fundamental dimensions of satisfaction with service quality: environment, trust and image. It was still possible to identify the variables which lead to the point of sales according to the concept of relevance: favorable site of store, general atmosphere and salesclerks service; checking that internal and external CM variables cannot predict adequately the purchase behavior of groups shopping for high and low volumes, pointing out that demographic variables (social class according to Critério Brasil, family life cycle and level of scholarship) do not interfere in the level of satisfaction arising from CM tools and determining that the dimensions made for the SERVPERF scale have strong influence on the degree of satisfaction regarding CM actions. The results and conclusions thoroughly confirm the thesis of the research: \"Category Management conducted by industry has direct effect on the level of satisfaction among consumers of toiletries bought in supermarkets\".

This thesis is devoted to the study of higher representation theory as introduced in [Rou4]. As this theory is in its early days, it is essential to seek out modules that can rightfully be named building blocks and allow one to express as much of the structure of arbitrary modules as possible in their terms. We contribute towards this undertaking in the case of additive higher representation theory. Inspiration is drawn from Soergel bimodules which categorify the Hecke algebra. We introduce functorially cyclic modules as well as (strongly) universal cell modules. Examples include the minimal categorifications of [Rou4]. Properties of such modules are discussed and universal properties in terms of representable 2-functors are established. This leads to constructions and classifications in terms of split Frobenius objects, using a new variant of the Barr-Beck theorem for additive categories. Furthermore, we encounter a new class of modules so called coinvariant modules which arise from automorphism group actions. We also construct canonical cofiltrations and demonstrate why the Jordan-Hölder theory of [Rou4] does not readily generalise. Throughout, we comment on the succession [MaMi1]-[MaMi5] that tackles the same questions, however arrives at different conclusions. As applications, we first show that the 2-category of singular Soergel bimodules of [Wi2] arises naturally within the additive higher representation theory of Soergel bimodules. Second, we establish (weak) equivalences between certain associated universal cell modules together with a categorification of cell module homomorphisms of the Hecke algebra. Third, we show that singular Soergel bimodules constructed with a faithful representation categorify the Schur algebroid, generalising the main result of [Li]. Fourth given a group and a subgroup, we recover the additive monoidal category of representations of the subgroup from the corresponding category for the group without invoking Tannakian formalism.

Title: Compact objects in categories of modules Author: Peter Kálnai Department: Department of Algebra Supervisor: Mgr. Jan Žemlička, Ph.D., Department of Algebra Abstract: In the thesis we state baic properties of compact objects in various appropriate categories like categories of modules, stable factor category over a perfect ring and Grothendieck categories. We find a ring R such that the class of dually slender R-modules is closed under direct products under some set-theoretic assumption. Finally, we characterize the conditions, when countably generat- ed projective modules are finitely generated, expressed by their Grothendieck monoid. Keywords: compact, dually slender module, stable module category, projective module, self-small

Apresentamos uma generalização para as classes das álgebras quase inclinadas e quase hereditárias, que chamamos de álgebras m-quase inclinadas e m-quase hereditárias. Para estas últimas, pode-se obter uma trissecção de suas categorias de módulos determinada pelas subcategorias L^m = {X indecomponível; dimensão projetiva de Y é menor ou igual a m, para cada antecessor Y de X} e R = {X indecomponível; dimensão injetiva de Y é menor ou igual a 1, para cada sucessor Y de X}, além de ser possível mostrar que se existe um módulo E_m de forma a obtermos a igualdade de conjuntos {X módulo; Hom(E_m, \\tau X) = 0} = {X módulo; dimensão projetiva de X é menor ou igual a m}, então E_m é soma de somandos de módulos em R e todo caminho de indecomponíveis com início em um somando E de E_m e final em um módulo projetivo pode ser refinado a um caminho de morfismos irredutíveis, que é ainda seccional. Como consequência desse resultado obtém-se que as álgebras m-quase hereditárias são caracterizadas pelo fato de que todos seus módulos projetivos pertencem a L^m. É possível verificar que toda álgebra m-quase inclinada de dimensão global m+1 é m-quase hereditária e, consequentemente, que toda álgebra hereditária por partes de tipo mod H, para alguma álgebra hereditária H, com dimensão global m+1 é m-quase hereditária. Apresentamos ainda um exemplo de uma álgebra 2-quase hereditária que não é 2-quase inclinada, não sendo válida, portanto, a recíproca do resultado acima. Buscamos, dessa forma, estabelecer condições que quando assumidas sobre uma álgebra 2-quase hereditária possam garantir que esta é 2-quase inclinada e, em particular, hereditária por partes. Recorremos, para isso, à aplicação obtida por meio de uma adaptação de resultados de Happel, Reiten e Smalo, que sob certas hipóteses permite concluir que uma álgebra é álgebra de endomorfismos de um objeto inclinante. Como resultado, mostra-se que uma álgebra 2-quase hereditária com certas outras propriedades e que satisfaz as condições (H1), (H2) e (H3) é 2-quase inclinada. / We present a generalization of the classes of quasitilted and almost hereditary algebras, which we call m-quasitilted and m-almost hereditary algebras. For the latter one, we can obtain a trisection of their module categories determined by the following subcategories L^m = {X indecomposable; projective dimension of Y is at most m for each predecessor Y of X} and R = {X indecomposable; injective dimension of Y is at most 1 for each successor Y of X}. Moreover, if there exists a module E_m such that {X; Hom(E_m, \\tau X) = 0} = {X; projective dimension of X is at most m} then E_m is a sum of direct summands of modules in R and any path of indecomposable modules starting in a module E which is a direct summand of E_m and ending in a projective module can be refined to a path of irreducible morphisms, which is also sectional. This result on paths allow us to obtain a characterization for m-almost hereditary algebras in terms of their projective modules. It is also possible to prove that any m-quasitilted algebra with global dimension m+1 is a m-almost hereditary algebra and as a consequence we can obtain that any piecewise hereditary algebra of type mod H, for some hereditary algebra H, and with global dimension m+1 is m-almost hereditary. We present an example of a 2-almost hereditary which is not 2-quasitilted, which entails that the converse of the above mentioned result does not hold true. Thus we seek for conditions which can ensure that a given 2-almost hereditary is 2-quasitilted and, in particular, a piecewise hereditary algebra. For this, we use the correspondence obtained as an adaptation of results of Happel, Reiten and Smalo, which under certain assumptions shows that an algebra is an endomorphism algebra of a tilting object. It is shown that a 2-almost hereditary algebra with some other properties and satisfying (H1), (H2) and (H3) is 2-quasitilted.

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has completed a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data inventory that includes access locations across the UDOT network. The new data are anticipated to be extremely useful in better defining safety and in completing a systemwide analysis of locations where safety could be improved, or where safety has been improved across the state. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) has worked with the new data to perform a safety analysis of the state related to access management, particularly related to driveway spacing and raised medians. The primary objective of this research was to increase understanding of the safety impacts across the state related to access management. These objectives were accomplished by using the LiDAR database to evaluate driveway spacing and locations to aid in hot spot identification and to develop relationships between access design and location as a function of safety and access category (AC). Utah Administrative Rule R930-6 contains access management guidelines to balance the access found on a roadway with traffic and safety operations. These guidelines were used to find the maximum number of driveways recommended for a roadway. ArcMap 10.3 and Microsoft Excel were used to visualize the data and identify hot spot locations. An analysis conducted in this study compared current roadway characteristics to the R930-6 guidelines to find locations where differences occurred. This analysis does not indicate the current AC is incorrect; it simply means that the assigned AC does not meet current roadway characteristic based on the LiDAR data analysis. UDOT can decide what this roadway will become in the future and help shape each segment using the AC outlined in the R930-6. A hierarchal Bayesian statistical before-after model, created in previous BYU safety research, was used to analyze locations where raised medians have been installed. Twenty locations where raised medians were installed in Utah between 2002 to 2014 were used in this model. The model analyzed the raised medians by AC. Only three AC were represented in the data. Regression plots depicting a decrease in crashes before and after installation, posterior distribution plots showing the probability of a decrease in crashes after installation, and crash modification factor (CMF) plots presenting the CMF values estimated for different vehicle miles traveled (VMT) values were all created as output from the before-after model. Overall, installing a raised median gives an approximate reduction of 53 percent for all crashes. Individual AC analysis yielded results ranging from 32 to 44 percent for all severity groups except severity 4 and 5. When the model was only run for crash severity 4 and 5, a larger reduction of 57 to 58 percent was found.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Trauma Inventory for Partners of Sex Addicts (TIPSA). Using the Nominal Response Model (NRM), I examined several aspects of item and option functioning including discrimination, empirical category ordering, and information. Category Boundary Discrimination (CBD) parameters were calculated to determine the extent to which respondents distinguished between adjacent categories. Indistinguishable categories were collapsed through recoding. Empirically disordered response categories were also collapsed through recoding. Findings revealed that recoding solved some technical functioning issues in some items, and also revealed items (and perhaps option anchors) that were probably poorly conceived initially. In addition, nuisance or error variance was reduced only marginally by recoding, and the relative standing of respondents on the trait continuum remained largely unchanged. Items in need of modification or removal were identified, and issues of content validity were discussed.

The left hemisphere (LH) is accepted as the dominant hemisphere for language processing. There is also evidence confirming the language processing abilities of the right hemisphere (RH), particularly its lexical-semantic processing potential (Chiarello, 1988; Joanette, Goulet, & Hannequin, 1990). The capacity of the RH for language processing is significant to the investigation of language processing following LH lesions. However, the precise neurocognitive mechanisms underlying language processing following lesion remain to be fully elucidated. Subsequently, the overall aim for this thesis is to investigate hemispheric contributions to semantic processing following unilateral lesions, and to explore the significance of the contribution made by the RH. In order to achieve this overall aim, the current thesis firstly explores the hemispheric contributions made to lexical-semantic processing for healthy adults, and then shifts focus to explore the changes in hemispheric processing for participants with unilateral lesions (LH and RH). Comparisons of hemispheric activation between these groups will clarify the underlying hemispheric mechanisms that facilitate language processing following unilateral lesion. This thesis includes four complementary investigations of hemispheric contributions to semantic processing. The first study combined divided visual field (DVF) priming with event-related potentials (ERPs), in order to investigate controlled hemispheric semantic priming for young healthy adults. Two experiments were employed for a between subjects comparison of time-course differences (stimulus onset asynchrony, or SOA, varied between experiments) in hemispheric activation of associated and nonassociated category members. Continuous electroencephalograms were recorded throughout the priming task for each participant, and later analysed with reference to relevant ERP components (N400 and Late Positive Complex). Bilateral N400 priming was revealed for associated category members at both the short and long SOA. There was no significant N400 priming for the nonassociated category member condition. The examination of hemispheric priming of associated and nonassociated category member stimuli over the same time-course was continued in the second study for participants with unilateral LH lesions and matched controls. The second investigation aimed to determine the impact of unilateral LH lesions on controlled hemispheric semantic priming, utilising the DVF priming paradigm with participants following unilateral lesions. This study also aimed to explore associations between hemispheric activation during the online priming task and offline comprehension abilities. Differences in priming were observed between the LH lesion group and the control group, with participants in the LH lesion group requiring the association relationship to elicit priming. Priming also varied for participants as a function of their offline comprehension abilities, with RH priming associated with higher offline scores. The third investigation continued the exploration of hemispheric semantic activation following LH lesion, examining the impact of a LH lesion on interhemispheric control mechanisms, and the modification of hemispheric processing capacities with and without dominant hemisphere control. This investigation again utilised DVF priming with associated and nonassociated category member stimuli, in conjunction with the dual task paradigm. The dual task paradigm is designed to overload one hemisphere’s processing resources in order to remove interhemispheric suppression. Findings indicate that following LH lesions, the RH’s contribution is enhanced under conditions that are designed to overload the LH. The final study shifts from the investigation of participants with LH lesions to the impact of a RH lesion. This exploration of controlled hemispheric semantic priming following RH lesion sought to increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms for semantic processing following unilateral lesion. The RH’s role in lexical-semantic processing has been documented consistently over approximately the last twenty years, however, there remains limited direct investigation of a RH lesion’s impact on contributions to semantic processing. A single case investigation utilised the same experimental procedure as the second study described. Findings suggest a similar activation pattern between the individual with RH lesion and the control participants, with both exhibiting bilateral activation of the associated and nonassociated category member stimuli. However, a subtle difference was found between the activation of the individual with RH lesion and that of the control group, with the individual with a RH lesion showing increased strategic processing difficulties at the longer SOA. Overall, the current thesis demonstrates the importance of the RH for efficient strategic semantic processing for both healthy adults, and people with unilateral lesions. In addition, this thesis concludes that following a LH lesion, the RH contribution to controlled semantic processing may be associated with successful comprehension, and that RH contributions may be improved with the addition of a secondary task designed to overload LH processing. The present thesis provides evidence to support the use of the DVF priming paradigm in the investigation of hemispheric contributions to semantic processing following unilateral lesion. It is anticipated that these findings will improve the current understanding of the underlying hemispheric contributions to lexical-semantics following a unilateral lesion, and will encourage continuing investigation into the RH’s capacity to impact language recovery.

The overall aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the usefulness and the efficacy of the Rasch model to provide solutions to a variety of measurement problems in the specific context of pain assessment. As Rasch models rest on the requirement of unidimensionality and as verbal self-report has been described as the most valid measure of the experience of pain (Melzack and Katz, 2006), all chapters of the present work focus on the measurement of a single dimension of the pain experience, its intensity and on self-reported rating scales assessing this dimension. Chapter 1 presents the basics of the Rasch methodology and describes how one model of the Rasch family of models, the many-facet model, can be applied to the analysis of pain intensity responses following CO2 laser heat stimulation. Several intensities of stimulation were delivered on the hand of one hundred subjects who had to rate their pain perception on a three-level verbal rating scale. This methodological chapter stressed the ability of the Rasch models to transform the original ordinal scores into linear measures on an interval scale. Advantages and disadvantages of the Rasch methodology are discussed. Chapter 2 presents a second application of the Rasch methodology: the development and validation of a new measurement tool. In that chapter, an item questionnaire, the Situational Pain Scale (SPS), measuring the mental representation of pain in imaginary painful situations was developed and validated with healthy and chronic pain adults. Chronic pain patients also completed questionnaires assessing clinical and emotional attributes. Responses to the SPS were analyzed according to the rating scale Rasch model to select unidimensional and unbiased items. The final SPS consisted of 18 items with a widespread measurement range, a distribution well-targeted for the sample of healthy subjects and chronic pain patients and a high index of measurement precision. The measure of pain representation was significantly related to present pain intensity and anxiety about pain. Fibromyalgia patients showed significantly higher pain representation measures than all other groups. The psychometric properties of the SPS allows to further test its value to predict behaviors such as chronification of an acute pain condition or coping strategies developed by the chronic pain patient Chapter 3 detailed a third application of the Rasch models: the investigation and optimization of rating scale functioning. It more specifically examines the question of the optimal number of response levels required to assess the intensity of pain. A first section details the problematic, reviews studies previously conducted and presents the statistical indexes provided by the Rasch methodology for investigating the functioning of rating scales. Two empirical studies follow. They investigate the optimal number of response levels required to assess the intensity of pain by means of the Rasch analysis. The first study is devoted to the examination of three verbal rating scales (four, five and ten response categories) in healthy adults rating the 18 items of the SPS (developed in chapter 2). Results showed that the 10- and the 5-level verbal rating scales (VRSs) were not effective to assess pain intensity but that the 4-level one was. Recategorization procedures applied on the 10- and the 5-level VRSs revealed that the optimal number of response levels was also around four. In conclusion, this study shows that the human being can only distinguish four response levels when assessing the pain intensity of hypothetical events on a VRS. The second empirical study is devoted to the examination of faces scales (FSs) in healthy children aged from four to seven years. Results of this second study showed an improvement in the ability to distinguish the response categories with age. The 4-5 year-old children could only distinguish two response categories and the 6-7 year-old children were able to discern the three levels of a three-level faces scale. In conclusion, young children do not distinguish as many faces as proposed by the majority of available faces scales. / L'objectif de cette thèse est de montrer l'utilité et l'efficacité du modèle de Rasch dans l'apport de solutions à divers problèmes rencontrés lors de la mesure de la douleur. Etant donné que le modèle de Rasch repose sur l'exigence d'unidimensionnalité et que l'auto-évaluation par le sujet a été décrite comme étant la mesure la plus valide de l'expérience de la douleur (Melzack and Katz, 2006), tous les chapitres de la thèse se sont focalisés sur la mesure d'une seule dimension de la douleur, son intensité, et sur les échelles d'auto-évaluation mesurant cette dimension. Le chapitre 1 présente les fondements de la méthodologie Rasch et décrit comment un des modèles de Rasch, le modèle multi-facettes, peut être appliqué à l'analyse de scores d'intensité de douleur fournis en réponse à des stimulations de chaleur délivrées à l'aide d'un laser CO2. Plusieurs intensités de stimulation ont été délivrées sur la main de cent sujets sains qui devaient évaluer leur perception de douleur sur une échelle verbale simple à trois niveaux de réponse. Ce chapitre méthodologique met l'accent sur la capacité du modèle de Rasch à transformer les scores originaux ordinaux en mesures linéaires sur une échelle d'intervalles. Les avantages et inconvénients de la méthodologie Rasch y sont discutés. Le chapitre 2 présente une seconde application de la méthodologie Rasch: le développement et la validation d'un nouvel instrument de mesure. Dans ce chapitre, un questionnaire, le Situational Pain Scale (SPS), mesurant la représentation mentale de la douleur lors de situations de douleur imaginaires est développé et validé dans une population d'adultes sains et de patients douloureux chroniques. Les patients douloureux chroniques ont également rempli une batterie de questionnaires évaluant diverses variables cliniques et émotionnelles. Les réponses au SPS ont été analysées à l'aide du modèle rating scale afin de sélectionner les items satisfaisant au critère d'unidimensionnalité et d'invariance de l'échelle. L'échelle finale comprend 18 items présentant une large étendue de mesure, une distribution bien ciblée par rapport à l'échantillon de sujets sains et de patients douloureux chroniques et une précision de mesure élevée. La mesure de la représentation de la douleur est significativement corrélée avec l'intensité de la douleur au moment de l'évaluation ainsi qu'avec l'anxiété spécifiquement liée à la douleur. Les patients fibromyalgiques ont une représentation de la douleur plus élevée que tous les autres groupes. Les qualités psychométriques de l'échelle permettent, dans le futur, de tester sa capacité à prédire certains comportements comme par exemple le risque de chronification d'un état de douleur aiguë ou encore les stratégies développées par le patient pour faire face à son état de douleur chronique. Le chapitre 3 détaille une troisième application des modèles de Rasch : l'investigation et l'optimisation du fonctionnement des échelles de réponse. Ce chapitre examine plus spécifiquement la question du nombre optimal de niveaux de réponse nécessaire pour évaluer l'intensité de la douleur. Une première section introduit la problématique, présente une revue de la littérature sur la question et détaille les indices statistiques fournis par la méthodologie Rasch pour étudier le fonctionnement des échelles de réponse. Deux études empiriques suivent. Elles étudient le nombre optimal de niveaux de réponse nécessaire pour l'évaluation de la douleur. La première étude est consacrée à l'investigation de trois échelles verbales simples (quatre, cinq et dix catégories de réponse) chez des adultes sains évaluant les 18 items du SPS dont le développement a été présenté au chapitre 2. Les résultats montrent que les échelles verbales simples (EVSs) à dix et cinq niveaux ne sont pas efficaces pour évaluer l'intensité de la douleur alors que l'échelle à quatre niveaux l'est. Les procédures de recatégorisation appliquées sur les EVSs à dix et cinq niveaux révèlent que le nombre optimal de niveaux de réponse est de quatre. En conclusion, cette étude montre que l'être humain ne peut distinguer que quatre niveaux de réponse lorsqu'il évalue des situations imaginaires sur une EVS. La seconde étude empirique est consacrée à l'investigation des échelles visages chez des enfants sains âgés de quatre à sept ans. Les résultats de cette seconde étude montrent une amélioration dans la capacité à distinguer les catégories de réponse avec l'âge. Les enfants de quatre et cinq ans ne peuvent distinguer que deux catégories de réponse alors que les enfants de six et sept ans peuvent distinguer les trois niveaux d'une échelle à trois visages. En conclusion, les jeunes enfants ne peuvent pas distinguer autant de visages que proposés par la majorité des échelles visages publiées.

Uppsatsen syftar till att studera hur gymnasieskolor profilerar sig genom marknadsföring. Detta tillämpas genom en diskursanalytisk studie av sex gymnasieskolor, som alla tillgodoser det Samhällsvetenskapliga programmet, belägna i Uppsala kommun. Av den marknadsföring som funnits tillgänglig har urvalet begränsats till respektive skolas hemsida. Resultatet visar på ett samband mellan hur skolorna talar om utbildning och elev. Det centrala för detta samband är hur eleven, genom skolornas marknadsföring, konstrueras som en konsument av utbildning. I denna konstruktion av utbildningsalternativ framträder olika profileringskategorier som skolorna tyr sig till genom marknadsföring. Den gemensamma profileringskategorin är den marknadsorienterade som visar hur skolorna presenterar sitt utbildningsalternativ genom att negativt särskilja sig från konkurrerande skolor. I detta finns en förskjutning från information om utbildning till marknadsföring av utbildning. I sin tur innebär detta att den information eleven tar del av inför sitt gymnasieval, också innehåller inslag av erbjudanden och reklam. I och med att eleven konstrueras som konsument har det skapats en kunskaps- och maktrelation mellan elev och skola. Denna relation konstruerar sedermera en situation där skolorna är beroende av att marknadsorientera sig för att utmärka sig i konkurrenssituationen som uppstått av det fria skolvalet. / The essay aims to study how secondary schools are profiled by marketing. This is applied through a discourse analytic study of six secondary schools, all of which meet the Social Science program, located in Uppsala. Of the marketing that has been available, the selection is limited to each school's website. The results show a correlation between how schools are talking about education and students. The key to this correlation is that the student through the schools marketing is designed as a consumer of education. This construction of educational options shows different profiling categories that schools cling to through marketing. The common profiling category is the market orientated that shows how schools will present their educational options by negative differentiate itself from rival schools. This is a shift from information on education for the promotion of education. In turn, this means that the information students take part in before secondary school also contains elements of promotions and advertising. As the student is constructed as a consumer, a knowledge and power relationship between student and school has been created. This knowledge and power relations construct later a situation where schools are dependent on market orientation to excel in the competitive environment created by the free school choice.