Video games have become a new platform for social interaction. I review the sociality of video games and the relationship between virtual- and real-world behaviors. I review and address the pros and cons of methods of measuring social behavior. Finally, I present two studies drawn from internet populations. In Study 1 (N = 250), I develop a scale, The Sociality in Multiplayer Online Games Scale (SMOG), which measures the frequency of social gaming behaviors in team-based, multiplayer online games. I hypothesized these to align on dominance and affiliation dimensions of social interaction (Kiesler, 1982). In Study 2 (N = 104), I conduct a confirmatory factor analysis, which supports a two-factor structure—Destructive and Constructive social behavior, resulting in the SMOG-6. I examine construct validity using measures of dominance and affiliation. Controlling for age, gender, and frequency of game-play, both factors predict dominance. SMOG-Destructive negatively, and SMOG-Constructive positively, predicted affiliation.

Background: Previous research has shown that sexual minority individuals (SM) are twice as likely to smoke, twice as likely to be overweight or obese, and less likely to be physically active than heterosexual persons; all of which place SMs at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While information on CVD risk by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status is well documented, there is scant literature examining race, gender, and the potential CVD risk in SMs. The purpose of this study was to examine CVD risk in sexual minorities. Method: The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The Framingham multiple-risk assessment, which uses a calculation of age, smoking, BMI, and blood pressure, was used to predict vascular age and the risk of experiencing CVD event in the next 10 years. 54% of the sample was male, 62% white, and 4% identified as a SM. The sample was split into three groups: 1) 100% heterosexual (N=4363); 2) mostly heterosexual (N=509); and 3) SM (N=188). Results: There was a trend towards significance, p = .056, for mean differences in vascular age/actual age, for SM participants (M=10.07), compared to 100% heterosexual (M=9.1) and mostly heterosexual (M=8.66) participants. Mostly heterosexual participants were 1.62 times more likely, and SM participants were 1.97 times more likely to be current smokers when compared to 100% heterosexual participants. SM participants endorsed having significantly more drinks (M = 4.50) when compared to both 100% heterosexual (M = 3.80) and mostly heterosexual (M = 3.38) participants. SM participants were 1.7 times more likely to endorse having 5 or more drinks on one occasion. SM participants also reported significantly higher stress levels than the other two groups Conclusion: While the data for the current study did not provide sufficient evidence to suggest sexual orientation differences in Framingham risk scores, the findings remain noteworthy. SM showed increased risk in smoking and stress levels. Additionally, the Population-based longitudinal studies and surveillance data are essential and necessary in order to minimize disparities in risk factors and to reduce the likelihood of subsequent disease in SM population.

This thesis is dealing with Villanovan and Etruscan fibulae, their typology, chronology and location within the tombs of necropolises of Veii. The aim of this thesis is to point to the occurance of fibulae in different time horizonts, to show their development and to compare the necropolises of Veii with other specific locations in Italy. The thesis focuses on evaluation of development and relations of the components of funerary equipments, localy and outside the area of Veii as well. Based on the data collected it is possible to point out the similarities of the necropolises of Veii and to compare them with more distant locations in Italy. Key words: Veii, necropolis, fibulae, typology of fibulae, manufacture, funerary contexts, relations with paralel locations.

L'éducation au développement durable (EDD) a été progressivement intégrée dans les systèmes scolaires français et québécois, ce qui a des conséquences pour les enseignants et leur formation. Cette recherche vise à repérer la manière dont les futurs enseignants québécois de sciences et technologie et d'univers social d'une part et les futurs enseignants français de SVT et d'histoire-géographie d'autre part se représentent le développement durable (DD) et l'EDD. Pour ce faire une approche pluri-méthodologique associant le questionnaire et l'entretien semi-directif est employée. Le cadre théorique, - construit autour des concepts de représentations sociales (RS) et de questions socialement vives -, ainsi qu'une posture interprétative-critique, orientent la lecture et l'interprétation des résultats. L'étude met en lumière une RS du DD qui serait emboitée dans celle de l'environnement-ressource chez les quatre sous-populations interrogées ainsi que des spécificités socioculturelles et/ou professionnelles-disciplinaires, se manifestant notamment par l'intégration des dimensions sociales, politiques et institutionnelles. Au vu de l'ensemble des données recueillies, on retient chez les futurs enseignants interrogés quatre champs de tensions qui reflètent la coexistence de deux approches de l'EDD : l'une transmissive et l'autre socioconstructiviste transformatrice. Cette recherche apporte ainsi un éclairage approfondi et renouvelé quant aux appuis et obstacles à l'institutionnalisation d'une EDD critique et comporte finalement des propositions d'intervention didactique en matière de formation des enseignants susceptibles d'enrichir leurs représentations du DD. / Education for sustainable development (ESD) has been gradually integrated into the school systems of France and Quebec. This has consequences for both teachers and teacher training. This research aims to identify how future Quebecois teachers of science and technology and social studies, on the one hand, and future French teachers of the life and earth sciences and history and geography, on the other hand, represent sustainable development and ESD. To this end, a multi-methodological approach was used that draws on two complementary tools, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. A theoretical framework built around the concepts of social representations (SR) and socially acute questions together with a critical-interpretative posture guide the reading and interpretation of the results. The study brings to light a social representation of SD that is nested in the SR of the environment-resources among the four sub-populations surveyed as well as socio-cultural and/or professional-disciplinary specificities, which are manifested in particular by the integration of social, political and institutional dimensions. Based on the data collected, four areas of tension were identified among the future teachers interviewed; these reflect the existence of two approaches to ESD: one transmissive, and the other transformative and social constructivist. This study thus provides an in-depth, up-to-date clarification of the factors that support or hinder the institutionalization of a critical ESD. Finally, it includes proposals for educational intervention in teacher training so as to enrich future teachers' representations of SD.

A Troy Town is a labyrinth either built of stones or made of turf. They can be found in northern Europe, especially in Scandinavia. The number of Troy Towns in Sweden is outstanding. They are around 400. Most of them are situated on the coast but there are still approximatly 80 inland about 20 of which are located on ancient burial grounds from both bronze and iron age. The Troy Towns in Sweden are mostly marked with round circles of stones, the size of human skulls, and placed directly on the ground. The entrance of a Troy Town is often formed as a cross. There are some turf labyrinths left in Denmark, England and Germany but most of them are overgrown by grass and can no longer be seen. The Troy Towns are hard to date. Away from the coast one can examine their contexts whilst along the coast lichenometry and the sea level may be used to determine the age of them. There are different ways to describe the purpose of them depending on what period they belong to and where they are situated. Researchers do not agree on all the theories and many of them are based on older explanations. Still new theories appear. My purpose apart from describing the Troy Towns is to examine and compare the theories and to evaluate their plausibility. / <p>Uppsatsen ventilerad 2019-05-27</p><p>Uppsatsen godkänd 2019-06-12</p>

Les problématiques de recherche abordées dans cette thèse concernent la conceptualisation, la modélisation et la commande générique des robots mobiles lors de leur évolution en milieux extérieurs et en présence de glissement pour des applications de suivi de précision. Ainsi, ce mémoire synthétise dans un premier temps les développements et résultats obtenus lors du suivi de trajectoire (localisation absolue), puis synthétise ensuite ceux obtenus lors de suivi de structure et de cible (localisation relative). Une dernière partie introduit un concept de plateforme robotique reconfigurable et sa commande associée pour adapter l’assiette et les dimensions du châssis en fonction de la topographie du terrain.Pour chaque application de suivi, ce mémoire présente un panel de lois de commande originales pour des robots différentiels, à un train et à deux trains directeurs. Chaque modalité de commande est présentée en quatre étapes : modélisation, estimation, commande et expérimentations. La première contribution majeure de la thèse concerne l’estimation du glissement. Cette dernière est adaptative et basée modèle. Elle intègre la modélisation cinématique étendue seule ou couplée à la modélisation dynamique du robot mobile pour assurer une estimation intègre quels que soient la vitesse, les phénomènes dynamiques rencontrés et la nature du sol. La seconde contribution majeure concerne le développement d’une stratégie de commande générique pour les robots mobiles. Cette stratégie est basée sur le principe de la commande en cascade (ou par backstepping) et est déclinée dans ce mémoire à travers un panel de lois de commande. Cette méthodologie de commande, lorsqu’elle est associée à l’observation du glissement précédent, permet d’obtenir des performances de suivi accrues quel que soit le contexte rencontré. L’ensemble des algorithmes ont été validés en simulation et/ou expérimentalement à l’aide de différentes plateformes robotiques en contextes réels. / This work is focused on the conceptualization, the modeling and the genericcontrol of mobile robots when moving in off-road contexts and facing slipperyterrains, especially for very accurate tracking and following applications. Thisthesis summarizes the proposed methods and the obtained results to addressthis research issue, first for path following applications (absolute localization)and then for edge and target tracking applications (relative localization). A finalsection of this thesis introduces an adaptive robotic concept and its associatedcontroller allowing the adaptation of the pose (position and orientation) of thechassis with respect to the environment topography.For each application, this thesis introduces a panel of innovative control algorithmsfor controlling skid-steering, two-wheel steering and four-wheel steeringmobile robots. Each algorithm of the panel is described, in this thesis, infour steps : modeling, estimation, control and experiments.The first main contribution of this thesis deals with the slippage estimation.The latter is adaptive and model-based. It also includes the extended kinematicmodeling only or together with the dynamic modeling of the mobile robot toensure a robust estimation of the slippage whatever the speed of the robot, encountereddynamic phenomena or even ground characteristics.The second main contribution deals with the design of a generic control approachfor mobile robots when path following and target tracking. The proposedstrategy is mostly based on a backstepping method and is illustrated inthis thesis via a panel of control laws. When combining this proposed controlapproach with the slippage estimation described above, significant improvedtracking and following performances are obtained (in term of stability, repeatability,accuracy and robustness) whatever the encountered context.All algorithms have been tested and validated through simulations and/orfull-scale experiments, indoor and off-road, with different mobile robots.

Resumo: Aprender e ensinar são processos de co-construção de conhecimentos que acontecem na e a partir da interação, cujas modalidades e espaços de realização têm se ampliado com o incremento das tecnologias de informação e comunicação. Corroborando que a avaliação é um elemento integrador entre o ensino e a aprendizagem e acreditando no impacto positivo que a avaliação pode desempenhar quando praticada sob esta ótica, neste estudo investigou-se o potencial da avaliação em um processo de aprendizagem dupla, o aprender língua estrangeira (LE) e o aprender a ensinar Português para Falantes de Outras Línguas (PFOL) em um contexto online de aprendizagem de línguas, o teletandem. De natureza qualitativa, este estudo teve como objetivos investigar características do texto falado e da avaliação de desempenho oral em contexto online de aprendizagem de línguas em tandem. As informações foram coletadas no escopo do Projeto Teletandem Brasil: línguas estrangeiras para todos (TTB) por meio de: roteiro de conversa; gravações em áudio e/ou vídeo de sessões de teletandem; questionários; fichas de acompanhamento de teletandem e notas de campo da pesquisadora. A análise e a discussão dos dados foram conduzidas de acordo com o conteúdo e orientações da análise da conversação, à luz do referencial teórico que incluiu discussões acerca das áreas de Português para Falantes de Outras Línguas; de Avaliação; de Educação a Distância e do Português falado no Brasil. Os resultados deste estudo mostram que a troca linguístico-cultural caracteriza a conversa(ção) no teletandem, apontando para a importância do feedback do parceiro no preenchimento de lacunas de forma e de conteúdo, além da necessidade de apoio e/ou monitoramento constante da fala do interlocutor. As características do texto falado apontadas por este estudo revelam a importância de refletir sobre... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Based on the principle that assessment integrates learning and teaching, in this thesis the potentiality of assessment was investigated in a twofold learning process, that is, learning a foreign language (FL) and learning to be a teacher of Portuguese to Speakers of Other Languages (PSOL). As a qualitative research, this study aimed at investigating features of both spoken language and oral proficiency assessment in an online FL learning context, which is constituted by teletandem interactions. The information was collected in the scope of the Teletandem Brazil project (TTB) by means of interviews, audio and video recordings of teletandem conversation, questionnaires, teletandem tracking sheets and field notes. The data were categorized according to the contents revealed in each type of research instrument and analyzed with the support of a theoretical framework that includes discussions on the PSOL, Assessment, Distance Education and Portuguese spoken in Brazil. The results show that the teletandem conversation is a linguistic and cultural interchange between Brazilian and foreigner partners powered by the feedback provided. The partners‟ intervention to help each order in relation to linguistic and cultural aspects during the conversation is essential to contextualize and keep the progress of interaction, as well as to provide the support required in order to acknowledge and give attention to the interlocutor‟s speech. Taking into account the features of the spoken language in online conversation, the natural speech flow present in language proficiency assessment scales is discussed, mainly related to criteria such as oral comprehension, fluency and interactional competence. As part of the TTB activities, the teletandem tracking sheet showed to be a powerful assessment instrument to promote collaborative learning. The strength of this kind of learning and evaluation trigger... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Orientador: Douglas Altamiro Consolo / Coorientador: Maria João Gomes / Banca: Matilde Virgínia Ricardi Scaramucci / Banca: Maria Helena Vieira Abrahão / Banca: Nelson Viana / Banca: João Antonio Telles / Doutor

A presente pesquisa de doutorado pretende levantar, catalogar e examinar os vestígios arqueológicos dos contextos funerários, datados entre o intervalo do século XI ao VIII a.C. nos principais sítios da região da Argólida (Mapas 1, 2 e 3), Argos, Tirinto, Asine, Micenas, Náuplia e Lerna. Comparando tais dados entre si, e discutindo-os a partir de fundamentos teórico-metodológicos da Arqueologia das Práticas Mortuárias, objetivamos, por fim, levantar considerações sobre os costumes funerários dessa área, revelando possíveis padrões de enterramento e de comportamento sócio-cultural inseridos nas mudanças políticas ocorridas em um período de longa duração, principalmente, durante o período denominado de Alto Arcaísmo, o século VIII a.C., com o processo de formação da pólis argiva. / This thesis intends to gather, catalogue and analyze the archaeological data from the funerary contexts, dated from the XI to the VIII centuries BC in the main sites of the Argive plain (Maps 1, 2 and 3). Finally, it is also our aim to compare the data collected and discuss them through the theoretical and methodological basis of the Archaeology of Mortuary Practices trying to reach some questions and considerations about the funerary customs and burial patterns of this region and also possible social and cultural behavior characteristic of the shifts occurred mainly during the VIII century BC.

As reflexões sobre a contemporaneidade sugerem que, na rapidez da pós-modernidade e frente a tantas possibilidades proporcionadas pela multiplicidade de plataformas midiáticas (tradicionais e digitais), muitas organizações, na urgência de comunicar, geram grandes quantidades de informações sem relevância para seus públicos. Limitadas a um modelo pronto e replicadas sem critério, são disparadas para os indivíduos sem considerar os diferentes sujeitos integrantes/construtivos da cultura organizacional e suas histórias, memórias e desejos, e sem enxergar as diversas oportunidades para repensar este processo da comunicação interna. É neste panorama que o presente estudo pretende detectar oportunidades de envolvimento do público interno, assim como a criação de narrativas comunicacionais mais atrativas e bem-sucedidas. Para tanto, busca-se a compreensão da riqueza existente em conteúdos coletados em projetos de memória oral, de cunho participativo e dialógico, como os desenvolvidos com base na contação de histórias sobre as experiências vividas dos funcionários no ambiente organizacional: as chamadas micronarrativas. Este conceito foi desenvolvido sobre as teorias que interpretam as grandes narrativas da modernidade, as quais possuíam uma significativa força na vida das pessoas e serviam como referências para a sociedade, mas que começaram a se enfraquecer a partir do século XX e se perderam na pós-modernidade, quando o foco passou a ser o indivíduo e suas histórias. Dessa maneira, ao verificar, descrever, esclarecer e entender o conteúdo exposto pelos entrevistados em suas micronarrativas organizacionais, é possível refletir como a comunicação interna pode trabalhar de maneira mais efetiva e afetiva para gerar novas narrativas que estimulem envolvimento, reconhecimento, identificação, compreensão e ação de seus funcionários, no lugar das racionalidades, padronizações, efemeridades e excessividades. / Reflections on contemporaneity suggest that in the fleetness of post-modernity and in the presence of so many possibilities offered by the multiplicity of media platforms (traditional and digital), many organizations, in the urgency to communicate, generate large amounts of information with no relevance to their audiences. Limited to a ready template and replicated without criteria, this information is issued to individuals without considering the different members/constructive subjects of organizational culture and their stories, memories and wishes; missing the various opportunities to rethink the process of internal communication. Before this scenario, the present study aims to identify opportunities to involve the internal workforce, as well as creating more attractive and successful communication narratives. To that purpose, we seek a better understanding of the richness in the content of oral memory projects, which nature is participatory and dialogic, such as those developed based on storytelling about the employees\' experiences in the organizational environment: the micro narratives. This concept was developed based on the theories that interpret the grand narratives of modernity, which had a significant influence in people\'s lives and served as references to society, but started weakening in the twentieth century and were dissolved in the post-modernity, when the focus shifted to the individual and their stories. Therefore, when we verify, describe, explain and understand the contents stated by respondents in their organizational micro narratives, it is possible to ponder how internal communications can work more effectively and affectively to generate new narratives that encourage involvement, recognition, identification, understanding and action from the employees, in detriment to rationality, standardization, and ephemeral excesses.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T19:33:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria do Carmo Meirelles Reis Branco Ribeiro.pdf: 3948550 bytes, checksum: 9624b6700a7237495ce848939071a18a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-01 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This Thesis is situated on the Critical Discourse Analysis, with the social cognitive and Social Semiotics sheds. Its theme is the relevance of contexts for text organization in multimodal printed advertisements. Cognition, as well as Society and Discourse must be considered as categories in order to accomplish a discourse critical analysis. Discourse is defined by the social roles performed by its participants, their functions and their actions, text is a product of a multimodal semiotics manifestation, originated in a speech macroact. Including Cognition as an analysis category provides a socio-cognitive point of view for discourse and new perspectives for understanding advertisements multimodal texts. This thesis is justified by the fact that high technologies and globalization have changed discourses, mainly for multimodal texts, so that new possibilities of reading such texts must be improved. This research focused advertisements texts published in Brazilian magazines, from 2005 to 2013. The general purpose is to contribute for studies on multimodal texts. The specifics objectives are: 1.to analyze the relation between images/linguistics expressions in producing meaning; 2.to verify argumentative strategies of advertisement speech macro-act;3.to identify advertisement text organization, in order to consider it a text genre; 4. to examinate the relation text/context in meaning production. The results of this search show that:1. images are linked to verbal expressions, producing meaning, and completing its semic area; 2. strategies are a consequence of space, colors resources, as well as inferences that complete the semic area; 3.advertisement is a text genre, defined by the hierarchy of the argumentative sequence, in which are placed narrative, descriptive and dialogue sequences 4. production and interpretation of advertisements texts is linked to cognitive, language, discourse and social contexts. In conclusion, there is a relation between the Cognition category and the Society and Discourse categories / Esta tese está situada na Análise Crítica do Discurso com as vertentes sócio-cognitiva e Semiótica Social, e tem por tema os contextos e a construção discursiva em anúncios publicitários multimodais impressos. Pressupõe-se que para a realização de uma análise crítica do discurso, deve-se considerar, não só as categorias Sociedade e Discurso, mas também a Cognição. Define-se discurso por seus participantes, suas funções e ações e texto como produto construído pela manifestação semiótica multimodal, a partir de um macroato de fala. O discurso publicitário tem como macroato de fala a intenção de transformar o interlocutor em consumidor do produto anunciado. Ao se inserir a categoria Cognição, tem-se uma visão sócio-cognitiva do discurso, com novas perspectivas para a compreensão de textos multimodais publicitários. Esta tese se justifica, pois houve mudança no discurso, devido às altas tecnologias e à globalização, privilegiando-se os textos multimodais, para os quais é necessário buscar outras possibilidades de leitura. Foram analisados anúncios publicados em revistas brasileiras entre 2005 e 2013. O objetivo geral é contribuir com as investigações de atos de leitura de textos multimodais e, os específicos:1.analisar a relação imagens/expressões linguísticas na construção de sentidos; 2.verificar estratégias argumentativas do macroato de fala publicitário; 3.identificar a organização textual de anúncios publicitários, como gênero textual; 4. Examinar a relação texto/contexto para a construção de sentidos. Os resultados obtidos mostram que: 1. Imagens interrelacionamse com o verbal na produção significativa, complementando a área semântica; 2.As estratégias utilizadas decorrem de recursos espaciais, de cores; de explicitações inferenciais para complementação sêmica; de ressemantizações de lexemas; de construção sêmica de novas designações ; 3. O anúncio publicitário é um gênero textual, definido pela hierarquia da sequência argumentativa, na qual se incrustam as sequências narrativa, descritiva e dialogal; 4. A produção e a interpretação dos textos publicitários são ligadas a contextos cognitivos, de linguagem, discursivo e social. Conclui-se que há interrelação entre a categoria Cognição a as categorias Sociedade e Discurso