A pesquisa sobre as percepções de residentes da região de Piracicaba em relação às questões ambientais e ao futuro da humanidade no planeta foi desenvolvida com base em um questionário semi-estruturado. As questões buscaram levantar dados autoavaliativos sobre perfil, comportamentos, estado de humor, qualidade de vida, condição econômica e hábitos de consumo, práticas para destinação de resíduos, iniciativas de exercício de cidadania em prol da sustentabilidade socioambiental, para enfim, indagar sobre percepções de futuro e avaliações sobre o contexto socioambiental dos participantes da pesquisa. A aplicação dos questionários foi feita de forma aleatória estratificada nos bairros das cinco regiões da cidade de Piracicaba: Norte, Sul, Leste, Oeste e Centro. Por meio dessas aplicações, foram obtidos 655 questionários, que foram sistematizados, tabulados e analisados estatisticamente, utilizando-se gráficos de frequência, o Teste de Kruskal Wallis, os Testes de Correlação de Spearman e Kendall, o Teste de Qui-Quadrado e o Teste Exato de Fisher. Foram também criadas nuvens de palavras, desenvolvidas no software online \"Wordle\" (FEINBERG, 2014). Os resultados obtidos com essa pesquisa e as análises desenvolvidas indicam que 227 pessoas, isto é, aproximadamente 35% dos respondentes, possui uma percepção pessimista sobre o futuro da humanidade no planeta. Porém, 493 pessoas, o equivalente a aproximadamente 75% do total de respondentes, considerou que, dentre as alternativas apresentadas no questionário (Desenvolvimento de tecnologias; Controle de natalidade; Educação e mudanças culturais; Cobrança de impostos com base nos impactos ambientais; Intervenção do Estado), a educação e mudanças culturais são fundamentais no processo de transformação social e de superação das problemáticas ambientais. Observou-se também que a crise hídrica vivenciada na época em que os questionários foram aplicados também influenciou na percepção social dos respondentes, uma vez que a palavra \"água\" foi citada 380 vezes. Por meio do trabalho, foi também possível analisar o comportamento ambiental dos pesquisados, notando-se que ainda há a necessidade de promoção de atividades educacionais e comunicacionais que possam estimular a adoção de hábitos e comportamentos mais comprometidos com ideias de sustentabilidade e que levem a mudanças mais efetivas nos padrões de relacionamento entre sociedade e meio ambiente. / The research about the perceptions of residents in Piracicaba on environmental issues and the future of humanity on the planet has been developed based on a semi-structured questionnaire. Its questions sought to raise self-evaluative data on the profile, mood, quality of life, economic condition and consumer habits, waste handling practices, citizenship exercise initiatives for environmental sustainability, to finally inquire about future perceptions and assessments about the socio-environmental context of the research participants. The questionnaires were applied in a stratified random way in neighborhoods in the five regions of Piracicaba: North, South, East, West and Central. Through these applications, we obtained 655 questionnaires, which were then systematized and statistically analyzed, using frequency graphs, the Kruskal Wallis test, the Spearman correlation test and Kendall test, the Chi-Square test and the Fisher\'s exact test. Word clouds were also created, developed on the online software \"Wordle\" (FEINBERG, 2014). The results obtained from this research and developed analyzes indicate that 227 people, that is, approximately 35% of respondents have a pessimistic perception of the future of humanity on the planet. However, 493 people, equivalent to approximately 75% of all respondents considered that, among the presented alternatives of the questionnaire (Technology development; Birth control; Education and cultural changes; Tax collection based on the environmental impacts; State intervention), education and cultural changes are fundamental in the process of social transformation and overcoming environmental problems. It was also observed that the water crisis experienced at the time the questionnaires were applied also influenced the social perception of respondents, since the word \"water\" was cited 380 times. Through the research, it was also possible to analyze the environmental performance of those surveyed, noting that there is still the need to promote communicational and educational activities that can stimulate the adoption of habits and behavior that are more compromised to sustainability ideas and that can lead to more effective changes in the relationship patterns between society and environment.

The use of banking automated teller machine (ATM) technological innovations have significant importance and benefits in Nigeria, but numerous investigations have shown that illiterate and semiliterate Nigerians do not perceive them as useful or easy-to-use. Developing easy-to-use banking ATM system interfaces is essential to accommodate over 40% illiterate and semiliterate Nigerians, who are potential users of banking ATM systems. The purpose of this study was to identify strategies software developers of banking ATM systems in Nigeria use to create easy-to-use banking ATM system interfaces for a variety of people with varying abilities and literacy levels. The technology acceptance model was adopted as the conceptual framework. The study's population consisted of qualified and experienced developers of banking ATM system interfaces chosen from 1 organization in Enugu, Nigeria. The data collection process included semistructured, in-depth face-to-face interviews with 9 banking ATM system interface developers and the analysis of 11 documents: 5 from participant case organizations and 6 from nonparticipant case organizations. Member checking was used to increase the validity of the findings from the participants. Through methodological triangulation, 4 major themes emerged from the study: importance of user-centered design strategies, importance of user feedback as essential interface design, value of pictorial images and voice prompts, and importance of well-defined interface development process. The findings in this study may be beneficial for the future development of strategies to create easy-to-use ATM system interfaces for a variety of people with varying abilities and literacy levels and for other information technology systems that are user interface technology dependent.

Many first-generation students (FGS) succumb to challenges and barriers and ultimately give up on their educational goals. Little is known about FGS who graduate and are successful in their discipline. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore factors that influenced the persistence of FGS who graduated and are employed in the healthcare field. The theoretical framework consisted of experiential learning, identity development and environmental influence, and social cognitive career theories. The research questions focused on how FGS made decisions to graduate, interpreted their academic learning experiences, and perceived academic support received in the college environment. Data was collected from questionnaires designed by the researcher and emailed to 12 participants, and from college retention, enrollment, licensure, and safety and security reports. Data analysis involved open and axial coding and application of the NVivo software package, whereby 8 themes emerged. Findings indicated that (a) family support, mastering a skill, and challenges and academic successes supported FGS' decisions to graduate; (b) inspiration, vocational interest, and self-awareness defined and described FGS' academic learning experiences; and, (c) faculty and student engagement and environmental support revealed the academic support FGS received in the college environment. The study suggested ways in which the persistence of FGS in community college healthcare programs can be improved. Implications for future research into variables that influence the persistence of FGS were discussed. Improving the retention of FGS and widening the pool of community healthcare workers can impact positive social change by contributing to social welfare and economic development.

This exegesis is an exploration of meditative process in painting and drawing and accompanies an exhibition of paintings and large drawings called What Lies Beneath. The text contains several passages, called &quotmeditations,&quot which accompany the themes approached in the chapters and give insight into the thoughts and practices of the artist. The methodology involves the examination of the evidence of the work produced by selected artists, looking at the words of artists in notebooks, diaries and interviews and surveying a small number of local contemporary artists. The text opens up the possibilities of drapery and garments and of still life as paths to meditative practice in painting and drawing. The qualities that characterize meditative process/practice, derived from my observations, are categorized. Some of the strengths of these processes are revealed through the examination of the work of artists, both contemporary and historical. The work of Vermeer, Sanchez Cotan, Francisco Zurbaran and contemporary artists Anne Judell, Simon Cooper, Jude Rae, Alison Watt and Eva Hesse highlight different aspects of the meditative process in painting and drawing. The art works in the exhibition are documented and bring out the meditative processes that have contributed to their creation, including the use and meaning of the subject (drapery and the garment as a form of still life).

Swedish national statistics suggest that the number of reported stranger rapes is steadily increasing. Stranger rape is one of the most difficult types of crime for the police to investigate because there is no natural tie between the victim and offender. As a result, there is a need for more knowledge about how crime scene features could be used to make inferences of likely offender characteristics that could help investigators narrow down the pool of suspects. The aim in Study I was to examine how offender behaviors interact with contextual features, victim behaviors, and the assault outcome. Results suggest that the stranger rapes could be distinguished by five different dynamic rape pattern themes, which mainly differed on two dimensions: level of violence to control the victim, and level of impulsivity/premeditation characterizing the rapes. The results also highlight the importance of including contextual features when studying offender behaviors. The aim in Study II was to examine how single-victim rapists and serial rapists can be differentiated by the actions at their first stranger rape. Results suggest that three behaviors in conjunction: kissed victim, controlled victim, and offender drank alcohol before the offense, could be used to predict whether the offender was a single-victim rapist or serial rapist with a classification accuracy of 80.4 %. The aim in Study III was to examine how stranger rapists could be differentiated from a normative sample on background characteristics, and if stranger rapists’ pre-assault and initial-attack behaviors could be used to predict likely offender characteristics. Results showed that the strongest predictions could be made for previous criminal convictions, offender age, and the distance traveled by the offender to offend. Overall, the present thesis has found some scientific support for the use of crime scene behaviors to make inferences of likely offender characteristics that could be useful for profiling purposes. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

The Internet plays a significant role in the lives of young people today. Previous research points to advantages as well as disadvantages of the use of the Internet in a formal educational context. The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of the use of the Internet on planning and instruction. Five upper secondary school teachers were interviewed face-to-face. Five recurrent themes were identified in the interview data: general opinions on and experience of the Internet, attitudes to teaching and learning, opinions on the use of the Internet as a planning and teaching resource, effects of the use of the Internet on students and teachers, and drawbacks of the use of the Internet in the school. It was found that the teachers think that the Internet is a valuable source of information and an important additional teaching tool. The Internet can e.g. motivate the students, make teaching more fun, and allows variation in teaching. Four major drawbacks of the use of the Internet were reported by the teachers, viz. students' cheating, unreliable information, technical problems, and students' extracurricular activities during lessons.

The sentimental novel Cárcel de Amor by Diego de San Pedro was hugely popular in its time both in Spain and in other parts of Europe, spawning at least twenty editions in Spanish, nine bilingual versions, and eighteen translations between 1492 and 1675. The purpose of this study is to examine the seemingly, and oft criticized, varied nature of the sentimental and political discourse in the novel to demonstrate how San Pedro used them to create unity of structure and theme. In addition I analyze the effects of the author's implementation of metanarrative strategies on the relationship between structure and theme. Cárcel was written during a period of great social and political turmoil in Castile, and San Pedro uses the sentimental and political material of the work to paint a reflection of the society in which he lived. He demonstrates that the chivalric ideals of courtly love and honor based on virtue, values upon which the nobility based their collective identity, are no longer viable in his culture because they have come to be devoid of the beauty they originally embodied. In their place one finds a growing obsession with honor that is a construction of appearances with little regard for virtue. As the protagonist Leriano, who represents the perfection of these ideals, comes into conflict with the king and other courtiers, the reader realizes that the old ideals and the new reality are completely incompatible. San Pedro also uses several metanarrative strategies to draw the reader into the fictional world in order to force him to confront the same crisis that Leriano and the Auctor character face as they determine that their value system cannot survive in the false, double-dealing society in which they live. He uses these same techniques to underscore the fictional quality of the "reality" that members of that society create for themselves. San Pedro effectively uses both the sentimental and political discourse of the work to create a realistic picture of Castilian society's moral decay in the fifteenth century.

No description available.

The long tradition in the arts of the Hunt, domestic and exotic, as a surrogate for war in peacetime is reflected in the Amiens Hunting Series (1736-1739) along with influences from the waning years of Louis XIV and early trends in the reign of Louis XV. / Two of Francois Boucher's lesser known works form part of the Amiens canvases executed for Louis XV's private gallery at Versailles. Carle Van Loo, Charles Parrocel, Jean-Francois de Troy, Jean-Baptiste Pater and Nicolas Lancret contributed to the Series, but Boucher's work is unique due probably to his study of the hunts of Peter Paul Rubens and his reference to an older heritage represented by Antonio Tempesta who had already interpreted the natural wonders of the world as described by Pliny and others. / The seventeenth-century concept of the "noble huntsman" endures through the pivotal work of Boucher which constitutes the logical link between Rubens's Baroque expression and the Romantic extension of the theme by Eugene Delacroix.

No description available.