The aims of this thesis were to investigate and validate the IntelliCage (New Behaviour, Zurich, Switzerland) as a new behavioural testing system using two different protocols. 1- Determining differences in activity and spatial learning in genetically altered PLB1 mice that express different features of Alzheimer’s disease and genes, assess their ability to learn the location of a designated water source (corner) within the IntelliCage. Different genotypes were used i.e PLB1wt (control),PLB1tau,PLB1Double (APP & TAU),PLB1Triple (APP, TAU & PSEN) and PLB1APP, and 3 different age groups (5,12 and 20 months). 2- Assessment of drug-induced changes in activity and spatial learning in two strains of mice (C57BL/6 and DBA) at approximately 6 weeks of age. Four different drug treatments, injected intraperitoneally prior to the beginning of the dark cycle were studied i.e, Apomorphine 6.4mg/kg (APO), Phencyclidine 1mg/kg & 4mg/kg (PCP), Scopolamine 0.5mg/kg (scop) and saline (vehicle). Parameters investigated included overall visits (habituation and training) and correct visits to trained corner. Our results indicate that the IntelliCage is sensitive enough to detect strain differences in reference to activity levels, spatial learning and drug treatments. It was particularly obvious in the PLB1 study that the IntelliCage can detect deficits in different age groups as it was possible to see learning differences within genotypes over three age groups. The IntelliCage can detect learning deficits in the 5 and 12 months groups, and confirms that all genotypes including the controls do not show learning at 20 months. With reference to the drug experiments, determination of drug wash out periods was assessed by manipulating the data into hourly bins. Treating groups with different drugs also produced different effects between strains; the C57BL/6 mice were most affected by APO during assessment of overall activity whereas the DBA mice’s behaviour was most affected by both PCP treatments. Investigation of spatial learning has revealed the C57BL/6 groups all performed reliably above chance (25%) and showed a significant increase in trained corner visits post drug, the DBA groups all failed to reliably learn above chance (25%) during 12 hours post drug injection. Comparing strains found that the only drug to cause an interaction was APO. It is possible to confirm that the IntelliCage is only useful for detecting genotype differences and drug effects on the C57BL/6 strain as no significant differences can be seen between the DBA drug treated groups.

Globally, gastrointestinal (GI) infections by enteric pathogens are the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under the age of five (≤5). While GI pathogen exposure in households has been rigorously examined, there is little data about young children’s exposure in public domains. Public areas in low-income settings are often used for waste disposal practices beyond human feces disposal, including trash dumping in open drainage canals and unused lots. If young children play in public domains unattended, they might be exposed to interrelated and highly concentrated microbial, chemical, and physical hazards. This study performed structured observations at 36 public areas in a transitioning internally displaced persons community in Haiti, to document how often young children play in public areas and to quantify behaviors that might lead to illness and injury. Children ≤5 yrs played at all public sites, including toddlers (92%/sites) and infants (44%/sites). Children touched and mouthed trash (metal, glass, plastic), food and other objects from the ground, ate soil (geophagia), drank surface water; as well as touched latrines, animals, animal feces, and open drainage canals. Hand-to-mouth contact was frequent and significantly different among developmental stages (infants: 18/hr, toddlers: 11/hr, and young children: 9/hr), providing evidence that children could ingest trace amounts of GI pathogens and other contaminants on hands. These findings demonstrate that water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions need to consider the unique risks posed by public domains that contribute to GI infection in young children. Furthermore, this highlights the need for waste related interventions to address the broader set of civil conditions that create unsafe, toxic, and contaminated public environments where young children play.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / This paper seeks to study the correspondence between the results of the test of variable of attention (TOVA) and the signals acquired by the Muse electroencephalogram (EEG) in the positions AF7 and AF8 of the cerebral cortex. There are a variety of research papers that estimates an index of attention in which the different characteristics in discrete signals of the brain activity were used. However, many of these results were obtained without contrasting them with standardized tests. Due to this fact, in the present work, the results will be compared with the score of the TOVA, which aims to identify an attention disorder in a person. The indicators obtained from the test are the response time variability, the average response time, and the d′ prime score. During the test, the characteristics of the EEG signals in the alpha, beta, theta, and gamma subbands such as the energy, average power, and standard deviation were extracted. For this purpose, the acquired signals are filtered to reduce the effect of the movement of the muscles near the cerebral cortex and then went through a subband decomposition process by applying transformed wavelet packets. The results show a well-marked correspondence between the parameters of the EEG signal of the indicated subbands and the visual attention indicators provided by TOVA. This correspondence was measured through Pearson’s correlation coefficient which had an average result of 0.8. / Revisión por pares / Revisión por pares

Master of Science / Department of Architecture / David Seamon / This thesis draws on observations of user behaviors in Kansas State University’s North Quadrangle to propose a plaza design for a site within the quadrangle adjacent to Cardwell Hall. As a practical method for conducting environment-behavior research, the thesis gathered observations of moving and resting behaviors to understand the North Quadrangle’s current usages. The observations of moving behaviors provided evidence for identifying potential spaces within the North Quadrangle where a plaza might be designed and built. In turn, observations of resting behaviors provided an understanding of sitting and standing behaviors in the North Quadrangle plaza. In terms of research related to plaza behavior and design, the most significant work drawn upon was William Whyte’s The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (Whyte, 1980). According to Whyte, a plaza is sociable if large numbers of people are drawn to it informally in the course of their everyday activities and movements. In this regard, the design aim of the proposed plaza is to promote sociability within the North Quadrangle by attracting pedestrians traversing the North Quadrangle’s busiest pathways and thus drawing them into the plaza. More specifically, to promote plaza sociability, the design makes use of the three most important plaza-design factors identified by Whyte: (1) location; (2) street-plaza relationship; and (3) seating. In other words, first, the plaza should be located near large pools of potential users; second, the plaza should be designed as an extension of the most heavily trafficked pathways; and third, the plaza should incorporate sitting opportunities for users via seating that is physically and socially comfortable. The behavioral observations and guidance provided by the literature review have been used to generate twelve design guidelines on which the proposed plaza design is based. The presentation of final plaza design incorporates explanations of these twelve guidelines followed by illustrated design schemes.

不動產估價師的本質在於解釋不動產於市場上價值反應的情況，而價格係由買賣雙方透過公開市場所決定，故不動產估價師不僅在解釋不動產之價值所在，亦在說明買賣雙方於公開市場中的行為模式。然此行為模式主要根據買賣雙方對不動產價格之認知基礎，因此不動產估價師以比較法進行項目調整時，若缺乏考量買賣雙方之認知，對不動產價格的合理區間即可能無法清楚掌握。而國外過去對此議題僅著重於估價師與買方之討論，然不動產價格係由買賣雙方共同合意，故應加入賣方進行探討。 本文以台北市住宅不動產為例，透過對不動產價格影響因素的認知角度，探討不動產估價師、買方及賣方對住宅價格影響因素重要性的認知差異情形，並進一步分析不動產估價師和買賣雙方認知產生差異的可能原因。 研究根據問卷調查結果，實證顯示買賣雙方彼此間對住宅價格影響因素並無明顯認知差異，然而不同家戶屬性的買方、賣方對價格影響因素仍有不同的認知。另外，研究亦發現不動產估價師與買賣雙方之間，對價格影響因素認知存有差異，這是由於環境與制度面使然，且本研究亦證實台灣不動產估價師以區位交通因素為調整價格的首要因素，然而區位未必代表一切，研究結果顯示住宅環境對買賣雙方的重要性甚至更高。 / The real estate appraiser is not only interpreting the value range, but telling the behavior of buyer and seller. The objective of this study is to probe into the cognition differences to the variables determining residential property values between appraiser, buyer and seller. The survey was carried out within a period involved buyers and sellers which participated in the sales of residential property from June 2008 to February 2009 in Taipei City. The results show that buyers and sellers do not have obvious cognition difference, but they do have different cognition with different household attributes. Besides, there is exactly cognition difference between appraiser, buyer and seller, and this is because of the residential property transaction environment and institution. Furthermore, the study reveals that the real estate appraisers in Taiwan take Location factors as the most important ones when they adjusting property price; however, buyers and sellers put even more attention on Residential factors.

Este trabalho diz respeito a organizações de alto risco de acidente, que, apesar de terem sistema de gestão de saúde e segurança do trabalho (SGSST) implementado, continuam a ter acidentes. Pesquisadores do problema particularmente do setor nuclear concluíram que as origens dos acidentes estão menos em falhas técnicas do que em falhas organizacionais e humanas, o que corresponde a fragilidades na cultura de segurança da organização. O trabalho procura estudar essa cultura de segurança, definida como conjunto de características da organização que estabelece que sua prioridade máxima são as questões relacionadas com a segurança, acima da produção. O estudo desse conjunto de características de grande complexidade e diversidade de temas de que é composto, como valores e crenças, comportamentos e atitudes, normas e procedimentos é difícil de ser operacionalizado metodologicamente. Mostra-se, aqui, a possibilidade de estudar a cultura de segurança de uma organização pela auto-avaliação de comportamentos de seus empregados, agrupando esses comportamentos em fatores organizacionais considerados indicativos da cultura de segurança (compromisso da alta administração com segurança, sua melhoria contínua, alocação adequada de recursos, comunicação eficaz e transparente, abordagem sistemática da segurança e capacidades e competências). A aplicação de questionário, desenvolvido pelo setor nuclear (IAEA, 2002a), à empresa brasileira com alto risco de acidente resultou na determinação do Índice Médio de Cultura de Segurança e dos Índices de Fatores Organizacionais. Os comportamentos que a pesquisa avaliou como passíveis de melhoria, isto é, todos os que não obtiveram índice máximo de segurança, foram os dos empregados operacionais e supervisores, relacionados à comunicação; melhoria contínua entre empregados operacionais; e capacidades e competências entre supervisores. Já os comportamentos mais seguros foram os de diretores e gerentes, relacionados ao fator alocação adequada de recursos. A importância da pesquisa consiste em que: (i) seus resultados podem ser objeto de um programa de promoção de comportamentos seguros (programa este efetivamente implementado na empresa estudada); (ii) sendo a cultura de segurança parte integrante da cultura organizacional, os resultados da pesquisa também se aplicam ao conhecimento da última. Neste sentido, o planejamento de melhoria da cultura de segurança pode ser integrado a programas da organização que buscam excelência ou qualidade total (o que também foi feito na empresa pesquisada); (iii) o instrumento de auto-avaliação da cultura de segurança pode ser incorporado ao SGSST das organizações como mais um de seus requisitos, de modo a alimentar o processo de melhoria contínua do sistema, o que se recomenda aos formuladores das políticas de saúde e segurança do trabalho de governos. / This paper refers to those organizations with a high risk of accidents. Where despite having an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) already implemented, accidents still take place. Those who research such an issue - particularly in the nuclear sector - have come to the conclusion that accidents resulting from technical failures are not as frequent as accidents resulting from organizational and human failures, which corresponds to weaknesses in the organization\'s safety culture. The purpose of this paper is to study safety culture, defined as a set of the organization\'s features that denote that its highest priority concerns safety-related issues more than production (IAEA, 1991). Operationalizing the study of this set of features using a methodological strategy is a difficult task, since these features are highly complex and involve several different topics such as values and beliefs, behaviors and attitude, rules and procedure. This paper shows that it is possible to study an organization\'s safety culture through selfassessment of its employees\' behavior, where such behavior is divided into organizational factors that indicate safety culture (senior management\'s commitment to safety, continuous improvement, appropriate resource allocation, effective and transparent communication, systematical approach to safety and skills and competencies.) The use of a questionnaire, developed by the nuclear sector (IAEA, 2002a), in a Brazilian company with a high risk of accidents resulted in the calculation of the Average Safety Culture Index and the Organizational Factors Indexes. Those behaviors the research found that can still be improved, i.e., all those that did not receive the highest safety level index, were the behaviors of operational employees and supervisors concerning \"communication\", \"continuous improvement\" among operational employees, and \"skills and competencies\" among supervisors. In turn, the safest behavior was the behaviors of directors and managers, concerning the \"appropriate resource allocation\" factor. The research is important because: (i) its results can become the object of a safe behavior promotion program (actually implemented in the company in question); (ii) due to the fact that safety culture is inherent to organizational culture, the results found with the research are also applicable to the study of organizational culture. In this respect, safety culture improvement planning can be designed to integrate with an organization\'s programs aimed at total quality and excellence (which was also done in the company in question); (iii) the safety culture self-assessment instrument can be incorporated into organizations\' OHSMS as a new requirement so as to strengthen the system\'s continuous improvement process, which is recommended to government occupational health and safety policy makers.

Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-07T15:55:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) 28.pdf: 2021618 bytes, checksum: 1abe144a89ab2af917ac42b767794e7b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Esta investigação histórica da teoria e prática psiquiátrica no Brasil pretende analisar os Estados Atípicos de Degeneração, um grupo de categorias diagnósticas sugerido pela Classificação Psiquiátrica da Sociedade Brasileira de Psiquiatria, Neurologia e Medicina-Legal, em 1910. Para realização deste estudo, selecionamos um caso clínico específico do Pavilhão de Observação, instituição que se localizava no complexo do antigo Hospício Nacional de Alienados, responsável pelo ensino de psiquiatria e triagem de pacientes. Este caso versa sobre uma mulher alemã, denominada em nossa pesquisa de Elza, que se envolveu em uma trama de intrigas que culminou em sua internação no Pavilhão de Observação, em junho de 1925, através da polícia e a pedido do marido, sob a alegação de abandono do lar conjugal, adultério e suspeita de loucura. No Pavilhão, Elza foi diagnosticada como portadora de um estado atípico de degeneração, com síndrome paranóide de interpretação e delírio de ciúmes , conseguindo sair de lá através de um habeas corpus. Nosso principal objetivo é analisar as relações entre gênero, prática psiquiátrica e degeneração atípica, através de uma incursão no arquivo de Elza, caracterizado por uma rede de discursos que articularam disputas por autoridade e verdade entre os diferentes protagonistas do caso. Nesse sentido, seguindo o curso das atipicidades desta história, nós iremos debater as diferenças culturais, questões de classe social, gênero e direitos civis dos homens e mulheres na legislação brasileira e alemã, nas primeiras décadas do século XX.

Este trabalho diz respeito a organizações de alto risco de acidente, que, apesar de terem sistema de gestão de saúde e segurança do trabalho (SGSST) implementado, continuam a ter acidentes. Pesquisadores do problema particularmente do setor nuclear concluíram que as origens dos acidentes estão menos em falhas técnicas do que em falhas organizacionais e humanas, o que corresponde a fragilidades na cultura de segurança da organização. O trabalho procura estudar essa cultura de segurança, definida como conjunto de características da organização que estabelece que sua prioridade máxima são as questões relacionadas com a segurança, acima da produção. O estudo desse conjunto de características de grande complexidade e diversidade de temas de que é composto, como valores e crenças, comportamentos e atitudes, normas e procedimentos é difícil de ser operacionalizado metodologicamente. Mostra-se, aqui, a possibilidade de estudar a cultura de segurança de uma organização pela auto-avaliação de comportamentos de seus empregados, agrupando esses comportamentos em fatores organizacionais considerados indicativos da cultura de segurança (compromisso da alta administração com segurança, sua melhoria contínua, alocação adequada de recursos, comunicação eficaz e transparente, abordagem sistemática da segurança e capacidades e competências). A aplicação de questionário, desenvolvido pelo setor nuclear (IAEA, 2002a), à empresa brasileira com alto risco de acidente resultou na determinação do Índice Médio de Cultura de Segurança e dos Índices de Fatores Organizacionais. Os comportamentos que a pesquisa avaliou como passíveis de melhoria, isto é, todos os que não obtiveram índice máximo de segurança, foram os dos empregados operacionais e supervisores, relacionados à comunicação; melhoria contínua entre empregados operacionais; e capacidades e competências entre supervisores. Já os comportamentos mais seguros foram os de diretores e gerentes, relacionados ao fator alocação adequada de recursos. A importância da pesquisa consiste em que: (i) seus resultados podem ser objeto de um programa de promoção de comportamentos seguros (programa este efetivamente implementado na empresa estudada); (ii) sendo a cultura de segurança parte integrante da cultura organizacional, os resultados da pesquisa também se aplicam ao conhecimento da última. Neste sentido, o planejamento de melhoria da cultura de segurança pode ser integrado a programas da organização que buscam excelência ou qualidade total (o que também foi feito na empresa pesquisada); (iii) o instrumento de auto-avaliação da cultura de segurança pode ser incorporado ao SGSST das organizações como mais um de seus requisitos, de modo a alimentar o processo de melhoria contínua do sistema, o que se recomenda aos formuladores das políticas de saúde e segurança do trabalho de governos. / This paper refers to those organizations with a high risk of accidents. Where despite having an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) already implemented, accidents still take place. Those who research such an issue - particularly in the nuclear sector - have come to the conclusion that accidents resulting from technical failures are not as frequent as accidents resulting from organizational and human failures, which corresponds to weaknesses in the organization\'s safety culture. The purpose of this paper is to study safety culture, defined as a set of the organization\'s features that denote that its highest priority concerns safety-related issues more than production (IAEA, 1991). Operationalizing the study of this set of features using a methodological strategy is a difficult task, since these features are highly complex and involve several different topics such as values and beliefs, behaviors and attitude, rules and procedure. This paper shows that it is possible to study an organization\'s safety culture through selfassessment of its employees\' behavior, where such behavior is divided into organizational factors that indicate safety culture (senior management\'s commitment to safety, continuous improvement, appropriate resource allocation, effective and transparent communication, systematical approach to safety and skills and competencies.) The use of a questionnaire, developed by the nuclear sector (IAEA, 2002a), in a Brazilian company with a high risk of accidents resulted in the calculation of the Average Safety Culture Index and the Organizational Factors Indexes. Those behaviors the research found that can still be improved, i.e., all those that did not receive the highest safety level index, were the behaviors of operational employees and supervisors concerning \"communication\", \"continuous improvement\" among operational employees, and \"skills and competencies\" among supervisors. In turn, the safest behavior was the behaviors of directors and managers, concerning the \"appropriate resource allocation\" factor. The research is important because: (i) its results can become the object of a safe behavior promotion program (actually implemented in the company in question); (ii) due to the fact that safety culture is inherent to organizational culture, the results found with the research are also applicable to the study of organizational culture. In this respect, safety culture improvement planning can be designed to integrate with an organization\'s programs aimed at total quality and excellence (which was also done in the company in question); (iii) the safety culture self-assessment instrument can be incorporated into organizations\' OHSMS as a new requirement so as to strengthen the system\'s continuous improvement process, which is recommended to government occupational health and safety policy makers.

Deaf individuals experience significant obstacles to participating in behavioral health research when careful consideration is not given to accessibility in the design of study methodology. To inform such considerations, we conducted a secondary analysis of a mixed-methods study that explored 16 Deaf trauma survivors’ help-seeking experiences. Our objective was to identify key findings and qualitative themes from consumers' own words that can be applied to the design of behavioral clinical trials methodology. In many ways, the themes that emerged are what we would expect of any research participant, Deaf or hearing – a need for communication access, empathy, respect, strict confidentiality procedures, trust, and transparency of the research process. However, additional considerations must be made to better recruit, retain, and engage Deaf trauma survivors. We summarize our findings in a “Checklist for Designing Deaf Behavioral Clinical Trials” to operationalize the steps researchers should take to apply Deaf-friendly approaches in their empirical work.

No description available.