by Cheuk Fung Ting. / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 96-107.

Kwok Yee-shan, Meaco. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-81). / Abstract and questionnaire in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgments --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / Table of Contents --- p.v / List of Tables --- p.x / Chapter CHAPTER ONE --- Introduction --- p.1 / Statement of the Problem --- p.1 / Purposes of the Study --- p.4 / Operational Definitions --- p.5 / Assumptions --- p.6 / Limitations --- p.7 / Delimitations --- p.7 / Significance of the Study --- p.7 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- Review of Literature --- p.9 / Imagery --- p.9 / Confidence --- p.18 / Anxiety --- p.23 / "Relationship among Imagery, Confidence and Anxiety" --- p.27 / Summary of Review --- p.33 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- Methodology --- p.35 / Participants --- p.35 / Design --- p.35 / Procedure --- p.36 / Pilot test --- p.36 / Orientation --- p.37 / Pre-test --- p.38 / Treatment conditions --- p.38 / Post-test --- p.42 / Procedural Reliability and Manipulation Checks --- p.43 / The Outcome Expectancy --- p.43 / The Consumer Satisfaction --- p.43 / The Treatment Integrity --- p.43 / Measure --- p.44 / The Modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 --- p.44 / The French Short Serve Test --- p.45 / The Poole Long Serve Test --- p.46 / Data Analysis --- p.46 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- Results --- p.48 / The Descriptive Analysis --- p.48 / Major Findings --- p.50 / "The effect of imagery on confidence, cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and performance" --- p.50 / Significant factor(s) in predicting performance --- p.51 / The Post-experimental Assessment --- p.52 / The Outcome Expectancy --- p.52 / The Consumer Satisfaction --- p.53 / Summary of the Findings --- p.54 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- Discussion --- p.55 / "The Influence of Imagery on Confidence, Cognitive Anxiety, Somatic Anxiety and Performance" --- p.55 / The effect of imagery on confidence --- p.56 / The effect of imagery on cognitive anxiety --- p.56 / The effect of imagery on performance --- p.57 / The effect of imagery on somatic anxiety --- p.58 / Nature of the task --- p.59 / The temporary design --- p.59 / Methodological factors --- p.60 / The duration of imagery training --- p.60 / The order of imagery presentation against physical practice --- p.61 / The imagery intervention script --- p.62 / Significant Factor(s) in Predicting Performance --- p.63 / Nature of the task --- p.64 / The importance of the competition --- p.64 / The psychological skills employed --- p.65 / The Post-experimental Assessment --- p.66 / The outcome expectancy --- p.66 / The effectiveness of the imagery intervention --- p.67 / Conclusion --- p.67 / Recommendations for Future Research --- p.68 / Bibliography --- p.71 / Appendix --- p.82 / Appendix A: Informed Consent --- p.82 / Appendix B: Competitive State Anxiety Inventory - 2 Directions --- p.83 / Appendix C: Outcome Expectancy --- p.87 / Appendix D: Consumer Satisfaction --- p.88 / Appendix E: Treatment Integrity --- p.89

Understanding the motion of a camera from only the image(s) it captures is a di cult problem. At best we might hope to estimate the relative motion between camera and scene if we assume a static subject, but once we start considering scenes with dynamic content it becomes di cult to di↵erentiate between motion due to the observer or motion due to scene movement. In this thesis we show how the invaluable cues provided by inertial sensor data can be used to simplify motion analysis and relax requirements for several computer vision problems. This work was funded by the University of Bath.

The present investigation was designed to examine the effects of the positive manipulation of information on self-efficacy and subsequent performance of 180 female subjects. High, moderate, and low self-efficacy subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment condition in a 3 x 4 x 3 (preexisting self-efficacy x efficacy information source x trials) factorial design. Information from the three efficacy sources of performance accomplishments, verbal persuasion, and vicarious experience was manipulated towards success after subjects completed a muscular leg endurance task. The results supported self-efficacy theory with high self-efficacy subjects extending their legs significantly longer than moderate and low self-efficacy subjects. However, subjects did not differentially [sic] respond to the manipulation of the efficacy information. Results are discussed in terms of efficacy as a mediator of performance on an endurance task as well as the lack of differential changes in efficacy based on the source from which that information is derived.

Regression analysis is one of the most applied statistical techniques. The sta- tistical inference of a linear regression model with a monotone constraint had been discussed in early analysis. A natural question arises when it comes to the difference between the cases of with and without the constraint. Although the comparison be- tween confidence intervals of linear regression models with and without restriction for one predictor variable had been considered, this discussion for multiple regres- sion is required. In this thesis, I discuss the comparison of the confidence intervals between a multiple linear regression model with and without constraints.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo sobre o mercado imobiliário de Porto Alegre que tem como objetivo verificar a formação de preços dos mercados de venda e de locação. Este objetivo é cumprido de duas formas: a) analisando como o tempo que um imóvel está no mercado afeta seu preço e b) comparando como diferentes modelos econométricos preveem os preços de imóveis da capital gaúcha. Para o primeiro tópico, encontram-se evidências de que os proprietários reduzem, em média, 9% o valor de locação para atrair clientes à medida que o tempo passa. Isto não se concretiza da mesma forma no mercado de venda, uma vez que há uma valorização à medida que o imóvel está no mercado. Para o segundo tópico, foram estimados cinco modelos (ingênuo, MQO, SAR, SEM e combinação) para averiguar a performance de previsão fora da amostra dos preços de imóveis. Embora as estatísticas descritivas dos erros não permitam análises conclusivas a respeito dos modelos, a estimação do model confidence set de Hansen et al. (2011) mostra o modelo ingênuo como a melhor série de previsões para os mercados de venda e de locação. / This thesis presents a study on the real estate market of Porto Alegre in order to verify the price formation in both sales and rental markets. This objective is accomplished in two ways: a) analyzing how time on market of a property impacts its price and b) comparing how different econometric models predict real estate prices. For the first topic, I show evidence that owners reduce on average 9% of rental value of available homes in order to attract customers as time on market goes by. This pattern is not present in the sales market, in which an appreciation occurs as time passes, indicating an inflation compensation. For the second topic, five models (naive, OLS, SAR, SEM and a combination) were estimated to determine out-of-sample forecasting accuracy. Although traditional error measures do not allow to choose the best forecasting series, the model confidence set procedure of Hansen et al. (2011) shows the naïve model as being the best forecasting model.

Este estudo identifica como a revista Veja enquadra a confiança na imagem da ação de governo dos presidentes brasileiros (1985-2014). A análise teve como base as capas das edições dos anos 1985-2014 (117 capas). Como referencial teórico adotamos a teoria econômica da política, a teoria do agenda-setting, cultura política e políticas públicas. A partir da análise de conteúdo identificamos que de cada quatro capas, três apresentaram enquadramento de desconfiança. Ao fortalecer uma imagem negativa dos mandatários, a revista Veja assume o risco de enfraquecer a confiança na democracia do Brasil. / This study identifies how the magazine Veja fits the trust in the image of the government action of the Brazilian presidents (1985-2014). The analysis was based on the covers of the editions of the years 1985-2014 (n=117). As theoretical reference we adopt the economic theory of politics, the theory of agenda-setting, political culture and public policies. From the analysis of content, we identified that of each four covers, three presented a frame of suspicion. By strengthening a negative image of the incumbents, Veja magazine risks weakening confidence in Brazil's democracy.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar as experiências dos alunos de graduação em Odontologia ao realizar tratamentos endodônticos em atividades de Pré-Clínica e avaliar níveis de confiança e o perfil de ansiedade neste grupo de indivíduos. Alunos de Odontologia que frequentavam a disciplina de Pré-Clínica Odontológica foram convidados a participar do estudo. Após o aceite, os participantes preencheram um formulário elaborado para o estudo, contendo perguntas sobre as diferentes etapas do tratamento endodôntico a serem realizadas em dentes monorradiculares, pré-molares e molares. O grau de autoconfiança para cada etapa foi atribuído, por meio de escala Likert de cinco pontos, variando de “muito pouco confiante” a “muito confiante”. Utilizou-se o inventário IDATE Traço e Estado para determinar o perfil de ansiedade dos participantes. Após a aplicação de todos os instrumentos quantitativos, foram sorteados 18 participantes para integrar de uma análise qualitativa por meio de um grupo focal. Foi realizada análise estatística e inferencial. Os dados obtidos no grupo focal foram compilados, e gerou-se uma nuvem de palavras, para representar graficamente os achados. Um total de 39 participantes integrou o estudo. A maioria deles sentia-se “confiante” para realizar as diferentes etapas do tratamento endodôntico simulado, independentemente do grupo dental. Contudo, observou-se que os participantes sentiam-se menos confiantes para realizar a “radiografia de prova do cone de guta-percha” em molares do que em monorradiculares e pré-molares. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante nos níveis de confiança para realizar as diferentes etapas de um tratamento endodôntico em um mesmo grupo dental. Participantes que tiveram escores de IDATE Traço/Estado acima do terceiro quartil foram categorizados como “altamente ansiosos”, representando 36,11% e 23,07% para IDATE-Traço e IDATE-Estado, respectivamente. Correlação fraca, porém estatisticamente significativa foi encontrada entre níveis de autoconfiança para realizar etapas específicas do tratamento endodôntico, nos diferentes grupos dentais. O grupo focal trouxe informações quanto às dificuldades encontradas pelos alunos na disciplina de Pré-Clínica, na sua percepção quanto ao desenvolvimento das atividades, e também dos sentimentos e expectativas a serem vivenciadas na transição entre os tratamentos laboratoriais e clínicos. Pode-se concluir que foram observados níveis importantes de ansiedade entre os participantes do estudo, conforme determinado pelo IDATE Traço/Estado. Contudo, parece haver fraca correlação entre a confiança em realizar determinada etapa do tratamento endodôntico em atividade Pré-Clínica e o nível de ansiedade. Torna-se importante discutir e considerar as impressões dos alunos ao se adotar abordagens de ensino e aprendizagem em Endodontia Pré-clínica. / The aim of the present study was to evaluate the self-confidence and experiences of dental students and assess their anxiety levels when performing pre-clinical root canal treatment.Undergraduate students answered the STAI-Trait/State and a questionnaire to assess their confidence level to perform each step of pre-clinical root canal treatment in anterior, bicuspid and molars. Further eighteen randomly selected students participated in a focus group aimed at obtaining qualitative data on perception of conducting endodontic treatment and the learning process necessary to perform it in a pre-clinical environment. Statistical analysis was carried out. A total of 39 students joined the study. The majority of the participants reported feeling "confident" to perform the different steps of the simulated root canal treatment, despite the dental group. However, students felt less confident to perform the master cone X-ray for molars than for anterior and bicuspid teeth. There was no statistical difference in the self-reported confidence to perform different steps of the root canal treatment in the same group of teeth. Students who scored above the 3rd quartile of STAI-Trait/State were classified as "highly anxious", and comprised 36.11% and 23.07% and for STAI-Trait and STAI-State, respectively. A weak correlation was observed for the levels of self-reported confidence for specific steps of the root canal treatment and STAI-Trait/State. The focus group brought information on the difficulties that the students faced in the pre-clinical activities, on the perception for the activities development in the classes, and also on the feelings expected in the transition from pre-clinical to clinical activities. It can be concluded that there were considerable levels of anxiety among the students, as determined by the STAI-Trait/State. However, it might weakly influence their confidence to perform simulated root canal treatments, in pre-clinical endodontics. The current findings suggest it might be important to rearrange consider the students perceptions for determining the learning approaches to be adopted in the Pre-clinical activities in endodontics.

Metacomprehension refers to the ability to judge one's own comprehension. Studies in the literature have shown that generating keywords after reading helps adults and children make comprehension judgments that are better correlated with their actual comprehension. Researchers have also found that when metacomprehension is framed in terms of confidence, there is an effect of ability, where individuals with low ability tend to be overconfident in their judgments, while those with high ability tend to be underconfident. This paper describes two experiments investigating metacomprehension in seventh graders. Experiment 1 sought to replicate and extend the finding that generating keywords after reading improves the accuracy of comprehension judgments and the effectiveness of study choices. To account for potential effects of time on task, participants in the control condition were asked to read passages twice in lieu of generating keywords. Two measures of metacomprehension accuracy (signed differences and gamma correlations) were based on comprehension judgments taken at two time points (pre-test and post-test). The moderating effects of reading ability were also examined. The results of Experiment 1 showed that participants were overconfident in their judgments of their own comprehension. Overconfidence was greater for pre-test predictions than for post-test reflections, and it was also greater for participants with lower reading ability. Generating keywords caused participants to become significantly less overconfident- or more accurate- from pre-test to post-test in their comprehension judgments, but it did not actually boost comprehension scores. In other words, generating keywords helped participants know that they did not know; it did not, however, help them know more. In Experiment 2, the investigation of generating keywords and rereading text was situated within a new context incorporating practice test questions. Studies have shown that practice testing is an effective study strategy. Additionally, since researchers have found that learners can use information about peer performance as a basis for making judgments about themselves, Experiment 2 also asked whether peer collaboration might increase metacomprehension accuracy. Participants were randomly assigned to four conditions: individual/keyword, individual/reread, collaborate/keyword, and collaborate/reread. All participants answered practice test questions; participants in the individual conditions worked on the questions alone, while participants in the collaborative conditions discussed the questions with a partner. As in Experiment 1, participants in Experiment 2 were also overconfident in judging their own comprehension. Again, there was an effect for time of judgment, such that predictions were more overconfident than were reflections. Surprisingly, peer collaboration was found to lead to greater overconfidence in comprehension judgments. Participants who collaborated with a peer were more overconfident than participants who worked alone. Experiment 2 showed that in the presence of practice testing and peer collaboration, the interactive effect of keyword generation and time of judgment was minimized. Within the keyword group, participants who collaborated and participants who worked alone did not differ in overconfidence. Within the reread group, however, participants who collaborated were significantly more overconfident than those who worked alone. Taken together, these two studies suggest that middle school students are generally overconfident in their judgments of comprehension. However, the results indicate that study strategies designed to enhance comprehension and learning can be effective in reducing students' overconfidence about themselves.

Os ensaios de proficiências são amplamente utilizados para avaliar a capacidade analítica de laboratórios e também como parte dos processos de acreditação. Por esta razão, são importantes ferramentas para o controle dos resultados analíticos obtidos nos laboratórios que atuam diretamente com as empresas exportadoras de pescado. No Brasil não há provedores de ensaios de proficiência para metais potencialmente tóxicos em pescado. Neste trabalho serão descritos todos os passos utilizados para a produção de materiais de referência a serem utilizados em um estudo piloto de ensaios de proficiência para As, Cd, Pb e Hg em tecido de peixe in natura, seguindo as recomendações do Guia ISO 35. O esquema de preparação consistiu na seleção de indivíduos, limpeza, trituração, homogeneização e fortificação com As, Cd e Pb em dois níveis de concentração. A preparação resultou em 164 sachês de 10 g cada. A fim de avaliar o efeito da irradiação gama na conservação das amostras 52 sachês foram irradiados com uma fonte gamacell de cobalto 60 (60Co) (10,00 ± 1,05 KGy) e 52 não irradiadas, ambos selecionados aleatóriamente foram separados para os estudos de homogeneidade e estabilidade. O restante 60 sachês foram utilizados no ensaio de proficiência. Os resultados demonstraram que ambos os materiais foram homogêneos e apresentaram boa estabilidade (durante um período de 45 dias). No entanto, o material irradiado, apresentou uma melhor integridade foi um passo era crucial para assegurar a preservação da integridade, para a degradação biológica, quando armazenado em temperatura ambiente. Por esta razão, eles foram usados para o programa piloto de ensaios de proficiência. Dez laboratórios participaram do estudo piloto de ensaios de proficiência e os resultados foram avaliados por meio dos seguintes testes: z-score, a confiança elipse e erro normalizado. Este trabalho demonstra a capacidade do laboratório para a produção de materiais de referência, bem como para organizar e realizar testes de proficiência. / The proficiency tests are widely used to evaluate the analytical capacity of laboratories and also as part of the accreditation process. For this reason, are important tools for the control of the quality of the analytical results obtained in the laboratories that work directly with seafood companies. In Brazil there are no providers of proficiency testing for metals potentially toxics in fish tissues. In this work will be described all steps used for the production of reference materials to be used in a proficiency testing pilot study for As, Cd, Pb and Hg in fish tissue following the recommendations of the ISO Guide 35. He preparation scheme consisted in selecting the individuals, cleaning, grinding, homogenization and fortification with As, Cd and Pb in two concentration levels. The preparation resulted in 164 sachets of 10 g each. In order to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation in the samples conservation 52 sachets were irradiated with 60Co (10.00 ± 1.05 kGy) in a gamma cell. This material with others non irradiated 52 sachets were used for the homogeneity and stability studies. The remaining 60 were used for the proficiency testing. The results demonstrated that both materials were homogeneous and presented good stability (during a period of 45 days). However, the irradiated material present better integrity, concerning biological degradation, when stored in ambient temperature. For this reason they were used to the proficiency testing pilot program. Ten laboratories participated in the proficiency testing pilot study and the results were evaluated using the following tests: zscore, confidence ellipse and En numbers. This work demonstrates the capability of the laboratory to produce reference materials as well as to organize and conduct proficiency testing.