[pt] Este trabalho tem como objeto de estudo as mediações familiares da relação das crianças com as atividades remotas propostas pelas escolas, durante a pandemia da COVID-19. Objetivou-se, através de pesquisa exploratória, identificar as percepções das famílias pesquisadas a respeito dessas atividades, os principais desafios enfrentados, as estratégias de mediação adotadas e possíveis aprendizados vivenciados nesse processo. Foram obtidas 207 respostas a um questionário online e realizadas 41 entrevistas com responsáveis por crianças matriculadas do primeiro ao terceiro ano do Ensino Fundamental, residentes na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Como principais interlocuções teóricas foram utilizados o conceito de mediação, pela perspectiva vygotskiana, estudos sobre o acompanhamento dos deveres de casa pela família e pesquisas recentes sobre acesso a atividades educacionais remotas, oportunizado em grande parte pelas mídias. Foram também considerados dados de pesquisas sobre desigualdades educacionais associadas à oferta de ensino remoto durante a pandemia. Como principais resultados, foi visto que as mediadoras, em sua maioria mães, percebem como as maiores dificuldades assegurar a motivação das crianças para realizar as atividades, ter disponibilidade para acompanhá-las durante sua realização e as limitações pedagógicas enfrentadas na tarefa de explicar a elas os conteúdos curriculares. Enquanto uma forte potencialidade das atividades educacionais remotas, verificouse uma maior proximidade entre as famílias e as crianças, em especial nos assuntos relacionados à escola. As diferentes estratégias adotadas pelas mediadoras, a fim de possibilitar o melhor aproveitamento do ensino remoto pelas crianças, foram consideradas enquanto experiências oportunas para a ampliar a reflexão sobre o papel da escola. / [en] The object of study of this master dissertation were parental mediations of children s relationship with the school remote activities during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. Through exploratory research, the objective was to identify parents perceptions of such activities, their main challenges, the mediat ion strategies adopted and potential learning experiences. The data comprised 207 responses to a virtual questionnaire and 41 interviews with parents of children enrolled from 1st to 3rd grades of Elementary School, living in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro. The main theoretical references included the concept of mediation in the Vygotskian perspective, studies on the monitoring of homework by the family, and recent research on access to remote educational activities allowed by current media. Research data were also considered on educational inequalities associated with the provision of remote education during the pandemic. As its main results, the mediators, mostly mothers, biggest difficulties were: to guarantee children s motivation to carry out the activities, to be available to help them, pointing out their pedagogical limitations to explain curricular contents. The potential of remote education was the greater proximity between family and child, especially in school matters. The different strategies adopted by mediators in children s remote education were considered favorable experiences to reflect on the role of school.

[pt] A pesquisa que fundamenta esta tese teve como objetivo analisar possíveis relações entre letramentos midiáticos de professores e suas práticas pedagógicas no ensino remoto emergencial (ERE) na pandemia de Covid-19. Na ausência de consenso em torno de um modelo conceitual para os letramentos midiáticos, foi construída uma proposta de matriz conceitual para os letramentos midiáticos em diálogo com autores do campo da mídia-educação e dos estudos críticos sobre tecnologia e educação, adotada como lente analítica dos dados produzidos nesta pesquisa. O trabalho de campo contou com duas etapas: a) aplicação de questionário junto a professores de diferentes regiões do país; b) realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas com professores que responderam ao questionário e se dispuseram a participar também dessa etapa. As 259 respostas válidas nos questionários foram submetidas à análise descritiva e de associação através do teste qui-quadrado. As entrevistas realizadas com 32 professores buscaram compreender como eles concebiam os letramentos midiáticos; que habilidades consideravam possuir nessa área e se havia relações entre os letramentos midiáticos e as práticas pedagógicas empregadas no ensino remoto emergencial (ERE). Nas respostas ao questionário, a maioria dos professores que estavam realizando o ERE afirmou ser bastante habilidoso no que diz respeito ao uso de mídias no ensino. Nas entrevistas, os participantes relataram que a experiência do ERE propiciou um maior conhecimento sobre o uso pedagógico das mídias, o que possivelmente favoreceu o sentimento de mais competência nessa área. A análise das entrevistas indicou que a maioria concebe os letramentos midiáticos como uso de mídias com fins instrumentais (como habilidade técnica) e didáticos (para ensino do conteúdo curricular). Foram identificadas preocupações relacionadas à vigilância e controle do trabalho docente e apreensão com a privacidade e com a exposição. As entrevistas indicaram, ainda, que o conhecimento sobre aplicações pedagógicas das mídias foi construído principalmente na troca entre pares. Considerando a experiência com o ERE, propõe-se que políticas de formação voltadas para ampliação dos letramentos midiáticos de professores incluam entendimento crítico sobre o funcionamento dos sistemas midiáticos e seus aspectos sociais, econômicos, culturais, políticos e históricos e sejam estruturadas a partir de redes de professores, com base na troca de saberes. / [en] The research underpin this thesis aimed to analyze possible links between media literacy of teachers and their pedagogical practices in emergency remote education (ERE) during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the absence of consensus around a conceptual model for media literacies, a proposal was built in dialogue with authors in the field of media education and critical studies on technology and education, adopted as an analytical lens of the data produced in this research. The field work consisted of two stages: a) application of a questionnaire with teachers from different regions of the country; b) conducting semi-structured interviews with teachers who answered the questionnaire and agreed to participate in this stage as well. The 259 valid responses were submitted to descriptive and association analysis using the chi-square test. The interviews carried out with 32 teachers sought to understand how they conceived media literacy; what skills they considered to have in this area and whether there were links between media literacy and the pedagogical practices employed in emergency remote education (ERE). In the responses to the questionnaire, most teachers who were taking the ERE stated that they were quite skilled with regard to the use of media in teaching. In the interviews, the participants reported that the ERE experience provided them with greater knowledge about the pedagogical use of the media, which possibly favored the feeling of more competence in this area. The analysis of the interviews indicated that most of them conceive media literacy as the use of media for instrumental purposes (such as technical skills) and didactic purposes (for teaching curriculum content). Concerns related to surveillance and control of teaching work and concerns about privacy and public exposure were identified. The interviews also indicated that knowledge about pedagogical applications of the media was mainly built on exchanges between peers. Considering the experience with the ERE, it is proposed that training policies aimed at expanding the media literacy of teachers include a critical understanding of the functioning of media systems and their social, economic, cultural, political and historical aspects. This action shall be structured out of teachers networks, based on the exchange of knowledge.

[pt] A presente dissertação Da rua à quarentena: um estudo sobre trabalho sexual de pessoas transexuais no contexto da pandemia da covid-19 tem como objetivo principal analisar o aumento das violências sofridas por pessoas transexuais trabalhadoras do sexo no contexto da pandemia da covid-19. Vislumbrando compreender as condições de trabalho vivenciadas pelas pessoas transexuais e os tipos de violência as quais foram acometidas nesse período de pandemia, principalmente nos meses de recomendação de lockdown, fizemos um recorte temporal compreendido entre 2020 e 2021. Com uma leitura feminista, decolonial e crítica, buscamos na pesquisa documental e bibliográfica, dados para uma maior compreensão da realidade vivenciada por pessoas transexuais trabalhadoras do sexo. Como procedimento metodológico, analisamos os dossiês anuais elaborados pela Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (ANTRA) intitulados “Assassinatos e Violências contra as Pessoas Trans” dos últimos 2 (dois) anos, ou seja, anos de 2020 e 2021. Compreendemos que a análise desse material trouxe dados comparativos para a observação do aumento das violências sofridas por pessoas transexuais no período da pandemia, principalmente entre as trabalhadoras do sexo. A escolha pelos dossiês se deu pela dificuldade de localizarmos dados sobre a população trans, o que revela o quanto essa população não é reconhecida, bem como demonstrou as subnotificações de dados sobre essa população. A pesquisa evidenciou que o aumento da violência sofrida pela população transexual no período da pandemia, principalmente entre as trabalhadoras do sexo, expõe uma relação de condição laboral de extrema precarização, informalidade e desemprego, onde o mundo do trabalho determina quais trabalhadoras exercerão trabalhos formais, informais, precários e as que não terão possibilidade de vender sua força de trabalho. / [en] This dissertation From the street to the quarantine: a study on sex work by transgender people in the context of the covid-19 pandemic has as main objective to analyze he increase in violence suffered by transsexual sex workers in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. Aiming to understand the working conditions experienced by transsexuals and the types of violence they were subjected to during the pandemic period, especially during the months when lockdown was recommended, we used a timeframe between 2020 and 2021. With a feminist, decolonial, and critical reading, we sought data from documentary and bibliographical research for a better understanding of the reality experienced by transsexual sex workers. As a methodological procedure, we analyzed the annual dossiers prepared by the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (ANTRA) entitled Murders and Violence against Trans People from the last 2 (two) years, that is, the years 2020 and 2021. We understand that the of material brought comparative data for the observation of the increase in violence suffered by transsexual people in the period of the pandemic, especially among sex workers. The choice for the Dossiers was due to the difficulty in locating data about the trans population, which reveals how much this population is denied and invisibilized, as well as demonstrated the underreporting of data about this population. The research showed that the increase in violence suffered by the transgender population in the pandemic period, especially among sex workers, exposes a relationship of labor condition of extreme precariousness, informality and unemployment where the world of work determines which workers will exercise formal, informal, precarious jobs and those who will not have the possibility of selling their labor force.

This dissertation contains three essays examining the transportation sector in the United States using methods from empirical industrial organization. Chapter 1 investigates the entry and characteristics of public direct current fast charging (DCFC) stations for the fueling of electric vehicles (EVs). The entry model endogenizes the quality of DCFC sites by having participating charging networks take into account market characteristics, competition effects, and the policy environment when making entry and quality investment decisions. The entry model is augmented with data on station utilization that is constructed from web-scraped records of station availability collected over 10-minute intervals throughout the year 2023. In examining the policy environment, Chapter 1 focuses on the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit program in California, a program that provides tradable credits to DCFC charging stations, with credit allocations increasing, but marginally diminishing, in nameplate power ratings. I simulate counterfactual entry under various expenditure equivalent alternative subsidy schemes. I find that an alternative credit schedule proportional to nameplate power results in a simulated 5.0 percent increase in output from high-power sites, but the resultant aggregate output is left largely unchanged given the offsetting effect of having fewer low-power DCFC sites enter. Chapter 1 also examines the trade-offs between lump-sum and per-unit subsidies, finding that per-unit subsidies result in higher per-site utilization but lower site entry. A hybrid design combining lump-sum and per-unit subsidies is proposed as a viable alternative. Chapter 2 examines the response of EV drivers to time-of-use (TOU) pricing at public DCFC stations. In particular, demand is compared between two networks offering public charging services of comparable of comparable quality that differ, however, in their pricing strategies. Namely, one firm offers pricing that does not vary by the time of day, while the other offers TOU pricing that exhibits on-peak increases and off-peak discounts. Using a Poisson arrival model, I estimate the price elasticity of demand to be approximately unit elastic around 4pm, the time-of-day at which pricing shifts from off-peak to on-peak pricing for one of the two focal firms. In contrast to residential electricity users who encounter TOU pricing, EV drivers are found to be more price-sensitive, in part reflecting drivers' outside option of charging at home at lower tariffs. Chapter 3 evaluates how demand for passenger air travel evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Air travelers can be characterized by differing willingness to pay for the same ticket. While domestic air fare and passenger counts collapsed with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic to the United States in March 2020, I find that the resulting composition of air travelers post-pandemic was more price-inelastic, relative to pre-pandemic levels. Results are obtained using a discrete choice model that incorporates unobservable product characteristics and two latent passenger types.

This research investigates existing and new HR practices that have impacted public health employee retention in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. It builds on social support theory and social exchange theory to better understand the relationships between HR practices and retention, and uses quantitative methods to examine the hypotheses based on a conceptual framework. While OLS regression is employed to analyze the relationships between HR practices and retention, path analysis (bootstrapping) is used to examine the mediator variable. Based on 417 valid questionnaires distributed to public health employees in Saudi Arabia's central, western, and eastern regions, the analysis illustrates that while training and emphasis on work-life-balance as existing HR practices had a positive effect on retention, social support (supervisory support) and promotion of mental well-being as new HR practices also had a positive effect on retention during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the hypothesis that compensation and occupational health and safety would improve retention was not supported. These results indicate that financial benefits and providing safety materials did not lead to employee retention. Meanwhile, safety training programs, psychosocial support, and promotion of well-being have been essential HR practices during the pandemic. Regarding the mediation hypotheses, interestingly, the results show that organizational commitment has mediated relationships between safety training and mental (psychological) well-being on one hand and public health retention on the other during the pandemic.

This dissertation investigates videoconference technology adoption by aging-in-place organizations to facilitate the social engagement of older adults. It comprises three studies that examine the initiation and coordination of technology adoption by aging-in-place organizations and addresses the factors associated with successful adoption of relational videoconference technology by older adults. The first study is a systematic literature review exploring the role of aging-in-place organizations in social engagement of older adults through videoconference technology. The second study is a survey of adult relatives and friends of older adults regarding videoconference technology adoption by older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and their experience with facilitating resources. It applies technology adoption theory and a structural equation model to characterize the role of aging-in-place organizations. The third study is a pilot test of a new online platform called Circular that is designed to support social engagement of older adults. Through these studies, this research extends the existing body of knowledge regarding modes to facilitate adoption of relational technology by older adults and to empower senior centers and other aging-in-place organizations as they seek to socially engage the aging members of their communities.

In academic institutions, e-learning platforms are widely used to manage learning contents, assessments, and student communication and act as a primary system for managing teaching and learning activities. Due to public health concerns during COVID-19, online learning was the primary medium of instruction used to teach students. During this time, the world also noticed the increased activity of identity theft, individual and institutional content theft, and ransom attacks in many educational institutions since most students were using digital technologies to learn, and information, including personal and intellectual content, was being shared online. This study sought to identify college students' perceptions of information security regarding online learning platforms. This study focused on college students because they are active users of online learning tools, and there is a potential need for increased awareness regarding information security measures within these tools that could potentially create vulnerabilities that may lead to security breaches. The global COVID-19 pandemic accelerated online learning methods, making it more critical for institutions to pay more attention to cybersecurity and ransom attacks. The results from this study will facilitate an understanding of student's confidence in the learning platforms and their level of knowledge related to information security while using the Internet. Additionally, the result may help e-learning platform providers to create safer and more secure solutions that protect the integrity of the information shared.

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, comparative study was to determine whether there were significant differences in Introduction to Education grades as measured by GPA among community college students between 2018-23 with the change of class modality due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This study examined differences in Introduction to Education grades as measured by GPA at three community colleges from 2018-23. Archival data were used for this study. The population for this study consisted of all students enrolled in the Introduction to Education course at three institutions. Both in-person and online classes were examined during the time before, during, and after Covid-19 pandemic. There were no significant differences in Introduction to Education grades as measured by GPA among in-person or online students during 2018-23. Research indicated no significant difference in Introduction to Education grades as measured by GPA between students who took the course in-person and students who took the course online in each separate academic year: 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23. Research found a significant difference in Introduction to Education grades as measured by GPA. There is a greater significant difference for the mean of students’ grades measured by GPA in in-person than online in the Introduction to Education course in 2022-23.

[pt] Este estudo investiga as habilidades linguísticas de crianças no processamento de estruturas linguísticas de alto custo. Foca-se nos possíveis efeitos do fechamento das escolas em decorrência da pandemia COVID-19 no desempenho de tarefas que envolvam estruturas de alto custo de processamento. Compara o desempenho linguístico de crianças de uma escola da rede pública de ensino do Rio de Janeiro em dois momentos: imediatamente após a reabertura das escolas, em 2022, após seu fechamento em decorrência da pandemia COVID-19 e um ano após a flexibilização do isolamento social, em 2023. Foram testados 100 escolares, com idade média de 9,5 anos e 8,8 anos, sem diagnóstico anterior de problemas de linguagem, por meio do módulo sintático da bateria MABILIN (Módulos de Avaliação de Habilidades Linguísticas), com vistas ao rastreio de dificuldades de linguagem, como as sugestivas do TDL (Transtorno do Desenvolvimento da Linguagem). No ano de 2022, das crianças testadas, 35,47 por cento apresentaram algum grau de dificuldade na compreensão das estruturas do MABILIN 1. Em contrapartida, em 2023, do total de crianças que apresentaram dificuldades em 2022, 61,1 por cento (22) não apresentaram mais dificuldades em 2023. Portanto, conclui-se ser possível que a pandemia COVID-19 tenha promovido dificuldades no desenvolvimento de habilidades linguísticas em escolares, embora não haja evidências claras de aumento da incidência de TDL. / [en] This study investigates schoolchildren s linguistic abilities in processing high-cost linguistic structures. It focuses on the possible effects of school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of tasks involving high-cost processing structures. The linguistic performance of children from a public school in Rio de Janeiro was compared at two different moments: immediately after the reopening of schools in 2022, after their closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and one year after the easing of social isolation, in 2023. One hundred students, with an average age of 9.5 years and 8.8 years, without prior diagnosis of language problems, were tested using the syntactic module of the MABILIN battery (Language Skills Assessment Modules), with a view to screening for language difficulties, such as those suggestive of DLD (Developmental Language Disorder). In 2022, 35.47 percent of the children tested presented some degree of difficulty in understanding the structures of MABILIN 1. This percentage differs considerably from what was obtained before the COVID-19 pandemic through the same battery of tests (7-9 percent), which is similar to what has been observed in different languages. In contrast, in 2023, of the total number of children who had difficulties in 2022, 61.1 percent (22) no longer had difficulties in 2023. Therefore, it is concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic may have promoted difficulties in the development of linguistic skills in schoolchildren, although there is no clear evidence of an increase in the incidence of DLD.

The disproportionate burden of covid-19 pandemic on racialized groups in developed countries has made socio-political and socio-economic inequalities even more apparent. This thesis utilizes critical race thoery (CRT), framing theory and the ”What’s the ’problem’ represented to be?”-approach to conduct a critical analysis of how the representation of the underlying causes of racial disparities in covid-19 mortality framed by the Swedish Public Health Agency. The published report on migrants and covid-19 ”Migrants and COVID-19 – Confirmed cases, ICU-cases and mortality from 13 March 2020 to 15 February 2021 among foreign-born in Sweden” is analyzed through qualitative content analysis. In the report, the Swedish Public Health Agency analyzes underlying causes to differences of covid-19 outcome based on country of birth, which suggests that the population born in other countries is affected by the covid-19 more than the population born in Sweden. The content analysis of the official document on foreign-borns and covid-19 mortality, released by the Swedish Public Health agency, suggests that the agency has represented the underlying causes of racial disparities in covid-19 mortality in Sweden with a socio-economic inequality frame, and from a CRT perspective, the representation is guided by colorblind ideology that does not problematize the role of racism in the society. The knowledge produced in this thesis aims to contribute to the field of CRT studies in Sweden with empirical knowledge about problematization of the covid-19 pandemic outcomes in Sweden