Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is important raw material for agro-industrial production of hydrolysates. The lack of information about the process of hydrolysis of potato starch industry hampers the use of regional raw material and promote the use of crops such as maize, cassava and sugarcane to produce ethanol. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum range of the effects of different concentrations of substrate, concentration of enzyme amyloglucosidase (AMG) and reaction times, reduce process time, enzymes and material to be hydrolyzed. This was a central composite experimental design with three independent variables namely: [1] substrate concentration (3-7%) [2] enzyme dosage (0.36 to 1.0 μL.g MS-1) [ 3] time of action of enzymes computed after the addition of AMG in the middle (4 to 48 hours). The α-amylase concentration remained constant at 0.8 μL/g starch. The experiments were conducted in the bioreactor followed by metabolic bath. The dependent variables analyzed were the concentration of reducing sugars (RS) and the efficiency of hydrolysis of starch. The data were processed by Statistica 8.0, to generate predictive models at 95% confidence. The larger fraction of RA was reached in the middle (35.55 g/L), with time (26 hours) and dose of enzyme (0.68 mL) and substrate concentration at the maximum level (7%). The efficiency of hydrolysis (125%) occurred with the minimum ratio of substrate (3%) and enzyme dosage (0.68 mL) and the average time (26 hours). To reduce costs of enzyme (0.36 mL AMG), working with the same concentration of substrate, the model estimated that the hydrolysis for 39 hours was able to release 33.17 g/L of the AR 128, 62% efficiency. The use of different enzyme concentrations showed no significant increase in responses, and the time factor is set lower than recommended by the manufacturer of the enzymes. The concentration of substrate influenced more significantly than other factors, for both dependent variables. The performance presented demonstrates that this process is an efficient alternative to the industry, emerging as an important source this material for the production of hydrolysates. / A batata (Solanum tuberosum) é importante matéria-prima agroindustrial para produção de hidrolisados. A falta de informações sobre o processo de hidrólise do amido de batata na indústria dificulta a utilização desta matéria-prima regional e favorece o uso das culturas como: milho, mandioca e cana de açúcar para produção de álcool etílico. O objetivo deste trabalho foi apurar a faixa otimizada dos efeitos de diferentes concentrações de substrato, concentração de enzima amiloglicosidase (AMG) e períodos reacionais, na redução de tempo do processo, enzimas e material a ser hidrolisado. Foi realizado um desenho experimental central composto, com três variáveis independentes sendo elas: [1] concentração de substrato (3-7%), [2] dosagem enzimática (0,36-1,0μL/g de MS), [3] tempo de ação das enzimas computado após a adição da AMG no meio (4 a 48 horas). A concentração de α-amilase manteve-se constante em 0,8μL/g de amido. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em bioreator seguido de banho metabólico. As variáveis dependentes analisadas foram a concentração de açúcares redutores (AR) e a eficiência de hidrólise do amido. Os dados foram tratados pelo Statistica 8.0, para gerar modelos preditivos a 95% de confiança. O teor maior de AR foi alcançado no meio (35,55g/L), com tempo (26 horas) e dosagem de enzima (0,68μL) e concentração de substrato no nível máximo (7%). A maior eficiência de hidrólise (125%) ocorreu com a razão mínima de substrato (3%) e dosagem de enzimas (0,68μL) e tempo no nível médio (26 horas). Para a redução dos custos com enzima (0,36μL/g MS de AMG), trabalhando-se com a mesma concentração de substrato, o modelo estimou que a hidrólise por 39 horas era capaz de liberar 33,17 g/L de AR , com 128,62% de eficiência. O uso de diferentes concentrações de enzimas não apresentou incremento significativo nas respostas, sendo que o fator tempo se estabeleceu abaixo do recomendado pelo fabricante das enzimas. A concentração de substrato influenciou de forma mais significativa que os demais fatores, para ambas variáveis dependentes. O rendimento apresentado demonstra que este processo é uma alternativa eficiente à indústria, despontando este material como fonte importante para produção de hidrolisados.

Cette thèse se donne pour ambition la compréhension des mécanismes autoprésentationnels et plus particulièrement ceux liés à l‟expression de la désirabilité sociale en tant que stratégie de présentation de soi, mis en place en fonction du format de passation (i.e. papier/crayon vs. informatisé). Le format de passation informatisé est, en effet, susceptible d‟affecter la manière dont les individus s‟autoprésentent en participant à une perception spécifique du contexte de passation : celui-ci serait perçu comme plus anonymant que le format de passation traditionnel (Kiesler et Sproull, 1986). Alors que la plupart des études ont choisi d‟aborder la question de l‟équivalence des formats de passation traditionnels versus informatisés d‟un point de vue psychométrique, nous tenterons d‟y répondre en interrogeant tant des facteurs dispositionnels tels que l‟attitude envers l‟informatique (expérimentations 1, 2 et 5) que contextuels comme, par exemple, l‟anonymat (expérimentations 3,4 et 5). Deux études se focaliseront sur l‟usage des formats traditionnels et informatisés (expérimentations 5 et 6). Au sein de ce programme de recherche, nous distinguerons également les formats de passation les plus traditionnels (i.e. papier/crayon) des plus récents (i.e. formats offline et online). De manière générale, les résultats valident l‟intérêt d‟une approche psychosociale de l‟équivalence des formats de passation traditionnels versus informatisés. Indépendamment du format de passation auquel les individus sont confrontés (i.e. traditionnel, offline ou online), les stratégies d‟autoprésentation sont influencées par la manière dont les individus perçoivent la situation de passation. / The purpose of this thesis is to understand self-presentation processes and, in particular, the expression of social desirability depending on presentation paper-and-pencil versus computer-based test. Computer-based tests could affect the way respondents express self-presentation because this specific context may be perceived as more impersonal than a paper-and-pencil test (Kiesler et Sproull, 1986). While most studies choose to approach the question of the equivalence of traditional versus computer-based test through a psychometric view, we answer this problematic by questioning dispositional variables such as computer attitude (experimentations 1, 2 and 5) and contextual variables such as anonymity (experimentations 3, 4 and 5). Participants‟ use of these test formats is also studied (experimentations 5 and 6). Within this research program, we distinguish the most traditional (i.e. paper-and-pencil) from the most recent (i.e. offline and online) administration mode. The results validate the interest of a psychosocial approach for the field of equivalence of traditional versus computer-based tests. Regardless of the test version itself (i.e. paper-and-pencil, offline or online), self-presentation strategies depends of individuals‟ perception of the testing context.

The thesis focuses on quasi-experimental research design using descriptions of hypothetical situations (vignettes) with varying dimensions and their levels. The thesis is divided into three parts. First one is devoted to the presentation of the FSA. Second (methodologic) part describes the circumstances of the research conducted within the thesis. It is focused on comparison of FSA and traditional polling method, represented by itemized battery. Topic, through which the comparison is made, is crime, respectively punitiveness. The research also focuses on the comparison of classical and projective methods of questioning. The questionnaire survey method CAWI used split- ballot experiment - a sample of 505 respondents was divided into two parts. One half was interviewed with the vignette and subsequent itemized battery focused on mitigating / aggravating circumstances in the ordinary form (first person) of polling, the second part received a projective form (third person) of the questionnaire. The conclusions of the research are focused both on identifying the mitigating and aggravating circumstances using different methods of inquiry and their comparison, and on a combination of FSA and itemized battery in analysis and detection of inconsistent (and potentially socially desirable) topics. From the...

The method of physiological measurement of sexual arousal to erotic stimuli is often used in sexological research. However, there is no concept of form of these stimuli to induce maximum possible sexual response from a person. It seems that female static physical attractiveness is an important factor in perception of the female, but it could be also female nonverbal behavior, dynamic attractiveness, which could influence perception and which could either enhance of reduce the overall attractiveness of a female. In the whole concept of attractiveness, there could be two components: "physical attractiveness" and "sexual desirability". In this diploma thesis, we address this problem and we compared static and dynamic stimuli with focus on specific behavior. The study had two parts. We used photographs of clothed and naked women and videos of castings of potential actresses in erotic movies; materials are available online for free. In the study I we used 90 photographs of faces and clothed bodies and found that there is a difference between physical attractiveness and sexual desirability. Moreover, face was a predictor of physical attractiveness and body was a predictor of sexual desirability. In study II we used sexually explicit videos and found that nonverbal behavior has just a minor influence on...

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Die Themen soziale Erwünschtheit und Faking sind für Psychologen verbunden mit Kontrollinstrumenten, die eingesetzt werden müssen, um Antwortverzerrungen zu vermeiden. Lange Zeit wurde erforscht, ob sozial erwünschtes Verhalten beziehungsweise Faking Konsequenzen hat. Es gibt einzelne Studien, die die Eigenschaft der Konstrukte untersuchen und daran knüpft die vorliegende Arbeit an. Es existieren in den Studien zur sozialen Erwünschtheit und Faking zwei typische Situationen. In Forschungsstudien werden eher unbewusste Prozesse der Antwortverzerrungen untersucht. Studien aus der Praxis beschäftigen sich vor allem mit bewusster Verfälschung. Die erste Studie wurde online durchgeführt, in der Probanden eine Vielzahl von Fragebögen zu den Themen soziale Erwünschtheit, Overclaiming, Overconfidence und Persönlichkeit ausfüllten, um den gemeinsamen Kern eines nomologischen Netzwerkes zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass kein gemeinsamer Kern der Fragebögen gefunden werden konnte. Overclaiming scheint ein eigenes nomologisches Netzwerk zu bilden. Overconfidence kann eher als Fähigkeit der Metakognition als eine Antwortverzerrung bezeichnet. In der zweiten Studie wurde mit einem Model (Ziegler et al., 2015) eine latente Fakingvariable modelliert und anschließend der Zusammenhang zu Skalen der sozialen Erwünschtheit, Overclaiming und den Dark Triad untersucht. Dabei wurden Daten einer Experimentalstichprobe und einer Kontrollgruppe zu zwei Messzeitpunkten erhoben. Die Experimentalstichprobe füllte online zum ersten Messzeitpunkt mehrere Skalen aus. Zum zweiten Messzeitpunkt beantworteten die Probanden im Labor den Persönlichkeitsfragebogen erneut, unter einer zufällig zugeordneten Fakinginstruktion. Die Analyse der Daten ergab bedeutsame Zusammenhänge zwischen der latenten Fakingvariablen und Machiavellismus und einem Faktor zur sozialen Erwünschtheit. Außerdem wurde deutlich, dass der psychologische Prozess für die zwei Faking Situationen unterschiedlich ist. / The issues of social desirability and faking are for many psychologists associated with control instruments to avoid response distortion. For a long time, research questions tended to examine the consequences of faking. There are only a few studies which explored the nature of social desirability or faking, and that is where the current dissertation makes a contribution. In most studies of social desirability or faking, the investigation of response distortion in two different situations is described. On the one hand, unintentional distortion is often explored in research. On the other hand, intentional distortion is examined in the practical field. The first study was an online survey in which the sample completed a large number of questionnaires regarding social desirability, overclaiming, overconfidence, and personality to investigate the common core of a shared nomological network. The results suggest there is no common core among response distortion forms. Overclaiming seems to have its own nomological network. Overconfidence is regarded more as a metacognitive ability rather than a response distortion form. In the second study, by dint of a modeling technique (Ziegler, Maaß, Griffith, & Gammon, 2015), a latent faking variable could be modeled. Subsequently, the relationship between the faking variable and social desirability, overclaiming, and the dark triad was examined. The data of an experimental group and a control group were collected with two measurement occasions. The experimental group was first asked in an online survey to fill out questionnaires. Later the participants came to the laboratory and were randomly assigned to a special instruction group. The results show that Machiavellianism and one factor of socially desirable responding have significant regression weights for both faking conditions. Furthermore, Study 2 implies different psychological processes of faking good and faking bad.

The current dissertation had three primary objectives, categorized into two MTurk studies with capital juror-eligible community members: (a) cross-validate the psychometric properties of the JQVV, (b): explore the role of legal attitudes via the JQVV in mock capital sentencing decisions, and (c): examine the JQVV's ability to detect juror social desirability in capital voir dire. Impressively, Study 1 (N = 552) and Study 2 (N = 313) provided strong and consistent evidence for the JQVV's reliability and construct validity. In the mock juror paradigm, punitive legal attitudes on the JQVV (i.e., Crime-Neg, Convict, and Death-Pos), did not directly affect sentencing decisions, however they indirectly influenced the perception of nearly all other legally relevant variables (e.g., evidence type). For example, participants with more punitive criminal justice attitudes evaluated aggravating evidence more favorably which, in turn, increased death sentence verdicts. Study 1 also underscored the concerningly low levels of comprehension jurors have regarding judicial instructions and other relevant legal knowledge (e.g., the definition of aggravating). In Study 2, the support-life and support-death groups evidenced divergent patterns of social desirability, although support-death participants did not dramatically alter their scores between the genuine and social desirability condition. Additionally, the JQVV Pros-Cyn and Justice-Pos scales were moderately effective at identifying social desirability, marking the first ever questionnaire to examine juror response styles. Implications for research, professional practice in capital jury selection, and legal policy are discussed.

De nombreux chercheurs et cliniciens sont sceptiques quant à la validité des questionnaires autoadministrés, lorsqu’utilisés auprès d’une population carcérale (Gendreau, Irvine et Knight, 1973), surtout si celle-ci est composée de délinquants sexuels (Marshall et Hall, 1995). La sensibilité des sujets investigués jumelés à la transparence des questions expose l’évaluateur à la possibilité que le participant dissimule et modifie ses réponses (Tierney et McCabe, 2001). L’objectif de ce projet est de comprendre les processus impliqués dans la performance des participants à une évaluation autoadministrée. Les données de 282 délinquants sexuels ayant complétés le Multidimensional Inventory of Development, Sex, and Agression (MIDSA) ont été analysées afin de mieux comprendre l’interaction entre les échelles de désirabilité sociale, les temps de latence et les coefficients d’ajustement du modèle de Rasch. La convergence des analyses de temps de latence et des échelles de désirabilité sociale semble indiquer que certains participants dissimuleraient consciemment leurs réponses. Notamment, les participants détectés par les échelles de désirabilité sociales sembleraient répondre de manière de plus lente aux échelles d’évaluations, et certains d’entre eux offriraient des patrons de réponses incohérents à la prescription du modèle de Rasch. Les hypothèses permettant d’expliquer les potentiels mécanismes liés à la dissimulation seront discutées. / Many researchers and clinicians are skeptical towards the validity of self-reported assessment used within a forensic population (Gendreau, Irvine, & Knight, 1973), especially when used within a sexual offender population (Marshall & Hall, 1995). The sensitivity of the topics addressed as well as the transparency of the questions expose the evaluator to possible dissimulations or distortions in the subject responses (Tierney & McCabe, 2001). Responses of 282 sexual offenders who completed the Multidimensional Inventory of Development, Sex, and Aggression (MIDSA) were analyzed in order to understand the interaction between response time, social desirability scales and Rasch person-fit scores in order to account for response distortion. The convergence of latency times and social desirability scales seems to indicate that certain participants consciously manipulate their responses. Notably, participants detected by social desirability scales seem to respond more slowly to particular items. Other participants may answer in ways that are incoherent with the predicted responses according to the Rasch model. Hypotheses as to potential mechanisms underlying this process will be discussed.

Background: Antimicrobial-resistant infections result in hospital stays costing between $18,000 and $29,000. As of 2009, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services no longer upgrade payments for hospital-acquired infections. Hospital epidemiologists monitor and document rates of individual resistant microbes in antibiogram reports. Overall summary measures capturing resistance within a hospital may be useful. Objectives: We applied four techniques (L1- and L2-principal component analysis (PCA), desirability functions, and simple summary) to create summary measures of resistance and described the four summary measures with respect to reliability, proportion of variance explained, and clinical utility. Methods: We requested antibiograms from hospitals participating in the University HealthSystem Consortium for the years 2002–2008 (n=40). A clinical team selected organism-drug resistant pairs (as resistant isolates per 1,000 patient days) based on 1) virulence, 2) complicated or toxic therapies, 3) transmissibility, and 4) high incidence with increasing levels of resistance. Four methods were used to create summary scores: 1) L1- and L2-PCA: derived multipliers so that the variance explained is maximized; 2) desirability function: transformed resistance data to be between 0 and 1; 3) simple sum: each resistance rate was added and divided by the square root of the total number of microbes summed. Simple correlation analyses between time and each summary score evaluated reliability. For each year, we calculated the proportion of explained variance by dividing each summary score’s variance by the variance in the original data. Clinical utility was checked by comparing the trends for all of the individual microbe’s resistance rates to the trends seen in the summary scores for each hospital. Results: Proportion of variance explained by L1- and L2-PCA and the simple sum was 0.61, 0.62, and 0.29 respectively. Simple sum and L1- and L2-PCA summary scores best followed the trends seen in the individual antimicrobial resistance rates; trends in desirability function scores deviated from those seen in individual trends of antimicrobial resistance. L1- and L2-PCA summary scores were more influenced by MRSA rates, and the simple sum score was less influenced. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed good reliability through time. Conclusion: Deriving summary measures of antimicrobial resistance can be reliable over time and explain a high proportion of variance. Infection control practitioners and hospital epidemiologists may find the inclusion of a summary score of antimicrobial resistance beneficial in describing the trends of overall resistance in their yearly antibiogram reports.