Perceptual bi/multi-stability—the phenomenon in which perceptual awareness switches between alternative interpretations of a stimulus—can be elicited by a large range of stimuli. The phenomenon is explored in vision, audition, touch, and even olfaction. The degree to which perceptual switching across visual and auditory bi/multi-stable paradigms depends on common or separate mechanisms remains unanswered. This main question was addressed in the current work by using four ambiguous tasks that give rise to bi/multi-stability and which are thought to involve rivalry at different levels of cognitive processing: auditory streaming and ambiguous-structure-from-motion (low- level tasks), and verbal transformations and ambiguous figures (high-level tasks). It was also investigated if individual differences in executive function (inhibitory control and set-shifting), creativity and personality traits have common relationships with perceptual switching in adults and children. A series of five experiments (four studies) were conducted. In Study 1 (two experiments), perceptual switching behaviour of adult participants was examined in the four perceptual tasks mentioned above. In Experiment 1, participants reported higher switching rates for the ambiguous figure and verbal transformations than for ambiguous motion and auditory streaming. However, in Experiment 2 participants had a higher switching rate in verbal transformations than in auditory streaming, while the switching rates in the two visual tasks did not differ significantly. The correlations between visual and auditory switching rates were similarly inconclusive: in Experiment 1, no cross-modal correlations emerged, while in Experiment 2 there were correlations between ambiguous figure and verbal transformations and between ambiguous motion and verbal transformation. Furthermore, inhibitory control, set-shifting, and creativity correlated with perceptual ii switching rates in some of the perceptual tasks, although not in a consistent manner. In Study 2, the development of perceptual switching was investigated in children in the same four tasks used in Study 1. Findings showed that the number of switches increased with age in all four perceptual tasks, indicating general maturational developments. Executive functions and creativity were not associated with the ongoing perceptual switching, which was similar to what was found in adults. In Study 3, a neuroscientific perturbation approach was used to investigate whether the superior parietal cortex is causally involved in both visual and auditory multistability as a top-down mechanism. Transcranial magnetic stimulation on the anterior and posterior superior parietal cortex did not increase or decrease the median phase durations in response to the ambiguous motion and auditory streaming. These regions were not causally involved in either visual or auditory multistability. Perceptual switching across modalities correlated nevertheless, indicating common perceptual mechanisms. In Study 4, the effects of attentional control and instructions were further investigated in ambiguous motion and auditory streaming. There were strong correlations between perceptual switching in the two tasks, confirming that there are common mechanisms. However, the effects of voluntary attention did not explain the commonalities found. Possibly the commonalities found reflect similar functionalities at more low-level sensorial mechanisms. In conclusion, perceptual switching in vision and audition share common mechanisms. These commonalities do not seem to be due to the same neural underpinning in parietal cortex. Moreover, attentional control does not explain the commonalities found, indicating a more low-level common mechanism or functionality. Perceptual switching across all ages is task-specific, more than modality specific. No central influence of inhibitory control and creativity was constantly associated with perceptual switching regardless of task/modality, supporting the distributed mechanisms hypothesis.

Following the necessity for spatial planning to focus on ‘what works’ in terms of implementation and policy delivery, during the last decade, the notion ‘soft’ spaces of cooperation have been in the spotlight of many academics working on territorial cooperation units. ‘Soft’ spaces of cooperation have been introduced mainly to explain what was happening for real through the continuous attempts to promote new policy scales, initially through the device of fuzzy boundaries. However, despite the necessity to address interests beyond existing rigid administrative boundaries, still issues related to financial power, infrastructure coordination and investment, ecological and environmental concerns, etc., all are situated within hierarchical structures of government and governance. Challenges arise and affect the interaction of actors in these areas, given the different institutional and cultural settings. This research investigates ways in which governmental institutions influence the coordination between non-governmental actors, points of interests that can foster the cooperation between governmental institutions and, more specifically the main challenges that non-governmental actors face while trying to cooperate due to cultural differences and institutional set-up in a ‘soft’ territorial cooperation. The research has been carried out in the Dutch-German border area, focusing on a common natural linkage and asset such as the Rhine river. While coordination between different sectoral policies exists in both sides of the border, different social context, planning mode and different legal and political conditions make the implementation of common projects a challenge.

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Este trabalho visa contribuir para a compreensão dos incentivos que permeiam os agentes envolvidos no financiamento de campanhas eleitorais. Por meio de evidências empíricas reunidas a partir do contexto do financiamento de campanhas brasileiras, a compra de ações de empresas de capital aberto por parte do governo é analisada como possível mecanismo de compensação do financiamento de campanhas eleitorais. A análise é feita comparando a participação do governo no capital de sociedades anônimas doadoras e não doadoras de recursos para financiamento de campanhas usando o método de Diferenças em Diferenças. Por meio dessa metodologia, identificou-se, particularmente na eleição de 2010, um efeito positivo do financiamento eleitoral sobre o investimento do governo em ações de empresas financiadoras. / This study aims to contribute to the literature by investigating the incentives that pervade agents involved in electoral campaign funding. By means of empirical evidence gathered from the Brazilian electoral financing context, government investment in stocks is analyzed as a possible compensation mechanism for electoral campaign financing. The study investigates government investments in stocks comparing corporations that have supported electoral campaigns and those that have not, by applying the Differences-in-Differences method. By this method, a positive effect of electoral financing on government investment in companies stocks was identified in the 2010 electoral cycle. However, the empirical tests suggest no effect in 2002 and 2006 elections.

O regime de metas de inflação é uma estratégia de política monetária utilizada por inúmeros países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento que tem por objetivo ancorar as expectativas dos agentes econômicos quanto ao comportamento futuro da taxa de inflação. De acordo com a literatura sobre o tema, o regime de metas inflacionárias além de provocar efeitos positivos sobre a taxa de inflação das economias que o adotam, tende também a provocar melhoras sobre o comportamento do produto. O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar empiricamente os impactos da adoção do sistema de metas de inflação para a taxa de inflação e crescimento real do produto dos países, diferenciando os impactos entre os países desenvolvidos e os em desenvolvimento. Utilizando o grupo de países que adotam metas de inflação como o grupo de tratamento e os países que não adotam como grupo de controle, dois procedimentos metodológicos foram realizados: estimação por diferenças em diferenças e análise em painel. Os resultados da estimação por diferenças em diferenças não se mostraram robustos e assim a análise em painel foi realizada. Os resultados demonstram que a adoção do sistema de metas inflacionárias produz impactos significativos para a inflação e crescimento do produto dos países que o adotam. Para o caso dos países desenvolvidos a adoção do sistema de metas tende a elevar a taxa média de inflação assim como o crescimento do produto. Para os países em desenvolvimento, aqueles que adotam o regime tendem a apresentar médias de inflação e do crescimento do produto significativamente menores que os países que não adotam. Concluí-se que para os países em desenvolvimento existe um custo de manutenção do sistema de metas de inflação em termos de queda do crescimento do produto. Esse custo estaria relacionado à maior dificuldade enfrentada por tais países na construção de credibilidade, fazendo com que os mesmos sigam políticas monetárias restritivas e definam um desenho rígido para o regime de metas de inflação. / Inflation targeting is a monetary policy strategy used by several developed and developing countries which aims to link together the economic actors? expectation related to the future behaviour of the inflation rate. According to specialized literature, inflation targeting tends to bring an improvement over product behaviour, besides bringing positive effects over inflation rates of those countries that make use of it. The focal point of this dissertation is to empirically analyse the impacts caused by the adoption of inflation targeting system on countries? inflation rate and real GDP growth, distinguishing effects on developed countries from those on developing ones. Defining the group made of countries that do use inflation targeting as treatment group and the group made of countries that do no use it as control group, two methodological procedures were accomplished: differences-in-differences estimation and panel data analysis. As the results of differences-in-differences estimator did not seem robust, panel analysis was also consummated. These results showed that inflation targeting adoption causes significative impacts on inflation rate and GDP growth in countries that adopt it. In developed countries, the adoption of such monetary policy strategy tends to increase the mean inflation rate, which also occurs with the GDP growth. In the other hand, developing countries that adopted inflation targeting tend to present mean inflation rate and GDP growth substantially lower than developing countries that do not make use of it. Though, it is possible to conclude that exists a maintenance cost of inflation targeting system for developing countries regarding the loss in GDP growth. This cost could be related to the greater difficulty that these countries face when forming credibility, which forces them to follow restrictive monetary policies and also to define an strict outline for inflation targeting.

This investigation examines how knowledge of a researcher's intent, as well as gender, influences the clinical judgments of mental health professionals in sex role research. Conscious awareness of the study's aim was manipulated by varying experimental instructions to minimize (not salient) or maximize (salient) sex role awareness. Subjects were mental health professionals who rated a protocol of a female or male pseudopatient exhibiting masculine, and lacking feminine, stereotyped behaviors. It was hypothesized that if sex biases affect judgments, more negative ratings should be assigned to a female with cross sex role behavior than to male-appropriate role behavior. Differences should be greater when subjects were unaware of the nature of the study.

The aim of the study was to produce preliminary normative indications for the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, administered in English, on a non-clinical sample of black, Xhosa-speaking, unskilled individuals (N = 33), with an educational level of 11 – 12 years, in two age categories (18 –29 and 30 – 40 years). The sample was equally distributed for gender and level of education. Participants, who were required to have a basic proficiency in English, were from traditionally black township schools with relatively disadvantaged quality of education. Within-sample age and gender effects were investigated. There were no significant age effects on the Trail Making Test, whereas there was one significant difference between age groups on the Stroop Test with respect to the Color-Word task, and a result that strongly approached significance on the Word task, with the younger group performing better than the older group. There were no significant gender effects on the Trail Making Test, whereas there was one significant difference between genders on the Stroop Test with respect to the Word task, and a result that approached significance on the Color task, with females performing better than males. Normative indications for both measures were compared to available normative data on western populations with higher levels and more advantaged quality of education. This comparison revealed consistently poorer performances for both the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, confirming the need for localised normative datasets to facilitate accurate neuropsychological diagnoses on culturally disadvantaged individuals.

Computers are a valuable tool for education. Studies have proven that the computer can assist in the development of a positive self-concept and a positive attitude toward school. Computers can increase student-teacher interaction and achievement by individualizing the learning process. The research clearly documents the dominance of males in the computer field. Home economics educators have the ability to assist individuals and families in using this tool to their best advantage. This research study included 224 students at Sir Charles Tupper School in Vancouver, B.C. The students were thirteen or fourteen years of age and in grade nine or ten. The study was conducted between September 1989 and February 1990. The purpose of this study was to determine if the integration of computers into home economics can encourage attitude changes and promote equitable computer use between male and female students. This study will test the assertion of previous research that indicates females are less interested in computers and less likely to use computers than males. Can females do as well as males and males as well as females when given the opportunity to study personally relevant material under the supervision of a female role model? Of the 224 students in the study, 185 were in the control group and 39 were in the treatment group. The treatment involved participation in the new course, Computers in the Home. This course studies the impact of computers on family life, and explores personal and home computer applications. The survey was designed to assess student attitudes toward the computer and how they may have changed as a result of the course. Student responses to the survey were analyzed using SPSS-X and Chi-Square analyses were performed to determine any significant differences. During the period of study, the enrollment patterns in both Computer Science and Computers in the Home refute the majority of research in that more females than males were enrolled in these computer classes. It was expected and postulated that students enrolled in Computers in the Home would have been exposed to a different experience than those not enrolled. Unfortunately, there was no significant difference between the attitudes of the students enrolled in the course and students not enrolled in Computers in the Home. Although empirical observation throughout the study period lead the researcher to believe there were differences, statistical analysis of the survey responses did not support this observation. Males overtly displayed their enjoyment—they were more adventurous, aggressive and curious. Female students were quieter and tended to be more covert toward this machine. Since no difference in attitude was found, this research study has shown that females are as interested and use computers as often as male students at Sir Charles Tupper School. Although females react differently toward computers, the general trend appears to be moving toward more equitable computer experiences for all. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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This study aimed to investigate gender-based evaluation differences in situations that occasionally can be perceptualized as sexual harassing situations. Hypothesis stated that when women are presented as victims in an eventual sexual harassing situation, participants would rate the event as more serious in comparisons when the victims are men. The study used survey-based between-group experimental design with story-based gender manipulation of the victim’s character in fictitious stories that may or may not be attributed with low-, moderate- or high grade of seriousness into a ratio scale (0-10). Four groups (N = 120) were included and separated depending on the victims as well as the participants gender. The assumption homogeneity of variance for one-way analysis of variance was violated when Levene's test was performed. Non-parametric equivalent Kruskal Wallis-test indicated a significant difference between the groups. Further findings were presented from multiple Mann Whitney U-tests for six possible comparisons (α = .008). Five significant differences between the groups were found confirming the first hypothesis despite the strict alpha level. Concluding the results as a potential confirmation of the prototype theory.