Submitted by Andrea Hayashi (deachan@gmail.com) on 2016-06-22T12:26:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao-vinicius-domingues-chamico.pdf: 5850435 bytes, checksum: b04450578273c814b9349d11830ea961 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Andrea Hayashi (deachan@gmail.com) on 2016-06-22T12:27:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao-vinicius-domingues-chamico.pdf: 5850435 bytes, checksum: b04450578273c814b9349d11830ea961 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-22T12:27:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao-vinicius-domingues-chamico.pdf: 5850435 bytes, checksum: b04450578273c814b9349d11830ea961 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta pesquisa pretende compreender o conceito de crítica dentro da obra Rua de mão única (Einbahnstrasse) através da análise do funcionamento e da estrutura da escrita empregada por Walter Benjamin chamada: “imagem de pensamento” (Denkbild). Partindo de um procedimento que norteia grande parte dos fragmentos: uma proximidade distanciadora, potencialmente crítica e reflexiva, proporcionada por formas aparentemente irrelevantes (unscheinbaren Formen) e pela polarização de imagens e ideias dissonantes. / This research aims to understand the concept of critic in the work, One Way Street (Einbahnstrasse) by the analysis of the functioning and the structure of writing used by Walter Benjamin named: “though-image” (Denkbild). From a procedure that orients much of the fragments: a proximity distancing, potentially critical and reflective, provided by apparently irrelevant forms (unscheinbaren Formen) and by the polarization of dissonant images and ideas

The aim of this dissertation was to critically analyse Terry Pratchett’s Johnny Maxwell trilogy in terms of three areas, namely Pratchett’s use of various fantasy techniques; how comedy and satire function as distancing mechanisms; and how fantasy and comedy function in accordance with Erikson’s and Bettelheim’s theories concerning identity formation in adolescent and child readers. The primary aim of this dissertation was therefore to provide a literary reading of Pratchett’s trilogy, Only You Can Save Mankind (1992), Johnny and the Dead (1993) and Johnny and the Bomb (1996). However, it also acknowledges the possible didactic and developmental benefits of the books. The trilogy is entertaining, exciting, witty and child-friendly (Baldry cited in Butler, James and Mendlesohn, 2004:41), but it is also clear that Pratchett endeavours to challenge his child readers by presenting everyday situations from foreign and unusual perspectives. This dissertation argues that, as Baldry states, Pratchett ‘expands the thinking of his young readers with new ideas or unconventional ways of looking at familiar ideas’ which will ultimately help them consider their own lives in alternative and perhaps even more meaningful ways (quoted in Butler, James and Mendlesohn, 2004:41). The idea of ‘distancing techniques’ is vital for this study, because it proposes that readers can be transported from their Primary Realities (in which they live and function on a daily basis) into Secondary Realities or worlds which are unlike the Primary Reality in form and composition, but not unlike them in the way they function. Once this removal has taken place, bibliotherapists argue that readers are able to look back upon their primary world with new insight into their sense of industry and identity and also into the way their primary reality functions and the way they function within it. J.R.R. Tolkien (1985:35) explains that ‘…fact becomes that which is manipulated by the fantasy writer to produce a keener perception of the primary world and a greater ability to survive in it’. Owing to Pratchett’s specific comic brand of fantasy, a discussion of his comic and satiric techniques is also presented. Part of this discussion again concentrates on the ability of comedy to act as a distancing mechanism, while another discusses how Pratchett uses comedy to satirise certain aspects of society. As Bergson (1911:17) states in his book, Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic, laughter is a way of ‘correcting men’s manners’. Pratchett thus makes use of various comic techniques to mock and ridicule certain features of society, such as its obsession with television, its materialism, or its obsession with computer games. This research is important as the fantasy genre is often considered to be mere popular fiction, to which parents and school teachers are frequently averse. However, with the increase in sales of fantasy works over the past decade, especially in adolescent and children’s fantasy, study of the genre and its possible influence on readers is becoming increasingly necessary. This dissertation undertakes to show that fantasy works can be both complex and satisfying literary works while they also have a positive influence on child readers. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / English / unrestricted

In 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world, creating a need for social distancing to stop the spreading of the virus. This report will discuss and cover how a simulation was implemented in the game engine Unity that simulates human movement-patterns, which in turn will help with spreading people out in public areas. To be able to do this accurately, research was made about which behaviours can be of importance to get as realistic a representation of human movements as possible. The performed research showed that some contributing factors to get a realistic result includes how many destinations (e.g. in a Supermarket, a destination would be a shelf with wares) a human usually visits during a shopping trip to a supermarket. This is something that was quickly realized and could be used and implemented in the simulation, as it directly affects how long each human stays in the store, which in the long run makes crowds, and places where they form, more realistic. When the simulation was finished, a Google Forms was created, which were spread in numerous different groups on Facebook and Reddit, in which a total of 60 participants were registered. This quantitative research gave a good understanding of how the project had turned out and what could be improved. The results were very promising, and more or less what was hoped for. There is still room for further improvements, which are all mentioned in the chapter “Further Research” of this report. One example that is mentioned here is whether or not collisions between our simulated humans matter enough to make a difference to the end result. It is argued that it does not, but this is something one should perform further studies on.

The conceptual model of emotion regulation (ER) of Gross and Thompson (2007) introduces families of ER strategies ordered on a temporal scale. This scale has been attributed implications both for the grouping strategies but also for the neurocognitive processing. The two event-related potential (ERP) studies of emotional regulation presented here focus on emotional regulation at different temporal distances, as well as, different stages of cognitive processing. Trying to discern if various neural processes could be disentangled by looking at different stages of the late positive potential (LPP). The theoretical background begins with the neurocognitive science of emotionality and visits cognitive processing at both early and late stages before summating results of the contemporary research of emotional regulation. 39 participants were enrolled within the two experiments aiming to compare the efficiency of different strategies in reducing negative social emotion induced by photographs of angry faces. Technical difficulties discourage conclusions about how temporal distancing is most effectively adapted. Results suggest self-focused distancing strategies are more effective than situation-focused reappraisal and could be preferred for therapeutic purposes based on greater observed LPP effect.

A raíz del brote de la COVID-19, los gobiernos han implementado estrategias con la finalidad de disminuir el número de casos, como la cuarentena, el distanciamiento físico y el uso de mascarillas. Este contexto ha ocasionado la paralización de las industrias y de las actividades económicas a nivel mundial, significando tanto la pérdida de empleos como el cierre de empresas. Es así como muchos hoteles han implementado tecnología para evitar el contacto entre personas, con el fin de que sus huéspedes se sientan seguros y tengan una mejor percepción del alojamiento. Por tal motivo, esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar las ventajas y desventajas del uso de robots de servicio en hoteles como herramienta de distanciamiento físico, a través del método de revisión de literatura y aplicando el enfoque integrativo basado en el análisis bibliográfico de fuentes académicas. Se obtuvo como hallazgo que el trabajo en conjunto que viene realizando la inteligencia artificial y la robótica ha logrado que se consideren a los robots de servicio como una futura fuerza laboral en hoteles. De modo que la ventaja principal del personal robotizado dentro de un alojamiento es la reducción del contacto entre personas. Por otro lado, las desventajas más relevantes son su falta de empatía y su limitada comunicación con los huéspedes. En una investigación futura, se recomienda la investigación cuantitativa para obtener información más exacta sobre las preferencias de los clientes y su relación con el uso de robots de servicio en hoteles. / In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, governments have implemented strategies to reduce the number of cases, like quarantine, physical distancing, and the use of masks. This context has caused the disruption of industries and the global economy activity, signifying both job losses and the closure of companies. As a result, many hotels have implemented technology to avoid close contact between people in order to make their guests feel safe and to give a better impression of the hotel. For this reason, this research aims to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using service robots as a measure of physical distancing through the method of literature review and using an integrative method based on the bibliographic search of academic sources. The main finding was that the work that has been done by artificial intelligence and robotic has caused the service robots to be considered as a future labor force in hotels. Additionally, it has been identified that the main advantage of using service robots is to reduce close contact between people. Besides that, the most relevant disadvantages are their lack of empathy and their limited communication with guests. It is recommended the use of a quantitative method to obtain more specific information of guests’ preferences and its relation with the use of service robots in hotels. / Trabajo de investigación

This thesis project explores how communication technology can foster the sense of togetherness to maintain the feeling of social connectedness during physical distancing. The current global pandemic COVID-19 is causing billions of people across the world to live in isolation or by physical distancing regulations. The elimination of almost all in-person interactions is affecting people’s mental health and has resulted in many people turning to communication technology to feel a sense of social connectedness.The project builds upon three main areas of theory: the social and mental effects of physical distancing, designing for crises and design theories about togetherness within communication technology. The design process is guided by a research through design methodological approach, with the aim find out how people who are living in isolation and by physical distancing regulations are using existing forms of communication technology to feel a sense of social connectedness with others and what they need from it. The project addresses two key problematic areas which were identified during the fieldwork and literature review and are explored through prototypes. The prototypes focus on how to create a hang out feeling within online group interactions and how to create the in-the- moment feeling during shared online live experiences.The outcome of this project includes in a problem framing, design process knowledge, research insights and prototypes that explore how to foster the sense of togetherness within communication technology. The findings from this project intend to contribute knowledge to the research and design community on how to design new or alternative forms of communication technology that foster social connectedness during physical distancing.

No description available.

In the era of a pandemic, public spaces have been reshaped for better, but also for worse. Humans are social beings. We need interaction with others to thrive, but doing this over a screen over a long period of time has proven we must adapt in new ways. “As society begins to build the “new normal” of emergence from the pandemic, efforts to rebuild and strengthen trust and solidarity are of as much importance as the ongoing distribution of vaccines and vigilance against coronavirus variants,” (The EditorsFebruary, 2022, Unpaginated). The transitional restart for issues relating to public spaces in the post pandemic period has highlighted the challenge of making public spaces not only safe to gather, but also vibrant. There is much room for society to start exploring new systems to create safe spaces for the public that veer away from the stale solutions we have implemented. What would happen if we shy away from digital as a social distancing method and instead explore craft or nature as a way of rethinking the new normal?  The EditorsFebruary, et al. “The Key to a Post-Pandemic 'New Normal'? Solidarity.”America Magazine, 17 Feb. 2022, https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2022/02/17/covid- omicron-normal-masks-242404.

Introduction: Community mitigation strategies (CMS) have demonstrated to be effective in the reduction of transmission and incidence of COVID-19, especially in the population with symptoms associated with the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the presence of COVID-19 symptoms and adherence to CMS in Latin American adults. Methods: We carried out a secondary analysis of a database developed by the University of Maryland and Facebook social network during the COVID-19 pandemic. We included Latin American adults that used the Facebook platform and participated in a survey conducted from April 23 to May 23, 2020. The principal outcome variable was reported compliance with the three main CMS (physical distancing, use of face masks, and hand washing). The exposure variable included symptoms suspicious for COVID-19 defined as the presence of three or more symptoms of an acute clinical case of COVID-19. We performed generalized linear models of the Poisson family with a logarithmic link function to evaluate the association between the presence of COVID-19 symptoms and reported compliance with CMS. We calculated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: We analyzed 1,310,690 adults from Latin America; 48.1% were male and 42.9% were under 35 years of age. The prevalence of suspicious symptoms of COVID-19 was 18.5% and reported compliance with the three CMS was 45.3%. The countries with the highest proportion of reported compliance with the three CMS were Peru, Bolivia and Panama, while those with the lowest reported compliance were Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras. In the adjusted model, people with suspicious symptoms for COVID-19 had a 14% lower compliance with the three CMS (aPR = 0.86; 95%CI: 0.85–0.87; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Less than half of the participants complied with the CMS, and those presenting suspicious symptoms for COVID-19 had lower reported compliance with the three CMS. / University of Maryland / Revisión por pares

[pt] A presente dissertação de mestrado discute aspectos relacionados à importância da prática de atividades físicas para a saúde mental da população, em especial durante a Pandemia da COVID-19. Para tanto, foram realizados três estudos: um de revisão sistemática, um teórico e um empírico. O primeiro estudo, de revisão sistemática, buscou investigar a relação existente entre a prática de atividades físicas e a saúde mental da população adulta nos mais diversos contextos, através da busca nas bases de dados PsycINFO, LILACS, SciELO e PePSIC, onde foram selecionados, por fim, 44 artigos. Os dados sugerem uma relação de associação entre a prática de atividades físicas e a saúde mental em adultos, com o tipo e a força de associação variando nas diferentes amostras. O segundo estudo apresenta uma revisão não sistemática da literatura acerca dos benefícios da prática de atividades físicas para a saúde física e mental durante a Pandemia. Com o surto da COVID-19, medidas como o isolamento social tem sido adotadas pelo mundo com o intuito de conter a propagação do vírus e, devido a isso, intervenções têm sido realizadas para auxiliar, de forma segura e eficaz, as questões relacionadas à saúde física e mental da população. Considerando que o sedentarismo/inatividade física tem aumentado ainda mais durante a pandemia, a atividade física tem sido considerada uma boa estratégia e tem sido recomendada por entidades de saúde, que apresentam o tempo e a intensidade ideal de prática para cada faixa etária, além de apresentarem diversas opções de exercícios que podem ser feitos nesse período. O terceiro estudo, empírico, buscou avaliar os indicadores de saúde mental em praticantes e não praticantes de atividades físicas durante o isolamento social da COVID-19 em uma amostra de 701 participantes, sendo 71,5 por cento mulheres (n=501), 28,4 por cento homens (n=199) e 0,1 por cento que preferiu não informar o sexo biológico (n=1) (M= 31,08; (DP= 11,28). Os resultados indicaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos para as variáveis, ou seja, foram encontrados menores níveis de ansiedade, depressão e estresse e maiores níveis de positividade e qualidade de vida nos participantes que praticavam atividades físicas no período de isolamento social da COVID-19. Esses dados contribuem para uma compreensão mais ampla da relação entre a prática de atividades física e saúde mental, de forma geral. / [en] The first study, with a systematic review, sought to investigate the relationship between the practice of physical activities and the mental health of the adult population in the most diverse contexts, by searching the PsycINFO, LILACS, SciELO and PePSIC databases, where they were selected, finally, 44 articles. The data suggest an association relationship between physical activity and mental health in adults, with the type and strength of association varying in the different samples. The second study presents a non-systematic review of the literature on the benefits of physical activity for physical and mental health during Pandemic. With the outbreak of COVID-19, measures such as social isolation have been adopted by the world in order to contain the spread of the virus and, due to this, interventions have been carried out to help, in a safe and effective way, issues related to physical and mental health of the population. Considering that physical inactivity / inactivity has increased even more during the pandemic, physical activity has been considered a good strategy and has been recommended by health entities, which present the ideal time and intensity of practice for each age group, in addition to present several exercise options that can be done during this period. The third, empirical study sought to assess mental health indicators in practitioners and non-practitioners of physical activities during the social isolation of COVID-19 in a sample of 701 participants, of which 71.5 percent were women (n = 501), 28, 4 percent men (n = 199) and 0.1 percent who preferred not to inform biological sex (n = 1) (M = 31.08; (SD = 11.28). The results indicated significant differences between groups for women that is, lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress and higher levels of positivity and quality of life were found in participants who practiced physical activities during the social isolation period of COVID-19. These data contribute to a broader understanding of the relationship between the practice of physical activities and mental health, in general.