In the present study, the Electromechanical Therapeutic Apparatus was examined to determine the extent to which its repeated use can influence intellectual performance and mood state. The Electromechanical Therapeutic Apparatus is a device designed to mildly stimulate the body and brain, while facilitating relaxation. Its three components include a rotating platform-bed; a weak, extremely-low-frequency, external-electric field; and music. In the present study, three groups were contrasted, a music-only group which served as a placebo; a group which combined motion-vestibular stimulation and music; and a group which combined motion-vestibular stimulation and music with an externalelectric field. The sample included 33 randomly selected men and women whose average age was 34.6 years.

The aims of the present thesis were two fold. The first aim was to investigate the relationship between self-referential and emotional processing. The second aim was to investigate the extent to which self-referential processing is altered as a function of mood. In order to address these two aims, a variety of behavioural and physiological measures were recorded and a new methodology was employed in the following experimental chapters. The aim of experiment one was to investigate how non-dysphoric and dysphoric individuals evaluate the emotional valence and self-referential content of word stimuli at a behavioural level. A self-positivity bias was identified in non-dysphoric individuals, positive words were rated as self-referential and negative words were rated as non-self-referential. Compared to non-dysphoric individuals, dysphoric individualsâ evaluations of self-reference but not emotional valence were altered. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were employed in experiment two to investigate self-referential processing at a neural level. A two stage model of processing was identified in which, an evaluation of emotional valence was found to occur prior to an interaction between self-reference and emotional valence. A self-positivity bias was identified in the ERP component known as the N400. ERP waves were more negative going to self negative and non-self-positive words when compared to self-positive and non-self-negative words. This bias was explained in terms of the semantic mismatch hypothesis. The aim of experiment three was to investigate how the neural processing of self-referential and emotional information is altered as a function of mood. Differences between nondysphoric and dysphoric individuals were identified during the early stages of ii processing in an emotion task. Between group differences were identified during the later stages of processing in a self-reference task, around 400 ms. Skin conductance and heart rate were employed in experiment four to examine autonomic responses during self-referential and emotional processing in healthy individuals. Both decision-making tasks were found to elicit similar physiological responses. These findings were taken to suggest that a large component of self-referential processing involves the processing of emotional information. Finally, the aim of experiment five was to investigate if person-referent processing was altered during the experience of a negative mood. The behavioural and neural responses of non-dysphoric and dysphoric individuals were compared across self-referent and other-referent decision-making tasks. Between group differences were specific to the self-reference task at the behavioural level. However, group differences were identified in both the self-referent and other-referent tasks at the neural level. The results provide partial support for the hypothesis that negative mood is associated with specific impairments in self-referential processing. Overall the results of the present thesis illustrate that the processing of emotional information plays a large role in self-referential decision-making. Furthermore, the N400 was found be involved in this type of decision-making at the semantic level. Negative mood was associated with greater changes in self-referential processing than in other forms of emotional or person-referent processing. In the final chapter, a two stage model is proposed to account for self-referential processing. The implications of this model are discussed in terms of two macro-cognitive theories, interacting cognitive subsystems (ICS) and SPAARs. Finally, the limitations and future directions for developing this line of research are outlined.

La question de la qualité des programmes de télévision est une problématique récurrente tant pour les producteurs de contenu que pour le législateur, qui en a confié le contrôle dans la loi a une institution publique, le CSA. Cependant, la notion même de qualité dans ce contexte est ambiguë, et les outils permettant de l’évaluer sont souvent réduits à la vérification du respect d’obligations contractuelles avec les diffuseurs de contenus. Le seul outil universellement utilisé reste la mesure d’audience, souvent remise en cause depuis sa première utilisation en France dans les années 80. Le téléspectateur, principal intéressé de cette démarche qualité, n’est donc considéré que dans son nombre par cette démarche statistique. Cette étude propose de changer de paradigme pour placer le téléspectateur au cœur de l’évaluation des produits audiovisuels. A partir d’une perspective aux confluents de l’énaction de Francisco Varela et de la méthode de conception relativisée de Mioara Mugur-Schächter, l’étude de l’expérience émotionnelle apporte un regard nouveau et original sur la conception de spectateur dans un cadre d’évaluation des programmes. En s’intéressant a la façon dont le téléspectateur guide sa propre perception en fonction de son histoire personnelle, de sa façon d’interpréter son environnement et de l’influence des émotions dans la construction de sa relation à l’audiovisuel, les travaux menés permettent de replacer le téléspectateur comme acteur de l’évaluation. Les entretiens réalisés démontrent ainsi l’individualité de chaque spectateur dans son approche de l’audiovisuel et la construction de critères d’évaluations qui lui sont propres, mais permettant de définir un protocole a multiples niveaux utilisable comme indicateur de la qualité de la relation à l’audiovisuel dans un contexte plus large. / The quality of television programs is a running problem for the content producers as well as the legislator in France, whom gave monitoring in the law to a public institution, the CSA. However, the very concept of quality in that context is ambiguous, and tools allowing oversight are often reduiced to the verification of owed legal duties with the content providers. The only tool universally used is the audience rating, yet often challenged since its first usage in France in the 1980s. The viewer, having a leading interest in this quality process, is only considered in its numbers by such a statistic approch. This study proposes to initiate a paradigm shift in order to place the viewer in the heart of the audiovisual product’s evaluation. Around the theories of enaction by Francisco Varela and the method of relativized conceptualization of Mioara Mugur-Schachter, the study of the emotionnal experience casts a new and original light on the conception of the viewer in a program evaluation setup. By focusing on the way the viewer guides its own perception through its personal history, its manner to interpret its environment and the influence of emotion in the construction of its relation to audiovisual products, the work exposed in this dissertation allows to place the viewer as an actor of the evaluation. The interviews carried out proove the individuality of each viewer in its personnal approach of audiovisual and the construction of criterias of its own, yet allows to define a multi-layered protocol usable as an indicator of the relation’s quality to audiovisual content in a broader context.

The purpose of the study was to investigate, through an experiment, if positive mood promotes creativity and flexible thinking. Participants were a total of 93 college students. The main hypothesis was that subjects induced with positive mood would perform better than subjects induced with negative mood, at a test reflecting creativity. To further explore the implications of priming (subliminal manipulated moods), a neutral control group was included. The cognitive test used in the study was Duncker´s The Candle Problem, a test which aims to get the subjects to apply flexible and creative thinking. The priming methods applied in the study was music and video clips. To measure the participant’s subjective mood a self-report scale, Mood Adjective Check List (MACL), was included as a successful manipulation control. The result showed a clear relationship between positive and negative priming, implying that subjects induced with positive mood performed significantly better than subjects induced with negative mood. There was no significant relationship between the groups induced with neutral and negative mood. / Syftet med studien var att genom ett experiment utforska om positiv sinnesstämning främjar kreativitet och flexibelt tänkande. Deltagarna i experimentet var totalt 93 studenter. Den huvudsakliga hypotesen var att deltagare inducerade till positivt känslotillstånd skulle prestera bättre än deltagare inducerade till negativt känslotillstånd, på ett kreativitetsreflekterande test. För att närmare undersöka påverkan av priming (subliminalt manipulerade känslotillstånd) inkluderades även en neutral kontrollgrupp. Testet som användes var Dunckers The Candle Problem. Syftet med testet var att få deltagarna att tillämpa flexibelt och kreativt tänkande. Priming-metoden som användes i experimentet bestod av musik och filmklipp. För att mäta deltagarnas subjektiva känslotillstånd tillämpades formuläret Mood Adjective Check List (MACL) som en framgångsrik manipulationskontroll. Ur resultatet utlästes en tydlig relation mellan positiv och negativ priming, att deltagare som fått positiv priming klarade testet signifikant bättre än deltagare med negativ priming. Mellan grupperna som inducerats med neutral och negativ sinnesstämning upptäcktes dock ingen signifikant relation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-06T17:07:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tatiana dissertacao.pdf: 550127 bytes, checksum: 4bb22f74a452eb8fcb606d7eda042b10 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-11-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The emotional pressures provoked by the requirements of the competitive sport take many athletes to exceed the limits of its physical and psychological capacity. Being thus, tools and methods had been perfected to intervine in such emotional phenomena. The profiles of state of mood in psychology reflect in the capacity of an individual to try a set of emotions. Being thus, the study it has for objective to evaluate the profile of mood in athlete of high-income of the masculine sex of the modalities of volleyball n= 59 with average of age of 19,01, and tennis n=69 with average of age 17,01. Specifically to compare the independent 0 variable: sportive modality (volleyball and tennis); time of practical in the high-income (up to 2 years; more than 2 years) and categories of age (young e adult) with the 0 variable dependent of the mood profile (tension depression, anger, vigor, fatigue and mental confusion). The event of this study, the profiles of mood in high-income athlete, was measured from design inferential statistician, averages, shunting line-standard, test t student and MANOVA. Also used measured elementary the interview half-structure, what it allowed flexibility in the analysis from the method of the speech of the collective citizen. When executing the MANOVA, had been verified differences multivariate between the modalities (F=4,289/p=0,001; Hotelling' s Traces = 0,216) and practical time of (F=5,845/p<0,001; Hotelling' s Traces = 0,295) in the vigor. Moreover, interactive effect of the modality and time of practical had been verified in the independent 0 variable (mood profiles) (F=2,943/p=0,01; Hotelling' s Traces = 0,148). The dependent 0 variable mental confusion in analyzes of variance 2x2 of the modality versus time of practical only presented significance in the interaction of the two 0 variable (F= 9,179/p=0,003) around 7% of the variance. In the evaluation of profiles of mood in athlete of volleyball significant alteration in the changeable tension was proven p=0,05 athlete volleyball x time of practical, in the changeable anger n=0,001 athlete of volleyball x category of age. However in the tennis athletes it resulted in significant differences in the depression p=0,001, 0,04 anger and mental confusion 0,02 with bigger averages in the athletes adult and more experienced tennis s; also in the comparison of modality x category of age the depression p= 0,05. In the analysis of the DSC the athletes of voleibol had more frequently pointed vigor and anger, while the athletes of tennis tension and fatigue, corroborating with respect to the complementation of the previous results. He considered himself in the study that the profile of mood of the athletes of voleibol came close to the considered profile iceberg for literature in comparison to the athletes of tennis, confirmed in the multivaried analysis the alteration resulted a significant difference of p=0,01 suggesting that the modality was responsible for 18% of the alteration in the mood profile. One becomes necessary to apply procedurally instrument BRUMS to discriminate with bigger precision the profiles of mood states, for the oscillation that such emotional states if present, not being able to be considered in only application a fixed psychological characteristic. The necessity also exists to take care of with the variability of the delineation of the curve of the graphical standard leading in account the contextual processes throughout the development of the athletes. / As pressões emocionais provocadas pelas exigências do esporte competitivo levam muitosatletas a excederem os limites de sua capacidade física e psicológica. Sendo assim,aperfeiçoaram-se ferramentas e métodos para intervir em tais fenômenos emocionais. Os perfis de estado de humor em psicologia refletem na capacidade de um indivíduo experimentar um conjunto de emoções. Sendo assim, o estudo tem por objetivo avaliar o perfil de humor em atletas de alto-rendimento do sexo masculino das modalidades de voleibol n= 59 com média de idade de 19,01, e tênis n=69 com média de idade 17,01. Especificamente comparar as variáveis independentes: modalidade esportiva (voleibol e tênis); tempo de prática no alto-rendimento (até 2 anos; mais de 2 anos) e categorias de idade (jovens e adultos) com as variáveis dependente do perfil de humor (tensão depressão, raiva, vigor, fadiga e confusão mental). O evento deste estudo, os perfis de humor em atletas de altorendimento, foi mensurado a partir do design estatístico inferencial, médias, desvio-padrão, teste t student e MANOVA. Também utilizadas medidas elementares a entrevista semiestrutura, o que permitiu flexibilidade na análise a partir do método do discurso do sujeito coletivo. Ao executar a MANOVA, foram verificadas diferenças multivariadas entre as modalidades (F=4,289/ p=0,001; Hotellings s Trace = 0,216) e tempo de prática (F=5,845/ p<0,001; Hotelling s Trace = 0,295) no vigor. Além disto, foram verificados efeitos interativos da modalidade e tempo de prática na variável independente (perfis de humor) (F=2,943/ p=0,01; Hotelling s Trace = 0,148). A variável dependente confusão mental na analise de variância 2x2 da modalidade versus tempo de prática apresentou significância somente na interação das duas variáveis (F= 9,179/ p=0,003) em torno de 7% da variância. Na avaliação de perfis de humor em atletas de voleibol evidenciou-se alteração significativa na variável tensão p=0,05 atletas voleibol x tempo de prática, na variável raiva n=0,001 atletas de voleibol x categoria de idade. Contudo nos atletas de tênis resultou em diferenças significativas na depressão p=0,001, raiva 0,04 e confusão mental 0,02 com médias maiores nos atletas tênis adultos e mais experientes; também na comparação da modalidade x categoria de idade a depressão p= 0,05. Na análise do DSC os atletas de voleibol apontaram com maior freqüência vigor e raiva, enquanto os atletas de tênis tensão e fadiga, corroborando para a complementação dos resultados anteriores. Considerou-se no estudo que o perfil de humor dos atletas de voleibol aproximou-se do perfil considerado iceberg pela literatura em comparação aos atletas de tênis, confirmado na análise multivariada a alteração resultou uma diferença significativa de p=0,01 sugerindo que a modalidade foi responsável por 18% da alteração no perfil de humor. Faz-se necessário aplicar processualmente o instrumento BRUMS para discriminar com maior precisão os perfis de estados de humor, pela oscilação que tais estados emocionais se apresentam, não podendo ser considerados em única aplicação uma característica psicológica fixa. Existe também a necessidade de cuidar com a variabilidade do delineamento da curva do gráfico padrão levando em conta os processos contextuais ao longo do desenvolvimento dos atletas.

Lithium is a drug used to treat mood disorders and also has many side effects, including central nervous system (CNS) complications (such as cognitive dulling), associated with its use. The mechanism of its action still remains unknown. Over the years, many leads have started emerging. It has been shown to inhibit several enzymes in the cell and has been implicated in altering many neurotransmitter systems and signal transduction pathways (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmissions). Effect of exposure to therapeutic levels of lithium on mature glutamatergic synapses is being studied and several changes in glutamate receptor subtypes have already been reported. Effects of lithium on developing glutamatergic synapses have not been studied. The thesis tries to document and understand the changes brought about by long term lithium treatment on developing glutamatergic synapses in vitro in hippocampal neuronal cultures. In the present work, patch clamp technique was used to monitor the changes in the postsynapse and fluorescence imaging to study the presynaptic changes. The hippocampal neuronal cultures were treated with 1 mM lithium for 6 days during the synaptogenesis stage (DIV 4-10) and termed as chronic Li treatment (CLi). Following CLi treatment the changes occurring in amplitude and rectification property of the AMPA receptor (AMPAR), a subtype of glutamate ionotropic receptor, mediated miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) have been reported (Chapter III). Lithium inhibits protein kinase A (PKA), glycogen synthase kinase–3β (GSK-3β) and glutamate reuptake. Effect of inhibiting PKA, GSK-3β and glutamate reuptake was also studied with a view to understand the molecular basis of lithium action on AMPAR mEPSCs (Chapter IV). It was found that chronic lithium treatment (CLi) caused a reduction in the mean amplitude of mEPSCs mediated by AMPARs and also changed the rectification property of these receptors from being more outwardly rectifying to being more inwardly rectifying, an indication probably of increase in contribution of Ca2+-permeable AMPARs to the synaptic events. AMPAR events in chronic lithium treated cultures were more sensitive to both N-acetyl spermine (NASPM) application and di-fluoro-methyl-ornithine (DFMO) treatment, both specific to Ca2+-permeable AMPARs, indicating that there was an increase in the contribution from Ca2+-permeable AMPARs to the synaptic events. PKA inhibition with H-89 treatment (starting from DIV 4 (for 6 days)) reduced the mean amplitude of AMPAR mEPSCs and increased the mean rectification index (RI). GSK-3β inhibition with SB415286 (starting from DIV 4 (for 6 days)) did not alter the mean mEPSC amplitude but reduced the mean RI. Transient (24 hrs) glutamate reuptake inhibition with threo-β-Hydroxy-Aspartic-Acid (THA) at DIV 4 followed by a period of recovery led to smaller amplitudes but no change in RI. The 24 hr glutamate reuptake block on DIV 4 had long term effects. It led to an increase in AMPAR mEPSC frequency while AMPAR mEPSC amplitudes were reduced. The mean RI decrease seen when glutamate reuptake was blocked for 24 hrs on DIV 10, was absent in DIV 4 THA treated neurons. However, when the neuronal cultures were maintained in the presence of PKA and GSK-3β inhibitors, the DIV 4 THA treated neurons showed AMPAR mEPSC characteristics similar to CLi neurons. Thus, it was seen that individual inhibition of PKA, GSK-3β and glutamate reuptake did not lead to changes in AMPAR mEPSCs similar to that seen in lithium treated neurons. The effect of lithium exposure during synapse development on AMPARs could be reproduced closely by co-inhibiting PKA, GSK-3β and glutamate reuptake. Using the styryl dye FM1-43, the changes induced in presynaptic release by a similar chronic lithium treatment was studied (Chapter V). It was found that lithium exposure (1 mM, DIV 4-10) brought down the extent of dye loading, destaining and also slowed down the rate of dye loss in response to high KCl stimulation (the τfast component of destaining was significantly slower). Minimum loading experiments did not reveal any difference in mode of exocytosis (kiss and run/full-collapse) in control and lithium treated cultures. Chlorpromazine treatment (that inhibits clathrin-mediated endocytosis) affected dye loading to a lesser extent in lithium treated cultures as compared to control. Surprisingly, exposure to hyperosmotic solution 10 minutes after dye wash out boosted the extent of dye loading and destaining in lithium treated cultures (a phenomenon not seen in control). This could happen if the FM1-43 is trapped away from the wash solution during the wash period. This would be possible if endocytosis in CLi takes place, differently from control, through a process involving membrane infoldings similar to bulk endocytosis albeit a slower/compromised one. Taken together, the data presented here indicates that lithium treatment during synaptogenesis affects vesicular recycling mostly at the endocytosis and docking/priming steps (mobilization of vesicles for release). Lithium treated cultures also did not show the high KCl associated presynaptic potentiation observed in control which is a significant finding. In conclusion, chronic lithium treatment affected both the presynaptic and postsynaptic compartments of the glutamatergic synapse. The effect of lithium on AMPAR mEPSC could not be reproduced by individual inhibitions of biochemical effectors but by multiple inhibitions. Thus, the study done here underscores the need to look at the manifold effect of lithium in an integrated way. The study also might have implications in understanding the CNS complications seen in patients taking lithium treatment and in babies perinatally exposed to lithium.

The locations surrounding is a primary factor for office tenants when chosing space. What makes the location attractive, however, depends on a number of factors for instance the  office tenants' individual preferences. This thesis aims to Explain  how an area and it’s surrounding office buildings are affected by the establishment of a new commercial space. Futhermore, we have more closely studied Mood Stockholm which is one of the newest and most exciting commercial spaces in Stockholm. The area around Mood Stockholm was previously forgotten and lacked movement of people. Even though the property is located in Stockholm CBD which generally has a high demand and market rents, the property’s vicinity was not that attractive. The results of this study shows that the commercial space has brought life into the area by bringing an increase of people  and in turn a higher number of urban activities and services. The general street environment has also been improved. It can therefore be concluded that the commercial space has increased the  area's attractiveness.   The results also showed that the establishment of Mood Stockholm has increased the activity and movement in the area. This in turn has created a safer environment in the neighborhood. The establishment of the commercial space has Also  led to a higher demand for office premises in the neighborhood and increased rent levels. It has also been found that the area has gone from a level –B area to a level--‐A area which indicates an increased willingness to pay a higher price for the rented space. The attractiveness of the area, however, has also been affected by other factors where cooperation between property owners in the area have been shown to have a significant impact on the area's development.

No description available.

Music listening is considered one of the most ubiquitous activities in everyday life, and one of the main reasons why people listen is to affect and regulate their mood. The vast availability and unlimited access of music has made it difficult to find relevant music that fits both the context and the preferences of the music listener. The aim of this project was to investigate the personalized relationship between music and mood using everyday technologies, focusing on how a listening experience could be adapted to the desired affect of a music listener while also taking the user’s individual listening history into account. In large, the project concentrated on the possibility of using context-aware music recommendation to generate personalized playlists by focusing on the audio features and corresponding mood of the music. A web-based application was developed to act as a prototype for the study, where the application allowed users to connect to Spotify, pick a desired mood and generate a playlist. By allowing people to access music in this personalized way, a user study could be conducted in order to investigate their music listening while incorporating this recommendation tool. The findings showed that the users’ found the experience to be engaging in that they could use the application as a companion to everyday tasks in addition to it being a tool for getting new, personalized music recommendations. Overall, the participants also found the generated playlists to be accurate to their music preferences and desired affective state.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’étudier le fonctionnement des catégories de temps, aspect et mode (TAM) et l’interaction de ces trois catégories dans des phrases complexes en mandarin moderne à partir d’un corpus tiré principalement d’énoncés authentiques (oral et écrit). A travers cette étude nous cherchons à répondre à trois questions liées à l’interprétation de la temporalité en mandarin : (i) Comment les catégories temporelles, aspectuelles et modales se manifestent et interagissent dans des phrases complexes ? ; (ii) Quelles sont les différences entre les interactions du TAM dans la phrase complexe et celles dans la phrase simple ? ; (iii) Comment est exprimé l’ordre séquentiel en mandarin ? La théorie temporelle de Comrie (1985) et le modèle aspectuel élaboré par Tournadre (2004) sont utilisés comme cadre théorique de cette étude. Dans la première partie, nous présentons les théories du TAM utilisées en linguistique générale et introduisons les notions fondamentales que nous allons utiliser dans la thèse. Puis nous abordons les moyens linguistiques employés en mandarin pour véhiculer des valeurs temporelles, aspectuelles et modales, ainsi que le fonctionnement de ces trois catégories dans la phrase simple afin de comparer ce fonctionnement avec celui dans la phrase complexe. La seconde partie consiste à analyser l’interaction du TAM dans divers types de phrases complexes, comprenant des phrases subordonnées ou des constructions verbale en série. / This dissertation is a corpus-based study of the tense, aspect and mood (TAM) and the interaction between these three categories in complex sentences in modern Mandarin Chinese. It aims to answer three questions related to the interpretation of temporality in Mandarin: (i) How temporal, aspectual and modal categories are marked and how they interact in complex sentences? ; (ii) What are the differences between the interactions of TAM in complex sentences and those in simple sentences? ; (iii) How is temporal sequence expressed in Mandarin? The temporal theory of Comrie (1985) and the aspectual model developed by Tournadre (2004) will be used as the theoretical framework to analyze the data. In the first part, we first introduce the concepts and theories of TAM used in general linguistics. Then we discuss the linguistic means used in Mandarin to convey temporal, aspectual and modal concepts, and the functioning of these three categories in simple sentences in order to compare it with the functioning in complex sentences. The second part is devoted to the analysis the interaction of TAM categories in various types of complex sentences which include those in subordinate clauses and verbal construction in series.