Ansiedade e atenção são dois conceitos complexos, que se relacionam diretamente em função de estratégias adaptativas relacionadas à sobrevivência em seres humanos. A presente tese teve como objetivo investigar se as ansiedades de traço e de estado estariam relacionadas ao viés de atenção nos canais visual ou auditivo em uma amostra não clínica. Os capítulos apresentam experimentos com a Visual Probe Detection Task, a Escuta Dicótica e o Stroop Emocional. Todos os experimentos foram realizados em população não clínica e comparou os resultados do cálculo do viés de atenção em grupos definidos pelos escores no inventário de ansiedade de traço e de estado. Foi observada a ausência de relação entre a ansiedade de traço e de estado com o viés de atenção nestes experimentos. A falta de especificidade cognitiva dos estímulos que compõem os três experimentos foi proposta como a causa principal destes resultados. / Anxiety and attention are two complex concepts that relate directly because of adaptive strategies related to survival in humans. This doctoral thesis addressed some aspects related to these two issues. It were discussed some aspects of trait and state anxiety and the study of attentional bias in visual and auditory channels. The chapters present the empirical results of the experiments that used the Visual Probe Detection Task, the Dichotic Listening Task and the Emotional Stroop Task. All experiments were performed in non-clinical population and related the results of the evaluation of attentional bias scores with trait and state anxiety. The results showed no relationship between trait and state anxiety with the attentional bias. It discusses possible reasons for this lack of bias in these samples. Among the possibilities, the lack of cognitive specificity of stimuli that make up the three experiments was proposed as the main reason for it.

O aumento da renda da população em conjunto com o crescente volume de resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU) está causando uma série de impactos no meio ambiente. Considerando que parte dos resíduos pode ser reciclada, e que apenas novecentos e noventa e quatro cidades brasileiras possuem programas de coleta seletiva, parte do lixo acaba sendo misturado, o que se torna um desperdício, uma vez que a coleta seletiva além de permitir o reaproveitamento de matéria prima, diminui a quantidade final de resíduo que deve ser tratado. A Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos (PNRS) sancionada em 2010 tem como objetivo a melhora na gestão do lixo a partir da divisão de responsabilidades entre a sociedade, poder público e iniciativa privada, denominada responsabilidade compartilhada pelo ciclo de vida dos produtos. Além disso, a PNRS incentiva a coleta seletiva nos munícipios. Sendo assim, o município de Santa Maria (RS) em um projeto pioneiro na região contratou uma associação de catadores de materiais reutilizáveis e recicláveis para que fizessem a coleta seletiva na cidade. Com isso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar qual a atual situação da coleta seletiva no município de Santa Maria (RS). Para a obtenção do objetivo foram realizadas entrevistas com o Secretário de Proteção Ambiental do município, com associações de catadores e com catadores autônomos. Foi possível perceber que a proposta da Prefeitura Municipal foi interessante, porém, a sociedade não recebeu treinamento adequado para se inserir em um programa de coleta seletiva, a associação contratada não está preparada para assumir tamanha responsabilidade (falta estrutura e conhecimento para tal), as outras associações estão esquecidas pelo poder público municipal e não possuem estrutura física adequada e a figura do catador autônomo é discriminada por todos. Entretanto, o município possui uma série de oportunidades para que a coleta seletiva tenha êxito, tais como: é uma cidade universitária que conta com pesquisadores que podem auxiliar na captura de recursos para tal, a presença de projetos especiais (que poderiam ser replicados), presença de órgãos federais que poderiam adotar a Coleta Seletiva Solidária e por fim a própria Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos. Portanto, para que o munícipio, após um série de tentativas frustradas tenha uma coleta seletiva eficiente, faz-se necessário que as limitações sejam resolvidas e que todos os envolvidos tenham ciência do seu papel na cadeia de reciclagem do município. / Increasing incomes of the population with the growing volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) is causing a series of impacts on the environment. Whereas part of the waste can be recycled, and only nine hundred ninety-four Brazilian cities have programs of selective collection, part of the garbage ends up being mixed, which becomes a waste, since the selective collection allows the reuse of raw material and decreases the final amount of residue to be treated. The National Policy on Solid Waste (NPSW) enacted in 2010 aims to improving the management of waste from the division of responsibilities between society, government and private initiative, called shared responsibility for the life cycle of products. In addition, PNRS encourages selective collection in towns. Therefore, the municipality of Santa Maria (RS) in a pioneering project in the region signed an association of collectors of recyclable and reusable materials to make the selective collection in the city. Thus, the objective of this study was to verify the current status of collection at Santa Maria City (RS). To achieve the objective, interviews were conducted with the Secretary of Environmental Protection of the municipality, with associations of waste pickers and autonomous waste pickers. It could be observed that the proposed City Hall was interesting, however, the society has not received adequate training to enter into a selective collection program, the association hired is not prepared to assume such responsibility (lack structure and knowledge to do so), the other associations are forgotten by the municipal government and do not have adequate physical infrastructure and the figure of the autonomous waste pickers is as broken down by everyone. However, the city has a number of opportunities for the selective collection to be successful, such as: is a university town that has researchers who can assist in the capture of resources to do so, the presence of special projects (which could be replicated) presence of federal agencies that could adopt the Joint Selective Collection and finally the National Policy for Solid Waste. Therefore, for the municipality, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to have a selective collection efficiency, it is necessary that the limitations are addressed and that all involved are aware of their role in the recycling chain in the city.

Atualmente, a preocupação com a redução da poluição industrial tem motivado os pesquisadores na busca de novas tecnologias para o tratamento de resíduos industriais. Tecnologias limpas, como a eletrodiálise, são capazes de tratar alguns destes resíduos, como por exemplo o efluente da indústria de galvanoplastia, minimizando os impactos que ocorreriam caso eles fossem descartados diretamente no meio ambiente. O componente principal desta técnica é a membrana na qual ocorre a etapa de retirada dos íons da solução. Atualmente estas membranas são importadas e caras, o que justifica o desenvolvimento de membranas eficientes e acessíveis. Neste sentido, no presente trabalho membranas de poliestireno sulfonado/ poliestireno de alto impacto (SPS/HIPS), polianilina dopada com ácido canforsulfônico/ poliestireno sulfonado/ poliestireno de alto impacto (PAniCSA/SPS/HIPS), polianilina sulfonada/ poliestireno sulfonado/ poliestireno de alto impacto (SPAN/SPS/HIPS), e polianilina dopada com ácido p-tolueno sulfônico/ poliestireno sulfonado/ poliestireno de alto impacto (PAniTSA/SPS/HIPS) foram desenvolvidas usando o método de mistura química. As membranas foram caracterizadas utilizando as técnicas Análise termogravimétrica (TGA), Análise dinâmico Mecânica (DMA), e Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV). Membranas foram submetidas a curvas corrente-potencial e ensaios de eletrodiálise em soluções de NaCl e KCl, a fim de determinar o transporte iônico através das mesmas. Os resultados foram comparados com uma membrana comercial Selemion CMT. A extração percentual média para íons de Na+ obtidos pelas membranas desenvolvidas foi superior a 20%. / Nowadays the concern with the reduction of industrial pollution has motivated researchers to found out new technologies for treatment of industrial waste. The clean technologies, as electrodialysis, are capable of treating some these residues, as for example the galvanoplasty’s waste, minimizing the impacts that would happen to them if they were discarded directly on the environment. The main component of this technique is the membrane on which occurs the ions removal stage of the solution. The membranes are imported and expensive what justifies the development of efficient and accessible membranes. In this sense, in the present work membranes of sulfonated polystyrene / high impact polystyrene (SPS/HIPS), polyaniline doped with camphorsulfonic acid / sulfonated polystyrene / high impact polystyrene (PAniCSA/SPS/HIPS), sulfonated polyaniline/ sulfonated polystyrene / high impact polystyrene (SPAN/SPS/HIPS), and polyaniline doped with p-toluenesulfonic acid / sulfonated polystyrene / high impact polystyrene (PAniTSA/SPS/HIPS) were developed using chemical mixture method. Membranes were characterized by Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). Membranes were submitted to current-voltage curves and electrodialysis experiments with NaCl and KCl solutions, in order to determine ionic transport through them. Results were compared with a commercial membrane, Selemion CMT. The average percent extraction for Na+ ions obtained by membranes developed were beyond 20%.

Tabagistas atendem seletivamente a estímulos ambientais relacionados ao cigarro, um processo cognitivo implícito denominado viés na atenção (VA). Contudo, não está claro se o VA persiste em ex-fumantes. Por isso, avaliou-se a influência do tempo de abstinência no VA em 62 ex-fumantes (de 50±11 anos) através de uma tarefa de atenção visual em computador. Independente do tempo de abstinência, os participantes evitaram as pistas associadas ao tabaco. Esta esquiva foi mais pronunciada em tempos de exposição maiores. Os ex-fumantes também atribuíram pouca valência emocional às imagens associadas ao cigarro e reportaram índices baixos de fissura antes e após a tarefa. O VA negativo e a menor valência emocional destas pistas podem constituir um processo de modulação da atenção típico da abstinência prolongada, no qual estratégias cognitivas são empregadas para manter este estado. Os resultados obtidos contribuem para a compreensão da cognição implícita na adição e sua importância no tratamento e prevenção do tabagismo. / Smokers selectively attend to smoking-related cues, an implicit cognitive process called attentional bias (AB). However, it is unclear whether former smokers present AB. Therefore, we evaluated the influence of abstinence time in VA in 62 exsmokers (50 ± 11 years-old) through a visual probe task. Participants avoided smoking cues despite of abstinence time. This avoidance was more pronounced in longer stimuli exposition. Former smokers also attributed little emotional valence to smoking cues and reported low craving rates both before and after the task. The negative AB and low emotional valence of smoking cues might constitute a process of attentional modulation typical of longer abstinence, in which cognitive strategies are employed to maintain this state. The results contribute to the understanding of implicit cognition in addiction and its importance to smoking treatment and prevention.

Group commitments such as partisanship and religion can bias the way individuals seek information and weigh evidence. This psychological process can lead to distorted views of reality and polarization between opposing social groups. Substantial research confirms the existence and persistence of numerous identity-driven divides in society, but means of attenuating them remain elusive. However, because identity-protective cognition is driven by a need to maintain global and not domain specific integrity, researchers have found that affirming an unrelated core aspect of the self can eliminate the need for ego defense and result in more evenhanded evaluation. This study proposes a competing intervention. Individuals possess numerous social identities that contextually vary in relative prominence; therefore a different means to unbiased cognition may be to make many social identities salient simultaneously, reducing influence of any potentially threatened identity. This may also reduce selective exposure to congenial information, which has not been found with affirmation. This study also advances research on the phenomenon of selective exposure by considering individuals’ interpersonal networks in information search. Because networks are not static, and are instead contextually activated, inducing a more complex representational structure of the self may broaden the set of contacts from whom individuals seek information. The bias-mitigative potential of self-affirmation and social identity complexity is examined here in a series of dispute contexts — two partisan, one religious — over a mining spill, an advanced biofuels mandate, and gene editing technology. Results from the three experiments (total N = 1,257) show modest support for social identity complexity reducing group-alignment of beliefs, behavior, and information search, while affirmation failed to reduce, and in some cases increased, group alignment.

xii, 55 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Selective attention refers to perceptual selection and working memory refers to the active maintenance of mental representations. Selective attention and working memory are believed to be two of the most important functions in human cognition and have been intensively investigated in cognitive psychology. However, it is quite recent that the link between attention and working memory has been systematically researched. One question that remains controversial is the effect of working memory on attentional control with inconsistent results reported in the human psychophysical literature, despite clear and strong evidence from physiological studies with nonhuman primates that working memory is the main source of top-down attentional control. The main goal of the current study is to provide a plausible solution to the puzzle of attentional control by introducing the concept of goal-specificity and competition between working memory representations. I hypothesized that the strength of the biasing effect of working memory on attention depends on the specificity of representations in working memory, and developed an experimental paradigm (the goal-specificity paradigm) to test this hypothesis using psychophysical and neuroimaging methods. One of the most important manipulations in the goal-specificity paradigm is how specifically targets in different tasks are defined. The results demonstrate that there is competition between items in working memory for attentional control that is influenced by the specificity of each representation as well as task relevancy. Also, it is shown that the effect of goal-specificity is present in both spatial and temporal domains as revealed by visual search and rapid serial visual presentation tasks. The results suggest the possibility that the negligible effect of working memory in some previous studies may be due to insufficient specificity of the objects in working memory or to the presence of other specifically-defined information in working memory. Furthermore, based on the implication from the current study that goal-specificity has a significant influence on attentional control, I expect that the experimental paradigm introduced in the current study can be utilized as an objective psychophysical measure of attentional control. / Committee in charge: Margaret Sereno, Chairperson, Psychology; Scott Frey, Member, Psychology; Michael Wehr, Member, Psychology; Richard Taylor, Outside Member, Physics

Multiple theoretical frameworks posit that interactions between the autonomic nervous system and higher-order neural networks are crucial for cognitive regulation. However, few studies have directly examined whether autonomic physiology influences brain activity during cognitive tasks, and even fewer of those studies have examined both autonomic branches when doing so. Measures of selective attention derived from event-related brain potentials (ERPs) are particularly well-suited for addressing this question, given that ERP selective attention tasks are designed to control for the influences of psychomotor processes and arousal and are predictive of higher-order cognitive function in children and adults. Such research is particularly promising for understanding how early adversity impacts neurocognitive development in children, given that stress experienced early in life impacts both autonomic function and selective attention. Here, a broad literature review is presented, integrating findings across studies of autonomic physiology, cognition, and brain activity in children and adults (Chapter 1). Then, two experiments are described where cardiac measures of parasympathetic and sympathetic activity were recorded concurrently with ERPs during an auditory selective task in a sample of adults (Chapter 2) and in a sample of preschool-aged children (Chapter 3). Results from both experiments demonstrate a key role for the sympathetic nervous system in selective attention for adults and children, such that greater sympathetic activity is associated with larger effects of selective attention on ERPs. These findings are then reviewed with suggestions for how existing models of neurovisceral integration might be updated to better emphasize the role of sympathetic nervous system activity in neurocognitive processes, emphasizing measures of threat-related and reward-related arousal, as represented by galvanic skin response and pre-ejection period, respectively (Chapter 4). Future directions are also discussed, including recommendations for future studies of neurovisceral integration to examine associations between physiology, behavior, and brain activity at the single-trial level, to incorporate participants from more diverse backgrounds of life experience, and to examine the plasticity of autonomic mechanisms implicated in neurocognitive function.

Parents and Children Making Connections – Highlighting Attention (PCMC-A) is a dual-generation intervention program for families from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds that includes parenting training for parents and attention training for preschool-aged children. PCMC-A has been shown to impact brain function for selective attention in children, the ability to enhance relevant information and suppress competing, distracting information. With the goal of increasing our understanding of how PCMC-A operates to promote gains in child brain function for selective attention, the main objective of this dissertation was to test intervention-related changes in supportive parenting behaviors as an explanatory mechanism for the effect of PCMC-A on neural indices of selective attention. To better understand the profile of those who benefit from PCMC-A to different extents, we also examined moderators of the effect of PCMC-A on supportive parenting and on child brain function for selective attention. These questions were examined as part of the randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of PCMC-A on Head Start preschoolers and their parents, employing a multi-method approach. We found that participation in PCMC-A led to increases in specific aspects of supportive parenting behaviors coded from observed parent-child interactions, which were moderated by child and mother characteristics at the pre-assessment, including mother reports of child behavior problems, child age, and maternal interactive language use. We also replicated with a larger sample an effect of PCMC-A on child selective attention measured using the event-related potential technique, which was moderated by mother reports of child social skills at the pre-assessment. Even though we documented changes in both of these outcomes as a function of PCMC-A, we did not find evidence that changes in supportive parenting explained gains in child selective attention, suggesting that other explanatory mechanisms may be at play. Together, the findings of the present dissertation characterize the effect of PCMC-A on supportive parenting behaviors and child selective attention, begin to paint a picture of the families who benefit most and least from this intervention, and contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms through which PCMC-A impacts child brain function for selective attention. This dissertation includes unpublished co-authored material.

NASCIMENTO, Clesley Maria Tavares do.Educação Ambiental:Práxis educativa na conscientização da problemática do lixo. 2006. 116 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente - PRODEMA, Fortaleza-CE, 2006. / Submitted by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-04-28T14:38:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_cmtnascimento.pdf: 1035240 bytes, checksum: 0a8ea4807317f0fdf563cec054d0c866 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-04-28T14:42:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_cmtnascimento.pdf: 1035240 bytes, checksum: 0a8ea4807317f0fdf563cec054d0c866 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T14:42:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_cmtnascimento.pdf: 1035240 bytes, checksum: 0a8ea4807317f0fdf563cec054d0c866 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / The basic reflection of this work isn’t restricted to waste selective recollection itself, but it is mainly linked to the educational aspect of it, putting it into context at the scholar environment and in the present day industrial capitalist society. Thus, a case study was carried out at Clóvis Beviláqua state school aiming to analyze a selective recollection project developed there, identifying the chief challenges and solutions found by its collaborators and whether that experience contributes to build a new paradigm before the problem of solid waste. We aimed to identify, during discussions about waste selective recollection, the way how we can build an environmental educational process concerned to solid waste at the core of scholar institutions. We chose the dialectical method to guide the inquiring look of the study, build a reflexive bridge between the capitalist productive system and the solid waste productive chain, revealing the dialectical nature of the considered social relations. The field work showed that the waste selective recollection trespasses the condition of simple recycling step, having a conscious and effective educational potential. If that recollection is developed under dialectical perspective, it contributes to develop a new position in relation to waste problems, not only attitudinal but social. Thus, it should be developed in all educational institutions. / A reflexão básica deste trabalho não se restringe à prática da coleta seletiva de lixo em si, mas se faz vinculada, principalmente, ao aspecto educacional da mesma, contextualizando-o no espaço escolar e na sociedade capitalista industrial contemporânea. Assim sendo, foi realizado um estudo de caso na escola pública estadual Clóvis Beviláqua com o intuito de analisar um projeto de coleta seletiva, ali desenvolvido, identificando os principais desafios e soluções encontradas por seus participantes na sua implementação, e se esta experiência contribui para a construção de uma nova postura diante da problemática dos resíduos sólidos. Buscou-se identificar, nas discussões levantadas a partir da coleta seletiva de lixo, como se constrói um processo educativo ambiental da problemática dos resíduos sólidos no interior das instituições escolares. Optou-se pelo método dialético para nortear o olhar investigativo do estudo, construindo uma ponte reflexiva entre o sistema produtivo capitalista e a cadeia produtiva dos resíduos sólidos, desvelando a dialética das relações sociais envolvidas. A pesquisa de campo mostrou que a coleta seletiva de lixo ultrapassa a condição de simples etapa da reciclagem e possui um significativo potencial educativo conscientizador. Se realizada sob a perspectiva dialética, contribui para o desenvolvimento de uma nova postura em relação à problemática do lixo; não apenas atitudinal, mas também societária; e deve, portanto, ser desenvolvida em todas as instituições educacionais.

O quartzo é um mineral abundante na crosta terrestre e pode ser valorizado através do design. A cor é um importante elemento de design e algumas gemas são incolores ou possuem cores e tonalidades pouco atrativas, necessitando de tratamento para serem revalorizadas. O intuito desta pesquisa é usar o recurso tecnológico da irradiação industrial para estudar parâmetros desse processo, a fim de gerar contribuições aos desenvolvedores de materiais gemológicos exclusivos e diferenciados ou de joias de arte (design autoral). Para isso, foram realizados experimentos com fonte panorâmica de Cobalto-60 estocada a seco, com aproximadamente 33398,34 TBq de atividade. Foram selecionadas variedades de quartzo de diferentes regiões brasileiras a fim de gerar materiais bicolores para futuro estudo do desenvolvimento de desenhos pela técnica de irradiação seletiva. A pesquisa foi dividida em duas etapas: 1) A primeira etapa consistiu no desenvolvimento de diretrizes, seleção de materiais e experimentos piloto. Foram testados principalmente variedades de quartzo provenientes do Rio Grande do Sul, 2) A segunda etapa consistiu na irradiação homogênea e seletiva do quartzo rosa de Águas vermelhas-MG e rosa-pálido límpido de Pedra Lavrada-PB. Com relação à irradiação homogênea, foi estudada a variação de tonalidade de cor obtida após a irradiação em amostras com diferentes espessuras e dose mínima e máxima da irradiação para alteração cromática; já com relação à irradiação seletiva, foi estudada a relação da espessura de amostras de chumbo para atenuação da irradiação, contraste de tonalidade resultante da atenuação, espessura de fresta entre as amostras de chumbo, afastamento da amostra em relação à atenuação provocada pelo chumbo, altura do experimento em relação à fonte de irradiação e sobreposição de doses para o desenvolvimento de efeito estético “xadrez”. A irradiação seletiva foi realizada através da atenuação da radiação gama com amostras de diferentes espessuras de chumbo, 20, 10, 5 e 3 cm. As espessuras das fatias polidas de quartzo para visualização da cor foram de 2 mm e 4 mm. Os resultados foram analisados por sistema de cores hue, saturation e brigh (HSB) de modo experimental, por espectrometria no Infravermelho (FTIR) e na região de luz visível (UV-Vis). Nesta pesquisa pôde-se destacar alguns parâmetros para a irradiação seletiva do quartzo rosa-pálido de Pedra Lavrada, PB, pois as outras variedades de quartzo não apresentaram aspectos tão interessantes. / Quartz is an abundant mineral in the earth's crust and can be enhanced by design. The color is an important design element and some gems are colorless or have unattractive colors and shades, requiring treatment to be enhanced. Among various ways to change or improve the color of a gem, gamma irradiation Cobalt-60 has been approved in the world trade. The purpose of this research is to use the installed resources of Brazilian industrial irradiation, to study parameters of this process to apply in design, in order to generate contributions to develop unique gemological materials or art jewelry (authorial design). For this, experiments were conducted with a dry stored panoramic source of Cobalt-60, with approximately 33,398.34 terabecquerel (TBq) activity. Different quartz varieties of several Brazilian regions were selected in order to produce bi-colored materials, for development of future drawing studies by selective irradiation techniques. The research was separated into two stages: 1) The first step was the development of guidelines, materials selection and pilot experiments, being tested mainly quartz varieties from Rio Grande do Sul, 2) The second step was of homogeneous and selective irradiation of massive pink quartz of Águas Vermelhas-MG and clear pale pink quartz of Pedra Lavrada-PB. In the homogeneous irradiation studies, the variation in shade obtained after irradiation (in different thicknesses of samples) and maximum and minimum dose of radiation to color change was analyzed; In the selective irradiation, it was studied the relation between the thickness of lead samples to the radiation attenuation, the final color tone contrast attenuation, thickness gap between the lead samples, the sample distance from the lead, in relation to the radiation attenuation, elevations of the experiment samples relative to the irradiation source, and overlapping doses to the development of a “chess” aesthetic effect. Selective irradiation was performed through the attenuation of gamma radiation with lead samples of thickness of, 10, 20, 5 and 3 cm. The thicknesses of quartz polished slices for color visualization was of 2 mm and 4 mm. The results were analyzed by experimental color systems that include hue, saturation and bright (HSB) analysis, by Infrared (FT-IR) and visible light region (UV-Vis) spectrometry. In this research it was possible to point out some parameters for selective irradiation of pale pink quartz of Pedra Lavrada-PB, once the other quartz varieties tested did not present such interesting results.