Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2018-09-04T20:02:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017 - Adelzita Val?ria Pacheco de Souza.pdf: 3815417 bytes, checksum: 084d0ac8fdcec9fc84b8cf26c4493e28 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-04T20:02:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017 - Adelzita Val?ria Pacheco de Souza.pdf: 3815417 bytes, checksum: 084d0ac8fdcec9fc84b8cf26c4493e28 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-23 / Inclusion in Higher Education still faces challenges to become a reality in Brazil, especially people with specific educational needs. A group of university students with disabilities formed the Collective of People with Specific Educational Needs to fight for their rights in the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. This work aims to investigate what these university students with disabilities, represented by the Collective, think about inclusion in Higher Education, and how they organize collectively in the university. In addition to the official documents on Inclusion in Education and the theoretical revision of this theme, we use as theoretical basis the Psychology of Active Minorities and Cultural Psychology to understand the student movement in formation. As a research methodology, we used the narrative analysis method, based on data collected through an interview with 3 members of the executive of the Collective, documents referring to the Institution of Federal Higher Education - IFHE and the Collective, photos, digital messages and reports on the theme. The analysis of the data indicated as a result: i) Inclusion in Higher Education is a right; Ii) Criticism of the IFES for not meeting the demands of attending the Specific Educational Needs - SEN of students with disabilities, according to educational legislation; Iii) The creation of the PNE Collective, establishes dialogue with the institution and makes and claims rights, demonstrates principles and characterizes itself as an active minority, accomplishes achievements that show emancipation and innovation; Iv) The PNE Collective organizes a dialogue and actions agenda that highlights the urgency of attending SEN. In intersubjectivity they constitute a new discourse, and seek new meanings for the academic trajectory. They assume a collective identity, and begin to exercise stronger social influence. The PNE Collective built social recognition and a channel of dialogue with the institution. / A Inclus?o na Educa??o Superior ainda enfrenta desafios para se tornar uma realidade no Brasil, principalmente as pessoas com necessidades educacionais espec?ficas. Um grupo de universit?rios com defici?ncia formou o Coletivo de Pessoas com Necessidades Educacionais Espec?ficas para lutar por seus direitos na/da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Este trabalho objetiva investigar o que estes universit?rios com defici?ncia, representados pelo Coletivo, pensam sobre a inclus?o na Educa??o Superior, e como se organizam coletivamente na universidade. Al?m dos documentos oficiais sobre Inclus?o na Educa??o e da revis?o te?rica desta tem?tica, utilizamos como base te?rica a Psicologia das Minorias Ativas e a Psicologia Cultural para compreender o movimento estudantil em forma??o. Como metodologia de pesquisa utilizamos o m?todo de an?lise da narrativa, a partir de dados coletados atrav?s de entrevista a 3 membros da executiva do Coletivo, documentos referente ? Institui??o de Federal de Ensino Superior - IFES e ao Coletivo, fotos, mensagens digitais e reportagens sobre o tema. A an?lise dos dados apontou como resultado: i) A inclus?o na Educa??o Superior ? um direito; ii) Cr?tica a IFES pelo n?o atendimento das demandas de atendimento as Necessidades Educacionais Espec?ficas ? NEE dos estudantes com defici?ncia, conforme legisla??o educacional; iii) A cria??o do Coletivo PNE, instaura di?logo com a institui??o e faz e reivindica direitos, evidencia princ?pios e caracteriza-se como minoria ativa, realiza conquistas que evidencia emancipa??o e inova??o; iv) O Coletivo PNE organiza pauta de di?logo e a??es que evidencia a urg?ncia do atendimento das NEE. Na intersubjetividade eles constitu?ram um novo discurso, e buscam novos significados para a trajet?ria acad?mica. Assumem uma identidade coletiva, e passam a exercer influ?ncia social mais forte. O Coletivo PNE construiu o reconhecimento social e um canal de di?logo com a institui??o.

The first goal for the study was to estimate trait effects and social influences for racial centrality, racial private regard, and racial public regard. The second was to estimate correlational relationships between racial identity, depression, and anxiety symptoms. The study used 110 Black university students (Mage=19.5,SD=4.13) from a southeastern American university. Restricted maximum likelihood estimation was conducted to estimate variance components for all constructs. Racial centrality, racial private regard, and racial public regard consisted of mostly trait effects, although reflecting substantial social influences. Correlational findings indicated that providers who evoked high racial centrality also evoked low depression, low anxiety, and were seen as supportive. Providers who evoked racial private regard also evoked low depression, low anxiety, and were seen as supportive. Socially influenced racial public regard had no statistically significant links to other constructs. Findings suggest socially influenced racial identity holds links to mental health outcomes and social support.

This dissertation reports a series of studies on social influences in decision making with wide ranging marketing implications in areas such as gamification initiatives, participative pricing mechanisms, and charity fundraising strategies. The body of this work comprises of three indepth, stand-alone studies. The first study, "Contagion of the Competitive Spirit: The Influence of a Competition on Non-Competitors", investigates the influence of a competition on noncompetitors who do not participate in it but are aware of it. In a series of experimental studies, the study shows that the mere awareness of a competition can affect a non-competitor's performance in similar tasks. These experiments provide confirmatory and process evidence for this contagion effect, showing that it is driven by heightened social comparison motivation due to mere awareness of the competition. In addition, the study finds evidence that the reward level for the competitors could moderate the contagion effect on the non-competitors. The second study, "The Negative Effects of Precommitment on Reciprocal Behaviour: Evidence from a Series of Voluntary Payment Experiments", examines the effects of precommitment on reciprocal behaviour towards a forthcoming benefit. Through a series of experiments in several countries, the study shows that precommitment often weakens reciprocal behaviour. In two field experiments, a laboratory and an online experiment, the study finds consistent evidence that voluntary payment amounts decrease for individuals who are asked to precommit their payment. The results from a final online trust-game experiment support the posited mental-accounting mechanism for the effect. The third study, "Hold-Up Induced by Demand for Fairness: Theory and Experimental Evidence", explores the domain of hold-up and fairness concerns. While recent research suggests that fairness concerns could mitigate hold-up problems, this study proposes a starkly opposite possibility: that fairness concerns can also induce hold-up problems and thus significant inefficiencies. The study reports theoretical analysis and experimental evidence of hold-up in scenarios in which it will not occur if agents are purely self-interested, but could occur if they care about fairness at ex post negotiation.

The South African education system has experienced a paradigm shift from content-based education towards an outcomes-based education. The focus of outcomes-based education is a learner-centred approach. The criteria that learners should adhere to at the end of their school career are that they should be productive, successful lifelong learners. To achieve these criteria, learners should be able to maximise their own potential. The world of work requires learners to easily adapt and function effectively in groups and to have the ability to achieve the set criteria. This means that the world of work demands productive, critical, independent learners who are able to express themselves and communicate effectively within social situations. The question that arises is whether learners within the South African context have the ability to create opportunities to claim ownership and take responsibility for their own learning. The focus of this research is therefore on the role of maximising human potential as determined by the need of South African learners to be empowered and well prepared for the demands of the world of work. The literature pertaining to the nature, phenomenon and process of maximising of human potential is briefly examined and the fundamentals are identified. Maximising of human potential is contextualised as a component of the educational phenomenon. An observation study of two classgroups consisting of grade 8 and grade 10 learners respectively from the same school was undertaken in order to identify and determine whether learners within a realistic, diverse school setting are capable of maximising their own potential. Profiles were compiled to underline the socio-economic background of each learner and to serve as a mechanism to indicate and underline diversity in the classroom. Interviews with teachers and learners served as cross-validation of these results. The results revealed that learners from the school were demotivated with regard to maximising their potential. As a qualitative study, the final results indicated trends that may be generalised to similar classrooms. The phenomenon of maximising of human potential is based on the principle of outcomes-based education and should be the focus of learning in every classroom. Guidelines and models for a facilitator training programme in maximising human potential are suggested. The findings of the study indicate that by virtue of the fact that the teaching and learning process is to be approached from a new angle, teachers first need to have a changed perspective or execute a philosophical leap before they are able to maximise the potential of learners in the classroom. Recommendations for the future include, amongst others, that the teacher should be seen as a facilitator of opportunities for learner contributions; that because of the new and exciting demands made on the teacher by this approach, knowledge and expertise regarding maximising of human potential as didactic practice should be made available; that a longitudinal observation study of teachers who received such training, and their pupils, is undertaken as a follow-up study in order to evaluate the results of the training; and that further research is undertaken locally as well as in other countries where the maximising of human potential in language as learning phenomenon is already being practiced. / Dissertation (MEd (Curriculum Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Utvecklingen och intresset för mobila träningsapplikationer har växt markant de senaste åren och tusentals träningsapplikationer kan idag återfinnas på marknaden. Samtidigt har människor världen över blivit allt mer inaktiva vilket riskerar att leda till stora konsekvenser för individens hälsa och välmående. Mobila träningsapplikationer har visats ha stor potential för att lösa detta problem genom en ökad tillgänglighet och anpassning till användarens förutsättningar och behov. Ett flertal av de applikationer som finns på marknaden idag kan ses anta ett flertal strategier för att öka användarens engagemang och motivation till användning. Vilka dess värde och faktiska effekt har dock visats vara både omtvistat och outforskat. Denna studie undersöker och belyser vad som påverkar användarens motivation att använda en mobil träningsapplikation och hur dessa typer av applikationer kan utformas för att främja användarens engagemang och vilja att använda. För att undersöka detta genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som hade erfarenhet av att använda träningsapplikationer som stöd i sin träning. Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model och tidigare forskning inom motivation, sociala influenser och användarupplevelse verkade som teoretiskt ramverk och avsåg belysa relevanta faktorer studien avsåg att fördjupa sig inom. Det teoretiska ramverket verkade även som underlag för utformning av relevanta intervjufrågor och vid analys av erhållen empiri. Det empiriska resultatet belyser behov av enkelhet och användarnytta. En hög användarnytta kan även ses bidra till att användaren knyter ett starkare band till appen vilket ökat motivationen att fortsätta använda. Resultatet visar även på att informanterna finner ett stort värde i att följa sin fysiska utveckling över tid och erbjudas stöd för att upprätthålla stabilitet i träning snarare än att nå konkreta mål. Social funktionalitet såsom att följa och jämföra sin fysiska aktivitet med andra användare visar sig även ha en betydande inverkan på informanternas engagemang och användning av applikationen. I överensstämmande med tidigare forskning verkar dock värdet av sociala funktioner vara beroende av förhållandet användaren har till de andra användarna och dess närhet. Baserat på det teoretiska ramverket och empiriska utfallet presenteras designkriterier för framtida utformning av mobila träningsapplikationer som kan främja användarens engagemang och motivation att använda. / The development of digital support tools and applications for physical activity is growing quickly, and today there are thousands of mobile applications on the market aimed to support the user’s physical exercise. At the same time, there is a rising trend of a sedentary lifestyle with a lack of exercise which has had a negative impact on the population’s health and wellbeing over the last years. Fitness applications are broadly used today and have shown to have a potential in solving this problem. However, the actual benefit of these tools from a user’s perspective is yet under-studied. This study aims to identify what affects user’s motivation when using a fitness application and how these types of applications can be designed to increase user’s engagement. As a theoretical foundation, Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model and previous research in motivation, social influences, and user experience were explored to formulate relevant interview questions and guide the analysis of the empirical data. Through qualitative interviews insights from users with experience of using fitness applications as support in their physical exercise are gathered. The results show that ease of use and usefulness was important for most of the informants and that the users found a high value in tracking their physical exercise and development over time. The empirical data also indicate that gaining help to maintain stability rather than setting up concrete goals was perceived as more valuable. Social functionality such as following and comparing one's physical activity with others is also shown to have a significant impact on one's use and involvement in the application. However, consistent with previous research, the value of social features seemed to be dependent on the relation the user has with the other users. Based on the empirical findings design guidelines for development of fitness apps are proposed.

In Kuwait, an increase in the use of social media by the Kuwait National Assembly (KNA) has allowed it members to reach out to the public and so advance their political agenda. This study examines social media influences on the decision making process; addresses the lack of academic research in relation to KNA members; and seeks to understand the extent to which public political engagement using social media might affect the outcome of their decision making. The proposed social media influence model (SMIM) was used to explore the relationships and relative importance of variables influencing legislator decision making in a social media environment. The second decade of the twenty-first century saw a number of major issues emerging in Kuwait. A core mixed method design known as explanatory sequential was applied to multiple sets of data generated during KNA members' 14th (2013-2016) and 15th (2016-2018) terms. These data included Twitter messages (tweets), the KNA Information Center Parliamentary Information System legislation documents, and the news media articles. The sample was drawn from KNA membership, some of which used Twitter to comment on major events with specific hashtags and the Kuwaiti news media articles related to the same. Study results confirm and support the proposed SMIM. They also suggest that a single person or a group of individuals (in this case, legislators) can be influenced and motivated to use social media for self-promotion and/or advancing their political agenda. Consequently, they can be used to devise ways for improving the use of social media by KNA members in support of legislative work, which in turn will provide citizens with access to real-time information and enhanced political interaction.

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