Submitted by TAMARA QUINTEIRO null (tamaraquinteiro@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-03-27T17:07:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertaçao_mestrado.pdf: 2416264 bytes, checksum: 9039ba01b06bbac6673065c6e4605d24 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-03-29T19:08:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 quinteiro_t_me_bauru.pdf: 2416264 bytes, checksum: 9039ba01b06bbac6673065c6e4605d24 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-29T19:08:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 quinteiro_t_me_bauru.pdf: 2416264 bytes, checksum: 9039ba01b06bbac6673065c6e4605d24 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-06 / O presente trabalho apresenta uma pesquisa realizada com os acadêmicos do curso de Ciências Biológicas – Licenciatura durante a disciplina de Educação Ambiental sobre suas concepções a respeito do ambiente e das infrações ambientais. A pesquisa procurou trazer dados de uma realidade para investigar essas concepções ambientais de forma sistêmica, além de analisar a metodologia dos projetos didáticos e sua relação com os problemas ambientais. O processo de investigação foi dividido em três etapas. Na primeira etapa, foi realizado um levantamento das infrações ambientais ocorridas na região de Bauru/SP, durante um período de cinco anos. Segundo o levantamento, foram encontrados 22 tipos de infrações com alto índice de ocorrência: animais silvestres em cativeiro (26,75%), pesca irregular (17,72%), intervenções em área de floresta (13,37%) e intervenções em área de preservação permanente (11,74%). Essas infrações ambientais foram analisadas segundo a metodologia da Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin (1977) e agrupadas em seis temáticas para elaboração de projetos didáticos pelos acadêmicos da graduação em Biologia: 1) causar danos a qualquer tipo de animal; 2) causar prejuízos ecológicos devido à retirada de animais silvestres da natureza; 3) atividade poluidora; 4) pesca irregular; 5) intervenção em Área de Preservação Permanente (APP); e 6) intervenção em árvores isoladas e área florestal. Na segunda etapa, os acadêmicos se dividiram em seis grupos e cada grupo apresentou um seminário e na terceira etapa, eles elaboraram um projeto ambiental e desenvolveram material didático que pudesse ser utilizado por professores de Ciências/Biologia na Educação Básica. Segundo a análise dos seminários, os acadêmicos apresentaram dificuldade em buscar novos conhecimentos. Apenas um grupo sugeriu novas fontes de informação para ampliar o artigo estudado para a apresentação do seminário. Apesar de a maioria dos acadêmicos terem se posicionado quanto ao assunto abordado e proposto formas pautáveis para a melhoria da qualidade ambiental, esse comportamento somente ocorreu após serem estimulados pela professora da disciplina. Os projetos desenvolvidos pelos acadêmicos constituíram ferramentas eficazes no processo de aprendizagem. Os acadêmicos partiram de um problema real, pois utilizaram dados de infrações ambientais da Secretaria Estadual do Meio Ambiente, e construíram um saber ambiental, envolvendo as questões ecológicas, sociais e éticas. Todas as equipes realizaram entrevistas com grupos sociais específicos, o que auxiliou na reflexão sobre o assunto. Durante a análise dos projetos, concluiu-se que apenas os grupos 4 e 5 não aprofundaram o conteúdo da pesquisa, ao passo que o grupo 2 não elaborou um material didático eficiente para ser utilizado pelos professores da Educação Básica. / The purpose of this work is to present a research conducted with students taking a licentiate course in Biological Sciences. The meetings were held in the Environmental Education classes. The objective was to investigate the students’ conceptions of the environment and the environmental violations. The research aimed at collecting actual data to investigate these environmental conceptions on a systemic basis, in addition to reviewing the methodology of educational projects and their relationship with the environmental problems. The investigational process was divided into three phases. First, the information on environmental violations occurring in the region of Bauru/SP, within five years, was gathered. According with the information collected, 22 types of violations happening very often were found, namely: wild animals in captivity (26.75%), irregular fishing (17.72%), intervention in forest areas (13.37%) and intervention in permanent preservation area (11.74%). Secondly, these environmental violations were reviewed following Bardin Content Analysis methodology (1977) and grouped into six theme areas, so the undergraduate Biology students could propose their educational projects: 1) causing damages to any kind of animals; 2) causing ecological losses for removing the wild animals from nature; 3) polluting activity; 4) irregular fishing; 5) intervention in Permanent Preservation Area (PPA); and 6) intervention in isolate trees and forest area. In the second phase, the students were divided into six groups and each group made a presentation and in the third phase, they designed an environmental project and developed a teaching material to be used by Sciences/Biology teachers in Elementary Schools. By reviewing the presentations given, the students had difficulties to look for new knowledge sources. Only one group suggested new information sources to complement the article studied for the presentation. Although most of them have made their position on the matter discussed and proposed feasible ways to improve the environmental quality, they only had this behavior after being encouraged by their professor. Projects developed by the students became efficient tools in the learning process. The students started from an actual problem, as they used data on environmental violations provided by the State Secretariat for the Environment, and built an environmental knowledge, involving ecological, social and ethical issues. All the teams interviewed specific social groups, which helped thinking on the matter. While reviewing the projects, it was concluded that only groups 4 and 5 could not deepen the research content, while group 2 did not create an efficient teaching material to be used by the Elementary School teachers.

Developmental score scales represent the performance of students along a continuum, where as students learn more they move higher along that continuum. Unidimensional item response theory (UIRT) vertical scaling has become a commonly used method to create developmental score scales. Research has shown that UIRT vertical scaling methods can be inconsistent in estimating grade-to-grade growth, within-grade variability, and separation of grade distributions (effect size) of developmental score scale. In particular the finding of scale shrinkage (decreasing within-grade score variability as grade-level increases) has led to concerns about and criticism of IRT vertical scales. The causes of scale shrinkage have yet to be fully understood. Real test data and simulation studies have been unable to provide complete answers as to why IRT vertical scaling inconsistencies occur. Violations of assumptions have been a commonly cited potential cause for the inconsistent results. For this reason, this dissertation is an extensive investigation into how violations of the three assumptions of UIRT vertical scaling - local item dependence, unidimensionality, and similar reliability of grade level tests - affect estimated developmental score scales. Simulated tests were developed that purposefully violated a UIRT vertical scaling assumption. Three sets of simulated tests were created to test the effect of violating a single assumption. First, simulated tests were created with increasing, decreasing, low, medium, and high local item dependence. Second, multidimensional simulated tests were created by varying the correlation between dimensions. Third, simulated tests with dissimilar reliability were created by varying item parameters characteristics of the grade level tests. Multiple versions of twelve simulated tests were used to investigate UIRT vertical scaling assumption violations. The simulated tests were calibrated under the UIRT model to purposefully violate an assumption of UIRT vertical scaling. Each simulated test version was replicated for 1000 random examinee samples to assess the bias and standard error of estimated grade-to-grade-growth, within-grade-variability, and separation-of-grade-distributions (effect size) of the estimated developmental score scales. The results suggest that when UIRT vertical scaling assumptions are violated the resulting estimated developmental score scales contain standard error and bias. For this study, the magnitude of standard error was similar across all simulated tests regardless of the assumption violation. However, bias fluctuated as a result of different types and magnitudes of UIRT vertical scaling assumption violations. More local item dependence resulted in more grade-to-grade-growth and separation-of-grade-distributions bias. And local item dependence resulted in developmental score scales that displayed scale expansion. Multidimensionality resulted in more grade-to-grade-growth and separation-of-grade-distributions bias when the correlation between dimensions was smaller. Multidimensionality resulted in developmental score scales that displayed scale expansion. Dissimilar reliability of grade level tests resulted in more grade-to-grade-growth bias and minimal separation-of-grade-distributions bias. Dissimilar reliability of grade level tests resulted in scale expansion or scale shrinkage depending on the item characteristics of the test. Limitations of this study and future research are discussed.

This thesis comprises of three chapters. The first essay is sole-authored and is titled `Creditor Control Rights and Managerial Risk Shifting.' The second essay is titled `Creditor Control Rights and Product Market Competition' and is joint work with Professor Matthew T. Billett and MiaoMiao Yu. The third essay is sole-authored and is titled `Merger Waves, Pseudo Market Timing, and Post-Merger Performance.' Chapter one examines agency conflicts around violations of bank loan covenants. Recent evidence shows that corporate policies change significantly following financial covenant violations. These changes are attributed to increased creditor influence over borrowing firms in ways that benefit both shareholders and debtholders. In this essay, I investigate whether shareholders engage in activities counter to creditors' interests following violations. I find that the expected negative relation between volatility and investment reverses for firms once they violate a covenant, consistent with risk-shifting behavior. This behavior is more pronounced in firms with high CEO portfolio sensitivity to stock return volatility and firms with high CEO equity ownership. Moreover, I document a significant increase in firm risk in the year following the violation. Overall, these findings suggest that even in the presence of increased creditor control risk shifting still occurs. The prior conclusions that shareholder-debtholder incentives are congruent at violations do not appear to be the case. Chapter two documents that debt covenants have a profound impact on firms' product market behavior. By examining financial covenant violations from 1996 to 2007, we show that once firms violate a covenant, they experience a substantial decrease in their market share. We also show that firms exhibit poor long-term abnormal returns following covenant violations. In contrast, their rivals grow market share and exhibit significantly positive abnormal returns after their peer firm violates a covenant. Overall, these findings suggest that creditor influence over firms have dramatic effects on product market outcomes and rival firm behavior. Chapter three questions whether managers time the market when they make merger decisions. Merger and acquisition waves seem to correspond with market tides, cresting with bull markets. A contentious debate exists over whether this trend indicates managerial market timing ability. Pseudo market timing, introduced by Schultz (2003, Journal of Finance 58, 483-517), provides an alternative hypothesis to explain abnormal performance following events even when managers cannot time the market. I find that acquiring firms which use stocks as the method of payment exhibit negative long-run abnormal returns in event-time, but not in calendar time. Simulations reveal that even when ex ante expected abnormal returns are zero (i.e. managers have no market timing ability), median ex post performance for acquirers is significantly negative when event-time is used. These findings support pseudo market timing as an explanation for acquiring firm underperformance in the context of stock mergers.

Concerns the situation of indigenous people in Argentina. / UN Job no.: G0511710 E. Material type: NGO written statements. Issued under agenda item 15, agenda document E/CN.4/2005/1.

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">This thesis is a discourse analysis of five testimonies from South Africa&rsquo / s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The aim of the analysis is to explore the ways in which the testifiers perform their identities, construe their experiences of life under apartheid, and position themselves and their audiences in relation to these experiences. The shaping role of context &ndash / both local and historical &ndash / is also considered.</p> </font></font></p>

Several aspects contribute to road crashes and one important part is the ‘human factor’. This information is interesting but insufficient unless we also try to understand what is meant by the term. Three different features have been defined: errors, lapses and violations and the latter, which is a deliberate act, has been found to be the main contributor to road crashes. The crucial issue is therefore to understand what motivates drivers to commit an act, which puts both themselves and others at risk. The aim of this thesis is to explore the motives behind this behaviour through the use of an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Four different studies were carried out: The first study is qualitative, investigating the intention to violate. The second one assesses speeding in an urban area and dangerous overtaking. In addition to variables within the model, descriptive norms and past behaviour are included. The third study explores what particular beliefs are responsible for the behaviour. The fourth study uses the TPB to predict intention to speed on a rural road and assesses some underlying factors, such as ambivalence and gender. The results of the thesis show that the theory explains 33 to 53% of the variance in intention to violate and that descriptive norm and past behaviour significantly increase the explained variance. Descriptive norm is also related to risk and past behaviour is not only related to intention but also to the variables within the model. The results show that drivers’ beliefs can distinguish between intenders and non-intenders. With regard to attitudes the general conclusion is that the main difference lay in the effect of positive outcomes. Although in a more ‘risky’ situation the behaviour is more controlled by a denial of negative consequences. Finally, the results indicates that in the context of driving violations an expressed low level of control over the behaviour could be interpreted as a form of denial of responsibility rather than an inability to control their own actions. Implications of the current findings for the development of intervention programmes are discussed.

This dissertation has two main objectives. First, we investigate the effectiveness of penalties and other enforcement tools on regulatory compliance, and comprehensively address problems that exist in previous regulatory compliance studies. Second, we develop a model that explains why most empirical studies of regulatory compliance yield results that seem to be inconsistent with the theoretical predictions of Harrington’s (1988) seminal article on regulatory compliance. Thus the dissertation comprises two essays. In Essay One, we estimate facility compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) by comprehensively addressing the problems that exist in previous studies. The first problem is the failure to take into account undetected violations. To address this problem, we employ Detection Controlled Estimation (DCE) model, developed by Feinstein (1990). The DCE variant that we use is the two-sided expectation simultaneity version. We use this version because we assume that potential violators will react to what the regulator would do, and vice versa. The second problem that we address is in the measurement of regulatory penalties. Previous studies use dummy variables, but using a continuous measure of penalty enables us to differentiate the responses of minor from substantial violators, and avoid measurement error. Finally, we use a richer set of covariates. We include variables that were found to be statistically and economically significant in different previous studies, but which have never been estimated jointly. The results in Essay One indicate that facilities do respond to penalties, but the effect is economically insignificant. We argue that the small effect of penalties in reducing noncompliance comes from the way regulators enforce the regulations: penalties are rarely imposed on detected violators, or if imposed, the amount is usually negligible. The policy implication that arises from our findings is that if regulators want to see a substantial increase in the probability of compliance, it should consider imposing more frequent and severe penalties. The positive effects of more stringent enforcement on compliance rates come from three sources: (1) through specific deterrence effect; (2) through general deterrence effect; and (3) through an increase in the probability of self-reported violations, which allows for more efficient use of inspection budgets. In Essay Two, we extend Harrington’s (1988) theoretical model by (1) introducing an imperfect detection parameter, and (2) relaxing the movement between the groups, as in Friesen (2003). The extended model shows that when detection is imperfect, the zone for the “always-violate” strategy expands. This expansion has two implications. First, when firms are uniformly distributed in cost space, the number of firms that choose the “always-violate” strategy increases. Second, any empirical study that uses major facilities will be more likely to confirm “always-violate” strategy, but fail to confirm the other two strategies discussed in Harrington (1988). We also discuss other possibilities that can contribute to the difference between empirical results and theoretical predictions.

Syftet med studien är att belysa barns egna perspektiv på tillvaron i en grupp där det finns barn med utåtagerande beteende som kan utsätta dem för verbala och/eller fysiska kränkningar. Barn i två grupper där det finns utåtagerande barn blev intervjuade individuellt. Barnen i den ena gruppen var sex och sju år gamla och i den andra gruppen var de åtta eller nio år gamla. Det finns inte så många studier i ämnet och det är oftast den ena sidan som blir belyst. De utåtagerande barnen får av naturliga skäl stor uppmärksamhet och de andra, kanske tysta barnen, glöms lättare bort i det tumult som kan uppstå i ett sådant klassrum. I dagens skolvärd anses inkludering ofta vara den enda vägen att gå och fokus ligger oerhört starkt på de barn som är i behov av särskilt stöd. De barn som utsätts för de kränkningar som kan ske i en situation där inkluderingen inte riktigt fungerar hamnar i skymundan. Denna studie visar på hur barn mår i en grupp där inkluderingen fungerar sämre än önskat. De barn som befinner sig i en situation där ett eller fler barn i gruppen är kraftigt utåtagerande verbalt och/eller fysiskt känner en daglig oro eller rädsla för att bli utsatta för kränkningar. Flertalet av de intervjuade vittnade om hur de blev ledsna vid påhopp och kände stor oro för att det skulle upprepas trots personalens förklaringar till beteendet. Studien visar också på att barnen menar att det blir bättre efter en tid men samtliga talar om ett första år med upprepade kränkningar både fysiskt och psykiskt. Trots pedagogiska förklaringar till beteendet från personalens sida och förståelse för detta från barnens, upplever de det ändå som att de blir kränkta. / This study aims to shed light on children’s own perspectives on the time they spend in a group were there are children with acting out-behaviour who may expose them to daily verbal and / or physical abuse. Children in two groups where there are acting out children were interviewed individually. The children in group one were six or seven years old and in group two they were eight or nine years old. There are not many studies on the subject since it’s usually only one side of the story represented in various studies and literature. Children with special needs are far more often represented there than the ones without. The children with acting out-behaviour naturally gets more attention than the other, perhaps more silent children, and it’s easy to forget them in the turmoil that can occur in the class room. In today’s schools inclusion is often considered to be the only or right way to go and focus is very strongly directed towards the children with special needs. Children who are exposed to violations that may occur in situations where inclusion is not fully functional sometimes takes second place. This study shows how children experience the time spent in a group where inclusion works less than desired. Children who find themselves in situations where a child or children in their group are acting out strongly verbally and / or physically can be anxious or fearful on a daily basis. Many of the children interviewed witnessed that they felt sad over the verbal abuse and felt fear of getting attacked by the children who was acting out repeatedly. The study also shows that the children believe that it gets better with time but almost every one of them testify of a first year with constant violation of their person, both verbally and physically. Despite teachers pedagogical explanations about the acting out-behaviour the children still feels abused.

Testimony flows from a story that originates long before the opportunity to be a witness about human atrocities occurs. And, ironically, testimony – the voice that is suppressed during times of state sanctioned terror – continues to flow long after the perpetrators fade from power. It is this ethereal and enduring paradox that raises the questions of what testimonial forms are, how they communicate, and whether they positively impact social justice as evidenced by enhanced communicative freedoms. The testimonial forms of this study are narratives about human rights atrocities which emerged from the 17-year military junta in Chile led by Augusto Pinochet. This project examines the development and uses of official and unofficial testimony surrounding times of transitional justice using a multi-modal analysis incorporating narrative and historical analysis, communication ethics, and critical theory which yields a meta-analysis of testimony and the context in which it functions. This research concludes that a life cycle of testimony exists that is organic and evolving. Furthermore, due to the unique circumstances of transitional justice periods, a theory of testimony ethics is called for to increase individual communicative freedoms that lead to enhanced social justice as well as to increase the success of truth commission communication processes.

Blight and the elimination thereof have profoundly impacted urban areas. In Colony Park/Lakeside (Austin, Texas), community leaders and members of the local neighborhood association have come together to mitigate and reverse social, economic, and physical symptoms of blight in their neighborhood. Following the approval of a HUD Community Challenge Planning Grant application that was submitted by the Austin Neighborhood Housing and Community Development (NHCD) department, these individuals utilized the media attention surrounding the grant to campaign for code enforcement, landlord-tenant accountability, policing, and the clean-up of illegal dumping in the area. Moreover, after much ado between residents and City workers, the neighborhood association devised a community-focused partnership with the City to ensure that current residents would reap the benefits of the planning process and help define the collective will and interests of the community. Utilizing publicly available data and first-hand knowledge from one City code compliance investigator and local residents, this report attempts to provide a blight indicator analysis of the Colony Park/Lakeside planning area as defined by NHCD. In other words, this report uses quantitative data to create descriptive maps of current neighborhood conditions with particular attention to code violations and community discussions surrounding them. The results of this work are intended to shed light on where resources should be directed to further research in the area and to resolve issues that threaten the health, safety, and viability of the neighborhood today. / text