Active asthma and asthma-related health care utilization are higher among adult females than they are among adult males in Puerto Rico. The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of the risk of active asthma and associated health care utilization and asthma control among women in Puerto Rico. Guided by the Andersen behavioral model, the study included data from the Asthma Call-Back Survey (ACBS) during 2011 and 2012 in Puerto Rico. The associations between active asthma and behavioral, demographic, and environmental factors were assessed using logistic regression. The relationship between asthma-related health care utilization and predisposing, enabling, and need factors was examined using multiple linear regression. The association between achieved level of asthma control and asthma-related healthcare utilization was investigated using multinomial logistic regression. Results of the logistic regression indicated that being out of work, being in a middle income category, and being obese significantly increased the odds of active asthma. Being self-employed and being in the income category of $15,000-$25,000 significantly predicted the frequency of emergency room visits (ERVs). Results of the multinomial logistic regression indicated that physician urgent visit and ERV were significantly associated with poorly controlled asthma symptoms. The positive social change implication of these findings is that the identified risk factors can be used to develop asthma management plans to prevent and control asthma attacks in at-risk populations and reduce asthma-related health care utilization cost

The aim of this thesis is to develop algorithmic methods for computing particular performance measures of interest for a general class of discrete-based insurance risk models. We build upon and generalize the insurance risk models considered by Drekic and Mera (2011) and Alfa and Drekic (2007), by incorporating a threshold-based dividend system in which dividends only get paid provided some period of good financial health is sustained above a pre-specified threshold level. We employ two fundamental methods for calculating the performance measures under the more general framework. The first method adopts the matrix-analytic approach originally used by Alfa and Drekic (2007) to calculate various ruin-related probabilities of interest such as the trivariate distribution of the time of ruin, the surplus prior to ruin, and the deficit at ruin. Specifically, we begin by introducing a particular trivariate Markov process and then expressing its transition probability matrix in a block-matrix form. From this characterization, we next identify an initial probability vector for the process, from which certain important conditional probability vectors are defined. For these vectors to be computed efficiently, we derive recursive expressions for each of them. Subsequently, using these probability vectors, we derive expressions which enable the calculation of conditional ruin probabilities and, from which, their unconditional counterparts naturally follow. The second method used involves the first claim conditioning approach (i.e., condition on knowing the time the first claim occurs and its size) employed in many ruin theoretic articles including Drekic and Mera (2011). We derive expressions for the finite-ruin time based Gerber-Shiu function as well as the moments of the total dividends paid by a finite time horizon or before ruin occurs, whichever happens first. It turns out that both functions can be expressed in elegant, albeit long, recursive formulas. With the algorithmic derivations obtained from the two fundamental methods, we next focus on computational aspects of the model class by comparing six different types of models belonging to this class and providing numerical calculations for several parametric examples, highlighting the robustness and versatility of our model class. Finally, we identify several potential areas for future research and possible ways to optimize numerical calculations.

L’intérêt des romans de Marguerite Andersen repose sur les enjeux stratégiques des modalités génériques employées par l’auteure, ainsi que sur les mécanismes exploités par chaque narratrice dans le récit de son parcours identitaire. Nous proposons une approche théorique qui s’inspire de la thématique du « vécrire », néologisme emprunté au roman Salut Galarneau ! de Jacques Godbout. La narratrice du premier roman, De mémoire de femme, emploie le mot « vécrire » en réfléchissant à son projet d’écriture et si la narratrice exprime le même désir que le personnage de Jacques Godbout, celui d’entremêler la vie et l’écriture, il y a encore plus. Chez elle, « vécrire » est intimement lié à l’énonciation de la quête de sens de ses protagonistes féminins, un parcours narratif à visées éthiques et esthétiques. Il s’agit d’un processus complexe qui exige un cadre théorique à trois dimensions, alimenté d’écrits dans plusieurs domaines. La première dimension du cadre théorique porte sur la construction identitaire, la deuxième dimension, sur la dynamique mémorielle et figurative du « vivre » et de l’« écrire » et la troisième dimension, sur la question générique. La thèse comporte un premier chapitre consacré aux enjeux théoriques. Le deuxième analyse De mémoire de femme et sert en quelque sorte de matrice esthétique et didactique, car il révèle les éléments fondamentaux du « vécrire » qui traversent tout le corpus. Les troisième, quatrième et cinquième chapitres portent respectivement sur L’Homme-papier, La soupe et Parallèles. La quête scripturaire de chaque narratrice soulève des questions intéressantes quant à la confusion des sphères du référentiel et de l’imaginaire qui peut s’opérer selon la volonté de l’écrivaine – dans les termes de Jacques Godbout, par le mensonge – ou à d’autres moments, par le mécanisme du refoulement ou le jeu entre la mémoire et l’oubli. Dans la conclusion, nous abordons brièvement deux romans récents de Marguerite Andersen, pour dégager la cohérence de son projet d’écriture. Enfin, notre réflexion portera sur la façon dont ces textes participent au mouvement littéraire francophone, à l’écriture au féminin et à la littérature franco-ontarienne.

L’intérêt des romans de Marguerite Andersen repose sur les enjeux stratégiques des modalités génériques employées par l’auteure, ainsi que sur les mécanismes exploités par chaque narratrice dans le récit de son parcours identitaire. Nous proposons une approche théorique qui s’inspire de la thématique du « vécrire », néologisme emprunté au roman Salut Galarneau ! de Jacques Godbout. La narratrice du premier roman, De mémoire de femme, emploie le mot « vécrire » en réfléchissant à son projet d’écriture et si la narratrice exprime le même désir que le personnage de Jacques Godbout, celui d’entremêler la vie et l’écriture, il y a encore plus. Chez elle, « vécrire » est intimement lié à l’énonciation de la quête de sens de ses protagonistes féminins, un parcours narratif à visées éthiques et esthétiques. Il s’agit d’un processus complexe qui exige un cadre théorique à trois dimensions, alimenté d’écrits dans plusieurs domaines. La première dimension du cadre théorique porte sur la construction identitaire, la deuxième dimension, sur la dynamique mémorielle et figurative du « vivre » et de l’« écrire » et la troisième dimension, sur la question générique. La thèse comporte un premier chapitre consacré aux enjeux théoriques. Le deuxième analyse De mémoire de femme et sert en quelque sorte de matrice esthétique et didactique, car il révèle les éléments fondamentaux du « vécrire » qui traversent tout le corpus. Les troisième, quatrième et cinquième chapitres portent respectivement sur L’Homme-papier, La soupe et Parallèles. La quête scripturaire de chaque narratrice soulève des questions intéressantes quant à la confusion des sphères du référentiel et de l’imaginaire qui peut s’opérer selon la volonté de l’écrivaine – dans les termes de Jacques Godbout, par le mensonge – ou à d’autres moments, par le mécanisme du refoulement ou le jeu entre la mémoire et l’oubli. Dans la conclusion, nous abordons brièvement deux romans récents de Marguerite Andersen, pour dégager la cohérence de son projet d’écriture. Enfin, notre réflexion portera sur la façon dont ces textes participent au mouvement littéraire francophone, à l’écriture au féminin et à la littérature franco-ontarienne.

The aim of this thesis is to develop algorithmic methods for computing particular performance measures of interest for a general class of discrete-based insurance risk models. We build upon and generalize the insurance risk models considered by Drekic and Mera (2011) and Alfa and Drekic (2007), by incorporating a threshold-based dividend system in which dividends only get paid provided some period of good financial health is sustained above a pre-specified threshold level. We employ two fundamental methods for calculating the performance measures under the more general framework. The first method adopts the matrix-analytic approach originally used by Alfa and Drekic (2007) to calculate various ruin-related probabilities of interest such as the trivariate distribution of the time of ruin, the surplus prior to ruin, and the deficit at ruin. Specifically, we begin by introducing a particular trivariate Markov process and then expressing its transition probability matrix in a block-matrix form. From this characterization, we next identify an initial probability vector for the process, from which certain important conditional probability vectors are defined. For these vectors to be computed efficiently, we derive recursive expressions for each of them. Subsequently, using these probability vectors, we derive expressions which enable the calculation of conditional ruin probabilities and, from which, their unconditional counterparts naturally follow. The second method used involves the first claim conditioning approach (i.e., condition on knowing the time the first claim occurs and its size) employed in many ruin theoretic articles including Drekic and Mera (2011). We derive expressions for the finite-ruin time based Gerber-Shiu function as well as the moments of the total dividends paid by a finite time horizon or before ruin occurs, whichever happens first. It turns out that both functions can be expressed in elegant, albeit long, recursive formulas. With the algorithmic derivations obtained from the two fundamental methods, we next focus on computational aspects of the model class by comparing six different types of models belonging to this class and providing numerical calculations for several parametric examples, highlighting the robustness and versatility of our model class. Finally, we identify several potential areas for future research and possible ways to optimize numerical calculations.

Univ., Diss.--Zürich, 2006.

Submitted by RENATO PINTO (renatocostapinto@gmail.com) on 2015-10-14T13:25:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO. A TUBA NA MÚSICA BRASILEIRA.RENATO DA COSTA PINTO.FINAL.pdf: 7773482 bytes, checksum: e76050061ce3260cd21498f11baffbec (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-14T13:25:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO. A TUBA NA MÚSICA BRASILEIRA.RENATO DA COSTA PINTO.FINAL.pdf: 7773482 bytes, checksum: e76050061ce3260cd21498f11baffbec (MD5) / UFBA / Este trabalho teve o objetivo de catalogar peças brasileiras compostas para tuba solo em diferentes formações instrumentais, além de propor analise e sugestões interpretativas para a Fantasia Sul América, composta por Claudio Santoro. Para alcançar os objetivos propostos foi utilizado como metodologia a pesquisa exploratória e descritiva. Os dados coletados foram tratados de forma quali-quantitativa. Foram catalogadas noventa e duas composições, dentre estas quarenta e cinco para tuba, dezesseis para bombardino, quatro duos para tuba e bombardino, cinco quartetos para tuba e bombardino e vinte e uma peças para tuba/bombardino e demais instrumentos. A pesquisa justificou-se pela lacuna existente na organização e busca pelas obras brasileiras para tuba e bombardino e pelo fato do pesquisador ser interprete e professor dos instrumentos em questão.

Orientador: Ana Maria da Costa Santos Menin / Banca: Renata Junqueira de Souza / Banca: Henrique Silvestre Soares / Resumo: A presente pesquisa está vinculada ao programa de Pós-Graduação da Unesp de Presidente Prudente S/P e à linha de pesquisa Infância e Educação e gestada em um projeto maior denominado Literatura na escola: espaços e contextos. A realidade brasileira e portuguesa, coordenado pela professora Dra Renata Junqueira de Souza e realizado pelo Centro de Estudos em Leitura e Literatura Infantil e Juvenil - CELLIJ. O estudo partiu dos resultados calamitosos do Brasil em provas (Saresp, SAEB, PISA) que avaliam a competência leitora dos alunos comprovando o fato de as escolas não cumprirem com sua função primeira: ensinar a ler e escrever. Estudos têm mostrado que o hábito de leitura dos estudantes tem se tornado precário e insuficiente fato que, somado ao despreparo teórico e pedagógico dos professores relativamente ao ensino da literatura e à utilização do material literário, tem dificultado o trabalho com o livro literário no âmbito escolar, razão pela qual justifica-se esta investigação. A pesquisa teve por objetivo estudar as contribuições da Estética da Recepção para o ensino de literatura e para a formação do leitor, além de investigar a compreensão dos principais aspectos que levavam à aceitação, ou não, da obra e como ocorre a recepção literária. Para tanto, optou-se por um aporte teórico afinado com a teoria recepcional de Hans Robert Jauss, bem como a Metodologia Recepcional criada por Bordini e Aguiar e os Níveis de recepção literária de Hans Kügler. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma escola municipal de Presidente Prudente e teve como público alvo alunos do 5º ano com os quais foi vivenciada uma prática pedagógica fundamentada na Estética... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research is part of the graduate program at Department of Education in Unesp Presidente Prudente and related to the research topic concerning childhood and education, included in the Literature in the school: spaces and contexts, project intended to study the Brazilian and Portuguese realities. The project is coordinated by Professor Dr. Renata Junqueira de Souza and conducted by the Centre for studies in Reading and Literature for children and teens - CELLIJ. The study presented here was first motivated by unfortunate Brazilians' educational institutions results in regional, national and international tests (Saresp, SAEB, PISA) designed in order to evaluate the students' reading skills. Such results have been shown that the Brazilian schools teaching techniques do not meet to their primary function: teach students to write and read properly. There are some studies that have shown a lack between the students' reading habits and the required behaviour to meet a reading proficiency level. Moreover the theoretical and pedagogical teachers' background, generally, is not enough to suitably use the literary stuff with their students. Has a result, the literature learning process has been faced difficulties and the improvement need in this educational context comes out the importance of the research presented here. This research is purposed to study the Reception's Aesthetics contributions to the literature teaching goal and develop the students' comprehensive reading skills. In addition to that, it investigates the major issues related to acceptance of the literature. In order to reach these goals, our study draws on the receptional theory from Hans Robert Jauss, on Receptional Methodology created by Bordini and Aguiar and on Levels of literary reception from Hans Kügler. This research was developed in a school located in Presidente Prudente city... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ongoing changes in German family policy. It explores the issue of whether the German welfare state, in this policy field, can still be regarded as a conservative welfare model or rather approaches a more liberal or social democratic model. A qualitative method is used to analyze the material, especially from the German government, including press releases, other public documents and also articles from the political weekly magazines Der Spiegel and Die Zeit. The changes analyzed are the new parental benefit, the expansion of child care, the concept of whole-day schools and the system of joint taxation. The point of departure is Gösta Esping-Andersen’s categorization of three types of welfare states: the social democratic, the conservative and the liberal. Esping-Andersen uses two tools, decommodification and social stratification, to determine which welfare model a country is placed in. My analysis of German family policy shows that the German welfare model is going to be more towards a social democratic model than a conservative welfare model.

Parental leave policies have been shown to play a significant role in enhancing gender equality. The European Union has recognised this and has issued a Directive to its Member States, in order to instigate parental leave policy reform. However, not all Member States have sought to implement this. This thesis addresses this problem and seeks to answer the following research question: Why have progressive parental leave policies failed to transfer across the European Union? In doing so, this study also aims to explore the limits of Europeanisation. The research question has been addressed through a qualitative comparative case study of four European Union Member States: Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and Greece. These states have been chosen on the basis of Most Different System Design. The thesis deploys a theoretical framework based upon concepts of Europeanisation and policy mobility and draws particularly on the work of Stone’s four core concepts of policy mobility: Diffusion, Transfer, Convergence, Translation (Stone, 2012). The key factors that have been identified in this study as restricting the potential of a policy to transfer are: institutional surroundings, shared beliefs and norms, internal political dynamics and a lack of force/action from the European Union. These differences have acted to constrain the transferability of progressive parental leave policy across the European Union and therefore the process of Europeanisation in this area.