This M. Sc. thesis studies the statistical characteristics of convective storms in a monsoon regime in Darwin, northern Australia. It has been conducted with the use of radar. Enhanced knowledge of tropical convection is essential in studies of the global climate, and this study aims to bring light on some special characteristics of storms in a tropical environment. The observed behaviour of convective storms can be implemented in the parameterisation of these in cloud-resolving regional and global models. The wet season was subdivided into three regimes; build-up and breaks, the monsoon and the dry monsoon. Using a cell tracking system called TITAN, these regimes were shown to support different storm characteristics in terms of their temporal, spatial and height distributions. The build-up and break storms were seen to be more vigorous and particularly modulated diurnally by sea breezes. The monsoon was dominated by frequent but less intense and vertically less extensive convective cores. The explanation for this could be found in the atmospheric environment, with monsoonal convection having oceanic origins together with a mean upward motion of air through the depth of the troposphere. The dry monsoon was characterised by suppressed convection due to the presence of dry mid-level air. The effects of wind shear on convective line orientations were examined. The results show a diurnal evolution from low-level shear parallel orientations of convective lines to low-level shear perpendicular during build-up and breaks. The monsoon was dominated by complex orientations of convective lines. The thesis includes a study of merged and splitted cells, which have been separated from other storms, and mergers were shown to support more vigorous convection in terms of height distribution and reflectivity profiles. They were also seen to be the most long-lived category of storms as well as the most common type. Split storms were generally weaker, indicative of their general tendency to decay shortly after the split occurred. / En statistisk studie av konvektiva celler i en miljö som präglas av monsunförhållanden har utförts i Darwin, norra Australien, med hjälp av radar. En ökad förståelse for tropisk konvektion är nödvändig for att kunna studera klimatet globalt. Denna studie har bidragit till denna kunskapsbas genom att studera några viktiga parametrar hos konvektiva celler i en tropisk miljö. De observerade egenskaperna hos dessa celler kan implementeras i parametriseringen av högupplösta regionala och globala modeller. Regnperioden delades upp i tre olika regimer; uppbyggnad och avbrott, monsun och torr monsun. Genom att använda ett cellsökande system kallat TITAN, visade sig dessa regimer uppvisa olika karakteristika vad gäller tids- och rumsmässig samt vertikal distribution av konvektionsceller. Uppbyggnad- och avbrottsregimen dominerades av mäktiga och intensiva konvektionsceller, och modulerades av sjöbrisar på en daglig basis. Monsunen dominerades av talrika men mindre intensiva celler. Anledningen till detta kan finnas i atmosfäriska förhållanden, dar monsunen dominerades av konvektionsceller med oceanisk härkomst och allmän hävning genom större delen av troposfären. Den torra monsunen präglades av försvagad konvektion på grund av närvaron av mycket torr luft på medelhöga nivåer. Effekten av vindskjuvning på orienteringen av bylinjer undersöktes. Resultaten visar att en daglig övergång från en orientering som var parallell med vindskjuvningsvektorn till en vinkelrät orientering dominerade under uppbyggnad och avbrott. Monsunen präglades av komplexa orienteringar av bylinjer. Sammanväxande och splittrande celler separerades fran andra celler och undersöktes speciellt. De sammanväxande cellerna uppvisade mer intensiv konvektion och större vertikal maktighet. Denna kategori av celler, som var den vanligaste typen av ickeisolerade celler, levde också längre än andra celltyper. Splittrande celler var generellt svagare än andra celler, vilket indikerade den generella tendensen för denna celltyp att brytas ner strax efter det att en splittring ägt rum.

Orientador: Yukio Kobayashi / Banca: Paulo César Rioli Duarte de Souza / Banca: Gilberto de Magalhães Bento Gonçalves / Resumo: No presente trabalho buscou-se determinar o comportamento das características geométricas do cordão da solda e o desempenho da soldagem, através do processo de soldagem com arame tubular autoprotegido e corrente pulsada. As características geométricas estudadas foram largura do cordão, penetração da solda e altura do reforço. Para definir o desempenho da soldagem analisou-se o rendimento de deposição e a taxa de deposição. Como metal de base utilizou-se o aço ABNT 1010 de espessura 6,35mm. O arame utilizado foi o AWS E71T-11 com diâmetro 1,1mm. A soldas foram realizadas por simples deposição, utilizando-se uma fonte de solda microprocessada, mantendo-se a velocidade de soldagem e a distancia tocha/peça constante. Durante o processo de soldagem os parâmetros de pulso analisados foram a corrente de pico (Ap), corrente de base (Ab), freqüência de pulso (F) e tempo de pico (Tp). Para coleta dos dados foi utilizada uma placa de aquisição de dados com interface a um microcomputador. De posse dos dados, foi aplicada a técnica de ANOVA, com o objetivo de identificar, quantificar e localizar a significância das dispersões. Verificou-se que a tensão média tem grande influência nas características geométricas do cordão de solda e de desempenho da soldagem. Para cada incremento de F provocou uma redução da largura do cordão de solda e aumento da penetração, altura do reforço, taxa de deposição e rendimento de deposição. O incremento Tp acarretou a formação de cordões mais largos, como também a redução na altura do reforço, penetração, taxa de deposição e rendimento de deposição. A variação de Ap não teve influência sobre largura do cordão, a altura do reforço, taxa de deposição e rendimento de deposição. / Abstract: In the present work one searched to determine the behavior of the geometric characteristics of the bead weld and the performance of the welding, through the process self-shielded flux cored arc welding and pulsed current. The studied geometric characteristics had been width of bead, penetration of the weld, height of the reinforcement. To define the performance of the welding one analyzed the deposition efficiency and the deposition rate. As metal base was used steel ABNT 1010 with thickness 6, 35 mm. The used wire was the AWS E71T-11 with diameter 1,1 mm. The welds had been carried through by simple deposition, using themselves a microprocessed weld power source, remaining constant it welding speed and the stick-out. During the welding process the analyzed parameters of pulse had been the peak current (Ap), base current (Ab), pulse frequency (F) and peak duration (Tp). For collection of the data a plate of acquisition of data with interface to a microcomputer was used. Of ownership of the data, the ANOVA technique was applied, with the objective to identify, to quantify and to locate the significance of the dispersions. It was verified that the mean voltage has great influence in the geometric characteristics of the bead weld and the performance of the welding. For each increment of F it provoked a reduction of the width of the bead weld and increase of the penetration, height of the reinforcement, deposition rate and deposition efficiency. The Tp increment caused the wider bead weld formation, as also the reduction in the height of the reinforcement, penetration, deposition rate and deposition efficiency. The variation of Ap did not have influence on width of the bead weld, the height of the reinforcement, deposition rate and deposition efficiency. / Mestre

Research indicates a significant rise in child and adolescent mental health difficulties over the past few decades (Mental Health Foundation, 2015). Evidence-based programmes are becoming increasingly favoured as a preventative measure to address these difficulties, given that a large number of interventions delivered in schools have been shown to be effective (Domitrovich et al., 2008). While schools offer an ideal stage for the prevention of mental health difficulties, research suggests that the outcomes of evidence-based programmes are heavily moderated by implementation variability (Durlak, 2015). A key driver of effective implementation and therefore, positive outcomes, is the implementer - who in the case of school-based preventative programmes is almost exclusively the class teacher. The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of individual level teacher characteristics on implementation variability in a universal social and emotional learning programme, using data drawn from the evaluation of the PATHS to Success trial (Humphrey et al., under review). A concurrent embedded mixed methods design was used to gain a fuller appreciation of the individual level factors that affect implementation variability. A total of 183 teachers were included in the analyses, who completed surveys regarding their professional and psychological characteristics, as well as their perceptions of and attitudes towards interventions. Data were analysed using multiple regression, including a series of interaction terms. Missing data were addressed by means of multiple imputation. There were twelve focus teachers in the qualitative strand, with interviews conducted to investigate the individual level barriers and facilitators associated with implementation variability. Teachers' interview data was analysed thematically. Results indicated that teachers' characteristics did have an influence on implementation variability, although this varied depending on the aspect of implementation. A series of multiple regression analyses indicated that implementer characteristics accounted for 9% of the variance in the fidelity model, 21% in the dosage model, and 15% in the quality model. No individual predictors were significant, although there were some marginally non-significant trends. There was also no reported increase in the variance across the three models when a series of interaction terms were added. The qualitative interviews aided the clarification of some of the quantitative findings, adding substantial depth to some of the conclusions drawn, with school leadership emerging as a significant factor in the successful implementation of the programme. There were a number of implications as a result of the findings from the current study for researchers, programme developers, and schools in understanding implementation variability at the individual level. Directions for future research are discussed in light of these findings.

Orientador: Luiz Roberto de Oliveira / Resumo: O presente estudo refere-se a 79 crianças menores de 6 anos de idade, residentes em um bairro periférico, Pousada da Esperança I e II, cadastradas na Unidade Básica de Saúde da Vila São Paulo, Bauru (SP), faltosas na ficha de registro existente na sala de vacina. Com o objetivo de identificar as características sócio-familiares, grau de conhecimento sobre vacinas, situação vacinal real e razões alegadas que possam estar relacionadas com o atraso no esquema de imunização, foi realizado um inquérito familiar no domicílio com o universo dos faltosos. Do total, foram localizadas 47 crianças, sendo que as perdas foram explicadas pela grande mobilidade das famílias, decorrente da precariedade social que as caracteriza. Trata-se de famílias numerosas do tipo conjugal, em constituição, cujos responsáveis têm baixo grau de escolaridade e encontram-se sem ocupação ou em atividades produtivas predominantemente manuais não qualificadas. Noventa e oito por cento das famílias encontram-se na condição de pobreza, com rendimentos mensais inferiores a 0,25 SMNpc. Encontrou-se uma boa concepção sobre a relevância das vacinas em geral e parte do calendário vacinal. Dentre as razões alegadas para o atraso vacinal, encontram-se: esquecimento, doença da criança, horário de funcionamento da UBS e distância da moradia em relação à UBS. Observou-se, por fim, que 64% das crianças tidas como faltosas pela UBS estavam em dia em relação ao calendário vacinal. Conclui-se que a ênfase educativa deveria incluir todas as vacinas do calendário e que deveria ser adotada a busca ativa na investigação dos faltosos, enquanto o serviço de saúde não for oferecido a todos e não estiver conectado a um sistema de informação integrado. / Abstract: The present study is from 79 children under 6 years of age living on the outskirts of Bauru and surveyed at Unidade Básica de Saúde da Vila São Paulo, who were absent on the vaccine room survey. Aiming to identify social characteristics, vaccines knowledge degree, actual vaccinal situation and referred reasons that could be related to immunization scheme delay, a home inquest was done with the absent ones. In general, 47 children were found, and the absences were explained concerning the great family mobility due to social precariousness. It is a question of a great number of individuals in the family, connubial type, whose responsible individuals have low educational level and are unemployed or in manual unqualified activities. Ninety-eight per cent of families are poor with incomes lesser than 0.25 SMNpc. A good apprehension of vaccine relevance in general and the ones part of vaccinal calendar was found. Among delay reasons are the following: inattention, child disease. UBS working time and distance from their homes. One observed at the end that 64% of children referred to as absents by UBS were updated concerning vaccine calendars. One concluded that emphasis on educational work should include all vaccines from the calendar as well as the need to adopt an active practice of searching the absent ones, while health service is not offered for everyone and the service is connected to a data system. / Mestre

This thesis is a Heuristic Self-Search Inquiry (HSSI) that explores the personal experience of one gay man's participation in a gay male friendship group whose culturally constructed sense of being gay, characterised by specific places, customs and practices the researcher considers 'cultic'. The study is undertaken through the researcher who found himself outside a closed group of emotionally intimate gay friends, which represented an entire world. Using the HSSI model created by Sela-Smith (2002), this profoundly personal qualitative study considers the researcher's internal experiencing as the primary source of knowledge. Material from online images, academic papers and personal writing of the inquirer's lived experience of the research topic provided for periods of contemplative incubation and illumination, typical of HSSI. The output was the depiction of six emergent themes that highlight the qualities and nuances of the topic: pain, frustration, mistrust, joy, disgust and confusion. The other main findings are: this gay male friendship group developed characteristics of a symbolically enclosed cultic institution; that gay men are susceptible to forming cultic relationships; and a depth of distress experienced when intimate friendships between gay men fail. The findings finish by offering a creative synthesis, which captures the resultant integrated understanding of the experience in the form of a short story. Recommendations are made for counselling professionals to trouble their understanding of gay male friendship groups, and for public and third sector organisations working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) identifying peoples to begin discussing interpersonal issues inside LGBTQ populations.

Delays in childhood immunization may have adverse health implications. In the United States, childhood immunization among children who are below 3 years of age continues to be below Healthy People 2020 targets for some vaccines such as DTaP, PCV, HIB, Hep A, Rotavirus, and Hep B birth dose. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal characteristics and childhood immunization series completion rates among children 2 years of age. The social learning theory and self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study. Data from the Florida Department of Health Immunization Surveys were used. ANOVA and multinomial statistical tests were used to analyze the data. According to the study results, maternal factors such as age, marital status, and educational level were significant predictors of childhood immunization completion rates. The findings from the study could lead to positive social change initiatives through education and inclusion of mothers' concerns during interventions to increase immunization rates in children. Increase in immunization completion rates can reduce communicable disease in the population. Insights from this study could assist health care providers, parents, and care givers in their responsibilities relative to childhood immunization practices.

Thesis (MPH)--University of Limpopo, 2010. / Background Despite of all the media information and reports about women abuse and non- reporting, there seems to be a high rate of domestic violence, according to reports obtained at Masonwabisane women support centre in Butterworth, Eastern Cape. According to the managing director of the above centre twenty (20) victims report daily at the centre. Probably because of cultural and religious beliefs, violence is not always reported or talked about. It is against this background that the researcher intended to conduct this study. Aims Examination of the characteristics of abused women who visited Masonwabisane Women Support Centre (MWSC) in Butterworth, Eastern Cape. Methodology Data was collected at MWSC in Butterworth an NGO operating under Mnquma local municipality. A descriptive quantitative study was used on records of abused women obtained from Butterworth areas who visited the centre and were reviewed retrospectively using a template developed by the researcher with effect from the 1st of July to 31 December 2007. The records were divided according to the areas served by the organization and the sub-samples randomly selected from each area. The analysis was based on the information that was generated from the questionnaires that women who visited the centre provided. Results The study indicated that the majority of the participants (94 %) were below the age of 40 years. Among the abused women 49 % were single. Almost all the women were living in the rural, informal settlement or township areas. Only ten (4 %) of the cases had no formal education while close to 82 % had at most a secondary school education and the rest 14.3 % had tertiary education. About 24 % of the cases were unemployed and 26.9 % were students. This gives a total of close to 50 % of cases who are economically inactive. The rest of the respondents were either in full time (15.1 %) and in part time (33.9 %) employment. At the time of presentation at the centre, two third (75 %) were traumatized 24 % injured, 13 % confused while 8.6 % were reserved and 2.9 % not well groomed. Over half (55.5 %) of the abuse cases were emotional abused, followed by physical abuse at 31 % while sexual abuse were 7.3 % and economical abuse were 6.1 %. Over a quarter (33, 5%) of women used tobacco, 10, 2% used alcohol and 3,3 % used illicit drug while over half (53,1%) of women did not use any from of substances. At the time of presentation at the centre the following personality traits from abused women were observed, almost half (44 %) of the abused women were angry, 26 % were stubborn and 15% were submissive while 14 % were aggressive. Majority of women (80 %) reported abuse during the week. One tenth (12 %) of women were abused during their pregnancy and 25% during their menstrual period. Because of the abuse almost a quarter (24 %) were physically disabled. Two thirds (66 %) of the women had children between 1 and 4 were abused. Majority (80 %) of women were abused by their husband or partners. Results show that employment and obstetric status were significantly associated (Χ2 = 96.24, p < 0.001). Type of abuse was not dependent on any other variables in the study. Frequency of reporting was associated with type of substance uses (Χ2 = 18.94, p = 0.04) and relationship with perpetrator (Χ2 = 94.78, p < 0.001). Occupation of the perpetrator was related to obstetric status (Χ2 = 193.58, p < 0.001), disability (Χ2 = 34.51, p < 0.001) and no of children the women had (Χ2 = 116.23, p < 0.001). Conclusion The following characteristics were observed from women who visited MWSC women support centre Butterworth, most women between 20-29 years of age were single they were either having steady relationships co-habiting. Most of them were staying in partner’s house or flat. Most of them came from townships and were economically inactive. It was evident from data analysis that most of them had low level of education (82 % secondary education) and they struggle to get employment. Another characteristic was that 66 % of cases were still students and therefore depended on their partners for financial support, which in some cases were elderly men. Most of them presented traumatized at the centre and the common form of abuse experienced was emotional abuse. Most of the abused women were found angry. To some extent others were so abused that they got injuries that led to their physical disability e.g. fractures. Most of them reported abuse at the centre during the weekdays and working hours. This could have an impact on statistics of women abuse as some women are abused by their partners or husbands during the night or weekend, some of them may feel it is no longer necessary to report abuse the following day or following week. Key words: Domestic violence, Characteristics of abused women, patterns of reporting.

The objective of this research was to constructively replicate the research of Brabham and Thoreson (1973) and Mitchell and Frederickson (1975) that led to the conclusion that handicapped counselors are preferred. Subjects were 337 male and female volunteers enrolled in psychology 101 which was taught during the Fall Quarter, 1984, at Utah State University. All subjects were asked to indicate their preference when considering 20 hypothetical problem situations for one counselor from among six photographs of handicapped and non-handicapped counselors. The 20 situations consisted of three types (personal, vocational, and educational). Each subject's score was the total number of times that the subject selected a handicapped counselor. T-tests for independent means were conducted to determined whether or not the group had a statistically significant preference for either handicapped or non-handicapped counselor when the subjects were considering all problems together and when subjects were considering specific problem types. Results indicate that subjects have no significant preference for either handicapped or non-handicapped counselor when all problems were considered. For Personal problems subjects preferred handicapped counselors. For vocational problems subjects preferred non-handicapped counselors. For educational problems subjects had no statistical significant preference. Interpretation of the results suggested preference for a handicapped or non-handicapped counselor is differentially affected by the problem type. It was recommended that much research remains to measure the magnitude of these preferences and the influence of these preferences on the process and outcome of therapy.

This study investigated the unidimensional assumption underlying choice behavior by examining the transitivity properties of rats' choice behavior. In Experiment 1, two variables of reinforcement, amount and delay, were manipulated simultaneously in a two lever choice situation. The conditions of strong transitivity were not present in either reponse count or indifference-measured choice behavior, indicating that choice behavior was not distributed along a single dimension with ratio scale characteristics. Moderate transitivity conditions were characteristic of both response and indifference- measured choice which was consistent with a single dimension possessing interval scale characteristics. In Experiment 2, only one reinforcement variable, amount, was manipulated. Strong transitivity was present in both response and indifference measures of choice, indicating that subjects' choice behavior was consistent with a single dimension with ratio scale characteristics. In addition, one of two subjects in Experiment 1 and two of two subjects in Experiment 2 fit Baum's expression of the matching law with response-count measured choice. The indifference measure of choice failed to fit the matching law in either experiment. The measure of choice which fit the matching law also conformed to a single dimension with interval scale characteristics. Since the response-count measure of choice behavior in both Experiments 1 and 2 was moderately transitive, the transitivity properties were consistent with fits to the matching law. The occasional presence of such behaviors as biting the levers, chewing on the cue lights and position bias may have decreased subjects' sensitivity to the amount of reinforcement variable and contributed to undermatching. The indifference measure of choice exhibited moderate transitivity in both experiments but did not fit the matching law. These results show that tests of transitivity are useful in examining the characteristics of the functional relation between behavior and its reinforcing consequences. Further research is required to determine the usefulness and the limitations of the indifference measure of choice behavior. The results were similar to other investigators' in showing that strong transitivity was not an automatic property of choice behavior and must be tested rather than assumed.

Data on monthly precipitation for three areas of Southern Utah--Beaver, Cedar City and Ephraim--and three areas of Northern Utah--Salt Lake City, Ogden and Logan--where a series of measuring stations were arranged as traverses from the valleys to the mountain tops; were assembled and analyzed. The relationships between elevation and precipitation amounts were shown. The Southern Utah stations were drier at the same elevations than the Northern Utah stations and the differences became greater as the elevations increased. There was a close correlation between the high elevation and low elevation stations in the same traverse even with the above divergence. A higher percentage of the annual precipitation fell during the winter months at the Northern Utah stations than at the Southern Utah stations. These differences were also greater at the high elevations. There appears to be an elevation of maximum precipitation between 9000 and 10,000 feet. The annual precipitation decreases both above and below these elevations. A higher percentage of the years in Southern Utah are near the mean showing more uniformity than the stations in Northern Utah. These difference in not reflected in the numbers of consecutive dry years except when the consecutive years extend beyond 8 wherein the Northern Utah stations have had as many as 14 consecutive years of subnormal precipitation. The Northern Utah stations show the same trend in consecutive wet years, with the Logan record showing as many as 14 consecutive years with above normal precipitation. The Beaver precipitation record shoed a continually decreasing 5-year mean, while Salt Lake City and Logan records showed the opposite trend.