The topic of this thesis is the comparison of difficulty and variability of fitness aerobic choreography in cadet and senior age categories - finalists of World Championship 2013. The goal I set was to compare the difficulty and variability of these choreographies in regard to age, which influences the performance. Each choreography is analyzed in accordance with rules of FISAF fitness aerobic team and complemented by interview with an expert in the field. With the realized research we found out, that seniors choreographies are more difficult than cadets choreographies, the difference in the variability of choreographies of both categories is not significant. The results show the effort to improve choreographies, so differences between younger and older category are getting smaller in regard to possibilities of each age category. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Dans cette thèse, nous soutenons l'idée que les ressources cognitives disponibles pour l'exécution d'une stratégie dépendent non seulement de la personne et des exigences de la stratégie que nous allons exécuter, mais aussi des demandes propres à la stratégie qu'on vient d'exécuter. L'exécution d'une stratégie devrait alors être moins efficace lorsqu'elle suit une stratégie difficile (i.e., effets de difficulté séquentielle). Nous avons testé l'existence d'effets de difficulté séquentielle dans quatres expériences portant sur l'estimation calculatoire (i.e., estimer la solution de problèmes arithmétiques en arrondissant les opérandes). Nous avons observé une moindre efficacité d'exécution de la stratégie mixte sur des additions à deux chiffres (i.e., arrondir une opérande vers le bas et une opérande vers le haut) après avoir exécuté la stratégie d'arrondi supérieur, laquelle est la stratégie la plus difficile pour cette tâche. En outre, cet effet était davantage présent chez des personnes ayant une moindre capacité de mémoire de travail ainsi que chez des patients souffrant de la maladie d'Alzheimer. Ces résultats confirment l'existence d'effets de difficulté séquentielle stratégique. En outre, ils suggèrent que la capacité de mémoire de travail est impliquée. / In this thesis, we defend the notion that cognitive resources available for strategy execution do not only depend on the participant and current task demands but also on prior task demands. Strategy performance should thus be less efficient when the previous strategy was difficult (i.e., sequential difficulty effects). The notion of sequential difficulty effects was tested in four experiments with computational estimation (i.e., estimating the solution to arithmetic problems by rounding the operands). We found that execution of a mixed-rounding strategy on two-digit addition problems (i.e., rounding one operand down and one operand up) was less efficient after an easy rounding-down strategy than after a difficult rounding-up strategy. Moreover, the effect was stronger in individuals with less efficient working-memory capacity and in Alzheimer patients. These results confirm the existence of strategy sequential difficulty effects and suggest that working memory is involved.

The thesis deals with the issue of non-native language instruction of content subjects in a Czech secondary education environment. This topic is viewed upon through the prism of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The theoretical part discusses the learners' competences as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Krashen's Monitor Model theory, Interactive Hypothesis, Constructivism and Participatory Learning Theory and finally Vygotsky's theoretical concepts. The question is raised whether or not such an approach is feasible to be used in ordinary educational settings; which is addressed in the analytical part, which examines a CLIL project that was run. While discussing World War One, it combined the instruction of English and History. Consequently, the evaluation part of this thesis argues that CLIL is feasible, as it promotes the learners' competences and the whole set of their intelligences.

The current models of skill in video games make one of two impositions on players: either to provide an estimate of their own skill, or complete several games before they can be properly assessed. However, in order to experience the most enjoyment and greatest sense of immersion, players need to play against the right difficulty. In order to assign the appropriate difficulty, the player's skill must first be captured accurately and quickly, before the player gets frustrated or bored. Rather than relying on game results that need to be averaged over several games, this thesis proposes predicting a player's skill from their behaviour within the first game. In order to do this, we explore methods for measuring skill in both a multiplayer and single-player game and methods for extracting appropriate information from the player's behaviour. The resulting predictions can then be used to automatically assign an appropriate difficulty to the player. In a multiplayer environment, we first demonstrate that a player's final rank canbe predicted within the first 30 seconds of a game with a correlation of over 0.8.This process is transferred to a single-player first-person shooter, where our modelis shown to assign difficulties comparable to a player's own assessment of theirskill within the first 30 seconds of a campaign. We argue that these methods forcapturing skill in a first-person shooter are transferable to other genres, and havethe potential to improve difficulty selection systems.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:52:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 KENIA RIBEIRO DA SILVA.pdf: 5710701 bytes, checksum: 49def9dacb8b19a613025f7fce3fb8da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-30 / Despite of innumerable studies about the theme difficulty in learning and exhausting efforts, a long history of Education, to find explanations, of the causes of not being able to learn, consider it relevant, still today, to address it, considering that this subject was not yet enlightened. Once problems in learning persist and manifests in different ways in the scene of Brazilian education. This work investigates this subject expliciting the discussion of the difficulty in learning present in the pedagogical Brazilian since the Republic. Considering on an analysis this facts, the concept of learning based on a conception of Lev. Vigotsky on a cultural historic perspective, also on Bernard Chariot about knowing and the relation that the person establishes with knowing, and the explications on Philippe Meirieu about the process of elaboration of knowledge begins. Discusses also the concept of Difficulty of Learning taking as reference theoretical Pierre Bourdieu about the function the school in the capitalists societies. Throughout the empirical research made in two public schools in Goiânia and the starting from the method and the analysis the facts the present dissertation explicit as the school and theirs educators, the students and the families understand, explains and analysis the difficulty in learning and how it articulates between the cultural capital and the academic knowledge required by schools in relation on the learning of the student. The data show a pedagogical relationship between teachers and students fragile and inefficient, whose teaching practice does not contribute to realization of a meaningful learning.The school attributes the cause of learning difficulties to factors external to it, thus contributing to the reproduction of educational inequalities and hence to social inequalities. / Apesar de inumeráveis estudos sobre o tema dificuldade de aprendizagem e de exaustivos esforços, ao longo da história da Educação, para se encontrar explicações quanto às causas do não aprender, considera-se pertinente, ainda hoje, abordá-lo, por entender que tal assunto ainda não foi suficientemente esclarecido, uma vez que os problemas de aprendizagem persistem e se manifestam de diferentes modos no cenário educacional brasileiro. Este trabalho investiga tal assunto, explicitando o debate sobre a dificuldade de aprendizagem presente no discurso pedagógico brasileiro, desde a época da República. Considera-se, para a análise dos dados, o conceito de Aprendizagem na concepção de Lev. Vigotsky e de sua perspectiva histórico-cultural, os postulados de Bernard Charlot acerca do saber e da relação que o sujeito estabelece com o saber e as explicações de Philippe Meirieu para o processo de elaboração do conhecimento. Ainda como referência é considerado o conceito de Dificuldade de Aprendizagem sob uma abordagem sociológica, tomando como pressuposto teórico a formulação de Pierre Bourdieu sobre a função da escola nas sociedades capitalistas e, em especial, o seu conceito de capital cultural. Por meio da pesquisa empírica realizada em duas escolas públicas municipais de Goiânia e a partir da sistematização e da análise dos dados obtidos, a presente dissertação explicita como a escola e seus educadores, os educandos e as famílias compreendem, explicam e analisam a dificuldade de aprendizagem e, ainda, como se dá a articulação entre o capital cultural e o conhecimento acadêmico exigido pela escola em relação à aprendizagem do educando. Os dados evidenciam uma relação pedagógica entre educadores e educandos frágil e ineficiente, cuja prática pedagógica não contribui para efetivação de uma aprendizagem significativa. A escola atribui a causa da dificuldade de aprendizagem a fatores externos a ela, contribuindo, assim, para a reprodução das desigualdades educativas e, consequentemente, para as desigualdades sociais.

There are several approaches to brand image measurement. The main aim of this thesis is to understand which of the two most common approaches, namely the personification and the direct approach, should be preferred. The personification approach adopts the brand = person metaphor (if the brand came to life as a person would s/he be trustworthy?), while the direct approach simply asks 'Do you think this brand is trustworthy?'. The main method used is to compare their explanations of typical outcomes (dependent variables) in a series of online surveys. Two different dimensions of brand image (warmth and competence) are considered for different types of brand (product, employer and corporate). The thesis uses the 'journal ready format' where a series of related papers form the main part of the work. This thesis adopts a quantitative approach and presents the results from four empirical studies. To compare the two approaches to brand image measurement, Study I (Journal Article I) compared two types of brands (product and corporate) and the two types of brand image measurement approach. In Study II and Study III (Journal Article II), the context was shifted to employer branding, when comparing the two approaches. The analysis of the first and the second studies showed no consistent pattern and no systematic advantage for the personified approach. Indeed the two types of measure appeared quite similar in many respects. When trying to explain the results, task difficulty emerged as a possible explanation and was investigated via Study III and Study IV (Journal Article III). Task difficulty was not lower for the personified approach as expected. While there is a rich body of brand image literature using either personification or direct measurement approaches, there is no research comparing them in the same context/setting to understand any differences between these approaches. Two main conclusions emerged from this research to contribute to the market research literature. This research shows that there is no systematic statistical benefit from adopting the personification approach. Task difficulty varied with age and education, but not as expected from the literature, a finding that might be considered in all survey research, not just that involving brand image.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2014-09-24T17:16:18Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Pereira, Priscilla Régia de Catro-Dissertação-2012.pdf: 2626898 bytes, checksum: baaf0f0ed6ece423e7ba9eaf6bd32575 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2014-09-24T19:01:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Pereira, Priscilla Régia de Catro-Dissertação-2012.pdf: 2626898 bytes, checksum: baaf0f0ed6ece423e7ba9eaf6bd32575 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-24T19:01:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Pereira, Priscilla Régia de Catro-Dissertação-2012.pdf: 2626898 bytes, checksum: baaf0f0ed6ece423e7ba9eaf6bd32575 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-24 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The difficulty on teaching-learning of Cartography is already a proven fact, by the multiples scientific works developed in the area. However we noticed that face of these difficulties, there was a featured point: The math’s influence on learning of some primordial contents of Cartography (World-Time, Geographic Coordinates and Scale). Understanding how actually this influence occurred was the guiding principle of the search. Lots of inquiries surround this problem. Why the students - as much of Basic Education as Superior - show so much difficulty on learning these contents of own Cartography which are present on Geography? In which time of the process of learning this problem occurs? What occurs on math teaching that make the students to acquire a certain aversion for this area of knowledge? Why the teachers of Basic Education face difficulties to teach that contents? Is the way those contents have been given a significant factor in the genesis of the problem? Are there methods that can minimize this difficulty faced by Teachers and Students? To answer these questions we proposed as general objective the investigation of the causes of the difficulties of teaching-learning of the contents of Cartography, linked to Math (Scale, World-Time and Geographic Coordinates) in the 6º year of Basic Education. And we define the following specific objectives: Identify the main difficulties faced by the teachers of Geography from Public Schools of the 6º year of Basic Education in Anápolis (GO) on teaching the contents of Cartography with Math basis; verify the causes of the limited learning of these contents by the students of 6º year of Basic Education from Public Schools of Anápolis (GO); to diagnose e evaluate the present contents of Cartography in the didactic books of Geography adopted by the scholar unities that were part of the search and show action proposes to alleviate the problems that generate the limitation on learning the contents of Cartography with Math basis. To meet all the proposed objectives, we used the following methodologies: bibliographic searching, interviews, application of questionnaires, systematic observation of classes, analysis of didactic books and application of a course. We concluded that there is in fact a difficulty on teaching-learning of the cartographic contents linked to Math and this difficulty is linked not only to the unpreparedness of teachers of Geography with Cartography and Mathematics contents but also in the limited basis of the students related to Math which is associated to work developed in classroom in past years that reflect on Cartography. Lastly we accomplished the aim of the work: inquires to the real causes of the problem, opening the ways for methods that can alleviate them, like the application of courses to the teachers like a way of professional improvement. / A dificuldade havida no processo de ensino-aprendizagem da Cartografia já é um fato comprovado mediante os vários trabalhos desenvolvidos na área. Porém notamos que, em face dessas dificuldades, havia um ponto que se destacava: a influência da Matemática no aprendizado de alguns conteúdos primordiais da Cartografia (fuso horário, coordenadas geográficas e escala). Entender como, de fato, essa influência ocorria foi o princípio norteador da pesquisa. Muitos questionamentos rondam esse problema. Por que os alunos — tanto da Educação Básica quanto do Ensino Superior — demonstram tanta dificuldade na aprendizagem desses conteúdos próprios da Cartografia presentes na Geografia? Em que momento do processo de ensino esse problema sucede? O que ocorre no ensino da Matemática que leva os alunos a adquirirem certa aversão a tal área do conhecimento? Por que os professores da Educação Básica enfrentam dificuldades em ensinar tais conteúdos? A forma como esses conteúdos têm sido ministrados é um fator relevante na gênese do problema? Existem métodos que possam minimizar a dificuldade enfrentada por professores e alunos? Para que esses questionamentos fossem respondidos, propusemos como objetivo geral a investigação das causas das dificuldades de ensino-aprendizagem dos conteúdos de Cartografia, ligados à Matemática (escala, fuso horário e coordenadas geográficas), no 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental. E definimos os seguintes objetivos específicos: identificar as principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelos professores de Geografia de escolas públicas do 6º ano, da rede pública de Anápolis (GO), em ensinar os conteúdos de Cartografia com base matemática; verificar as causas da deficiente aprendizagem desses conteúdos pelos alunos do 6º ano das escolas públicas de Anápolis; diagnosticar e avaliar os conteúdos de Cartografia presentes nos livros didáticos de Geografia adotados pelas unidades escolares participantes da pesquisa e apresentar proposta de ações para minorar os problemas que acarretam a deficiência na aprendizagem dos conteúdos de Cartografia com bases matemáticas. A fim de que fossem cumpridos todos os objetivos propostos, utilizamos das seguintes metodologias: levantamento bibliográfico, entrevistas, aplicação de questionários, observação sistemática de aulas, análise de livros didáticos e aplicação de um curso. Conclui-se que, com efeito, há uma dificuldade no ensino-aprendizagem dos conteúdos cartográficos ligados à Matemática e que ela está ligada não somente ao despreparo dos professores de Geografia quanto à Cartografia e à Matemática, mas também à falta de base dos alunos em relação à Matemática, o que está associado ao trabalho desenvolvido em sala de aula nos anos anteriores e que acaba refletindo na Cartografia. Por fim, cumprimos o intuito do trabalho: inquirirem-se as reais causas do problema, abrindo caminhos para métodos que possam abrandá-lo, como a aplicação de cursos aos professores como forma de aprimoramento profissional.

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2017-11-16T11:38:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JÚLIO CESAR DA SILVA.pdf: 2967746 bytes, checksum: 7d706fdfbf1a01e547533f698bed80e2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-16T11:38:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JÚLIO CESAR DA SILVA.pdf: 2967746 bytes, checksum: 7d706fdfbf1a01e547533f698bed80e2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-11 / The present work, inscribed in the line of research Theories of Education and Pedagogical Processes, aimed to explain how the difficulty of learning of children in schooling processes is configured. This investigation was based on questions regarding the meaning attributed to the concept of learning difficulty and the way in which the school conceives, deals with and / or forwards children with difficulties. The theoretical contributions of Vygostky in his historical-cultural perspective on learning and learning difficulties, Bernard Charlot on the relationship with knowledge, Tiballi and Patto, on school failure, among others, formed the basis of analysis and foundation of this work . Methodologically, field research was used in three schools in the city of Goianira-GO, two public and one private. Procedures such as interviews, referrals, questionnaires and the ethnographic type survey of school characteristics were adopted. The pedagogical evaluation of learning and content evaluation was also used, with the children referred by the schools as having significant learning difficulties, which prevent the monitoring of school contents. Through the research, systematization and analysis of the data obtained, we explained the relation between the teacher and the child with the difficulty of learning. The results indicated that the children investigated do not have difficulties that impede learning, but are stagnated in certain and different moments of learning that, disregarded by the school in the process of teaching learning, end up allowing the maintenance of situations of school failure. / O presente trabalho, inscrito na linha de pesquisa Teorias da Educação e Processos Pedagógicos, objetivou explicitar como se configura a dificuldade de aprendizagem de crianças em processos de escolarização. Essa investigação se estabeleceu a partir de questionamentos referentes ao sentido atribuído ao conceito de dificuldade de aprendizagem e do modo em que a escola concebe, lida e/ou encaminha crianças com dificuldades. Os aportes teóricos de Vygostky, em sua perspectiva histórico-cultural, sobre aprendizagem e dificuldade de aprendizagem, Bernard Charlot sobre a relação com o saber, Tiballi e Patto, sobre o fracasso escolar, dentre outros, constituíram a base de análise e fundamentação desse trabalho. Metodologicamente foi utilizada a pesquisa de campo em três escolas do município de Goianira-GO, sendo duas públicas e uma privada. Foram adotados procedimentos como entrevista, encaminhamentos, questionários e levantamento do tipo etnográfico das características das escolas. Utilizou-se também da avaliação pedagógica da aprendizagem e avaliação de conteúdos, com as crianças encaminhadas pelas escolas como detentoras de dificuldades de aprendizagem significativas, que impedem o acompanhamento dos conteúdos escolares. Por meio da pesquisa, da sistematização e análise dos dados obtidos, explicitamos a relação do professor e da criança com a dificuldade de aprendizagem. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que as crianças investigadas não possuem dificuldades que impedem o aprendizado, mas encontram-se estagnadas em determinados e diferentes momentos de aprendizagem que, desconsiderados pela escola no processo de ensino aprendizagem, acabam por permitir a manutenção de situações de fracasso escolar.

This case study aims to investigate the relationship between the online reading group meetings (ORG) and reading difficulties among upper-level learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL learners). Based on Bernhardt’s constructivist model of L2 reading (1986, 1991) and sociocultural perspectives, this study attempts to answer two research questions: 1. What reading difficulties upper-level CFL learners encountered when they read in Chinese? 2. What components in the online reading group meetings helped upper-level CFL learners to cope with their reading difficulties? How did the components help? Seven Fourth-Year Chinese learners at a university in the United States participated in this study and attended the ORG meetings throughout a semester to discuss five assigned readings. Qualitative research methods were used to collect and analyze the data. The data sources of this study included pre- and post-ORG questionnaires, pre- and post-meeting comprehension checks, pre- and post-meeting self-reports, recordings of the online reading group meetings, and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed a complicated and interactive relationship of the six components in Bernhardt’s model when it came to reading difficulties among upper-level CFL learners. Even though the participants identified word recognition as one of their top reading difficulties when reading in Chinese, the findings showed that extra-text driven components, especially intratextual perceptions and prior knowledge, played an important role in determining the participants’ reading comprehension. Being able to constantly monitor what they learned from each paragraph and which prior knowledge they applied to the reading was found to be a key to improving their reading comprehension. The findings also found reflexivity in dialogic collaboration, especially when the ORG meetings created opportunities for the participants to improve their reading comprehension via peer-to-peer interaction. The patterns of peer-mediated learning included giving corrective feedback, negotiating meaning, learning from listening, strategy coaching, and using English strategically. Whereas the instructor as a facilitator was regarded important to provide timely feedback and facilitate the discussion, the findings suggested that a peer-led group discussion was possible for upper-level CFL learners once they built up their confidence in offering help to their peers. Even though the component of the role assignment seemed to be beneficial for the participants to cope with their reading difficulties in the ORG meetings, the participants did not perceive each role equally helpful nor easy due to various reasons. The study concluded with a discussion of the implications for CFL education, teacher education programs and future research.

Managers and researchers alike have long yearned for a solution to garner peak performance from employees. With the use Locke and Latham’s goal setting theory as a motivational foundational principle, goal commitment was predicted from four primary personality traits commonly found in scientific literature: general self-efficacy, conscientiousness, honesty/humility, and learning goal orientation. The possible moderation effect of goal difficulty on these relationships was also explored. 248 undergraduate students at California State University, San Bernardino were presented personality inventories, followed by an anagram word task, and were assigned to either an easy or hard goal condition. Goal commitment was measured at two phases during the assigned task. The results revealed that only self-efficacy and honesty/humility were significantly positively correlated with goal commitment; however, none of the relationships were moderated by goal difficulty. The results highlight the notion that goal-setting theory is more intricate and dynamic than previously assumed. Additionally, the results of the present study provide insight into the malleable nature of motivation, as well as the highlighting specific traits that may be beneficial in the selection for difficult occupations.