Desde a introdução do conceito de escritório aberto, o tipo de ocupação e a distribuição das cargas internas têm sofrido grandes mudanças, requerendo maior flexibilidade nos edifícios. Além disto, avaliações de desempenho de edifícios de escritórios da atualidade têm apresentado resultados que são fortes indicadores da necessidade de mudanças de conceitos de projeto, operação e uso de sistemas de condicionamento de ar, devido ao elevado nível de insatisfação dos usuários quanto ao conforto e à qualidade do ar. Para tentar solucionar estes problemas, outro conceito em distribuição de ar, já em uso nos países desenvolvidos, está começando a ser adotado também no Brasil; trata-se de insuflamento pelo piso, com difusores instalados em placas de piso elevado e nas estações de trabalho, que permitem flexibilidade e controle individual de vazão de ar. Neste trabalho foi feita a avaliação de sistema de condicionamento de ar com insuflamento pelo piso em um laboratório com condições controladas. O laboratório em que foram realizados os ensaios foi projetado e instalado com características similares àquelas de ambientes reais de edifícios de escritórios. Este fato, aliado à participação de usuários no processo de avaliação das condições de conforto térmico, tornaram possível a definição de parâmetros para a elaboração de projetos bem como para o estabelecimento de um modo eficaz de operação do sistema. O processo de avaliação das condições de conforto térmico no ambiente envolveu três etapas. Inicialmente, foram feitas medições das variáveis de conforto térmico no ambiente e de variáveis do sistema utilizando simuladores. Posteriormente, foi realizada a avaliação subjetiva do conforto térmico, com a substituição dos simuladores por pessoas no ambiente (usuários), nas mesmas condições da etapa anterior. Finalmente, foram feitas as medições das variáveis de conforto nas zonas de ocupação – micro climas – na condição de condicionamento individualizado, promovido por ajustes de vazão de ar e direcionamento do fluxo pelos usuários. Os resultados da avaliação permitem concluir que o sistema de condicionamento de ar com insuflamento pelo piso atende às expectativas para promover conforto térmico aos usuários de edifícios de escritórios com potencial de conservação de energia. / Since the introduction of the landscape office concept, the layout type and the internal loads distribution have changed significantly, requesting larger flexibility in the buildings. Besides, building performance evaluation applied to contemporary office buildings has shown that for most such buildings thermal comfort and air quality users level satisfaction is low. These facts are indicating that project concepts, operation and use of air conditioning systems need to be changed. In order to solve these problems, underfloor air supply is becoming a common practice also in Brazil. This system with floor and workstation diffusers allows flexibility and an individualized airflow control. In this work the evaluation of the underfloor air conditioning system was carried out in a laboratory facility with controlled conditions. The laboratory was designed and built up with similar characteristics to those of actual office buildings environments. This fact and the participation of users in the process of thermal comfort evaluation, made possible the definition of design parameters as well as the establishment of the system operation conditions in an effective way. The evaluation of the environment thermal comfort conditions was accomplished in three stages. Initially, measurements of thermal comfort and system variables were made using simulators. Later, in the same conditions of the previous stage, users (a sample of people) have evaluated, in a subjective way, the environment thermal comfort. Finally, measurements of the comfort variables were accomplished in the occupation areas - microclimates - in the condition of individualized conditioning, promoted by air flow adjustments and flow direction by the users. The results of the evaluation allow to conclude that the underfloor air conditioning system satisfies to the expectations to promote thermal comfort to the office building users with potential of energy conservation.

Aurimas Medonis Pasirinkto fizinių pratimų komplekso veiksmingumas Santrauka Tyrimo tikslas  įvertinti X klasės vaikinų pasirinktų fizinių pratimų kompleksų įvairialypį veiksmingumą. Nuo 2006 m. sausio 9d. iki 2006 m. gegužės 22 d. Vilniaus Žirmūnų gimnazijoje ir Vilniaus Šv. Kristoforo mokykloje buvo vykdytas ugdomasis pedagoginis eksperimentas. Jame dalyvavo 59 X klasių pagrindinės medicininės fizinio pajėgumo grupės vaikinai. Atsitiktiniu būdu buvo parinktos 3 eksperimentinės (E1  2a, 10c, 10d ─ 24 vaikinai) ir 4 kontrolinės (E2 ─ 2d, 2c, 10b, 10e ─ 35 vaikinai) klasės. Nepriklausomas kintamasis ─ sukurta fizinių ypatybių lavinimo per kūno kultūros pamokas bei laisvalaikiu metodika, kuri rėmėsi mokinio pasirinktu fizinių pratimų kompleksu. Ši metodika didino kūno kultūros pamokų žinias, įtvirtino savimoką. Eksperimentinėje (E1) grupėje vaikinams per 2 savaitines kūno kultūros pamokas buvo galima rinktis pratimus iš pateiktų variantų, taip pat sugalvoti savų pratimų. Be to pratimų kompleksą rekomenduota atlikti ir laisvalaikiu bent vieną kartą per savaitę. E2 grup��s vaikinai per kūno kultūros pamokas dirbo įprastai, į kūno kultūros pamokas įkomponuojant tradicines fizinių ypatybių lavinimosi priemones ir metodiką. Per eksperimentines kūno kultūros pamokas kryptingiau dirbta taikant bendradarbiavimo metodą: kūno kultūros ir socialiniai gebėjimai buvo plėtojami tiesiogiai mokiniams bendradarbiaujant dėl individualios atsakomybės ir teigiamos tarpusavio priklausomybės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aurimas Medonis Efficiency of individually chosen physical exercise complex Summary The purpose of the research is to evaluate individually chosen physical exercise complex method’s efficiency of the 10th grade schoolboys. Fifty-nine schoolboys, who belong to the main medical physical ability group and attend Vilniaus Žirmūnų gymnasium and Vilniaus Šv.Kristoforo secondary school, took part in the pedagogical experiment. The experiment was organized during the school year 2006, from January 9th to May 22d. Schoolboys were distributed into three experimental (E1  2a, 10c, 10d ─ 24 schoolboys) and four control (E2 ─ 2d, 2c, 10b, 10e ─ 35 schoolboys) classes. The experimental program was applied to group E1, while group E2 had the same physical education lessons as earlier. Independent variable ─ method of improving physical features was designed in order to increase individually chosen physical exercise complex. Research methods used in the Master‘s thesis are the following: analysis of literature, questionnaire, physical features testing and statistical analysis. Questionnaire investigated 10th grade schoolboys’ attitude towards sport, healthy life style as well as independent work out. Eurofit’s (2002) and J.Skernevičius’ (2004) physical tests as well as physical education standards were used in order to identify physical features of the pupils. Investigation results were evaluated with „Statistica“ and MS „Excel“ computer programmes. Results of the questionnaire show... [to full text]

I samband med att människor idag är uppkopplade på internet i en större utsträckning har det bidragit till att allt fler människor har anslutit sig till sociala medier, varav Facebook är det största sociala nätverket. Detta har i sin tur resulterat i att företag ökar sina investeringar i Facebook och behövt ändra sin marknadsföringsverksamhet genom att de intressebaserar annonser utifrån konsumenters online-aktiviteter. Detta aktuella fenomen kallas för Online Behavioural Adveritising (OBA) där tidigare forskning har diskuterat problematiken som föreligger. Det råder en brist på kunskap om OBA bland konsumenter och konsumenter upplever även oro kring deras personliga integritet. Det är därmed av intresse att undersöka om en sådan kunskapsbrist är en potentiell risk till konsumenters upplevda oro. Denna studie ämnar att bidra med ökad förståelse för relevansen av kunskap kring Online Behavioural Advertising och hur det i sin tur påverkar konsumenters upplevda oro. Grundtanken är att ur ett konsumentperspektiv belysa kunskapens roll i den upplevda oron OBA skapar kring personlig integritet på Facebook. Utifrån den problematik som har beskrivits har två frågeställning formulerats: Vilken samt hur mycket kunskap har konsumenter på Facebook kring hur Online Behavioural Advertising fungerar? Hur påverkas konsumenters upplevda oro kring Online Behavioural Advertising av deras kunskap? Dessa frågeställningar har besvarats genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetodik där empirin har samlats in utifrån 16 stycken individuella intervjuer. Empirin analyserades därmed med en jämförelse av tidigare forskning och teorier. Resultatet tyder på att konsumenters upplevda oro kan bero på deras kunskap kring OBA. De respondenter som besatt en högre grad av kunskap om OBA kände ingen oro och respondenter som besatt lite kunskap om OBA kände generellt mer oro. / Due to the fact that the majority of people today are connected to the Internet, it has contributed to more and more people joining social media, where Facebook is the largest social network. This has resulted in companies increasing their investments in Facebook and changing their marketing activities by individually targeting their advertisements based on consumers online behaviour. This phenomenon is called Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA), where researchers have discussed existing problems concerning the area. There is a lack of knowledge about OBA among consumers and they also feel concerned about their privacy. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate if such a lack of knowledge is a potential risk to consumers' perceived concern. This study aims to provide with a better understanding of the relevance of knowledge about Online Behavioral Advertising and its effects on perceived concerns regarding OBA. Primarily, the idea is to highlight the role of knowledge in the perceived concerns that OBA creates regarding personal integrity on Facebook. Based on the purpose, the following research questions have been formulated: What and how much knowledge do consumers have on Facebook about how Online Behavioral Advertising works? How are consumer’s privacy concerns about Online Behavioral Advertising affected by their knowledge? These questions have been answered by a qualitative research methodology where empirical findings have been collected based on 16 individual interviews. The empirical data was analyzed by comparing previous research and theories. The results indicate that consumers' perceived concerns may be due to their knowledge regarding OBA. The respondents who possessed a higher degree of knowledge about OBA were not concerned and respondents who possessed little knowledge about OBA felt more concerned in general.

Heat-related illnesses and deaths are significant public health problems. Extreme heat is the No.1 deadliest form of weather on average in 1990-2019 in the US according to the National Weather Service. Measurements and forecasts made at regional weather stations are a common data source of Heatwave Early Warning Systems. However, regional weather stations provide inaccurate estimates of the heat index that people experience in different microclimates. Introducing a direct measurement of heat index experienced by individuals via wearable sensors will allow more accurate exposure assessment and identification of factors associated with dangerous exposures to extreme heat. The goal of this dissertation is to characterize the individually experienced heat index exposure via wearable sensors in an urban and a rural location in summer in a southern part of the United States. In the first study, 51 outdoor workers in Birmingham, Alabama wore a small thermometer attached to their shoe. Their occupational Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures (WBGT), a comprehensive heat exposure index, was estimated from either temperature from the shoe thermometers or nearby weather stations. In the second and third studies, 88 urban participants and 89 rural participants completed a seven-day intervention where they performed normal activity on Days 1-2 and spent an additional 30 minutes outdoors daily on Days 3-7. Participants wore a small thermometer attached to the shoe and a pedometer at their waist to track steps. Neighborhood hygrometers/thermometers were deployed close to participants' homes to measure neighborhood level heat indexes. In the fourth study, we conducted a phone survey including 101 participants in the same urban and rural locations to examine how their heat-health behaviors changed due to COVID-19 and high profiles of police brutality cases in Summer 2020 compared to previous summers. The results demonstrated that (1) a wearable thermometer on the shoe was a feasible way to measure individually experienced temperatures; (2) among outdoor workers, WBGT from shoe thermometer temperatures estimated more hours in dangerous exposure categories and recommended more protective work-rest schedules compared to WBGT from weather station temperatures; (3) neighborhood level heat indexes improved the prediction of individually experienced heat indexes compared to weather station data alone; (4) rural participants experienced higher heat index exposures than urban participants, after accounting for ambient conditions; (5) spending a small amount of additional time outdoors was a feasible and effective intervention where participants walked more steps and had lower individually experienced heat indexes during the intervention days compared to baseline days; (6) a significantly lower percent of participants reported they would use public cooling centers in Summer 2020 compared to previous summers. Taken together, the results of these studies identified methods for more accurate heat exposure assessment and its application in monitoring heat-safety while promoting physical activity via time spent outdoors in the summer. Future work could incorporate physiological response monitoring linked to simultaneous individually experienced heat exposure to further characterize exposure-response relationships across different populations. Additionally, a longer intervention and more advanced wearable devices such Fitbit, Apple Watches could be used to monitor sustainability of the intervention and intervention benefits beyond short term increases in physical activity, respectively. / Doctor of Philosophy / Extreme high temperatures/humidity can bring dangerous adverse effects in people. Extreme heat is on average the deadliest form of weather in 1990-2019 in the US estimated by National Weather Service. Heatwave Early Warning Systems are introduced to closely monitor extreme heat events, estimate the magnitude of health consequences due to extreme heat, send warning messages to vulnerable populations, and trigger response plans to reduce the dangerous health effects of heat. Heatwave Early Warning Systems generally rely on the measurement and forecasts from regional weather stations. However, the temperature/humidity measurements made at weather stations can be different from the temperature/humidity people experience. People can live far away from weather stations and they move through indoor and outdoor locations, where weather station measurements will not represent temperatures experienced, particularly in climate-controlled indoor settings. Therefore, we recruited participants in an urban and a rural location and had each participant wear a small thermometer clipped to their shoe to directly measure the temperature they experienced as they went about their normal activities. In the first study, 51 outdoor workers wore this small thermometer on their shoe at work. We calculated a comprehensive heat exposure index from either the shoe thermometer temperatures or nearby weather station temperatures. In the second and third studies, 88 urban participants and 89 rural participants completed a seven-day intervention where they performed normal activities on Days 1-2 and spent an additional 30 minutes outdoors daily on Days 3-7. Participants wore the small thermometer clipped to the shoe and a pedometer at their waist to track how many steps they walked. We placed temperature/humidity sensors close to participants' homes to take measurements at a neighborhood level. In the fourth study, we conducted a phone survey including 101 participants in the same urban and rural locations to examine whether they had different cooling methods due to the COVID-19 pandemic and high profiles of police brutality cases in Summer 2020 compared to previous summers. The results demonstrated that (1) a small thermometer clipped on the shoe was a feasible way to measure temperatures at the individual level; (3) among outdoor workers, the comprehensive heat exposure index using temperatures from the shoe thermometers estimated more hours when outdoor workers were at a risk of dangerous exposure to extreme heat, and it recommended more rest time for workers to cool off compared to using weather station temperatures alone; (3) neighborhood level temperature/humidity was more representative of the temperatures recorded from thermometers on the shoe compared to nearby weather stations; (4) rural participants experienced higher temperature/humidity than urban participants, even when their nearby weather station temperature measurements were the same; (5) spending a small amount of additional time outdoors is a feasible and effective intervention where participants walked more steps and experienced lower temperature/humidity during the intervention days compared to baseline days; (6) a smaller number of participants reported they would use public cooling centers/spaces (e.g., air-conditioned library, air-conditioned churches, waterparks) to cool down due to fear of contracting COVID-19 and safety concerns brought by the high profiles of police brutality cases in Summer 2020 compared to previous summers. Taken together, the results of these studies showed that the wearable thermometers clipped on the shoe could provide more accurate assessment of temperatures experienced by participants compared to weather stations. This method could be used in future outdoor time interventions to monitor and ensure participants safely spend time outdoors while minimizing the risk of heat-related illness. In future work, more advanced sensors (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch) can be worn by participants to measure physiological responses across different temperatures experienced. Additionally, a longer intervention time can be used to test if participants would continue to spend additional time outdoors.

I Sverige styrs det förebyggande brandskyddsarbetet sedan 2010 av en nollvision som lyder: ”Ingen ska omkomma eller skadas allvarligt till följd av brand”. Utvecklingen av antalet dödsbränder har stadigt minskat under lång tid och ligger nu på runt 100 dödsfall i brand varje år. För åldersgruppen 65+ har utvecklingen dock stagnerat och på senare tid sker inte längre någon minskning av antalet dödsfall i brand i denna grupp. Dessa står för drygt hälften av alla omkomna i brand årligen och med tanke på den kommande ökade andelen äldre i samhället finns det nu oro för hur detta kommer att påverka utvecklingen av äldre som omkommer i brand. Det brinner inte oftast hos äldre, men när det brinner omkommer de. Äldre bor främst i egna bostäder och på senare tid har bostäder som marknadsförs åt äldre (t.ex. senior-/trygghetsbostäder, 65+, 70+, etc.) upptagit en växande andel av dessa. Detta i takt med ett ökat bostadsbehov bland äldre och en kvarboendeprincip där individer så långt som möjligt ska beredas möjlighet att bo kvar i sina egna bostäder när de blir äldre. Problemet är att dessa bostäder trots att de marknadsförs som tryggare bara uppfyller det i social bemärkelse. Brandskyddsmässigt har de inte högre brandskydd än vanliga bostäder eftersom de tilldelats samma verksamhetsklass (Vk 3A). I denna studie har det nuvarande byggnadstekniska brandskyddet studerats i ett urval av projekt som marknadsförts åt äldre. Studien visar att projekten i urvalet alla möter Vk 3A och endast några få har högre ambitioner brandskyddsmässigt. I två av dessa fall handlar ambitionerna om förstärkt varseblivningssystem och i ytterligare två om installation av spisvakt i samtliga bostäder. Dessutom framkom det att fler än hälften av projekten dimensionerats med utgångspunkt i att räddningstjänsten ska bistå utrymning. Något som är bekymmersamt med tanke på att mer än hälften av landets räddningstjänster i en nylig studie uppgav att de har problem med att upprätthålla en kontinuerlig beredskap. Dessutom har studien sökt sakkunniga för att i en enkät redogöra för äldres förmåga att utrymma själva i bostadstypen och det individanpassade brandskyddsarbetet i kommunen. En enkät skickades även till räddningstjänster för att ta reda på deras perspektiv och deras erfarenheter av problemet. Sammantaget identifierar både tidigare studier, och respondenter till denna studie, verksamhetsklassificeringen som ett stort problem i bostadstypen. De vidhåller att individanpassat brandskyddsarbete aldrig kan ersätta individens förmåga att utrymma. Därtill arbetar bara hälften av landets kommuner med individanpassat brandskydd i någon form. Konsekvensen av detta är att brandskyddet äldre får är beroende på var i landet de bor och följaktligen blir inte brandskyddet jämlikt. Detta är inte ett problem utan lösning, snarare tvärt om. Det är ett problem som kräver en mängd lösningar på nationell och lokal nivå. En del av problemen kan lösas med relativt enkla medel genom ökat stöd från myndigheter till kommuner som kämpar med att få igång individanpassat brandskyddsarbete. Andra problem – som verksamhetsklassificeringen – kräver en översyn av utformningen av den existerande brandskyddslagstiftningen. Det är förståeligt att myndigheter, med tanke på den kommande demografiska utvecklingen, vill driva på byggnation av bostäder. Men det borde inte behöva vara på bekostnad av de boendes säkerhet och trygghet. / Since 2010 preventive fire-safety measures in Sweden are all based on a common zero vision that reads: “No one should die or be seriously injured because of fire”. For the past half-century there has been a steady decline in fire-related deaths and in recent years that number has been around 100 each year. However, for one group of individuals that decline has ceased. For individuals older than 65 the death toll has been a steady average of 50 fire-related deaths per year for some time. These represent half of all fire-related deaths each year and the predicted population-increase in this age-group has started to cause some concern about how this will affect the death-toll. Individuals older than 65 primarily live in their own homes. In recent years homes specifically marketed to the elderly (in terms of safety and comfort) have taken up a larger portion of those. This increase in homes marketed to the elderly has followed a greater need for homes for the elderly as well as a Swedish principle of “home-living”. The idea is that individuals should be afforded every possibility to remain in their own homes as they age. The problem with these marketed homes is that the safety and comfort they promise is so in no other way than socially. Current fire-safety regulation sets no higher standard for these homes than for regular homes.  This study has examined what level of fire-safety a chosen group of build-projects for marketed homes has. The study shows that all the studied projects meet current regulations, only a few indicate higher safety-ambitions. In two of these those, the higher ambitions were enhanced warning-systems and in another two stove guards were installed in all apartments. What was more the study found that more than half of the projects were designed to require assistance from fire-rescue services in order to evacuate the building. This is particularly alarming since more than half of the fire-rescue services in Sweden reported not being able to maintain continuous service in a recent study.  Additionally, this study has surveyed municipal-experts for information on what ability elderly in these marketed homes have to evacuate on their own and on how they work with individually adapted fire-safety in the municipality. Fire-safety services were also surveyed for their knowledge and experience with the issue. In conclusion, both previous studies and the respondents to this study identify the fire-safety regulations applied to these marketed homes as an issue of significance. They all conclude that individually adapted fire-safety cannot possibly replace the individual’s capability to evacuate. Furthermore, only half of Swedish municipalities have adapted the process of individually adapted fire-safety in some way or shape. The main consequence of this is that the level of fire-safety elderly are prepared varies across the country and consequently fails to be equal. The issue at hand requires a multitude of solutions on a local and national scale. Some issues are relatively easily solved by government agencies providing more support to struggling, smaller municipalities. Other issues – like the lacking regulations for the marketed homes – require a review of current fire-safety regulations. It is understandable for agencies to want to meet a housing deficit, especially considering the looming demographic changes. But it should not come at the cost of elderly individuals’ safety and comfort.

Fear is an innate emotion and an adaptive response to provide protection from potential harm. When fear is excessive and out of proportion in relation to the confronted situation, it can lead to the development of an anxiety disorder. Many individuals feel anxious at some point, but not all experience clinical anxiety or meet the diagnostic criteria of an anxiety disorder. Still, anxiety disorders are the most prevalent form of psychiatric disorder in the general population. More often than not people suffering from one anxiety disorder also present other psychiatric conditions. As of today, cognitive and behavioural treatments have been tested and found to positively affect anxiety disorders, making them the treatment of choice. Nevertheless, many patients do not seek or receive adequate treatment. One common critique of the research trials from which the recommendations for treatments stem is the use of a single protocol targeting only one diagnosis. This is because many people suffer from comorbidities. Another problem connected to the recommendation that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) should be the treatment of choice for anxiety disorders is the lack of therapists with adequate training. One possible way of dealing both with the shortcoming of therapists and making CBT more accessible is the use of the Internet. Internet-based CBT (ICBT) has been tested in numerous trials during the last 15 years, showing positive outcomes for a large variety of disorders. Many ICBT trials also make use of a single protocol. Another way of dealing with comorbidities might be to tailor the treatment to let characteristics and preferences of the patient guide the design of the protocol. Little is known about possible effects of tailoring the ICBT, the effects of therapeutic relationships in ICBT, and the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these treatments. This thesis is based on three studies on two separate randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the same set of modules accessible for the tailored protocol. Study I was an RCT investigating treatment effects up to two-year after completion, showing favourable outcomes of the treatment in a self-recruited sample at all measure points. Study II was a secondary analysis exploring possible relations between working alliance and treatment outcome for participants in the treatment group recruited for Study I indicating that working alliance predict outcome in this tailored treatment. The second RCT was an effectiveness trial (Study III) analysing treatment effects and cost-effectiveness of the treatment up to one year post treatment in a primary-care population. This study showed positive treatment effects both regarding symptom reduction and cost-effectiveness, and that effects were sustained at one year post treatment. Conclusions drawn from these studies are that individually tailored ICBT seems to be a feasible approach for patients with anxiety disorders regardless of comorbidities, and a responsible choice in terms of societal costs. / Rädsla är en medfödd känsla och en adaptiv respons för att skydda organismen från potentiell skada. När rädslan blir överdriven och oproportionerlig i relation till den konfronterade situationen, kan det leda till utvecklandet av ångestsyndrom. Många personer upplever någon gång ångest, men inte alla upplever klinisk ångest eller uppfyller de diagnostiska kriterierna för något ångestsyndrom. Trots detta är ångest det vanligaste psykiatriska tillståndet i befolkningen i stort och oftast uppfyller personer som lider av ett ångestsyndrom även andra  psykiatriska tillstånd. Till dags dato har både kognitiva och beteendeinriktade behandlingar testats och visat sig verksamma vid ångestproblem, vilket gjort dem till de behandlingar som rekommenderas för dessa tillstånd. Trots god effekt av behandling söker många patienter ändå inte hjälp, alternativt erhåller inte adekvat behandling. En vanlig kritik mot den forskning från vilka behandlingsrekommendationerna för ångestsyndrom stammar är att många använt en manual eller ett protokoll som riktar sig mot bara en diagnos. Detta på grund av den stora komorbiditeten. Ett annat problem kopplat till rekommendationerna att kognitiv beteendeterapi (KBT) ska vara förstahandsval vid behandling av ångest är bristen på behandlare med adekvat utbildning. Ett möjligt sätt att göra KBT mer tillgängligt är att använda Internet. Internet- förmedlad KBT (IKBT) har prövats i ett stort antal studier de senaste 15 åren dessa har visat positiva resultat vid ett stort antal psykiatriska tillstånd. Flertalet av dessa studier har dock använt ett enda behandlingsprotokoll. En annan möjlighet att hantera komorbiditet kan vara att skräddarsy behandlingen för att låta patientens egenskaper och preferenser vara med och styra utformningen av behandlingsprotokollet. Möjliga effekter av att skräddarsy IKBT är relativt lite undersökt, likaså effekterna av terapeutiska relationer i IKBT samt klinisk effektivitet och kostnadseffektiviteten för dessa behandlingar. Denna avhandling bygger på tre studier från två randomiserade kontrollerade studier med samma uppsättning av moduler tillgängliga för att skräddarsy behandlingsprotokollen. I Studie I undersöktes behandlingseffekter upp till två år efter avslutad behandling i en självrekryterad grupp patienter. Studie II var en sekundäranalys av behandlingsgruppen från Studie I där eventuella samband mellan arbetsallians och behandlingsresultat undersöktes. Den andra randomiserade kontrollerade studien var en prövning av huruvida denna behandling var effektiv för en klinisk population (Studie III) rekryterad via primärvården. Förutom behandlingseffekter undersöktes även kostnadseffektiviteten upp till ett år efter behandlingsavslut. De slutsatser som dras utifrån dessa studier är att skräddarsydd IKBT verkar vara en framkomlig väg för patienter med ångest oavsett komorbiditet, att arbetsalliansen kan vara en faktor som påverkar utfallet, samt att det är ett ansvarsfullt val vad gäller samhälleliga kostnader.

This thesis consists of three independent papers. They are put in reverse chronological order according to when they were initiated. The first paper, which is a joint work with Özgür Evren, extends the standard rational choice framework with the option to postpone the act of selecting an alternative. In that paper, we propose an axiomatic model of choice over risky prospects that restricts the classical rationality axioms solely to those instances in which the decision maker does not defer. The cardinal approach we follow allows us to identify the preference relation of the decision maker over lotteries, even if the choice data is very scarce due to deferral. Moreover, we also derive the value of deferring choice from a given set of options, which turns out to be an affine utility function over choice sets. At each choice situation, the decision maker compares the utility of each available alternative with that of deferral so as to decide on opting for an alternative immediately. The second paper is a model of status quo bias with choice avoidance. It describes the choice behavior of an otherwise standard decision maker whose choices are affected by the presence of a status quo alternative. The status quo emerges as a temporary choice, which may be reversed upon arrival of new (introspective or objective) information, or upon finding new alternatives. The third paper considers the network formation problem from a matching perspective. In that paper, agents want to link with each other and each has preferences over the subsets of others. We consider various solution concepts regarding the stability of a matching between the agents, establish relations between these concepts under several preference restrictions, and provide sufficient conditions for these solutions to be nonempty. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2011

Cette thèse traite de la théorie du risque en finance et en assurance. La mise en pratique du concept de comonotonie, la dépendance du risque au sens fort, est décrite pour identifier l’optimum de Pareto et les allocations individuellement rationnelles Pareto optimales, la tarification des options et la quantification des risques. De plus, il est démontré que l’aversion au risque monotone à gauche, un raffinement pertinent de l’aversion forte au risque, caractérise tout décideur à la Yaari, pour qui, l’assurance avec franchise est optimale. Le concept de comonotonie est introduit et discuté dans le chapitre 1. Dans le cas de risques multiples, on adopte l’idée qu’une forme naturelle pour les compagnies d’assurance de partager les risques est la Pareto optimalité risque par risque. De plus, l’optimum de Pareto et les allocations individuelles Pareto optimales sont caractérisées. Le chapitre 2 étudie l’application du concept de comonotonie dans la tarification des options et la quantification des risques. Une nouvelle variable de contrôle de la méthode de Monte Carlo est introduite et appliquée aux “basket options”, aux options asiatiques et à la TVaR. Finalement dans le chapitre 3, l’aversion au risque au sens fort est raffinée par l’introduction de l’aversion au risque monotone à gauche qui caractérise l’optimalité de l’assurance avec franchise dans le modèle de Yaari. De plus, il est montré que le calcul de la franchise s’effectue aisément. / This thesis deals with the risk theory in Finance and Insurance. Application of the Comonotonicity concept, the strongest risk dependence, is described for identifying the Pareto optima and Individually Rational Pareto optima allocations, option pricing and quantification of risk. Furthermore it is shown that the left monotone risk aversion, a meaningful refinement of strong risk aversion, characterizes Yaari’s decision makers for whom deductible insurance is optimal. The concept of Comonotonicity is introduced and discussed in Chapter 1. In case of multiple risks, the idea that a natural way for insurance companies to optimally share risks is risk by risk Pareto-optimality is adopted. Moreover, the Pareto optimal and individually Pareto optimal allocations are characterized. The Chapter 2 investigates the application of the Comonotonicity concept in option pricing and quantification of risk. A novel control variate Monte Carlo method is introduced and its application is explained for basket options, Asian options and TVaR. Finally in Chapter 3 the strong risk aversion is refined by introducing the left-monotone risk aversion which characterizes the optimality of deductible insurance within the Yaari’s model. More importantly, it is shown that the computation of the deductible is tractable.

Feedback ist ein wichtiger Faktor für erfolgreiches Lernen – vorausgesetzt, dass es rich-tig eingesetzt wird (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Dies gilt insbesondere, wenn es um den Erwerb neuer Kompetenzen geht. Die vorliegende Studie soll dazu beitragen, eine empirisch begründete kompetenzorientierte Brücke zwischen dem Konzept des negativen Wissens (Oser & Spychiger, 2005) und psychologischen Theorien zum Thema Feedback als Instruktionsmethode im Rahmen des selbstregulierten Lernens bei Schülern zu bilden und dazu anregen, den selbstregulierten Lernprozess von Schülern durch individuell angepasstes Feedback zu fördern. Dazu wurden zwei Hypothesen expliziert: Zum einen, dass Lernende, die Feedback über die konkrete Lokalisation des Fehlers erhalten, die dargebotenen Biologieaufgaben besser lösen können (prozessbezogene methodische Kompetenzen), als Lernende, die auf einer Metaebene eine Begründung für die Ursache des Fehlers in Kombination mit einer Frage zur kognitiven Aktivierung erhalten haben. Zum anderen, dass auf der im Rahmen der Intervention nicht trainierten strategischer Ebene das Feedback mit kognitiver Aktivierung effektiver ist. Um diese Hypothesen zu prüfen, wurde der Einfluss zweier Feedbackvarianten untersucht. In einem 2x2 Prä-Post-Test Design wurden dazu die Feedbackvarianten „Lokalisation des Fehlers“ und „Begründung des Fehlers mit kognitiver Aktivierung“ einzeln oder in Kombination einer Kontrollbedingung ohne Feedback gegenüber gestellt. Lernende der 7. Klasse bearbeiteten im Rahmen von zwei Doppelstunden ein webbasiertes interaktives Lernprogramm zum Thema „Experimentieren“. Die darin enthaltenen Multiple-Choice-Aufgaben (Hammann, 2007) umfassten die für das Experimentieren einschlägigen Kompetenzbereiche „Suche im Hypothesenraum“, „Testen von Hypothesen“ und „Analyse von Evidenzen“ (Klahr, 2000). Als abhängige Variablen haben wir jeweils in einer Prä-Post-Test-Messung den Zuwachs an prozessbezogenen methodischen Kompetenzen (operationalisiert über die korrekte Lösung der verwendeten Biologie-Aufgaben) und den strategischen Lernzuwachs (operationalisiert über die Bearbeitung des EEST-2, Marschner, 2010) untersucht. Um den möglichen Einfluss individueller Unterschiede in Bezug auf die Transferwirksamkeit des erworbenen Wissens zu erheben, wurden auch Daten zu Intelligenz, Persönlichkeitsfaktoren, zum Umgang mit Fehlern, zur Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung und zum selbstregulierten Lernen erhoben. Durch die Bearbeitung des Lernprogramms konnten die getesteten Schüler (N=355) über alle Versuchsgruppen hinweg signifikante Lernzuwächse auf der im Rahmen der Intervention trainierten Aufgabeneben (prozessbezogene methodische Kompetenzen) erzielen, nicht aber auf der nicht trainierten strategischen Ebene. Die verschiedenen Feedbackarten hatten jedoch keinen Einfluss auf den Lernzuwachs der untersuchten Stichprobe. Auf strategischer Ebene konnte sogar eine Verschlechterung des Ergebnisses vom Prä- zum Posttest beobachtet werden. Dieses könnte darauf zurückzuführen sein, dass die metakognitive Entwicklung der getesteten Schüler noch nicht ausgereift genug war, um das Feedback auf der intendierten Ebene verarbeiten zu können. In der Diskussion dieser Arbeit wird das Konzept des negativen Wissens (Oser & Spychiger, 2005) theoretisch mit den Ergebnissen aus der kognitionspsychologischen Forschung verknüpft und aufgezeigt, welche Parallelen zwischen diesen beiden Ansätzen bestehen. Die für diese Studie konzipierte computerbasierte Lerneinheit hat sich in der Praxis zur Einübung der Variablenkontrollstrategie bei Lehramtsstudierenden bewährt.