本研究的主要目的是探討「創意數位說故事課程」對故事創作的品質、創造力、和作文態度是否有幫助，並瞭解此類課程應用於國小高年級作文教學的可行性及侷限性。研究者採準實驗法之「不等組前後測設計」，以高雄市某國小五年級兩個班級的學童為樣本，安排一班為互動組，另一班為欣賞組，分別接受十二單元共60堂課的實驗課程，互動組接受「創意數位說故事」的課程，著重電子腦力激盪及故事分享等互動歷程；欣賞組接受「欣賞故事並將故事數位化」的課程，著重故事示範與欣賞。 本研究的研究工具為「新編創造力思考測驗」及研究者自編的「數位故事評量表」和「作文態度量表」，並蒐集質化資料（包括數位故事作品、學生課程反應的感想、趣味創作練習的資料等）。以獨立樣本單因子共變數統計以及相依樣本t考驗來進行分析，質化資料則是用來輔助量化結果的解釋。 研究結果顯示： (一)在數位說故事的製作上，互動組與欣賞組有顯著差異，且欣賞組優於 互動組。 (二)新編創造思考測驗的結果：在語文流暢力、語文變通力、語文獨創 力這些變項上，互動組與欣賞組有顯著差異，且互動組優於欣賞組。 但在圖形流暢力、圖形變通力、圖形獨創力和圖形精進力這些變項 上，互動組與欣賞組並無顯著差異。 (三)在作文態度改善的結果上，互動組與欣賞組無顯著差異。 (四)無論在數位說故事的製作上、新編創造思考測驗以及作文態度的結 果發現，互動組和欣賞組的後測皆高於前測。 (五)創意數位說故事作文教學在國小階段是值得推行的。 研究者根據上述的研究結果提出建議，以作為教育應用及未來研究的參 考。 / The main purpose of this research was to explore whether the 「creative digital story-telling course」 can help to improve story quality, creativity, and writing attitude, and understand the feasibilities and limitations of teaching similar courses to higher-grade students in primary schools. The researcher adopted 「nonequivalent pretest-posttest designs」 as a quasi-experimental study. Two classes of fifth grade students from a Kaohsiung school were selected as study samples; one class was assigned as an 「interactive group」, the other as an 「appreciation group」. Both respectively accepted twelve units in a total of 60 experimental courses. The interactive group took the lessons of 「creative digital storytelling」 that emphasized the interaction processes during electronic brain-storming, story sharing and so classes. The appreciation group took the courses of 「appreciating and digitalizing the stories」, which focused on story demonstration and appreciation. In this study, the research instruments comprised 「tests of creativity thinking in composition 」, the researcher’s self-created 「digital story rating scale」 and 「writing attitude rating scale」, and also the collections of qualitative data covering the digital story works, students』 reflections in response to the teaching courses, and the data of funny creation exercises. The analyses were conducted by one-way analysis of covariance for independent samples and dependent samples t-test. The qualitative data were used as supplementary explanations for the quantity results. The research resulted in the following findings: 1. In respect of the production of digital storytelling, there were significant differences between the interactive group and the appreciation group; obviously the appreciation group performed better than the interactive group. 2. In light of the results from the tests of creative thinking in composition, there were remarkable differences between the two groups in respect to linguistic fluency, flexibility and originality; the interactive group was better than the appreciation group in the results. Nevertheless, it showed no much difference between the two groups in graphic creativity in terms of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration. 3. In respect of writing attitude improvement, there was no much difference between two groups. 4. The posttest scores were higher than pre-test scores for both interactive group and appreciation group in all experiments, including the production of digital storytelling, tests of creativity thinking in composition and writing attitude. 5. It is worthy to promote the creative digital storytelling in composition teaching for primary school educations. The researcher made suggestions in accordance with the above research findings, and served as a reference for educational applications and future studies.

Essay 1: People’s planning to evade the inheritance tax curtails its merits. However, the extent of planning remains a matter of argument. According to popular belief, it is widespread, but few estimates have been presented. This study estimates the extent of estate size under-reporting, a form of inheritance tax planning, using the repeal of the Swedish tax on spousal bequests, in 2004, and a regression discontinuity design. The results show that, on average, estate sizes were 17 percent lower, and the share of estates that completely escaped tax payments was 26 percent larger due to under-reporting. As a consequence, government revenues from the tax were only half of what they would have been without under-reporting. Moreover, preferences and means for under-reporting were not only prevalent among the wealthy, but also among those receiving relatively small inheritances. The study contributes to a growing literature on tax avoidance and evasion by estimating the extent of estate size under-reporting, its effect on government revenues and by showing that it was widespread in the population. / Essay 2: There is an ongoing debate about whether or not inheritance and estate taxes are effective in raising revenues and in contributing to a more equal society. The different views on transfer taxes are largely dependent on beliefs about whether people plan their wealth to avoid these taxes. In this paper, we follow Kopczuk (2007) and study people's planning response to the onset of terminal illness. An extension of Kopczuk’s work is that we can effectively control for responses in wealth caused by terminal illness but unrelated to tax planning. We do this by exploiting a tax reform in Sweden that removed the incentives for people to plan their estates to avoid inheritance taxation. We find some evidence of long-term terminal illness inducing responses consistent with tax planning, but that these are not widespread or efficient enough to reduce the overall tax burden in the study population. Our results, similarly to those of Kopczuk, show that people appear to postpone some decisions about their estates until shortly before death. / Essay 3: Small businesses form an essential part of all economies, making it necessary to understand the conditions under which they operate. This paper contributes to that understanding by studying how survival, income and profits of small businesses change when their owners receive inheritances. Using a difference-in-differences strategy and Swedish registry data on small businesses and estate reports, it is shown that survival rates increase with almost three percentage points when the owners receive inheritances of, on average, SEK 275,000. However, the profits of the surviving small businesses and the income of their owners do not increase, indicating that the inheritance did not increase survival by making investments possible, investments to increase profits and income, but by enabling small business owners of lower ability to subsist. The study contributes to the literature on the conditions for small businesses by providing causal evidence on the effect of increased access to capital among existing businesses. It thereby complements the rich literature on the role of capital for small business start-ups. / Essay 4: This article shows that a simple monetary incentive can dramatically reduce electric energy consumption (EEC) in the residential sector and simultaneously achieve a more desirable allocation of EEC costs. The analyses are based on data from a policy experiment conducted in 2011 and 2012 by a private housing company in about 1,800 apartments. Roughly 800 of the tenants (treatment group) were subject to a change from having unlimited EEC included in their rent to having to pay the market price for their own EEC. This change was achieved by installing EEC meters in each apartment. Tenants in the other 1,000 apartments (control group) experienced no policy change and were subject to apartment-level billing and metering during the entire study period. Using a quasiexperimental research design and daily data on EEC from 2007 to 2015, we estimate that apartment-level billing and metering permanently reduce EEC by about 25%. Moreover, we show that households reduce EEC immediately after being informed that they will be billed for EEC, the reduction is larger when the production cost is higher, and the reduction in EEC comes almost exclusively from households with very high EEC before the policy change. Finally, we show that apartment-level billing and metering are cost-effective, with a cost per reduced kilowatt hour of US$0.01, and for each invested dollar, the social value of reductions in air pollution, including CO2 emissions, is $2.

O desenvolvimento tecnológico vem impactando o campo da educação de múltiplas maneiras. Entretanto, a educação tradicional parece estar estagnada sob vários aspectos. No ensino superior de ciências contábeis, há diversas evidências. Com base nesse cenário, apresenta-se o Sistema de Resposta do Estudante (SRE), um recurso tecnológico que, em sua versão mais recente, consiste de dispositivos pessoais e um software interconectados pela internet usados para que os alunos possam responder questões propostas pelo docente e para que haja feedback instantâneo. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo objetivou verificar o impacto do SRE no desempenho acadêmico e na satisfação dos alunos de ciências contábeis. Foi conduzido um quase-experimento, dividido em duas partes, com alunos da disciplina de Contabilidade de Entidades Diversas de uma instituição de ensino superior pública brasileira. Ao todo, 55 alunos participaram do quase-experimento, separados em duas turmas (A e B). A Parte 1 do quase-experimento ocorreu no 1º bimestre do ano letivo de 2016 da instituição, tendo a Turma A como grupo de controle a Turma B como grupo de tratamento. A Parte 2, por sua vez, foi realizada no 2º bimestre, com a inversão dos grupos de tratamento e de controle. No início da pesquisa, foram aplicadas provas com o intuito de verificar o conhecimento prévio do conteúdo. Outros dados foram coletados por meio dos documentos da disciplina e de um questionário que compreendeu questões sobre o perfil socioeconômico dos discentes e acerca do uso (14 questões) e satisfação (10 questões) com o SRE. Em ambos os bimestres, os testes t (sig. > 0,10) e Mann-Whitney (sig. > 0,10) não indicaram que o emprego do SRE tem efeito positivo estatisticamente significativo sobre o desempenho acadêmico dos alunos. Complementarmente, analisou-se o impacto do SRE na performance discente em conjunto com fatores individuais, acadêmicos e socioecômicos por meio de modelos de regressão. Os resultados reforçaram que o SRE não exerce influência significativa sobre o desempenho acadêmico (sig. > 0,10). Em relação à satisfação discente, as estatísticas descritivas apontaram que os alunos gostaram de usar a tecnologia (média = 9,59; dp = 0,93), o SRE tornou a aula mais divertida em comparação com o ensino tradicional (média = 9,55; dp = 1,14) e houve satisfação com o equipamento (média = 9,28; dp = 1,61). Além disso, o teste U de Mann-Whitney sinalizou que não houve diferença de percepção entre as Turmas A e B em se tratando de satisfação com o SRE. Ambas as turmas mostraram padrão similar de satisfação. Da mesma forma, pela matriz de correlação de Spearman dos itens de satisfação, verificaram-se significantes relações, com destaque para a correlação que indica que quanto maior a satisfação discente com o SRE, maior tende a ser a satisfação com a disciplina (coef. = 0,2331; sig. < 0,10). Nesse sentido, constatou-se que o SRE não aumenta a performance acadêmica, mas colabora para o desenvolvimento da satisfação discente de modo geral. / Technological development has impacted the field of education in many ways. However, a traditional education seems to be stagnated in many aspects. In higher accounting education, there are several evidences. Based on this scenario, the Student Response System (SRS) is presented, which is a technological tool that, in its most recent version, consists of personal devices and a software interconnected by the internet, so that students are able to answer questions proposed by the professor with instant feedback. In this sense, the present study aimed to verify the impact of the SRS on academic performance and satisfaction of the accounting students. It was conducted a quasi-experiment, divided into two parts, with students enrolled in the Accounting for Diverse Entities discipline of a Brazilian higher education institution. In all, 55 students participated in a quasi-experiment, separated into two classes (A and B). The Part 1 of the quasi-experiment occurred in the first two-months of the 2016 institutional calendar, with Class A as control group and Class B as treatment group. The Part 2, in turn, was performed in the second two-months period, with an inversion of the treatment and control groups. At the beginning of the research, initial tests were applied with the students in order to verify the previous knowledge of the content. Other data were collected through class documents and a questionnaire that included questions on socioeconomic profile of the students and about the use (14 questions) and satisfaction (10 questions) with the SRS. In both parts of the quasi-experiment, the t (sig. > 0.10) and Mann-Whitney (sig. > 0.10) tests did not indicate that the use of SRS has a statistically significant positive effect on students\' academic performance. Additionally, the impact of SRS on student performance was analyzed in conjunction with individual, academic and socioeconomic factors through regression models. The results reinforce that the SRS does not have a significant influence on the academic performance (sig. > 0.10). Regarding student satisfaction, descriptive statistics revealed that students liked to use the technology (mean = 9.59; sd = 0.93), SRS made classes funnier than traditional teaching (mean = 9.55; sd = 1.14), and there was satisfaction with the equipment (mean = 9.28; sd = 1.61). In addition, the Mann-Whitney test showed that there was no difference between Class A\'s and Class B\'s perception in terms of satisfaction with SRS. Both groups felt satisfied similarly. Likewise, Spearman\'s correlation matrix of satisfaction items showed significant relationships, with emphasis on the correlation that indicates that the higher the student satisfaction with the SRS, the greater the satisfaction with the discipline tends to be (coeff. = 0.2331, sig. < 0.10). In general, it was verified that SRS does not increase academic performance, but it contributes to the development of students\' satisfaction.

O desenvolvimento tecnológico vem impactando o campo da educação de múltiplas maneiras. Entretanto, a educação tradicional parece estar estagnada sob vários aspectos. No ensino superior de ciências contábeis, há diversas evidências. Com base nesse cenário, apresenta-se o Sistema de Resposta do Estudante (SRE), um recurso tecnológico que, em sua versão mais recente, consiste de dispositivos pessoais e um software interconectados pela internet usados para que os alunos possam responder questões propostas pelo docente e para que haja feedback instantâneo. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo objetivou verificar o impacto do SRE no desempenho acadêmico e na satisfação dos alunos de ciências contábeis. Foi conduzido um quase-experimento, dividido em duas partes, com alunos da disciplina de Contabilidade de Entidades Diversas de uma instituição de ensino superior pública brasileira. Ao todo, 55 alunos participaram do quase-experimento, separados em duas turmas (A e B). A Parte 1 do quase-experimento ocorreu no 1º bimestre do ano letivo de 2016 da instituição, tendo a Turma A como grupo de controle a Turma B como grupo de tratamento. A Parte 2, por sua vez, foi realizada no 2º bimestre, com a inversão dos grupos de tratamento e de controle. No início da pesquisa, foram aplicadas provas com o intuito de verificar o conhecimento prévio do conteúdo. Outros dados foram coletados por meio dos documentos da disciplina e de um questionário que compreendeu questões sobre o perfil socioeconômico dos discentes e acerca do uso (14 questões) e satisfação (10 questões) com o SRE. Em ambos os bimestres, os testes t (sig. > 0,10) e Mann-Whitney (sig. > 0,10) não indicaram que o emprego do SRE tem efeito positivo estatisticamente significativo sobre o desempenho acadêmico dos alunos. Complementarmente, analisou-se o impacto do SRE na performance discente em conjunto com fatores individuais, acadêmicos e socioecômicos por meio de modelos de regressão. Os resultados reforçaram que o SRE não exerce influência significativa sobre o desempenho acadêmico (sig. > 0,10). Em relação à satisfação discente, as estatísticas descritivas apontaram que os alunos gostaram de usar a tecnologia (média = 9,59; dp = 0,93), o SRE tornou a aula mais divertida em comparação com o ensino tradicional (média = 9,55; dp = 1,14) e houve satisfação com o equipamento (média = 9,28; dp = 1,61). Além disso, o teste U de Mann-Whitney sinalizou que não houve diferença de percepção entre as Turmas A e B em se tratando de satisfação com o SRE. Ambas as turmas mostraram padrão similar de satisfação. Da mesma forma, pela matriz de correlação de Spearman dos itens de satisfação, verificaram-se significantes relações, com destaque para a correlação que indica que quanto maior a satisfação discente com o SRE, maior tende a ser a satisfação com a disciplina (coef. = 0,2331; sig. < 0,10). Nesse sentido, constatou-se que o SRE não aumenta a performance acadêmica, mas colabora para o desenvolvimento da satisfação discente de modo geral. / Technological development has impacted the field of education in many ways. However, a traditional education seems to be stagnated in many aspects. In higher accounting education, there are several evidences. Based on this scenario, the Student Response System (SRS) is presented, which is a technological tool that, in its most recent version, consists of personal devices and a software interconnected by the internet, so that students are able to answer questions proposed by the professor with instant feedback. In this sense, the present study aimed to verify the impact of the SRS on academic performance and satisfaction of the accounting students. It was conducted a quasi-experiment, divided into two parts, with students enrolled in the Accounting for Diverse Entities discipline of a Brazilian higher education institution. In all, 55 students participated in a quasi-experiment, separated into two classes (A and B). The Part 1 of the quasi-experiment occurred in the first two-months of the 2016 institutional calendar, with Class A as control group and Class B as treatment group. The Part 2, in turn, was performed in the second two-months period, with an inversion of the treatment and control groups. At the beginning of the research, initial tests were applied with the students in order to verify the previous knowledge of the content. Other data were collected through class documents and a questionnaire that included questions on socioeconomic profile of the students and about the use (14 questions) and satisfaction (10 questions) with the SRS. In both parts of the quasi-experiment, the t (sig. > 0.10) and Mann-Whitney (sig. > 0.10) tests did not indicate that the use of SRS has a statistically significant positive effect on students\' academic performance. Additionally, the impact of SRS on student performance was analyzed in conjunction with individual, academic and socioeconomic factors through regression models. The results reinforce that the SRS does not have a significant influence on the academic performance (sig. > 0.10). Regarding student satisfaction, descriptive statistics revealed that students liked to use the technology (mean = 9.59; sd = 0.93), SRS made classes funnier than traditional teaching (mean = 9.55; sd = 1.14), and there was satisfaction with the equipment (mean = 9.28; sd = 1.61). In addition, the Mann-Whitney test showed that there was no difference between Class A\'s and Class B\'s perception in terms of satisfaction with SRS. Both groups felt satisfied similarly. Likewise, Spearman\'s correlation matrix of satisfaction items showed significant relationships, with emphasis on the correlation that indicates that the higher the student satisfaction with the SRS, the greater the satisfaction with the discipline tends to be (coeff. = 0.2331, sig. < 0.10). In general, it was verified that SRS does not increase academic performance, but it contributes to the development of students\' satisfaction.

El enfoque experimental es el corazón de algunos de los desarrollos más interesantes de la economía. Básicamente, los experimentos se utilizan para generar datos controlados. El término "datos controlados" se refiere al hecho de que la mayoría de los factores en los que influyen las conductas se mantienen constantes, y solo un factor de interés (el "tratamiento'') cambia a la vez. Este es el punto crítico para hacer una inferencia causal. A veces, este proceso de generación ocurre de forma natural (es decir, un "experimento natural''). Sin embargo, la mayoría de las veces, el investigador es el encargado de desarrollar y controlar el proceso de generación. Todas las áreas de la ciencia (incluida la economía) deben considerar todas las metodologías que se pueden aplicar. La teoría, los experimentos de laboratorio, los experimentos de campo, los experimentos online, la neuroeconomía, la investigación observacional y social, las encuestas y más, contribuyen a nuestra comprensión del mundo. En el primer capítulo de a tesis, se presentan resultados experimentales sobre subastas. Se consideran dos tratamientos experimentales: si el comprador prefiere más la calidad a la dimensión del precio, o si este último importa más que la calidad. Los participantes se asignan al azar a uno de estos dos tratamientos y se emparejan en grupos de cinco. Juegan una subasta de períodos múltiples, donde la calidad es exógena asignada en cada ronda y los sujetos presentan una rebaja al precio base anunciado. Las pujas se transforman en puntuaciones que combinan la calidad exógena y la rebaja. El vendedor con la puntuación más alta gana la subasta. Los resultados sugieren que, cuando el peso de la rebaja es mayor, los participantes pujan más cerca del equilibrio. Sin embargo, la probabilidad de obtener un resultado eficiente es mayor cuando se pone más peso en la calidad. En el segundo capítulo analizo los resultados de un experimento en línea en el que los sujetos juegan cuatro versiones del juego Stag-Hunt. Hay tres tratamientos: línea de base, retraso de tiempo y retraso motivado. En el segundo, los sujetos deben esperar 40 segundos antes de elegir una decisión. En el tercero, deben esperar 40 segundos y escribir un texto para motivar sus decisiones. Al final del juego, los participantes informan sobre creencias, preferencias de riesgo y una medida de confianza. El resultado principal es que los sujetos optan por colaborar menos cuando deliberan más. La explicación es que este tratamiento ayuda a los sujetos a comprender que esta es la opción más segura. En el tercer capítulo, los autores estiman el impacto de un programa educativo basado en juegos destinado a promover el uso sostenible del agua. Esto se hizo en la ciudad de Lucca, con miles de alumnos de 2º a 4º de primaria. Los hallazgos indican que los estudiantes del grupo de tratamiento (participantes del programa) mostraron una mayor conciencia sobre el consumo de agua respecto a aquellos estudiantes que no participaron en el programa. Además, encuentran que el efecto positivo aún se observa después de seis meses, lo que sugiere que los programas educativos basados en juegos pueden ser un instrumento eficaz para promover comportamientos prosociales en el consumo de agua.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Science Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Learners’ performance largely depends on the pedagogy used. This study explored the use of Computer Simulations (CS) to teach plants biodiversity to grade eleven learners Mankweng Circuit. A randomised Solomon Four-Group design was used. Sixty-six learners from two schools equipped with computers were randomly assigned to the Experimental Group (EG), and 66 learners from two other schools without computers were the Control Group (CG). A performance pre- and post-test was used to the EG taught using CS and to the CG taught using Chalk-and-Talk Method (CTM). Also, Focus Group Discussion Interviews (FGDI) were conducted with 12 learners: six from each of the EG and the CG to collect information regarding their attitudes towards the methods used to learn biodiversity. The quantitative data were analysed using a T-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), while the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The results show that the learners in the EG performed better than those in the CG (T-test; p < 0.05), (ANOVA; p < 0.05). Hypothesis one which states that learners in the EG who were taught using CS will perform better than those in the CG taught using CTM is accepted. Also, hypothesis two, which states that learners’ performance in the pretest will not vary in the EG and the CG is accepted. Also, hypothesis three which states that there will be no statistically significant differences in achievements between boys and girls in the EG is established. Thus, the CS method is a useful tool to enhance learners’ performance. Keywords: Computer simulations, PCK, TPACK, Quasi-experiment, Solomon four group design, Learner’s performance

Digital games are being increasingly implemented in the educational sector to improvevarious skills. Among these the effectiveness of digital game-based learning (DGBL) on the socio-emotional ability of individuals have been investigated with overall positive results. However, a limited number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of DGBL on this ability in children with intellectual disability and no studies have researched whether DGBL could be effective on the socio-emotional skills of children with this form of disability. Thus, the current study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of DGBL on the specific socio-emotional skill of emotion recognition in children with intellectual disability in the educational sector. The following research question was formulated: Does DGBL increase the socio-emotional skill of emotion recognition in children with intellectual disability. To answer this question a quasiexperimental one-group pretest-posttest design was adopted where participants engaged in a DGBL-intervention where they played a game aimed at improving their emotion recognition ability. Participants were selected via purposive sampling and the final sample consisted of N=7. The sample consisted of children with intellectual disability between the age span of six and nine of both male and female gender. The experiment consisted of three parts: a pretest where data in terms of the socio-emotional skill of emotion recognition was collected, the actual intervention where the participants engaged inplaying a digital game, and lastly, a posttest where the skill of emotion recognition was measured again. The data was subsequently analyzed via a paired sample t-test. The results of the study showed that DGBL did not significantly increase the socio-emotional skill of emotion recognition in children with intellectual disability. This result in part contradicts earlier research on DGBL and intellectual disability as well as DGBL andsocio-emotional skill where significant effects have been identified. However, since no previous research has investigated whether DGBL could be effective in increasing the socio-emotional skill of children with intellectual disability, future research is needed to confirm or reject the present results. In summary, the current research has extended on current knowledge and provided important implications for the field of special education.

Title: Evaluation of postural stability in subjects engaged in combatand non-contact sports Objectives: The aim of this diploma thesis is to investigate the influence of contact itself during sport activities on postural stability of athletes. Methods: Into this quasi-experiment study there were picked 16 atheletes (n=16) in age from 22 to 35 years. Selected individuals were divided into two groups of eight according to their sporting activity (combat sports, baseball. In the mentioned individuals the postural stability was measured. To measure postural stability the computerized dynamic posturography of EquiTest Smart System from Neurocom was used. Measured data were processed using Neurocom Balance Manager Software. For the analysis of the data following statistical methods - paired t-test, Mann-Whitney test and rate of clinical signifikance (Cohen's d) were used. Results: The results indicate that individuals performing in combat sports were reaching higher mean scores in Limits of Stability than baseball players. This fact has been statistically and clinically proven. On the other hand baseball players reached higher mean Equilibrium Scores in Sensory organization test, however this fact has not been statistically nor clinically proven. No significant differences between the groups in motor...

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No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE_MARCELO_CASTRO.pdf: 10539272 bytes, checksum: 0c90be8a41e31cfc75a95c5c3b163bb5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-04 / We use the Regression Discontinuity methodology (RDD) to estimate the causal effect of the Municipalities' Participation Fund (Fundo de Participação dos Municípios - FPM) received by a municipality on characteristics of bordering municipalities, considering a variety of topics: public finance, education, health, and election results. We explore the constitutional rule that generates discontinuities in the transfer according to population brackets. Our main contribution is to estimate separately and together the spillover and the direct effect of FPM, considering both neighboring municipalities or just one of them near the thresholds. Thus, we can better understand the interaction between neighboring municipalities when there is a correlation in the probability of participating in a public program. We show that the estimates of the direct effect of FPM on local spending decreases by about 20% when we control for the neighboring cities' FPM, which effect is generally positive, with the exception of spending on health and sanitation. We estimate a positive effect of FPM on test scores in a national exam and on school pass rates in neighboring municipalities and state public elementary school. On the other hand, the receipt of FPM by neighboring municipalities of small population reduces the provision of health goods and services in nearby larger cities, which may occur due to reduced demand for health services. The worsening of some global health indicators is an indication, however, that there may be coordination problems for mayors retain their spending on health. In fact, when we control for the margin of victory in municipal elections and consider only neighboring towns with mayors from different parties, the spillover effect is greater in magnitude, indicating that political incentives are important to explain the under provision in health services, by one hand, and the increase in the education goods provision, on the other hand. We also found a positive effect of FPM on votes for the party of the federal government in local and national elections, and much of this effect is explained by the spillover from neighboring cities' FPM, showing that cities more economic dependent on the federal government become the political support for that government. Finally, we found an ambiguous effect of the increased revenue due to the FPM on the electoral competition in municipal elections, with a fall in the first place victory margin and a reduction in the number of applicants, which may be explained by the rising of fixed costs in local campaigns. / Nós usamos a metodologia de Regressões em Descontinuidade (RDD) para estimar o efeito causal do Fundo de Participação dos Municípios (FPM) recebido por um município sobre características dos municípios vizinhos, considerando uma variedade de temas: finanças públicas, educação, saúde e resultados eleitorais. Nós exploramos a regra que gera uma variação exógena da transferência em munícipios próximos às descontinuidades no repasse do fundo de acordo com faixas de população. Nossa principal contribuição é estimar separadamente e em conjunto o efeito spillover e o efeito direto do FPM, considerando ambos municípios vizinhos ou apenas um deles próximos às mudanças de faixa. Dessa forma, conseguimos entender melhor a interação entre municípios vizinhos quando há uma correlação na probabilidade de receber uma transferência federal. Nós mostramos que a estimativa do efeito direto do FPM sobre os gastos locais diminui em cerca de 20% quando controlamos pelo spillover do vizinho, que em geral é positivo, com exceção dos gastos em saúde e saneamento. Nós estimamos um efeito positivo da transferência sobre notas na prova Brasil e taxas de aprovação escolares em municípios vizinhos e na rede estadual do ensino fundamental. Por outro lado, o recebimento de FPM por municípios vizinhos de pequena população reduz o provimento de bens e serviços de saúde em cidades próximas e maiores, o que pode ocorrer devido à redução da demanda por serviços de saúde. A piora de alguns indicadores globais de saúde é um indício, no entanto, de que podem existir problemas de coordenação para os prefeitos reterem seus gastos em saúde. De fato, quando controlamos pela margem de vitória nas eleições municipais e consideramos apenas cidades vizinhas com prefeitos de partido diferentes, o efeito spillover é maior em magnitude, o que indica que incentivos políticos são importantes para explicar a subprovisão de serviços em saúde, por um lado, e o aumento da provisão de bens em educação, por outro. Nós também constatamos um efeito positivo do FPM sobre votos para o partido do governo federal nas eleições municipais e nacionais, e grande parte desse efeito é explicado pelo spillover do FPM de cidades vizinhas, mostrando que cidades com dependência econômica do governo federal se tornam a base de sustentação e apoio político desse governo. Por fim, nós encontramos um efeito ambíguo do aumento de receita devido ao FPM sobre a competição eleitoral nas eleições municipais, com uma queda da margem de vitória do primeiro colocado e uma redução do número de candidatos, o que pode ser explicado pelo aumento do custo fixo das campanhas locais.

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways by which student learning improvement and the self-regulation of learning are possible through the use of quality formative assessment in the teaching of a university course. In recent years, researchers in educational assessment are showing an increased interest to the improvement of learning resulting from the use of formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally recognised as an improvement oriented assessment. It is believed to result in instructional effectiveness. Quality formative assessment includes formative feedback, self-assessment and peer assessment. Previous studies show the contribution of each of these quality formative assessments to learning improvement. However, less attention has been given to studying the combined effect of quality formative assessments on learning improvement. On the other hand, the predominant use of summative assessment remains a challenge to the improvement in instruction. Thus, the question was to determine the extent to which the use of quality formative assessment improves learning. The literature review in this study show an over reliance upon summative assessment in the context of higher education classrooms. There is also recognition in that formative assessment improves learning and enhances self-regulation. This study followed a mixed-methods research design of the type partially mixed sequential and applied a quasi-experimental intervention, where the educators used quality formative assessment on lessons with the students in the intervention group. The quasiexperimentation was implemented with 378 (214 male and 164 female) first year students of three universities enrolled for “General Psychology” course and six educators who were teaching the course. The students in this study were taken from intact classes, because this is possible in quasi experimental research. Data for the quantitative part of the study were generated using a structured questionnaire and achievement tests. Interviews with the educators, focus group discussions with the students, and classroom observations were used to generate data for the qualitative phase of study. The pretestposttest scores as well as the students’ perceptions on self-regulating learning were compared between the intervention (N =191) and the comparison (N = 187) groups. The quantitative analysis used different inferential statistics, which proved the presence of statistically significant variations between the intervention and comparison groups for the outcome measures (posttest achievement and perception about self-regulating learning). Although the qualitative study showed the presence of positive perceptions towards quality formative assessment, the practice was found to be inconsistent. Perhaps, this may be because of the predominantly summative assessment tradition and the reluctance to use quality formative assessment. Finally, recommendations were made to promote the use of quality formative assessment aiming at the improvement and the self-regulation on learning. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)