nÃo hà / Entende-se a EducaÃÃo Ambiental como os processos por meio dos quais os homens e a sociedade edificam valores sociais, conhecimentos, habilidades, atitudes e competÃncias voltadas para a conservaÃÃo do meio ambiente. à a partir da inserÃÃo da EducaÃÃo Ambiental no processo educativo que a construÃÃo de valores, atitudes, habilidades e competÃncias sÃo construÃdas para que o indivÃduo possa atuar de forma proativa na proteÃÃo do meio ambiente. Valores e atitudes, nesse sentido, sÃo os construtos psicolÃgicos apontados pela literatura como preditores de comportamentos. Baseado nisto, esta pesquisa visa responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: qual a relaÃÃo existente entre a percepÃÃo da EducaÃÃo Ambiental e os valores, as atitudes e os comportamentos ambientalmente responsÃveis dos indivÃduos de uma InstituiÃÃo PÃblica Federal de Ensino (IPFE)? Nesse sentido, este trabalho consiste em examinar as relaÃÃes existentes entre aqueles construtos psicolÃgicos e a EducaÃÃo Ambiental de alunos e servidores de uma IPFE, por meio de um questionÃrio eletrÃnico aplicado aos alunos e servidores da InstituiÃÃo. A anÃlise dos dados foi realizada atravÃs de estatÃstica descritiva, anÃlise fatorial exploratÃria e confirmatÃria, da tÃcnica de modelagem de equaÃÃes estruturais, testes t para amostras independentes, anÃlises de variÃncia e Ãrvores de regressÃo. Os resultados da pesquisa apontam para uma correlaÃÃo significativa entre a percepÃÃo da EducaÃÃo Ambiental e a maioria das dimensÃes dos construtos dos valores, atitudes e comportamentos ambientalmente responsÃveis. Os mesmos resultados ainda mostram coerÃncia entre as anÃlises fatoriais, apresentando encaixe entre a literatura e o que se pretende discutir. Esses resultados contribuem para entender o comportamento dito como ambientalmente responsÃvel dos indivÃduos de uma InstituiÃÃo PÃblica Federal de Ensino, frente à percepÃÃo que tÃm da EducaÃÃo Ambiental. Nesta pesquisa, foram encontradas, ainda, relaÃÃes significativas entre os valores, atitudes e comportamentos. A partir dos resultados apresentados nesta pesquisa, pode-se traÃar estratÃgias para o ensino, pesquisa, extensÃo, capacitaÃÃo e conscientizaÃÃo dos futuros tÃcnicos, bacharÃis e tecnÃlogos e demais envolvidos acerca da problemÃtica ambiental. Assim, este estudo contribui com a instituiÃÃo pesquisada no sentido de que, a partir dele, podem ser traÃadas metas e estratÃgias para a capacitaÃÃo em educaÃÃo e gestÃo ambiental, valorizando temas que abordem a gestÃo de resÃduos, licitaÃÃes sustentÃveis, qualidade de vida no trabalho, sensibilizaÃÃo dos alunos, capacitaÃÃo dos servidores e uso racional dos recursos. O estudo contribui para identificar quais sÃo os valores, as atitudes e os comportamentos ambientalmente responsÃveis em um ambiente organizacional de ensino, servindo como ponto de partida para elaboraÃÃo de instrumentos que permitam a compreensÃo desses construtos no Ãmbito de outras instituiÃÃes. Dentre os fatores que influenciam o comportamento ecolÃgico dos indivÃduos, a variÃvel mais importante como preditora de um comportamento ecolÃgico geral à o gÃnero

The dissertation focuses on identifying a typical generation Y representative on the financial products market and, on the basis of these characteristics, creates a model of generation Y customer on the financial products market in the context of behavioral economics. Based on the literature research, the terms "generation Y" and "selected knowledge of behavioral economics" were defined. The literature research also led to creating a questionnaire that was used to obtain primary research data. Secondary research has characterized consumers on the financial products market. Secondary research focused on the form of payment; relationship to technologies; cash and cashless payments; relation to cryptocurrencies; relation to savings; digital banking transformation; financial behavior of Czech households. Primary research has focused on obtaining information in the field of behavioral economics, specifically the prejudices of the Czech generation Y; and on what financial market products the Czech generation Y uses and generation’s relationship to risks, provided information and satisfaction with products. Primary research data was used as input data for structural equation modeling. Because of this method, mutual relationships between selected products have been found; customer characteristics and heuristics. The benefit of this work lies in the characteristics of customers in the selected market. It is a sector that is slowly entering the digitalization period, and understanding the young generation, which now accounts for a third of its customers, is crucial for companies. If companies are not able to respond to the changing needs of the younger generations, they can lose their customers and hence revenue.

La tomographie à faisceau conique (CBCT) est devenue la modalité de référence pour les praticiens du domaine dentaire. Sa relative nouveauté et ses spécificités impliquent que le domaine du traitement de ces images est peu développé à l’heure actuelle. En partenariat industriel avec Carestream Dental, le premier volet de la thèse a conduit à développer une méthode de segmentation semi-automatique de chaque dent, reposant sur l’utilisation de contraintes de forme et d’intensité, et formulée comme un problème de minimisation d’énergie résolu par coupure de graphe. Les résultats montrent une bonne qualité de segmentation avec un coefficient de Dice moyen de 0, 958. Une application logicielle a été réalisée pour la mise en œuvre de la méthode de segmentation auprès des praticiens, en tenant compte des contraintes techniques et temporelles imposées par le contexte clinique, ainsi que du profil des utilisateurs. Un travail préliminaire d’extension de l’approche par coupure de graphe pour segmenter simultanément plusieurs dents à été réalisé, montrant la nécessité de rendre les contraintes de formes plus adaptées aux images et de modifier la méthode d’optimisation pour atteindre des temps de calcul compatibles avec la pratique clinique. Un second volet prospectif des travaux concerne la constitution d’un modèle structurel de la région maxillo-faciale pour formaliser les connaissances a priori sur les organes et leurs interactions. Ce modèle est un graphe conceptuel où sont représentés les concepts des structures et des relations. En particulier, les relations d’alignement et “le long de” ont été modélisées en 3D dans le cadre des ensembles flous. / Cone-Beam computed tomography (CBCT) is the new standard imaging method for dental practitioners. The image processing field of CBCT data is still underdeveloped due to the novelty of the method and its specificities compared to traditional CT. With Carestream Dental as industrial partner, the first part of this work is a new semi-automatic segmentation protocol for teeth, based on shape and intensity constraints, through a graph-cut optimization of an energy formulation. Results show a good quality of segmentation with an average Dice coefficient of 0.958. A fully functional implementation of the algorithm has led to a software available for dentists, taking into account the clinical context leading to temporal and technical difficulties. A preliminary extension to multi-objects segmentation showed the necessity to get more stringent shape constraints as well as a better optimization algorithm to get acceptable computation times. The second part of this thesis, more prospective, is about the creation of a structural model of the maxillo-facial space, to formalize the a priori knowledge on organs and theirs spatial relations. This model is a conceptual graph where structures and relationships are seen as concepts. In particular, the spatial relations “Along” and “Aligned”, modeled in a fuzzy set framework, have been extended to 3D objects.

No description available.

Traditionally, organisations have focused efforts in developing their people towards improving so-called areas of deficiency, identifying the flaws of employees and putting intervention structures in place to rectify and redress these areas. Limited efforts have seen the accentuation of employees‟ strengths as a means of developing those employees‟ full potential, as prescribed in the Positive Psychology. In a balanced organisational development approach, both areas of strength and deficit should be developed in order to harness optimum human potential and growth. This balanced approach is critical, as it provides for full spectrum development of the individual and creates opportunity for the attainment of positive work-related outcomes, such as work engagement. The objective of this research study was to test a structural model of job resources in the form of organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement; personal resources in the form of individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement; and work engagement; to relate the conceptualised job- and personal resources to established job- and personal resources in the nomological net and to investigate possible structural paths between job- and personal resources and work engagement. This study was conducted in order to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of the outcomes of following a balanced strengths use and deficit improvement approach (SDBA), both from an organisational (job resource) and individual (personal resource) perspective. Participants in the research were sport coaches from primary and secondary schools. The Mplus and SPSS programmes were utilised for purposes of statistical analysis. A cross-sectional research approach was used. An availability sample (N = 364) of teachers who act as sport coaches in Gauteng, North-West and Free State based schools was used. Competing measurement models were used to confirm factor structures for adapted versions of the Strengths use and Deficit Improvement Questionnaire (SUDIQ), as well as the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). These measurement models confirmed a four-factor and one-factor model structure for the adapted versions of the SUDIQ and UWES respectively. After factor structures had been confirmed, reliability of the adapted measures was assessed by means of Cronbach alpha coefficient values. The relation of the conceptualised job resources of organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement to established job resources was assessed by incorporating the job resources of opportunities for learning and independence at work into the study. In the case of the conceptualised personal resources, individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement were related to self-efficacy and self-esteem. This was done in order to theoretically relate these variables in the nomological net of other job resources and personal resources. Subsequently, structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationship between the job resources of organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement, personal resources individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement; and work engagement. Through categorical estimation the research found individual strengths use to be the strongest predictor of work engagement, followed by individual deficit improvement and organisational strengths use. Organisational deficit improvement was proven as a statistically insignificant predictor of work engagement. After conclusions for the study were drawn, recommendations for the organisation, individual as well as for future research were made. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Traditionally, organisations have focused efforts in developing their people towards improving so-called areas of deficiency, identifying the flaws of employees and putting intervention structures in place to rectify and redress these areas. Limited efforts have seen the accentuation of employees‟ strengths as a means of developing those employees‟ full potential, as prescribed in the Positive Psychology. In a balanced organisational development approach, both areas of strength and deficit should be developed in order to harness optimum human potential and growth. This balanced approach is critical, as it provides for full spectrum development of the individual and creates opportunity for the attainment of positive work-related outcomes, such as work engagement. The objective of this research study was to test a structural model of job resources in the form of organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement; personal resources in the form of individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement; and work engagement; to relate the conceptualised job- and personal resources to established job- and personal resources in the nomological net and to investigate possible structural paths between job- and personal resources and work engagement. This study was conducted in order to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of the outcomes of following a balanced strengths use and deficit improvement approach (SDBA), both from an organisational (job resource) and individual (personal resource) perspective. Participants in the research were sport coaches from primary and secondary schools. The Mplus and SPSS programmes were utilised for purposes of statistical analysis. A cross-sectional research approach was used. An availability sample (N = 364) of teachers who act as sport coaches in Gauteng, North-West and Free State based schools was used. Competing measurement models were used to confirm factor structures for adapted versions of the Strengths use and Deficit Improvement Questionnaire (SUDIQ), as well as the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). These measurement models confirmed a four-factor and one-factor model structure for the adapted versions of the SUDIQ and UWES respectively. After factor structures had been confirmed, reliability of the adapted measures was assessed by means of Cronbach alpha coefficient values. The relation of the conceptualised job resources of organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement to established job resources was assessed by incorporating the job resources of opportunities for learning and independence at work into the study. In the case of the conceptualised personal resources, individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement were related to self-efficacy and self-esteem. This was done in order to theoretically relate these variables in the nomological net of other job resources and personal resources. Subsequently, structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationship between the job resources of organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement, personal resources individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement; and work engagement. Through categorical estimation the research found individual strengths use to be the strongest predictor of work engagement, followed by individual deficit improvement and organisational strengths use. Organisational deficit improvement was proven as a statistically insignificant predictor of work engagement. After conclusions for the study were drawn, recommendations for the organisation, individual as well as for future research were made. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Over the past two decades there has been an upsurge in interest in structural equation modelling (SEM). Applications abound in the social sciences and econometrics, but the use of this multivariate technique is not so common in public health research. This dissertation discusses the methodology, the criticisms and practical problems of SEM. We examine actual applications of SEM in public health research. Comparisons are made between multiple regression and SEM and between factor analysis and SEM. A complex model investigating the utilization of antenatal care services (ANC) by migrant women in Belgium is analysed using SEM. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the results found and on the use of SEM in public health research. Structural equation modelling is recommended as a tool for public health researchers with a warning against using the technique too casually. / Mathematical Sciences / M. Sc. (Statistics)

This doctoral thesis is devoted to the study of the effects of late fertility on health of the newborn and to the implications of late fertility in the fertility decision process. Late fertility is defined as the reproduction process after 30 years old. The interest lies as well from the maternal age point of view as from the paternal age point of view. The first part is devoted to the study of the determinants of infant morbidity and mortality with a particular attention to the parental age, without neglecting the other determinants. The originality of this part is located from the methodological point of view. We construct a structural model of infant morbidity/mortality in order to isolate the causal effect of late fertility. By a structural model we mean a model which represents a set of causal relationships represented mathematically by a multi-equation model and graphically by directed acyclic graphs. As a complementary approach, a chapter of the thesis is devoted to an exploratory model highlighting the role of the extreme values rather than average values traditionally of interest in most statistical analyses. Both methods are tested with Hungarian data: individual registration forms of livebirths and infant deaths (1984-1984 and 1994-1998), and the Hungarian case-control surveillance of congenital abnormalities (1997-2002). The second part analyses the effect of parental ageing in the fertility decision process. We try to determine whether the detrimental effect of late fertility on health of the child and on fecundity of the couples intervene in the preferences for a child. We assume that parental age influences the preferences for a child through effects on the desire for a child and on the beliefs in the capacity of reproduction of a healthy child. This hypothesis is tested using the data from the National Survey of Family Growth (United States, 2002) and from the Fertility and Family Survey (Hungary, Czech Republic and Belgium).

No description available.

Credit risk measurement and management has great importance in credit market. Credit derivative products are the major hedging instruments in this market and credit default swap contracts (CDSs) are the most common type of these instruments. As observed in credit crunch (credit crisis) that has started from the United States and expanded all over the world, especially crisis of Iceland, CDS premiums (prices) are better indicative of credit risk than credit ratings. Therefore, CDSs are important indicators for credit risk of an obligor and thus these products should be understood by market participants well enough. In this thesis, initially, advanced credit risk models firsts, the structural (firm value) models, Merton Model and Black-Cox constant barrier model, and the intensity-based (reduced-form) models, Jarrow-Turnbull and Cox models, are studied. For each credit risk model studied, survival probabilities are calculated. After explaining the basic structure of a single name CDS contract, by the help of the general pricing formula of CDS that result from the equality of in and out cash flows of these contracts, CDS price for each structural models (Merton model and Black-Cox constant barrier model) and CDS price for general type of intensity based models are obtained. Before the conclusion, default intensities are obtained from the distribution functions of default under two basic structural models / Merton and Black-Cox constant barrier. Finally, we conclude our work with some inferences and proposals.