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The equivalence assessment usually consists of three tests and is often conducted through a three-arm clinical trial. The first two tests are to demonstrate the superiority of the test treatment and the reference treatment to placebo, and they are followed by the equivalence test between the test treatment and the reference treatment. The equivalence is commonly defined in terms of mean difference, mean ratio or ratio of mean differences, i.e. the ratio of the mean difference of the test and placebo to the mean difference of the reference and placebo. In this dissertation, the equivalence assessment for both continuous data and discrete data are discussed. For the continuous case, the test of the ratio of mean differences is applied. The advantage of this test is that it combines a superiority test of the test treatment over the placebo and an equivalence test through one hypothesis. For the discrete case, the two-step equivalence assessment approach is studied for both Poisson and negative binomial data. While a Poisson distribution implies that population mean and variance are the same, the advantage of applying a negative binomial model is that it accounts for overdispersion, which is a common phenomenon of count medical endpoints. The test statistics, power function, and required sample size examples for a three-arm equivalence trial are given for both continuous and discrete cases. In addition, discussions on power comparisons are complemented with numerical results. / Statistics

This thesis aims to describe and analyze the process of construction of otherness, use of humour and taste performance on Facebook page Divnolidi z Brna a okolí. Theoretical background explores contemporary approaches to the research of social network sites (particulary on privacy and sharing; a separate chapter is devoted to Facebook social network site), sociological term of taste as the instrument for social distinction (here, the study is primarily based on the work of Pierre Bourdieu), interdisciplinary concept of otherness (in which we examine works of Mary Douglas, Stuart Hall and Marc Augé) as well as theoretical approach to humour called theory of superiority. We conducted a quantitative description of Divnolidi z Brna a okolí page and a qualitative analysis (a method often called "data-crawling") of 47 page posts. Analytical section of this study focuses on answering following questions: What types of posts can be found on the site? How are individuals captured in these posts perceived? How do the users perceive taste / otherness of the captured individuals? Where were these "weird people" (in Czech language "divnolidi") spotted and how do the users perceive these places? Furthermore, we analyze the use of humour by the page users and the way they react to the site's policy and other...

The humor of Mark Twain has long fascinated his readers. Critics such as Messent (2007), Budd (2005), Gerber (1988) and Camfield (2005) have all analyzed Mark Twain’s humor to reveal nuances and to help further the understanding of what makes Twain’s writing humorous. However, there is a distinct gap in the research so far conducted investigating Twain’s humor in relation to young readers, which this paper will begin to address. Twain’s novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2007) poses a relevant subject for this research as Twain explicitly (in the preface to the novel) professes to write both for children and adults simultaneously. Writing in such a way can be categorized as either “double address” or “dual address”, understanding these terms according to the definitions of Barbara Wall (1991). In this paper I will argue that Mark Twain manages to create “dual address” in Tom Sawyer by using what Greg Camfield (2005) calls “amiable humor” and constructing scenes out of childhood in order to produce delight and nostalgia. By reading closely excerpts of the book and analyzing Twain’s specific use of humor through three prominent theories—superiority theory, relief theory and incongruity— it becomes possible to identify what the implied reader is meant to find humorous, and therefore if Twain manages to establish a “dual address”. An understanding of Twain’s humor from the perspective of both young and adult reader furthers our understanding of the novel by revealing Twain’s implementation of complex “dual address” narration and its implications.

A pesquisa apresenta um estudo sobre a superioridade dos analistas de mercado com relação aos modelos random walk na previsão de resultados futuros das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto a curto e longo prazo. A literatura tradicional indica superioridade irrestrita dos analistas de mercado sobre os modelos de séries temporais por conta das vantagens de tempo e informação desses agentes. No entanto, estudos recentes da literatura internacional apontam para a necessidade de reavaliação dessa superioridade indicando que, para determinadas características da empresa e principalmente para estimativas de longo prazo, não se verifica superioridade dos analistas com relação aos modelos de séries temporais. Partindo desses achados, essa pesquisa defende a TESE de que para o caso brasileiro a superioridade dos analistas não é irrestrita. Este trabalho avalia as previsões de lucro dos analistas e dos modelos random walk, simples e com crescimento, a curto e longo prazo, para as empresas brasileiras de capital aberto no período de 2010 a 2015. Os dados foram obtidos via plataforma da Thomson Reuters®, nas bases de dados do I/B/E/S® e Thomson Financial. Seguindo a literatura, foram utilizados testes de diferença de média. Como diferencial da pesquisa, foi realizada uma análise de dados em painel no sentido de permitir uma avaliação mais precisa sobre os determinantes da superioridade dos analistas para o caso brasileiro. Ainda, foi proposto um modelo de regressão linear simples para avaliar o conteúdo informacional das previsões dos analistas de mercado e dos modelos random walk. Os resultados indicam: i) maior acurácia de previsão paras os modelos random walk simples quando comparados com os modelos de random walk com crescimento; ii) para a amostra total, nota-se maior acurácia da previsão dos modelos random walk a curto e longo prazo, com superioridade dos analistas apenas para previsões com três meses de defasagem; iii) além da defasagem de previsão, a variabilidade dos lucros, a quantidade de analistas, a dispersão das estimativas dos analistas, o tamanho da empresa, o resultado positivo ou negativo, a listagem em índice de mercado e a idade da empresa no mercado de capitais são fatores que alteram a superioridade dos analistas para o caso brasileiro; iv) maior conteúdo informacional das previsões random walk para previsão de lucros futuros das empresas. Esses resultados são importantes nas decisões de investimento. Ainda, os achados são relevantes para pesquisas da área de finanças e contabilidade que utilizam essa variável para responder a diferentes questões de pesquisa, uma vez que, ao contrário do apontado pela literatura internacional, as evidências sugerem superioridade de previsão dos modelos random walk quando comparados às previsões dos analistas de mercado / The research presents a study regarding the superiority of market analysts in relation to the random walk models in the forecast of future results of Brazilian companies in the short and long term. The traditional literature indicates unrestricted superiority of market analysts on time series models because of the time and information advantages of these agents. However, recent studies in the international literature point to the need for a reassessment of this superiority, indicating that, for certain company characteristics and especially for long-term estimates, there is no superiority of analysts with respect to time series models. Based on these findings, this research advocates that in the case of Brazil, the superiority of analysts is not unrestricted. This paper evaluates the analysts\' forecasts and the random walk models, both simple and with growth, in the short and long term, for Brazilian publicly traded companies during the period from 2010 to 2015. Data was obtained via the Thomson Reuters® platform, in the I/B/E/S® and Thomson Financial®databases. Following the literature, mean-comparison tests (t-test) were used. As a research differential, a panel data analysis was carried out in order to allow a more precise evaluation of the determinants of analysts\' superiority for the case of Brazil. Furthermore, a simple linear regression model was proposed to evaluate the informational content of market analysts\' forecasts and random walk models. The results indicate: i) greater accuracy of prediction for the simple random walk models, when compared to the random walk models with growth ii) that for the total sample, we can see a greater accuracy of the forecast of random walk models in the short and long term, with analyst superiority only for forecasts with a 3-month lag; (iii) in addition to forecast lag, profit variability, analyst size, dispersion of analysts\' estimates, company size, positive or negative result, market index listing and age of the company in the capital market are factors that alter the superiority of the analysts in the case of Brazil; iv) greater informational content of the random walk forecasts for the prediction of future companies\' profits. These results are important for investment decisions. Moreover, the findings are relevant for research in the field of finance and accounting that use this variable to answer different research questions, since, contrary to the international literature, the evidence suggests forecasting superiority of the random walk models when compared to the market analysts\' forecasts.

<p>Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur vårdlärare uppfattar sin överordnade position i förhållande till de studerande och hur deras förhållningssätt påverkar deras arbete. En av frågeställningarna handlar om hur lärarnas tidigare yrkesutbildning påverkar deras sätt att förhålla sig till sin överordning. Undersökningen har en allmän kvalitativ ansats. Datainsamlingen har skett genom utforskande intervjuer med fyra vårdlärare, alla verksamma på en privat läroanstalt för vuxenstuderanden. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av Michel Foucaults maktanalys. Resultatet av undersökningen ger vid handen att respondenterna uppfattar att de arbetar med att få till en demokratisk undervisning där de studerande ska vara delaktiga och att relationen mellan lärare och studerande ska präglas av jämlikhet. Studien påvisar att detta i praktiken är svårt att uppnå, i synnerhet i mötet med studerande som lärarna uppfattar som svaga. Dessa studerande tenderar att kräva en auktoritär lärare, vilket krockar med lärarnas vilja att uppträda som handledare och mentorer.</p><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers in health and care subjects perceive their superior position in relation to their students and how their attitudes affect their work. One of the issues is how teachers’ previous training affects their attitudes to their superior position. The study has a general qualitative approach. Data acquisition has been done through explorative interviews with four teachers in health and care subjects, all employed by the same private training college for adults. The empirical data is analyzed by using Foucault´s power analysis. The results of the investigation show that the respondents perceive that they are working to develop a democratic type of teaching, in which students are expected to take an active part and where relations between teachers and students should be characterized as egalitarian. This is difficult to achieve, particularly in interaction with students whom the teachers perceive as weak. These students tend to require an authoritarian teacher, which does not correspond to the teachers’ desire to be seen as instructors and mentors.</p>

Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur vårdlärare uppfattar sin överordnade position i förhållande till de studerande och hur deras förhållningssätt påverkar deras arbete. En av frågeställningarna handlar om hur lärarnas tidigare yrkesutbildning påverkar deras sätt att förhålla sig till sin överordning. Undersökningen har en allmän kvalitativ ansats. Datainsamlingen har skett genom utforskande intervjuer med fyra vårdlärare, alla verksamma på en privat läroanstalt för vuxenstuderanden. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av Michel Foucaults maktanalys. Resultatet av undersökningen ger vid handen att respondenterna uppfattar att de arbetar med att få till en demokratisk undervisning där de studerande ska vara delaktiga och att relationen mellan lärare och studerande ska präglas av jämlikhet. Studien påvisar att detta i praktiken är svårt att uppnå, i synnerhet i mötet med studerande som lärarna uppfattar som svaga. Dessa studerande tenderar att kräva en auktoritär lärare, vilket krockar med lärarnas vilja att uppträda som handledare och mentorer. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers in health and care subjects perceive their superior position in relation to their students and how their attitudes affect their work. One of the issues is how teachers’ previous training affects their attitudes to their superior position. The study has a general qualitative approach. Data acquisition has been done through explorative interviews with four teachers in health and care subjects, all employed by the same private training college for adults. The empirical data is analyzed by using Foucault´s power analysis. The results of the investigation show that the respondents perceive that they are working to develop a democratic type of teaching, in which students are expected to take an active part and where relations between teachers and students should be characterized as egalitarian. This is difficult to achieve, particularly in interaction with students whom the teachers perceive as weak. These students tend to require an authoritarian teacher, which does not correspond to the teachers’ desire to be seen as instructors and mentors.

.The research attempts to probe into the victory factors of the basic level public position election of 1994 to 2005 from the specific case upon Gao-Shu Township, Ping-Tung County . Briefly, the research purpose of this paper is to discuss the relations among the six-factors of election victory, such as the superiority of the candidate and the incumbent, the election strategy, personal performance, the structure of people from different provincial origins, the Party and the civic organizations, local factions. And further it probes into the interactive relation between the six-factors and the electors, and the relation between the final actual voting-decision for the candidate whom the electors support. From the research result, it discovers that personal performance and image of the candidate account for the important part of the election victory factors.

Faces provide cues for judgments regarding the emotional state of individuals. Using signal-detection methodology and a standardized stimulus set, the overall aim of the present dissertation was to investigate the detection of emotional facial expressions (i.e., angry and happy faces) with neutral expressions as the nontarget stimuli. Study I showed a happy-superiority effect and a bias towards reporting happiness in female faces. As work progressed, questions arose regarding whether the emotional stimuli were equal with regard to perceived strength of emotion, and whether the neutral faces were perceived as neutral. To further investigate the effect of stimulus quality on the obtained findings, Study II was designed such that the facial stimuli were rated on scales of happy-sad, angry-friendly, and emotionality. Results showed that ‘neutral’ facial expressions were not rated as neutral, and that there was a greater perceived distance between happy and neutral faces than between angry and neutral faces. These results were used to adjust the detectability measures to compensate for the varying distances of the angry and happy stimuli from the neutral stimuli in the emotional space. The happy-superiority effect was weakened, while an angry-female disadvantage remained. However, as these results were based upon different participant groups for detection and emotional rating, Study III was designed to investigate whether the results from Studies I and II could be replicated in a design where the same participants performed both tasks. Again, the results showed the non-neutrality of ‘neutral’ expressions and that happiness was more easily detected than anger, as shown in general emotion as well as specific emotion detection. Taken together, the overall results of the present dissertation demonstrate a happy-superiority effect that was greater for female than male faces, that angry-female faces were the most difficult to detect, and a bias to report female faces as happy. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: In press. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.

A pesquisa apresenta um estudo sobre a superioridade dos analistas de mercado com relação aos modelos random walk na previsão de resultados futuros das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto a curto e longo prazo. A literatura tradicional indica superioridade irrestrita dos analistas de mercado sobre os modelos de séries temporais por conta das vantagens de tempo e informação desses agentes. No entanto, estudos recentes da literatura internacional apontam para a necessidade de reavaliação dessa superioridade indicando que, para determinadas características da empresa e principalmente para estimativas de longo prazo, não se verifica superioridade dos analistas com relação aos modelos de séries temporais. Partindo desses achados, essa pesquisa defende a TESE de que para o caso brasileiro a superioridade dos analistas não é irrestrita. Este trabalho avalia as previsões de lucro dos analistas e dos modelos random walk, simples e com crescimento, a curto e longo prazo, para as empresas brasileiras de capital aberto no período de 2010 a 2015. Os dados foram obtidos via plataforma da Thomson Reuters®, nas bases de dados do I/B/E/S® e Thomson Financial. Seguindo a literatura, foram utilizados testes de diferença de média. Como diferencial da pesquisa, foi realizada uma análise de dados em painel no sentido de permitir uma avaliação mais precisa sobre os determinantes da superioridade dos analistas para o caso brasileiro. Ainda, foi proposto um modelo de regressão linear simples para avaliar o conteúdo informacional das previsões dos analistas de mercado e dos modelos random walk. Os resultados indicam: i) maior acurácia de previsão paras os modelos random walk simples quando comparados com os modelos de random walk com crescimento; ii) para a amostra total, nota-se maior acurácia da previsão dos modelos random walk a curto e longo prazo, com superioridade dos analistas apenas para previsões com três meses de defasagem; iii) além da defasagem de previsão, a variabilidade dos lucros, a quantidade de analistas, a dispersão das estimativas dos analistas, o tamanho da empresa, o resultado positivo ou negativo, a listagem em índice de mercado e a idade da empresa no mercado de capitais são fatores que alteram a superioridade dos analistas para o caso brasileiro; iv) maior conteúdo informacional das previsões random walk para previsão de lucros futuros das empresas. Esses resultados são importantes nas decisões de investimento. Ainda, os achados são relevantes para pesquisas da área de finanças e contabilidade que utilizam essa variável para responder a diferentes questões de pesquisa, uma vez que, ao contrário do apontado pela literatura internacional, as evidências sugerem superioridade de previsão dos modelos random walk quando comparados às previsões dos analistas de mercado / The research presents a study regarding the superiority of market analysts in relation to the random walk models in the forecast of future results of Brazilian companies in the short and long term. The traditional literature indicates unrestricted superiority of market analysts on time series models because of the time and information advantages of these agents. However, recent studies in the international literature point to the need for a reassessment of this superiority, indicating that, for certain company characteristics and especially for long-term estimates, there is no superiority of analysts with respect to time series models. Based on these findings, this research advocates that in the case of Brazil, the superiority of analysts is not unrestricted. This paper evaluates the analysts\' forecasts and the random walk models, both simple and with growth, in the short and long term, for Brazilian publicly traded companies during the period from 2010 to 2015. Data was obtained via the Thomson Reuters® platform, in the I/B/E/S® and Thomson Financial®databases. Following the literature, mean-comparison tests (t-test) were used. As a research differential, a panel data analysis was carried out in order to allow a more precise evaluation of the determinants of analysts\' superiority for the case of Brazil. Furthermore, a simple linear regression model was proposed to evaluate the informational content of market analysts\' forecasts and random walk models. The results indicate: i) greater accuracy of prediction for the simple random walk models, when compared to the random walk models with growth ii) that for the total sample, we can see a greater accuracy of the forecast of random walk models in the short and long term, with analyst superiority only for forecasts with a 3-month lag; (iii) in addition to forecast lag, profit variability, analyst size, dispersion of analysts\' estimates, company size, positive or negative result, market index listing and age of the company in the capital market are factors that alter the superiority of the analysts in the case of Brazil; iv) greater informational content of the random walk forecasts for the prediction of future companies\' profits. These results are important for investment decisions. Moreover, the findings are relevant for research in the field of finance and accounting that use this variable to answer different research questions, since, contrary to the international literature, the evidence suggests forecasting superiority of the random walk models when compared to the market analysts\' forecasts.