For western youth social media has become an everyday occurrence. An abundance of information is delivered right to them. But how do they evaluate the credibility of the information they encounter? Web 2.0 and social media has created an easy access to information, but has also made it harder to identify who the creator of the information is when anybody can create content. Which makes it important to constantly critically evaluate the sources one is faced with. T​his study aims to examine how adolescents judge the credibility of information they meet on social media, and also how they use social media and how they see themselves as creators of information. The data was accumulated by conducting two group interviews with three participants in each group. The results has been analyzed with two separate theories, cognitive authorities and also with the theory of uses and gratifications. The results showed that they are more critical to information created by sources that the do not know personally, than they are of users that the know on an closer level. The study also shows that they do not ​perceive that they create content themselves on a regular basis. But they are still constantly connected with their friends on some sort of social media. Based on this study future relevant studies can be made with social media as the focus. This study focus on adolescents with a similar socioeconomic background, the same study but with different socioeconomic backgrounds would be interesting to make. Results in this study shows that an older generation is starting to use social media in a different degree then before, therefore studies in how this generation evaluate information the meet on social media could be interesting since they have an education that differ from the one adolescents get today.

The parallel between e-government and e-Inclusion research are critically important. It helps to understand how policies, society, organizations, and information technologies come together and it also helps to understand how the e-Inclusion factors impact e-government use and vice versa. This study attempts to explore the theoretical and practical intersections of e-Inclusion and e-adoption (Particularly e-government) and to show how they complement and possibly enrich the potential of e-Inclusion research. The rationale for this approach is that combining research on e-Inclusion and e-government has the potential to better understand the factors influencing e-Inclusion since they both share a common theme of Inclusive e-government. The aim of this research is to examine the factors that influence e-Inclusion in the context of e-government in the UK, through combining the decomposed theory of planned behaviour with Use and Gratification Theory (U&G). These two theories are used to develop a conceptual model for studying the multi-facetted dimensions of e-Inclusion. The two theories are chosen because of their appropriateness for e-Inclusion research; the critical factors that influence e-inclusion can be covered by (DTPB) constructs while the individual’s gratifications that determine using specific Internet activities is covered by (U&G) To fulfil the research aim and objectives, a quantitative research method was employed. The research subjects were citizens who are Internet users. Their views were sought through a survey that included 510 self-administered and group-administrated questionnaires. The conceptualisations of e-Inclusion and e-government have important implications for both researchers and policymakers. For researchers, this study delineates the complex and recursive relationships between e-Inclusion and e-government contributing towards the exiting limited body of knowledge in the field. For practice, it offers directions to help create a more comprehensive strategy that takes into consideration the alignment of e-government initiatives and e-inclusion policies.

The research involves the analysis and design of a new band of horn antennas, namely Frequency Selective Horns (FSHs). Folding a Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) into a shape of a cone makes a FSH. The stimulus behind this research emanates from an idea to use the FSH as a microwave camera for medical diagnostic purposes. FSHs with dipole geometries have been modelled using existing software. A quasi-static approximation models the dipole elements with a dielectric backing as dielectrically loaded cylindrical conducting elements.

Esta pesquisa examina e compara os níveis de satisfação e preferência estética de espaços abertos públicos delimitados por interfaces térreas com diferentes taxas de conexão visual, diferentes posições da interface em relação à calçada, e diferentes posições das edificações em relação às edificações adjacentes. Também é objetivo avaliar o impacto das diferentes taxas de conexão visual e física, dos diferentes usos dos recuos frontais, dos tipos de usos nos pavimentos térreos e da configuração espacial no uso dos espaços abertos públicos. Adicionalmente, as taxas de conexão visual e física, os diferentes tipos de elementos que configuram a interfaces e os diferentes usos nos pavimentos térreos também são avaliados quanto à percepção de segurança urbana e ocorrência de crimes. Para tanto, foram selecionadas seis quadras na cidade de Caxias do Sul e divididas em três grupos, conforme o predomínio das seguintes características: altas taxas de conexão visual (acima de 66% de permeabilidade) e física (acima de 10 portas/100m de rua); taxas médias de conexão visual (entre 33% e 66% de permeabilidade) e física (entre 6 e 10 portas/100m de rua); e baixas taxas de conexão visual (entre 0% de 33% de permeabilidade) e física (entre 0 e 5 portas/100m de rua). Tais quadras foram avaliadas por moradores e trabalhadores dessas quadras quanto à estética, ao uso e a segurança urbana. Ainda, vídeos de percursos urbanos delimitados por interfaces térreas com distintos atributos, de acordo com cada objetivo, foram avaliados no tocante a estética e a percepção de segurança urbana, por um grupo de arquitetos e outros de não arquitetos com curso universitário. Os dados foram coletados através de múltiplos métodos utilizados na área de estudos Ambiente e Comportamento, tais como: contagens de movimento, observações de comportamento, questionários e entrevistas. A análise dos dados quantitativos foi realizada através de testes estatísticos não paramétricos. Os dados de natureza qualitativa foram analisados através de frequência, conteúdo e importância dos pontos mencionados pelos entrevistados nas quadras selecionadas. Os resultados revelam que os impactos estéticos positivos das interfaces térreas estão relacionados com taxas de permeabilidade visual acima de 66%. Ainda, altas taxas de conexão física e visual associadas a usos nos pavimentos térreos conectados com o movimento das calçadas têm impacto positivo no uso dos espaços abertos públicos, principalmente em relação às atividades estacionárias. Os resultados também mostram que a percepção de segurança urbana é influenciada positivamente por interfaces térreas caracterizadas por taxas de conexão visual acima de 66% e funcional acima de 10 portas/100m de rua. Assim, espera-se que os resultados obtidos no tocante às interfaces térreas possam contribuir para a tomada de decisões de profissionais envolvidos com a forma urbana e na elaboração de legislações urbanísticas que qualificam a estética urbana e contribuam para o uso e segurança dos espaços abertos públicos. / This research examines and compares satisfaction levels and aesthetic preference of public open spaces bounded by ground interfaces with different visual connection rates, different interface positions relating to the sidewalks, and different building positions relating to the adjacent buildings. It also aims to evaluate the different impacts of visual and physical connection rates, of the different uses of setbacks, of ground floor uses and spatial configuration on use of public open spaces. In addition, visual and physical connection rates, different types of elements that configure interfaces and ground floors different uses are also evaluated in terms of perception of security and crimes incidence. Therefore, six blocks in the city of Caxias do Sul were selected and divided into three groups, according to the following features predominance: high rates of visual (above 66% of permeability) and physical connection (over 10 doors / 100m of street); average rates of visual (between 33% and 66% of permeability) and physical connection (between 6 and 10 doors / 100m of street); and low rates of visual (between 0% of 33% of permeability) and physical connection (between 0 and 5 doors / 100m of street). These blocks were evaluated by residents and workers of these blocks regarding their aesthetics, use and urban safety. Moreover, videos representing urban paths delimited by ground interfaces with different features, according to each objective, were evaluated regarding its aesthetic and safety perception, by a group of architects and a group of nonarchitects college graduates. Data were collected through multiple methods of the Environment and Behaviour studies area, such as: movement count, behavior observations, questionnaires and interviews. The analysis of the quantitative data was performed through non-parametric statistical tests. Data of a qualitative nature were analyzed through frequency test, content and importance of the topics mentioned by the interviewees in each block. The results show that ground interfaces aesthetic positive impacts are related to visual permeability rates above 66%. Also, physical and visual connection high rates associated to ground floor use connected to sidewalks movement have a positive impact on public open spaces use, mostly relating to stationary activities. Results also reveal that urban security perception is positively influenced by ground floor interfaces characterized by visual connection rates above 66% and functional connection rates over 10 doors / 100m of street. Therefore, it is expected that the results obtained regarding the ground interfaces may contribute to the decision-making of professionals involved with urban form and the elaboration of urban legislation which qualify urban aesthetics and contribute to public open spaces use and safety.

Pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) is the use of functional MRI techniques to elucidate the effects that psychotropic drugs have on neural activity within the brain; it is an emerging field of research that holds great potential for the investigation of drugs that act on the central nervous system by revealing the changes in neural activity that mediate observable changes in behavior, cognition, and perception. However, the realization of this potential is hampered by several unanswered questions: Are the MRI measurements reliable surrogates of changing neural activity in the presence of pharmacological agents? Is it relevant to investigate psychiatric phenomena such as reward or anxiolysis in anesthetized, rather than conscious animals? What are the methods that yield reproducible and meaningful results from phMRI experiments, and are they consistent in the investigations of different drugs? The research presented herein addresses many of these questions with the specific aims of 1) Developing pharmacological MRI methodologies that can be used in the conscious animal, 2) Validating these methodologies with the investigation of a non-stimulant, psychoactive compound, and 3) Applying these methodologies to the investigation of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs, classes of compounds with unknown mechanisms of therapeutic action Building on recent developments in the field of functional MRI research, we developed new techniques that enable the investigator to measure localized changes in metabolism commensurate with changing neural activity. We tested the hypothesis that metabolic changes are a more reliable surrogate of changes in neural activity in response to a cocaine challenge, than changes observed in the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal alone. We developed a system capable of multi-modal imaging in the conscious rat, and we tested the hypothesis that the conscious brain exhibits a markedly different response to systemic morphine challenge than the anesthetized brain. We identified and elucidated several fundamental limitations of the imaging and analysis protocols used in phMRI investigations, and developed new tools that enable the investigator to avoid common pitfalls. Finally, we applied these phMRI techniques to the investigation of neuroleptic compounds by asking the question: does treatment with typical or atypical antipsychotic drugs modulate the systems in the brain which are direct or indirect (i.e. downstream) substrates for a dopaminergic agonist? The execution of this research has generated several new tools for the neuroscience and drug discovery communities that can be used in neuropsychiatric investigations into the action of psychotropic drugs, while the results of this research provide evidence that supports several answers to the questions that currently limit the utility of phMRI investigations. Specifically, we observed that metabolic change can be measured to resolve discrepancies between anomalous BOLD signal changes and underlying changes in neural activity in the case of systemically administered cocaine. We found clear differences in the response to systemically administered morphine between conscious and anesthetized rats, and observed that only conscious animals exhibit a phMRI response that can be explained by the pharmacodynamics of morphine and corroborated by behavioral observations. We identified fundamental and drug-dependent limitations in the protocols used to perform phMRI investigations, and designed tools and alternate methods to facilitate protocol development. By applying these techniques to the investigation of neuroleptic compounds, we have gained a new perspective of the alterations in dopaminergic signaling induced by treatment with antipsychotic medications, and have found effects in many nuclei outside of the pathways that act as direct substrates for dopamine. A clearer picture of how neuroleptics alter the intercommunication of brain nuclei would be an invaluable resource for the classification of investigational antipsychotic drugs, and would provide the basis for future studies that examine the neuroplastic changes that confer therapeutic efficacy following chronic treatment with antipsychotic medications.

Les nouvelles exigences de l’Education Nationale imposent aux enseignants de s’engager dans une démarche individuelle et collective de développement professionnel et ce tout au long de leur carrière. Ce concept est d’ailleurs très présent dans les débats professionnels et scientifiques. Le développement professionnel des enseignants est un processus qui peut se déployer dans la sphère privée par un travail personnel. Ce travail bénéficie depuis une quinzaine d’années de l’émergence du numérique et de ces outils. Le numérique irrigue désormais toutes les sphères professionnelles et le métier de l’enseignant n’y échappe pas. De nouvelles possibilités d’accéder à des ressources numériques ouvrent de nouveaux « espaces de savoir » et de nouvelles modalités d’apprentissage aux enseignants. Ce travail de thèse tente de décrire et de comprendre de quelle manière les usages numériques informels peuvent produire des situations d’apprentissage, de collaboration et de ce fait participer au développement professionnel des enseignants du primaire et plus spécifiquement ceux de la Haute-Garonne. Afin de répondre à cette problématique, une méthode mixte, quantitative et qualitative, a été mobilisée. Les résultats obtenus démontrent une interrelation entre les usages numériques dans la sphère privée des enseignants et les indicateurs liés au processus du développement professionnel. Hors de l’établissement, c’est-à-dire lors des séquences les moins identifiables de son travail, l’enseignant continue d’agir en professionnel : il s’informe, prépare, réfléchit, fabrique, échange sur l’acte d’apprentissage et d’enseignement. Ces procédures numériques que nous décrirons sont des leviers de professionnalisation et de structuration des compétences. / Today’s teachers are required by the National Education to get involved in an individual and collective process of professional development throughout their career. This concept is actually very present in professional and scientific debates. Teachers’ professional development is a process that can be extended in the private sphere with personal work. For about fifteen years this work has benefited from the emergence of digital tools. These days digital circulates in all professional spheres and the teaching profession can’t escape it. New opportunities of access to digital resources open up new « spaces of knowledge » and new learning methods for teachers.This thesis work attempts to describe and understand how informal digital uses can bring about learning, collaborating situations and therefore how they can take part in the professional development of primary school teachers, more precisely those in the Haute-Garonne department. A mixed method both quantitative and qualitative has been used in response to this problem.The obtained results show an interrelation between the digital uses in teachers’ private sphere and the indicators related to the process of professional development.Outside the school i.e. during their working time that is most difficult to identify, teachers keep working as professionals : they do research and preparation work, they think, create, exchange about the act of learning and teaching. The digital procedures we will describe are good means to become professional and to structure one’s abilities.

A presente dissertação tem como tema o zoneamento geoambiental de bacias hidrográficas afluentes do Rio Ibicuí, no sudoeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, que sofreram intensas transformações, sobretudo, a partir das últimas décadas com a intensificação dos processos erosivos e a incorporação de espécies exóticas nas áreas com processo de arenização. De forma a contemplar a temática proposta, o principal objetivo do trabalho é desenvolver um zoneamento geoambiental, que permita avaliar e diagnosticar as potencialidades e fragilidades da paisagem frente aos elementos geomorfológicos e aos usos da terra. A metodologia empregada inclui mapeamentos temáticos com o auxílio de SIGs (Sistemas de Informação Geográfica), trabalho de campo e laboratório que servem de base para o zoneamento geoambiental. Essas bases refletem uma condição climática, geomorfológica e de uso e ocupação, favoráveis ao desencadeamento de processos erosivos intensos, sendo que o substrato litológico mais suscetível para o desenvolvimento das manchas de areia e voçorocas na área de estudo são os arenitos de origem fluvial da Formação Guará. As características das bacias demonstram um padrão de drenagem retangular, revelado por controles estruturais preferenciais na direção NE e NW, e E-W que ocasiona contatos retos e mudanças abruptas dos cursos. Os dados levantados indicam, ainda, que o zoneamento geoambiental comporta uma hierarquia de seis sistemas e nove unidades com características potenciais e limitantes para cada compartimento da paisagem. As zonas de maior fragilidade ocorrem no Sistema Sanga da Areia, e são indicadas pelas unidades formadas por colinas arenosas onde se desenvolvem com frequência areais e voçorocas. É neste sistema que estão sendo identificados os primeiros plantios de espécies arbóreas exóticas, realizados por empresas de madeira e celulose. Verificou-se ainda, intensa transformação imposta pelas atividades antrópicas, sobretudo com as lavouras de arroz nas várzeas, o que alterou as drenagens e os solos e degradou a vegetação, trazendo sérias limitações para o Sistema Manoel Viana e Sistema Ibicuí. Entre as unidades com potencialidades destaca-se a contribuição da vegetação, onde se sugere, de imediato, devido às pressões das monoculturas, a preservação da unidade butiáanão, espécie endêmica do Bioma Pampa. / The following dissertation has as a theme the geoenvironmental zoning of hydrographic basin aflluents of the Ibicuí River, in the southwest of Rio Grande do Sul state, that have suffered intense transformations, above all, from the last decades with the intensification of the erosive processes and the incorporation of exotic species in the areas with process of arenização. Aiming to contemplate the given thematic, the paper's main objective is to develop a geoenvironmental zoning, that allows evaluation and diagnosis of the potentialities and fragilities of the landscape face to the geomorphology elements and the uses of the land. The methodology used includes thematic mappings with the aid of SIGs (Geographic Information Systems), field and laboratory works that serve as basis for the geoenvironmental zoning. These basis reflect a climatic, geomorphologic, usage and occupation condition, favorable to the unleash of intense erosive processes, considering that the lithified substrate more susceptible for the development of the sand stains and gully erosion in the area of study are the sandstones of fluvial origin from the Guará Formation. The characteristics of the basins demonstrate a rectangular pattern of drainage, revealed by preferential structural controls in the direction NE and NW, and E-W that gives rise to straight contacts and abrupt changes of the courses. The data collected indicates yet that the geoenvironmental zoning supports a hierarchy of six systems and nine units with potential and limiting characteristics for each compartment of the landscape. The zones of higher fragility occur in the Sanga da Areia System, and are indicated by the units formed by sandy hills where sand flats and gully erosion are frequently developed. It is in this system that the first plantings of exotic arboreal species are being identified, made by the companies of wood and cellulose. It was also verified intense transformation imposed by anthropic activities, especially with the planted grounds of rice in the dales, which altered the drainages and the soils, and degraded the vegetation, bringing serious limitations for the Manoel Viana and Ibicuí Systems. Among the areas with potentialities stands out the contribution of the vegetation, where it is immediately suggested, due to the pressure of monocultures, the preservation of the butiá-anão unity, endemic species of the Pampa Biome.

A pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar os usos do tempo das alunas-professoras do Curso de Pedagogia Modalidade a Distância da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PEAD). É um estudo de caso entre as alunas-professoras que estão em formação e compõem grupos distintos, ou seja, as casadas com filhos, as casadas sem filhos e as solteiras. Na vida cotidiana, tempo e gênero se entrelaçam nas tomadas de decisões e ações dos grupos especificados acima. Para compreender essa cotidianidade, utilizei os conceitos de vida cotidiana na perspectiva de Agnes Heller. Nesse cotidiano, a generacidade e a particularidade mobilizam as questões que envolvem o tempo e as relações de gênero. Os registros das atividades foram feitas durante as 24 horas no instrumento denominado diário dos usos do tempo. As categorias analisadas foram: tempo de trabalho doméstico, tempo de estudo, tempo de vida social e tempo livre. O tempo para o estudo nos três grupos é desenvolvido a noite de maneira ininterrupta. A vida social das casadas acontece no âmbito familiar. Para as solteiras o tempo de socialização com a familia é menor. É o único grupo que registra tempo livre. Os usos do tempo das casadas são compostos de uma rotina em que o estudo é inserido na cotidianidade do trabalho doméstico. Em relação às solteiras, o que as afasta do grupo das casadas são os os eventos de cuidado com a casa e do turno em que ocorre o estudo. O fator tempo deve ser pensado em sua complexidade, que envolve as relações de genêro na organização do tempo de estudo. / The research aims to analyze the uses of time by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Pedagogy Course Distance Learning Mode (HDPE) student-teachers. It is a case study among the student-teachers who are enrolled in continuing education and comprise distinct groups, i.e. married women with children, married without children and single women. In everyday life, time and gender intertwine in decision making and actions of the groups specified above. To understand this everyday concepts I have used the everyday life concepts from the perspective of Agnes Heller. In everyday life generacity and particularity mobilize the issues involving the time and gender relations. The records of the activities were made during 24 hours on the instrument called daily time use. The categories analyzed were: dedicated time to domestic work, study time, social time and free time. The time for studying in the three groups is developed uninterrupted at night. The social life of the married women happens with their family. For the single ones the time socializing with family is smaller. It is the only group that registers free time. The time use by married women is composed of a routine in which the study is inserted in the daily life of housework. Regarding the single ones, what set them apart from the married women group are the events of home care and the shift that the study occurs. The time factor must be considered in its complexity which involves gender relations in the organization of study time.

This study aimed to investigate the acquisition of the four non-generic uses of the English definite article the by Arabic learners of English in Saudi Arabia. These non-generic uses included textual, situational, cultural and structural. This study had three goals: (1) to determine whether these uses are acquired in a certain sequence; (2) to explore which one of these uses is the most difficult and the easiest in learning; (3) to investigate whether one or two of the uses are overused. The instrument consisted of 59 sentences adopted from Liu and Gleason (2002). There were 40 instances for required uses and 20 sentences for obligatory nonuse (5 instances for each use). The subjects were instructed to insert the where they deemed it necessary. The participants were 45 male undergraduate English major students, whose ages ranged from 18 to 22 with a Mean age of 21.6, from a university in Saudi Arabia. They were divided into three groups (15 students each) based on their proficiency levels as follows; low intermediate, intermediate, and advanced. The results revealed developmental trends in the acquisition of the non-generic uses of the English definite article related to proficiency. Specifically, the advanced group showed significantly higher accuracy of use in all four functions. Regarding the four functions, the order of acquisition, based on level of accuracy was as follows: situational, cultural, structural and textual. The study results are discussed in view of their pedagogical implications for the teaching of the definite article to Saudi learners of English.

A qualitative interview study aimed at investigating the role of training images for people and the needs of Instagram users. The study focuses on the Actic gym in Kalmar, which is a relatively unexplored area. The questions that the study asks are; What does Instagram mean for media users at Actic? What results of workout does skilled Instagram users experience on Actic? Is there any visible difference between the sexes that practice at Actic and their experience of exercise pictures at Instagram? Semi-structured interviews have been made with eight people age 18-24, as this is the age group that is most active on Instagram. The interviews were transcribed and resulted in a discussion that we lean against the Uses and Gratifications theory and the social comparison theory. The result shows a number of needs that users are considered to need to fill and the perception of training-influenced images that are both positive and negative. The needs are such as inspiration and motivation as well as the help that may be needed to go to the gym.