Visual field tests are routinely used for the detection and management of glaucoma. This thesis focuses on monitoring the vigilance during perimetry with pupil dynamics (pupillary movements, blinks) in glaucoma patients and the performance of using subsets of standard test patterns at detecting glaucomatous field loss. It describes the spatial pattern of visual field changes in diabetic retinopathy patients after treatment and the usage of multispectral imaging of the optic nerve head in glaucoma patients.The first investigation evaluated the use of pupillary parameters (pupil size and amplitude of pupillary oscillations) to monitor vigilance during perimetry in comparison to electroencephalography. A significant correlation was observed between the decreased pupil size and increased slow brain activities (theta and alpha). The inter-test threshold variability correlated with the pupil miosis.Another investigation explored blinks during a perimetric test and their relationship to the variability of threshold sensitivity in glaucoma patients. A wide range of blink frequencies was observed in glaucoma patients during perimetry and the timing of blinks was correlated with the stimuli presentations when they were supra-threshold. No significant relationship was observed between the threshold sensitivity variability and blink parameters (frequency, duration and microsleep numbers).The third investigation evaluated the use of subset of the 24-2 visual field test pattern at detecting glaucomatous field loss. A high sensitivity and specificity was observed when using subsets of the 24-2 pattern and test locations optimized by the positive predictive values showed a better performance than the test locations in random sequences.With the usage of a self-organized mapping method, nine spatial patterns of visual field loss in untreated diabetic retinopathy patients were classified. After laser treatment, a significant improvement on the spatial patterns of field loss and global indices was found.In the multispectral imaging study, the haemoglobin dependent differential light absorption (DLA) properties of the glaucomatous optic nerve head was evaluated with multispectral imaging. Change of DLA after medical hypotensive treatment was graded by five experts and no difference was observed in most of the patients.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Group size affects individual and collective vigilance levels of prey species. As individual vigilance decreases with increasing group size, the indirect risk of predation to each individual and the group as a whole will also decrease (dilution and many-eyes effect) which may have a decreasing effect on stress responses on group level as well. Where predation risk is low, other factors like group size might influence stress-related glucocorticoid output in prey species. I test the relationship between group size and individual and collective vigilance levels in a plains zebra (Equus burchelli) population living in an environment with low adult predation risk due to the absence of lions (Panthera leo) in the Dinokeng Game Reserve (DGR). I also test for an effect of season (wet vs. dry) on these levels. Vigilance levels are expected to be higher in summer than winter, due to a seasonal influence on susceptibility to predation or the ease of predator detection. Finally, I test if the presence of foals in a band influences individual and collective vigilance levels. Mothers are expected to increase their vigilance levels since foals are most susceptible to predation by smaller predators in the reserve. I also aimed to specifically investigate how group size affects adrenocortical endocrine activity in male and female individuals of plains zebra bands living in an environment with low predation risk. With an increase in group size, and individual vigilance expecting to decrease, the indirect risk of predation to each individual and the group as a whole will also decrease (due to both dilution and many-eyes effect) which may decrease stress on group level as well. Affiliative social interactions between females could also have the effect of improving fitness and reducing stress levels in this species. We therefore evaluated the reliability of different enzyme-immunoassays (EIA) for monitoring glucocorticoid metabolite levels in plains zebra faeces by conducting an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge test and associated translocation event. Individual vigilance decreased with group size, confirming a classic group size effect; while collective vigilance remained constant meaning individuals could reduce their own scanning and rely on scanning by other group members. Individual vigilance differs between seasons, with higher levels recorded in summer, but no seasonal effect is found on rate of scanning and collective vigilance. Interestingly, bands with foals have a lower level of individual vigilance than bands without foals, which may be due to added nutritional stress on mothers during lactation. A constant collective vigilance level means mothers may be able to increase foraging time without increasing predation risk. I successfully identified two group-specific EIAs as suitable for assessing adrenocortical endocrine activity in male and female plains zebra, but gender-specific differences in response to ACTH administration and translocation were detected. In winter, bands of free-ranging plains zebra differ significantly in terms of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) output, but due to the fact that the bands tested also differed in size as well as composition, the potential band size effect were analysed for males and females separately. Males in bands of greater size exhibit higher FGM levels than males in small bands; explained by the females’ need for protection, resource competition and reproduction pressure. FGM levels in females did not differ between bands of different sizes, indicating that potential changes in vigilance behaviour per se might not alter FGM output in a low-predation risk environment. This study confirms firstly, the classic group size effect on vigilance in plains zebra in this low predation risk environment and secondly, that group size and sex should be considered when looking at FGM levels in this social species. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Republicanism, a long-standing ideology, which embodied political liberty, virtue, and constitutional law, shaped America’s political culture from the country’s inception. The Republican Party’s formation in the 1850s was no exception to this rule. Paying close attention to the social and political climate in Massachusetts, this thesis will journey through the United States’ turbulent antebellum years and examine how the abolitionist organization known as the Boston Vigilance Committee (BVC) fashioned the contours of this anti-slavery party. Although scholars debate the committee’s origins, by 1846 members increased and expanded their activism in protecting escaped slaves from being returned to slavery and in assisting fugitives to freedom. By standing on moral, economic, and legal ground, Vigilance Committee members transformed Boston’s political culture and helped mobilize Northern support for an anti-slavery agenda that founded the Republican party and ultimately culminated in slavery’s eventual demise. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Les recherches en Management/Organisation ont quelque peu mis de côté la Perspective Temporelle ou PT (selon Lewin, la somme des points de vue individuels à un moment donné sur le passé et le futur psychologique). Cette Thèse étudie comment le(la) dirigeant(e) et sa PME agissent pour générer de la croissance en se focalisant sur la PT. Les questionnaires et les entretiens avec les 22 dirigeant(e)s d’entreprises (effectif : 10-49 salariés) permettent la mise au jour de leurs PT mais aussi des liens entre les différentes composantes du cadre conceptuel (ex : l’orientation entrepreneuriale de la firme, la vigilance individuelle) et d’autres éléments importants (ex : les biais cognitifs). La construction et les comparaisons des 22 cartes cognitives permettent également la mise au jour des différentes trajectoires de croissance et le questionnement de « l’équilibre » de la PT comme critère « discriminant ». Enfin, un modèle à tester et des directions de recherche sont proposés. / Organization and Management studies have somewhat neglected Time Perspective (TP), which is, according to Lewin, the sum of the individual’s viewpoints of his psychological past and future existing at a given time. This dissertation examines how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner-managers and their firms generate growth, with a focus on TP. Questionnaires and qualitative interviews with 22 SME owners (10‒49 employees) revealed individual TPs and links among diverse components of the conceptual framework (e.g., alertness, entrepreneurial orientation) and other important factors (e.g., cognitive biases). The 22 cognitive maps also showed several firm growth trajectories and raised questions about the “balanced” TP as a discriminating criterion. Last, a model and directions for future research are proposed.

Children must learn not to trust everyone to avoid being taken advantage of. In the current study, 5- and 7-year-old children were paired with a partner whose incentives were either congruent (cooperative condition) or conflicting (competitive condition) with theirs. Children of both ages were more likely to mistrust information spontaneously provided by the competitive than the cooperative partner, showing a capacity for detecting contextual effects on incentives. However, a high proportion of children, even at age 7, initially trusted the competitive partner. After being misled once, almost all children mistrusted the partner on a second trial irrespective of the partner’s incentives. These results demonstrate that while even school age children are mostly trusting, they are only beginning to spontaneously consider other’s incentives when interpreting the truthfulness of their utterances. However, after receiving false information only once they immediately switch to an untrusting attitude.

The purpose of the study is to understand different aspects of women's feelings of insecurity when navigating in public areas with a focus on their own place of residence. We highlight some factors that affect the feeling of insecurity, such as environmental factors, previous experiences or the risk of being exposed to xenophobia or sexism. We are also interested in how women handle their insecurity and how insecurity is affected by power structures such as the gender power gap and white privilege. It appears that all of the respondents behave vigilantly towards other people, especially men, when they are in public. This vigilance is expressed in different ways depending on the situation and the positions of the different respondents. The interesting thing is that this vigilance seems to be present regardless of whether the respondents describe themselves as safe or unsafe in public. Another important aspect that is highlighted is how the feeling of security increases when the respondents feel that they can identify with people they meet on the street, as it gives a feeling of inclusion. / Studiens utgångspunkt är att förstå olika aspekter av kvinnors känsla av otrygghet när de rör sig i offentliga rummet med fokus på den egna bostadsorten. I vår studie lyfter vi in några faktorer som har påverkan på otrygghetskänslan, såsom miljömässiga faktorer, tidigare erfarenheter eller risken att bli utsatt för främlingsfientlighet eller sexism. Vi har vidare intresserat oss för hur kvinnor hanterar sin otrygghet och hur otryggheten påverkas av maktstrukturer som könsmaktsordningen och vithetsnormen. Det framkommer att samtliga av respondenterna bär på en vaksamhet gentemot andra människor, i synnerhet män, när de rör sig i det offentliga rummet. Denna vaksamhet uttrycker sig på olika sätt beroende på situation och de olika respondenternas positioner. Det intressanta är att denna vaksamhet verkar finnas närvarande oavsett om respondenterna beskriver sig själva som trygga eller otrygga i det offentliga rummet. En annan viktig aspekt som lyfts fram är hur trygghetskänslan ökar när respondenterna upplever att de kan identifiera sig med personer som de möter på gatan, då det ger en känsla av inkludering.

This thesis evaluates the vigilance parameters of two species of tits affected by the presence of a predator in wintertime. During preferential experiments, tits have had a choice of two feeders in the vicinity of the installed dummy predator. For that purpose was used a dummy sparrowhawk, incomplete or occluded sparrowhawk torsos, and harmless pigeon. It is known that the tits are able to recognize dangerousness presented by the dummy, and according to expected risk dare to visit one of the feeders. It leads to a question whether the tits are somehow influenced by the presence of the dummies, and if so, how specifically are they influenced. It turned out, that the tits in presence of a dangerous dummy significantly increased their vigilance. Both observed species at the feeders behave oppositely. Behaviour of all the birds at the feeder is also affected by their total count at the precise moment and by the presence of a dummy at the other feeder.

LNĚNIČKA Václav: Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (by Mark). Prague 2010. Thesis. Catholic Theological Faculty. Charles University. Department of Bible Sciences. Supervisor A. Scarano. Key words: Jesus Prayer, Gethsemane, the disciples, strength and weakness, vigilance, temptation, anxiety, sadness, exegesis. The work deals with the interpretation of passage from the Gospel of Mark 14,32-42. It should serve to intensified understanding of the biblical passage. The actual interpretation is preceded by textual criticism, suggesting of a possible structure of the text and a description of the circumstances. It also includes a brief comparison with synoptic evangelists Matthew and Luke. The interpretation is structured in accordance with verses. The translation into Czech is cleared when useful. The interpretation is conceived primarily as a comparison of several contemporary exegetical work, but the comments of the Church Fathers are also consulted. In the passage, we can follow two ways to respond to the crisis. Jesus, who faces difficult challenge, when he is fully going to be given over the sinners, confessess his weakness and disinclination before the Father, and finally succumbs the God's will through prayer and gaines solid confidence. On the contrary, the disciples, who confidently showed their...

Diel rhythms of physiology and behaviour are present in virtually all taxa examined to date. However, few studies have rigorously assessed the adaptive value of physiological and behavioural rhythms in animals. We laid the groundwork for an assessment of the adaptive rhythm hypothesis by assaying diel rhythms of foraging and antipredator behaviour in the trashline orb-weaver Cyclosa turbinata (Araneae: Araneidae). When confronted with a predator stimulus in experimental arenas, C.turbinata showed thanatosis behaviour more frequently and for longer durations during the day. However, assays of antipredator response within webs revealed more complex diel patterns of avoidance behaviours and no pattern of avoidance behaviour duration. A preliminary assay of prey capture behaviour suggested that C.turbinata also shows nocturnal patterns of foraging aggression. A refined foraging experiment, in which we randomized prey stimulus frequency, found that time of day and spider ID strongly predicted the likelihood of showing prey capture behaviour. Only spider ID predicted latency to attack the prey stimulus despite low individual repeatability (r= 0.10). These results support our prediction that C.turbinata modulate foraging aggression over the diel cycle, but we found no evidence of a trade-off between foraging behaviour and predator vigilance. However, overall patterns of vigilance may be masked by diel changes in antipredator strategies that correspond to fluctuations in the relative abundances of predator types.