Дисертації з теми "Choice reversal"

Die vorliegende Dissertation setzt sich damit auseinander, wie das Zusammenspiel von essensbezogener Umwelt und Kognition Ernährungsentscheidungen beeinflusst. Im ersten Manuskript, “When Diets Last: Lower Cognitive Complexity Increases Diet Adherence” wird die Bedeutung der kognitiven Komplexität von Ernährungsregeln für das Einhalten einer Diät untersucht. Können Diäten scheitern, weil sie aus kognitiver Perspektive zu komplex sind, z.B. weil sich Diäthaltende nicht alle wichtigen Informationen merken oder verarbeiten können? 1136 Diäthaltende nahmen an einer längsschnittlichen Onlinestudie teil. Vorangegangenes Diätverhalten, Selbstwirksamkeit, Planung und wahrgenommene Regelschwierigkeit erhöhten das Risiko, die Diät vorzeitig aufzugeben, wobei Selbstwirksamkeit und wahrgenommene Regelschwierigkeit die einflussreichsten Faktoren waren. Im zweiten Manuskript „Meat Label Design: Effects on Stage Progression, Risk Perception, and Product Evaluation” wird der Einfluss gesundheitsrelevanter Information auf Labeln für Produktbewertung und Intention, Tierhaltung und Inhaltsstoffe von Lebensmitteln in die Kaufentscheidung einzubeziehen, untersucht. Es wurde betrachtet, wie Inhalt und Kontext (separate versus conjoint Darbietung) der Labelinformation die Bewertung von Fleischprodukten beeinflusst. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich bei einer conjoint im Gegensatz zur separaten Darbietung die Bewertung der Produkte umkehrt. Darüber hinaus hatten Personen, die zuvor nicht motiviert waren gesundheitsrelevante Aspekte in ihr Einkaufsverhalten einzubeziehen, nach Betrachten der Label eine höhere Intention diese zu berücksichtigen. Im dritten Manuskript, „Predicting Children’s Meal Preferences: How Much Do Parents Know?“, wurden Präferenzvorhersagen bezüglich der Essensentscheidungen Anderer erforscht. Es wurde untersucht, wie gut und mit Hilfe welcher Information Eltern die Mittagessenpräferenzen ihrer Kinder vorhersagen. Die Vorhersagegenauigkeit der Eltern entsprach der Stabilität der Essenspräferenzen ihrer Kinder, d.h. dass die Eltern so genau waren, wie möglich. Die Ergebnisse suggerieren, dass Eltern vor allem spezifisches Wissen über die Präferenzen ihrer Kinder und Projektion ihrer eigenen Vorlieben für die Vorhersagen nutzten.
This dissertation focuses on food-related decision making, in particular, how food related environments and cognition interact to determine people’s food choices. The first manuscript, “When Diets Last: Lower Cognitive Complexity Increases Diet Adherence,” investigates the role of the cognitive complexity in diet adherence. Can weight loss diets fail because they are too complicated from a cognitive point of view, meaning that dieters are not able to recall or process the diet rules? The impact of excessive cognitive demands on diet adherence were investigated with 1,136 dieters in a longitudinal online-questionnaire. We measured perceived rule complexity controlling for other factors known to influence adherence. Previous diet behavior, self-efficacy, planning and perceived rule complexity predicted an increased risk to quit the diet prematurely, with self-efficacy and diet complexity being the strongest factors. The second manuscript, “Meat Label Design: Effects on Stage Progression, Risk Perception, and Product Evaluation,” presents two studies which tested the impact of health-related meat labels on product evaluation and intention. Specifically, the studies examined how informational content and the context (separate vs. conjoint evaluation) in which labels are assessed influence the evaluation of meat products. The results showed that conjoint assessment of labels can lead to contrary product rankings compared to separate evaluations. Moreover, the results suggest that being exposed to food labels containing specific health-relevant information can increase motivation to consider health aspects in those consumers without previous intention to do so. The third manuscript, “Predicting Children’s Meal Preferences: How Much Do Parents Know?” investigated prediction behavior concerning other people’s food choices. In particular, it asked how accurately and what cues parents use to predict their children’s meal choices. Overall, parents’ prediction accuracy matched the stability of children’s meal choices, implying that accuracy was as high as can be expected. The results suggest parents were able to obtain high predictive accuracy by using specific knowledge about their child’s likes and projecting their own preferences.

This thesis integrates the fields of sexual selection, parental investment and sex role theory by investigating mutual mate choice and mate competition in the sex role reversed deep snouted pipefish Syngnathus typhle (Pisces: Syngnathidae) through a series of laboratory experiments. In S. typhle, the female transfers her eggs to the male's brood pouch where they are nourished and oxygenated for about a month, when the male gives birth to the independent fry. Mate choice was found to be adaptive. Both sexes benefited from mating with preferred partners in terms of increased offspring viability and got larger, or faster growing, offspring when mating with large fish. Females were also shown to prefer males with thicker brood pouches. Thus, females, the more competitive sex, had multiple preferences. Both male and female choice behaviour was found to be flexible and influenced by available information on partner quality. In addition, males, but not females, copied the mate choice of consexuals. Both sexes were found to take their own quality in relation to surrounding competitors into account when deciding whether to display to potential partners. Male-male competition was found to influence both the mate choice of males and, potentially, overrule the mate choice of females. Males did not compete as intensely as females, nor did they use their sexual ornament in this context as females do. Rather, the ornament was used in interactions with females, and males that displayed more received more eggs. The findings in this thesis emphasise the importance of not viewing mate choice and competition as opposite behaviours, but rather to apply a dynamic approach in mate choice studies, integrating choice and competition in both sex

In the first chapter, I investigate the causes behind the choice reversal, as procrastination of consumption good, by employing the evaluation of anticipatory feelings. To this aim, I adopt a dynamic experiment protocol over multiple points of the time. It allows me to disentangle anticipatory feelings from uncertainty and intertemporal consistency in intertemporal choices. I found that anticipatory feeling might be a significant possible explanation behind the choice reversal. In the second chapter, I discuss an experimental study comparing happiness between US Americans and Germans regarding their behaviors in saving and spending the money. I approach the relation between money and happiness by concentrating on two functions of money (saving and spending) and explore how happiness is affected by them. I also explore how social status affects happiness and how this differs between Americans and Germans. My main findings are: First, German self-classified savers who save and American self-classified spenders who spend are happier; Secondly, people receive happiness not only from absolute wealth, but also from relative wealth in comparison to others; Thirdly, relative wealth (social rank) is significantly more important to Americans than to Germans.

Between late August and mid-November 2015, the German Government liberalised its refugee policy to allow an unlimited number of people to claim asylum in the country, and then made a near-reversal on this policy by calling for European-wide quotas on the number of refugees entering the EU and a reduction in the number of refugees Germany would admit. The German Government’s decisions to liberalise and then backtrack on its refugee policy within a short time period, at a time when many people were still seeking asylum from the Syrian civil war, present a puzzle to the dominant International Relations theories of state socialisation—constructivism and rational choice—which do not explain well this type of observed real world behaviour. By using the Foreign Policy Analysis literature to augment the constructivist and rational choice approaches, I argue that a more granular approach can help explain Germany’s backtracking on refugee policy in 2015. I focus on the domestic actors, institutions, and the contested processes of their interactions from which state policy emerged. Using this approach, I explain Germany’s backtracking on its refugee policy as the result of varying sets of interactions over time among actors who had different and potentially changing interests and beliefs. This focus on granularity and contestation within state policy making processes provides a more precise understanding of the dynamics of policy making from which we gain a greater insight into this puzzling example of state behaviour. Such approaches may also help explain other examples of state behaviour that are similarly mysterious.

L’apport principal de cette thèse réside dans l’évaluation de la vulnérabilité d’un certain nombre de règles de voteà la violation de deux propriétés ; nous nous appuyons pour cela sur l’approche axiomatique de la théorie du choixsocial, qui permet d’étudier le comportement d’un mécanisme de choix social vis-à-vis d’un jugement de valeurémis par l’économiste. La symétrie inverse ("reversal symmetry") est la première propriété examinée. A la suite destravaux de Saari [150], nous évaluons deux catégories de règles de vote en prenant cette propriété comme critèrede décision : d’une part, les règles positionnelles simples et d’autre part les règles positionnelles à deux tours. Plusprécisément, nous calculons la probabilité d’occurrence de ce phénomène à la fois en domaine universel (c’est-à-direlorsque les individus peuvent exprimer n’importe quel ordre de préférence), et en domaine restreint (lorsque deshypothèses supplémentaires sont introduites sur la manière dont les votants classent les « candidats » à l’élection).Nous examinons le cas de trois candidats, de quatre candidats ainsi que le contexte d’élections à un très grandnombre de votants, en faisant tendre ce nombre vers l’infini.La seconde thématique est consacrée à l’examen du comportement de la règle de Dodgson face à la propriété d’homogénéité.Nous proposons une méthode de calcul simple et systématique du score de Dodgson. Nous distinguonsensuite différentes classes de profils pour lesquels cette règle est susceptible d’être vulnérable à cette propriété. Afinde compléter notre recherche, des fréquences de violation de cette propriété par la règle de Dodgson sont fournies
The contribution of this thesis lies in the evaluation of the vulnerability of a number of voting rules to the violationof two properties of the theory of social choice. We rely on the axiomatic approach of social choice theory to examinethe behavior of a social choice procedure according to a value judgment (or axiom) emitted by the economist.Reversal symmetry is the first property studied. Following the works of Saari [150], we evaluate two families ofvoting by using this property as the decision criterion : the simple scoring rules on the one hand, and the scoringrules with runoff on the other hand. We do probability calculations to evaluate how frequent this phenomenon is,in the three-candidate case under universal domain as well as under a restricted domain, and we also tackle thefour-candidate case and the infinite number of voters case.The second topic is devoted to the study of the Dodgsonrule according to the homogeneity axiom. We introduce a simple and systematic method for the computation ofthe Dodgson score. We distinguish various classes of profiles at which that rule may be vulnerable to this property.Further, frequencies of violation of this property by the Dodgson rule are provided

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The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of manipulating reinforcer delay and probability over the choices in simple and chained concurrent schedules and if these effects suggest similarities between these two reinforcer parameters. Four experiments were conducted. 12 psychology students from a private university served as participants, three for each experiment. The Experiments 1 and 2 involved choice trials between concurrent chained schedules with two links, with the manipulation of reinforcer magnitude and delay (Experiment 1) and reinforcer magnitude and probability (Experiment 2). In both experiments, the choice of component A, from the first link, produced, after T seconds (Experiment 1) or after a probability P (Experiment 2), the access to a new choice link between the components R1 with a small immediate reinforcer (Experiment 1) or a small and more probable reinforcer (Experiment 2) versus R2 with a larger delayed reinforcer (Experiment 1) or with a large and less probable reinforcer (Experiment 2). Still in the first link, in case the component B was chosen, after T seconds (Experiment 1) or a probability P (Experiment 2), there was a second link in which only one component was available: R2 with a large delayed reinforcer (Experiment 1) or with a large and less probable reinforcer (Experiment 2). As a result, first the participants went through selection conditions in which the larger reinforcer should be preferred over the small one (for both experiments); the immediate reinforcer should be preferred over the delayed one (Experiment 1) and the more probable reinforcer should be preferred over the less probable one (Experiment 2); the small immediate reinforcer should be preferred over the larger delayed reinforcer (Experiment 1) and the small and more probable reinforcer should be preferred over the larger and less probable one (Experiment 2). After this, all participants from both experiments went through conditions in which preference reversals, to the component with the larger and more delayed reinforcer (Experiment 1) or the component with the larger and less probable reinforcer (Experiment 2), were assessed. In Experiment 1, the variable time (T) between the two links was manipulated, involving 7.5 and 15 seconds. As result, the data revealed that preference reversal occurred for all the three participants from Experiment 1, considering that, only for participant P1, the reversal occurred when the time (T) between the two links was 7.5 seconds. Besides, for two of the participants (P1 and P3), most of the choices, on first link, were made on component B (alternative that was called the commitment choice according to the literature). In Experiment 2, preference reversal was assessed when the probability between the two links was 17%. The data revealed that reversal occurred, in the sense that most of the choices were made on the component with the larger and less probable reinforcer for all the three participants (P5, P6 and P7). Only for one of these participants (P6), the component B, from first link, was the most chosen one in two blocks of trials. Even though the data suggested relations with those that were obtained in Experiment 1, with the suggestion that reinforcer delay and probability share similar effects over the choices in chained concurrent schedules, there was a methodological problem in Experiment 2 that makes the comparison more difficult. The fact that the probability of the passage from the first to the second link was very low (17%) limited the number of trials in which participants had the chance to respond on second link. Consequently, the access to the reinforcers happened in only a few occasions. Experiments 3 and 4 involved choice trials between simple concurrent schedules with the manipulation of reinforcer magnitude and delay (Experiment 3) and reinforcer magnitude and probability (Experiment 4). After selection conditions similar to those from the two previous experiments, the participants went through a condition with concurrent FR / FR schedules (with a ratio that could vary from 10 to 80), in which the preference reversal was assessed. The data revealed that reversal occurred for all participants from Experiment 3 (P7, P8 and P9) with preference of the component with the larger and delayed reinforcer and the same happened for two of the participants from Experiment 4 (P11 and P12). The data suggested similarities between the reinforcer delay and probability parameters, considering their effects over choices in simple concurrent schedules. In both experiments other conditions (CRF, SigFR and FI) were conducted to assess if the response pattern produced by the FR would be changed, with most of the choices made on the other component with the small immediate reinforcer (Experiment 3) or the small and more probable reinforcer (Experiment 4). The data revealed that the change occurred only for two of the participants from Experiment 4 (P11 and P12), reinforcing the similarity with the data from a research conducted previously with pigeons as subjects
O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o efeito da manipulação dos parâmetros de atraso e probalidade do reforço sobre as escolhas em esquemas concorrentes simples e encadeados e se esses efeitos sugerem semelhanças entre esses dois parâmetros. Quatro estudos foram conduzidos. Participaram 12 estudantes universitários do curso de psicologia, sendo três participantes para cada estudo. Os Estudos 1 e 2 envolveram tentativas de escolha entre esquemas concorrentes encadeados com dois elos, com manipulação de magnitude e atraso do reforço (Estudo 1) e magnitude e probabilidade do reforço (Estudo 2). Em ambos os estudos, a escolha do componente A, do primeiro elo, produzia, após T segundos (Estudo 1) ou em uma dada probabilidade P (Estudo 2), o acesso a um novo elo de escolha entre os componentes R1 com reforço menor imediato (Estudo 1) ou reforço menor e mais provável (Estudo 2) versus R2 com reforço maior atrasado (Estudo 1) ou reforço maior e menos provável (Estudo 2). Ainda no primeiro elo, caso o componente B fosse escolhido, após T segundos (Estudo 1) ou uma dada probabilidade P (Estudo 2), havia um segundo elo em que apenas um componente, o R2' com reforço maior atrasado (Estudo 1) ou maior e menos provável (Estudo 2), estava presente. Como resultado, primeiramente os participantes passaram por condições de seleção em que maior magnitude deveria ser preferida sobre menor magnitude (para ambos os estudos); menor atraso deveria ser preferido sobre maior atraso (Estudo 1) e maior probabilidade deveria ser preferida sobre menor probabilidade (Estudo 2); menor magnitude e menor atraso deveriam ser preferidos sobre maior magnitude e maior atraso (Estudo 1) e menor magnitude e maior probabilidade deveriam ser preferidos sobre maior magnitude e menor probabilidade (Estudo 2). Depois, os participantes de ambos os estudos passaram por condições em que a reversão da preferência para a alternativa com reforço maior atrasado (Estudo 1) e reforço maior e menos provável (Estudo 2) foi avaliada. No Estudo 1, a variável tempo entre os elos (T) foi manipulada, envolvendo 7.5 e 15 segundos. Como resultado, os dados revelaram que a reversão aconteceu para todos os três participantes do Estudo 1, sendo que, apenas para o participante P1, tal reversão já ocorreu com o tempo (T) entre os elos de 7.5 segundos. Além disso, para dois dos participantes (P1 e P3) os maiores percentuais de escolha, no primeiro elo, foram no componente B. No Estudo 2, a reversão da preferência foi avaliada quando a probabilidade (P) entre os elos era de 17%. O dado indica que a reversão ocorreu, no sentido de que a maior parte das escolhas foi da alternativa com reforço maior e menos provável para todos os três participantes (P5, P6 e P7). Apenas para um desses participantes (P6) o componente B do primeiro elo foi o mais escolhido em dois blocos de tentativas. Ainda que esses dados sugiram relações com os que foram obtidos no Estudo 1, com a sugestão de que atraso e probabilidade do reforço apresentariam efeitos semelhantes sobre as escolhas em esquemas concorrentes encadeados, houve diferenças nas taxas de reforços entre os estudos, o que dificulta a comparação. O fato de a probabilidade de passagem para o segundo elo ter sido muito baixa (17%) limitou o número de tentativas em que os participantes tinham a chance de responder no segundo elo do Estudo 2. Consequentemente, o acesso aos reforçadores aconteciam em poucas ocasiões. Os Estudos 3 e 4 envolveram tentativas de escolha entre esquemas concorrentes simples, com manipulação de magnitude e atraso do reforço (Estudo 3) e magnitude e probabilidade do reforço (Estudo 4). Após condições de seleção semelhantes às dos estudos anteriores, os participantes passaram por uma condição com esquemas FR / FR concorrentes (com razão podendo variar de 10 a 80), em que a reversão da preferência foi avaliada. Os dados indicaram que a reversão ocorreu com todos os participantes do Estudo 3 (P7, P8 e P9) com maior preferência do componente com reforço maior atrasado e aconteceu com dois participantes do Estudo 4 (P11 e P12). Esses dados sugerem semelhanças entre o atraso e probabilidade do reforço em esquemas concorrentes simples. Em ambos os Estudos foram conduzidas, posteriormente, condições (CRF, SigFR e FI) em que se avaliou se o padrão de respostas gerado pela condição com FR seria modificado, com maior escolha da outra alternativa com reforço menor imediato (Estudo 3) ou reforço menor e mais provável (Estudo 4). Os dados revelaram que a mudança de padrão ocorreu apenas para dois dos participantes do Estudo 4 (P11 e P12) reforçando relações com os dados de um estudo conduzido anteriormente com pombos

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
This project studies how variations in the measurement unit of unit price affect consumers’ preference and choice. Particularly, we contend that consumers’ relative preference for the same two option is different when options’ unit price is presented in a large measurement unit – per kg; than when options’ unit price is presented in a small measurement unit – per 100g. Moreover, consumers’ choice will shift more to lower unit price options when options’ unit price is presented in larger measurement unit – per kg. Two experiments confirmed our hypotheses. Implications and future research on the topic are discussed.

The majority of the research conducted on consumer choice phenomena focuses on how choices are made and the processes that lead up to those choices. While these are essential aspects within the breadth of choice knowledge that exists today, little research has been conducted on the options that are rejected during this process. Thus, the overarching goal of this dissertation is gain an understanding of consumer choice processes and outcomes through the lens of a nearly chosen alternative. Specifically, this dissertation investigates how the decision process can cause a close second option to be rejected when the chosen option is found to be unavailable.As a means of achieving these goals, I first demonstrate the phenomenon that consumers do not always select a close second option when the first choice option is unavailable, contrary to the prediction of economic rationality. Next, I propose that the decision process itself, specifically the use of a tie-breaking attribute to differentiate between close options, triggers a choice outcome that does not include the original second choice option, but rather an alternative that possesses this tie-breaking attribute. Finally, I examine the implications that the preference reversal phenomenon described above has for retailers and manufacturers.My original interest in this phenomenon stems from anecdotal evidence provided by a variety of informants. Although this evidence helped me to recognize the prevalence of rejected second choice options, experimental design is used to investigate this phenomenon and the boundary conditions that confine this effect. Consequently, my dissertation consists of 6 experiments. Experiment 1 and a pilot study establish the effect and investigate the theoretical process that account for my findings. Experiments 2 through 4 rule out alternative explanations and add support towards the existence and prevalence of the effect. Finally, Experiments 5 and 6 explore the impact of these results for improving the performance of marketing managers. It is my belief that incorporating the dynamic effects of the second-most preferred option may ultimately lead to more accurate and sophisticated prediction of buyer choices, more effective retailing and personal selling strategies, and more profitable management of product line portfolios.

Recém-nascidos com sepse apresentam sintomas clínicos e alterações laboratoriais por tempo e gravidade variáveis. A sepse neonatal pode comprometer diversos tecidos e modificar a ação das enzimas, incluindo a desiodase tipo 1, responsável pela formação do T3 plasmático a partir do T4 nos tecidos periféricos. Além disso, em certos períodos da doença, pode haver uma ação reduzida do T4 em níveis teciduais. Estas alterações são identificadas como Doença Não Tireoidiana, e pouco se conhece sobre ela no período neonatal. Os objetivos deste estudo foram determinar os níveis séricos dos hormônios tireoidianos em recém-nascidos a termo durante a sepse e a convalescença, verificando a presença da Doença Não Tireoidiana e determinando seus padrões na sepse de curta duração, na sepse prolongada e no choque séptico. Foram estudados 28 recém-nascidos a termo com sepse, 12 com duração prolongada por mais de oito dias e 15 com choque séptico. Os recém-nascidos que tiveram sepse prolongada foram os que apresentaram maior perda de peso desde o nascimento até o início da doença, média de 21 dias, e que tiveram culturas positivas para fungos. Doença Não Tireoidiana foi encontrada em 60,7% dos casos, prevalente nos recém-nascidos com sepse de prolongada duração, dentre os quais a prevalência foi inversamente relacionada ao tempo do prolongamento da sepse. A Doença Não Tireoidiana não apresentou correlação com o choque séptico. A síndrome do T3 baixo, caracterizada por T3 baixo, TSH normal e T3 reverso geralmente aumentado, foi encontrada em 58,8% dos casos, sem diferença com a duração da sepse. O nível sérico de T3 foi mais baixo na sepse do que na convalescença sem diferença com o tempo de duração da doença. Não foi encontrada elevação de T3 reverso. A síndrome do T4 e T3 baixo, caracterizada por T4 e T3 baixo e TSH normal, foi encontrada em 29,5%, sem diferença com o tempo de duração da doença, apenas no choque séptico, retornando aos níveis normais na convalescença em ambos os grupos. A síndrome Mista que resulta da combinação de anormalidades foi encontrada em 11,7% dos casos, sem diferença com a duração da doença ou choque séptico. Doença Não Tireoidiana esteve presente nos recém-nascidos a termo com sepse, mais freqüente nos de prolongada duração. Síndrome do T3 baixo foi o padrão mais freqüente, porém sem elevação do T3 reverso; e a síndrome do T4 e T3 baixo só foi encontrada no choque séptico, embora sem relação com o mesmo.
Newborn infants with sepsis present clinical symptoms and laboratory alterations of varying lengths of time and degrees of severity. Neonatal sepsis may harm certain kinds of tissue and change the function of enzymes including Type 1 Deiodinase, which is responsible for the creation of Plasmatic T3 from T4 in peripheral tissues. Additionally, in certain periods of the illness there might be a reduced action of the T4 in tissue levels. These alterations are known as Nonthyroidal Illnesses. Little is known about Nonthyroidal Illnesses regarding these alterations during the neonatal period. The objective of this study was to determine the thyroidal hormone serum levels in full-term newborn infants during sepsis and convalescence, verifying the presence and determining the standards of the Nonthyroidal Illness in short-term sepsis, in prolonged sepsis and septic shock. 28 full-term newborn infants with sepsis were studied, along with 12 full-term newborn infants with prolonged sepsis in excess of eight days, and 15 with septic shock. The newborn infants who had prolonged sepsis were those who presented the greatest weight loss from birth through the start of the illness, 21 days on average, and whose cultures tested positive for bacteria. Nonthyroidal Illness was found in 60.7% of the cases; being most prevalent in newborn infants with prolonged sepsis, amongst whom the prevalence was inversely related to the prolonged time with sepsis. There was no correlation between Nonthyroidal Illness with septic shock. Low T3 syndrome, characterized by low T3, normal TSH and generally increased reverse T3, was found in 58.8% of the cases, with there being no difference in the length of the sepsis. The T3 serum level was lower in sepsis than in convalescence, with there being no difference in the duration of the illness. Elevated reverse T3 was not found. Low T4 and T3 syndrome, characterized by low T3 and T4, normal TSH was found in 29.5% of the cases, with there being no difference with the length of the illness duration and only found in septic shock, returning to normal levels in convalescence in both groups. The Mixed Syndrome, which results from the combination of abnormalities, was found in 11.7% of the cases, and there was no difference regarding length of illness or septic shock. Nonthyroidal Illness was present in full-term newborn infants with sepsis, and was most common in those of prolonged duration sepsis. Low T3 Syndrome was the most common standard. However, in the absence of elevated reverse T3 and T4 and T3 syndrome, it was only found during septic shock; even though it was unrelated to the same.

10 pp.
Arsenic levels are often above drinking water standards in Arizona groundwater, at levels that may affect health. Private well owners are responsible for testing and treating they own water. This publication gives an overview of arsenic well water and discusses home water treatment options, including detailed descriptions of distillation, reverse osmosis, and iron filters to lower arsenic and other common water constituents in drinking water.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior
The directive 72/2002 enacted by the European Union was the first document to deal with electronic waste and its proper disposal. In Brazil, the issue of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) followed inert until the promulgation of the Law 12,305 / 2010 - National Policy on Solid Waste. From there it was established that electronic waste must go through a proper disposal or recycling, using as a tool to reverse logistics. The aim of this study was to investigate the strategies used to manage electronic waste through publications such as articles, theses and dissertations. At the same time, we tried to diagnose the situation in Fortaleza regarding WEEE. For the implementation of reverse logistics in Fortaleza was chosen for the construction of screening plants and points of disposal of electronics. We estimated the costs of implementing these devices. Finally, due to budget constraints, two methodologies for choosing the best neighborhoods for deployment of the collection sites were proposed. The methodologies were PROMETHEE - A multi-criteria analysis - and DEA (Data EnvelopmentAnalysis) - a type of mathematical modeling. Taking the neighborhoods of Fortaleza, which are 119, stood out in both analyzes: AerolÃndia, airport Alvaro Weyne, President Vargas, Bullfinch, Jardim Guanabara, Jardim Iracema, Pirambu and President Vargas. At the end of the work is expected to contribute to better decision making in the implementation of the WEEE collection points in Fortaleza, minimize costs and maximize the efficiency of the reverse logistics of consumer electronics in the city system.
A diretiva 72/2002 promulgada pela UniÃo Europeia foi o primeiro documento a tratar de resÃduos eletroeletrÃnicos e sua adequada disposiÃÃo. No Brasil, o tema resÃduos de equipamentos eletroeletrÃnicos (REEE) seguia inerte atà a promulgaÃÃo da lei 12.305/ 2010 - PolÃtica Nacional de ResÃduos SÃlidos. A partir daà estabeleceu-se que resÃduos eletroeletrÃnicos devem passar por um descarte ou reciclagem adequada, usando como instrumento a logÃstica reversa. O objetivo principal deste trabalho à aplicar a anÃlise multicritÃrio/ modelagem matemÃtica para selecionar a melhor localizaÃÃo para o estabelecimento de pontos de coleta de REEE. Ao mesmo tempo, procurou-se diagnosticar a situaÃÃo do municÃpio de Fortaleza com relaÃÃo aos REEE. TambÃm foi realizada uma projeÃÃo dos REEE ao longo de 15 anos e estimaram-se os custos da implantaÃÃo das estruturas propostas de acordo com a quantidade de resÃduos projetada. Foram propostas duas metodologias para escolha dos melhores bairros para implantaÃÃo dos pontos de coleta. As duas metodologias sÃo PROMETHEE â uma anÃlise multicritÃrio - e DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) â um tipo de modelagem matemÃtica. Tomando-se os bairros de Fortaleza, que sÃo 119, se destacaram nas duas anÃlises: Aldeota, Barroso, Conjunto Palmeiras, FÃtima, Meireles, ParreÃo, Prefeito Josà Walter, Salinas, SÃo JoÃo do TauapÃ. Ao final do trabalho contribui-se para uma melhor tomada de decisÃo na implantaÃÃo dos pontos de coleta de REEE em Fortaleza, minimizar os gastos e maximizar a eficiÃncia do sistema de logÃstica reversa de eletroeletrÃnicos na cidade.

This report deals with the managing of the waste of a company, Ericsson- site of Borås, in an analytical context. Based on sustainability (concept and aspects), they are interested to have a method to check their waste management capability whether they are in right direction. Among all studied methods, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is utilized. This method works based on a mathematical algorithm starting by making a hierarchy, continuing with pairwise comparisons between correspondent items, then doing calculations and finally checking and reviewing to be certain of the correctness of the whole process by an eligible team of decision makers. In spite of some critiques that scientifically are accepted, it remains reliable for the purpose.The method is applied to some instances of waste items, wood boxes and pallets and hard plastics, in Ericsson. Then, two controversial issues of the selected method, consistency and rank reversal, are investigated and discussed on the mentioned waste items. Application of the method for their future use is foreseen thereafter.

Le travail réalisé dans le cadre de cette thèse propose une démarche de sélection de partenaires (fournisseurs et prestataires) dans une chaîne logistique durable en boucle fermée. Il s’agit d’évaluer les partenaires en fonction de critères économiques, environnementaux, et sociétaux puis de sélectionner ceux qui interviennent dans la chaîne logistique en respectant un ensemble des contraintes. Nous développons une méthode d’évaluation et de classement des partenaires basée sur une approche hybride en utilisant les méthodes AHP et PROMETHEE, dans un environnement flou. Ensuite, nous proposons un modèle mathématique multi-objectif qui permet non seulement de minimiser le coût total de la chaîne logistique, mais également de maximiser la valeur totale de l’approvisionnement, minimiser les émissions de gaz à effet de serre et maximiser le bénéfice sociétal. Nous utilisons une approche max-min pondérée pour résoudre le modèle proposé à l’aide de l’outil de modélisation et d’optimisation GAMS
Reverse logistics network design is a crucial issue in which it is important to take into account the selection of the most appropriate partner with sustainability concerns. This partner can be a supplier or a third-party reverse logistics provider (3PRLP). However, research works that consider reverse logistics (RL) network design, partner selection, and sustainability issues simultaneously are rather limited till now. This research work proposes an integrated sustainable approach for partner selection and closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network configuration, particularly in the case of outsourcing reverse logistics process to third-party provider. We propose a trade-off between sustainability criteria for both supplier and 3PRL provider selection. A multi-objective mixed-integer programming (MILP) model is also proposed to configure CLSC network and to select the best partners. The model minimizes the total cost of sourcing, and the total greenhouse gas emissions, while it maximizes the total value of reverse logistics, and the number of new job opportunities. A numerical example is also presented to illustrate the proposed approach

In natural environments, most animals survive because they learn to respond appropriately to cues that signal the availability of food, a mate, or a predator. Sometimes there is more than one cue signaling the same outcome, and oftentimes these cues can change and become less reliable. In the laboratory, discrimination reversal tasks are good tests of behavioral adaptability to regularly changing environments. In this series of studies, we explore the determinants and the dynamics of behavior when time and the outcome of the previous response simultaneously signal the availability of a potential reinforcer. Hence, we analyzed the performance of rats and pigeons in different versions of the midsession reversal task. The traditional task consists of a simple simultaneous discrimination where responses to one stimulus are reinforced and responses to the other stimulus are not and, once throughout the session, contingencies reverse and the previously reinforced stimulus is now extinguished and vice versa. We used this task because it allows the independent manipulation of time and response outcomes as cues for future reinforcement: We manipulated the reliability of the outcomes by providing either continuous or partial reinforcement for each response alternative and manipulated the reliability of time by fixing the moment of reversal or making it unpredictable. Results suggest that behavioral control alternates between outcomes and time according to the relative reliability of each cue. Simple mathematical model simulations show that outcomes and time may jointly determine behavior, and that momentary reinforcement rate may determine their relative influence. We offer a general account of how animals may adapt to regularly changing environments.
Em seu ambiente natural, a maioria dos animais consegue sobreviver porque aprende a responder de maneira adequada a dicas que sinalizam a disponibilidade de comida, a possibilidade de acasalamento ou a presença de predadores. Às vezes, mais de uma dica sinaliza a mesma consequência e, frequentemente, essas dicas podem mudar e se tornar menos confiáveis. No laboratório, tarefas de inversão de discriminação são bons testes da adaptabilidade comportamental a ambientes que mudam regularmente. Nesta série de estudos, exploramos os determinantes e as dinâmicas do comportamento quando tempo e a consequência da resposta indicam simultaneamente a disponibilidade de um reforçador em potencial. Assim, analisamos o desempenho de ratos e pombos em diferentes versões da tarefa de inversão ao meio da sessão (midsession reversal task). A tarefa tradicional consiste em uma discriminação simples simultânea em que respostas a um estímulo são reforçadas e respostas ao outro estímulo não são e, uma vez durante a sessão, as contingências são invertidas e o estímulo que sinalizava reforço agora sinaliza extinção e vice-versa. Utilizamos essa tarefa porque permite a manipulação independente do tempo e das consequências das respostas como dicas para o reforçamento futuro: Manipulamos a confiabilidade das consequências ao disponibilizar reforçamento contínuo ou parcial para cada alternativa e manipulamos a confiabilidade do tempo mantendo o momento de inversão fixo ou imprevisível. Os resultados sugerem que o controle comportamental varia entre as consequências e o tempo, de acordo com a relativa confiabilidade de cada dica. Simulações simples de modelos matemáticos mostram que as consequências e o tempo podem determinar o comportamento em conjunto, e que a taxa local de reforço pode determinar sua influência relativa. Oferecemos uma descrição geral de como animais se adaptam a ambientes que mudam regulamente.
Programa Doutoral em Psicologia

碩士
高雄醫學大學
心理學系碩士班
105
The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a task that simulates real-life decisions. In recent decades, (Bechara, 2007, 2016) the IGT has also been developed as a clinical assessment tool, such that the choice behavior of substance addiction and gambling disorders can be evaluated using the clinical version of the IGT. Relatedly, the IGT has played an important role in both clinical research and risk decision research. Some studies of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and Internet addiction (IA) have posited that individuals with IGD might share some behavioral characteristics with individuals suffering from substance addiction and gambling disorders. The present study reviewed 10 IGT-based studies of IGD (including some investigating IA) and found that they reported relatively inconsistent results with respect to the mean net IGT score of those with IGD versus control subjects (specifically, IGD > control [2 studies]; IGD < control [3 studies]; IGD = control [5 studies]). This study proposed that these incongruent results in the IGT-based IGD literature might be explained by 3 dimensions, specifically, the task, variable, and method dimensions. (1) Task dimension: this study utilized the standard IGT and the reverse version of the IGT (rIGT) and doubled the number of trials in both tasks in order to integrally observe the changes in choice behavior and test the validity of the net score based on the expected value (EV). (2) Variable dimension: the interpretations of IGT choice patterns in IGT-based IGD studies have typically been primarily based on the EV assumption. However, more and more IGT studies have suggested the influence of a new variable known as gain-loss frequency. In this study, we evaluated and analyzed both of these variables concurrently. (3) Method dimension: the 10 IGT-based IGD studies reviewed by this study mainly adopted the EV net score as the index of choice behavior, but some recent IGT-based studies have suggested that the mean selection number of each deck would be helpful data for observing some effective indices during IGT performance. Both of the experiments performed in this study utilized a between-group design, where the experimental group consisted of individuals with Internet addiction (IA) and no tobacco and other substance addiction. For Experiment 1, a total of 24 participants with IA and 35 control subjects played the IGT computer game, whereas for Experiment 2, a total of 24 participants with IA and 38 control subjects played the rIGT computer game. The computer versions of the IGT and rIGT were programmed with Matlab 2015a. Each participant first signed an informed consent form, then played the computer game over 2 sessions, and then completed the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS). The categorization of participants as those with IA or as control participants was based on the CIAS score, with a score of 67 serving as the cut-off between the two groups. The two experiments and the subsequent analysis revealed that most indices of the IGT and rIGT were unable to distinguish between the choice behavior of the participants with IA and the controls. More specifically, there were significant differences between two groups only on deck D of the IGT and deck rC of the rIGT. Notably, both groups exhibited the “prominent deck B” (PDB) and “mirrored PDB” phenomenon on the IGT and rIGT. Compared to the EV, the gain-loss frequency variable had more explanatory power in the IGT. Overall, these results suggest that although the IGT has long been used as a clinical neuropsychological assessment tool, it may not be relevant for assessing IA-related choice behavior. It is worth noting that the present study implied two possible inferences: (1) that the IGT serial tasks are invalid with respect to evaluating Internet gaming behavior and (2) that Internet gaming behavior may change in a manner coherent with the development of modern information-technology. As such, there is still some room for discussion of the question of whether Internet gaming behavior should be categorized as a behavior disorder.

The constitutionality of affirmative action in terms of section 8 of Act 200 of 1993 is investigated. The study contends that in constitutional interpretation it is permissible to have recourse to ethical precepts as long as these are anchored within the four corners of the Constitution. It is contended that the •equality clause• does not prescribe equality of outcome in favour of substantive equality of opportunity. It is asserted that group-based affirmative action may justifiably be attacked as being unconstitutional; either on the basis that it infringes the nonbeneficiary's equality rights in terms of sections 8(1) and 8(2) or that it falls beyond the constitutional protection afforded to affirmative action in terms of section 8(3). Furthermore, group-based modalities of affirmative action may also not constitute a permissible limitation on the fundamental right to equality, if compared to an individual-based socio-economic affirmative action model.
Jurisprudence
LL. M.