Effects of physical activity on emotional well-being among older Australian women - Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses

Objective: To explore relationships between physical activity and mental health cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a large cohort of older Australian women. Method: Women in their 70s participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health responded in 1996 (aged 70-75) and in 1999 (aged 73-78). Cross-sectional data were analyzed for 10,063 women and longitudinal data for 6472. Self-reports were used to categorize women into four categories of physical activity at each time point as well as to define four physical activity transition categories across the 3-year period. Outcome variables for the cross-sectional analyses were the mental health component score (MCS) and mental health subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36). The longitudinal analyses focused on changes in these variables. Confounders included the physical health component scale (PCS) of the SF-36, marital status, body mass index (BMI) and life events. Adjustment for baseline scores was included for the longitudinal analyses. Results: Cross-sectionally, higher levels of physical activity were associated with higher scores on all dependent variables, both with and without adjustment for confounders. Longitudinally, the effects were weaker, but women who had made a transition from some physical activity to none generally showed more negative changes in emotional well-being than those who had always been sedentary, while those who maintained or adopted physical activity had better outcomes. Conclusion: Physical activity is associated with emotional well-being among a population cohort of older women both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, supporting the need for the promotion of appropriate physical activity in this age group. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating plant breeding strategies by simulating gene action and dryland environment effects

Functional genomics is the systematic study of genome-wide effects of gene expression on organism growth and development with the ultimate aim of understanding how networks of genes influence traits. Here, we use a dynamic biophysical cropping systems model (APSIM-Sorg) to generate a state space of genotype performance based on 15 genes controlling four adaptive traits and then search this spice using a quantitative genetics model of a plant breeding program (QU-GENE) to simulate recurrent selection. Complex epistatic and gene X environment effects were generated for yield even though gene action at the trait level had been defined as simple additive effects. Given alternative breeding strategies that restricted either the cultivar maturity type or the drought environment type, the positive (+) alleles for 15 genes associated with the four adaptive traits were accumulated at different rates over cycles of selection. While early maturing genotypes were favored in the Severe-Terminal drought environment type, late genotypes were favored in the Mild-Terminal and Midseason drought environment types. In the Severe-Terminal environment, there was an interaction of the stay-green (SG) trait with other traits: Selection for + alleles of the SG genes was delayed until + alleles for genes associated with the transpiration efficiency and osmotic adjustment traits had been fixed. Given limitations in our current understanding of trait interaction and genetic control, the results are not conclusive. However, they demonstrate how the per se complexity of gene X gene X environment interactions will challenge the application of genomics and marker-assisted selection in crop improvement for dryland adaptation.

The effectiveness of personalized smoking cessation strategies for callers to a Quitline service

Aim To assess the effectiveness of a program of computer-generated tailored advice for callers to a telephone helpline, and to assess whether it enhanced a series of callback telephone counselling sessions in aiding smoking cessation. Design Randomized controlled trial comparing: (1) untailored self-help materials; (2) computer-generated tailored advice only, and (3) computer-generated tailored advice plus callback telephone counselling. Assessment surveys were conducted at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Setting Victoria, Australia. Participants A total of 1578 smokers who called the Quitline service and agreed to participate. Measurements Smoking status at follow-up; duration of cessation, if quit; use of nicotine replacement therapy; and extent of participation in the callback service. Findings At the 3-month follow-up, significantly more (chi(2)(2) = 16.9; P < 0.001) participants in the computer-generated tailored advice plus telephone counselling condition were not smoking (21%) than in either the computer-generated advice only (12%) or the control condition (12%). Proportions reporting not smoking at the 12-month follow-up were 26%, 23% and 22%, respectively (NS) for point prevalence, and for 9 months sustained abstinence; 8.2, 6.0, and 5.0 (NS). In the telephone counselling group, those receiving callbacks were more likely than those who did not to have sustained abstinence at 12 months (10.2 compared with 4.0, P < 0.05). Logistic regression on 3-month data showed significant independent effects on cessation of telephone counselling and use of NRT, but not of computer-generated tailored advice. Conclusion Computer-generated tailored advice did not enhance telephone counselling, nor have any independent effect on cessation. This may be due to poor timing of the computer-generated tailored advice and poor integration of the two modes of advice.

Estratégias de cálculo mental de alunos da 5ª série/6º ano do ensino fundamental

Esta pesquisa de mestrado teve como principal objetivo investigar estratégias de cálculo mental, utilizadas por alunos de uma 5ª série/6º ano do ensino fundamental ao resolver cálculos de adição e subtração. Para atingir este objetivo procuramos responder aos questionamentos: Quais estratégias de cálculo mental, alunos da 5ª série/6º ano empregam na resolução de cálculos de adição e subtração? Que relações existem entre o tipo de cálculo envolvido e a estratégia adotada para resolvê-lo? Para respondermos a essas questões, seguimos uma metodologia de natureza qualitativa, configurada como estudo de caso do tipo etnográfico. O trabalho de campo foi desenvolvido em uma turma de 5ª série/6º ano do ensino fundamental de uma escola pública da rede estadual de ensino do município de Serra. A pesquisa aconteceu de maio a dezembro de 2013. Oito alunos resolveram uma atividade diagnóstica composta de quatro sequências de cálculos mentais, a saber, fatos fundamentais do número 5, do número 10, do número 20 e do número 100, dentre adições e subtrações próximas a esses resultados. Todos alunos participaram da etapa de entrevistas. Dos oito alunos, foram escolhidos dados de três que participaram de outras etapas da pesquisa. Os registros realizados pelos alunos na etapa de observação da turma, na etapa diagnóstica e na etapa de intervenção didática, as anotações no caderno de campo e algumas gravações em áudio serviram como fontes de coleta de dados. Utilizamos as estratégias identificadas por Beishuizen (1997), Klein e Beishuizen (1998), Thompson (1999, 2000) e Lucangeli et al. (2003), como categorias de análise. Através da análise de dados, constatamos que as escolhas das estratégias de cálculo mental pelos alunos variaram de acordo com o tipo de sequência de cálculos, a operação aritmética (adição ou subtração) e o estado emocional deles durante a atividade. Foi possível identificar o uso de duas estratégias combinadas, o algoritmo mental e estratégias de contagens nos dedos para grande parte dos cálculos. O uso do algoritmo mental mostrou-se um procedimento de grande sobrecarga mental e, em alguns cálculos de adição sem reserva, serviu apenas como apoio à visualização numérica, sendo executado pelo aluno da esquerda para a direita, semelhantemente à estratégia de decomposição numérica. Os dados deste estudo apontam para: (i) a necessidade de se trabalhar fatos numéricos fundamentais de adição e subtração via cálculo mental de maneira sistemática em sala de aula; (ii) a necessidade de se ensinar estratégias autênticas de cálculo mental para que os alunos não se tornem dependentes de estratégias como contagens e algoritmo mental, que são mais difíceis de serem executadas com êxito; (iii) a importância de entrevistar, individualmente, os alunos a fim de compreender e avaliar o desenvolvimento destes em tarefas de cálculo mental.

Chinese multinational corporations in Brazil: strategies and implications in energy and telecom sectors

This study aims to understand how Chinese enterprises acted in Brazilian energy and telecommunication sectors in the past ten years and whether they would be leading to an increase in the asymmetries between Brazil and China. It argues that the asymmetries presented in the relations are due in large part to successful Chinese enterprises' strategies.

Economic sanctions and human rights: an analysis of competing enforcement strategies in Latin America

This article addresses the consequences of economic sanctions for the protection of human rights in Latin America. The literature on sanctions and compliance informs three hypotheses, which investigate the relationship between sanctions and the level of rights protection in two groups of countries: those that were targeted by sanctions and those that were not. Using data from the Political Terror Scale (PTS) and from Freedom House, I find empirical evidence that sanctions do improve the level of protection in countries that were not targeted. This finding can be explained by the deterrent effect attributed to sanctions by the compliance literature, broadly interpreted. The presence of economic sanctions in a given year increases the probability of observing better human rights practices by almost 50%. These results hold for the 12 Latin American countries that were not subject to economic sanctions for the period 1976-2004.

Towards Emotional Interaction: Using Movies to Automatically Learn Users' Emotional States

The HCI community is actively seeking novel methodologies to gain insight into the user’s experience during interaction with both the application and the content. We propose an emotional recognition engine capable of automatically recognizing a set of human emotional states using psychophysiological measures of the autonomous nervous system, including galvanic skin response, respiration, and heart rate. A novel pattern recognition system, based on discriminant analysis and support vector machine classifiers is trained using movies’ scenes selected to induce emotions ranging from the positive to the negative valence dimension, including happiness, anger, disgust, sadness, and fear. In this paper we introduce an emotion recognition system and evaluate its accuracy by presenting the results of an experiment conducted with three physiologic sensors.

Contribution towards a reflection about methodological strategies in design education and the function of drawing in design

This work presents a reflection on Design education and specifically on the role of Drawing in this area. As a subject, Design has expanded its field of action expanding into new areas such as Experience Design or Service Design. It became necessary for the designer to have more than an education based on technological knowledge or know-how. Many authors like Meredith Davis, Don Norman or Jamie Hobson point out the urgency to review the curricula of Design courses because nowadays “… design is more than appearance, design is about interaction, about strategy and about services. Designers change social behavior” (Norman 2011). When shifting from a product-centered design to a person-centered design (in a structure, a service or in a relationship) what should the function of drawing in a design course be? What should its curriculum be? Our work methodology will be to confront today’s perspectives on design theory and practice in an attempt to add to the discussion on the methodological strategies in design teaching in the contemporary context.

Contribution towards a reflection about methodological strategies in Design Education and the function of Drawing in Design

This work presents a reflection on Design education and specifically on the role of Drawing in this area. As a subject, Design has expanded its field of action expanding into new areas such as Experience Design or Service Design. It became necessary for the designer to have more than an education based on technological knowledge or know-how. Many authors like Meredith Davis, Don Norman or Jamie Hobson point out the urgency to review the curricula of Design courses because nowadays “ … design is more than appearance, design is about interaction, about strategy and about services. Designers change social behavior” (Norman, 2011) When shifting from a product-centered design to a person-centered design (in a structure, a service or in a relationship) what should the function of drawing in a design course be? What should its curriculum be? Our work methodology will be to confront today’s perspectives on design theory and practice in an attempt to add to the discussion on the methodological strategies in design teaching in the contemporary context.

Combining Formal Methods and Functional Strategies Regarding the Reverse Engineering of Interactive Applications

Abstract. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) make software easy to use by providing the user with visual controls. Therefore, correctness of GUI’s code is essential to the correct execution of the overall software. Models can help in the evaluation of interactive applications by allowing designers to concentrate on its more important aspects. This paper describes our approach to reverse engineer an abstract model of a user interface directly from the GUI’s legacy code. We also present results from a case study. These results are encouraging and give evidence that the goal of reverse engineering user interfaces can be met with more work on this technique.

Rooting of hardwood cuttings of Roxo de Valinhos fig (Ficus carica L.) with different propagation strategies

The objective of this study was to evaluate the substrate, cuttings collection time, the position and the cutting depth, and the propagation environment on rooting of 'Purple Valinhos' fig tree cuttings in Southwestern Paraná, Brazil. Two experiments were carried out at UTFPR, Câmpus Dois Vizinhos, with hardwoods cuttings from Roxo de Valinhos fig tree. The first experiment used a randomized block design, in 3 x 3 x 2 factorial (substrate x environment x collection time), with four replications of 10 cuttings per plot. The cuttings were collected in the first fifteen days of July and August. The substrates were sand, soil and the mixture of these [1:1 (v / v)]. The environments used were open sky, tunnel with plastic cover and tunnel with half-shade black net cover. The second experiment used a randomized block design, 2 x 2 x 3 factorial (shoot cutting position x soil cover x shoot cutting depth), with four replications of 12 cuttings per plot. In the factor position, the vertically (0 º inclination) and inclined (45 º inclination) shoot cuttings were evaluated. Soil cover was tested with mulching plastic cover or not. The tested depths were 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 in relation to the total length of the shoot cutting. In both experiments, the following were analyzed: rooting and mortality indices, number of leaves and primary shoots, length of the three largest roots per cutting. It was conclude that, the protected environment with plastic cover on sand as substrate must recommended for the rooting of fig estaca, collecting them in the first half of July. The inclination position and cutting depth of the estaca and the substrate coverage with plastic mulching did not influence the results.

Financial strategies for minimizing corporate income taxes under Brazil's new global tax system

In 1996, Brazil adopted a worldwide income tax system for corporations. This system represents a fundamental change in how the Brazílian government treats multinational transactions and the tax minimizing strategies relevant to businesses. In this article, we describe the conceptual basis for worldwide tax systems and the problem of double taxation that they create. Responses to double taxation by both the governments and the priva te sector are considered. Namely, the imperfect mechanisms developed by Brazil and other countries for mitigating double taxation are analyzed. We ultimately focus on the strategies that companies utilize in order not only to avoid double texetion, but also to take advantage of tax havens.