Ice-atmosphere interactions and sea ice predictability at multiple resolutions in the Community Earth System Model

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Psychometric properties of the drinking expectancy questionnaire: A review of the factor structure and a proposed new scoring method

Objective: Expectancies about the outcomes of alcohol consumption are widely accepted as important determinants of drinking. This construct is increasingly recognized as a significant element of psychological interventions for alcohol-related problems. Much effort has been invested in producing reliable and valid instruments to measure this construct for research and clinical purposes, but very few have had their factor structure subjected to adequate validation. Among them, the Drinking Expectancies Questionnaire (DEQ) was developed to address some theoretical and design issues with earlier expectancy scales. Exploratory factor analyses, in addition to validity and reliability analyses, were performed when the original questionnaire was developed. The object of this study was to undertake a confirmatory analysis of the factor structure of the DEQ. Method: Confirmatory factor analysis through LISREL 8 was performed using a randomly split sample of 679 drinkers. Results: Results suggested that a new 5-factor model, which differs slightly from the original 6-factor version, was a more robust measure of expectancies. A new method of scoring the DEQ consistent with this factor structure is presented. Conclusions: The present study shows more robust psychometric properties of the DEQ using the new factor structure.

Measuring impacts of an holistic farm business management training program

A case study approach within an action research framework incorporating qualitative and quantitative domains was adopted to explore the impact on Queensland farmers of a farm business management extension programme. Three new indices were developed to quantify changes perceived by participants. The first measure, the Bennett Change Index, provided statistically significant evidence that attitudinal and behavioural changes were more frequent in participants with less formal education, but also more frequent in participants who had high urbanisation and self-directed learning index scores. The other 2 new indices, Management Constructs Change and Management Objectives Change, provided evidence of statistically significant changes in participant beliefs about, and attitudes towards, farm business management. Although highly correlated with each other, these changes were unrelated statistically to any of 6 other commonly used biographical or psychometric indices employed; including level of formal education. It is concluded that these new measures, with context-relevant modifications, have potential as aids to programme impact evaluation in a range of agricultural and wider applications. They may provide insights into personal psychological issues that complement direct behavioural measures of change.

Slowing down a pine invasion despite uncertainty in demography and dispersal

1. Management decisions regarding invasive plants often have to be made quickly and in the face of fragmentary knowledge of their population dynamics. However, recommendations are commonly made on the basis of only a restricted set of parameters. Without addressing uncertainty and variability in model parameters we risk ineffective management, resulting in wasted resources and an escalating problem if early chances to control spread are missed. 2. Using available data for Pinus nigra in ungrazed and grazed grassland and shrubland in New Zealand, we parameterized a stage-structured spread model to calculate invasion wave speed, population growth rate and their sensitivities and elasticities to population parameters. Uncertainty distributions of parameters were used with the model to generate confidence intervals (CI) about the model predictions. 3. Ungrazed grassland environments were most vulnerable to invasion and the highest elasticities and sensitivities of invasion speed were to long-distance dispersal parameters. However, there was overlap between the elasticity and sensitivity CI on juvenile survival, seedling establishment and long-distance dispersal parameters, indicating overlap in their effects on invasion speed. 4. While elasticity of invasion speed to long-distance dispersal was highest in shrubland environments, there was overlap with the CI of elasticity to juvenile survival. In shrubland invasion speed was most sensitive to the probability of establishment, especially when establishment was low. In the grazed environment elasticity and sensitivity of invasion speed to the severity of grazing were consistently highest. Management recommendations based on elasticities and sensitivities depend on the vulnerability of the habitat. 5. Synthesis and applications. Despite considerable uncertainty in demography and dispersal, robust management recommendations emerged from the model. Proportional or absolute reductions in long-distance dispersal, juvenile survival and seedling establishment parameters have the potential to reduce wave speed substantially. Plantations of wind-dispersed invasive conifers should not be sited on exposed sites vulnerable to long-distance dispersal events, and trees in these sites should be removed. Invasion speed can also be reduced by removing seedlings, establishing competitive shrubs and grazing. Incorporating uncertainty into the modelling process increases our confidence in the wide applicability of the management strategies recommended here.

The role of uncertainty in the relationship between fairness evaluations and willingness to pay

Participants in contingent valuation studies may be uncertain about a number of aspects of the policy and survey context. The uncertainty management model of fairness judgments states that individuals will evaluate a policy in terms of its fairness when they do not know whether they can trust the relevant managing authority or experience uncertainty due to insufficient knowledge of the general issues surrounding the environmental policy. Similarly, some researchers have suggested that, not knowing how to answer WTP questions, participants convey their general attitudes toward the public good rather than report well-defined economic preferences. These contentions were investigated in a sample of 840 residents in four urban catchments across Australia who were interviewed about their WTP for stormwater pollution abatement. Four sources of uncertainty were measured: amount of prior issue-related thought, trustworthiness of the water authority, insufficient scenario information, and WTP response uncertainty. A logistic regression model was estimated in each subsample to test the main effects of the uncertainty sources on WTP as well as their interaction with fairness and proenvironmental attitudes. Results indicated support for the uncertainty management model in only one of the four samples. Similarly, proenvironmental attitudes interacted rarely with uncertainty to a significant level, and in ways that were more complex than hypothesised. It was concluded that uncertain individuals were generally not more likely than other participants to draw on either fairness evaluations or proenvironmental attitudes when making decisions about paying for stormwater pollution abatement.

Semantic caching for multiresolution spatial query processing in mobile environments

Spatial data are particularly useful in mobile environments. However, due to the low bandwidth of most wireless networks, developing large spatial database applications becomes a challenging process. In this paper, we provide the first attempt to combine two important techniques, multiresolution spatial data structure and semantic caching, towards efficient spatial query processing in mobile environments. Based on the study of the characteristics of multiresolution spatial data (MSD) and multiresolution spatial query, we propose a new semantic caching model called Multiresolution Semantic Caching (MSC) for caching MSD in mobile environments. MSC enriches the traditional three-category query processing in semantic cache to five categories, thus improving the performance in three ways: 1) a reduction in the amount and complexity of the remainder queries; 2) the redundant transmission of spatial data already residing in a cache is avoided; 3) a provision for satisfactory answers before 100% query results have been transmitted to the client side. Our extensive experiments on a very large and complex real spatial database show that MSC outperforms the traditional semantic caching models significantly

A GESTÃO DO TELETRABALHO

A aplicação do teletrabalho no Brasil tem progredido e tem sido foco de estudos organizacionais no contexto da flexibilização do trabalho, por despertar novas inquietações quanto às suas vantagens e desafios para a gestão de pessoas. Esta dissertação é o resultado de uma pesquisa que teve por objetivo identificar quais os aspectos que caracterizam o trabalho do telegerente na gestão de teletrabalhadores. Como referencial teórico, foram adotados os trabalhos de Antunes (2009), para apresentação dos sentidos e significados do trabalho nos tempos atuais, e de Nilles (1999), no tocante ao teletrabalho e ao papel do telegerente. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório de cunho qualitativo, que se valeu de entrevista semiestruturada com cinco telegerentes de empresas de diferentes segmentos de mercado. Por meio dos dados dos entrevistados, pode-se caracterizar a atuação do telegerente a partir das seguintes categorias: gestão flexibilizada, modelo de gestão, catalisação de resultados e perfil da telegerência. Os resultados demonstraram que o teletrabalho surge como uma alternativa muitas vezes informal, acordado entre gestores e subordinados assim, não se observou na amostra pesquisada um preparo específico para o exercício da telegerência, estando sujeitos a problemas inerentes ao novo regime de trabalho. Para os entrevistados, a telegerência surge de forma natural e sua atuação é intuitiva, quando o teletrabalho parte de uma decisão organizacional há ocorrência de treinamentos para capacitação da telegerência, por compreender ser essa decisão alinhada com seus objetivos estratégicos.

O PAPEL DA CÂMARA TÉCNICA DE PESCA DO COMITÊ DE BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA LAGOS SÃO JOÃO NA GESTÃO DA PESCA ARTESANAL NA LAGOA DE ARARUAMA

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso sobre o papel da Câmara Técnica de Pesca (CTP) do Consórcio Intermunicipal Lagos São João (CILSJ) na mediação de conflitos de gestão da pesca artesanal na região da Lagoa de Araruama (LA). A CTP é gerida pelas prioridades da Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos (PNRH), preservacionista, em oposição a Política Nacional de Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Atividade Pesqueira (PNDSAP), com fins de exploração econômica. Na Bacia Hidrográfica Lagos São João, o CILSJ, prioriza as ações de conservação e manutenção dos corpos de água para o abastecimento, deixando em segundo plano a recuperação dos estuários em que lança o esgoto tratado e o não tratado, justamente os locais onde ocorre a pesca. O sujeito da pesquisa foi a representação dos pescadores, que são os presidentes das colônias. O levantamento de dados ocorreu por meio de entrevistas, observação direta, observação participante, documentos, filmes, fotografias, depoimentos, considerando também os atores da gestão pública da pesca local, estadual e federal. As entrevistas foram examinadas com base em análise textual. A abordagem da pesquisa é qualitativa. A pesca artesanal praticada na localidade é de pequena escala, se utiliza de embarcações miúdas, o trabalho ocorre em regime de companha e/ou familiar. O co-manejo é a metodologia de gestão dos recursos comuns mais utilizadas na atualidade na pesca artesanal. Os dados revelaram que o modelo de co-manejo da CTP não é o mais adequado para mediar os conflitos da pesca na localidade. Este estudo constatou que existe a união das colônias por meio da CTP, mas mesmo assim, o mecanismo CTP, não permite que maiores conquistas sejam alcançadas pelos pescadores, tendo em vista que o modelo de co-manejo é apenas consultivo, em que o poder público consulta, mas toma a decisão de forma autônoma sem compartilhar o poder de gestão, desse modo não há o empoderamento por parte dos pescadores. Assim, se faz urgente a substituição do sistema de co-manejo exercido pela CTP, por outro que possibilite maior participação dos pescadores e não só das suas representações; autonomia de gestão dos pescadores; possibilidade de financiamento além das atividades de preservação, mas também de desenvolvimento econômico da pesca. Outros modelos de co-gestão passíveis de substituir a CTP são a Reserva Extrativista (RESEX), a Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável ou Fórum de Pesca tendo em vista serem esses os modelos de co-manejo mais bem sucedidos no país e inclusive em parte da região, a RESEX de Arraial do Cabo. A constatação desta pesquisa do papel exercido pela CTP no que tange o co-manejo na LA é compatível com as deficiências dos modelos de co-manejo da pesca no Brasil, com menor empoderamento dos pescadores diante do poder público e da própria submissão da gestão pública da pesca diante da gestão pública do ambiente. Apesar de haver certa produção acadêmica sobre a pesca, a literatura sobre a gestão da pesca na localidade da LA é escassa, o que dificulta o desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade pesqueira e da aplicação de qualquer plano de manejo e indica a urgência do desenvolvimento de maiores investigações, no que este trabalho procura oferecer alguma contribuição.

PERCEPÇÕES DE GANHOS PARA OS EMPREGADOS NA GESTÃO POR COMPETÊNCIAS: UM ESTUDO DE CASO

Tendo como pressuposto de que a Gestão de Pessoas por Competências deve agregar valor econômico para a organização e valor social para os indivíduos, a presente pesquisa investiga com os empregados de uma empresa quais os ganhos trazidos na sua vida, profissional e pessoal, pelo modelo implementado na organização em que trabalham. Para alcançar esse objetivo foi realizado um estudo de caso, de caráter qualitativo numa empresa do setor público, que possui há mais de cinco anos um sistema de gestão por competências, contemplando todos os subsistemas (seleção, treinamento, remuneração, avaliação de desempenho e carreira) para 100,0% dos empregados. Num processo de antes e depois do sistema de gestão por competências, a pesquisa foi realizada por meio de questionário e entrevista. Para medir o ganho dos empregados, foram utilizadas as categorias e subcategorias de ganho social definidas na tese de doutoramento de Amyra Sarsur, 2007. Os resultados dessa pesquisa indicaram que, na percepção do empregado, três subcategorias destacaram-se como ganho social: desenvolvimento, compreensão conceptual da organização e autodesenvolvimento. A importância da pesquisa se faz devido à crescente adoção desse modelo de gestão de pessoas pelas empresas brasileiras e a ausência de pesquisas que investigam os ganhos dos empregados com a Gestão por Competências.(AU)

A CONSTRUÇÃO DO PROJETO POLÍTICO PEDAGÓGICO NUMA PERSPECTIVA DEMOCRÁTICA: UMA EXPERIÊNCIA NA REDE MUNICIPAL DE ENSINO EM SANTO ANDRÉ, SP

Este estudo aborda os esforços para a democratização das escolas da rede municipal de Santo André (SP) e as políticas públicas implementadas para atingir esse fim no período de 1997 a 2008, tendo como foco principal a construção do projeto político pedagógico como alternativa democrática e buscando identificar a criação de mecanismos que corroboraram com essa construção. De caráter qualitativo, a pesquisa desenvolveu um trabalho de campo pautado na investigação dos documentos produzidos no período, realizou entrevistas, aplicou questionários e utilizaram-se grupos focais, a fim de que os dados possibilitassem uma reflexão teórica e uma análise dialogal sobre a temática escolhida. Apresenta-se um estudo bibliográfico ancorado nas idéias de Antonio Gramsci, o teórico da hegemonia cultural, que inspirou a caminhada em direção à democratização. Procura-se encontrar, ao longo desta pesquisa, o movimento contra-hegemônico que possa indicar sinais de possíveis mudanças na escola e sua contribuição com a construção de um espaço democrático. O projeto político pedagógico é visto como referência para o diálogo, e discutem-se sua elaboração, acompanhamento e avaliação com base no conceito de "qualidade negociada" a partir das contribuições de Luiz Carlos de Freitas. Também se expõem contribuições de autores econhecidos no meio acadêmico que pesquisam a temática em pauta, trazendo à tona a dinâmica contraditória e conflituosa para a instauração de processos participativos em um país de tradição autoritária como o Brasil. A análise dos dados permitiu apresentar e reconhecer os limites da gestão escolar historicamente centralizada e hierarquizada, observando neste processo a criação de mecanismos de participação para que uma nova cultura de gestão da escola seja construída. A pesquisa elucida a importância da construção do lugar do convívio ou seja, de luta, segundo Gramsci, e de fronteira, segundo Freitas , espaço que pode permitir a criação das possibilidades de atuação social construídas pela sociedade política e pela sociedade civil.(AU)

Binocular interaction:Contrast matching and contrast discrimination are predicted by the same model

How do signals from the 2 eyes combine and interact? Our recent work has challenged earlier schemes in which monocular contrast signals are subject to square-law transduction followed by summation across eyes and binocular gain control. Much more successful was a new 'two-stage' model in which the initial transducer was almost linear and contrast gain control occurred both pre- and post-binocular summation. Here we extend that work by: (i) exploring the two-dimensional stimulus space (defined by left- and right-eye contrasts) more thoroughly, and (ii) performing contrast discrimination and contrast matching tasks for the same stimuli. Twenty-five base-stimuli made from 1 c/deg patches of horizontal grating, were defined by the factorial combination of 5 contrasts for the left eye (0.3-32%) with five contrasts for the right eye (0.3-32%). Other than in contrast, the gratings in the two eyes were identical. In a 2IFC discrimination task, the base-stimuli were masks (pedestals), where the contrast increment was presented to one eye only. In a matching task, the base-stimuli were standards to which observers matched the contrast of either a monocular or binocular test grating. In the model, discrimination depends on the local gradient of the observer's internal contrast-response function, while matching equates the magnitude (rather than gradient) of response to the test and standard. With all model parameters fixed by previous work, the two-stage model successfully predicted both the discrimination and the matching data and was much more successful than linear or quadratic binocular summation models. These results show that performance measures and perception (contrast discrimination and contrast matching) can be understood in the same theoretical framework for binocular contrast vision. © 2007 VSP.

Understanding policy implementation processes as self-organizing systems

Implementation studies and related research in organizational theory can be enhanced by drawing on the field of complex systems to understand better and, as a consequence, more successfully manage change. This article reinterprets data previously published in the British Journal of Management to reveal a new contribution, that policy implementation processes should be understood as a self-organizing system in which adaptive abilities are extremely important for stakeholders. In other words, national policy is reinterpreted at the local level, with each local organization uniquely mixing elements of national policy with their own requirements making policy implementation unpredictable and more sketchy. The original article explained different paces and directions of change in terms of traditional management processes: leadership, politics, implementation and vision. By reinterpreting the data, it is possible to reveal that deeper level processes, which are more emergent, are also at work influencing change, which the authors label possibility space. Implications for theory, policy and practice are identified.

Integrated approach to healthcare quality management:a case study

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to develop an integrated quality management model, which identifies problems, suggests solutions, develops a framework for implementation and helps evaluate performance of health care services dynamically. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses logical framework analysis (LFA), a matrix approach to project planning for managing quality. This has been applied to three acute healthcare services (Operating room utilization, Accident and emergency, and Intensive care) in order to demonstrate its effectiveness. Findings - The paper finds that LFA is an effective method of quality management of hospital-based healthcare services. Research limitations/implications - This paper shows LFA application in three service processes in one hospital. However, ideally this is required to be tested in several hospitals and other services as well. Practical implications - In the paper the proposed model can be practised in hospital-based healthcare services for improving performance. Originality/value - The paper shows that quality improvement in healthcare services is a complex and multi-dimensional task. Although various quality management tools are routinely deployed for identifying quality issues in health care delivery and corrective measures are taken for superior performance, there is an absence of an integrated approach, which can identify and analyze issues, provide solutions to resolve those issues, develop a project management framework (planning, monitoring, and evaluating) to implement those solutions in order to improve process performance. This study introduces an integrated and uniform quality management tool. It integrates operations with organizational strategies. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

A general linear model for MEG beamformer imaging

A new general linear model (GLM) beamformer method is described for processing magnetoencephalography (MEG) data. A standard nonlinear beamformer is used to determine the time course of neuronal activation for each point in a predefined source space. A Hilbert transform gives the envelope of oscillatory activity at each location in any chosen frequency band (not necessary in the case of sustained (DC) fields), enabling the general linear model to be applied and a volumetric T statistic image to be determined. The new method is illustrated by a two-source simulation (sustained field and 20 Hz) and is shown to provide accurate localization. The method is also shown to locate accurately the increasing and decreasing gamma activities to the temporal and frontal lobes, respectively, in the case of a scintillating scotoma. The new method brings the advantages of the general linear model to the analysis of MEG data and should prove useful for the localization of changing patterns of activity across all frequency ranges including DC (sustained fields). © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Public health and pharmacy:A critical review

Community pharmacy in the UK is often described as the most accessible of all primary healthcare providers, situated on the 'high street' and requiring no appointment. But what does the new public health movement mean for pharmacy, and where is pharmacy in terms of the new public health agenda? In this paper, the authors provide a critical assessment of pharmacy's response to this agenda through a review of key pharmacy relevant policy documents. In particular, in the context of pharmacy's re-professionalization agenda, they assess the contribution of pharmacy to public health from a micro- and macro-level framework. The aim is to provide a critical context in light of current proposals for the profession to develop a public health strategy.