Escalas psicométricas e propriedade escalar na percepção de velocidade em pombos

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia (área de especialização em Psicologia Experimental e suas Aplicações)O presente estudo enquadra-se na área de investigação da percepção de velocidade. Usando uma tarefa de discriminação simultânea, em que os estímulos eram apresentados num paradigma de escolha forçada com duas alternativas, estudaram-se as escalas psicométricas e a propriedade escalar na percepção de velocidade em quatro pombos. Na primeira experiência, os sujeitos foram treinados a discriminar duas velocidades, 0.2cm/seg vs. 5cm/seg. Numa fase de teste, apresentaram-se aos pombos pares de estímulos, em que um dos estímulos movia-se sempre a 5cm/seg e o outro movia-se a uma velocidade intermédia às velocidades de treino, de modo a obter uma função psicométrica. As funções psicométricas obtidas revelaram pontos de bissecção que vão de encontro aos resultados obtidos em estudos anteriores. Na segunda experiência, usando as mesmas velocidades que na discriminação da experiência 1 mas apresentando estímulos diferentes, estudámos a escala da velocidade e testámos as previsões dos modelos linear e logarítmico. Os dados obtidos indicam que a velocidade é representada linearmente. Na terceira experiência, usando velocidades com o dobro do valor das usadas nas experiências anteriores, comparámos as funções psicométricas obtidas nas experiências 2 e 3 de modo a testar se a percepção de velocidade em pombos obedece à propriedade escalar. As análises conduzidas sugerem que a propriedade escalar não se aplica à percepção de velocidade em pombos. No entanto, conclui-se que os valores de velocidade usados poderão ser demasiado altos e que, para se poderem tirar conclusões mais sólidas, um estudo com valores de velocidade inferiores seria necessário.The present study is concerned with the perception of velocity by pigeons. Using a simultaneous discrimination task, where stimuli were presented in a two-alternative forced choice paradigm, we studied the psychometric scales as well as the scalar property of velocity perception in four pigeons. In the first experiment, the subjects learned to discriminate two velocities, 0.2cm/sec vs. 5cm/sec. In a test phase, the pigeons were presented with pairs of stimuli in which one of the stimuli was always moving at 5cm/sec, and the other one at an intermediate velocity between the training velocities, in order to obtain a psychometric function. The psychometric functions obtained revealed bisection points at values consistent with previous studies. In a second experiment, using the same velocities used for the experiment 1 but presenting different stimuli, we studied the velocity scale and tested the predictions of linear and logarithmic models. The data obtained revealed that velocity is encoded linearly. In the third experiment, using velocities twice as big as the ones used in the other two experiments, we compared the psychometric functions obtained for experiments 2 and 3 in order to test if velocity perception obeys the scalar property. The analysis suggests that the scalar property does not apply to velocity perception in pigeons. However, we concluded that the velocity range used may have been too high. In order to draw stronger conclusions, a study using lower velocities should be conducted

After the Move to a New Campus—Effects on Students’ Satisfaction with the Physical and Learning Environment

Few empirical studies in higher education consider the importance of the physical environment on students’ satisfaction with the learning environment. The present study first examined the effects of a move to a new campus on students’ satisfaction with the physical and learning environments. Then, it examined how students’ satisfaction with a physical environment affects students’ satisfaction with the learning environment. It was hypothesised that the move to a new and modern university campus with better study facilities would increase students’ satisfaction both with the physical and learning environment, and that these two would be linked. Results contained 771 students’ assessments of the Bachelor Evaluation Questionnaire, which included students’ satisfaction with five aspects of their learning environment as well as five items assessing satisfaction with the physical environment. Findings showed that students were overall more satisfied with the physical environment in the new campus than in the old campus. These differences were even greater when comparing only students in their last study year than students of all study years. Furthermore, results showed that students’ satisfaction with lecturers and teaching was predicted by increased satisfaction with classrooms. The implications of these findings for the need to design physical learning environments are discussed

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

The WHO-5 Well-Being Index – Validation based on item response theory and the analysis of measurement invariance across 35 countries.

Background: The five-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) is a frequently used brief standard measure in large-scale cross-cultural clinical studies. Despite its frequent use, some psychometric questions remain that concern the choice of an adequate item response theory (IRT) model, the evaluation of reliability at important cutoffpoints, and most importantly the assessment of measurement invariance across countries. Methods: Data from the 6th European Working Condition survey (2015) were used that collected nationally representative samples of employed and self-employed individuals ( N = 43,469) via computer-aided personal interviews across 35 European countries. An in-depth IRT analysis was conducted for each country, testing different IRT assumptions (e.g., unidimensionality), comparing different IRT-models, and calculating reliabilities. Furthermore, measurement invariance analysis was conducted with the recently proposed alignment procedure. Results: The graded response model fitted the data best for all countries. Furthermore, IRT assumptions were mostly fulfilled. The WHO-5 showed overall and at critical points high reliability. Measurement invariance analysis revealed metric invariance but discarded scalar invariance across countries. Analysis of the test characteristic curves of the aligned graded response model indicated low levels of differential test functioning at medium levels of the WHO-5, but differential test functioning increased at more extreme levels. Limitations: The current study has no external criterion (e.g., structured clinical interviews) to assess sensitivity and specificity of the WHO-5 as a depression screening-tool. Conclusions: The WHO-5 is a psychometrically sound measure. However, large-scale cross-cultural studies should employ a latent variable modeling approach that accounts for non-invariant parameters across countries (e.g., alignment)

Effects of Emotional Music on Facial Emotion Recognition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Impaired facial emotion recognition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is in contrast to their intact emotional music recognition. This study tested whether emotion congruent music enhances facial emotion recognition. Accuracy and reaction times were assessed for 19 children with ASD and 31 controls in a recognition task with angry, happy, or sad faces. Stimuli were shown with either emotionally congruent or incongruent music or no music. Although children with ASD had higher reaction times than controls, accuracy only differed when incongruent or no music was played, indicating that congruent emotional music can boost facial emotion recognition in children with ASD. Emotion congruent music may support emotion recognition in children with ASD, and thus may improve their social skills

Gestão pública II: relatos, pesquisas, experiências e visão de trabalho.

Coletânea de trabalhos publicados e premiados no II Seminário de Gestão Pública da UFRA e na 1ª edição do Prêmio Novos Ventos de Gestão Pública, sob a responsabilidade da Pró-Reitoria de Gestão de Pessoas (PROGEP).UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL RURAL DA AMAZÔNIAEste livro, na forma de coletânea, se constituiu em um processo mais amplo de reflexão sobre a gestão pública dentro da Universidade. Aqui, partimos para uma importante reflexão, a partir do processo de sistematizar experiências, relatos de experiência, e pesquisas, sobre a Universidade Pública e sua relação com as pessoas e as ciências. Em especial, o capítulo 1, a partir da coletânea dos trabalhos apresentados no II Seminário de Gestão Pública, diferencia-se dos trabalhos submetidos para a primeira edição. As experiências destacadas para este livro reforçam a identidade e missão da UFRA, como os resultados dos trabalhos “OS CAMINHOS DA MERENDA ESCOLAR: análise da logística na cadeia de suprimentos do município de Tomé-Açu” e “ANÁLISE QVT NA GESTÃO DE UMA EMPRESA PRODUTORA DE DENDÊ EM TOMÉ-AÇU/PA”, e que também agregam valor a gestores e equipes de trabalho quando promovem a discussão de temas relacionados ao dia-a-dia do trabalho, tais como: QUALIDADE DE VIDA NO TRABALHO e GESTÃO ESTRATÉGICA DE PESSOAS NO SETOR PÚBLICO. Nesse sentido, servidores e pesquisadores cumprem a função de embasar inúmeras discussões que vêm sendo travadas pelas Instituições Públicas sobre qualidade de vida, inclusão, garantia de direitos, melhoria de procedimentos, dentre outros. O capítulo II, enquanto coletânea das experiências de trabalho indicada para premiação, é um momento riquíssimo de se perceber a quantidade e a qualidade de ações planejadas, organizadas e realizadas por servidores públicos. Em tempos que algumas práticas do serviço público não são bem vistas, reforça-se aqui que alguns dos relatos foram concebidos em meio a falta de recursos financeiros e estruturais, mas que não impediram os proponentes de seguir em frente. Mais do que isso, o reconhecimento dos beneficiários e usuários faz com que reforcemos a necessidade de fortalecer ações que agregam inúmeros valores a vida laboral dos servidores públicos e a própria Universidade Pública.This book, in the form of a collection, constituted a broader process of reflection on public management within the University. Here, we start an important reflection, based on the process of systematizing experiences, experience reports, and research, about the Public University and its relationship with people and the sciences. In particular, chapter 1, from the collection of works presented at the II Seminar on Public Management, differs from the works submitted for the first edition. The experiences highlighted for this book reinforce UFRA's identity and mission, such as the results of the work “THE PATHS OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST: analysis of logistics in the supply chain in the municipality of Tomé-Açu” and “QVT ANALYSIS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A PRODUCING COMPANY OF DENDÊ IN TOMÉ-AÇU / PA ”, and which also add value to managers and work teams when promoting the discussion of topics related to day-to-day work, such as: QUALITY OF LIFE AT WORK and STRATEGIC PEOPLE MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR. In this sense, civil servants and researchers fulfill the function of supporting numerous discussions that have been held by Public Institutions on quality of life, inclusion, guarantee of rights, improvement of procedures, among others. Chapter II, as a collection of work experiences indicated for awards, is a very rich moment to realize the quantity and quality of actions planned, organized and carried out by public servants. In times when some public service practices are not well regarded, it is reinforced here that some of the reports were conceived amid a lack of financial and structural resources, but that did not prevent proponents from moving forward. More than that, the recognition of beneficiaries and users makes us reinforce the need to strengthen actions that add innumerable values ​​to the working life of public servants and the Public University itself

Introducing the COVID-19 crisis Special Education Needs Coping Survey

Individuals with special education needs have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as they have been shown to be at high risk of losing medical and institutional support at a time when people are being asked to stay isolated, suffering increased anxiety and depression as a consequence. Their families have often found themselves under tremendous pressure to provide support, engendering financial hardship, and physical and emotional strains. In such times, it is vital that international collaborations assess the impact on the individuals and their families, affording the opportunity to make national and international comparisons of how people have coped and what needs to be done to optimize the measures taken by families, associations and governments. This paper introduces one such collaboration