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In this series of essays, we study the influence of weight and group size in the sequential multi-battle contest with laboratory experiences (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3). We then develop an empirical method to model perceptual present and time inconsistency (Chapter 4). Chapter 2 examines how the weight and the ordered weights in battles affect the behavior in sequential multi-battle contests with an experiment. We find robustly that the weight of the current battle consistently influences contestants' efforts. Additionally, we discover the math-point-oriented behavior despite differences in history. In other words, the weight effect is expressed in two ways: influencing the effort of the current battle and transferring a contest to the next battle with a designated intensity. Chapter 3 explores the group size effect and how the contest success functions influence the group size effect in sequential multi-battle contests with an experiment. We capture the negative group size effect on the leaders' efforts, participation and dropout rates; contrarily, the positive effect on the non-leaders' efforts. Compared to the Tullock lottery, the all-pay auction intensifies the group size effect of the high effort in the initial battle. It also enlarges the observed group size effects of the effort gaps between the leaders and the non-leaders. Chapter 4 develops the quasi-hyperbolic discounting model into the general beta-delta model to parametrically detect and measure the inconsistency in revealed time preference. This method empirically classifies time preference into four categories, i.e., time consistent, present bias, future bias, and mixed inconsistent. Then we applied this method to the convex time budget data of seven experiments, including 3670 subjects. We discover empirical evidence supporting perceptual differences in the present-future threshold. Traditional present bias models may interpret the time preference imprecisely. / Doctor of Philosophy / Competition and Time are two essential aspects of life. Many decisions are made in a competitive environment. Some other decisions are made when time serves as a critical factor. We divide this dissertation into two parts. In the first part, we study strategic behavior in competitions. Specifically, we examine how (1) the importance of each round (weight), (2) the number of competitors, and (3) the ambiguity of the rule affect the result of a multi-round competition. In the second part, we study people's subjective understanding of time, generally the personal beliefs and preferences of the present and future. In part one (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3), first, we find people are very responsive about the importance of a round in a multi-round competition. When a round is more important, people make more effort in such round. People are also sensible about the competition's current status (leading, behind, or tied) rather than the history. Second, at the beginning of a competition, we find an increase in the participation rate when fewer competitors exist. Suppose there are more competitors; the leading position players compete more brutally; on the contrary, the non-leading players are discouraged more. Third, people spend more energy when the rule is less ambiguous in a multi-round competition. In part two (Chapter 4), We find a very diversified subjective belief in the word "present." The concept of "now" lasts longer than we conventionally thought. When the subjective "present'' is captured at the individual level, we find the immediate now is not necessarily the best way to represent the "average present'' for the population.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur Malmö stad använder sig av evenemang för en ökad attraktionskraft.  Studiens syfte och frågeställningar har besvarats genom intervjuer med Malmö stad, Malmö Turistbyrå, Tourism in Skåne och Event in Skåne. Insamlingen av empiri har utförts genom kvalitativa telefonintervjuer samt en kvalitativ mailintervju, alla dessa baserades på ett icke-sannolikhetsurval gällande urvalet av respondenter. Samtliga intervjuer har haft öppna frågor och varit semistrukturerade. Intervjufrågorna har utformats utifrån studiens frågeställningar och har anpassats efter respektive respondent. I studien har även en litteraturstudie genomförts utifrån tre rapporter med fokus på de effekter som uppstod genom Handbolls-VM 2011. Studiens teoretiska referensram utgår från förklaring av attraktionskraft, typer av evenemang, effekter av evenemang, evenemangsturism, samarbete och image. Undersökningen har strukturerats upp utefter de intervjuer och litteraturstudie som har gjorts. Gemensamma rubriker har skapats för att få en tydligare struktur och en röd tråd för att göra studien läsvänlig. Analysen har strukturerats upp utifrån studiens frågeställningar. Slutsatsen av studien är att Malmös attraktionskraft ökar genom evenemang då staden har ett bra utvecklat samarbete mellan stadens aktörer. Detta gör att staden skapar möjligheter för att arrangera fler attraktiva evenemang. Attraktionskraften ökar även genom att det finns en medvetenhet i staden när det gäller vilka positiva effekter evenemang kan bidra till, exempelvis att stärka stadens image, skapa en bättre gemenskap bland lokalbefolkningen och ett ökat besöksantal. Studien visar att både Handbolls-VM 2011 och Eurovision Song Contest 2013 har bidragit till ovanstående effekter.

Cette thèse étudie le rôle et l’impact des groupes de pression dans le processus d'adoption d'uneréglementation environnementale. En effet, les controverses scientifiques de ces dernières années(OGM, Médiator, gaz de schiste) nous interrogent sur leurs effets, notamment lorsque la réalisation oul'ampleur d'un dommage environnemental et / ou sanitaire sont incertaines. En particulier, lors d'unedemande d'Autorisation de Mise sur le Marché d'un produit potentiellement dangereux, noussupposons que deux groupes de pression s'affrontent, représentant, respectivement, les intérêts d'uneindustrie et ceux des victimes d'un dommage : le premier milite pour son autorisation et le second pourson interdiction. Dans ce contexte, l'information détenue par le régulateur bénévole est primordiale.Présumant qu’il est inconscient, ex ante, de l'ampleur du dommage, nous nous interrogeons sur lapertinence d'écouter les groupes de pression afin de prendre une décision socialement efficace dans lecas où le groupe industriel fait face à un système de responsabilité, ex post. Pourtant, l'application dece système est imparfaite, suite à l'insolvabilité de l'industriel ou par le fait qu'il ne soit pas poursuiviou reconnu coupable. Lorsque le régulateur prend sa décision après l'affrontement des groupes depression, la mise en place d'un contest séquentiel, avec l'outsider qui joue en premier, est socialementpréférable. Par ailleurs, les conditions sous lesquelles le régulateur doit accorder son attention auxgroupes de pression plutôt que prendre sa décision sur la base d'une analyse coûts-bénéfices, utilisantses croyances a priori sur le dommage, sont caractérisées / This thesis examines the role and the impact of pressure groups in environmental regulation process.Indeed, in recent years, scientific controversies (GMO, Médiator, shale gas) have lead us to wondermore about their effects, especially when the achievement or the extent of environmental damage and /or health are uncertain. In particular, in the context of a market approval process of a potentialdangerous product, we assume that two pressure groups are fighting, representing respectively theinterests of industry and those of victims of damage: the first campaigns for its authorization and thesecond for its prohibition. In this context, information available to the voluntary regulator is important.Assuming that he is unaware of the magnitude of the damage ex ante, we question the relevance ofpaying attention to lobbyists to take a socially efficient decision, in a case where the industrial groupfaces a responsibility system, ex post. However, the application of this system is imperfect, because ofthe insolvency of the industry or by the fact either that the industrial group responsibility is notrecognized, or that the victims group does not request compensation for damages. When the regulatortakes his decision based on a contest, the introduction of a sequential contest in which the outsidermoves first is socially preferable. Moreover, the conditions under which the regulator has to payattention to the pressure groups rather than taking his decision based on a cost-benefit analysis, usinghis prior beliefs on damage, are characterized.

Rapporten innehåller inledningsvis en faktadel med allmän information kring temperatursprickor i betong. Här presenteras bl a uppkomsten av fenomenet, vilka typer av sprickor som förekommer och vad ett tvång är. Tanken är att ge läsaren tillräcklig kunskap för att kunna förstå sig på de övriga delarna i rapporten. Resultatet och det huvudsakliga arbetet redovisas i form av tabeller med tillhörande illustrationer där det går att utläsa vilken sprickrisk som förekommer vid flera specifika fall och vilken åtgärd som bör vidtas för att eliminera sprickrisken. Som konstruktör kan du med din egen indata, dvs. dimensioner och temperaturer, följa tabellen och finna resultatet för ditt specifika fall. De konstruktionstyper som presenteras är bottenplatta, stödmur och plattrambro. En tillhörande databas i elektronisk form finns tillgänglig som en bilaga där varje beräknat fall är sparat. Filerna är enkla att modifiera för att göra det möjligt att genomföra ytterliggare beräkningar i de fall tabellerna är otillräckliga. Rapporten innehåller även ett avsnitt med förutsättningar till tabellerna där det går att utläsa arbetsgången och vilka parametrar som har använts. / The initial part of the report contains general information about thermal cracks. This section describes the origin to the cracks, what type of cracks that occurs and the force causing the problem. The major reason with this chapter is to give the reader enough knowledge to understand the rest of the report. The result and the main work are presented in tables with belonging illustrations. Each table contains the risk of cracking that occurs in several specific concrete structures and how to eliminate the risk. The report covers the following three types of structures: baseplate, retaining wall and integral bridge. The constructor can with his/her own dimensions and temperatures simply use the table to find the risk of cracking. A database including all the calculated files for each specific case is attached to the report. The files can easily be modified by the user in case the information in the tables is insufficient. All the precise circumstances and priority in the project are presented in the chapter “Förutsättningar och arbetsgång”.

In 1944, the Soviet Union deported hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars from Crimea, one of whom was the Ukrainian artist Jamala's great-grandmother Nazylchan. Almost a hundred years later, and only two years after Russia's annexation of Crimea, Jamala represents Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "1944". The song is about the great-grandmother's experiences of the deportation of Crimean Tatars and was accused of containing political messages, which becomes relevant as the competition prohibits all kinds of political elements. The contribution was reviewed by the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, and was not judged to be political. The Eurovision Song Contest is an avowedly non-political competition that was started after the Second World War with the aim of keeping the peace in Europe and giving Europeans something to unite around. The countries participating in the competition nominate artists and songs that represent the country in the international music competition. This study examines how the case of Jamala and the contribution "1944" has been used in and outside the competition by Jamala to create awareness and mobilize support for both Ukraine and Crimean Tatars with the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To examine how Jamala identifies with her family, how she relates to what is political and what is not, as well as how she and other representatives of countries in international cultural events can be understood as political ambassadors, this study can provide some answers to how politics, national identity and representation in that type of context can be understood to be related. / År 1944 deporterade Sovjetunionen hundratusentals krimtatarer från Krim, en av dem var artisten Jamalas gammelfarmor Nazylchan. Nästan hundra år senare och bara två år efter Rysslands annektering av Krim ställer Jamala upp som representant för Ukraina i Eurovision Song Contest 2016 med låten "1944". Låten handlar om gammelfarmoderns upplevelser av deportationen av krimtatarer och anklagas för att innehålla politiska budskap, vilket blir relevant då tävlingen förbjuder alla typer av politiska inslag. Bidraget granskas av EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, och bedöms inte vara politisk. Eurovision Song Contest är en uttalat icke-politisk tävling som startades efter andra världskriget med syfte att behålla freden i Europa och ge européerna något att enas kring. Länderna som medverkar i tävlingen utser artister och låtar som representerar landet i den internationella musiktävlingen. Denna studie undersöker hur fallet Jamala och bidraget "1944" använts i och utanför tävlingen av Jamala för att skapa medvetenhet kring och mobilisera stöd till såväl Ukraina som krimtatarer i och med deportationen av krimtatarer 1944, annekteringen av Krim 2014 samt invasionen av Ukraina 2022. Genom att undersöka hur Jamala identifierar sig med sin familj, hur hon förhåller sig till vad som är politiskt och inte samt hur hon och andra representanter för länder i internationella kulturella evenemang kan förstås som politiska ambassadörer kan denna studie ge några svar på hur politik, nationell identitet och representation i den typen av sammanhang kan förstås höra samman.

Paradoxically, pepole avoid being totally the same with others to keep their uniquness but follow the fads to avoid isolation. We construct a simple model under this concept to explain the empirical findings of forecasters’ behavior such as old forecasters are more radical and late forecasters tend to anti-herd. We show that forecasters' forecasts are not necessarilly unbiased when they consider the benefit of making correct forecasts and the cost of being wrong. Furthermore, we extended our model and show that when uninformed agent cannot differentiate which informed agents is better, she chooses mean of the two experts' opinions when the difference of the opinions is small but choose randomly from the two experts' opinions when the difference is big.

Magistro darbe tyrinėjama, kaip Lietuvos ir kai kurių užsienio valstybių bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose yra mokoma informatikos, aiškinamasi, koks požiūris į šią mokomąja discipliną, kurie veiksniai tai įtakoja. Tyrimui pasirinktas įdomesnis kelias – naudojamasi informatikos ir kompiuterinio lavinimosi varžybomis „Bebras“, kurios vyksta daugiau kaip dešimtyje valstybių. Palyginti 2008–2010 metais Lietuvoje vykusių „Bebro“ varžybų užduočių rinkiniai pagal įvairius informatikos konceptus. Pasinaudojus 2010 metais Lietuvos „Bebro“ varžybose dalyvavusių mokinių rezultatų duomenimis bei pritaikius atitinkamus matematinius užduočių vertinimo modelius, buvo įvertinta užduočių rinkinio informacinė funkcija, kuri leidžia parinkti tinkamiausias užduotis atitinkamam mokinių žinių lygiui. Mokinių informatikos žinių lygis neatsiejamas nuo informatikos pagrindų, kurie formuojasi laikui bėgant, kai mokinys gauna tinkamą informaciją ne tik per informatikos ar informacinių technologijų pamokas, bet ir kai mokytojai informacines ir komunikacines priemones taiko per kitų dalykų pamokas. Darbe apskaičiuoti užduočių sunkumo koeficientai, kurie palyginti su užduočių sunkumo lygiais, kuriuos priskyrė uždavinių sudarytojai ar vertintojai. Taip pat nustatyti užduočių skiriamosios gebos indeksai, kurie nustato, kiek gerai užduotis atskiria geresnius mokinių darbus nuo blogesnių tikrinamo dalyko atžvilgiu. Tyrimo rezultatai svarbūs tiek mokytojams, kurie turi įtakos mokinių informatikos pagrindų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this master thesis, computer science curriculum in compulsory school of Lithuania and other foreign countries are reviewed. Data of "Beaver" information technology contest, which is organized in more than ten countries, has been selected as a more attractive way to imlement this study. The comparisons of tasks sets in Lithuanian “Beaver” competition in 2008 – 2010 according to informatics concepts are presented. In this thesis, there was assessed information function of tasks set by using data of pupils’ results. The data of results were obtained from Lithuanian competition of “Beaver” in 2010. Information function allows choosing the best tasks for due ability level of pupils. Pupils’ abilities level of computer science is inseparable from informatics fundamentals, which is forming over time when pupils get the right information about informatics fundamentals during the computers science lesson, or when their teachers use information and communication technologies. The difficulty parameters of tasks, and discriminations parameters of tasks, which describe how well an item can differentiate between examinees having abilities below the item location and those having abilities above the item location, are calculated. The results of this study are important for teachers, which influence formation of informatics fundamentals of pupils, as well as for experts and creators of competition tasks, because for them it is important the right and purposeful introduction to computer... [to full text]

Context: The aim of the proposed research is to investigate autism early intervention in Saudi Arabia, taking into account the reality that such services are in a relatively early stage of development in Saudi Arabia due to the current limited experience in the autism domain generally and in early intervention programmes specifically. As such, this study was intended to act as a basis for gaining a greater understanding about how such services could be developed in Saudi Arabia in the future. Indeed, special attention was given to the cultural specifications to see if such programmes can be implemented and adapted to fit the needs of the families in Saudi Arabia. Objective: The aim is to develop the parental training programme that emerges from parents‟ needs in relation to their children with autism in which a parental training programme can be developed that leads to the establishment of a home-based intervention programme. Method: The constructivist grounded theory approach used to identify programme components, their implementation and effectiveness. Data collected from (20 interviews, 251questionnaires, 8 programme evaluation sheets, parental stress index short form (PSI-SF). Results: The present study suggested a parental training course framework with a detailed description of its components, delivery approach and evaluation process. This study also provided clear evidence that the current suggested parental training framework targeted the participants' needs and provided them with the support, the information and the skills that they needed at the post diagnosis stage. Conclusion: This result can sensitise services providers in establishing a parental training programme to help empower parents to administer some of the therapies to their autistic children that are needed on a day to day basis, with the minimal amount of stress to the parental life style.

Title of work Psychological training at the sports swimming Goal of work Goal of work is to ascertain the degree of foreknowledge and the utilization of the psychological training as well as managing the emotive condition in contest situations at sports swimming. The role of the research object played the men and women swimmers of the representative teams of the Czech Republic. Techniques and methodology Collection of dates is based on a questionnaire survey. This questionnaire survey was put together for the sake of the goal's purpose and revised by specialists at psychology and swimming. The gained data are presented by means of the quantitive projection in the chart and graphic form. Outcome The final outcome proves a certain cognizance of the competitive swimmers about the relevance of the psychological training. But by most of them is the psychological training considered as insufficient. Only few of the respondents take the advantage of coactions with a sports psychologist. The most frequented psychological methods used by swimmers are - verbal influencing, self-regulatory resources and music incentive. Key words Swimming, psychological training methods, contest condition, emotions.