En este artículo se revisa el manejo del concepto de las variables y las unidades de análisis (sujetos)en la investigación empírica en Economía. Se incorporan ideas desde otras áreas cuantitativas, yse ordenan en un marco metodológico. Se presenta una taxonomía de las variables y se discutenaspectos metodológicos que se derivan de ella. Se sugiere que el reflexionar sobre la naturalezade las variables y sujetos desde el inicio del trabajo empírico es una tarea que debe ser parte de laformulación misma de teorías, hipótesis o ideas involucradas en el trabajo empírico económico.El lenguaje usado es no técnico para captar el interés de audiencias más amplias. -- This article reviews the concept of variables and units of analysis (subjects) in empirical researchin economics. It incorporates ideas from other quantitative areas, and are arranged in a conceptualframework. We present a taxonomy for the variables and units and discuss methodologicalissues that arise from the framework. We suggest that the reflection on the nature of the variablesand subjects from the beginning of the research is a task which should be part of the formulationof theories, hypothesis or ideas involved in the empirical economic research. We use non technicallanguage to call the attention from a wider audience.

A questão central deste trabalho refere-se à institucionalização da mediação no âmbito do Judiciário e às condições necessárias para uma boa relação entre a mediação e o processo judicial. Esta questão foi analisada sob as perspectivas processual e institucional. A primeira recai sobre as bases do processo de mediação, em especial o devido processo legal mínimo, e a sua interação com o processo judicial, diferenciando a justiça do processo e a justiça do resultado. A segunda recai sobre o desenho dos programas de mediação que funcionam junto ao Judiciário e os papéis assumidos pelos diferentes atores que participam destes programas: juízes, mediadores, partes, advogados e funcionários dos Tribunais. Sob esta última perspectiva, foi realizada pesquisa empírica e comparada em programas de mediação que funcionam junto ao Judiciário no Brasil e nos EUA. / The main issue of this work is the institutionalization of mediation within the Courthouse and the pre-conditions for having a good relationship between mediation and the Judiciary. This issue is analyzed from both procedural and institutional points of view. The procedural perspective falls on the mediation due process (minimal but meaningful due process standards) and on the differences between the procedural and substantial justices. The institutional perspective falls on the design of the Court-Connected Mediation Programs and on the roles of the players who participated in these programs: judges, mediators, plaintiff and defendant, attorneys, and Court workers. An empirical research was also done about the Court-Connected Mediation Programs in Brazil and in the United States.

De março de 2010 a dezembro de 2012, o Observatório de Comunicação, Liberdade de Expressão e Censura (OBCOM) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) desenvolveu a pesquisa Opinião Pública e Censura no Mundo Contemporâneo. Para abarcar a complexidade e a diversidade de pontos de vista, diferentes instrumentos de investigação foram empregados, dentre eles, a produção de vídeo-entrevistas. Consideramos relevante avivar o debate a incorporação da linguagem audiovisual ao trabalho de pesquisa empírica no âmbito das Ciências Humanas e Sociais tanto para ressaltar quanto justificar possibilidades renovadas de postura, abordagem, interação e divulgação de nossa produção científica. O processo desta proposta audiovisual em seus aspectos epistemológicos, teóricos e técnicos foi o objeto deste trabalho. Partindo da experiência de produção, a metodologia que adotamos converge com experiências contemporâneas da Antropologia, Ciências Sociais, Cinema e Documentário. Sendo assim, a construção da pesquisa colocou em relevo as questões: a) O debate sobre a incorporação das imagens ao trabalho científico e a validade de uma metodologia na pesquisa empírica com audiovisual; b) O questionamento do uso de mídias a partir das Ciências da Comunicação; c) Como o audiovisual foi incorporado em uma pesquisa sobre Opinião Pública e suas possibilidades de análises; d) As renovadas posturas de abordagem, interação e divulgação da produção científica contemporânea. / From March 2010 to December 2012, the Universitys of São Paulo Observatório de Comunicação, Liberdade de Expressão e Censura (OBCOM), developed the research Public Opinion and Censorship in Contemporary World (Opinião Pública e Censura no Mundo Contemporâneo). To arrest the complexity and the diversity of different points of view, multiple investigations apparatus were used, such as the video-recording production. We considered relevant, to enliven the debate, the implantation of audiovisual language in the empiric research work inside Humanities studies. This would justify the renewed possibilities of stance, approach, interaction and disclosing of scientific production and also, would highlight them. The process of this audiovisual proposal in its epistemological, technical and theoretical aspects is the object of this paper. Based on the production experience, we adopt a methodology that converges with contemporary experiences in Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cinema and Documentary. In light of this evidence, the main questions that the research points at are: a-) the debate about the images incorporation in scientific work and the validation of a methodology in empiric research with audiovisual resources; b-) the questioning of media uses in Communication Sciences; c-) how audiovisual resources were used in a research about public opinion and how we can analyze them; d-) the renewed stances of approach, interaction and divulgation of contemporary scientific production.

Abstract This thesis is a descriptive empirical research about the connection between architectonic quality and housing prices. The architectonic quality is defined in this research through the institutional concept of quality as it is understood inside the profession of architecture, which defines what is regarded as good architecture and which factors connected to designers can generate architectonic quality. By analyzing debt-free market prices of apartments, it is studied how well the institutional concept of quality corresponds to consumers’ appreciation. The research uses hedonic price models as a research method, which is a commonly used method for analyzing housing prices in the field of economics. The empirical data of the research consists of the apartment buildings located in the southern downtown area of Helsinki and the real estate transactions in them during the years 1980–2008. The factors of the architectonic quality in this data are collected and developed especially for this research. The main research question is: Is there a connection between the factors of architectonic quality and housing prices? More precise sub-questions are: Are education, experience, or merits of the building designer relevant factors of housing prices? Are the architectonic style or architectonic appreciation of the building relevant factors of housing prices? In addition, it is studied if there is a correlation between the architectonic view and housing prices, which would indicate that the architectonic quality causes also economic externalities. The result of the research is that the studied factors of the architectonic quality and housing prices are connected. The education, experience and merits of the building designer are all factors which are perceived to increase apartment prices. It was also revealed that the architectonic style and the architectonic appreciation of the building correlate with the housing prices. Moreover, a clear price premium related to architectonic view can be found in the analysis. However, all the factors employed do not give unambiguous results, which gives reason to study the differences of used factors and raises further research questions. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöstutkimus on kuvaileva empiirinen tutkimus arkkitehtonisen laadun yhteydestä asuntojen hintoihin. Arkkitehtoninen laatu määrittyy tutkimuksessa institutionaalisen laatukäsityksen kautta arkkitehtuurin alan sisäisenä näkemyksenä siitä, mitä pidetään hyvänä arkkitehtuurina ja mitkä rakennusten suunnittelijoihin liitetyt tekijät voivat edesauttaa arkkitehtonisen laadun syntymistä. Analysoimalla asuntojen velattomia myyntihintoja selvitetään, miten hyvin tutkimuksessa määritelty arkkitehtuurin institutionaalinen laatukäsitys vastaa kuluttajien arvostusta. Analyysimenetelmänä käytetään hedonista regressiomallinnusta, joka on taloustieteissä yleinen asuntojen hintojen tutkimisessa käytetty menetelmä. Empiirinen aineisto tutkimuksessa koostuu Helsingin eteläisen kantakaupungin alueen rakennuksista sekä niissä käydyistä asuntokaupoista vuosina 1980–2008. Aineiston arkkitehtonisen laadun muuttujat ovat tätä tutkimusta varten kehitettyjä ja kerättyjä. Päätutkimuskysymys on, onko arkkitehtonista laatua mittaavilla muuttujilla yhteys asuntojen hintoihin. Tarkentavia apukysymyksiä ovat seuraavat: Onko rakennussuunnittelijan koulutuksella, kokemuksella ja ansioituneisuudella merkitystä asuntojen hintatekijöinä? Onko rakennuksen arkkitehtonisella tyylillä tai arkkitehtonisella arvostuksella merkitystä asuntojen hintatekijöinä. Lisäksi tutkitaan, onko arkkitehtoniselle näkymälle löydettävissä asuntojen hinnoissa ilmenevä korrelaatio, joka indikoisi sitä, että arkkitehtonisella laadulla on myös taloudellisia ulkoisvaikutuksia. Tutkimuksen tulokseksi saadaan, että tutkituilla arkkitehtonisen laadun muuttujilla on havaittava yhteys asuntojen hintoihin. Sekä rakennussuunnittelijan koulutukseen, kokemukseen että ansioituneisuuteen liitettyjen muuttujien havaitaan tutkimuksessa olevan asuntojen hintaa nostavia tekijöitä. Myös rakennuksen arkkitehtoninen tyyli ja arkkitehtoninen arvostus osoittavat selkeän yhteyden asuntojen hintoihin. Niin ikään arkkitehtoniselle näkymälle löydetään suoritetuissa analyyseissä selkeä asuntojen hinnoissa havaittava preemio eli hintaero. Kaikki tutkitut mittarit eivät kuitenkaan anna täysin yksiselitteisiä tuloksia, mikä antaa aihetta tarkastella käytettyjen mittareiden eroavaisuuksia ja synnyttää jatkotutkimuskysymyksiä.

這篇論文參考Walker and Wooders (2001)的網球發球模型，並且使用較完整的網路社群記錄的網球比賽資料庫，檢驗網球選手的發球決策是否符合賽局理論中的混合策略理論預測的行為模式。Walker and Wooders (2001)提到要檢視混合策略是否成立，必須通過兩個假設檢定。第一個是無論發球的方向為何，發球的勝率均相等。第二個是發球的方向必須符合序列不相關。 相較先前的論文，我們更改了發球方向和分數的紀錄方式，使資料更符合比賽實際的情形。另外，我們使用了ATP網站上的排名，依發球者和接球者的能力排名將比賽區分為四個子集合，為的是觀察對戰組合對選手策略行為上的影響。 實證結果顯示，當在接發球者能力都很強的比賽中，混和策略並不成立。相對地，其他三個子集合中都符合理論預期。在序列不相關的檢定中，發球能力差的選手容易出現過度變換方向的情形，此可能因為選手要以不可預測來彌補發球能力的不足。另一方面，在好的發球者的比賽中，被拒絕的序列不相關檢定都是源自過少的方向變換，我們推斷因為發球者的發球品質好，所以更能著重於攻擊對手的弱點而非讓對手無法預測發球落點。 / Using the tennis serving model introduced by Walker and Wooders (2001) and a more comprehensive database obtained from a tennis charting program, we test whether professional tennis players behave according to the predictions of the mixed strategy. We test two predictions from Walker and Wooders (2001) model: the hypothesis for equality of winning probability and serial independence. We improve the method of recording each point in matches and use the rank (serving rank and returning rank) from ATP leaderboards to separate our data to four subsets. We hypothesize that rivalry combination may have impact on the strategic behavior of players. Our empirical result shows that players don’t play mixed strategy in the top-ranking server vs. top-ranking receiver subset, while players conform to what theory suggests for the other subsets. On the other hand, run-test results show that poor servers tend to switch serving directions too often, probably to defend their weakness by creating more uncertainties in serves. However, good servers do not have this tendency because of their high serving quality.

This study is about a conceptual framework in order to assist a minister to ensure that the whole family (consisting of different generations) is addressed in the same family service. In many churches different services are held for different generations while, when the family attend a service, the children and teenagers mostly feel that they are not addressed. Children are part of the family of God and should attend the church service with their parents or caretakers. They are the child’s mentors in more than one way and should also guide them to live their lives as Christians. Church leaders increasingly realise that what is happening in the life of a child is directly related to what is happening, or not happening, at home. Leaders recognise that in order to pass on the faith from generation to generation, a new paradigm of ministry is needed – one that is holistic and connects children, youth, family, congregation, community and culture. The generation theory is a tool to help a minister to understand the family members better. It is not a mechanism to label people. It is more like a dipstick into a period of time that groups people who tend, generally speaking, to think and act in a similar manner under certain conditions. With understanding comes insight as well as vision, and problem-solving may follow. A sermon group where families are invited to discuss the Scripture reading as well as the message of the text before and after the sermon may help the minister to address the whole family. The sermon group will enhance communication and understanding. It may also help with the building of relationships between the different generations within the family as well as with the minister. Praise and worship plays an important role in the family service. Traditional worship is word-driven and punctuated by organ music. Contemporary worship is music-driven with pianos, drums and guitars. In order to accommodate all the generations an integrated style is a possibility to explore. This style integrates all the music instruments and songs of the different generations. In a family service worship should link each part of the liturgy in such a way that the reformed character of the service is not neglected. The sermon in a family service, as well as the whole service itself, should be short. The minister should use ample metaphors and visual material in the sermon. It is also important to use simple language (and seldom theological terms) in order to facilitate better understanding amongst the children and teenagers. The person of the minister plays an important role in a family-service. There is always a minister who conducts the service. An honest, transparent and trustworthy minister’s message will be accepted by all generations, even if he/she might not be the best orator. After studying the literature, empirical research was conducted. The original conceptual framework was enriched and broadened by the life-experience interviews of the families regarding the church service. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The research problem of this thesis was to hold large-scale sports event and its organization by nonprofessional workers that must be managed. To solve the main problem, we selected two main objectives. Determining monetary value of voluntary labour during organization of big sports event based on method VŠE was the first goal. This objective was fulfilled and determines the value at CZK 118.25. The second goal was to analyse the organization of sports event and it's securing. Using network analysis was able to find the critical path of preparation activities. Gantt diagram allowed carrying out a full analysis of resources, which could be the subject of further research.

The study on the role of preaching within the United Church of Zambia in Kitwe, with a purpose of finding out and documenting the role of preaching in three case study congregations of the United Church of Zambia in the city of Kitwe, and to underscore the point that the study has focused on how members of the three case study congregations described and justified the superiority of preaching. It includes the analysis of data from the three case study congregations of the United Church of Zambia and applying the methodology of Richard Osmer’s (2008) practical theological interpretation. The literature was from books, and data was collected from the participants by using their experiences in a research perspective. The researcher used unstructured interviews from thirty-one participants drawn from the three congregations of the United Church of Zambia within the city of Kitwe, employing qualitative methods in the collection and analysis of data. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This master thesis deals with the topic of the natural place and the place which is changed by people's activity. It deals with topic of genius loci, problems of loss of the place and our relationship to place where we live. In more detail it is focused on the city and its peripherals. It offers a short wiew to the history of cities and their periphery, architecture and urban planning. The thesis also deals with fine arts associated with the urban environment - artists, for which the city was and is an inspiration and a theme and with the role of art in public spaces. Research part of the thesis is aimed at children's perception of the place where we live. Through qualitative research methods I am trying to find out what is the meaning of the word "home" for todays children, how they percieve their close surroundings and what is the development of their thinking. The didact part of the thesis offers collection of art assigments for children with topic of the city that should increase children's perception of the urban environment. Some of them are inspirated by psychological geography which is based on the human perception of the environment and its reflection in our consciousness. The pedagogical reflection of realized tasks is also included in this part of work. The conclusion of the thesis is...

The purpose of this study is empirically investigating four research questions related to manufacturing flexibility. 1) What are the components of manufacturing flexibility? 2) Is there a relationship between manufacturing flexibility and organizational performance? 3) Do integrated strategies strengthen the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and organizational performance? 4) Are there organizational characteristics that strengthen the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and organizational performance? This study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from manufacturing organizations in multiple industries. Organizational performance was quantified using common manufacturing measures. Strategic integration and organizational infrastructure were also measured. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Factor analysis, correlation analysis, and regression were used to analyze the data. The results indicate the variables and expected relationships exist as hypothesized. This study contributes to the manufacturing flexibility body of knowledge by identifying relationships between the manufacturing flexibility component, performance, strategic integration, and organizational infrastructure. The instrument development in this study is of particular value as there are few rigorously developed and validated instruments to measure the manufacturing flexibility components and performance. Understanding these relationships will help practitioners make better decisions in manufacturing organizations as well as enable application of the concepts in this study to other contexts such as service organizations.