The main motivation for this work was to show that economy cannot be explained just by economy. Many other sciences are essential for understanding economic processes and models of behavior. This paper presents the proven relations between the philosophy, economics and psychology. The study of different economic concepts requires development of an extensive network of connections between humans on the one side, and their social needs and behavior on the other side. The starting point is the return in the time of Ancient Greeks, with whose theoretical approaches can be explained the majority of person's actions. This paper uses theoretical analyses to assess the impact of the "passions and interests", hedonic happiness and stoic self-interest on the economic policy and individuals. Through the gently presented forms of hedonism, this work deals with different theories such as theory of modern consumerism, marginal utilitarianism, preference theory, theory of rational allocation. The data gathered in the form of publication analysis, little psychological experiments and real life examples serve to test the hypothesis of the direct relationship between hedonistic impacts on economic theory. The two research questions are dealing with mastery of passions and interest in the economic behavior as well as with the...

This paper formally analyzes the role of yearly snowfall in explaining the changes in home valuations near ski resorts in the western United States. Using data on housing values for selected U.S. Census tracts, combined with detailed weather data, passenger arrival data from 10% of all commercial air traffic, and characteristics of nearby ski resorts, I find precise and consistent estimates of days of snowfall and number of available destinations by airport on housing values.

Orientadores: Ricardo Ribeiro Gudwin, Mauro Sérgio Miskulin / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T11:27:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Toro_PatriciaRochade_M.pdf: 1770305 bytes, checksum: 02d6f251e74543e47b5eba113be09f32 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: O uso de emoções como metáfora computacional para o desenvolvimento de sistemas de controle para agentes autônomos tem recebido diversas contribuições na literatura recente. Nesta dissertação apresentamos uma arquitetura para um Agente Emocional Hedonista, inspirada parcialmente em diversas destas contribuições. Para tanto, desenvolvemos um controlador que confere comportamento autônomo a uma criatura artificial. Duas implementações foram realizadas: uma baseada em um algoritmo heurístico e a outra, em um algoritmo genético. Ambas as implementações consideram dois níveis de controle hierárquico: um nível de controle direto e um nível de decisão de metas. Desenvolveu-se um simulador para a criatura artificial onde diferentes controladores podem ser acoplados à criatura, por meio da rede, rodando como processos separados. Utilizou-se em ambos os casos "Medo", "Fome" e "Curiosidade" como metáforas emocionais. O trabalho sinaliza, entre outros resultados, a adequação dessas metáforas como design patterns para a construção do comportamento do agente, sugerindo um novo paradigma de programação no desenvolvimento de agentes, que substitui uma programação orientada a casos de uso por uma programação orientada a propósitos / Abstract: The use of emotions as a computational metaphor for the development of autonomous agents control systems has received many contributions in the recent literature. In this work, we present an architecture for an Hedonistic Emotional Agent, partially inspired in many of such contributions. For that, we developed a controller which confers autonomous behavior to an artificial creature. Two implementations were performed: the first based on the generation of an heuristic algorithm, and the second one using a genetic algorithm. Both of them considers two layers of control: a low level of direct control and a higher level of goal decision. We developed a simulator for the artificial creature where different controllers can be attached to the creature through the network, running as different processes. We used in both cases "Fear", "Hunger" and "Curiosity" as emotional metaphors. The work signalizes, among others results, the adequacy of these metaphors as "design patterns" for the construction of agent behavior, suggesting a new programming paradigm in the development of agents, which exchanges a use-case oriented programming for a purpose-oriented new way of programming / Mestrado / Engenharia de Computação / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

There is a fragmentation in the discussion regarding sustainable urban development in the architectural field today. This has led to the creation of several envisions that seek to achieve sustainability using different approaches. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to map different envisions in the architectural field with a focal point on three specific; spatial agency, ecological urbanism and hedonistic sustainability.  The methods used in this thesis are a document study and a literature study with the aim to compare the swedish policies regarding architecture and urban development against the envisions that exist in the architectural field today. Status quo, reform and transformation are the three approaches used as the main theory to analyze the gathered empirics. We have also introduced practical examples from the envisions to give a more nuanced picture of the field and how visions and ideas are being realized. These examples are 2012Architecten in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, HafenCity in Hamburg, Germany and finally Copenhill in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The structure of the thesis is of an analyzed character to help the reader follow the reasonings and notions presented throughout the study. The conclusion shows that there are great difficulties in achieving transformation within the field today, especially regarding the practitioning and realization of visions and ideas since most of the projects are being realized with an underlying driving force in the economic aspect and the urge for economic growth. The study also shows that the current policies in Sweden do not make room for transformation since they are based on the social structures of today. / Inom arkitekturverksamheten idag finns det en splittring i definitionen kring hållbart stadsbyggande vilket skapat flertalet föreställningar som på olika sätt strävar mot hållbarhet. Uppsatsen syfte är därmed att kartlägga olika föreställningar om hållbart stadsbyggande och arkitekturpraktik där fokus har lagts vid tre föreställningar; spatial agency, ecological urbanism och hedonistic sustainability.  Arbetet är utformat efter en dokumentstudie och en litteraturstudie för att kunna jämföra de svenska styrdokumenten och den rådande arkitekturpolitik med de aktuella föreställningar som finns inom arkitekturverksamheten. De tre förhållningssätten status quo, reform och transformation utgör uppsatsen underliggande teori och den insamlade empirin analyseras utefter dessa. Även praktiska exempel från de utvalda föreställningarna tas upp för att ge en nyanserad bild av hur visioner och idéer förverkligas i samhället idag. De praktiska exemplen utgörs av 2012Architecten, Rotterdam, Nederländerna, HafenCity, Hamburg, Tyskland och slutligen Copenhill, Köpenhamn, Danmark.  Uppsatsen byggs upp efter en analyserande struktur för att bjuda in läsaren till att följa de resonemang och begrepp som presenteras. Uppsatsens slutsats visar på svårigheter att uppnå transformation inom stadsbyggnad och arkitektur idag. Detta då praktiken inte speglar forskning och visioner utan samtliga projekt har en underliggande ekonomisk drivkraft. Studien visar även på hur den rådande arkitekturpolitiken inte ger utrymme för transformation inom stadsbyggnad, utan i stället bygger på rådande samhällsstrukturer.

Millennials, or Generation Y, represent one of today’s most prominent age cohorts: with their increasingly stronger purchasing power and importance in the global economic landscape, it is no wonder that marketers are striving to find new ways to appeal to the taste of this peculiar generation of consumers. Among the various modern research fields in business, one in particular is offering incredibly interesting insights to both scholars and professional marketers: the concept of nostalgia proneness in consumer behavior. While several studies examine the dynamics of this phenomenon, none of them so far examined the impact of nostalgia proneness in shopping behavior, especially examining the dynamics on a sample of Generation Y consumers. This study was conducted in order to explore the dynamics of nostalgia proneness, linking the constructs to both desire for uniqueness and shopping behavior, using the framework provided by the Consumer Styles Inventory (Sproles & Sproles, 1990). After a theoretical review on the matter, several hypotheses and a conceptual model were developed to serve as the core framework of the quantitative analysis. The data, obtained from a convenience sample of 222 respondents, were subsequently examined using several statistical techniques (ANOVA, correlation and factor analysis), with the intent to test the hypotheses and shed light on the research questions. The outcome was then presented and interpreted using both the theoretical background and other complementary relevant literature. The results showed a positive relationship between nostalgia proneness and desire for uniqueness, with both variables being further connected to several shopping traits of the Generation Y consumer. The cluster and factor analysis eventually showed patterns that could be interpreted using the theory of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations.

Afin de saisir le contexte du phénomène de l’expatriation d’Occidentaux en Inde, nous relevons d’abord certains traits de la modernité occidentale, tels le sentiment d’aliénation, le tournant subjectiviste, la globalisation et les principaux mythes-modèles de l’Inde qui circulent dans les pays occidentaux et donnent naissance aux projets d’expatriation. Une approche expérientielle facilite la compréhension de l’expatriation telle qu’elle est vécue par les acteurs. La collecte de données ethnographiques permet de saisir ces expériences à partir de récits recueillis dans trois zones frontière : 1) à Rishikesh, auprès d’expatriés spirituels; 2) à Calcutta, auprès d’expatriés humanitaires; 3) à Goa, auprès d’expatriés hédonistes-expressifs cherchant à améliorer leur style de vie. Ces données ethnographiques sont présentées dans trois chapitres distincts. Un chapitre comparatif met ensuite en relief quelques points de convergence dans l’expérience des expatriés, soit l’insertion locale au sein de communautés spécifiques, fortement associées à des mythes-modèles de l’Inde; le renouveau identitaire découlant de l’expérience interculturelle; et finalement, l’impact du transnationalisme sur la consolidation du malaise face à la modernité. La discussion théorique présente les solutions mises en branle par les expatriés pour tempérer leur malaise par rapport à l’Occident, soit : 1) l’engagement en profondeur dans un mode de vie permettant de se réaliser selon ses propres aspirations; 2) le regroupement par affinités et l’adoption d’un rôle social clair; 3) l’affranchissement de la pression sociale et l’adoption de pratiques transnationales permettant de préserver une continuité affective avec les proches tout en endossant un statut d’étranger. L’étude révèle aussi qu’on ne peut faire abstraction de l’histoire des relations de l’Occident avec le sous-continent pour comprendre les relations interculturelles des expatriés occidentaux avec les Indiens locaux. Enfin, les privilèges socioéconomiques des Occidentaux en Inde sont clairement identifiés comme étant une condition essentielle de leurs projets d’expatriation, ceux-ci étant néanmoins motivés principalement par un sentiment d’épuisement culturel face à l’Occident et à son mode de vie. Faisant suite à l’analyse des points de vue critiques sur la modernité (renforcés par l’expérience d’altérité), la thèse s’achève sur l’évocation de quelques pistes de recherche pour une anthropologie de l’Occident, tout en interrogeant, implicitement, le projet anthropologique. / The expatriation of Westerners in India is a sociocultural phenomenon, and I shall first highlight a few characteristics of modernity in the West - the feeling of alienation, the subjective turn, globalisation as well as the most significant mythical models of India - to understand which conditions provide the impulse to expatriation projects. An experiential approach will then enable me to understand how expatriation is lived by the actors concerned. Ethnographic data collected in India in three different borderzones give me access to these experiences. Accounts were collected : 1) in Rishikesh with spiritual expatriates; 2) in Calcutta with humanitarian expatriates; and 3) in Goa with hedonistic-expressive expatriates seeking a new lifestyle. These accounts are presented in three different chapters. Following these, a comparative chapter focuses on convergence among the three types of expatriation : local insertion within specific communities highly associated with significant myth models of India; self-renewal deriving from cultural encounters; and lastly, impact of transnationalism on the reinforcement of the malaise of modernity experienced by those I interviewed. The theoretical argument presents the general answers that expatriates find to alleviate their malaise of modernity : 1) a deep commitment to a lifestyle that allows them to find fulfilment according to their own aspirations; 2) gathering with people sharing the same interests and commitment to a clearly defined social role; and 3) liberation from social pressure and integration of transnational practices allowing them to protect affective ties while adopting a convenient outsider status. The study also reveals that we cannot set aside the history of Western encounters with India if we want to understand specific encounters of Westerners with local Indians. While Western socioeconomic privileges in India are clearly described as a basic condition for expatriation, I nevertheless conclude that expatriation is mainly motivated by a feeling of cultural exhaustion with Western lifestyles. Analysis of critical standpoints on modernity (reinforced by cultural encounters) finally leads me to formulate some avenues that need to be explored to develop an anthropology of the West, meanwhile implicitly calling into question the anthropological project.

O objetivo desta dissertação foi analisar a qualidade de vida e os estoques de capital social em três localidades do RS: COREDES Nordeste, Noroeste Colonial e Metropolitano Delta do Jacuí. A hipótese principal é que a presença de solidariedade, reciprocidade e confiança refletem no bem estar das pessoas. O estudo conduzido sobre essas localidades foi realizado com base em dados oficiais sobre o desenvolvimento socioeconômico e dados empíricos de avaliação sobre o bem estar. O referencial teórico e metodológico utilizado segue a abordagem adotada pela Teoria Culturalista, que permite incorporar o conceito de capital social ao debate. Isto porque a definição de capital social empregada atribui valor às normas e sentimentos que as pessoas possuem acerca dos demais membros e instituições de sua sociedade. Este é um estudo de natureza comparada e descritiva, sendo estruturado em três partes. A primeira, composta pela metodologia e o referencial teórico. A segunda, de caráter analítico, descreve os dados empíricos das regiões estudadas. E a terceira, conclusiva, define os limites, os avanços e as perspectivas do capital social para a compreensão e promoção do bem estar. Os principais resultados alcançados evidenciam que o bem estar das pessoas pode ser explicado por indicadores de capital social. / The objective of this thesis is to analyze the life quality and the stocks of social capital in three different cities of Rio Grande do Sul: COREDES Northeast, Colonial Northeast and the Metropolitan Delta of Jacuí. The main hypothesis is that the presence of solidarity, reciprocity and trust affects people’s welfare. The research carried on these cities was conducted based upon official data about the social and economical development and empirical data of welfare evaluation. The theoretical and methodological reference utilized is the same adopted the Culturalistic Theory, which incorporates the concept of social capital to the debate. That is because the concept of social capital used allows the use of values, rules and feelings that people may have about other members and institutions of their society. This dissertation is comparative and descriptive structured in three parts: The first part is discusses the methodology and the theoretical references. The second is of analytic nature that describes the empirical data from the cities studied. The third section, establishes the limits, progress and the perspectives of social capital in relation to the welfare’s understanding and the promotion of well being. The main results indicate that people’s welfare can be best explained by social capital indicators.

Afin de saisir le contexte du phénomène de l’expatriation d’Occidentaux en Inde, nous relevons d’abord certains traits de la modernité occidentale, tels le sentiment d’aliénation, le tournant subjectiviste, la globalisation et les principaux mythes-modèles de l’Inde qui circulent dans les pays occidentaux et donnent naissance aux projets d’expatriation. Une approche expérientielle facilite la compréhension de l’expatriation telle qu’elle est vécue par les acteurs. La collecte de données ethnographiques permet de saisir ces expériences à partir de récits recueillis dans trois zones frontière : 1) à Rishikesh, auprès d’expatriés spirituels; 2) à Calcutta, auprès d’expatriés humanitaires; 3) à Goa, auprès d’expatriés hédonistes-expressifs cherchant à améliorer leur style de vie. Ces données ethnographiques sont présentées dans trois chapitres distincts. Un chapitre comparatif met ensuite en relief quelques points de convergence dans l’expérience des expatriés, soit l’insertion locale au sein de communautés spécifiques, fortement associées à des mythes-modèles de l’Inde; le renouveau identitaire découlant de l’expérience interculturelle; et finalement, l’impact du transnationalisme sur la consolidation du malaise face à la modernité. La discussion théorique présente les solutions mises en branle par les expatriés pour tempérer leur malaise par rapport à l’Occident, soit : 1) l’engagement en profondeur dans un mode de vie permettant de se réaliser selon ses propres aspirations; 2) le regroupement par affinités et l’adoption d’un rôle social clair; 3) l’affranchissement de la pression sociale et l’adoption de pratiques transnationales permettant de préserver une continuité affective avec les proches tout en endossant un statut d’étranger. L’étude révèle aussi qu’on ne peut faire abstraction de l’histoire des relations de l’Occident avec le sous-continent pour comprendre les relations interculturelles des expatriés occidentaux avec les Indiens locaux. Enfin, les privilèges socioéconomiques des Occidentaux en Inde sont clairement identifiés comme étant une condition essentielle de leurs projets d’expatriation, ceux-ci étant néanmoins motivés principalement par un sentiment d’épuisement culturel face à l’Occident et à son mode de vie. Faisant suite à l’analyse des points de vue critiques sur la modernité (renforcés par l’expérience d’altérité), la thèse s’achève sur l’évocation de quelques pistes de recherche pour une anthropologie de l’Occident, tout en interrogeant, implicitement, le projet anthropologique. / The expatriation of Westerners in India is a sociocultural phenomenon, and I shall first highlight a few characteristics of modernity in the West - the feeling of alienation, the subjective turn, globalisation as well as the most significant mythical models of India - to understand which conditions provide the impulse to expatriation projects. An experiential approach will then enable me to understand how expatriation is lived by the actors concerned. Ethnographic data collected in India in three different borderzones give me access to these experiences. Accounts were collected : 1) in Rishikesh with spiritual expatriates; 2) in Calcutta with humanitarian expatriates; and 3) in Goa with hedonistic-expressive expatriates seeking a new lifestyle. These accounts are presented in three different chapters. Following these, a comparative chapter focuses on convergence among the three types of expatriation : local insertion within specific communities highly associated with significant myth models of India; self-renewal deriving from cultural encounters; and lastly, impact of transnationalism on the reinforcement of the malaise of modernity experienced by those I interviewed. The theoretical argument presents the general answers that expatriates find to alleviate their malaise of modernity : 1) a deep commitment to a lifestyle that allows them to find fulfilment according to their own aspirations; 2) gathering with people sharing the same interests and commitment to a clearly defined social role; and 3) liberation from social pressure and integration of transnational practices allowing them to protect affective ties while adopting a convenient outsider status. The study also reveals that we cannot set aside the history of Western encounters with India if we want to understand specific encounters of Westerners with local Indians. While Western socioeconomic privileges in India are clearly described as a basic condition for expatriation, I nevertheless conclude that expatriation is mainly motivated by a feeling of cultural exhaustion with Western lifestyles. Analysis of critical standpoints on modernity (reinforced by cultural encounters) finally leads me to formulate some avenues that need to be explored to develop an anthropology of the West, meanwhile implicitly calling into question the anthropological project.

O objetivo desta dissertação foi analisar a qualidade de vida e os estoques de capital social em três localidades do RS: COREDES Nordeste, Noroeste Colonial e Metropolitano Delta do Jacuí. A hipótese principal é que a presença de solidariedade, reciprocidade e confiança refletem no bem estar das pessoas. O estudo conduzido sobre essas localidades foi realizado com base em dados oficiais sobre o desenvolvimento socioeconômico e dados empíricos de avaliação sobre o bem estar. O referencial teórico e metodológico utilizado segue a abordagem adotada pela Teoria Culturalista, que permite incorporar o conceito de capital social ao debate. Isto porque a definição de capital social empregada atribui valor às normas e sentimentos que as pessoas possuem acerca dos demais membros e instituições de sua sociedade. Este é um estudo de natureza comparada e descritiva, sendo estruturado em três partes. A primeira, composta pela metodologia e o referencial teórico. A segunda, de caráter analítico, descreve os dados empíricos das regiões estudadas. E a terceira, conclusiva, define os limites, os avanços e as perspectivas do capital social para a compreensão e promoção do bem estar. Os principais resultados alcançados evidenciam que o bem estar das pessoas pode ser explicado por indicadores de capital social. / The objective of this thesis is to analyze the life quality and the stocks of social capital in three different cities of Rio Grande do Sul: COREDES Northeast, Colonial Northeast and the Metropolitan Delta of Jacuí. The main hypothesis is that the presence of solidarity, reciprocity and trust affects people’s welfare. The research carried on these cities was conducted based upon official data about the social and economical development and empirical data of welfare evaluation. The theoretical and methodological reference utilized is the same adopted the Culturalistic Theory, which incorporates the concept of social capital to the debate. That is because the concept of social capital used allows the use of values, rules and feelings that people may have about other members and institutions of their society. This dissertation is comparative and descriptive structured in three parts: The first part is discusses the methodology and the theoretical references. The second is of analytic nature that describes the empirical data from the cities studied. The third section, establishes the limits, progress and the perspectives of social capital in relation to the welfare’s understanding and the promotion of well being. The main results indicate that people’s welfare can be best explained by social capital indicators.

O objetivo desta dissertação foi analisar a qualidade de vida e os estoques de capital social em três localidades do RS: COREDES Nordeste, Noroeste Colonial e Metropolitano Delta do Jacuí. A hipótese principal é que a presença de solidariedade, reciprocidade e confiança refletem no bem estar das pessoas. O estudo conduzido sobre essas localidades foi realizado com base em dados oficiais sobre o desenvolvimento socioeconômico e dados empíricos de avaliação sobre o bem estar. O referencial teórico e metodológico utilizado segue a abordagem adotada pela Teoria Culturalista, que permite incorporar o conceito de capital social ao debate. Isto porque a definição de capital social empregada atribui valor às normas e sentimentos que as pessoas possuem acerca dos demais membros e instituições de sua sociedade. Este é um estudo de natureza comparada e descritiva, sendo estruturado em três partes. A primeira, composta pela metodologia e o referencial teórico. A segunda, de caráter analítico, descreve os dados empíricos das regiões estudadas. E a terceira, conclusiva, define os limites, os avanços e as perspectivas do capital social para a compreensão e promoção do bem estar. Os principais resultados alcançados evidenciam que o bem estar das pessoas pode ser explicado por indicadores de capital social. / The objective of this thesis is to analyze the life quality and the stocks of social capital in three different cities of Rio Grande do Sul: COREDES Northeast, Colonial Northeast and the Metropolitan Delta of Jacuí. The main hypothesis is that the presence of solidarity, reciprocity and trust affects people’s welfare. The research carried on these cities was conducted based upon official data about the social and economical development and empirical data of welfare evaluation. The theoretical and methodological reference utilized is the same adopted the Culturalistic Theory, which incorporates the concept of social capital to the debate. That is because the concept of social capital used allows the use of values, rules and feelings that people may have about other members and institutions of their society. This dissertation is comparative and descriptive structured in three parts: The first part is discusses the methodology and the theoretical references. The second is of analytic nature that describes the empirical data from the cities studied. The third section, establishes the limits, progress and the perspectives of social capital in relation to the welfare’s understanding and the promotion of well being. The main results indicate that people’s welfare can be best explained by social capital indicators.