A prediction market is a special type of market which offers trades for securities associated with future states that are observable at a certain time in the future. Recently, prediction markets have shown the promise of being an abstract framework for designing distributed, scalable and self-incentivized machine learning systems which could then apply to large scale problems. However, existing designs of prediction markets are far from achieving such machine learning goal, due to (1) the limited belief modelling power and also (2) an inadequate understanding of the market dynamics. This work is thus motivated by improving and extending current prediction market design in both aspects. This research is focused on potential based prediction markets, that is, prediction markets that are administered by potential (or cost function) based market makers (PMM). To improve the market’s modelling power, we first propose the partially-observable potential based market maker (PoPMM), which generalizes the standard PMM such that it allows securities to be defined and evaluated on future states that are only partially-observable, while also maintaining the key properties of the standard PMM. Next, we complete and extend the theory of generalized exponential families (GEFs), and use GEFs to free the belief models encoded in the PMM/PoPMM from always being in exponential families. To have a better understanding of the market dynamics and its link to model learning, we discuss the market equilibrium and convergence in two main settings: convergence driven by traders, and convergence driven by the market maker. In the former case, we show that a market-wise objective will emerge from the traders’ personal objectives and will be optimized through traders’ selfish behaviours in trading. We then draw intimate links between the convergence result to popular algorithms in convex optimization and machine learning. In the latter case, we augment the PMM with an extra belief model and a bid-ask spread, and model the market dynamics as an optimal control problem. This convergence result requires no specific models on traders, and is suitable for understanding the markets involving less controllable traders.

abstract: There is a documented gap between research-based recommendations produced by university-based scholars in the field of education in the United States and the evidence that U.S. politicians' use when deciding which educational policies to implement or amend. This is a problem because university-based education scholars produce vast quantities of research each year, some of which could, and more importantly should, be useful to politicians in their decision-making processes and yet, politicians continue to make policy decisions about education without the benefit of much of the knowledge that has been gained through scholarly research. I refer to the small fraction of university-based education scholars who are demonstrably successful at getting scholarly research into the hands of politicians to be used for decision-making purposes as "university-based bipartisan scholarship brokers". They are distinct from other university-based education scholars in that they engage with politicians from both political parties around research and, as such, are able to use scholarly research to influence the education policymaking process. The problem that this dissertation addresses is the lack of use, by U.S. politicians, of scholarly research produced by United States university-based education scholars as input in education policy decisions. The way in which this problem is explored is through studying university-based bipartisan scholarship brokers. I focused on three areas for exploration: the methods university-based bipartisan scholarship brokers use to successfully get U.S. politicians to consider scholarly research as an input in their decision-making processes around education policy, how these scholars are different than the majority of university-based education policy scholars, and how they conceive of the education policy-setting agenda. What I uncovered in this dissertation is that university-based bipartisan scholarship brokers are a complete sub-group of university-based education scholars. They work above the rigorous promotion and tenure requirements of their home universities in order to use scholarly research to help serve the research needs of politicians. Their engagement is distinct among university-based education scholars and through this dissertation their perspective is presented in participants' own authentic language. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2013

Submitted by Kenia Bernini (kenia.bernini@ufpel.edu.br) on 2018-08-16T21:16:44Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Carla_Rosane_Silva_Mota_Dissertação.pdf: 934839 bytes, checksum: 88848d25bf1db1610161aa4e2f639b8b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T21:16:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Carla_Rosane_Silva_Mota_Dissertação.pdf: 934839 bytes, checksum: 88848d25bf1db1610161aa4e2f639b8b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-13 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / O presente estudo buscou analisar o processo de formulação das políticas públicas de economia solidária nos governos de Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016), a partir da percepção dos policy-makers envolvidos diretamente com o tema, de modo a compreender como se estabeleceram as prioridades para estas políticas e qual a dinâmica de tomada de decisão política, ou seja, quem detinha o poder de decidir sobre essas políticas públicas e como essa decisão era tomada. A metodologia adotada é qualitativa e as técnicas utilizadas para a coleta dos dados foram: pesquisa documental, observação e entrevistas com roteiro semiestruturado. Em linhas gerais, a hipótese traçada na pesquisa é de que a formulação das políticas públicas de economia solidária, durante os governos de Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016), ocorreu de forma coletiva e participativa, envolvendo atores que compõem organizações da sociedade civil, ainda que estas organizações não tivessem o poder de decisão, elas contribuíram com a formulação dessas políticas na medida em que indicavam prioridades e diretrizes. Além disso, acredita-se que o processo decisório foi conduzido por um grupo de atores políticos e gestores da SENAES, a partir de dinâmicas de organização e formas de tomadas de decisões que se aproximam dos princípios da horizontalidade. As hipóteses foram confirmadas ao longo do estudo, demonstrando que as políticas públicas de economia solidária, formuladas durante os governos Dilma, no âmbito do governo federal, caracterizam-se enquanto políticas públicas do tipo bottom-up (de baixo para cima) / The present study sought to analyze the process of formulation the public policies of solidarity economy in the governments of Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016), from the perception of the policy-makers directly involved with the theme, in order to understand how the priorities were established for these policies and what the dynamics of political decision making, that is, who had the power to decide on these public policies and how that decision was made. The methodology used was qualitative and the techniques used to collect the data were: documentary research, observation and interviews with semi-structured script. In general, the hypothesis drawn in the research is that the formulation of public policies of solidarity economy, during the governments of Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016), took place in a collective and participative way, involving actors that make up civil society organizations, even if these organizations did not have decision-making power, they contributed to the formulation of these policies in that they indicated priorities and guidelines. In addition, it is believed that the decision-making process was conducted by a group of political actors and managers from SENAES, based on organizational dynamics and decision-making approaches that approximate the principles of horizontality. The hypotheses were confirmed throughout the study, demonstrating that public policies of solidarity economy, formulated during the Dilma governments, within the federal government, are characterized as bottom-up public policies

Denna studie undersökte uppfattningar om praktiker när det gäller skriftliga återkopplingsmetoder för två lärare i engelska på ett svensk gymnasium. Projektet som utformades som en fallstudie undersökte också de kontextuella faktorerna som påverkar lärarnas kunskaper, övertygelser och skriftliga återkopplingsmetoder genom att samla in data med hjälp av Think-Aloud protokoll sessioner, halvstrukturerade intervjuer och analys av kommenterade studenttexter. Resultaten tyder på att det finns skillnader i lärarnas uppfattningar och faktiska praxis när det gäller att lära sig att skriva och tillhandahålla skriftlig återkoppling på grund av de kontextuella faktorerna. Resultaten visar också att lärarnas akademiska identitet, erfarenhet och institutionella krav tillsammans med andra faktorer som betyg, tid, studentmotivering och klassrummstorlek har påverkat lärarens beslutsprocess.

Public policy analysts are often tasked with reviewing research or other forms of evidence in order to provide advice for policy decisions. Many have argued that systematic reviews that include meta-analyses (SRMAs) are the most rigorous forms of evidence, and thus, when possible, should form the basis of policy decisions. However, it is not yet clear to what extent policy analysts are aware of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, or to what extend they use them to inform policy work. Moreover, given the importance of evaluating the quality of research before using it for policy, it is not clear to what extent policy analysts feel able to judge the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. An online survey was used to provide initial estimates of the extent to which policy analysts a) are familiar with SRMAs; b) use these reviews to inform their policy work; and c) are able to evaluate them. It further sought to explore other correlates of use, barriers to use, methods to increase use, and knowledge of factors that influence quality. Thirty-nine Ministerial policy analysts responded to the survey, 18 from the Ministry of Health, 9 from the Ministry of Environment, and 12 from other ministries. Policy analysts reported being fairly familiar with both systematic reviews and meta-analyses, although they were more familiar with systematic reviews than with meta-analyses. There were no differences between the Health, Environment, or Other groups with respect to familiarity. Respondents reported moderate scores on most indicators of use, with results suggesting the Health group having the highest rates of use, followed by the Environment group and then the Other group. Finally, there were relatively high self-ratings on ability to judge the quality of SRMAs, with no differences found between groups. The results of other exploratory analyses are also presented, and implications and recommendations are discussed. / Graduate

The aim of this thesis is to assess Chinese automotive industry in the context of Chinese and world economy. Above all, it is focused on competitiveness of Chinese car makers with their counterparts from developed economies. Thesis has three parts. First chapter looks into the current position of both Chinese economy and automotive industry in the development pattern of the Word economy. Second part deals with automotive sector in China, its development and biggest car makers; also analyses results of Chinese customers' survey conducted. The goal of the last part is to examine current trends in the industry and competitiveness of Chinese car makers abroad.

“Makers” around the world cohere in a digital and physical network of technology hobbyists. “Makers" are open-source hardware enthusiasts who use machines like 3D printers and laser cutters - manufacturing tools that have only recently become accessible to laypeople - to make things. “Makers" share a vision for a world where everyone would be able to make almost anything, supplanting top-down economic systems and channels of production. This ethnographic research examines a subset of the “maker” community: “makers” in “FabLabs” in Japan. These “FabLabs” are small workshops that house the machines that “makers” need and make them open to the public. Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Japan, this dissertation argues that the network of people, spaces, and machines remains coherent not because of common cultural forces like capitalist ambition, religion, geographic proximity, or even nationality. Rather, the coherence is more precisely understood - in the frame of science and technology studies - by examining the cohesive force of newly invented rituals and “active” ideas that engender hope and spur action toward a shared vision. Furthermore, the FabLab community in Japan exemplifies a novel culture of expertise wherein laypeople call on experts as-needed to accomplish their personal ambitions, flipping the usual understanding of expertise as a guarded product of insular cultural systems. I examine this unique culture of expertise and outline types of expertise developing from this dynamic, disparate, and impressively coherent FabLab network in Japan. Drawing on my ethnographic observations, I argue that laypeople, still bounded by political-economic forces in Japan, nevertheless are exercising a degree of agency that was previously the domain only of experts in manufacturing. This action by laypeople is what activates sufficient cohesive activity to sustain the community in the absence of more traditional social cohesive forces.

This study investigates the reasons why Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) in Australia decide to complete the 88 days of specified regional work to obtain a Second Working Holiday (WH) visa. The research follows a qualitative approach via the use of semi-structed interviews on a sample of fifteen current or former WHMs. The resulting data are analysed in connection to the theoretical framework of migrants’ role in bifurcated labour markets, with a further focus on the micro-level neoclassical economics principles and the concept of self-improvement through hardship. It is argued that the 88-day scheme represented for all the interviewees a form of investment to achieve a greater goal. The findings revealed that, while only a few completed the 88 days driven by the desire to achieve self-actualisation, most of the informants were driven by an economic rationale: some focused on the short-term financial benefits of a further year of work in the country, while others planned to use their Second WH as a pathway towards permanent residency.

Under 2017 ökade den mediala rapporteringen om sugardejting i Sverige i samband med att sugardejtingsajten Rich Meet Beautiful lanserades i Sverige. Sugardejting presenteras som ett nytt fenomen men vid en närmare undersökning visar det sig att sugardejting är en fråga som diskuterats och uppmärksammats i Sverige tidigare. Tidigare forskning visar att sugardejting är ett fenomen som länge förekommit i Afrika, söder om Sahara. Det är framförallt ekonomiska faktorer som lyfts fram som förklaring till varför det förekommer, vilket även observerats i studier utförda i Nordamerika. Hur fenomenet sugardejting presenteras och diskuteras i media har ännu inte uppmärksammats inom forskning. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka och analysera hur fenomenet sugardejting framställs i svensk media. För att möta detta syfte har kritisk diskursanalys tillämpats, framförallt utifrån Faircloughs och Foucaults teorier. Studien baseras på svenska tidningsartiklar och medierapportering mellan mars 1994 och december 2019. Medierapporteringarna har studerats och analyserats utifrån kritisk diskursanalys med hjälp av Faircloughs tredimensionella modell och olika teman har identifierats. Det framkommer hur orden inom sugardejting används för att beskriva någon i artiklarna, eller medierapporteringar där de som sugardejtar får berätta sin historia. Detta samtidigt som det i analysen ses en ökad medierapportering i samband med en ökad problematiserande syn på sugardejting, där främst polisen och journalister har makten över diskursen. De som ger ett beskrivande perspektiv med en mer positiv bild får mindre plats i media med tiden. Den dominerande diskursen är den som framställer sugardejting som prostitution och som ett socialt problem, som grundar sig i psykisk ohälsa. / In 2017 the media coverage on sugar dating in Sweden increased as Rich Meet Beautiful launched its site in Sweden. Sugar dating is presented as a new phenomenon, but on closer examination it turns out that sugar dating is a topic that has been discussed in Sweden much earlier. Research shows that sugar dating is a phenomenon that has occurred for a long time in sub-Saharan Africa. The leading factor to why sugar dating occurs is believed to be economical aspects. This is also evident in studies conducted in North America. How the phenomenon of sugar dating is presented and discussed in the media has not yet been researched. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyze how the phenomenon of sugar dating is presented in the Swedish media. In order to meet this purpose, critical discourse analysis has been applied, primarily based on Fairclough's and Foucault's ideas. The study is based on Swedish newspaper articles and other media reports between March 1994 and December 2019. These have been studied and analyzed based on critical discourse analysis using Fairclough's three-dimensional model and various themes have emerged. The result of this thesis showed how the words in sugar dating are used to describe someone. There are also articles where those who sugar date get to tell their story. This is happening at the same time as this thesis can show an increased media coverage with a problematic view on sugar dating, where mainly the police and journalists have power over the discourse. Those who provide a descriptive perspective with a more positive image get less space in the media over time. The most dominant discourse is the one presenting sugar dating as prostitution and as a social problem caused by mental illness.

The key objective of this study was to determine the importance of remuneration in the organisational employer value proposition (EVP) decision-making process, who the EVP decision makers in organisations are, and whether EVP strategy is aligned with the organisational strategy.A quantitative study, using a survey as data-collection method, was conducted. The survey was developed to explore the importance of remuneration in the EVP process and to gather data regarding EVP decision makers and the alignment of EVP to organisational strategy. A total of 101 respondents participated in this study, and content analysis was used to interpret the data. The data were collected via SurveyMonkey and statistically analysed using SPSS.The findings indicate that remuneration and all of its components are crucial to the process of EVP decision making. The findings also indicate the importance of aligning EVP strategy to organisational strategy. The main EVP decision makers in organisations are the CEO and the Human Resources Manager. Organisations need to find the correct mix of decision makers in this process to optimise value. Organisations should also ensure alignment of the EVP with organisational strategy, and implement an optimal remuneration strategy to ensure the best possible EVP. A relationship framework was developed to graphically represent the findings of the study. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted