In decision theory the process of selecting the best option is called preferential choice. Many personal, business, and professional preferential choice decisions are made every day. In these situations, a decision maker must select the optimal option among multiple alternatives. In order to do this, she must be able to analyze a model of her preferences with respect to the objectives that are important to her. Prescriptive decision theory suggests several ways to effectively develop a decision model. However, these methods often end up too tedious and complicated to apply to complex decisions that involve many objectives and alternatives. In order to help people make better decisions, an easier, more intuitive way to develop interactive models for analysis of decision contexts is needed. The application of interactive visualization techniques to this problem is an opportune solution. A visualization tool to help in preferential choice must take into account important aspects from both fields of Information Visualization and Decision Theory. There exists some proposals that claim to aid preferential choice, but some key tasks and steps from at least one of these areas are often overlooked. An added missing element in these proposals is an adequate user evaluation. In fact, the concept of a good evaluation in the field of information visualization is a topic of debate, since the goals of such systems stretch beyond what can be concluded from traditional usability testing. In our research we investigate ways to overcome some of the challenges faced in the design and evaluation of visualization systems for preferential choice. In previous work, Carenini and Lloyd proposed ValueCharts, a set of visualizations and interactive techniques to support the inspection of linear models of preferences. We now identify the need to consider the decision process in its entirety, and to redesign ValueCharts in order to support all phases of preferential choice. We present our task-based approach to the redesign of ValueCharts grounded in recent findings from both Decision Analysis and Information Visualization. We propose a set of domain-independent tasks for the design and evaluation of interactive visualizations for preferential choice. We then use the resulting framework as a basis for an analytical evaluation of our tool and alternative approaches. Finally, we use an application of the task model in conjunction with a new blend of evaluation methods to assess the utility of ValueCharts.

Notions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been suggested to be consistent with an Islamic view of society. Indeed, values and principles that have been central to Islam since the time of the holy Prophet Mohammed (Peace and Blessings be upon him) may serve as a foundation for notions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) similar to those in the West. Much contemporary discussion of CSR, however, has not recognized this. These discussions have largely been based on a Western orientation informed by Western religious values. Moreover, CSR has evolved literally in response to particular issues or problems that are specific to businesses in a Western context. This led to a lack of a comprehensive global context within which a wider perspective of CSR should be positioned. On the other hand, the notion of social responsibility and justice has been an integral part of Islamic society for nearly 14 centuries. However, the Islamic literature remains scattered, fragmented and lacks a coherent framework that would allow such a concept in Islam to be systematized. While Islamic philosophy is rich in precepts pertinent to CSR, these precepts have not yet been formally synthesized to present a systematic model with an explicit notion of CSR in Islam. Thus, there exists a gap in both the Western and Islamic literature. This was fruitfully exploited in this study to advance the understanding of the concept of CSR in a wider cultural and religious setting. This study explored this new territory and presented a conceptual framework of CSR in Islam based on Shariah (the Islamic legal and social system) derived from the holy Qur'an and Hadith. It provided both, a counterpart and a comparable base in the study of various issues relevant to CSR and international business from a much wider global perspective. It also provided significant insights into Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) regarding business practice. The consistency of the conceptual framework of CSR in Islam with contemporary business practices was explored using a survey of Islamic banks located in different parts of the world. The survey revealed that many current practices of Islamic banks mirror the expected behaviours or practices generated in the Islamic framework. In fact, it was possible to discern that the organizations surveyed implement the Islamic code of conduct rather extensively. Against this background, a consistency with the framework of CSR in Islam presented in this study was identified. Such consistency, however, was driven by legal requirements in adherence to Shariah rather than an explicit understanding or pursuit of CSR. The lack of a systematic framework with explicit notions of CSR from an Islamic perspective caused hindrance in implementing CSR practices in Islamic organizations. It follows that this study was a modest step towards filling this lacuna by presenting a systematic and coherent framework of CSR in Islam.

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This work is focused on a mediation of grammar in teaching of the German language in primary schools. The main attention is paid to the declension of nouns. I chose for the comparison two completely different outlined textbooks. In view of the fact, that still quite a large number of primary schools teaches according to the textbook "Heute haben wir Deutsch", I decided to confront this textbook with its more modern successor "Deutsch mit Max" and determine whether the conception of modern textbooks differ from those older ones only graphic, i. e. with illustration, and themes that correspond to the age of pupils, or with regard to grammar (the other choice, progression and quantity of grammar structures), and thus are these textbooks more suitable for the current teaching of the German language. Subsequently are the results of this work compared with the views of pupils who are taught according to these textbooks.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-08-24Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:13:14Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 magagnato_pc_me_bauru.pdf: 504432 bytes, checksum: 6dc37a586167b143287297f093dfea5c (MD5) / Este é um trabalho de natureza teórica, visando fundamentar um posterior experimento didático. A base dessa fundamentação teórica é o Experimento Formativo (EF) realizado na União Soviética sob coordenação de Davydov e Elkonin (no qual, foi elaborada uma específica atividade escolar: a atividade de estudo), na teoria dialética materialista do conhecimento, na Psicologia Histórico-Cultural e no que Badillo (2004) concebe por modelo didático. Inicia com uma breve conceituação sobre modelos: o modelo científico, o método dialético como forma de sistematização de modelo científico e o modelo didático considerado como um modelo científico da Ciência Didática. Em seguida, apresenta a teoria da atividade, no seu aspecto psicológico, por meio de uma caracterização geral do desenvolvimento do psiquismo humano, conduzindo a ideia de que distintas formas de pensamento levam a distintas formas de desenvolvimento do psiquismo e, portanto, a distintas formas de controle da própria conduta. Segue com uma exposição do conceito de pensamento empírico e de seu modelo escolar de formação, distinguindo-o do pensamento teórico, o qual, na sequência, é caracterizado na sua relação com seu modelo de formação: a atividade de estudo. Caracteriza-se que o pensamento empírico é formado por meio de conteúdos organizados pela lógica formal, enquanto que o pensamento teórico forma-se por meio da realização da atividade de estudo, a qual o movimento da ascensão do abstrato ao concreto e possibilita o desenvolvimento de importantes funções psíquicas superiores, tais como a análise, reflexão, planejamento e experimento mental. Resumidamente, há uma exemplificação da atividade de estudo quanto à formação do conceito de número em Matemática e apresentação dos principais resultados obtidos no EF. Analisa os procedimentoss utilizados no EF para concluir... / This is theoretical study aimed at paving the way for a later teaching experiment. This theoretical support was based on the Formative Experiment (FE) performed in the Soviety Union and coordinated by DavydovElkoniin, (in which a specific school activity, the learning activity, was created), on the dialectical materialist theory of knowledge, on the Cultural-Historical Psychology, and on what Badillo (2004) conceives as a didatic model. Firstly, this study does a brief evaluation of models: the scientific model, the dialectical method as a way to systematize the scientific model and the didatic model considered as a scientific model of Didactic Science. It then presents the theory of activity in its psychological aspect, through a general characterizarion of the development of the human psyche, considering the idea that different ways of thinking lead to different forms of development of the phyche and therefore, to distinct forms of controlling their own conduct. Secondly, this paper conceptualizes the empirical throght and its production model in schools, distinguishing it from the theoretical thinking, which, in sequence, is characterized in its relationship with its model of production: the learning activity. Finally, it shows that the empirical thought is formed through contents organized by the formal logic, while theoretical thinking is formed by performing the learning activity itself, which follows the upward movement from the abstract to the concrete and allows the development of important higher mental functions, such as analysis, reflexion, planning and mental experiment. In short, there is an example of the learning activity used to teach the concept of number in mathematics and the main results obtained in EF. The study then examines the procedures used in the EF to conclude that this EF is characterized... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

abstract: Schennach (2007) has shown that the Empirical Likelihood (EL) estimator may not be asymptotically normal when a misspecified model is estimated. This problem occurs because the empirical probabilities of individual observations are restricted to be positive. I find that even the EL estimator computed without the restriction can fail to be asymptotically normal for misspecified models if the sample moments weighted by unrestricted empirical probabilities do not have finite population moments. As a remedy for this problem, I propose a group of alternative estimators which I refer to as modified EL (MEL) estimators. For correctly specified models, these estimators have the same higher order asymptotic properties as the EL estimator. The MEL estimators are obtained by the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) applied to an exactly identified model. The simulation results provide promising evidence for these estimators. In the second chapter, I introduce an alternative group of estimators to the Generalized Empirical Likelihood (GEL) family. The new group is constructed by employing demeaned moment functions in the objective function while using the original moment functions in the constraints. This designation modifies the higher-order properties of estimators. I refer to these new estimators as Demeaned Generalized Empirical Likelihood (DGEL) estimators. Although Newey and Smith (2004) show that the EL estimator in the GEL family has fewer sources of bias and is higher-order efficient after bias-correction, the demeaned exponential tilting (DET) estimator in the DGEL group has those superior properties. In addition, if data are symmetrically distributed, every estimator in the DGEL family shares the same higher-order properties as the best member.   / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Economics 2013

Context: The need for empirical investigations in software engineering domain is growing immensely. Many researchers nowadays, conduct and validate their study using empirical evidences. Survey is one such empirical investigation method which enables researchers to collect data from the large population. Main aim of the survey is to generalize the findings. Many problems are faced by the researchers in the survey process. Survey outcomes also depend upon variables like sample size, response rate and analysis techniques. Hence there is need for the literature addressing all the possible problems faced and also the impact of survey variables on outcomes. Objectives: Firstly, to identify the common problems faced by the researchers from the existing literature and also analyze the impact of the survey variables. Secondly to collect the experiences of software engineering researchers regarding the problems faced and the survey variables. Finally come up with a checklist of all the problems and mitigation strategies along with the information about the impact of survey variables. Methods: Initially a systematic literature review was conducted, to identify the existing problems in the literature and to know the effect of response rate, sample size, analysis techniques on survey outcomes. Then systematic literature review results were validated by conducting semi-structured, faceto-face interviews with software engineering researchers. Results: We were successful in providing a checklist of problems along with their mitigation strategies. The survey variables dependency on type of research, researcher’s choices limited us from further analyzing their impact on survey outcomes. The face-to-face interviews with software engineering researchers provided validations to our research results. Conclusions: This research gave us deeper insights into the survey methodology. It helped us to explore the differences that exists between the state of art and state of practice towards problem mitigation in survey process.

Neste trabalho aplica-se um método semi-empírico que utiliza uma técnica de otimização não linear para determinação das eficiências volumétrica e combinada do compressor hermético alternativo. Relações para estimar aproximadamente o fluxo de massa e a potência elétrica do compressor também são propostas. Todas estas características do compressor são calculadas através das relações físicas do modelo, empregadas nos cálculos de otimização. O método é implementado no software EES (Engineering Equation Solver) e baseia-se nos trabalhos de Jahing (1999) e Jahing et al. (2000). No presente método, cinco medições experimentais do fluxo de massa e potência elétrica são suficientes para determinar os parâmetros de ajuste do modelo. Este procedimento permite a geração de mapas de compressores satisfatórios sem a necessidade de um maior número de dados experimentais como no caso da norma ARI 540. Estes resultados obtidos com o modelo podem ser usados para o projeto de novos compressores. / In the present work is applied a semi-empirical method that uses a non-linear optimization technique for determination of the volumetric and combined efficiencies of hermetic reciprocating compressor. Relations to approximately estimate the mass flow and the electric power of the compressor are also proposed. All these compressor characteristics are calculated through physical model relations, used in the optimization calculations. The method is implemented in the EES (Engineering Equation Solver) software and is based on the works of Jahing (1999) and Jahing et al. (2000). In the method, four experimental measurements of the mass flow and electric power are enough to determine the fitting parameters of the model. This procedure allows the generation of satisfactory compressor maps without the necessity of a higher number of experimental data, as in the case of norm ARI 540 application. The results obtained with the model can be used for the design of new compressors.

The tail dependence coefficient (TDC) is a natural tool to describe extremal dependence. Estimation of the tail dependence coefficient can be performed via empirical process theory. In case of extremal independence, the limit degenerates and hence one cannot construct a test for extremal independence. In order to deal with this issue, we consider an analog of the covariance matrix, namely the extremogram matrix, whose entries depend only on extremal observations. We show that under the null hypothesis of extremal independence and for finite dimension d ≥ 2, the largest eigenvalue of the sample extremogram matrix converges to the maximum of d independent normal random variables. This allows us to conduct an hypothesis testing for extremal independence by means of the asymptotic distribution of the largest eigenvalue. Simulation studies are performed to further illustrate this approach.

In decision theory the process of selecting the best option is called preferential choice. Many personal, business, and professional preferential choice decisions are made every day. In these situations, a decision maker must select the optimal option among multiple alternatives. In order to do this, she must be able to analyze a model of her preferences with respect to the objectives that are important to her. Prescriptive decision theory suggests several ways to effectively develop a decision model. However, these methods often end up too tedious and complicated to apply to complex decisions that involve many objectives and alternatives. In order to help people make better decisions, an easier, more intuitive way to develop interactive models for analysis of decision contexts is needed. The application of interactive visualization techniques to this problem is an opportune solution. A visualization tool to help in preferential choice must take into account important aspects from both fields of Information Visualization and Decision Theory. There exists some proposals that claim to aid preferential choice, but some key tasks and steps from at least one of these areas are often overlooked. An added missing element in these proposals is an adequate user evaluation. In fact, the concept of a good evaluation in the field of information visualization is a topic of debate, since the goals of such systems stretch beyond what can be concluded from traditional usability testing. In our research we investigate ways to overcome some of the challenges faced in the design and evaluation of visualization systems for preferential choice. In previous work, Carenini and Lloyd proposed ValueCharts, a set of visualizations and interactive techniques to support the inspection of linear models of preferences. We now identify the need to consider the decision process in its entirety, and to redesign ValueCharts in order to support all phases of preferential choice. We present our task-based approach to the redesign of ValueCharts grounded in recent findings from both Decision Analysis and Information Visualization. We propose a set of domain-independent tasks for the design and evaluation of interactive visualizations for preferential choice. We then use the resulting framework as a basis for an analytical evaluation of our tool and alternative approaches. Finally, we use an application of the task model in conjunction with a new blend of evaluation methods to assess the utility of ValueCharts. / Science, Faculty of / Computer Science, Department of / Graduate