The thesis consists of three empirical essays on the topics of self-employment, happiness and international trade. Essay 1 studies how immigrant self-employment entry is affected by the local business cycle in Sweden. Using the unemployment rate at the local labour market level as a proxy for the local business cycle, our study shows that the self-employment entry behaviour for native men and immigrant men is negatively affected by the unemployment rate, except for immigrants from Middle East. However, such a negative effect is quantitatively weaker among the non-European immigrants. Further, the result shows that immigrants from the Middle East are positively affected by the unemployment rate, meaning they are more likely to be pushed into self-employment in recessions. For women, we also find the unemployment rate has a negative impact on the self-employment decision of native women and immigrant women, except for the Middle East group. However, compared with men, the quantitative size of the unemployment rate effect on self-employment is smaller among women, implying the less important role of business cycle in determining females’ entry into self-employment. Essay 2 investigates the non-pecuniary return of self-employment in China. The results show that the life satisfaction of self-employed men is significantly higher than that of wage-employed men; the life satisfaction of self-employed women is not statistically significant different from that of wage-employed women. Moreover, we show that the life satisfaction of self-employed men in the informal sector is significantly higher than that of wage-employed men in the formal sector. The life satisfaction of wage-employed men in the informal sector is not significantly different from that of wage-employed men in the formal sector. For women, we find that there is no significant life satisfaction disparity between workers in the formal and informal sector. Finally, our job satisfaction data also concludes that self-employment in China is not inferior to wage employment. Essay 3 evaluates how Swedish manufacturing employment is affected by the increasing import competition from China. The results show that the growth of manufacturing employment is not statistically significant affected by the increasing import competition from China. Moreover, in general, the increasing import exposure from China does not significantly affect the employment growth of non-manufacturing sector either. Regarding the earnings, the analysis shows that the low wage earners in the manufacturing sector is not significantly affected by the increasing import penetration from China while median and high wage earners are positively affected.

Torito es una aplicación que busca combatir la constante informalidad en los servicios de transporte en Lima al invitar a los conductores, que buscan generar ingresos adicionales, a un trabajo formal; y a usuarios, que requieran movilizarse en cortas distancias, a un servicio de transporte seguro y confiable Torito cobrará a los conductores suscritos una comisión del 20%, la cual se efectuará del precio total del servicio de traslado. En una primera etapa, Torito estará disponible en San Juan de Miraflores, con un plan de expansión para los próximos 5 años, que abarca los distritos de Lima Sur y Lima Este. Este servicio es totalmente posible, ya que está alineado a las necesidades de los clientes que usan diariamente el servicio de mototaxi para acercarlos a los paraderos, centros de trabajo y a otros destinos. Finalmente, en el análisis financiero, se demostró que Torito es un negocio viable y rentable, debido a que la Tasa Interna de Retorno es de 24.21%, que significa que Torito generará valor a sus inversionistas. Además, se podrá recuperar la inversión en un plazo máximo de 4 años. / Torito is an application that seeks to combat the constant informality in transportation services in Lima by inviting both drivers, who seek to generate additional income, to a formal job; and customers, who need to move around short distances, to a safe and reliable transportation service. Torito will charge subscribed drivers a 20% commission, which will be taken from the service fee. In a first stage, Torito will be available in San Juan de Miraflores, with an expansion plan for the next 5 years, covering the districts of southern Lima and eastern Lima. This service is totally possible, since it is aligned to the needs of the customers who use the motorcycle taxi service daily to bring them closer to the bus stops, work centers and other destinations. Finally, in the financial analysis, it was shown that Torito is a viable and profitable business, since the Internal Rate of Return is 24.21%, which means that Torito will generate value for its investors. In addition, the investment can be recovered within a maximum period of 4 years. / Trabajo de investigación

The subject of this thesis is orality in informal dialogic computer-mediated communication (henceforth CMC). This type of communication is represented by internet discussions, discussion fora, and Facebook posts. All these three genres are compared with informal spoken face-to-face dialogues. The data are covered by the Koditex corpus, which contains the CMC genres, and the Ortofon corpus of spoken language. The term orality can refer both to the realized communication form - spoken or written (so- called media orality) and to the summary of linguistic characteristics associated with the prototypical informal spoken dialogue (so-called conceptual orality). This thesis focuses only on conceptual orality, which is based on nine language features divided into the three following areas: dialogicity, spontaneity, and fulfilment of pragmatic needs of communication participants. The analyses show significant similarity between the functional use of features in both spoken and written communication. This applies primarily to the features associated with spontaneity (repetition of the same words, the presence of word fragments, typos and misspellings) and the fulfilment of pragmatic needs (discourse markers, pronoun non-dropping, iteration of graphemes). It follows that the selected CMC genres appropriately...

The project consists of developing new housing for the residents of Papaquara, 191 people who lived in a favela until early2011, when they were evicted and had their houses demolished by the local government while their settlement was severely flooded. This new housing project, which is firmly grounded in real circumstances, builds upon research on irregular autoconstructed settlements, their architectural characteristics and specifically the temporal aspect of how spatial qualities are constructed in such areas. The architecture presented in the final proposal is an upgraded version of a favela house core that facilitates incremental add-ons, in a typology called urban field house.

Las interacciones entre los agentes del sistema de innovación son una pieza clave para el fomento del intercambio de conocimiento, los procesos de aprendizaje y el proceso innovador. El análisis de las interacciones entre universidades y organismos públicos de investigación (ciencia) y los agentes del entorno social (sociedad) ha recibido una gran atención en la comunidad científica, entre otras razones, porque los resultados de estas interacciones pueden tener implicaciones en el diseño de las políticas de ciencia e innovación y en la gestión de la organización. En esta tesis se analizan las interacciones entre los investigadores del área de ciencias sociales y humanidades (CCSSHH) y los agentes sociales, dado que es un colectivo que ha sido escasamente estudiado desde esta perspectiva y presenta características específicas respecto a otros ámbitos científicos. Los tres estudios que componen la tesis abordan aspectos diferentes del tema objeto de estudio y se basan en datos empíricos obtenidos mediante encuestas y entrevistas realizadas en el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). El primer estudio pretende averiguar si la utilidad del conocimiento producido en las CCSSHH es menor que en las STEM (acrónimo inglés para ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas), tal como los enfoques de las políticas científicas al uso parecen presuponer al establecer medidas basadas en indicadores difíciles de aplicar a este colectivo (licencias de patentes, contratos de I+D con empresas, creación de spin off). El análisis empírico realizado muestra que los resultados de las investigaciones en CCSSHH no son menos útiles que los de las STEM porque, en ambos casos, hay agentes sociales interesados en ellos. Sin embargo, se aprecia que el tipo de mecanismo de colaboración varía entre áreas del conocimiento, al igual que el tipo de agente social con el cual los investigadores interactúan. Las empresas predominan entre los agentes sociales con los cuales colaboran los investigadores de las STEM mientras que los de CCSSHH colaboran con un grupo más variado de agentes sociales (i.e. administraciones, organizaciones no gubernamentales, etc.). El segundo estudio explora en qué medida los grupos de investigación del área de CCSSHH se relacionan con una variedad de agentes sociales mediante cauces no formalizados. Para ello, se realizan dos análisis complementarios (cuantitativo y cualitativo). Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que la mayoría de las relaciones no se formalizan institucionalmente, lo cual significa que la institución no las identifica, registra o valora. Sin embargo, la participación en este tipo de colaboraciones informales, que no tienen necesariamente una contrapartida económica, resulta atractiva por su coste relativamente bajo (en términos económicos y de tiempo), por la ausencia de condiciones restrictivas (p. ej. derechos de propiedad, confidencialidad) y por la existencia de beneficios intangibles para el investigador. El tercer estudio analiza en qué medida los grupos de investigación de CCSSHH interactúan con su entorno mediante diferentes actividades de transferencia de conocimiento (TC) ¿consultoría, investigación contratada, investigación conjunta, actividades de formación e intercambio de personal¿ e identifica los determinantes de cada una de ellas. Los resultados indican que las actividades de TC más frecuentes son la consultoría y la investigación contratada, mientras que el intercambio de personal representa una actividad marginal entre las analizadas. El estudio de los factores que determinan la participación en estas actividades de TC muestra que considerar el potencial uso social de los resultados desde el principio aumenta la participación de los grupos de investigación en todas las actividades de TC analizadas. En conjunto, los tres estudios permiten concluir que la investigación en CCSSHH produce conocimiento y resultados que son de interés para la sociedad. Sin embargo, se diferencian de otras áreas científicas en los mecanismos de interacción predominantes y en la variedad de agentes sociales con los que interactúan. Estas conclusiones pueden tener utilidad práctica para el diseño de políticas destinadas a fomentar el amplio conjunto de interacciones identificadas, para la mejora de las prácticas de gestión y para tratar de evaluar las citadas interacciones mediante indicadores capaces de recoger el amplio espectro de mecanismos identificados en esta tesis. / Interactions among agents in the innovation system are critical for the promotion of knowledge exchange, learning processes and the innovation process. The analysis of interactions between universities or public research organisations (science) and social agents (society) has received great attention in the scientific community because, among other reasons, the results of these interactions can have implications for the design of science and innovation policies and organisation management. This thesis analyses the interactions between researchers in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and social agents. The SSH community is a collective that has been little studied from this perspective and presents particular characteristics as compared to other scientific fields. The three studies included in the thesis address different aspects of the topic and are based on empirical data obtained through surveys and interviews conducted in the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). The first study explores whether the knowledge produced by the SSH is less useful than that produced in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), as science policy seems to presume when establishing measures based on indicators (patent licenses, R&D contracts with companies, creating spin off) that are difficult to apply to the SSH community. The empirical analysis shows that SSH research outputs are no less useful than those from STEM because, in both cases, there are social agents interested in them. However, the preferred type of collaborative mechanism varies across fields, as does the type of agent with whom researchers interact. Firms are the prevailing type of agent collaborating with STEM researchers whilst SSH researchers collaborate with a varied group of social agents (i.e. government, NGOs, etc.). The second study explores the extent to which SSH research groups engage with a variety of social agents through non¿formalized collaborations. To do this, two complementary analyses (quantitative and qualitative) are conducted. Results show that most of the collaborations are not institutionally formalized, which means that the research organisation does not identify, record or value them. However, engagement in these informal collaborations, that do not necessarily have an economic counterpart, are attractive due to the relatively low cost (in time and economic terms) of many such activities, the absence of restrictive conditions (e.g. IPR, confidentiality) and other intangible benefits accruing to the researcher. The third study examines the extent to which SSH research groups interact with social agents through different knowledge transfer (KT) activities ¿consultancy, contract research, joint research, training and personnel mobility¿ and identifies the determinants of each. Results show that the most frequent KT activities are consultancy and contract research, while personnel exchange is a marginal activity among those analysed. The study of the factors determining the engagement in these activities shows that consideration of the social uses of the research outputs from the beginning enhances research groups¿ engagement in all the knowledge transfer activities analysed. Overall, the three studies support the conclusion that SSH research produces knowledge and outputs that are of interest to society. However, differences from other scientific fields are found in terms of the prevalent type of interaction mechanisms used and the variety of social agents with whom interactions are established. These findings may have practical utility for the design of policies aimed at encouraging and enhancing the range of interactions, for improving managerial practices and for the assessment of these interactions through indicators able to capture the type of interactions identified in this thesis. / Olmos Peñuela, J. (2013). Science-Society interactions in the social sciences and humanities:empirical studies of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/31653 / TESIS / Premios Extraordinarios de tesis doctorales

[pt] À medida em que uma economia se desenvolve e cresce, seu setor informal encolhe. A literatura enfatiza um conjunto de causas ligadas ao lado da oferta (maior custo de operar informalmente para firmas maiores e intensivas em capital, maior capacidade fiscalizadora do estado, e maiores níveis educacionais) para explicar esse fenômeno. Esta tese contribui para o debate propondo uma nova explicação, olhando para o lado da demanda. Argumenta-se que o aumento nos níveis de formalização pode ser explicado em parte pelo aumento da demanda por bens formais por parte das famílias cuja renda está crescendo. Usando dados de três aplicações da Pesquisa de Orçamento Familiares (POF), documentamos que no cross-section famílias de maior renda consomem uma maior proporção de bens formais (7 pontos percentuais a mais quando a renda dobra). Também mostramos que, ao longo do tempo, o consumo de bens formais aumenta com a renda. Buscamos também prover uma estimativa causal por meio da análise de aumentos exógenos do salário mínimo. Por fim, propomos uma discussão téorica acerca do tipo de preferências consistentes com o comportamento observado. / [en] As economies develop and grow, their informal sector shrinks. The literature emphasizes a number of supply-side causes (higher costs of informality for larger and capital-intensive firms, improved state enforcement capacity, higher levels of education) to explain this phenomenon. This thesis contributes to the debate by proposing a new, demand-side explanation. We argue that the rise in formality can be explained, in part, by a rise in demand for formal goods and services from households whose income is growing. Using Brazilian household expenditure survey data, we document that in the cross-section, higher-earning households consume a larger fraction of formal goods (7 percentage points as income doubles). We also show that, over time, formal consumption increases together with income. We attempt to provide a causal estimate by analysing exogenous increases in the minimum wage. Last, we propose a theoretical discussion on the type of preferences consistent with this observed behavior.

[pt] Esta dissertação se propõe a analisar o trabalho informal diante do contexto das transformações societárias internacionais a partir da década 1970 e no Brasil desde a década de 1990. Buscou-se enfatizar os principais fatores que geram o aumento da informalidade nas relações e contratações de trabalho nas duas primeiras décadas do século XXI. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base em estudos bibliográficos produzidos por autores críticos do modo de produção capitalista, que defendem a tese da crise estrutural do capitalismo, mas não só, recorreu-se a outras literaturas para a exposição de posições diferentes e por vezes, opostas. Compartilhamos das análises que comprovam que a crise desencadeada na década de 1970 impôs várias estratégias para a manutenção da ordem vigente. Para efeitos dessa dissertação priorizou-se a noção de reestruturação produtiva e neoliberalismo, que articuladamente afetam o conjunto da sociedade em diferentes níveis. No cenário brasileiro essas estratégias desencadearam variadas formas de precarização do trabalho. Além desse debate teórico, abordou-se surgimento do conceito de trabalho informal e as diferentes perspectivas teóricas adotadas por pesquisadores e analistas do tema ao longo dos anos. Como resultado, a pesquisa mostra que a interpretação acerca do trabalho informal é heterogênea, podendo influenciar no escopo dos direitos do trabalho e nos níveis de exploração. Os índices de trabalhadores informais seguem em crescimento no Brasil o que afeta as condições de vida da população de modo geral. / [en] This dissertation aims to analyze informal work in the context of international societal transformations since the 1970s and in Brazil since the 1990s. first two decades of the 21st century. The research was developed based on bibliographic studies produced by critical authors of the capitalist mode of production, who defend the thesis of the structural crisis of capitalism, but not only that, other literatures were used to expose different and sometimes opposing positions. We share the analyzes that prove that the crisis unleashed in the 1970s imposed several strategies to maintain the current order. For the purposes of this dissertation, priority was given to the notion of productive restructuring and neoliberalism, which articulately affect society as a whole at different levels. In the Brazilian scenario, these strategies triggered various forms of precarious work. In addition to this theoretical debate, the emergence of the concept of informal work and the different theoretical perspectives adopted by researchers and analysts on the subject over the years was addressed. As a result, the research shows that the interpretation of informal work is heterogeneous and may influence the scope of labor rights and levels of exploitation. Indices of informal workers continue to grow in Brazil, which affects the living conditions of the population in general.

Informal vendors and vulnerable city dwellers have long held important roles in Mexico City. Although being very much integral parts of the area’s rich culture, community and urban fabric, their place and right to the city remains precarious as they are forced to face much uncertainty. With growing gentrification in the central areas, the city turns more exclusive; unsustainable and inaccessible for the majority of the population. Many long-term residents are forcefully evicted and displaced to the periphery or the streets as housing prices rise. Vendors encounter a similar fate as their occupation is a target for much disapproval. Not fitting some individuals and decision makers’ vision of the streetscape, consideration for vendors is neglected and their livelihood is continually threatened. The uncertainty endured by these groups comes as a result of the deprivation of their rights to the stability and security of adequate housing, the right to work and to protection against unemployment, as well as their right to the city. My aim was to create a space where these rights can be repossessed, where vendors and vulnerable dwellers can claim a place and voice in the city. To recognise their struggles and trigger the idea of an accommodating and inclusive cityscape. I have envisioned this place to be in Colonia Juarez, a central neighbourhood currently experiencing a large transformation.

This essay investigates how the usage of minimal responses differs between men and women in different situations. There are three factors included in the analysis, gender of the interlocutor, formality, and the number of participants in the conversations. For each factor, the frequency and function of minimal responses are investigated. Eleven conversations are collected from the Santa Barbara Corpus to attain this aim. The method conducted to analyse the conversations is divided into two parts. The first part is to count the minimal responses used and calculate the frequency of usage for each speaker in all the conversations. The second part is a close analysis of the function of the minimal responses used by noticing whether they are disruptive or supportive. The results show that women use minimal responses at a higher frequency compared to men except in informal conversations. Also, there is no significant difference in the function of minimal responses between men and women. However, the minimal responses used in the informal conversations seem more disruptive. In pair and group conversations minimal responses can be used disruptively. However, if one considers the context, it seems that minimal responses in group conversations are collaborative, despite being disruptive.

[pt] Em cidades e centros urbanos do mundo, em especial nos países em desenvolvimento, existem tendências ao forte crescimento da população, que se transfere para esses centros em busca de melhores condições de vida. Nas últimas décadas, entretanto, esse crescimento tem sido acompanhado pela expansão excessiva do número de veículos automotores, o que gera cada vez maiores congestionamentos em suas precárias infraestruturas viárias, em especial nas horas de pico. Kunzli et al. (2000) observaram que, como fonte principal de emissões de partículas primárias (PM) e precursores de PM secundário, o tráfego contribui substancialmente para o impacto geral da poluição do ar. Essa alta contribuição deve-se ao fato das densidades de emissão do tráfego serem, em média, mais altas nas áreas povoadas. A combinação de áreas densamente povoadas e a alta poluição do ar exterior são motivo de preocupação. A USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) observou, em seu estudo para caracterizar PM2.5 (material particulado fino com diâmetro 2,5 micrometro), que um dos problemas mais prementes enfrentados por áreas urbanas é o da deterioração da qualidade do ar, com as fontes móveis sendo as principais contribuintes para emissões gasosas liberadas para a atmosfera em centros urbanos. Além disso, os poluentes como o monóxido de carbono (CO), dióxido de carbono (CO2), óxidos de nitrogênio (NOx), compostos orgânicos voláteis (COV) e óxidos de enxofre (SOx) são de extrema importância por causa dos seus impactos ambientais e impactos na saúde. Dos poluentes emitidos por fontes móveis, partículas finas têm grandes impactos na saúde, clima e visibilidade. A poluição atmosférica contribui para aumento da morbidade e mortalidade humanas. Porém é necessário estudar a extensão dos efeitos na saúde, especialmente considerando as variações entre centros urbanos (Kunzli et al., 2000; Shabbar Ali et al., 2013). Alguns efeitos negativos se manifestam com exposição a curto prazo, como falta de ar, olhos ardentes, sonolência, tosse, entre outros, ou com exposição a longo prazo, que apresentam maiores complicações e uma variedade de sintomas. A avaliação da exposição individual a poluentes pode representar um desafio para estudos epidemiológicos. Dessa forma, tornam-se necessárias abordagens alternativas para ilustrar os relacionamentos e incentivar pesquisas futuras. Modelos são excelentes quando estimar todas as facetas de exposição a um evento torna-se inviável ou impossível. Modelos que correlacionem poluentes e emissões a efeitos na saúde podem ser classificados como de proximidade, de interpolação, de regressão do uso da terra, de dispersão, integrados de emissão meteorológica e híbridos (Jerrett et.al, 2005), em ordem crescente de complexidade. / [en] The paper identified and assessed methods to quantify and model congestion, emissions of pollutants and exposure through literature reviews, interviews and estimations. Focus was placed on studies by Toledo. (2011), and Linton et.al, (2015), models like COPERT and MOVES (USEPA) and on methodologies like the IPCC guidelines, which can be modified and applied to Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Molynes Road in Kingston, Jamaica and the Lagoa-Barra Highway to Zuzu Angel Tunnel complex in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, were compared to assess congestion and emissions. Total emissions of CO2 and CO2 per passengers, were calculated for Jamaica under three assumed scenarios, at emission totals of 2.62x109 kg of CO2 (gasoline) and 3.09 x10(9) kg of CO2 (diesel), based on data extrapolations and work by Abbas. (2014). Time lost as a result of congestion, expressed as USD/hr was calculated for both thoroughfares under four speed scenarios and utilising the free-flow form of the thoroughfares for comparison. As expected, results indicated higher incurred costs with reduced travelling speeds (-731.7 USD/hr for Molynes Road and -1,131.2 USD/hr for the Lagoa-Barra Highway into the Zuzu Angel Tunnel Complex at 10km/hr). Interviews were conducted with operators of the transportation sector, including informal actors; social repercussions of urban transportation policies were discussed and social costs were calculated and described. Critiques and calculations allowed for the identification of weaknesses within the transportation sector and provided the basis for predictions and recommendations to be made.