This diploma thesis is divided into a theoretical part and a practical one. The theoretical part deals with the characteristics of sport events and presents the International Ski Federation FIS, including its structure, and marketing and technical concept of the races in the FIS Tour de Ski. The introduction to the practical part focuses on the history of cross-country skiing, the structure of the most important cross-country races in the world, and presents the town of Nove Mesto na Morave and the race Golden Ski. Then follows the description of the allocation process of the World Cup race and possibilities of its abolition. The main part of the diploma thesis is a detailed analysis of the Golden Ski race in the Tour de Ski. The analysis deals with the topics related to the organizing committee, technical support, scoring, invitations, accreditation, accommodation, marketing, transportation, and accompanying program of Golden Ski. The thesis concludes with financial background and short mention of Slavic Cup.

L’église Saint-Michel de Bordeaux est construite à la fin du Moyen Âge au centre d’une paroisse urbaine très dynamique. L’activité portuaire et commerciale fait vivre de nombreux artisans et enrichit les puissants marchands du quartier de la Rousselle. Ils sont investis dans le gouvernement de la commune et financent copieusement le chantier de leur église paroissiale. Leurs pratiques pieuses et leur activité à la tête de l’administration de la fabrique et des confréries sont représentatives de la religion civique à la fin du Moyen Âge. L’église accueille depuis la fin du XVe siècle un collège de prêtres-bénéficiers, au service des nombreuses fondations pieuses et des confréries installées dans les chapelles latérales. Elles sont construites durant le second chantier gothique, qui met en œuvre à partir du second quart du XVe siècle une vaste église flamboyante de plan basilical. Celle-ci succède à une première église gothique menée à son terme durant le XIVe siècle selon un parti-pris architectural de type « halle ». Le chantier de la cathédrale, qui introduit à Bordeaux les formes du gothique rayonnant du Nord de la France, est une source d’inspiration à Saint-Michel, dans le domaine de la modénature et de la sculpture monumentale. Le chantier flamboyant voit l’arrivée de maîtres-maçons dont l’œuvre a pu être identifiée. Elle se réfère aux chantiers normands, parisiens ou financés par le roi de France. Les Lebas de Saintes apportent leur culture artistique et leur technique à l’accomplissement du transept, à la conception de la nef et du clocher isolé. La faible influence de l’œuvre de Saint-Michel sur la création artistique locale est compensée par le rayonnement de son clocher-tour, un des plus hauts clochers du royaume. Son chantier exceptionnel est très bien renseigné par 11 années de comptes de la fabrique. Ils illustrent les conditions de travail et l’équipement nécessaire à la construction à grande hauteur. Un des autres chefs-d’œuvre de l’église, le portail nord, est probablement réalisé vers 1520 par Imbert Boachon, maître-maçon, imagier, menuisier, selon la nature des travaux et selon les villes ou il travaille. Aujourd’hui, la silhouette de l’église et du clocher, tous deux isolés au milieu de plusieurs places, ne reflète plus totalement la morphologie de l’œuvre médiévale. Des faiblesses structurelles obligent les hommes du XIXe siècle à reconstruire le chevet. Le clocher est rénové par Paul Abadie et l’église reçoit une esthétique gothique influencée par l’archéologie monumentale et les doctrines de la restauration patrimoniale de l’époque. / The church of St Michael of Bordeaux has been built in the late Middle Ages, in a very dynamic urban parish. The fluvial and commercial activities of the port generate work for craftsmen and enrich the powerful merchants from the borough of La Rousselle. These merchants are invested in the communal government and finance the building of their parish church. Their pious practices and their activity at the head of the parish fabric and friaries are good examples of the late medieval civic religion. From the end of the fifteenth century, the church receives a college of priest provided by religious benefits. They are in the service of many pious foundations and friaries which are established in the lateral chapels. These chapels are built during the second gothic construction, which makes a big Flamboyant style church with the plan of a basilica. This building follows a first gothic church, conducted at its term during the fourteenth century in accordance to a “halle” architectural volume. The construction of the cathedral of Bordeaux, which introduces the gothic style from the north of France, is an inspiration for St Michael, in the domain of modenature and monumental sculpture. The Flamboyant construction induces the arrival of some master mason, whose work can be identified. That work is influenced by Norman, Parisian and French king’s financed buildings. The Lebas from Saintes give their artistic culture and their technique to the accomplishment of the transept, to the conception of the nave and the isolated bell tower. The low influence of the work of St Michael of Bordeaux on the local artistic creation is balanced with the bell tower, one of the tallest in the French kingdom. Its constructions are well informed thanks to an eleven years’ register for the fabric accounting. It illustrates the work conditions and the necessary equipment for high tall building. One of the masterworks of the church, the north portal, is probably made around 1520 by Imbert Boachon, master mason, sculptor or joiner according to the kind of the work or the town where he works. Nowadays, the silhouette of the church and the bell tower are isolated in the middle of many places and are not totally representative of the medieval made morphology. Some structural frailties oblige the nineteenth century men to rebuild the chevet. The bell tower is renovated by Paul Abadie and the church receives a gothic aesthetic which is influenced by monumental archaeology and the patrimonial restorations doctrines of that period.

Abstract not available

This study seeks to gain an insight into the experiences Lord of the Rings tourists have on guided tours in New Zealand and the role of the tour guide(s) in that experience. The study examines motivations, expectations, actual experience and its evaluation and the role of the tour leader and guides. By drawing primarily on the results of qualitative research that examined the experience of film tourists and other people involved in the film tourism industry over a span of three years, I identified underlying motivations involved in the production and consumption of film tourism. The study found that pre-tour images of Lord of the Rings and its publicity surrounding the making of the films play a significant role in the formation of film tourists' expectations. The emotional relationship towards the films and the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien had motivated film tourists to seek a meaningful and sincere experience. Furthermore, the film and its making as discussed on the DVDs, further publicised myths like the authenticity of the film production itself and the experience of great meaning for one's personal life. Consequently, the study found that most film tourists put a high significance on the sincerity of the relationships within the tour community and with the tour leader and guide(s). The film location visit itself was experienced as highly rewarding but was significantly enhanced by the presence of the tour community ('fellowship'), reenactments and the physical presence on site. This embodiment was crucial for the overall experience as it further authenticated the location visit but also the journey itself as a worthy and spiritual endeavour. It was shown that the New Zealand image of 'green', 'clean' and 'exotic otherness' has been reinforced by multiple media portraits and matches many aspects of the Middle-earth image. All film tourists judged the use of New Zealand for the portrayal of Middle-earth as 'authentic' even if they knew about J.R.R. Tolkien's British background. Furthermore, they judged their film tourism experience as authentic even though the locations were used in a fictional setting. Thus the notions of object authenticity was explored and replaced with the concepts of existential authenticity and sincerity to shift the focus towards the active process of negotiation of authenticity in the tourism experience. To understand tourists' behaviour and motivation, notions of 'spirituality' and 'pilgrimage' were also employed. The study tourists undertook a meaningful and spiritually significant journey that was enhanced through the experience of embodiment and community which suggested parallels between the religious pilgrim and the secular film tourist. Both are on a meaningful journey to distant places and follow scripted guidelines while also creating their own experience. Embodiment played an important role. Furthermore, film tourists sought the community of other believers and were willing to 'follow in the footsteps' of film stars and crew when choosing which film locations and eateries to visit as they sought places that had attained an 'aura'.

Dolphins are increasingly coming into contact with humans, particularly where tourism is involved. It has been assumed that such contact causes chronic stress on dolphin populations. This study examined relatively naive populations of Hector's dolphins and their interaction with various watercrafts. Dolphins in New Zealand have been observed using theodolites and boat-based observations over the last two decades, particularly on the east side of the South Island at Akaroa, which is situated on the coast line of Banks Peninsula. This research was undertaken using shore-based theodolite tracking to observe boat activity around the coast of Lyttelton and Timaru and their associated Harbours. Observations were made mostly over two periods each of six months duration and included the months October through to March during the years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. Observations made during a third period in 2005 were also incorporated for some of the analyses. Field investigations using a theodolite included more than 376 hours/site/season and recorded dolphin behaviour both with and without the presence of tour boats. Of primary interest were the tours, which ran regular trips to observe Cephalorhynchus hectori in their natural habitat. Hector's dolphins at both Lyttelton and Timaru were consistently observed with particular boat types and not with other types of water craft. Dolphins at Timaru exhibited a greater range of behaviours than those at Lyttelton. Stress-related behaviours such as an increase in swimming speed to open ocean and grouping behaviour were only observed in the presence of boats. Other potential stress behaviours, such as head slaps and repeated tail slaps, were only performed in the absence of boats. Observations implied that some generic dolphin behaviours, which often indicate stressed individuals may not apply to Hector's dolphins, and therefore question the assumption that all dolphin species behave in similar ways. We suggest that low-level tourist boat activity is not placing undue stress on the population. In addition to theodolite observations, tour boat based observations of Hector's dolphin were undertaken and behaviour at each site recorded for a focal animal. Tour boat-based observations concentrated on determining any preference to bow, stern, portside and starboard sides of the vessel. Dolphins consistently showed a preference in direction of approach and departure from tour vessels with a strong tendancy to the bow of the boat, and least with the stern. These results were similar irrespective of site or vessel. Behaviour data were also collected from tour boat vessels over 48 trips/season/site and the data divided into transitional behaviour groups, which included stress behaviours, association / interaction behaviour and neutral behaviour. Behavioural count and time data were collected to reflect the number of times and duration of behaviour occurrence, particularly in relation to transitional behaviours. Determining the presence of stress in Hector's dolphins varied between the data sets and indicated that time is a necessary factor when attempting to determine whether an individual or a general population is genuinely stressed. Quadrant preference and swimming direction in relation to the Black Cat were observed over six years, and both count and time data were collected with regard to behaviour. The results were consistent with preference in quadrant being expressed towards the bow of the boat and least with the stern. The count data suggested no significant impact on Hector's dolphin behaviour in the presence of the Black Cat over time, where time data indicated there was a transition over the years from neutral behaviour in the second year of tour boat activity, to positive behaviour in the third year of boat-activity and finally avoidance behaviour in the seventh year of tour boat activity at Lyttelton Harbour in response to the presence of the Black Cat.

<p><strong>Bakgrund och problemdiskussion:</strong> I dagens samhälle är det inte längre frågan om en organisation kommer drabbas av kris, utan frågan är snarare när och hur väl förberedd organisationen är för att kunna hantera den. Tsunamin som inträffade annandag jul 2004 var en kris av tidigare sällan skådat slag, den drabbade det svenska samhället i allmänhet och resebranschen i synnerhet. Resebranschen är starkt omvärldsberoende och dess aktörer kan aldrig vara tillräckligt väl förberedda på en kris. För att stå bättre rustad inför kommande kriser, bör organisationer efter en kris eftersträva att dra lärdomar av sina erfarenheter.</p><p><strong>Problemformuleringen</strong> för denna uppsats lyder: Hur kan researrangörer förbättra sin organisatoriska kompetens utifrån sina erfarenheter av en kris?</p><p><strong>Syftet</strong> med uppsatsen är:</p><ul><li>Att kartlägga researrangörernas arbete med crisis management och vilka delar av detta arbete som har förändrats efter Tsunamikatastrofen. </li><li>Att identifiera och jämföra de olika lärdomar researrangörerna dragit till följd av Tsunamin. </li><li>Att diskutera och ge förslag till hur lärandet av kriser kan tillvaratas och leda till förändringar, t.ex. i form av förbättrade rutiner i krisberedskapen och höjd kompetens i organisationerna.<em> </em></li></ul><p><strong>Metod:</strong> För vår studie har vi använt en kvalitativ forskningsansats, vårt angreppssätt är deduktivt och vi har utfört semi-strukturerade intervjuer för insamlingen av vårt empiriska material. Intervjuerna tog sin utgångspunkt i vår undersökningsmodell som påvisar hur krisförloppets faser - före, under och efter – påverkar den organisatoriska kompetensen. Urvalet av studieföretag består av researrangörerna Ving och Fritidsresor.</p><p>I vår <strong>empiri</strong> kartläggs hur researrangörerna idag arbetar med crisis management och vilka delar av arbetet som förändrats efter Tsunamin. I <strong>analysen</strong> ser vi att researrangörernas krisberedskapsarbete till stora delar överensstämmer med teorierna inom området, men hur lärprocesserna skiljer sig något åt organisationerna emellan.</p><p><strong>Resultat och slutsatser</strong> av vår studie är att lärprocesser redan under krisen inleddes hos researrangörerna. Genom att åtgärda de brister som upptäcktes under Tsunamin har nya rutiner, system och arbetssätt inom vissa områden lett till förbättringar i krisberedskapen. Båda organisationerna har dragit lärdomar av det som hänt, men fokus på förändringsarbetet har för Ving legat på strukturkapital och för Fritidsresor på humankapital. Båda studieföretagen har infört krisövningar, men inte genomgående på alla nivåer. Det är först vid nästa storskaliga kris som det kommer att visa sig huruvida den organisatoriska kompetensen har ökat.</p><p> </p> / <p><p><strong>Background and rationale: </strong>In the world we live in today the question is no longer ’if’ an organization will face a crisis, but ’when’ and ’how prepared’ is the organization to deal with it. The Tsunami that happened on December 26th 2004 was a disaster of unprecedented magnitude. It had an impact on the Swedish society in general and the travel industry in particular. As the travel industry is very susceptible to impacts by external factor, its participants can never be too prepared to face a crisis. In order to be better prepared for future crisis, organizations should seek to learn from their experiences.</p><p><strong>The research question</strong> for this dissertation is: How can tour-operators improve their organizational competence by using experiences from a crisis?</p><p><strong>The aim</strong> of the dissertation is:</p></p><ul><li>To map the tour-operators’ crisis management work, and which parts of this work has changed as a result of the Tsunami. </li><li>To identify and compare the differences in the lessons learned by the tour-operators from the Tsunami.</li><li>To discuss and give recommendations on how experiences from crises can be used and lead to change, i.e. in better crisis management routines and higher organizational competence</li></ul><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>We have used a qualitative research method in our dissertation, our approach is deductive and for the gathering of empirical data, we have made semi-structured interviews. Our research model has been the base for the interviews. Our model shows how the different phases of a crisis – before, during and after – influence organizational competence. The selected companies for our research are the tour-operators Ving and Fritidsresor.</p><p>In our <strong>field study</strong> we map how the crisis management of the tour-operators is functioning today, and which parts of this work has changed as a result of the Tsunami. In our analysis we see that the tour-operators crisis management work in large parts coincides with the theories in the area, but there are differences in the learning processes of the organizations.</p><p><strong>Results and conclusions</strong> drawn from our research are that the learning processes of the tour-operators already start during the crisis. By addressing the deficiencies observed during the Tsunami, new routines, systems and work processes have improved their preparedness for crisis. Both organizations have learned, but the focus at Ving has been on structural capital and at Fritidsresor on human capital. Both have introduced crisis rehearsals, but not throughout the whole organization. Whether the organizational competence to handle a big crisis has improved will be seen as the next large crisis occurs.</p><p>.</p><p><em> </em></p>

Cette étude d'ethnologie et de sciences religieuses étudie le processus de sacralisation de territoire, au travers des processions giratoires communautaires, connues en Bretagne sous le nom de « troménies », du breton tro + minihi, traduisible par le tour de la monachia, des terres d'un monastère celtique du haut Moyen Âge. Elles se caractérisent par l'aspect giratoire de la pérambulation, dans un sens de circulation dextrogyre, au sein d'un rituel catholique coutumier commémorant le geste fondateur du saint patron de la paroisse. Huit troménies (Bourbriac, Gouesnou, Landeleau, Locquénolé, Locmaria-Quimper, Locronan) sont mises en regard d'exemples français (Ceaucé, Magnac-Laval, Larchant) et belges (Mons, Nivelles, Renaix, Saintes, Soignies). L'étude privilégie l'analyse symbolique de l'ensemble des éléments sollicités par le rituel : toponymie, histoire, géographie, hagiographie, liturgie, ethnographie, mythologie, folklore

J'ai développé un instrument permettant de mesurer simultanément le CO2 (ou le CO), le CH4, le N2O et le SF6. Il s'agit d'un chromatographe gazeux commercial (Agilent 6890N) que j'ai modifié pour atteindre une très haute précision. Les reproductibilités calculées sur 24 heures avec un gaz target sont: 0.06 ppm pour le CO2, 1.4 ppb pour le CO, 0.7 ppb pour le CH4, 0.2 ppb pour le N2O et 0.05 ppt pour le SF6. Le fonctionnement de l'instrument est automatisé et permet d'analyser un échantillon toutes les 5 minutes. En juillet 2006, j'ai instrumenté une tour de télécommunication de 200 mètres dans la forêt d'Orléans sur la commune de Trainou, pour le suivi en continu des gaz à effet de serre (CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6), de traceurs atmosphériques (CO, Radon-222) et des paramètres météorologiques. Des lignes de prélèvement ont été installées à partir de trois niveaux (50, 100 et 180 m), et permettent d'échantillonner les masses d'air selon la verticale. Les mesures en continu ont démarré début 2007. J'ai utilisé les mesures atmosphériques en continu à Mace Head (Irlande) et Gif-sur-Yvette (91) pour estimer les flux d'émission des principaux gaz à effet de serre à l'échelle régionale. Pour faire le lien entre les mesures atmosphériques et les flux de surface, il est indispensable de quantifier la dilution par le transport atmosphérique. J'ai utilisé pour cela le Radon-222 comme traceur atmosphérique (méthode Radon), et les estimations de hauteurs de couche limite par le modèle ECMWF (méthode du bilan de la couche limite). Dans les deux cas je me suis attaché à comparer les résultats obtenus avec les inventaires d'émission disponibles.

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: I dagens samhälle är det inte längre frågan om en organisation kommer drabbas av kris, utan frågan är snarare när och hur väl förberedd organisationen är för att kunna hantera den. Tsunamin som inträffade annandag jul 2004 var en kris av tidigare sällan skådat slag, den drabbade det svenska samhället i allmänhet och resebranschen i synnerhet. Resebranschen är starkt omvärldsberoende och dess aktörer kan aldrig vara tillräckligt väl förberedda på en kris. För att stå bättre rustad inför kommande kriser, bör organisationer efter en kris eftersträva att dra lärdomar av sina erfarenheter. Problemformuleringen för denna uppsats lyder: Hur kan researrangörer förbättra sin organisatoriska kompetens utifrån sina erfarenheter av en kris? Syftet med uppsatsen är: Att kartlägga researrangörernas arbete med crisis management och vilka delar av detta arbete som har förändrats efter Tsunamikatastrofen. Att identifiera och jämföra de olika lärdomar researrangörerna dragit till följd av Tsunamin. Att diskutera och ge förslag till hur lärandet av kriser kan tillvaratas och leda till förändringar, t.ex. i form av förbättrade rutiner i krisberedskapen och höjd kompetens i organisationerna. Metod: För vår studie har vi använt en kvalitativ forskningsansats, vårt angreppssätt är deduktivt och vi har utfört semi-strukturerade intervjuer för insamlingen av vårt empiriska material. Intervjuerna tog sin utgångspunkt i vår undersökningsmodell som påvisar hur krisförloppets faser - före, under och efter – påverkar den organisatoriska kompetensen. Urvalet av studieföretag består av researrangörerna Ving och Fritidsresor. I vår empiri kartläggs hur researrangörerna idag arbetar med crisis management och vilka delar av arbetet som förändrats efter Tsunamin. I analysen ser vi att researrangörernas krisberedskapsarbete till stora delar överensstämmer med teorierna inom området, men hur lärprocesserna skiljer sig något åt organisationerna emellan. Resultat och slutsatser av vår studie är att lärprocesser redan under krisen inleddes hos researrangörerna. Genom att åtgärda de brister som upptäcktes under Tsunamin har nya rutiner, system och arbetssätt inom vissa områden lett till förbättringar i krisberedskapen. Båda organisationerna har dragit lärdomar av det som hänt, men fokus på förändringsarbetet har för Ving legat på strukturkapital och för Fritidsresor på humankapital. Båda studieföretagen har infört krisövningar, men inte genomgående på alla nivåer. Det är först vid nästa storskaliga kris som det kommer att visa sig huruvida den organisatoriska kompetensen har ökat. / Background and rationale: In the world we live in today the question is no longer ’if’ an organization will face a crisis, but ’when’ and ’how prepared’ is the organization to deal with it. The Tsunami that happened on December 26th 2004 was a disaster of unprecedented magnitude. It had an impact on the Swedish society in general and the travel industry in particular. As the travel industry is very susceptible to impacts by external factor, its participants can never be too prepared to face a crisis. In order to be better prepared for future crisis, organizations should seek to learn from their experiences. The research question for this dissertation is: How can tour-operators improve their organizational competence by using experiences from a crisis? The aim of the dissertation is: To map the tour-operators’ crisis management work, and which parts of this work has changed as a result of the Tsunami. To identify and compare the differences in the lessons learned by the tour-operators from the Tsunami. To discuss and give recommendations on how experiences from crises can be used and lead to change, i.e. in better crisis management routines and higher organizational competence Methodology: We have used a qualitative research method in our dissertation, our approach is deductive and for the gathering of empirical data, we have made semi-structured interviews. Our research model has been the base for the interviews. Our model shows how the different phases of a crisis – before, during and after – influence organizational competence. The selected companies for our research are the tour-operators Ving and Fritidsresor. In our field study we map how the crisis management of the tour-operators is functioning today, and which parts of this work has changed as a result of the Tsunami. In our analysis we see that the tour-operators crisis management work in large parts coincides with the theories in the area, but there are differences in the learning processes of the organizations. Results and conclusions drawn from our research are that the learning processes of the tour-operators already start during the crisis. By addressing the deficiencies observed during the Tsunami, new routines, systems and work processes have improved their preparedness for crisis. Both organizations have learned, but the focus at Ving has been on structural capital and at Fritidsresor on human capital. Both have introduced crisis rehearsals, but not throughout the whole organization. Whether the organizational competence to handle a big crisis has improved will be seen as the next large crisis occurs. .

Cette thèse s'intéresse au lien qui existe entre le système électoral et deux comportements importants de la vie civique, soit la participation à une élection et la désertion stratégique du candidat préféré vers un autre candidat. Ces thèmes sont abordés dans de nombreux et de très importants ouvrages en science politique. En passant par la théorie (Downs, 1957) jusqu'à des études de terrain par l'entremise de sondages (Abramson, 2010; Blais, 2010), diverses méthodologies ont été employées pour mieux expliquer les choix des électeurs. Ma contribution à l'avancement des connaissances dans ce domaine passe par l'usage de la méthode expérimentale pour mieux saisir les similitudes et différences dans les comportements des électeurs sous le système uninominal à un tour (UT) et la représentation proportionnelle (RP) ainsi que les mécanismes au niveau individuel qui produisent ces similitudes et différences. Le cœur de la thèse est composé des trois articles dont voici les résumés : Article 1. Des élections expérimentales faites à Montréal, Paris et Bruxelles permettent d'estimer l’influence directe du mode de scrutin sur la décision des électeurs de voter ou non, et de voter pour leur parti préféré ou non. En tout, 16 groupes de 21 électeurs votent sous différents systèmes électoraux, soit le UT et la RP. Les préférences sont attribuées aléatoirement et connues de tous les participants. Nos résultats indiquent que le vote n'est pas globalement plus sincère et que la participation électorale n'est pas plus élevée sous le système proportionnel. Toutefois, nous observons moins de désertion d'un petit parti sous le système proportionnel. Article 2. Les expériences permettent également d'expliquer pourquoi les électeurs votent parfois pour un parti autre que leur parti préféré. La conclusion principale est que la décision de voter de façon sincère ou non est influencée par les préférences individuelles, mais aussi par les perceptions des chances de gagner des candidats ainsi que des chances que son propre vote puisse décider le résultat de l'élection. Les électeurs qui désertent leur premier choix prennent en considération quel candidat est le plus près de leurs positions politiques, mais également de la viabilité de cette alternative. De plus, les électeurs qui aiment prendre des risques ont davantage tendance à déserter. Article 3. Le modèle de l'électeur pivot est mis à l'épreuve pour mieux comprendre la décision de voter ou non lors d'une élection. Nos expériences permettent de répliquer, avec un devis expérimental différent, les résultats importants des travaux de Duffy et Tavits (2008). Nos résultats confirment que la perception d'être pivot augmente la participation, que ces perceptions sont sujettes à la surestimation et que cette surestimation ne décline pas complètement dans le temps. Nous allons également plus loin que les recherches de Duffy et Tavits et nous trouvons que la participation n'est pas plus forte sous RP que sous UT et que la probabilité d'être pivot a un impact plus important chez les électeurs évitant de prendre des risques. / This thesis focuses on the relationship between the electoral system and two important behaviors of civic life: participation in an election and the strategic desertion of the preferred candidate. These topics are addressed in very important books in political science. From theory (Duverger, 1954; Downs, 1957) to empirical research using surveys (Abramson, 2010; Blais, 2010), various methodologies have been used to better explain voter's choices. My contribution to knowledge is the use of experimental methods to better understand both similarities and differences in voter behavior under the plurality system (PLU) and the proportional representation (PR) system and the individual level mechanisms that produce these similarities and differences. The core of the thesis consists of three articles summarized below: Article 1. Experimental elections conducted in Montreal, Paris and Brussels estimate the direct influence of the voting system on the voters' decision whether to vote or not, and vote for their preferred party or another party. In all, 16 groups of 21 voters take part in elections under different electoral systems. The systems are simple plurality and proportional representation. Preferences are randomly assigned and known by all participants. Our results indicate that voting is globally not more sincere and that voter turnout is not higher under the proportional system. However, we observe less desertion of small parties under the proportional system. Article 2. We perform a laboratory experiment to explain why voters sometimes vote for a party other than the preferred one. The main conclusion of the paper is that in addition to voter preferences, perceptions of winning chances and belief in the possibility of affecting the outcome are key factors in the voter’s decision to vote sincerely or not. When they desert their first choice, voters consider their preferences and the viability of the alternatives. Voters who like to take risks are more prone to desert. Article 3. This paper examines the decision to vote or not in experimental elections. We replicate the important findings of Duffy and Tavits (2008) with a different design. Our results support their finding, that is, turnout is affected by the belief that one's vote counts and overestimation of the probability that one's vote counts does not decrease completely over time. Going beyond previous research, we also find that turnout is not higher under a proportional system than under a plurality system, and beliefs about being in a pivotal disposition have a greater impact on turnout among the risk averse.