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The purpose of this research is to analyse the nexus between foreign aid and poverty reduction. In this research, aid provided by traditional and (re)emerging donors, China and France, was compared to understand their strategies toward poverty reduction and the impact of their aid in improving the conditions of their beneficiaries. Guinea, a Least Developed Country, was used as unit of comparison and assessment. Qualitative research methodology was used to collect data about the two aid donors, China and France. Among other research tools used, there are documents’ analysis (official documents from donors and recipients, declarations, scholarly works, media articles, etc.), interviews with various stakeholders, site visits and observation. As for main findings, this research found similarities and differences between China and France’s aid strategies in general and in Guinea in particular. There are similarities in the ways they integrate poverty reduction into their aid policies, motives and partly in their geographical and sectoral allocation systems. In terms of differences, they use different instruments and conditions to deliver their aid for poverty reduction. Regarding the impact of their aid, both donors have to some extent contributed to improving the access of the poor population in Guinea to basic services such as education, health, water and sanitation, etc. Finally, contrary to those who have denied the importance of foreign aid as a financial tool to reduce poverty, this research posits that aid is still a relevant tool to address poverty. However, more work needs to be done at donor, recipient and direct beneficiaries’ levels to ensure its effectiveness. On the other hand, it posits that the divide between traditional and (re)-emerging donors is becoming blurred as their strategies to address poverty are becoming increasingly alike
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This paper introduces a concept proposal for accessing driving behavior in public transportation through Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS), as part of a long-term research project on Advanced Public Transportation System (APTS). The proposed concept makes use of mobile device's accelerometer and passengers' qualitative evaluation to identify aggressive driving behavior, which is believed to be a major factor for unnecessary accidents and fuel consumption. A survey and comparison of IT services (mobile applications and websites) provided by Macau Government and private bus companies in Macau, regarding bus-related information, such as fares, routes and route diversions is also provided.
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Kruger and Dunning (1992) found that unskilled people were typically unaware of their own performance and ability. In this context, unskilled performers were shown to overestimate their performance and ability, whereas skilled performers often accurately predicted their own performance and ability. Such miscalibration in self-assessment is usually attributed to a lack of so-called metacognitive skills necessary for performance evaluation. However, it remains unknown to what extent the miscalibration of performance judgment and optimistic bias is observed in the Chinese culture. This thesis examines patterns of miscalibration of performance judgment and specific optimistic bias. This thesis also builds on a range of previous studies of performance judgment and optimistic bias. In order to investigate the performance judgment and optimistic bias in this context, two studies were conducted as part of the research aspect of this thesis. In the first study, participants were given a reasoning task on which they had to predict their performance before completing the task and estimate their performance upon completion of the task. The second study followed similar methodology, with two additional tasks – Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) module and the respective midterm examination. Results from both studies indicate that biases in performance judgment occur in the Chinese culture, and may yield negative consequences to those persons who exhibit such judgments. Although metacognitive ability provides some explanation for the miscalibration of performance judgment, the results of the current study indicate that task optimistic bias provides another, equally viable explanation for the miscalibration of performance judgment. The findings presented in this thesis suggest that inaccurate judgments of performance occur within various domains (general and specific iii performance contexts) and that there are a range of implications associated with these biases. Keywords: Miscalibration of performance judgment, optimistic bias, absolute optimistic bias, comparative optimistic bias, overestimation, overplacement, underestimation, underplacement
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