Humanities and Economy

ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
BRAZIL – CZECH REPUBLIC
2015/2016 RESEARCH PROJECTS
WWW.UNIGOU.ORG
Email:[email protected]
Brazil: 0055 11 3957 0980
Czech: 00420 776 059 636
The following Institutes, Departments and Research Centers cooperates with UniGou
academic internship program sheltering interesting research projects to be developed by
undergraduate students of related fields. Some projects are described in more details, some
will be specified in accordance with a student profile and previous experience.
OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECTS – HUMANISTIC SCIENCES AND ECONOMY:
ECONOMY................................................................................................................................................ 2
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (RELATED TO ECONOMICS, STATISTICS AND SOCIOLOGY) ......................... 3
HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL SCIENCES, PSYCHOLOGY ..................................................................................... 5
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE ................................................................................................................ 5
HISTORY ................................................................................................................................................... 5
DEMOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................... 6
ECONOMY
University of Economics in Prague, Faculty of Economics,
Department of Institutional Economy
The department of Institutional Economics explores the importance of institutions using
tools not only economics but also in other social science disciplines. The research elements
combine economics with sociology, political science, law, history, philosophy or theology.
The aim is to provide the fullest possible explanation of the problems of interpersonal
interactions in a form that is accessible to a wider audience, not just professional
economists.
Project: Economical development of Austrian-Hungarian Empire in the 19th Century
This project is aimed at developing student's analytical skills through evaluating the
historical data of economical and cultural development of Austrian-Hungarian Empire in
the 19th Century. The project targets on individual provinces of the Habsburg Empire and
their development in economics, education and health care.
University of Economics in Prague, Faculty of Economics,
Center for Latin American Studies
The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) is a research center created by the Faculty
of Economics and Public Administration from the University of Economics, Prague. The
main focus of the Center is on the economic and regional research of Latin American
countries. The Center works in close cooperation with other departments of the Faculty of
Economics and Public Administration and it collaborates in pedagogical and research
activities with similar centers operating both in Latin America and Europe. CLAS is
working with the Center for Research and Analysis on Latin America (CAS LA) – Respekt
Institut o.p.s, to organize panel discussions, workshops, round tables and the academic
platform to bring together the best experts in Latin America.
Project: Analysing the effectiveness of the companies and the business environment in
Latin America with the DEA model
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
(RELATED TO ECONOMICS, STATISTICS AND SOCIOLOGY)
Charles University in Prague,
Environmental Centre
Relations between society and environment are studied using methods of social sciences,
especially economics, statistics and quantitative sociology in the following topics:
Research of consumer behaviour
Topic: Individual and household behaviour are analysed with greatest complexity in the area of
transport, energy and recreational demand by means of the estimation of demand systems
and application of discrete choice and random utility models. Other areas of research include
transportation behaviour of urban populations, choice of transportation modes, demand for
cycling infrastructure, and demand for organic food, availability of drinking water or
recreational spaces. It is in this area that we make the closest connection between economic
theory and sociology, such as in the application of the theory of planned behaviour. The aim
of the research is to determine consumer reaction on economic factors (such as price and
income).
Recommended: students of Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Sociology, Education and other
students with experience in statistics, econometry, optimization etc.
Assessment of environmental damage
Topic: The dependence between economic performance and environmental burden is studied by
testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, as well as application of statistical
decomposition methods and econometric analysis to explain changes in emission output and
energy consumption. The consumer behaviour and economic activity are analysed focusing on
environmental damage
Recommended: students of Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Sociology, Education and other
students with experience in statistics, econometry, optimization etc.
Assessment of the impact on the economy
Topic: Negative externalities arising due to human or economic activities can be corrected by a
number of political tools with an impact on economy, society or environment. The research is
targeted on prediction of macro-economic impact by general equilibrium macro-econometric
model that has been compiled for the case of the Czech Republic.
Recommended: students of Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Sociology, Education and other
students with experience in statistics, econometry, optimization etc.
Measurement of inequalities
Topic: The research is dominated by analysis of impacts of environmental tax reform, particularly
effectiveness analysis of instruments, distributional and social impacts (including
measurements of tax progressivity and income inequality), impacts on public finances and
economic sectors.
Recommended: students of Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Sociology, Education and other
students with experience in statistics, econometry, optimization etc.
Research of non-market valuation methods & health risk assessment
Topic: The research is targeted on the valuation of non-market goods using so called Non-Market
Methods, when the value is derived either from substitutive market or established according
to hypothetic decisions of respondents in the survey. The principal object of research interest
is the valuation of pollution impacts and effects of working processes on human health
resulting in premature deaths, risk alterations, and various disease symptoms. We also deal
with valuation of non-production ecosystem (forest) functions and benefits, inter alia of water
quality or endangered species. The valuation of non-market goods is used for assessing of
costs and benefits of both general public policies as well as various specific projects. It helps
to evaluate the effects of the projects on the society and environment.
Recommended: students of Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Sociology, Education and other
students with experience in statistics, econometry, optimization etc.
Research of indicators of sustainable development
Topic: The research is targeted on assessment of anthropogenic changes in the environment,
which are caused by exploitation of resources – materials, energy and territories. It applies
analysis of material flow, mainly on macro-economic level, using Economy-Wide Material
Flow Analysis (EW – MFA). Within MFA other methods are applied as well, such as the InputOutput Analysis (I-O analysis) or Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The indicators for assessing the
environmental sustainability are expressed and analysed, not only for the current time, but
also considering their historical development in the past 150 years.
This assessment includes evaluation of the total size of economy and related burden on
environment associated with the:
 consumption of materials;
 efficiency of resources utilization;
 economic growth and its decoupling from environmental burden;
 transfer of the ecological burden caused by material flows abroad;
 utilization of renewable and non-renewable sources;
 etc.
The research also focuses on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of energy flows, energy
transformation and energy consumption. The comprehensive information is provided by
energy balance and Energy Flow Analysis combined with a carbon footprinting. The current
research topic is also environmental safety. The impact of global changes on the
environmental safety of the Czech Republic are assessed, including the safety risks arising
from these changes.
Recommended: students of Economy, Statistics, Mathematics, Sociology, Education and other
students with experience in statistics, econometry, optimization etc.
HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL SCIENCES, PSYCHOLOGY
University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
New Technologies Research Center
Quality of Life Study in laryngectomized patients using text-to-speech synthesizers
Task: Assist with preparations of Quality of Life Study in the patients after total laryngectomy who
use customized text-to-speech synthesizer as their speech prosthesis; formulate and propose
relevant hypotheses, testing methods and ethical issues
Requirements: knowledge of ethics (preferably medical or other applied); at least basic
understanding of healthcare principles and QoL Study frameworks; some knowledge of basic
statistics is advantageous
Recommended for: Students of medicine / healthcare / social sciences / psychology
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE
Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Arts,
Department of Roman Studies / Camoes Institute in Prague
The Camoes Institute in Prague resulted from a cooperation agreement between the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal and Charles University in Prague fulfilling the
mission of promoting the Portuguese language and all the cultural diversity associated
with it. The cultural program in Prague covers lectures, themed events, concerts, film
screenings and more. The library provides literature in Portuguese. The Center organizes
weekly Portuguese courses and specialized courses for the general public, guided by
natives and Czech readers. Thus, we intend to increase the skills of all who use or intend to
use the Portuguese language in your personal or professional life, integrating a vast
universe of over 230 million speakers, scattered throughout 5 continents united by a single
language - Portuguese.
HISTORY
Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Humanities,
Department of Historical Sociology
Comparative Study of Historical Development of Cities in the Czech Republic and
Brazil
This project is based on comparing historical and sociological aspects affecting
development of cities in the Czech Republic and Brazil.
DEMOGRAPHY
Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Arts,
Department of Demography and Geodemography studies
The department focuses on the study of demography in a combination with social
geography, sociology and economics. The Department conducts the largest volume of
demographic research in the Czech Republic and its members pursue scientific work and
research on an international level. The actual research is mainly focused on the changes in
the population development in the Czech Republic after 1989. The department of
Demography and Geodemography is a premier workplace in the Czech Republic in terms
of the international collaborative network of Europe's leading demographic research
centers

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