Research macroeconomists have witnessed remarkable methodological developments in mathematical, statistical, and computational tools during the last two decades. The three essays in this dissertation took advantage of these advances to analyze important macroeconomic issues. The first essay, “ Habit Formation, Adjustments Costs, and International Business Cycle Puzzles” analyzes the extent to which incorporating habit formation and adjustment costs in investment in a one-good two-country general equilibrium model would help overcome some of the international business cycle puzzles. Unlike standard results in the literature, the model generates persistent, cyclical adjustment paths in response to shocks. It also yields positive cross-country correlations in consumption, employment, investment, and output. Cross-country correlations in output are higher than the ones in consumption. This is qualitatively consistent with the stylized facts. These results are particularly striking given the predicted negative correlations in investment, employment, and output that are typically found in the literature. The second essay, “Comparison Utility, Endogenous Time Preference, and Economic Growth,” uses World War II as a natural experiment to analyze the degree to which a model where consumers' preferences exhibit comparison-based utility and endogenous discounting is able to improve upon existing models in mimicking the transitional dynamics of an economy after a shock that destroys part of its capital stock. The model outperforms existing ones in replicating the behavior of the saving rate (both on impact and along the transient paths) after this historical event. This result brings additional support to the endogenous rate of time preference being a crucial element in growth models. The last essay, “Monetary Policy under Fear of Floating: Modeling the Dominican Economy,” presents a small scale macroeconomic model for a country (Dominican Republic) characterized by a strong presence of fear of floating (reluctance to have a flexible exchange rate regime) in the conduct of monetary policy. The dynamic responses of this economy to external shocks that are of interest for monetary policy purposes are analyzed under two alternative interest rate policy rules: One being the standard Taylor rule and another that responds explicitly to deviations of the exchange rate with respect to its long-term trend.

The subject of this diploma thesis is a survey of the Dominican monastery in Znojmo. The thesis deals with the requirements for building documentation. The thesis contains floor plans of the second floor, the ground plan of the third floor and the vertical section of the building. The resulting documentation will serve the National Monument Institute for the planned reconstruction of the building.

The subject of the diploma thesis is the geodetic survey of historical part of Dominican monastery in Znojmo city and to create documentation of the building. The thesis contains a description of the place of interest, preparation for work and measuring process. Next part the thesis deals with the requirements of creating the drawing documentation of the ground plan and the vertical section and also testing results of the work. The final documentation will be used for the reconstruction of the building.

This work is an analysis of criticism of the dictatorial regime of Rafael Trujillo in articles, letters, speeches and lectures produced by Juan Bosch during the period of dictatorship, that is in the period 1930-1961. Its aim is to show which manifestations of the regime were criticized by Bosch and for what reason or what purpose the author observed with his criticism. In the theoretical part of this work, attention is paid to the historical issues of dominican politics and economics and the elements that influenced the dictatorship as well as the analysis of Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship in Dominican Republic and the basic pillars of its functioning in political, economic, social and ideological sphere (the functioning of the regime, the monopolization of economic life, the introduction of social reforms, anti-Communist and anti-Haitian attitudes) as well as various forms of oppression and censorship; these aspects were criticized by Bosch. In the analysis of texts by Juan Bosch, some space is also dedicated to the author's interpretation of the dictatorship contained in the larger texts. Many analyzed articles from that period relate to the resistance activity of the dominican exile, so space is also devoted to the description of its political and propagandistic activities in exile associated...

The subsequent data, analysis and case study is an attempt to clarify architectural approaches to meeting housing shortages in developing nations. This thesis is directed towards providing a greater understanding of the Third World building environment by examining unforeseen constraints, design parameters and the architect's new role vis-a-vis housing design for developing countries, as well as design approaches and strategies related to the housing problem in the developing world. These aspects of low-cost housing design in developing nations have been distilled into a process of design which is intended to further define a direction an architect can pursue in order to arrive at a feasible design solution regarding low-cost housing in developing countries. As a conclusion, the thesis provides a frame of reference to the previous analysis with a case study of the Dominican Republic, describing the country itself, its housing problem and some design proposals put forward by regional architects as a part of an international seminar on housing sponsored by the Dominican housing organization, CII-VIVIENDAS. Chapters one, two and three approach the topic of low-cost housing in developing countries as an analysis of the broadest architectural considerations. Chapter one, "Design Constraints for Low-Cost Housing in Developing Countries" introduces the initial design considerations of building conditions in the developing world from the perspective of an architect trained in the construction practices of the more advanced industrial nations. In comparison to the conventional architectural environment of the developed nations, the limited construction resources of developing nations constitute severe building constraints. These constraints are examined. Chapter two, "Summary of Design Parameters for Developing Countries" derives design guidelines from the architectural constraints of chapter one. Chapter three. "Housing Design for Developing Countries: New Architectural Roles, New Design Approaches & New Design Process" supplements the analysis of the first two chapters with a review of current architects' design responses to the rigid building parameters inherent in low-cost housing design for developing countries. Chapter four, "A Case Study of the Dominican Republic: Country & Housing Characteristics" provides a frame of reference for the previous analysis with information concerning the country, the architectural influences and the housing data of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic suffers from housing problems typical to most developing countries. Chapter five. "Dominican Low-Cost Housing Seminar: Possible Low-Cost Housing Solutions for the Dominican Republic" concludes the thesis with a synthesis of the analysis and the case study. The synthesis is presented in terms of the diverse solutions to the housing shortage of the Dominican Republic reached by the participants of a low-cost housing seminar in the Dominican Republic. The seminar held in the winter of 1985 included foreign participants from both developed and developing countries in addition to the native Dominican participants. The design options described at the conclusion of chapter five are reflective of the current paths of low-cost housing development. / Master of Architecture

As climate change continues to increase global temperatures and change precipitation patterns, water systems have come under increased pressure, especially from the agricultural sector. These climate effects on agricultural systems have been found to be much greater for small-scale producers and small-island developing nations. As such, the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean island nation with a deep agricultural culture dominated by small-scale farms is especially vulnerable. As a result, there has been a global call to promote more precise and efficient irrigation practices, such as drip irrigation systems, however, these systems most often require an external energy source. With one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas being energy production, renewable energy should be used to truly have a sustainable irrigation system. Solar-powered drip irrigation systems (SDIS) have been heavily researched and been found to be technically feasible and economically viable, however, the techno-economically optimal configuration is highly dependent on the context in which they are applied. Therefore, this thesis aims to research and present a techno-economically optimal design methodology for SDISs for small-scale Dominican farms. To do so, firstly an in-depth literature review and market analysis were conducted where it was found that a fixed PV array coupled with an AC-powered, variable speed pump should be used. Additionally, the exact pump should be chosen from those locally available that best match the drip irrigation system head and flow rate characteristics. However, the literature pointed to no clear conclusion regarding if and what type of energy storage is best for SDIS. Thus, using the case study of a 1, 2, and 3 ha plot of plantains at Centro de Biotecnología Vegetal (CEBIVE) located on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, the minimum-sized feasible configuration options for a direct-driven SDIS (no storage) along with a battery bank and an elevated water tank were found. These configurations were sized using developed algorithms in Python that used hourly historical weather data from 2010 through 2023 and compared according to their respective net present costs (NPC) over 25 years and initial investment costs. Overall, it was found that for a 2 and 3-ha farm plot size, a direct-driven system was techno-economically optimal. Meanwhile, for a 1 ha farm plot, although the direct-driven system minimizes the SDIS systems NPC, the initial investment cost was found to be minimal for one of the feasible battery configurations (2 350W PV panels plus 1 kWh of lithium-ion battery capacity). In this case, the NPC of the battery configuration was 36.8% more than the direct-drive system, however the initial investment cost was 15.7% less. Ultimately, the use of direct drive versus a lithium-ion battery bank in an SDIS system for Dominican farms under 1 ha depends on the available capital resources of the farmer and whether they are able to put up sufficient initial capital or would rather pay less upfront and more over time. Noting that the sizing of the feasible SDIS configuration was conducted using historical weather data and climate change is expected to increase temperatures and change precipitation patterns in the future, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to gauge the impact of using historical data on the drawn conclusions. The analysis found that the decision as to what type of energy storage to use in an SDIS is not affected by accounting for climate change. However, using historical data to size an SDIS affected by climate change would likely result in an undersized system, given the predicted lifespan of 25 years of such a system. As such, additional research is needed to properly account for climate change effects in proper sizing techniques for SDIS systems for the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, future research should be focused on determining for larger Dominican farms whether multiple small-scale SDIS systems studied in this research or a large SDIS system should be implemented and whether such a system has a different techno-economical design. / När klimatförändringarna fortsätter att öka de globala temperaturerna och förändra nederbördsmönstren, har vattensystemen hamnat under ökat tryck, särskilt från jordbrukssektorn. Dessa klimateffekter på jordbrukssystem har visat sig vara mycket större för småskaliga producenter och små ö-nationer i utveckling. Som sådan är Dominikanska republiken, en karibisk ö-nation med en djup jordbrukskultur dominerad av småskaliga gårdar, särskilt sårbar. Som ett resultat har det funnits en global uppmaning att främja mer precisa och effektiva bevattningsmetoder, såsom droppbevattningssystem. Dock kräver dessa system oftast en extern energikälla. Eftersom energiproduktionen är en av de största bidragsgivarna till växthusgaser, bör förnybar energi användas för att verkligen ha ett hållbart bevattningssystem. Solkraftdrivna droppbevattningssystem (SDIS) har undersökts grundligt och visat sig vara tekniskt genomförbara och ekonomiskt lönsamma, men den tecno-ekonomiskt optimala konfigurationen är starkt beroende av sammanhanget där de tillämpas. Därför syftar denna avhandling till att undersöka och presentera en tecno-ekonomiskt optimal designmetod för SDIS för småskaliga dominikanska gårdar. För att göra detta genomfördes först en djupgående litteraturöversikt och marknadsanalys där det konstaterades att en fast PV-matris kopplad till en AC-driven variabel hastighetspump bör användas. Dessutom bör den exakta pumpen väljas från de lokalt tillgängliga som bäst matchar droppbevattningssystemets huvud- och flödesegenskaper. Dock pekade litteraturen inte på någon tydlig slutsats om ifall och vilken typ av energilagring som är bäst för SDIS. Därför, med hjälp av en fallstudie av en 1, 2 och 3 hektar stor platanodling vid Centro de Biotecnología Vegetal (CEBIVE) beläget i utkanten av Santo Domingo, fann man de minimistorlekar för möjliga konfigurationsalternativ för ett direktdrivet SDIS (utan lagring) tillsammans med ett batteripaket och en upphöjd vattentank. Dessa konfigurationer dimensionerades med hjälp av utvecklade algoritmer i Python som använde timvisa historiska väderdata från 2010 till 2023 och jämfördes enligt deras respektive nuvärdeskostnader (NPC) över 25 år och initiala investeringskostnader. Totalt sett fann man att för en gårdsplott på 2 och 3 hektar var ett direktdrivet system tecno-ekonomiskt optimalt. Samtidigt, för en gårdsplott på 1 hektar, även om det direktdrivna systemet minimerar SDIS-systemets NPC, fann man att den initiala investeringskostnaden var minimal för en av de möjliga batterikonfigurationerna (2 350W PV-paneler plus 1 kWh litiumjonbatterikapacitet). I detta fall var NPC för batterikonfigurationen 36,8% mer än det direktdrivna systemet, men den initiala investeringskostnaden var 15,7% mindre. I slutändan beror användningen av direktdrift jämfört med ett litiumjonbatteripaket i ett SDIS-system för dominikanska gårdar under 1 hektar på de tillgängliga kapitalresurserna hos jordbrukaren och om de kan ställa upp tillräckligt initialt kapital eller föredrar att betala mindre i början och mer över tid. Med tanke på att dimensioneringen av den genomförbara SDIS-konfigurationen genomfördes med hjälp av historiska väderdata och att klimatförändringar förväntas öka temperaturerna och förändra nederbördsmönstren i framtiden, genomfördes en känslighetsanalys för att bedöma effekten av att använda historiska data på de dragna slutsatserna. Denna analys visade att beslutet om ifall och vilken typ av energilagring som ska användas i ett SDIS inte påverkades, men att använda historiska data för att  dimensionera ett SDIS skulle troligen resultera i ett underdimensionerat system med tanke på livslängden på 25 år. Därför behövs ytterligare forskning för att korrekt ta hänsyn till klimatförändringseffekter i lämpliga dimensioneringstekniker för SDIS-system för Dominikanska republiken. Dessutom bör framtida forskning fokusera på att avgöra om för större dominikanska gårdar flera småskaliga SDIS-system som studerats i denna forskning eller ett stort SDIS-system bör implementeras och om ett sådant system har en annan tecno-ekonomisk design. / A medida que el cambio climático continúa aumentando las temperaturas globales y alterando los patrones de precipitación, los sistemas hídricos han estado bajo una mayor presión, especialmente desde el sector agrícola. Se ha encontrado que estos efectos climáticos en los sistemas agrícolas son mucho mayores para los pequeños productores y las naciones insulares en desarrollo. Por lo tanto, la República Dominicana, una nación insular del Caribe con una profunda cultura agrícola dominada por pequeñas fincas, es especialmente vulnerable. Como resultado, ha habido un llamado global para promover prácticas de riego más precisas y eficientes, como los sistemas de riego por goteo, sin embargo, estos sistemas a menudo requieren una fuente de energía externa. Siendo la producción de energía una de las mayores contribuyentes a los gases de efecto invernadero, se debe utilizar energía renovable para tener un sistema de riego verdaderamente sostenible. Los sistemas de riego por goteo alimentados por energía solar (SDIS) han sido ampliamente investigados y se ha encontrado que son técnicamente factibles y económicamente viables, sin embargo, la configuración óptima desde el punto de vista tecno-económico depende en gran medida del contexto en el que se aplican. Por lo tanto, esta tesis tiene como objetivo investigar y presentar una metodología de diseño tecno-económicamente óptima para SDIS en pequeñas fincas dominicanas. Para hacerlo, primero se realizó una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura y un análisis de mercado donde se encontró que se debería utilizar una matriz fotovoltaica fija acoplada con una bomba de velocidad variable alimentada por corriente alterna. Además, la bomba exacta debe ser elegida entre las disponibles localmente que mejor se adapten a las características de la cabeza y el caudal del sistema de riego por goteo. Sin embargo, la literatura no señaló una conclusión clara sobre sí y qué tipo de almacenamiento de energía es mejor para SDIS. Por lo tanto, utilizando el estudio de caso de una parcela de 1, 2 y 3 hectáreas de plátanos en el Centro de Biotecnología Vegetal (CEBIVE) ubicado en las afueras de Santo Domingo, se encontraron las opciones de configuración mínima viable para un SDIS de accionamiento directo (sin almacenamiento) junto con un banco de baterías y un tanque de agua elevado. Estas configuraciones fueron dimensionadas utilizando algoritmos desarrollados en Python que utilizaron datos meteorológicos históricos por hora desde 2010 hasta 2023 y se compararon según sus respectivos costos netos presentes (CNP) durante 25 años y los costos de inversión inicial. En general, se encontró que para una parcela de 2 y 3 hectáreas, un sistema de accionamiento directo era tecno-económicamente óptimo. Mientras tanto, para una parcela de 1 hectárea, aunque el sistema de accionamiento directo minimiza el CNP de los sistemas SDIS, se encontró que el costo de inversión inicial era mínimo para una de las configuraciones de batería viables (2 paneles fotovoltaicos de 350W más 1 kWh de capacidad de batería de iones de litio). En este caso, el CNP de la configuración de la batería era 36.8% más que el sistema de accionamiento directo, sin embargo, el costo de inversión inicial era 15.7% menos. En última instancia, el uso de un sistema de accionamiento directo frente a un banco de baterías de iones de litio en un sistema SDIS para fincas dominicanas de menos de 1 hectárea depende de los recursos de capital disponibles del agricultor y si pueden aportar suficiente capital inicial o prefieren pagar menos al principio y más con el tiempo. Teniendo en cuenta que el dimensionamiento de la configuración viable de SDIS se realizó utilizando datos meteorológicos históricos, y pronosticando que el cambio climático aumente las temperaturas y cambie los patrones de precipitación en el futuro, se realizó un análisis de sensibilidad para evaluar el impacto de utilizar datos históricos en las conclusiones obtenidas. Este análisis concluyó que la decisión sobre qué tipo de almacenamiento de energía utilizar en un SDIS no se ve afectada por el cambio climático. Sin embargo, el uso de datos históricos para dimensionar un SDIS afectado por el cambio climático probablemente daría lugar a un sistema subdimensionado, dada la vida útil prevista de 25 años de dicho sistema. Por lo tanto, es necesario seguir investigando para tener en cuenta los efectos del cambio climático en las técnicas de dimensionamiento de los sistemas SDIS en la República Dominicana. Además, la investigación futura debería centrarse en determinar, para las fincas dominicanas de mayor tamaño, si deberían implantarse múltiples sistemas SDIS a pequeña escala estudiados en esta investigación o un gran sistema SDIS, y si dicho sistema tiene un diseño tecno-económico diferente.

Why would a relatively normal eighteen year-old boy from New Orleans decide to dedicate his life to God as a Jesuit priest at the tail-end of the twentieth century? What obstacles would he meet along the way? What would sustain him in religious life? Why would he leave after seven years? Can one be sexually and emotionally healthy as a celibate? Is celibacy different for homosexuals than it is for heterosexuals? What is essential in the spiritual life?

<p>Birth registration is a fundamental key in ensuring several essential rights of the child; including the right to a name and a nationality, the right to education and health care, and protection from abuse and exploitation among others. The United Nation’s Convention on the Right of the Child establishes that the child shall be registered immediately after birth and have the right to a name and a nationality. A total of 22 % of the Dominican children under the age of five are lacking an official proof of their existence within the Dominican society and in the world. A Minor Field study was conducted during a period of two months in 2009 with the aim of clarifying what obstacles to birth registration exist in the South-western part of the Dominican Republic. This clarification will contribute to a wider understanding of the causes to non-registration and the birth registration process in the country. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with parents to unregistered children, civil registry officials and other relevant actors in the Dominican society. The findings of the study present a wide range of obstacles to birth registration and it is clear that the reasons behind non-registration in this region are numerous, complex and often inter-related. According to most parents, officials and other informants the main obstacle to birth registration was found to be the parents’ lack of a Dominican identification card, a <em>cédula</em>. The lack of awareness about the importance of being registered and neglect by the parents were two other significant barriers to birth registration. The Minor Field Study was conducted with the support of the child rights organisation Plan International - República Dominicana.</p> / <p>Registro de nacimiento es una de las claves más importantes para asegurar los derechos fundamentales del niño; derecho a un nombre y una nacionalidad, derecho a la educación, derecho a servicio de salud, protección contra el abuso y la explotación entre otras cosas. La Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño establece que el niño será inscripto inmediatamente después de su nacimiento y tendrá derecho a un nombre y una nacionalidad. Un total de 22 % de los niños Dominicanos menores de cinco años de edad carece de una prueba oficial de su existencia dentro de la sociedad Dominicana y en el mundo. Un estudio de campo (Minor Field Study) fue realizado durante un período de dos meses en 2009 con el objetivo de aclarar cuáles son los obstáculos para el registro de nacimiento en la parte Sur-occidental de la República Dominicana. Esta aclaración contribuirá a una mayor comprensión de las causas de la no inscripción y el proceso de inscripción de nacimientos en el país. Entrevistas semi-estructuradas fueron realizadas con padres de niños sin registrar, oficiales del Estado civil y otros actores en la sociedad Dominicana. Los resultados de este estudio presentan varios obstáculos para la inscripción de nacimiento y es evidente que las razones de la no inscripción en esta región son numerosas, complejas e interrelacionadas. Según la mayoría de los padres, oficiales del Estado civil y otros informantes el principal obstáculo para el registro de nacimientos se encontró en la falta de cédula de los padres, un problema que muchas veces pasa de una generación a otra. La falta de conciencia sobre la importancia de estar registrado y la negligencia de los padres fueron otros dos obstáculos importantes para el registro de nacimientos. El estudio fue realizado con el apoyo de la organización non gubernamental Plan International- República Dominicana.</p>

This is a study about how Swedish travel magazines write about tropical islands with a history of colonization. The study investigates how the islands of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Haiti, the Maldives, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Zanzibar and Guadeloupe are being portrayed in four Swedish travel magazines. Travel articles published in the travel magazines Vagabond, Allt om Resor, Res and Escape 360° during the period January 2004 to December 2009 have been analyzed through critical discourse analysis. The study concludes that the travel magazines tend to idealize and aestheticize the tropical islands. The islands are being presented as paradises on earth. They are described as fairy tales, magical, dreams and as playgrounds for Westerners. The inhabitants of the tropical islands are being judged by how well they attend to the tourists’ needs and wishes. The inhabitants are presented as unreliable, while the tourists are presented as reliable. The inhabitants are also being portrayed as childish, exotic and primitive.  Theories about how old colonial ways of thinking continue to flourish in travel journalism are being used to give depth to the findings of the study.

Birth registration is a fundamental key in ensuring several essential rights of the child; including the right to a name and a nationality, the right to education and health care, and protection from abuse and exploitation among others. The United Nation’s Convention on the Right of the Child establishes that the child shall be registered immediately after birth and have the right to a name and a nationality. A total of 22 % of the Dominican children under the age of five are lacking an official proof of their existence within the Dominican society and in the world. A Minor Field study was conducted during a period of two months in 2009 with the aim of clarifying what obstacles to birth registration exist in the South-western part of the Dominican Republic. This clarification will contribute to a wider understanding of the causes to non-registration and the birth registration process in the country. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with parents to unregistered children, civil registry officials and other relevant actors in the Dominican society. The findings of the study present a wide range of obstacles to birth registration and it is clear that the reasons behind non-registration in this region are numerous, complex and often inter-related. According to most parents, officials and other informants the main obstacle to birth registration was found to be the parents’ lack of a Dominican identification card, a cédula. The lack of awareness about the importance of being registered and neglect by the parents were two other significant barriers to birth registration. The Minor Field Study was conducted with the support of the child rights organisation Plan International - República Dominicana. / Registro de nacimiento es una de las claves más importantes para asegurar los derechos fundamentales del niño; derecho a un nombre y una nacionalidad, derecho a la educación, derecho a servicio de salud, protección contra el abuso y la explotación entre otras cosas. La Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño establece que el niño será inscripto inmediatamente después de su nacimiento y tendrá derecho a un nombre y una nacionalidad. Un total de 22 % de los niños Dominicanos menores de cinco años de edad carece de una prueba oficial de su existencia dentro de la sociedad Dominicana y en el mundo. Un estudio de campo (Minor Field Study) fue realizado durante un período de dos meses en 2009 con el objetivo de aclarar cuáles son los obstáculos para el registro de nacimiento en la parte Sur-occidental de la República Dominicana. Esta aclaración contribuirá a una mayor comprensión de las causas de la no inscripción y el proceso de inscripción de nacimientos en el país. Entrevistas semi-estructuradas fueron realizadas con padres de niños sin registrar, oficiales del Estado civil y otros actores en la sociedad Dominicana. Los resultados de este estudio presentan varios obstáculos para la inscripción de nacimiento y es evidente que las razones de la no inscripción en esta región son numerosas, complejas e interrelacionadas. Según la mayoría de los padres, oficiales del Estado civil y otros informantes el principal obstáculo para el registro de nacimientos se encontró en la falta de cédula de los padres, un problema que muchas veces pasa de una generación a otra. La falta de conciencia sobre la importancia de estar registrado y la negligencia de los padres fueron otros dos obstáculos importantes para el registro de nacimientos. El estudio fue realizado con el apoyo de la organización non gubernamental Plan International- República Dominicana.