Brazil’s Bolsa Família and its impacts on student enrollment and achievement is studied increasingly frequently, but the quality of education received by Bolsa Família recipients is often not factored in. This study uses school data and the Bolsa Família registry to map patterns of school inputs for all Brazilian students, and to discover any patterns in inputs for specifically Bolsa Família recipient students. The availability of all types of school inputs follow similar regional patterns: low quantities of materials and low quality facilities in the North and Northeast regions, and the reverse in the South and Southeast, with the most consistently high averages of all inputs found in the Central-West. High proportions of these students tend to be present in the North and Northeast, affecting their access to school inputs. These students also tended to lack infrastructure and technology inputs, which likely have a mixed impact on student performance. / text

Technologijų plėtojimas leidžia vis labiau vystytis sudėtingų elektroninių sistemų produkcijai. Visos šios sistemos turi būti patikrintos ir ištestuotos tam, kad užtikrinti tikslų jų funkcionavimą. Kai sistemų sudėtingumas didėja, testavimas tampa vienas iš svarbiausių faktorių nustatant galutinę produkto kainą. Žinomų žemo lygio metodų, skirtų techninės įrangos testavimui, nepakanka ir daugiau darbo turi būti atlikta abstrakčiame lygyje pradiniuose projektavimo etapuose negu klasikiniame ventiliniame ir registrų perdavimo lygiuose. Realizuotas algoritmas, kuris atsitiktinai generuoja įėjimo poveikį, pagal programinio prototipo modelį paskaičiuoja poveikio reakciją ir iškraipant po vien��� įėjimo poveikio signalo reikšmę apibrėžia galimus išėjimų loginių funkcijų termus. Nagrinėjant kitus įėjimo poveikius apibrėžti išėjimų loginių funkcijų termai patikslinami išmetant dalinius termus. Atsitiktinai sugeneravus ir išnagrinėjus daug įėjimo poveikių gaunami galutiniai išėjimų loginių funkcijų termai. Algoritmas negarantuoja , kad bus gauti visi ir tikslūs išėjimų loginių funkcijų termai, bet gauti termai gali būti naudojami testų generavimui. Gauti išėjimų loginių funkcijų termai užrašomi kartu su įėjimo poveikiu, pagal kurį termas buvo nustatytas, ir patys paskaičiuoti termai jau gali būti naudojami kaip tikrinantys testai. Gauti rezultatai galės būti panaudoti tolimesniems tyrimams: schemų testavimui, defektų šalinimui, funkcijos elementų palyginimui, algoritmo gerinimui... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The technological development is enabling production of increasingly complex electronic systems. All those systems must be verified and tested to guarantee correct behavior. As the complexity grows, testing is becoming one of the most significant factors that contribute to the final product cost. The established low-level methods for hardware testing are not any more sufficient and more work has to be done at abstraction levels higher than the classical gate and register-transfer levels. Realized algorithm, which random generates inputs, computes reaction based on software prototype model and deforming values of inputs one by one determines possible terms of logical functions. Analyzing other inputs determined terms of logical functions are corrected by eliminating partial terms. After random generating and analyzing a lot of inputs terminal terms of logical functions are derived. Algorithm doesn’t guarantee that all and exact terms of logical functions are obtained but those terms could be used when generating test vectors. Derived terms of logical functions’ outputs are recorded with input that formed them and following terms can be used as inspecting tests. Collected results can be used for further researches: schemes testing, defect detection, comparing elements of logical function, improving algorithm. Main aspects of design are introduced. Experimental accurateness of results and factors (initial number of random generated test vectors, improvement coefficient, maximum... [to full text]

This research develops and applies a methodology to calculate vehicle activity inputs for modelling of emissions from on-road vehicles using traffic count data. The thesis: (1) provides an understanding of emissions modelling in Canada and the U.S. and discusses the traffic activity data inputs required by vehicle emissions modelling software; (2) develops a methodology to collect and prepare vehicle activity data for an urban centre and applies this methodology by estimating vehicle activity for Winnipeg and Saskatoon; and (3) estimates vehicle emissions and then compares the sensitivity of estimating emissions using locally developed vehicle activity to estimating emissions using default vehicle activity. The methodology this research develops and applies to Winnipeg and Saskatoon is applicable to any jurisdiction in need of developing their own vehicle activity inputs for emissions modelling. The emissions estimates calculated using these different inputs emphasizes the importance of obtaining jurisdiction-specific input values for emissions modelling.

This research develops and applies a methodology to calculate vehicle activity inputs for modelling of emissions from on-road vehicles using traffic count data. The thesis: (1) provides an understanding of emissions modelling in Canada and the U.S. and discusses the traffic activity data inputs required by vehicle emissions modelling software; (2) develops a methodology to collect and prepare vehicle activity data for an urban centre and applies this methodology by estimating vehicle activity for Winnipeg and Saskatoon; and (3) estimates vehicle emissions and then compares the sensitivity of estimating emissions using locally developed vehicle activity to estimating emissions using default vehicle activity. The methodology this research develops and applies to Winnipeg and Saskatoon is applicable to any jurisdiction in need of developing their own vehicle activity inputs for emissions modelling. The emissions estimates calculated using these different inputs emphasizes the importance of obtaining jurisdiction-specific input values for emissions modelling.

Achieving a higher transmission rate had always been a goal in the field of communications. Having a two-way channel in which two nodes transmit and receive data at the same time, is an important tool to achieve this goal. A two-way channel is the first step from point-to-point communication channel toward multi-user networks. In its ideal form, we can transmit data two times faster by using a perfect two-way channel. However, the area of two-way channels had not been of interest of researchers during the past years and number of articles on this area is considerably low comparing to other types of multi-user communication networks, such as multiple-access channel, broadcast channel and interference channel. On the other hand, use of analog-to-digital converters (ADC) is a must in modern systems to enable us to analyze data faster; nevertheless, presence of ADC add some other difficulties to the system. In this thesis, different scenarios about two-way channel are studied. The Shannon's model of two-way channel and his inner and outer bounds on the capacity of this channel are presented. For the Gaussian Two-Way Channel with quantized output, in which the ambient noise has a Gaussian distribution, the expression of Shannon's inner bound for both Gaussian and discrete inputs are derived. The best uniform quantizer to obtain the maximum achievable rate for Gaussian input is found numerically. Then we will evaluate the additive noise model for the quantizer from an information theoretic point of view. For the discrete input, the method of rotating one input with respect to other one is employed to enlarge the achievable rate region. At last, two scenarios will be studied in which, minimizing the power of interference, does not necessarily maximizes the transmission rate.

Η διαρθρωτική αλλαγή σε μια οικονομία σχετίζεται με την συστηματική έρευνα στις μεταβολές των απαιτήσεων εισροών, στην παραγωγή νέων προϊόντων και στο σχετικό μέγεθος των κλάδων μιας οικονομίας, σε μια συγκεκριμένη χρονική περίοδο. Αυτή η διαδικασία μπορεί να διερευνηθεί μέσα από την εξέταση του υποδείγματος Εισροών-Εκροών (το οποίο εκτός των άλλων απεικονίζει τις διακλαδικές συναλλαγές σε μια οικονομία), δίδοντας έτσι ένα συγκριτικό σταθερό πλαίσιο για τον προγραμματισμό και την ανάλυση της αναπτυξιακής πολιτικής. Οι όροι «διαρθρωτική» και «τεχνολογική» αλλαγή αλληλεπικαλύπτονται σε κάποια έκταση στην βιβλιογραφία που αφόρα την μέθοδο ανάλυσης Εισροών – Εκροών (Ε-Ε), εν μέρει εξαιτίας των παραμέτρων Ε-Ε σαν «τεχνολογικοί συντελεστές». Ο Carter (1970) αναφέρεται στην τεχνολογική αλλαγή σαν μια αντικατάσταση της διαδικασίας παραγωγής σε μια άλλη. Παράλληλα άλλοι ερευνητές ισχυρίζονται ότι η διαρθρωτική αλλαγή είναι ένας όρος πιο γενικός, αφού αναφέρεται σε χρονικές αλλαγές των αλληλεπιδράσεων μεταξύ των κλάδων οικονομικής δραστηριότητας (Jackson κ.α.,1990,-Μc Donald,1991). Η διαρθρωτική αλλαγή μπορεί να εξεταστεί μέσω της χρήσης διαφόρων δεικτών. Η αναγνώριση των μεθόδων οι οποίες εκτιμούν την κλαδική αλληλεξάρτηση είναι ένα σημαντικό θέμα για τον σχεδιασμό της ανάπτυξής. Ένας δημοφιλής και αποτελεσματικός τρόπος ανάλυσης των διαρθρωτικών αλλαγών είναι η χρήση της μεθόδου Ε-Ε, που απεικονίζει ενιαία την οικονομική διάρθρωση (Chenery, 1980,- Feldam κ.α., 1987,- Rose και Miernyk,1989) σε μια χώρα ή περιφέρεια. Αρχικά οι οικονομολόγοι εφάρμοσαν την μέθοδο αυτή σε εθνικό επίπεδο. Η ανάλυση αυτή εξασφαλίζει τα απαραίτητα εργαλεία για την αποτίμηση των κλάδων, περιλαμβάνοντας τις σχέσεις τους και με την υπόλοιπη οικονομία. Όπως αναφέρεται στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία, η ανάλυση Ε-Ε θεωρείται από τις σημαντικότερες συνεισφορές στα οικονομικά του 20ου αιώνα (Baumol, 2000). Η Ελλάδα, μετά από μια εκτεταμένη περίοδο σύνδεσης με την Ευρωπαϊκή Οικονομική Κοινότητα (ΕΟΚ), έγινε το δέκατο πλήρες μέλος της την 1η Ιανουαρίου 1981. Αυτό το γεγονός είναι η αρχή μιας μεταβατικής περιόδου για την προσαρμογή της Ελληνικής οικονομίας στην οικονομία της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (ΕΕ), διαδικασία η οποία βεβαίως απαιτεί αρκετές διαρθρωτικές αλλαγές. Σε αυτό το περιβάλλον αντιμετωπίζουμε σημαντικές μεταβολές, οι οποίες προκλήθηκαν και από μεταβολές σε όλους τους κλάδους παραγωγής και κατανάλωσης στο περιβάλλον της αγοράς. Οι αλλαγές αυτές αφορούν την τεχνολογία, τις προτιμήσεις του καταναλωτή και τις συνήθειες του, τις τιμές και το κόστος του προϊόντος, την νοοτροπία σχετικά με την προστασία και διατήρηση του περιβάλλοντος και τον ανταγωνισμό με τις άλλες χώρες της Κοινότητας. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό ο στόχος της συγκεκριμένης εργασίας είναι η ανάλυση των διαρθρωτικών αλλαγών για ένα ορισμένο χρονικό διάστημα στην ελληνική οικονομία. Για να επιτευχθεί η κατάλληλη συγκριτική ανάλυση, χρησιμοποιήθηκαν οι πίνακες Ε-Ε για τα έτη 1997-2005 και στην συνέχεια χρησιμοποιήθηκαν διάφοροι δείκτες για να διεκπεραιωθεί η διαρθρωτική ανάλυση. / -

O polimorfismo é um fenômeno relativamente comum entre os compostos farmacêuticos, e um dos principais problemas na produção e desenvolvimento de medicamentos. Sua presença pode acarretar prejuízos para a saúde da população e forte impacto econômico para as indústrias farmacêuticas ao influenciar diretamente nas propriedades mecânicas e biofarmacêuticas de insumos e produtos acabados. A investigação de polimorfismo associado aos oxicans, grupo pertencente à classe dos fármacos anti-inflamatórios não esteróides (AINEs), sofreu um incremento nos últimos anos, e para o fármaco tenoxicam relata-se a existência de quatro formas polimórficas na literatura. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a presença de diferentes formas polimórficas de tenoxicam em insumos farmacêuticos ativos e formulações farmacêuticas orais e avaliar a influência sobre a dissolução in vitro. Com base na literatura, a análise inicial com a substância química de trabalho (SQT) demonstrou padrão difratométrico forma III. Diferentes condições para formação de formas polimórficas de tenoxicam foram aplicadas conforme Cantera et al. (2002), contudo, os diferentes processos de preparação de polimorfos do tenoxicam não conduziram a modificações na estrutura cristalina original da SQT. Dados complementares foram obtidos através da espectrofotometria no IV e DSC, que indicaram a inexistência de modificações no espectro original e ausência de eventos térmicos atípicos. A caracterização dos insumos farmacêuticos do tenoxicam, provenientes de diferentes fornecedores, por IV, DRX e perfil de dissolução indicou presença da estrutura cristalina (forma III), sem apresentar diferenças significativas entre os perfis de dissolução in vitro. As especialidades farmacêuticas do tenoxicam disponíveis no mercado nacional, ao serem submetidas à análise por DRX, também apresentaram estruturas cristalinas forma III. Apesar de ocorrer perfis de dissolução diferentes entre as formulações, estas não apresentaram comprometimento em sua qualidade. Contudo, muitas vezes as transformações pós-processamento podem induzir a alterações na estrutura cristalina e por consequência, problemas biofarmacêuticos. Tal fato demonstra a importância do estudo do polimorfismo, ao avaliar e correlacionar a presença de estruturas cristalinas com alterações na qualidade e desempenho de insumos e produtos farmacêuticos. / Polymorphism is a relatively common phenomenon among pharmaceutical compounds, and one of the main problems in producing and developing drugs. Its presence may harm people’s health and have a strong economic impact on the pharmaceutical industries by directly influencing the mechanical and biopharmaceutical properties of inputs and finished products. The investigation of polymorphism associated with oxycans, a group belonging to the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), has grown in recent years, and it is reported that there are four polymorphic forms for tenoxycam the literature. The purpose of this study was to characterize the presence of different polymorphic forms in active pharmaceutical inputs and oral pharmaceutical formulations and evaluate their influence on in vitro dissolution. Based on the literature, the initial analysis with the reference standard showed a form III diphractometric pattern. Polymorphic forms of tenoxycam were prepared according to Cantera et al. (2002), but the different preparation processes of tenoxycam polymorphs did not lead to modifications of the original crystalline structure of the reference standard. Complementary data were obtained by spectrophotometry in IV and DSC, indicating that there were no modifications in the original spectrum and no atypical thermal events. The characterization of the pharmaceutical inputs of tenoxycam, from different suppliers, as IV, DRX and dissolution profile indicated the presence of a crystalline structure (Form III), without presenting significant differences between the in vitro dissolution profiles. The pharmaceutical specialties of tenoxycam available on the national market, on being analyzed by DRX also presented crystalline structures Form III. Although there was different dissolution profiles between the formulations, they showed no impairment in their quality. However, often the post-processing transformations can induce alterations in the crystalline structure and, consequently, biopharmaceutical problems. This shows the importance of the study of polymorphism with the evaluation and correlation of the presence of crystalline structures with alterations in the quality and performance of pharmaceutical inputs and products.

O polimorfismo é um fenômeno relativamente comum entre os compostos farmacêuticos, e um dos principais problemas na produção e desenvolvimento de medicamentos. Sua presença pode acarretar prejuízos para a saúde da população e forte impacto econômico para as indústrias farmacêuticas ao influenciar diretamente nas propriedades mecânicas e biofarmacêuticas de insumos e produtos acabados. A investigação de polimorfismo associado aos oxicans, grupo pertencente à classe dos fármacos anti-inflamatórios não esteróides (AINEs), sofreu um incremento nos últimos anos, e para o fármaco tenoxicam relata-se a existência de quatro formas polimórficas na literatura. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a presença de diferentes formas polimórficas de tenoxicam em insumos farmacêuticos ativos e formulações farmacêuticas orais e avaliar a influência sobre a dissolução in vitro. Com base na literatura, a análise inicial com a substância química de trabalho (SQT) demonstrou padrão difratométrico forma III. Diferentes condições para formação de formas polimórficas de tenoxicam foram aplicadas conforme Cantera et al. (2002), contudo, os diferentes processos de preparação de polimorfos do tenoxicam não conduziram a modificações na estrutura cristalina original da SQT. Dados complementares foram obtidos através da espectrofotometria no IV e DSC, que indicaram a inexistência de modificações no espectro original e ausência de eventos térmicos atípicos. A caracterização dos insumos farmacêuticos do tenoxicam, provenientes de diferentes fornecedores, por IV, DRX e perfil de dissolução indicou presença da estrutura cristalina (forma III), sem apresentar diferenças significativas entre os perfis de dissolução in vitro. As especialidades farmacêuticas do tenoxicam disponíveis no mercado nacional, ao serem submetidas à análise por DRX, também apresentaram estruturas cristalinas forma III. Apesar de ocorrer perfis de dissolução diferentes entre as formulações, estas não apresentaram comprometimento em sua qualidade. Contudo, muitas vezes as transformações pós-processamento podem induzir a alterações na estrutura cristalina e por consequência, problemas biofarmacêuticos. Tal fato demonstra a importância do estudo do polimorfismo, ao avaliar e correlacionar a presença de estruturas cristalinas com alterações na qualidade e desempenho de insumos e produtos farmacêuticos. / Polymorphism is a relatively common phenomenon among pharmaceutical compounds, and one of the main problems in producing and developing drugs. Its presence may harm people’s health and have a strong economic impact on the pharmaceutical industries by directly influencing the mechanical and biopharmaceutical properties of inputs and finished products. The investigation of polymorphism associated with oxycans, a group belonging to the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), has grown in recent years, and it is reported that there are four polymorphic forms for tenoxycam the literature. The purpose of this study was to characterize the presence of different polymorphic forms in active pharmaceutical inputs and oral pharmaceutical formulations and evaluate their influence on in vitro dissolution. Based on the literature, the initial analysis with the reference standard showed a form III diphractometric pattern. Polymorphic forms of tenoxycam were prepared according to Cantera et al. (2002), but the different preparation processes of tenoxycam polymorphs did not lead to modifications of the original crystalline structure of the reference standard. Complementary data were obtained by spectrophotometry in IV and DSC, indicating that there were no modifications in the original spectrum and no atypical thermal events. The characterization of the pharmaceutical inputs of tenoxycam, from different suppliers, as IV, DRX and dissolution profile indicated the presence of a crystalline structure (Form III), without presenting significant differences between the in vitro dissolution profiles. The pharmaceutical specialties of tenoxycam available on the national market, on being analyzed by DRX also presented crystalline structures Form III. Although there was different dissolution profiles between the formulations, they showed no impairment in their quality. However, often the post-processing transformations can induce alterations in the crystalline structure and, consequently, biopharmaceutical problems. This shows the importance of the study of polymorphism with the evaluation and correlation of the presence of crystalline structures with alterations in the quality and performance of pharmaceutical inputs and products.

The thesis investigates three selected issues pertaining to the Malaysian Manufacturing sector namely industries growth channels, imported inputs and intra-industry trade determinants. For each of this issue we have adopted a static and a dynamic estimation approach. In the static estimation the result presented are based on Ordinary Least Square, Fixed and Random Effect besides Generalized Least Square estimations. Meanwhile in the dynamic estimation, we focused on result of the difference and system GMM estimations. For industries growth channels, the findings suggest that at aggregate industry level, fixed capital formation and human capital channels are always statistically significant regardless of the test applied either in static or dynamic models estimation. The significance of fixed capital formation is consistent with the strong and cumulative saving and investment condition in Malaysia which has had a significant effect on the capital formation of the country. Our findings for foreign direct investment channel might suggest that Malaysian manufacturing industries has had problem to absorb the transfer of technology that had impede the growth of the sector. Meanwhile, a negative association between government consumption and economic growth might indicate that the government expenditures pattern might have distort the allocation of resources in the economy especially the manufacturing sector. Our findings suggest that the nature of the relationship between manufactured exports and economic growth is negative which might indicate that Malaysian manufactured exports were actually driven by the economy growth. Further analysis at individual export-oriented industry level shows that manufactured exports and government consumption channels have influence growth in both resource-based and non-resource based industries. Our analysis also include trade liberalization estimation which suggest that trade liberalization has a positive causality relationship with the growth of industries through all selected channels. Regarding the imported inputs analysis, the dynamic estimation results show that imported inputs have a positive relationship with industries owned by the non-Malaysian, but not for industries owned by the Malaysian. Our finding for industries owned by the Malaysian is consistent with the government actions that have strongly encouraged them to use domestic inputs through implementation of various incentives. This is because the implementation of the first round of the Import Substitution phase (1957-1967), had created an industrialization era which relied heavily on imported inputs and machines which resulted in distortions in domestic product prices, low value added, poor domestic economy linkages and inequalities in income and employment. On the contrary, our findings for all static and dynamic models suggest that imported input have a positive relationship with the growth of industries owned by non-Malaysian. This result might indicate that industries whose import their intermediate inputs have increased their growth performance and productivity. Meanwhile, at firms’ level, imported inputs suggest a positive relationship with firms owned by both Malaysian and non-Malaysian. Our analysis again include trade liberalization estimation which show that trade liberalization have a positive relationship with the imported inputs content in industries owned by Malaysia while at firms level, only non-tariff index shows a positive relationship. Last issue relates to the intra industry trade in Malaysian manufacturing sector. Our findings suggest that the gross domestic products variables which proxies the market size of a country, the similarity in income and the relative size effects between Malaysia and its trading partners has had influence the share of intra industry trade of the manufactured goods. As for the other country-characteristic determinants, we found a positive relationship between foreign direct investment and the share of intra-industry trade which support the theoretical framework proposed by Grubel and Lloyd (1975) and Greenaway and Milner (1986). Similarly, distance and trade imbalance also indicates a significant negative relationship with the trade share. Meanwhile at individual industry level, our findings suggest that a majority of the gross domestic product variables indicate a statistically significant relationship with the trade share in the dynamic estimation models for the wood, textiles and electrical and electronic industries. Contradictory, the maximum value of gross domestic products has a statistically significant relationship in the static estimation models for the rubber, textiles and electrical and electronic industries, respectively. Meanwhile, the other country-characteristic determinants such as foreign direct investment, trade imbalance and trade orientation have a statistically significant relationship in both static and dynamic estimations models in a majority of the Malaysian export-oriented industries. On the other hand distance, border and asean have a statistically significant relationship in only the static estimation models for the industries.

The identification of factors contributing to the farmers' non-retention of subsidy dollars is key in identifying the impact of the subsidy within and across the sector. Relaxing the assumption of perfect competition, amongst input suppliers, allows for an analysis of two upstream of complementary goods. Because it is the case that the farmers are price takers for some inputs (seed) and may negotiate over the price of others (land), I assume the upstream input providers are more akin to Bertrand competition. General findings, from the theoretical and experimental results, indicate upstream market power as having a significant impact on the economic subsidy incidence; and the complementary between the farmer’s inputs is the main driving force of the results.