Submitted by Bruna Alves Ferraz (bruna.alves.ferraz@gmail.com) on 2018-01-12T12:56:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_BrunaAF.pdf: 1135818 bytes, checksum: 02e01c1ac05f20f13657b40ed7d959fe (MD5) / Rejected by Adriana Aparecida Puerta null (dripuerta@rc.unesp.br), reason: Prezada Bruna Alves Ferraz, Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo as orientações abaixo: - Capa - Faltou a capa no documento enviado. Este item é elemento obrigatório de acordo com as normas de trabalhos do seu Programa de Pós Graduação e deve vir antes da Página de rosto. Agradecemos a compreensão e aguardamos o envio do novo arquivo. Atenciosamente, Biblioteca Campus Rio Claro Repositório Institucional UNESP on 2018-01-12T16:18:28Z (GMT) / Submitted by Bruna Alves Ferraz (bruna.alves.ferraz@gmail.com) on 2018-01-15T18:07:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruna Alves Ferraz.pdf: 1341591 bytes, checksum: 6e9837abd2a00d05c9ba70d843b7c4c2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Aparecida Puerta null (dripuerta@rc.unesp.br) on 2018-01-15T18:18:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ferraz_ba_me_rcla.pdf: 1265910 bytes, checksum: 9b0bcbf17772b4ac87b8058427405948 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-15T18:18:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ferraz_ba_me_rcla.pdf: 1265910 bytes, checksum: 9b0bcbf17772b4ac87b8058427405948 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-19 / Neste trabalho discutiremos alguns métodos clássicos para otimização irrestrita, a saber o Método de Cauchy e o Método de Newton, e analisaremos a convergência desses métodos. Veremos que o Método de Cauchy, que faz a cada iteração uma busca unidirecional na direção de máxima descida, ou seja, na direção oposta ao gradiente, tem convergência linear. O método de Newton, por outro lado, minimiza, em cada iteração, a aproximação quadrática da função objetivo. Nos métodos de busca unidirecional é preciso minimizar uma função a partir de um certo ponto, segundo uma direção dada, que é a direção de busca. Por essa razão, estudaremos o Método da Seção Áurea, que fornece uma minimização exata de uma função real de uma variável real. / In this work we will discuss some classic methods for unrestricted optimization, namely the Cauchy Method and Newton’s Method, and we will analyze the convergence of those methods. We will see that the Cauchy Method, that realizes on each iteration a unidirectional search in the direction of maximum descent, that is, in the direction opposite to the gradient, has linear convergence. The Newton Method, on the other hand, minimizes, in each iteration, the quadratic approximation of the objective function. In unidirectional search methods, one must minimize a function from a certain point in a given direction, which is the search direction. For that reason, we will study the Golden Section Method, which provides the exact minimization of a real function of a real variable.

abstract: In the middle of the 20th century in the United States, transportation and infrastructure development became a priority on the national agenda, instigating the development of mathematical models that would predict transportation network performance. Approximately 40 years later, transportation planning models again became a national priority, this time instigating the development of highly disaggregate activity-based traffic models called microsimulations. These models predict the travel on a network at the level of the individual decision-maker, but do so with a large computational complexity and processing time requirement. The vast resources and steep learning curve required to integrate microsimulation models into the general transportation plan have deterred planning agencies from incorporating these tools. By researching the stochastic variability in the results of a microsimulation model with varying random number seeds, this paper evaluates the number of simulation trials necessary, and therefore the computational effort, for a planning agency to reach stable model outcomes. The microsimulation tool used to complete this research is the Transportation Analysis and Simulation System (TRANSIMS). The requirements for initiating a TRANSIMS simulation are described in the paper. Two analysis corridors are chosen in the Metropolitan Phoenix Area, and the roadway performance characteristics volume, vehicle-miles of travel, and vehicle-hours of travel are examined in each corridor under both congested and uncongested conditions. Both congested and uncongested simulations are completed in twenty trials, each with a unique random number seed. Performance measures are averaged for each trial, providing a distribution of average performance measures with which to test the stability of the system. The results of this research show that the variability in outcomes increases with increasing congestion. Although twenty trials are sufficient to achieve stable solutions for the uncongested state, convergence in the congested state is not achieved. These results indicate that a highly congested urban environment requires more than twenty simulation runs for each tested scenario before reaching a solution that can be assumed to be stable. The computational effort needed for this type of analysis is something that transportation planning agencies should take into consideration before beginning a traffic microsimulation program. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil Engineering 2010

O presente projeto concentra-se nas relações entre artes visuais, poesia e música. A partir de uma produção poética individual e em diálogo sistemático com outros autores e artistas, a investigação pretende levantar alguns questionamentos sobre os limites da linguagem, bem como apresentar novas possibilidades de criação poética num contexto relacional com outras proposições artísticas. / The present project concentrates on the relations between visual arts, poetry and music. From a poetic production individual and systematic dialogue with other authors and artists, as well as raise some questions about the limits of language, seeking new possibilities of poetic creation in a relational context with other artistic propositions.

O recente processo de convergência econômica de Irlanda e Portugal para os níveis dos países industrializados da Europa Ocidental, é um interessante caso de estudo sobre os principais fatores causadores do crescimento econômico, os motivadores do sucesso de certos países em relação a outros, principalmente quando se observa que, a partir do novo milênio, Portugal não vem sendo bem sucedido em tentar manter o processo de convergência, ao contrário da Irlanda, que inclusive, superou os níveis de renda per capita de países como Alemanha, França e Reino Unido. O estudo se mostra interessante também, por compreender duas nações que apresentaram taxas de crescimento do PIB e do PIB per capita após se integrarem à União Européia, apesar de terem ocorrido grandes diferenças entre os dois países no aproveitamento de seus ingressos à comunidade econômica. / The early process of economic convergence of Ireland and Portugal to the industrialized contries´ levels is an interest case about the economic growth factors and the reasons for the success of some contries instead anothers, mainly when can be observed that Portugal, after new millenium, couldn´t maintain the convergence process. Ireland, on the other hand, exceed the levels of income per capita of coutries like Germany, France and United Kingdom. The another reason for the interest of this study is because the period of convergence occurred after the junction of the both countries to the European Union, although the differences between the two countries in the exploitation of the economic community.

Title: Some topics of topological measure theory with application in stochastic analysis Author: Pavel Kříž Department: Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics Supervisor: Prof. RNDr. Josef Štěpán, DrSc., Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics Abstract: This work studies identifications of values of probability limits based on trajectories of convergent (random) sequences. The key concept is the so called Probability Limit Identification Function (PLIF). The main concern is focused on the existence of PLIFs, mainly those, which are measurable and adapted. We also study in more detail special cases, when the convergence in probability and the convergence almost surely coincide. Furthermore, possible applications of the PLIF concept in stochastic analysis (path-wise representations of stochastic integrals and weak solutions of the stochastic differential equations), as well as in estimation theory (the existence of strongly consistent estimators) are outlined. The achieved results are based on analyses of the topologies on spaces of measures, spaces of random variables and spaces of real-valued functions. Keywords: Probability Limit, Identification, Almost-sure Convergence 1

This dissertation consists of three research studies on capital flows to South Asian countries, estimation of interest rate pass through in Pakistan and the relative city price convergence in Pakistan. The study has used panel data techniques for empirical estimations. The first study attempts to estimate capital mobility in South Asia using saving investment relationship technique and real interest rate differentials methods as suggested by Frankel (1992). The study finds that real interest rate differentials of South Asian countries are stationary and mean reverting with North American, European and Asian countries. Although the RIDS are stationary showing strong evidence of capital mobility, the savings investment correlation is significant. The correlation of savings and investment decreased after 1990s, the post liberalization period implying increased capital mobility afterwards. The RIDs technique provided stronger evidence of than savings and investment correlation technique. The second study is on the estimation of interest rate pass through in Pakistan using two types of data sets i.e. aggregate bank type and retail bank data. The study finds that both lending, deposit and Treasury Bill (TB) rates are non stationary using aggregate data. The lending and TB rate are found to be cointegrated but deposit rate is not found to be cointegrated. The IRPT of four types of banks is found to be less than 1 but three banks showed the IRPT to be higher than 0.5. The highest IRPT is 0.72 in the case of nationalized banks followed by o.70 by privatized banks. The foreign banks IRPT are 0.60. The lowest IRPT is estimated at 0.3. The error correction model estimates overall IRPT to be 0.6 and the convergence parameter is 0.05. It is low and implies that convergence takes time. The study does not find change in 2005 after January 2005 but the speed of adjustment increased when the lending rate is below equilibrium. The retail data provides evidence that lending and deposit rates both are non stationary and cointegrated with TB rate. I found evidence of complete lending rate pass through with Spatial GLS but Phillips Loretain (1991) model shows incomplete pass through. The deposit rate is found to be incomplete and sticky with both the techniques. The third essay provides evidence on relative city price convergence in 35 Pakistani cities with 2 numeraire cities of Lahore and Karachi. The study estimates the autocorrelation coefficient with 2 techniques i.e. OLS and Spatial GLS. Furthermore city wise half life of price shock is also estimated. The empirical evidence supports the hypothesis of convergence in Pakistani cities with both the numeraire cities. The overall half life is estimated to be less than 6 months but there is found heterogeneity in the city wise half life estimates. The half life estimates from Spatial GLS are found to be lower than OLS. The convergence has been found even in the case of distant bordering cities. The overall results support that domestic Purchasing Power Parity holds in Pakistan.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. University Professors Program. / This is a study of the relationship between persistent Bantu traditional values and social, political and economic institutions, using the premises of the Convergence Theory and the Invariance Hypothesis to determine what that relationship should be. Traditional values like the concept of man as a life force, the principle of communalism and the belief in the interaction between the dead, the living and those to be born have remained invariant throughout the history of the Bantu. This, contrary to the prescriptions of the dominant modernization theory which calls for the dismantling of these values once the society faces the so called "universal forces of change," like the introduction of modern industries, the development of means of communications, the growth of urban centers and above all, the development of modern science and technology. We used a descriptive analysis approach to examine the relationship between values and patterns of authority on the one hand and patterns of solidarity on the other. We did this first in the traditional setting. Then we did an analytical content criticism of those values in the colonial and post colonial periods which most people link to the introduction of modernization in Africa. We found out that, despite change in the environment, traditional values stay the same. Change will occur at the structural level but in order for the new institutions to be legitimate, they must reflect the traditional values of the people. This in a way explains the failure of some imposed political and social institutions to function in Africa.

Convex optimization problems are a class of mathematical problems which arise in numerous applications. Although interior-point methods can in principle solve these problems efficiently, they may become intractable for solving large-scale problems or be unsuitable for real-time embedded applications. Iterations of operator splitting methods are relatively simple and computationally inexpensive, which makes them suitable for these applications. However, some of their known limitations are slow asymptotic convergence, sensitivity to ill-conditioning, and inability to detect infeasible problems. The aim of this thesis is to better understand operator splitting methods and to develop reliable software tools for convex optimization. The main analytical tool in our investigation of these methods is their characterization as the fixed-point iteration of a nonexpansive operator. The fixed-point theory of nonexpansive operators has been studied for several decades. By exploiting the properties of such an operator, it is possible to show that the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) can detect infeasible problems. Although ADMM iterates diverge when the problem at hand is unsolvable, the differences between subsequent iterates converge to a constant vector which is also a certificate of primal and/or dual infeasibility. Reliable termination criteria for detecting infeasibility are proposed based on this result. Similar ideas are used to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for linear (geometric) convergence of an operator splitting method and a bound on the achievable convergence rate. The new bound turns out to be tight for the class of averaged operators. Next, the OSQP solver is presented. OSQP is a novel general-purpose solver for quadratic programs (QPs) based on ADMM. The solver is very robust, is able to detect infeasible problems, and has been extensively tested on many problem instances from a wide variety of application areas. Finally, operator splitting methods can also be effective in nonconvex optimization. The developed algorithm significantly outperforms a common approach based on convex relaxation of the original nonconvex problem.

This thesis investigates the public sector in Latvia and the research question is “what is the nature of transition of Human Resource Management ideologies and paradigms against the backdrop of larger scale dynamic development in Latvia?” The interest within this research is that of the contextual paradigmatic view of Human Resource Management (HRM) (Brewster et al., 2010; Brewster, 1999; Moreley, 2004) exploring the contextual factors, or surrounding antecedents of HRM (Brewster, et al., 2010). The research is a case study of the public sector within the State of Latvia for what became a journey through the complex history of this country revealing a state with a varied and dramatic past which has been subject to various invasions, occupations and subjected to the control and command society of the Soviet Union for a considerable number of years. The journey from Soviet control of the politically motivated ‘cadre’ system into independence has provided a rich source of research exploring how human resource management (HRM) has developed within the public sector. This was investigated as a case study since it is a ‘constant’ in relation to changes and a good indicator of attitudes to management from a national perspective. As well as past ‘models’ or attitudes to HRM from a Soviet perspective, various models of HRM have been explored and discussed, particularly in relation to the universalistic nature of Westernised typologies. The concept of a European model has been considered and discussed with consideration of various ‘clusters’ of practices which take into account cultural aspects, in particular national culture, as an important element within the study. Overarching this is the growing interest in convergence or divergence of HRM as the Central Eastern European states have developed post-independence (Brewster, 2004). The mixed methods approach used is firmly place within the qualitative field or phenomenological approach and explores aspects such as behaviour, perspectives, experiences and feelings (Atkinson et al., 2001; Marshall and Rossman, 2006). The research utilises grounded theory building (Glaser and Straus, 1967; Charmaz, 2014; Bryant and Charmaz, 2007; Strauss and Corbin, 1997; Glaser, 2002)) combining multiple data collection methods taking a pragmatic approach to research. The level of analysis explores the macro, meso and micro level environments of the Latvian public sector. The macro-level concerns interactions between state and society from a broad perspective, fundamentally this is the level where decision-making takes place, the meso-level explores individual ‘behaviours’ embedded in every day social practices shaped or constrained by material and infrastructural contexts and the micro-level of individual behaviour and action). Exploratory research has considered historical accounts along with what was sparse research within the area. A Soviet perspective was considered for the period immediately preceding independence. Elite interviews were carried out followed by a survey questionnaire. The opportunity to enter the organisation and undertake observations was thwarted by a change of government and therefore ‘access’ afforded to the researcher. The findings are integrated throughout this work as is the nature of grounded theory building, and given the paucity of research has become part of a wider social study of a system finding its identity through difficult times. The results and analysis takes into account not only elite interviews and the survey questionnaire but also background historical research. The result is a fertile breeding ground for investigation which offers many avenues for further research. Various questions for future research are raised within the thesis and remain an interest of the researcher to take forward.

[pt] Esta tese parte da premissa que os ambientes de convergência, construídos a partir da tecnologia digital, estão afetando a disciplina de fotografia nos cursos de Design e, por conseqüência, interferindo nos processos de aprendizagem e na formação do designer. Esta investigação visa compreender o que os professores entendem por disciplina de fotografia, e, apropriando-se das novas tecnologias, que estratégias eles usam para disseminar o conhecimento entre os alunos. A pesquisa iniciou com uma pequena digressão sobre a fotografia na contemporaneidade e sobre a linguagem fotográfica, além de um levantamento sobre a disciplina de fotografia nos cursos de Design da PUC- Rio e da Univille, analisando as matrizes curriculares, ementas e percursos metodológicos. Foram também realizadas entrevistas com os professores que ministram esta disciplina, com o objetivo de colher e categorizar dados, os quais foram submetidos à técnica Análise do Conteúdo sob o enfoque dos lugares da imagem, contribuindo com a percepção sobre o papel que a fotografia desempenha em um diferente cenário tecnológico e na formação do designer nos cursos de Design da PUC- Rio e da Univille. / [en] This thesis assumes that the environments of convergence, constructed from digital technology, are affecting the discipline of Photography courses in design and consequently interfering in the processes of learning and training of the designer. This research aims to understand what teachers mean by the discipline of Photography, and appropriating the new technologies, what strategies they use to disseminate knowledge among students. The research began with a small digression on contemporary photography and the photographic language, and a survey of the discipline of Photography in the courses of Design at PUC-Rio and Univille analyzing the curricular content, menus and methodological tracks. We also conducted interviews with teachers who teach this course in order to collect and categorize data, which were submitted to the content analysis technique from the standpoint of image sites, contributing to the perception of the role that photography plays in a different technological scenery and in the designer training in the courses of Design at PUC-Rio and Univille.