A teoria da mente é definida como a capacidade de atribuir estados mentais ao outro, como desejos, crenças e intenções e, assim, prever o comportamento. A literatura destaca a potencialidade das narrativas e histórias para favorecer conversas sobre estados mentais e para a consideração de diferentes pontos de vista, aspectos importantes para o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente e do discurso narrativo. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi verificar a relação entre a teoria da mente e o discurso narrativo de mães e crianças, especificamente, quanto à coerência, avaliação e emprego de termos mentais, no contexto da contação de histórias. A amostra foi constituída por 25 duplas de mães e de crianças, de nível socioeconômico médio, tendo as crianças idades entre quatro e cinco anos. Foram realizados três estudos: o primeiro objetivou verificar a relação entre os termos mentais utilizados pelas mães nas histórias contadas aos seus filhos e o desempenho destes em uma escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e na tarefa de crença falsa; o segundo estudo teve como foco as histórias contadas pelas mães e pelas crianças, as quais foram analisadas quanto à coerência narrativa, quanto ao uso de termos mentais e de explicações destes termos; o terceiro estudo enfoca o desenvolvimento sociocognitivo da criança, no que concerne à teoria da mente e à habilidade narrativa, buscando correlações entre teoria da mente, termos mentais e os indicadores de coerência e de avaliação narrativa. Quanto ao primeiro estudo, os resultados mostraram que o emprego de cognições clarificadas pelas mães em suas narrativas, isto é, termos ligados à cognição seguidos de explicação, apresenta relação significativa com a teoria da mente, avaliada através da escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e da tarefa de crença falsa. Os resultados do segundo estudo mostraram que as crianças cujas mães apresentaram indicadores elevados de coerência, também se mostraram mais coerentes em suas narrativas. Além disso, o emprego de cognições clarificadas pela mãe correlacionou-se com a habilidade narrativa da criança, quanto à coerência. Tanto no primeiro quanto no segundo estudo, as cognições clarificadas maternas mostraram-se como fator explicativo para a teoria da mente e para coerência narrativa das crianças. Os resultados do terceiro estudo indicaram que o emprego de termos mentais pelas crianças em suas narrativas não se correlacionou com o desempenho das crianças na escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e na tarefa de crença falsa. Por outro lado, o discurso de termos mentais das crianças correlacionou-se de forma significativa com os indicadores de coerência. Ao longo dos três estudos, os resultados mostram a importância do discurso de termos mentais seguidos de explicações para o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente e da habilidade narrativa. A contação de histórias mostrou-se como uma ferramenta efetiva para o desenvolvimento, tanto da teoria da mente como da habilidade narrativa da criança. / Theory of mind is defined as the ability to attribute mental states like desires, beliefs and intentions, to ourselves and others, and thus to predict behavior. The literature stresses the potential of narratives and stories in favoring conversations about mental states and for the consideration of different points of view, important aspects for the development of theory of mind and narrative discourse. The central aim of this study was to verify the relation between theory of mind and the narrative discourse of mothers and children, specifically concerning coherence, evaluation and the use of mental terms, in the context of telling stories. 25 middle-class mothers and their four to five old children composed the dyads used as sample. Three studies were carried out: the first study aimed to verify the relation between mental terms used by mothers in their stories while telling them to their children and children’s performance in the theory of mind scale and in the false belief task; the second study focused on the stories told by mothers and children, which were analyzed with reference to narrative coherence, mental terms use, and mental terms explanations; the third study dealt with children’s socio-cognitive development, relative to theory of mind and narrative ability. Correlations were searched among theory of mind, mental terms, and indicators of narrative coherence and narrative evaluation. Concerning the first study, the results showed that the mothers’ use of clarifying cognitions in their narratives, i.e., cognitive terms followed by explanations, related significantly with theory of mind ability, evaluated by the theory of mind scale and the false belief task. Results of the second study showed that children whose mothers presented high levels of coherence also produced more coherent narratives. Moreover, the mother’s use of clarifying cognitions correlated with the child’s narrative ability, with respect to coherence. In both, the first and the second studies, clarifying cognitions showed themselves as the explanatory factor for the theory of mind ability and narrative discourse. Results of the third study evinced that children’s use of mental terms in their narratives does not correlated with children’s performance in the theory of mind scale and the false belief task. On the other hand, children’s mental terms discourse displayed a significant correlation with coherence indicators. Throughout the three studies, the results revealed the importance of the mental terms discourse followed by explanations for the development of theory of mind and narrative ability. Telling stories were shown as an effective tool for the development of both, theory of mind and narrative discourse.

A tese investiga três dimensões dos efeitos da adoção mandatória do IFRS para os mercados de crédito no Brasil: 1) para a relevância da informação contábil na perspectiva dos credores; 2) para os termos contratuais de crédito bancário e títulos de dívida; e 3) para a propensão das empresas locais captarem recursos nos mercados de crédito internacionais. As análises contemplam amostras de aproximadamente 6.500 ratings atribuídos por instituições financeiras e agências de risco (Fitch, Standard & Poors e Moody\'s) e 137.000 contratos de crédito bancário e títulos de dívida (debêntures) detidos por 122 grupos econômicos durante o período de 2005 a 2014. A abordagem empírica é construída a partir de um modelo de interação, comparando-se os períodos pré e pós-IFRS e confrontando grupos de adotantes mandatórios e voluntários. Utilizando-se controles relacionados às características do contrato (loan-specific), da empresa (firm-specific) e da instituição financeira concedente do crédito (lender-specific) e a partir de estimações por MQO, MQ2E e regressão logística, os resultados sugerem que os impactos da adoção do IFRS para a relação contratual de crédito exibem considerável heterogeneidade entre as empresas, dependem do tipo de mercado avaliado (crédito bancário x títulos de dívida) e são condicionais aos incentivos das empresas promoverem efetiva melhora na qualidade da informação contábil. Especificamente, a tese encontra que a adoção mandatória do IFRS contribuiu para: (i) aumentar a habilidade dos números contábeis explicarem o rating de crédito das empresas; (ii) reduzir a dispersão das notas de crédito atribuídas por diferentes instituições financeiras; (iii) reduzir o custo do crédito, alongar os prazos de vencimento, aumentar os montantes concedidos e reduzir a probabilidade de exigência de garantia; e (iv) aumentar a propensão das empresas locais captarem recursos nos mercados internacionais. Entretanto, as evidências sugerem que tais efeitos são exclusivos para entidades que possuem incentivos para prover informação contábil de qualidade, suportando que a existência de benefícios econômicos não depende meramente da publicação dos demonstrativos no padrão global, mas sim está condicionada à maneira como as empresas efetivamente adotam os pronunciamentos. Análises adicionais indicam que as consequências econômicas para o mercado de crédito tendem a ser maiores para os títulos de dívida em relação ao crédito bancário e para empresas com piores notas de crédito e maiores reconciliações iniciais entre o GAAP doméstico e o IFRS. Testes de robustez relacionados a variações na especificação da amostra e reduções nas janelas de evento reforçam a validade dos modelos e ajudam a suprimir potenciais preocupações de que os resultados tenham sido provocados por efeitos concorrentes. O estudo reforça a importância do papel informacional das demonstrações financeiras para os contratos de crédito e contrapõe evidências na literatura de que consequências positivas associadas ao IFRS são exclusivas para países que apresentam determinadas características institucionais / The thesis investigates three dimensions of the effects of mandatory IFRS adoption for credit markets in Brazil: 1) to the credit relevance of accounting information; 2) to the contractual terms of bank loans and debt securities; and 3) to the propensity of local firms to raise funds in international credit markets. The analyzes include samples of approximately 6,500 ratings assigned by financial institutions and rating agencies (Fitch, Standard & Poor\'s and Moody\'s) and 137,000 bank loans and debt securities (debentures) contracts held by 122 conglomerates during the 2005-2014 period. The empirical approach is built on an interaction model, comparing the pre- and post-IFRS adopters and confronting mandatory and voluntary groups. After controlling for loan-, firm- and lender-specific determinants of loan terms and using OLS, 2SLS and logistic regression estimates, the results suggest the impact of IFRS adoption for credit markets exhibit considerable heterogeneity between companies, depend on the assessed market (bank loans x debt securities) and are conditional to the companies incentives to effectively improve accounting quality. Specifically, the study finds that the mandatory IFRS adoption has contributed to: (i) increase the ability of accounting numbers to explain credit ratings; (ii) reduce the dispersion of credit scores attributed by different financial institutions; (iii) reduce the cost of credit, lengthen maturities, increase the amounts raised and reduce the likelihood of collateral requirement; and (iv) increase the propensity of local firms to raise funds in international credit markets. However, evidence suggests that these effects are unique to firms that have incentives to increase the quality of accounting information, supporting the existence of economic benefits does not merely depend on the publication of financial statements in the global accounting standard, but is conditional on how companies effectively adopt the pronouncements. Further analyzes indicate that the economic consequences for the credit market tend to be higher for debt securities relative to bank loans and for companies with poorer credit ratings and larger fist-time IFRS reconciliations. Robustness tests related to variations in the specification of the sample and reductions in the event of windows reinforce the validity of the models and help mitigate potential concerns that the results were caused by competing effects. The study reinforces the importance of the informational role of financial statements for lending agreements and contrasts evidence in the literature that positive consequences associated with IFRS are unique to countries with certain institutional features.

Abstract In English usages such as mankind and job titles ending in -man (fireman, chairman) when referring to people in general are considered sexist. Sexist language makes a distinction between women and men and it can exclude, trivialize or diminish women. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to study the sexist or non-sexist use of occupational terms in The San Diego Union Tribune and The Daily Aztec. The questions that were investigated were how the newspapers used affixed terms ending in –man and -woman, if they added female/woman/lady to refer to women, but also how they referred to traditional female professions (nurse, midwife). The study was conducted by hand by using a textual analysis, which was both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The study showed that the newspapers primarily use non-sexist occupational terms and avoid using female markings, even when reference is being made to women who have traditional male professions. The sexist usage that was most common was the affixed terms ending in –man and –woman. One conclusion that could be drawn was that The San Diego Union Tribune follows The Associated Press Stylebook’s policy about the usage of coined words such as chairperson and spokesperson.

Human rights terms can be understood and categorised in different ways, according to various standards, in different periods of history. Studying the development of these vocabularies in their historical context provides the grounds for understanding the history of ideas involving human rights. This research used a diachronic approach to examine the changes in the use of terms associated with freedoms and rights in Egyptian political writings in three periods between 1869 and 1952. Three main sources were used as an analytic corpus: (1) Al-Ṭahṭawī’s books; (2) Muḥammad cAbduh’s political articles in Al-Waqā’ic newspaper (published 1880-1882), and (3) political articles published in Al-Ahrām newspaper (1876-1952). The semantic changes identified were assessed using two criteria: First, changes in the terms and expressions that were used to convey types of freedoms and rights were evaluated, and second, changes in the contexts in which these terms were used in three chronological periods were assessed. These periods corresponded to the period of Al-Ṭahṭāwī (1869-1873); the period of the cUrābī Revolution to prior to the Revolution of 1919 (1879-1918), and the period from the Revolution of 1919 until the end of 1952, the year of the July Revolution. The first period registered a lexical contribution represented by the production of new expressions of freedoms and rights, with very little semantic contribution. In the second period, a limited lexical and semantic expansion was found, involving an increase in terms and the entitlements to which they referred; these terms and entitlements were mainly confined to the private sphere of individuals, and new entitlements were applicable to people who did not oppose the political authorities. In the third period, terms were found to refer to entitlements for individuals in the public sphere; this was considered to be, at the linguistic level, a lexical and semantic development. In all cases, the meaning of the terms was dependent on context and thus necessarily subject to cultural and political interpretations. The study concludes with recommendations for considering the evolution of Arabic political vocabularies (mainly vocabularies of freedoms and rights) in different historical periods involving different political circumstances.

Consensus and commercial terms: theoretical and comparative analysis This final thesis deals with the topic of the battle of the forms using the theoretical apparatus of rules governing the formation of contract. The problem is modeled (and therefore limited) for the case of formation of contract for the sale of goods concluded between merchants when each of them uses his/her own commercial (standard) terms. Another limitation of the thesis is connected with the use of classical contractual paradigm which is based on the continuity of offer and acceptance in the process of contracting. The key element of contract is found in consensus, therefore it is consensus which is analyzed in connection with extensiveness of terms, about which the minds have to meet in order to form the contract, and also in connection with the content of already formed contract. The final thesis has two objectives. First, it is to verify on theoretical level that no matter what principle in the process of formation of contract is used (whether mirror-image rule or not) both law professionals and legal theory are forced to find solutions which are in accordance with the principle of economic analysis of contract. Second, it is to analyze solutions on the formation and content of contract which were adopted by Czech...

Abstract The euro area consists of several small open, fairly heterogeneous economies. The establishment of this common currency area greatly changed the macroeconomic interdependency between its member countries. This thesis examines the fundamental macroeconomic linkages and spillover effects between the monetary union member countries with the focus on the phenomena associated with the countries’ openness to international trade. This doctoral thesis consists of three essays. The first essay examines the impact of the implementation of a monetary union on international economic fluctuations. The essay finds that the implementation reverses the expenditure-switching effects between goods produced inside the monetary union, and helps to stabilize economic fluctuations. The second essay examines the effects of openness to international trade on a small monetary union. The essay shows howmovements in the monetary union’s exchange rate stabilize output fluctuations inside the monetary union and reduce the need for fiscal stabilization. The third essay argues that, under a non-coordinated optimal fiscal policy, government spending should focus on the stabilization of a local output gap and inflation, while union-wide aggregate fluctuations should be stabilized by a common independent monetary policy. The essay also shows how a suboptimal monetary policy increases the spillover effects of countryspecific shocks. / Tiivistelmä Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan rahaliiton maiden välisiä makrotaloudellisia riippuvuussuhteita. Tutkimuksessa keskitytään erityisesti kansainvälisen kaupan ilmiöihin. Väitöskirja koostuu kolmesta erillisestä esseestä. Ensimmäisessä esseessä käsitellään rahaliiton perustamisen vaikutuksia kansainvälisen talouden dynamiikkaan. Tulosten mukaan rahaliiton perustaminen muuttaa vaihtosuhteen dynamiikkaa rahaliiton sisällä. Lisäksi rahaliiton muodostaminen vaimentaa jäsenmaiden makrotaloudellisia heilahteluita. Toisessa esseessä tutkitaan kansainvälisen kaupan merkitystä pienen rahaliiton tapauksessa. Havaitaan, että yhteisvaluutan kurssimuutokset tasapainottavat rahaliiton sisäisiä reaalitalouden muutoksia ja vähentävät tarvetta tasapainottaa taloutta finanssipolitiikan avulla. Kolmannessa esseessä osoitetaan, että rahaliiton jäsenvaltioiden harjoittaman itsenäisen finanssipolitiikan tulisi keskittyä kotimaisen inflaation ja tuotannon tasapainottamiseen. Yhteisen rahapolitiikan tulisi puolestaan tasapainottaa rahaliiton keskimääräisiä muutoksia. Tulosten mukaan epäoptimaalinen rahapolitiikka voimistaa maakohtaisten reaalitaloudellisten muutosten välittymistä muihin rahaliiton maihin.

The following main aspects of Mtywaku's plays have been dealt with in the dissertation: (i) Sarcasm (ii) Conflict (iii) Style.

Aus Punkt 1.: "We state a growing importance in of implicit factors in user's decision making. The products they choose to use are no longer sufficient only addressing the basic functional requirements. Due to higher living standards, the users now ask for more than just the consideration of accessibility terms. "[…] People have gradually enhanced their survival mentality from the materialistic fulfilment into the emotional one. This phenomenon has transcended producers’ role in the market. They do not only manufacture products and provide goods, but they should also create a kind of product that can create atmosphere and stories, so that consumers can experience deeper satisfaction and emotions in their purchase behaviour." (Huang & Guan 2014) There is a stronger focus on emotional aspects affecting users' product selection as ever before. Physiological UCD, however, already is a challenging task itself, regarding all parties and factors influencing its decision making process, so the concentration on other, more subjective factors still remain widely unconsidered. Recent User Centred Design (UCD) approaches already take up this fact, but still this is at the very beginning regarding UCD implementation (Law et al. 2010). ..."

Real exchange rates have important effects on production, employment and trade, so it is crucial to understand the factors responsible for their variations. This study analyses the main determinants of the real exchange rate and the dynamic adjustment of the real exchange rate following shocks to those determinants, using quarterly South African data covering the period 1975 to 2005. It begins with a review of literature on the determinants of the real exchange rate and provides an updated background on the exchange rate system in South Africa. An empirical model linking the real exchange rate to its theoretical determinants is then specified. In contrast to previous analyses, this study augments the cointegration and vector autoregression (VAR) analysis with impulse response and variance decomposition analyses to provide robust long run effects and short run dynamic effects on the real exchange rate. The variables that have been found to have a long run relationship with the real exchange rate include the terms of trade, real interest rate differential, domestic credit, openness and technological progress. The estimate of the speed of adjustment coefficient found in this study indicates that about a third of the variation in the real exchange rate from its equilibrium level is corrected within a quarter. The impulse response functions broadly corroborate the theoretical predictions, but only the terms of trade, domestic credit and openness have a significant impact on the real exchange rate in the short run. However, only shocks to the terms of trade and domestic credit have persistent effects on the real exchange rate. Results from the variance decompositions are largely similar to those from the impulse response analysis. The terms of trade, domestic credit and openness are the only variables found to significantly explain the variation in the real exchange rate. The most interesting result that emerged from this analysis and is supported by previous research is that among other determinants, the terms of trade explain the largest proportion of the variation in the real exchange. On balance, the evidence therefore suggests that real exchange rate fluctuations are predominantly equilibrium responses to real and monetary shocks rather than fiscal policy shocks.

The main aim of this thesis is to describe the complex transaction that is de-merger. It outlines the legal process of divisions, accounting and tax procedures. From the legal point of view, the main emphasis is put on the decisive date and draft terms of division. The accounting part concentrates on valuation and deferred tax. There is also a brief characterization of corporate income tax regarding divisions. The last part of this thesis describes some examples from accounting practice and their analysis and comparison.