A presente tese tenta avaliar a política monetária sob o Regime de Metas de Inflação (RMI), num contexto de flexibilidade cambial e integração financeira. No campo teórico, este trabalho avalia no primeiro ensaio, os aspectos teóricos do RMI e também do Novo Consenso Macroeconômico (NCM), assim como a crítica pós-keynesiana ao NCM. Na sequência, avalia-se a evolução do debate acerca da política monetária após a Crise Financeira Internacional, assim como os aspectos teóricos da integração financeira global e dos Ciclos Financeiros Globais, e suas consequências para a condução da política monetária. No aspecto histórico, avalia-se brevemente no segundo ensaio, o comportamento das principais variáveis macroeconômicas concernentes a política monetária, taxa de câmbio e crescimento econômico, assim como, os arranjos institucionais do RMI de cada país, evidenciando suas principais diferenças. O Brasil tem um dos RMI mais rígidos e as maiores taxas de juros entre os países analisados. No âmbito empírico, realizou-se três exercícios econométricos distintos. O primeiro, por meio do modelo VEC, comparam-se a eficiência do RMI brasileiro com outros 12 países selecionados, no que diz respeito ao controle inflacionário, ao repasse cambial e do crescimento econômico. O Brasil, assim como outros países em desenvolvimento, tem um dos RMI mais ineficientes, com evidencias da presença de price-puzzle, além de apresentar um elevado repasse cambial para o nível de preços e ter impactos no crescimento econômico. O segundo exercício econométrico buscou-se analisar a não-linearidade da política monetária brasileira com relação ao repasse cambial para o nível de preços, utilizando o modelo MS-VAR. O modelo mostrou fortes evidências empíricas de que há repasse cambial tanto em momentos de apreciação, quanto de depreciação cambial, configurando assim, uma política monetária com dois regimes cambiais. O terceiro exercício busca evidenciar, por meio do modelo VEC, os impactos que a integração financeira global, tem na condução da política monetária brasileira. Encontrou-se indícios de que a taxa de câmbio opera entre os ciclos financeiros globais e o nível de preços da economia brasileira, mostrando, assim, que a política monetária sob o RMI, tendo como base altas taxas de juros, é ineficiente. Tais fatos sugerem que a taxa de câmbio tem um papel fundamental no controle da inflação e no desempenho do próprio RMI; todavia, há a necessidade de uma reavaliação da política cambial que vêm sendo adotada no Brasil para além do papel de mecanismo de controle de preços. / This study aims to evaluate the monetary evolution of the Inflation Target Regime (IT) in a context of exchange rate flexibility and financial integration. In the theoretical field, this work was evaluated in the first essay, the theoretical questions of the IT and also of the New Macroeconomic Consensus (NMC), as well as a post-Keynesian criticism to NMC. Following an assessment of the monetary policy debate following an International Financial Crisis, as well as the financial issues for the financial and global integration of Global Financials, and their consequences for the generation of monetary policy. The evaluation of the risk in the historical statistics, the evaluation of the risk changes the monetary changes, the risk must change the expansion policies, and the risk must have different conditions. Brazil has one of the most rigid ITs and the main interest rates among the analyzed countries. In the empirical context, the different econometric exercises are carried out. The first one, through the VEC model, compares the efficiency of the Brazilian IT with 12 other selected countries, than respect for inflationary control, exchange rate transfers and economic growth. Brazil, like other developing countries, has more inefficient IT, with evidence of the presence of price-puzzles, as well as a high exchange rate repayment for the price level and the impacts on economic growth. The second econometric exercise sought to analyze the non-linearity of the Brazilian monetary policy in relation to the pass-through to the price level, using the MS-VAR model. The model of empirical demonstrations that there is to change both in moments of appreciation and the exchange depreciation, thus forming a monetary policy with two exchange rate regimes. The third study seeks the evidence, through the VEC model, of the impacts that global financial integration has on Brazilian monetary policy. We find that the indexes of an exchange rate between the cycles and the level of prices of the Brazilian economy, thus showing a monetary policy on the IT, based on interest rates, is inefficient. Such facts should that an exchange rate has a key role in controlling the rate and performance of the IT itself; however, there is a reappraisal of the exchange rate policy that has been adopted in Brazil beyond the role of the price control mechanism.

Streaming multimedia quality is impacted by two main factors: capacity constraint and packet loss. To match the capacity constraint while preserving real-time playout, media scaling can be used to discard the encoded multimedia content that has the least impact on perceived video quality. To limit the impact of lost packets, repair techniques, e.g. forward error correction (FEC), can be used to repair frames damaged by packet loss. However, adding data to facilitate repair requires further reduction of the original multimedia data, making the decision of how much repair data to use of critical importance. Assuming a limited network capacity and the availability of an estimate of the current packet loss rate along a flow path, selecting the best distribution of FEC packets for video frames with inherent interframe encoding dependencies can be cast as a constraint optimization problem that attempts to optimize the quality of the video stream. This thesis presents an Adjusting Repair and Media scaling with Operations Research (ARMOR) system. An analytical model is derived for streaming video with FEC and media scaling. Given parameters to represent network loss as well as video frame types and sizes, if the number of FEC packets per video frame type and media scaling pattern is specified, the model can estimate the video quality at the receiver side. The model is then used in an operations research algorithm to adjust the FEC strength and media scaling level to yield the best quality under the capacity constraint. Four different combinations of FEC type and media scaling method are studied: Media Independent FEC with Temporal Scaling (MITS), Media Independent FEC with Quality Scaling (MIQS), Media Independent FEC with Temporal and Quality Scaling (MITQS), and Media Dependent FEC with Quality Scaling (MDQS). The analytical experiments show: 1) adjusting FEC always achieves a higher video quality than streaming video without FEC or with a fixed amount of FEC; 2) Quality Scaling usually works better than Temporal Scaling; and 3) Media Dependent FEC (MDFEC) is typically less effective than Media Independent FEC (MIFEC). A user study is presented with results from 74 participants analysis shows that the ARMOR model can accurately estimate users¡¯perceptual quality. Well-designed simulations and a realistic system implementation suggests the ARMOR system can practically improve the quality of streaming video.

This thesis contains three main parts. In the first part, we adapt a model developed for the US economy to the unique Chinese economic and institutional context. The uniqueness is mainly from two perspectives: the dual-channel housing financing system in China and the existence of the shadow banking sector (which differs from the shadow banking in developed economies) in China’s housing market. It would be difficult to obtain a clear picture of the Chinese housing market and macroeconomy without a thorough understanding of these two characteristics. This is due to the crucial role played by shadow banking and other informal finance institutions within the context of China in both the development and purchase of housing, in supporting productive economic activities in general, and that the housing market is in turn intricately connected to the health of the Chinese economy, being a key ‘barometer’. The second part of the research is the quantification of the determinants of the scale of shadow banking in China. The quantification is crucial since policy makers need to be aware of how sensitive shadow banking is to various factors. We develop a theoretical framework to explain the evolution of the scale of shadow banking in China. As part of this research, we investigate whether the real interest rate of household saving deposits, the required reserve ratio and bank loans to business and household are the main factors in explaining the evolution of China’s shadow banking. In the third part of research, we employ a credit risk and macroeconomic stress test to investigate the vulnerability of the commercial banks in China. Our originality here is the integration of both the role of shadow banking and housing market related loans in the commercial banks’ stress test scenarios at the macro level. Since a systematic analysis regarding the effect of changes in the macroeconomy and housing market on the credit risk of commercial banks in China is scarce, we use bank stress tests to analyse the credit risk in terms of the non-performing loans ratio of commercial banks in China; this is in response to changes in the macroeconomic factors and housing market. We address the role of the variation of the scale of shadow banking in China in terms of its contribution to the credit risk because of its uncertainty and close link with the commercial banks. Stress tests often focus on a single bank or financial institution yet we apply the same principles to examine the financial system as a whole in China, which would allow us to quantify the systemic risk in the entire Chinese financial system; and which variables, especially shadow banking contribute to the risks and by how much. This thesis contributes to the understanding of how China’s dual-channel housing finance system and shadow banking affect the evolution of house prices; and also, the main driving factors of the scale of China’s shadow banking and whether the housing market related loans and shadow banking pose risks to commercial banks. Possible research questions raised by the main findings of this thesis will enrich the debate on China’s housing market, shadow banking and regular banks, especially at a time when China is reforming its economic structure.

Este trabalho busca apurar a existência de assimetria na transmissão dos preços dos combustíveis no atacado para o varejo no Estado de São Paulo. Desde a introdução dos veículos flex-fuel no mercado brasileiro em 2003, o consumidor pode optar por abastecer com a gasolina comum ou com o etanol hidratado, sendo a sua escolha influenciada pelas variações na relação dos preços desses combustíveis, o que evidencia a importância de um estudo para entender o comportamento desses preços. Para tal, medias mensais dos preços da gasolina comum e do etanol hidratado nos níveis de distribuição e revenda, referentes ao estado paulista, para o período de novembro de 2002 a abril de 2015 foram consideradas na condução da analise empírica, que compreende a estimação de Modelos de Correção de Erros. Os resultados indicam a presença de assimetria na transmissão dos preços de ambos os combustíveis do atacado para o varejo, contudo esta se manifesta somente no curto prazo. Ademais, constata-se no mercado de combustíveis a assimetria positiva, de modo que no curto prazo aumentos nos preços no atacado elevam com maior intensidade os preços ao consumidor, em comparação a decréscimos nos preços ao consumidor provocados por choques negativos nos preços de distribuição. Tal assimetria pode proceder de uma combinação entre as reações dos consumidores as futuras oscilações nos preços e a gestão de estoques por parte dos postos de combustíveis. / This work aims to determine the existence of asymmetry in the transmission of fuel prices in the wholesale to retail in the State of Sao Paulo. Since the introduction of flex-fuel vehicles in the Brazilian market in 2003, the consumer can choose to fill up with regular gasoline or hydrated ethanol, and your choice is influenced by variations in the relative prices of these fuels, which highlights the importance of a study to understand the behavior of these prices. To this end, monthly average of prices of regular gasoline and hydrated ethanol in the levels of distribution and resale, for the State of Sao Paulo, for the period November 2002 to April 2015 were considered in conducting empirical analysis, which includes the estimation of Error Correction Models. The results indicate the presence of asymmetry in transmission of price of both fuels of wholesale for retail, however it is manifested in the short term only. Moreover, it appears in the fuel market the positive asymmetry, so that in the short term increases in wholesale prices rise more strongly consumer prices compared to decreases in consumer prices caused by negative shocks in distribution prices. Such asymmetry can come from a combination of consumer reactions to future fluctuations in prices and inventory management by the fuel stations.

TITLE: Error correction of pronunciation of Czech students in German lessons ABSTRACT: This master thesis deals with error correction of pronunciation of Czech students in German lessons. Theoretical part of this thesis explains the importance of phonetics in German lessons, first the term error is defined in general sense and then the thesis focuses on pronunciation errors of Czech speakers. The thesis also deals with methods of pronunciation correction, question what is considered as an error in the field of phonetics and also reflects the error tolerance of teachers while correcting the pronunciation errors. The practical part of the thesis introduces a phonetic experiment that was conducted at elementary and secondary schools in Prague. On the basis of the evaluation of phonetic questionnaires and analysis of the inspections in the classes, the thesis comes to the conclusion about the tolerance threshold of teachers while correcting pronunciation errors of Czech speakers. KEY WORDS: Error, correction of pronunciation errors, autocorrection, tolerance threshold of teachers, type of appeal to error correction

A análise do comportamento tem tido sucesso no ensino de comportamento verbal de ouvinte e falante para o público autista. Parte dos resultados positivos que têm sido obtidos são atribuídos ao efeito do reforçamento das respostas corretas treinadas. Porém, é importante também a investigação dos efeitos das consequências que se dão às respostas incorretas. Uma das consequências que pode ser prevista é a correção de erro. Alguns estudos têm sido feitos nesse tema, sendo que alguns tratam da topografia com que se fornece a essa correção e outros tratam do esquema de reforçamento que se pode dar após a resposta comparada ao reforçamento dado a respostas corretas independentes. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi comparar uma condição que fornecia reforçadores de mesma magnitude para respostas corrigidas e independentes com uma segunda condição que fornecia reforçadores de diferentes magnitudes para estes dois tipos de respostas. Foram medidas as taxas de respostas corretas no ensino de tato e discriminação auditivo-visual para três crianças com desenvolvimento atípico. No ensino das respostas de tato, todos os participantes obtiveram melhores resultados na condição de diferentes magnitudes. Para respostas de discriminação auditivo-visual, dois participantes obtiveram melhores resultados com a condição de diferentes magnitudes e um obteve melhores resultados com mesma magnitude / Behavior analysis has been successful in teaching verbal behavior listener and speaker responses to the autistics children. Part of the positive results that have been obtained are attributed to the reinforcing effect of the correct trained response. However, it is also important to investigate the effects of the consequences of incorrect responses. One of the consequences that can be predicted is the error correction procedure. Some studies have been done on this theme, some of wich deal with the topography that is provided to this correction and others deal with the reinforcement scheme that can be given after the correct or incorrect responses. The objective of the present study was to compare a condition that provided reinforcers of the same magnitude for corrected and independent responses with a second condition that provided reinforcers of different magnitudes for these two types of responses. The rates of correct responses in the teaching of listen responses and tact were measured for three children with autism. In the teaching of tact responses, all the participants obtained better results in the participants obtained better results in the condition of different magnitudes. For listen responses, two participants obtained better results with the condition of different magnitudes and one obtained better results with the same magnitudes

This dissertation reports a high-speed wideband wireless transmission solution for the tight power constraints of cortical interface application. The proposed system deploysImpulse Radio Ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) technique to achieve very high-rate communication. However, impulse radio signals suffer from significant attenuation within the body,and power limitations force the use of very low-power receiver circuits which introduce additional noise and jitter. Moreover, the coils’ self-resonance has to be suppressed to minimize the pulse distortion and inter-symbol interference, adding significant attenuation. To compensate these losses, an Error correction code (ECC) layer is added for functioning reliably to the system. The performance evaluation is made by modeling a pair of physically fabricated coils, and the results show that the ECC is essential to obtain the system’s reliability. Furthermore, the gm/ID methodology, which is based on the complete exploration ofall inversion regions that the transistors are biased, is studied and explored for optimizingthe system at the circuit-level. Specific focuses are on the RF blocks: the low noise am-plifier (LNA) and the injection-locked voltage controlled oscillator (IL-VCO). Through the analytical deduction of the circuit’s features as the function of the gm/ID for each transistor, it is possible to select the optimum operating region for the circuit to achieve the target specification. Other circuit blocks, including the phase shifter, frequency divider,mixer, etc. are also described and analyzed. The prototype is fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS(Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) process.

Does monetary policy affect the real economy? If so, what is the transmission mechanism or channel through which these effects occur? These two questions are among the most important and controversial in macroeconomics. This dissertation presents some new empirical evidence that addresses each question for the U.S. and Chinese economies. Literature on monetary transmission suggests that the monetary policy can take effect on the real economy through several ways. The most noteworthy one is credit channels, including the bank lending channel and the interest channel. First, I use a new method to test for structural breaks in the U.S. monetary policy history and present some new empirical evidence to support an operative bank lending channel in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Results show that an operative bank lending channel existed in 1955 to 1968, and its impact on the economy has become much smaller since 1981, but it still has a significant buffering effect on output by attenuating the effect of the interest channel. Second, I adopt the recently developed time series technique to explore the puzzling negative correlation between output and stock returns in China currently, and posit that it is due to a negative link between monetary policy and stock returns when monetary policy increases output. The monetary policy has not been transmitted well in the public sector which is the principal part of Chinese stock market, and increased investment capital from monetary expansion goes to real estate sector instead of the stock market. Last, I demonstrate how monetary policy has been transmitted into the public and private sectors of China through the credit channel. The fundamental identification problem inherent in using aggregated data that leads to failure in isolating demand shock from supply shock is explicitly solved by introducing control factors. I find that the monetary policy has great impact on private sector rather than public sector through credit channel in China. These findings have important practical implications for U.S. and China’s economic development by improving the efficiency of the monetary policy because a comprehensive understanding of monetary transmission will lead to better policy design.

This study investigates the interest rate pass through from the money market rate to the lending rate by utilizing monthly data of fifteen countries, grouped as high income, upper middle income and lower middle income, over the period 1999:01-2011:09. Taking the linear cointegration test of Engle-Granger as benchmark, we employ threshold cointegration tests of Enders and Siklos (2001) in order to account for the possible nonlinearities in the pass-through process. Empirical results reveal that the pass through process is complete in three countries / Republic of Korea, Latvia and Malaysia and the adjustment of the lending rate is symmetric in two countries / Armenia and Republic of Korea. Moreover, it is observed that the adjustment of the lending rate is upward sticky in six countries / Bolivia, Philippines, Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Thailand and Croatia, whereas it is downward sticky in seven countries / Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Latvia, Peru, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Czech Republic. Furthermore, our estimation results suggest that heterogeneities in the pass-through mechanism across countries can be mainly explained by income level, inflation, market power, financial sector development and market volatility.

This thesis estimates the quarterly electricity demand of Turkey. First of all proper seasonal time series model are found for the variables: electricity demand, temperature, gross domestic product and electricity price. After the right seasonal time series model are found Hylleberg, Engle, Granger and Yoo (1990) test is applied to each variable. The results of the test show that seasonal unit roots exist for the electricity price even it cannot be seen at the graph. The other variables have no seasonal unit roots when the proper seasonal time series model is chosen. Later, the cointegration is tested by looking at the vector autoregressive model. As the cointegration is seen vector error correction model is found. There is long-run equilibrium when the price is the dependent variable and independent variable is gross domestic product. Temperature is taken as exogenous variable and demand is not statistically significant.