The predictive content of the real interest rate gap for macroeconomic variables in the euro area

The real interest rate gap -IRG-, i.e. the gap between the short term real interest rate and its “natural†level, is a theoretical concept of potential policy relevance for central banks, at least to evaluate the monetary policy stance, at best as a guideline for policy moves. This paper aims at clarifying the practical relevance of IRG indicators for monetary policy. To this end, it provides an empirical assessment of the usefulness of various univariate and multivariate estimates of the real IRG for predicting inflation, real activity and real credit growth in the euro area. On the basis of out-of-sample evidence using real-time data, I find that IRG measures are globally of little help to improve our knowledge of future inflation in the euro area. By contrast, some of the estimated IRG measures exhibit a significant predictive power for future real activity, in line with the intuition from a traditional IS curve, as well as for credit growth. Nevertheless, in most cases, the forecasting models that include estimated IRG do not outperform a simpler AR model augmented with the first difference of the nominal interest ratenatural rate of interest, monetary policy, forecasting

Mapping the capabilities and benefits of AR construction use-cases: A comprehensive map

The construction industry has undergone a radical transformation in its design and documentation process as it evolved from the days of the drafting board to today’s Building Information Modeling process. Despite the progress, a paradox of designing 3D in 2D space remains, calling for new visualization technologies that leverage the use of information in construction. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology that can serve as an information aggregator and a data-publishing platform, allowing users to view and interact with information while collaborating with others in real-time from remote locations. While AR holds the key to advance the construction industry, no research project has yet comprehensively investigated the holistic integration of AR in construction. Thus, this paper presents a comprehensive map that provides a holistic framework to understand the integration of AR into the construction phase. To achieve the research objective, the paper identifies and describes 23 use-cases of AR in the construction phase, nine AR capabilities, and 14 AR potential benefits. Then, four AR applications in construction are explored, where the underlying use-cases are discussed and mapped as a function of their corresponding AR capabilities and potential benefits. These AR applications provide an example to illustrate the concept behind the comprehensive map. Finally, the map is developed by outlining the relationships between the identified AR use-cases, capabilities, and potential benefits. The findings of this paper are crucial for the AR implementation roadmap as it provides industry practitioners an understanding of the capabilities and benefits of integrating AR into construction tasks

An XRI Mixed-Reality Internet-of-Things Architectural Framework Toward Immersive and Adaptive Smart Environments

The internet-of-things (IoT) refers to the growing number of embedded interconnected devices within everyday ubiquitous objects and environments, especially their networks, edge controllers, data gathering and management, sharing, and contextual analysis capabilities. However, the IoT suffers from inherent limitations in terms of human-computer interaction. In this landscape, there is a need for interfaces that have the potential to translate the IoT more solidly into the foreground of everyday smart environments, where its users are multimodal, multifaceted, and where new forms of presentation, adaptation, and immersion are essential. This work highlights the synergetic opportunities for both IoT and XR to converge toward hybrid XR objects with strong real-world connectivity, and IoT objects with rich XR interfaces. The paper contributes i) an understanding of this multi-disciplinary domain XR-IoT (XRI); ii) a theoretical perspective on how to design XRI agents based on the literature; iii) a system design architectural framework for XRI smart environment development; and iv) an early discussion of this process. It is hoped that this research enables future researchers in both communities to better understand and deploy hybrid smart XRI environments

Designing for Ballet Classes: Identifying and Mitigating Communication Challenges Between Dancers and Teachers

Dancer-teacher communication in a ballet class can be challenging: ballet is one of the most complex forms of movements, and learning happens through multi-faceted interactions with studio tools (mirror, barre, and floor) and the teacher. We conducted an interview-based qualitative study with seven ballet teachers and six dancers followed by an open-coded analysis to explore the communication challenges that arise while teaching and learning in the ballet studio. We identified key communication issues, including adapting to multi-level dancer expertise, transmitting and realigning development goals, providing personalized corrections and feedback, maintaining the state of flow, and communicating how to properly use tools in the environment. We discuss design implications for crafting technological interventions aimed at mitigating these communication challenges

The Reliability of Macroeconomic Forecasts based on Real Interest Rate Gap Estimates in Real Time: an Assessment for the Euro Area.

The real interest rate gap or IRG -the gap between the short term real interest rate and its "natural" level-, is a theoretical concept that has attracted much attention in central banks in recent years. This paper aims at clarifying its practical relevance for monetary policy in real time. For this purpose, it provides an empirical assessment of the usefulness of various univariate and multivariate estimates of the real IRG for predicting inflation, real activity and real credit growth in the euro area. The results suggest that the reliability of such indicators for real time policy guidance remains limited.Natural rate of interest ; Monetary policy ; Forecasting.

An exploratory investigation examining male and female students' initial impressions and expectancies of lecturers

The aim of this study was to examine the informational cues that male and female students perceive to be influential when developing initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. University students (n 752) rated the extent to which 30 informational cues influence their initial perceptions of a lecturer. Following exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a five-factor model (i.e. appearance (APP), accessories (ACC), third-party reports (TPR), communication skills (CS) and nationality/ethnicity (NE)) was extracted for male students and a five-factor model (i.e. ACC, TPR, APP, interpersonal skills (IPS) and engagement (ENG)) extracted for female students. Inspection of mean scores identified that male students rated CS (e.g. clarity of voice) and TPR (e.g. qualifications) and female students IPS (e.g. control of class), ENG (e.g. eye contact) and TPR to be influential factors in forming initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. The findings further identify the potential for expectancy effects within student lecturer interactions

Digital cultural heritage: from OAIS until the personalised augmented experiences: perspectives

Comunicação apresentada no Seminário International sobre "Archiving in Performing Arts", realizado em Coimbra a 16 de Novembro de 2017.Aborda-se a Herança Cultural e as problemáticas históricas e atuais relacionadas com os processos de registo e salvaguarda através dos meios digitais, incluindo a estandardização de formatos, a salvaguarda e manutenção e os sistemas de apoio à visita e fruição, apresentando exemplos de projetos concretos nacionais e europeus, passados e atuais nestas áreas, abrindo espaço para a análise e discussão dos desafios atuais e perspetivas de desenvolvimento futuro. Cultural heritage and historical and current issues related to registration and safeguarding processes through digital means, including format standardization, archiving, maintenance, and support systems for visiting and enjoyment, are presented, with examples of concrete projects national and European, past and current in these areas, opening space for the analysis and discussion of the current challenges and perspectives of future development.N/

Electronic Social Networks as Supporting Means of Educational Process in Higher Education Institutions

Given research describes experience of electronic social networks use in educational practices. It was determined that electronic social networks can be a powerful tool for support of educational process in higher education institutions, namely to support study of different disciplines. There are main advantages of electronic social networks use for education: universal accessibility and free of charge; possibility of instant messaging and multimedia data; user-friendly intuitive interface; ability to search data and information; availability of event scheduling, invitations, reminder settings; support for synchronous and asynchronous communication between network members; access from different devices. It is emphasized that one of the main advantages of electronic social networks is receipt of quick feedback and convenience of their tools and services. Nowadays, it is important to include network educational interaction in existing models of study organization. It is advisable to use electronic social networks to manage educational process in higher education institution. Efficiency of electronic social networks use depends on intensity and need for their use in educational system management for implementation of organizational, educational, psychological and pedagogical functions and ensuring universal communication with subjects of educational process. Expediency of electronic social networks use to carry out research work at university is described. Electronic social networks are convenient tool to conduct surveys and questionnaires, to create thematic groups for specific issue discussion. Also it is possible to interact with researchers from different countries, share experiences and disseminate research findings, invite those who wish to participate in various scientific activities using these networks

Mixed-methods research: a new approach to evaluating the motivation and satisfaction of university students using advanced visual technologies

The final publication is available at link.springer.comA mixed-methods study evaluating the motivation and satisfaction of Architecture degree students using interactive visualization methods is presented in this paper. New technology implementations in the teaching field have been largely extended to all types of levels and educational frameworks. However, these innovations require approval validation and evaluation by the final users, the students. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of applying mixed evaluation technology are discussed in a case study of the use of interactive and collaborative tools for the visualization of 3D architectonical models. The main objective was to evaluate Architecture and Building Science students’ the motivation to use and satisfaction with this type of technology and to obtain adequate feedback that allows for the optimization of this type of experiment in future iterations.Postprint (author’s final draft

Flights in my hands : coherence concerns in designing Strip'TIC, a tangible space for air traffic controllers

Best Paper Honorable Mention awardInternational audienceWe reflect upon the design of a paper-based tangible interactive space to support air traffic control. We have observed, studied, prototyped and discussed with controllers a new mixed interaction system based on Anoto, video projection, and tracking. Starting from the understanding of the benefits of tangible paper strips, our goal is to study how mixed physical and virtual augmented data can support the controllers' mental work. The context of the activity led us to depart from models that are proposed in tangible interfaces research where coherence is based on how physical objects are representative of virtual objects. We propose a new account of coherence in a mixed interaction system that integrates externalization mechanisms. We found that physical objects play two roles: they act both as representation of mental objects and as tangible artifacts for interacting with augmented features. We observed that virtual objects represent physical ones, and not the reverse, and, being virtual representations of physical objects, should seamlessly converge with the cognitive role of the physical object. Finally, we show how coherence is achieved by providing a seamless interactive space