Endogenous Monetary Policy Regimes and the Great Moderation

This paper contributes to the literature on the changing transmission mechanism of monetary policy by introducing a model whose parameter evolution explicitly depends on the conduct of monetary policy. We find that the model fits the data well, in particular when complemented with an estimated break around 1985 that could be associated with the re-gained credibility of the central bank. The responses of output and inflation to policy shocks change not only because of the break in 1985 but also according to the monetary policy stance: policy shocks have stronger negative e¤ects when policy is tight. There is also evidence in favour of large changes in the volatility of the output equation, but not of inflation. A set of counterfactual experiments indicate that good policy and good luck contributed to the great moderation, but neither of them can fully explain it. A more general variation in the model dynamics underlying the shock transmission mechanism is required.

Curricular strategies of public universities that focus on teaching English in early childhood education

This article discusses English teacher education to work in early childhood education. The offer of English for this age group is an increasing reality in Brazilian contexts and, therefore, the demand for specific teacher education for this field is also expanding. Considering this scenario, the research conducted had the aim of analyzing curricular proposals of majors in English and Literature in Brazilian Federal and State Universities, focused on initial education of teachers to work with children. After searching on the E-MEC website, 108 institutions were listed as part of the research. The documentary survey resulted in 15 universities with approaches that met the criteria established by the researchers, which also had significant contributions regarding the initiatives implemented in those universities. Moreover, with the goal of also investigating local realities, five institutions were invited to participate in an interview. Through reflections based on curricular theories, transdisciplinarity, teacher education and teaching English to young learners, the research offered a national overview and local aspects around the topic. Furthermore, the results presented in this article point out to the possibilities of understanding English teacher education to work with children as a new space, closely related to the local context and marked by particularities.This article discusses English teacher education to work in early childhood education. The offer of English for this age group is an increasing reality in Brazilian contexts and, therefore, the demand for specific teacher education for this field is also expanding. Considering this scenario, the research conducted had the aim of analyzing curricular proposals of majors in English and Literature in Brazilian Federal and State Universities, focused on initial education of teachers to work with children. After searching on the E-MEC website, 108 institutions were listed as part of the research. The documentary survey resulted in 15 universities with approaches that met the criteria established by the researchers, which also had significant contributions regarding the initiatives implemented in those universities. Moreover, with the goal of also investigating local realities, five institutions were invited to participate in an interview. Through reflections based on curricular theories, transdisciplinarity, teacher education and teaching English to young learners, the research offered a national overview and local aspects around the topic. Furthermore, the results presented in this article point out to the possibilities of understanding English teacher education to work with children as a new space, closely related to the local context and marked by particularities. Keywords: Teacher education; curriculum; Teaching English to young learners.

News and uncertainty shocks

We provide novel evidence that technological news and uncertainty shocks, identified one at a time using vector autoregressive (VAR) models as in the literature, are correlated; that is, they are not truly structural . We then proceed by proposing an identification scheme to disentangle the effects of news and financial uncertainty shocks. We find that by removing financial uncertainty effects from news shocks, the positive responses of economic activity to news shocks are strengthened in the short term; and that the negative responses of activity to financial uncertainty shocks are deepened in the medium term as “good uncertainty” effects on technology are purged

Acolhimento De Usuários De Drogas Em Unidade Básica De Saúde

To understand the care of drug users in a Basic Health Unit. Methods: a qualitative study through semi -structured interviews with 13 subjects in a Basic Care Unit of a health district. Results: after thematic analysis, three categories were revealed: Home as routing and factors that determine the practice, showing that factors such as feelings and personal characteristics of workers, lack of training and awareness of lower resoluteness by nursing professionals held a routing logic avoided accountability for the care, keeping its fragmentation; Host, link and routing, in which bond and co-responsibility were incipient practices, hindering the comprehensive care; and Home and predominant care models, showing that the host supported on the biomedical model, but contradictions were observed between different models and practices. Conclusion: it is necessary to overcome the biomedical model, from the expanded clinic and restructuring vocational training.17334635

Cebus cf. apella exhibits rapid acquisition of complex stimulus relations and emergent performance by exclusion

A “second generation” matching-to-sample procedure that minimizes past sources of artifacts involves (1) successive discrimination between sample stimuli, (2) stimulus displays ranging from four to 16 comparisons, (3) variable stimulus locations to avoid unwanted stimulus-location control, and (4) high accuracy levels (e.g., 90% correct on a 16-choice task in which chance accuracy is 6%). Examples of behavioral engineering with experienced capuchin monkeys included four-choice matching problems with video images of monkeys with substantially above-chance matching in a single session and 90% matching within six sessions. Exclusion performance was demonstrated by interspersing non-identical sample-comparison pairs within a baseline of a nine-comparison identity-matching-to-sample procedure with pictures as stimuli. The test for exclusion presented the newly “mapped” stimulus in a situation in which exclusion was not possible. Degradation of matching between physically non-identical forms occurred while baseline identity accuracy was sustained at high levels, thus confirming that Cebus cf. apella is capable of exclusion. Additionally, exclusion performance when baseline matching relations involved non-identical stimuli was shown

Uncertain kingdom: nowcasting GDP and its revisions

We design a new econometric framework to nowcast macroeconomic data subject to revisions, and use it to predict UK GDP growth in real-time. To this aim, we assemble a novel dataset of monthly and quarterly indicators featuring over ten years of real-time data vintages. Successive monthly estimates of GDP growth for the same quarter are treated as correlated observables in a Dynamic Factor Model (DFM) that also includes a large number of mixed-frequency predictors, leading to the release-augmented DFM (RA-DFM). The framework allows for a simple characterisation of the stochastic process for the revisions as a function of the observables, and permits a detailed assessment of the contribution of the data flow in informing (i) forecasts of quarterly GDP growth; (ii) the evolution of forecast uncertainty; and (iii) forecasts of revisions to early released GDP data. By evaluating the real-time performance of the RA-DFM, we find that the model’s predictions have information about the latest GDP releases above and beyond that contained in the statistical office earlier estimates; predictive intervals are well-calibrated; and UK GDP growth real-time estimates are commensurate with professional nowcasters. We also provide evidence that statistical office data on production and labour markets, subject to large publication delays, account for most of the forecastability of the revisions

Restricted stimulus control in stimulus control shaping with a capuchin monkey

Teaching the first instances of arbitrary matching-to-sample to nonhumans can prove difficult and time consuming. Stimulus control relations may develop that differ from those intended by the experimenter—even when stimulus control shaping procedures are used. We present, in this study, efforts to identify sources of shaping program failure with a capuchin monkey. Procedures began with a baseline of identity matching. During subsequent shaping trials, compound comparison stimuli had two components—one identical to and another different from the sample. The identical component was eliminated gradually by removing portions across trials (i.e., subtracting stimulus elements). The monkey performed accurately throughout shaping. At a late stage in the program, probe tests were conducted: (1) arbitrary matching trials that had all elements of the identical comparison removed and (2) other trials that included residual elements. During the test, the monkey performed at low levels on the former trials and higher levels on the latter. These results suggested that higher accuracy was due merely to continued control by the residual elements: the target arbitrary matching relations had not been learned. Thus, it appears that procedures that gradually transform identity matching baselines into arbitrary matching can fail by inadvertently shaping restricted control by residual elements. Subsequent probes at the end of the shaping series showed a successful transfer of stimulus control from identity to arbitrary matching after further programming steps apparently overcame the restricted stimulus control

Assessment of the Treatment Performance of an Open-Air Green Wall Fed with Graywater under Winter Conditions

Graywater (GW), i.e., the portion of household wastewater that excludes toilet flushes, is an interesting wastewater type because it requires only mild treatment. Green walls have been proposed as example of a nature-based solution for GW treatment due to low energy requirement and high ecological/societal benefits; however, indications about their treatment performances remain limited. This work presents experimental results of a laboratory modular green wall for GW treatment. Experiments have been performed outdoors during the winter season for three months. Each panel included four vertical columns of planted pots, and it was fed with 100 L of synthetic GW per day. Removal efficiencies were as follows (average values): 40% chemical oxygen demand, 97% biochemical oxygen demand, 61% total Kjeldhal nitrogen, 56% NO3–-N, 57% total phosphorus, 99% Escherichia coli, and 63% anionic surfactants. This work proved the potential of an open-air green wall for treating GW, even under challenging conditions for biological treatment processes and with high hydraulic loading rates