Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interactions in a Monetary Union with Country-size Asymmetry

This paper analyses optimal discretionary non-coordinated monetary and fiscal stabilization policies in a micro-founded New-Keynesian model of a two-country monetary union with country-size asymmetry, under two policy scenarios. A balanced-budget policy scenario and a policy scenario where the presence of government debt limits the macroeconomic stabilization effort and enlarges the sources of strategic policy interactions. Numerical results indicate that non-cooperation exacerbates the fiscal policy activism of a small country while moderating that of a large country. In the balanced-budget scenario, non-cooperation improves (reduces) welfare for a small (large) country while, in the high-debt scenario, it produces the opposite results. Cooperation dominates non-cooperation for the union as a whole.Monetary union; optimal fiscal and monetary policies; asymmetric countries.

Xamanismo e conhecimento : um breve olhar sobre o fenómeno do xamanismo nas culturas índias norte-americanas

Livro de homenagem à professora Maria Laura Bettencourt Pire

Perspectives of "The Land": The Making of Cultural Topographies

At the beginning of this new era, world perspectives and outlooks are necessarily shifting and turning, becoming an inescapable process in the creation of new intellectual topographies. It may sometimes involve rethinking the whole intellectual construct of the universe, the maps of reality or the topographies of the self and its surroundings.It may even involve stopping on our tracks, surveying our errors of judgment, listening to the voices around us; be it the voices of other peoples we - the heirs of Europe’s empires - have subdued, conquered, and colonized, be it the voice of the Earth, itself. Although this is not usually part of the West’s academic discourse, tainted as it is by the very ideas and ideals that we are here calling into question, it is our intention to focus our attention on the ontologies and epistemologies of the Indigenous Peoples of America, and on the conflicts ensuing from their encounter with the West’s hegemonic mindset. We argue that at the root of the conflicts between the Indigenous cultures of America and the European settler cultures lies their divergent perspective of the Land. If, for the European settlers, the Earth and its creatures were to be subdued, conquered, mastered by Mankind, for the Indigenous peoples of America, they were essentially teachers, guides, or fellow beings in Creation, with specific powers and knowledge; the Land inspired their languages, and instilled its knowledge into the people. It may now be the right time to listen again to those forgotten or silenced voices, so as to outline a new topography of existence

A Pedagogical Approach to the Waltzes and Tangos for Piano by Francisca Gonzaga

Francisca (Chiquinha) Gonzaga (1847–1935) was an important composer in the development of Brazilian music. She was also a remarkable female personality and broke paradigms in a society dominated by men. In spite of that, her works are not widely performed and studied yet. The goal of this dissertation is to provide a pedagogical approach to her works. This research explores her waltzes and tangos for piano, analyzes their musical, reading and technical difficulties, and provides a graded level for half of them to stimulate their use as repertoire for piano students and performers. Chiquinha composed 37 waltzes and 30 tangos for piano. In this research, the prominent musical, reading and technical issues are listed and half of the waltzes and tangos are analyzed more deeply. A level of difficulty is ascribed to each piece, and some practice and interpretative suggestions are given. A brief survey of the history of the waltz and the tango in Brazil is included to contextualize the importance of Gonzaga’s works. This research is intended to publicize Chiquinha’s waltzes and tangos for piano and highlight how they can be valuable resources for the musical and technical development of piano students. They are also important resources for understanding the development of a Brazilian musical style and can prepare students for more advanced works of nationalistic composers. This paper may also serve as a guide for piano teachers in search of repertoire for their students, as it contains analysis of pianistic aspects in 19 of the waltzes and 15 of the tangos

(In)dependencia funcional en la relación dependiente de hombres cuadripléjicos con sus (in)sustituibles padres/cuidadores

Objetivou-se identificar elementos da classificação internacional de funcionalidade, incapacidade e saúde, aplicáveis ao cuidado domiciliar de homens adultos tetraplégicos, com vistas à redução da dependência de ajuda de seus pais para as atividades da vida diária, e o autocuidado. Os dados foram coletados de junho de 2004 a março de 2005, a partir de entrevista semi-estruturada, realizada com 8 adultos acometidos de lesão medular alta, e com experiência de usuários do cuidado domiciliar. Optou-se pela análise de conteúdo, a partir das categorias de significados pautadas nos seguintes resultados: suporte familiar: segurança para as funções corporais do incapacitado; tecnologia assistiva: inventividades para promoção da qualidade do cuidado; medos, futuro incerto e perda dos pais: limiares e fragilidades humanas; e ganhos funcionais: respostas objetivas das funções corporais. Conclui-se que o apoio da família e, em especial, a presença dos pais, são fundamentais para enfrentar as limitações e reagir na busca de equilíbrio na deficiência, incapacidade, desvantagem e saúde dessa clientela, preparando-a para o alcance de gradativos ganhos funcionais e independência para atividades cotidianas e autocuidado.El estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar elementos de la clasificación internacional de funcionalidad, incapacidad y salud, aplicables al cuidado domiciliario de hombres adultos cuadripléjicos, con el fin de reducir la dependencia de la ayuda de sus padres en las actividades de la vida diaria y el autocuidado. Los datos fueron reunidos entre junio de 2004 y marzo de 2005, sobre la base de una entrevista semiestructurada efectuada a 8 adultos que sufrían de lesión medular alta y que recibían normalmente cuidado domiciliario. Se optó por el sistema de análisis de contenidos a partir de las categorías de significados pautados en los siguientes resultados: apoyo familiar: seguridad para las funciones corporales del discapacitado; tecnología de apoyo: soporte tecnológico para optimizar la calidad de los cuidados; miedos; futuro incierto y pérdida de los padres: los umbrales y las fragilidades humanas; y ganancias funcionales: respuestas objetivas de las funciones corporales. Se concluyó en que el apoyo familiar y, en particular, la presencia de los padres, son fundamentales para enfrentar las limitaciones y reaccionar en la búsqueda de equilibrios en la deficiencia, incapacidad, desventajas y salud de tales pacientes, preparándolos para alcanzar en forma gradual mejoras funcionales e independencia para realizar actividades diarias y ocuparse del autocuidado.The objective of this study was to identify elements of the international classification of functioning, disability and health, applicable to quadriplegic men's home care, to reduce the dependence on their parents' help for activities of daily living and self-care. Data were collected from June 2004 to March 2005. Semi-structured interviews were performed with eight adults with high spinal cord lesions who were being cared for at home . Content analysis was performed based on the categories of meaning extrapolated and the following themes were discovered : family support: safety for the corporal functions of the disabled; supporting technology: inventiveness to promote quality care; fears, uncertain future and parents' loss: thresholds and human fragilities; and functional gains: objective response of body functions. In conclusion, family support, and especially the presence of parents, is fundamental to facing limitations and to reacting in the search for balance with the deficiency, disability, disadvantage and health of that population, preparing them to achieve gradual functional gain and independence for daily activities and self-care

Should the ECB coordinate EMU fiscal policies?

In a monetary union where fiscal authorities act strategically, fiscal cooperation is unlikely to emerge as an equilibrium. Even when the cooperative outcome is the best for a national fiscal authority, it is either not a Nash equilibrium or only one of several Nash equilibriums. The monetary authority may have an important coordinating role; however, the Paretopreferred equilibrium will not necessarily involve cooperation

Imposto de Renda Pessoa Física: especificidades do processo de declaração

TCC (Graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Socioeconômico. Curso de Ciências ContábeisO presente trabalho monográfico trata de um estudo voltado à pesquisa qualitativa e quantitativa do Imposto de Renda sob a ótica informativa para os contribuintes. O objetivo geral está centrado na análise e na recomendação sobre qual a melhor forma do preenchimento da declaração de maneira a minimizar os riscos de prejuízos futuros. Os objetivos específicos buscam mostrar os procedimentos corretos, os rendimentos tributáveis e não-tributáveis e as possíveis deduções. Sem perder de vista o cunho científico, a abordagem do problema está voltada à recomendação da sistemática de preenchimento dos campos dos formulários próprios, bem como à análise de dados e documentos para evitar possíveis divergências entre as informações prestadas à Receita Federal e, consequentemente as multas que os contribuintes possam a vir receber, devido a problemas ocasionados no envio da declaração. O método utilizado na pesquisa foi analítico e bibliográfico, tanto na fase investigativa como na análise dos resultados, e as técnicas de pesquisa bibliográfica e a simulação, em que se constatou que é preciso estar atento ao preenchimento da declaração, para evitar cair na malha fina ou declarar imposto além do devido

Sherwood Anderson’s "the Book of the Grotesque" – Rewriting the Story in the Margin

This essay is an attempt at rewriting Sherwood Anderson’s somewhat enigmatic short story from a mythological and Jungian perspective. It is an expression of the thoughts inspired by the story, and a possible interpretation of the author’s original words

Tópicos sobre o pensamento europeu

The roots of Western thought lie deep within remote cultures. We shall briefly explore some features Western societies have derived from ancient Neolithic, Middle Eastern and Northern African cultures. In cultures as ancient as the Sumerians, Acadians, Persians, and Egyptians, we find the same leitmotifs, the same structural patterns we normally attribute to Judeo-Christianity and to the Classical world. We shall focus on those shared features, in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the complexity and continuity of human thought throughout the ages.As raízes do pensamento ocidental mergulham em tempos distantes e remotos. Iremos explorar brevemente algumas características que as sociedades ocidentais terão herdado das culturas ancestrais do Neolítico, do Médio Oriente e do Norte de África. Assim, em culturas tão antigas como a dos Sumérios, Acádicos, Persas ou Egípcios, encontramos os mesmos leitmotifse padrões estruturais normalmente atribuídos ao judaico-cristianismo e ao mundo clássico.Iremos concentrar-nos nessas características em comum, a fim de tentarmos vislumbrar um pouco da complexidade e continuidade do pensamento humano através dos tempos