Long Memory in Import and Export Price Inflation and Persistence of Shocks to the Terms of Trade

Long memory models have been successfully used to investigate the dynamic time-series behavior of inflation rates based on the CPI and WPI. However, almost no attention has been paid to import and export price inflation, nor to the terms of trade which they make up. This article investigates the dynamics of the terms of trade by focusing first on the time-series characteristics of these price series. It tests for long memory in export and import price inflation series and estimates the fractional differencing parameter using a number of approaches. To give a better idea of the degree of persistence of each series, estimates of the impulse responses are computed which take into account possible fractional integration. The dynamic behavior in changes in the terms of trade is then related to the long memory behavior of the import and export price inflation series. In a sample of eleven economies for which data is available, evidence of long memory in import and export price inflation occurs in about half the cases. Granger (1980) points out that the natural occurrence of long memory may be attributed to aggregation in macroeconomic series. Our analysis provides evidence of an alternative explanation, namely that long-memory may result from the differencing of a linear relationship between non-cointegrating variables. Specifically, the results from our analysis of eleven economies reveal that shocks to the terms of trade will persist if the constituent price inflation series are not cointegratedlong memory, terms of trade, imported inflation

Encouraging the perceptual underdog: positive affective priming of nonpreferred local–global processes

Two experiments examined affective priming of global and local perception. Participants attempted to detect a target that might be present as either a global or a local shape. Verbal primes were used in 1 experiment, and pictorial primes were used in the other. In both experiments, positive primes led to improved performance on the nonpreferred dimension. For participants exhibiting global precedence, detection of local targets was significantly improved, whereas for participants exhibiting local precedence, detection of global targets was significantly improved. The results provide support for an interpretation of the effects of positive affective priming in terms of increased perceptual flexibility

Bulk superconductivity in Bi4O4S3 revealed by specific heat measurement

Specific heat experiments on a well-characterized polycrystalline sample of the BiS2 based superconductor Bi4O4S3 revealed that it shows a crear specific heat anomaly at about Tc = 4.4 K, consistent with Tc from the resistivity and dc susceptibility. This observation indicates the superconductivity of Bi4O4S3 to be bulk in nature

The CALD Youth Census Report 2014

The first Australian census data analysis of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgroundsProfessor Graeme Hugo, Dr Kelly McDougall, Dr George Tan, Dr Helen Feis

Finite-Sample Optimality of Tests in a Structural Equation

No abstract.

Implementation of Design for Manufacture and Assembly principles in the construction project: A case study

Design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) has been increasingly advocated by the global construction industry since it provides methodological procedures for evaluating and improving design for both manufacture and assembly. Many studies have investigated the DfMA principles suitable for different types of construction projects and advocated a wide implementation of DfMA in construction. However, it would be difficult to persuade stakeholders to implement DfMA principles in their projects without a clear specification of implementation procedures. This study aims to offer an intelligible description and analysis of implementation procedures of DfMA in a real construction project. It does so by undertaking a case study on a prefabricated bamboo building, in which a DfMA-focused design was required by the client. The study reveals how the knowledge of designer, engineer, and contractor has been integrated to implement DfMA principles in the design of building components and sub-components. This study also identifies the best practice of ensuring engineering performance and meanwhile attaining aesthetics in the application of DfMA principles

PDA Based Human Motion Recognition System

10.1142/S021819400500218XInternational Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering152199-204ISEK