Using the Asymmetric Trimmed Mean as a Core Inflation Indicator

This paper discusses the use of the trimmed mean as a core inflation indicator when the price changes distribution is fat tailed and asymmetric and computes several asymmetric trimmed means that meet all the conditions suggested in Marques et al. (2000). It turns out that the 10 per cent trimmed mean centred on the 51.5th percentile is the one with the lowest volatility and so, its use, as a core inflation indicator, is recommended.

Connecting capabilities through technological centres

Recent perspectives on a capabilities view of the firm often recognize the need for firms to develop an external organization. Within the IMP tradition, it is recognized that the external organization may include economic and non-economic exchange relationships. However, greater emphasis is given to the former. The relevance of relationships for firms and for industries can be linked to their role in the generation and diffusion of knowledge. In this paper we will discuss the potential role of technological centres (TC’s) as part of firms’ external organizations and emphasize TC’s role in connecting economic and non-economic exchange relationships. It is further suggested that the motives and the benefits perceived by firms and, in general, the relevance of sharing experiences within these contexts should be seen in the wider context of firms’ specific and idiosyncratic trajectoriesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relationships as mechanisms for the co-ordination of capabilities in the portuguese industry of moulds

New perspectives arose of recently about the division of work in industry and the coordinating mechanisms thereof (Langlois and Robertson, 1995). This paper looks at the coordination of activities and division of work in industry from the industrial networks perspective. Both the notion of relationships between firms, seen as co-ordinating mechanisms (Axelsson and Easton, 1992) and joint learning devices (Håkansson, 1993) , and the notion of firms as sets of direct and indirect capabilities (Loasby, 1998a, 1998b) are used in order to characterise and contrast the trajectories (development paths) of four firms from the Portuguese industry of moulds for plastic injectioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A capabilities perspective on the evolution of firm boundaries: a comparative case example from the portuguese moulds industry

The issue of vertical firm boundaries continues to attract interest both for economics and management research. The transaction cost economics approach, emphasizing transaction-specific assets and opportunism in order to explain discrete ‘make-or-buy’ decisions, dominates the literature. Nevertheless, alternative perspectives, developed under the guise of the capabilities, competence or knowledge-based theories of the firm, have gained attention recently. They focus on the evolutionary dynamics of boundaries in the context of the division of labour among firms in an industry and on what is to be divided and co-ordinated – i.e. productive knowledge. The conceptual links between this line of research, which some refer to as neo-Marshallian, and the Industrial Networks approach are explored in this paper. The paper emphasizes both a vision of firms as sets of direct and indirect capabilities, developed and combined in different ways over time, and the connectedness between inter-firm relationships. The discussion is illustrated with the cases of two firms, which are contrasted in terms of the dynamic evolution of their boundaries. The analysis made supports the argument that firms’ vertical boundaries reflect their relationships with specific counterparts and the way they address through time the division and integration of knowledge through the configuration of direct and indirect, counterpart specific, capabilitieinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Embedding of a new business as a cumulative process of combining different but complementary types of projects: The case of a project-based firm

Within the industrial network approach, new business formation is a cumulative process of relating the new business to the existing business network over time. This paper combines the literatures on industrial networks and projects (management) to explore the roles of two different types of (temporary) inter-organizational projects in the embedding process. The paper examines the embedding in a network of a new project-based firm that went from being a new entity to becoming capable of taking a stronger network position by using different types of projects as embedding tools. Embedding of the new firm in the business network required the combining of different but complementary types of projects to build a stronger network position. We find that (temporary) inter-organizational projects are tools for embedding the firm in a network of relationships. The inter-organizational projects can provide the firm with opportunities to both discover and develop not only its own resources but also the resources of others, leading it to change perceptions and principles on what resources are useful to access and who possesses those resources.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Industrial agglomerations as localised networks : the case of the portuguese injection mould industry

A resurgence of interest in industrial agglomerations can be found among many different academic disciplines. This trend has been accompanied by a focus on how spatial proximity and the emergence of links between colocated actors may generate benefits for firms, namely, in the generation and diffusion of knowledge. By conceiving industrial agglomerations as territorially based networks, we argue that the dynamics in connections internal to those networks affect and are affected by local institutions as well as connections external to the territory. Our study of the injection mould industry cluster at Marinha Grande in Portugal suggests that firms profit from the emergence of relationships between colocated actors and other agglomeration benefits. However, we suggest that the potential of the industry to generate new knowledge appears to be founded on the patterns of interfirm connections, which selectively connect diverse capabilities both within and outside the agglomerationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Distributed Optimization With Local Domains: Applications in MPC and Network Flows

In this paper we consider a network with $P$ nodes, where each node has exclusive access to a local cost function. Our contribution is a communication-efficient distributed algorithm that finds a vector $x^\star$ minimizing the sum of all the functions. We make the additional assumption that the functions have intersecting local domains, i.e., each function depends only on some components of the variable. Consequently, each node is interested in knowing only some components of $x^\star$, not the entire vector. This allows for improvement in communication-efficiency. We apply our algorithm to model predictive control (MPC) and to network flow problems and show, through experiments on large networks, that our proposed algorithm requires less communications to converge than prior algorithms.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Trans. Aut. Contro

Portuguese physical literacy assessment (PPLA) : development and validation of an instrument for adolescents in physical education

The main purpose of this PhD thesis was to develop and validate a novel criterion-referenced Physical Literacy (PL) assessment system for application in Portuguese PE for grade 10-12 adolescents (15-18 years): the Portuguese Physical Literacy Assessment (PPLA). Inspired by the Australian Physical Literacy Framework (APLF), this tool is comprised of two instruments assessing the physical, cognitive, psychological, and social domains of PL: 1) PPLA-Questionnaire (PPLA-Q) and 2) the PPLA-Observation tool (PPLA-O). The first is a self-administered questionnaire with three modules, each respectively designed to assess the psychological, social, and part of the cognitive domains of PL; while the latter is an instrument with two modules that uses teacher-reported data to assess the physical and the remainder of the cognitive domain of PL. PPLA development and validation process is presented through five scientific papers: the first and fourth present the development of both instruments, marrying quantitative and qualitative methods; while the second, third and fourth establish evidence for the content and construct validity (dimensionality, measurement invariance across sex, and convergent and discriminant validity), as well as reliability (score and test-retest) at element-level, within each of the four domains assessed. Finally, the fifth articles focus on the integration of the full PPLA measurement model with all domains and elements, establishing its construct validity and reliability. Overall, the PPLA emerges as a highly feasible tool for the PE context that can be completed in around 20 minutes (students filling in the PPLA-Q) plus time spent by PE teachers in data insertion/copying into the PPLA-O spreadsheet. Its measurement model is best represented through an asymmetrical bifactor model, allowing for disentangling the variance associated with a general PL trait - referent to a transversal broadband meta-learning or disposition in movement settings – from variance of specific group factors (domains). PPLA can be used to provide a detailed and feasible assessment of each student’s PL journey, and to support pedagogical decisions (at local, regional, and national level) towards a more meaningful and targeted PE environment to promote PL learning. Further research is warranted in replicating these findings outside an imposition-laden COVID-19 setting, along with multiple fine-tuning to the PPLA. Similarly, adaptation of this tool to other age-ranges and its use as an aid in monitoring and advocating for PL inside a quality PE setting are open threads for future work.O principal objetivo desta tese de doutoramento foi desenvolver e validar um novo sistema de avaliação de Literacia Física (LF), baseado num referencial criterial, para aplicação em adolescentes portugueses do 10º ao 12º ano de escolaridade durante as aulas de EF: Portuguese Physical Literacy Assessment (PPLA). Inspirando-se no modelo australiano de LF (APLF), este sistema é composto por dois instrumentos que avaliam os domínios físico, cognitivo, psicológico e social da LF: 1) PPLA-Questionário (PPLA-Q) e 2) PPLA-Observação (PPLA-O). O primeiro é um questionário autoadministrado com três módulos, cada um concebido, respetivamente, para avaliar os domínios psicológico, social, e parte do domínio cognitivo da LF; já o último é um instrumento com dois módulos que utiliza dados reportados pelos professores de EF para avaliar o domínio físico e o resto do domínio cognitivo da LF. O seu processo de desenvolvimento e validação é apresentado através de cinco artigos científicos: o primeiro e quarto apresentam o desenvolvimento de ambos os instrumentos, através de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos; já o segundo, terceiro e quarto artigo estabelecem evidência para a validade de conteúdo e construto (dimensionalidade, invariância de medição em diferentes sexos, e validade convergente e discriminante) e fiabilidade (score e teste-reteste) do PPLA ao nível micro (elementos da LF). Finalmente, o quinto artigo foca-se na integração do modelo completo de medição do PPLA com todos os seus domínios e elementos, estabelecendo evidência da sua validade de construto e fiabilidade. Globalmente, o PPLA emerge como uma ferramenta altamente viável para aplicação em contexto de EF que pode ser completada em cerca de 20 minutos (preenchimento do PPLA-Q pelos alunos) acrescidos do tempo de inserção de dados, por parte do professor, na folha de cálculo do PPLA-O. O seu modelo de medição é melhor representado através de um modelo bifatorial assimétrico, que permite separar a variância associada a uma competência geral de LF - referente a uma meta- vi aprendizagem ou disposição transversal às diversas competências e contextos de movimento - da variância específica associada a cada domínio; permitindo também a análise independente do efeito ou relação de cada domínio com variáveis de interesse futuro. O PPLA pode ser utilizado para facultar uma avaliação detalhada e acessível do percurso efetuado por cada estudante na sua LF, e para apoiar decisões pedagógicas (a nível local, regional e nacional) com fim a tornar a EF um ambiente mais orientado para promover a aprendizagem deste conjunto de competências. De futuro, é necessária mais investigação no sentido de replicar os resultados obtidos nestes estudos, fora de um cenário fortemente limitado pela pandemia de COVID-19; e de efetuar múltiplas afinações ao PPLA. Do mesmo modo, são tópicos abertos para trabalho futuro a adaptação desta ferramenta a outras faixas etárias e a sua utilização como suporte na monitorização e disseminação da LF como um dos focos de desenvolvimento de EF de qualidade

D-ADMM: A Communication-Efficient Distributed Algorithm For Separable Optimization

We propose a distributed algorithm, named Distributed Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (D-ADMM), for solving separable optimization problems in networks of interconnected nodes or agents. In a separable optimization problem there is a private cost function and a private constraint set at each node. The goal is to minimize the sum of all the cost functions, constraining the solution to be in the intersection of all the constraint sets. D-ADMM is proven to converge when the network is bipartite or when all the functions are strongly convex, although in practice, convergence is observed even when these conditions are not met. We use D-ADMM to solve the following problems from signal processing and control: average consensus, compressed sensing, and support vector machines. Our simulations show that D-ADMM requires less communications than state-of-the-art algorithms to achieve a given accuracy level. Algorithms with low communication requirements are important, for example, in sensor networks, where sensors are typically battery-operated and communicating is the most energy consuming operation.Comment: To appear in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processin

Distributed Basis Pursuit

We propose a distributed algorithm for solving the optimization problem Basis Pursuit (BP). BP finds the least L1-norm solution of the underdetermined linear system Ax = b and is used, for example, in compressed sensing for reconstruction. Our algorithm solves BP on a distributed platform such as a sensor network, and is designed to minimize the communication between nodes. The algorithm only requires the network to be connected, has no notion of a central processing node, and no node has access to the entire matrix A at any time. We consider two scenarios in which either the columns or the rows of A are distributed among the compute nodes. Our algorithm, named D-ADMM, is a decentralized implementation of the alternating direction method of multipliers. We show through numerical simulation that our algorithm requires considerably less communications between the nodes than the state-of-the-art algorithms.Comment: Preprint of the journal version of the paper; IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, Vol. 60, Issue 4, April, 201