A inovação do AMV: o Anime Music Video e suas relações com a pós-modernidade e a cibercultura

Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de Mestrado em Comunicação da Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul - USCS

Brazilian indexing and inertial inflation: evidence from time-varying estimates of an inflation transfer function

This paper is a theoretica1 and empirica1 study of the re1ationship between indexing po1icy and feedback mechanisms in the inflationary adjustment process in Brazil. The focus of our study is on two policy issues: (1) did the Brazilian system of indexing of interest rates, the exchange rate, and wages make inflation so dependent on its own past values that it created a significant feedback process and inertia in the behaviour of inflation in and (2) was the feedback effect of past inf1ation upon itself so strong that dominated the effect of monetary/fiscal variables upon current inflation? This paper develops a simple model designed to capture several "stylized facts" of Brazi1ian indexing po1icy. Separate ru1es of "backward indexing" for interest rates, the exchange rate, and wages, reflecting the evolution of po1icy changes in Brazil, are incorporated in a two-sector model of industrial and agricultural prices. A transfer function derived irom this mode1 shows inflation depending on three factors: (1) past values of inflation, (2) monetary and fiscal variables, and (3) supply- .shock variables. The indexing rules for interest rates, the exchange rate, and wages place restrictions on the coefficients of the transfer function. Variations in the policy-determined parameters of the indexing rules imply changes in the coefficients of the transfer function for inflation. One implication of this model, in contrast to previous results derived in analytically simpler models of indexing, is that a higher degree of indexing does not make current inflation more responsive to current monetary shocks. The empirical section of this paper studies the central hypotheses of this model through estimation of the inflation transfer function with time-varying parameters. The results show a systematic non-random variation of the transfer function coefficients closely synchronized with changes in the observed values of the wage-indexing parameters. Non-parametric tests show the variation of the transfer function coefficients to be statistically significant at the time of the changes in wage indexing rules in Brazil. As the degree of indexing increased, the inflation feadback coefficients increased, while the effect of external price and agricultura shocs progressively increased and monetary effects progressively decreased.

Captura e visualização de video 3d em tempo real

Vídeos são dos principais meios de difusão de conhecimento, informação e entretenimento existentes. Todavia, apesar da boa qualidade e da boa aceitação do público, os vídeos atuais ainda restringem o espectador a um único ponto de vista. Atualmente, alguns estudos estão sendo desenvolvidos visando oferecer ao espectador maior liberdade para decidir de onde ele gostaria de assistir a cena. O tipo de vídeo a ser produzido por essas iniciativas tem sido chamado genericamente de vídeo 3D. Esse trabalho propõe uma arquitetura para captura e exibição de vídeos 3D em tempo real utilizando as informações de cor e profundidade da cena, capturadas para cada pixel de cada quadro do vídeo. A informação de profundidade pode ser obtida utilizando-se câmeras 3D, algoritmos de extração de disparidade a partir de estéreo, ou com auxílio de luz estruturada. A partir da informação de profundidade é possível calcular novos pontos de vista da cena utilizando um algoritmo de warping 3D. Devido a não disponibilidade de câmeras 3D durante a realização deste trabalho, a arquitetura proposta foi validada utilizando um ambiente sintético construído usando técnicas de computação gráfica. Este protótipo também foi utilizado para analisar diversos algoritmos de visão computacional que utilizam imagens estereoscópias para a extração da profundidade de cenas em tempo real. O uso de um ambiente controlado permitiu uma análise bastante criteriosa da qualidade dos mapas de profundidade produzidos por estes algoritmos, nos levando a concluir que eles ainda não são apropriados para uso de aplicações que necessitem da captura de vídeo 3D em tempo real.

Indexing stock portfolios in Brazil: tracking the IBOVESPA and the FGV 100

Indexing is a passive investment strategy in which the investor weights bis portfolio to match the performance of a broad-based indexo Since severaI studies showed that indexed portfolios have consistently outperformed active management strategies over the last decades, an increasing number of investors has become interested in indexing portfolios IateIy. Brazilian financiaI institutions do not offer indexed portfolios to their clients at this point in time. In this work we propose the use of indexed portfolios to track the performance oftwo ofthe most important Brazilian stock indexes: the mOVESPA and the FGVIOO. We test the tracking performance of our modeI by a historical simulation. We applied several statistical tests to the data to verify how many stocks should be used to controI the portfolio tracking error within user specified bounds.

Inexpensive solution for real-time video and image stitching

Image stitching is the process of joining several images to obtain a bigger view of a scene. It is used, for example, in tourism to transmit to the viewer the sensation of being in another place. I am presenting an inexpensive solution for automatic real time video and image stitching with two web cameras as the video/image sources. The proposed solution relies on the usage of several markers in the scene as reference points for the stitching algorithm. The implemented algorithm is divided in four main steps, the marker detection, camera pose determination (in reference to the markers), video/image size and 3d transformation, and image translation. Wii remote controllers are used to support several steps in the process. The built‐in IR camera provides clean marker detection, which facilitates the camera pose determination. The only restriction in the algorithm is that markers have to be in the field of view when capturing the scene. Several tests where made to evaluate the final algorithm. The algorithm is able to perform video stitching with a frame rate between 8 and 13 fps. The joining of the two videos/images is good with minor misalignments in objects at the same depth of the marker,misalignments in the background and foreground are bigger. The capture process is simple enough so anyone can perform a stitching with a very short explanation. Although real‐time video stitching can be achieved by this affordable approach, there are few shortcomings in current version. For example, contrast inconsistency along the stitching line could be reduced by applying a color correction algorithm to every source videos. In addition, the misalignments in stitched images due to camera lens distortion could be eased by optical correction algorithm. The work was developed in Apple’s Quartz Composer, a visual programming environment. A library of extended functions was developed using Xcode tools also from Apple.

IFTrace: Video segmentation of deformable objects using the Image Foresting Transform

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

LEARNING A COMPLEX MOTOR SKILL FROM VIDEO and POINT-LIGHT DEMONSTRATIONS

The aim of this Study was to compare the learning process of a highly complex ballet skill following demonstrations of point light and video models 16 participants divided into point light and video groups (ns = 8) performed 160 trials of a pirouette equally distributed in blocks of 20 trials alternating periods of demonstration and practice with a retention test a day later Measures of head and trunk oscillation coordination d1 parity from the model and movement time difference showed similarities between video and point light groups ballet experts evaluations indicated superiority of performance in the video over the point light group Results are discussed in terms of the task requirements of dissociation between head and trunk rotations focusing on the hypothesis of sufficiency and higher relevance of information contained in biological motion models applied to learning of complex motor skills

Positive leader characteristics from high-speed video observations

Based on analyses of high-speed video recordings of cloud-to-ground lightning in Brazil and the USA, the characteristics of positive cloud-to-ground (+CG) leaders are presented. The high frame rates permitted the average, 2-dimensional speeds of development along the paths of the channels to be resolved with good accuracy. The values range from 0.3 to 6.0 x 10(5) ms(-1) with a mean of 2.7 x 10(5) ms(-1). Contrary to what is usually assumed, downward +CG leader speeds are similar to downward -CG leader speeds. Our observations also show that the speeds tend to increase by a factor of 1.1 to 6.5 as they approach the ground. The presence of short duration, recoil leaders (RLs) during the development of positive leaders reveal a highly branched structure that is not usually recorded when using conventional photographic and video cameras. The existence of the RLs may help to explain observations of UHF-VHF radiation during the development of +CG flashes.

Male Homosexuality in Brazilian Indexing Languages: Some Ethical Questions

Studies on ethics in information organization have deeply contributed to the recognition of the social dimension of Information Science. The subject approach to information is linked to an ethical dimension because one of its major concerns is related to its reliability and usefulness in a specific discursive community or knowledge domain. In this direction, we propose, through an exploratory research design with qualitative and inductive characteristics, to identify the specific terminology that Brazilian indexing languages allow for terms relating to male homosexuality. We also analyzed the terms assigned to papers published in the Journal of Homosexuality, Sexualities and Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health between the years 2005 to 2009. From this analysis of terms and the Brazilian indexing languages, we see (1) the Brazilian context, (2) imprecision in the terminology, (3) indications of prejudices disseminated by political correctness, (4) biased representation of the subject matter, (5) and the presence of figures of speech.