Dynamic programming for stochastic target problems, Viscosity solutions and hedging in markets with Portfolio constraints and large investors

The purpose of this expository arti le is to present a self- ontained overview of some results on the hara terization of the optimal value fun tion of a sto hasti target problem as (dis ontinuous) vis osity solution of a ertain dynami programming PDE and its appli ation to the problem of hedging ontingent laims in the presen e of portfolio onstraints and large investors

Educational development - a view from outside : national trends and institutional issues at Imperial College London. 'El desarrollo Educativo, una mirada externa: rasgos nacionales y aspectos institucionales en el caso del Imperial College London'.

Resumen tomado de la publicación

Education and training governance through learning outcomes : possibilities and constraints in Italy

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n.

Learning and teaching using digital books : opportunities and constraints

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Perspetivas de professores de Educação Especial sobre o seu papel na inclusão de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais

O presente estudo visa identificar opiniões e conceções de cinco professoras de educação especial em relação ao seu contexto profissional e ao seu desempenho no mesmo. O estudo lida, assim, com as perspetivas dessas professoras, pretendendo-se caraterizar o seu pensamento sobre as condições reais para a inclusão de crianças com Necessidades Educativas Especiais (NEE) e o seu papel nesse sentido, apesar dos constrangimentos existentes. Assume-se que o professor é, enquanto profissional, não só produto de valores pessoais, sociais e institucionais/políticos como também seu veículo. Os dados foram recolhidos através da realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas às referidas professoras, seleccionadas pelos seus largos anos de experiência em escolas da região da Grande Lisboa. Os resultados do estudo sugerem que as professoras são afetadas no seu desempenho profissional por fatores pessoais e sociais e ainda pelas interações com professores titulares de turma, técnicos especializados e poder institucional. Pode ainda concluir-se que as professoras preocupam-se em fazer uma intervenção ecológica junto do aluno, preocupando-se não só com o seu desenvolvimento pessoal, como também com a sua inclusão na escola, família e sociedade. Ressaltam ainda, do estudo, preocupações no que concerne ao futuro destes alunos e à evolução da Educação Especial, resultado das políticas educativas vigentes.

The EEAS and the Eastern Partnership: let the blame game stop. CEPS Commentary, 4 September 2012

In the first year and a half of its existence, the EEAS and its head have become the target of extensive criticism for the shortcomings of EU foreign policy; shortcomings that in fact date back to the creation of the European Union. The EU’s diplomatic service has been blamed variously for ‘lacking clarity,’ ‘acting too slowly’ and ‘being unable to bridge the institutional divide’. In this Commentary author Hrant Kostanyan argues that the EEAS’ discretionary power in the Eastern Partnership multilateral framework is restricted by the decision-making procedures between a wide range of stakeholders: the member states and the partner countries, as well as by the EU institutions, international organisations and the Civil Society Forum. Since this decision-making process places a substantial number of brakes on the discretionary power of the EEAS, any responsible analysis or critique of the service should take these constraints into consideration. Ultimately, the EEAS is only able to craft EU foreign policy insofar as it is allowed to do so.

Adaptive constraints for feature tracking

In this paper extensions to an existing tracking algorithm are described. These extensions implement adaptive tracking constraints in the form of regional upper-bound displacements and an adaptive track smoothness constraint. Together, these constraints make the tracking algorithm more flexible than the original algorithm (which used fixed tracking parameters) and provide greater confidence in the tracking results. The result of applying the new algorithm to high-resolution ECMWF reanalysis data is shown as an example of its effectiveness.

Weak constraints in four-dimensional variational data assimilation

The formulation of four-dimensional variational data assimilation allows the incorporation of constraints into the cost function which need only be weakly satisfied. In this paper we investigate the value of imposing conservation properties as weak constraints. Using the example of the two-body problem of celestial mechanics we compare weak constraints based on conservation laws with a constraint on the background state.We show how the imposition of conservation-based weak constraints changes the nature of the gradient equation. Assimilation experiments demonstrate how this can add extra information to the assimilation process, even when the underlying numerical model is conserving.