Testing production functions used in empirical growth studies

We estimate and test two alternative functional forms representing the aggregate production function for a panel of countries: the extended neoclassical growth model, and a mincerian formulation of schooling-returns to skills. Estimation is performed using instrumentalvariable techniques, and both functional forms are confronted using a Box-Cox test, since human capital inputs enter in levels in the mincerian specification and in logs in the extended neoclassical growth model. Our evidence rejects the extended neoclassical growth model in favor of the mincerian specification, with an estimated capital share of about 42%, a marginal return to education of about 7.5% per year, and an estimated productivity growth of about 1.4% per year. Differences in productivity cannot be disregarded as an explanation of why output per worker varies so much across countries: a variance decomposition exercise shows that productivity alone explains 54% of the variation in output per worker across countries.

Conditional labour supply, quantile functions in Brazil

The estimation of labor supply elasticities has been an important issue m the economic literature. Yet all works have estimated conditional mean labor supply functions only. The objective of this paper is to obtain more information on labor supply, by estimating the conditional quantile labor supply function. vI/e use a sample of prime age urban males employees in Brazil. Two stage estimators are used as the net wage and virtual income are found to be endogenous to the model. Contrary to previous works using conditional mean estimators, it is found that labor supply elasticities vary significantly and asymmetrically across hours of work. vVhile the income and wage elasticities at the standard work week are zero, for those working longer hours the elasticities are negative.

Operational functions for innovative startups in France

Nessa tese, é buscado um maior entendimento sobre a importância das funções operacionais nas startups francesas. Uma grande flexibilidade das tarefas a ser coberta e uma gestão horizontal caracterizam as startups. Desse jeito, não é muito comum para as empresas recentemente criadas como as startups ter uma politica clara de recursos humanos. Na verdade, cada participante na start-up pode ser levado a pensar de forma diferente em termos de vendas desenvolvimento de negócios, comercialização, marketing, tecnologia ou desenvolvimento de produto. Essa tese não vai explorar cada uma dessas tarefas. Mas vai procurar para identifcar a percepção sobre a alocação ótima de recursos para cada função chave da nova empresa. Qualquer seja o setor de mercado em consideração ou o estágio de amadurecimento da startup, funções chaves que são percebidas como sendo a base para start-ups bem sucedidas são pesquisa & desenvolvimento e comercialização. Funções de liderança não são tão importantes. Somente a startup focada na tecnologia tem uma "função de chefe executivo" com maior importância do que as startups médias. Além disso, empreendedores em série, bem sucedidos ou não, focam predominantemente aspectos relacionados ao marketing e à captação de recursos em detrimento de aspectos ligados à gestão do negócio. No final, os empresários, muitas vezes tem um preconceito ao respeito da sua formação acadêmica porque ele sobrestimam funções que eles pensam poder fazer em comparação das funções que eles são capazes de fazer. Nessa tese, intent-se demonstrar a relação entre as funções ocupadas por um sócio e as ações que ele possui na startup. Essa relação depende do número de sócios (conhecido como acionistas), o tipo de sócios (acionistas principais ou acionistas segundarias) e o impacto na administração corporativa a respeito da distribuição do capital próprio.

Product functions: interfaces with ergonomic design

In addition to technical quality, increasing emphasis is being placed on the importance of elements such as the appearance and meaning of products. To be successful, therefore, attention must be paid to the aesthetic and symbolic functions of objects as well as to reliability and physical quality. Study of the interfaces of these functions may provide a theoretical basis for the ergonomic design of products. The objective of this review is to attempt to establish the nature of these interfaces.

Evidence for Reductive Genome Evolution and Lateral Acquisition of Virulence Functions in Two Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis Strains

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Parametric correlation functions to model the structure of permanent environmental (co)variances in milk yield random regression models

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

Covariance functions for body weight from birth to maturity in Nellore cows

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comparison of different nonlinear functions to describe Nelore cattle growth

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Random regression analyses using B-splines functions to model growth from birth to adult age in Canchim cattle

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Random regression analyses using B-spline functions to model growth of Nellore cattle

The objective of this study was to estimate (co)variance components using random regression on B-spline functions to weight records obtained from birth to adulthood. A total of 82 064 weight records of 8145 females obtained from the data bank of the Nellore Breeding Program (PMGRN/Nellore Brazil) which started in 1987, were used. The models included direct additive and maternal genetic effects and animal and maternal permanent environmental effects as random. Contemporary group and dam age at calving (linear and quadratic effect) were included as fixed effects, and orthogonal Legendre polynomials of age (cubic regression) were considered as random covariate. The random effects were modeled using B-spline functions considering linear, quadratic and cubic polynomials for each individual segment. Residual variances were grouped in five age classes. Direct additive genetic and animal permanent environmental effects were modeled using up to seven knots (six segments). A single segment with two knots at the end points of the curve was used for the estimation of maternal genetic and maternal permanent environmental effects. A total of 15 models were studied, with the number of parameters ranging from 17 to 81. The models that used B-splines were compared with multi-trait analyses with nine weight traits and to a random regression model that used orthogonal Legendre polynomials. A model fitting quadratic B-splines, with four knots or three segments for direct additive genetic effect and animal permanent environmental effect and two knots for maternal additive genetic effect and maternal permanent environmental effect, was the most appropriate and parsimonious model to describe the covariance structure of the data. Selection for higher weight, such as at young ages, should be performed taking into account an increase in mature cow weight. Particularly, this is important in most of Nellore beef cattle production systems, where the cow herd is maintained on range conditions. There is limited modification of the growth curve of Nellore cattle with respect to the aim of selecting them for rapid growth at young ages while maintaining constant adult weight.

Random regression models using different functions to model test-day milk yield of Brazilian Holstein cows

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

Indícios sincrônicos de gramaticalização: o uso do verbo chegar em orações coordenadas e na perífrase verbal [chegar (e) + v2]: contribuições para o ensino de gramática.

Based on North American Functional Linguistic Theory, our proposal is to describe and analyze the use of verb CHEGAR in verbal periphrasis such as [CHEGAR (E) + V2], where CHEGAR does not demonstrate a significance linked to physical movement. In linguistic literature, such periphrasis has been attributed several functions, related to aspectualization, emphasis of negative segments, and construction of mental spaces, among others. This study considers that the function of verb CHEGAR in the periphrasis in question is to indicate a global aspect, emphasizing a range of semantic-pragmatic nuances such as the sudden, instantaneous, or even abrupt character of the events refered to by the principal verb of the construction (V2), and/or the taking of initiative (sudden) by the agent (in the syntactic role of periphrastic subject), and/or subjective evaluations which go from surprise to frustration. Our objectives are the following: i) to describe and analyze the semanticpragmatic, morphosyntactic and social relationships which characterize the use of CHEGAR in verbal periphrases like [CHEGAR (E) + V2] and in coordinated/juxtaposed speech in which CHEGAR is the principal verb of the first utterance and is an elocution verb and the principal verb of the second; ii) identify, based on this description and analysis, synchrony proof in the grammaticalization of CHEGAR as an auxiliary verb in the periphrasis refered to. There was observed to be a strong similarity between coordinate/juxtaposed and periphrastic constructions. Such similarities strengthen the hypothesis that the use of CHEGAR as a lexical verb in coordinate/juxtaposed structures is the origin of the use of CHEGAR in the periphrastic structure, since the many properties encountered with higher frequency in lexical use are also just as frequently used as auxiliaries. Nevertheless, between the two constructions being studied, sufficient difference can be observed to see that CHEGAR, in the periphrasis [CHEGAR (E) V2], is behaving like an auxiliary verb, and shows typical properties of these types of verbs: i) in 100% of occurrences, it does not have a complement;ii) it has a co-referential subject in 100% of cases; iii) it does not appear with intervening material between it and V2. Besides this, CHEGAR, in periphrases, is predominant in nonneutral evaluation contexts, denoted by V2. Inspired by the results obtained, we propose strategies for the discussion of the [CHEGAR (E) V2] periphrases in both elementary and high schools.

Linguagem e argumentação na produção escrita de vestibulandos

In this study, we analyzed the argumentative processes of written texts produced by UERN (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte) vestibulandos : (students who apply for University Entrance Examinations in Brazil). It has as its corpus twenty compositions by such students. These compositions, collected in UFRN COMPERVE (Permanent Commission of vestibular examinations) and written in 2005 examination, were selected in a random way. The theoretical support is based on Perelman & Olbrechts-Tyteca (1999; 2002), Reboul (2004), Bakhtin (1992), Faraco (2003), Platão e Fiorim (2003) e Geraldi (1997), and other scholars. The work aimed to investigate how vestibulandos make use of argumentative techniques in order to construct their arguments in the vestibular examination. In the analysis of the corpus we considered that the used argumentative techniques, the relationship with the thesis, the sense effects students wanted to produce and the type of the required speech. It showed that in the, discourse construction of argumentative texts, students made use, with more frequency, of the following argumentative techniques: pragmatic arguments, arguments of the definition, comparison arguments, division arguments, example arguments, argument of the model and authority arguments as means to support their theses. However it was not carried out in a conventional way, reason why it leads us to believe that schools, as part of human activity, responsible for education and for the insert of learners in the literate world, have a fundamental role concerning the offer of conditions, so that, the teaching of Portuguese Language leads students to a systematic and explicit preparation of the knowledge, regarding the social and functions of the language, as well as of the strategies of the construction of argumentative texts. This can lead learners to develop communicative competence and to feel more confident when working with text production

Chronic fluoxetine treatment alters cardiovascular functions in unanesthetized rats

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

Bloch-Kohn and Wannier-Kohn functions in one dimension

Bloch and Wannier functions of the Kohn type for a quite general one-dimensional Hamiltonian with inversion symmetry are studied. Important clarifications on null minigaps and the symmetry of those functions are given, with emphasis on the Kronig-Penney model. The lack of a general selection rule on the miniband index for optical transitions between edge states in semiconductor superlattices is discussed. A direct method for the calculation of Wannier-Kohn functions is presented.