871 research outputs found
Analysis of Yield Spreads on Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities
No full textYield spreads on commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) are defined as the difference between the yield on CMBS and the yield on comparable-maturity Treasuries. CMBS yield spreads declined dramatically from 1992 until 1997, then increased in 1998 and 1999. The relationship between CMBS yield spreads and other variables is estimated in an effort to explain recent trends. Results identify several variables that are related to yield spreads on both fixed-rate and variable-rate CMBS. However, even after controlling for other observable factors, the yield spread on CMBS still declined from 1992 until 1997, then increased each of the next two years. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are explored.
Perspective-taking accuracy on a conceptually complex problem
No full textPerspective taking is the process of constructing an understanding of other persons' ways of conceptualizing and responding to situations. It involves the effortfulemployment of strategies that enable individuals to visualize, understand, anticipate, or
predict the perceptions, thoughts, feelings, or actions of others. This is achieved when the observer attempts to create a mental model that corresponds to another's own mental model of situations. The present research was designed in the context of a model that views perspective taking as a process of constructing a representation that varies in difficulty according to (a) the degree of similarity between the perspective taker and the target person and (b) the degree of similarity between the perspective taker's own life situation and that of the person whose perspective is taken (target situation) (Cutting &Chinn, 2007).
The perspective-taking problem provided to participants (college students enrolled in an educational psychology course) is unlike most prior research on perspective taking. It required them to predict how a conceptually novel target person (a villager living in Los Molinos, Peru) responded to a dissimilar situation (introduction of water purification practices). Multiple source documents on this topic provided opportunities for participants to seek out information and adjust their mental models accordingly. In addition, a variety of prompts and scaffolds to promote strategy use were
examined for their influence on perspective-taking accuracy. Results from this study showed that brainstorming multiple predictions facilitated initial prediction accuracy and that new information in critical source documents enhanced final prediction accuracy.
However, cognitive biases, such as rationalizing anomalous information and confirmation bias, interfered with correcting inaccurate predictions.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (150-163)by Maris F. Cuttin
FLUORINE SUBSTITUTION IN NEUROTRANSMITTERS: MICROWAVE SPECTROSCOPY AND MODELLING OF THE CONFORMATIONAL SPACE AND NON BONDING INTERACTIONS
No full textAuthor Institution: Dipartimento di Chimica Ciamician, Universita di Bologna, via Selmi 2,40126 Bologna, ItalyFluorine substitution in molecules is a common practice in bio-organic chemistry in order to modulate physicochemical properties and biological activity of molecules and an increasing number of drugs on the market contain fluorine, the presence of which is often of major importance to modify pharmacokinetics properties and molecular activity. The rationale for such a strategy is that fluorine is generally a stronger electron acceptor than the other halogen atoms and its size is intermediate between that of hydrogen and oxygen. We have studied two fluorinated analogs of 2-phenylethylamine (PEA), the prototype molecule for adrenergic neurotransmitters, namely: 4-Fluoro (4FPEA) and 2-Fluoro-2-phenylethylamine (2FPEA) by Molecular Beam Fourier Transform Microwave Spectroscopy in the frequency range 6-18 GHz and \textit{ab initio} calculations at the MP2/6311++G** level. The aim is to obtain information on the spatial arrangement of the ethylamine side chain and the effects of fluorination on the energy landscape. The conformational space is dominated by low energy \textit{gauche} conformations stabilized by weak interactions between the aminic hydrogens and the electron cloud of the benzene ring and \textit{anti} conformations higher in energy. In 2FPEA the presence of the fluorine atom almost duplicate the number of possible conformation with respect to 4FPEA. We observed two conformers of 4FPEA and five conformers of 2FPEA which have been classified with the guide provided by accurate \textit{ab initio} calculations. The identification of the conformational species was helped by the analysis of the quadrupole hyperfine pattern which is greatly influenced by the orientation of the amino group and acts as a fingerprint for each conformation. The orientation of the dipole moment within the principal axis frame and the order of stability of the different conformations are other independent pieces of evidence for the unambiguous assignment and identification of the conformers. The order of stability was found to be altered in both molecules with respect to the prototype PEA molecule, especially in the case of 2FPEA where we observe a stabilization of some of the \textit{anti} forms and great destabilization of some of the \textit{gauche} forms. These observations are in agreement with the results of the theoretical calculation and can be rationalized in terms of the effect of the fluorine atom on the electron density of the molecule and in particular on the electron cloud on the benzene ring
Cardinal Cos, bishop Pedro Segura Sáenz and the sculptor Ramón Núñez: the "Stella Maris" of Comillas
No full textCoinciden tres personalidades en torno a la obra de la “Stella Maris” en Comillas. El escultor Ramón Núñez es autor de la estatua “Stella Maris” que culmina la fachada marítima de la iglesia del Seminario Pontificio de Comillas (Cantabria), bendecida cuando ese centro cumplía su XXV aniversario. Fue circunstancia decisiva el cardenal Cos que consagra como Obispo de Apolonia a Pedro Segura Sáenz, primer alumno de aquel seminario que alcanzó la mitra. Los tres coincidieron en Valladolid desde 1912.The sculptor Ramón Núñez is the author of the statue "Stella Maris", on the top of the seaside façade of the church of the Pontifical Seminary of Comillas (Cantabria), which was consecrated at the time of the XXV anniversary of this institution. On the same occasion, Cardinal Cos appointed Pedro Segura Sáenz as Apollonia's Bishop was the first student of Cardinal Cos to receive episcopal consecration.peerReviewe
The Impact of Tourism on Curacao's Economy: A Scenario Approach
No full textCuraçao is an autonomous countrywithin the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The governmentwants to support tourism development. However,various development strategies are possible. This articlepresents four scenarios of marketing and investmentstrategies that will affect the number of tourists fromThe Netherlands and North America (USA and Canada)in different ways. A multiplier model was used to calculatethe economic impacts of the four scenarios. Bydoing so, this article shows how the government’s decisionto support particular marketing and investmentstrategies may have certain outcomes for the number ofjobs in Curaçao’s tourism industry
Importância de estratégias de leitura para a construção do letramento literário em sala de aula
No full textA leitura e o letramento literário são modalidades de ensino trabalhadas em sala de aula desde as séries iniciais até as séries finais, porém o letramento literário e a leitura devem fazer parte do decorrer da vida de um ser humano, por serem modalidades que exigem, enriquecem e aproximam o indivíduo das práticas sociais. Para que ocorra uma interação eficaz do indivíduo com as práticas de leitura e o letramento literário, é de suma importância que a família, a sociedade, e como fator primordial, a escola realize um trabalho de estratégias para que o educando, não só saiba codificar sinais, mas sim que se aproprie da linguagem e saiba compreender e utilizá-la no seu dia-a-dia. Com base nos principais autores, Magda Soares, Rildo Cosson, Maria Helena Zancan Frantz, dentre outros, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa com o objetivo de estudar a importância das estratégias de leitura e do letramento literário desenvolvido pelos professores em sala de aula. A metodologia utilizada é uma pesquisa qualitativa com base nas teorias de Antonio Carlos Gil e Stella Maris Bortoni-Ricardo. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com os professores do 1º ao 5º ano e com a professora bibliotecária. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que existem diversas práticas e estratégias utilizadas pelos professores, porém ainda surgem alguns gêneros literários que não são lembrados com frequência, mas não deixam de ser importantes para a formação do educando. _________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTReading and literary literacy are teaching modalities worked in the classroom from the initial to the final series, but the literary literacy and reading should be part of the course of life of a human being, being arrangements that require, enrich and near the individual social practices. To occur effective interaction of the individual with the reading practices and literary literacy, is of paramount importance that the family, the society and as a primary factor in the school conduct a study of strategies for the student not only to know code signals, but that appropriates the language and learn to understand and use it in their day-to-day. Based on the principal author, Magda Soares, Rildo Cosson, Maria Helena Zancan Frantz, among others, was a research with the aim of studying the importance of reading strategies and literary literacy developed by teachers in the classroom. The methodology is a qualitative research based on the theories of Antonio Carlos Gil and Stella Maris Bortoni-Ricardo, which were conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers from 1st to 5th grade and the teacher librarian. The results show that there are various practices and strategies used by teachers, but there are even some literary genres that are not remembered often, but are nonetheless important to the formation of the student
The practice of adaptation : turning fact and fiction into theatre
No full textAdaptation of novels and other source texts into theatre has proven to be a recurring and popular form of writing through the ages. This study argues that as the theoretical discourse has moved on from outmoded notions of fidelity to original sources, the practice of adaptation is a method of re-invigorating theatre forms and inventing new ones. This practice-led research employed a tripartite methodology comprised of the writing of two play adaptations, participation by the author/researcher in their productions, and exegetical components focused on the development and deployment of analytical tools. These tools were derived from theoretical literature and a creative practice based on acquired professional artistry "learnt by doing" over a longstanding professional career as actor, director and writer.\ud
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A suite of analytical tools was developed through the three phases of the first project, the adaptation of Nick Earls’ novel Perfect Skin. The tools draw on Cardwell’s "comparative analysis", which encompasses close consideration of generic context, authorial context and medium-specific context; and on Stam’s "mechanics of narrative": order, duration, frequency, the narrator and point of view. A third analytical lens was developed from an awareness of the significance of the commissioning brief and ethical considerations and obligations to the source text and its author and audience.\ud
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The tripartite methodology provided an adaptation template that was applied to the writing and production of the second play Red Cap, which used factual and anecdotal sources. The second play’s exegesis (Chapter 10) analyses the effectiveness of the suite of analytical tools and the reception of the production in order to conclude the study with a workable model for use in the practice of adapting existing texts, both factual and fictional, for the theatre
Starting Up a Data Model for Exoplanetary Data
No full textThe effort for searching, studying and characterizing extrasolar planets and planetary systems is a growing and improving field of astrophysical research. Alongside the growing knowledge on the field, the data resources are also growing, both from observations and numerical simulations. To tackle interoperability of these data, an effort is starting (under the EU H2020 ASTERICS project) to delineate a data model to allow a common sharing of the datasets and collections of exoplanetary data. The data model will pick up model components from the IVOA specifications, either existing or under investigation, and attach new ones where needed. Here are presented the first results in drafting the exoplanetary systems dedicated data model. Relationships are reported with existing and proposed IVOA models; new key components not yet available in the interoperable scenario are shown. The results here reported cover a first set of requirements and considerations and take into account aspects like the observations of exoplanetary systems, the usage of existing exoplanets catalogues, the investigation of atmospheres of confirmed exoplanets and the simulation of exoplanet's atmospheres devoted to characterize exoplanets habitability. ..
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