Post-Keynesian Theory of Business Enterprise and the Veblenian´s Approach: Are there commonalities?

The main objective of this paper is to explore the possible common grounds, divergences and complementarities between the Veblenian’s approach on the Theory of Business Enterprise followed by Institutional economists, and the modern Post Keynesian Micro theory on Business enterprise. Due to the dispersion and lack of systematization of Institutional Economics regarding this body of theory, compared with the Post-Keynesian theory of the firm, the main efforts of this paper will be dedicated to a short survey of the Institutional approach. In the second section of the paper I review the basic ideas presented in Veblen’s main contributions on this area regarding business enterprises (industrial process, main principles, role of credit, ownership structure, the legal framework, the price behavior and the cultural incidences). Then, I make a comparison with the main theoretical results that modern postkeynesian vision has developed regarding structure of production, costing, pricing, investment, and competition and market governance . I claim that even though there are commonalities and some minor divergences between the two approaches, complementarities among them are more relevant, although the main areas of research have been somewhat different. I end with some conclusions that underline possible areas of cooperation between these two schools of economic thought within the heterodox paradigm.Theory of the Firm, Postkeynesian Economics, Institutional Economics.

Numerically efficient algorithm for model development of high-order systems

A technique for estimating transfer functions in partial fraction expansion form from frequency response data for a high-order system is presented. The problem formulation avoids many of the numerical difficulties associated with high-order polynomials and has the advantage of having the option to fix the camping and frequency of a mode, if known, during the estimation process. The resulting transfer function(s) may be converted to Jordan-Form time domain equations directly. During the implementation of this technique, a frequency and amplitude normalizing window was developed that maximized the efficiency of the optimization algorithm. The combination of estimating the transfer function in factored form, the ability to fix preciously determined parameters and the effectiveness of the normalizing window led to a progressive approach to synthesizing transfer functions from frequency response data for high-order systems

Analysis and critical assessment of the current and near future plans of the Brazilian satellite applications program and its role in the global space program

Brazilian programs using satellites for remote sensing, meteorology and communications are analyzed including their current status and near future plans. The experience gained and available information are used to critically discuss some aspects of great importance for the existing and prospective user countries

A new meta-module for efficient reconfiguration of hinged-units modular robots

We present a robust and compact meta-module for edge-hinged modular robot units such as M-TRAN, SuperBot, SMORES, UBot, PolyBot and CKBot, as well as for central-point-hinged ones such as Molecubes and Roombots. Thanks to the rotational degrees of freedom of these units, the novel meta-module is able to expand and contract, as to double/halve its length in each dimension. Moreover, for a large class of edge-hinged robots the proposed meta-module also performs the scrunch/relax and transfer operations required by any tunneling-based reconfiguration strategy, such as those designed for Crystalline and Telecube robots. These results make it possible to apply efficient geometric reconfiguration algorithms to this type of robots. We prove the size of this new meta-module to be optimal. Its robustness and performance substantially improve over previous results.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Multiseasonal and geobotanical approach in remote detection of greisenization areas in the Serra da Pedra Branca Granite, Goias State, Brazil

Multiseasonal analysis of LANDSAT multispectral images in CCT format permitted the mapping of lithologic facies in the Pedra Branca Granite, using geobotanical associations, which occur in the form of variations in the density of cerrado vegetation, as well as the predominance of certain distinctive vegetation species. Dry season images did not show very good results in lithological differentiation due to anomalous illumination conditions related to the low solar elevation and the homogeneity in the vegetation cover, specially the grasses that become dry during this season. Rainy season image, on the other hand, allowed the separation of the lithological types, a fact that can be attributed to a greater differentiation among the geobotanical associations. As a result of this study, the muscovite-granite facies with greisenization zones, which are lithological indicators of important tin mineralization within the Serra da Pedra Branca Granite, were mapped. This methodology can be sucessfully applied to similar known granite bodies elsewhere in the Tin Province of Goias