
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In acute triangle $\triangle ABC$, the sides opposite angles $A$, $B$, and $C$ are denoted as $a$, $b$, and $c$, respectively. It is given that $\sin A= \frac {2 \sqrt {2}}{3}$,

(1) Find the value of $\tan^{2} \frac {B+C}{2}+\sin^{2} \frac {A}{2}$;  
(2) If $a=2$ and the area of $\triangle ABC= \sqrt {2}$, find the value of $b$.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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