Internet Filters: A Public Policy Report (Second edition; fully revised and updated)

No sooner was the Internet upon us than anxiety arose over the ease of accessing pornography and other controversial content. In response, entrepreneurs soon developed filtering products. By the end of the decade, a new industry had emerged to create and market Internet filters....Yet filters were highly imprecise from the beginning. The sheer size of the Internet meant that identifying potentially offensive content had to be done mechanically, by matching "key" words and phrases; hence, the blocking of Web sites for "Middlesex County," or words such as "magna cum laude". Internet filters are crude and error-prone because they categorize expression without regard to its context, meaning, and value. Yet these sweeping censorship tools are now widely used in companies, homes, schools, and libraries. Internet filters remain a pressing public policy issue to all those concerned about free expression, education, culture, and democracy. This fully revised and updated report surveys tests and studies of Internet filtering products from the mid-1990s through 2006. It provides an essential resource for the ongoing debate

Maximum Matching Sans Maximal Matching: A New Approach for Finding Maximum Matchings in the Data Stream Model

The problem of finding a maximum size matching in a graph (known as the maximum matching problem) is one of the most classical problems in computer science. Despite a significant body of work dedicated to the study of this problem in the data stream model, the state-of-the-art single-pass semi-streaming algorithm for it is still a simple greedy algorithm that computes a maximal matching, and this way obtains 1/2-approximation. Some previous works described two/three-pass algorithms that improve over this approximation ratio by using their second and third passes to improve the above mentioned maximal matching. One contribution of this paper continues this line of work by presenting new three-pass semi-streaming algorithms that work along these lines and obtain improved approximation ratios of 0.6111 and 0.5694 for triangle-free and general graphs, respectively. Unfortunately, a recent work [Christian Konrad and Kheeran K. Naidu, 2021] shows that the strategy of constructing a maximal matching in the first pass and then improving it in further passes has limitations. Additionally, this technique is unlikely to get us closer to single-pass semi-streaming algorithms obtaining a better than 1/2-approximation. Therefore, it is interesting to come up with algorithms that do something else with their first pass (we term such algorithms non-maximal-matching-first algorithms). No such algorithms are currently known (to the best of our knowledge), and the main contribution of this paper is describing such algorithms that obtain approximation ratios of 0.5384 and 0.5555 in two and three passes, respectively, for general graphs (the result for three passes improves over the previous state-of-the-art, but is worse than the result of this paper mentioned in the previous paragraph for general graphs). The improvements obtained by these results are, unfortunately, numerically not very impressive, but the main importance (in our opinion) of these results is in demonstrating the potential of non-maximal-matching-first algorithms

On the Role of Finance in Sraffa’s System

We critically review the previous attempts to introduce money and finance into Sraffa’s price system, whose main difference is, we argue, their conception of the interest rate, either as an opportunity cost or as an effective cost of production. We examine the implications on three different grounds: (i) the formal consistency of the system; (ii) the possibilities to explicitly treat the financial industry as any other productive sector; and (iii) the validity of the so-called “monetary theory of distribution” (MTD). We then suggest a possible route, inspired by Schumpeter’s ideas on economic development, to introduce the banking sector through its role of granting credit to innovation. Unlike previous contributions, this reformulation allows us both to justify the basic nature of the financial sector and simultaneously preserve the validity of MTD.Fil: Dvoskin, Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Feldman, Germán David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentin

A critic about the representative institutions during the Regency period (1832-1840)

This article analyses what Miguel do Sacramento Lopes Gama wrotte in O Carapuceiro (1832-1840), one of the most important newspapers in Pernambuco during the Regency period. Mixing criticism of habits with political propositions, Lopes Gama, who used in a peculiar way the concepts formulated by the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, spread the idea that Brazilians were not able to be ruled by democratic institutions. These ideas were not only widely publicized, but also had a key role in sustaining the conservative political reforms that took place from 1837 on.Este artigo analisa os escritos de Miguel do Sacramento Lopes Gama em O Carapuceiro (1832-1842), um dos periódicos mais lidos em Pernambuco durante as regências. Mesclando crítica de costumes com proposições políticas, Lopes Gama apropriou-se de maneira peculiar dos conceitos formulados pelo francês Alexis de Tocqueville e veiculou a idéia de que os brasileiros não eram aptos para serem regidos por instituições democrático-representativas. Trata-se, pois, de um ideário que teve ampla circulação nos espaços públicos e que sustentou as reformas políticas conservadoras que se sucederam a partir de 1837

“In the arena of periodicals writers gladiators”: the Capmaker Priest and the political argumentation in Pernambuco (1831-1833)

The objective of the present work is analyses the writing of Miguel do Sacramento Lopes Gama in the two first publication years of thenewspaper O Carapuceiro, between 1832 and 1833, inserting thatperiodical in the political discussion that was ocurring in Pernambucoafter the Emperor renunciation at april, 7th, 1831. We want to analyze the political formulations of these newspaper, and propose that the emphasis in constitute “um periódico sempre moral” (an always moral paper) was essential for the affirmation of Lopes Gama, and his ideas, in the political scene of Pernambuco province.O objetivo do presente artigo é analisar os escritos de Miguel doSacramento Lopes Gama nos dois primeiros anos de publicação doperiódico O Carapuceiro, ou seja, 1832 e 1833, inserindo tal jornal no âmbito da discussão política que se acirrou em Pernambuco, após a abdicação do Imperador, em 7 de abril de 1831. Pretendemos aqui analisar as formulações políticas desse jornal, sugerindo que a ênfase em constituir “um periódico sempre moral” foi essencial para que Lopes Gama, bem como para que suas proposições, se afirmassem no cenário político provincial

O império das carapuças : espaço público e periodismo político no tempo das regências (1832-1842)

Orientador: Luiz Geraldo SilvaDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Humanas, Letras e Artes, Programa de Pós-Graduação em História. Defesa: Curitiba, 2006Inclui bibliografi

O IMAGINÁRIO SOCIAL DE DEMOCRACIA NO PROCESSO DE MUNICIPALIZAÇÃO DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL NO BRASIL (1985-1990)

Analisa-se o imaginário social de democracia da segunda metade da década de 1980, examinando de que forma ele influenciou a municipalização do Ensino Fundamental no Brasil. Objetiva-se, ainda, verificar como o municipalismo educacional em questão ajudou a construir o ideário segundo o qual instituições políticas localizadas contribuiriam para o aperfeiçoamento da democratização da sociedade. Foram analisados os debates veiculados nas instituições estruturantes da esfera pública, imprensa e parlamento. Concluiu-se que o imaginário de democracia que sustentou o municipalismo educacional durante a abertura política tinha grande capilaridade social, tendo sido decisivo para lançar as bases constitucionais de um amplo processo de reforma que só iria ser consolidado na década de 1990.

Estructura productiva, distribución y crecimiento en América Latina.: Una revisión crítica de dos enfoques heterodoxos recientes.

In this paper we develop a theoretical framework to critically examine two recent approaches, whose main conclusions and policy prescriptions for Latin American countries heavily depend on the prevailing productive structure of the economy: the New-Structuralism and the New-Developmentalism. We argue that: a) although each view assumes a different pattern of specialization, both consider that the prevailing technical conditions are a purely technical datum of the economy, which cannot be modified by changes in the conditions that regulate income distribution; b) the growth regimes adopted by each of these positions are valid only under very restrictive conditions, and are therefore inadequate to explore the challenges of development faced by Latin American peripheral economies. As a result, we warn about the potential risks of employing exchange rate policy –the key instrument under both views- as a fundamental tool for promoting growth.El presente trabajo desarrolla un marco analítico para examinar críticamente dos enfoques teóricos recientes, cuyas conclusiones y prescripciones de política económica para los países latinoamericanos dependen de manera sustancial del tipo de configuración productiva vigente: el neo-estructuralismo y el neo-desarrollismo. Se argumenta que: a) Si bien cada visión asume un patrón de especialización diferente, ambas parten de considerar que las condiciones técnicas vigentes constituyen un dato puramente técnico de las economías bajo análisis, que no es susceptible de ser modificado por cambios en las condiciones que regulan la distribución del ingreso; b) Los regímenes de crecimiento adoptados por estas posiciones son válidos únicamente bajo condiciones muy restrictivas, resultando en general inadecuados a la hora de explorar la problemática del desarrollo en las economías periféricas latinoamericanas. En vista de ello, se advierten los potenciales riesgos de utilizar la política cambiaria –instrumento clave de ambos enfoques- como herramienta fundamental para impulsar el desarrollo

Os professores temporários nas redes municipais do estado do Pará (2011-2020)

This article analyses the presence of temporary teachers in the public municipal educational systems in the state of Pará between 2011 and 2020. This exploratory research, based on data collected through documental analysis, employs quantitative research methods. The data was analyzed based on five variables: population size, per capita GPD, educational systems funding capacity, percentage of enrollment in rural schools, and ratio of municipal level teaching positions in relation to total jobs in the municipality. Our findings indicate a generalized disregard of legislation, which remain stable between 2011 and 2020, as well as significant disparities between municipalities in terms of temporary teacher’s presence in educational systems.Se analiza la presencia de maestros con contratos provisionales en los sistemas escolares públicos municipales del estado de Pará entre 2011 y 2020. Investigación con enfoque cuantitativo de carácter exploratorio, que utilizó como procedimiento de recolección de datos el análisis documental. Los datos fueron analizados a partir de cinco variables: tamaño poblacional de los municipios, PIB per cápita, capacidad de financiamiento de los sistemas, porcentaje de matrículas en escuelas rurales y la relación entre el número de docentes de los sistemas y asalariados en los municipios.  Se verificó un cuadro generalizado de incumplimiento de la legislación, que se mantuvo estable entre 2011 y 2020, así como un escenario heterogéneo, con las municipalidades presentando una enorme diversidad a respecto de la presencia de maestros con contratos provisionales en sus sistemas.Analisa-se a presença dos professores temporários nas redes públicas municipais do estado do Pará entre 2011 e 2020. Pesquisa em abordagem quantitativa de natureza exploratória, tendo como procedimento de coleta de dados analise documental. Os dados foram analisados a partir de cinco variáveis: porte populacional dos municípios, PIB per capita, capacidade de financiamento das redes, percentual de matrículas em escolas rurais e a relação entre o número de docentes das redes e assalariados nos municípios. Constatou-se um quadro generalizado de descumprimento da legislação que se manteve estável entre 2011 e 2020, bem como um cenário heterogêneo, com os municípios apresentando enorme diversidade no que diz respeito a presença dos temporários em suas redes

Política monetaria en un contexto de objetivos múltiples: el caso argentino

El presente trabajo intenta dar cuenta del funcionamiento de una economía de tamaño medio como la argentina en un contexto donde la autoridad monetaria posee múltiples objetivos. En particular, se demuestra que, bajo ciertas condiciones, un esquema de tipo de cambio fijo y estabilidad de precios domésticos es perfectamente consistente con la plena movilidad de los flujos internacionales de capital, superando así las restricciones impuestas por el “trilema monetario”. A tal fin, resulta fundamental la intervención directa del gobierno en el mercado cambiario con los recursos provistos por el superávit fiscal. Gracias a la misma, se alivia la presión que imponen en el mercado de bonos local (y por ende sobre la tasa de interés interna) los mecanismos tradicionales de esterilización monetaria que dispone el Banco Central. En este sentido, las retenciones a las exportaciones juegan un doble rol: por un lado, representan una herramienta antiinflacionaria directa, ya que permiten contener la evolución del componente transable del índice de precios. Por el otro, los impuestos al comercio exterior alimentan los recursos excedentes que maneja el Estado y por ende, otorgan mayores grados de libertad para sostener el valor de la divisa sin necesidad de generar emisión monetaria como contrapartida.Facultad de Ciencias Económica