Religion, social movements, and zone of crisis in Latin America

This repository item contains a single issue of Issues in Brief, a series of policy briefs that began publishing in 2008 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.Based on the outcomes of a three-year project led by Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA), this Issues in Brief explores the connections between religion and social movements in Latin America, especially in areas where efforts have been made to expand citizens’ rights and institute reforms to improve social justice. The authors use examples presented by collaborating scholars at the project’s conferences to show how religion is, in fact, an intrinsic part of everyday life and has played an important role in both revolutions and evolutions toward democracy in the region. They argue that any assessment of where Latin America has been and where it is headed must understand and consider “the multiple roles played by religion as citizens fight for new rights and reshape democratic politics.

Parameterized Model Checking of Token-Passing Systems

We revisit the parameterized model checking problem for token-passing systems and specifications in indexed $\textsf{CTL}^\ast \backslash \textsf{X}$. Emerson and Namjoshi (1995, 2003) have shown that parameterized model checking of indexed $\textsf{CTL}^\ast \backslash \textsf{X}$ in uni-directional token rings can be reduced to checking rings up to some \emph{cutoff} size. Clarke et al. (2004) have shown a similar result for general topologies and indexed $\textsf{LTL} \backslash \textsf{X}$, provided processes cannot choose the directions for sending or receiving the token. We unify and substantially extend these results by systematically exploring fragments of indexed $\textsf{CTL}^\ast \backslash \textsf{X}$ with respect to general topologies. For each fragment we establish whether a cutoff exists, and for some concrete topologies, such as rings, cliques and stars, we infer small cutoffs. Finally, we show that the problem becomes undecidable, and thus no cutoffs exist, if processes are allowed to choose the directions in which they send or from which they receive the token.Comment: We had to remove an appendix until the proofs and notations there is cleare

The genetic basis of mutualism in Pseudomyrmex plant-ants

Dissertação de mestrado em Geociências, apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra.O presente estudo aborda a área temática dos riscos naturais, numa perspectiva concelhia, nomeadamente com a avaliação da susceptibilidade natural e da vulnerabilidade, na qual será identificado os elementos estruturais e sociais com maior grau de exposição. Situado na placa Africana, mais concretamente na região intraplaca, o Arquipélago da Madeira, formado no Miocénico, é de origem vulcânica e assenta em pleno domínio oceânico. A área em estudo, o concelho de Câmara de Lobos, situa-se na zona centro-ocidental da ilha da Madeira, a Oeste do Funchal. É um dos mais importantes da região, com uma área de 52,6 km2 e uma densidade populacional de 668,9 hab/km2. Desde a colonização da ilha, no início do século XV, que estão relatados inúmeros acontecimentos catastróficos naturais e em particular na área geográfica em estudo, causando inúmeras vítimas e avultados prejuízos materiais. Neste âmbito e de modo a proceder uma avaliação da susceptibilidade natural concelhia, foi efectuado um levantamento histórico dos fenómenos que causaram danos materiais e humanos, utilizando inúmeras referências bibliográficas, e precedido de uma análise as características do meio físico envolvente. Posteriormente e em conjugação com o anteriormente descrito, foi efectivada uma análise à vulnerabilidade social e infra-estrutural, por freguesia, aos riscos naturais. Numa primeira fase, foram seleccionados grupos sociais que, devido a inúmeros factores, são os mais indicativos das características da população que poderá ser afectada. Das variáveis seleccionadas, foi produzida uma estimativa da vulnerabilidade social. Na avaliação da vulnerabilidade infra-estrutural, foi utilizada a mesma metodologia para o parque habitacional concelhio, com a selecção de critérios estruturais, de forma a estimar a vulnerabilidade da habitação e consequentemente, a imposição de um risco acrescido dos seus habitantes; auxiliará também na validação do edificado como um elemento vulnerável, quando exposto a uma adversidade. A sobreposição das variáveis supramencionadas, determinou uma delimitação geográfica das áreas mais susceptíveis, tendo sido complementada com um levantamento dos elementos mais expostos aos eventos destrutivos naturais. Conclusivamente, a avaliação de risco efectuada permitiu a introdução de uma nova estratégia de pré-actuação aos fenómenos de elevada perigosidade, capaz de atenuar perdas e danos socioeconómicos, a nível concelhio. Este exercício terá como objectivo primordial o auxílio e optimização das políticas de gestão do território, no âmbito dos planos municipais de emergência e de ordenamento do território.This present study approaches, the thematic field of natural hazards in a local perspective, namely with the evaluation of the natural susceptibility and vulnerability, in which will be identified the structural and social elements exposed to natural disasters. Of volcanic origin and situated in the intraplate region of the African plate, the Madeira Archipelago was formed during the Miocenic and seats in full oceanic domain. The study area, the Câmara de Lobos county, is located in the center-western point of Madeira island, west of Funchal. With an area of 52,6 km2 and 668,9 hab/km2, this municipality, is one of the most important of the region. Since the settlement of the island, in the early 15th century, several destructive events were reported in different areas of Câmara de Lobos, causing several victims and great material damages. In order to proceed this current assessment, the county natural susceptibility, a survey of all natural phenomena that caused great material damage and human casualties was made, using historical references, preceded by an physical analysis of the county in study. Subsequently and in conjunction with the previously described, it was made an analysis of the social and infraestrutural vulnerability, at a parish scale, to natural hazards. Initially, were selected social groups that, due to countless factors, are the most indicative of the characteristics of the population that could be affected. From the variables selected, it was produced an estimate of the social vulnerability. In assessing the infraestrutural vulnerability, the same methodology was used for housing, with the selection of structural criteria, in order to produce an estimation of the vulnerability of the county housing and consequently, the imposition of an added risk for their inhabitants; it will also assist in the validation of the built as an vulnerable element, when exposed to an natural catastrophe. The overlap of the variables mentioned above, determined a geographical delimitation of the most susceptible areas, having been complemented with a survey of the most exposed elements to a destructive natural event. In conclusion, the risk evaluation made it possible the introduction of a new pre-action strategy to the higher risk phenomena, capable to mitigate losses and socioeconomic damages, at a county level. This exercise has as primordial objective, the aid and optimization of the land administration policies, within the municipal emergency plans and land management

EPTCS

First cycle games (FCG) are played on a finite graph by two players who push a token along the edges until a vertex is repeated, and a simple cycle is formed. The winner is determined by some fixed property Y of the sequence of labels of the edges (or nodes) forming this cycle. These games are traditionally of interest because of their connection with infinite-duration games such as parity and mean-payoff games. We study the memory requirements for winning strategies of FCGs and certain associated infinite duration games. We exhibit a simple FCG that is not memoryless determined (this corrects a mistake in Memoryless determinacy of parity and mean payoff games: a simple proof by Bj⋯orklund, Sandberg, Vorobyov (2004) that claims that FCGs for which Y is closed under cyclic permutations are memoryless determined). We show that θ (n)! memory (where n is the number of nodes in the graph), which is always sufficient, may be necessary to win some FCGs. On the other hand, we identify easy to check conditions on Y (i.e., Y is closed under cyclic permutations, and both Y and its complement are closed under concatenation) that are sufficient to ensure that the corresponding FCGs and their associated infinite duration games are memoryless determined. We demonstrate that many games considered in the literature, such as mean-payoff, parity, energy, etc., satisfy these conditions. On the complexity side, we show (for efficiently computable Y) that while solving FCGs is in PSPACE, solving some families of FCGs is PSPACE-hard

Barriers and Facilitators to Use of a Clinical Evidence Technology for Management of Skin Problems in Primary Care: Insights from Mixed Methods

Background: A previous cluster-randomized controlled trial tested the effectiveness of a clinical evidence technology (CET), VisualDx, for skin problems seen by Primary Care Providers (PCPs). Based on patient report, there was no effect on time to problem resolution or return appointments. Objective: To explain, from the provider perspective, why the CET did not make a difference in the clinical trial and to identify barriers and facilitators to use. Methods: Mixed methods study design. Providers from both arms completed a survey about their use of VisualDx and information-seeking during and after the trial. Active arm providers participated in interviews to explore their opinions and experiences using VisualDx. Behavioral steps of the evidence-based medicine (EBM) paradigm informed the 6 step model. Results: PCPs found VisualDx easy to use (median 3 on a 1-4 scale), but found it only somewhat useful (median 2 on a 1-4 scale). PCPs with fewer years in practice used it more often and found it easier to use. Interviews identified facilitators and barriers to using VisualDx. Facilitators included diagnostic uncertainty, positive attitude, easy access, utility for diagnosis and therapy decisions, and utility for patient communication. Barriers included confidence in dermatology, preference for other sources, interface difficulty, and retrieval of irrelevant diagnoses and images. Some PCPs reported positive impacts on patient treatment and fewer referrals; others saw no difference. PCPs found VisualDx easy to access, but some found the interface difficult to use. They found it useful and relevant at times, but also frustrating and time-consuming. They used other sources in addition to, or instead of, VisualDx. Conclusion: PCPs did not perceive VisualDx as “useful” often enough for them to use it frequently or exclusively, thereby reducing the likelihood of its making a difference in patient-level outcomes such as problem resolution and return appointments