Organized Crime in Brazilian Prisons: The Example of the PCC

This paper analyses the context of the mass incarceration experienced by Brazil in the last two decades. Alongside other factors, such as the deterioration of the living conditions of the inmates and the shortcomings in the prison management, this favored the emergence and operation of the self-named group Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) (First Command of the Capital), within the prison system of the state of São Paulo. It outlines the stages that resulted in the expansion of the PCC, from its creation to the consolidation of its rule over the incarcerated population and analyzes the form acquired by the use of violence by part of this group. Besides the use of official documents, the ethnographic method and interviews with staff and inmates were used. Among the major findings of the research, there is the constitution of the PCC as a centralized instance of mediation and conflict resolution within the prison, a phenomenon that produced a significant reduction in physical violence among prisoners

Prediction of uncertainty events using human-computer interaction

The practice of medicine is characterized by complex situations that evoke uncertainty. Uncertainty has implications for the quality and costs of health care, thus emphasizing the importance of identifying its the main causes. Uncertainty can be manifested through human behaviour. Accordingly, in this dissertation, a machine learning model that detects events of uncertainty based on mouse cursor movements was created. To do so, 79 participants answered an online survey while the mouse data was being tracked. This data was used to extract meaningful features that allowed model testing and training after a feature selection stage. With the implementation of a Logistic Regression, and applying a k-fold cross-validation method, the model achieved an estimated performance of 81%. It was found that, during moments of uncertainty, the number of horizontal direction inversions increases and the mouse cursor travels higher distances. Moreover, items that evoke uncertainty are associated to longer interaction times and a higher number of visits. Subsequently, the model was applied to a medical decision making task performed by 8 physicians, in order to understand whether it might be applied in different contexts or not. The results were consistent with the task design. To better understand the nature of uncertainty, its relationship with personality was explored. Regarding the clinical task, it was found a slight tendency of uncertainty to increase with Neuroticism. In the future, the created model may be used to help physicians understand their main difficulties

GESTÃO DE PROJETOS DE EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA: UMA EXPERIÊNCIA NO CURSO DE LICENCIATURA EM DANÇA DA UFMG

O presente artigo descreve o projeto de extensão universitária Leve Arte, realizado pelo curso de Licenciatura em Dança da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. O projeto parte da identificação de uma demanda de interação da área de conhecimento a qual os alunos representam - a Dança – com a universidade e para além dela. Para isso, o Leve Arte promove anualmente atividades gratuitas de cunho artístico e científico para toda a comunidade, proporcionando uma formação complementar crítica e continuada, necessária tanto para os discentes como para a comunidade acadêmica e externa à universidade. Este trabalho apresenta a experiência do Leve Arte, que se mostra inovadora como forma de gestão de projetos universitários, uma vez que é gerenciado em todas as suas etapas pelos discentes do curso. Para desenvolvimento deste estudo, utilizou-se a pesquisa descritiva e a investigação dos dados coletados em registros oficiais do projeto e de depoimentos de discentes e docentes participantes. Esse material comprovou a formação diferenciada dos alunos participantes do Leve Arte, tomados como protagonistas desse processo

Self-governing prisons: prison gangs in an international perspective

This paper finds qualified support for the use of Skarbek’s (2011, 2014) governance theory to understand the emergence of prison gang-like groups in Kyrgyzstan, Northern Ireland and Brazil. However, Skarbek’s (2011, 2014) governance theory has little to say about how many prison gangs emerge and how they organise comparatively outside the US context. This paper argues that variation in the number of gangs and their monopolization of informal governance can only be explained by considering importation and deprivation theories alongside governance theories. These theories factor in variation in prison environments and pre-existing societal divisions imported into prison, which affect the costs on information transmission and incentives for gang expansion. In particular, the paper pays attention to the wider role social and political processes play in influencing whether monopoly power by prison gangs is supported and legitimized or not

Is it possible to “find space for mental health” in young people? effectiveness of a school-based mental health literacy promotion program

Lack of knowledge regarding, and the stigma associated with, mental disorders have been identified as major obstacles for the promotion of mental health and early intervention. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention program focused on the promotion of mental health literacy (MHL) in young people (“Finding Space for Mental Health”). A sample of 543 students (22 classes), aged between 12 and 14 years old, participated in the study. Each class of students was randomly assigned to the control group (CG; n = 284; 11 classes) or the experimental group (EG; n = 259; 11 classes). MHL was assessed using the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq), which is comprised of three dimensions—Knowledge/Stereotypes, First Aid Skills and Help Seeking, and Self-Help Strategies. The scores on these dimensions can also be combined to give an overall or total score. Participants from the EG attended the MHL promotion program (two sessions, 90 min each) delivered at one-week intervals. Sessions followed an interactive methodology, using group dynamics, music, and videos adapted to the target group. All participants responded to the MHLq at three points in time: pre-intervention assessment (one week prior to the intervention), post-intervention assessment (one week after the intervention) and follow-up assessment (six months after the intervention). The intervention effectiveness and the differential impact of sociodemographic variables on the effectiveness of the program were studied using a Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE). Results revealed that participants from the EG demonstrated, on average, significantly higher improvement in MHL from pre-intervention to follow-up when compared to participants from the CG. Different sociodemographic variables affected the effectiveness of the program on distinct dimensions of the MHLq. Overall, “Finding Space for Mental Health” showed efficacy as a short-term promotion program for improving MHL in schools.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A produção da Disciplina pelo encarceramento

The expansion of the PCC in the São Paulo prison system produced a series of transformations that constituted a new social figure in prison, through a more complex network of interdependence and with a greater level of integration between the individuals that make up this social web. The interdependence network forged from the expansion of the PCC, in addition to the prison population, includes other people and social groups, such as family members of prisoners, individuals belonging to the “world of crime” and are outside prison, the population of the neighborhoods where there are strong presence of the Command and, finally, sectors of public power, such as prison administration. The change that took place in the context of social relations among the prison population is the result of a wide and long social process that combines political, social elements and disputes over power within the prison. The changes that have occurred in the behavior of prisoners will be addressed from some elements that make up the discipline of the Commando.A expansão do PCC no sistema carcerário paulista produziu uma série de transformações que constituíram uma nova figuração social na prisão, por meio de uma rede de interdependência mais complexa e com um nível maior de integração entre os indivíduos que compõem essa teia social. A rede de interdependência forjada a partir da expansão do PCC, além da população carcerária, abrange outras pessoas e grupos sociais, como familiares de presos, os indivíduos pertencentes ao “mundo do crime” e estão fora da prisão, a população dos bairros onde há forte presença do Comando e, por fim, setores do poder público, como a administração prisional. A alteração que se produziu no âmbito das relações sociais entre a população carcerária é o resultado de amplo e longo processo social que combina elementos políticos, sociais e disputas em torno do poder dentro da prisão. As transformações ocorridas no comportamento dos presos serão abordadas a partir de alguns elementos que compõem a disciplina do Comando

Aditivos utilizados em refrigerantes comercializados em redes de supermercado de porto alegre (RS)

Consumido no mundo todo, o refrigerante se faz presente na vida da maioria dos brasileiros. No Brasil o consumo per capita ainda permanece alto, mesmo que tenha caído nos últimos anos, em decorrência de uma tendência de consumo de alimentos considerados mais saudáveis e com menos aditivos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a frequência de uso de aditivos em refrigerantes. Além disso, relacionar o uso de adoçantes (edulcorantes) com a quantidade de açúcar presente nos produtos e a adaptação à nova rotulagem nutricional. Foi realizada uma revisão dos aditivos mais utilizados em refrigerantes através da legislação, artigos, livros e revistas cientificas. Para o levantamento de dados foram coletadas informações sobre 37 refrigerantes comercializados em três supermercados de redes diferentes da cidade de Porto Alegre (RS). Os aditivos foram analisados conforme a sua classe, e assim, foi possível verificar aqueles mais frequentemente utilizados no total e de acordo com o seu sabor. A única classe presente em todos os produtos foi a de aromatizantes, seguido dos acidulantes, conservantes, corantes (sendo o mais frequente o corante Caramelo IV), edulcorantes, sequestrantes, reguladores de acidez, antioxidante e espessante (que esteve presente somente em um dos produtos). Os edulcorantes são utilizados mesmo nos produtos não considerados zero açúcares ou diet, reduzindo a quantidade de açúcar no produto. Pode ser verificado que 12 dos 37 refrigerantes, precisariam apresentar rotulagem frontal indicando que se trata de um produto com alto conteúdo de açúcar adicionado, de acordo com a nova legislação referente a rotulagem de alimentos e bebidas. Pode-se concluir que a utilização de aditivos é importante para maior preservação e qualidade dos refrigerantes, mas que é um mercado com diversas possibilidades de desenvolvimento, incluindo formulações com um número reduzido de aditivos, indo de encontro à tendência por diminuir o uso dos mesmos.Consumed all over the world, soda is present in the lives of most Brazilians. In Brazil, per capita consumption still remains high, even though it has fallen in recent years, as a result of a trend towards consumption of foods considered healthier and with fewer additives. The objective of this work was to verify the frequency of use of additives in soft drinks. In addition, relate the use of sweeteners (sweeteners) with the amount of sugar present in the products and the adaptation to the new nutritional labeling. A review of the most used additives in soft drinks was carried out through legislation, articles, books and scientific journals. For data collection, information was collected on 37 soft drinks sold in three different supermarkets in the city of Porto Alegre (RS). The additives were analyzed according to their class, and thus, it was possible to verify those most frequently used in total and according to their flavor. The only class present in all products was flavoring agents, followed by acidulants, preservatives, coloring agents (the most frequent being Caramelo IV), sweeteners, sequestrants, acidity regulators, antioxidants and thickeners (which were present only in one of the products). Sweeteners are used even in non-sugar or diet products, reducing the amount of sugar in the product. It can be seen that 12 of the 37 soft drinks would need to present front labeling indicating that it is a product with a high content of added sugar, according to the new legislation regarding food and beverage labeling. It can be concluded that the use of additives is important for greater preservation and quality of soft drinks, but that it is a market with several possibilities for development, including formulations with a reduced number of additives, in line with the tendency to reduce their use

Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Development in the Amazon

This article deals with some contemporary issues related to indigenous peoples in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon. It encompasses the current demographic situation, the recent history of rights achievement that allowed them to reverse the process of extinction, of which they had been victims for centuries, as well as the serious challenges that indigenous peoples face today in Brazil and in the Amazon, due to a model of development that has been effect since at least the 1950s. Besides, in the light of these historical aspects, we finally establish some parameters about the role that indigenous peoples can play in another model of development, attentive to the future and focused on the respect for the public good.Este artículo trata sobre algunas cuestiones contemporâneas relativas a los pueblos indígenas en Brasil y, particularmente, en la Amazonia. Se aborda desde la situación demográfica actual, pasando por su historia reciente de conquista de derechos que les han permitido invertir el proceso de extinción, del cual habían sido víctimas a lo largo de los siglos, hasta los graves desafíos que los pueblos indígenas enfrentan actualmente en Brasil y en la Amazonia en virtud de un modelo de desarrollo que lleva vigente desde, por lo menos, la década de 1950. Y, a la luz de estos aspectos históricos, se establecen, finalmente, algunos parámetros acerca del papel que los pueblos indígenas pueden desempeñar en otro modelo de desarrollo, atento al futuro y orientado al respeto del bien común.Este artigo trata de algumas questões contemporâneas relativas aos povos indígenas no Brasil e, particularmente, na Amazônia. Abordam-se desde a situação demográfica atual, passando por sua história recente de conquistas de direitos que lhes permitiram inverter o processo de extinção do qual haviam sido vítimas por séculos, até os graves desafios que os povos indígenas têm enfrentado atualmente no Brasil e na Amazônia, em virtude de um modelo de desenvolvimento vigente desde pelo menos a década de 1950. E, à luz desses aspectos históricos, estabelecemos, por fim, alguns parâmetros acerca do papel que os povos indígenas podem desempenhar em um outro modelo de desenvolvimento, atento ao futuro e focado no respeito ao bem comum