What drives foreign direct investment in the tradable sector?

Researchers usually investigate the determinants of aggregated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), although there is evidence that the sectoral distribution of FDI matters and that too much FDI in the non-tradable sector can exacerbate external imbalances. This paper differs from most existing studies on FDI determinants by focusing on tradable sector FDI. We show that countries with a large market size, a higher degree of economic openness, a higher productivity level and good institutions are more likely to receive FDI in the tradable sector. We also show that physical distance does not represent so large an obstacle for tradable sector FDI, as it seems to represent for aggregated FDI. In contrast, based on results of empirical studies on aggregated FDI which share a common border, it does not seem to have an impact on the attraction of FDI for the tradable sector. This paper uses a modified gravity model to compare different methods, specifications and variables, in order to obtain robust results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A cobertura da imprensa escrita na divulgação de informações sobre a exploração de recursos naturais em Moçambique

Com recurso a uma metodologia mista, qualitativa e quantitativa, o presente estudo faz o diagnóstico da cobertura da imprensa escrita à exploração dos recursos naturais em Moçambique. Usando uma amostra de 396 edições de sete jornais (três diários e quatro semanários) publicados em Moçambique no período de Janeiro de 2010 a Maio de 2011, o estudo recorre a uma categorização jornalística das fontes, para aquilatar o nível de participação dos diferentes actores no debate jornalístico sobre a exploração dos recursos naturais. Ele refere-se igualmente ao tipo de recursos predominantes no debate, aos géneros jornalísticos e ao destaque conferido em função da localização e do tamanho dos artigos, tudo para medir a profundidade da abordagem da imprensa do assunto. No final, os dados recolhidos nos jornais são confrontados com a análise dos pontos de vista expressos pelos editores dos jornais sobre a cobertura de assuntos ligados à exploração de recursos naturais

O potencial das estratégias da arquitectura vernácula portuguesa para a construção sustentável

A arquitetura vernácula carateriza-se por apresentar uma estreita relação com as condições dos locais onde se encontra inserida — clima, materiais, economia, cultura, entre outros. O contexto português é profuso nas manifestações arquitetónicas vernáculas e no leque de estratégias passivas usadas nas diferentes regiões para favorecer os efeitos benéficos do clima e para mitigar os efeitos nefastos do mesmo. As estratégias de adaptação ao meio envolvente presentes nestas construções, caraterizadas pela simplicidade, funcionamento passivo e reduzido impacte ambiental, são particularmente relevantes para os desafios que a construção contemporânea enfrenta, permitindo a redução da dependência em energia de fontes não-renováveis. Neste artigo é apresentado um conjunto de estratégias solares passivas usadas em edifícios vernáculos de duas zonas climáticas distintas - o Alto Alentejo e o Minho - e é avaliado o desempenho térmico dos mesmos durante as estações do ano às quais as estratégias pretendem responder. Do estudo é possível afirmar que as estratégias de arrefecimento passivo são eficazes para garantir as condições de conforto durante o verão sem o auxílio de sistemas mecânicos de climatização; e que a inércia térmica forte dos casos de estudo permite que as temperaturas interiores sejam mais estáveis que as exteriores.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - EXPL/ECM-COM/1801/201

A Educação Ambiental para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável com atividades interdisciplinares na Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA)

Este estudo apresenta problemas do cotidiano, ligados ao ambiente, que sob a forma de atividades interdisciplinares diversificadas podem ser desenvolvidas na escola e assim valorizar a participação dos estudantes na comunidade, visando a Educação Ambiental para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Participaram do trabalho, 41 alunos e 02 professores pertencentes a duas escolas (uma particular e uma pública estadual) de Educação de Jovens e Adultos em um município do interior do Rio Grande do Sul.  Envolveu atividades interdisciplinares com conteúdos de Biologia e Artes que proporcionaram aulas com a valorização da pesquisa e o desenvolvimento da educação ambiental através do estudo do ambiente como tema motivador para o exercício da cidadania. A metodologia envolveu estratégias de ensino como: aula expositiva dialogada e participativa; atividades interdisciplinares de Biologia e Artes na resolução de problemas. As atividades interdisciplinares foram eficientes na aprendizagem dos alunos ao propiciar a associação com temas e fatos do cotidiano, evidenciados através de verbalizações, apresentações e representações gráficas. Contatou-se a falta de incentivo nas escolas para que se estabeleçam condições em que o conhecimento se torne dinâmico e possa aproximar as práticas pedagógicas da realidade dos estudantes

Long- and short-term changes in social wasp community structure in an urban area

The success of social wasps in anthropic environments is related to their ability to nest both in vegetation and human constructions, and, as humans modify their own environments, wasps community structure may shift as well. Our aim was to assess the diversity of social wasps and their interactions with nesting substrates seasonally in an urban squares area in Southeastern Brazil, 15 years after the first diversity study in this area. We actively searched for nests in the rainy season between 2014 and 2015 and in the dry season of 2015. Although social wasp species richness did not change since the 2000 assessment (13 species in 5 genera), the abundance decreased substantially. Additionally, wasps showed a general trend of nesting on the man-made materials Metal (n = 115, 60%) and Concrete (n = 106, 36%), especially by the two most common species sampled: Mischocyttarus cassununga and Polistes versicolor. We suggest that abundance decrease may correspond to the reduction of green areas in the assayed locations. These results support the well-known importance of maintaining green areas in urban environments to promote the growth and conservation of diverse social wasp communities

Experimentally testing impedance boundary conditions for acoustic liners with flow : beyond upstream and downstream

Impedance eduction experiments on acoustic liners with flow have systematically shown the educed impedance depending on the direction of the incident wave. Recent attempts to model this dependence include impedance boundary conditions with an additional degree of freedom. In this case, both upstream and downstream acoustic sources must be used to educe both the liner impedance and the extra degree of freedom of the model, which implies two different axial wavenumber conditions are used, and always result in a perfect collapse of the educed impedances; this would be true whether or not the model itself is correct. In this work, we describe a novel experimental setup that allows for four different axial wavenumbers per frequency to be measured: two upstream and two downstream. We use this experiment to investigate three different impedance boundary conditions, namely inviscid sheared, viscous, and momentum transfer conditions, in addition to the classical Ingard–Myers boundary condition, using an inverse eduction technique based on the mode matching method. The additional degree of freedom in each of the first three models is best fitted to experimental data, and then compared to the theoretically predicted values. Unphysical or unrealistic values are found at certain frequencies for each model, and therefore the validity of such models is questionable. The predictive capabilities of the models are tested and compared by means of the plane-wave scattering matrix, and no model is found to be truly predictive. Under certain conditions, educed impedances using the Ingard–Myers boundary condition show similar accuracy in terms of transmission coefficients when compared to the other models

Postural changes in women with chronic pelvic pain: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a lower abdominal pain lasting at least 6 months, occurring continuously or intermittently and not associated exclusively with menstruation or intercourse. Although the musculoskeletal system has been found to be involved in CPP, few studies have assessed the contribution of posture in women with CPP. We aimed to determine if the frequency of postural changes was higher in women with CPP than healthy subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case-control study included 108 women with CPP of more than 6 months' duration (CPP group) who consecutively attended at the Hospital of the University of São Paulo and 48 healthy female volunteers (control group). Postural assessment was noninvasive and performed in the standing position, with the reference points of Kendall used as normal parameters. Factors associated with CPP were assessed by logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Logistic regression showed that the independent factors associated with CPP were postural changes in the cervical spine (OR 4.1; 95% CI 1.6–10.7; p < 0.01) and scapulae (OR 2.9; 95% CI 1.1–7.6; p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Musculoskeletal changes were associated with CPP in 34% of women. These findings suggest that a more detailed assessment of women with CPP is necessary for better diagnosis and for more effective treatment.</p

Automatic Tuning of GRASP with Path-Relinking in data clustering with F-R ace and iterated F-Race

In studies that use metaheuristics although the input parameters directly influence the performance of the algorithm its definition is mostly done manually raising questions about the quality of the results. This paper aims to apply the F/I-Race in the self parameterization of GRASP with Path-Relinking in the data clustering in order to obtain better results than the manually tuned algorithms. Experiments performed with five data sets showed that the use of I/F-race contributed to achievement best results than manual tuning