The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on the Host Country Economic Growth - Theory and Empirical Evidence

Foreign direct investment (FDI) influences the host country’s economic growth through the transfer of new technologies and know-how, formation of human resources, integration in global markets, increase of competition, and firms’ development and reorganization. Empirically, a variety of studies considers that FDI generate economic growth in the host country. However, there is also evidence that FDI is a source of negative effects. Given this ambiguity of results, the present paper makes a review of the existing theoretical and empirical literature on the subject, intending to shed light on the main explanations for the divergence of results in different studies. The main idea that stands out in this review is that the effects of FDI on economic growth are dependent on the existing or subsequently developed internal conditions of the host country (economic, political, social, cultural or other). Thus, the host countries authorities have a key role in creating the conditions that allow for the leverage of the positive effects or for the reduction of the negative effects of FDI on the host country’s economic growth.Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Literature Survey

Regulación de uso del suelo urbano: discusión sobre el caso de Curitiba

In 1999, a new land use law was approved in Curitiba. Its construction and approval process offers elements to discuss the meaning of a legal frame in the reinforcement of a hegemonic power around a metropolitan space, and the creation of conditions to attract the international capital, mainly from the real estate market. Trying to analyse this process, identifying elements possible to be generalised in theland use regulation of protagonists’ cities, this study examines and summarises observations on the topics: law for highlight the city-model; the lack of metropolitan instruments; conflicts between Instruments and particular interests; urban and social effects; constitutionality and observation of democratic principles.Finalising, the study intends to discuss that the dispositions included in the law and its illegitimate participation procedures have resulted in a refusing among society segments

Mixed integer programming formulations for clustering problems related to structural balance

International audienceIn this work, we study graph clustering problems associated with structural balance. One of these problems is known in computer science literature as the correlation-clustering (CC) problem and another (RCC) can be viewed as its relaxed version. The solution of CC and RCC problems have been previously used in the literature as tools for the evaluation of structural balance in a social network. Our aim is to solve these problems to optimality. We describe integer linear programming formulations for these problems which includes the first mathematical formulation for the RCC problem. We also discuss alternative models for the relaxed structural balance and the solution of clustering problems associated with these new models. Numerical experiments are carried out with each formulation on a set of benchmark instances available in the literature

Improving communication skill training in patient centered medical practice for enhancing rational use of laboratory tests: The core of bioinformation for leveraging stakeholder engagement in regulatory science.

Requests for laboratory tests are among the most relevant additional tools used by physicians as part of patient's health problemsolving. However, the overestimation of complementary investigation may be linked to less reflective medical practice as a consequence of a poor physician-patient communication, and may impair patient-centered care. This scenario is likely to result from reduced consultation time, and a clinical model focused on the disease. We propose a new medical intervention program that specifically targets improving the patient-centered communication of laboratory tests results, the core of bioinformation in health care. Expectations are that medical students training in communication skills significantly improve physicians-patient relationship, reduce inappropriate use of laboratorial tests, and raise stakeholder engagement

European Union responses to the migration crisis

The arrival of a considerable number of immigrants and asylum seekers in European Union (EU) countries has exposed the many contradictions at the heart of European, international and national policies, including the significant gap between the so-called promise to provide asylum and the actual practice of asylum of the EU. Despite its efforts to contain the uncontrolled wave of asylum seekers and migrants, the EU has failed to respond to the large numbers of people who arrived daily to its borders by sea. All in all, it is estimated that more than 800,000 people have made requests for help and asylum or attempted to enter the EU. The following dissertation intended to analyze the migrant and refugee crisis witnessed by the European Union between 2015 and 2016, seeking to answer the research question: To what extent did the EU's action during the migratory / refugee crisis in the Mediterranean correspond to its official discourse, in the period from 2015 to 2016 ?. There was a need to look at the discursive dimension of securitization in the field of migration and humanitarian aid, since this has been neglected in the literature in favor of an analysis of the concrete security measures implemented. It was concluded, through a comparative analysis between discourse – focusing on official documents and official speeches by political actors – and action, with the support of scientific articles, that the set of efforts applied by the EU were not enough to face the flow of migrants and asylum seekers experienced between 2015 and 2016.A chegada de um considerável número de imigrantes e requerentes de asilo aos países da União Europeia (UE) expôs as muitas contradições existentes no coração das políticas Europeias, internacionais e nacionais, incluindo a enorme lacuna entre a tão aclamada promessa de fornecer asilo e a prática real de asilo da UE. Apesar dos seus esforços para conter a onda descontrolada de requerentes de asilo e migrantes, a UE não conseguiu responder ao incontável número de pessoas que chegavam diariamente às suas fronteiras por via marítima. No total, estima-se que mais de 800.000 pessoas tenham feito pedidos de ajuda e asilo ou tentado entrar na UE. Na presente dissertação pretendia-se analisar a crise de migrantes e refugiados testemunhada pela União Europeia entre 2015 e 2016, procurando responder à questão: Em que medida a ação da UE durante a crise migratória / de refugiados no Mediterrâneo correspondeu ao seu discurso oficial, no período de 2015 a 2016?. Sentiu-se a necessidade de olhar para a dimensão discursiva da securitização da área das migrações e ajuda humanitária, uma vez que esta tem sido negligenciada na literatura em prol de uma análise às medidas concretas de segurança implementadas. Concluiu-se através de uma análise comparativa entre discurso – centrada em documentos oficiais e discursos oficiais proferidos por atores políticos – e ação, contando também com o suporte de artigos científicos, que o conjunto de esforços aplicados pela UE não foi suficiente para dar resposta ao fluxo de migrantes e requerentes de asilo vivido entre 2015 e 2016

Jazigos de sombra : o ritual da morte na performance contemporânea

Mestrado em Criação Artística ContemporâneaA morte e os seus rituais têm expressão espontânea e visível na performance artística contemporânea, ao contrário do que sucede no quotidiano da sociedade ocidental do século XXI, que promove a sua ocultação. Esta investigação tem como objectivo analisar dois casos de performance artística, Hermann Nitsch e Marina Abramovic, à luz de um corpo conceptual de análise centrado nos rituais da morte ocidentais. Para melhor compreensão deste processo, procura-se estabelecer a ligação entre ritual e performance. Dado que o ritual mantém igualmente uma relação de proximidade com a religião, pretende-se averiguar se, e de que modo, na performance artística contemporânea, a morte e os seus rituais conseguem atingir os propósitos de um ritual religioso. No decorrer desta pesquisa também se verifica que a intenção inicial da performance artística, que era unir a vida e a arte, permanece no domínio da utopia ABSTRACT: Death and its rituals have a visible and spontaneous expression in contemporary performance, as opposed to what happens in the daily routine of XXI century western society that hides it. This investigation aims to analyze two cases of performance, Hermann Nitsch and Marina Abramovic, according to a conceptual body of analysis centered in western death rituals. In order to have a better understanding of this process, the relation between ritual and performance is established. Because ritual is also closely connected with religion, this study seeks to acknowledge if and how death and its rituals are able to achieve the purpose of a religious ritual in contemporary performance. During this research it is verified that the original intention of performance, which was the union of life and art, remains in the realm of utopia

Arranjos urbano-regionais: uma categoria complexa na metropolização brasileira

O objeto de discussão deste texto é uma categoria espacial que transcende as aglomerações urbanas em seu aspecto morfológico; caracteriza-se pela concentração extremada da riqueza, do conhecimento e do poder; enreda-se em um feixe de fluxos de variadas ordens; e se compõe de uma multiescalaridade diversa e conflituosa. Refere-se aos arranjos urbano-regionais, uma configuração fisicamente expandida, de natureza híbrida, sem definir limites precisos, e que revela os principais elos da rede urbana e da inserção regional na divisão social do trabalho. Esses arranjos distribuem-se pelo território nacional, sendo o de maior proeminência o do entorno da metrópole de São Paulo. Posto que é um conceito em construção, está aberto ao debate.

UM ENSAIO SOBRE O CONTROLE DA CIDADE E DO CIDADÃO CONTEMPORÂNEO

Em meados do século passado, quando publicada a ficção de George Orwell, “1984”, ninguém podia prever que tão cedo viesse a se tornar tão real. A cidade contemporânea submete-se e submete o cidadão a práticas e técnicas de extremo controle, em suas variadas formas. Um “Grande Irmão” paira verdadeiramente sobre todos, usando meios materiais e imateriais de observação, recriando o panopticom de Foucault em formas inusitadas da arquitetura defensiva, erguendo muros visíveis e invisíveis, fortificando enclaves, —privatizando espaços públicos, produzindo simulacros, intimidando, persuadindo, excluindo. À serviço de que ou de quem? Sob que lógica? Revelar formas e refletir sobre processos e resultados é a intenção deste ensaio sobre a cidade que vigia e é ào mesmo tempo vigiada.In the forties, when George Orwell published the book "1984", the world couldn't believe that this fiction would become so real, in a very fast time. The contemporary cities submit themselves and the citizens to practices and immaterial ways to assure his control, rebuilding not only the classical Foucault's Panopticon, but a different one, with amazing forms of defensive architecture, fortified enclaves, simulating scenery, private and thematic controlled spaces, and catching citizens by intimidation and persuasion. The walls of exclusion are no longer just visible, but invisible too. Who or what is it for? Under what kind of logic does it work? Reveal and discuss these processes of control are the objectives of the present essay about the surveillant cities and at the same time cities under surveillance