Essentials for sustainable urban transport in Brazil's large metropolitan areas

Before financing major urban transport projects, decisionmakers should attempt to put in place the basic elements for long-term sustainability of the sector. Specifically, the author contends that each large metropolitan area in Brazil should incorporate into its urban transport strategy, and pursue vigorously, the following four-point agenda: 1) create a regional transport coordination commission in charge of coordinating policies among federal, state, and municipal governments, giving highest priority to major urban transport investments in the metropolitan region and promoting modal integration - all to the end of improving the sector's economic efficiency and long-term sustainability; 2) adopt an integrated land use, urban transport, and air quality strategy that provides a framework in which the community and decisionmakers can evaluate future urban transport investments and policies; 3) enact into law formal financing mechanisms that would ensure that long-run variable costs of urban transport systems are covered by operating and non-operating revenues from the systems and by appropriate user charges; and 4) promote private sector participation in the operation, maintenance, and construction of urban transport systems - through concessions or management contracts - as a way to lessen the financial burden on the government.Roads&Highways,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Environmental Economics&Policies,Urban Transport,Banks&Banking Reform,Roads&Highways,Municipal Financial Management,Environmental Economics&Policies

Reforming the urban transport sector in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region - a case study in concessions

The author describes a bold effort by the state government to increase private sector participation in Rio de Janeiro's urban transport sector, reduce heavy operating subsidies, and establish a foundation for making the sector sustainable. This effort was undertaken with the help of three World Bank-financed loans: * The Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Transport Loan, which provided assistance for the transfer of federally owned suburban railways to the state government. * The Rio de Janeiro State Reform and Privatization Loan, which helped the state privatize and grant concessions for a number of its enterprises. * The Rio de Janeiro Mass Transit Loan, which supported the reorganization of the sector and the concession of the Rio suburban railways (Flumitrens). Most of the reforms in the urban transport sector have been implemented. The lessons learned from implementation and the results obtained so far suggest that political decisiveness, transparency, and ingenuity in developing incentives are crucial to privatizing urban rail transport systems. But the state also learned that not having a credible staff redundancy program might seriously reduce the benefits expected from concessions.Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Economic Adjustment and Lending,Roads&Highways,Decentralization,National Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Urban Transport,Roads&Highways

Lessons from Sao Paulo's Metropolitan Busway Concessions Program

In an earlier paper (Policy Research Working Paper 1546), the authors described a pioneer initiative of Sao Paulo's municipal and state governments, to give the private sector a concession on building and operating a number of"trunk"busways. At the time, the Sao Paulo Municipal Government had already awarded a number of busway corridors to private consortia, although the consortia had yet to get the financing needed to implement the investment plan. On the other hand, the state had not yet awarded its first corridor and was still adjusting the bidding documents based on comments received from interested parties. In this paper, the authors describe what happened since then and draw lessons for the future. After a long, successful bidding process, this imaginative and pioneering program launched by the municipality failed to materialize because of problems in getting financing. Possibly the market felt that the risks involved in building and operating system outweighed the benefits and that the Sao Paulo and Brazilian market was not yet prepared to accept such a challenge without better partial risk guarantees. The state learned from the mistakes of the municipality and was successful in the concession of the Sao Mateus-Jabaquara corridor. Among the lessons learned from this project: 1) Private bus operators in Brazil are generally traditional entrepreneurs. They must be taught how to prepare financing plans or at least to get the best advice about putting together a project's financial engineering design. In this case, all consortia turned to BNDES (Brazilian National Social Development Bank) for financing, probably because their loan interests rates were lower than those of commercial banks but also because the concession was with the government. They did not consider other options such as the International Finance Corporation or other private-sector-related development institutions. 2) The Sao Paulo municipality should also have undertaken detailed economic evaluation of the projects, from the standpoint of the region as a whole, including the impact on other modes of transportation and on systems integration. Such analysis is required by all bilateral and multilateral development institutions, including BNDES. 3) When private operators are paid for vehicle-kilometer supplied and when the state collects all revenues and then pays the operators, concession contracts or operating revenues cannot be easily used as guarantees. Before defining tariff mechanism, governments should think through the impacts they might have on financing, since the revenues collected are often the best guarantee that can be offered.Banks&Banking Reform,Roads&Highways,Urban Transport,Public Sector Economics&Finance,National Governance

The Sao Mateus - Jabaquara Trolleybusway Concession in Brazil

The authors describe how Sao Paulo State granted a 20-year concession for operating a busway, one requirement for which was that the concessionaire replace the diesel bus operation with electric traction (trolleys). This was not a"greenfield concession"but is probably the only"busway"concession undertaken so far worldwide. With roughly 16,000 buses fighting their way through heavy traffic under traffic policies geared to automobiles, bus services was slow and unreliable. Then Sao Paulo adopted certain practices aimed at improving bus operations. Between 1983 and 1987, it implemented a segregated trolleybus corridor between Sao Mateus and Jabaquara, to be opened as a private concession regulated by the state of Sao Paulo. The concession was to operate for 20 years but the winning consortium had to invest in only part of the equipment, because part of it was in place. This made things less risky for the private consortium and allowed thestate to complete an environmentally friendly project with the help of the private sector. The concession has so far been a success - an example to be followed. After an initial increase, demand for the busway began to fall in 1998 and 1999. This was part of a general decline in demand for the bus system because of: a) A drop in jobs resulting from the economic slowdown. b) A growth in the use of automobiles. c) Competition from illegal buses (vans), which offer door-to-door service. The state was late in completing the aerial network for the trolleyway and rehabilitating sections of the roadway. This delayed replacement of diesel buses by trolleybuses. State representatives indicated it might be better in future to find a mechanism through which the concessionaire instead of the state would undertake infrastructure works and would also handle administration of integration terminals.Roads&Highways,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Urban Transport,Decentralization,Roads&Highways,Airports and Air Services,Inter-Urban Roads and Passenger Transport,Transport and Environment,Urban Transport

National Productive Structure and Innovative Dynamics: Finding the (Endogenous) Path to Convergence

We extend the model presented in Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1997) by allowing for two types of economies - more developed and in transition to European Union integration - to both imitate and innovate varieties of intermediate goods. Besides depending on research and development expenditures, we also allow for the stochastic nature of innovation by making it also dependent on a random component. We do this by Monte Carlo simulation, using a Box-Muller process, and solve a three differential equation model by using numerical methods. Two situations are presented: a leading economy with greater institutions and more labour than the transition economy versus a situation where an institutional advance is given to the transition economy.stochastic innovation; transition economies; growth; technology; diffusion; convergence

Acidentes de viação: a regularização dos danos pelo seguro

Divulgação dos SUMÁRIOS das obras recentemente incorporadas ao acervo da Biblioteca Ministro Oscar Saraiva do STJ. Em respeito à lei de Direitos Autorais, não disponibilizamos a obra na íntegra.Localização na estante: 347.518(469) R291

Earth-Science Education: From all over the World to East-Timor

Earth Science education (ESE) emerges as a relatively new research area and there is an unquestioned need for improving students´ abilities on that field (American Geological Institute, 2008), taking into account that it is important for students’ everyday lives and thus, relevant for scientific literacy. So, the inclusion of a section concerned with this issue, was a very wise decision of the 1st Geological Congress at East-Timor Organising Committee, revealing an up to date vision about education for the XXI century. The paper will be divided in four sections: - Science Education - meaning, epistemology and rationale; - Earth- science-education all over the World in the context of Science Education; - Earth- science education in East-Timor secondary school curriculum; - Earth-science education and challenges for the futur

A qualidade do ensino percebida por alunos de enfermagem e de gestão

Introdução: nas últimas décadas intensificou-se o debate sobre a qualidade da educação, conceito em evolução, que não apresenta uma definição única, restrita, e consensual. Dos vários atores intervenientes, os alunos destacam-se como avaliadores privilegiados do ensino que lhes é ministrado. Experienciam um amplo leque de variáveis que, associadas à sua motivação e expectativas, influenciam o desempenho académico e conduzem a um grau de satisfação com o seu curso, em particular, e com a qualidade da educação que recebem, em geral. Objetivo: este trabalho procurou identificar as perceções de qualidade de ensino veiculadas pelos alunos dos cursos de enfermagem e de gestão na região do Alentejo. Metodologia: neste artigo analisam-se 500 respostas, recolhidas através da aplicação, em dois momentos diferentes, de um questionário construído para o efeito, em suporte papel, a 268 alunos no primeiro ano do curso em 2008, e 232 alunos no terceiro ano do curso em 2010. Os alunos pertenciam às três instituições de ensino superior do Alentejo, e frequentavam os cursos de Enfermagem e de Gestão. A questão colocada foi: «Que aspetos do curso gostaria de ver mudados, de forma a aumentar a qualidade de ensino?». As respostas foram analisadas com recurso ao software informático webQDA, versão 1.4.3, de acordo com as técnicas de análise de conteúdo preconizadas por Bardin (1977). Resultados: na análise efetuada foram selecionadas 7469 palavras, que originaram 759 referências, distribuídas em 10 categorias, das quais se destacam «Organização do processo de ensino e aprendizagem» (23,1%), «Plano curricular» (21,6%), e «Ensino mais prático» (19,9%), como as mais representativas. Verifica-se que a importância do plano curricular do curso aumenta durante o decorrer do mesmo, sobretudo associada à adequação ao mercado de trabalho

Abordagem proactiva em prevenção tabágica: intervenção em Évora

A principal causa de morte evitável, na União Europeia, continua a ser fumar tabaco, atribuindo-se mais de meio milhão de morte por ano. Estima-se que existam cerca de 2 milhões de fumadores em Portugal, dos quais 60% querem deixar de fumar. Destes 50% tenta a cessação ao longo de um ano e apenas 10% pede ajuda. Uma estratégia global de combate a este flagelo deve envolver uma abordagem tri-flanqueada: prevenção, sensibilização (informação) e controle. No domínio da prevenção, um aconselhamento de 3 min poderá ter uma taxa de sucesso na cessação tabágica de 2%, enquanto um aconselhamento breve de 10 minutos poderá cegar aos 3%. No âmbito da componente prática da unidade curricular de Educação para a Saúde, assegurada ao curso de Licenciatura em Ciências da Educação na Universidade de Évora, foi realizada uma abordagem proactiva seguindo os três “A”: abordar, avaliar e aconselhar. A intervenção fez-se no Terminal de Évora da Estação Rodoviária do Alentejo em 16 de dezembro de 2011 (entre as 15h e as 19h). Seguiu um algoritmo definido em aula e treinado por roleplaying. Em termos de resultados, das mais de 579 abordagens pró-ativas, 38,9% das pessoas declararam ser fumadoras (53,3% do sexo masculino), enquanto 51,1% das mulheres assumiram não fumar. As medições do monóxido de carbono (CO) assumiram valores preocupantes. Cerca de 25% dos avaliados estão na zona de fumadores com altos níveis de CO no sangue (11-20 ppm) e a mesma percentagem encontra-se em zona muito perigosa (“fumador pesado”). Registou-se uma certa tendência das mulheres apresentarem valores de CO superiores aos dos homens, o que corresponde a maior consumo de cigarros por aquele sexo. O valor mais elevado encontrado, de envenenamento por CO, foi de 56 pp para os homens e de 59 ppm para as mulheres. Entre os avaliados, encontraram-se crianças de 13 anos de idade como fumadores leves e outras de 14, 15, 16 e 17 anos como fumadores e até fumadores pesados. Estes resultados apontam para um cenário muito complicado em termos de saúde individual. Não é suficiente prevenir e capacitar as pessoas para as escolhas positivas. Em educação para a saúde o fortalecimento dos contextos é essencial, e nesta atividade recolhemos vários testemunhos de crianças que dizem adquirir tabaco com alguma facilidade juntos dos comerciantes da zona. A repetição de ações desta natureza está entre os objetivos da unidade curricular de Educação para a Saúde, esperando-se em breve novas cooperações com a Administração da Rodoviária do Alentejo, destinadas a grupos particulares (por exemplo, os colaboradores da própria Rodoviária)

Do conhecimento profissional dos professores epistemologicamente diferenciado: um estudo sobre as metodologias de ensino

O objectivo deste estudo é descrever o conhecimento epistemológico dos professores, através das suas concepções acerca das metodologias de ensino. Foi definida a população de professores de Biologia e Geologia que, no ano lectivo de 2009-2010, leccionava no âmbito das DRE do Alentejo e do Algarve. Aplicou-se uma versão modificada do INPECIP, de Martín del Pozo (1994). Os resultados revelam que os professores defendem posições coerentes com uma visão empirista, adoptadas acerca da imagem da ciência, considerando que se deve ensinar ciência seguindo, precisamente, uma sequência metodológica de natureza científica, pese embora que não se deva contrapor o pensamento vulgar ao pensamento científico. Consideram, contudo, que os conteúdos são apenas instrumentos para o desenvolvimento do pensamento. Contrapondo com a posição anterior, os professores consideram, agora, que a quantidade de tempo dedicado à instrução não está associada à qualidade da aprendizagem