Neutrino flux predictions for known Galactic microquasars

It has been proposed recently that Galactic microquasars may be prodigious emitters of TeV neutrinos that can be detected by upcoming km^2 neutrino telescopes. In this paper we consider a sample of identified microquasars and microquasar candiates, for which available data enables rough determination of the jet parameters. By employing the parameters inferred from radio observations of various jet ejection events, we determine the neutrino fluxes that should have been produced during these events by photopion production in the jet. Despite the large uncertainties in our analysis, we demonstrate that in several of the sources considered, the neutrino flux at Earth, produced in events similar to those observed, would exceed the detection threshold of a km^2 neutrino detector. The class of microquasars may contain also sources with bulk Lorentz factors larger than those characteristic of the sample considered here, directed along our line of sight. Such sources, which may be very difficult to resolve at radio wavelengths and hence may be difficult to identify as microqusar candidates, may emit neutrinos with fluxes significantly larger than typically obtained in the present analysis. These sources may eventually be identified through their neutrino and gamma-ray emission.Comment: 17 pages. Submitted to Ap

The politics of autocratic survival in Equatorial Guinea: co-optation, restrictive institutional rules, repression, and international projection

Equatorial Guinea is not only one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes but also a striking case of regime and leader survival. This small, oil-rich state and personalist regime defies conventional wisdom because it is both far more resilient and faces far fewer threats from within the regime and from opposition political parties than other resource-rich states. But how does the regime manage to survive? This study argues that four key mechanisms interact to explain Equatorial Guinea’s record of authoritarian survival. Firstly, co-optation (via patronage, party, and cabinet appointments) which President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and the regime party—Partido democrático de guinea ecuatorial—have used to build internal cohesion and fragment opposition. Secondly, the crafting of restrictive institutional rules (party and electoral laws) that, combined with informal rules, aim to protect the regime’s interests and make participation in political opposition more costly. Thirdly, the use of (selective and diffuse) repression to shield the regime and shrink the living space of challengers. Finally, the regime’s international linkages and projection to gain credibility and offset pressure for change. We argue that autocrats’ survival depends on their ability to play a strategic two-level game: domestic and international.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Documental Fixity

The article discusses the concept of fixity in documents and documentality. Issues of control and power are discusses as related to these concepts

South–South cohesiveness versus South–South rhetoric: Brazil and Africa at the UN General Assembly

South–South relations have regained widespread interest in recent years, together with increasingly visible stances on international stages. Brazil’s interactions with the African continent, in particular, came to epitomise such a perception while sustaining an expectation of mutual alignment in several global issues. However, these assumptions still lack empirical corroboration. Drawing on United Nations General Assembly voting data for the 1991–2013 timeframe, this article questions a supposed South–South solidarity at the multilateral institution with the largest global representation and identifies key thematic axes that incite greater collective stances. The analysis further sheds light on whether or not a common South–South agenda has emerged over time.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Who gets what? The interactive effect of MPs’ sex in committee assignments in Portugal

This article investigates the role of key individual-level factors, namely expertise, seniority and preferences in women’s assignments to legislative committees. It focuses on Portugal and draws on biographical data on MPs in five elections until 2009 and interviews with 20 legislators in 2014. The results show that female and male MPs have a similar probability of being appointed to powerful and economic issue committees, but female MPs are more likely to be appointed to social issue committees regardless of expertise and seniority. Although this outcome might be the product of their own preferences, it is influenced by embedded gender norms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vírus da murcha do abacaxi.

As murchas em abacaxizeiro podem ser causadas principalmente por encharcamento, deficiência hídrica, fungos e vírus. Aqui será abordada a murcha causada por vírus. O vírus da murcha do abacaxi causa prejuízos de dois modos: levando a planta à morte, antes mesmo da frutificação, ou impedindo a frutificação normal pelo elevado número de frutos refugos. Os primeiros sintomas desta murcha são constatados no sistema radicular, que apresenta crescimento prejudicado. Os sintomas foliares aparecem dois a três meses após o início da infecção pelo vírus. Na cultivar Smooth Cayenne descreveu-se os seguintes sintomas: aparecimento de coloração vermelho-bronzeada e amarelada nas folhas centrais; suas margens tendem a se curvar para baixo, perdem a turgescência e suas pontas ficam secas; as plantas infectadas apresentam menor porte do que as sadias. Em alguns períodos do ciclo da cultura, algumas plantas infectadas podem não apresentar sintomas. O avermelhamento das folhas também pode ser devido à presença de nematóides na área ou por causa de deficiência de cobre.bitstream/item/25863/1/TodafrutaID27258abacaxi.pdfDisponível em: Acesso em: 24 jan. 2011

In welfare we trust? Political trust in Portugal and Spain, 2008-2014

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Space, City and Post colonialism in the Poetic Discourse of the “Independent Writers of Pernambuco”

In Altas literaturas (High Literatures), Leyla Perrone Moisés reminds us that in the scope of Catholicism the canon acquired the meaning of a "list of saints recognized by the papal authority" which "by extension came to mean the set of literary authors recognized as masters of tradition" (1988, p. 61) .That, undoubtedly, guided the literary studies in Brazil until very recently. These studies ignored non-canonical literary works. In other words, the canonical thinking was oblivious to a rich literary production which was not in accordance with a colonialist view of the academic studies developed in our universities. In this work, we intend to study the literary production of some poets in Recife (Brazil), in the 1980s in relation to the established canon. We focus on the Movement, known as “Independent Writers of Pernambuco” aiming to bring to light a literary movement forgotten by Brazilian academic community.. Our study has a postcolonial perspectives we explore the need to pay attention to literary production by writers who do not always belong to “traditional canon” (Said, 2004). The poetical works of the movement we study may play a vital role in the context of Brazil and Pernambuco. By considering the emerging social responsibilities of writers and intellectuals in an ever more interdependent world, we suggest that studying the movement and its authors who are not much explored by Brazilian scholars we may be decolonizing the knowledge on literature in Brazil. Wetake into account the movement´s relations with Brazilian Northeastern culture and its program of action, dating from 1981, the beginning of the so-called "Lost Decade." The movement had an important voice against the most conservative and traditionalist criticism at that time. We believe that by studying the movement we are offering the opportunity to rethink our Brazilian and Pernambucan literary canon

Problem-based learning in a flipped classroom: A case study for active learning in legal education in international law

Higher education in law should develop students’ skills such as working collaboratively, communicating, and influencing others through critical legal reasoning. Traditional legal education is partially based on active learning methods, but problem-based learning (PBL) is still relatively rare, with a comparatively smaller number of field applications reported in available literature, and no reports of its use of in legal education in Portugal. This paper describes the application of the problem-based learning method to an Erasmus class of International Public Law in a Portuguese university, during an academic semester. The method was applied to half of the classes, with the remaining half being taught using traditional methods. Students’ perceptions and preferences for the different methods were assessed through surveys. In general, our results offer novel insights into the effectiveness of PBL, suggesting that student perceptions of the PBL method depend on their social skills, previous knowledge of the topics, and personal preference. Considering experiences from previous years, the teacher’s assessment is that using PBL methods allowed for feedback and closer follow-up on the students’ progress and created the opportunity for the development of relevant skills, which would otherwise be excluded from the classroom. These results, as well as limitations, are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio