The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Biodiversity Conservation: Implications for Conservation Education in Papua New Guinea

The research reported in this thesis focussed on exploring existing indigenous environmental knowledge of two indigenous communities in Papua New Guinea and how this knowledge was acquired, interpreted and disseminated to the next generation. The relevance of indigenous environmental knowledge in the promotion of biodiversity conservation efforts was investigated. This research was conducted within an interpretive paradigm. A naturalistic/ethnographic methodology was used. Data was collected through semi structured interviews and observations. Participants in this case study were representatives of the community and included elders, adults, teachers and students. The findings in this study revealed indigenous environmental knowledge as useful for biodiversity conservation and promotes sustainable practices. It showed that indigenous family knowledge is essential for claiming land inheritance and indigenous environmental practices are consistent with sustainable practices and land use. Forest knowledge is found to be useful in identifying and locating resources and that sustainable practices ensured continuity of these resources. The study also identified spiritual knowledge and beliefs as fundamental for developing indigenous worldviews and environmental attitudes and values and that change in resource use may be both beneficial and harmful to biodiversity. The findings also revealed indigenous education as flexible, holistic and informal in nature and uses mostly oral history through verbal instruction and various non-verbal means. They showed that IE uses a variety of teaching and learning approaches that utilise the environment as a tool and that learning venues provide a realistic learning experience. The thesis concludes that IEK promotes biodiversity conservation in many ways and that indigenous education uses situated context to promote realistic learning. Indigenous environmental knowledge and education could therefore be used in biodiversity conservation education

Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Sustainable Resource Management in Papua New Guinea: The Role of Education and Implications for Policy

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has been argued to have a significant role as a strategy for sustainable resource management. TEK in this context refers to all aspects of indigenous knowledge and practice related to human interactions with the environment, and is particularly important in developing countries, where significant tensions exist between indigenous ways of life and capitalistic economic development. This research explored the perceptions of indigenous Papua New Guineans about a relationship between TEK and sustainability, the role of education in using TEK in sustainable resource management, and the extent to which existing education and sustainable resource management policies emphasise TEK. Twenty-four participants were invited from stakeholder groups involved in natural resource management, such as community members, educators, conservation practitioners, policy makers and resource developers. This qualitative study combined elements of both interpretivism and critical theory to understand and interpret participants’ perceptions of the challenges, limitations and management strategies for sustainable natural resource management using TEK. These approaches were informed by the literature on TEK and sustainability in developing the research design. Data was collected in two phases through semi-structured interviews and follow-up workshops and critically analysed using analysis of themes that emerged from the data and the literature. The findings indicated that TEK in the indigenous Papua New Guinean context led to a sustainable way of life through exercising the values of respect, responsibility and reciprocity for continuity. TEK was found to be a way of life that used holistic approaches of maintaining connection to land and other resources, and ensuring these were equitably accessed to meet social, cultural and physical human needs. This also showed that sustainability was embedded in every social and environmental aspect of TEK. The findings indicated that TEK had a crucial role in educating about sustainability through empowering and encouraging self-reflective learning among its users. A combination of formal, informal and non-formal education can engage and involve TEK users and learners to reflect on their beliefs and practices, develop positive attitudes and approaches towards sustainable resource management and keep TEK knowledge alive. The findings showed that existing policies related to education and sustainable resource management do not sufficiently include emphasis on TEK. Policy has a role in empowering communities through reinforcing TEK principles in education, and in decision-making and implementation for sustainable resource management. This study highlighted the importance of TEK as a significant approach to sustainability in the indigenous Papua New Guinean context for generations past. The application of TEK principles of respect, responsibility and reciprocity could be incorporated into formal and non-formal education. These principles could also achieve sustainable communities if consistently reinforced in policy across all sectors

Realismo e realidade no cinema brasileiro: de Rio, 40 Graus a Cidade de Deus

The film Rio, 40 Graus, of Nelson Pereira dos Santos, completed 50 years in 2005, September. To establish a parallel between the film of Nelson Pereira dos Santos and the film Cidade de Deus, of Fernando Meireles -a landmark of the period known as the "after retaken" of brazilian cinema, is the proposal of the present paper. Such proposal is established from considerations concerning the influences of neorealism in brazilian cinema. The notions of realism and reality on the movies are raised for better understanding of the role played by the two films. The analysis considers their context, approaches and distances.O filme Rio, 40 Graus, de Nelson Pereira dos Santos, completou 50 anos em setembro de 2005. Traçar o paralelo entre a obra do cineasta e o filme Cidade de Deus, de Fernando Meireles - um marco do cinema brasileiro de pós-retomada, é a proposta do presente trabalho. Paralelo este, estabelecido a partir de considerações acerca das influências do neo-realismo no cinema brasileiro. As noções de realismo e realidade no cinema são levantadas para melhor compreensão do papel desempenhado pelos dois filmes. A análise considera o contexto em que estavam inseridos, suas aproximações e distanciamentos

QSAR models for the screening, prediction and refinement of PBT Properties of Contaminants of Emerging Concern.

The prompt identification of the adverse effects of Contaminant of Emerging Concern (CEC) is fundamental to ensure high protection level for human health and the environment. Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) compounds are chemicals of high concern and should be readily identified. The aim of this thesis is to propose an approach based on Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) models for the evaluation of the intrinsic environmental hazard of CECs. First, a screening of the potential PBT behavior of pharmaceuticals is performed by consensus approach. Results demonstrate a high agreement (i.e.86%) between the different QSAR models. Then, QSARs are developed to estimate acute toxicity of pharmaceuticals in aquatic species. All models have good fitting (R2>0.75) and predictivity (Q2EXT>0.68). An Aquatic Toxicity Index is proposed and modelled. Moreover, interspecies correlation models are also developed. Finally, QSARs for the prediction of whole-body human biotransformation Half-Lives are developed for organic chemicals. Predictions for the biotransformation potential are integrated in a mechanistic mass-balance multimedia environmental fate food-web model to estimate the Biomagnification Factor (BMF) in human in a tiered approach. The introduction of biotransformation strongly affects the calculation of BMF and the elimination processes related to biotransformation are predominant in the overall bioaccumulation

Worth seeing again? : Globo Filmes and the new setting in the Brazilian audiovisual sector during pós-retomad a period

Orientador: Nuno Cesar Pereira de AbreuTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ArtesResumo: Esta pesquisa lança um olhar sistêmico e integrado sobre o campo do audiovisual brasileiro na primeira década dos anos 2000, a pós-retomada. A partir da abordagem da Economia Política da Comunicação e da Cultura, chega-se ao panorama atual do cinema no país e sua relação com a televisão. O estudo aborda o impacto da entrada da Globo no cinema, por meio da Globo Filmes, sob diferentes aspectos: produção, distribuição, exibição, relação entre profissionais, bem como os reflexos nos conteúdos estético e narrativo. A pesquisa analisa os fatores que contribuíram, ao longo dos anos, no Brasil, para uma cultura de convergência, em que a televisão se coloca como produtora de conteúdo também para o cinema. A tese aponta para a entrada da Globo no cinema nacional estar relacionada com o fortalecimento de sua imagem corporativa enquanto principal apoiadora do conteúdo audiovisual nacional e enquanto conglomerado midiático sintonizado com as tendências globalizantes, além de sua busca pela maximização dos ganhos por meio do superaproveitamento dos conteúdos audiovisuaisAbstract: The research in this thesis looks systematically and fully at the field of Brazilian audiovisual in the first decade of this century, known as the "pós-retomada" period in Brazil. From the perspective of the Political Economy of Communication and Culture, we study the current landscape of cinema in Brazil and its relationship with broadcasting. We analyze the impact of the arrival of TV Globo in the movie industry, with the creation of Globo Filmes, under different aspects: production, distribution, exhibition, professional relationship, and how it affects the aesthetic and narrative content of movies in general. The research examines the factors that contributed over the years, in Brazil, to create a convergence culture that put broadcasters as a producer of content also for movies. The thesis points out that the entrance of TV Globo in the national cinema scene is linked to the strengthening of its corporate image as a major supporter of the national audiovisual content and media conglomerate as attuned to the recent globalizing tendencies, and its quest for the maximization of profits through the superexploitation of audiovisual contentDoutoradoMultimeiosDoutor em Multimeio

Ecotoxicity interspecies QAAR models from Daphnia toxicity of pharmaceuticals and personal care products

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) became a class of contaminants of emerging concern because are ubiquitously detected in surface water and soil, where they can affect wildlife. Ecotoxicological data are only available for a few PPCPs, thus modelling approaches are essential tools to maximize the information contained in the existing data. In silico methods may be helpful in filling data gaps for the toxicity of PPCPs towards various ecological indicator organisms. The good correlation between toxicity toward Daphnia magna and those on two fish species (Pimephales promelas and Oncorhynchus mykiss), improved by the addition of one theoretical molecular descriptor, allowed us to develop predictive models to investigate the relationship between toxicities in different species. The aim of this work is to propose quantitative activity-activity relationship (QAAR) models, developed in QSARINS and validated for their external predictivity. Such models can be used to predict the toxicity of PPCPs to a particular species using available experimental toxicity data from a different species, thus reducing the tests on organisms of higher trophic level. Similarly, good QAAR models, implemented by molecular descriptors to improve the quality, are proposed here for fish interspecies. We also comment on the relevance of autocorrelation descriptors in improving all studied interspecies correlations

A Historical Excursus on the Statistical Validation Parameters for QSAR Models: A Clarification Concerning Metrics and Terminology

In the last years, external validation of QSAR models was the subject of intensive debate in the scientific literature. Different groups have proposed different metrics to find "the best" parameter to characterize the external predictivity of a QSAR model. This editorial summarizes the history of parameter development for the external QSAR model validation and suggests, once again, the concurrent use of several different metrics to assess the real predictive capability of QSAR models