The revolution will be tweeted : how the internet can stimulate the public exercise of freedoms

This article discusses how new technologies of communication, especially the Internet and, more specifically, social network services, can interfere in social interactions and in political relations. The main objective is to problematize the concept of public liberty and verify how the new technologies can promote the reoccupation of public spaces and the recovery of public life, in opposition to the tendency to valorize the private sphere, observed in the second half of the twentieth century. The theoretical benchmark adopted for the investigation is Hannah Arendt's theory about the exercise of fundamental political capacities in order to establish a public space of freedom, as presented in “On Revolution”. The “Praia da Estação” (“Station Beach”) case is chosen to test the hypothesis. In 2010 in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, different individuals articulated a movement through blogs, Twitter and facebook, in order to protest against the Mayor’s act that banned the assembling of cultural events in one of the main public places of the city, the “Praça da Estação” (Station Square). By applying Arendt's concepts to the selected case, it is possible to demonstrate that the Internet can assume an important role against governmental arbitrariness and abuse of power, as it can stimulate the public exercise of fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of assembly and manifestation

Measuring the Contribution of Social Policies to Regional Inequality Dynamic in Brazil

We decompose the recent changes in regional inequality in Brazil into its components, highlighting the role of spatially blind social programs. We aggregate personal income micro data to the state level, differentiating 9 income sources, and assess the role of these components in the observed changes in regional inequality indicators. The main results indicate that the largest part of the recent reduction in regional inequality in Brazil is related to the dynamics in the market-related labor income, with manufacturing and services favoring inequality reduction. Labor income in agriculture, retirement and pensions, and property rents and other sources favored concentration. The social programs Bolsa Família and Benefícios de Prestação Continuada are responsible for more than 24% of the reduction in inequality, although they account for less than 1.7% of the disposable household income. Such positive impact on regional concentration is impressive, since the goals of the programs are clearly non-spatial.

Optimization Inspired on Herd Immunity Applied to Non-Hierarchical Grouping of Objects

Characterized as one of the most important operations related to data analysis, one non-hierarchical grouping consists of, even without having any information about the elements to be classified, establish upon a finite collection of objects, the partitioning of the items that constitute it into subsets or groups without intersecting, so that the elements that are part of a certain group are more similar to each other than the items that belong to distinct group. In this context, this study proposes the application of a meta-heuristic inspired by herd immunity to the determination of the non-hierarchical grouping of objects, and compares the results obtained by this method with the answers provided by four other grouping strategies, described in the literature. In particular, the resulting arrangements of the classification of 33 benchmark collections, performed by the suggested algorithm, by the metaheuristic inspired by the particle swarm, by the genetic algorithm, by the K-means algorithm and by the meta-heuristic inspired by the thermal annealing process, were compared under the perspective of 10 different evaluation measures, indicating that the partitions established by the meta-heuristic inspired by the herd immunity may, in certain respects, be more favorable than the classifications obtained by the other clustering methods

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF LARGE EDDY SIMULATIONS OF A HYDROCYCLONE

Subgrid-scale modeling, which characterizes Large Eddy Simulation (LES), has been used to predict the behavior of a water-fed hydrocyclone operating without an air core. The governing equations were solved by a fractional step method on a staggered grid. The Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model was employed to account for turbulent effects. Numerical results actually capture the main features of the flow pattern and agree reasonably well with experiments, suggesting that LES represents an interesting alternative to classical turbulence models when applied to the numerical solution of fluid flows within hydrocyclones

Environmental licensing of major undertakings : possible connection between health and environmentResumo

A perspectiva de uma avaliação multidisciplinar, que considere os impactos da modificação do meio ambiente sobre a saúde da população, durante a implantação de projetos de desenvolvimento potencialmente poluidores, é incipiente no Brasil. Considerando o cenário de grandes empreendimentos no país, ampliar o olhar sobre a relação saúde-ambiente a partir dos processos sociais e econômicos de desenvolvimento, visando projetos ecologicamente sustentáveis, é uma estratégia fundamental. O artigo explora o debate sobre as relações entre o modelo de desenvolvimento vigente, os riscos, o ambiente e a saúde e discute a importância da participação do setor saúde nos processos de licenciamento ambiental, instrumento da Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA). Visando à construção de territórios mais sustentáveis, ambientalmente e socialmente, o setor saúde vem buscando oportunidades para participar dos processos de licenciamento de grandes empreendimentos, na perspectiva da AIA. Resultados de uma pesquisa realizada no âmbito do Ministério da Saúde demonstrou a forma de participação nesses processos, apontando para as potencialidades e fragilidades que favorecem ou dificultam o fortalecimento de ações preventivas em saúde pública, na implementação de grandes projetos de desenvolvimento no Brasil.The prospect of multidisciplinary assessment that considers the environmental impacts on the health of the population during the implementation of potentially polluting projects is incipient in Brazil. Considering the scenario of major undertakings in the country, broadening the outlook on the health and environment relationship based on social and economic development processes striving for environmentally sustainable projects is a key strategy. This article examines the debate on the relationship between the current development model, the risks, the environment and health and discusses the importance of the participation of the health sector in the environmental licensing procedures, which is the instrument of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Seeking to create more environmentally and socially sustainable territories, the health sector has been looking for opportunities to participate in the licensing processes of major undertakings from the EIA standpoint. Results of research conducted by the Ministry of Health have demonstrated the form of participation in these processes, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses that favor or hinder the increase of preventive actions in public health in the implementation of major undertakings in Brazil

Efeito de doses e modos de aplicação de uréia na produção de feijão

The effect of rate and method of urea application on the yield of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L., cv. IPA-1) was evaluated on a Red-Yellow Latosol (Psamentic Haplortox) of Arapiraca and on a Solodic Planosol (Ustalf) of Igaci, both sandy-clay-loams located in the State of Alagoas, Brazil. Rates of 30,60 and 90 kg N/ha were applied placing the urea totally in the furrow at planting time; totally sidedressed twenty days after planting, mixed or not with the soil; or 1/3 of the amount in the furrow at planting plus 2/3 sidedressed twenty days after planting, mixed or not with the soil. Bean yield responses to nitrogen followed quadratic equations. In the Red-Yellow Latosol response to nitrogen occurred up to the rate of 66 kg N/ha, while in the Solodic Planosol the yield increased up to the highest applied rate of 90 kg N/ha. The relative yield increase for each site was 22% and 16%, respectively. Sidedressed application of the total amount of urea resulted in the lowest yields, whereas split application and furrow fertilization were the best and equally effective methods. No significant yield increase was observed by mixing the urea with the soil.O efeito de doses e modos de aplicação de uréia na produção de feijão (Phaseolus vulgaris L., cv. IPA-1) foi avaliado em um latossolo vermelho-amarelo de Arapiraca (AL) e em um planossolo solódico de Igaci (AL), ambos franco-argilo-arenosos. Doses de 30, 60 e 90 kg/ha de N foram aplicadas totalmente no sulco de plantio, totalmente em cobertura aos vinte dias após o plantio com ou sem incorporação, e 1/3 no sulco de plantio mais 2/3 em cobertura com ou sem incorporação. A produção de feijão aumentou com a dose de nitrogênio segundo equações quadrátricas. No latossolo vermelho-amarelo, o feijão respondeu à aplicação de nitrogênio até a dose de 66 kg/ha de N, enquanto no planossolo solódico a produção aumentou até a dose maior de 90 kg/ha de N. Os aumentos respectivos de produção em cada local foram de 22% e 16%. A aplicação de uréia de uma só vez em cobertura conferiu as menores produções, enquanto o fracionamento da dose em duas aplicações, bem como a adição única no plantio, foram os melhores métodos e igualmente efetivos. Não houve aumento significativo da produção de feijão com a incorporação da uréia no solo