642 research outputs found

    Animals and African Ethics

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    This article is a book review of the book Animals and African Ethics by Kai Horsthemke. I argue this is a brilliant book that gives a clear overview of how Africans see animals. However, I also contend that Horsthemke could have had a more charitable approach to African ideas and explore how an African theory of animal rights can be built upon this

    Monetary Systems in Developing Countries: An Unorthodox View

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    This paper analyzes some recent theoretical and practical evidence in terms of economic results of different exchange rate systems. It begins with a historical review and a summary of fixed versus flexible exchange rate systems. Then it compares the experiences of recent currency unions, mostly unilateral, and their relative economic performance during the past currency crises in Latin America, East Asia and Eastern Europe. A set of issues is discussed in order to weigh the overall costs and benefits for several economies. These issues include exchange rates, GDP performance, inflation rates and foreign reserves. The case of Argentina is also considered separately, comparing mostly seigniorage costs and interest-rate savings. The benefits and costs of the producers (central banks/governments) and the consumers (citizens) of money are discussed separately. Free banking is also considered in a fast-changing world where there will probably be fewer but better currencies. Not just the euro is a reality now, but maybe the "amero" and the "worldo" or the "mondo" very soon

    Constitutions around the world : A View from Latin America

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    This paper gives a global summary of the number of constitutions and the number of articles in each constitution for many representative countries around the world. Several works have already been written comparing different legal systems and different constitutional traditions around the world; the purpose of this paper is just to compare the numbers of constitutions and articles in the diverse regions of the world, namely: North America, Latin America, Europe, Oceania, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Around the world, on average, Latin America has had the most convoluted constitutional history. The Dominican Republic has had a total of 32 constitutions, the largest number of constitutions of any country, since its independence in 1844. Three other countries have also had 20 or more constitutions throughout their history, all of them in Latin America: Venezuela (26), Haiti (24) and Ecuador (20). On the other hand, there are economies and societies that do not even have codified constitutions, like the United Kingdom in Europe, Hong Kong in Asia and New Zealand in Oceania. The United States has had only one constitution, even if it has been amended several times. There are also the special cases of Israel and Saudi Arabia, both in the Middle East, that do not have official written constitutions for historical and religious reasons. Comparative constitutional numbers andhistory help explain several things about the stability of political systems, but not necessarily about their quality

    Políticas de educação: as diferentes responsabilidades e opções dos poderes públicos

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    O presente trabalho procura analisar a evolução das teorias políticas e econômicas mais relevantes, bem como os tipos de Estado que lhes estão associados, que foram se sobrepondo no decorrer dos últimos três séculos nas sociedades democráticas ocidentais e que mais diretamente foram interferindo na elaboração e execução das políticas públicas de educação. Em seguida, reflete-se sobre as suas implicações na forma como o pensamento educativo foi sendo construído e sedimentado. Partindo dessa análise, termina-se por equacionar as mudanças fundamentais que se perspectivam no pensar de algumas dimensões das políticas educativas públicas, situando-as, sobretudo, na necessidade de associar as lógicas nacionais e transnacionais às políticas de base local, que, por meio de uma ação conjunta e concertada, mobilizem a comunidade no sentido de formar cidadãos capazes, sem perder de vista a escala global, de agir em âmbito local, a partir do conhecimento da sua própria realidade e induzir uma nova noção de desenvolvimento, o qual se espera que seja integrado e sustentado. Abstract This paper seeks to analyze the evolution of the most relevant political and economic theories, as well as the associated state types, during the last three centuries in western democratic societies and that most directly interfered in the elaboration and execution of public education policies, to reflect on their implications in the construction and consolidation of educational thinking. Starting from this analysis, it ends up by equating the fundamental changes that are perceived in the thinking of some dimensions of the public educational policies, placing them in the need to associate local policies to national and transnational logics, that can, through joint and concerted action, mobilize the community to train citizens who, without forgetting the global scale, are able to act at the local level, based on the knowledge of their own reality, and to induce a new notion of development, which is expected to be integrated and sustained

    Propriedades da córnea e glaucoma : revisão da literatura e meta-análise

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    SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online. ABO is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial 4.0 Internacional.Purpose: Studies have suggested that corneal biomechanical properties influence intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements, namely central corneal thickness (CCT) and corneal hysteresis (CH). The present study aimed to investigate the associations of CH and CCT with glaucoma development. Methods: We performed a review of the literature and meta-analysis of observational studies (2006-2016) that included both adult glaucoma patients and controls and reported CCT and CH as outcomes. Nineteen studies were conside red eligible, and the mean difference (MD) between groups (patient and control) for both variables was used for statistical analyses. Results: A total of 1,213 glaucoma and 1,055 healthy eyes were studied. Quan titative analysis suggested that CH was significantly lower in the glaucoma group than in the control group (MD=-1.54 mmHg, 95% CI [-1.68, -1.41], P<0.0001). Additionally, CCT was significantly lower in the glaucoma group than in the control group (MD=-8.49 µm, 95% CI [-11.36, -5.62], P<0.001). Conclusion: Corneal properties appear to differ between glaucoma patients and healthy controls. Our results emphasize the importance of corneal biomechanical properties in IOP interpretation and should support further studies on the influence of CH and CCT in glaucoma screening and diagnosis.Objetivo: A literatura sugere que as propriedades biomecânicas da córnea, nomea-damente a espessura central da córnea (ECC) e a histerese corneana (HC), influenciam a medição da pressão intraocular (PIO). Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a associação entre a ECC e a HC e o desenvolvimento de glaucoma. Métodos: Revisão da literatura e meta-análise. Foram incluídos estudos observacio-nais, publicados entre 2006 e 2016, que integrassem um grupo controle e um grupo de pacientes com glaucoma em que estes dois grupos apresentassem, igualmente, a ECC e a HC como parâmetros. Dezenove estudos foram considerados elegíveis e a diferença média (MD) daqueles parâmetros nos dois grupos foi utilizada para análise estatística. Resultados: Estudaram-se um total de 1.213 olhos com glaucoma e 1.055 olhos saudáveis. A análise quantitativa revelou que a HC é significativamente mais baixa no grupo de doentes com glaucoma quando comparada com o grupo controle (MD=-1,54 mmHg, intervalo de confiança de 95% [-1,68-1,41], P<0,00001). A ECC foi, também, significativamente mais baixa no grupo glaucoma quando comparada com os indivíduos saudáveis MD=-8,49 μm, intervalo de confiança de 95% [-11,36, -5,62], P<0,001). Conclusão: Os pacientes com glaucoma parecem possuir propriedades corneanas diferentes das que apresentam os indivíduos saudáveis. Os resultados enfatizam a importância das propriedades biomecânicas da córnea na interpretação da PIO e devem contribuir para novos estudos sobre a influência da HC e da ECC no rastreio e diagnóstico do glaucoma.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Towards a Global Philosophy of Religion

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