Constitution, document of culture and barbarism

Based on Walter Benjamin’s reflections on history and social struggles, this paper drafts an analysis of the relations of the subject with some problems of constitutional theory, in a first effort to bring the field nearer to social philosophy. After tracing a short narrative on modern constitutionalism and its new relationship with the historical time, we argument that Constitution shall be seen as a cultural document of memory of the social struggles of the past and at the same an object of the struggles of the present. Some inconclusive reflections on the possibility of human emancipation through law are presented as conclusion

Olin Downes and the Reception of Latin American Composers in the United States [abstract only]

Olin Downes, influential music critic of the New York Times from 1924 until his death in 1955, was an indefatigable supporter of contemporary music and his interest extended to Latin American composers such as Carlos Chávez, Alberto Ginastera, Camargo Guarnieri, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. Downes’s reviews and newspaper pieces in relation to the New York World’s Fair from 1939 were especially instrumental in consolidating the reputation of Villa-Lobos in the United States. Downes thought highly of Chávez not only as a composer but also as a conductor, whom he compared in favorable terms to Arturo Toscanini’s tenure with the New York Philharmonic. Downes established a particularly enthusiastic relationship with Villa-Lobos and his music, about which he wrote more often than that of any other composer from Latin America. The Brazilian composer reciprocated in kind by dedicating to Downes his Symphony No. 8 from 1950. This paper examines Downes’s music criticism in the New York Times, especially his reviews of Latin American music performances, as well as his papers and unpublished correspondence, which mostly survive at the University of Georgia in Athens. Although it is clear that Olin Downes’s support of Latin American music was indefatigable and genuine, this paper reveals that is was not entirely disinterested and that the renowned critic also worked in tandem with the State Department in Washington, D.C., and its Good Neighbor Policy for the arts

A closer look at the Yukawa's interaction from a symmetry group perspective

I investigate the use of the SU(3) Clebsch-Gordan coefficients in light of the relations of completeness and closure. I show that in the case of $\alpha_V = F/(F+D)~\neq$ 1, there is an additional interaction: the exchange of a $\rho$ meson between a $\Lambda$ and a $\Sigma^0$ hyperon that only affects the symmetric coupling. I then calculate these additional coupling constants and show that this recovers the completeness and closure of the SU(3) Clebsch-Gordan coefficients for all values of $\alpha_V$. Besides, it increases the symmetry of the theory, once now we can group the baryon octet into four doublets. Finally, I add the new coupling constants to study numerical results in the hyperon onset in dense nuclear matter assuming $\alpha_V$ as a free parameter.Comment: 16 pages, published versio

Modelling the GSM handover protocol in CommUnity

CommUnity is a formal approach to software architecture. It has a precise, yet intuitive mathematical semantics based on category theory. It supports, at the methodological level, a clear separation between computation, coordination, and distribution (including mobility). It provides a simple state-based language for describing component behaviour that is inspired by Unity and Interacting Processes. It also addresses composition as a first class concern and accounts for the emergence of global system properties from interconnections. This paper describes the approach and available tool support by modelling essential aspects of the GSM handover protocol. We also sketch a framework that we are implementing for the distributed execution of such specifications using Klava, a Java library for mobile agent systems based on tuple spaces

Gravitational Wave Signatures of Highly Magnetized Neutron Stars

Motivated by the recent gravitational wave detection by the LIGO-VIRGO observatories, we study the Love number and dimensionless tidal polarizability of highly magnetized stars. We also investigate the fundamental quasi-normal mode of neutron stars subject to high magnetic fields. To perform our calculations we use the chaotic field approximation and consider both nucleonic and hyperonic stars. As far as the fundamental mode is concerned, we conclude that the role played by the constitution of the stars is far more relevant than the intensity of the magnetic field and if massive stars are considered, the ones constituted by nucleons only present frequencies somewhat lower than the ones with hyperonic cores, a feature that can be used to point out the real internal structure of neutron stars. Moreover, our studies clearly indicate that strong magnetic fields play a crucial role in the deformability of low mass neutron stars, with possible consequences on the interpretation of the detected gravitational waves signatures.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, 6 table

Terre ! Aborder la chanson

Afin de cerner les spécificités de la chanson en tant que langage, cette étude propose trois grands modèles d’intégration entre la mélodie et les paroles, telles qu’on peut les reconnaître dans la composition de morceaux « de consommation » au Brésil. On y examine, à titre d’illustration et de test du rendement descriptif d’un tel point de vue, la chanson « Terra », de Caetano Veloso. L’article distingue les contenus issus de la mélodie de ceux qui relèvent des paroles; on essaie par ailleurs de faire le point sur le sens engendré par la compatibilité de ces deux composantes, linguistique et musicale, au sein de la chanson analysée.The authors examine the three main patterns for the integration of melody and lyrics in Brazilian popular songs, aiming to verify their interaction in some specific contexts. In order to do so, some semiotic techniques on song analysis are discussed. “ Terra ”, by Caetano Veloso, has been chosen as an example of the descriptive capabilities of semiotics applied to this artistic language. In this paper, the authors distinguish between the contents in the melody and those associated to the lyrics, trying to identify the relation between both components for the song’s global meaning