Reflexões sobre a formação acadêmica na Educação Física à luz das tecnologias de si em Foucault

This article seeks support in Foucault´s conceptions about ethics and aesthetics of existence to compose reflections about academic formation in Physical Education. To mobilize this intent, the notion of “Self Technologies”, found in the last stage of Michel Foucault´s works, is contextualized. Subsequently, heterogeneous and differential approximations are drawn between the ethical issue posed to the constitution of the subject and academic formation. Although these approximations should be viewed with caution – so as not to take the practices of constitution of ancient subjects as a distant origin to forge and to explain a formative model for modern subjects –, such approximations point to other non-hegemonic rationalities that oppose the enabling logics commonly attributed to academic studies, which tend to be reduced to its instrumental aspects. In this way, the reflections ahead here do not affirm general theories, nor good or bad truths about academic formation, but give visibility to the composition of alternative discursive and non-discursive practices of elaboration and self-improvement, established in the power dynamics that sustain them throughout the formation process.Este artículo busca apoyo en las concepciones de Foucault sobre ética y estética de la existencia para reflexionar sobre la formación académica en Educación Física. Como guía para esta reflexión, se contextualiza la noción de 'tecnologías del yo', que se encuentra en la última etapa de la obra de Michel Foucault. Posteriormente, se establecen aproximaciones heterogéneas y diferenciales entre la cuestión ética planteada en la constitución del sujeto y la formación académica. Aunque estas aproximaciones deben ser vistas con cautela – para no considerar las prácticas de constitución de sujetos antiguos como un origen lejano para forjar y explicar un modelo formativo para los sujetos modernos – tales aproximaciones apuntan a otras racionalidades no hegemónicas que se oponen a las lógicas capacitativas comúnmente atribuidas a la formación académica, que tienden a reducirse a sus aspectos instrumentales. De esta forma, las reflexiones que aquí se adelantan no afirman teorías generales ni verdades absolutas sobre la formación, pero dan visibilidad a la composición de prácticas alternativas, discursivas y no discursivas, de elaboración y transformación del yo, establecidas en los juegos de fuerza que las sustentan a lo largo del camino de la formación.Este artigo busca respaldo nas concepções foucaultianas de ética e estética da existência para compor reflexões sobre a formação acadêmica na Educação Física. Como guisa à mobilização desse intento, se contextualiza a noção de “tecnologias de si”, encontrada na última etapa da obra de Michel Foucault. Na sequência, traçam-se aproximações, heterogêneas e diferenciais, entre a problemática ética colocada à constituição do sujeito e a formação acadêmica. Ainda que essas aproximações devam ser vistas com cautela – para não tomar as práticas de constituição dos sujeitos antigos como origem longínqua para forjar e explicar um modelo formativo para os sujeitos modernos – tais aproximações apontam para outras racionalidades não-hegemônicas que se contrapõem às lógicas capacitativas comumente atribuídas à formação acadêmica, que tendem a ser reduzidas apenas a seus aspectos instrumentais. Deste modo, as reflexões que aqui se avizinham não afirmam teorias gerais, tampouco verdades boas ou ruins sobre a formação, mas dão visibilidade para a composição de práticas discursivas e não-discursivas alternativas de elaboração e lapidação de si, estabelecidas nos jogos de força que as sustentam ao longo do percurso formativo

Do borrower country financial system and corporate governance system types influence the spread of syndicated loans?

Purpose – This study aims to analyse the effect of borrower’s country on syndicated loan spreads, featuring countries according to institutional factors, namely financial systems and corporate governance systems. Design/methodology/approach – This study is an empirical investigation based on a unique sample of more than 85,000 syndicated loans from 122 countries. The paper uses standard and 2LS regression analysis to test whether types of financial and corporate governance systems affect loan spreads. Findings – The paper finds that borrowers from countries with financial systems oriented towards the banking-based paradigm pay lower interest rate spreads than those from countries with financial systems oriented towards the market-based paradigm. There is evidence that borrowers from countries with more developed financial systems pay lower spreads. The results also evidence that borrowers from countries with an Anglo-Saxon governance system pay higher spreads than borrowers from countries with a Continental governance system. Originality - The paper highlights the impact of institutional factors on the cost of financing characterizing the countries according to the type of financial system and the type of corporate governance system. The study finds that borrowers from countries with bank-based financial systems pay lower interest rates spreads compared to those from countries with market-based financial systems. The paper also highlights how the level of financial development affects the cost of financing. The paper also focuses on non-financial firms, unlike financial firms which have been the focus of several empirical studies on topics relating to the cost of financing and corporate governance. Research limitations/implications – This study does not consider potential promiscuous relationships, that can arise at the level of ownership structure and governance, between banks and borrowers, that may affect loan spreads. Practical implications – This study suggests that borrower’s financial and corporate governance systems are important factors in the financial intermediation process. The evidence suggests that corporates with higher potential agency cost and higher potential information asymmetry relatively to external loans providers are requested to pay higher spreads. Therefore, the opportunities to such corporates invest optimally tend to be scarcer.info:eu-repo/semantics/draf

The effect of borrower country financial system and corporate governance system types on the spread of syndicated loans

Purpose This study aims to analyse the effect of borrower’s countries on syndicated loan spreads, featuring countries according to institutional factors, namely, financial systems and corporate governance systems. Design/methodology/approach This study is an empirical investigation based on a unique sample of more than 85,000 syndicated loans from 122 countries. The paper uses standard and two-stage least squares regression analysis to test whether the types of financial and corporate governance systems affect loan spreads. Findings The paper finds that borrowers from countries with financial systems oriented towards the banking-based paradigm pay lower interest rate spreads than those from countries with financial systems oriented towards the market-based paradigm. In addition, there is evidence that borrowers from countries with more developed financial systems pay lower spreads. The results also show that borrowers from countries with an Anglo-Saxon governance system pay higher spreads than borrowers from countries with a Continental governance system. Research limitations/implications This study does not consider potential promiscuous relationships that can arise at the ownership structure and governance level between banks and borrowers and may affect loan spreads. Practical implications This study suggests that financial and corporate governance systems are essential factors in the financial intermediation process. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that corporates with higher potential agency costs and higher potential information asymmetry are requested to pay higher spreads. Therefore, the opportunities to such corporates invest optimally tend to be scarcer. Originality/value The paper highlights the impact of institutional factors on the cost of financing, characterising the countries according to the type of financial system and the type of corporate governance system. The study finds that borrowers from countries with bank-based financial systems pay lower interest rate spreads than those from countries with market-based financial systems. The paper also highlights how the level of financial development affects the cost of financing. The paper focusses on non-financial firms, unlike financial firms, which have been the focus of several empirical studies on topics relating to the cost of funding and corporate governance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

La capacidad hidráulica en las redes de agua potable y su influencia en el proceso de sectorización

[ES] La sectorización en sectores hidrométricos de las redes de abastecimiento de agua potable ha sido, a lo largo de los últimos años, una de las técnicas más empleadas para ubicar y controlar las fugas. Esto es de vital importancia ante un recurso, el agua potable, cada vez más escaso y valioso. Sin embargo, el empleo de esta técnica, algunas veces, es llevada a cabo por ensayo y error, o sin una estrategia previamente establecida. La capacidad hidráulica de la red, o caudal máximo que puede aportar cumpliendo los requisitos mínimos de servicio, puede afectarse cuando se lleva a cabo un proceso de sectorización. Esto es debido a que el cierre de tramos de la red cambia las condiciones de servicio, pudiendo generar afectaciones graves desde el punto de vista de presiones y de calidad de agua. Algunas veces, también, es aplicado el proceso de sectorización sin una evaluación previa de las características de la red y de las condiciones operativas. Partiendo de estas situaciones, se planteó indagar acerca de cómo las condiciones iniciales de operación de la red pudiesen afectar la formación de los sectores hidrométricos desde el punto de vista de su configuración. En los procesos de sectorización pueden emplearse algoritmos de clústering debido a la analogía existente entre los agrupamientos de los diferentes elementos de los sistemas de abastecimiento de agua y los principios aplicados en las técnicas de agrupamiento de datos. Así, se decidió aplicar diversas técnicas basadas en la detección de comunidades en redes, ya que poseen la ventaja de agrupar en función de la información en las conexiones, y no solo en la información almacenada en los nodos, lo cual resulta favorable para el tema en estudio en este trabajo, debido a que pudiera tomarse en cuenta cómo la variación de los niveles de exigencia en las tuberías, ocasionados por la variación en la demanda, afectaría la formación de sectores. Para ello se planteó trabajar con dos redes de prueba conocidas en la literatura, a las cuales se les simuló bajo distintas capacidades de carga de trabajo y a través del empleo de varios algoritmos de agrupamiento, tales como Infomap, Walktrap, Fast gready, Edge betweeness, Luovain y Leiden. La metodología desarrollada fue, finalmente, aplicada a una red real de gran tamaño, lo que valida dicha metodología para un problema del mundo real. Como parámetros para ponderar las conexiones se probaron cuatro opciones: caudal circulante con la red trabajando a la capacidad deseada; energía disipada en cada tramo con la red trabajando a la capacidad deseada; relación entre el caudal circulante en el tramo y el caudal circulante a capacidad máxima teórica de la red; y relación entre la energía disipada trabajando a la capacidad deseada y la disipación de la energía en los tramos con la red trabajando a capacidad máxima. Obtenida la partición por cualquiera de los métodos anteriormente expuestos, se optimizaron las entradas y salidas de los sectores por medio de la implementación de un algoritmo de enjambre de partículas; adicionalmente, se hace una comparación del resultado con otro obtenido a partir de un algoritmo de colonia de hormigas, lo que permite dar robustez a la metodología desarrollada.[CA] La partició o sectorització de les xarxes d'abastiment d'aigua potable a les anomenades districtes hidromètrics ha estat, durant els darrers anys, una de les tècniques més utilitzades per localitzar i controlar les pèrdues d'aigua. La sectorització és crucial quan es tracta d'un recurs cada vegada més escàs i valuós com es l'aigua. Tanmateix, l'ús d'aquesta tècnica de vegades es duu a terme mitjançant proves i errors, o sense una estratègia prèviament establerta. La capacitat hidràulica d'una xarxa o el cabal màxim que pot proporcionar mentre compleix els requisits mínims de servei es pot veure afectat quan es realitza un procés de sectorització. Això es deu al fet que el tancament de seccions de la xarxa modifica les condicions del servei, la qual cosa pot generar greus efectes des del punt de vista de la pressió i la qualitat de l'aigua. A més, de vegades s'apliquen processos de sectorització sense una avaluació prèvia de les característiques de la xarxa i de les condicions de funcionament. Partint d'aquestes situacions, ens vam preguntar sobre com les condicions inicials de funcionament de la xarxa podrien afectar la construcció dels sectors hidromètrics des del punt de vista de la seva configuració. Els algoritmes de clusterització es poden utilitzar en processos de sectorització a causa de l'analogia entre l'agrupació dels diferents elements dels sistemes d'abastiment d'aigua i els principis aplicats en les tècniques d'agrupament de dades. Així, vam decidir aplicar diverses tècniques basades en la detecció de comunitats a les xarxes, ja que tenen l'avantatge de realitzar agrupacions basades en la informació de les unions i no només en la informació emmagatzemada als nodes. Això és favorable per al tema en estudi en aquest treball, perquè es pot considerar com la variació dels nivells de demanda a les canonades, causada per la variació de la demanda, pot afectar la construcció de sectors. Amb aquesta finalitat, es va proposar treballar amb dues xarxes de proves conegudes a la literatura, que es van simular sota diferents capacitats de càrrega i mitjançant l'ús de diversos algorismes de clusterització, com Infomap, Walktrap, Fast gready, Edge betweeness, Luovain i Leiden. La metodologia desenvolupada es va aplicar, finalment, a una gran xarxa real, que valida la metodologia per a una xarxa de subministrament d'aigua del món real. Com a paràmetres per ponderar les unions, es van provar quatre opcions: cabal circulant amb la xarxa treballant a la capacitat desitjada; energia dissipada a cada secció amb la xarxa treballant a la capacitat desitjada; relació entre el cabal circulant a la secció i el cabal circulant a la capacitat màxima teòrica de la xarxa; i la relació entre l'energia dissipada que treballa a la capacitat desitjada i la dissipació d'energia a les seccions amb la xarxa que treballa a la màxima capacitat. Un cop obtinguda la partició per qualsevol dels mètodes esmentats anteriorment, les entrades i sortides dels sectors s'optimitzen mitjançant un algorisme d'optimització d'eixam de partícules; a més, es fa una comparació del resultat amb un altre algoritme d'optimització, és a dir, un algoritme d'optimització de colònies de formigues, que permet proporcionar robustesa a la metodologia desenvolupada.[EN] Partitioning or sectorization of drinking water supply networks into so-called district metered areas has been, over the last years, one of the most used techniques to locate and control leaks. Sectorization is crucial when dealing with an increasingly scarce and valuable resource as water. However, the use of this technique is sometimes carried out by trial and error, or without a previously established strategy. The hydraulic capacity of a network, or the maximum flow it can provide while meeting the minimum service requirements, can be affected when a sectorization process is carried out. This is due to the fact that the closure of sections of the network changes the service conditions, which could generate serious effects from the point of view of pressure and water quality. Also, sometimes sectorization processes are applied without a prior evaluation of the characteristics of the network and of the operating conditions. Starting from these situations, we inquired about how the initial operating conditions of the network could affect the construction of the hydrometric sectors or district metered areas from the point of view of their configuration. Clustering algorithms can be used in sectorization processes due to the analogy between the grouping of the different elements of water supply systems and the principles applied in data grouping techniques. Thus, we decided to apply various techniques based on the detection of communities in networks, since they have the advantage of performing grouping based on the information at the junctions, and not only on the information stored at the nodes. This is favourable for the subject under study in this work, because one may consider how the variation of the demand levels in the pipes, caused by the demand variation, can affect the construction of sectors. To this end, it was proposed to work with two test networks known in the literature, which were simulated under different load capacities and through the use of various clustering algorithms, namely Infomap, Walktrap, Fast gready, Edge betweeness, Luovain and Leiden. The methodology developed was, finally, applied to a large real network, which validates the methodology for a real-world water supply network. As parameters to weight the junctions, four options were tested: circulating flow with the network working at the desired capacity; energy dissipated in each section with the network working at the desired capacity; relationship between the circulating flow in the section and the circulating flow at the theoretical maximum capacity of the network; and the relationship between the energy dissipated working at the desired capacity and the dissipation of energy in the sections with the network working at maximum capacity. Once the partition is obtained by any of the previously said methods, the inputs and outputs of the sectors are optimized by using a particle swarm optimization algorithm; additionally, a comparison of the result is made with another optimization algorithm, namely, an ant colony optimization algorithm, which allows to provide robustness to the developed methodology.Martins Alves, C. (2020). La capacidad hidráulica en las redes de agua potable y su influencia en el proceso de sectorización [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/159938TESI

Tourism and third sector organisations: synergies for responsible tourism development?

The main aim of this paper is the analysis of the third sector arts, culture and local development organisations (TSO) participation in the context of tourism planning and development and to understand the characteristics of its connections to the tourism sector in the region of the Algarve. The methodological strategy is anchored in a mix-methods approach applying qualitative techniques such as semi structured interviews (n=40), document analysis, non-participant observation, and adopting a triangulation approach. There have been few empirical studies that analyse this theme, thus, identifying the forms of participation that the third sector can adopt and their characteristics constitutes one of the main contributions of this research towards reinforcing the conceptual framework in the context of responsible tourism development. The results revealed that third sector organisations display a set of characteristics that position them as active agents in the tourist planning and development processes by operating on areas such as the promotion of cultural expression, research and inventory of cultural and natural resources, raising awareness of those resources and also by actively participating in supply structuring of tourist services.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New methodologies for second language assessment : measuring and identifying profiles in migrant school contexts

In Education, the policy related to immigrant school population is of upmost importance considering the migratory history and the current scenarios of Multilingual classrooms. The research evidence in second language area is a very recent period in science, mainly regarding the assessment concerns and responsiveness. To be inclusive, school professionals needs differentiated tools to assess and place students. The diagnostic evaluation is the first step in educational scientific research, in this field. On one hand, the language assessment in second language context is still a gap in portuguese schools and at research settings; on the other hand, the international scientific research still presents contradictory frameworks regarding standardization of norms and benchmarks to develop tests and scoring. In this work new methodologies are addressed as instrument for school improvement, specifically regarding second language learners. Our research is focused in the development of a diagnostic test to assess proficiency and skills of students in Portuguese language, creating validated measuring and reliable training in this area. Literacy practitioners should be aware of profiles and needs of immigrant students, so far this was not achieved in our national system using oversampling in research studies. Particularly here we will provide an examination of the type of responses that Portuguese language learners present in such second language diagnostic tests, integrating several tasks to ensure enough observations and reliable scores, to determine profiles that inform how to score constructed-response items. This research will be able to describe the type of responses and specific language errors that would be useful as training clues (as rubrics for each content area) to define correct language and grammar to be expected to receive positive scores in the test. Teachers and students are still unfamiliar with these tests and the orientation about fulfilment and scores should be supported by research results and validated material to help to apply specific evaluation to specific responses, in real school contexts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring Urban Interventions through Computational tools: genetic algorithm and urban connection patterns

This paper presents a particular approach to design processes in urban design, in a transdisciplinary environment. Exploring geotechnologies, information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence techniques and experimental softwares (fuzzy logic and generic algorithm), the workshop “Generation of Urban Connection Patterns”, developed by IAU-USP (Brazil) and ETSA-US (Spain), aimed: to investigate urban space connection patterns in areas of environmental and social vulnerability; to explore formal arrangements in urban design; to foster academic exchange and possibilities of collaborative workshops. The article also discusses the role of computational tools and the implementation of in-person and non-presential methods in the teaching/learning process

What’s on : cultural diversity and new educational approaches for specific school populations

Education policy regarding the immigrant school population is of upmost importance for current scientific research in social sciences. Digital resources and assessment instruments are challenges in education and psychology research, demanding knowledge from school community to address specific traits of learning and academic achievement. The education of future generation should be conceived based on multicultural idea of existing different cognitive profiles that have different selfregulations in learning environments as language acquisition development process. Immigrant school population is frequently neglected by school management and become emergent the development of open educational resources, validated tools and digital materials. Method: This post-doctoral research is focused in the development of open repository of paper and digital resources for school education, particularly addressing educational approaches for Portuguese second language learners. In current empirical study we are assessing a large sample of immigrant students from public schools, aged between 8 and 17 years old, learning Portuguese as second language, with heterogeneous profiles, in Lisbon district, from several levels of education. The main goal is to determine learner’s cognitive profiles in second language setting, and which common performances we can find between different home language speakers answering to 15 tests in the same circumstances. We believe that accurate evaluation tests can produce new changes in learning environments of linguistic minorities. Preliminary results will be discussed regarding three hypotheses about verbal behaviors in cognates, idiomatic utterances and verbal analogy tasks according to three variables: age, home language and exposure to second language. The variation of these predictors might have influence in cognitive and linguistic profiles. Additionally will be evaluated the reliability and difficulty of each task to provide a more psychometric sound measure than traditional other tools of assessment in national second language area. Findings will demonstrate new understanding about different speaking proficiency levels, rationales about predictive factors, and cutoffs to be considered as standards that will be adopted for the specific portuguese diagnostic test that is in validation process. Some of these new insights could be extended to the general investigation of proficiency and cognitive decoding skills in second language research, mainly for European languages context.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio