Africa Integrated Maritime Policy, blue growth and a new ocean governance: case studies from the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean

Integrated maritime and blue economy policies are changing ocean governance by introducing new policy drivers, reshaping institutional frameworks, as well as demanding new management instruments (e.g., Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP)). This started in 2007 though the European Union Integrated Maritime Policy approach, and in 2009 the Africa Union initiated a similar process, leading both to the Africa integrated maritime strategy as well as a blue economy strategy. Several countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, began to look to blue economy as a booster to socioeconomic welfare and initiated the development of national strategies, together with the necessary adaptation of institutional and legal networks. Case studies address those processes at the transition from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans, focusing on Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, as well as several African Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), particularly Cape Verde, S. Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius. Findings show that all countries covered in the case studies are developing national ocean and/or blue economy strategies and adapting their governmental, institutional, and legal frameworks, although there is a deeper political impact in SIDS. Overall, these new policy drivers are leading to a new model of ocean governance by addressing integrated maritime policies and blue growth strategies, as well as introducing MSP as a new EEZ governance tool

Indigenising Development

Among the many social groups that have been historically excluded, indigenous people comprise one that offers great challenges to development. Although their assimilation has been a goal of the national societies that engulfed them, it is disputable whether indigenous people desire the type of social inclusion that development, in its many forms, can produce. At the same time, development seems irreversible, and resistance to it might have consequences far more adverse than those brought by acceptance. The best way to overcome the challenges seems to be to indigenise development: to put it to work on behalf of indigenous people instead of putting them to work for a model of development that is not only alien to them but that frequently does violence to their culture. With this in mind: Alcida Rita Ramos, Rafael Guerreiro Osorio and José Pimenta introduce the theme and the challenges to indigenising development, considering points raised by the other contributors. Gersem Baniwa writes about the dilemmas that development poses to indigenous people in Brazil, who simultaneously want to enjoy its benefits, particularly the material and technological resources of the modern world, and to also keep their traditions. Myrna Cunningham and Dennis Mairena explain that the very concept of development is inimical to some core values of many indigenous cultures of Nicaragua, such as collective labour and property, egalitarian distribution, and holistic world views. Jaime Urrutia Cerutti presents his thoughts on why in Peru, unlike Bolivia and Ecuador, there is no massive and strong social movement of indigenous people. The indigenous population comprises the majority in these three Andean countries, and is already integrated into their modern national societies. Stuart Kirsch departs from the concept of human development to show how a mining project in Suriname might enhance the economic freedom of some indigenous groups at the expense of some other important freedoms associated with being indigenous. José Pimenta tells the success story of an Ashaninka group in Brazil who became an archetype of the ecological indian, running sustainable development projects, and managing and protecting the environment. This success was context-specific, however, and was not without cost to their way of life. Charles R. Hale recalls the dramatic impacts of the civil war on the indigenous people of Guatemala. Caught between the state and the guerrillas, they have been through genocide, and modest advancements achieved earlier were reversed. A re-emerging Maya social movement now faces the resistance of the country?s elite. Bruce Grant takes us back to the Soviet Union and pinpoints some of the differences of socialist development, showing how it affected indigenous peoples in Siberia who were paradoxically seen as both a model of primitive communism and of backwardness. It was a dear goal of Soviet planners to make them leap forward as an example of the benefits of socialism. David G. Anderson considers how the dismantling of the Soviet Union affected indigenous peoples in Siberia. Current Russian models of indigenous development are worth considering because they are not purely capitalist: private corporations that take over projects assume many of the roles of the former socialist state in welfare provision, and the overall repercussions are both favourable and otherwise. Bernard Saladin d?Anglure and Françoise Morin discuss the impact of the colonisation and development of the Arctic on the Inuit. Charged by the Soviet Union for neglecting the human development of the Inuit, Canada devised a policy that succeeded in raising their material standards of living while culturally impoverishing them. Carolina Sánchez, José del Val, and Carlos Zolla emphasise the importance of monitoring the welfare and development of indigenous people by devising culturally adequate information systems. They summarise the state-of-the-art proposals, outline the main demands of indigenous leaders and experts as regards such systems, and present the successful experience of their programme in Guerrero, Mexico. We hope that the articles in this issue of Poverty in Focus help raise awareness in the development community about problems that do not have immediate and easy solutions, but that are crucial to shaping the present and future of indigenous people.Indigenising Development

The input-output table for the Alentejo region in Portugal

Portugal is a not a homogenous territory even though it is a small country. Each region has different characteristics, which makes the country as an evident case for the need of an effective cohesion policy leading to a diminishment of regional disparities. This paper presents a preliminary version of the input-output table for Alentejo, a Portuguese region through the regionalization of the input-output national table, for the year 2008. As it is well known the input-output (IO) model is particularly appropriate for the analysis of the effects of demand on supply (possibly in territorial/regional terms). As such, from the descriptive point of view, the IO model is useful for the analysis of explanatory factors of (regional) growth. Moreover, from a decision-making point of view it allows to support (regional) policy making in order to change (in the most favorable possible way) the (regional) production structure. This is particularly important for the fragile region of Alentejo, while the largest one, where such instruments are scarce. Furthermore, the second quadrant, from which demand effects can be considered and extended to third quadrant, where a proper quantification of inter-regional imports is to be considered, complete the table. From the production perspective, our preliminary results suggest weak inter- sectors relations in the Alentejo region making it susceptible to lose a substantial part of the potential effects, which may spillover to other Portuguese regions. In particular, more than 75% of the indirect effects are below 0.05. Furthermore, tobacco, food, beverages, crude refineries, fishing & aquaculture, clothing and agriculture sectors have the most relevant type II multipliers. However, only clothing and beverages have higher aggregate indirect effects over all other industries as a result of an increase of one euro on their final demands. Regarding type I multipliers, our results suggests a different picture. Forestry, tobacco, leather, beverages, among other have important direct and indirect effect. These results have important policy implications in this fragile region. There is, however, another possible use of the model, based on the determination of how to alter the production structure, in order to potentiate the effect of drag of all sectors of production, which may have great potential for development of strategies for economic policy

A promoção do sucesso e melhoria do sucesso escolar com recurso ao modelo TurmaMais: resultados parciais de um estudo em duas escolas do Alentejo

No presente trabalho apresentam-se e analisam-se resultados parciais da aplicação do projeto TurmaMais no 3.º ciclo, em duas escolas do Alentejo no período de 2009/2010 a 2012/2013. O estudo abrangeu alunos de uma coorte escolar do 3.º ciclo e compara, ao nível da avaliação interna e externa, os seus resultados escolares com os resultados das quatro coortes escolares antecessoras e uma subsequente. Os resultados, da coorte envolvida pelo projeto, apontam para uma inversão do histórico do insucesso escolar, ainda que os resultados tivessem ficado aquém das metas contratualizadas. Os mesmos vieram a inverter-se pela coorte subsequente. Da análise dos relatos de diversos atores educativos reconhecem-se, até à conclusão do projeto, benefícios no processo de organização escolar e nas relações socio-afetivas entre os alunos e entre estes e os professores, que atribuem ao projeto TurmaMais e às dinâmicas organizacionais e pedagógicas geradas decorrentes da sua implementação. Perante os resultados escolares obtidos e do reconhecimento de melhorias na organização pedagógica escolar, os atores salientam a necessidade da continuação do modelo TurmaMais, acautelando uma reorganização dos intervenientes diretos no processo educativo e uma maior intervenção e responsabilização por parte dos encarregados de educação

Humor: un cuidado holístico y promotor de la salud del niño

Objective: to discuss the importance of humor in children's lives. Method: it uses a reflective and analytical method, based on literature and starting with the following questions: Is there a link between humor and child health? What is the role of humor in people's lives? What role does humor have specifically in children’s lives? Results: humor in children's lives? ... Although it is easily accepted and commented in health contexts, why is not therapeutic value yet recognized? Too often people say «... take humor to Pediatrics wards», but frequently the argument about the therapeutic value of humor remains inconsistent, such as its physiological and relational benefits, among others. Health professionals, who treat and care children and adolescents, have a special role in their life and their families’, once they interact in a period of great vulnerability. During the disease process, both family and patient, across a phase of great anxiety and instability, where the loss of confidence and of control of the feelings of impotence arise constantly. Conclusion: the role of humor is of undeniable value, it is a basic human need, and a way to increase the horizon perspective. Humor is a unique way of changing reality, and interpreting the context of illness in a way to enable the greatest well-being of the child or adolescent. Descriptors: sense of humor and humor; welfare; child; holistic health; therapeutics.Objetivo: refletir sobre a importância do humor na vida da criança. Método: usa-se um método reflexivo e analítico, baseado em literatura e que parte das seguintes questões: Existe um vínculo entre humor e saúde infantil? Que papel o humor tem na vida das pessoas? E na vida das crianças, concretamente? Resultados: humor na vida das crianças?... Algo que é facilmente aceitável, comentado nos contextos da saúde, mas cujo valor terapêutico ainda não é indubitavelmente reconhecido. Não raras vezes se ouve dizer “… levam o humor aos serviços de Pediatria”, contudo continua inconsistente a argumentação do valor terapêutico do humor, dos seus benefícios fisiológicos relacionais, entre outros. Os profissionais de saúde, que cuidam de crianças e adolescentes, têm um lugar singular na vida destas e das suas famílias, já que se cruzam em tempos de grande vulnerabilidade. Essas fases são geradoras de grande instabilidade e ansiedade, onde a perda de confiança e de controle dos sentimentos de impotência surge a todo instante. Conclusão: o humor é uma ação de valor inegável, uma necessidade humana básica, um modo de aumentar o horizonte do olhar, uma forma própria de transformar a realidade, interpretar, criar perspectivas e promover o maior bem-estar possível da criança ou adolescente.Objetivo: reflexionar sobre la importancia del humor en la vida del niño. Método: se utiliza un método analítico y reflexivo, suportado por la literatura y con base en las siguientes preguntas: Existe un vínculo entre el estado de ánimo y la salud del niño? ¿Qué papel tiene el humor en la vida de las personas? Y en la vidas de los niños, en concreto? Resultados: el humor en la vida de los niños? ... Algo que es fácilmente aceptable, discutido en el contexto de la salud, pero cuyo valor terapéutico nos es reconocido todavía. Con demasiada frecuencia la gente dice "... llevan el humor a los servicios de Pediatría", pero sigue siendo inconsistente el argumento del valor terapéutico del humor y de sus beneficios relacionales, fisiológicos, entre otros. Los profesionales de salud que atienden a niños y adolescentes, tienen un lugar único en la vida de estos y sus familias, ya que se cruzan con elles en un momento de gran vulnerabilidad. Estas fases están generando inestabilidad y ansiedad, donde la pérdida de la confianza y del control de los sentimientos de impotencia surge en cualquier momento. Conclusión: el humor es un acto de innegable valor, una necesidad humana básica, una manera de aumentar el horizonte de la mirada, una manera de transformar la realidad, interpretar, crear y promover las perspectivas de lo mayor bienestar posible del niño o adolescente.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Beyond Lean and the Working Environment

Lean Production System (LPS) has become very popular among manufacturing industries, services and large commercial areas over the years due to its production increase abilities. However, LPS practices can have both negative and positive impacts in worker’s psychosocial factors like motivation, satisfaction and commitment and physical and psychological health factor like musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and stress. Since LPS is a very broad term, there is no simple relation between LPS implementation and its consequences over work environment and workers. Therefore, it is necessary to study the different factors that can affect the work environment in each case. A wide variety of LPS practices can have negative and positive impacts on workers. Furthermore, the effects of lean may also depend on the sector and country in which it is implemented. There are no studies in the literature that cover all these effects and analyse them together with the involved environment. In this study, articles were collected in scientific publications in the last 26 years and analysed. Results show that Just-in-Time (JIT) practices are strongly related with negative effects in MSDs and stress caused by intensification of work and increase of control over workers. However, JIT practices such as manufacturing cells can increase job enrichment trough multi-skilling. Respect for people practices can act as buffers to lean practices. Job rotation reduces human effort and work pace trough the increase of recovery time. Workgroups create job support acting as buffers to psychosocial factors. Results show a majority of negative effects in the automotive sector and in countries such as Canada, USA and UK. Scandinavian countries have implemented hybrid forms of Lean which are related to an increase in effects such as motivation and job satisfaction. However, the overall analysis is that the effects of lean on workers depend more on the way companies manage and implement it rather than the countries cultural factors. This study can be useful for managers and leaders who seek to transform traditional enterprises into exemplars of lean success, showing the need to balance lean and good working conditions

O livro antigo na era digital

O livro antigo continua a ter leitores, sobretudo, entre os investigadores na área das humanidades. A sua existência já não se confina às estantes das bibliotecas, dado que se encontra disponível nas bibliotecas digitais de todo o mundo, embora nem sempre seja disponibilizado de forma adequada. As humanidades digitais reforçaram a necessidade de colocar conteúdos em linha, dando enfase à sua utilização e reutilização e permitindo que as obras possam ser lidas, tanto pelo homem, como por algoritmos informáticos. A colocação do livro antigo em linha implica, em primeiro lugar, que se conheça as suas características materiais, em seguida, que se determine quais os requisitos dos investigadores. A partir destes pressupostos, analisamos duas bibliotecas digitais portuguesas, a Biblioteca Nacional Digital (BND) e a Alma Mater da Universidade de Coimbra e, em particular, a coleção de livro antigo disponibilizado na BND.Esta investigação está a ser financiada pela FCT através da bolsa de formação avançada: BOLSA SFRH /BD/82229/201

Humanidades Digitais: Novos desafios e oportunidades

A área de investigação das Humanidades Digitais agrega as ciências sociais e humanas, as ciências de computação e as ciências da informação e documentação. Apesar de se ter afirmado recentemente, é extremamente dinâmica, com um número crescente de organizações associadas, eventos promovidos e de jornais editados. As Humanidades Digitais exibem simultaneamente, para cada disciplina, reptos próprios e grandes questões transversais. Em termos gerais, as linhas de investigação procuram o entendimento e gestão dos ciclos de vida da informação de interesse histórico e social, para reutilização como objeto de estudo pelas comunidades académicas e escolares. Os projetos existentes ou anunciados abrangem variadas áreas, destacando-se aqui aqueles que têm relação mais direta com as ciências da informação