Inequality, Uncertainty, and Redistribution

For centuries it has been believed that the extension of the franchise in unequal societies would lead to relatively high levels of redistribution. According to international rankings, how- ever, among the fourteen most unequal countries in the world, nine have been democratic for at least the past fourteen years. A prerequisite for the adoption of redistributive policies is that there be elected representatives who are either committed to or who have an incentive to advocate for such policies. The prospects of such an outcome depend not only on candidates personal policy preferences and motivations, but also how they are perceived by voters. One important feature shared by highly unequal democracies is that they tend to be relatively young, with many new parties and candidates in the political scene. This means elections occur under a high degree of uncertainty about critical information voters need to chose their delegates. Thus, in this paper I develop a model of elections as a game of incomplete information to explore how uncertainty, candidates’ motivation (policy vs. office), and beliefs about their ideological inclinations affect what policy interests are likely to be represented in the political process. I explore the model’s assumptions and outcomes empirically using individual level data for each presidential election in Brazil since democratization.Elections, Redistribution, Inequality, Uncertainty

Political Institutions and Street Protests in Latin America

This paper argues that where institutions are strong, actors are more likely to participate in the political process through institutionalized arenas, while where they are weak, protests and other unconventional means of participation become more appealing. This relationship is explored empirically by combining country-level measures of institutional strength with individual-level information on protest participation in 17 Latin American countries. Evidence is found that weaker political institutions are associated with a higher propensity to use alternative means for expressing preferences, that is, to protest. Also found are interesting interactions between country-level institutional strength and some individual-level determinants of participation in protests.Political institutions, Public policies, Institutional strength, Protests, Alternative Political Technologies, Political party representation, Ideology, Ideological extremism, Latin America

From the texts to the laboratory - a study for the preservation of historical grisailles

"The German term Glasmalerei, or glass painting, most aptly captures what enabled stained glass to move beyond its obvious decorative and practical functions to develop into a powerfully expressive medium." Virginia Raguin, 2003 The work developed throughout this dissertation aimed to rediscover old technologies in the art of stained-glass painting, with the main objective of building a body of knowledge that will add to a better understanding of grisaille paint production, evolution and its alteration mechanisms. In the development of this work, a gathering and critical analysis of historical written sources was done. The grisaille recipes were identified, interpreted, and compared, giving a broad overview of the technical evolution of the production of grisaille paint throughout time. The information gathered from the historical sources also allowed for the development of a systematic study to understand the influence of the raw materials and production methodology on the grisailles layer's long-term stability. A review and comparison of the published analytical data of grisaille compositions from historical samples was also done. This allowed to follow the paint composition evolution throughout time and find production patterns. A slight difference was also observed, mainly regarding 19th-century recipes and samples, when comparing the information collected from the grisaille compositions found in the literature with the information from the historical written sources. Several stained-glass pieces (of fragments) painted with grisaille from different European countries and centuries were selected and studied to add to the information gathered by the literature review. Besides the more common analytical methodologies, a new and rarely used laser-based analytical approach was also tested for chemical and morphological characterisation, proving to gather a more complete and accurate characterisation of the studied material. A simulated corrosion study methodology was developed to better understand the grisaille alteration mechanisms. Reproduced model grisailles, based on the historical recipes were painted and exposed in a high-humidity chamber and in natural conditions in five Portuguese monuments: Temples of Santa Luzia (Viana do Castelo), Monastery of Batalha (Batalha), Monastery of Jerónimos (Lisbon), Church of São Francisco (Évora), and Church of Santo António do Alto (Faro). This study showed that the compatibility between the grisaille and support glasses is one of the main factors for the painted layers' alteration. The interface layer between the support glass and grisaille will be the region more prone to alteration processes. Both degradation products and changes in the grisaille glass-matrix structure were observed and discussed. To conclude, this dissertation was the first study that solely focused on the grisaille paint layers, where a wide range of methods were followed to study this material, allowing for a more extensive understanding of this stained-glass painting material.O trabalho desenvolvido ao longo desta dissertação teve como objetivo o redescobrir de tecnologias na arte de pintura em vitral, de forma a contribuir para uma melhor compreensão dos mecanismos de evolução e alteração da pintura a grisalha. No desenvolvimento deste trabalho, foi feita uma recolha e análise crítica de fontes históricas. As receitas de grisaille foram identificadas, interpretadas e comparadas, permitindo uma visão geral da evolução técnica da produção da grisalha ao longo do tempo. As informações recolhidas a partir das fontes históricas permitiram o desenvolvimento de um estudo sistemático para compreender a influência das matérias-primas e da metodologia de produção na estabilidade a longo prazo da camada de grisalha. Uma revisão e comparação dos dados analíticos publicados de composições de amostras históricas pintadas com grisalha, também foi realizada. Permitindo acompanhar a evolução da composição deste material de pintura vítreo ao longo do tempo e encontrar padrões de produção. Quando comparadas as informações recolhidas das composições encontradas na literatura com as informações das fontes escritas, foi possível observar uma pequena diferença principalmente em relação às receitas e amostras do século XIX. Amostras de vitral pintadas com grisalha, com proveniências e datação distintas foram selecionadas e caracterizadas de forma a acrescentar informação aos resultados da revisão da literatura. Para além das metodologias analíticas mais comuns, foi também testada uma nova abordagem analítica, baseada em lasers, raramente utilizada neste tipo de material, conseguindo uma caracterização mais completa e precisa. Um estudo de corrosão simulada foi desenvolvido para melhor compreender os mecanismos de alteração do grisalha. Grisalhas modelo reproduzidas, com base na interpretação de receitas históricas, foram pintadas e expostas num exsicador com humidade elevada e em condições naturais em cinco monumentos portugueses: Templos de Santa Luzia (Viana do Castelo), Mosteiro da Batalha (Batalha), Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Lisboa), Igreja de São Francisco (Évora) e Igreja de Santo António do Alto (Faro). Este estudo mostrou que a compatibilidade entre a grisalha e os vidros de suporte pode ser o principal fator para a alteração das camadas pictóricas. Foi também perceber que a camada de interface entre o vidro de suporte e a grisalha será a região mais propensa a processos de alteração. Tanto os produtos de degradação como as alterações na estrutura da matriz do vidro da grisalha foram observadas e discutidas. Como conclusão final, esta dissertação foi o primeiro estudo que se concentrou exclusivamente nas camadas de pintura a grisalha, onde diversas metodologias foram seguidas para estudar este material, permitindo uma compreensão mais ampla deste material de pintura de vitral

The Political Economy of Pension Reform: Public Opinion in Latin America and the Caribbean

Countries around the world are facing important challenges to the sustainability of their pension systems. Changing policies, especially those of large scope and financial magnitude, is a political challenge. It takes a combination of willingness, capacity and enough political support to change the status quo and avoid costly subsequent reversals. Taking advantage of several waves of public opinion data in Latin America and the Caribbean, this paper aims to identify and analyze individual-level factors that are relevant to gauging political support for pension reform

To Redistribute or Not: A Politician's Dilemma

A prerequisite for the adoption of redistributive policies in a democracy is that there be elected representatives who are either committed to or who have an incentive to advocate for such policies. To evaluate the prospects of such an outcome, this pa- per develops a theory exploring two fundamental factors at play during elections the critical political stage where citizens choose their representatives. The first is the lack of information about the policy inclinations of candidates. The second refers to two motivations compelling candidates into politics (and possibly at odds with each other): the opportunity to implement ones favored policies or to extract rents. Results indicate the existence of an equilibrium where high inequality and low redistribution can coexist. The theorys assumptions and outcomes are explored empirically using individual-level data collected in presidential election years in Brazil

Does Inequality breed Altruism or Selfishness? Gauging Individuals’ Predispositions Towards Redistributive Schemes

Economic and political decisions usually involve a trade-off between efficiency and equality considerations. While some inequality is expected to prevail in our soci- eties, high levels of it are objectionable on various grounds. One of the fundamental roles of government is to collect and reallocate resources among its citizens, and iden- tifying the right policies to guide these reallocations is central to promoting higher equality. While we now have a good grasp of which policies lead to more equality and which do not, we know much less about why they seem to be adopted to varying degrees of intensity in some places and times and not in others. To explain this varia- tion in policy outcomes, the most fundamental task is to identify the constituencies for the different policies. Who supports what policies and under what conditions do they support them? In this paper this question is investigated based on public opinion data on preferences over taxation and government spending on conditional-cash-transfers, pension schemes, and education. All policies that were found to significantly affect inequality. We find that disagreement across socio-economic groups arise not so much on whether the government should tackle inequality, but on how it should go about doing it. Poorer respondents tend to support cash transfers to a greater extent than the rich. But the rich tend to be more likely to support expenditures on public provision education than the poor. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, inequality seems to breed altruism among the rich when it comes to the quintessential poverty reduction scheme of conditional-cash-transfers

Inequality, Uncertainty, and Redistribution

For centuries it has been believed that the extension of the franchise in unequal societies would lead to relatively high levels of redistribution. According to international rankings, how- ever, among the fourteen most unequal countries in the world, nine have been democratic for at least the past fourteen years. A prerequisite for the adoption of redistributive policies is that there be elected representatives who are either committed to or who have an incentive to advocate for such policies. The prospects of such an outcome depend not only on candidates personal policy preferences and motivations, but also how they are perceived by voters. One important feature shared by highly unequal democracies is that they tend to be relatively young, with many new parties and candidates in the political scene. This means elections occur under a high degree of uncertainty about critical information voters need to chose their delegates. Thus, in this paper I develop a model of elections as a game of incomplete information to explore how uncertainty, candidates’ motivation (policy vs. office), and beliefs about their ideological inclinations affect what policy interests are likely to be represented in the political process. I explore the model’s assumptions and outcomes empirically using individual level data for each presidential election in Brazil since democratization

Reflexões sobre a vivência no "cantinho do notebook" em uma turma de educação infantil

The objective of this study was to verify if the introduction, through the teacher, of the "notebook corner" would change the context of a kindergarten classroom, looking for the changes in children's relationships. The research was supported by a socio-historical theoretical frame based on authors like Vigotski, Luria, Leontiev, Tomasello, Wertsch, Bruner and authors who gave continuity to this approach with the activity theory like Nardi, Kaptelinin, Bodker and Cole. The methodological approach was qualitative research, more specifically action research, conducted inside a classroom from a private school in Curitiba. The participants of this study were four and five year's children with previously computational knowledge belonging to a privileged social class. The methodology was action-research where the researcher was also the teacher of the classroom. The data was collected in two stages. It begins with the application of a questionnaire (pre-artifact) and participant observations (pre and post-artifact). The main results of the study showed that there was significant changes in children's relations due to the information technology as a new language to deal with and, as a result, it promoted the growth of communication and collaboration among children and the real necessity of rules allowing participants to effectively use their autonomy.O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as mudanças no contexto de uma sala de aula de Educação Infantil, mais especificamente buscando encontrar tais alterações nas interações sociais entre as crianças participantes após a introdução, pela professora, do cantinho do notecook na rotina da turma. A fundamentação, pela professora, do cantinho do notebook na rotina da turma. A fundamentação teórica estruturou-se em uma abordagem histórico-cultural baseada em autores como Vigotski, Leontiev, Luria, Tomasello, Wertsch, Bruner, bem como em autores que dão continuidade a essa abordagem e que se inserem na Teoria da Atividade, como é o caso de Nardi, Kaptelinin, Bodker e Cole. A abordagem metodológica pautou-se na pesquisa qualitativa, do tipo pesquisa-ação, e foi realizada em uma turma no ano 2008 de uma escola particular em Curitiba. Os participantes deste estudo foram crianças entre quatro e cinco anos, com conhecimentos computacionais prévios e oriundos de um meio social privilegiado. A coleta de dados se deu-se em duas fases. Na primeira fase aplicou-se um questionário (pré-artefato), e na segunda fase conduziram-se as observações (pré e pós-artefato), por meio de protocolos e gravações em fitas de áudio durante a utilização do novo cantinho, bem como através da escrita de um diário de campo. Com base no referencial teórico e nas categorias de análise identificadas a partir dos dados obtidos, houve a percepção de mudanças significativas nas relações sociais infantis a partir da introdução da informática na sala de aula, como, por exemplo, um aumento da comunicação e da colaboração entre as crianças e também uma efetiva necessidade prática das regras, possibilitando aos participantes o exercício efetivo da autonomia

Recomposição dos reservatórios Santa Maria e Descoberto do Distrito Federal : aspectos geográficos e gestão dos recursos hídricos

Diversos governantes realizam esforços diplomáticos para minimizar questões de cunho socioambiental e buscar mudanças nos padrões de consumo. Nesse sentido, a Organização das Nações Unidas lançou em 2015, a Agenda 2030. O documento possui um plano de ação com 17 objetivos que buscam acabar com a pobreza e a fome, reduzir desigualdades, assegurar uma vida saudável com educação inclusiva e de qualidade, alcançar igualdade de gênero e assegurar a disponibilidade de saneamento básico, energia e água para todos. O acesso à água é uma grande preocupação para a sociedade, pois, estima-se que um bilhão de pessoas carece de acesso a abastecimento de água adequado. Apesar da aparente disponibilidade hídrica, verifica-se que, o consumo não tem acompanhado a recuperação. Os recursos hídricos são um dos elementos que mais sofrem com a degradação ambiental e, aparentemente, as altas tecnologias não são capazes de recuperar a água. Assim, o estudo dos recursos hídricos pela ótica geográfica é de grande valia, visto que, o estudo das diferentes formas de água existentes, a compreensão da circulação e a distribuição das águas, em especial, sob a análise da paisagem que abarca as ações naturais e antrópicas, examinado tanto do ponto de vista natural quanto humano, associado ao tempo e ao espaço, trará um quadro completo do resultado de ações dinâmicas do passado, presente e projeção para o futuro. Observa-se que os recursos hídricos estão no espaço geográfico disputando e se transformando juntamente com outros elementos, além, de ser um elemento ativo na formação da paisagem. Ao longo dos anos houve uma mudança de entendimento de alguns pesquisadores com relação à condição de recurso renovável. Para gerenciar as águas do Brasil foi criada no ano 2000 a Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA). A Agência dividiu o país em 12 regiões hidrográficas definidas a partir da proximidade das bacias, grupo de bacias ou sub-bacias hidrográficas, com características naturais, sociais e econômicas similares. Apesar da aparente condição favorável para uma alta disponibilidade dos recursos hídricos, o Governo do Distrito Federal (GDF) declarou em 2016 que a cidade estava passando por uma crise hídrica, ou seja, a disponibilidade hídrica não era suficiente para atender às demandas da população. É importante pontuar que apesar de os relatórios apresentados mostrarem que o território do DF está localizado em área privilegiada de recursos hídricos, há fatores que podem ter alterado o quadro apresentado. Para o desenvolvimento das políticas públicas é preciso que o Estado abra mão de recursos financeiros, econômicos, humanos, entre outros. Ao analisar os dados observa-se que o Distrito Federal está longe de alcançar o índice de perda na distribuição ideal. Desse modo, é muito importante a escolha correta do modelo de gerenciamento das bacias hidrográficas. A disponibilidade hídrica depende de fatores não controláveis, tais como a chuva, consumo e etc. Observa-se que os reservatórios são essenciais para a garantia de água nos tempos secos. Diante do exposto, é necessário compreender os elementos integrantes do sistema. Começando pela unidade física – a bacia hidrográfica, que é uma das principais bases de intervenção e análise. Assim, os recursos hídricos podem ser considerados sistemas adaptativos complexos, Estes sistemas apresentam características específicas, dentre as quais a resiliência, definida como a medida da magnitude dos distúrbios que podem ser absorvidos por um ecossistema sem que o mesmo mude seu patamar de equilíbrio estável.Several governors undertake diplomatic efforts to minimize social and environmental issues and seek changes in consumption patterns. In this sense, the United Nations Organization launched in 2015, the 2030 Agenda. The document has an action plan with 17 objectives that seek to end poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities, ensure a healthy life with inclusive and quality education, achieve gender equality and ensure the availability of sanitation, energy and water for all. Access to water is a major concern for society, as it is estimated that one billion people lack access to adequate water supplies. Despite the apparent water availability, it can be seen that consumption has not accompanied recovery. Water resources are one of the elements that suffer most from environmental degradation and apparently high technologies are not able to recover water. Thus, the study of water resources from a geographical point of view is of great value, since the study of different forms of water, understanding the circulation and distribution of water, especially under the analysis of the landscape that encompasses natural actions. and anthropic, examined from both the natural and human point of view, associated with time and space, will provide a complete picture of the result of dynamic actions of the past, present and projection into the future. It is observed that the water resources are in the geographical space disputing and transforming together with other elements, besides being an active element in the formation of the landscape. Over the years there has been a change of understanding of some researchers regarding the condition of renewable resource. To manage the waters of Brazil was created in the year 2000 the National Water Agency (ANA). The Agency has divided the country into 12 river basins defined by the proximity of basins, group of basins or sub-basins, with similar natural, social and economic characteristics. Despite the apparent favorable condition for a high availability of water resources, the Federal District Government (GDF) stated in 2016 that the city was going through a water crisis, that is, water availability was not enough to meet the demands of the population. It is important to point out that although the reports presented show that the DF territory is located in a privileged area of water resources, there are factors that may have changed the presented picture. For the development of public policies, the State must give up financial, economic, human resources, among others. By analyzing the data, it is observed that the Federal District is far from reaching the ideal distribution loss rate. Thus, it is very important to choose the right watershed management model. Water availability depends on uncontrollable factors such as rainfall, consumption and so on. It is noted that reservoirs are essential for ensuring water in dry times. Given the above, it is necessary to understand the integral elements of the system. Starting with the physical unit - the watershed, which is one of the main bases for intervention and analysis. Thus, water resources can be considered complex adaptive systems. These systems have specific characteristics, among which resilience, defined as a measure of the magnitude of disturbances that can be absorbed by an ecosystem without changing its level of stable equilibrium

CARICATURA NA DESTERRO DO SÉCULO XIX O Periódico Crítico Matraca

RESUMO O Periódico Crítico Matraca circulou em Nossa Senhora do Desterro no período de 1881 a 1886, registrando, com humor e crítica, acontecimentos políticos, sociais e culturais, como também as peculiaridades da vida da cidade. Esse periódico, editado pela Oficina  de Tipografia e Litografia de Alexandre Margarida, tinha como ilustrador e caricaturista seu filho, Joaquim Margarida. Durante o século XIX, era prática comum entre artistas do Brasil e do exterior se valer da caricatura e da sátira como instrumento para representar com ironia os acontecimentos da sua época. A caricatura e sátira, gênero que combina arte, crítica e humor, fornecem um rico e pouco explorado material que possibilita compreender as relações sociais, culturais e políticas de uma sociedade.Palavras ChaveCaricatura, periódico crítico, Desterro.  Abstract The journal Critical Matraca circulated in Nossa Senhora do Desterro in the period 1881 to 1886, recording with humor and criticism, political, social and cultural as well as the peculiarities of city life. This journal, published by the Oficina de Tipografia e Litografia de Alexandre Margarida, had as an illustrator and cartoonist his son, Joaquim Margarida. During the nineteenth century it was common practice among artists in Brazil and abroad take advantage of caricature and satire as a tool to represent irony in the events of his time. The caricature and satire, genre that combines art, criticism and humor, provide a rich and unexplored material allowing to understand the social, cultural and political society.Key wordsCaricature, critical jornal, Desterro