A resource management scenario for traditional and scientific management of pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus paulensis) in the Patos Lagoon estuary (RS), Brazil

Abstract Background This article aims to discuss the incorporation of traditional time in the construction of a management scenario for pink shrimp in the Patos Lagoon estuary (RS), Brazil. To meet this objective, two procedures have been adopted; one at a conceptual level and another at a methodological level. At the conceptual level, the concept of traditional time as a form of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) was adopted. Method At the methodological level, we conduct a wide literature review of the scientific knowledge (SK) that guides recommendations for pink shrimp management by restricting the fishing season in the Patos Lagoon estuary; in addition, we review the ethno-scientific literature which describes traditional calendars as a management base for artisanal fishers in the Patos Lagoon estuary. Results Results demonstrate that TEK and SK describe similar estuarine biological processes, but are incommensurable at a resource management level. On the other hand, the construction of a “management scenario” for pink shrimp is possible through the development of “criteria for hierarchies of validity” which arise from a productive dialog between SK and TEK. Conclusions The commensurable and the incommensurable levels reveal different basis of time-space perceptions between traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge. Despite incommensurability at the management level, it is possible to establish guidelines for the construction of “management scenarios” and to support a co-management process.

Psicologia: Ciência e Profissão: 30 anos registrando o avanço da Psicologia Brasileira

Psicologia: Ciência e Profissão (PCP), publicada pelo Conselho Federal de Psicologia ao longo de 30 anos, registra o avanço da Psicologia, como ciência e profissão. O objetivo deste trabalho é relatar alguns aspectos que merecem destaque, a partir de 2005, quando PCP se consolida como uma revista científica, ganha a versão digital e se insere no movimento do acesso aberto. É feita também uma breve análise dos indicadores de citações da revista. As análises foram efetuadas a partir da leitura dos editoriais dos fascículos publicados do ano 2005 até o momento. Com base nos módulos de bibliometria do PePSIC e SciELO, além dos dados das referências da revista, foram levantados indicadores de citações recebidas e fornecidas por PCP. Os dados permitem afirmar que PCP vem aumentando o número de citações recebidas. A rede de revistas que mais citam PCP está publicada no PePSIC, demonstrando que publicações eletrônicas ganham maior visibilidade na comunidade científica. Ao completar 30 anos, a proposta da revista é o comprometimento com a Psicologia voltada para aliviar o sofrimento humano, mas também dedicada ao avanço da ciência psicológica. O conhecimento documentado em revistas científicas e o impacto que tais publicações representam para o saber universal é algo que deve ser abordado, discutido e entendido, assim, estudos dessa natureza devem ser incentivados.

Research Blogging: Indexing and Registering the Change in Science 2.0

Increasing public interest in science information in a digital and 2.0 science era promotes a dramatically, rapid and deep change in science itself. The emergence and expansion of new technologies and internet-based tools is leading to new means to improve scientific methodology and communication, assessment, promotion and certification. It allows methods of acquisition, manipulation and storage, generating vast quantities of data that can further facilitate the research process. It also improves access to scientific results through information sharing and discussion. Content previously restricted only to specialists is now available to a wider audience. This context requires new management systems to make scientific knowledge more accessible and useable, including new measures to evaluate the reach of scientific information. The new science and research quality measures are strongly related to the new online technologies and services based in social media. Tools such as blogs, social bookmarks and online reference managers, Twitter and others offer alternative, transparent and more comprehensive information about the active interest, usage and reach of scientific publications. Another of these new filters is the Research Blogging platform, which was created in 2007 and now has over 1,230 active blogs, with over 26,960 entries posted about peer-reviewed research on subjects ranging from Anthropology to Zoology. This study takes a closer look at RB, in order to get insights into its contribution to the rapidly changing landscape of scientific communication.

Stochastic simulation of time-series models combined with geostatistics to predict water-table scenarios in a Guarani Aquifer System outcrop area, Brazil

Stochastic methods based on time-series modeling combined with geostatistics can be useful tools to describe the variability of water-table levels in time and space and to account for uncertainty. Monitoring water-level networks can give information about the dynamic of the aquifer domain in both dimensions. Time-series modeling is an elegant way to treat monitoring data without the complexity of physical mechanistic models. Time-series model predictions can be interpolated spatially, with the spatial differences in water-table dynamics determined by the spatial variation in the system properties and the temporal variation driven by the dynamics of the inputs into the system. An integration of stochastic methods is presented, based on time-series modeling and geostatistics as a framework to predict water levels for decision making in groundwater management and land-use planning. The methodology is applied in a case study in a Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) outcrop area located in the southeastern part of Brazil. Communication of results in a clear and understandable form, via simulated scenarios, is discussed as an alternative, when translating scientific knowledge into applications of stochastic hydrogeology in large aquifers with limited monitoring network coverage like the GAS.

History and Epistemology of Science in the Classroom: The Synthesis of Quinine as a Proposal

The history of the quinine synthesis can be used as a case study to emphasize that science is influenced by social and historical processes. The first efforts toward the synthesis of this substance, which until recently was the only treatment for malaria, were by Perkin in 1856 when, trying to obtain quinine,,. he synthesized mauveine. Since then, the quest for the total synthesis of quinine involved several characters in a web of controversies. A major step in this process was made in 1918 by Rabe and Kindler, who proposed the synthesis of quinine from quinotoxine. Twenty-six years later, after obtaining the total synthesis of quinotoxine, Woodward and Doering announced the total synthesis of quinine. However, the lack of experimental details about Rabe and Kindler's process, associated with Woodward and Doering's failure to reproduce it, raised a series of doubts about the synthesis. Stork and colleagues questioned the veracity of the experimental data and even the scientific reputation of the involved researchers. Doubts remained alive until 2008, when Williams and Smith reported, not without reservations, the reproducibility of Rabe and Kindler's protocol. The scientific knowledge as a social and historical development, its legitimating process, and the absence of neutrality in science constitute aspects that can be discussed from this case study, providing significant contributions to science education, in particular, to the initial or continued training of chemistry teachers.

Psicoterapia como estratégia de tratamento dos transtornos alimentares: análise crítica do conhecimento produzido

O objetivo deste estudo foi empreender uma análise crítica acerca do conhecimento científico produzido sobre a utilização das psicoterapias como estratégia de tratamento dos transtornos alimentares. A partir de buscas nas bases PsycINFO, PePSIC e SciELO, no período entre 1999 e 2011, foram recuperados 35 artigos, categorizados em: psicoterapias breves, grupais, psicodinâmicas, complementares, bem como psicoterapias aliadas a outros tratamentos, como o psicofarmacológico. As abordagens mais frequentemente mencionadas foram psicodinâmicas e cognitivo-comportamentais. A modalidade de atendimento predominante foi a grupal. Ainda que preconizando o uso combinado de diversas estratégias, a literatura é unânime em destacar a importância das psicoterapias no tratamento. A análise crítica evidenciou necessidade de leituras que transcendam a mera identificação de técnicas psicoterápicas consideradas mais eficazes para o tratamento dos transtornos alimentares. Deve-se considerar o contexto mais amplo no qual os tratamentos são propostos, bem como promover um diálogo aberto entre enfoques teóricos, valorizando a pluralidade de saberes e a psicoterapia como prática em permanente transformação.

Alcances y limitaciones actuales de la actividad experimental en escuelas de Enseñanza Media de la provincia Santiago de Cuba: criterios de alumnos y profesores

El propósito de este estudio es explorar el estado actual de desarrollo de las actividades experimentales en la asignatura de Física en escuelas de Enseñanza Media de la provincia de Santiago de Cuba ya que constituye un aspecto medular en la construcción del conocimiento científico. Para la recogida de la información se utilizaron dos instrumentos: una encuesta y una entrevista que fueron aplicadas a 268 alumnos y 18 profesores de cinco escuelas con entornos socioculturales diferentes. Los datos obtenidos de las encuestas de ambos sujetos están referidos a: la existencia o no de infraestructura de laboratorio en las escuelas, las características de sus participaciones en los laboratorios y la frecuencia de realización de los mismos. Complementan esta información sus opiniones expresadas en las respuestas a las entrevistas, donde se destaca el papel que atribuyen a los experimentos en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Los resultados indican un incremento en la motivación y en la asimilación de los contenidos por parte de los alumnos que participaron en las demostraciones experimentales en las escuelas con infraestructura de laboratorio. Se manifiestan también limitaciones en el orden material con énfasis en las escuelas más alejadas del centro de la ciudad de Santiago de Cuba y de preparación de los profesores para una eficiente utilización del instrumental que poseen en función de la docencia.

Rituals and Knowledge Construction: Ethical Dilemmas on Creating Oppositions

What is knowledge construction for? Mesopotamian rituals were practiced in order to grasp the future and guide war strategies. Nowadays, scientific rules are developed to avoid mysticism-constructing more accurate laws to explain the reality. Both rituals and science were, and usually are, grounded in a conception that to know is to decipher the correct meaning behind the expressive relief of the world. Contemporary studies on anthropology have shown that the opposition between nature and culture is the basis of a number of problems in human sciences aiming to comprehend the intricate relation between body and violence and overcome ethical dilemmas.

No more than Conjectures: Popper and the Ethics of Scientific Enterprise

Karl Popper dealt with both problems Yurevich (Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 43(2), 2009, doi:10.1007/s12124-008-9082-7) deals: the crisis in Psychology and in the discourse about the nature of science. Although he failed to provide a complete response for both problems, his proposals can yet be fruitful to the reflection on these matters in the context of the present discussion. He offers some tentative answers to what could be considered a healthy epistemic activity, something Yurevich does not provide. More interestingly, some of the Popper proposals seem to fit, and in some extent correct, the quest for ""collaborative work"" proposed by Zittoun et al. (Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 43(2), 2009, doi:10.1007/s12124-008-9082-7) as a way of transforming crisis in development.

Alternatives exist: analysis of scientific literature in two Brazilian journals about the pedagogical work of Physical Education

Considering that the process of teacher training in universities takes into account the confrontation of knowledge produced by the scientific methods, the current study intended to identify what are the main contributions of the Brazilian scientific production of Physical Education teaching. Therefore, an exploratory study was done from the articles published on the subject in the two main periodicals of the area. The data analyzes allowed us to verify the relevancy of the knowledge produced and to suggest alternatives to its inclusion in the docent training programs.

Knowledge as a factor in vulnerability to tuberculosis among nursing students and professionals

The objective of this study was to identify vulnerability to tuberculosis (TB) related to knowledge about the disease among 76 nursing students and professionals. A quantitative descriptive study was conducted using a closed questionnaire for the collection of data regarding transmission, preventive and biosafety measures, diagnosis, and prejudice regarding the disease. The SAS software version 9.1.3 was used for data analysis, with the level of significance set at 5% (p < 0.05). Nursing students and professionals showed a vulnerability to TB related to knowledge about transmission, preventive and biosafety measures, and diagnosis of the disease. With respect to transmission, vulnerability was higher among nursing professionals. The results indicate the need for investment by healthcare institutions surrounding this topic in view of the important role of nursing in the establishment of strategies for prevention and control of the disease.