Fatores condicionantes na formação de aglomerados no turismo :um estudo da perspectiva dos empresários em região do litoral do Nordeste do Brasil

The tourism has been presented as an alternative of production for determined regions of the Country. In this scene, one perceives that it is necessary to observe where each locality is situated in order to face an highly competitive and globalized world. The data used on this work was collected on a field research with the entrepreneurs of the coast of the City of Parnamirim/RN. The main objective of this research was to analyze the conditioning factors in the formation of clusters on tourism, according to the perception of the entrepreneurs of the Association of the Entrepreneurs of the Coast of Parnamirim AELP, based on the competitive advantages showed on Porter s model, referring to the conditions of the production factors, the demand, the associated and support sector, the strategy and structure of the company. On the statistical treatment, descriptive analysis and crossed analysis were carried through. According to the data, the research suggests the existence of some determinative factors that can generate competitive advantages, that whwn integrated, can congregate attributes that allow the formation of a competitive tourist accumulation in a region of the northeast coast of Brazil. The research also evidenced that the entrepreneurs have a strong dependence of the governmental actions

Uso da tecnologia de troca iônica no tratamento de águas contaminadas com Nitrato do Aqüífero Dunas-Barreiras, Natal/RN-Brasil

The city of Natal comprises an area of about 170 km² (65,63 squares miles). The Dunas-Barreiras Aquifer is the most important reservoir of the coastal basin of RN. It is being responsible for the water supplying of about 70% of the population, however, due to the sewage disposal system by cesspools and drains, it is presently affected in a great extent by nitrates contamination. Thus, the present work proposes to research the utilization of contaminated water by nitrates of this fountainhead and find cost of the potable water through the ionic exchange technology. This technology consists in the removal of mineral salts by the exchange of cations for one ion of hydrogen (H+), through the passage of water by cationic resin bed and, secondly, by the exchange of the anions for hydroxyl ions (OH-) through a anionic resin bed. The obtained results have showed the waters derived from fountains, big water holes and shallow wells were microbiologically contaminated, while the waters derived from deep wells (above 70 m 76,58 yards) were free of contamination. Thus, only these ones are suitable to the use of ionic technology. The experiments were conducted with the resin IMAC-HP-555 such as kinetic, thermodynamic, and adsorption by fixed bed studies, being obtained several project variables for the experimental column, as follow: work temperature of 25oC; resin maximum capacity maximum e mean of adsorption ==0,01692 g NO3-1/g R e 0,0110 g NO3-1/g R, respectively. On the experimental column were performed breakthrough tests which pointed for an average ideal average speed of work of 13.2 m / h, with an average efficiency of 45% of adsorption, an optimal concentration of NaCl desorption of 8%, and an ideal desorption time of 80 minutes for the equilibrium conditions of water from the Dunas-Barreiras aquifer. Scale projection for ion-exchange column for denitrification, for these variables, using a computer modeling programme, to project the column of ion exchange ROREX-420/2000, obtained a cost for the drinking water denitrified by this system of R$ 0,16 / m3

Influência das águas da Bacia Hidrográfica Pirangi na balneabilidade das praias de Pirangi, nos municípios de Nísia Floresta e Parnamirim Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

The Pirangi beach is located in the eastern coastline of Rio Grande do Norte state, in the municipality of Parnamirim and Nísia Floresta. In it flow into Pirangi Watershed (PW), whose water receives large amounts of pollutants, mainly domestic and industrial sewage from districts where pass the rivers that consist it, compromising, thus, the bathing water quality of the Pirangi beach. Bearing in mind the importance of water sanitary quality to ensure an environment that no present risk to the bathers s health, this work had as main objective to assess the influence of the PW s waters in the bathing water quality of the Pirangi beaches. To that end, were made collections of water in the beaches and in the rivers with the intention of quantify the fecal contamination indicators thermotolerant coliforms and enterococci, to then classify the conditions of bathing water quality according with the CONAMA Resolution number 274 of 2000. For the purposes greater knowledge about the health conditions of the Beaches Pirangi and about the influence the PW s waters exert on it, was done parallely to the study of the water quality, an investigation of the sand sanitary quality. Furthermore, it was made an evaluation of the PW s Water Quality through Water Quality Index (WQI). Starting from the results obtained in the research present was possible to verify, among other aspects, that the entry of the PW s waters in the Pirangi beaches exerts direct influence in the bathing water quality of the same ones, being the North Pirangi beach (point tracking PA-02) the most influenced. There was noticed also a significant reduction in the conditions of bathing water quality of the beaches in the rainy season. However, the precariousness do sewerage system of the Natal metropolitan region and the absence of a right system of treatment an final disposal of domestic sewage and industrial are the main factors responsi le for deterioration of the PW s Water Quality, and as a consequence, compromising the bathing water quality of the Pirangi beaches

Atividades experimentais no ensino de biologia em escolas públicas do estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil: caracterização geral e concepção de professores

Recent research has revealed that the majority of Biology teachers believe the practice of experimental activities as a didactical means would be the solution for the improvement of the Biology teaching-learning process. There are, however, studies which signal the lack of efficiency in such practice lessons as far as building scientific knowledge is concerned. It is also said that despite the enthusiasm on the teachers‟ part, such classes are rarely taught in high school. Several studies point pedagogical difficulties as well as nonexistence of a minimal infrastructure needed in laboratories as cause of low frequency in experimental activities. The poor teacher performance in terms of planning and development of classes; the large number of students per class; lack of financial stimulus for teachers are other reasons to be taken into account among others, in which can also be included difficulties of epistemological nature. That means an unfavorable eye of the teacher towards experimental activities. Our study aimed to clarify if such scenario is generalized in high schools throughout the state of Rio Grande do Norte Brazil. During our investigation a sample of twenty teaching institutions were used. They were divided in two groups: in the first group, five IFRN- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte schools. Two of those in Natal, and the other three from the country side. The second group is represented by fifteen state schools belonging to the Natal metropolitan area. The objectives of the research were to label schools concerning laboratory facilities; to identify difficulties pointed by teachers when performing experiment classes, and to become familiar with the conceptions of the teachers in regarding biology experiment classes. To perform such task, a questionnaire was used as instrument of data collecting. It contained multiple choice, essay questions and a semi-structured interview with the assistance of a voice recorder. The data analysis and the in loco observation allowed the conclusion that the federal schools do present better facilities for the practice of experimental activities when compared to state schools. Another aspect pointed is the fact that teachers of federal schools have more time available for planning the experiments; they are also better paid and are given access a career development, which leads to better salaries. All those advantages however, do not show a significantly higher frequency regarding the development of experiments when compared to state school teachers. Both teachers of federal and state schools pointed infra-structure problems such as the availability of reactants, equipments and consumption supplies as main obstacle to the practice of experiments in biology classes. Such fact leads us to conclude that maybe there are other problems not covered by the questionnaire such as poor ability to plan and execute experimental activities. As far as conceptions about experimental activities, it was verified in the majority of the interviewees a inductive-empiric point of view of science possibly inherited during their academic formation and such point of view reflected on the way they plan and execute experiments with students

Caracterização in situ e diversidade genética de algodoeiros mocós (Gossypium hissutum raça marie galante) da Região Nordeste do Brasil

Brazil is one of the major centers of diversity for polyploid cotton plants; these plants belong to the genus Gossypium, which has three known species: G. hirsutum, G. barbadense and G. mustelinum. The Northeast is the only region where the three species occur, the last group being endemic. Northeast s cotton plants can be important sources of variability for genetic breeding. It is believed that great part of local diversity is being lost, due to economic, political, cultural and agricultural problems. In an attempt to mitigate this loss and delineate conservation strategies it is necessary to know how the species are found where they occur. The objective was to characterize and determine how plants are maintained in situ in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba at the beginning of the XXI century. The in situ characterization of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense was conducted through structured interviews with the cotton plants owners and through the analysis of the environment. The data were collected during expeditions undertaken between the years 2004 to 2005. Twenty-two plants were collected in the state of Paraíba, forty-four in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, one hundred and forty-six in the state of Ceará, forty in the state of Maranhão and ninety-one plants in the state of Piauí. All plants collected in the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte belonged to moco type. Moco cotton plants also predominated in the other states, representing 92%, 62% and 78% of plants collected in Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão, respectively. The other cotton plants collected belong to the species G. barbadense. The cotton plants were found in situ as dooryard plants, roads side, feral populations, cultivation or local varieties. Great part were dooryard plants (45.2%), being major in Piauí and Maranhão. Cultivation predominated in Ceará; in Rio Grande do Norte feral populations were the most frequent and, in Paraíba, local varieties. The maintenance of moco plants is related, mainly, to the phytotherapic domestic use (20.9%) and to confection of lamp wicks (29.7%). Few inhabitants in Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauí and none in Maranhão used harvest the plants, storage the seeds or gin; however, in Ceará, 40.5% of owners affirmed that they harvested and commercialized the fiber. It was found that the maintenance of species is dependent of the fragile cultural habits of local inhabitants, therefore the maintenance in situ is not a suitable way to conservation of genetic resources. The efforts must be directed to the continuity of collections, maintenance and characterization ex situ

Caminhos para a universalização dos serviços de água e esgotos no Brasil: a atuação das entidades reguladoras para indução da eficiência dos prestadores de serviços

The deficit of water and sewerage services is a historic problem in Brazil. The introduction of a new regulatory framework, in 2007, presented ways intending to overcome these deficits, among them, the providers efficiency improvement. This thesis aims to analyze the regulators performance regarding its ability to induce the efficiency of the Brazilian water and sewerage services providers. To this end, an analytical approach based on a sequential explanatory strategy was used, and it consists of three steps. In the first step, the Data Envelopment Analysis ( DEA ) was used to measure the providers efficiency in 2006 and 2011. The results show that the average efficiency may be considered high; however significant inefficiencies among the 29 analyzed providers were detected. The ones in the Southeast region showed better performance level and Northeast had the lowest. The local and the private providers were more efficient on average. In 2006 and 2011 the average performance was higher among non-regulated providers. In 2006 the group regulated by local agencies had the best average performance, in 2011, the best performance was the group regulated by the consortium agencies. To analyse the second step was used the Malmquist Index, it pointed that the productivity between 2006 and 2011 dropped. The analysis through decomposing Malmquist Index showed a shift of technical efficiency frontier to a lower level, however was detected a small provider s advance towards the frontier. Only the Midwest region recorded progress in overall productivity. The deterioration in the total factor productivity was higher among regional providers but the local ones and the private agencies moved quickly to the frontier level. The providers regulated from 2007 showed less decrease on the total productivity and the results of the catch up effect were more meaningful. In the last step, the regulators standardization activity analyses noted that there are agencies that had not issued rules until 2011. The most standards topics discussed in the issued rules were the tariff adjustments and the setting of general conditions for the provision and use of services; in another hand, the least covered topics were new technologies incentive and the introduction of efficiency-inducing regulatory mechanisms and productivity gains for price reviews. Regulators created from 2007 were more active proportionately. Even with the advent of the regulatory framework and the creation of new regulatory bodies, the evidence points to a reality in which the actions of these agencies have not been ensuring that providers of water and sewage, regulated by them, has achieved better performance. The non- achievement of regulatory goals can be explained by the incipient level of performance of the Brazilian regulatory authorities, which should be strengthened because of its potential contribution to the Brazilian basic sanitation department

As estruturas sociais e econômicas do Império Romano do Ocidente e o estabelecimento do reino dos visigodos nas Galliae Aquitania e Narbonensis

In the year 376 of the Common Era, a tribe of Germanic warriors known as Tervingi , of Gothic extraction, crossed the Hister (Danube) river due south, entering the Roman Empire. They fled the Huns, a nomadic group that came plundering their way from the East. It did not take long for a conflict between the Roman imperial authorities and the refugees to begin. Peace was reached in 382 and, henceforth, the Tervingi would be officially foederati (allies) of the Romans, gaining the right to remain an autonomous tribe inside the borders of the Empire. For the next thirteen years the Tervingi warriors fought beside the Roman imperial armies in every major conflict. Nevertheless, after the death of the emperor Theodosius I in 395, their relations deteriorated severely. In theory, the Tervingi remained Roman allies; in practice, they begun to extort monies and other assets from the emperors Honorius and Arcadius. The sack of Rome by the Tervingi king Alaric in 410 was both the culmination and the point of inflection of this state of affairs. During the 410s the Tervingi warriors would fought again beside the Roman Imperial armies and be rewarded with a piece of land in the southwestern portion of the Gallic diocese. Dubbed Visigoths , they would remain trusted Roman allies throughout the next decades, consolidating their own kingdom in the process. This dissertation deals not only with the institution of the Visigothic kingdom in the southwestern portion of the Galliae but also with the social and economic conditions that hindered the Roman ability to defend their territory by themselves, hence opening opportunities for foederati like the Tervingi to carve out a piece of it for themselves.

A capitania de São José do Piauhy na racionalidade espacial Pombalina (1750-1777)

Em meio às intervenções políticas, econômicas e administrativas realizadas no Brasil a partir de 1750, é possível observar como se deram as tentativas de organização da capitania de São José do Piauhy e até mesmo o seu reconhecimento como importante área pecuarista da colônia. Neste trabalho, realizou-se um recorte espacial priorizando a região em que a apropriação territorial teria se dado de forma mais diversa em tal capitania, pois além dos procedimentos de aquisição de sesmarias, existiram ainda os processos de herança e confisco. Sobre estes últimos, os mesmos incidiram sobre as fazendas que pertenceram ao sertanista baiano Domingos Afonso Mafrense, e que após serem deixadas de herança para os religiosos da Companhia de Jesus (1711), foram confiscadas pela Coroa Portuguesa (1759). Isso aconteceu em meio ao planejamento e execução de medidas governamentais que atingiram todos os domínios portugueses durante esse período, a chamada Política Pombalina. Tais intervenções administrativas, por sua vez, puderam ser analisadas tomando-se como referência a confecção da primeira representação cartográfica destinada a tal capitania, o Mappa Geográfico da Capitania do Piauhy, produzido pelo engenheiro italiano Henrique Antônio Galúcio. Deste modo, considerando-se as particularidades da política portuguesa destinada ao interior do Brasil, em meados do séc. XVIII, com destaque para as medidas incidentes sobre os modos de vida indígena e rural, observou-se a tentativa de implantar-se uma nova forma de organização espacial, a partir de modos e instalações urbanas. Neste contexto, São José do Piauhy passa a ser alvo de intensas investidas enquanto área oficialmente pertencente ao Estado do Grão-Pará e Maranhão

Avaliação longitudinal do impacto da saúde bucal na estratégia saúde da família em Natal

As a result of the financial incentive provided by the GM / MS 1.444, since 2000, Brazil has experienced a substantial increase in the number of oral health services at the Family Health Strategy. There is, however, evidence that these teams have produced qualitatively different experiences which do not translate necessarily into improved quality of life and health. Thus, evaluative research of great importance. This study aims to assess the impact of the Family Health Strategy in oral health in a longitudinal perspective natalense the years 2006 and 2009. This is an intervention study whose design is a community trial in parallel, nearly randomized. The sample consisted of census tracts covered by oral health teams in the Family Health and the Traditional Model (Basic Health Units and non-FHS Program of Community Health Agents and areas not covered.) The sample was determined by drawing ten census tracts to form the experimental group and ten other sectors for the control group by pairing intentional based on socio-economic and geographic. To check the net effect of the intervention was performed multivariate analysis by Poisson regression. As a result of cross-sectional analysis of year 2009, it was found that the effects of the ESF in Natal were satisfactory only for the variables of injuries and for other purposes without and with negative impact on stock coverage reclaimers. However, the longitudinal analysis revealed that the ESB / ESF improved their performance in dealing with grievances, access and coverage of the type of actions and this fact is independent of age, sex and social and economic conditions. In other employees' words are related to the presence of the Family Health Strategy in the region. However it does not say that both models under study (the Family Health Strategy Model and Traditional) are different in terms of performance and it is pertinent to reflect on the need for further development of evaluation studies that use other approaches able to clarify the dynamics of the process whose results can come to the knowledge of the actors responsible for leading the ESF and encourage them to incorporate the assessment in their routine

Distribuição diária das atividades comportamentais dos camarões marinhos Farfantepenaeus subtilis (Pérez Farfante, 1967) e Litopenaeus schmitti (Burkenroad, 1938) em condições laboratoriais

Marine aquaculture has developed in the last decades all over the world, especially related to shrimp management. In Brazil, the introduction of the species Litopenaeus vannamei has contributed to the success of the activity, even if there are problems associated with the management of a exotic species, such as new diseases and ecological pressure on native species. It has been emphasized the need of research for developing new methodology that will allow native species management, being the most important Farfantepenaeus subtilis and Litopenaeus schmitti. Most knowledge obtained from research with those species has generally used a technical approach and mainly focused feeding process. There are no specific behavioral data on their activity pattern which should be of great importance for the use of native species on commercial culture farms. So, it was our objective to study and compare the daily distribution of behavioral activities of the marine shrimp species Litopenaeus schmitti and Farfantepenaeus subtilis. Forty animals of each species, 5 individuals per aquarium, were maintained in aquaria containing 200L of sea water under continuous aeration and filtration. They were marked individually and were observed by the instantaneous focal time sampling, along 10 continuous days, in 6 daily 15 min observation windows, every two hour. In each window, behaviors and location position of the animals in the aquarium were registered at 1 min intervals. Food was offered 3 times a day, representing 10% of each aquarium biomass. Aquaria were maintained in artificial photoperiod, 12hour light/l2 hour dark, 4 aquaria in light cycle equivalent to the environmental one (light from 06:00 to 17:59 h and dark from 18:00 to 05:59 h) and the other 4 in the reverse light cycle (light from 18:00 to 05:59 h and dark from 06:00 to 17:59 h) to allow sequential behavioral observation in both phases of the 24 hour cycle. There was a clear distinction between the distribution of behavioral activities of F. subtilis and L. schmitti in the two phases. The activity pattern of Farfantepenaeus subtilis demonstrates that species has prominently night habits and a burying pattern during the light cycle. Exploration, inactivity and swimming were the most common activities. The behavioral pattern of Litopenaeus schmitti indicates that species is active along both phases of the light cycle, and the most evident behaviors were exploration, inactivity and swimming

Comportamento alimentar do camarão marinho farfantenaeus subtilis em condições laboratoriais

Shrimp culture represents an important activity to brazilian economy. The northeastern region has presented high levels of production because of its climatic conditions. An important factor for the activity´s major development is related to the introduction of the species Litopenaeus vannamei. The use of an exotic species can disturb the ecosystem. In the last decades, L. vannamei has been the only species cultivated in Brazilian farms, there not being an alternative species for shrimp culture. So, there is an urgent need to developing new studies with the native species, which might represent an alternative concerning shrimp production, with emphasis on Farfantepenaeus subtilis. Another important aspect related to the activity is feeding management, once it is quite usual that feed offer on the pond does not take into account either the species´ physiology and behavior or the influence of environmental variables, such as light cycle and substrate. That knowledge may optimize management and so reduce the impact of effluents in the environment. This study´s objective was characterizing feeding behavior of F. subtilis in laboratory. For that, an ethogram was developed, using 20 wild animals which were observed through ad libitum and all occurrences methods. Two experiments were developed in order to register feeding behavior on different substrates, along 15 days, each. In the first experiment, 40 animals were distributed in eight aquaria, half being observed during the light phase of the 24 hour cycle and the other half in the dark phase, both in halimeda substrate. In the second experiment, 20 animals were distributed in four aquaria, under similar conditions as the previous ones, but in sand substrate. In both experiments, animals were observed respectively one, four, seven and ten hours after the beginning of the phase, for light phase, for the dark phase, in ten minute observation windows, before and immediately after feed offer. The following behaviors were registered: feed ingestion, ingestion of other items, inactivity, exploration, vertical exploration, swimming, crawling, digging, burrowing, and moving by the animals. Observation windows after feed offer also included latency to reach the tray and to ingest feed. Nineteen behaviors were described for the species. F. subtilis presented more behavioral activities in halimeda substrate even in the light phase, while burrowing was predominant in sand substrate. In both substrates, moving, crawling and exploration were more frequent after feed offer, but inactivity and burrowing were more frequent before that. Feed ingestion was more frequent in halimeda, both in light and dark phases. Weight gain was also more prominent in that substrate. In sand substrtate, ingestion was more frequent in the dark phase, which suggests that higher granulometry facilitates feed ingestion in F. subtilis juveniles. Our results demonstrate the importance of studies for the better knowledge of the species, specially its response to environmental stimuli, in order to improve animal management

Uso de habitat e comportamento do boto-cinza sotalia guianensis em uma zona estuarina do estado de Sergipe, nordeste do Brasil a biotecnologia vegetal como alternativa para a cotonicu

To clarify the functional mechanisms of habitat use is necessary to analyze it in conjunction with the conduct performed by animals. The occurrence, distribution and use of space are characteristic of a species resulting from habitat selection that is in search of conditions favorable to its survival. One can relate the physical and biological factors of the environment with the ecological characteristics of the species, since these factors act by regulating the ecological success of organisms, and from there you can get important information about the habitat use and behavior of individuals. This study aimed to characterize the use of habitat and diurnal activity expressed by the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis in an estuarine area of Sergipe state, Brazil, analyzing the influence of tide and time days on the occurrence of animals and behavior s state, and group s size and composition in this cetacean species. From March 2009 to February 2010, focal groups observations of dolphins were made from fixed - point and records snapshots of data taken every 5 min. in the interval from 6 a.m to 6 p.m, in alternating shifts. The results showed that the constant presence of animals in the area of the Sergipe River estuary indicates that this is an important area of occurrence of S. guianensis, which use the region mainly in the morning, at low tide and as a feeding. As in other regions of northeastern Brazil, small groups formed 2-12 individuals were most common, with adults and immatures. The high frequency of immature animals may indicate that this area of the estuary is used as brood area and parental care of pups and young animals, since the immature animals were very associated with adults and monitoring the activities of foraging / feeding may be related to a form of learning or training of such behavior

Psicologia e pobreza no Brasil: limites e perspectivas da produção de conhecimento e atuação do psicólogo

Poverty is a main theme in Brazil: according to official data, poverty reachs 70 million Brazilian people, and, between them, 20 million are unable to provide their basic needs. Psychology, as a welfare profession, and given its historical concerns with social actions, could not be away from this theme. Based on this, we ask: Which answers Psychology can provide, toward both the production of knowledge and the practice about social reality? The purpose of this paper is to investigate the psychological scientific production on poverty and the propositions, limits and impacts of psychological actions. We carried out a three stages documental based study analyzing Brazilian psychological literature: (1) online databases survey (312 papers identified); (2) 109 scientific abstracts accessed and coded; (3) selected 47 scientific papers read and analyzed. Results are presented in three sections: general description of the selected scientific production; characterization of the role of poverty in psychological literature; and themes presented at the papers. The academic production about the main theme (poverty) is dispersed, heterogeneous, and related to other fields of knowledge. Poverty is presented at these studies in many ways, such as: a criterium for sample design and the assessment of its psychological impacts; reports on professional experience with poor population; descriptions of this population group; relationship between poverty and others social themes; developmental and learning problems of poor children. In general, it appears that Psychology has improved the scientific production and experiences with poor population. However, it is necessary to build up theories and technical innovations and also to understand structural boundaries for professional practice with this population group

Entre a hegemonia e a polissemia: a Política de Educação e Desenvolvimento para o SUS no contexto do Brasil contemporâneo

The proposal of the Unified Health System Policy (SUS) has been considered one of the most democratic public policies in Brazil. In spite of this, its implementation in a context of social inequalities has demanded significant efforts. From a socio-constructionist perspective on social psychology, the study focused on the National Policy for Permanent Education in Health for the Unified Health System (SUS), launched by the Brazilian government in 2004, as an additional effort to improve practices and accomplish the effective implementation of the principles and guidelines of the Policy. Considering the process of permanent interdependencies between these propositions and the socio-political and cultural context, the study aimed to identify the discursive constructions articulated in the National Policy for Permanent Education in Health for the Unified Health System (SUS) and how they fit into the existing power relations of ongoing Brazilian socio-political context. Subject positionings and action orientation offered to different social actors by these discursive constructions and the kind of practices allowed were also explored, as well as the implementation of the proposal in Rio Grande do Norte state and how this process was perceived by the people involved. The information produced by documental analyses, participant observation and interviews was analyzed as proposed by Institutional Ethnography. It evidenced the inter-relations between the practices of different social actors, the conditions available for those practices and the interests and power relations involved. Discontinuities on public policies in Brazil and the tendency to prioritize institutional and personal interests, in detriment of collective processes of social transformation, were some of obstacles highlighted by participants. The hegemony of the medical model and the individualistic and curative intervention practices that the model elicits were also emphasized as one of the drawbacks of the ongoing system. Facing these challenges, reflexivity and dialogism appear as strategies for a transformative action, making possible the denaturalization of ongoing practices, as well as the values and tenets supporting them

A humanização no parto e no nascimento: os saberes e as práticas no contexto de uma maternidade pública brasileira

The practice of medicine related to the gestational processes tend to be organized according to the context and the place of work, being thus dependent of the conditions both social and economical, and of the physical structure and the functionality of the services. The high mortality rate in this process has diminished, since 1986, the study made by the World Health Organization (WHO) as to the technical aspects and the social inequalities that influence this situation in different geographical contexts. This culminated recommendations that proposed the reorientation of the dynamical practice of medicine, with a focus on the safety of maternities. Brazil adopted, in the year 2000, the suggestions of the OMS, emphasizing the humanization as the main reason for these actions. However, this discussion tends to not consider the problems caused by the social inequalities and the epidemiological and social conditionings that define the actions of the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde SUS). In this area, this research seeks to analyze the practices, cares taken, and the universal symbol that promotes and rewards the assistance to the birth of children by the SUS. Besides the analysis of the public documents that deal with this subject, an ethnographic study was developed in a maternity in Natal/RN, considered a model of humanization after receiving the Galba de Araújo prize in 2002. In this stage, the methodological strategies were observed, and the focus of the individual interviews with workers and users of this service. In the analysis of the data, it became evident that the different professional workers and women who gave birth, tend to show concern of the standards the delimit production and reproduction of the practice of medicine, as they favor the absence of a critical posture of the actions destined to the population. Besides this, if became evident that the institutional difficulties associated to the economical, cultural, and political problems also difficult the involvement and the reflection of the workers in favor of assisting changes of the process. There is also a utilization of a perspective prescriptive of humanization in the everyday life of the social workers, without reflection of its meaning. Some workers present, in their statements, a preoccupation with the social and economical aspects that affect the practice of medicine, and with the limitations of the humanization discourse that disarticulates the necessities of those involved in the process of formation, and soon tend to return to the discussion of humanization while a kind practice characterized by the minimization of the interventionist actions. Now the users of the system show themselves before the dynamic of the services, submitting themselves to what is offered while assistance, without questioning and/or reflecting about their usual shortages. Therefore, to think of changes in the know and do of the practice of medicine destined to the birth of children implies reflection on the quotidian production of these practices and of the social contexts that influence the process of assistance in the practice of medicine. Herein it would be possible to predict the appropriation, by different workers concerning their exasperations and necessities, making them active in the pursuit of their rights as citizens