Fiscalização difusa da constitucionalidade e o incidente de argüição de inconstitucionalidade

The present work consists of studying to diffuse control of constitutionality in Brazil, with emphasis in a procedural alternative to the evolution of that model: the incident to challenge of unconstitutionality. Starting from the discussion about the new role of constitutional jurisdiction in peripheral countries and in the globalized society, without forgetting to face inevitable doubts about its legitimacy before other powers of the State, the Brazilian control of constitutionality is revealed, under a diffuse, non-dichotomical view, through a number of inconsistencies and misunderstandings, that compromise social peace, the credibility of democratic institutions and the supremacy of juridical security. In order to achieve the goal, the study in course discussed the main difficulties of the Brazilian mixed model of constitutionality control, as well as, directing its view to the incident of challenge of unconstitutionality, which the most adequate forms to assure its appropriateness, legitimacy, processing and decisory effects are. Is was essential, in this point of view, to establish the difference between the incident of challenge of unconstitutionality conceived in article of the Brazilian Federal Constitution and the incident of challenge of unconstitutionality such as it is known in the European models. The insertion of the incident of challenge of unconstitutionality based on European models in the Brazilian control system, without jeopardizing the North-American essence the Brazilian constitutional history presents since 1981, is the hypothesis that is presented as an improvement of constitutional protection

Geração procedural de cenários orientada a objetivos

The game industry has been experiencing a consistent increase in production costs of games lately. Part of this increase refers to the current trend of having bigger, more interactive and replayable environments. This trend translates to an increase in both team size and development time, which makes game development a even more risky investment and may reduce innovation in the area. As a possible solution to this problem, the scientific community is focusing on the generation of procedural content and, more specifically, on procedurally generated levels. Given the great diversity and complexity of games, most works choose to deal with a specific genre, platform games being one of the most studied. This work aims at proposing a procedural level generation method for platform/adventure games, a fairly more complex genre than most classic platformers which so far has not been the subject of study from other works. The level generation process was divided in two steps, planning and viusal generation, respectively responsible for generating a compact representation of the level and determining its view. The planning stage was divided in game design and level design, and uses a goaloriented process to output a set of rooms. The visual generation step receives a set of rooms and fills its interior with the appropriate parts of previously authored geometry

Podolsky electromagnetism at finite temperature: Implications on the Stefan-Boltzmann law

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Power-law distribution in a learning process: competition, learning and natural selection

In the present work, we propose a model for the statistical distribution of people versus number of steps acquired by them in a learning process, based on competition, learning and natural selection. We consider that learning ability is normally distributed. We found that the number of people versus step acquired by them in a learning process is given through a power law. As competition, learning and selection is also at the core of all economical and social systems, we consider that power-law scaling is a quantitative description of this process in social systems. This gives an alternative thinking in holistic properties of complex systems. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A tutela coletiva como pressuposto conformador do Estado democrático de direito brasileiro

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A Law of the Wall Formulation for Recirculating Flows

ABSTRACT: This work presents a new law of the wall formulation for recirculating turbulent flows. An alternative expression for the internal length which can be applied in the separated region is also presented. The formulation is implemented in a numerical code which solves the k-e model through a finite volume method. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental data of Vogel and Eaton (J. of Heat Transfer, Transactions of ASME, vol.107, pp. 922-929, 1985). The paper shows that the present formulation furnishes better results than the standard k-e formulation.

A jurisdição contemporânea e a aplicabilidade do direito à saúde no sistema jurídico processual brasileiro

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo realizar abordagem teórica sobre o instituto da jurisdição na efetivação judicial do direito à saúde. Para tanto abordará a influência do princípio democrático e do valor justiça na construção de um conceito contemporâneo de processo e delimitação de seus fins. Partindo do pressuposto que a Constituição eleva a dignidade da pessoa humana ao patamar de princípio fundamental da República, concluir-se-á pelo direito à saúde como essencial para uma existência digna. A seguir, reconhecida a dupla dimensão do direito à saúde – formal e material – concluir-se-á pela sua justiciabilidade. Realizar-se-á uma abordagem sobre a influência dos princípios constitucionais de justiça na construção de um conceito moderno de jurisdição, reconhecendo à jurisdição o dever de aplicar a lei na dimensão dos direitos fundamentais, fazendo sempre o resgate dos valores substanciais neles contidos. Destacando a essencialidade do contraditório para a concretização da promessa constitucional de acesso à justiça, realizar-se-á uma análise dos aspectos processuais da efetivação judicial do direito à saúde.

The restructuring of labour in Brazil in the 2000s: flexible work and the precarisation of working life

This article argues that the precarisation of employment that has taken place in Brazil since the 1990s has been fundamentally different in kind from earlier forms of precariousness, which took place outside the formal economy. The new forms of precariousness are taking place within the sphere of the economy controlled by transnational corporations. Although they have only reached critical mass during the 2000s, the ground was prepared by ‘post neoliberal’ restructuring, including labour law reforms, that took place in Brazil during the 1990s and introduced new forms of flexible working. The article argues that the new condition of labour now emerging in Brazil, which is a structural feature of labour under global capitalism, is characterised by psychosocial dynamics that cause: first, class desubjectivation; second, a ‘seizure’ of the waged worker's subjectivity; and third, the reduction of living labour to the status of a workforce treated as goods. Comprehending these changes necessitates a related change in the theoretical and methodological framework in which the precariousness of work is studied, one that incorporates within its scope the issues of workers' health and the quality of working life.

Ações regressivas acidentárias sob a perspectiva da previdênca social e da responsabilidade civil

Pós-graduação em Direito - FCHS

A ascensão de aspectos do common law no sistema processual civil brasileiro: uma crítica à aplicação da jurisprudência e à doutrina dos precedentes judiciais

Pós-graduação em Direito - FCHS

Perceptions of Procedural and Distributive Justice in the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

The September l1th Victim Compensation Fund (the Fund) was created in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Much has been written about the Fund, both pro and con, in both popular media and scholarly literature. Perhaps the most widely used term in referring to the Fund is "unprecedented." The Fund is intriguing for many reasons, particularly for its public policy implications and its impact on the claimants themselves. The federal government has never before provided compensation to victims of terrorism through a special master who had virtually unlimited discretion in determining awards. Consequently, this formal allocation of money by a representative of the federal government to its citizens has provided an opportunity to test theories of procedural and distributive justice in a novel context. This article tests these theories by analyzing the results of a study of the Fund's claimants. Part I provides general background, summarizes existing commentary on the Fund, and discusses prior research on social justice that is relevant to the 9/11 claimants' experiences with the Fund. Part II of this article describes the methodology behind the study, in which seventy-one individuals who filed claims with the Fund completed surveys about their experiences with and perceptions of the Fund. Part III discusses the survey results. We found that participants were reasonably satisfied with the procedural aspects of the Fund, such as representatives' impartiality and respectful treatment. Participants were less satisfied, however, with the distributive aspects of the Fund, such as the unequal distribution of compensation and the reduction in compensation if claimants received compensation from other sources (e.g., life insurance). Part IV of this article addresses the implications of the study results for public policy and for theories of social justice.

Challenges of Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in Library and Information Science in the ICT Environment

The ICT revolution has permeated every profession and all areas of human endeavour. Professions such as law, medicine , engineering, and library and information science are adjusting to the ICT environment through re-tooling, retraining, and curriculum revision. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of ICT on the student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) of library and information science students. It traces the historical development of the scheme, the ICT development trends in LIS, and the challenges this development brings to SIWES. Strategies to absorb this shock created by ICT are offered.

A systematic review with procedural assessments and meta-analysis of Low Level Laser Therapy in lateral elbow tendinopathy (tennis elbow)

Abstract Background Recent reviews have indicated that low level level laser therapy (LLLT) is ineffective in lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) without assessing validity of treatment procedures and doses or the influence of prior steroid injections. Methods Systematic review with meta-analysis, with primary outcome measures of pain relief and/or global improvement and subgroup analyses of methodological quality, wavelengths and treatment procedures. Results 18 randomised placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) were identified with 13 RCTs (730 patients) meeting the criteria for meta-analysis. 12 RCTs satisfied half or more of the methodological criteria. Publication bias was detected by Egger's graphical test, which showed a negative direction of bias. Ten of the trials included patients with poor prognosis caused by failed steroid injections or other treatment failures, or long symptom duration or severe baseline pain. The weighted mean difference (WMD) for pain relief was 10.2 mm [95% CI: 3.0 to 17.5] and the RR for global improvement was 1.36 [1.16 to 1.60]. Trials which targeted acupuncture points reported negative results, as did trials with wavelengths 820, 830 and 1064 nm. In a subgroup of five trials with 904 nm lasers and one trial with 632 nm wavelength where the lateral elbow tendon insertions were directly irradiated, WMD for pain relief was 17.2 mm [95% CI: 8.5 to 25.9] and 14.0 mm [95% CI: 7.4 to 20.6] respectively, while RR for global pain improvement was only reported for 904 nm at 1.53 [95% CI: 1.28 to 1.83]. LLLT doses in this subgroup ranged between 0.5 and 7.2 Joules. Secondary outcome measures of painfree grip strength, pain pressure threshold, sick leave and follow-up data from 3 to 8 weeks after the end of treatment, showed consistently significant results in favour of the same LLLT subgroup (p < 0.02). No serious side-effects were reported. Conclusion LLLT administered with optimal doses of 904 nm and possibly 632 nm wavelengths directly to the lateral elbow tendon insertions, seem to offer short-term pain relief and less disability in LET, both alone and in conjunction with an exercise regimen. This finding contradicts the conclusions of previous reviews which failed to assess treatment procedures, wavelengths and optimal doses.

Aspetti processuali del Regolamento n. 1/2003/Ce

The recent reform in European antitrust enforcement is embodied in Regolation n. 1/2003/ Ce and related Communications. Since 2004 when it came into force, some crytical assessments can already be made. The work starts from some technical analysis of the reform, under a procedural perspective, to assess the proceedings’ real impact on parties’ rights and to criticize its limits. Decentralisation has brought about more complicacies, since community procedural systems are not harmonized, neither in their administrative rules, nor in their civil proceedings, which are all involved in the European antitrust network. Therefore, antitrust proceedings end un as being more jurisdictional in their effects than in their guarentees, which is a flaw to be mended by legislators. National laws shoud be harmonized, community law should be clarified and the system should turn more honestly towards a rationalized jurisdiction-cented mechanism. Otherwise, parties defense rights and the overall efficiency are put into doubt. Italy is a good exemple of how many colmlicacies can outburst from national procedures and national decentralised application. An uncertain pattern of judicial control, together with unclear relationships among the institutions to cooperate in the antitrust network can produce more problems than they aim to solve. As to the private enforcement, Regulation n.1 does not even attempt to give precise regulation to this underdeveloped sector. A continual comparison with U.S. system has brought the Commission to become aware both of the risks and of the advanteges of an increased civil antitrust litigation in fronto of national judges. In order to substain a larger development of this parallel and, presently, difficult way of judicial compensation, it is presently ongoing a consultation among states to find suitable incentives to make private enforcement more appealing and effective. The solution to this lack of private litigation is not to be sought in Regulation n. 1 which calls into action national legislators and proceedures to implement further improvements. As a conclusion, Regulation n. 1 is the outpost of an ambitious community design to create an efficient control mechanism over antitrust violations. It focuses on Commission proceedings, powers and sanctions in order to establish deterrence, then it highlights civil litigation perspectives and it involves directly states into antitrust application. It seems that more could be done to technically shape administrative proceedings in a more jurisdictionally oriented form, then to clarify respective roles and coordination mecanisms in order to prevent difficulties easy to forsee. Some of jurisprudential suggestions have been accepted, but much more is left to be done in the future to improve european antitrust enforcement system.

Reexamining the Role of Incarceration and Stigma in Criminal Law

One of the ways by which the legal system has responded to different sets of problems is the blurring of the traditional boundaries of criminal law, both procedural and substantive. This study aims to explore under what conditions does this trend lead to the improvement of society's welfare by focusing on two distinguishing sanctions in criminal law, incarceration and social stigma. In analyzing how incarceration affects the incentive to an individual to violate a legal standard, we considered the crucial role of the time constraint. This aspect has not been fully explored in the literature on law and economics, especially with respect to the analysis of the beneficiality of imposing either a fine or a prison term. We observed that that when individuals are heterogeneous with respect to wealth and wage income, and when the level of activity can be considered a normal good, only the middle wage and middle income groups can be adequately deterred by a fixed fines alone regime. The existing literature only considers the case of the very poor, deemed as judgment proof. However, since imprisonment is a socially costly way to deprive individuals of their time, other alternatives may be sought such as the imposition of discriminatory monetary fine, partial incapacitation and other alternative sanctions. According to traditional legal theory, the reason why criminal law is obeyed is not mainly due to the monetary sanctions but to the stigma arising from the community’s moral condemnation that accompanies conviction or merely suspicion. However, it is not sufficiently clear whether social stigma always accompanies a criminal conviction. We addressed this issue by identifying the circumstances wherein a criminal conviction carries an additional social stigma. Our results show that social stigma is seen to accompany a conviction under the following conditions: first, when the law coincides with the society's social norms; and second, when the prohibited act provides information on an unobservable attribute or trait of an individual -- crucial in establishing or maintaining social relationships beyond mere economic relationships. Thus, even if the social planner does not impose the social sanction directly, the impact of social stigma can still be influenced by the probability of conviction and the level of the monetary fine imposed as well as the varying degree of correlation between the legal standard violated and the social traits or attributes of the individual. In this respect, criminal law serves as an institution that facilitates cognitive efficiency in the process of imposing the social sanction to the extent that the rest of society is boundedly rational and use judgment heuristics. Paradoxically, using criminal law in order to invoke stigma for the violation of a legal standard may also serve to undermine its strength. To sum, the results of our analysis reveal that the scope of criminal law is narrow both for the purposes of deterrence and cognitive efficiency. While there are certain conditions where the enforcement of criminal law may lead to an increase in social welfare, particularly with respect to incarceration and stigma, we have also identified the channels through which they could affect behavior. Since such mechanisms can be replicated in less costly ways, society should first try or seek to employ these legal institutions before turning to criminal law as a last resort.