Bayesian density estimation using Skew Student-t-Normal mixtures

We present a Bayesian approach for modeling heterogeneous data and estimate multimodal densities using mixtures of Skew Student-t-Normal distributions [Gomez, H.W., Venegas, O., Bolfarine, H., 2007. Skew-symmetric distributions generated by the distribution function of the normal distribution. Environmetrics 18, 395-407]. A stochastic representation that is useful for implementing a MCMC-type algorithm and results about existence of posterior moments are obtained. Marginal likelihood approximations are obtained, in order to compare mixture models with different number of component densities. Data sets concerning the Gross Domestic Product per capita (Human Development Report) and body mass index (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), previously studied in the related literature, are analyzed. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Housing development in Latin America and the Caribean, its measuring and its determinants

This text briejly describes the Housing Development lndex (HDI). Following a concise introduction on the reasons for this research, HDI's methodology, characteristics, properties and databases supporting its calculation are discussed. Next, the third part presents, analyzes and compares the HDI's figures for Brazil and some other Latin American countries. The part that follows shows HDI figures for all states in Brazil and points out the regional differences and the indicator 's recent growth. Then, this paper analyses the injluence of some social and economic variables on the HDI and, finally, it makes some considerations on HDI.

Diagnóstico das micro e pequenas empresas da cadeia produtiva moveleira da serra gaúcha : importância para o desenvolvimento setorial

The increasing of afluence demands the companies to be competitive and have a deep knowledge about the area wich they are participating. Through the search of management and produtive information, and the analisys of internal and external information, the company could identify strong and weak points , threats and oportunities, alowing the obtaince of competitive advantages. This research shows the result of a close search study about the usage of strategic planning and management technics, setting in evidence the necessity of micro and small furniture companies and furniture supply chain, represented in this case by sub-contract companies. Still looking to accentuate the importance that this study will represent to the setorial development, specially to the furniture companies wich have a big importance due to the report of small utilization of management technics in the sub-contract companies. Through analisys, it was possible to find out some common caracteristics in all 171 conmpanies evaluated, wich are showing likely 'sinalization', such as: - lower level os scholarship (96,5% elementary school, 3% until high school, 0,5% university/college graduration); - external market from Brazilian MPE¿s (5% export products to Mercosul and just 1% export products to Latin America, absenting exportations to other markets); - carefree with modern technics of management, certificates ISO 9000, 14000, MRP, CQT, among others; - carefree with strategic planning; - lower utilization of operacionl procedures, rules and function description; - ignoring the participating of market; - lower utilization of human resources index as a management form; - Small utilization of costs tabs (31%), with a small informatization level (8%) and apllying with non-management form; - low utilization of quality statistics (4%), re-working index (9%), among others. In syntesis, the basis expose that the great marjority of companies don¿t have knowledge about planning and the modern technics of management.

The brazilian education quality index (Ideb): measurement and incentives upgrades

The increasing availability of social statistics in Latin America opens new possibilities in terms of accountability and incentive mechanisms for policy makers. This paper addresses these issues within the institutional context of the Brazilian educational system. We build a theoretical model based on the theory of incentives to analyze the role of the recently launched Basic Education Development Index (Ideb) in the provision of incentives at the sub-national level. The first result is to demonstrate that an education target system has the potential to improve the allocation of resources to education through conditional transfers to municipalities and schools. Second, we analyze the local government’s decision about how to allocate its education budget when seeking to accomplish the different objectives contemplated by the index, which involves the interaction between its two components, average proficiency and the passing rate. We discuss as well policy issues concerning the implementation of the synthetic education index in the light of this model arguing that there is room for improving the Ideb’s methodology itself. In addition, we analyze the desirable properties of an ideal education index and we argue in favor of an ex-post relative learning evaluation system for different municipalities (schools) based on the value added across different grades

Teoria histórico-cultural e suas implicações na atuação do professor de educação física escolar

This article presents a theoretical search and aims to introduce the main categories of historical-cultural theory and discuss its implications for the physical education teacher's work inside the school and also emphasizes this theory and its methodological proposal as an important way to build the scholar physical education in a critical perspective aiming to change the school and the students conscious and personality. The Vigotskian school of human development it is taken as an important reference to understand the scholars in their vital process of development and helps the teachers in general, and physical education teachers in specific, to consider the activity ( vital activity) as important instrument to get the humanization and liberty of human being, inside the school and inside the contemporary society.

A educação musical sob a perspectiva da pedagogia histórico-crítica

This work, from of theorist perspective of Historical-Critical Pedagogy, presents the school Music Education like a social mediator environment between the practices, listening and musical everydaylife knowledges and the not-quotidian, which are constitution and accumulated, throughout the centuries of History, by the human societies. The purpose is to present a possible theorist foundation to define the importance of Music Education insert in the elementary school, like a subject destined to guarantee the whole children formation and the enrichment of their relations with the music. It is a theorist reflection that indicates the importance of observation of the quotidian and not-quotidian knowledges characteristics, moreover of complete importance of formal education and, in specific, of school Music Education on human development.

Financing for sustainable development: visions and proposals for action from a Latin American and Caribbean perspective

Foreword Throughout the preparatory process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development and at the Summit itself, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002, discussions were dominated by one central concern: the need to define and reach consensus on concrete, quantitative goals, with fixed deadlines for implementation, which were to supplement the Millennium Development Goals and facilitate progress towards an effective transition to sustainable development. Participants at the Summit explicitly affirmed the need, as a matter of urgency, to identify the financial and technical resources whereby sustainable development would become a reality and benefit directly and particularly rural and urban communities in the developing countries. The document we are now presenting is the outcome of extensive discussions held at a high-level forum during the Johannesburg Summit. Led by representatives of the Government of Mexico, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Andean Development Corporation, those discussions were based on the ECLAC/UNDP study entitled Financing for sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean: from Monterrey to Johannesburg, which considers the opportunities and challenges for improving prospects for investment and financing for sustainable development and underscores the need to establish a new balance between the market economy and public interest through joint public/private initiatives that combine market innovation, social responsibility and appropriate regulations. Other eminent persons attending the event included heads of State, such as Gustavo Noboa, then President of Ecuador; Enrique V. Iglesias, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); José María Figueres, Managing Director of the Global Agenda of the World Economic Forum and former President of Costa Rica; and Gro Harlem Brundtland, the legendary figure who pioneered sustainable development. Valuable contributions to the discussions were made by Yolanda Kakabadse, President of the World Conservation Union; Xóchitl Gálvez Ruiz, head of the Unit for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of the Office of the President of Mexico; Cecilia López, former Minister for the Environment of Colombia; and Juan Carlos Maqueda, then Vice President of Argentina. The views emerging from the forum as set forth in this document are designed to facilitate and promote application of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals and the commitments assumed at the International Conference on Financing for Development, which was held in Monterrey, Mexico. We also aspire to continue moving forward with the adoption of measures and policies to increase investment and financing for sustainable development as well as to foster partnerships between the public and private sectors and nongovernmental organizations. We recognize, in this context, the importance of strengthening and improving public and private institutions in order to meet the operational needs associated with the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and pursue the Plan of Implementation formulated in Johannesburg. We trust that this document will contribute to in-depth discussions on the application of the Plan of Implementation in the relevant forums, in particular the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. The Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development opens up new opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean to renew and revive their own regional agenda -with emphasis on global and especially regional public goods- and to interweave it more cohesively with the global agenda in order to promote the common interests of Latin America and the Caribbean more forcefully in international development forums. The regional agenda and the global agenda cannot be separated in a contrived manner; indeed, to an increasing degree, what we are witnessing are global environmental processes which call for action at the local level. The achievement of sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the necessary economic, social, environmental and geopolitical conditions are combined, requires a subtle balance between the market economy, the State and the citizen. Such a balance will result in the consolidation of democratic governance in the service of human development. VICENTE FOX President of Mexico JOSÉ ANTONIO OCAMPO Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) ELENA MARTÍNEZ Assistant Aministrator and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ENRIQUE GARCÍA Executive President, Andean Development Corporation (ADC)""

Equity, development and citizenship: abridged edition

Includes bibliography

Contribution of energy services to the Millennium Development Goals and to poverty alleviation in Latin America and the Caribbean: executive summary

Includes bibliography

Contribution of energy services to the millennium development goals and to poverty alleviation in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Caribbean forum: Shaping a sustainable development agenda to address the Caribbean reality in the twenty-first century

Includes bibliography.

The Caribbean and the post-2015 development agenda

This paper will contend that the post-2015 development agenda presents a major opportunity for Caribbean countries to reverse decades of lagging economic performance and make the transition to balanced, holistic, and people-centred growth and development. The MDGs, while valuable in promoting gains in poverty reduction, health, education, nutrition, and maternal well-being were not tailored to the growth and development needs of the region. This can now be changed by a post-2015 development agenda which goes beyond improving the welfare of citizens by meeting basic needs and enhancing access to primary services. The necessary scaling-up of the MDG framework will require that the sustainable development goals, which will anchor the post- 2015 development agenda, are capable of promoting structural change, competitiveness and output gains while advancing social development and meeting environmental concerns. They must also address the unfinished business of the millennium development goals, primarily in the area of human development.

Ensinando e Aprendendo no Curso de Pedagogia Relato de Experiências junto à Disciplina Psicologia da Educação II

Este artigo tem o objetivo de relatar uma metodologia adotada numa disciplina da área de Psicologia que trata do desenvolvimento humano, para ensinar as etapas do desenvolvimento. A metodologia envolveu a técnica do seminário, entretanto, rompeu com um modelo reprodutivista de educação. Uma das mudanças adotadas, envolveu a pesquisa de material de estudo, não se prendendo apenas a teoria, mas incluindo a busca de fontes mais próximas da realidade. Neste processo, procuramos também atingir o aluno na sua totalidade, de forma que ele pudesse envolver toda sua pessoa. Através do estimulo à criatividade, desenvolvemos também vários tipos de inteligência da aluno, assim como sua inteligência emocional.

Ensino de Sociologia e as Contribuições de Leontiev e Galperin para Elaboração de Material Didático-pedagógico

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Conteúdos estruturantes de um programa de estimulação essencial: investigação em uma APAE paranaense

This study aimed to investigate the structural content of an essential stimulation program at one APAE from Parana State. his institution has been working for 43 years and it has 420 students enrolled. It was a documentary analysis of the pedagogical project of this institution, whose collection started after the approval of a local ethics committee, held with a previously developed protocol for this purpose. After the content analysis, it was possible to establish three categories related to this program operation, the conception of development present in it and place illed by language and by inclusion. he results indicated that, in order to be enrolled, children must present prenatal, neonatal and postnatal antecedents that entail problems of intellectual, motor, sensorial and language nature. he program is considered as a stage in early childhood education, but the language is not a structural content of this phase. It is a subarea of the development to be crafted with interventions directed to motor aspects of speech, breathing and communication. Finally, the concept of child development is complemented with other areas, also disjointed: sensory-perceptive; self-care; motor and social-emotional. We conclude that, although it is presented as an educational stage, in the essential stimulation of the analyzed institution, a clinical-specialized character predominates, consistent with the conceptions of development present in the document, but not with advances in relation to the concept of human development in the context of Inclusive Education and diversity.