Prevenção do Terrorismo versus Neoliberalismo

Ora, a prevenção do terrorismo, é o contrário de tudo isto, com um Estado cada vez maior a intervir em todo o lado, vigiando tudo e todos, aumentando os orçamentos na segurança e paz públicas, em milhares de milhões. Analisando os capitais branqueados e quem vai às privatizações para evitar o próximo atentado terrorista. Imaginem se o Estado Islâmico compra a TAP! § Now, the prevention of terrorism, is the opposite of all this, with a state increasingly to intervene everywhere, watching everything and everyone, increasing the budgets in public security and peace, in billions. Analyzing the laundered money and who is going to privatizations to prevent the next terrorist attack. Imagine if the Islamic state buys TAP!

The international harmonization process of public accounting in Portugal: the perspective of different stakeholders

This paper investigates the reform of public accounting in Portugal through the IPSAS adoption highlighting the perception of different stakeholders. Two competing theories (NPM and the institutional theory) are used to understand public accounting changes within the Portuguese context. In general, different stakeholders agree with the favorable moment and the context of the reform. The context of financial crises and the great external pressures to cut public deficits and to improve the quality of financial information seem to be the most important factors to stimulate changes in public accounting. In addition, stakeholders recommend the use of different strategies to ensure success.

Use of Performance Measurement in the Public Sector: the case of the police service

Many public organisations have been under great pressure in recent years to increase the efficiency and transparency of outputs, to rationalise the use of public resources, and to increase the quality of service delivery. In this context, public organisations were encouraged to introduce the New Public Management reforms with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance organisation through a new public management model. This new public management model is based on measurement by outputs and outcomes, a clear definition of responsibilities, the transparency and accountability of governmental activities, and on a greater value for citizens. What type of performance measurement systems are used in police services? Based on the literature, we see that multidimensional models, such as the Balanced Scorecard, are important in many public organisations, like municipalities, universities, and hospitals. Police services are characterised by complex, diverse objectives and stakeholders. Therefore, performance measurement of these public services calls for a specific analysis. Based on a nationwide survey of all police chiefs of the Portuguese police force, we find that employee performance measurement is the main form of measurement. Also, we propose a strategic map for the Portuguese police service.

Foucault’s Perspective of Performance Appraisal in Public Administration

The main purpose of performance appraisal in organizations is, or should be, to improve the engagement, learning process and progress of the employees and to align individual with team and organizational performance. However, performance appraisal can also be interpreted as an instrument of normalization, discipline and surveillance. This study thus aims to explore and discuss the complex schema of intrinsic and extrinsic objectives of performance appraisal system of the Portuguese public organizations (SIADAP - Performance Evaluation Integrated System). We have developed an exploratory and qualitative case study to capture appraisers and appraises perceptions. The data were analyzed in light of foucauldian theories. According to the qualitative data, namely the discourses of the appraisers and their subordinates, the SIADAP is seen as an instrument of control and dominance that aims to introduce political rationalities, limiting the career progression of the employees. Though some key points of Foucault’s perspective were identified, foucauldian framework revealed some limitations to capture all the complexity inherent to performance appraisal. This study opens new perspectives about the SIADAP and can be of major importance as far as political reflection about performance appraisal in public organizations is concerned.

The internationally standardized process of public accounting: the perspective of different stakeholders in Portugal

New Public Management (NPM) led to great pressures for to introduce and adapt businesslike accounting in the public sector (Hood, 1995; Lapsley, 2008; Lapsley et al., 2009), specially the transition from cash basis to accrual-based accounting. In consequence, since the last 20 years we assist to a movement towards internationally standardized of public sector accounting that led to the publication of 32 International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for all public sector entities from national central governments to local governments (IFAC, 2008). These standards are accrual-basis and they emphasize the balance sheet approach, the fair value measurement and the revenue-expense approach (Hints, 2007). The main innovations are associated with the use of the balance sheet approach and the fair value measurement because, traditionally, public accounting systems are mainly focused on the revenue-expense approach and on historical cost valuation (Oulasvirta, 2014).

The political economy of corruption in Brazil

This article is the first part of a research on corruption in Brazil and it is theoretical. Despite this, it provides an economic interpretation of corruption using Brazil as a case study. The main objective of this research is to apply some microeconomic tools to understand the "big corruption". However, I am going to show that corruption is not simply a kind of crime. Rather, it is an ordinary economic activity that arises in some institutional environments. Firstly, some corruption cases in Brazil will be described. This article is aimed at showing that democracy itself does not ensure control over corruption. Secondly, I am going to do a very brief survey of institutional changes and controls over corruption in some Western Societies in which I am going to argue that corruption, its control and its illegality depend on institutional evolution by streamlining the constitutional and institutional framework. Thirdly, I am going to explain how some economic models could be adopted for a better understanding of corruption. Finally, I will present a multiple-self model applied to the public agent (politician and bureaucrat) constrained by institutions and pay-off systems.

The rights approach to local public management: experiences from Brazil

The Fundação Getulio Vargas, São Paulo, Public Management and Citizenship Program was set up in 1996 with Ford Foundation support to identify and disseminate Brazilian subnational government initiatives in service provision that have a direct effect on citizenship. Already, the program has 2,500 different experiences in its data bank, the results of four annual cycles. The article draws some initial conclusions about the possibilities of a rights-based approach to public management and about the engagement of other agencies and civil society organizations.

Budgeting and resource allocation in universities: a public choice approach

The calls for colleges and universities to improve their productivity are coming thick and fast in Brazil. Many studies are suggesting evaluation systems and external criteria to control the quality of teaching and research in universities. Since universities and colleges are not profit-oriented organizations (considering only the legitimate and serious research and teaching organizations, of course), the traditional microeconomics and administrative variables used to measure efficiency do not have any direct function. An alternative would be to create an "as if" market control system to evaluate performance in universities and colleges. Internal budget and resources allocation mechanism can be used as incentive instruments to improve quality and productivity. It will be the main issue of this article.

Ambivalent implications of health care information systems: a study in the Brazilian public health care system

This article evaluates social implications of the "SIGA" Health Care Information System (HIS) in a public health care organization in the city of São Paulo. The evaluation was performed by means of an in-depth case study with patients and staff of a public health care organization, using qualitative and quantitative data. On the one hand, the system had consequences perceived as positive such as improved convenience and democratization of specialized treatment for patients and improvements in work organization. On the other hand, negative outcomes were reported, like difficulties faced by employees due to little familiarity with IT and an increase in the time needed to schedule appointments. Results show the ambiguity of the implications of HIS in developing countries, emphasizing the need for a more nuanced view of the evaluation of failures and successes and the importance of social contextual factors.

Innovation and adoption of mobile technology in public organizations: the IBGE case

The use of Mobile and Wireless Information Technologies (MWIT) for provisioning public services by a government is a relatively recent phenomenon. This paper evaluates the results of MWIT adoption by IBGE (The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) through a case study. In 2007, IBGE applied 82,000 mobile devices (PDAs) for data gathering in a census operation in Brazil. A set of challenges for a large scale application of MWIT required intensive work involving innovative working practices and service goals. The case reveals a set of outputs of this process, such as time and cost reductions in service provision, improved information quality, staff training and increased organizational effectiveness and agility.

Network dynamics in scientific knowledge acquisition: an analysis in three public universities in the state of Bahia

This paper aims to cast some light on the dynamics of knowledge networks in developing countries by analyzing the scientific production of the largest university in the Northeast of Brazil and its influence on some of the remaining regional research institutions in the state of Bahia. Using a methodology test to be employed in a larger project, the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) (Federal University of Bahia), the Universidade do Estado da Bahia (Uneb) (State of Bahia University) and the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (Uesc)'s (Santa Cruz State University) scientific productions are discussed in one of their most traditionally expressive sectors in academic production - namely, the field of chemistry, using social network analysis of co-authorship networks to investigate the existence of small world phenomena and the importance of these phenomena in research performance in these three universities. The results already obtained through this research bring to light data of considerable interest concerning the scientific production in unconsolidated research universities. It shows the important participation of the UFBA network in the composition of the other two public universities research networks, indicating a possible occurrence of small world phenomena in the UFBA and Uesc networks, as well as the importance of individual researchers in consolidating research networks in peripheral universities. The article also hints that the methodology employed appears to be adequate insofar as scientific production may be used as a proxy for scientific knowledge.

Transparency of the municipal public management: a study from the homepages of the large Brazilian municipalities

This study attempts to check the transparency level of information in public administration published in the homepages of 96 municipalities included among the 100 most populous in Brazil and what characteristics and socioeconomic indicators of the municipalities can contribute to explain the level of transparency observed. The level of transparency in public administration was established from a research model called Transparency Index Municipal Public Management (ITGP-M) constructed based on international codes of good governance and transparency, the Brazilian legislation and the experiences of previous studies of similar nature conducted in Brazil and abroad. The empirical evidence point to low levels of transparency, incompatible with the level of socioeconomic development of municipalities. Moreover, we can conclude that, overall, there is an association between the socioeconomic conditions of the municipalities and the levels of transparency in the disclosure of information about public administration observed in sites of large municipalities as in this study.

O professor frente aos processos de aprendizagem da leitura : o combate às dificuldades

RESUMO: A aprendizagem da leitura é uma conquista primordial na trajetória de vida de uma criança. A educação, atualmente, percorre grandes e diferentes discussões, e as dificuldades de aprendizagem na leitura são uma realidade visível, comprovadas através de pesquisas. Contudo devem ser vencidas. O presente estudo tem como proposta identificar as concepções e estratégias de um grupo de professores que atuam diretamente com o aluno no âmbito da aprendizagem formal da leitura, no processo do ato de ler. Conhecer as práticas pedagógicas que são desenvolvidas na sala de aula, as explicações para o sucesso e o insucesso na aprendizagem da leitura. A forma como o aluno aprende e verificar diretamente, a partir de um grupo de alunos, suas dificuldades de não saber ler, sentidas pelos próprios, e como o professor as soluciona, suas explicações encontradas para as dificuldades de aprendizagem, e o impacto que causam na vida pessoal e social do aprendente e do ensinante. Saber o que fazer e como fazer quando se descobrem falhas do aluno ou do método na compreensão da leitura é uma das características das mais desejáveis e essencial no desenvolvimento do ensino da leitura e uma das diferenças mais acentuadas entre professores aplicados e os destituídos de um compromisso sagrado no seu papel de educador. Para atender aos objetivos pretendidos, foram realizadas entrevistas semi–estruturadas, sustentadas por roteiros, com alunos (20) e professores (10) em duas escolas públicas municipais do ciclo fundamental na cidade de Aracaju. Os resultados apontam para um desconhecimento dos métodos e das teorias cognitivas. No que tange aos alunos percebe-se a dificuldade, sentida pelo próprio aluno em não saber ler, como algo corriqueiro. Os achados deste estudo nos fazem pensar que o professor munícipe precisa rever seus métodos e processos de educação, sem os quais continuaremos a assistir um sistema educacional desmotivado e indiferente ao desenvolvimento de competências e capacidades críticas no processamento da aprendizagem da leitura no primeiro ano do Ciclo Básico. ABSTRACT: The learning of reading is a prime achievement on the path of a child‟s life. Education, nowadays, courses large and different discussions and the learning difficulties are easily seen, proved by researches. However they must be overcome. This article has as proposal to identify the conceptions and strategies of a teacher‟s group that acts directly with the student in the area of formal learning of reading, it means the reading process. And also to know the teaching practices that are developed in classroom, the explanations to the achievement or failure of reading. The way how the student learns and to verify directly, based on a group of students, their difficulties experienced by themselves, and how the teacher solve those, his explanations about the difficulties that were found, and the impact they bring to learner‟s and teacher‟s personal and social lives. to know what to do and how to do when student‟s flaws or imperfections on the reading comprehension method are found is one of the most desirable and essential characteristics on the development of (he reading learning)and one of the most pointed differences by teachers concerned and unconcerned about their commitment to the teacher role. To attend to the claimed aims, it has been done semi structured interviews, held by a list of topics, with twenty students and ten teachers in two public schools in Aracaju city. The results show ignorance on the methods and theories. When it comes to the students it‟s easy to see that the difficulty is faced by those who can‟t read, as something normal. The results of this work make us think that the public teacher needs to review his methods and educational processes; otherwise we are going to continue watching an educational system despondent and unconcerned about the development of criticizing skills on the process of reading learning in Junior High.