History of Art and Art Criticism: A System in Crisis

This article aims to reconstruct the critical debate regarding the examination of the crisis in the disciplines of art history and criticism with a particular focus on the proposal formulated by U.S. theorists who contributed to October journal. The discrediting of many modernist critical methods, particularly that of Clement Greenberg – the formalist diktat – marked the birth of the journal and gave rise to proposals set forth by critics committed to a new approach. Their divergent positions, nonetheless, have contributed to undermining the traditional concepts of the autonomy of art and criticism. The proposals discussed over the course of publication were the result of a reappraisal of the disciplinary instruments of art history and criticism pursuant to the crucial cultural changes which took place in the 1980s.

On occurrence, habitat specificity and natural history of adult tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae) near Manaus, Central Amazonia, and key to the larvae of tiger beetle genera

Over a seven year period from 1991 to 1997, 22 species of tiger beetles, representing nine genera, were recorded near Manaus, Brazil. In the Whitewaterfloodplains along the Rio Solimões-Amazonas (Ilha de Marchantaria), three diurnal species inhabit inundation forests and six species (two diurnal, four nocturnal) live in open areas. Data on their natural history and adaptation to living conditions in floodplains are presented. Fifteen species were located on non-flooded uplands (Reserva Florestal A. Ducke). Five diurnal species inhabit the forest floor, two species are canopy dwellers, and eight species (seven diurnal, one nocturnal) live in open areas on whitesand or laterite. Only one species, Pentacomia lacordairei, was found in both floodplain and upland forests. A key to the larvae of tiger beetle genera located near Manaus is presented.

Application of wavelets to the study of political history

\The idea that social processes develop in a cyclical manner is somewhat like a `Lorelei'. Researchers are lured to it because of its theoretical promise, only to become entangled in (if not wrecked by) messy problems of empirical inference. The reasoning leading to hypotheses of some kind of cycle is often elegant enough, yet the data from repeated observations rarely display the supposed cyclical pattern. (...) In addition, various `schools' seem to exist which frequently arrive at di erent conclusions on the basis of the same data." (van der Eijk and Weber 1987:271). Much of the empirical controversies around these issues arise because of three distinct problems: the coexistence of cycles of di erent periodicities, the possibility of transient cycles and the existence of cycles without xed periodicity. In some cases, there are no reasons to expect any of these phenomena to be relevant. Seasonality caused by Christmas is one such example (Wen 2002). In such cases, researchers mostly rely on spectral analysis and Auto-Regressive Moving-Average (ARMA) models to estimate the periodicity of cycles.1 However, and this is particularly true in social sciences, sometimes there are good theoretical reasons to expect irregular cycles. In such cases, \the identi cation of periodic movement in something like the vote is a daunting task all by itself. When a pendulum swings with an irregular beat (frequency), and the extent of the swing (amplitude) is not constant, mathematical functions like sine-waves are of no use."(Lebo and Norpoth 2007:73) In the past, this di culty has led to two di erent approaches. On the one hand, some researchers dismissed these methods altogether, relying on informal alternatives that do not meet rigorous standards of statistical inference. Goldstein (1985 and 1988), studying the severity of Great power wars is one such example. On the other hand, there are authors who transfer the assumptions of spectral analysis (and ARMA models) into fundamental assumptions about the nature of social phenomena. This type of argument was produced by Beck (1991) who, in a reply to Goldstein (1988), claimed that only \ xed period models are meaningful models of cyclic phenomena".We argue that wavelet analysis|a mathematical framework developed in the mid-1980s (Grossman and Morlet 1984; Goupillaud et al. 1984) | is a very viable alternative to study cycles in political time-series. It has the advantage of staying close to the frequency domain approach of spectral analysis while addressing its main limitations. Its principal contribution comes from estimating the spectral characteristics of a time-series as a function of time, thus revealing how its di erent periodic components may change over time. The rest of article proceeds as follows. In the section \Time-frequency Analysis", we study in some detail the continuous wavelet transform and compare its time-frequency properties with the more standard tool for that purpose, the windowed Fourier transform. In the section \The British Political Pendulum", we apply wavelet analysis to essentially the same data analyzed by Lebo and Norpoth (2007) and Merrill, Grofman and Brunell (2011) and try to provide a more nuanced answer to the same question discussed by these authors: do British electoral politics exhibit cycles? Finally, in the last section, we present a concise list of future directions.

Where@UM - Dependable organic radio maps

In the past decade, the research community has been dedicating considerable effort into indoor positioning systems based on Wi-Fi fingerprinting techniques, mainly due to their capability to exploit existing infrastructures. Crowdsourcing approaches, also known as organic, have been proposed recently to address the problem of creating and maintaining the corresponding radio maps. In these organic systems, the users of the system build the radio map themselves while using it to estimate their own position/location. However, most of these collaborative methods, proposed by several authors, assume that all the users are honest and committed to contribute to a good quality radio map. In this paper we assess the quality of a radio map built collaboratively and propose a method to classify the credibility of individual contributions and the reputation of individual users. Experimental results are presented for an organic indoor location system that has been used by more than one hundred users over a period of around 12 months.

Recensão de Lee, E. (2005). How internet radio can change the world : an activist’s handbook. Nova Iorque : iUniverse, Inc.

(Excerto) O entusiasmo pela comunicação digital percorre transversalmente a obra How Internet Radio Can Change the World: An Activist’s Handbook, de Eric Lee. Esta postura tão apologista das possibilidades comunicativas oferecidas pela Internet reforça provavelmente um conjunto alargado de entendimentos sobre a conquista do quotidiano pelo digital. Em 1967, McLuhan e Fiore já se referiam aos circuitos eletrónicos como ‘extensões do sistema nervoso central’. Numa leitura mais contemporânea, José Bragança de Miranda refere: “vivemos, nos nossos dias, no meio de conexões, de links, do on‑line, estamos votados à participação, à ‘interactividade’, etc. Algo de novo está a emergir” (2001, p. 265). Maria Teresa Cruz (2001) define a convergência tecnológica das relações sociais como a ‘mobilização erótica da técnica’. Esta obra aqui recenseada pretende, assim, desafiar a utilização da rádio digital para “melhorar a comunicação e solidificar as organizações” (p. 1), em torno de três grupos de reflexão.

Short-term corneal changes with gas-permeable contact lens wear in keratoconus subjects: a comparison of two fitting approaches

Purpose: To evaluate changes in anterior corneal topography and higher-order aberrations (HOA) after 14-days of rigid gas-permeable (RGP) contact lens (CL) wear in keratoconus subjects comparing two different fitting approaches. Methods: Thirty-one keratoconus subjects (50 eyes) without previous history of CL wear were recruited for the study. Subjects were randomly fitted to either an apical-touch or three-pointtouch fitting approach. The lens’ back optic zone radius (BOZR) was 0.4 mm and 0.1 mm flatter than the first definite apical clearance lens, respectively. Differences between the baseline and post-CL wear for steepest, flattest and average corneal power (ACP) readings, central corneal astigmatism (CCA), maximum tangential curvature (KTag), anterior corneal surface asphericity, anterior corneal surface HOA and thinnest corneal thickness measured with Pentacam were compared. Results: A statistically significant flattening was found over time on the flattest and steepest simulated keratometry and ACP in apical-touch group (all p < 0.01). A statistically significant reduction in KTag was found in both groups after contact lens wear (all p < 0.05). Significant reduction was found over time in CCA (p = 0.001) and anterior corneal asphericity in both groups (p < 0.001). Thickness at the thinnest corneal point increased significantly after CL wear (p < 0.0001). Coma-like and total HOA root mean square (RMS) error were significantly reduced following CL wearing in both fitting approaches (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Short-term rigid gas-permeable CL wear flattens the anterior cornea, increases the thinnest corneal thickness and reduces anterior surface HOA in keratoconus subjects. Apicaltouch was associated with greater corneal flattening in comparison to three-point-touch lens wear.

Contribution to Early Holocene vegetation and climate history of Eastern Orinoco Llanos, Venezuela, from a paleoecological record of a Mauritia L.f. swamp

A palynological analysis of an organic paleosol found at 150-125 cm depth in a Mauritia swamp from the Eastern Orinoco Llanos is presented. The 25 cm pollen record summarizes the vegetation history during the Early Holocene, from 10,225 to 7,800 calendar yr BP. The vegetation was characterized by a Poaceae marsh, where Asteraceae, Melastomataceae, Schefflera-type and Phyllanthus were the most abundant shrubs and trees. Pollen-types richness was lower than that recorded today in similar environments, and Mauritia pollen was absent. Results suggest that climate was as humid as present during the beginning of the Holocene, with a decreasing trend in humidity from around 8,000-7,000 yr BP, in coincidence with the beginning of the "Early-Mid-Holocene Dryness" that affected deeply the Amazon Basin and neighboring areas. Dry climatic conditions could have existed in the study site until the Mid-Late Holocene when a Mauritia swamp developed, and humid conditions similar to present established. Main climate phases inferred in our study site fit well with regional trends recorded in other places located north Amazon Basin. However, conclusions are still limited by the lack of additional Quaternary records in the Orinoco Llanos area, avoiding regional correlations.

Radio mobility in the digital era: interactivity, participation and content share possibilities in Iberian broadcasters

In the context of the scientific research into radio, recent years have encouraged many theories about the meaning of a post-radio (Oliveira & Portela, 2011), thus enlisting several parameters regarding the inclusion of contemporary radio in the digital and online environments. This digital migration has led to the development of mobile applications for radio, broadening the communicative potential of audiences (Aguado, Feijoo & Martínez, 2013), as well as promoting convergence of interactive content among listeners-users. Aware of this opportunity, the main broadcasters in Spain and Portugal have broadened their radiophonic scope to the mobile platform, especially geared towards smartphones through the development of mobile applications, commonly known as apps (Cerezo, 2010). As a symbol of a culture in permanent changing, smartphones not only provide greater easiness in terms of access and interaction, but also afford larger opportunities for disseminating content among audiences, a phenomenon that some studies have labelled as user distributed content (Villi, 2012). This article presents an exploratory analysis of the current policies of the main Spanish and Portuguese radio broadcasters regarding mobile applications, evaluating the different levels of interaction and participation in these platforms. This observation led to the conclusion, among other findings, that the mobile platform represents a supplementary channel for traditional FM radio, rather than a new medium with its own language and expression.

Portuguese internet radio from 2006 to 2009: technical readiness and openness to interaction

[Extrat] The advent of thc internet raised questions about the role of radio in a fast-changing media environment. Many voices forecast its end but in the summer of 2008 the Swedish Radio and TV Authority published a study named 'The Future of Radio', which clearly opposed the pessimism of recent analysis. While the study anticipates the exhaustion of the FM model, it clearly broadens perspectives for DAB and internet radio, highlighting digitalization as the key element for the future relevance of radio. The Portuguese researcher and radio professional João Paulo Meneses states that 'the future of radio relies upon the internet', calling the broad service offerings of the net the pathway for the survival of radio from the threats to its two essential aspects: rnobility and accumulation (Meneses 2008). Accumulation is radio's capability to be used in a non­exclusive manner, which means that a listener can use the radio while performing other activities, like cooking, sewing, reading, writing or jogging.

Comedy shows: humour, crisis and the resilience of radio

Being a part of many radio stations' progra

Quantifying, generating and mitigating radio interference in Low-Power Wireless Networks

Doctoral Programme in Telecommunication - MAP-tele

“Learning through Radio, Learning for Life!”: Notas sobre o desenvolvimento de uma rádio participativa online

(Excerto) Olhando para o percurso do RadioActive, há uma ideia que parece ser transversal a todo o projeto. Referimo-nos a um princípio que chamaríamos de “identificação” e que foi determinante – é determinante – nos processos de investigação participativa. Falamos da identificação dos investigadores com os princípios da investigação-ação, da identificação das intervenções com as particularidades de cada contexto. Da imprescindível e progressiva identificação dos participantes com o projeto. Na verdade, sem esta multifacetada identificação é impossível pensar em resultados sustentáveis e persistentes. Investigadores e demais participantes têm de sentir que o projeto é “seu”, que os objetivos são “seus”, embora o façam necessariamente a velocidades diferentes. A aprendizagem, neste âmbito, expande-se sempre de dentro para fora, emerge dos interesses do sujeito e não de uma estrutura pré-concebida e imposta pelos que chegam (Ravenscroft et al., 2011), neste caso, os investigadores. Uma das diferenças das pesquisas participativas em relação às tradicionais é, precisamente, a atuação coletiva e não solitária do investigador. Os pesquisadores fazem parte de um processo participatório em que estão envolvidos numa estrutura (Cammarota & Fine, 2008: 5). Paulo Freire é o autor primordial em todos os projetos e países onde a RA101 foi aplicada. As suas concepções em torno da investigação-ação participativa tentam apontar sempre para uma ação e também para uma reflexão sobre os processos.

Our place in history: young feminists at the margins

Feminisms in Portugal, as elsewhere, have been shaped historically. From the revolutions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which ended monarchy and established a republican system, women have taken a stand. In the late 1970s, after 48 years of dictatorship during which feminist issues were effectively silenced, feminist groups began to appear in Portugal. It was then, in 1976, that UMAR (Unia˜o de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta [‘Union of Women for Alternatives and Answers’]) began its fight against discrimination and violence against women.

O livro na revista: como revistas semanais brasileiras e portuguesas abordam livros e literatura

Dissertação de mestrado em Comunicação, Arte e Cultura

Final report detailed description - NET Station: shaping radio for web environment

In more scientific terms, NET Station contributed to: - discuss in theoretical terms the role radio still play in contemporary societies; - examine how audiences are using sound resources on the Web; - draw up a new theoretical framework for the study of the reconfiguration of radio language on the Internet;acknowledge that people are not abandoning radio as a medium; the survey applied by the team demonstrated that there is a complementariness between traditional radio and radio on the Internet; - understand that people expect more interactivity, more opportunities to participate in content production and more diversity of contents. These results were shared with editors responsible for Portuguese radio and might influence the offer made available by these radio corporations from now on; - demonstrate that the Internet is underexplored in terms of sound and acoustic communication; - promote the production of new sound narratives to be available on the Internet;