Aspects of Land Take in the Metropolitan Area of Naples

Land take is a phenomenon of great concern nowadays because of the large number of its negative impacts regarding biological, economic and social balance. In Italy, the development of urban and other artificial land has been irreversibly transforming a nonrenewable resource such as soil, regardless the almost constant population rate, with different speed depending of the region considered. The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon in the metropolitan area of Naples, which is an area highly affected by territorial aggression of human matrix. The data used are both by the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) Report 2015 on the usage of the land and by ISTAT relating to the resident population up to the 1st of January 2015 and the extension of land for agricultural use (Census 2010). The mathematical combination of this data creates a new indicator that can be referred to as “residual land”; this residual area is of great extension with many different characteristics and it could represent the area where the phenomenon of land take most occurs. The identification, measurement and analysis of “residual land” provide new insights on the evolution of land take and this new indicator can represent a critical element to work on to prevent future land transformation and protect natural and agricultural areas within the Italian context.

Entre o mar e estrela, um lugar para se bem viver : a problemática da expansão urbana da Cidade de Baía Formosa/RN

The urban expansion problem of Baía Formosa, a southern edge city of de Rio Grande do Norte eastern coast, which has been presented in other coast Brazilian towns, specially on those with tourist activities increase. Therefore, this situation brings huge concerns to their inhabitants, to their technical /scientific community and to the governments, because of the conflicts of interest and of the growth of urban problems that this has been created. At Baía Formosa, the situation is aggravated because the city is confined, once around it, there are large private proprieties, environmental preservation area and the sea, at the eastern edge. The objectives of this study are the analyses of this city expansion process in order to obtain adequate alternatives and defining methodology to apply in other urban nucleus that are subjected to similar situations. Of course, presents social relations, environmental conditions and promoting local population insertion should be considered in order that enjoin this process and contributing to a better social balance. This case study has used bibliography research, field data, maps and soil occupation recorders and photographs of the area, besides the primary data gathering by surveys carried out with many social actors. The present analysis shows that the urban expansion observed today is featured by a recent unsustainable model, which attacks the environment and brings either farm conflicts. On the other hand, the ecological tourism can represent an alternative in order to achieve an adequate expansion form, without forgetting the several structural parameters necessary to support the sustainable activities

Uma abordagem evolucionária e espacial para o jogo da autorregulação de processos de trocas sociais em sistemas multiagentes

Interações sociais são frequentemente descritas como trocas sociais. Na literatura, trocas sociais em Sistemas Multiagentes são objeto de estudo em diversos contextos, nos quais as relações sociais são interpretadas como trocas sociais. Dentre os problemas estudados, um problema fundamental discutido na literatura e a regulação¸ ao de trocas sociais, por exemplo, a emergência de trocas equilibradas ao longo do tempo levando ao equilíbrio social e/ou comportamento de equilíbrio/justiça. Em particular, o problema da regulação de trocas sociais e difícil quando os agentes tem informação incompleta sobre as estratégias de troca dos outros agentes, especificamente se os agentes tem diferentes estratégias de troca. Esta dissertação de mestrado propõe uma abordagem para a autorregulacao de trocas sociais em sistemas multiagentes, baseada na Teoria dos Jogos. Propõe o modelo de Jogo de Autorregulacão ao de Processos de Trocas Sociais (JAPTS), em uma versão evolutiva e espacial, onde os agentes organizados em uma rede complexa, podem evoluir suas diferentes estratégias de troca social. As estratégias de troca são definidas através dos parâmetros de uma função de fitness. Analisa-se a possibilidade do surgimento do comportamento de equilíbrio quando os agentes, tentando maximizar sua adaptação através da função de fitness, procuram aumentar o numero de interações bem sucedidas. Considera-se um jogo de informação incompleta, uma vez que os agentes não tem informações sobre as estratégias de outros agentes. Para o processo de aprendizado de estratégias, utiliza-se um algoritmo evolutivo, no qual os agentes visando maximizar a sua função de fitness, atuam como autorregulares dos processos de trocas possibilitadas pelo jogo, contribuindo para o aumento do numero de interações bem sucedidas. São analisados 5 diferentes casos de composição da sociedade. Para alguns casos, analisa-se também um segundo tipo de cenário, onde a topologia de rede é modificada, representando algum tipo de mobilidade, a fim de analisar se os resultados são dependentes da vizinhança. Alem disso, um terceiro cenário é estudado, no qual é se determinada uma política de influencia, quando as medias dos parâmetros que definem as estratégias adotadas pelos agentes tornam-se publicas em alguns momentos da simulação, e os agentes que adotam a mesma estratégia de troca, influenciados por isso, imitam esses valores. O modelo foi implementado em NetLogo.

Entre o mar e estrela, um lugar para se bem viver : a problemática da expansão urbana da Cidade de Baía Formosa/RN

The urban expansion problem of Baía Formosa, a southern edge city of de Rio Grande do Norte eastern coast, which has been presented in other coast Brazilian towns, specially on those with tourist activities increase. Therefore, this situation brings huge concerns to their inhabitants, to their technical /scientific community and to the governments, because of the conflicts of interest and of the growth of urban problems that this has been created. At Baía Formosa, the situation is aggravated because the city is confined, once around it, there are large private proprieties, environmental preservation area and the sea, at the eastern edge. The objectives of this study are the analyses of this city expansion process in order to obtain adequate alternatives and defining methodology to apply in other urban nucleus that are subjected to similar situations. Of course, presents social relations, environmental conditions and promoting local population insertion should be considered in order that enjoin this process and contributing to a better social balance. This case study has used bibliography research, field data, maps and soil occupation recorders and photographs of the area, besides the primary data gathering by surveys carried out with many social actors. The present analysis shows that the urban expansion observed today is featured by a recent unsustainable model, which attacks the environment and brings either farm conflicts. On the other hand, the ecological tourism can represent an alternative in order to achieve an adequate expansion form, without forgetting the several structural parameters necessary to support the sustainable activities

Que práticas de envolvimento parental na educação dos filhos: Percepção das mães

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada para obtenção do Grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Educacional

Impact of physical activity on energy balance, food intake and choice in normal weight and obese children in the setting of acute social stress: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Psychological stress negatively influences food intake and food choices, thereby contributing to the development of childhood obesity. Physical activity can also moderate eating behavior and influence calorie intake. However, it is unknown if acute physical activity influences food intake and overall energy balance after acute stress exposure in children. We therefore investigated the impact of acute physical activity on overall energy balance (food intake minus energy expenditure), food intake, and choice in the setting of acute social stress in normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) children as well as the impact of psychological risk factors. METHOD: After receiving written consent from their parents, 26 NW (BMI < 90(th) percentile) and 24 7-to 11-year-old OW (n = 5)/OB (n = 19, BMI ≥ 90(th) percentile) children were randomly allocated using computer-generated numbers (1:1, after stratification for weight status) to acute moderate physical or to sedentary activity for 30 min. Afterwards, all children were exposed to an acute social stressor. Children and their parents completed self-report questionnaires. At the end of the stressor, children were allowed to eat freely from a range of 12 different foods (6 sweet/6 salty; each of low/high caloric density). Energy balance, food intake/choice and obesity-related psychological risk factors were assessed. RESULTS: Lower overall energy balance (p = 0.019) and a decreased choice of low density salty foods (p < 0.001) in NW children compared with OW/OB children was found after acute moderate physical activity but not sedentary activity. Independent of their allocation, OW/OB children ate more high density salty foods (104 kcal (34 to 173), p = 0.004) following stress. They scored higher on impulsive behavior (p = 0.005), restrained eating (p < 0.001) and parental corporal punishment (p = 0.03), but these psychological factors were not related to stress-induced food intake/choice. Positive parenting tended to be related to lower intake of sweet high density food (-132 kcal, -277 to 2, p = 0.054). CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of stress, acute moderate physical activity can address energy balance in children, a benefit which is especially pronounced in the OW/OB. Positive parenting may act as a protective factor preventing stress-induced eating of comfort food. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov NCT01693926 The study was a pilot study of a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (CRSII3_147673).

Postural balance in patients with social anxiety disorder

Body stability is controlled by the postural system and can be affected by fear and anxiety. Few studies have addressed freezing posture in psychiatric disorders. The purpose of the present study was to assess posturographic behavior in 30 patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and 35 without SAD during presentation of blocks of pictures with different valences. Neutral images consisted of objects taken from a catalog of pictures, negative images were mutilation pictures and anxiogenic images were related to situations regarding SAD fears. While participants were standing on a force platform, similar to a balance, displacement of the center of pressure in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions was measured. We found that the SAD group exhibited a lower sway area and a lower velocity of sway throughout the experiment independent of the visual stimuli, in which the phobic pictures, a stimulus associated with a defense response, were unable to evoke a significantly more rigid posture than the others. We hypothesize that patients with SAD when entering in a situation of exposure, from the moment the pictures are presented, tend to move less than controls, remaining this way until the experiment ends. This discrete body manifestation can provide additional data to the characterization of SAD and its differentiation from other anxiety disorders, especially in situations regarding facing fear.

Balance económico y social de la región Bogotá - Cundinamarca 2009 y primer semestre 2010

Gestión del conocimiento

Balance económico y social de la región Bogotá-Cundinamarca 2010 - 2011

Gestión del conocimiento

Diseño de un modelo de balance social para las obras sociales de la obra salesiana del niño Jesús Proyecto de aplicación práctica

En los últimos 3 o 4 años se ha generado un debate sobre el carácter de lo público y lo privado como escenarios de construcción de la democracia y la ciudadanía. En este ámbito surge el concepto de sociedad civil como las diversas formas de expresioes y actuaciones que proyectan su acción en lo público. Las características de la sociedad civil según el profesor Guillermo Hoyos son su conformación pluralista, el compromiso con una vida más solidaria y autónoma, el desarrollo auténtico de los diversos grupos sociales y el respeto por la heterogeneidad y la diferencia

La historia económica y social sobre la Época Colonial ecuatoriana: un balance de la producción historiográfica en los últimos 25 años (Estudios)

1. Los puntos de partida: el aporte del enfoque marxista. 2. Los años ochenta y el protagonismo de los historiadores. 3. Crisis obrajera y reorientación de la economía. 4. Hacienda y población tributaria. 5. Comercio y región. 5. La historia andina. 6. Administración colonial, poderes locales y élites. 7. Rebelión y sociedad urbana. 8. Perspectivas actuales.