La ejecución de las sentencias urbanísticas

El Estado español tiene más de 100.000 construcciones ilegales. En la actualidad, la ejecución de las sentencias en materia urbanística no es eficaz. Existe, por tanto, una situación de inejecución de las sentencias urbanísticas. Un ciudadano puede construir una casa al amparo de una licencia. Sin embargo, a veces, esta licencia es ilegal porque infringe el plan urbanístico aplicable y incluso la propia ley de urbanismo. La consecuencia jurídica de la ilegal es la obligatoriedad del derribo de lo ilegalmente construido. Lo mismo sucede ante la declaración de ilegalidad de un plan urbanístico. En este caso, el juez o tribunal estimará la ilegalidad del plan y el fallo deberá ser ejecutado. La solución no es un fácil porque la demolición o derribo de la construcción ilegal trae consigo el pago de una indemnización a los propietarios que han edificado al amparo de una licencia ilegal.El derecho a la ejecución de sentencias es prescrito por el artículo 24 de la Constitución española. Este artículo 24 garantiza el derecho de todos ciudadanos a una tutela judicial efectiva. El Tribunal Constitucional español en sus sentencias número 67/1984 y 28/1989, reconocieron que el derecho a la ejecución de las resoluciones judiciales deriva del propio derecho a la tutela judicial efectiva. La justicia administrativa está regulada por la Ley 29/1998, del 13 de julio, reguladora de la jurisdicción contencioso-administrativa. En su artículo 103.1 de la Ley 29/1998, establece que los jueces y los tribunales de la jurisdicción administrativa son los competentes para hacer ejecutar las sentencias. Por otro lado, el artículo 117.3 de la Constitución Española otorga la competencia en exclusiva a los jueces y tribunales para hacer ejecutar las sentencias, como manifestación del principio de división de poderes.En último lugar, los valores que la legislación urbanística española incorpora, tales como, el desarrollo sostenible, urbanismo sostenible y la cohesión social, quedan inaplicados si las sentencias urbanísticas no se ejecutan.

Exclusão étnica, julgamento moral e emoções morais : estudo em adolescentes

Os pressupostos defendidos na declaração de Salamanca sobre a Educação Inclusiva não são fáceis de concretizar pois as pessoas, por causa de diferenças de sexo, etnia, aparência, etc, têm frequentemente condutas diferenciais. Um dos critérios sociais que mais provoca exclusão social são as diferenças étnicas, um fenómeno mais estudado pela psicologia social. Porém, a atitude de exclusão social pode estar relacionada com a competência moral dos indivíduos, uma relação que foi analisada neste estudo. Para isso recorremos ao suporte da psicologia moral que valoriza o papel das emoções na compreensão das condutas sociais, bem exemplificada nos estudos do vitimizador feliz (e.g., Arsenio & Kramer, 1992; Lourenço, 1998). Nas perspectivas mais recentes da psicologia moral tem sido atribuída grande ênfase à necessidade de analisar cognições e emoções nas condutas morais (e.g., Malti & Latzko, 2010; Turiel & Killen, 2010). Apoiados no estudo de Malti, Killen & Gasser (2012) sobre a exclusão social analisámos os julgamentos e as emoções morais de adolescentes em três contextos, etnia africana, etnia cigana e género, numa amostra de 45 adolescentes, com idades entre os 13 e os 19 anos, através da aplicação de uma versão traduzida da Survey Instrument for Measuring Judgments about Emotions about Exclusion (Malti, Killen & Gasser, 2009). Os jovens avaliaram a exclusão étnica como mais incorreta que a exclusão por género mas não foram encontradas diferenças nos juízos e emoções expressas pelos portugueses e estrangeiros. As emoções de culpa, tristeza, vergonha, atribuídas ao excludente confirmam a avaliação negativa da atitude de exclusão. Porém, a emoção normal que revela indiferença expressa que alguns jovens avaliaram positivamente a exclusão. A intensidade emocional intermédia das emoções atribuídas mostra inconsistência com o juízo moral. Relativamente ao excluído existe consenso pois as emoções de tristeza e raiva foram as mais atribuídas. As justificações dos juízos e emoções atribuídos são de tipo diverso, ou seja, argumentos morais de justiça e igualdade, argumentos de inclusão por empatia e argumentos convencionais relativos à coesão intragrupal. A atitude de exclusão não é estritamente moral pois também é vista em função de benefícios para o funcionamento do grupo. A relação complexa entre juízos, emoções e justificações requisita mais investigação de modo a percebermos melhor os processos psicológicos que induzem a conduta social.

Construindo pontes para a inclusão: um projeto de ensino/aprendizagem cooperativa

O presente trabalho constitui um projecto de investigação acção realizado numa escola de primeiro ciclo do distrito de Lisboa, mais especificamente numa truma do 4º ano de escolaridade,desencadeado por dois alunos diagnosticados com dificuldades intelectuais e desenvolvimentais que integravam uma unidade de apoio e specializado a alunos com multideficiência e surdocegueira congénita . Paralelamente foram também mobilizados os docentes do núcleo de educação especial do agrupamento de escolas . A caraterização destes três contextos a turma, a unidade e o núcleo- realizou-se através da utilização dos seguintei instrumentos de recolha de dados: análise documental, observação naturalista, entrevista semi-estruturada e sociometria. A análise dos mesmos permitiu fazer as seguintes constatações : turma bastante heterogénea, diferentes níveis de aprendizagem, alunos de língua portuguesa não materna, de diferentes etnias, e nível socioeconómico, problemas de relacionamento entre eles e alguma resistência em aceitar os colegas considerados com dificuldades intelectuais e desenvolvimentais; passividade e pouca responsabilidade no ato de aprender; dificuldades no cumprimento de regras; participação escassa das famílias no processo de ensino/aprendizagem; um tipo de ensino preferencialmente expositivo ; trabalho essencialmente individualizado , por parte dos alunos; dificuldade em incluir aqueles cujas diferenças individuais são mais significativas - diferenciação pedagógica descontextualizada . Na unidade de apoio especializado verificou –se a necessidade de um trabalho mais cooperado e convergente entre todos os intervenientes . No grupo de docentes de educação especial, constatou-se que as práticas de apoio aos sessenta alunos considerados com necessidades educativas especiais de caráter permanente eram essencialmente centradas no apoio direto ao aluno, fora da sala de aula .Tendo como quadro concetual de referência o paradigma da diversidade,a inclusão, a escola e educação inclusivas, a diferenciação pedagógica inclusiva, a aprendizagem cooperativa, e , tal como já se referiu, uma abordagem assente nas permissas da investigação ação como um processo cíclico de refletir para agir e refletir sobre a acção , desenvolveram –se ações nos referidos contextos da intervenção. Turma–diferenciação pedagógica inclusiva, utilização de metodologias de ensino/aprendizagem cooperativa na área da língua portuguesa Na unidade de apoio especializado –intervenção individualizada com os alunos “caso” para O desenvolvimento das competências estipuladas nos seus currículos específicos individuais, tendo por base um trabalho coordenado e cooperativo entre professores, famílias, assistentes operacionais e técnica de terapia da fala. No núcleo de educação especial – ação de sensibilização sobre a importância do papel de parceria pedagógica com os docentes do ensino regular , para implementação de uma pedagogia diferenciada inclusiva e da aprendizagem cooperativa como estratégias de inclusão . Considerando a complexidade dos contextos de intervenção e a competência profissional tão necessária ao sucesso de todos os alunos e à melhoria da escola , com a realização deste projeto de investigação acção pelo enriquecimento profissional que proporcionou, pôde constatar-se que este tipo de abordagem (o professor como investigador crítico e reflexivo), se apresenta de facto, como uma via importantíssimade formação contínua. Neste caso, o desenvolvimento deste projeto, permitiu encontrar algumas respostas que contribuíram para a melhoria profissional dos implicados e dos contextos em questão, atenuando os problemas identificados e perspetivar outras respostas . No entanto, esta abordagem não foi um processo fácil, pois esta capacidade de fazer juízos críticos sobre o próprio trabalho requer tempo de aprendizagem e principalmente a vontade de querer fazer, sempre, mais e melhor.

Vigencia de La novela ecuatoriana, de Ángel F. Rojas (Dossier: Cuatro narradores del 30, relecturas en su centenario)

Luego de ubicar a Ángel F. Rojas entre los ensayistas de temas literarios de su generación, la autora sustenta la vigencia del crítico lojano. Más allá de que no exista, en el siglo XX, ningún otro estudio de similar alcance sobre la novela ecuatoriana, plantea que los méritos de esta obra radican en los criterios de periodización empleados, en que los juicios emitidos se sustentan en criterios estéticos, y en que jerarquiza las obras de acuerdo a su valor literario, no se trata de crítica impresionista o biografista, ni sesgada negativamente por consideraciones ideológicas. Rojas incluye, entonces, tres rasgos propios de la moderna crítica literaria: el deslinde, el establecimiento de jerarquías y la emisión de juicios sustentados en la literaturidad de las obras. Un buen número de las conclusiones del autor mantiene actualidad, igual ocurre con la significación de muchas de ellas en el canon del país. El texto de Rojas inicia la moderna crítica literaria ecuatoriana, y mantiene su lugar referencial entre los estudios de la novela en este país.

Jurisprudencia de la Corte Interamericana sobre el derecho a la libertad de expresión

Esta es una compilación y transcripción de sentencias de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, en las que se puede apreciar los argumentos de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y las consideraciones de la Corte para resolver violaciones al derecho a la libertad de expresión.

Individual Differences in Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity are Associated with Evaluation Speed and Psychological Well-being

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined whether individual differences in amygdala activation in response to negative relative to neutral information are related to differences in the speed with which such information is evaluated, the extent to which such differences are associated with medial prefrontal cortex function, and their relationship with measures of trait anxiety and psychological well-being (PWB). Results indicated that faster judgments of negative relative to neutral information were associated with increased left and right amygdala activation. In the prefrontal cortex, faster judgment time was associated with relative decreased activation in a cluster in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, BA 24). Furthermore, people who were slower to evaluate negative versus neutral information reported higher PWB. Importantly, higher PWB was strongly associated with increased activation in the ventral ACC for negative relative to neutral information. Individual differences in trait anxiety did not predict variation in judgment time or in amygdala or ventral ACC activity. These findings suggest that people high in PWB effectively recruit the ventral ACC when confronted with potentially aversive stimuli, manifest reduced activity in subcortical regions such as the amygdala, and appraise such information as less salient as reflected in slower evaluative speed.

Is 15 per cent very common? Informing people about the risks of medication side effects

Objectives - To assess the general public's interpretation of the verbal descriptors for side effect frequency recommended for use in medicine information leaflets by a European Union (EU) guideline, and to examine the extent to which differences in interpretation affect people's perception of risk and their judgments of intention to comply with the prescribed treatment. Method - Two studies used a controlled empirical methodology in which people were presented with a hypothetical, but realistic, scenario about visiting their general practitioner and being prescribed medication. They were given an explanation that focused on the side effects of the medicine, together with information about the probability of occurrence using either numerical percentages or the corresponding EU verbal descriptors. Interpretation of the descriptors was assessed. In study 2, participants were also required to make various judgments, including risk to health and intention to comply. Key findings - In both studies, use of the EU recommended descriptors led to significant overestimations of the likelihood of particular side effects occurring. Study 2 further showed that the "overestimation" resulted in significantly increased ratings of perceived severity of side effects and risk to health, as well as significantly reduced ratings of intention to comply, compared with those for people who received the probability information in numerical form. Conclusion - While it is recognised that the current findings require replication in a clinical setting, the European and national authorities should suspend the use of the EU recommended terms until further research is available to allow the use of an evidence-based approach.

Fast and frugal framing effects?

Three experiments examine whether simple pair-wise comparison judgments, involving the “recognition heuristic” (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 2002), are sensitive to implicit cues to the nature of the comparison required. Experiments 1 & 2 show that participants frequently choose the recognized option of a pair if asked to make “larger” judgments but are significantly less likely to choose the unrecognized option when asked to make “smaller” judgments. Experiment 3 demonstrates that, overall, participants consider recognition to be a more reliable guide to judgments of a magnitude criterion than lack of recognition and that this intuition drives the framing effect. These results support the idea that, when making pair-wise comparison judgments, inferring that the recognized item is large is simpler than inferring that the unrecognized item is small.

Fidelity in interpretation: Lord Hoffmann and the adventure of the empty house

This paper explores Dworkin's 'law as a chain novel' analogy and considers the recent work of Dworkin and MacCormick through close scrutiny of two recent judgments of Lord Hoffmann, in Barlow Clowes v Eurotrust International [2005] UKPC 37 and Barker v Corus [2006] UKHL 20. The aim is to examine Dworkin's theory in the context of recent English private law decisions and determine whether Lord Hoffmann's approach to interpretation is consistent with that of Dworkin (as his Lordship has contended in the past). It is argued that Lord Hoffmann's treatment of recent decisions on which he himself sat raises significant questions regarding fidelity, coherence and the institutional structure of the House of Lords.

Self-activation and out-group contrast

It has been suggested that higher in-group identifiers primed with an out-group stereotype show contrastive behavioral responses because they activate the in-group, social-self. However, priming the personal-self can lead to contrastive judgments. We investigated whether personal self-activation was also evident for higher identifiers primed with an out-group. An experiment demonstrated that higher identifiers primed with an out-group showed faster responses to self-words than higher identifiers primed with the in-group. This findings suggest that the personal-self is also activated for higher identifiers primed with an out-group, and this self-activation may underlie their contrastive responding.

Stereo and motion parallax cues in human 3D vision: can they vanish without a trace?

In an immersive virtual reality environment, subjects fail to notice when a scene expands or contracts around them, despite correct and consistent information from binocular stereopsis and motion parallax, resulting in gross failures of size constancy (A. Glennerster, L. Tcheang, S. J. Gilson, A. W. Fitzgibbon, & A. J. Parker, 2006). We determined whether the integration of stereopsis/motion parallax cues with texture-based cues could be modified through feedback. Subjects compared the size of two objects, each visible when the room was of a different size. As the subject walked, the room expanded or contracted, although subjects failed to notice any change. Subjects were given feedback about the accuracy of their size judgments, where the “correct” size setting was defined either by texture-based cues or (in a separate experiment) by stereo/motion parallax cues. Because of feedback, observers were able to adjust responses such that fewer errors were made. For texture-based feedback, the pattern of responses was consistent with observers weighting texture cues more heavily. However, for stereo/motion parallax feedback, performance in many conditions became worse such that, paradoxically, biases moved away from the point reinforced by the feedback. This can be explained by assuming that subjects remap the relationship between stereo/motion parallax cues and perceived size or that they develop strategies to change their criterion for a size match on different trials. In either case, subjects appear not to have direct access to stereo/motion parallax cues.

A method of weighting indicators in building energy efficiency assessment

This paper identifies the indicators of energy efficiency assessment in residential building in China through a wide literature review. Indicators are derived from three main sources: 1) The existing building assessment methods; 2)The existing Chinese standards and technology codes in building energy efficiency; 3)Academia research. As a result, we proposed an indicator list by refining the indicators in the above sources. Identified indicators are weighted by the group analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Group AHP method is implemented following key steps: Step 1: Experienced experts are selected to form a group; Step 2: A survey is implemented to collect the individual judgments on the importance of indicators in the group; Step 3: Members’ judgments are synthesized to the group judgments; Step 4: Indicators are weighted by AHP on the group judgments; Step 5: Investigation of consistency estimation shows that the consistency of the judgment matrix is accepted. We believe that the weighted indicators in this paper will provide important references to building energy efficiency assessment.

Controlling steering and judging heading: retinal flow, visual direction, and extraretinal information

The contribution of retinal flow (RF), extraretinal (ER), and egocentric visual direction (VD) information in locomotor control was explored. First, the recovery of heading from RF was examined when ER information was manipulated; results confirmed that ER signals affect heading judgments. Then the task was translated to steering curved paths, and the availability and veracity of VD were manipulated with either degraded or systematically biased RE Large steering errors resulted from selective manipulation of RF and VD, providing strong evidence for the combination of RF, ER, and VD. The relative weighting applied to RF and VD was estimated. A point-attractor model is proposed that combines redundant sources of information for robust locomotor control with flexible trajectory planning through active gaze.

The effect of Parkinson's disease on time estimation as a function of stimulus duration range and modality

The present research sought to investigate the role of the basal ganglia in timing of sub- and supra-second intervals via an examination of the ability of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) to make temporal judgments in two ranges, 100-500 ms, and 1-5 s. Eighteen nondemented medicated patients with PD were compared with 14 matched controls on a duration-bisection task in which participants were required to discriminate auditory and visual signal durations within each time range. Results showed that patients with PD exhibited more variable duration judgments across both signal modality and duration range than controls, although closer analyses confirmed a timing deficit in the longer duration range only. The findings presented here suggest the bisection procedure may be a useful tool in identifying timing impairments in PD and, more generally, reaffirm the hypothesised role of the basal ganglia in temporal perception at the level of the attentionally mediated internal clock as well as memory retrieval and/or decision-making processes. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Disparity with respect to a local reference plane as a dominant cue for stereoscopic depth relief

Earlier studies showed that the disparity with respect to other visible points could not explain stereoacuity performance, nor could various spatial derivatives of disparity [Glennerster, A., McKee, S. P., & Birch, M. D. (2002). Evidence of surface-based processing of binocular disparity. Current Biology, 12:825-828; Petrov, Y., & Glennerster, A. (2004). The role of the local reference in stereoscopic detection of depth relief. Vision Research, 44:367-376.] Two possible cues remain: (i) local changes in disparity gradient or (ii) disparity with respect to an interpolated line drawn through the reference points. Here, we aimed to distinguish between these two cues. Subjects judged.. in a two AFC paradigm, whether a target dot was in front of a plane defined by three reference dots or, in other experiments, in front of a line defined by two reference dots. We tested different slants of the reference line or plane and different locations of the target relative to the reference points. For slanted reference lines or plane, stereoacuity changed little as the target position was varied. For judgments relative to a frontoparallel reference line, stereoacuity did vary with target position, but less than would be predicted by disparity gradient change. This provides evidence that disparity with respect to the reference plane is an important cue. We discuss the potential advantages of this measure in generating a representation of surface relief that is invariant to viewpoint transformations. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.