Return Migration in the Ecuadorian and Bolivian population: motivations, strategies and discourses

This article analyses the motivations for return migration among the Ecuadorians and Bolivians who, after living in Spain, returned to their countries of origin during the economic crisis that started in 2008. From the analysis of 22 interviews in-depth which took place in Ecuador and 38 in Bolivia to women, men and young people from migrant families, this decision-making process is shown to be embedded into a gendered dynamics of relationships. Particular detail is given to affective and economic elements that had an influence on the decision to return, as well as to the strategies deployed to project their readjustment back in origin. Males and females occupy differential positions within the family, work and social circle, their expectations being built in a gendered manner. Despite the fact migration has brought women greater economic power within the family group, their reintegration upon return redefines their role as main managers in the household and the dynamics that allow their social reproduction. Men, for their part, aspire to refresh their role as providers in spite of their frail labour position upon return. Social mobility for females is passed on through generations by a strong investment on education for their daughters and sons, while for males this mobility revolves around setting up family businesses and around their demonstrative abilities.

Late-career international migration and reproductive work. A comparison between Peruvian and Ukrainian women in the Southern Europe

Research on the relationship between reproductive work and women´s life trajectories including the experience of labour migration has mainly focused on the case of relatively young mothers who leave behind, or later re-join, their children. While it is true that most women migrate at a younger age, there are a significant number of cases of men and women who move abroad for labour purposes at a more advanced stage, undertaking a late-career migration. This is still an under-estimated and under-researched sub-field that uncovers a varied range of issues, including the global organization of reproductive work and the employment of migrant women as domestic workers late in their lives. By pooling the findings of two qualitative studies, this article focuses on Peruvian and Ukrainian women who seek employment in Spain and Italy when they are well into their forties, or older. A commonality the two groups of women share is that, independently of their level of education and professional experience, more often than not they end up as domestic and care workers. The article initially discusses the reasons for late-career female migration, taking into consideration the structural and personal determinants that have affected Peruvian and Ukrainian women’s careers in their countries of origin and settlement. After this, the focus is set on the characteristics of domestic employment at later life, on the impact on their current lives, including the transnational family organization, and on future labour and retirement prospects. Apart from an evaluation of objective working and living conditions, we discuss women’s personal impressions of being domestic workers in the context of their occupational experiences and family commitments. In this regard, women report varying levels of personal and professional satisfaction, as well as different patterns of continuity-discontinuity in their work and family lives, and of optimism towards the future. Divergences could be, to some extent, explained by the effect of migrants´ transnational social practices and policies of states.

Perspectives on gender, migration and transnational work: joint work of social reproduction and care in Southern Europe

This paper presents the "state of the art" and some of the main issues discussed in relation to the topic of transnational migration and reproductive work in southern Europe. We start doing a genealogy of the complex theoretical development leading to the consolidation of the research program, linking consideration of gender with transnational migration and transformation of work and ways of survival, thus making the production aspects as reproductive, in a context of globalization. The analysis of the process of multiscale reconfiguration of social reproduction and care, with particular attention to its present global dimension is presented, pointing to the turning point of this line of research that would have taken place with the beginning of this century, with the rise notions such as "global care chains" (Hochschild, 2001), or "care drain" (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 2013). Also, the role of this new agency, now composed in many cases women who migrate to other countries or continents, precisely to address these reproductive activities, is recognized. Finally, reference is made to some of the new conceptual and theoretical developments in this area.

Those Who Belong and Those Who Don’t: Physical and Mental Borders in Europe

Europe promotes migration and mobility but new or ‘different’ Europeans are still stigmatised and marginalised in our societies. Today, neither refugee status nor citizenship can tear down the mental borders between people who inhabit the same cities or neighbourhoods. Sociology professor Nira Yuval-Davis writes about the meaning of borders, and how they make us differentiate between ‘us’ and ‘the other’ in our daily lives.

Impact of node mobility in user-centric routing

Recent paradigms in wireless communication architectures describe environments where nodes present a highly dynamic behavior (e.g., User Centric Networks). In such environments, routing is still performed based on the regular packet-switched behavior of store-and-forward. Albeit sufficient to compute at least an adequate path between a source and a destination, such routing behavior cannot adequately sustain the highly nomadic lifestyle that Internet users are today experiencing. This thesis aims to analyse the impact of the nodes’ mobility on routing scenarios. It also aims at the development of forwarding concepts that help in message forwarding across graphs where nodes exhibit human mobility patterns, as is the case of most of the user-centric wireless networks today. The first part of the work involved the analysis of the mobility impact on routing, and we found that node mobility significance can affect routing performance, and it depends on the link length, distance, and mobility patterns of nodes. The study of current mobility parameters showed that they capture mobility partially. The routing protocol robustness to node mobility depends on the routing metric sensitivity to node mobility. As such, mobility-aware routing metrics were devised to increase routing robustness to node mobility. Two categories of routing metrics proposed are the time-based and spatial correlation-based. For the validation of the metrics, several mobility models were used, which include the ones that mimic human mobility patterns. The metrics were implemented using the Network Simulator tool using two widely used multi-hop routing protocols of Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) and Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV). Using the proposed metrics, we reduced the path re-computation frequency compared to the benchmark metric. This means that more stable nodes were used to route data. The time-based routing metrics generally performed well across the different node mobility scenarios used. We also noted a variation on the performance of the metrics, including the benchmark metric, under different mobility models, due to the differences in the node mobility governing rules of the models.

Towards Proactive Context-aware Computing and Systems

A primary goal of context-aware systems is delivering the right information at the right place and right time to users in order to enable them to make effective decisions and improve their quality of life. There are three key requirements for achieving this goal: determining what information is relevant, personalizing it based on the users’ context (location, preferences, behavioral history etc.), and delivering it to them in a timely manner without an explicit request from them. These requirements create a paradigm that we term as “Proactive Context-aware Computing”. Most of the existing context-aware systems fulfill only a subset of these requirements. Many of these systems focus only on personalization of the requested information based on users’ current context. Moreover, they are often designed for specific domains. In addition, most of the existing systems are reactive - the users request for some information and the system delivers it to them. These systems are not proactive i.e. they cannot anticipate users’ intent and behavior and act proactively without an explicit request from them. In order to overcome these limitations, we need to conduct a deeper analysis and enhance our understanding of context-aware systems that are generic, universal, proactive and applicable to a wide variety of domains. To support this dissertation, we explore several directions. Clearly the most significant sources of information about users today are smartphones. A large amount of users’ context can be acquired through them and they can be used as an effective means to deliver information to users. In addition, social media such as Facebook, Flickr and Foursquare provide a rich and powerful platform to mine users’ interests, preferences and behavioral history. We employ the ubiquity of smartphones and the wealth of information available from social media to address the challenge of building proactive context-aware systems. We have implemented and evaluated a few approaches, including some as part of the Rover framework, to achieve the paradigm of Proactive Context-aware Computing. Rover is a context-aware research platform which has been evolving for the last 6 years. Since location is one of the most important context for users, we have developed ‘Locus’, an indoor localization, tracking and navigation system for multi-story buildings. Other important dimensions of users’ context include the activities that they are engaged in. To this end, we have developed ‘SenseMe’, a system that leverages the smartphone and its multiple sensors in order to perform multidimensional context and activity recognition for users. As part of the ‘SenseMe’ project, we also conducted an exploratory study of privacy, trust, risks and other concerns of users with smart phone based personal sensing systems and applications. To determine what information would be relevant to users’ situations, we have developed ‘TellMe’ - a system that employs a new, flexible and scalable approach based on Natural Language Processing techniques to perform bootstrapped discovery and ranking of relevant information in context-aware systems. In order to personalize the relevant information, we have also developed an algorithm and system for mining a broad range of users’ preferences from their social network profiles and activities. For recommending new information to the users based on their past behavior and context history (such as visited locations, activities and time), we have developed a recommender system and approach for performing multi-dimensional collaborative recommendations using tensor factorization. For timely delivery of personalized and relevant information, it is essential to anticipate and predict users’ behavior. To this end, we have developed a unified infrastructure, within the Rover framework, and implemented several novel approaches and algorithms that employ various contextual features and state of the art machine learning techniques for building diverse behavioral models of users. Examples of generated models include classifying users’ semantic places and mobility states, predicting their availability for accepting calls on smartphones and inferring their device charging behavior. Finally, to enable proactivity in context-aware systems, we have also developed a planning framework based on HTN planning. Together, these works provide a major push in the direction of proactive context-aware computing.

Using technology to overcome the tyranny of space: information provision and wayfinding.

Urban wayfinding technology offers many possibilities by which older people and mobility-impaired users can overcome the barriers encountered on every-day journeys in the built environment. Previous work has highlighted the extent to which personal mobility and independence are significant determinants of the quality of life amongst both elderly and visually impaired groups. The paper outlines the development of the auditory location finder (ALF), which is a beacon-based local information system designed to enhance the wayfinding activities of these, and potentially other, user-groups in the community. The proposed system provides the user with an audio message, which is obtained on request via a small portable hand unit. The messages inform the user of their whereabouts and give information about the area that they are currently in. The development of the device involves issues such as message content and structure, route choice, orientation, landmarks, clues and the extent of user reliance on technology. Preliminary trials have been carried out in a UK city and have obtained initial user feedback to help underpin the technological development of the device and its potential application. The paper concludes by outlining the importance of new urban technology and the way in which such local information systems can potentially contribute to overcoming particular patterns of exclusion experienced by mobility-impaired groups, such as the visually impaired

Human Ezrin: Prediction of the 3D structure and interactions with mTOR

The protein Ezrin, is a member of the ERM family (Ezrin, Radixin and Moesin) that links the F-actin to the plasma membrane. The protein is made of three domains namely the FERM domain, a central α-helical domain and the CERMAD domain. The residues in Ezrin such as Ser66, Tyr145, Tyr353 and Tyr477 regulate the function of the protein through phosphorylation. The protein is found in two distinct conformations of active and dormant (inactive) state. The initial step during the conformation change is the breakage of intramolecular interaction in dormant Ezrin by phosphorylation of residue Thr567. The dormant structure of human Ezrin was predicted computationally since only partial active form structure was available. The validation analysis showed that 99.7% residues were positioned in favored, allowed and generously allowed regions of the Ramachandran plot. The Z-score of Ezrin was −7.36, G-factor was 0.1, and the QMEAN score of the model was 0.61 indicating a good model for human Ezrin. The comparison of the conformations of the activated and dormant Ezrin showed a major shift in the F2 lobe (residues 142-149 and 161-177) while changes in the conformation induced mobility shifts in lobe F3 (residues 261 to 267). The 3D positions of the phosphorylation sites Tyr145, Tyr353, Tyr477, Tyr482 and Thr567 were also located. Using targeted molecular dynamic simulation, the molecular movements during conformational change from active to dormant were visualized. The dormant Ezrin auto-inhibits itself by a head-to-tail interaction of the N-terminal and C-terminal residues. The trajectory shows the breakage of the interactions and mobility of the CERMAD domain away from the FERM domain. Protein docking and clustering analysis were used to predict the residues involved in the interaction between dormant Ezrin and mTOR. Residues Tyr477 and Tyr482 were found to be involved in interaction with mTOR.

Isolation and recognition Saprolegnia species from fungal infected eggs of the rainbow trout in Mazandaran province farms

Fungal infection in the eggs of freshwater fish is well known as a problematic disease. That isolation and recognition Saprolegnia fungi from fungal infected eggs of the rainbow trout in Mazandaran province was the aim of this research. For this purpose fungal infected eggs were examined from six fish farm in the fall and winter 2005-2006. The eggs with fungi were inoculated on SDA, CMA, GPagar and hemp seed and sesame seed cultures in sterile tap water at room temperature (18-24°C). In this study recognized three genera and six species Saprolegniaceae members, based on morphological characteristics which contain: Saprolegnia, Achlya, Brevilegnia. Four species were identified in the genus Saprolegnia; S.mixta, S.parasitica, S.moniliphera, S.lapponica and one species was identified in the genus Achlya; A.oblongata. S.parasitica was isolated from almost all the farms. In addition, another nine genera and species were identified; Penicillium, Aspergillus, Paeciliomyces, Acremonium, Fusarium oxysporum, F.solani , Alternaria, Helminthosporium, Mucor.

Mixed Layer formation and restratification in presence of mesoscale and submesoscale turbulence

Recent realistic high resolution modeling studies show a net increase of submesoscale activity in fall and winter when the mixed layer depth is at its maximum. This submesoscale activity increase is associated with a reduced deepening of the mixed layer. Both phenomena can be related to the development of mixed layer instabilities, which convert available potential energy into submesoscale eddy kinetic energy and contribute to a fast restratification by slumping the horizontal density gradient in the mixed layer. In the present work, the mixed layer formation and restratification was studied by uniformly cooling a fully turbulent zonal jet in a periodic channel at different resolutions, from eddy resolving (10 km) to submesoscale permitting (2 km). The effect of the submesoscale activity, highlighted by these different horizontal resolutions, was quantified in terms of mixed layer depth, restratification rate and buoyancy fluxes. Contrary to many idealized studies focusing on the restratification phase only, this study addresses a continuous event of mixed layer formation followed by its complete restratification. The robustness of the present results was established by ensemble simulations. The results show that, at higher resolution, when submesoscale starts to be resolved, the mixed layer formed during the surface cooling is significantly shallower and the total restratification almost three times faster. Such differences between coarse and fine resolution models are consistent with the submesoscale upward buoyancy flux, which balances the convection during the formation phase and accelerates the restratification once the surface cooling is stopped. This submesoscale buoyancy flux is active even below the mixed layer. Our simulations show that mesoscale dynamics also cause restratification, but on longer time scales. Finally, the spatial distribution of the mixed layer depth is highly heterogeneous in the presence of submesoscale activity, prompting the question of whether it is possible to parameterize submesoscale effects and their effects on the marine biology as a function of a spatially-averaged mixed layer depth.

Review Pages: Planning for Livable and Safe Cities: Energy, Pollution and the Degradation of the Urban Environment

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems, trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas, experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments but also, if present, defeats and setbacks. Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage of interest for TeMA.

An ecosystem of products and systems for ambient intelligence – the AAL4ALL users perspective

Texto completo em atas de encontros científicos internacionais com arbitragem

A framework for abstraction and virtualization of sensors in mobile context-aware computing

110 p.

Paraquat-loaded alginate/chitosan nanoparticles: Preparation, characterization and soil sorption studies

Agrochemicals are amongst the contaminants most widely encountered in surface and subterranean hydrological systems. They comprise a variety of molecules, with properties that confer differing degrees of persistence and mobility in the environment, as well as different toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic potentials, which can affect non-target organisms including man. In this work, alginate/chitosan nanoparticles were prepared as a carrier system for the herbicide paraquat. The preparation and physicochemical characterization of the nanoparticles was followed by evaluation of zeta potential, pH, size and polydispersion. The techniques employed included transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The formulation presented a size distribution of 635 +/- 12 nm, polydispersion of 0.518, zeta potential of -22.8 +/- 2.3 mV and association efficiency of 74.2%. There were significant differences between the release profiles of free paraquat and the herbicide associated with the alginate/chitosan nanoparticles. Tests showed that soil sorption of paraquat, either free or associated with the nanoparticles. was dependent on the quantity of organic matter present. The results presented in this work show that association of paraquat with alginate/chitosan nanoparticles alters the release profile of the herbicide, as well as its interaction with the soil, indicating that this system could be an effective means of reducing negative impacts caused by paraquat. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

C-RAM (Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar)

Este trabalho de investigação aplicada visa estudar as principais capacidades do sistema C-RAM e a sua aplicabilidade no Exército Português, tendo por objetivo a caracterização e avaliação da possível constituição e modo de emprego de uma unidade C-RAM no Exército Português, de acordo com o poder de fogo, a capacidade radar e a mobilidade. A metodologia de investigação adotada consiste no método analítico e inquisitivo, concretizado pela realização de entrevistas a Oficiais de Artilharia. Como principais conclusões, constatamos que os sistemas Phalanx e Oerlikon se evidenciam como os sistemas C-RAM de eleição, por disporem de alcances e cadências de tiro mais adequadas às necessidades da Artilharia Antiaérea Portuguesa no âmbito da proteção da força, ou de pontos e áreas críticas, contra este tipo de ameaças.