Consequences of intercultural practices in Miguel Sousa Tavares' Equator

This article involves the analysis of a case-study, so I have chosen Equador by the Portuguese author Miguel Sousa Tavares. His book recreates the story of Sao Tome and Principe's people living under strict circumstances, while belonging to the Portuguese empire as one of its overseas' province. The forthcoming lines contain an approach to interculturality by analyzing these concrete circumstances. These lines also describe and study the differences between cultures - the Portuguese, as a European culture, and the Equatorial, as a colonized people's culture. The theme is old, but always relevant: the clash of value systems and the impossibility of forcibly overlaying one society on another. Slavery has existed as a common practice in most civilizations throughout history, based upon the superiority of a human being towards another. In socially hierarchized communities slavery was a major principle, almost a need. That way, some would benefit from exuberating privileges but many others only from hard working and giving their freedom up to be mistreated instead. In order to have a socially structured community, they were to be seriously and consciously neglected.

Uso de resíduo e de minerais de pegmatito da região do seridó RN e de argilas portuguesas em formulações de grês porcelanato

In the State Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, the most significant deposits of minerals in the production of granite and pegmatite are Seridó region. Municipalities of Parelhas and Equador are the main responsible for the production of feldspar, quartz, kaolin and granite. The ceramic industries are always in search of competitiveness by investing in new products or improving existing techniques. The stoneware is a type of pottery that stands in the market because it presents technical and aesthetic characteristics superior to other existing products. Characteristics of the raw materials initially obtained with chemical analysis and mineralogical analysis are crucial in getting a product that satisfies the conditions in a manufacturing process and is, in principle, directly related to the firing cycle. This research aimed at developing new formulations for the mass production of ceramic stoneware. The raw materials initially characterized were feldspar, quartz, kaolin and granite. As part of the research was developed at the University of Aveiro, in Portugal, we used two clays used in the production of Portuguese ceramics. The raw material Brazilian and Portuguese and the final product, both in Portugal and Brazil, were analyzed for X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, granulometric analysis, dilatometric analysis, thermal analysis and analysis of scanning electron microscopy (MEV). The specimens prepared at the University of Aveiro (DECV) were sintered at 10000C and 12000C and the specimens prepared in UFRN were sintered at 10000C, 10500C, 11000C, 11500C, 12000C, 12500C and 13000C, but the best results and demonstrating the presence of the mineral mullite were at temperatures of 12000C, 12500C and 13000C. The results showed that the granite waste used may be considered raw material of excellent quality for use in the ceramic industry and coating floors and more accurately by the industry of stoneware. Physical and mechanical tests conducted on samples of the formulations F01 and F02 developed in UFRN showed a water absorption and mechanical strength suitable for the stoneware

Aproveitamento de resíduo de beneficiamento do caulim na produção de porcelanato cerâmico

Nowadays, industries from all sectors have great concerns over the disposition of the residues generated along the productive process. This is not different in the mineral sector, as this generates great volumes of residues. It was verified that the kaolin improvement industry generates great volumes of residue basically constituted of kaolinite, muscovite mica and quartz, which are basic constitution elements to formularisations of ceramics masses to the production of covering of stoneware tiles type. This happens because the methodology applied to the improvement process is still very rudimentary, what causes a very low yield, only ¼ from all the material volume that enters the improvement process, in the end, is marketable. The disposal of this residue, in a general way, causes a very big negative environmental impact, what has justified the researches efforts aiming to find a rational solution to this problem. In this way, the intention of this present work is the utilization of this residue in the manufacture of products to high quality ceramics covering, stoneware tiles in an industrial scale. For this purpose, the influence of the addition of the residue to a standard ceramics mass used by a ceramics sector company, already established in the market, with the intention of verifying the possibility of use of this residue as the mass complementary raw material and even the possible partial or total substitution of one of the components of the mass for the raw material in evidence will be studied. To the accomplishment of this work, the kaolin improvement residue generated by an industry of exploitation and improvement of kaolin, located in the region of Equador-RN, in the levels 1,2,4,8, 16 and 32% will be added to the standard mass already used for the production of stoneware tiles. The raw materials used, kaolin residue and the standard mass, were characterized through DRX, FRX, DTA, TGA and dilatometry. After the sintering of the bodies of test, tests of water absorption, apparent porosity, post burning linear retraction, apparent specific mass and flexural strength (3 point bending) were realized to determinate the technological properties of these materials. The results show the studied residue can be considered raw material of great potential to the industry of floor and ceramics covering of the stoneware tiles type

A produção de vinhos finos: um flash do desafio brasileiro.

No Brasil, a viticultura ocupa uma área de aproximadamente 71 mil hectares, com vinhedos estabelecidos desde o extremo sul do País, em latitude de 31 o Sul, até regiões situadas muito próximas ao equador, em latitude de 5 o Sul. Em função da diversidade ambiental, existem no País pólos vitícolas típicos de regiões temperadas, caracterizadas por um período de repouso hibernal; pólos em áreas subtropicais, onde a videira é cultivada com dois ciclos anuais, definidos em função de um período de temperaturas mais baixas, nos quais há risco de geadas; e pólos de viticultura tropical, onde é possível a realização de podas sucessivas, com a realização de dois e meio a três ciclos vegetativos por ano. Nos últimos anos, as estatísticas oficiais registram uma produção de uvas que varia em torno de 1,2 milhão de toneladas por ano. Deste volume, cerca de 45% é destinado ao processamento para a elaboração de vinhos, sucos e outros derivados, e 55% comercializado para o consumo in natura no mercado interno e exportação.