Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry of Soil Organic Matter Extracted from a Brazilian Mangrove and Spanish Salt Marshes

The soil organic matter (SOM) extracted under different vegetation types from a Brazilian mangrove (Pai Matos Island, Sao Paulo State) and from three Spanish salt marshes (Betanzos Ria and Corrubedo Natural Parks, Galicia, and the Albufera Natural Park, Valencia) was investigated by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The chemical variation was larger in SOM from the Spanish marshes than in the SOM of the Brazilian mangroves, possibly because the marshes included sites with both tidal and nontidal variation, whereas the mangrove forest underwent just tidal variation. Thus, plant-derived organic matter was better preserved under permanently anoxic environments. Moreover, given the low number of studied profiles and sedimentary-vegetation sequences in both areas, depth trends remain unclear. The chemical data also allow distinction between the contributions of woody and nonwoody vegetation inputs. Soil organic matter decomposition was found to cause: (i) a decrease in lignin contents and a relative increase in aliphatics; (ii) an increase in short-chain aliphatics at the expense of longer ones; (iii) a loss of odd-over-even dominance in alkanes and alkenes; and (iv) an increase in microbial products, including proteins, sterols, short-chain fatty acids, and alkanes. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is a useful tool to study the behavior and composition of SOM in wetland environments such as mangroves and salt marshes. Additional profiles need to be studied for each vegetation type, however, to improve the interpretability of the chemical data.

An auction theoretical approach to fiscal wars

I examine a situation where a firm chooses to locate a new factory in one of several jurisdictions. The value of the factory may differ among jurisdictions and it depends on the private information held by each jurisdiction. Jurisdictions compete for the location of the new factory. This competition may take the form of expenditures already incurred on infrastructure, commitments to spend on infrastructure, tax incentives or even cash payments. The model combines two elements that are usually considered separately; competition is desirable because we want the factory to be located in the jurisdiction that values it the most, but competition in itself is wasteful. I show that the expected total amount paid to the firm under a large family of arrangements is the same. Moreover, I show that the ex-ante optimal mechanism that is, the mechanism that guarantees that the firm chooses the jurisdiction with the highest value for the factory, minimizes the total expected payment to the firm, and balances the budget in an ex-ante sense - can be implemented by running a standard auction and subsidizing participation.

Fiscal policy and reelection in Brazilian municipalities

This paper uses a new panel of more than 2,000 Brazilian municipalities over 13 years to analyze the influence of public expenditures on the probability of mayors` reelection. We examine Brazilian municipal elections from 1988 to 2000 using a logit fixed-effects model. The results suggest that mayors who spend more during their terms of office increase the probability of their own reelection or of a successor of the same political party. In particular, higher capital spending over the years preceding elections and current expenditures in election years are beneficial to Brazilian incumbent mayors.

Industrial relations decentralisation and the growth of 12-hour shifts in Australia

In the last two decades, increasing numbers of workplaces in Australia have introduced 12-hour shifts. This increase is due, in part, to government policies aimed at promoting labour flexibility. The purpose of this paper is to examine the cover afforded by the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and other industrial relations legislation in terms of shift-workers’ health and safety. Particular reference is made to the broader social, economic and political context surrounding the introduction and use of 12-hour shifts, as it is this context that shapes the constraints and opportunities facing employers and employees in the work arrangements they choose and how they are negotiated. We conclude that the current system of regulating industrial relations in Australia is largely outcome-focused and inadequate. The bargaining process receives little regulation in terms of considering how changes could affect health and safety in the workplace or how changes might affect individual workers. As a result, the increased introduction of unsafe shiftworking arrangements is a worrying, and likely, prospect.

Movement and stock structure of narrow-barred Spanish mackerel as indicated by parasites

Data from permanent parasites (juvenile trypanorhynchs and anisakids) indicated that Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson from four sites on the west coast of Australia, Abrolhos, Shark Bay, Exmouth and Onslow, intermingled and were probably all drawn from the same stock. Fish from Broome, Kupang (Indonesia), Groote Eylandt-Torres Strait and the cast coast of Australia had distinct faunas of permanent parasites and probably each belonged to a different stock. There was evidence of movement of fish between Broome and the west coast. Abundances of temporary parasites (gill copepods and monogeneans) suggested that males and females on the west coast migrated separately because in several cases the parasite fauna of one sex was more similar to that of fish in an adjacent area than to the opposite sex in the same area. (C) 2001 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Stock discrimination and movements of narrow-barred Spanish mackerel across northern Australia as indicated by parasites

The parasite fauna of Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson from 10 sites across northern Australia and one site in Indonesia, was examined to evaluate the degree of movement and subsequent stock structure of the fish. Kupang fish (Indonesia) had very few Terranova spp.. Grillotia branchi, Otobothrium cysticum or Pterobothrium sp. compared to Australian fish, indicating that no Australian fish enter the Kupang fishery. Univariate and discriminant function analysis of four 'temporary' parasite species, the copepod Pseudocyenoides armatus and the monogeneans Gotocotyla bivaginalis, Pricea multae and Pseudothoracocotyla ovalis, demonstrated little similarity between areas of northern Australia, indicating minimal short-term exchange between neighbouring groups of S. commerson. Analyses of five 'permanent' parasite species, the larval helminths G. branchi, O. cysticum, Pterobothrium sp., Callitetrarhynchus gracilis and Paranybelinia balli, also revealed large differences between areas thus indicating long-term separation. There are at least six parasitological stocks across northern Australia: Fog Bay/Bathurst Island, Cape Wessel. Groote/Sir Edward Pellew. Mornington Island, Weipa. and the Torres Strait. The occurrence of a few irregular fish in the samples suggested that LIP to 5% of fish moved between stocks during their lifetime. The similarity of within-school variability to that between schools showed that the fish do not form long-term school associations. (C) 2003 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

O que torna um prefeito respons??vel? uma an??lise comparativa dos condicionantes da gest??o fiscal

O presente artigo tem como objetivo principal investigar quais fatores influenciam o comportamento fiscal dos governos locais no Brasil. Para tanto, a pesquisa testa como fatores estruturais e, sobretudo, relativos ?? din??mica pol??tica influencia a prefeitura no desempenho respons??vel da pol??tica fiscal. A an??lise do impacto do sistema pol??tico sobre a gest??o fiscal se apresenta como um f??rtil objeto de estudo comparado, principalmente, devido ao amplo processo de descentraliza????o fiscal p??s Constitui????o de 1988, no qual, os munic??pios passaram a desempenhar papel de destaque, com aumento sens??vel das suas responsabilidades, seja no ??mbito das receitas quanto das despesas (Afonso & Ara??jo, 2000; Souza, 2004). No sentido de avan??ar nesta abordagem, a pesquisa utiliza como vari??vel dependente do comportamento fiscal das prefeituras brasileiras o ??ndice FIRJAN de Gest??o Fiscal (IFGF) que mede a disciplina e qualidade da gest??o or??ament??ria e financeira dos munic??pios brasileiros a partir de cinco medidas: receita pr??pria, gastos com pessoal, investimentos, liquidez e custo da d??vida. Assim, a utiliza????o do ??ndice de gest??o fiscal como vari??vel dependente desta investiga????o possibilita analisar de forma compreensiva o desempenho das prefeituras como tamb??m comparar os resultados fiscais dos gestores locais com base em um n??mero grande de observa????es, o que permite mais condi????es de generaliza????o. O pressuposto conceitual desta abordagem ?? que a compreens??o das pol??ticas p??blicas adv??m da intencionalidade das escolhas, isto ??, seus resultados s??o frutos de um processo de tomada de decis??es por atores pol??ticos que, em contextos democr??ticos, s??o afetados n??o apenas por fatores estruturais, como tamb??m por incentivos e constrangimentos de car??ter pol??tico

Sistema gerador de a????o fiscal

O Sistema Gerador de A????o Fiscal implementado pela Secretaria da Receita Federal tem como finalidade permitir a sele????o de empresas de interesse fiscal, de modo impessoal e com rigor cient??fico, utilizando-se de uma base de dados e de ??ndices comparativos j?? calculados e dispon??veis. Os resultados mais vis??veis a partir de sua utiliza????o dizem respeito ao aumento do grau de informa????o sobre cada empresa a ser auditada, evitando maiores custos em inspe????es sem retorno e desgaste desnecess??rio da imagem da institui????o

Desafios de um prefeito: promessas de campanha e a Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal

O objetivo principal deste caso ?? ajudar o Prefeito do Munic??pio fict??cio de Branco Claro a tomar uma decis??o pol??tica diante de um contexto de gest??o municipal ca??tico. A decis??o em quest??o ?? o cumprimento ou n??o de uma promessa de campanha, e como lidar com os desdobramentos econ??micos, sociais e pol??ticos que poder??o ocorrer em virtude das a????es por ele tomadas e da Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal

Federalismo fiscal, atribui????es fiscais constitucionais e equaliza????o regional: EUA, Alemanha e Brasil em perspectiva comparada

Este trabalho aborda aspectos institucional-constitucionais do sistema federal brasileiro com vistas a tratar do problema da equaliza????o regional. O foco de an??lise desta investiga????o ser?? a articula????o entre as atribui????es fiscais constitucionais (incluindo a reparti????o das compet??ncias tribut??rias e as principais transfer??ncias correlatas) e a tarefa de equaliza????o regional no Brasil, a partir de uma perspectiva de estudo institucional comparado envolvendo Estados Unidos, Alemanha e Brasil.