Public choice of species for the ark: Phylogenetic similarity and preferred wildlife species for survival

Humans play a role in deciding the fate of species in the current extinction wave. Because of the previous Similarity Principle, physical attractiveness and likeability, it has been argued that public choice favours the survival of species that satisfy these criteria at the expense of other species. This paper empirically tests this argument by considering a hypothetical ‘Ark’ situation. Surveys of 204 members of the Australian public inquired whether they are in favour of the survival of each of 24 native mammal, bird and reptile species (prior to and after information provision about each species). The species were ranked by percentage of ‘yes’ votes received. Species composition by taxon in various fractions of the ranking was determined. If the previous Similarity Principle holds, mammals should rank highly and dominate the top fractions of animals saved in the hierarchical list. We find that although mammals would be over-represented in the ‘Ark’, birds and reptiles are unlikely to be excluded when social choice is based on numbers ‘voting’ for the survival of each species. Support for the previous Similarity Principle is apparent particularly after information provision. Public policy implications of this are noted and recommendations are given.

Scientists as policy-makers: Towards a new partnership

There is an urgent need to link social science research with policy making to address many key issues confronting countries across the globe. Policy makers need the benefit of social science research which is relevant, timely, transdisciplinary, methodologically capable of capturing global and local trends, swift to respond to fundamental issues, and offering findings which are clearly articulated, effectively disseminated, and oriented to outcomes. For this a new partnership is needed between social scientists and policy makers. We can gain a clearer picture of the nature of this desired partnership by probing the dichotomy between the world of science and the world of policy making. The experience of UNESCO and its programme Management of Social Transformations provides some valuable lessons.

Issues in Australian Foreign Policy: January to June 2002

No abstract

Rural lines of flight: Telecommunications and post-metro dreaming

Information and communications technologies hold a prominent place in the cultural imagination of many people living outside the Australian metropolis, especially recent émigrés. A vision of a wired pastoral conjures up the possibilities of city work, connections and pleasures accompanying the flight to the country. Such aspirations have given a twist to one of the great topos of Australian post-invasion communications history, communications ameliorating the perceived isolation in the bush. This article examines important changes to rural telecommunications in the 1990s coinciding with post-metro dreaming and digital convergence, namely the rise of local telecommunications. Neo-Foucauldian accounts of citizenship hold some promise for explaining the criss-cross of tangled lines of flight in regional communications in the twenty-first century: emergent subjectivities, utopian digital modes of becoming, new politics of infrastructure, reconfigured relationships among state, market and citizen.

Exclusi??n social y pol??ticas de inclusi??n. Algunos elementos sobre la realidad europea y espa??ola

La globalizaci??n econ??mica ha impactado fuertemente en el mercado laboral europeo, abriendo puertas para el trabajo precario. Mientras el capital se torna global, el trabajo permanece local y m??s sumiso a los flujos econ??micos mundiales. Adem??s, los patrones de la sociedad de consumo se han consolidado, promoviendo nuevas desigualdades sociales y aumentando los riesgos de exclusi??n y vulnerabilidad social. La ca??da progresiva del industrialismo tambi??n afecta las principales bases de la estructura social como los roles de g??nero o las relaciones familiares. Diferentes redes aparecen como clave para la inclusi??n, especialmente en el actual contexto de crisis del Estado de Bienestar Social en que se encuentra Europa. Es decir, el an??lisis de la exclusi??n social debe tener en cuenta la evoluci??n de las pol??ticas sociales en toda Europa y la tendencia actual de descentralizaci??n y focalizaci??n de los ser vicios sociales. El objetivo de este art??culo es, por lo tanto, no s??lo describir el fen??meno de la exclusi??n social, sino tambi??n lanzar ideas para construir nuevos criterios de redefinici??n de las pol??ticas sociales.

Brazilian National School of Public Administration

The Brazilian National School of Public Administration (Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica ??? ENAP) is a public foundation linked to the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management. Founded in 1986, its core mission is ???to develop competencies of civil servants in order to enhance government capacity for managing public policies???. To fulfill its mission, a wide program of learning and continued education is offered to public policy managers as well as e-learning and customized courses, in accordance to governmental and institutional strategic objectives. ENAP???s courses are framed according to governmental strategic demands for social inclusion, poverty reduction as well as economic development in order to strengthen the leading South American democracy. The range and diversity of its programs mirrors the challenges of deep changes in the jobs market and the work environment, faced by the current 550,000 federal civil servants and the over 7,000,000 state and municipal civil servants in Brazil, as last counted in 2006.

Gest??o p??blica: desassombrando nossa hist??ria

O desafio da gest??o p??blica no Brasil faz parte de um acerto de contas com nossa hist??ria. Integra um conjunto de esfor??os para romper com um d??ficit hist??rico de gest??o que por longos anos comprometeu o desenvolvimento das extraordin??rias possibilidades no Brasil, dentro de um contexto mais amplo de problemas econ??micos e sociais. Neste artigo, prop??e-se uma reflex??o sobre esse hist??rico, apontando como a rela????o prom??scua entre p??blico e privado alimentou um quadro de exclus??o social que est?? sendo revertido e discutindo o papel da qualifica????o da gest??o p??blica nesse processo.

Interfaces : educação especial & seguridade social

Com a Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil (1988), a intersetorialidade imprimiu nas políticas públicas de educação e seguridade social uma construção e uma operacionalidade mais articuladas e interdependentes. Entre as leis e portarias interministeriais, destaca-se o Programa Benefício de Prestação Continuada na Escola, que atende pessoas com deficiência de zero a dezoito anos de idade. Nesta pesquisa, questionam-se as interfaces entre as políticas públicas da educação especial e da seguridade social. São objetivos da pesquisa: analisar as interfaces das políticas públicas sociais – educação especial e seguridade social – no que se refere à garantia de direitos à educação de crianças com deficiência ou Transtornos Globais do Desenvolvimento, entre zero e cinco anos, no município de Vitória, Estado do Espírito Santo; identificar como se configuram as interdependências entre profissionais da educação especial e da seguridade social e os familiares (pais ou responsáveis) dessas crianças perante seus processos educacionais; compreender os diferentes movimentos entre as instituições de educação e da seguridade social e suas implicações para a inclusão escolar das crianças com deficiência ou Transtorno Global do Desenvolvimento; analisar como os profissionais da educação e da seguridade social lançam perspectivas para os processos de inclusão escolar e estabelecem diálogo com a família acerca da educação dessas crianças. Esta é uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, estudo de caso com coleta de dados empíricos e bibliográficos, na qual foram sujeitos: mães de três crianças de três Centros Municipais de Educação Infantil de Vitória; professoras da sala de atividades e de educação especial, pedagogas e diretoras; técnicos das Secretarias Municipais de Vitória: Educação, Saúde e Assistência Social e do Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social. As técnicas empregadas para coleta de dados foram a entrevista o grupo focal e o diário de itinerância. Foram procedimentos adotados para o registro dos dados a audiogravação de entrevistas e de grupos focais e anotações em diário de itinerância. Os dados foram organizados em cinco categorias de análise, produzidas por meio das narrativas dos familiares e dos profissionais participantes da pesquisa. Os conceitos de Norbert Elias, interdependência e configuração, relação de poder – estabelecidos e outsiders –, processos sociais e relação entre sociedade e Estado (balança do poder) contribuíram para compreender os dados, por serem observados nas categorias produzidas. Os resultados apontam para a fragilidade de Global do Desenvolvimento, no município de Vitória. Revelam, ainda, uma inconsistência de fluxos de referência e contrarreferência e lacunas na dimensão técnica e operativa para as interfaces das políticas públicas intersetoriais com práticas profissionais que cumpram o papel político conforme outorga a legislação federal e municipal. As considerações se ampliam para discussões entre o instituído e o instituinte – políticas públicas e práticas profissionais – que priorizem a efetivação da intersetorialidade diante das demandas do público investigado com vista à garantia dos direitos de acesso a uma educação de qualidade.

Intra-hospital organ and tissue donation coordination project: cost-effectiveness and social benefits

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the viability of a professional specialist in intra-hospital committees of organ and tissue donation for transplantation. METHODS Epidemiological, retrospective and cross-sectional study (2003-2011 and 2008-2012), which was performed using organ donation for transplants data in the state of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Nine hospitals were evaluated (hospitals 1 to 9). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the differences in the number of brain death referrals and actual donors (dependent variables) after the professional specialist started work (independent variable) at the intra-hospital committee of organ and tissue donation for transplantation. To evaluate the hospital invoicing, the hourly wage of the doctor and registered nurse, according to the legislation of the Consolidation of Labor Laws, were calculated, as were the investment return and the time elapsed to do so. RESULTS Following the nursing specialist commencement on the committee, brain death referrals and the number of actual donors increased at hospital 2 (4.17 and 1.52, respectively). At hospital 7, the number of actual donors also increased from 0.005 to 1.54. In addition, after the nurse started working, hospital revenues increased by 190.0% (ranging 40.0% to 1.955%). The monthly cost for the nurse working 20 hours was US$397.97 while the doctor would cost US$3,526.67. The return on investment was 275% over the short term (0.36 years). CONCLUSIONS This paper showed that including a professional specialist in intra-hospital committees for organ and tissue donation for transplantation proved to be cost-effective. Further economic research in the area could contribute to the efficient public policy implementation of this organ and tissue harvesting model.

Inter-sectoral health policy in Portugal : competition, cooperation and control

Comunicação apresentada na «19th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services», Turku, Finlândia de 1 a 3 de Junho de 2011.

How to link organizational competences in public organizations?

Comunicação apresentada na 17ª Conferência Anual da Network of Intitutes and Schools of Public Administration (NISPA) em Birdua, Montenegro de 14 a 16 dem Maio de 2009.

Prevalence of rubella antibodies in a non-immunized urban population, São Paulo, Brazil

The prevalence of rubella antibodies was evaluated through a ramdom Seroepidemiological survey in 1400 blood samples of 2-14 year old children and in 329 samples of umbilical cord serum. Rubella IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA, and the sera were collected in 1987, five years before the mass vaccination campaign with measles-mumps-rubella vaccine carried out in the city of São Paulo in 1992. A significant increase in prevalence of rubella infection was observed after 6 years of age, and 77% of the individuals aged from 15 to 19 years had detectable rubella antibodies. However, the seroprevalence rose to 90.5% (171/189) in cord serum samples from children whose mothers were 20 to 29 years old, and reached 95.6% in newborns of mothers who were 30 to 34 years old, indicating that a large number of women are infected during childbearing years. This study confirms that rubella infection represents an important Public Health problem in São Paulo city. The data on the seroprevalence of rubella antibodies before the mass vaccination campaign reflects the baseline immunological status of this population before any intervention and should be used to design an adequate vaccination strategy and to assess the Seroepidemiological impact of this intervention.

Heritages, Identities, and Policy in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon

In a world that has moved away from narratives based on the idea of progress, the past has established itself as a place of reference: confirming to ourselves that what we were is indispensible for sustaining what we think we are. The recovery of the past is thus one of the most common symbolic instruments used in negotiating identities. The cultural practices that have recourse to representation mechanisms that call on the past in order to consider the present always end up translating themselves, insofar as they fragment, reorganize and interpret it in their transformation, or, to use a formula that has become unavoidable, in their “invention”. Patrimonialization is one such practice. It associates the notion of heritage – which is not a given fact, but rather a socially constructed classification, and therefore one that is constantly being negotiated – with specific objects that come to serve as cultural representations of the groups who consider themselves to be their rightful owners. In the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, as in other ethnographic contexts, patrimonialization encompasses things as diverse as landscapes, monuments, popular architecture, handicrafts, local feast days/processions/pilgrimages and people; all things that can, once transformed into material representations of the past, serve as arguments for the identity fictions of the people who inhabit them.