Convergence and divergence of transport and mobility policies in Latin America: Lack of urban co-modality

This issue of the FAL bulletin analyses transport and mobility policy in Latin America, where the lack of integrated public policies for urban mobility and the failure to take coordinated action over time make it difficult to prioritize investments and coordinate existing initiatives (both public and private).

A new frontier for Caribbean convergence: integration without borders

Today, forty years since its birth, the Caribbean integration has reached its limit.1 2 Consequently, there is urgent need to respond to the current realities and emerging global trends — which require greater engagement from the public, students, academics and policymakers — in moving the Caribbean Community towards a new trajectory of Caribbean convergence. The immediate concern is to devise ways of improving the convergence process among Latin American and Caribbean countries. This convergence process will have to be sensitive to both current and emerging global dynamics. This paper presents the roadmap of a new trajectory towards Caribbean convergence, sensitive to both current and emergent regional and global trends. It begins in Section I by identifying the emerging international political and economic trends that provide a backdrop against which the discussion on Caribbean convergence is squarely placed. Section II discusses the need for a new strategy of convergence, and provides the conceptual framework of Caribbean convergence. Section III spells out the pillars, strategies and delivery mechanisms of Caribbean convergence, and highlights the role of Trinidad and Tobago in this process. The paper concludes by pointing out the urgent need for a regional synergy of economic logic and political logic.

Alianças e desenvolvimento de políticas para o desenvolvimento local: imbricações na mineração de alumínio em Oriximiná-PA

Aborda, por um lado, a relação entre a economia local no Município de Oriximiná - PA e sua inserção no Comércio Internacional do minério de alumínio. E, por outro, os mecanismos de interação e alianças entre os atores locais público e privado com o setor minerador de alumínio, representado pela Companhia MRN, vis à vis a consecução de um projeto de desenvolvimento local em bases endógenas. O estudo busca compreender como a interação entre interesses públicos/privados, coletivos/individuais, orgânicos/corporativos em âmbito local influenciam no desenvolvimento endógeno do Município. Não obstante, avaliar a dimensão das restrições estruturais, condicionadas pela dinâmica das relações comerciais no setor mundial do minério de Alumínio, aos processos internos de articulação para o desenvolvimento local. O Problema proposto está em compreender como as oportunidades e restrição da explotação de uma mina world class impulsiona processos de desenvolvimento local. Partindo-se da Nova Teoria Econômica aliada à Teoria do Comércio Internacional e Geografia Econômica, buscou-se delinear os parâmetros de inserção da economia mineradora do alumínio local no cenário internacional e suas inter-relações resultantes, sejam estas sob o aspecto tecnológico ou mercadológico. Numa perspectiva local, procurou-se identificar os processos interativos e seu grau de convergência entre Setor Público (via Plano Diretor Municipal) com vistas à concretização de um projeto de desenvolvimento endógeno mediado pela formação de alianças (Clusters) que atendessem às suas respectivas exigências tecnológica, econômica e institucional. Para tanto, o trabalho recorreu às Teorias do Crescimento e Desenvolvimento econômico e dos Sistemas para explicitar os mecanismos que regem as interações entre os atores locais e, em última análise, determinam suas ações sociais no processo de desenvolvimento endógeno. O método adotado é o hipotético-dedutivo utilizando-se instrumentos de coleta de dados secundários e primários. Através de um processo de modelagem computacional e, recorrendo aos Relatórios Fiscais da Prefeitura de Oriximiná e Contábeis da Mineração Rio do Norte buscou-se o aprofundamento sobre a natureza e aplicação dos recursos gerenciados por ambas Instituições. Desenvolve-se ainda, um modelo representativo da dinâmica do desenvolvimento endógeno local tendo o PIB Municipal per capita como proxy através do método de análise multivariada utilizando a técnica da regressão linear múltipla. Desenvolve-se também uma análise da autocorrelação da economia de Oriximiná com o seu entorno a partir da técnica de processamento de dados espaciais geograficamente referenciados bem como a técnica de acessibilidade locacional de Oriximiná. A apresentação dos resultados utiliza modelos simbólicos, tabelas e gráficos diversos. A conclusão é de que a atividade minerária encontra-se descolada do processo de crescimento local por não produzir spillover e por não internalizar o grosso da sua renda no Município dada sua estratégia competitiva. Contudo, a dinâmica local também sofre restrições por conta de sua localização espacial à margem do eixo econômico Regional e pela baixa capacidade empreenditiva e articulatória demonstrada pela administração pública local.

Convergence Property of the Measurement Gross Error Correction in Power System State Estimation, Using Geometrical Background

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Support area as an indicator of environmental load: Comparison between Embodied Energy, Ecological Footprint, and Emergy Accounting methods

Environmental aspects have been acknowledged as an important issue in decision making at any field during the last two decades. There are several available methodologies able to assess the environmental burden, among which the Ecological Footprint has been widely used due to its easy-to-understand final indicator. However, its theoretical base has been target of some criticisms about the inadequate representation of the sustainability concept by its final indicator. In a parallel way, efforts have been made to use the theoretical strength of the Emergy Accounting to obtain an index similar to that supplied by the Ecological Footprint. Focusing on these aspects, this work assesses the support area (SA) index for Brazilian sugarcane and American corn crop through four different approaches: Embodied Energy Analysis (SA(EE)), Ecological Footprint (SA(EF)), Renewable Empower Density (SA(R)), and Emergy Net Primary Productivity (SA(NPP)). Results indicate that the load on environment varies accordingly to the methodology considered for its calculation, in which emergy approach showed the higher values. Focusing on crops comparison, the load by producing both crops are similar with an average of 0.04 ha obtained by SA(EE), 1.86 ha by SA(EF), 4.24 ha by SA(R), and 4.32 ha by SA(NPP). Discussion indicates that support area calculated using Emergy Accounting is more eligible to represent the load on the environment due to its global scale view. Nevertheless, each methodology has its contribution depending of the study objectives, but it is important to consider the real meaning and the scope of each one. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A NOTE ON RESOLVENT CONVERGENCE ON A THIN DOMAIN

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Emergetic ternary diagrams: five examples for application in environmental accounting for decision-making

In a recent paper, "A combined tool for environmental scientists and decision makers: ternary diagrams and emergy accounting." [Giannettti BF, Barrella FA, Almeida CMVB. A combined tool for environment scientists and decision makers: ternary diagrams and emergy accounting. J Clean Prod, in press http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.09.002] Ternary diagrams were proposed as a graphical tool to assist emergy analysis. The graphical representation of the emergy accounting data makes it possible to compare processes and systems with and without ecosystem services, to evaluate improvements and to follow the system performance over time. The graphic tool is versatile and adaptable to represent products, processes, systems, countries, and different periods of time.The use and the versatility of ternary diagrams for assisting in performing emergy analyses are illustrated by means of five examples taken from the literature, which are presented and discussed. It is shown that emergetic ternary diagram's properties assist the assessment of the system of the system efficiency, its dependance upon renewable and non-renewable inputs and the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions. With the aid of ternary diagrams, details such as the interaction between systems and between systems and the environment are recognized and evaluated. Such a tool for graphical analysis allows a transparent presentation of the results and can serve as an interface between emergy scientists and decision makers, provided the meaning of each line in the diagram is carefully explained and understood. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creative Commons: a convergence model between the ideal of commons and the possibilities of creation in contemporary times, opposed to copyright impediments

The contemporary individual finds on the Internet and especially on the Web facilitating conditions to build a basic infrastructure based on the concept of commons. He also finds favorable conditions which allow him to collaborate and share resources for the creation, use, reuse, access and dissemination of information. However, he also faces obstacles such as Copyright (Law 9610/98 in Brazil). An alternative is Creative Commons which not only allows the elaboration, use and dissemination of information under legal conditions but also function as a facilitator for the development of informational commons. This paper deals with this scenario.

Convergence towards asymptotic state in 1-D mappings: a scaling investigation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Interior-exterior point method with global convergence strategy for solving the reactive optimal power flow problem

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Accounting for uncertainty in ecological analysis: the strengths and limitations of hierarchical statistical modeling

Analyses of ecological data should account for the uncertainty in the process(es) that generated the data. However, accounting for these uncertainties is a difficult task, since ecology is known for its complexity. Measurement and/or process errors are often the only sources of uncertainty modeled when addressing complex ecological problems, yet analyses should also account for uncertainty in sampling design, in model specification, in parameters governing the specified model, and in initial and boundary conditions. Only then can we be confident in the scientific inferences and forecasts made from an analysis. Probability and statistics provide a framework that accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty. Given the complexities of ecological studies, the hierarchical statistical model is an invaluable tool. This approach is not new in ecology, and there are many examples (both Bayesian and non-Bayesian) in the literature illustrating the benefits of this approach. In this article, we provide a baseline for concepts, notation, and methods, from which discussion on hierarchical statistical modeling in ecology can proceed. We have also planted some seeds for discussion and tried to show where the practical difficulties lie. Our thesis is that hierarchical statistical modeling is a powerful way of approaching ecological analysis in the presence of inevitable but quantifiable uncertainties, even if practical issues sometimes require pragmatic compromises.

Concentration of floating biogenic material in convergence zones

Some organisms that live just below the sea surface (the neuston) are known more as a matter of curiosity than as critical players in biogeochemical cycles. The hypothesis of this work is that their existence implies that they receive some food from an upward flux of organic matter. The behaviour of these organisms and of the associated organic matter, hereafter mentioned as floating biogenic material (FBM) is explored using a global physical-biogeochemical coupled model, in which its generation is fixed to 1% of primary production, and decay rate is of the order of I month. The model shows that the distribution of FBM should depart rapidly from that of primary production.. and be more sensitive to circulation patterns than to the distribution of primary production. It is trapped in convergence areas, where it reaches concentrations larger by a factor 10 than in divergences, thus enhancing and inverting the contrast between high and low primary productivity areas. Attention is called on the need to better understand the biogeochemical processes in the first meter of the ocean, as they may impact the distribution of food for fishes, as well as the conditions for air-sea exchange and for the interpretation of sea color.

LEISURE AND MENTAL HEALTH IN PEOPLE WITH HYPERTENSION: CONVERGENCE IN HEALTH EDUCATION

People with hypertension constantly deal with issues related to mental health due to the psychosocial determinants of this illness, and leisure is an important control strategy. The objective of this study was to promote health education to a group of hypertensive patients, through research-action, based on critical-social pedagogy, and taking into consideration the participants' perception of leisure. Educational activities were conducted and, following, an evaluation was performed regarding the subjects' opinion about the impact of leisure on their lives and mental health. The group perceived leisure as a coping strategy for loneliness and also as a late development of independence; it was also regarded as a means of socialization and as a promotion of mental health. These perceptions revealed two themes: aging, leisure, and chronic disease; and knowledge and leisure experiences. Educational actions, such as group dynamics and discussions, were planned considering these themes with the purpose of providing the necessary conditions for socializing and exchanging experiences.

Kurzweil integral for Riesz space-valued functions: Uniform convergence theorem

Our objective here is to prove that the uniform convergence of a sequence of Kurzweil integrable functions implies the convergence of the sequence formed by its corresponding integrals.