El discurso costumbrista colombiano del siglo XIX: Instrumento ideológico idealizado

Based on critical ideas from Michel Foucault, Benedict Anderson and Doris Sommer, this study analyzes the nation building function of the article of custom and manners and its literary mode "costumbrismo" in the Colombian literature of the 19th and beginning of the 20 th centuries. The discursive techniques and devices used in " costumbrismo" were put into effect by the Colombian intelligentsia to create a sense of national identity. Authors like, Ricardo Silva, José Caicedo Rojas, José David Guarín, Ignacio Gutiérrez Vergara, Eugenio Díaz, Juan de Dios Restrepo, José María Vergara y Vergara, Jorge Isaacs, José Eustaquio Palacios, José Manuel Marroquín, Tomás Carrasquilla, and José Eustasio Rivera became detailed observers that sometimes criticized and at other times just described customs and manners of different social classes and institutions. Through journalistic and literary discourse depicting regional customs and manners, these regionalist writers pretended to provide an objective and actual image of Colombian society, articulating, instead, a subjective message which expressed and reinforced their particular sense of nation based on a liberal or conservative political agenda. This discourse was used to shape the ideology of the republic thorough the idealization of a particular view of the nation.

The ethical paradigm of Jose Marti's writings beyond Modernity

This dissertation explores the nature of Jose Marti's ethical ideas in relation to the rise of late Nineteenth Century Modernity and in tandem with the deconstruction and subversion of the principal constituencies of colonial and aesthetic discourses. Marti proposes a new paradigm that question the insatiable pursuit of novelty, the hostility towards tradition, the historical perspectivism and a critical stance with regard to social aesthetic Modernity. He also questions the cult of reason, the linear historicism, and the teleological progress framed in philosophical utilitarian pragmatism of bourgeois Modernity. His radical criticism of the structures and institutions of the hegemonic power of the modern state override the ontological and epistemological foundations of Modernity. Marti's deconstruction of the fundamental discourses of euro-centristic Occidental culture leads him, through his ethical writings, to an arqueology of Native American civilizations, thus reinserting, within the false premises of European universalism, his counter-discourse of tradition and the voice of the Other.

Improving novice analyst performance in modeling the sequence diagram in systems analysis: A cognitive complexity approach

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has quickly become the industry standard for object-oriented software development. It is being widely used in organizations and institutions around the world. However, UML is often found to be too complex for novice systems analysts. Although prior research has identified difficulties novice analysts encounter in learning UML, no viable solution has been proposed to address these difficulties. Sequence-diagram modeling, in particular, has largely been overlooked. The sequence diagram models the behavioral aspects of an object-oriented software system in terms of interactions among its building blocks, i.e. objects and classes. It is one of the most commonly-used UML diagrams in practice. However, there has been little research on sequence-diagram modeling. The current literature scarcely provides effective guidelines for developing a sequence diagram. Such guidelines will be greatly beneficial to novice analysts who, unlike experienced systems analysts, do not possess relevant prior experience to easily learn how to develop a sequence diagram. There is the need for an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novices. This dissertation reports a research study that identified novice difficulties in modeling a sequence diagram and proposed a technique called CHOP (CHunking, Ordering, Patterning), which was designed to reduce the cognitive load by addressing the cognitive complexity of sequence-diagram modeling. The CHOP technique was evaluated in a controlled experiment against a technique recommended in a well-known textbook, which was found to be representative of approaches provided in many textbooks as well as practitioner literatures. The results indicated that novice analysts were able to perform better using the CHOP technique. This outcome seems have been enabled by pattern-based heuristics provided by the technique. Meanwhile, novice analysts rated the CHOP technique more useful although not significantly easier to use than the control technique. The study established that the CHOP technique is an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novice analysts.

Development of local homeland security networks in the state of Florida: A social network analysis approach

How do local homeland security organizations respond to catastrophic events such as hurricanes and acts of terrorism? Among the most important aspects of this response are these organizations ability to adapt to the uncertain nature of these "focusing events" (Birkland 1997). They are often behind the curve, seeing response as a linear process, when in fact it is a complex, multifaceted process that requires understanding the interactions between the fiscal pressures facing local governments, the institutional pressures of working within a new regulatory framework and the political pressures of bringing together different levels of government with different perspectives and agendas. ^ This dissertation has focused on tracing the factors affecting the individuals and institutions planning, preparing, responding and recovering from natural and man-made disasters. Using social network analysis, my study analyzes the interactions between the individuals and institutions that respond to these "focusing events." In practice, it is the combination of budgetary, institutional, and political pressures or constraints interacting with each other which resembles a Complex Adaptive System (CAS). ^ To investigate this system, my study evaluates the evolution of two separate sets of organizations composed of first responders (Fire Chiefs, Emergency Management Coordinators) and community volunteers organized in the state of Florida over the last fifteen years. Using a social network analysis approach, my dissertation analyzes the interactions between Citizen Corps Councils (CCCs) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in the state of Florida from 1996–2011. It is the pattern of interconnections that occur over time that are the focus of this study. ^ The social network analysis revealed an increase in the amount and density of connections between these organizations over the last fifteen years. The analysis also exposed the underlying patterns in these connections; that as the networks became more complex they also became more decentralized though not in any uniform manner. The present study brings to light a story of how communities have adapted to the ever changing circumstances that are sine qua non of natural and man-made disasters.^

Sustainable rural development through alternative economic networks: Redefining relations in the commodity chain for export vegetables in western Guatemala

The current research considers the capacity of a local organic food system for producer and consumer empowerment and sustainable development outcomes in western Guatemala. Many have argued that the forging of local agricultural networks linking farmers, consumers, and supporting institutions is an effective tool for challenging the negative economic, environmental, and sociopolitical impacts associated with industrial models of global food production. But does this work in the context of agrarian development in the developing world? Despite the fact that there is extensive literature concerning local food system formation in the global north, there remains a paucity of research covering how the principles of local food systems are being integrated into agricultural development projects in developing countries. My work critically examines claims to agricultural sustainability and actor empowerment in a local organic food system built around non-traditional agricultural crops in western Guatemala. Employing a mixed methods research design involving twenty months of participant observation, in-depth interviewing, surveying, and a self-administered questionnaire, the project evaluates the sustainability of this NGO-led development initiative and local food movement along several dimensions. Focusing on the unique economic and social networks of actors and institutions at each stage of the commodity chain, this research shows how the growth of an alternative food system continues to be shaped by context specific processes, politics, and structures of conventional food systems. Further, it shows how the specifics of context also produce new relationships of cooperation and power in the development process. Results indicate that structures surrounding agrarian development in the Guatemalan context give rise to a hybrid form of development that at the same time contests and reinforces conventional models of food production and consumption. Therefore, participation entails a host of compromises and tradeoffs that result in mixed successes and setbacks, as actors attempt to refashion conventional commodity chains through local food system formation.^

The Next Generation of Scientists: Examining the Experiences of Graduate Students in Network-Level Social-Ecological Science

By integrating the research and resources of hundreds of scientists from dozens of institutions, network-level science is fast becoming one scientific model of choice to address complex problems. In the pursuit to confront pressing environmental issues such as climate change, many scientists, practitioners, policy makers, and institutions are promoting network-level research that integrates the social and ecological sciences. To understand how this scientific trend is unfolding among rising scientists, we examined how graduate students experienced one such emergent social-ecological research initiative, Integrated Science for Society and Environment, within the large-scale, geographically distributed Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network. Through workshops, surveys, and interviews, we found that graduate students faced challenges in how they conceptualized and practiced social-ecological research within the LTER Network. We have presented these conceptual challenges at three scales: the individual/project, the LTER site, and the LTER Network. The level of student engagement with and knowledge of the LTER Network was varied, and students faced different institutional, cultural, and logistic barriers to practicing social-ecological research. These types of challenges are unlikely to be unique to LTER graduate students; thus, our findings are relevant to other scientific networks implementing new social-ecological research initiatives.

Improving Novice Analyst Performance in Modeling the Sequence Diagram in Systems Analysis: A Cognitive Complexity Approach

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has quickly become the industry standard for object-oriented software development. It is being widely used in organizations and institutions around the world. However, UML is often found to be too complex for novice systems analysts. Although prior research has identified difficulties novice analysts encounter in learning UML, no viable solution has been proposed to address these difficulties. Sequence-diagram modeling, in particular, has largely been overlooked. The sequence diagram models the behavioral aspects of an object-oriented software system in terms of interactions among its building blocks, i.e. objects and classes. It is one of the most commonly-used UML diagrams in practice. However, there has been little research on sequence-diagram modeling. The current literature scarcely provides effective guidelines for developing a sequence diagram. Such guidelines will be greatly beneficial to novice analysts who, unlike experienced systems analysts, do not possess relevant prior experience to easily learn how to develop a sequence diagram. There is the need for an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novices. This dissertation reports a research study that identified novice difficulties in modeling a sequence diagram and proposed a technique called CHOP (CHunking, Ordering, Patterning), which was designed to reduce the cognitive load by addressing the cognitive complexity of sequence-diagram modeling. The CHOP technique was evaluated in a controlled experiment against a technique recommended in a well-known textbook, which was found to be representative of approaches provided in many textbooks as well as practitioner literatures. The results indicated that novice analysts were able to perform better using the CHOP technique. This outcome seems have been enabled by pattern-based heuristics provided by the technique. Meanwhile, novice analysts rated the CHOP technique more useful although not significantly easier to use than the control technique. The study established that the CHOP technique is an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novice analysts.

O papel do centro histórico na cidade: um estudo comparativo entre João Pessoa e Tours

In the contemporary scene, it is conspicuous that the patrimony and the culture have assumed privileged positions in urban policies, presenting themselves as instruments for transforming and shaping the aspect of cities. In the plot line of such glowing trend, the competitiveness among cities has drawn more attention, for at present such urban centers garner an image that makes them suitable for economic purposes, thus more likely to attract investments and tourists. In the spotlight of such stage, the cities become notable actors, directed by policies of urban rehabilitation. In such plot line, the historical centers gain more visibility and are converted into venues for staging the spectacle of everyday life. Overlapped in this process of producing images, the phenomenon of gentrification recrudesces. Thus, the discussion threaded about the patrimony gains strength in urban studies, keeping a close relationship with the ways of perceiving the cities nowadays. This work is based on the principle that the historical centers are engendered and fond by urban policies, working as transforming instruments of city perceptions and living. In that sense, the way how the historic center and the valuation assessed to old buildings are comprehended by the inhabitants is largely guided by urban policies that outline a sellable image of the city. In the light of such elaborations, an ethnographic research was made with focus on two different contexts, namely: the historic centers of João Pessoa (Brazil) and Tours (France). It was done in a comparative perspective, for it allows us to trace the main specificities of each situation in order to highlight the similarities and distinctions about the two regions mentioned above. The research aimed at apprehending how the pair redevelopment-abandonment engendered by the urban policies influence on the process of revaluation of historical centers by dwellers and to what extent there are convergences regarding such kinds of interventions, as an object of policies of urban and touristic development in Brazil and France. In order to make this work – besides the abundant bibliographic review carried out in libraries of several universities and institutions in Brazil and France – dwellers, merchants, teachers, representative people of public agencies and former residents of the historic centers of both cities were interviewed. In Tours, immigrants/Portuguese descendants were interviewed, point that greatly contributed to the understanding of the historic center before Vieux Tours renewal and restoration. Moreover a rich research on Archives and Public Agencies was done, as well as investigations on newspaper and articles on the Internet. Thus, in the context of the ethnography in historic centers, it was possible to notice that both realities reveal similarities in a comparative analytical framework

Entre veados, carneiros e formigas: conflito pela posse de terra na ribeira do Ceará-Mirim, e concepções de mentalidade possessória, 1725-1761

Shaping the Luso-Brazilian space in Portuguese America was through constant conflicts between different individuals and institutions. Regarding to land ownership, such conflicts were aggravated, depending on the individuals involved and their context. The captaincy of Rio Grande, there is conflict over land ownership Cidade dos Veados and Olho d' Água Azul and its stakeholders: priests of the Society of missionaries of the village Guajiru; indian mission Guajiru; and members of Carneiro da Cunha family. In 1725, the jesuit mission Guajiru requested a league of land at a place called Cidade dos Veados for the indians of his mission claiming that the land that the mission had was not sufficient for the subsistence of the same. In 1727, priest requested another league of land in place Olho d'Água Azul, stating that the mission had more than 192 couples. Both lands were properly required for the mission guajiru. however, in 1760, with the changes imposed by the indian directorate ombudsman responsible for investigating indigenous possessions realized that the indians did not occupy the two lands requested in the 1720s , due to the fact João Carneiro da Cunha has taken possession of the same. As a result, the impasse over land are ligth. This conflict over land ownership Cidade dos Veados and Olho d'Água Azul, we intend to highlight in particular the motivations and mindsets about possessory property of each party involved. We seek to understand the motivations of each group involved allowed the use of specific strategies and set out to try to take possession of the lands of the Cidade dos Veados e Olho d'Água Azul

O agrominerador familiar “Por detrás da Serra” de Parelhas, Seridó do Rio Grande do Norte

Unfavorable climatic conditions to family farming associated to the legal difficulty of retirement for workers who work exclusively in mining are indications provided by previous papers on this topic and guiding of such joint activities in a group that we have decided to call “agromineradores”, who are located “Behind de mountain” of Princess at Parelhas, Seridó do RN. However, in addition to these aspects, the research provides comprehensive analysis and thorough examination of other factors that link these families to such labor association. The theories of Habitus, field and trajectory from Pierre Bourdieu as well as the concept of institutions from Geoffrey Hodgson are central in this paper to explain the inclusion of these part-time farmers in an institutional environment shaped by social structures that influence in the choices of individual and collective behavior and leading to the relevance of the power structures within and outside the family, along with the role of public policies directed to family farmers and miners. The data analyzed showed that there is a crystallized structure that manifests themselves for years in this field, proving the link that exists between these agents and institutions that surround them in the composition of behaviors and routinizing of practices.

"Aqui se faz Gostoso”: uma etnografia do turismo em São Miguel do Gostoso (RN)

This study it is an ethnography on the process of the tourist coast area of São Miguel do Gostoso, whose origin is made from a village of traditional fishermen located on the northeast coast of Rio Grande do Norte. From the late 90s, there were the first initiatives that transformed São Miguel do Gostoso in one of the state's major tourist destinations. The municipality is promoted within the national and international tourism scene through the sun and beach tourism - whose object of consumption is the natural landscape - and sports tourism - which exploited element is the "natural" geographic location (in the continent curve) of municipality that provides winds considered ideal for the practice of “Kitesurfing “ and Windsurfing. From this context, this ethnography had as a theme the social changes promoted by the tourism process in place here addressed, taking into account the perceptions produced by the actors involved in this social net. In this qualitative research, I endeavored to me in the methodological use of ethnographic techniques - bibliographic and field research, participant observation, open and structured interviews recorded by recording and field notes and photographic record. I also made use of theoretical tools and methodology inherent in ciberetnografia when analyzing the blogs and websites of intermediaries and institutions linked to local tourism.

A hora da alfabetização: atores, ideias e instituições na construção do PAIC-CE

The objective of this thesis is to understand how a certain social condition becomes relevant enough to be regarded as an issue worthy of government action and how certain proposed initiatives prevail while others are discarded. More specifically, the goal is to discuss public policy for education and check whether the analytical models employed are significant enough to explain how the literacy issue became part of the policy agenda of the government of the State of Ceará in Brazil, and how the Literacy Program at the Right Age (PAIC) developed over time. From the empirical perspective about public policy for education in Brazil, this is a relevant case when one takes into account that, historically, the literacy policies are focused on teenagers and adults, implying a lack of specific initiatives towards children at the proper age of learning to read and write. In order to understand what drove this issue to the top of the state government agenda, this thesis is primarily based on the literature about public policy analysis, with focus on the agenda setting process and development of proposals. A hybrid approach is used, combining analytical tools from Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model (1995), the Advocacy Coalition Framework by Sabatier and Jenkins Smith (1993) and the historical new institutionalism lens. The research method is qualitative and based on the single case study method. The data set was assembled from institutional PAIC-related documents, tachygraphy notes from sessions at Ceará’s State House of Representatives, press clippings, academic studies and interviews with key participants from several organizations. The conclusion of this thesis is that, given the complexity of the case in point, the combination of the three analytical methods is adequate and necessary to understanding the multiple drivers for this issue to have entered Ceará’s state government agenda and the design of the PAIC itself. Particularly relevant are the ideas and the policy entrepreneurs, the processes of problem recognition for the composition of a wide coalition and for the specification of alternatives, and the path dependence of the education policy in Ceará. This study adds, as a result, to a better understanding of the stages that make up the agenda setting in public policy, in particular in the field of education.

A hora da alfabetização: atores, ideias e instituições na construção do PAIC-CE

The objective of this thesis is to understand how a certain social condition becomes relevant enough to be regarded as an issue worthy of government action and how certain proposed initiatives prevail while others are discarded. More specifically, the goal is to discuss public policy for education and check whether the analytical models employed are significant enough to explain how the literacy issue became part of the policy agenda of the government of the State of Ceará in Brazil, and how the Literacy Program at the Right Age (PAIC) developed over time. From the empirical perspective about public policy for education in Brazil, this is a relevant case when one takes into account that, historically, the literacy policies are focused on teenagers and adults, implying a lack of specific initiatives towards children at the proper age of learning to read and write. In order to understand what drove this issue to the top of the state government agenda, this thesis is primarily based on the literature about public policy analysis, with focus on the agenda setting process and development of proposals. A hybrid approach is used, combining analytical tools from Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model (1995), the Advocacy Coalition Framework by Sabatier and Jenkins Smith (1993) and the historical new institutionalism lens. The research method is qualitative and based on the single case study method. The data set was assembled from institutional PAIC-related documents, tachygraphy notes from sessions at Ceará’s State House of Representatives, press clippings, academic studies and interviews with key participants from several organizations. The conclusion of this thesis is that, given the complexity of the case in point, the combination of the three analytical methods is adequate and necessary to understanding the multiple drivers for this issue to have entered Ceará’s state government agenda and the design of the PAIC itself. Particularly relevant are the ideas and the policy entrepreneurs, the processes of problem recognition for the composition of a wide coalition and for the specification of alternatives, and the path dependence of the education policy in Ceará. This study adds, as a result, to a better understanding of the stages that make up the agenda setting in public policy, in particular in the field of education.

“É acompanhante ou usuária?” Implicações sobre a posição da família no atendimento a crianças e adolescentes em um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial da Infância e Adolescência - CAPSi

This study emerged and founded itself with the aim to analyze the position taken by the family – and the implications in this subjective area – in attending children and adolescents in a Childhood Psychosocial Care Center (CAPSi). A secondary goal has come up as the comprehension surrounding the institutional representation made about the family and the service offered to children, adolescents and relatives. For such, the historical perspective on the relation between the State (laws and institutions) and the family was resumed, and the understanding of how it was reconciled by the medical knowledge and attended the ideological and political means. The social and ideological transformations of the 20th century culminated in the need of change required by the Psychiatric Reform and the achievement of patients on the right to return home and to their families. This new situation, permeated by the attempt of building an assistance model in Mental Health, presented a peculiarity–the close relationship between family and Mental Health services. The observations and conversations at CAPSi that were the investigation objects in this research, intended to learn on the quotidian of families and the possible treatment alternatives that would take into account the family circumstances. Conceiving the status of the families in Mental Health services is a germinal matter yet to be adjusted among the active knowledge in the post-Reform devices. The discussion about the family bonds, anchored in the theoretical perspective of Binding Psychoanalysis brought up elementary concepts such as psychic heritage, denial pact, unconscious alliances, the familiar psychic set, among other. The concept of family organizer helped to think of the family trajectories and stablishes a sort of identity for the family, as well as interferes in the establishment of its boundaries. The family path within the institution, as well as the status they establish facing the institutional approach, reflect the ghosts and the organizers shared by the group-family. It follows that the family is an important protagonist to be considered in the current therapeutic and political processes and, thus, is key to welcome the family bonds for the alliances act over the affective destinations, as well as try to remain sealed from the proposed changes.

Improving minimum rate predictors algorithm for compression of volumetric medical images

Medical imaging technologies are experiencing a growth in terms of usage and image resolution, namely in diagnostics systems that require a large set of images, like CT or MRI. Furthermore, legal restrictions impose that these scans must be archived for several years. These facts led to the increase of storage costs in medical image databases and institutions. Thus, a demand for more efficient compression tools, used for archiving and communication, is arising. Currently, the DICOM standard, that makes recommendations for medical communications and imaging compression, recommends lossless encoders such as JPEG, RLE, JPEG-LS and JPEG2000. However, none of these encoders include inter-slice prediction in their algorithms. This dissertation presents the research work on medical image compression, using the MRP encoder. MRP is one of the most efficient lossless image compression algorithm. Several processing techniques are proposed to adapt the input medical images to the encoder characteristics. Two of these techniques, namely changing the alignment of slices for compression and a pixel-wise difference predictor, increased the compression efficiency of MRP, by up to 27.9%. Inter-slice prediction support was also added to MRP, using uni and bi-directional techniques. Also, the pixel-wise difference predictor was added to the algorithm. Overall, the compression efficiency of MRP was improved by 46.1%. Thus, these techniques allow for compression ratio savings of 57.1%, compared to DICOM encoders, and 33.2%, compared to HEVC RExt Random Access. This makes MRP the most efficient of the encoders under study.