Federal Highway Administration Finding of No Significant Impact for the Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvements Project, August 23, 2012

FHWA and the Iowa Department of Transportation are proposing geometric and capacity improvements to the Interstate 29 and Interstate 80 mainline in Segment 3 and the I-80/I-29 East System interchange, the South Expressway interchange, the U.S. Highway 275 interchange, and the Madison Avenue interchange to to safely and efficiently of transportation in the City of Council Bluffs, the Iowa DOT is also proposing to eliminate several railroad alignments and to develop new, consolidated tracks in Segment 3.

Federal Highway Administration Finding of No Signification Impact, September 2011

Description of the Proposed Action The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) propose to improve a 3.9-mile segment of Iowa Highway 86 (IA 86) from Iowa Highway 9 (IA 9) to near the Minnesota border within Dickinson County, Iowa (the Project). The existing IA 86 has narrow travel lanes and shoulders, steep foreslopes, and poor vertical alignment. Environmental Assessment Availability The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Project was signed on June 30, 2011, and distributed to selected federal, state, and local resource agencies on July 5, 2011, for review and comment. A Notice of Public Hearing and Environmental Assessment Availability was published in the legal section of the Estherville Daily News on July 5, 2011, and the Ocheyedan Press-Melvin News and Dickinson County News on July 6, 2011. Review and Comment Period A review and comment period was established for receipt of comments on the EA, with an expiration date of August 8, 2011. A public hearing for the Project was held at the Dickinson County Courthouse on July 21, 2011. The public hearing used a combined open forum and formal format. A transcript of this meeting has been prepared and is available upon request.

Understanding Political Knowledge and Its Influence on Voting Preferences in the 2007 Federal Election

In this article we propose a model to explain how voters' perceptions of their ideological proximity to a party affect their propensity to vote for that party. We argue that political knowledge plays a crucial moderating role in the relationship between party proximity and voting propensity. It is necessary, however, to distinguish between institutional knowledge (information about the political system) and party knowledge (information about the parties' left-right positions). An analysis of survey data from the 2007 Swiss federal elections supports our main hypothesis that party knowledge enhances the link between party proximity and voting propensity. Institutional knowledge may have additional influence, but clear evidence for this effect was obtained only for propensities to vote for the Swiss People's Party (SVP). Overall, the impact of political knowledge was found to be substantial, even after controlling for the outstanding influence of party identification and other predictors of voting propensities

L'essence relationnelle. Fonctionnement neurobiologique et relations humaines

Dans une perspective phénoménologique, le corps, les fonctions vitales, le mouvement déterminent un échange constant entre le sujet et le monde, entre soi et l'autre. La neurobiologie, de son côté, s'intéresse aux transformations biologiques liées à ces expériences, mais sa méthode est fort différente. Les auteurs proposent une réflexion sur la manière dont les découvertes de la neurobiologie interviennent pour mieux "comprendre" la dimension de la rencontre. La relation intersubjective est façonnée non seulement par les structures du fonctionnement mental, par le vécu du sujet, mais encore par la "danse" des postures et le mouvement des corps ; elle est enfin portée par le milieu culturel et social, par la nature de l'environnement. La construction des liens entre le patient et le thérapeute permet à chacun d'eux de cheminer vers un accomplissement de sa propre existence. In a phenomenological perspective, the body, the vital functions, the movements determine a constant exchange between the subject and the world, between self and the others. The neurobiology on its part, is interested in the biological transformations connected to these experiences but its method is quite different. The authors suggest to consider how the neurobiological discoveries help to get a better understanding of the dimension of the encounter. The intersubjective relationship is not only shaped by the structures of the mental functioning, by the subject's experiences, but also by the « dance » of the postures and movements of the body; it is nonetheless influenced by the cultural and social environment, as well as by the type of environment. The build-up of relationships between the therapist and the patient allows both of them to find a way to fulfillment of their own existence.

Report of recommendations to the Public Employment Relations Board for the year ending, June 30, 2011

Audit report of the Public Employment Relations Board for the year ended June 30, 2011

Avaliação da educação básica e ação normativa federal

Examina-se a ação normativa federal concernente à avaliação nacional da educação básica, no Brasil, do período de 1995 a 2002, com o objetivo de evidenciar sua extensão e natureza como faceta da regulação educacional, durante os oito anos do Governo Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Verifica-se, nesse período, extraordinária ampliação dos meios e do instrumental de regulação federal da "qualidade" do ensino, conjugando as vias de medida e avaliação. Constata-se intensa intervenção do Poder Executivo, que sinaliza alterações constitucionais e a edição de leis, amplia a regulamentação da área e amplifica a regulação normativa federal. Esse quadro normativo permite entender como se exerce o poder e se concretiza o Estado-Regulador no país.

A violência na ótica de alunos adolescentes do Distrito Federal

Esta pesquisa exploratória teve como objetivo captar as percepções de adolescentes matriculados em estabelecimentos educacionais do Distrito Federal sobre as violências nas escolas e nas comunidades. Considerando que a literatura constata que as violências são comuns às escolas públicas e particulares, embora com diferentes ocorrências, o trabalho focalizou em particular as diferenças entre alunos dos dois tipos de escolas. Para tanto foi utilizada a técnica de grupos focais. Os resultados indicam que, embora se confirme a presença de violências nas escolas públicas e particulares, cada uma é tratada de modo diferente, as primeiras apoiando-se, em parte, no trabalho da polícia, e as últimas mantendo controle preventivo de pessoas e seus movimentos. As conclusões remetem às teorias sociológicas conflituais da Sociologia da Educação e ao seu maior poder explicativo. Enfatizam a necessidade de a escola considerar as sociedades dos adolescentes e o seu protagonismo e dinamismo próprios, abrindo os olhos para as mudanças dentro de si e ao seu redor.

Audit report on the Iowa Federal Family Education Loan Program Division, a Division of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on the Iowa Federal Family Education Loan Program Division, a Division of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, for the year ended June 30, 2012

O rendimento da escola no Distrito Federal entre 1922 e 1935

Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar os quadros estatísticos de atendimento e rendimento das escolas públicas da cidade do Rio de Janeiro entre 1922 e 1935, publicados pela Diretoria Geral de Instrução Pública do Distrito Federal sobre a capacidade de atendimento das escolas e as taxas de repetência e evasão do sistema de ensino da cidade. A discussão central diz respeito à elaboração dos índices de matrícula, frequência e promoção das escolas cariocas durante as reformas dirigidas por Antônio de Arruda Carneiro Leão (1922-1926), Fernando de Azevedo (1927-1930) e Anísio Teixeira (1931-1935). Assim, aborda-se a produção das estatísticas oficiais para compreender a expansão da capacidade de atendimento da escola pública e a contenção da evasão e da repetência.