Challenging the SD benefits attributed to sport Mega-Events hosting

Sport Mega-event hosting faces opposition that is manifested with different intensity during the different phases of the event, from its inception as an idea to its delivery and legacy. Some Social Movements Organisations (SMOs) have acted as indefatigable monitors of the Sustainable Development (SD) dimension of sporting events in general and, in some of the most recent sport mega-events, in particular the Olympics, they have served as important advisors and facilitators. Nevertheless, in many cases we see enthusiastic supporters turning to vehemently challenging whatever positives have been associated with hosting the event. In addition, there is opposition to sport Mega-events in their entirety. That type of opposition tends to employ a holistic prism that manages to identify multiple interconnected negative aspects of hosting a sport mega-event and incorporate them into an anti-systemic discourse. It is important to bear in mind that irrespective of many proclamations to the opposite as far as megas are concerned (projects and/or events), a number of studies have demonstrated that citizen participation and democratic accountability in decision-making have been notoriously absent. After all, the idea of citizen participation in the planning of sport mega-event is essentially the public response to a plan conceived by others. There were, of course, some notable cases of democratic consultation at the early stages of bidding to host a sport mega-event but these more democratic approaches resulted in the failure of the bid (for e.g. Toronto 1996). The knowledge of this by the groups that initiated the hosting idea and the bidding process has led to discouraging in depth public consultation that may fit perfectly to the democratic process but not to the tight schedules of associated projects completion. That produces ‘autocracy against which opposition may arise’ (Hiller, 2000, p. 198). It is this democratic deficit that has led to important instances of social contestation and protest mobilizations by citizen groups as well as the more regular corps of social activists. From a perspective borrowed from the sociology of protest and social movements, sport mega-events hosting can operate as an issue that stimulates protest activities by an existing protest milieu and new actors as well as an important mobilizing resource. In fact, some scholars have also argued that the Olympic Games were an important frame for the transnational activism that was marked by anti-globalization protest in Seattle in 1999 (Cottrell & Nelson, 201; Lenskyj, 2008). In addition, it’s important not to lose sight of other acts dissent that take place in relatively close proximity, about a year before the event when most infrastructural and societal changes brought by hosting the event and impact start to become apparent by the host communities, like the rioting of August 2011 in the London Olympic Boroughs and the 2012 riots of June 2013 in Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities. This paper starts by outlining the SD claims made in the bidding to host the summer Olympic Games by five prospective hosts (Sydney; Athens; Beijing; London and Rio) proceeds towards examining the opposition and challenges that was manifested in relation to these claims. In Particular it provides an assessment of protest-events over the aforementioned different phases of sport mega-events hosting. A different picture emerges for each of the host nation that is partly explained by local, national and global configuration of protest politics. Whereas the post-event legacy of the first two hosts of the Games can be assessed and that way see the validity of claims made by challengers in the other phases, in the other three cases, the implementation of Olympic Games Impact (OGI) studies offers the tool for discussing the post-event phase for Beijing and London and engage in a speculative exercise for the case of Rio. Judging by available findings, the paper concludes that the SD aspiration made in the bid documents are unlikely to be met and social contestation based on the same issues is likely to increase due to the current global economic crisis and BRICS, like China and Brazil, having entered the process of becoming global economic hegemons.

Automatic extraction of Reduced order models from CFD simulations for building energy modeling

Thermal comfort is defined as “that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment’ [1] [2]. Field studies have been completed in order to establish the governing conditions for thermal comfort [3]. These studies showed that the internal climate of a room was the strongest factor in establishing thermal comfort. Direct manipulation of the internal climate is necessary to retain an acceptable level of thermal comfort. In order for Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) strategies to be efficiently utilised it is necessary to have the ability to predict the effect that activating a heating/cooling source (radiators, windows and doors) will have on the room. The numerical modelling of the domain can be challenging due to necessity to capture temperature stratification and/or different heat sources (radiators, computers and human beings). Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) models are usually utilised for this function because they provide the level of details required. Although they provide the necessary level of accuracy these models tend to be highly computationally expensive especially when transient behaviour needs to be analysed. Consequently they cannot be integrated in BEMS. This paper presents and describes validation of a CFD-ROM method for real-time simulations of building thermal performance. The CFD-ROM method involves the automatic extraction and solution of reduced order models (ROMs) from validated CFD simulations. The test case used in this work is a room of the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) Building at the University College Cork (UCC). ROMs have shown that they are sufficiently accurate with a total error of less than 1% and successfully retain a satisfactory representation of the phenomena modelled. The number of zones in a ROM defines the size and complexity of that ROM. It has been observed that ROMs with a higher number of zones produce more accurate results. As each ROM has a time to solution of less than 20 seconds they can be integrated into the BEMS of a building which opens the potential to real time physics based building energy modelling.

Conflict and Peace in Northern Ireland: A Critical-Theoretical Interpretation

Published version (2014) of the WB Yeats Annual Lecture 2013 which I delivered at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A translation in Portuguese was included in this publication, pp. 95-142.

Optical fiber accelerometer system for structural dynamic monitoring

In this study, the implementation of an optical accelerometer unit based on fiber Bragg gratings, suitable to monitor structures with frequencies up to 45 Hz, is reported. The developed optical system was used to estimate the structure eigenfrequencies of a steel footbridge, with a total length of 300 m, over the Sao Pedro Creek, located at University of Aveiro Campus, in Portugal. The acceleration records measured with this solution are compared with those obtained by traditional commercial electronic devices, revealing a root-mean-square error of 2.53 x 10(-5) G.

From dispersed to monopolized violence: expansion and consolidation of the Primeiro Comando da Capital's hegemony in São Paulo's prisons

The present work aims to understand the process of expansion and consolidation of the organized criminal group the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) in São Paulo’s prison system over the past 20 years, and the social configuration that has formed as a result of the PCCs monopolization of opportunities of power. To this end, the work of Norbert Elias is utilized to analyze empirical data collected from various sources. The article consists of two lines of analysis. First, the PCC phenomenon is approached from a macro-sociological point of view, focusing on the social, political and administrative problems that are directly or indirectly linked to the PCCs social development. Second, a figurational analysis is used to explore the social dynamics produced from this process. In comparison to the “pre-PCC” situation, it is shown that the new social configuration produced from the hegemony of the PCC consists of a complexity of interdependencies, including greater functional division and social integration. Given this intensification of mutual dependencies, the social controls on individual behavior have been expanded and centralized. Here, the structure and organization of the PCC, its political dynamics, and individual self-control are central issues. The article concludes by calling into question the view that the most significant effect of the PCCs consolidation has been social pacification of São Paulo’s prison system. Fragilities in the power of the PCC are explored, principally the precarious nature of the relationship between the PCC and state authorities, and the extent to which the PCC’s authority is imposed.

The internationalization process of mychild to São Paulo, Brazil

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

O papel de João Paulo II e da igreja Católica polaca na adesão da Polónia à União Europeia

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Relações Internacionais, especialidade em História e Teoria das Relações Internacionais

O sítio do forte de São Paulo: estudo arqueológico da Ribeira Ocidental de Lisboa na época moderna

A presente dissertação tem como objetivo a análise arqueológica do forte de São Paulo, edificado na antiga freguesia homónima, em Lisboa, a partir da segunda metade do século XVII. Partindo do estudo dos vestígios arqueológicos associados à estrutura militar exumados no Mercado da Ribeira e na Praça D. Luís I, proceder-se-á à caracterização arquitetural e à análise do espólio, visando a compreensão da dinâmica estratigráfica, bem como a perceção da implementação geoestratégica inerente à sua construção. Paralelamente, pretende-se que os dados obtidos permitam uma melhor perceção da diacronia ocupacional desta área ribeirinha de Lisboa, fulcral na expansão marítima portuguesa.

1.° Vita sancti Hilarii, Pictaviensis Episcopi : authore Fortunato, Episcopo. — 2.° Vita sancti Apri, Confessoris. — 3.° Vita sancti Geraldi, Confessoris. — 4.° Vita sancti Amandi, Episcopi : additum est à Milone, Monacho, ejusdem vitae supplementum. — 5.° Sermo legendus in transitu ejusdem sancti Amandi. — 6.° Vita sancti Apollinaris, Episcopi Valentini. — 7.° Passio sancti Antonini, Apamiensis Martyris. — 8.° Passio sancti Prisci, Episcopi. — 9.° Passio sanctorum Vivianae et Flaviani. — 10.° Passio sancti Theodoreti. — 11.° Passio sanctorum Primi et Feliciani. — 12.° Vitae sanctorum Firmini et Ferreoli, Episcoporum Uceciensium. — 13.° Historia persecutionis Africanae, sive Wandalicae sub Genserico et Hunnerico, Vandalorum Regibus : authore Victore, Vitensi Episcopo. — 14.° Historiae Longobardorum libri quinque : authore Paulo Diacono.

Colbertinus

1.° Eutropii breviarium historiae Romanae, à Paulo Diacono interpolatum et ad annum Christi 529. productum. — 2.° Macrobii Saturnaliorum liber.

Puteanus

historiae Longobardorum libri sex : authore Paulo Diacono ; primi libri initium desideratur.

Puteanus