A Corrupção burocrática inibe o empreendedorismo? uma análise empírica dos estados brasileiros

This work aims to investigate the relationship between the entrepreneurship and the incidence of bureaucratic corruption in the states of Brazil and Federal District. The main hypothesis of this study is that the opening of a business in Brazilian states is negatively affected by the incidence of corruption. The theoretical reference is divided into Entrepreneurship and bureaucratic corruption, with an emphasis on materialistic perspective (objectivist) of entrepreneurship and the effects of bureaucratic corruption on entrepreneurial activity. By the regression method with panel data, we estimated the models with pooled data and fixed and random effects. To measure corruption, I used the General Index of Corruption for the Brazilian states (BOLL, 2010), and to represent entrepreneurship, firm entry per capita by state. Tests (Chow, Hausman and Breusch-Pagan) indicate that the random effects model is more appropriate, and the preliminary results indicate a positive impact of bureaucratic corruption on entrepreneurial activity, contradicting the hypothesis expected and found in previous articles to Brazil, and corroborating the proposition of Dreher and Gassebner (2011) that, in countries with high regulation, bureaucratic corruption can be grease in the wheels of entrepreneurship

Analysis of Automotive Cybersecurity - Attack surfaces and users’ privacy concerns

Modern automobiles are no longer just mechanical tools. The electronics and computing services they are shipping with are making them not less than a computer. They are massive kinetic devices with sophisticated computing power. Most of the modern vehicles are made with the added connectivity in mind which may be vulnerable to outside attack. Researchers have shown that it is possible to infiltrate into a vehicle’s internal system remotely and control the physical entities such as steering and brakes. It is quite possible to experience such attacks on a moving vehicle and unable to use the controls. These massive connected computers can be life threatening as they are related to everyday lifestyle. First part of this research studied the attack surfaces in the automotive cybersecurity domain. It also illustrated the attack methods and capabilities of the damages. Online survey has been deployed as data collection tool to learn about the consumers’ usage of such vulnerable automotive services. The second part of the research portrayed the consumers’ privacy in automotive world. It has been found that almost hundred percent of modern vehicles has the capabilities to send vehicle diagnostic data as well as user generated data to their manufacturers, and almost thirty five percent automotive companies are collecting them already. Internet privacy has been studies before in many related domain but no privacy scale were matched for automotive consumers. It created the research gap and motivation for this thesis. A study has been performed to use well established consumers privacy scale – IUIPC to match with the automotive consumers’ privacy situation. Hypotheses were developed based on the IUIPC model for internet consumers’ privacy and they were studied by the finding from the data collection methods. Based on the key findings of the research, all the hypotheses were accepted and hence it is found that automotive consumers’ privacy did follow the IUIPC model under certain conditions. It is also found that a majority of automotive consumers use the services and devices that are vulnerable and prone to cyber-attacks. It is also established that there is a market for automotive cybersecurity services and consumers are willing to pay certain fees to avail that.

The flexible citizen: education and citizenship

This paper considers the recent focus on citizenship within education by taking curricular reform within Scottish secondary schooling and its linkage with higher education as a case study. In Scotland the Curriculum for Excellence reform places citizenship as one of the four main capacities that pupils must work towards as part of their education. This is echoed to some extent within higher education through the Enhancement Theme reforms and the focus on graduate attributes. A unifying theme in these reforms is the need for students to work across different disciplines, to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on the world by, for example, considering issues of sustainability in relation to scientific or technological developments. In this model of curriculum development teaching staff are considered as agents of change, enabling learners to develop their sense of citizenship in response to a fast-paced world of innovation and change. This kind of change is objectified as a need that must be responded to and met if tomorrow’s citizens are to be able to not only cope, but thrive in the world in which they inhabit. As such, the citizen is positioned as an ongoing project, as something to be worked at and worked on. However, this kind of notion of agency cloaks an neoliberal ideological construction of the citizen as a flexible resource for society, and usually in relation to economic output. The paper seeks to subject this construction of the citizen to critical scrutiny in relation to the idea that, in education, learners are developing their ability to be creative and enquiring in order to be adaptive to change.

Quantum Otto heat engine based on a multiferroic chain working substance

We study a quantum Otto engine operating on the basis of a helical spin-1/2 multiferroic chain with strongly coupled magnetic and ferroelectric order parameters. The presence of a finite spin chirality in the working substance enables steering of the cycle by an external electric field that couples to the electric polarization. We observe a direct connection between the chirality, the entanglement and the efficiency of the engine. An electric-field dependent threshold temperature is identified, above which the pair correlations in the system, as quantified by the thermal entanglement, diminish. In contrast to the pair correlations, the collective many-body thermal entanglement is less sensitive to the electric field, and in the high temperature limit converges to a constant value. We also discuss the correlations between the threshold temperature of the pair entanglement, the spin chirality and the minimum of the fidelities in relation to the electric and magnetic fields. The efficiency of the quantum Otto cycle shows a saturation plateau with increasing electric field amplitude.

Priorities for future intensive care research in the UK: results of a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership.

This James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership aimed to identify and prioritise unanswered questions about adult intensive care that are important to people who have been critically ill, their families, and the health professionals who care for them. Consensus techniques (modified Delphi and Nominal Group) were used to generate suggestions using online and postal surveys. Following verification and iterative editorial review, research topics were constructed from these suggestions. These topics were presented in a second online and postal survey for rating. A Nominal Group of 21 clinicians, patients and family representatives subsequently met to rank the most important research topics and produce a prioritised list. The project was coordinated by a representative Steering Group and independently overseen by the JLA. The initial survey and review of the literature generated over 1,300 suggestions. Preliminary editing and verification permitted us to encapsulate these suggestions within 151 research topics. Iterative review by members of the Steering Group produced 37 topic statements, subsequently rated by participants. Using the mode to determine importance, 19 topics were presented to the group from which a ‘top three’ intensive care research priorities were identified and a further nine topics were prioritised. By applying and adapting the JLA methodology to focus on an area of care rather than to a single disease, we have provided a means to ensure that patients, their families and professionals materially contribute to the prioritisation of intensive care research in the UK.

Puupolttoaineen varastonhallinta- ja hankintamalli

Työssä luodaan energiapuun varastonhallintamalli ja hankintamalli energiantuotantolaitoksen näkökulmasta sekä kuvataan kustannustehokkaita ja toimitusvarmoja vaihtoehtoja puupolttoaineen varastoinnille ja haketukselle. Varastonhallintamallissa keskitytään varastotason hallintamenetelmiin toimintaympäristössään. Hankintamalli määrittää oman varaston ja suoran laitostoimituksen suhteen sekä auttaa pohtimaan strategisen hankinnan merkitystä hankinnan toteuttamiseen ja hankintakanavien valintaan. Työ antaa vastauksia koko hankintatoiminnan toteutukseen ja hallitsemiseen. Varastonhallintamallin skenaariotarkastelussa selvisi, että yrityksen oma varasto vaatii 18 – 37 % varmuusvaraston suhteessa käyttövarastoon. Hankintamallin mukaan oman varaston kannattavimman puupolttoainejakeen hankintaetäisyys voisi olla keskimäärin korkeintaan 96 km. Tarpeen, saatavuuden, jakeiden kustannustasojen ja toimintaympäristön mahdollisuuksien ollessa selvillä, on mahdollista tehdä päätöksiä hankintakanavista ja varmuusvarastoista kustannustehokkuuden perusteella. Yrityksen polttoainemäärien ohjauksen toteutukseen vaaditaan kehittämistoimia. Oman toimintaympäristön vakiointi ja toimintamallien dokumentointi on tärkeää tiedonjaon, toimitussopimusten mitoittamisen ja toiminnan kehittämisen kannalta. Toiminnan pullonkaulojen vähentäminen ja puupolttoaineen ohjaaminen kustannustehokkaimpien haketusketjujen kautta mahdollisimman tehokkaasti synnyttävät kustannussäästöjä toimitusketjussa.

Executive order no. 2016-13

This executive order by Governor Nikki R. Haley establishes the South Carolina Community Development Block Grant Steering Committee to advise the South Carolina Department of Commerce on the development of the South Carolina State Action Plan and oversee its implementation for the disbursement of the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Relief funds due to the historic flooding in October of 2015, leading to widespread damage to homes across the state

Integración de Arbotix, Raspberry Pi y motores Dynamixel Ax-12+ para un robot humanoide que busca y patea pelotas

En este artículo se presenta a DeBuPa (Detección Búsqueda Pateo) un humanoide de tamaño pequeño (38 cm de alto) construido con las piezas del kit Bioloid. Del kit se ha excluido la tarjeta CM-510 para sustituirla por la tarjeta controladora Arbotix, que será la que controle los 16 motores Dynamixel Ax-12+ (para mover al robot) y 2 servomotores analógicos (para mover la cámara). Además se ha agregado un mini computador Raspberry Pi, con su cámara, para que el robot pueda detectar y seguir la pelota de forma autónoma. Todos estos componentes deben ser coordinados para que se logre cumplir la tarea de detectar, seguir y patear la pelota. Por ello se hace necesaria la comunicación entre la Arbotix y la Raspberry Pi. La herramienta empleada para ello es el framework ROS (Robot Operating System). En la Raspberry Pi se usa el lenguaje C++ y se ejecuta un solo programa encargado de captar la imagen de la cámara, filtrar y procesar para encontrar la pelota, tomar la decisión de la acción a ejecutar y hacer la petición a la Arbotix para que dé la orden a los motores de ejecutar el movimiento. Para captar la imagen de la cámara se ha utilizado la librería RasPiCam CV. Para filtrar y procesar la imagen se ha usado las librerías de OpenCV. La Arbotix, además de controlar los motores, se encarga de monitorizar que el robot se encuentre balanceado, para ello usa el sensor Gyro de Robotis. Si detecta un desbalance de un cierto tamaño puede saber si se ha caído y levantarse.

O que eu sei, o que eu acho e o que me disseram: diálogos com jovens sobre lesbianidades

Muitos são os estudos e ativismos que chamam a atenção para a necessidade de ampliar as investigações e visibilidades de lésbicas na academia brasileira. Com vista a ampliar o conhecimento sobre essa população, propomos com a dissertação “O que sei, o que eu acho e o que me disseram: diálogos com jovens sobre lesbianidade”, desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-graduação em História da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande/RS, interrogar, problematizar e compreender as representações sobre a(s) lesbianidade(s) produzidas por cinco jovens de uma escola agrícola da região sul do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A pesquisa, orientada pelos Estudos Culturais Lesbofeministas, produziu seus dados a partir da Etnografia pós-crítica, subsidiada pelas abordagens metodológicas proporcionadas pelas “rodas de conversas” e anotações no “diário de campo”. Partindo das análises dos dados, podemos apontar que as estudantes possuem visões e entendimentos conceituais a respeito da(s) lesbianidade(s) e que esses já possuem um posicionamento crítico frente à forma como a mulher é retratada na sociedade. Entretanto, podemos verificar que a temática “lesbianidade(s)” – não diferente da forma como as demais mulheres são retratadas na escola, que é atravessada pela invisibilidade histórico-escolar – ancora-se em representações mediadas pela violência, limitadas às relações afetivo-sexuais e/ou dimensões domésticas e íntimas da sexualidade.

Influência da lubrirrefrigeração na qualidade superficial de metais retificados

Na fabricação de componentes mecânicos precisos, que necessitam de alta resistência mecânica e ao desgaste, utiliza-se o processo de retificação, para conferir o acabamento final desejado e, também, para eliminar as deformações ocorridas durante a têmpera do aço. No entanto, as condições de retificação devem ser adequadas, para que não sejam introduzidas falhas na peça. Novos conceitos de lubrificação e refrigeração, para o processo de retificação, estão sendo pesquisados, de forma a diminuir os custos e os danos ambientais causados pelos fluidos de corte. Nesse trabalho, é analisada a influência das técnicas de mínima quantidade de lubrificante (MQL), refrigeração otimizada e refrigeração convencional, com diferentes vazões e velocidade de aplicação do fluido de corte, na qualidade das peças produzidas com aço ABNT 4340 endurecido, no processo de retificação cilíndrica externa de mergulho com a utilização de rebolos de CBN. O Aço ABNT 4340 apresenta várias aplicações industriais, sendo considerado de uso aeronáutico devido, sua alta resistência mecânica sem aumentar o peso dos componentes que o utilizam. A análise da qualidade das peças foi realizada com a verficação das rugosidades e com a análise de microscopias eletrônicas de varredura. Verificou-se, ainda, a força tangencial de corte. em relação às diferentes formas de aplicação do fluido de corte, notou-se o melhor desempenho da aplicação otimizada, para maiores velocidades, mostrando a eficiência do bocal utilizado. O processo otimizado e o processo MQL foram capazes de manter a integridade superficial das peças produzidas. Exceção somente para a condição MQL com vazão de fluido de corte de 40ml/h, que produziu trincas e queima superficial. Rebolos com baixa concentração de CBN, conseqüentemente mais baratos, proporcionaram bons resultados, quando associados com técnicas mais eficientes de aplicação de fluido de corte apresentando desgaste reduzido.

A Hardware Implementation of a Run-Time Scheduler for Reconfigurable Systems

New generation embedded systems demand high performance, efficiency and flexibility. Reconfigurable hardware can provide all these features. However the costly reconfiguration process and the lack of management support have prevented a broader use of these resources. To solve these issues we have developed a scheduler that deals with task-graphs at run-time, steering its execution in the reconfigurable resources while carrying out both prefetch and replacement techniques that cooperate to hide most of the reconfiguration delays. In our scheduling environment task-graphs are analyzed at design-time to extract useful information. This information is used at run-time to obtain near-optimal schedules, escaping from local-optimum decisions, while only carrying out simple computations. Moreover, we have developed a hardware implementation of the scheduler that applies all the optimization techniques while introducing a delay of only a few clock cycles. In the experiments our scheduler clearly outperforms conventional run-time schedulers based on As-Soon-As-Possible techniques. In addition, our replacement policy, specially designed for reconfigurable systems, achieves almost optimal results both regarding reuse and performance.

A Corrupção burocrática inibe o empreendedorismo? uma análise empírica dos estados brasileiros

This work aims to investigate the relationship between the entrepreneurship and the incidence of bureaucratic corruption in the states of Brazil and Federal District. The main hypothesis of this study is that the opening of a business in Brazilian states is negatively affected by the incidence of corruption. The theoretical reference is divided into Entrepreneurship and bureaucratic corruption, with an emphasis on materialistic perspective (objectivist) of entrepreneurship and the effects of bureaucratic corruption on entrepreneurial activity. By the regression method with panel data, we estimated the models with pooled data and fixed and random effects. To measure corruption, I used the General Index of Corruption for the Brazilian states (BOLL, 2010), and to represent entrepreneurship, firm entry per capita by state. Tests (Chow, Hausman and Breusch-Pagan) indicate that the random effects model is more appropriate, and the preliminary results indicate a positive impact of bureaucratic corruption on entrepreneurial activity, contradicting the hypothesis expected and found in previous articles to Brazil, and corroborating the proposition of Dreher and Gassebner (2011) that, in countries with high regulation, bureaucratic corruption can be grease in the wheels of entrepreneurship

Design Aspects of a Broadband Beam-Reconfigurable Leaky-Wave Antenna

Design aspects of a novel beam-reconfigurable pla-nar series-fed array are addressed to achieve beam steering with frequency tunability over a relatively broad bandwidth. The design is possible thanks to the use of the complementary strip-slot, which is an innovative broadly matched microstrip radiator, and the careful selection of the phase shifter parameters.

O conceito de armas combinadas e a compatibilidade dos equipamentos do Exército Português

presente Trabalho de Investigação Aplicada, incide sobre a temática do Agrupamento de Armas Combinadas “LEODUR”, um Agrupamento que emprega o Carro de Combate Leopard 2A6, com a Viatura Blindada de Rodas Pandur II (8x8) Infantry Carrier Vehicle e a Viatura Blindada de Rodas Pandur II (8x8) Infantry Fighting Vehicle, num contexto doutrinário de Armas Combinadas. Devido ao facto de algumas destas viaturas serem de lagartas e outras serem de rodas, a sua combinação poderá não trazer maiores vantagens do que aquelas que cada meio traz se atuar separadamente. É nesta problemática que se pretende investigar quais as potencialidades e vulnerabilidades do uso simultâneo destes meios e se valerá realmente a pena utiliza-los de forma combinada. Pretende-se com esta Investigação, explicar de que forma as viaturas Pandur II (8x8) e o Leopard 2A6 são compatíveis num contexto de Armas Combinadas em Território Nacional, numa unidade de escalão Batalhão (Agrupamento). A investigação em si segue as orientações do Método Hipotético-Dedutivo, pelo que serão levantadas um conjunto de hipóteses a ser confirmadas e/ou infirmadas. A recolha de dados será principalmente através de documentos, como manuais doutrinários, revistas, inquéritos por entrevistas e ainda pela observação direta do Exercício Lince 2016. A aplicação simultânea destas duas tipologias de viaturas traduz-se num enorme Poder de Fogo, elevada Proteção e Mobilidade para um Agrupamento, com a valência de utilizarem meios de Comando e Controlo iguais, possibilitando maior rapidez nas comunicações e uma permanente visualização do Campo de Batalha.

Integração de atiradores especiais num batalhão de Infantaria

O presente trabalho de investigação subordinado ao tema “A integração de Atiradores Especiais num Batalhão de Infantaria” propõe investigar a integração de atiradores especiais numa unidade escalão Batalhão de Infantaria. Para a sua consecução definiu-se como objetivo geral analisar as implicações do emprego de atiradores especiais, no atual ambiente operacional, em apoio às unidades escalão Batalhão de Infantaria. De modo a concretizar o mesmo delimitou-se o trabalho ao estudo dos Batalhões de Infantaria Mecanizados de Rodas, da Brigada de Intervenção, recorrendo-se sempre que necessário aos Batalhões Stryker do Exército dos Estados Unidos da América, dada a sua experiência de combate em diversos teatros de operações. Para a realização deste trabalho estruturou-se um modelo de análise, efetuando-se uma abordagem qualitativa de natureza descritiva. Recorre-se ao método de abordagem hipotético-dedutivo, através de uma conexão descendente iniciada com a descrição do ambiente operacional, o emprego de Batalhões de Infantaria e a utilização de atiradores especiais. Da análise dos resultados verifica-se que o atual ambiente operacional apresenta uma elevada complexidade, existindo uma tendência para os futuros conflitos armados ocorrerem em Estados falhados e em áreas urbanas, existindo uma ameaça predominantemente irregular. Os Batalhões de Infantaria têm assim a necessidade de possuir atiradores especiais, de forma a poderem empregar fogos diretos com precisão. Conclui-se que com a crescente complexidade do ambiente operacional face à tipologia de ameaça, os Batalhões de Infantaria portugueses, que futuramente poderão ser empregues neste tipo de teatros de operações, devem possuir atiradores especiais, que empreguem fogos diretos com precisão a médias distâncias, sendo estes integrados ao nível das Secções de atiradores.