O fotojornalismo depois da fotografia: Modelos de configuração da cadeia produtiva do fotojornalismo em tempos de convergência digital

This research report concerns about the post-doctoral activities, conducted betweenSeptember 2010 and March 2011 at the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. It comes to identify the consequences of the convergence phenomenon on photojournalism.Thus, in a more general approach, the effort is to to recovery the structural elements of the convergence concept in journalism. It aims to map, as well, the current debates about the repositioning of photographic practices linked to the news produced in a widespread adoption of digital devices in contemporary workflow. It is also specified,the analysis of photographic collectives as a result of the convergence frameworkapplied to photojournalism; the debate on ways of funding; alternatives facing thealleged crisis of press photography and, finally, proposes to create qualifying stages ofdevelopment of photojournalism in the digital age as well as the proposition of hypotheses concerning the structure of the productive routines. In addition, we present three cases to be analyzed in order to explore and verify the occurrence ofcharacteristics that may identify the object of research in the state of practice. Finally,we work in a series of conclusions, revisiting the main hypotheses. With this strategy, ispossible to define an sequence of analysis capable of addressing the characteristics present in the studied cases and other ones in future, thus, be able to affirm this stage as a step, in the continuous historical course of photojournalism.

World press photo 2012: a construção discursiva da Primavera Árabe

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Comunicação Social como parte dos requisitos para obtenção de grau de mestre em Jornalismo.

Extraction of tidal channel networks from airborne scanning laser altimetry and aerial photography

The study of the morphodynamics of tidal channel networks is important because of their role in tidal propagation and the evolution of salt-marshes and tidal flats. Channel dimensions range from tens of metres wide and metres deep near the low water mark to only 20-30cm wide and 20cm deep for the smallest channels on the marshes. The conventional method of measuring the networks is cumbersome, involving manual digitising of aerial photographs. This paper describes a semi-automatic knowledge-based network extraction method that is being implemented to work using airborne scanning laser altimetry (and later aerial photography). The channels exhibit a width variation of several orders of magnitude, making an approach based on multi-scale line detection difficult. The processing therefore uses multi-scale edge detection to detect channel edges, then associates adjacent anti-parallel edges together to form channels using a distance-with-destination transform. Breaks in the networks are repaired by extending channel ends in the direction of their ends to join with nearby channels, using domain knowledge that flow paths should proceed downhill and that any network fragment should be joined to a nearby fragment so as to connect eventually to the open sea.

Depicting community perspectives: repeat photography and participatory research as tools for assessing environmental services in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal

Efforts have been made to provide a scientific basis for using environmental services as a conceptual tool to enhance conservation and improve livelihoods in protected mountain areas (MtPAS). Little attention has been paid to participatory research or locals’ concerns as environmental service (ES) users and providers. Such perspectives can illuminate the complex interplay between mountain ecosystems, environmental services and the determinants of human well-being. Repeat photography, long used in geographical fieldwork, is new as a qualitative research tool. This study uses a novel application of repeat photography as a diachronic photo-diary to examine local perceptions of change in ES in Sagarmatha National Park. Results show a consensus among locals on adverse changes to ES, particularly protection against natural hazards, such as landslides and floods, in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We argue that our methodology could complement biophysical ecosystem assessments in MtPAS, especially since assessing ES, and acting on that, requires integrating diverse stakeholders’ knowledge, recognizing power imbalances and grappling with complex social-ecological systems.