Recently, it has been argued that the phenomenon of direct transfer of intermediate metabolites between adjacent enzymes, also known as metabolic channelling, would not decrease the concentration of those intermediates in the bulk solution. However, this conclusion has been drawn by extrapolation from the results of simulations with a rather restricted set of parameters. We show that, for a number of kinetic cases, the existence of metabolic channelling can decrease the size of the soluble pool of intermediates. When the enzyme(s) (...) downstream of the channel have a catalytic capacity that is large relative to the enzymes upstream of the channel, the decrease of concentration can be substantial (3 orders of magnitude). (shrink)

Arts, Real-Time Video and Interactivity for Sustainability is an ongoing collaborative research project investigating how real-time video, DIY surveillance technologies and sensor data can be used as a tool for environmental awareness, activism and artistic explorations. The project consists of a series of digital contexts for aesthetic contemplation of nature and civic engagement, aiming to foster awareness and empowerment of local populations through DIY surveillance. At the core of the ARTIVIS efforts are a series of interactive installations, that make use (...) of surveillance technologies and real-time video as raw material to promote environmental awareness through the emotion generated by real-time connections with nature. Throughout the project development, the surveillance concept has been shifting from the use of surveillance technology in a centralized platform, to the idea of veillance with distributed peer-to-peer networks that can be used for science and environmental monitoring. In this paper we present the history of the ARTiVIS project, related and inspiring work, describe ongoing research work and explore the present and future challenges of appropriating surveillance technology for artistic, educational and civic engagement purposes. (shrink)

Até o início da idade moderna,Deus ocupava o centro do universo.Os humanistas da renascença elaboraram uma nova imagem do mundo,cujo senhor era o homem.A natureza foi devassada e 'desencantada':uma nova aliança substituiu a antiga.Parece que se materializaram os 'não-lugares' de todas as utopias.Contudo,todas elas padeciam de grave doença:não conseguiam discernir possibilidades reais de impossibilidades.

The main goals of this study were, to test the motivational determinants of athletes perceived effort in football considering the four-stage motivational sequence at the contextual level proposed by Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: task-involving, basic psychological needs, self-determined motivation and perceived effort. The multi-group analysis across different age-groups (U15, U17, U19, U21 years) and mediation role of basic psychological needs and self-determined motivation on the task-involving climate and the perceived effort were also analysed. Two independent samples of (...) male football athletes (N= 403, N= 403), aged 13-20 were enrolled in this study. The results demonstrated that structural model provided a good fit to data for all samples under analysis, and was invariant across U17, U19, and U21. However, it was not invariant across U15 and U17, U19 and U21. Additionally, in the results from the mediation analysis, there were significant indirect effects in all samples, supporting theoretical by self-determination theory assumptions, reinforcing the importance of basic psychological needs satisfaction and behavioral regulation in the relation in analysis. The results allow concluding that when coaches promote a task-involving climate, the basic psychological needs satisfaction of athletes improves. This climate will facilitate the regulation of their behaviors towards more autonomous forms of motivation, with positive results in the perceived effort of the athletes. (shrink)

Our goal was to explore self‐care practices among men who have sex with men in the context of Mpox in Brazil. This study used qualitative research methods, including interviews and thematic analysis, to collect and analyze data from male participants across the Brazilian territory. The narratives unveil men's perspectives on self‐care, risk reduction, and health beliefs during the Mpox pandemic. Our findings highlight a multifaceted approach to self‐care among men, encompassing hygiene, physical contact management, mask usage, skin lesion vigilance, and (...) adherence to official guidelines. Men's attitudes toward sexual behaviors emphasize the importance of reducing sexual partners, practicing safe sex, and combating misinformation through accurate information dissemination. The development of these behaviors and self‐care practices can be facilitated by nurses guided by Dorothea Orem's Self‐Care Theory, supported by patient‐centered care, with strategies to address and confront the stigma associated with the disease and provide emotional support. Thus, the study underscores the pivotal role of self‐care in mitigating infection risks, especially in the context of emerging infectious diseases. It acknowledges the impact of socio‐cultural factors and healthcare policies on men's preventive measures. However, it also recognizes limitations, such as potential bias due to stigma concerns and a nonrepresentative sample. Ultimately, the research advocates for tailored education, promotion of gender equity, and healthcare empowerment to effectively manage health risks in such contexts. (shrink)

The article is a report on the World Social Forum held in Montreal, Canada in August of 2016. It reports on philosophical ideas explored by conference participants such as Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Mireille Fanon-Mendes, Helen Lauer, and Immanuel Wallerstein. It also sums up positions articulated by activists such as Brazilians Chico Whitaker and Pedro Fuentes, and reports on some of the largest activities and highlights of the gathering.

Theorists, historians, and artists address the precarious futurity of the notion of the future. Not long ago, a melancholic left and a manic neoliberalism seemed to arrive at an awkward consensus: the foreclosure of futurity. Whereas the former mourned the failure of its utopian project, the latter celebrated the triumph of a global marketplace. The radical hope of realizing a singularly different, more equitable future displaced by a belief that the future had already come to pass, limiting post-historical society to (...) an uneventful life of endless accumulation. Today, amidst an abundance of neofuturisms, posthumanisms, futurologies, speculative philosophies and accelerationist scenarios, there is as well an expanding awareness of a looming planetary catastrophe driven by the extractionist logic of capitalism. Despite this return to the future, the temporal horizon of our present moment is perhaps more aptly characterized by the “shrinking future” of just-in-time production, risk management, high-frequency trading, and the futures market. In Futurity Report, theorists, historians, and artists address the precarious futurity of the notion of the future itself. Contributors McKenzie Wark, China Miéville, Kerstin Stakemeier, Diedrich Diederichsen, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Marina Vishmidt, Johannes Paul Raether, Felicity D. Scott, Silvia Maglioni, Graeme Thomson, Doreen Mende, Pedro Neves Marques, Achille Mbembe, Kodwo Eshun, Haytham El-Wardany, T. J. Demos, Ana Teixeira Pinto. (shrink)

The purpose of the present study is to examine the attitudes of Portuguese chartered accountants with respect to questions of ethical nature that can arise in their professional activity. Respondents were asked to respond to the Ethics Position Questionnaire developed by Forsyth (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39(1), 175–184, 1980), in order to determine their idealism and relativism levels. Subsequently, they answered questions about five scenarios related to accounting practices, with the objective of measuring their ethical judgments. Based on (...) the idealism and relativism levels of our respondents, they were classified into one of four groups, representing different ethical ideologies (absolutism, exceptionism, subjectivism, and situationism). The results indicated that age was the major determinant of relativism. Contrary to previous research, older respondents revealed themselves significantly more relativistic than younger ones. Gender seems to be the most important determinant of ethical judgments; against expectations, men evidenced significantly stricter judgments than women in two of the five scenarios. Findings also indicated that respondents’ ethical judgments did not differ significantly based on their ethical ideology, supporting the idea that ethical ideology is not an important determinant of ethical judgments. (shrink)

Defensores do princípio da precaução propõem com frequência mudanças nas práticas científicas, para que elas facilitem o mesmo objetivo do princípio: evitar ameaças incertas ao ambiente ou à saúde humana. A ciência deveria ser uma ciência precautória. Apesar da importância prática da ciência precautória e da sua proximidade com os debates sobre ciência e valores, ela ainda não foi sistematicamente examinada. Neste artigo, pretende-se contribuir para a literatura sobre a ciência precautória de dois modos: sistematizando sua literatura prévia e propondo (...) uma definição de um de seus elementos principais, a precaução epistêmica, como uma orientação específica para a gestão de riscos indutivos. Conclui-se com algumas objeções que tal definição levanta, bem como caminhos de pesquisas futuras para abordá-las. (shrink)

AUTORES Agnaldo Cuoco Portugal | Aires Almeida | António Zilhão | Célia Teixeira | Desidério Murcho | Iñigo González Ricoy | João Cardoso Rosas | Manuel García-Carpintero | Mathias Thaler | Pedro Galvão | Ricardo Santos | Sara Bizarro | Sofia Miguens | Susana Cadilha | Teresa Marques Sobre os autores Os autores deste livro partilharam o objetivo de conceber um guia de estudo para a Filosofia estruturado tematicamente – i.e. em função de questões, perspectivas e argumentos, sem qualquer (...) preocupação primariamente histórica. Nos onze capítulos que compõem o presente volume, encontramos assim um mapa conceptual da Filosofia que cobre não só as suas disciplinas principais, mas também muitas das suas áreas mais especializadas. Cada capítulo é autónomo, pode ser compreendido sem se recorrer a outros capítulos. O desafio que todos os autores enfrentaram foi o de apresentar uma determinada disciplina filosófica com clareza, rigor e concisão – três características difíceis de conciliar, sobretudo quando se aspira ainda a uma grande abrangência temática. No final de cada capítulo, o leitor poderá encontrar informação bibliográfica actualizada e apropriada para aprofundar o seu estudo. (shrink)

The formation of the moral point of view in Bernard Williams’ work might be understood as taking place between two central concepts: the individual and the community. It is through the tension between these two poles that some form of knowledge is acquired. In Williams’ work, the individual virtue takes the name of authenticity, and the communitarian knowledge is, importantly, ethical confidence. A philosophical peer of Williams, Alasdair MacIntyre, has dealt with the same question, although in very different ways. They (...) are usually taken to be philosophical rivals in many respects, especially regarding their political views, their views on religion and their thoughts on Aristotle. But if we look deeper into their claims, we should discover that not only do they have similar ethical concerns, as their responses to those concerns are not, in essence, as different as they seem. My purpose with this paper, however, is not to deny the important differences between the two philosophers, but rather to make conspicuous Williams’ demanding ideas on the formation of the moral point of view by (1) connecting significant portions of his work and (2) contrasting his ideas with that of a philosophical “rival,” namely by interpreting MacIntyre’s own declarations on Williams’ work. It will stand out that both philosophers’ motivation to do ethics is to grant an equilibrium between the individual conscience and the moral knowledge that is acquired within a community. (shrink)

What effect has finding the Archimedean point in ourselves had on how we look at ethics? The modern era of philosophy began with Descartes finding within himself an unshakable point from which to pursue knowledge of the world and himself. This intellectual alienation from the world into the universal mathematical structures of the human mind has led to a reversal where, henceforth, production, rather than contemplation, of knowledge became epistemologically superior. Guided by Hannah Arendt’s discussion of the Archimedean point and (...) Earth alienation in the Human Condition, I will argue that this scientific form of thinking made its way into ethical investigation in the age of modern philosophy. Furthermore, I will provide an analysis of Kant’s categorical imperative and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism to show that despite modern science’s success in elucidating universal laws of nature, a scientific approach to ethics has not universalized our judgments of good and evil. (shrink)

The present study analyses the relationship between human beings, society and nature from the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; European thinker inserted in a vast political-anthropological tradition that seeks to understand human existence, both in its essential and relational dimensions. In this sense, Rousseau highlights a contradiction: technical and cultural development, although necessary, can also lead to the degradation of nature and the human essence. Works such as Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, Discourse on the Origin and Foundation of Inequality (...) and Reveries of a Solitary Stroller were chosen, precisely because they allow us to examine the consequences of human alienation about its relationship with the world, also demonstrating the search for harmony as the ultimate horizon of satisfaction. A critical position in the face of social relations and the need for esteem and recognition from others. In Reveries, for example, Rousseau reflects on happiness and the relationship with nature, which, if preserved, enables a refuge from social pressures and an encounter with the true “I”. It is a criticism of itself-love (amour-propre) like the search for possessions and honours; aspects that distance humanity from self-love (amour de soi) and pity for others. (shrink)

An analysis of Jonas' thought, focusing on three major themes: technique, vulnerability and ontology of life. Hans Jonas proposes a critique of traditional ethical approaches, which have proven incapable of dealing with the complex long-term effects of technological innovations. He suggests the "Responsibility Principle" as a new ethical paradigm, centered on considering the future consequences of human actions. In this sense, Jonas emphasizes the need for future-oriented ethics, which includes the preservation of life and the environment, ensuring that technological development (...) does not compromise future generations. The relevance of the "Responsibility Principle" lies in its ability to offer an adequate response to technological transformations and the threats they pose to planetary sustainability. Jonas highlights that the power acquired by humanity over nature, due to technological advances, requires ethical reflection that goes beyond classical paradigms such as utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. He criticizes the lack of guidance in previous approaches to dealing with long-term implications, proposing an ethics that considers the impact of current actions on future generations. (shrink)

A docência figura na lista das profissões nobres e de extrema importância social, pois é responsável pela formação acadêmica de pessoas e outros profissionais. No entanto, a ação de ensinar é, igualmente, considerada na atualidade, como uma atividade extremamente estressante. Neste estudo exploratório e qualitativo objetivou-se explorar os fatores psicossociais protetivos e de risco relacionados ao trabalho docente da educação geral da rede pública em Nampula, Moçambique. Aplicou-se um roteiro de entrevista semiestruturada a 22 profissionais de educação e oito de (...) saúde mental e ocupacional de ambos os sexos, totalizando 30 participantes. As informações tratadas através de análise temática revelaram que os fatores psicossociais protetivos mais indicados são: aprendizagem mútua, ter remuneração e reconhecimento social. Pelo contrário, baixos salários, endividamento, condições de trabalho insuficientes ou inadequadas, pouco incremento salarial, irregularidade de datas de pagamento de salários, desvalorização da classe docente, alto custo de vida, precárias condições sociais e de vida das comunidades, fraca aprendizagem dos alunos, dificuldades de conciliar trabalho-família, falta de apoio familiar e isolamento social foram apontados como principais fatores de risco psicossocial. Desse modo, é pertinente de um lado melhorar os aspectos negativos mencionados e, por outro, investigar suas repercussões na saúde mental docente. (shrink)

The wide and complex range of technologies produced and used in the contemporary societies has challenged the analysis from the different fields of social sciences. In this sense, in order to elaborate a study that aim at understanding the relationship between technological progress and the ongoing institutional changes that mark the capitalist societies, we believe it is necessary to adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining methodologies from Economics and Sociology fields. Therefore, this study proposes the development of an interdisciplinary dialogue between (...) the economic sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the evolutionary economics developed by authors such as Giovanni Dosi, Sidney Winter, Richard Nelson and Bhaven Sampat. In doing so, we intend to demonstrate that a theory guided by Marx’s historical materialism, as it is the case of evolutionary economics, can be enriched by a materialist theory of symbolic, such as that of Pierre Bourdieu. In searching the comprehension of the complementarity between material and symbolic forces, this study addresses the conflictual process surrounding the formulation of the regulatory institutions to the biotechnology sector in Brazil over the last two decades. More precisely, through a case study, we seek to demonstrate that the convergence of discourses and interests between prestigious scientific organizations and the multinational companies that control the agrobiotechnology industry has been relevant to allow this new technological paradigm to make progress. Finally, we raise some questions concerning this alliance between business and science and the conflicts that revolve around the rapid expansion of the genetically modified crops worldwide. (shrink)

History and chronicle, by B. Croce.--History as a system, by J. Ortega y Gasset.--The idea of history, by R. G. Collingwood.--The historian's purpose; history and metahistory, by A. Bullock.--What are historians trying to do? By H. Pirenne.--What are historical facts? By C. Becker.--The concept of scientific history, by I. Berlin.--Reason in history, by G. W. F. Hegel.--The hedgehog and the fox, by I. Berlin.--What is history? By E. H. Carr.--Faith and history, by R. Niebuhr.--The world and the west, by A. (...) Toynbee.--Debates with historians, by P. Geyl.--Has history any meaning? By K. R. Popper.--Historical inevitability, by I. Berlin.--On fortune and misfortune in history, by J. Burckhardt.--Selected readings (p. 179-181). (shrink)

Information Retrieval systems benefit from the use of long queries containing a large volume of search-relevant information. This situation is not common, as users of such systems tend to use very short and precise queries with few keywords. In this work we propose a modification of the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) technique using data from the document collection and its vocabulary for a better representation of short queries. Additionally, a study is carried out on how the modification of the proposed (...) LDA weighted vectors increase the performance using relevant documents as feedback. The work shown in this paper is tested using three biomedical corpora (TREC Genomics 2004, TREC Genomics 2005 and OHSUMED) and one legal corpus (FIRE 2017). Results prove that the application of the proposed representation technique, as well as the feedback adjustment, clearly outperforms the baseline methods (BM25 and non-modified LDA). (shrink)

En este artículo se ensaya un análisis de los presupuestos, de las consecuencias, que entraña la concepción cartesiana del saber. Y se llega a la conclusión de que toda la reflexión de Descartes se puede leer también como una filosofía de la historia en la que está la raíz de la idea moderna (y contemporánea) de progreso.

O artigo analisa, a partir sobretudo do pensamento de Hannah Arendt, o desafio que representa para a política “viver junto”. Embora a expressão origine-se com o ensaísta francês Roland Barthes, o objetivo do artigo é quadruplo: (1) apresentar seu fundamento ontológico na condição humana ou existencial de “ser-com”, ou seja, de ser junto aos outros, pensada desde Martin Heidegger; (2) descrever seu sentido político pela conjugação entre isonomia e diferença na forma da pluralidade pela qual cada pessoa pode aparecer singularmente (...) em atos e palavras, de acordo com uma liberdade frente a quaisquer predeterminações; (3) demonstrar como a recente situação da pandemia de Covid-19 radicalizou o impasse de viver junto – e separado – em sociedade, particularmente no caso do Brasil, colocando em relevo uma dimensão coletiva da liberdade pela interdependência entre os seres humanos; e (4) apontar a importância da forma de governo da república, mas também os perigos da sua fragilização nas democracias contemporâneas no que se refere à dificuldade de responder – como viver junto? (shrink)

A evolução dos meios de comunicação propiciou um massivo fluxo informacional, trazendo consigo alguns entraves. O fenômeno das fake news é produto dessa mudança na sociedade, afetando de diversas formas a vida das pessoas e inclusive a possibilidade de uma escolha plena e livre de influências, sua liberdade de expressão, pensamento e informação. Nesse contexto, este evento se torna gravoso para o nosso Estado Democrático, na medida que influencia o comportamento, as escolhas políticas, a conduta social e a solidez da (...) própria democracia. Diante do exposto, o objetivo do presente trabalho é refletir como as fake news interferem no Estado Democrático de Direito no Brasil e o deformam. Trata-se de uma revisão bibliográfica, documental e qualitativa. Propõe-se, por meio desse estudo, explicitar o que é esse fenômeno tão complexo das fake news e compreender as diversas formas de como ele pode afetar nosso sistema democrático, baseando-se nas ideias discursivas de Habermas. (shrink)

In the context of business, interactions between individuals generate social systems that emerge anywhere within a corporation or in its relations with external agents. These systems influence the behaviors of individuals and, as a result, the collective actions we usually attribute to corporations. Social systems thus make a difference in processes of action that are often morally evaluated by internal and external agents to the firm. Despite this relevance, social systems have not yet been the object of specific attention in (...) the literature on moral agency in business. To fill this gap, I construct a theoretical framework based on Luhmann’s ideas on social systems and morality. In particular, I argue that morality is a phenomenon that occurs in communication, and an agent can engage in morality in three different ways (as a moral factor, an expressive moral agent, or a reflective moral agent) depending on the functions it plays in communicative interactions. Based on this framework, I argue that social systems in business can be considered moral agents of those types. (shrink)

Os fenómenos religiosos ocupam um lugar central na vida dos crentes, na dinâmica dos grupos, na coesão das comunidades locais e na ordenação global das sociedades nacionais e transnacionais. Incidindo sobre a dimensão ideológica da religiosidade, o presente artigo pretende contribuir para um entendimento mais alargado da secularização, seus contornos sociais e consequências individuais nas sociedades ocidentais contemporâneas. Nele se revisita a tese weberiana da Secularização e seus efeitos ao nível da significação religiosa, dos estatutos/papéis religiosos e da extensão pela (...) qual se vive o religioso. Discute-se a privatização da religião e a consolidação numa religião mais transferida para a privacidade de cada um. A regressão ocorrida ao nível do efeito global e totalizante da religião assiste à procura de novas formas/rumos espirituais. A secularização vê-se transfigurada em pós-secularização, momento oportuno para a reformulação das teorias sociológicas da religião. O mundo contemporâneo é plural e secularizado, desenvolvendo-se crenças fora dos contextos institucionais, associadas a uma atitude religiosa mais pragmática. Espelho das sociedades ocidentais contemporâneas, a realidade portuguesa aproxima-se de uma posição pluralista em matérias religiosas. A relação do cristão leigo com a Igreja transformou-se, passando-se de uma fé de obrigação para uma fé de convicção. (shrink)

Este artigo propõe aproximações entre Hume e Mandeville a partir do modo como cada um deles entende a divisão do trabalho como um fenômeno moderno característico das sociedades comerciais europeias. O ponto de partida, comum a ambos, é a ideia de que o homem, ou a natureza humana, é um animal movido por paixões muito semelhantes, senão idênticas, às de outros animais, notadamente os mamíferos. A antropologia subjacente à divisão do trabalho tem, portanto, uma raiz fisiológica. O mesmo paradoxo interessa (...) a esses autores: o processo de divisão do trabalho, que possibilita a produção de tantos artefatos excelentes, é o trabalho de artesãos não qualificados. Há, portanto, uma disparidade entre o produto e o princípio que o engendra. Como pretendemos mostrar, este é o leitmotiv de uma crítica, dirigida por Hume, às provas teleológicas da existência de Deus. (shrink)