Analysis of the Federal District’s Legislative Chamber in the Information Age

The study investigates the satisfaction with the work of the parliament of Brazilian Federal District. The survey was based on the competencies extracted from the institutional mission and targeted citizens who frequently use social networks. Inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results showed a great unsatisfaction about the institution. The most satisfied respondents are the less educated, while the most educated, older, and highest income respondents are the most unsatisfied. The results also highlighted the low interaction between respondents and the Chamber, the absence of an effective official communication channel, and actions associated with sustainable economic development will be more effective in increasing satisfaction.     

Hannah Arendt's Moral Ontology: Comments on David Luban's Arendt on the Crime of Crimes

David Luban identifies a tension between Arendt's conception of ethnic identification in a context of persecution and her conception of humanity. That tension pertains to the reality—or realities—that Arendt addresses: the moral reality of her Bildung that appears throughout her work, and is centered on the “dignity of man,” on the one hand, and the divisive, “political” reality that she was forced to face when “attacked as a Jew,” on the other. By implicitly accepting that in a context of persecution one cannot escape the framing relevance of the “political” —an idea that is also present in her imaginary condemnation speech of Eichmann—Arendt betrays a fundamental theme of her work: “forgiveness” and the inherent possibility of a “new beginning.”     

Age Estimation Based on DNA Methylation Using Blood Samples From Deceased Individuals

Age estimation using DNA methylation levels has been widely investigated in recent years because of its potential application in forensic genetics. The main aim of this study was to develop an age predictor model (APM) for blood samples of deceased individuals based in five age-correlated genes. Fifty-one samples were analyzed through the bisulfite polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing method for DNA methylation evaluation in genes ELOVL2, FHL2, EDARADD, PDE4C, and C1orf132. Linear regression was used to analyze relationships between methylation levels and age. The model using the highest age-correlated CpG from each locus revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.888, explaining 76.3% of age variation, with a mean absolute deviation from the chronological age (MAD) of 6.08 years. The model was validated in an independent test set of 19 samples producing a MAD of 8.84 years. The developed APM seems to be informative and could have potential application in forensic analysis.     

Evaluating the forensic informativeness of mtDNA haplogroup H sub-typing on a Eurasian scale

The impact of phylogeographic information on mtDNA forensics has been limited to the quality control of published sequences and databases. In this work we use the information already available on Eurasian mtDNA phylogeography to guide the choice of coding-region SNPs for haplogroup H. This sub-typing is particularly important in forensics since, even when sequencing both HVRI and HVRII, the discriminating power is low in some Eurasian populations. We show that a small set (eight) of coding-region SNPs resolves a substantial proportion of the identical haplotypes, as defined by control-region variation alone. Moreover, this SNP set, while substantially increasing the discriminating efficiency in most Eurasian populations by roughly equal amounts, discloses population-specific profiles.     

Structural change, technology, and economic growth: Brazil and the CIBS in a comparative perspective

Schumpeterian growth theory stresses the role of structural change in long run growth. Countries which increase the share of technology-intensive sectors in their economic structures benefit more from technological learning and innovation. In addition, they are more able to respond to changes in the international markets and to compete in sectors whose demand grows at higher rates. The paper compares Brazil (and to a lesser extent the CIBS group of countries) from the point of view of the direction and intensity of structural change. It is suggested that structural change has been relatively weak in Brazil and that this has been associated with a less dynamic growth performance since the 1980s.     

A Feasibility Pilot Intervention Program to Teach Parenting Skills to Mothers of Poly-Victimized Children

The Parceria (Partnership) Project is a Brazilian intervention program designed for mothers with an intimate partner violence (IPV) history. Its short term goal is to teach parenting skills to abused women, and in the long term, to prevent behavioral problems in their children. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of the Parceria Project with mothers of children who had experienced multiple forms of maltreatment (poly-victimization), as it was expected that most of the mothers would also have a history of IPV. Seventeen Brazilian mothers took part in this intervention. They completed several types of evaluation. The intervention program using a cognitive-behavioral model took place in each family’s home. All mothers completed the intervention and evaluated the project positively. The study showed that it is feasible to conduct interventions with families who face severe psychosocial risk such as family violence.     

Citizenship and justice: public prosecutors in social contexts in Portugal

All over the world judicial systems are under tremendous pressure as the instruments used by citizens to access their full rights. The erosion of other state powers has transferred expectations of social intervention or, at least, protection for the rights of the weak and vulnerable, to the sphere of justice. Hence, in some countries the social role of judges or public prosecutors has become more important and their work is publicly scrutinised to ensure that their duties are performed correctly and fairly. In addition to criminal law, social areas of justice (concerning workers and children) have become more central to judicial systems, conferring a new public responsibility on these professionals.

In several countries, including Portugal, public prosecutors are unusual within the legal profession given that they have equal status in both social and criminal areas of law. In certain systems, public prosecutors may act as a party, defending the rights of powerless citizens and leading them through the judicial process. Such powers offer great potential for fairness and justice but at the same time can lead to dangerous professional controversies. Through an analysis of the Portuguese model, one of the more advanced of its kind (in terms of intervention), some of the main features will be described and identified.

Public prosecutors in Portugal have, for many years, been in charge of a set of very varied responsibilities within the context of the Family and Juvenile and Labour Courts which far exceed what is publicly acknowledged, particularly in criminal matters. However, their functions are not limited to those of the ‘public prosecutor’ or ‘coordinator of the investigation’ typically associated with responsibilities in criminal matters.

Within the context of these two major and socially sensitive areas, public prosecutors act as intermediaries between the different parties and entities involved in litigation, a fact which, in professional terms, endows them with features which are atypical of magistrates and places them in close contact with citizens. Thus, taking a case study based on the Coimbra Family and Juvenile and Labour Courts as its starting point, this paper aims to map out these formal and informal functions, which create a level of importance that is probably much higher than would have been expected, particularly given the lack of truly credible and effective alternatives that enable citizens to access law and justice.     

Case report of a criminal dismemberment in Northeast Brazil

Several decomposed body parts were received for examination by the Forensic Anthropology section of the Medico-legal Institute of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. The portions of the lower and upper limbs, ribs, vertebrae, and a skull were thoroughly examined. The biological profile indicated a male individual with an estimated age range between 23 and 57 years and a mean age of 35.2 years (SD = 9.4; phase IV, Suchey-Brooks). The skeleton showed injuries caused by sharp force and sharp-blunt force trauma that affected all body segments. Macroscopically, the lesions are mainly in the diaphyseal segments of the long bones, sacrum, pelvis, mandible, maxilla, scapulae, sternum, vertebrae, the distal epiphysis of the left fibula, and the distal epiphysis of the left tibia displayed characteristics compatible with injuries produced perimortem. It was not possible to determine the cause of death. DNA analysis resulted in a positive identification. Because of common difficulties faced in forensic practice, it is often not possible for forensic anthropologists to go to the crime scene, X-ray or body scanners are frequently unavailable, and the victim’s medical and/or dental records are sometimes absent. These difficulties make identification ultimately depend on genetic analysis, which is more time-consuming than other identification methods. Despite this, bone fragment examination in dismemberment cases is a complex task. Forensic Anthropology can shed light on cases involving the identification of dismembered remains, which are challenging because of the number of traumatic injuries, as well as different injury patterns, on bones.