Building national people-centered early warning systems (EWS) is strongly recommended by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). Most of the scientific literature is critical of the conventional view of EWS as a linear model with a topdown approach, in which technological features are given more attention than human factors. It is argued that EWS should be people-centered, and used for risk prevention, with an emphasis on resilience, rather than only being triggered when a hazard occurs. However, both the UNISDR and the literature fail to say how a people-centered EWS should be built, and what steps are needed to put EWS into effect. This article examines the obstacles and measures required to promote people-centered EWS, with a focus on the situation in Brazil. After assessing the institutional vulnerability of EWS, we analyze some measures that can be taken to reduce institutional vulnerability, based on experiences with a participatory citizen science educational project that involved high school students. Some guidelines are developed for adopting a bottom-up approach towards achieving the four elements of EWSrisk knowledge, monitoring, communication of warnings, and response capability-with the help of school curricula.

Interactions between yeasts and lactic acid bacteria are strain specific, and their outcome is expected to change in simultaneous alcoholic - malolactic fermentations from the pattern observed in successive fermentations. One Oenococcus oeni strain Lalvin VP41™ was inoculated with two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains either simultaneously, three days after the yeast inoculation, or when alcoholic fermentation was close to finish. Early bacterial inoculations with each yeast strain allowed for the growth of the bacterial populations, and the length of malolactic fermentation was reduced to six days. Alcoholic fermentation by Lalvin ICV D80® yeast strain left the highest residual sugar, suggesting a negative effect of the bacterial growth and malolactic activity on its performance. In sequential inoculations the bacterial populations did not show actual growth with either yeast strain. In this strategy, both yeast strains finished the alcoholic fermentations, and malolactic fermentations took longer to finish. Lalvin ICV D80® allowed for higher viability and activity of the bacterial strain than Fermicru UY4® under the three inoculation strategies. This was beneficial for the sequential completion of both fermentations, but negatively affected the completion of alcoholic fermentation by Lalvin ICV D80® in the early bacteria additions. Conversely, Fermicru UY4®, which was rather inhibitory towards the bacteria, favored the timely completion of both fermentations simultaneously. As bacteria in early inoculations with low or no SO2 addition can be expected to multiply and interact with fermenting yeasts, not only are the yeast-bacterium strains combination and time point of the inoculation to be considered, but also the amount of bacteria inoculated.

Os Complexos Convectivos de Mesoescala (CCM) são aglomerados organizados de nuvens convectivas, que atingem com freqüência a Região Sul do Brasil e produzem uma grande variedade de desastres. Este trabalho identificou os CCMs ocorridos entre outubro e dezembro de 2003 no Rio Grande do Sul (RS) e avaliou os desastres associados aos eventos. A identificação dos CCMs foi feita através do aplicativo ForTraCC - DSA/INPE. O levantamento das ocorrências de desastres foi realizado a partir do cruzamento dos dias de eventos de CCM com as informações da Defesa Civil do RS (DCRS) e do Jornal Correio do Povo. Foram identificados 22 eventos de CCM no período, responsáveis por 42 episódios de vendaval, 21 de enxurrada, 14 de enchente, cinco de granizo associado à vendaval, três de granizo, dois de alagamento, dois de inundação e um deslizamento, totalizando 90 ocorrências. Houve registro de seis mortes no RS e cinco em Santo Tomé na Argentina, fronteira com o Estado. Mais de 16.500 pessoas foram atingidas e cerca de 60% dos municípios que comunicaram desastres à DCRS decretaram situação de emergência. Em média, a cada quatro eventos de CCM, três produziram algum tipo de desastre no RS.

No abstract

Este trabalho teve por objetivo apresentar um diagnóstico da situação de vulnerabilidade das escolas perante desastres socioambientais no Brasil. Foi possível identificar cinco tipologias principais de impacto: sobre a integridade física das pessoas, sobre a rotina da escola por mudança de uso e ocupação em situação de desastre, sobre a estrutura física do edifício, sobre os materiais e equipamentos escolares e sobre o exercício educativo propriamente dito. Por fim, ressalta-se que os formuladores de políticas e os gestores da área de gestão de riscos e de desastres precisam envolver o setor educativo na formulação de políticas para reduzir sua própria vulnerabilidade.

No abstract

Os Complexos Convectivos de Mesoescala (CCM) são aglomerados organizados de nuvens convectivas, que atingem com frequência a Região Sul do Brasil e produzem uma grande variedade de desastres. Este trabalho identificou os CCM ocorridos entre outubro e dezembro de 2003 no Rio Grande do Sul (RS) e avaliou os desastres associados aos eventos. A identificação dos CCM foi feita através do aplicativo ForTraCC - DSA/INPE. O levantamento das ocorrências de desastres foi feito a partir do cruzamento dos dias de eventos de CCM com as informações da Defesa Civil do RS (DCRS) e do Jornal Correio do Povo. Foram identificados 22 eventos de CCM no período, responsáveis por 42 episódios de vendaval, 21 de enxurrada, 14 de enchente, cinco de granizo associado à vendaval, três de granizo, dois de alagamento, dois de inundação e um deslizamento, totalizando 90 ocorrências. Houve registro de seis mortes no RS e cinco em Santo Tomé na Argentina, fronteira com o Estado. Mais de 16.500 pessoas foram atingidas e cerca de 60% dos municípios que comunicaram desastres à DCRS decretaram situação de emergência. Em média, a cada quatro eventos de CCM, três produziram algum tipo de desastre no RS.

In Latin America, there is an increasing interest in the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based, family-centered interventions to prevent youth behavioral problems. While families’ participation in interventions is integral to achieving the interventions’ desired impact, little is known about what predicts Latin American families’ attendance. The current study provides a unique opportunity to explore the participation of families living in the United States, Ecuador, and Chile in an evidence-based intervention, Familias Unidas. We tested for differences in attendance rates, family functioning variables, and adolescent behavioral problem variables, then applied a hierarchical multiple regression to (a) identify which variables significantly predicted program attendance and (b) assess whether the country in which the intervention was implemented in moderated the relationship between predictors and program attendance. On average, Chilean and Ecuadorian parents were more engaged and attended more sessions than parents living in the United States. Across samples, there was significant differences in family functioning and adolescent behavioral problem variables. However, effective parent–adolescent communication was the only significant predictor of lower program attendance. A significant interaction effect revealed that even though Chilean parents had high parent–adolescent communication, they were more likely to attend sessions, compared to parents living in the United States. We highlight the promise of engaging and retaining families, across U.S. and Latin American samples, into a culturally syntonic, family-based intervention, and discuss potential explanations for success in Chile and Ecuador. Researchers interested in implementing interventions in Latin America could utilize these findings to better target participants and intervention efforts.