TEXT I
Drones, robots, license plate readers: Police grapple with community concerns as they turn to tech for their Jobs
Last year, police in Mountain View, Calif., knew they had a potentially dangerous situation on their hands when a man barricaded himself inside an unlocked three-story townhouse along with the homeowners.
Police received a call from the homeowners, who said the man was armed with a knife. They didn’t know whether they could safely enter the home and they didn’t know the man’s intentions. So instead of taking any risk, police called in their trusty sidekick: A camera-equipped drone.
Officers on the ground used the drone to live stream video from the second- and third-floor windows, giving them the opportunity to assess the gravity of the situation and the location of the suspect. They quickly learned the man did not have any visible weapons on him.
“There was no risk to life, so we let him sit in there and did our best to communicate with him,” said Lt. Scott Nelson of the Mountain View Police Department. “No use of force was needed.”
Police across the United States are increasingly relying on emerging technologies to make their jobs more efficient. They are using drones, license plate readers, body cameras and gunshot detection systems to reduce injury and bodily harm. The move comes as some law enforcement agencies are struggling with retention and hiring during the pandemic, when hundreds of cops in cities including Los Angeles and New York were sidelined because of the spread of the coronavirus. As police departments determine which technologies to adopt, they are also grappling with growing concerns about privacy that these technologies bring and potential complications they could create for officers on the job.
“Tech can be a great tool for law enforcement to use,” said Sgt. James Smallwood, Nashville-based treasurer of the national Fraternal Order of Police. But “as with anything else, we have to balance the line of privacy and meeting the expectation to promote public safety.”
DJI, the Chinese tech company that makes many of the drones adopted by police departments, said more than 1,000 police departments across the country use some type of drone. Drones are proving to be a police force multiplier across the nation, aiding with everything from lost children to dangerous suspects to crash reconstruction. But Lisberg doesn’t think they’ll ever replace police officers.
“You need a sense of humanity at work in policing,” he said. “A drone is a tool that helps accomplish the goals [police] already have. [To] do it better, safely and more efficiently.”
Drones aren’t the only tech tools that police say have made them more efficient. More than 120 cities are using gunshot detection systems, which alert police to gunfire within the devices’ coverage area.
The systems use sensors and algorithms that can identify and determine which loud bangs are probably gunshots. Within about 60 seconds, they can alert police to the precise location in which the gunshots were heard. That allows police to better deploy their resources.
“Police chiefs are looking for innovative ways to deal with the responsibilities they have,” he said. “They’re finding ways to provide them even in areas where budgets are tight.”
To be sure, not all of the technology is proving to be positive, says Griffith of Houston’s police union. He noted that while tech can add a level of efficiency, it also can increase stress levels for officers, who have been experiencing increased scrutiny for excessive use of force and discriminatory practices in recent years. Body cameras, for example, can help police and the community better understand the details around an incident in which an officer resorted to use of force. But the cameras also can catch small, sometimes minor policy violations from police that don’t affect the overall outcome of any situation, such as whether a police officer buckled his seat belt before pressing the gas, Griffith said.
“We know that there will be more tech coming,” he said. “But we pray it’s something that will help [officers] and not make it to where they have to be perfect every minute of every day.”
Police also have to walk a fine line when it comes to implementing new technology, taking into account the community’s comfort level and privacy concerns, they say.
Farhang Heydari, executive director of the nonprofit Policing Project at New York University School of Law, said he’s mostly concerned with increasing access to private cameras and third-party databases and the ability to tie them together, which could create a new kind of surveillance, he said.
That has the potential to magnify some of the harms of policing, like the overenforcement of low-level crime or the exacerbation of racial disparities. Ultimately, Heydari says, police shouldn’t be charged with deciding on their own what technology to use. Regulators and communities should, he said.
ABRIL, Daniela. The Washington Post. March 9, 2022. Disponível em:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/09/police-technologies-future-of-work-dronesai-robots/ Acesso em: 21 janeiro 2024 (Texto adaptado).
De acordo com o texto I, qual a principal razão pela qual os departamentos de polícia estão a utilizar cada vez mais as tecnologias emergentes?
Read Text II and answer the five questions that follow it
Text II
Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equity in the Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program in Brazil
Women make up more than half of Brazil’s population and account for 47 million (~50%) of the labor market. Despite these numbers, women are still underrepresented in many sectors: they occupy 37% of leadership positions in private companies; only 15% and 13%, respectively, are federal Representatives and Senators; and only 12% of cities have women as mayors. The fewer women there are in leadership positions and in politics, the lower the representation and scope of their interests and needs.
Coupled with that, men’s wages are, on average, 24% higher than women’s who hold the same position. Furthermore, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 10.4 hours/week more than men to household chores and caring for family members (for example, children and the elderly), a type of work characterized as “domestic” and unpaid. As a result, women dedicate less time to professional improvement relative to men. The fewer women in mixed gender work teams, the less likely women are to excel in their roles and positions.
In Integrated Fire Management (IFM), women face similar challenges, whether in coordination roles or technical and operational ones. In Brazil, specifically, Solis and colleagues1 identified that there are no regulations or guidelines that promote multiculturalism and gender equity in the processes of hiring forest fire brigades. Although gender equity in IFM is recognized, in Brazil this debate is still informal and poorly documented.
1 Solis I, Vera J, Aguado RC, et al. Diagnóstico de Manejo do Fogo no Brasil. Brasília, Brasil, 2021.
Adapted from https://pcabhub.org/en-us/resources/general-publications/gender-and-fire-usfs.pdf
When the text mentions “hiring forest fire brigades” (3rd paragraph), it refers to the process of:
Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it
Text I
Impact of Climate Change on Firefighting Extends Beyond Wildfires
Global warming is often mentioned as a factor in the accelerating frequency and intensity of wildfires. However, there are other consequences of global warming that impact the fire service, including new hazards and medical emergencies, emerging training challenges, population migration, and technology developments.
Climate change is often discussed as a future event. However, the impact of wildfires is just the most obvious example of how climate change is already impacting the world, and fire and emergency personnel will be called on to mitigate the effects.
The most obvious and extreme impact of global warming can be seen in the increase of frequency and intensity of wildfires. Hotter and drier weather is extending the wildfire season (maybe to become year-round?). Higher temperatures, low humidity, less rainfall, and high wind increase the likelihood of wildfires.
Adapted from: https://www.thebigredguide.com/insights/impact-climate-change-firefighting-extends-wildfires-editor-s-dispatch.1645685564.html
To “increase the likelihood” (3rd paragraph) means to raise the:
Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it
Text I
Impact of Climate Change on Firefighting Extends Beyond Wildfires
Global warming is often mentioned as a factor in the accelerating frequency and intensity of wildfires. However, there are other consequences of global warming that impact the fire service, including new hazards and medical emergencies, emerging training challenges, population migration, and technology developments.
Climate change is often discussed as a future event. However, the impact of wildfires is just the most obvious example of how climate change is already impacting the world, and fire and emergency personnel will be called on to mitigate the effects.
The most obvious and extreme impact of global warming can be seen in the increase of frequency and intensity of wildfires. Hotter and drier weather is extending the wildfire season (maybe to become year-round?). Higher temperatures, low humidity, less rainfall, and high wind increase the likelihood of wildfires.
Adapted from: https://www.thebigredguide.com/insights/impact-climate-change-firefighting-extends-wildfires-editor-s-dispatch.1645685564.html
The opposite of “often” in “Climate change is often discussed” (2nd paragraph) is:
Text
In 2017, Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed introducing a “robot tax” that would temporarily slow the pace of automation and whose revenue could be used to “finance jobs taking care of elderly people or working with kids in schools, for which needs are unmet and to which humans are particularly well suited”. Since then, many researchers all over the world have weighed in on the idea, publishing proposals and findings on how such a tax might work in reality.What gave rise to this novel proposal? The first factor was a growing sense of alarm that the development of robots and artificial intelligence could
seriously alter our economy and society in the years to come. Indeed, some such changes are already unfolding. As technology develops, robots and AI may even be able to perform jobs that require specialized skills and knowledge, providing services like medical consultations and diagnosis, legal advice, and translation and interpreting. There is a growing sense
of anxiety about what the future portends. A second worry is the prospect of further social polarization. Wealth could become concentrated in the hands of those providing the ideas and capital for the development and use of AI, along with a small elite
of managers with the skills to harness the technology, while the situation for the majority of other workers displaced by technology becomes increasingly bleak. The social divide could be exacerbated as disparities grow between the haves and the have-nots. To prevent technological progress from tearing our societies apart, we must, in the short term, strengthen social safety nets to support workers who lose their jobs, and in the longer term, we will need to enhance educational and vocational training opportunities for work that only humans can perform. Needless to say, expanding safety nets and offering retraining will both require considerable fiscal resources. There are already concerns about safety-net inadequacies for workers in the expanding gig economy, prompting some to call for a basic income that would guarantee a minimum standard of living to everyone. This was the context that gave rise to the idea of a robot tax, which could slow down the pace of automation, at least temporarily, and give policymakers time to secure the resources for needed countermeasures. It is thus much more than just a tax proposal; it entails rethinking the role of public policy in an age when AI and robots are having an increasingly large impact on our lives. The issue goes to the heart of what we want public policy to address in the digital society of the future.
The main purpose of the text is to
Read Text II and answer the five questions that follow it
Text II
Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equity in the Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program in Brazil
Women make up more than half of Brazil’s population and account for 47 million (~50%) of the labor market. Despite these numbers, women are still underrepresented in many sectors: they occupy 37% of leadership positions in private companies; only 15% and 13%, respectively, are federal Representatives and Senators; and only 12% of cities have women as mayors. The fewer women there are in leadership positions and in politics, the lower the representation and scope of their interests and needs.
Coupled with that, men’s wages are, on average, 24% higher than women’s who hold the same position. Furthermore, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 10.4 hours/week more than men to household chores and caring for family members (for example, children and the elderly), a type of work characterized as “domestic” and unpaid. As a result, women dedicate less time to professional improvement relative to men. The fewer women in mixed gender work teams, the less likely women are to excel in their roles and positions.
In Integrated Fire Management (IFM), women face similar challenges, whether in coordination roles or technical and operational ones. In Brazil, specifically, Solis and colleagues1 identified that there are no regulations or guidelines that promote multiculturalism and gender equity in the processes of hiring forest fire brigades. Although gender equity in IFM is recognized, in Brazil this debate is still informal and poorly documented.
1 Solis I, Vera J, Aguado RC, et al. Diagnóstico de Manejo do Fogo no Brasil. Brasília, Brasil, 2021.
Adapted from https://pcabhub.org/en-us/resources/general-publications/gender-and-fire-usfs.pdf
The structure of the sentence “whether in coordination roles or technical and operational ones” (3rd paragraph) signals a(n):
Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it
Text I
Impact of Climate Change on Firefighting Extends Beyond Wildfires
Global warming is often mentioned as a factor in the accelerating frequency and intensity of wildfires. However, there are other consequences of global warming that impact the fire service, including new hazards and medical emergencies, emerging training challenges, population migration, and technology developments.
Climate change is often discussed as a future event. However, the impact of wildfires is just the most obvious example of how climate change is already impacting the world, and fire and emergency personnel will be called on to mitigate the effects.
The most obvious and extreme impact of global warming can be seen in the increase of frequency and intensity of wildfires. Hotter and drier weather is extending the wildfire season (maybe to become year-round?). Higher temperatures, low humidity, less rainfall, and high wind increase the likelihood of wildfires.
Adapted from: https://www.thebigredguide.com/insights/impact-climate-change-firefighting-extends-wildfires-editor-s-dispatch.1645685564.html
The function of the word “However” in “However, there are other consequences” (1st paragraph) is to introduce a:
Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it:
Text I
Energy Transition in a Transnational World
Within the sphere of environmental law, the climate crisis is
increasingly understood to be an intersectional challenge that
implicates and exacerbates existing systemic challenges and
prevailing pathways of inequality. From this vantage point climate
change also creates opportunities for rethinking the role of law in
limiting the destructive impacts of climate change and moving
towards a more sustainable and equitable world in the process.
This view is advanced by the climate justice movement, which is
swelling in influence worldwide. Drawing from the environmental
justice movement, the climate justice movement exposes not only
how social and economic inequality has led to and perpetuates
patterns of climate change, but also how climate change deepens
inequality by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable
members of society. Climate justice seeks greater emphasis on this
issue and advocates on the part of those most affected by climate
change. The movement envisions a world which simultaneously
curtails the negative effects of climate change and reshapes
existing social, political, and economic relationships along the way.
Amidst the overlapping crises of modern times, the modern
climate justice movement is reviving dialogue at the intersection of
feminism, environmentalism, social and economic justice, and other
progressive law reform movements, as well as creating the space
and momentum for intersectional ideas to flourish. For lawyers and
legal scholars, the opportunity is to see climate change and
environmental degradation within its broader social context and to
seize upon the rule of law as a powerful tool for change.
Nowhere are these intersecting challenges as acute as in the
context of energy. One of the principal aims of the climate justice
movement is to achieve a just and equitable transition from an
extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This requires
transitioning from fossil fuel-dependent to low and zero-carbon
economies. However, the pathways for overhauling energy
systems worldwide remain indeterminate. Energy systems are
evolving in response to a combination of law and policy changes,
developments in energy technologies, and market forces.
Moreover, given both the entrenched nature of fossil fuel
economies and the varied social, political, economic, and
environmental factors that shape energy transition, pathways to
decarbonization are bound to be beset with complex trade-offs,
such as those between energy security and environmental
objectives, or between energy choice and economies of scale. The
precise contours of these systemic changes vary from country to
country, and remain under-explored both within their national
contexts and from a broader transnational perspective. This
knowledge gap is critical. Understanding how, why, and to what
end states are restructuring their energy economies is essential for
transitioning to more environmentally sustainable and just
societies worldwide. In short, this is an area in need of
experimentation and iterative learning. It is a subject ripe for
greater scholarly focus, particularly at the transnational level,
where improved learning and sharing is indispensable for
achieving the global-level shifts needed to address climate change.
Adapted from: Etty, Thijs et al. “Energy Transition in a Transnational World.”
Transnational Environmental Law 10.2 (2021): 197–204. Available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/energy-transition-in-a-transnationalworld/9F9D4229588B39C0E5916DFBE82EA046
Analyse the statements below based on the text.
I. Climate justice supports the view that populations in
disadvantage are impervious to the effects of climate change.
II. Efforts to link up with different movements are being
expended by modern climate justice.
III. A keen understanding of how to revamp energy systems on a
global scale has been achieved.
Choose the correct answer:
Text II
Examining the fluff that frustrates northern China
Like most blizzards, it begins with just a few white wisps swirling
about. Gradually the volume increases and the stuff starts to
accumulate on the ground. During the heaviest downfalls the air is
so thick with it as to impair visibility. But this is no winter scene. It is
what happens every April across much of northern China, when
poplar trees start giving off their cotton-like seed-pods.
The phenomenon has already begun in Beijing. On April 8th an
eddy of fluff balls wafted around the American treasury secretary,
Janet Yellen, as she held a press conference in an embassy garden.
To call this a nuisance is an understatement. In many people
the fluff triggers allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems.
Experts say the white balls—produced by the trees’ catkins—are
not themselves allergenic, but that they distribute irritating pollen.
They also clog rain gutters, drain pipes and car radiators. Worse,
they pose a fire hazard. Officials have warned that the fuzz balls have
a low ignition point and called for extreme caution on the part of
smokers, welders or anyone inclined to burn them “out of curiosity”.
China’s catkin problem is the unintended consequence of an
old effort to improve the environment. Intensive tree planting
began in the 1950s with the aim of ending the scourge of
sandstorms caused by winds sweeping out of barren areas. The
trees were also meant to firm up the soil and slow desertification.
Poplar trees, along with willows, were selected because they are
cheap, fast-growing and drought-resistant.
In some ways the plan worked. Today sandstorms are less
severe and the threat of desertification has faded. But the annual
onslaught from catkins is another legacy. Female trees are the
cotton-ball culprits. There are millions of them (poplar and willow)
in Beijing alone.
Authorities have sought to mitigate the mess. The simplest way
is to spray water on the trees, turning the fluffy flyers into damp
squibs. More advanced solutions involve “birth control”, or injecting
female trees with chemicals that suppress catkin production.
Another option is “gender-reassignment surgery”, in which branches
on female trees are cut and replaced with male grafts.
But experts say that these efforts will take time. The good
news is that the flurries of poplar fluff will only last for a few more
weeks. The bad news is that wafts of willow fluff will then begin.
From: https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/18/examining-thefluff-that-frustrates-northern-china
In “a few white wisps swirling about” (1st paragraph) the verb
indicates a movement that is
Text I
Energy Transition in a Transnational World
Within the sphere of environmental law, the climate crisis is
increasingly understood to be an intersectional challenge that
implicates and exacerbates existing systemic challenges and
prevailing pathways of inequality. From this vantage point climate
change also creates opportunities for rethinking the role of law in
limiting the destructive impacts of climate change and moving
towards a more sustainable and equitable world in the process.
This view is advanced by the climate justice movement, which is
swelling in influence worldwide. Drawing from the environmental
justice movement, the climate justice movement exposes not only
how social and economic inequality has led to and perpetuates
patterns of climate change, but also how climate change deepens
inequality by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable
members of society. Climate justice seeks greater emphasis on this
issue and advocates on the part of those most affected by climate
change. The movement envisions a world which simultaneously
curtails the negative effects of climate change and reshapes
existing social, political, and economic relationships along the way.
Amidst the overlapping crises of modern times, the modern
climate justice movement is reviving dialogue at the intersection of
feminism, environmentalism, social and economic justice, and other
progressive law reform movements, as well as creating the space
and momentum for intersectional ideas to flourish. For lawyers and
legal scholars, the opportunity is to see climate change and
environmental degradation within its broader social context and to
seize upon the rule of law as a powerful tool for change.
Nowhere are these intersecting challenges as acute as in the
context of energy. One of the principal aims of the climate justice
movement is to achieve a just and equitable transition from an
extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This requires
transitioning from fossil fuel-dependent to low and zero-carbon
economies. However, the pathways for overhauling energy
systems worldwide remain indeterminate. Energy systems are
evolving in response to a combination of law and policy changes,
developments in energy technologies, and market forces.
Moreover, given both the entrenched nature of fossil fuel
economies and the varied social, political, economic, and
environmental factors that shape energy transition, pathways to
decarbonization are bound to be beset with complex trade-offs,
such as those between energy security and environmental
objectives, or between energy choice and economies of scale. The
precise contours of these systemic changes vary from country to
country, and remain under-explored both within their national
contexts and from a broader transnational perspective. This
knowledge gap is critical. Understanding how, why, and to what
end states are restructuring their energy economies is essential for
transitioning to more environmentally sustainable and just
societies worldwide. In short, this is an area in need of
experimentation and iterative learning. It is a subject ripe for
greater scholarly focus, particularly at the transnational level,
where improved learning and sharing is indispensable for
achieving the global-level shifts needed to address climate change.
Adapted from: Etty, Thijs et al. “Energy Transition in a Transnational World.”
Transnational Environmental Law 10.2 (2021): 197–204. Available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/energy-transition-in-a-transnationalworld/9F9D4229588B39C0E5916DFBE82EA046
The verb in “curtails the negative effects” (1st paragraph)
means to
Text CB1A8
The idea of giving rights to animals has long been contentious, but a deeper look into the reasoning behind the
philosophy reveals ideas that aren’t all that radical. Animal rights advocates want to distinguish animals from inanimate objects, as
they are so often considered by exploitative industries and the law. The animal rights movement strives to make the public
aware of the fact that animals are sensitive, emotional, and intelligent beings who deserve dignity and respect. But first, it’s
important to understand what the term “animal rights” really means.
Animal rights are moral principles grounded in the belief that non-human animals deserve the ability to live as they wish,
without being subjected to the desires of human beings. At the core of animal rights is autonomy, which is another way of
saying choice. In many countries, human rights are enshrined to protect certain freedoms, such as the right to expression, freedom
from torture, and access to democracy. Of course, these choices are constrained depending on social locations like race, class, and
gender, but generally speaking, human rights safeguard the basic tenets of what makes human lives worth living. Animal rights
aim to do something similar, only for non-human animals.
Animal rights come into direct opposition with animal exploitation, which includes animals used by humans for a
variety of reasons, be it for food, as experimental objects, or even pets. Animal rights can also be violated when it comes to human
destruction of animal habitats. This negatively impacts the ability of animals to lead full lives of their choosing.
Internet: <thehumaneleague.org > (adapted).
Considering the ideas and linguistic aspects of the text above, judge the items below.
The fragment “of the fact” (third sentence of the first paragraph), can be deleted without affecting the meaning or correctness of the original text.
Em relação ao contexto do romance “Vidas secas”, do autor Graciliano Ramos, analise as afirmativas abaixo e a seguir assinale a única opção INCORRETA:
Na frase "The move comes as some law enforcement agencies are struggling with retention and hiring during the pandemic", a utilização do termo "as" é determinante para transmitir uma relação específica entre as duas orações. Qual é a função gramatical do termo "as" neste contexto?
Read Text II and answer the five questions that follow it
Text II
Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equity in the Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program in Brazil
Women make up more than half of Brazil’s population and account for 47 million (~50%) of the labor market. Despite these numbers, women are still underrepresented in many sectors: they occupy 37% of leadership positions in private companies; only 15% and 13%, respectively, are federal Representatives and Senators; and only 12% of cities have women as mayors. The fewer women there are in leadership positions and in politics, the lower the representation and scope of their interests and needs.
Coupled with that, men’s wages are, on average, 24% higher than women’s who hold the same position. Furthermore, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 10.4 hours/week more than men to household chores and caring for family members (for example, children and the elderly), a type of work characterized as “domestic” and unpaid. As a result, women dedicate less time to professional improvement relative to men. The fewer women in mixed gender work teams, the less likely women are to excel in their roles and positions.
In Integrated Fire Management (IFM), women face similar challenges, whether in coordination roles or technical and operational ones. In Brazil, specifically, Solis and colleagues1 identified that there are no regulations or guidelines that promote multiculturalism and gender equity in the processes of hiring forest fire brigades. Although gender equity in IFM is recognized, in Brazil this debate is still informal and poorly documented.
1 Solis I, Vera J, Aguado RC, et al. Diagnóstico de Manejo do Fogo no Brasil. Brasília, Brasil, 2021.
Adapted from https://pcabhub.org/en-us/resources/general-publications/gender-and-fire-usfs.pdf
“Furthermore” in “Furthermore, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 10.4 hours/week” (2nd paragraph) can be replaced without significant change in meaning by:
Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it
Text I
Impact of Climate Change on Firefighting Extends Beyond Wildfires
Global warming is often mentioned as a factor in the accelerating frequency and intensity of wildfires. However, there are other consequences of global warming that impact the fire service, including new hazards and medical emergencies, emerging training challenges, population migration, and technology developments.
Climate change is often discussed as a future event. However, the impact of wildfires is just the most obvious example of how climate change is already impacting the world, and fire and emergency personnel will be called on to mitigate the effects.
The most obvious and extreme impact of global warming can be seen in the increase of frequency and intensity of wildfires. Hotter and drier weather is extending the wildfire season (maybe to become year-round?). Higher temperatures, low humidity, less rainfall, and high wind increase the likelihood of wildfires.
Adapted from: https://www.thebigredguide.com/insights/impact-climate-change-firefighting-extends-wildfires-editor-s-dispatch.1645685564.html
Based on Text I, mark the statements below as TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).
I. The effects of climate change exclude wildfires.
II. Global warming is not a current problem.
III. The number of wildfires has been on the rise.
The statements are, respectively: