diff --git a/app/controllers/public/chat_controller.rb b/app/controllers/public/chat_controller.rb
index 235b3bd..bd834cb 100644
--- a/app/controllers/public/chat_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/public/chat_controller.rb
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class ChatController < PublicController
   def avatar
     profile = environment.profiles.find_by_identifier(params[:id])
     filename, mimetype = profile_icon(profile, :minor, true)
-    data = File.read(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', filename))
+    data = File.read(Rails.root.join('public', filename))
     render :text => data, :layout => false, :content_type => mimetype
     expires_in 24.hours
   end
diff --git a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
index dccd2cd..4a03313 100644
--- a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
     raise ArgumentError, 'No profile actions view for this class.' if klass.nil?
 
     name = klass.name.underscore
-    return "blocks/profile_info_actions/" + name + '.html.erb' if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'app', 'views', 'blocks', 'profile_info_actions', name + '.html.erb'))
+    return "blocks/profile_info_actions/" + name + '.html.erb' if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('app', 'views', 'blocks', 'profile_info_actions', name + '.html.erb'))
 
     view_for_profile_actions(klass.superclass)
   end
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
       "\n" +
       sources.flatten.map do |source|
         filename = filename_for_stylesheet(source.to_s, themed_source)
-        if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', filename))
+        if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', filename))
           "@import url(#{filename});\n"
         else
           "/* Not included: url(#{filename}) */\n"
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
           if Rails.env == 'development' && environment.theme == 'random'
             @random_theme ||= Dir.glob('public/designs/themes/*').map { |f| File.basename(f) }.rand
             @random_theme
-          elsif Rails.env == 'development' && params[:theme] && File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/themes', params[:theme]))
+          elsif Rails.env == 'development' && params[:theme] && File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public/designs/themes', params[:theme]))
             params[:theme]
           else
             if profile && !profile.theme.nil?
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
     # XXX Since we cannot control what people are doing in external themes, we
     # will keep looking for the deprecated .rhtml extension here.
     ['.rhtml', '.html.erb'].each do |ext|
-      file = File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, template + ext)
+      file = Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, template + ext)
       if File.exists?(file)
         return render :file => file, :use_full_path => false
       end
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
 
   def theme_favicon
     return '/designs/themes/' + current_theme + '/favicon.ico' if profile.nil? || profile.theme.nil?
-    if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, 'favicon.ico'))
+    if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, 'favicon.ico'))
       '/designs/themes/' + profile.theme + '/favicon.ico'
     else
       favicon = profile.articles.find_by_path('favicon.ico')
@@ -478,7 +478,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
   end
 
   def default_or_themed_icon(icon)
-    if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, icon))
+    if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, icon))
       theme_path + icon
     else
       icon
@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
         compact.uniq.map do |c|
           cat_name = c.gsub( /[-_\s,.;'"]+/, '_' )
           cat_icon = "/images/icons-cat/#{cat_name}.png"
-          if ! File.exists? RAILS_ROOT.to_s() + '/public/' + cat_icon
+          if ! File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', cat_icon))
             cat_icon = '/images/icons-cat/undefined.png'
           end
           content_tag('span',
@@ -711,7 +711,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
 
   def theme_javascript_ng
     script = File.join(theme_path, 'theme.js')
-    if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', script))
+    if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', script))
       javascript_include_tag script
     else
       nil
@@ -923,7 +923,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
     theme_icon_themes = theme_option(:icon_theme) || []
     for icon_theme in theme_icon_themes do
       theme_path = "/designs/icons/#{icon_theme}/style.css"
-      if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path))
+      if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path))
         icon_themes << theme_path
       end
     end
@@ -1116,7 +1116,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
   def render_environment_features(folder)
     result = ''
     environment.enabled_features.keys.each do |feature|
-      file = File.join(Rails.root, 'app/views/shared', folder.to_s, "#{feature}.html.erb")
+      file = Rails.root.join('app/views/shared', folder.to_s, "#{feature}.html.erb")
       if File.exists?(file)
         result << render(:file => file, :use_full_path => false)
       end
diff --git a/app/helpers/content_viewer_helper.rb b/app/helpers/content_viewer_helper.rb
index 6bfbffb..d960459 100644
--- a/app/helpers/content_viewer_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/content_viewer_helper.rb
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ module ContentViewerHelper
   end
 
   def addthis_image_tag
-    if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, 'images', 'addthis.gif'))
+    if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, 'images', 'addthis.gif'))
       image_tag(File.join(theme_path, 'images', 'addthis.gif'), :border => 0, :alt => '')
     else
       image_tag("/images/bt-bookmark.gif", :width => 53, :height => 16, :border => 0, :alt => '')
diff --git a/app/helpers/display_helper.rb b/app/helpers/display_helper.rb
index a0514d6..496e3b6 100644
--- a/app/helpers/display_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/display_helper.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ module DisplayHelper
   end
 
   def themed_path(file)
-    if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, file))
+    if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, file))
       File.join(theme_path, file)
     else
       file
diff --git a/app/helpers/layout_helper.rb b/app/helpers/layout_helper.rb
index 85b3cb8..8c26e6f 100644
--- a/app/helpers/layout_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/layout_helper.rb
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ module LayoutHelper
     theme_icon_themes = theme_option(:icon_theme) || []
     for icon_theme in theme_icon_themes do
       theme_path = "/designs/icons/#{icon_theme}/style.css"
-      if File.exists?(File.join(RAILS_ROOT, 'public', theme_path))
+      if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path))
         icon_themes << theme_path
       end
     end
diff --git a/app/models/article.rb b/app/models/article.rb
index 1d485f0..bde00c3 100644
--- a/app/models/article.rb
+++ b/app/models/article.rb
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   def reported_version(options = {})
     article = self
-    search_path = File.join(Rails.root, 'app', 'views', 'shared', 'reported_versions')
+    search_path = Rails.root.join('app', 'views', 'shared', 'reported_versions')
     partial_path = File.join('shared', 'reported_versions', partial_for_class_in_view_path(article.class, search_path))
     lambda { render_to_string(:partial => partial_path, :locals => {:article => article}) }
   end
diff --git a/app/models/doc_item.rb b/app/models/doc_item.rb
index e27b5d2..9c68e06 100644
--- a/app/models/doc_item.rb
+++ b/app/models/doc_item.rb
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class DocItem
       search_path.unshift("/designs/themes/#{theme}#{translation}") # higher priority
       search_path.push("/designs/themes/#{theme}#{image}") # lower priority
     end
-    search_path.find {|file| File.exist?("#{Rails.root}/public#{file}") }
+    search_path.find {|file| File.exist?(Rails.root.join('public', file[1..-1])) }
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/app/models/doc_section.rb b/app/models/doc_section.rb
index 43493f4..2d724e6 100644
--- a/app/models/doc_section.rb
+++ b/app/models/doc_section.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 class DocSection < DocItem
 
   def self.root_dir
-    @root_dir ||= File.join(Rails.root, 'doc', 'noosfero')
+    @root_dir ||= Rails.root.join('doc', 'noosfero')
   end
 
   def items
diff --git a/app/models/layout_template.rb b/app/models/layout_template.rb
index 28d25fb..674f415 100644
--- a/app/models/layout_template.rb
+++ b/app/models/layout_template.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ class LayoutTemplate
   end
 
   def self.all
-    Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'designs', 'templates', '*')).map {|item| find(File.basename(item)) }
+    Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'templates', '*')).map {|item| find(File.basename(item)) }
   end
 
   attr_reader :id
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class LayoutTemplate
   protected
 
   def read_config
-    @config = YAML.load_file(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'designs', 'templates', id, 'config.yml'))
+    @config = YAML.load_file(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'templates', id, 'config.yml'))
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/app/models/slideshow_block.rb b/app/models/slideshow_block.rb
index 61eadd4..7c8a907 100644
--- a/app/models/slideshow_block.rb
+++ b/app/models/slideshow_block.rb
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ class SlideshowBlock < Block
 
   def check_filename(image, size)
     filename = image.public_filename(size)
-    if File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', filename))
+    if File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', filename))
       filename
     else
       nil
diff --git a/app/models/spammer_logger.rb b/app/models/spammer_logger.rb
index 5ab87e4..5117bb8 100644
--- a/app/models/spammer_logger.rb
+++ b/app/models/spammer_logger.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 class SpammerLogger < Logger
-  @logpath = File.join(Rails.root, 'log', "#{ENV['RAILS_ENV']}_spammers.log")
+  @logpath = Rails.root.join('log', "#{ENV['RAILS_ENV']}_spammers.log")
   @logger = new(@logpath)
 
   def self.log(spammer_ip, object=nil)
diff --git a/app/models/theme.rb b/app/models/theme.rb
index 3b33bff..fbb2e39 100644
--- a/app/models/theme.rb
+++ b/app/models/theme.rb
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ class Theme
     end
 
     def user_themes_dir
-      File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'user_themes')
+      Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes')
     end
 
     def system_themes_dir
-      File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'designs', 'themes')
+      Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes')
     end
 
     def create(id, attributes = {})
diff --git a/app/models/uploaded_file.rb b/app/models/uploaded_file.rb
index 01304d5..64f69a6 100644
--- a/app/models/uploaded_file.rb
+++ b/app/models/uploaded_file.rb
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class UploadedFile < Article
   end
 
   def thumbnail_path
-    self.image? ? self.full_filename(:display).gsub(File.join(Rails.root, 'public'), '') : nil
+    self.image? ? self.full_filename(:display).gsub(Rails.root.join('public'), '') : nil
   end
 
   def display_title
diff --git a/app/views/layouts/_javascript.html.erb b/app/views/layouts/_javascript.html.erb
index 8f82b2b..a9adffa 100644
--- a/app/views/layouts/_javascript.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/layouts/_javascript.html.erb
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@
 <% language = FastGettext.locale %>
 <% %w{messages methods}.each do |type| %>
   <% require_path = File.join('jquery-validation', 'localization', type+'_'+language) %>
-  <% full_path = File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'javascripts', require_path+'.js')%>
+  <% full_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'javascripts', require_path+'.js')%>
   <%= javascript_include_tag require_path if File.exists?(full_path) %>
 <% end %>
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index 1cc6379..05aa214 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ module Noosfero
     # -- all .rb files in that directory are automatically loaded.
 
     # Custom directories with classes and modules you want to be autoloadable.
-    config.autoload_paths += %W( #{Rails.root}/app/sweepers )
+    config.autoload_paths += %W( #{Rails.root.join('app', 'sweepers')} )
     config.autoload_paths += Dir["#{config.root}/lib/**/"]
     config.autoload_paths += Dir["#{config.root}/app/controllers/**/"]
 
diff --git a/config/environment.rb b/config/environment.rb
index ff96097..22e8939 100644
--- a/config/environment.rb
+++ b/config/environment.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ require File.expand_path('../application', __FILE__)
 
 # extra directories for controllers organization 
 extra_controller_dirs = %w[
-].map {|item| File.join(Rails.root, item) }
+].map {|item| Rails.root.join(item) }
 
 # Add new inflection rules using the following format 
 # (all these examples are active by default):
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ require 'noosfero'
 
 # load a local configuration if present, but not under test environment.
 if !['test', 'cucumber'].include?(ENV['RAILS_ENV'])
-  localconfigfile = File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'local.rb')
+  localconfigfile = Rails.root.join('config', 'local.rb')
   if File.exists?(localconfigfile)
     require localconfigfile
   end
diff --git a/config/environments/cucumber.rb b/config/environments/cucumber.rb
index 93c057a..9d6c1bc 100644
--- a/config/environments/cucumber.rb
+++ b/config/environments/cucumber.rb
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ config.action_controller.allow_forgery_protection    = false
 # ActionMailer::Base.deliveries array.
 config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :test
 
-config.gem 'cucumber-rails',   :lib => false, :version => '>=0.3.2' unless File.directory?(File.join(Rails.root, 'vendor/plugins/cucumber-rails'))
-config.gem 'database_cleaner', :lib => false, :version => '>=0.5.0' unless File.directory?(File.join(Rails.root, 'vendor/plugins/database_cleaner'))
-config.gem 'capybara',         :lib => false, :version => '>=0.3.5' unless File.directory?(File.join(Rails.root, 'vendor/plugins/capybara'))
+config.gem 'cucumber-rails',   :lib => false, :version => '>=0.3.2' unless File.directory?(Rails.root.join('vendor/plugins/cucumber-rails'))
+config.gem 'database_cleaner', :lib => false, :version => '>=0.5.0' unless File.directory?(Rails.root.join('vendor/plugins/database_cleaner'))
+config.gem 'capybara',         :lib => false, :version => '>=0.3.5' unless File.directory?(Rails.root.join('vendor/plugins/capybara'))
 
diff --git a/config/initializers/01_load_config.rb b/config/initializers/01_load_config.rb
index d43aad9..a808d85 100644
--- a/config/initializers/01_load_config.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/01_load_config.rb
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-file = "#{Rails.root}/config/noosfero.yml"
+file = Rails.root.join('config', 'noosfero.yml')
 NOOSFERO_CONF = File.exists?(file) ? YAML.load_file(file)[RAILS_ENV] || {} : {}
diff --git a/config/initializers/default_icon_theme.rb b/config/initializers/default_icon_theme.rb
index 1bfc372..55b7ae1 100644
--- a/config/initializers/default_icon_theme.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/default_icon_theme.rb
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 if File.writable?(Rails.root)
   # create the symlink to the default theme if it does not exist
-  default = File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'designs', 'icons', 'default')
+  default = Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'icons', 'default')
   if !File.exists?(default)
     File.symlink('tango', default)
   end
 
   # create a symlink to system-wide Tango icon set if it does not exist
-  tango_symlink = File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'designs', 'icons', 'tango', 'Tango')
+  tango_symlink = Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'icons', 'tango', 'Tango')
   if !File.exist?(tango_symlink)
     File.symlink('/usr/share/icons/Tango', tango_symlink)
   end
diff --git a/config/initializers/default_theme.rb b/config/initializers/default_theme.rb
index 893c071..42dcaee 100644
--- a/config/initializers/default_theme.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/default_theme.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 if File.writable?(Rails.root)
   # create the symlink to the default theme if it does not exist
-  default = File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'designs', 'themes', 'default')
+  default = Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'default')
   if !File.exists?(default)
     File.symlink('noosfero', default)
   end
diff --git a/lib/noosfero.rb b/lib/noosfero.rb
index f19b7d0..5031233 100644
--- a/lib/noosfero.rb
+++ b/lib/noosfero.rb
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ module Noosfero
   private
 
   def self.controllers_in_directory(dir)
-    app_controller_path = Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'app', 'controllers', dir, '*_controller.rb'))
+    app_controller_path = Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('app', 'controllers', dir, '*_controller.rb'))
     app_controller_path.map do |item|
       item.gsub(/^.*\/([^\/]+)_controller.rb$/, '\1')
     end
diff --git a/lib/noosfero/multi_tenancy.rb b/lib/noosfero/multi_tenancy.rb
index d3c49cf..dfe97c6 100644
--- a/lib/noosfero/multi_tenancy.rb
+++ b/lib/noosfero/multi_tenancy.rb
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ module Noosfero
     private
 
     def self.load_map
-      db_file = File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'database.yml')
+      db_file = Rails.root.join('config', 'database.yml')
       db_config = YAML.load_file(db_file)
       map = { }
       db_config.each do |env, attr|
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ module Noosfero
     end
 
     def self.is_hosted_environment?
-      db_file = File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'database.yml')
+      db_file = Rails.root.join('config', 'database.yml')
       db_config = YAML.load_file(db_file)
       db_config.select{ |env, attr| Rails.env.to_s.match(/_#{env}$/) }.any?
     end
diff --git a/lib/noosfero/plugin.rb b/lib/noosfero/plugin.rb
index 5d2a462..9b6cd9b 100644
--- a/lib/noosfero/plugin.rb
+++ b/lib/noosfero/plugin.rb
@@ -69,9 +69,9 @@ class Noosfero::Plugin
     def enabled
       @enabled ||=
         begin
-          plugins = Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'plugins', '*'))
-          if Rails.env.test? && !plugins.include?(File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'plugins', 'foo'))
-            plugins << File.join(Rails.root, 'plugins', 'foo')
+          plugins = Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('config', 'plugins', '*'))
+          if Rails.env.test? && !plugins.include?(Rails.root.join('config', 'plugins', 'foo'))
+            plugins << Rails.root.join('plugins', 'foo')
           end
           plugins.select do |entry|
             File.directory?(entry)
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ class Noosfero::Plugin
     end
 
     def root_path
-      File.join(Rails.root, 'plugins', public_name)
+      Rails.root.join('plugins', public_name)
     end
 
     def view_path
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ class Noosfero::Plugin
   end
 
   def expanded_template(file_path, locals = {})
-    views_path = "#{Rails.root}/plugins/#{self.class.public_name}/views"
+    views_path = Rails.root.join('plugins', "#{self.class.public_name}", 'views')
     ERB.new(File.read("#{views_path}/#{file_path}")).result(binding)
   end
 
diff --git a/lib/noosfero/plugin/mailer_base.rb b/lib/noosfero/plugin/mailer_base.rb
index efd74b1..771a6a6 100644
--- a/lib/noosfero/plugin/mailer_base.rb
+++ b/lib/noosfero/plugin/mailer_base.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 class Noosfero::Plugin::MailerBase < ActionMailer::Base
 
   def self.inherited(child)
-    child.template_root = File.expand_path(File.join(Rails.root, 'plugins', child.plugin_name, 'views'))
+    child.template_root = File.expand_path(Rails.root.join('plugins', child.plugin_name, 'views'))
   end
 
   def self.plugin_name
diff --git a/lib/noosfero/plugin/routes.rb b/lib/noosfero/plugin/routes.rb
index fd98574..b7428d5 100644
--- a/lib/noosfero/plugin/routes.rb
+++ b/lib/noosfero/plugin/routes.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 plugins_root = Rails.env.test? ? 'plugins' : File.join('config', 'plugins')
 
-Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, plugins_root, '*', 'controllers')) do |controllers_dir|
+Dir.glob(Rails.root.join(plugins_root, '*', 'controllers')) do |controllers_dir|
   prefixes_by_folder = {'public' => 'plugin',
                         'profile' => 'profile/:profile/plugin',
                         'myprofile' => 'myprofile/:profile/plugin',
diff --git a/lib/postgresql_attachment_fu.rb b/lib/postgresql_attachment_fu.rb
index 98ae7fb..dba629f 100644
--- a/lib/postgresql_attachment_fu.rb
+++ b/lib/postgresql_attachment_fu.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ module PostgresqlAttachmentFu
     def full_filename(thumbnail = nil)
       file_system_path = (thumbnail ? thumbnail_class : self).attachment_options[:path_prefix].to_s
       file_system_path = File.join(file_system_path, ActiveRecord::Base.connection.schema_search_path) if ActiveRecord::Base.postgresql? and Noosfero::MultiTenancy.on?
-      File.join(Rails.root, file_system_path, *partitioned_path(thumbnail_name_for(thumbnail)))
+      Rails.root.join(file_system_path, *partitioned_path(thumbnail_name_for(thumbnail)))
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/lib/tasks/cucumber.rake b/lib/tasks/cucumber.rake
index 7db1a55..e75f59f 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/cucumber.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/cucumber.rake
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 unless ARGV.any? {|a| a =~ /^gems/} # Don't load anything when running the gems:* tasks
 
-vendored_cucumber_bin = Dir["#{Rails.root}/vendor/{gems,plugins}/cucumber*/bin/cucumber"].first
+vendored_cucumber_bin = Dir[Rails.root.join('vendor', '{gems,plugins}', 'cucumber*', 'bin', 'cucumber')].first
 $LOAD_PATH.unshift(File.dirname(vendored_cucumber_bin) + '/../lib') unless vendored_cucumber_bin.nil?
 
 begin
diff --git a/lib/tasks/doc.rake b/lib/tasks/doc.rake
index 0d065e6..be860d9 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/doc.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/doc.rake
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ namespace :noosfero do
     end
     task :link_plugins_textiles do
       plugins_textiles.each do |file|
-        ln_sf File.join(Rails.root, file), 'doc/noosfero/plugins/'
+        ln_sf Rails.root.join(file), 'doc/noosfero/plugins/'
       end
     end
     task :unlink_plugins_textiles do
-      rm_f Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'doc/noosfero/plugins/*.textile')) -
-        [File.join(Rails.root, 'doc/noosfero/plugins/index.textile')]
+      rm_f Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('doc/noosfero/plugins/*.textile')) -
+        [Rails.root.join('doc/noosfero/plugins/index.textile')]
     end
     input = Dir.glob('doc/noosfero/**/*.textile') + plugins_textiles.map{|i| "doc/noosfero/plugins/#{File.basename(i)}"}
     topics_xhtml = input.map { |item| item.sub('.textile', '.en.xhtml') }.uniq
diff --git a/lib/tasks/error_messages.rake b/lib/tasks/error_messages.rake
index e802376..761e34c 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/error_messages.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/error_messages.rake
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-templates = Dir.glob(Rails.root + '/public/*.html.erb')
+templates = Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('public', '*.html.erb'))
 targets = []
 templates.each do |template|
   target = template.gsub(/.erb$/, '')
diff --git a/lib/tasks/gettext.rake b/lib/tasks/gettext.rake
index cf12e69..72d9df9 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/gettext.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/gettext.rake
@@ -21,14 +21,14 @@ task :symlinkmo do
   langmap = {
     'pt' => 'pt_BR',
   }
-  mkdir_p(File.join(Rails.root, 'locale'))
-  Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'locale/*')).each do |dir|
+  mkdir_p(Rails.root.join('locale'))
+  Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('locale/*')).each do |dir|
     lang = File.basename(dir)
     orig_lang = langmap[lang] || lang
-    mkdir_p("#{Rails.root}/locale/#{lang}/LC_MESSAGES")
+    mkdir_p(Rails.root.join('locale', "#{lang}", 'LC_MESSAGES'))
     ['iso_3166'].each do |domain|
       origin = "/usr/share/locale/#{orig_lang}/LC_MESSAGES/#{domain}.mo"
-      target = "#{Rails.root}/locale/#{lang}/LC_MESSAGES/#{domain}.mo"
+      target = Rails.root.join('locale', "#{lang}", 'LC_MESSAGES', "#{domain}.mo")
       if !File.symlink?(target)
         ln_s origin, target
       end
diff --git a/lib/tasks/multitenancy.rake b/lib/tasks/multitenancy.rake
index 15d2669..1e25dcb 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/multitenancy.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/multitenancy.rake
@@ -2,14 +2,14 @@ namespace :multitenancy do
 
   task :create do
     db_envs = ActiveRecord::Base.configurations.keys.select{ |k| k.match(/_development$|_production$|_test$/) }
-    cd File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'environments'), :verbose => true
+    cd Rails.root.join('config', 'environments'), :verbose => true
     file_envs = Dir.glob "{*_development.rb,*_prodution.rb,*_test.rb}"
     (db_envs.map{ |e| e + '.rb' } - file_envs).each { |env| ln_s env.split('_').last, env }
   end
 
   task :remove do
     db_envs = ActiveRecord::Base.configurations.keys.select{ |k| k.match(/_development$|_production$|_test$/) }
-    cd File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'environments'), :verbose => true
+    cd Rails.root.join('config', 'environments'), :verbose => true
     file_envs = Dir.glob "{*_development.rb,*_prodution.rb,*_test.rb}"
     (file_envs - db_envs.map{ |e| e + '.rb' }).each { |env| safe_unlink env }
   end
diff --git a/lib/tasks/plugins.rake b/lib/tasks/plugins.rake
index 94bb6c2..53f5373 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/plugins.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/plugins.rake
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 namespace :noosfero do
   namespace :plugins do
-    plugin_migration_dirs = Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'config', 'plugins', '*', 'db', 'migrate'))
+    plugin_migration_dirs = Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('config', 'plugins', '*', 'db', 'migrate'))
     task :migrate do
       plugin_migration_dirs.each do |path|
         ActiveRecord::Migrator.migrate(path, ENV["VERSION"] ? ENV["VERSION"].to_i : nil)
diff --git a/lib/tasks/po.rake b/lib/tasks/po.rake
index d56164b..71ece25 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/po.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/po.rake
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ namespace :po do
     puts "+----------+----------+------------+--------+--------------+"
     puts "| Language | Messages | Translated |  Fuzzy | Untranslated |"
     puts "+----------+----------+------------+--------+--------------+"
-    Dir.glob(Rails.root + '/po/*/noosfero.po').each do |file|
+    Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('po', '*', 'noosfero.po')).each do |file|
       language = File.basename(File.dirname(file))
       output = `msgfmt --output /dev/null --statistics #{file} 2>&1`
       translated   = extract_po_stat('translated', output)
diff --git a/lib/tasks/test_rcov.rake b/lib/tasks/test_rcov.rake
index 39e92b8..6ec0f0a 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/test_rcov.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/test_rcov.rake
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ namespace :test do
   task :rcov do |t|
     require 'rbconfig'
 
-    tests = Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'test', '*', '*_test.rb'))
-    outdir = File.join(Rails.root, 'coverage')
+    tests = Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('test', '*', '*_test.rb'))
+    outdir = Rails.root.join('coverage')
     test_loader = File.join(Config::CONFIG['rubylibdir'], 'rake', 'rake_test_loader.rb')
 
     system("rcov", '-o', outdir, '-T', '-x', 'rubygems/*,rcov*', '--rails', '-Ilib:test', test_loader, *tests)
diff --git a/script/reset_db b/script/reset_db
index 86f4067..56fea1d 100755
--- a/script/reset_db
+++ b/script/reset_db
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../config/environment'
 
-system "rm #{Rails.root}/tmp/*.db"
-system "rm #{Rails.root}/db/*.db"
-system "rm -rf #{Rails.root}/public/articles"
+system "rm #{Rails.root.join('tmp', '*.db')}"
+system "rm #{Rails.root.join('db', '*.db')}"
+system "rm -rf #{Rails.root.join('public', 'articles')}"
 system "rake db:migrate VERSION=0"
 system "rake db:migrate"
-system "#{Rails.root}/script/anhetegua"
+system "#{Rails.root.join('script', 'anhetegua')}"
 system "rake db:test:prepare"
diff --git a/test/factories.rb b/test/factories.rb
index b24c0f3..d7e22f2 100644
--- a/test/factories.rb
+++ b/test/factories.rb
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ module Noosfero::Factory
   # ExternalFeed
   ###############################################
   def defaults_for_external_feed
-    { :address => Rails.root + '/test/fixtures/files/feed.xml', :blog_id => factory_num_seq }
+    { :address => Rails.root.join('test', 'fixtures', 'files', 'feed.xml'), :blog_id => factory_num_seq }
   end
 
   def create_external_feed(attrs = {})
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ module Noosfero::Factory
   # FeedReaderBlock
   ###############################################
   def defaults_for_feed_reader_block
-    { :address => File.join(Rails.root, 'test/fixtures/files/feed.xml') }
+    { :address => Rails.root.join('test/fixtures/files/feed.xml') }
   end
 
   ###############################################
diff --git a/test/functional/themes_controller_test.rb b/test/functional/themes_controller_test.rb
index daa44ab..381a0a1 100644
--- a/test/functional/themes_controller_test.rb
+++ b/test/functional/themes_controller_test.rb
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ class ThemesControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
     FileUtils.rm_rf(TMP_THEMES_DIR)
   end
 
-  TMP_THEMES_DIR = Rails.root + '/test/tmp/themes_controller'
+  TMP_THEMES_DIR = Rails.root.join("test", "tmp", "themes_controller")
 
   should 'display themes that can be applied' do
     env = Environment.default
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ class ThemesControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
     post :add_image, :profile => 'testinguser', :id => 'mytheme', :image => fixture_file_upload('/files/rails.png', 'image/png', :binary)
     assert_redirected_to :action => "edit", :id => 'mytheme'
     assert theme.image_files.include?('rails.png')
-    assert(system('diff', Rails.root + '/test/fixtures/files/rails.png', TMP_THEMES_DIR + '/mytheme/images/rails.png'), 'should put the correct uploaded file in the right place')
+    assert(system('diff', Rails.root.join('test', 'fixtures', 'files','rails.png'), TMP_THEMES_DIR + '/mytheme/images/rails.png'), 'should put the correct uploaded file in the right place')
   end
 
   should 'link to "test theme"' do
diff --git a/test/integration/controller_naming_test.rb b/test/integration/controller_naming_test.rb
index a248c77..dec7674 100644
--- a/test/integration/controller_naming_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration/controller_naming_test.rb
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ require "#{File.dirname(__FILE__)}/../test_helper"
 class ControllerNamingTest < ActionController::IntegrationTest
 
   should 'not have controllers with same name in different folders' do
-    controllers = Dir.glob("#{Rails.root}/app/controllers/**/*_controller.rb").map { |item| item.split(/\//).last }
+    controllers = Dir.glob(Rails.root.join("app", "controllers", "**", "*_controller.rb")).map { |item| item.split(/\//).last }
     assert_equal controllers.uniq, controllers
   end
 
diff --git a/test/integration/tiny_mce_languages_test.rb b/test/integration/tiny_mce_languages_test.rb
index 768e26c..c2ea65a 100644
--- a/test/integration/tiny_mce_languages_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration/tiny_mce_languages_test.rb
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ class TinyMceLanguagesTest < ActionController::IntegrationTest
   end
 
   def assert_exists_tinymce_language_file(file)
-    filename = Rails.root + "/public/javascripts/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/" + file
+    filename = Rails.root.join("public", "javascripts", "tinymce", "jscripts", "tiny_mce", file)
     assert(File.exists?(filename), filename + " must exist")
   end
 
diff --git a/test/noosfero_doc_test.rb b/test/noosfero_doc_test.rb
index 2f577ee..b7235c0 100644
--- a/test/noosfero_doc_test.rb
+++ b/test/noosfero_doc_test.rb
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ require 'mocha'
 module Noosfero::DocTest
 
   unless defined?(ROOT)
-    ROOT = File.join(Rails.root, "test", "tmp", "doc")
+    ROOT = Rails.root.join("test", "tmp", "doc")
   end
 
   def create_doc(section, topic, language, title, body = nil)
diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
index 7d28977..c650dbb 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/factories'
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/noosfero_doc_test'
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/action_tracker_test_helper'
 
-FileUtils.rm_rf(File.join(Rails.root, 'index', 'test'))
+FileUtils.rm_rf(Rails.root.join('index', 'test'))
 
 Image.attachment_options[:path_prefix] = 'test/tmp/public/images'
 Thumbnail.attachment_options[:path_prefix] = 'test/tmp/public/thumbnails'
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class ActiveSupport::TestCase
   fixtures :environments, :roles
 
   def self.all_fixtures
-    Dir.glob(File.join(Rails.root, 'test', 'fixtures', '*.yml')).each do |item|
+    Dir.glob(Rails.root.join('test', 'fixtures', '*.yml')).each do |item|
       fixtures File.basename(item).sub(/\.yml$/, '').to_s
     end
   end
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ class ActiveSupport::TestCase
                      patch ? patch[1] : nil
                    end.compact
       s.each do |css_ref|
-        if ! File.exists?( Rails.root.to_s() +'/public/'+ css_ref )
+        if ! File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', css_ref ))
           flunk 'CSS reference missed on HTML: "%s"' % css_ref
         end
       end
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ class ActiveSupport::TestCase
     # Test image references:
     (doc/'img').each do |img|
       src = img.get_attribute( 'src' ).gsub(/\?[0-9]+$/, '')
-      if ! File.exists?( Rails.root.to_s() +'/public/'+ src )
+      if ! File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', src))
         flunk 'Image reference missed on HTML: "%s"' % src
       end
     end
diff --git a/test/unit/application_helper_test.rb b/test/unit/application_helper_test.rb
index 5cef3ba..97a5013 100644
--- a/test/unit/application_helper_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/application_helper_test.rb
@@ -55,10 +55,10 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'look for superclasses on view_for_profile actions' do
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/app/views/blocks/profile_info_actions/float.rhtml").returns(false)
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/app/views/blocks/profile_info_actions/float.html.erb").returns(false)
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/app/views/blocks/profile_info_actions/numeric.rhtml").returns(false)
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/app/views/blocks/profile_info_actions/numeric.html.erb").returns(true)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('app', 'views', 'blocks', 'profile_info_actions', 'float.rhtml')).returns(false)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('app', 'views', 'blocks', 'profile_info_actions', 'float.html.erb')).returns(false)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('app', 'views', 'blocks', 'profile_info_actions', 'numeric.rhtml')).returns(false)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('app', 'views', 'blocks', 'profile_info_actions', 'numeric.html.erb')).returns(true)
 
     assert_equal 'blocks/profile_info_actions/numeric.html.erb', view_for_profile_actions(Float)
   end
@@ -70,13 +70,13 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'generate link to stylesheet' do
-    File.expects(:exists?).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'stylesheets', 'something.css')).returns(true)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'stylesheets', 'something.css')).returns(true)
     expects(:filename_for_stylesheet).with('something', nil).returns('/stylesheets/something.css')
     assert_match '@import url(/stylesheets/something.css)', stylesheet_import('something')
   end
 
   should 'not generate link to unexisting stylesheet' do
-    File.expects(:exists?).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'stylesheets', 'something.css')).returns(false)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'stylesheets', 'something.css')).returns(false)
     expects(:filename_for_stylesheet).with('something', nil).returns('/stylesheets/something.css')
     assert_no_match %r{@import url(/stylesheets/something.css)}, stylesheet_import('something')
   end
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'render theme footer' do
     stubs(:theme_path).returns('/user_themes/mytheme')
-    footer_path = Rails.root + '/public/user_themes/mytheme/footer.rhtml'
+    footer_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes', 'mytheme', 'footer.rhtml')
 
     File.expects(:exists?).with(footer_path).returns(true)
     expects(:render).with(:file => footer_path, :use_full_path => false).returns("BLI")
@@ -185,8 +185,8 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'ignore unexisting theme footer' do
     stubs(:theme_path).returns('/user_themes/mytheme')
-    footer_path = Rails.root + '/public/user_themes/mytheme/footer.rhtml'
-    alternate_footer_path = Rails.root + '/public/user_themes/mytheme/footer.html.erb'
+    footer_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes', 'mytheme', 'footer.rhtml')
+    alternate_footer_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes', 'mytheme', 'footer.html.erb')
 
     File.expects(:exists?).with(footer_path).returns(false)
     File.expects(:exists?).with(alternate_footer_path).returns(false)
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'render theme site title' do
     stubs(:theme_path).returns('/user_themes/mytheme')
-    site_title_path = Rails.root + '/public/user_themes/mytheme/site_title.rhtml'
+    site_title_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes', 'mytheme', 'site_title.rhtml')
 
     File.expects(:exists?).with(site_title_path).returns(true)
     expects(:render).with(:file => site_title_path, :use_full_path => false).returns("Site title")
@@ -207,8 +207,8 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'ignore unexisting theme site title' do
     stubs(:theme_path).returns('/user_themes/mytheme')
-    site_title_path = Rails.root + '/public/user_themes/mytheme/site_title.rhtml'
-    alternate_site_title_path = Rails.root + '/public/user_themes/mytheme/site_title.html.erb'
+    site_title_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes', 'mytheme', 'site_title.rhtml')
+    alternate_site_title_path = Rails.root.join('public', 'user_themes', 'mytheme', 'site_title.html.erb')
 
     File.expects(:exists?).with(site_title_path).returns(false)
     File.expects(:exists?).with(alternate_site_title_path).returns(false)
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   should 'use favicon from profile theme if the profile has theme' do
     stubs(:environment).returns(fast_create(Environment, :theme => 'new-theme'))
     stubs(:profile).returns(fast_create(Profile, :theme => 'profile-theme'))
-    File.expects(:exists?).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', '/designs/themes/profile-theme', 'favicon.ico')).returns(true)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', '/designs/themes/profile-theme', 'favicon.ico')).returns(true)
     assert_equal '/designs/themes/profile-theme/favicon.ico', theme_favicon
   end
 
@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     stubs(:environment).returns(fast_create(Environment, :theme => 'new-theme'))
     stubs(:profile).returns(fast_create(Profile, :theme => 'profile-theme'))
     file = UploadedFile.create!(:uploaded_data => fixture_file_upload('/files/favicon.ico', 'image/x-ico'), :profile => profile)
-    File.expects(:exists?).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, 'favicon.ico')).returns(false)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, 'favicon.ico')).returns(false)
 
     assert_match /favicon.ico/, theme_favicon
   end
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   should 'use favicon from environment if the profile theme and profile articles do not have' do
     stubs(:environment).returns(fast_create(Environment, :theme => 'new-theme'))
     stubs(:profile).returns(fast_create(Profile, :theme => 'profile-theme'))
-    File.expects(:exists?).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', theme_path, 'favicon.ico')).returns(false)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', theme_path, 'favicon.ico')).returns(false)
     assert_equal '/designs/themes/new-theme/favicon.ico', theme_favicon
   end
 
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@ class ApplicationHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     stubs(:environment).returns(env)
 
     @controller = ApplicationController.new
-    path = File.join(Rails.root, 'app', 'views')
+    path = Rails.root.join('app', 'views')
     @controller.stubs(:view_paths).returns([path])
 
     file = path + '/shared/usermenu/xmpp_chat.rhtml'
diff --git a/test/unit/colorbox_helper_test.rb b/test/unit/colorbox_helper_test.rb
index c42d830..0f260aa 100644
--- a/test/unit/colorbox_helper_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/colorbox_helper_test.rb
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ class ColorboxHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   include ColorboxHelper
 
   should 'provide the needed files' do
-    assert File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'stylesheets', 'colorbox.css')), 'colorbox.css expected to be in public/stylesheets, but not found'
-    assert File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'javascripts', 'colorbox.js')), 'colorbox.js expected to be in public/javascripts, but not found'
+    assert File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', 'stylesheets', 'colorbox.css')), 'colorbox.css expected to be in public/stylesheets, but not found'
+    assert File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', 'javascripts', 'colorbox.js')), 'colorbox.js expected to be in public/javascripts, but not found'
   end
 
   should 'provide link to close colorbox' do
diff --git a/test/unit/comment_test.rb b/test/unit/comment_test.rb
index af4cde3..f103282 100644
--- a/test/unit/comment_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/comment_test.rb
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ class CommentTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'use an existing image for deleted comments' do
     image = Comment.new.removed_user_image
-    assert File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', image)), "#{image} does not exist."
+    assert File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', image)), "#{image} does not exist."
   end
 
   should 'have the action_tracker_target defined' do
diff --git a/test/unit/doc_item_test.rb b/test/unit/doc_item_test.rb
index 228a398..893bc76 100644
--- a/test/unit/doc_item_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/doc_item_test.rb
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ class DocItemTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'translate images' do
     doc = DocItem.new(:language => 'pt', :text => '<p>Look the image:</p><p><img src="/images/doc/myimage.en.png" alt="The image"/></p>')
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(false)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(false)
     assert_equal doc.text, doc.html
 
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(true)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(true)
     assert_match(/<img src="\/images\/doc\/myimage.pt.png"/, doc.html)
   end
 
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ class DocItemTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     doc = DocItem.new(:language => 'pt', :text => '<p>Look the image:</p><p><img src="/images/doc/myimage.en.png" alt="The image"/></p>')
 
     # the image exists in both the system *and* on the theme
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(true)
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/mytheme/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(true)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(true)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'mytheme', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(true)
     # the one in the theme must be used
     assert_match(/<img src="\/designs\/themes\/mytheme\/images\/doc\/myimage.pt.png"/, doc.html('mytheme'))
   end
@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ class DocItemTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     doc = DocItem.new(:language => 'pt', :text => '<p>Look the image:</p><p><img src="/images/doc/myimage.en.png" alt="The image"/></p>')
 
     # the image has a translation in the system but not in the theme
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(true)
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/mytheme/images/doc/myimage.en.png').returns(false)
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/mytheme/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(false)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(true)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'mytheme', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.en.png')).returns(false)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'mytheme', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(false)
     # the one in the theme must be used
     assert_match(/<img src="\/images\/doc\/myimage.pt.png"/, doc.html('mytheme'))
   end
@@ -59,10 +59,10 @@ class DocItemTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     doc = DocItem.new(:language => 'pt', :text => '<p>Look the image:</p><p><img src="/images/doc/myimage.en.png" alt="The image"/></p>')
 
     # the image has no translation, but both system and theme provide an image
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/images/doc/myimage.en.png').returns(true)
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(false)
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/mytheme/images/doc/myimage.en.png').returns(true)
-    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/mytheme/images/doc/myimage.pt.png').returns(false)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.en.png')).returns(true)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(false)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'mytheme', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.en.png')).returns(true)
+    File.stubs(:exist?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'mytheme', 'images', 'doc', 'myimage.pt.png')).returns(false)
     # the one in the theme must be used
     assert_match(/<img src="\/designs\/themes\/mytheme\/images\/doc\/myimage.en.png"/, doc.html('mytheme'))
   end
diff --git a/test/unit/doc_topic_test.rb b/test/unit/doc_topic_test.rb
index 152e478..e906387 100644
--- a/test/unit/doc_topic_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/doc_topic_test.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ class DocTopicTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'load topic data from file' do
-    doc = DocTopic.loadfile(Rails.root + '/' + 'test/fixtures/files/doctest.en.xhtml')
+    doc = DocTopic.loadfile(Rails.root.join('test', 'fixtures', 'files', 'doctest.en.xhtml'))
     assert_equal 'en', doc.language
     assert_equal 'Documentation test', doc.title
     assert_match(/Documentation test/, doc.text)
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class DocTopicTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'load translated topic from file' do
-    doc = DocTopic.loadfile(Rails.root + '/' + 'test/fixtures/files/doctest.pt.xhtml')
+    doc = DocTopic.loadfile(Rails.root.join('test', 'fixtures', 'files', 'doctest.pt.xhtml'))
     assert_equal 'pt', doc.language
     assert_equal 'Teste da documentação', doc.title
   end
diff --git a/test/unit/feed_handler_test.rb b/test/unit/feed_handler_test.rb
index 0cc726b..4da2175 100644
--- a/test/unit/feed_handler_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/feed_handler_test.rb
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class FeedHandlerTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   [:external_feed, :feed_reader_block].each do |container_class|
 
     should "reset the errors count after a successfull run (#{container_class})" do
-      container = create(container_class, :update_errors => 1, :address => File.join(Rails.root, 'test/fixtures/files/feed.xml'))
+      container = create(container_class, :update_errors => 1, :address => Rails.root.join('test/fixtures/files/feed.xml'))
       handler.expects(:actually_process_container).with(container)
       handler.process(container)
       assert_equal 0, container.update_errors
diff --git a/test/unit/folder_helper_test.rb b/test/unit/folder_helper_test.rb
index aa006a6..8f51223 100644
--- a/test/unit/folder_helper_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/folder_helper_test.rb
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class FolderHelperTest < ActionView::TestCase
 
   private
   def render(template, the_binding)
-    ERB.new(File.read(File.join(Rails.root, 'app/views', template + '.html.erb'))).result(the_binding)
+    ERB.new(File.read(Rails.root.join('app/views', template + '.html.erb'))).result(the_binding)
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/test/unit/image_test.rb b/test/unit/image_test.rb
index 78b2bb1..8745ae4 100644
--- a/test/unit/image_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/image_test.rb
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ class ImageTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'have a loading image to each size of thumbnails' do
     Image.attachment_options[:thumbnails].each do |suffix, size|
-      image = File.join(Rails.root, "public/images/icons-app/image-loading-#{suffix}.png")
+      image = Rails.root.join("public/images/icons-app/image-loading-#{suffix}.png")
       assert File.exists?(image), "#{image} should exist."
     end
   end
diff --git a/test/unit/layout_template_test.rb b/test/unit/layout_template_test.rb
index ecba6c5..0558ff4 100644
--- a/test/unit/layout_template_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/layout_template_test.rb
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../test_helper'
 class LayoutTemplateTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'read configuration' do
-    YAML.expects(:load_file).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/templates/default/config.yml')).returns({'number_of_boxes' => 3, 'description' => 'my description', 'title' => 'my title'})
+    YAML.expects(:load_file).with(Rails.root.join('public/designs/templates/default/config.yml')).returns({'number_of_boxes' => 3, 'description' => 'my description', 'title' => 'my title'})
     t = LayoutTemplate.find('default')
     assert_equal 3, t.number_of_boxes
     assert_equal 'my description', t.description
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ class LayoutTemplateTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'list all' do
-    Dir.expects(:glob).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/templates/*')).returns([File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/templates/one'), File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/templates/two')])
-    YAML.expects(:load_file).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/templates/one/config.yml')).returns({})
-    YAML.expects(:load_file).with(File.join(Rails.root, 'public/designs/templates/two/config.yml')).returns({})
+    Dir.expects(:glob).with(Rails.root.join('public/designs/templates/*')).returns([Rails.root.join('public/designs/templates/one'), Rails.root.join('public/designs/templates/two')])
+    YAML.expects(:load_file).with(Rails.root.join('public/designs/templates/one/config.yml')).returns({})
+    YAML.expects(:load_file).with(Rails.root.join('public/designs/templates/two/config.yml')).returns({})
 
     all = LayoutTemplate.all
     assert_equivalent [ 'one', 'two' ], all.map(&:id)
diff --git a/test/unit/lightbox_helper_test.rb b/test/unit/lightbox_helper_test.rb
index c5c1ca8..4740a25 100644
--- a/test/unit/lightbox_helper_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/lightbox_helper_test.rb
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ class LightboxHelperTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'provide the needed files' do
-    assert File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'stylesheets', 'lightbox.css')), 'lightbox.css expected to be in public/stylesheets, but not found'
-    assert File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'javascripts', 'lightbox.js')), 'lightbox.js expected to be in public/javascripts, but not found'
+    assert File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', 'stylesheets', 'lightbox.css')), 'lightbox.css expected to be in public/stylesheets, but not found'
+    assert File.exists?(Rails.root.join('public', 'javascripts', 'lightbox.js')), 'lightbox.js expected to be in public/javascripts, but not found'
   end
 
   should 'provide lightbox_link_to helper' do
diff --git a/test/unit/noosfero_i18n_test.rb b/test/unit/noosfero_i18n_test.rb
index f8c7746..63165f9 100644
--- a/test/unit/noosfero_i18n_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/noosfero_i18n_test.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ class NoosferoI18nTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
     should('have locale file for %s' % locale) do
       locale_file = 'config/locales/%s.yml' % locale
-      assert File.exists?(File.join(Rails.root, locale_file)), "#{locale_file} not found"
+      assert File.exists?(Rails.root.join(locale_file)), "#{locale_file} not found"
     end
 
     should('be able to translate activerecord errors header to %s' % locale) do
diff --git a/test/unit/noosfero_test.rb b/test/unit/noosfero_test.rb
index 0f030d0..d23d68e 100644
--- a/test/unit/noosfero_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/noosfero_test.rb
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ require 'noosfero'
 class NoosferoTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   def test_should_list_controllers_in_directory
-    Dir.expects(:glob).with("#{Rails.root}/app/controllers/lala/*_controller.rb").returns(["app/controllers/lala/system_admin_controller.rb", "app/controllers/lala/environment_admin_controller.rb", "app/controllers/lala/public_controller.rb", "app/controllers/lala/profile_admin_controller.rb"]).once
+    Dir.expects(:glob).with(Rails.root.join('app', 'controllers', 'lala', '*_controller.rb')).returns(["app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'system_admin_controller.rb", "app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'environment_admin_controller.rb", "app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'public_controller.rb", "app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'profile_admin_controller.rb"]).once
     assert_equal ["system_admin", "environment_admin", "public", "profile_admin"], Noosfero.controllers_in_directory('lala')
   end
 
   def test_should_generate_pattern_for_controllers_in_directory
-    Dir.expects(:glob).with("#{Rails.root}/app/controllers/lala/*_controller.rb").returns(["app/controllers/lala/system_admin_controller.rb", "app/controllers/lala/environment_admin_controller.rb", "app/controllers/lala/public_controller.rb", "app/controllers/lala/profile_admin_controller.rb"]).once
+    Dir.expects(:glob).with(Rails.root.join('app', 'controllers', 'lala', '*_controller.rb')).returns(["app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'system_admin_controller.rb", "app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'environment_admin_controller.rb", "app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'public_controller.rb", "app', 'controllers', 'lala', 'profile_admin_controller.rb"]).once
     assert_equal(/(system_admin|environment_admin|public|profile_admin)/, Noosfero.pattern_for_controllers_in_directory('lala'))
   end
 
diff --git a/test/unit/profile_test.rb b/test/unit/profile_test.rb
index 5c8467a..3e76e6b 100644
--- a/test/unit/profile_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/profile_test.rb
@@ -1080,7 +1080,7 @@ class ProfileTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     assert_equal 'default title', p.boxes[0].blocks.first[:title]
   end
 
-  TMP_THEMES_DIR = Rails.root + '/test/tmp/profile_themes'
+  TMP_THEMES_DIR = Rails.root.join('test', 'tmp', 'profile_themes')
   should 'have themes' do
     Theme.stubs(:user_themes_dir).returns(TMP_THEMES_DIR)
 
diff --git a/test/unit/slideshow_block_test.rb b/test/unit/slideshow_block_test.rb
index 5341b85..74a6b60 100644
--- a/test/unit/slideshow_block_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/slideshow_block_test.rb
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class SlideshowBlockTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   should 'decide correct public filename for image' do
     image = mock
     image.expects(:public_filename).with('slideshow').returns('/bli/slideshow.png')
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/public/bli/slideshow.png").returns(true)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'bli', 'slideshow.png')).returns(true)
 
     assert_equal '/bli/slideshow.png', build(SlideshowBlock, :image_size => 'slideshow').public_filename_for(image)
   end
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ class SlideshowBlockTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   should 'display the default slideshow image if thumbnails were not processed' do
     image = mock
     image.expects(:public_filename).with('slideshow').returns('/images/icons-app/image-loading-slideshow.png')
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/public/images/icons-app/image-loading-slideshow.png").returns(true)
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'icons-app', 'image-loading-slideshow.png')).returns(true)
 
     assert_equal '/images/icons-app/image-loading-slideshow.png', build(SlideshowBlock, :image_size => 'slideshow').public_filename_for(image)
   end
@@ -94,11 +94,11 @@ class SlideshowBlockTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     image = mock
     # "slideshow" size does not exist
     image.expects(:public_filename).with('slideshow').returns('/bli/slideshow.png')
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/public/bli/slideshow.png").returns(false) # <<<<<
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'bli', 'slideshow.png')).returns(false) # <<<<<
 
     # thumb size does exist
     image.expects(:public_filename).with('thumb').returns('/bli/thumb.png')
-    File.expects(:exists?).with("#{Rails.root}/public/bli/thumb.png").returns(true) # <<<<<
+    File.expects(:exists?).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'bli', 'thumb.png')).returns(true) # <<<<<
 
     assert_equal '/bli/thumb.png', block.public_filename_for(image)
   end
diff --git a/test/unit/theme_test.rb b/test/unit/theme_test.rb
index ddd9ecb..befece0 100644
--- a/test/unit/theme_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/theme_test.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../test_helper'
 
 class ThemeTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
-  TMP_THEMES_DIR = Rails.root + '/test/tmp/themes'
+  TMP_THEMES_DIR = Rails.root.join('test', 'tmp', 'themes')
 
   def setup
     Theme.stubs(:user_themes_dir).returns(TMP_THEMES_DIR)
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ class ThemeTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   should 'list system themes' do
-    Dir.expects(:glob).with(Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/*').returns(
+    Dir.expects(:glob).with(Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', '*')).returns(
       [
-        Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/themeone',
-        Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/themetwo',
-        Rails.root + '/public/designs/themes/themethree'
+        Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'themeone'),
+        Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'themetwo'),
+        Rails.root.join('public', 'designs', 'themes', 'themethree')
     ])
 
     assert_equal ['themeone', 'themetwo', 'themethree'], Theme.system_themes.map(&:id)
diff --git a/test/unit/uploaded_file_test.rb b/test/unit/uploaded_file_test.rb
index f189550..5bf70a3 100644
--- a/test/unit/uploaded_file_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/uploaded_file_test.rb
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ class UploadedFileTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   should 'have a loading image to each size of thumbnails' do
     UploadedFile.attachment_options[:thumbnails].each do |suffix, size|
-      image = Rails.root + '/public/images/icons-app/image-loading-%s.png' % suffix
+      image = Rails.root.join('public', 'images', 'icons-app', "image-loading-#{suffix}.png")
       assert File.exists?(image)
     end
   end
@@ -231,10 +231,10 @@ class UploadedFileTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   should 'return a thumbnail for images' do
     f = UploadedFile.new
     f.expects(:image?).returns(true)
-    f.expects(:full_filename).with(:display).returns(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'images', '0000', '0005', 'x.png'))
+    f.expects(:full_filename).with(:display).returns(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', '0000', '0005', 'x.png'))
     assert_equal '/images/0000/0005/x.png', f.thumbnail_path
     f = UploadedFile.new
-    f.stubs(:full_filename).with(:display).returns(File.join(Rails.root, 'public', 'images', '0000', '0005', 'x.png'))
+    f.stubs(:full_filename).with(:display).returns(Rails.root.join('public', 'images', '0000', '0005', 'x.png'))
     f.expects(:image?).returns(false)
     assert_nil f.thumbnail_path
   end
--
libgit2 0.21.2