Brazilian Context Research Articles

Urban Mobility: A Review of Challenges and Innovations for Sustainable Transportation in Brazil

Objective: The aim of this work is to review the literature and analyze trends and innovations in public transportation, as well as discuss the importance and challenges of urban mobility in the Brazilian context. Theoretical framework: Urban mobility is relevant due to the growth of cities and the need for sustainable transportation. Quality of life and economic development depend on safe and efficient transportation. Mobility also reduces social inequality by allowing access to services and opportunities for different social classes. Inclusive public policies and accessible transportation are crucial to improve people's quality of life. Method: The methodology adopted in this study was based on a literature review conducted in three distinct phases, covering the planning of the review, the effective execution of it, and the communication and presentation of the results obtained from the research. Results and conclusion: The review identified that the current scenario of urban mobility in Brazil is marked by a lack of adequate infrastructure for public transportation, cycling, and pedestrian routes, with an increase in the number of private vehicles on the streets and inequality in access to public transportation. To overcome these limitations, integrated planning, investments in quality public transportation, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and a cultural change in relation to urban mobility are necessary. Technological innovations, such as vehicle electrification, digitalization of transportation services, and autonomous car systems, are essential to solve the challenges of urban mobility. Research implications: In the future, integration of transportation forms and intermodal networks is expected to facilitate mobility. Advanced technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, can reduce costs and increase efficiency. Investments in infrastructure, such as cycling routes, charging stations, and renewal of public transportation, are necessary. Public policies that encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and shared mobility, such as tax and tariff reductions, can disseminate technologies. Originality/value: It is recommended to analyze the economic and social impacts of the popularization of electric vehicles in Brazil, including financial viability and charging infrastructure. It is important to research advanced technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, to improve the efficiency and safety of public transportation, as well as to examine regulatory and implementation challenges.

Archaeologies of gender, kinship, and mobility in Southeast Brazil: genealogies of Tupiniquim women and the itinerancy of ceramic practices

The Brazilian colonial context led the Tupiniquim, an Indigenous group, and the Portuguese, a colonizing group, from the São Vicente area to connect with two places in Rio de Janeiro. In this scenario emerges the genealogy of two Tupiniquim women of the 16th century from São Vicente, which allowed us to trace six generations of women who formed kinship relationships with Portuguese men. They moved to Rio de Janeiro to create the Cara de Cão fortification and Camorim sugar plantation. They were members of the communities that appropriated and transformed Portuguese coarse ware ceramics into what is now termed Paulistaware. This article shows a new understanding of the social role of Indigenous women and the entry of European men into symmetrical gender relations based on the logic of Tupiniquim social collaboration. Tupiniquim women initially produced Paulistaware before 1550. After 1600 these ceramics were also made and consumed by people from the African diaspora and others from outside, adding decorative elements found in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The intensive analysis of archival data breaks the traditional model of homogenization and Europeanization of historical processes and events, highlighting the itinerancy of practices and mobility of people.

Development and validation of a scale to measure the benefits of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification

This study aimed to present the development and validation of a scale to assess the benefits of FSC certification. A study of this kind was not found in the literature, making the application innovative, especially for the Brazilian context. The variables to compose the scale were built through a systematic review of the literature, as well as interviews with those responsible for certification in the investigated companies and on-site observation. Further, based on the results of a survey, the scale was validated through principal component analysis. The results revealed the existence of two factors for the economic dimension and three factors for the social dimension. In conclusion, the scale is an alternative for empirical investigations and applied work in organizations, and can guide measures aimed at enhancing the benefits of certification. Moreover, as this scale was built following theoretically robust parameters, constitutes a model to be tested in studies with similar characteristics.

Control of bodies.

The study of trafficking in persons for prostitution requires systematic and in-depth analysis, as it is a complex phenomenon resulting from multiple variables. Therefore, this work aims to map human trafficking, especially in the Brazilian context, by examining international norms and their impact on Brazilian law. At the same time, the study sheds light on the relationship between organized crime and human trafficking, considering human trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form of control of female bodies. The argument builds on the analysis of statistical data and scientific works dealing with human trafficking, prostitution, and organized crime.

Consumer protection in cases of problems with fueling at gas stations in Brazil

In the Brazilian context regarding the sale of fuels, an energy matrix of paramount importance and essential for the country's economic movement, the National Agency of Petroleum, Biofuels and Natural Gas regulates quality and safety standards for refining, distribution and retail, thus, the Consumer Defense Code complements quality issues by directing legislation aimed at the use and deployment of these flammable materials in the national territory. This work sought to cover norms and laws that discuss consumer protection and the guarantee of service provision (sale of fuel) with due quality and safety, in order to highlight the necessary procedures for the consumer to claim their rights through the competent bodies and the appropriate means for seeking information. In this way, this work contributes to the development of clear and concise information about the rights that allow the consumer to appeal, when he perceives irregularities and inadequate parameters for the purchased fuel.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Analysis of the Psychometric Properties of the Death Transcendence Scale for the Brazilian Context.

The study of the coping strategies used by humans to cope with their finitude has been the center of attention of several researchers throughout the history of psychology. The present study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Death Transcendence Scale (DTS) for the Brazilian context. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 517 Brazilians. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer - Quality of Life Group Translation Procedure protocol was used for the translation and the cultural adaptation process. The results of parallel analyses indicated the relevance of extracting up to five factors, which explained 58.23% of the scale's total variance. The Brazilian version of the DTS, with validity evidence, consisted of 21 items, considering that items 13, 17, 20, and 21 were excluded according to exploratory factor analysis. As far as we know, the version of the DTS developed in this study is the only instrument available in the Brazilian context that allows the measurement of a theory dedicated to understanding how humans cope with their finitude, beyond death denial.

Coalescing disparate data sources for the geospatial prediction of mosquito abundance, using Brazil as a motivating case study

One of the barriers to performing geospatial surveillance of mosquito occupancy or infestation anywhere in the world is the paucity of primary entomologic survey data geolocated at a residential property level and matched to important risk factor information (e.g., anthropogenic, environmental, and climate) that enables the spatial risk prediction of mosquito occupancy or infestation. Such data are invaluable pieces of information for academics, policy makers, and public health program managers operating in low-resource settings in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, where mosquitoes are typically endemic. The reality is that such data remain elusive in these low-resource settings and, where available, high-quality data that include both individual and spatial characteristics to inform the geospatial description and risk patterning of infestation remain rare. There are many online sources of open-source spatial data that are reliable and can be used to address such data paucity in this context. Therefore, the aims of this article are threefold: (1) to highlight where these reliable open-source data can be acquired and how they can be used as risk factors for making spatial predictions for mosquito occupancy in general; (2) to use Brazil as a case study to demonstrate how these datasets can be combined to predict the presence of arboviruses through the use of ecological niche modeling using the maximum entropy algorithm; and (3) to discuss the benefits of using bespoke applications beyond these open-source online data sources, demonstrating for how they can be the new “gold-standard” approach for gathering primary entomologic survey data. The scope of this article was mainly limited to a Brazilian context because it builds on an existing partnership with academics and stakeholders from environmental surveillance agencies in the states of Pernambuco and Paraiba. The analysis presented in this article was also limited to a specific mosquito species, i.e., Aedes aegypti, due to its endemic status in Brazil.

Accelerating towards P. vivax elimination with a novel serological test-and-treat strategy: a modelling case study in Brazil

Plasmodium vivax malaria is challenging to control and eliminate. Treatment with radical cure drugs fails to target the hidden asymptomatic and hypnozoite reservoirs in populations. PvSeroTAT, a novel serological test-and-treat intervention using a serological diagnostic to screen hypnozoite carriers for radical cure eligibility and treatment, could accelerate P.vivax elimination. Using a previously developed mathematical model of P.vivax transmission adapted to the Brazilian context as a case study for implementation, we evaluate the public health impact of various deployment strategies of PvSeroTAT as a mass campaign. We compare relative reductions in prevalence, cases averted, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) tests, and treatment doses of PvSeroTAT campaigns to strengthened case management alone or mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns across different settings. Deploying a single round of PvSeroTAT with 80% coverage to treat cases with a high efficacy radical cure regimen with primaquine is predicted to reduce point population prevalence by 22.5% [95% UI: 20.2%-24.8%] in a peri-urban setting with high transmission and by 25.2% [95% UI: 9.6%-42.2%] in an occupational setting with moderate transmission. In the latter example, while a single PvSeroTAT achieves 9.2% less impact on prevalence and averts 300 less cases per 100,000 than a single MDA (25.2% [95% UI: 9.6%-42.2%] point prevalence reduction versus 34.4% [95% UI: 24.9%-44%]), PvSeroTAT requires 4.6 times less radical cure treatments and G6PD tests. Layering strengthened case management and deploying four rounds of PvSeroTAT six months apart is predicted to reduce point prevalence by a mean of 74.1% [95% UI: 61.3%-86.3%] or more in low transmission settings with less than 10 cases per 1000 population. Modelling predicts that mass campaigns with PvSeroTAT are predicted to reduce P.vivax parasite prevalence across a range of transmission settings and require fewer resources than MDA. In combination with strengthened case management, mass campaigns of serological test-and-treat interventions can accelerate towards P.vivax elimination. This project was funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Common mental disorders and associated factors in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed the way people live. As a result, workload and mental health problems increased, especially in healthcare workers. To verify the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) and its association with sociodemographic and work variables in healthcare workers of a Family Health Support Center in the Primary Health Care context (NASF-AB) in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 68 healthcare workers, both sex (55 female/13 male), from the Primary Health Care context in Brazil, particularly NASF-AB of Salvador Bahia. NASF-AB is part of a policy to consolidate Primary Health Care in Brazil. NASF-AB of Salvador has twelve multidisciplinary teams distributed in twelve health districts. The data collection was performed from May to August 2021. The self-reporting questionnaire - 20 (SRQ-20), that assessed the prevalence of CMD, and a sociodemographic questionnaire assessed sociodemographic and work variables via Google forms. The prevalence of CMD was 39.71%. On SRQ-20, 70, 59% of participants felt nervous; 54, 41% felt tired all the time and 51, 47% felt tired easily. CMD was also significantly associated with females (p < 0.001). The prevalence of CMD was high (39, 71%), with females (n = 27/55) being more susceptible to CMD than males (n = 0/13). Feel nervous, tired all the time and easily tired were the most frequent symptoms reported by the participants, indicating depressive/anxious mood, and reduced vital energy. Our findings highlight the need for specific measures to improve health and quality of life of healthcare workers.

Evolution of the role of jurisprudence in Brazil

This article is developed under the observance of related aspects regarding the evolution related to jurisprudence in the Brazilian context. The discussion on precedents and stabilization of the legal system by virtue of the interpretation of the law with the concrete case, and which results in the judicial decision paradigm, is not a novelty of contemporary law. Much is discussed in the Lusitanian law about this theme in Brazil and, therefore, it is necessary to understand the issue in order to understand the role of law today. Although the theme is broad, an overview of precedents will be brought with regard to their evolution. The method used for this study will be deductive, through a literature review in the literature pertinent to the subject. The conclusions of this research indicate that there is use of precedents in Brazil, however, much must be done, aiming, above all, at the effectiveness and standardization of these (Precedents) in the legal system.

A study on the barriers that impact the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the context of Brazilian companies

PurposeThis research aims to evaluate the impact of barriers experienced by Brazilian companies in adopting Industry 4.0 (I4.0).Design/methodology/approachAs a methodological approach, the survey method was used, adopting the use of the questionnaire for data collection. From the feedback of 99 companies (with an index of 80%), quantitative analyzes of the data were carried out with the aid of factor analysis and linear regression to validate the proposed structural model.FindingsThe barriers construct does not impact the I4.0 adoption construct. Directly evaluating the effect of the variables that make up the barriers construct in the I4.0 adoption construct, it was observed that three barriers affect effectively the adoption of I4.0: technological infrastructure; financial constraint and lack of understanding of the benefits of I4.0.Research limitations/implicationsAs a limitation, the research was conducted only in the Brazilian context, requiring the development of future studies in other countries that can strengthen the findings of this research.Practical implicationsIn addition, the results achieved provide relevant insights into public policymakers and business managers, helping them to deeply understand the barriers that impact the adoption of I4.0. This facilitates the propagation of I4.0 concepts in the context of Brazilian companies and in the formulation of public policies adapted to each sector, allowing a more assertive action in the face of the types of barriers experienced by organizations during the adoption of I4.0.Social implicationsThe findings can help practitioners and policymakers to understand in detail this new industrial model and the difficulties that prevent its implementation.Originality/valueFrom an extensive literature review, no studies were identified that statistically validate which barriers effectively affect the adoption of I4.0. This research is a pioneer in proposing a structural model to analyze the barriers experienced by workers during the adoption of I4.0, exploring Brazilian companies, from different economic sectors and sizes. It is noteworthy that the literature still focuses efforts on manufacturing companies.

Environmental Product Declaration Approaches on the Brazilian Experiences: A Review

The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a type of label that has been considered reliable and complete, and it is commonly used in purchasing decisions, product design definition, environmental communication, data sources, and other applications. This article examines the approaches for the development of EPD in the Brazilian context, taking into account the initiatives of interested parties as well as the circumstances for its adoption by national firms. This work adds value by assessing which works in Brazilian literature and experiences focus on EPD, contextualizing the issue, and offering this type of label as a strategic resource. Between 2015 and 2022, the bibliographical survey uncovered 20 works. The Prisma 2020 checklist was utilized to conduct the systematic review, and the analysis in this study was both quantitative and qualitative. Since NBR ISO 14025 (2015), the publications have been consistent. Only 35% of the review content was obtained from journals, with 6 of the 7 publications resulting from academic works from their authors' postgraduate training processes, indicating a concentration of studies by a few scholars, all linked to universities in Brazil's south and southeast. Studies have shown that EPD is a valuable tool for environmental management due to its consistency, reliability, and completeness of data. However, due to a lack of Brazilian experience, this resource is not commonly known, disseminated, or employed. EPD has potential to be used as a strategic resource for businesses due to Brazil's normative, legal, and structural conditions for adoption.

Developing academic oral skills using the video pitch as a learning strategy

This research reports on the success of an online oral task developed for English for Academic Purposes learners in a Brazilian university context, which required recording and submitting a short video pitch about the students’ own research. We discuss the contributions the task brought to improving oral academic skills, focusing on the videos and comments posted in the online forum, and the students’ self-evaluations. Our results indicate that issues such as identity, agency, and autonomy play an important role in the teaching and learning of EAP and deserve attention when designing materials for students in this specific context.

“Jesus Speaks Better”: Interactions Between State and Faith-Based Organizations in Service Implementation

This article investigates the factors that enable cooperation between the state and faith-based organizations (FBOs) in public service implementation. Looking at the Brazilian context, the research explores the consequences of hybridization processes for FBOs and state organizations, as well as for public services. The article analyzes the case of therapeutic communities, FBOs that provide services for drug and alcohol users. Data were collected through documents and 67 interviews with different actors involved in the service implementation. The findings contribute to the literatures on FBOs, hybridization, and institutional fit, showing that the interactions between state organizations and FBOs lead to the inclusion of values and cognitive frameworks for both, generating a mutual constitution between them. The findings show how different types of institutional fit enable cooperation throughout different forms of mediation, which also affect the organizations involved in the cooperation.

Application of a data-driven DTSF and benchmark models for the prediction of electricity prices in Brazil: A time-series case

The global energy market has significantly developed in recent years; proof of this is the creation and promotion of smart grids and technical advances in energy commercialization and transmission. Specifically in the Brazilian context, with the recent modernization of the electricity sector, energy trading prices, previously published on a weekly frequency, are now available on an hourly domain. In this context, the definition and forecasting of prices become increasingly important factors for the economic and financial viability of energy projects. In this scenario of changes in the local regulatory framework, there is a lack of publications based on the new hourly prices in Brazil. This paper presents, in a pioneering way, the Dynamic Time Scan Forecasting (DTSF) method for forecasting hourly energy prices in Brazil. This method searches for similarity patterns in time series and, in previous investigations, showed competitive advantages concerning established forecasting methods. This research aims to test the accuracy of the DTSF method against classical statistical models and machine learning. We used the short-term prices of electricity in Brazil, made available by the Electric Energy Commercialization Chamber. The new DTSF model showed the best predictive performance compared to both the statistical and machine learning models. The DTSF performance was superior considering the evaluation metrics utilized in this paper. We verified that the predictions made by the DTSF showed less variability compared to the other models. Finally, we noticed that there is not an ideal model for all predictive 24 steps ahead forecasts, but there are better models at certain times of the day.

Queer English Language Teaching in Brazil: A Critical Discourse Study

Although the school is one of the main environments in which LGBTQIA+phobia can be fought, the discussion on gender and sexuality issues in pedagogical scenarios is increasingly losing ground in Brazil, mainly due to the lack of educational policies on the subject in this country. In this perspective, our objective is to verify if and how Brazilian English language teachers carry out queer pedagogical practices in their classes. For that, we seek to base ourselves on Fairclough (2003), Louro (1997), Mazzaro (2021), Moita Lopes &amp; Fabrício (2013), among others. The methodology, of an analytical nature, allowed the analysis of statements by three English teachers who work in different Brazilian contexts (Goiás, Mato Grosso and Pernambuco). Data were collected from the application of an online questionnaire and, as an analytical instrument, the Faircloughian Critical Discourse Analysis was used. The results indicate that the fear of discussing issues of gender and sexuality continues in the Brazilian school environment today. It is concluded that, with the weakening of democracy, there is also an outline of the weakening of all achievements, especially those of marginalized groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community. Keywords: Critical discourse analysis, queer, English language, teaching, DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/13-10-02 Publication date: May 31 st 2023

Fostering Agility Through Public Procurement Reforms: The Role of Experienced Procurement Officers

ABSTRACT In an attempt to respond to the public in a more agile way, some governments have implemented procurement reforms. By reducing red tape, policymakers expect to decrease contracting lead-times and improve quality standards in public procurement. Nevertheless, achieving improved performance also depends on the public officers involved in procurement functions. This paper examines a law change designed to improve procurement agility in the Brazilian public procurement context. Our findings suggest that the new procurement regime has helped to decrease contracting lead-times. However, the results also suggest that procurement managed by more experienced procurement officers tend to take longer. The paper concludes that more experienced procurement officers tend to be more susceptible to organizational inertia because existing goal ambiguity along with incentive structures in the public sector amplify the misalignment between existing practices and expected policy goals. This suggests that policymakers should pay attention to organizational traits, such as public officers’ accumulated experience, when designing reforms to make governments more agile.

The construction of the primary health care organizational model index to fight COVID-19: scope, limits and perspectives in the Brazilian remote rural context

The construction of the primary health care organizational model index to fight COVID-19: scope, limits and perspectives in the Brazilian remote rural context

Land and investment dynamics along Brazil’s ‘final’ frontier: The financialization of the Matopiba at a political crossroads

The Cerrado biome has become a driving economic force in Brazil, gaining international attention as the newest and ‘final’ agriculture frontier of the largest South American country. Spanning 10 states and nearly 2 million square kilometers, the biome accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s national territory and more than half of its soy production. The Cerrado harbors the Matopiba plan, one of the most recent examples of state-led support directed towards the expansion of frontiers and the financialization of agriculture. Drawing on fieldwork (2016–2017), this article discusses land grabbing and the process of financialization in the Matopiba, a sub-region comprising one third of the area of the Cerrado. The processes analyzed herein are at once global in character and yet inevitably situated within the socio-political Brazilian context defined by the last three national administrations as well as the prospects offered by the current government, elected in 2022 and sworn into office in 2023. Considering the longstanding presence of capital in Brazilian agribusiness, the present study analyzes how foreign individuals have successfully leveraged knowledge of local land dynamics and positioned themselves as intermediaries to institutional investors. As a result, these actors have in effect facilitated and fomented processes of financialization in the region. This shift towards financialization is considered within a current political and economic context that risks further accelerating the entrance of foreign and transnational capital into the Brazilian countryside, exacerbating existing conflicts surrounding land and territorial rights in the Cerrado.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Job Insecurity Scale (JIS) in Brazil and cross-national analysis of Job Insecurity effects in Brazil and Spain

BackgroundJob flexibilisation has increased interest in job insecurity and its consequences. Job insecurity, understood as a fear of losing employment, is linked to a deterioration of mental health, social relations or job satisfaction. Its study has been developed primarily in Europe, in the absence of validated psychometric scales in the Latin American context. To bridge this knowledge gap, the aim of this study is to cross-culturally adapt the Job Insecurity Scale (JIS) in Brazil, and secondly, to establish a cross-national analysis between people employed in Brazil and Spain.MethodsAs criteria for the sample, people with formally established employment in Brazil and Spain were selected. For the scale adaptation process, a sequence of EFA, CFA and validity tests are carried out, as well as a multigroup invariance according to the gender variable. The cross-national comparison compares the effect sizes of affective and cognitive job insecurity on the mental health variable measured with the GHQ-28 scale in both countries.Results1165 employed people participate in the study, of whom 573 reside in Brazil and 592 in Spain. The results of the scale adaptation show that the JIS is suitable for use in the Brazilian employment context. The scale offers a factorialisation in two dimensions (affective and cognitive) (CFI = 0.993; TLI = 0.987; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.049; GFI = 0.999; NFI = 0.980) with good reliability (ω > 0.84). The cross-national comparison shows that job insecurity has a greater weight in explaining the mental health of the employed population in Brazil than in Spain, which is related to higher indicators of job insecurity in the Brazilian context.ConclusionsWith this validation we now have a validated scale of job insecurity validated for the Brazilian context. The comparison between countries shows the need to establish these analyses, since the behaviour of the phenomenon is different in the contexts studied.