Society In Brazil Research Articles

Brazilian National Sanitation Policy Aspects Opposite the Democratic Transition of State and Society in Brazil

Apresenta-se um breve estudo sobre a Política Nacional de Saneamento, mediante exposição de umpanorama do regime da antiga Lei n.º 5.318/67 em comparação com aquele trazido pela nova políticapública do setor, consubstanciada na Lei n.º 11.445/2007. Puderam ser extraídos da pesquisa algunselementos que apontam um impulso participativo na nova legislação, contudo, de modo ainda tímidodiante das possibilidades que se encontravam nas mãos dos gestores desta política pública. Após, busca--se incursão e rápida análise acerca dos dados relativos ao esgotamento sanitário em âmbitos nacional,regional e local, extraindo-se as conclusões que se entenderam pertinentes, no sentido de que a políticasanitária nacional, de modo geral, encontra precária implementação, especialmente considerando-se osdados obtidos na bacia hidrográfica do litoral do Paraná.

Modern Society and Culture in Brazil

The establishment of modern sociology in Brazil was part of a thoroughgoing modernization of the country that began in the 1930s and the years immediately following World War II. The founding of the University of São Paulo made possible the systematic training of scientists devoted to teaching and research and broadened the way learning was understood. Florestan Fernandes was the outstanding personality among the first social scientists that the university produced, and the picture of the Brazilian sociologist today is largely inspired by his career. Enthusiasm and scientific rigor were the hallmarks of his approach. His early work reflects intellectuals’ shared belief in the power of ideas to regenerate the nation, freeing it from a past that they condemned. The mature reflection of his later works retreats from this optimistic view, recognizing the emergence of modern society in Brazil as a complex process with mixed results.

Estratégias populares de sobrevivência: o mutualismo no Rio de Janeiro republicano

Trata-se de um estudo sobre o mutualismo na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, visto como uma das estratégias escolhidas pelos trabalhadores para escapar às condições de pobreza em que viviam ou, pelo menos, amenizá-las. O artigo busca oferecer um quadro geral do fenômeno na então capital brasileira, levando em conta sua dimensão, duração, trajetória e principais características. Ao mesmo tempo, procura realçar quais setores eram excluídos do movimento, entendendo que sua identidade era definida com base no estabelecimento de algumas fronteiras delimitadoras entre setores sociais distintos. Busca-se estabelecer um diálogo com os trabalhos produzidos sobre o mutualismo, no Brasil e, sobretudo, no exterior. Foram utilizados, como fontes primárias, dois levantamentos inéditos produzidos sobre o fenômeno no Rio de Janeiro, além de informações anteriormente referenciadas por outros autores, às quais tivemos acesso.

Obituary

Obituary

Jessé Souza e a interpretação do “dilema brasileiro”

The process of configuration and modernization of the State and society in Brazil is an appealing theme in the Brazilian social theory. This subject is approached here by the interpretation that Jessé Souza gives of the so-called “Brazilian dilemma” and of the “sociology of inaccuracy”, which interprets that dilemma. The contributions and gaps in that author's work are nominated, leading to the conclusion that the dilemma of the Brazilian modernization persists. Keywords:  State; Society; Modernization; Inaccuracy.

A SOCIEDADE CIVIL E A ESFERA PÚBLICA EM REGIMES DEMOCRÁTICOS: NOTAS SOBRE A PARTICIPAÇÃO POPULAR

In this paper issues concerning the relationship between civil society and the public sphere in the context of democratic regimes are discussed. Therefore, a brief tour of the concept of civil society and the emergence of a civil society in Brazil will be initially presented. Dagnino’s studies will be used to characterize Brazil. In the second part, a description of the public sphere will be presented as a space for a discussion of the demands to be included in the public agenda. In the final part of this work, the need to socially qualify the actors of civil society will be pointed out, in an effort to bring about the generation of public demands as popular participation.

Desigualdade e cidadania: uma leitura a partir dos deficientes visuais do Rio de Janeiro

To get a better understanding of the social insertion of blind people in the contemporary city, I developed a research project that is divided in two axes: The first one discusses the evolution of the public debate about the rights of this minority; the second one explores three case studies of visually disabled persons and their social integration in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Initially I describe the literal and substantive transformation of the Brazilian laws that refer to blind people to get subsidies to make a critical analysis of their history as citizens in Brazil. Then I present the educational careers of three blind persons in order to evaluate the implementation of those laws in their daily routines and to see whether they are visible to the blind persons and their families. All the cases appoint to a lack of social support by the institutions and to the fact that different kinds of citizenship are not seen as a problem in our society. The article shows that the laws related to visually disabled people aren’t sufficient to create an equitable society in Brazil.

Law and society in Brazil: the prevailing perceptions of law in Brazilian society

Due to the chasm in Brazil that exists between law on paper and 'law' in practice, anyone wishing to understand how the country works in reality will also need to consider the ways in which people are able to excuse themselves from submission to positive law. An observation of Brazil's reality reveals a society that is deeply regulated by contra-legem (anti-legal) rules. These are not the rules that are taught in law schools, but rather are socially defined rules that vary remarkably from the state codes, statutes and the rulings of the courts. This article provides an analysis of Brazil's legal culture. 'Legal culture' means the prevailing perceptions about law in society and the general attitudes towards the formal legal system. Thus, this article explains the manner in which Brazilian law operates in practice as opposed to theory.

Considerações históricas sobre a difusão do pensamento Kleiniano no Brasil

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar os diferentes momentos que caracterizaram a difusão do pensamento kleiniano nas Sociedades de Psicanálise do Brasil. Trata-se de uma pesquisa histórica de natureza qualitativa, realizada com base em entrevistas com 13 psicanalistas que participaram dessa difusão. As primeiras influências surgiram a partir de 1950, por intermédio de pioneiros que fizeram formação na Inglaterra ou na Argentina. As áreas em que os kleinianos foram pioneiros - psicanálise de crianças e análise de psicóticos - constituíram-se nos primeiros focos de utilização deste referencial no país. De 1950 a 1970, evidenciou-se uma apreensão dogmática das idéias kleinianas. A partir de 1980, com o advento de novas traduções da obra de Melanie Klein, e com a introdução do pensamento kleiniano contemporâneo, constata-se uma utilização mais equilibrada deste modelo teórico-técnico.

Experiências da prática associativa no Brasil (1860-1880)

A presente pesquisa reúne algumas reflexões acerca da prática da filantropia e do mutualismo no Brasil, a partir da análise de estatutos e atas de fundação de algumas associações de ajuda mútua do Rio de Janeiro, entre os anos de 1860 e 1889. A partir da análise dessas fontes, pretende-se entender como tais associações se estruturavam; como elas se viam e viam a sociedade na qual se encontravam inseridas; como se processavam as relações entre as associações e o Estado Imperial e entre elas e as outras associações civis existentes; entender as motivações que levavam as pessoas à prática da ajuda mútua; perceber os valores, rituais e crenças que eram compartilhados pelos seus membros; e, por fim, dimensionar o impacto deste processo associativista sobre a cultura cívica em vigor.

A miragem da miscigenação

Neste artigo abordamos alguns aspectos da natureza da sociedade escravista - na África e no Brasil - especialmente os significados da liberdade, cor, protesto entre os séculos XVII a XIX. Partimos de um diálogo crítico sobre as perspectivas de miscigenação, políticas de domínio e dinâmicas sociais nas sociedades escravistas e os desdobramentos para o seu funcionamento e mudança.

Information professionals in a globalized world: Digital inclusion initiatives in Brazil: Improving education and information seeking behavior through government‐academic partnerships

Information professionals in a globalized world: Digital inclusion initiatives in Brazil: Improving education and information seeking behavior through government‐academic partnerships

SOBRAMFA has promoted family medicine education in Brazil since 1992

Editor − Family medicine is not taught in Brazilian medical schools and family medicine faculty staff are absent in academic settings. Inspired by other countries’ associations of family medicine teachers, SOBRAMFA, the Brazilian Society for Family Medicine,1 was founded in 1992 as the first such society in Brazil to establish the basis and scientific method for family medicine, spreading its philosophy among medical students, residents and doctors. SOBRAMFA’s aim is to spark students’ interest in family medicine as a career by exposing them to the discipline’s values and practice. This exposure occurs mainly in the Mini-Fellowship in Family Medicine (MF2) programme, an elective clerkship for medical students. Students experience family medicine by seeing patients under the supervision of SOBRAMFA faculty and residents in a range of practice settings. So far, over 300 students from 30 different Brazilian medical schools have completed the MF2 experience. Over the last 10 years, some of the students who started on SOBRAMFA’s undergraduate programmes have graduated and currently hold director positions in SOBRAMFA. The Fitness Programme (FP) is an innovative residency programme in family medicine founded by SOBRAMFA in 2003. This programme’s hallmarks are continuity of care and excellence in patient care. Settings for learning and practice include home visits, ambulatory clinics, chronic patient management, palliative care, the hospital, longterm care facilities, women’s health and pre-operative evaluation. Ongoing educational activities enhance learning and provide a collaborative environment that facilitates application and teamwork, so that graduates become family doctors, teachers, thinkers and leaders. SOBRAMFA is addressing family medicine as an academic discipline2 by teaching through a new paradigm, the cornerstones of which are learning how to integrate theoretical knowledge and searching for current information to apply in patient care. SOBRAMFA’s teaching model aims to educate both technical and humanistic doctors, and is focused on learning attitudes, the core value of medical education. Although this teaching approach can be applied in any specialty, the family doctor emerges as an excellent role model.3 In addition to these valuable educational experiences, health insurance and private companies represent further opportunities for family medicine as they demand the provision of quality medical care and competent doctors who meet patients’ needs. SOBRAMFA also provides continuous medical education to meet these expectations.

Dos encontros entre Estado e sociedade civil: um exercício de etnografia do pensamento moderno

In 1997 it was edited the collected paper “Third sector: sustained social development”. In 2003 the book “Government and civil society: a debate about democratic public space” was published. A shallow description would say that they are books that talk about democracy, citizenship and social development. However, in a deeper interpretation, a thick description, we can perceive something else in these publications. This essay is an exercise toward an ethnography of modern thought. Some papers published in these books are placed in context describing the historical moment of their production. And, they are analyzed like expressions of the thought about the relationship between the State and the civil society in Brazil. The article’s purpose is put in doubt the distinct positions that different actors take in these relations. Key words: Ethnography of Modern Thought; State; Civil Society; NGOs.

Comunidade Solidária: a proposta de um outro modelo para as políticas sociais

This article analyses the governmental program “Comunidade Solidária”, created in the President Cardoso’s first mandate (1995-1998) to provide social policies. This governmental program had a proposal of overcoming the long enduring political order of Patrimonialism in the behavior of the State by launching initiatives that merge the private sector and the NGO’s. The “Comunidade Solidária’s” conception and intentions are analysed by the Constitution of 1988, specially concerned with the social services (LOAS). The article concludes by “Alfabetização Solidária”, a sub-program aimed at the reduction of illiteracy, that the model of social policy proposed by “Comunidade Solidária” might be an advance towards higher levels of democratization in the relationship between State and Society in Brazil. Key words: Comunidade Solidária; Democracy; Fernando Henrique Cardoso; NGO’s; Social Policies.

Brazilian civil society in and out of focus: Considerations from a local case-study

From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, grassroots civil society in Brazil was seen as the seed-bed for the restoration of formal democracy (which occurred in 1985) and its subsequent ‘deepening’. In a story about democratic restoration and development, then current among activists and social scientists, a range of popular movements, new forms of association, and inter-regional networks at the grassroots, were thought to constitute an ever-expanding, increasingly dense, and vital civil society capable not only of resisting authoritarian rule but nurturing a new, non-clientelist, and more participatory democracy.1 The bright lights signalling a new civil society included the Church Base Communities, the residential movements in the bairros populares and favelas, the health movement of São Paulo's Zona Leste, the new union movement exemplified by Lula's metalúrgicos in the later 70s, and the Movimento dos Sem Terra (MST) in rural areas.

Land Reform and Biodiversity Conservation in Brazil in the 1990s: Conflict and the Articulation of Mutual Interests

Abstract: Land‐reform and environmental movements, revitalized by the democratization of civil society in Brazil in the 1990s, found their objectives in conflict over forested parcels that settlers want for conversion to agriculture but that are important for wildlife conservation. In the Atlantic Forest, where 95% of the forest is gone, we reviewed three cases of Brazilian nongovernmental organization (NGOs) engagement with the land‐reform movement with respect to forest remnants neighboring protected areas that have insufficient habitat for the long‐term survival of unique endangered species. In the Pontal do Paranapanema (São Paulo), Poço das Antas (Rio de Janeiro), and southern Bahia, environmental NGOs have supported agricultural alternatives that improve livelihood options and provide incentives for habitat conservation planning. Where land‐reform groups were better organized, technical cooperation on settlement agriculture permitted the exploration of mutual interests in conciliating the productive landscape with conservation objectives. Processes of regular consultation among NGOs, environmental agencies, and the private sector revealed that there was less zero‐sum conflict over the same lands than commonly perceived. In both groups, technicians found forested lands less suitable for small‐scale agriculture, and leaders took risks to justify and support claims to alternative existing agricultural lands. Based on the cases we examined, the construction of landscapes with both forest stewardship and poverty‐reducing agrarian reform faces continued obstacles from contradictory agrarian and environmental sector policies and inadequate economic incentives for forest stewardship on private lands.

John Davis Wirth (1936–2002)

John Davis Wirth (1936–2002)

Science, Communication and Society in Brazil, the narrative of deficit

If there is a peculiarity in the way of doing science and in the way of communicating science in Brazil, it is in the use of the idea of "deficit" in political and economic discourses, as well as in the discourses of socio-technical networks. Our proposal here is not to affirm or reject the existence of this deficit, but rather to understand its workings and its construction as a way of bringing about networks of interest that make use of this idea. For us, this is not an idea which is restricted to the discourse of researchers or of journalists and scientific broadcasters; there is also an echo in the general society, and in different spheres and situations. The idea of deficit with regard to scientific knowledge is functional in Brazil, in conjunction with the idea that the country itself has a deficiency in relation to developed countries. It is as if there were two levels of deficit which join together and empower each other.

Sources for the Study of Brazilian Economic and Social History on the Internet

Sources for the Study of Brazilian Economic and Social History on the Internet