Crossroads of Empowerment: The Organisation of Women Domestic Workers in Brazil

The organisation of women domestic workers in Brazil reveals a process of collective empowerment at work in a society where gender, race, and class inequalities intersect, giving rise to complex mosaics. Analysing processes of empowerment in these circumstances calls for abandoning universalising visions of women and recognising differences and inequalities beyond gender in multiracial and multicultural societies. Women domestic workers face class contradictions in establishing harmonious relationships with women bosses, who are also participants as workers in unions and other political spaces. This contradiction creates difficulties in constructing a common agenda for the advancement of domestic workers' labour rights. This article draws on participatory research with women domestic workers in the city of Salvador in north?east Brazil, and aims to analyse some of the consequences of the articulation of gender, race, and class inequalities in their lives, how these inequalities obstruct women's pathways of empowerment and what women domestic workers are doing to seek greater rights, recognition and justice

Population Trend of Canola Aphid, Lipaphis Erysimi (Kalt) (Homoptera: Aphididae) And It’s Associated Bio-Control Agent, Coccinella Septempunctata (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Different Brassica Lines

Studies regarding the determination of population trend of Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt) and its associated bio-control agent, Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus) in different brassica lines, were conducted at the New Developmental Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar during cropping season (2012-2013). Four different brassica lines IBGE-I, IBGE-II, IBGE-III and IBGE-IV were used, which were replicated four times in Randomized Complete Block Design. The data revealed that aphid’s infestation invariably started in all four varieties during 2nd week of February 2013 (1st observation). The peak population of 2.47 aphid’s leaf -1 was recorded during 3rd week of March and lowest population of 1.67 aphid’s leaf -1 was recorded during 2nd week of April. The specie of ladybird beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) was first time appeared on 14th February with mean number of (0.22 ladybird beetle plant -1). At the time when aphid’s population started to increase, the peak population of C. septempunctata (1.32 ladybird beetle plant-1) was recorded on the 3rd week of March. Among all the Brassica lines, IBGE-I showed comparatively more resistance by recording least number of aphids on it as compared to IBGE-III, IBGE-IV and IBGE-II. IBGE-II showed least resistance against Lipaphis erysimi, which was found to be most susceptible cultivar by recording highest mean number of aphid’s population on it. IBGE-I was also found superior in terms of bio-control agents. Maximum number of bio-control agents was recorded on IBGE-I followed by IBGE-III and IBGE-IV. Lowest number of beetles was recorded on IBGE-II. Keywords: Lipaphis erysimi, Coccinella septempunctata, Brassica lines

Clinical and genetic analysis of 29 Brazilian patients with Huntington’s disease-like phenotype

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by chorea, behavioral disturbances and dementia, caused by a pathological expansion of the CAG trinucleotide in the HTT gene. Several patients have been recognized with the typical HD phenotype without the expected mutation. The objective of this study was to assess the occurrence of diseases such as Huntington’s disease-like 2 (HDL2), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) 1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA7, dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) and choreaacanthocytosis (ChAc) among 29 Brazilian patients with a HD-like phenotype. In the group analyzed, we found 3 patients with HDL2 and 2 patients with ChAc. The diagnosis was not reached in 79.3% of the patients. HDL2 was the main cause of the HD-like phenotype in the group analyzed, and is attributable to the African ancestry of this population. However, the etiology of the disease remains undetermined in the majority of the HD negative patients with HD-like phenotype. Key words: Huntington’s disease, Huntington’s disease-like, chorea-acanthocytosis, Huntington’s disease-like 2

Intention of preserving forest remnants among landowners in the Atlantic Forest: The role of the ecological context via ecosystem services

Unravelling the psychological processes determining landowners' support towards forest conservation is crucial, particularly in rural areas of the tropics, where most forest remnants are within private lands. As human–nature connections are known to shape pro‐environmental behaviours, the intention of preserving forest remnants should ultimately be determined by the ecological context people live in. Here, we investigate the pathways through which the ecological context (forest cover), via direct contact with forests and ecosystem services and disservices, influence the psychological antecedents of conservation behaviour (beliefs, attitude and intention of preserving forest remnants). We conceptualized a model based on the Reasoned Action Approach, using the ecological context and these three forest experiences as background factors, and tested the model using Piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Data were collected through an interview‐based protocol applied to 106 landowners across 13 landscapes varying in forest cover in a consolidated rural region in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Our results indicate that: (a) ecosystem services are more important than disservices for shaping intention of preserving forests, particularly non‐provisioning services; (b) contact with forest has an indirect effect on intention, by positively influencing the frequency of receiving ecosystem services; (c) people living in more forested ecological contexts have more contact with forests, receive ecosystem services more frequently and, ultimately, have stronger intention of preserving forests. Hence, our study suggests a dangerous positive feedback loop between deforestation, the extinction of forest experiences and impairment of human–nature connections. Local demands across the full range of ecosystem services, the balance between services and disservices and the ecological context people live in should be considered when developing conservation initiatives in tropical rural areas

When enough should be enough: Improving the use of current agricultural lands could meet production demands and spare natural habitats in Brazil

Providing food and other products to a growing human population while safeguarding natural ecosystems and the provision of their services is a significant scientific, social and political challenge. With food demand likely to double over the next four decades, anthropization is already driving climate change and is the principal force behind species extinction, among other environmental impacts. The sustainable intensification of production on current agricultural lands has been suggested as a key solution to the competition for land between agriculture and natural ecosystems. However, few investigations have shown the extent to which these lands can meet projected demands while considering biophysical constraints. Here we investigate the improved use of existing agricultural lands and present insights into avoiding future competition for land. We focus on Brazil, a country projected to experience the largest increase in agricultural production over the next four decades and the richest nation in terrestrial carbon and biodiversity. Using various models and climatic datasets, we produced the first estimate of the carrying capacity of Brazil's 115 million hectares of cultivated pasturelands. We then investigated if the improved use of cultivated pasturelands would free enough land for the expansion of meat, crops, wood and biofuel, respecting biophysical constraints (i.e., terrain, climate) and including climate change impacts. We found that the current productivity of Brazilian cultivated pasturelands is 32–34% of its potential and that increasing productivity to 49–52% of the potential would suffice to meet demands for meat, crops, wood products and biofuels until at least 2040, without further conversion of natural ecosystems. As a result up to 14.3 Gt CO2 Eq could be mitigated. The fact that the country poised to undergo the largest expansion of agricultural production over the coming decades can do so without further conversion of natural habitats provokes the question whether the same can be true in other regional contexts and, ultimately, at the global scale

Family farming in the agricultural census of 2006: the legal mark and the options for their identification.

(Agricultura familiar no censo agropecuário 2006: o marco legal e as opções para sua identificação). Visando delimitar a agricultura familiar no Censo Agropecuário 2006, o Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário (MDA) e o Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) elaboraram metodologia para construção de uma variável identificando os estabelecimentos agropecuários recenseados e que se ajustam ao conceito previsto na Lei n.11.326, de 24 de julho de 2006. O texto apresenta os passos metodológicos utilizados e alguns resultados

Importância e necessidade de alimentos em geral, no Brasil, com ênfase no feijão: produção e consumo

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar sucintamente a produção de alimentos em geral, principalmente, do feijão no Brasil, em 2007 e 2008, conforme IBGE/LSPA de julho de 2008, e o respectivo consumo com base nos dados do IBGE e do DIEESE, para entender melhor o consumo per capita anual de feijão

Zoneamento de riscos climáticos para a semeadura do Capim-Marandu em municípios do estado de São Paulo.

O Estado de São Paulo possui cerca de 7 milhões de hectares de pastagens, dos quais quase 60% são pastos plantados (IBGE, 2008). Levantamento realizado pela Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo mostra que 89% das pastagens do estado são formadas por braquiárias (SÃO PAULO, 2010). No último censo agropecuário, 8% da área de pastagens plantadas no Estado de São Paulo foram consideradas degradadas pelos produtores (IBGE, 2008).bitstream/item/42523/1/Documentos101.pd