TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND REGIONAL INEQUALITY: DO TRANSPORTATION COSTS IMPOSE A SPATIAL POVERTY TRAP?

In this paper, we focus on the regional (intra-national) impacts of barriers to trade, in the form of tariffs, in a national economy. More specifically, we are concerned with the spatial impediments for the internal transmission of the potential benefits of trade liberalization, in the form of high transportation costs that the more remote regions face. A cost-competitiveness approach, base don relative changes in the sectoral and regional cost and demand structures, is adopted to isolate the likely spatial effects of further tariff reductions in Brazil. It tackles the three basis for the analytical framework proposed in the literature: comparative advantage is grasped through the use of differential regional production technologies; geographical advantage is verified through the explicit modeling of the transportation services and the costs of moving products based on origin-destination pairs, as well as increasing returns associated to agglomeration economies; and cumulative causation appears through the operation of internal and external multipliers and interregional spillover effects in comparative-static experiments, such as those proposed here.

Embrapa Technological Information: a bridge between research and society

This paper presents the efforts undertaken by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation regarding Science and Technology information management, through one of its Decentralized Units, Embrapa Technological Information (Scientific and Technological Information Service', SCT). The major aim of SCT is to promote and improve the processes of scientific communication - information that feeds and that results from research activities - and of science and technology dissemination - information that results from research activities and that is directed to the general publi

Competências, Processos e Estratégias em Gestão de Design: uma abordagem multidimensional para um modelo conceitual

Over the past six decades, the focus shift caused by the evolving role of design in business environment has leveraged design to the rank of strategic factor of competitive advantage. As a theoretical and managerial background, Design Management is responsible for managing the design as part of the company’s strategic intention, properly inserting and integrating capabilities, processes and strategies. Although it is already consolidated as knowledge, conceptual frameworks can be continuously developed to better approach the reality of companies. This paper presents a conceptual model of Design Management developed through theoretical background and qualitative research with rounds of in-depth interviews within companies and with experts and designers. The first two stages of interviews with experts and designers allowed the analysis of design use in companies helping to map the processes related to design, identifying their role in the dynamics of companies and how they are managed. The results, together with the theoretical background made possible to outline a conceptual model of Design Management consisting of three dimensions that was, in a final stage of research, reviewed by experts and designers and verified in the practice of companies and in theory.Keywords: conceptual framework, design management, design management theory.Nas últimas seis décadas, a mudança de foco causada pela evolução do papel do design no ambiente de negócios alavancou- o à posição de fator estratégico para vantagem competitiva. Como fundamento teórico e gerencial, a Gestão de Design é responsável por gerenciar design como parte da intenção estratégica da empresa, inserindo e integrando competências, processos e estratégias apropriadamente. Embora o tema esteja consolidado como conhecimento, modelos conceituais podem ser continuamente desenvolvidos para melhor abordar a realidade das empresas. Este artigo apresenta um modelo conceitual de Gestão de Design desenvolvido através de fundamentos teóricos e de pesquisa qualitativa com rodadas de entrevistas em profundidade em empresas e com especialistas e designers. As primeiras duas etapas de entrevistas com especialistas e designers permitiram a análise do uso do design nas empresas auxiliando a mapear os processos relacionados ao design, identificando seu papel na dinâmica da empresa e sua gestão. Esses resultados, junto com a revisão teórica, tornaram possível delinear um modelo conceitual de Gestão de Design composto por três dimensões, que foi, na etapa final de pesquisa, revisado por especialistas e designers e verificado na prática das empresas e na teoria. Palavras-chave: Modelo conceitual, gestão de design, teoria de gestão de design

Diagnostic performance of thermograms and mammograms for breast cancer detection

In this paper we carry out a comparative study between mammograms and thermograms, involving 200 women, in order to bring a new light on the current situation of thermography as an effective tool to support mammography in prevention and monitoring the breast cancer

Educação e condição feminina em um tratado de Alexandre de Gusmão escrito na América Portuguesa no final do século XVII

Neste artigo apresentamos uma análise dos discursos acerca da educação e da condição feminina presentes na obra Arte de crear bem os filhos na idade da Puericia. Escrita na América Portuguesa, mas publicada inicialmente em Portugal no ano de 1685, a obra de autoria do padre jesuíta Alexandre de Gusmão (1629-1724) destinou seu último capítulo, “Do especial cuidado que se deve ter na criação das meninas”, para tratar das advertências necessárias à boa educação de raparigas. No contexto de produção da obra educativa proposta por Alexandre de Gusmão, queremos propor a análise de um conjunto de enunciados que colocam em evidência uma espécie de ordenamento das condições de vida e das orientações educativas de sujeitos infantis femininos. Inferimos que a propagação de obras de cunho moralista no espaço luso-brasileiro entre os séculos XVII e XVIII possibilitou a circulação de tais ordens enunciativas, influenciando, significativamente, o comportamento social da época. A partir de uma perspectiva histórica e filosófica, principalmente através de referenciais teóricos foucaultianos, entendemos que a obra foi um eficiente mecanismo que atuou na constituição discursiva de modelos específicos de educação para garantir a produção de um determinado tipo de sujeito infantil feminino. Notadamente, identificamos duas normativas que advertiam sobre a boa criação das meninas cristãs através das práticas de guarda e recolhimento.In this paper we present an analysis of the discourses about education and the female condition present in the work Arte de crear bem os filhos na Idade da Puericia [Art of raising children well at the age of childhood]. Written in the Portuguese America, but initially published in Portugal in 1685, the work by the Jesuit priest Alexandre de Gusmão (1629-1724) assigned its last chapter, “Of the special care that must be taken in raising girls”, to address the warnings necessary for the good upbringing of girls. In the context of production of the educational work proposed by Alexandre de Gusmão, we want to propose the analysis of a set of statements that put in evidence a kind of ordering of the living conditions and educational guidelines of female children. We infer that the propagation of works of a moralist nature in the Luso-Brazilian space between the 17th and 18th centuries enabled the circulation of such enunciative orders, significantly influencing the social behavior of the time. From a historical and philosophical perspective, mainly through Foucauldian theoretical references, we understand that the work was an efficient mechanism that acted in the discursive constitution on specific models of education to guarantee the production of a certain type of female child subject. Notably, we identified two regulations that warned about the good upbringing of Christian girls through the practices of guardianship and retreat

Barriers and critical sucess factors applying cleaner production : a survey with Brazilian specialists

Cleaner Production is an initiative seeking for achieving sustainable development goals. Yet, it has not been satisfactorily disseminated in Brazilian industries. The purpose of this article was identifying the barriers and critical success factors, considering both the external and internal Brazilian environment. A survey was conducted among the professionals involved with the subject of Cleaner Production in Brazil, reaching 185 respondents. Data was analyzed using the Principal Component Analysis. The results indicated that the main success factors concern the organization characteristics, and are related to culture, strategic planning and resources for the implementation of Cleaner Production. In the case of barriers, it can be highlighted the inadequate vision and culture of organizations, followed by the lack of support from the external environment. Contrary to other studies, economic aspects did not seem to be crucial in the opinion of respondents. When measures that can be taken for a more effective dissemination of CP in Brazil are approached, it can be perceived that a repositioning of the external environment (government, other companies, academia, and consumers) is necessary, acting as a strong incentive and support for applying CP

Voluntary Certification of Carbon Emission in Brazil - The Experience of an Electricity Trader

Few countries in the world have such availability of natural resources as Brazil. Even so, the country records increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to electricity, and this is due to political and economic factors. This chapter shows the experience of the largest Brazilian power trader in its pioneering effort to develop voluntary certifications (2011) in power buy and sell transactions, along with other energy efficiency actions. The initiative has accumulated 9 years’ experience with more than 1600 units in different industries, using a methodology aligned with the Paris Agreement. The chapter presents the calculation methodology and the safeguards that ensure information integrity and verification of the certified indicators. Only renewable sources are used in this methodology, such sources being qualified as incentivized by their sustainability characteristics being small-size power plants (less than 30 MW of capacity installed)