Understanding the use of digital payments in Brazil: An analysis from the perspective of digital divide measures

This paper analyzes the factors that influence the use of digital payments in Brazil from the perspective of digital divide studies. For this purpose, the research uses the microdata of the 2019 edition of a Brazilian nationwide survey named ICT Households Survey. The main findings demonstrate that women, as well as users of low-income social class, were less likely to use digital payments. The results also indicate that although different studies highlight the relevance of mobile phones as a means to promote digital financial inclusion to low-income groups, this paper\u27s findings show that the exclusive use of mobile phones to access the Internet had a negative impact on the use of digital payments. These results demonstrate the need to better understand the implications of the exclusive use of this type of device in harnessing digital financial services in the context of developing countries of the global South

FATORES QUE INFLUENCIAM O USO DE SERVIÇOS DE GOVERNO ELETRÔNICO NO BRASIL

El presente artículo tiene el objetivo de explotar los datos secundarios (micro datos) de la investigación TIC Domicilios, con la finalidad de comprender cómo el uso de servicios de gobierno electrónico es influenciado por los diferentes locales de acceso a Internet y por las competencias de uso de los usuarios brasileños de Internet. Para tanto, esta investigación se fundamentó en el abordaje de las Capacidades desarrollado por el economista Amartya Sen. Los procedimientos referentes al tratamiento y análisis de datos se basaron en la aplicación de técnicas estadísticas descriptivas (análisis de frecuencia univariado y bivariado) y multivariado (regresión logística binaria). Los resultados indican que el uso de los servicios de gobierno electrónico está fuertemente relacionado a las siguientes competencias: uso del e-mail, ecommerce (busca de productos y servicios) y servicios financieros (consultas). Tales competencias son favorecidas por el acceso a Internet en casa y en el trabajo, vías preferidas a las demás alternativas de acceso, como los locutorios / lan-houses (centros públicos de acceso gratuito) y los tele centros (centros públicos de acceso gratuito). Finalmente, el artículo discute las potenciales implicaciones de los resultados de esta investigación en el desarrollo de políticas públicas de inclusión digital.The purpose of this paper is to explore the secondary data (microdata) from Brazilian “ICT in households and enterprises Survey” in order to understand how the individuals’ use of electronic government services (e-gov) is affected by their location of access to the internet and usage competences of Brazilian internet users. To this end, this research was based on the approach of the capabilities developed by economist Amartya Sen. The procedures concerning processing and data analysis were based on the application of descriptive (univariate and bivariate analysis of frequency) and multivariate statistical techniques (binary logistic regression). The results indicate that the use of e-government services is closely related to the following skills: e-mail usage, e-commerce (search for goods and services) and financial services (consultations). Such skills are favored by Internet access at home and at work, preferred routes to other alternatives such as Internet cafes (public centers providing free access) and tele-centers (public centers with free access). Finally, the article discusses the potential implications of the results of this research in the development of public policies for digital inclusion.O presente artigo tem como objetivo explorar os dados secundários (microdados) da pesquisa TIC Domicílios, a fim de compreender como o uso de serviços de governo eletrônico é influenciado pelos diferentes locais de acesso à internet e pelas competências de uso dos internautas brasileiros. Para tanto, esta investigação fundamentou-se na abordagem das Capacidades desenvolvida pelo economista Amartya Sen. Os procedimentos referentes ao tratamento e análise de dados basearam-se na aplicação de técnicas estatísticas descritivas (análise de frequência univariada e bivariada) e multivariada (regressão logística binária). Os resultados indicam que o uso dos serviços de governo eletrônico está fortemente relacionado às seguintes competências: uso do e-mail, e-commerce (busca de produtos e serviços) e serviços financeiros (consultas). Tais competências são favorecidas pelo acesso à internet em casa e no trabalho, vias preferidas às demais alternativas de acesso, como as lan-houses (centros públicos de acesso pago) e os telecentros (centros públicos de acesso gratuito). Por fim, o artigo discute as potenciais implicações dos resultados desta investigação no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas de inclusão digital

Basic Income with Digital Community Currency: Digital Platforms for Public Policies Implementation During Pandemic Crisis

This short paper presents a research-in-progress that discusses how basic income policies can be implemented using digital currency platforms and the implications of this approach in the context of the pandemic. We analyze the case of Banco Mumbuca, a non-profit organization that uses a community currency on a digital payment platform, E-Dinheiro, to deliver the basic income program of the Brazilian town of Maricá. This city program became one of the largest in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering both the amount of money transferred to municipal beneficiaries and the adoption rate of a community currency by citizens and the local commerce. We adopt the Design Science Research (DSR) approach to analyze the case, considering this implementation as two entangled sub-artifacts: the public policy and the digital community currency. These sub-artifacts will be analyzed from the perspective of the problems they intend to solve, the particular aspects of the designed solution, the evaluation of the solution by actors involved, and the discussion of the achieved outcomes. This study intends to contribute to the basic income discussion that emerged as a solution for economic recovery from the COVID-19, the strategies for scaling up community currencies, and the DSR as a strategy for producing impactful research in the ICT4D field

Memristor Behavior under Dark and Violet Illumination in Thin Films of ZnO/ZnO-Al Multilayers

ZnO/ZnO-Al thin films were grown aiming the development of a memristor. Electrical voltage sweeps were imposed to induce dopant migration and to achieve several resistance states. A memristor behavior was observed, presenting adaptation to external electrical stimulus. Voltage sweeps occurred under the influence of violet light and in the dark, alternately, and the influence of the photon incidence on the current intensity was noticed. Throughout the alternating cycles between light and dark, less resistance was observed under illumination, but the migration of Al and O ions caused the formation of Al2O3 and ZnO oxides, resulting in a gradual increase in resistance. With constant voltage, the device presented continuous modification of resistance and sensitivity to the violet light with generation of free carriers. These results bring new opportunities for using memristors as violet light sensors as well as new insights for light-controlled memristor development

Análise experimental de consolos instalados em etapa posterior à concretagem de pilar com auxílio de adesivo químico

A maior dificuldade no emprego das estruturas pré-moldadas está relacionada com as ligações, que podemser complexas e custosas, dependendo do projeto, contrapondo-se a uma das principais vantagens desse sistemaconstrutivo, a rapidez. Assim, a busca por soluções mais simples e econômicas corresponde a um dosprincípios mais importantes do projeto. Diante deste contexto, uma das alternativas a ser considerada duranteo projeto, visando melhorar a simplicidade na produção de pilares, é evitar furos e saliências nas fôrmas comelevado custo. O principal objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a alternativa de utilizar adesivos químicos para ainstalação das barras que compõem a armadura realizando a concretagem do consolo em etapa posterior àexecução do pilar. Foi desenvolvido um programa experimental no qual foram ensaiados três modelos emescala real com consolo curto de mesmas dimensões, dois consolos com armadura do tirante ancorada pormeio de ancoragem química e um consolo monolítico com armadura ancorada por meio de gancho dobrado a90º. O consolo monolítico (modelo A) foi projetado atendendo aos requisitos das normas NBR 6118:2014 eNBR 9062:2006. Um modelo (modelo B) com ancoragem química foi projetado com o mesmo comprimentode ancoragem do modelo monolítico e outro modelo (modelo C) com ancoragem química foi projetado conformeas recomendações do fabricante do adesivo químico. Desta forma, foi possível avaliar, através dacomparação entre os modelos, que o comprimento de ancoragem não apresentou influência no comportamentodos consolos pós-instalados. O modelo A apresentou carga última de 400 kN, o modelo B de 340 kN e omodelo C de 377 kN. Todos os modelos apresentaram ruptura por tração na flexão de forma dúctil e cargasúltimas maiores que o previsto por normas e modelos de cálculo. Assim, constatou-se que os consolos pósinstaladosapresentaram comportamento mecânico satisfatório, podendo ser considerado como uma soluçãoviável.Palavras-chave: Ancoragens químicas, concreto pré-moldado, ligações, consolos

Variance component estimation with longitudinal data: a simulation study with alternative methods

A pedigree structure distributed in three different places was generated. For each offspring, phenotypicinformation was generated for five different ages (12, 30, 48, 66 and 84 months). The data file was simulated allowing someinformation to be lost (10, 20, 30 and 40%) by a random process and by selecting the ones with lower phenotypic values,representing the selection effect. Three alternative analysis were used, the repeatability model, random regression model andmultiple-trait model. Random regression showed to be more adequate to continually describe the covariance structure ofgrowth over time than single-trait and repeatability models, when the assumption of a correlation between successivemeasurements in the same individual was different from one another. Without selection, random regression and multiple-traitmodels were very similar

Anaerobic And Aerobic Performances In Elite Basketball Players.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO PROPOSE A SPECIFIC LACTATE MINIMUM TEST FOR ELITE BASKETBALL PLAYERS CONSIDERING THE: Running Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST) as a hyperlactatemia inductor, short distances (specific distance, 20 m) during progressive intensity and mathematical analysis to interpret aerobic and anaerobic variables. The basketball players were assigned to four groups: All positions (n=26), Guard (n= 7), Forward (n=11) and Center (n=8). The hyperlactatemia elevation (RAST) method consisted of 6 maximum sprints over 35 m separated by 10 s of recovery. The progressive phase of the lactate minimum test consisted of 5 stages controlled by an electronic metronome (8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 11.0 and 12.0 km/h) over a 20 m distance. The RAST variables and the lactate values were analyzed using visual and mathematical models. The intensity of the lactate minimum test, determined by a visual method, reduced in relation to polynomial fits (2nd degree) for the Small Forward positions and General groups. The Power and Fatigue Index values, determined by both methods, visual and 3rd degree polynomial, were not significantly different between the groups. In conclusion, the RAST is an excellent hyperlactatemia inductor and the progressive intensity of lactate minimum test using short distances (20 m) can be specifically used to evaluate the aerobic capacity of basketball players. In addition, no differences were observed between the visual and polynomial methods for RAST variables, but lactate minimum intensity was influenced by the method of analysis.42137-4

Chrotopterus auritus (Peters, 1856) (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae): First Record for the State of Rio Grande Do Norte, Northeastern Brazil

Chrotopterus auritus is a phyllostomid bat with a wide distribution in the Neotropics. It has been recorded in Brazil’s 6 biomes but with few records in the Caatinga. We provide the first record of C. auritus for Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil, based on records from 2 caves, Três Inchu and Gruta da Carrapateira. The nearest records are ca. 400 km southeast in Ceará state and ca. 350 km northwest in Pernambuco state. Our new records fill the northeastern distributional gap of C. auritus in Brazil and South America

The relationship between (sub)tropical climates and the incidence of COVID-19

This work explores (non)linear associations between relative humidity and temperature and the incidence of COVID-19 among 27 Brazilian state capital cities in (sub)tropical climates, measured daily from summer through winter. Previous works analyses have shown that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, finds stability by striking a certain balance between relative humidity and temperature, which indicates the possibility of surface contact transmission. The question remains whether seasonal changes associated with climatic fluctuations might actively influence virus survival. Correlations between climatic variables and infectivity rates of SARS-CoV-2 were applied by the use of a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) and the Locally Estimated Scatterplot Smoothing LOESS nonparametric model. Tropical climates allow for more frequent outdoor human interaction, making such areas ideal for studies on the natural transmission of the virus. Outcomes revealed an inverse relationship between subtropical and tropical climates for the spread of the novel coronavirus and temperature, suggesting a sensitivity behavior to climates zones. Each 1 °C rise of the daily temperature mean correlated with a −11.76% (t = −5.71, p < 0.0001) decrease and a 5.66% (t = 5.68, p < 0.0001) increase in the incidence of COVID-19 for subtropical and tropical climates, respectively