Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinationals in Developing Countries: A Study in Brazil

Since the rise of the corporation in its modern form in the late nineteenth century, there has been a public concern about the impacts on society associated with the growth of corporate power (Jenkins, 2005). More recently, greater attention is being paid to the role of transnational corporations in developing countries. Globally operating businesses have been called upon to enhance their commitment to the public interest and lead the implementation of corporate social responsible (CSR) practices in developing economies (Raynard and Forstater, 2002; Luetkenhorst, 2004). However, the extent to which multinationals are actually committed to CSR in these countries still remains largely unknown given that most of the empirical studies on CSR have been developed in the context of high income economies (Arora and Puranik, 2004; Belal, 2001; Blowfield and Frynas, 2005). This dissertation contributes to the development of academic research on CSR in developing countries. Besides reviewing the literature related to CSR in developing countries, in Latin America and in Brazil, this study examines to what extent CSR practices differ between large national companies and multinationals in Brazil by scrutinising, using content analysis, social and environmental disclosures in annual reports and corporate websites. The results reveal that multinationals generally present lower levels of CSR adoption in Brazil than large national companies. Through the analysis of the several national and international influences which shape the nature of CSR in this particular country, this study also suggests possible reasons for different levels of CSR adoption between national companies and multinationals. As a way forward, there is the need to perform similar studies in other developing countries in order to examine the extent to which conclusions here obtained can be generalized. Furthermore, given that the empirical study suggests that the potential of multinationals to act as drivers of CSR is far from being fulfilled, there is the need to assess the effectiveness of voluntary agreements currently in place, such as the OECD Guidelines for multinationals and the United Nations Global Compact, as well as test alternative approaches. Finally, this study sheds light on the fact that there is still much to learn about CSR in developing countries and a wide scope for research on this subject, including the actual contributions of CSR to the social and economic development of these economies

Direito, legitimidade e conflito social: estratégias e impasses

Nos últimos anos, o pensar sobre o direito, enquanto práticas, instituições e ideologia, tem ocupado alguns pesquisadores que procuram perceber a problemática do direito e da sociedade fora dos padrões dogmáticos. Tal esforço tem apresentado produtos extremamente enriquecedores à problemática colocada, tanto a nível dos conflitos urbanos, quanto rurais. As questões da legalidade e da legitimidade saem de um território estritamente jurídico e passam a fazer parte de estudos sociológicos, políticos e antropológicos, que se detêm na análise da concretude da vida social

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On measuring colloidal volume fractions

Hard-sphere colloids are popular as models for testing fundamental theories in condensed matter and statistical physics, from crystal nucleation to the glass transition. A single parameter, the volume fraction (phi), characterizes an ideal, monodisperse hard-sphere suspension. In comparing experiments with theories and simulation, researchers to date have paid little attention to likely uncertainties in experimentally-quoted phi values. We critically review the experimental measurement of phi in hard-sphere colloids, and show that while statistical uncertainties in comparing relative values of phi can be as low as 0.0001, systematic errors of 3-6% are probably unavoidable. The consequences of this are illustrated by way of a case study comparing literature data sets on hard-sphere viscosity and diffusion.Comment: 11 page

An introduction to violence against women as a human rights and public health problem

O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar àqueles(as) que se iniciam no estudo da violência praticada contra as mulheres uma breve contextualização histórica do modo como, gradualmente, este se tornou um tema do campo dos Direitos Humanos e da Saúde Pública. Partimos da Declaração Universal dos Direitos dos Homens para, em seguida, discutirmos sua importância para o campo dos Direitos Humanos e analisarmos a polêmica entre direitos humanos versus direitos das mulheres. Posteriormente, apresentamos as diversas convenções e tratados internacionais de proteção dos direitos das mulheres e sua importância para a conscientização da Saúde Pública, com relação ao fenômeno da violência. Inicialmente abordada como "causas externas" de morbidade e mortalidade, devido à grande incidência e aos elevados prejuízos sociais, econômicos e de saúde (física e psicológica), atualmente a violência é reconhecida como um campo específico e urgente de intervenção sob a perspectiva da Saúde Pública. De modo particular, a violência praticada contra as mulheres é um problema de proporções mundiais, que atinge pessoas de todas as classes sociais, religiões e etnias. Afirmamos que, a partir da inclusão da violência contra as mulheres na arena dos direitos humanos e da Saúde Pública, começaram a ocorrer transformações mais efetivas nas políticas legais de muitos países, como a criação de programas de intervenção e outros suportes. Por fim, apresentamos a situação do Brasil com relação à igualdade de gênero.The aim of this paper is to show to those who are beginning to study the subject of violence against women a brief historical overview of the way it gradually became a theme of the fields of Human Rights and Public Health. We start with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to discuss its importance for the field of Human Rights and to analyze the polemic between human rights versus women's rights. After that, we present the international treaties and conventions that protect women's rights and their importance to raise the awareness of the Public Health field about violence. Initially seen as "external causes" of morbidity and mortality, because of its high incidence and several social, economic and health (physical and psychological) damages, nowadays violence is seen as a specific domain of the Public Health field that needs urgent intervention. In particular, violence against women is a global problem that reaches people of all social classes, religions and ethnic groups. We claim that, since the inclusion of violence against women in the fields of Human Rights and Public Health, more effective transformations in the legal policies of several countries have begun to occur, like the creation of interventional programs and other supports. At the end, we show Brazil's position about gender equality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio