Context and theorizing in the global South: Challenges and opportunities for an international dialogue

Brazilian researchers have been encouraged to internationalize their research, expanding their insertions into high impact international journals. This task in turn demands thinking outside the commonly used Eurocentric prism. How can Brazilian scholars say something that would be of interest globally and have an impact on the work done in the global North? How should the researcher from the global South deal with context in the international dialogue to avoid being perceived as the exotic Other? This interview with professor Guliz Ger addresses these and other important issues related to the challenge of theorizing and publishing research from a global perspective. Professor Ger’s work inspires Brazilian researchers in their internationalization efforts by offering concrete examples of how to theorize, strategies to overcome editors’ and journals’ prejudices and convince the international audience of the value of global South, and more particularly, Brazilian research. Professor Ger’s experience as a visiting professor in numerous universities around the world including in Brazil, and her service on a number of journal editorial boards, including the Journal of Consumer Research, for which she served as Associate Editor, provided the background for this interview produced by Maribel Suarez and Thaysa Nascimento

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Meanings of consumption and abandonment: understanding smoking cessation symbolism

In consumption studies, very little attention has been focused on investigating abandonment and, more specifically, its symbolic dimension. The present study aims to investigate how meanings are created and negotiated through the abandonment of cigarettes. This study used a qualitative methodology to collect and analyze the data generated by one-on-one semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 Brazilian ex-smokers. Results suggest that abandonment of cigarettes can be offered as a connection, gift, or sacrifice that makes relations special and even magical. As regards abandonment, the present study evidences the interactions and movements of positive and negative meanings related to the consumption and non-consumption of a category. The study proposes a framework that highlights the cooling, decontamination, reinforcement and defensive symbolical movements, thus constructing a tool for analyzing abandonment, offering possible paths of intervention for organizations that are interested in this issue

[pt] CRIAÇÃO, MOVIMENTO E NEGOCIAÇÃO DE SIGNIFICADOS A PARTIR DO NÃO CONSUMO: UM ESTUDO DO ABANDONO DAS CATEGORIAS DE AUTOMÓVEL E CIGARRO

No campo do comportamento do consumidor, muito se estudou sobre o que motiva os indivíduos a adotarem determinado consumo. As decisões de abandono, entretanto, são um tema praticamente inexplorado, ainda que capazes de proporcionar importantes aprendizados para empresas, governos e organizações não governamentais no contexto atual de intensa competição, críticas ao consumo e questionamento dos seus impactos no meio ambiente. O presente trabalho contribui com o conhecimento da área através da investigação dos significados que motivam e são criados a partir da escolha deliberada de abrir mão de algo anteriormente consumido (abandono). O trabalho utiliza-se de metodologia qualitativa, no processo de coleta e análise dos dados, gerados a partir de entrevistas em profundidade com 29 ex-consumidores de duas categorias bastante distintas: cigarros e automóveis. Os resultados sugerem três conjuntos de fatores que resultam nessa decisão, delineando três tipos de abandono: 1) abandono contingencial; 2) abandono posicional; e 3) abandono ideológico. A presente pesquisa preenche ainda uma lacuna do campo ao estudar os rituais de não consumo no abandono e evidenciar que os indivíduos se apropriam de significados relacionados aos produtos não apenas através da sua compra e uso, mas também através de sua abstenção. No abandono, o indivíduo abre mão da funcionalidade relacionada ao produto, no entanto, as associações simbólicas continuam sendo usadas, criadas e manipuladas mesmo depois que este acontece. Complementando o esquema conceitual de McCracken (2003), onde são destacados os rituais de consumo (troca, posse, arrumação e descarte), o estudo sugere cinco tipos de rituais de abandono (de descontaminação, esfriamento, luto, reforço e defensivos). A pesquisa destaca ainda o abandono como ritual de passagem, onde essa decisão termina por sinalizar mudanças na condição social dos indivíduos, evidenciando não apenas aquilo que o consumidor se torna, mas, em alguns casos, o que gostaria de ser, concretizando, mesmo que provisoriamente, esperanças e ideais. O trabalho destaca a importância do contexto de reforço ou questionamento ao consumo para a negociação de significados que se estabelece a partir do abandono. No caso de produtos cujo consumo é questionado, o abandono, em geral, representa o movimento de distanciamento dos significados do produto e da identidade do consumidor. No caso dos produtos cujo consumo é reforçado no ambiente social, como o automóvel, o abandono abre tanto a possibilidade de estigmatização quanto de diferenciação positiva, onde o indivíduo cria novos significados, identidades almejadas e se aproxima de grupos de referência positivos. A pesquisa evidencia, assim, a complexidade dos movimentos associativos e dissociativos operados pelo abandono. Por fim, o trabalho destaca como o contexto influencia as dinâmicas de movimento e negociação dos significados que se estabelecem a partir rituais de abandono nos planos privado, de grupo e coletivo e sua influência na transformação dos conteúdos simbólicos contidos nas categorias de produto.In the field of consumer behavior, much research has been conducted on what motivates individuals consume a given item. The decision to abandon consumption, however, is a largely unexplored topic, even though it can provide important insights for businesses, governments and nongovernmental organizations in the current context of intense competition, criticism of consumption and questioning of the impact of consumption on the environment. This work contributes to the body of knowledge through investigation of the meanings that motivate and that arise from the deliberate choice to give up something previously consumed (abandonment). The work uses a qualitative methodology in the process of collecting and analyzing data generated from in-depth interviews with 29 former consumers of two very distinct categories: cigarettes and automobiles. The results suggest three sets of factors that result in the decision and outline three types of abandonment: 1) contingency abandonment; 2) positional abandonment; 3) ideological abandonment. This research also fills a gap in the field in its study of the rituals of non-consumption in abandonment and suggests that individuals appropriate meanings related to products, not only through their purchase and use, but also by abstaining from them. In abandonment, the individual gives up the functionality ascribed to the product; however, the symbolic associations continue to be used, created and manipulated even after abandonment. Complementing the model of McCracken (2003), which explores the rituals of consumption (exchange, possession, grooming and divestment), the study proposes five types of abandonment rituals (decontamination, cooling off, mourning, reinforcement, and defenses). The research also investigates abandonment as a rite of passage, where the decision eventually signals changes in the individuals social condition, reflecting not only what the consumer is becoming, but in some cases, what they wish to become, thereby fulfilling – even if temporarily – hopes and ideals. The paper highlights the importance of the context of reinforcement or questioning of consumption for the negotiation of meaning that is derived from abandonment. In the case of products whose consumption is being questioned, abandonment, in general, represents a distancing from the product s meaning and its identity with the consumer. In the case of products whose consumption is reinforced in the social environment, such as the automobile, abandonment opens both the possibility of stigmatization and of positive differentiation, where the individual creates new meanings, desired identities and approaches positive reference groups. The study thus underscores the complexity of associative and dissociative movements operated by abandonment. Finally, the paper discusses how the context influences the dynamics of movement and negotiation of meanings that grow out of the rituals of abandonment in private, group, and collective plans and their influence on the transformation of the symbolic content of product categories

Ad blocking: Discursos de adoção e de anticonsumo da publicidade

This study investigates the discourse regarding the use of ad blockers. Three themes emerged regar­ding this technology based on in-depth interviews with consumers who had activated ad blockers: 1) utonomy and control over advertising influence; 2) Internet interactions: asymmetry, paradoxes, and the quest for equity; and 3) Efficiency and convenience. Based on the results, this paper discusses anti-consumption positioning as the study of the “reasons against” consumption. The paper proposes complementary approaches to anti-consumption research, less based on intentional and consumer­-conscious aspects and power as an entity disputed by actors and less.A presente pesquisa investiga os discursos em torno do uso dos ad blockers. A partir de entrevistas em profundidade com consumidores que ativaram bloqueadores, três discursos emergiram em torno dessa tecnologia: 1) autonomia e controle dos efeitos da publicidade; 2) trocas na internet: assimetria, paradoxos e busca de equidade e 3) eficiência e conveniência. A partir desses resultados, discute­-se o posicionamento dos estudos de anticonsumo como o estudo das “razões contra” o consumo. O trabalho propõe abordagens complementares na pesquisa de anticonsumo, menos baseadas nos aspectos intencionais e conscientes dos consumidores e na noção de poder como entidade disputada pelos atores.El presente estudio investiga las narrativas que constituyen el discurso de los consumidores en la adopción de ad blockers. Basados en entrevistas en profundidad con consumidores que activaron ad blockers, se identificaron tres discursos principales en torno a esta nueva tecnología: 1) Auto­nomía y control de los efectos de la publicidad; 2) Intercambios en Internet: asimetría, paradojas y búsqueda de equidad, y 3) Eficiencia y conveniencia. A partir de los resultados, se discute el posi­cionamiento de los estudios de anticonsumo como el estudio de las "razones contra" el consumo. El trabajo propone enfoques complementarios en la investigación de anticonsumo, menos basados en los aspectos intencionales y conscientes de los consumidores y en la noción de poder como entidad disputada por los actores