A brief analysis of response-cost factors and of the use of safety equipment in preventing COVID-19 spread

Recentemente, o mundo está lidando com uma pandemia de COVID-19, algo que mudou as nossas rotinas e nos exige medidas de segurança e mais cuidados, tais como o uso de equipamentos de segurança. Entretanto, o uso de equipamentos de segurança não é um comportamento comum e tanto o acesso quanto o uso correto desses equipamentos pode ser uma tarefa trabalhosa para a população em geral. O presente artigo explora alguns fatores do custo da resposta relacionados ao uso de equipamentos de segurança para prevenir a transmissão da COVID-19. Nós propomos que a manipulação de fatores de custo da resposta pode alterar a probabilidade do uso de equipamentos, como máscaras e luvas. Não obstante, os fatores de custo da resposta são apenas um dentre vários aspectos envolvidos no uso de equipamentos de segurança (e.g., aspectos culturais). Pesquisas futuras podem ampliar e testar as sugestões feitas no presente artigo assim como propor outros aspectos que podem ser analisados. Nós esperamos que o entendimento dos fatores de custo da resposta envolvidos na ocorrência de comportamentos de prevenção possa contribuir para o planejamento de políticas públicas para aumentar o uso de equipamentos de segurança e diminuir a probabilidade de transmissão durante contextos de pandemia, como a pandemia de COVID-19.Palavras-chave:  COVID-19; custo da resposta; saúde pública; pandemia.Recently, the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, something that has changed daily routines and requires us to take more careful security measures, such as using safety equipment. However, using safety equipment is not an everyday behavior, and both access and correct use can be an effortful task for the general public. This paper briefly explores some of the response-cost factors regarding the use of safety equipment in preventing COVID-19 spread. We propose that the manipulation of response-cost factors can affect the probability of the use of safety equipment. Nevertheless, response-cost is only one of several aspects (e.g., cultural aspects) involved in the use of safety equipment. Further research could extend and test the suggestions we make and propose other aspects that should be analyzed. We hope that understanding the response-costs factors involved in preventive behavior can contribute to public-policy planning and  increase the daily use of safety equipment, and  decrease the probability of transmission during health hazards such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords:  COVID-19; response cost; public health; pandemi

Relation Between Sexual Partner's Income and Their Desire to Have Children Wanted by Homosexual and Heterosexual Men and Women

A eficácia do desempenho sexual, de um modo geral, depende de uma seleção rigorosa de parceirosfeita pelos membros de cada espécie. Entre os humanos, o critério financeiro é um dos aspectos quecaracterizam a diferença sexual na seleção de parceiros. Contudo, o comportamento sexual não podeser definido apenas pelos aspectos característicos de pessoas heterossexuais, pois também existemrelacionamentos homossexuais. A partir desta perspectiva, investigou-se, através de um website, aspreferências de homossexuais e heterossexuais por renda mensal e desejo de ter filhos no parceiro.Constatou-se que os heterossexuais desejam mais ter filhos do que os homossexuais. Além disso, paraambas as orientações, a “renda mensal” não demonstrou ser um critério seletivo na hora de escolherum parceiro.The effectiveness of sexual performance generally depends on a selection made by rigorous partnersmembers of each species. Among humans, the financial test is one of the aspects that characterize thesexual difference in the selection of partners. However, sexual behavior cannot be defined only by thecharacteristic aspects of heterosexual people, because there are also homosexual relationships. Fromthis perspective, it was investigated, through a website, the preferences of homosexual andheterosexual by monthly income and partner’s desire to have children. It was found thatheterosexual’s desire to have children is bigger than homosexuals. In addition, for both orientations,the “monthly income” not proved to be a selective criterion when choosing a partner

The Adventures of Amaru: Integrating Learning Tasks Into a Digital Game for Teaching Children in Early Phases of Literacy

In low-income countries, the history of academic failure is a liability for children acquiring literacy skills. It is thus important to develop strategies that motivate and focus these students on specific strategies to learn to read. Digital games can be useful in motivating students and assisting teachers in the teaching-learning process, but there are few interactive tools that effectively integrate tasks of direct instruction and good gameplay. This technical report describes an interactive digital game to engage students in the initial phase of reading skills acquisition, whose design incorporates evidence-based procedures. The game, called “The Adventures of Amaru,” aims to promote word coding-decoding skills and vocabulary growth through teaching trials. We discuss the adaptation of reading teaching curricula, their limitations and future implications of the use of this game by children from a low-income background