Pathways of change in social mobility: Industrialization,education and growing fluidity in Brazil

This paper explores the change in intergenerational class mobility over the last quarter-century in Brazil. Using repeated cross-sectional surveys between the early 1970s and the late 1990s and a counterfactual approach, we disentangle cohort from period interpretations of change, and examine the mechanisms driving change in fluidity among Brazilian men. We detect a substantial increase in social fluidity over time, which emerges from period transformation, rather than cohort replacement. This trend departs from industrialized nations, where growing fluidity has been found to be entirely driven by the replacement of older, more rigid cohorts by younger, more fluid ones, and to emerge from educational equalization and a “compositional effect”—educational expansion combined with a weaker intergenerational association among those with higher education. In contrast, in a context of rapid late industrialization, two mechanisms account for growing fluidity in Brazil: the decline in the “economic returns to schooling”, and the weakening of the direct influence of class origins on class destination, net of education. We discuss the implications of these patterns for the understanding of mobility dynamics in different national contexts.     

Caregiving for the Elderly Person: Discourses Embedded in the Brazilian Practical Guide for the Caregiver

It is estimated that in 2025, Brazil will have the sixth largest elderly population in the world. Beyond the economic consequences of this projection, this changing demographic portends significant changes in the social realm. The aim of this study was to review and consider a range of government documents, developed during the past thirty years and directed toward elderly Brazilian citizens, to explore the ways that caregivers of older persons are positioned in daily care practices through the discourses such documents deploy. The analysis draws on Foucault’s genealogical approach, and begins with a review of the historicity of policies, regulations, and legislation related to older people, followed by an analysis of the discourses embedded in the Practical Guide for the Caregiver, a document created by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to provide guidance to informal caregivers in the actual provision of care to elders. The analysis shows that throughout the Guide, caregivers are portrayed as multifaceted subjects; yet at the same time, three primary positionings for the caregiver and her or his work are emphasized: the almost-angel, the almost-healthcare professional, and the almost-household professional.     

19世纪末巴西的南欧移民及其特征

19世纪中后期巴西宣布禁止奴隶贸易后,劳动力短缺的现象不断加剧。围绕劳动力来源问题,巴西国内不同群体针对引进华工和欧洲移民展开了激烈的争论。最终,种族主义者、激进废奴派和知识精英们的观点占据上风。他们持有强烈的种族偏见,鼓吹"黄祸论",主张引进欧洲移民,以填补巨大的劳动力缺口,传播先进的生产技术和思想文化,"改良"巴西的人口结构,帮助巴西摆脱"野蛮"迈向"文明"。意大利、葡萄牙和西班牙这三个南欧国家的移民成为19世纪末20世纪初巴西最大的外来移民群体。意大利移民与西班牙移民在成分、移民模式、分布、职业等方面非常相似:一是两者基本都是贫困乡村的农民,且大多以家庭为单位向外迁移;二是大多数移民都是享受巴西政府补贴的农业劳动力移民,基本都在圣保罗的咖啡种植园劳作;三是他们在种植园的待遇都很差;四是两国移民的社会流动性强,大部分移民都有再迁移的行为。相较于二者,葡萄牙移民主要是农村年轻的单身成年男性;分布在巴西的城市;没有补贴,职业选择更自由。大批南欧移民的到来,促进了巴西咖啡经济的繁荣,有助于该国的早期工业化,但他们的定居率较低,且存在与本土劳工矛盾丛生、罢工起义频发等问题。     

The Open Government Partnership: Mere Smokescreen or New Paradigm?

In 2011, on the initiative of US President Barack Obama 8 governments and 9 civil society organizations (CSOs) came together to create the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The OGP was proclaimed as a new paradigm in promoting open government and democratic principles through the creation of participatory mechanisms involving governments and CSOs. This article aims to examine in more detail if the OGP, after 5 years in existence, has lived up to the initial proclamations as a new model of democracy-promotion at the global level. Departing from theoretical considerations on the potential of participatory mechanisms for the promotion of democratic processes, the article analyzes the OGP processes of 3 founding members, Brazil, the US, and the UK. Although the structure of the OGP is highly innovative in many respects, the findings suggest that the governments of the 3 countries examined have used the OGP as a smokescreen to distract from on-going corruption, lacking transparency, and government secrecy. This article contributes to research on the possibilities and challenges of effectively democratizing global governance mechanisms through the involvement of governments and civil society actors.     

Silver economy: opportunities and challenges to Brazil adopt the European Union’s strategy

This paper deals with the construction of the silver economy (or the longevity economy) strategy in Brazil and its contribution to the economic development. The first and second parts of the paper summarize the international debate on the concept, mainly in the countries of the European Union. The third part approaches the focus on the ageing population in Brazil, still dominated by a pessimistic view. In the next section of the paper, the action opportunities for the longevity saving strategy in Brazil are exposed with summaries of some key sectors, according to the international literature on the silver economy. The income of the older people and the purchasing power of families with older adults are analysed in the following sections. In the conclusion, some recommended actions for building the silver economy strategy in Brazil is discussed.     

Native American Literature and Its Place in the Inter-American Project

Abstract

Issues of Native American literature and culture are placed in a comparative and inter-American perspective, where texts from Canada, the United States, Spanish America, and Brazil are discussed and contrasted. Native American texts are analyzed in the context of inter-American literary study, which is defined as an interdisciplinary approach to the literatures of North, Central, and South America. The argument is made that Native American literature represents the cultural and historical foundation of the entire inter-American project.     

Current supply and demand for neopopulism in Latin America

The emergence of neopopulism in several countries in Latin America has been described by political science literature as the success of a political strategy in which a leader, generally bearing a strong personality and charismatic appeal, seeks popular support in an almost direct form, and overshadows political parties, the external mechanisms of control which define a democratic regime (Roberts 1996, 2003, 2006, Weyland 1999a, 1999b, Knight 1998, Connif 1999). This article adopts this definition of the concept and argues that the success of this strategy can be analyzed as a relation between supply and demand for populism. The supply refers to the political process which allows leaders to make use of features such as charisma and anti-political and polarizing speech to obtain the support of the public based on their non-programmatic and personal qualities. The demand is defined as the presence of certain preferences within the public, which increase the chance of success of the neopopulist strategy adopted by the leaders. Amidst that relationship, we can place fragile intermediate institutions, mainly the political parties, which would limit themselves to working as vehicles centered on the figure of the leader in order to allow his success among voters. Before going any deeper into the arguments regarding the relationship between supply and demand for neopopulism, the next item will discuss the concept of populism in its more contemporary form.     

A conversation with Edgard Cornacchione: understanding the HRD field in Brazil through his lens and perspectives

This article contains a conversation with Edgard B. Cornacchione Jr, Full Professor and Chairman of the Department of Accounting and Actuarial Sciences, College of Economics, Business and Accountancy (FEA) at University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil. He is a pioneer scholar in HRD in Brazil, holding a PhD in the field from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and another PhD in Accounting from USP. This interview explores Edgard's career in HRD practice, research, teaching and outreach and service, in addition to experiences in other related fields, such as Accounting and Business Education. It also considers current insights and perspectives of how HRD has been practised and studied in Brazil. He has been teaching at USP since 1992. To an international audience, who still might not be so familiar with his work and path, this interview has the potential to enhance both the understanding of his experiences and the status of the field in Brazil.     

Book Reviews

Using cross-sectional data from Ghana, Malaw i, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, a multilevel analysis was performed to determine the extent of correlation of nutritional status between children in the same family and geographical area. Weight-for-age z-scores were used as a measure of nutritional status for children up to three years of age. The percentage of children who were under-weight ranged from 16 in Zimbabwe up to 36 in Nigeria. The effects of socioeconomic factors and individual characteristics on nutritional status between countries varied. However in all six countries, the child's age was the most important factor associated with nutritional status. A clustering effect at the household level was found in all six countries, ranging from 24 per cent in Tanzania and Zimbabwe to 40 per cent in Malaw i. There was also a significant, but smaller, clustering effect at community level for Malaw i, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia.     

When tourists are your “friends”: Exploring the brand personality of Mexico and Brazil on Facebook

Adopting Aaker's (1997) framework, this study explored how popular tourist destinations, Mexico and Brazil, communicate their brand personality through Facebook, and which personality traits their Facebook “friends” associate with them. Results of computer-aided content analysis indicated that both countries’ tourism promotion messages emphasize distinct brand personality traits. However, Mexico's public relations efforts were more successful than Brazil's in transferring projected brand personality to its Facebook “friends”.