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Background: The present study aimed to investigate the type and timing of ultra‐processed foods (UPF) consumption and its association with dietary intake (DI) and physical activity (PA) in women with obesity living in poverty. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was employed. Obesity was defined by at least two criteria (body mass index, waist circumference or % fat mass). Poverty was defined as the three lowest classes of the Brazilian Economic Classification Criterion. PA was measured with triaxial accelerometers and DI was assessed with three 24‐h dietary recalls. Foods were categorised according to the NOVA classification, with UPF classified into five subgroups, as well as the timing of consumption into six meals. Results: In total, 56 adult women were included. Overall energy intake was 1653.21 (503.22) kcal/day. UPF intake was 21.62% (11.94%) kcal/day, being higher at breakfast (4.91% kcal/day), afternoon snack (5.39% kcal/day) and dinner (5.01% kcal/day). Only UPF subgroup 4 (sandwich biscuits, sweets, or treats) showed a positive association with energy intake (β = 54.40 [27.6, 81.10] kcal/day) and a negative association with protein intake (β = −0.31% [−0.48%, −0.14%] kcal/day). UPF consumption in morning (β = −0.41% [−0.79%, −0.02%] kcal/day) and afternoon (β = −0.18% [−0.33%, −0.04%] kcal/day) snacks was associated with lower protein intake. Furthermore, lunchtime UPF consumption was positively associated with walking time (β = 0.16% [0.02%; 0.30%]) and steps/hour (β = 8.72 [1.50; 15.94] steps/h). Conclusions: Women with obesity living in poverty consume more UPF during breakfast, afternoon snack and dinner. Physical activity is positively associated with UPF consumption at lunch. UPF, such as sandwich biscuits, sweets or treats, contribute to increasing energy intake and reducing protein intake. Key points: The distribution of ultra‐processed foods (UPF) consumption throughout the day was evaluated.UPF were more consumed during main meals compared to snacks.Only sandwich biscuits, sweets and treats were associated with increased energy intake and reduced protein intake.Physical activity measured by triaxial accelerometers was associated with UPF consumption at lunch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a conversation with Judith Butler, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, about their experience in Brazil in 2017. Butler attended a conference on democracy and authoritarianism but faced backlash from an ultraconservative group who organized a social media campaign against them. They were met with large crowds outside the venue who burned effigies and called them the devil. Despite the threats, Butler continued to speak about democracy and free speech. The article discusses the misconceptions and fears surrounding gender studies, emphasizing its role in critical thinking and open inquiry. Butler calls for alliances to fight against the anti-gender ideology movement and to continue questioning established narratives. The text also highlights the need to understand global discourses and practices of freedom and justice, as well as the dangers of internecine fighting within feminism. It emphasizes the importance of addressing patriarchal and heteronormative systems as sources of destruction in the world. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) is a valuable treatment for rotator cuff arthropathy (RCA) in developed regions. Socioeconomic issues impact access to specialized care and there is a lack of data on RSA outcomes in developing regions. We present our 24-month follow-up on RSA surgeries to treat RCA in our low-income population. Methods: Prospective evaluation of 26 patients subjected to RSA at Hospital Geral de Fortaleza-CE, Brazil, between January 2018 and December 2020. Literacy [>/≤ 8 school years(SY)] and income were documented. Outcomes considered pain (visual analogue scale; VAS) as well as SSV, SPADI, ASES, and UCLA scoring, and range of motion [forward flexion (FF); external rotation (ER)]. Results: Patients were 68.5 ± 7.6 years-old with 16(61.5%) females; 65% had hypertension and 7 (26.9%) had diabetes. Over 90% declared < 900.00 US$ monthly family earnings and 10 (38.4%) patients declared ≤8 SY with > 80% exerting blue-collar jobs. Pain showed a significant reduction from baseline (8 ± 2) to 24 months (2.1 ± 2.3; p < 0.001). UCLA (10.3 ± 5.6 and 28.6 ± 7.2), ASES (16.7 ± 10.8 and 63.1 ± 28.4), SSV (326 ± 311 and 760 ± 234), and SPADI (98.3 ± 26.5) scores significantly improved from baseline to 24 months, achieving minimal clinically important difference. FF (89.2° ± 51.2° to 140.6 ± 38.3°) and ER (19.2° ± 22.5 to 33.4° ± 20.6°) significantly improved from baseline to 24 months (p = 0.004 and 0.027, respectively). There were 5 non-serious adverse events with one surgical revision. All patients returned to daily life activities. Conclusion: This is the first outcome report 2 years following RSA in a low-income population. Data indicate this procedure is justifiable regardless of socioeconomic issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to explain the Bolsa Familia Plan and interpret its meaning in Brazilian capitalism. First, it maintains that its emergence was result of the pauperism associated with the increase of the overpopulation, the incremental adjustment with respect to the trajectory of the Brazilian assistance policy and of the internationalization of that policy. Second, it argues that its deployment was explained by the succession of its incremental adjustments from the trial-and-error process, and by its own internationalization. Third, it maintains that, as a result of his deployment, the program modified his initial management mode, which was expressed at a higher level of institutionality, massiveness and technification, which in turn resulted in his greater legitimacy and political gravitation. The PBF strengthened the capacity of the Brazilian state to articulate consensual domination and, with it, to mediate the subordination of labor to capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the circulation of booksellers between France, Portugal, and Brazil in the 18th and 19th centuries. The author highlights the importance of this relationship in understanding the circulation of ideas, the functioning of the press, and the printed business. It also addresses how books provided social mobility for extremely poor people, transforming them into established merchants. The author mentions the lack of detailed investigation into the financial relationships between those who had capital and those who needed it. Additionally, the preference of rising booksellers for industrial literature over publishers linked to men of letters is discussed. The text also mentions the circulation of books across the ocean and the importance of steamships in this process. However, it emphasizes that the circulation of books and booksellers across the Atlantic was not deeply explored in the book. Finally, the author highlights that the work opens doors for different studies, being current and relevant to discussions on transnational networks and the bicentennial of independence. [Extracted from the article]

Rafael Cardoso's book, "Modernity in Black and White: Art and Image, Race and Identity in Brazil, 1890–1945," challenges the dominant narrative of Brazilian modernism centered around the 1922 Semana de Arte Moderna in São Paulo. The book explores the earlier expressions of modernity in Rio de Janeiro that have been overshadowed. It examines the role of artists, writers, and intellectuals in shaping Brazilian modernism, highlighting the contributions of Afro-descendant artists and the influence of international artistic movements. While there are disagreements with Cardoso's portrayal of the Paulista modernists, the book is still considered significant and influential in Brazilian cultural studies. [Extracted from the article]

Does Latin American liberation theology, with its option for the poor, still have something to contribute in a global scenario marked by neoliberal globalization and the discussion of identity politics? Based on the practices of Father Júlio Lancelotti against aporophobia (phobia against the poor) and the hostile architecture in Brazil, this article discusses the notion of the priority of orthopraxis over orthodoxy, the process of reordering the place of the poor in society and in the state budgets, and the notion of liberation practices and criticizes the process of dehumanization in neoliberal culture, in which personal identity and belonging to a community are marked by the pattern of consumption and wealth. Finally, it shows how the practices of recognizing the humanity of the poorest can been seen as a resurrection from social death, as a form of liberation within history, and as the affirmation of faith in a God who does not distinguish between human beings, while the idol demands sacrifices of life from the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to discuss the possibilities of organizing sectors of the working class that are living on the streets. In this way, world experiences of organizing these subordinate classes are important, since the phenomenon of pauperism is historical and has a global scale. In times of advancement of neoliberalism, on the one hand, which aims at the total destruction of social rights, and on the other, of crisis of the classic instruments of organization of the working class, such as political parties and unions, launching the possibility of organizing workers in homelessness becomes an even greater challenge. In Brazil, the creation of the National Movement of the Homeless Population (MNPR), in 2005, was a fundamental step in this direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has a disproportionate effect on mortality among the poorest people. We assessed the impact on CVD and all-cause mortality of the world's largest conditional cash transfer, Brazil's Bolsa Família Programme (BFP). Methods We linked administrative data from the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort with BFP receipt and national mortality data. We followed individuals who applied for BFP between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015, until 31 December 2015. We used marginal structural models to estimate the effect of BFP on all-age and premature (30–69 years) CVD and all-cause mortality. We conducted stratified analyses by levels of material deprivation and access to healthcare. We checked the robustness of our findings by restricting the analysis to municipalities with better mortality data and by using alternative statistical methods. Results We studied 17 981 582 individuals, of whom 4 855 324 were aged 30–69 years. Three-quarters (76.2%) received BFP, with a mean follow-up post-award of 2.6 years. We detected 106 807 deaths by all causes, of which 60 893 were premature; and 23 389 CVD deaths, of which 15 292 were premature. BFP was associated with reductions in premature all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94–0.98], premature CVD (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.92–1.00) and all-age CVD (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93–1.00) but not all-age all-cause mortality (HR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.98–1.02). In stratified and robustness analyses, BFP was consistently associated with mortality reductions for individuals living in the two most deprived quintiles. Conclusions BFP appears to have a small to null effect on premature CVD and all-cause mortality in the short term; the long-term impact remains unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the impacts of poverty on the education of children and adolescents, analyzing the causes of social exclusion. The methodology starts from a qualitative approach, with an exploratory nature, and uses a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data from five teachers from a public school in the city of Serra, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. As a result, it is observed that these teachers understand poverty and social exclusion as an obstacle in the education of children and adolescents and perceive the need for an effective public policy aimed at the education of the underprivileged. However, some of these professionals still didn't arise as social agents involved in this intervention, explaining in their answers that they do not see themselves intertwined with issues that go beyond the act of teaching the classic disciplinary contents, revealing themselves to be aliens to the reality of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propolis has gained wide popularity over the last decades in several parts of the world. In parallel, the literature about propolis composition and biological properties increased markedly. A great number of papers have demonstrated that propolis from different parts of the world is composed mainly of phenolic substances, frequently flavonoids, derived from plant resins. Propolis has a relevant role in increasing the social immunity of bee hives. Experimental evidence indicates that propolis and its components have activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Mechanisms of action on bacteria, fungi, and viruses are known for several propolis components. Experiments have shown that propolis may act synergistically with antibiotics, antifungals, and antivirus drugs, permitting the administration of lower doses of drugs and higher antimicrobial effects. The current trend of growing resistance of microbial pathogens to the available drugs has encouraged the introduction of propolis in therapy against infectious diseases. Because propolis composition is widely variable, standardized propolis extracts have been produced. Successful clinical trials have included propolis extracts as medicine in dentistry and as an adjuvant in the treatment of patients against COVID-19. Present world health conditions encourage initiatives toward the spread of the niche of propolis, not only as traditional and alternative medicine but also as a relevant protagonist in anti-infectious therapy. Production of propolis and other apiary products is environmentally friendly and may contribute to alleviating the current crisis of the decline of bee populations. Propolis production has had social-economic relevance in Brazil, providing benefits to underprivileged people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of the feedback relationship that exists between inflation, its uncertainty, and the economic growth of the two main Latin American economies. A Bivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity model is developed, which also allows the identification of asymmetric impacts on the conditional volatility of the product and inflation, the sample period corresponds to January 1985 to June 2019. Additionally, causality tests are developed to identify the fulfillment of the main hypotheses raised. Among the main findings is the verification of the Friedman-Ball hypothesis for both countries in most of the lags. Regarding the second hypothesis, it is found that the central bank of Mexico has presented a stabilizing behavior, while in the Brazilian case an opportunistic behavior has been identified. In the third hypothesis, no causal relationship of inflationary uncertainty towards economic growth is identified, in the case of Mexico; while, in the case of Brazil, an ambivalent causality has been identified, regarding the number of lags. Finally, in the fourth hypothesis we find results that corroborate, mainly for both economies, a positive effect from inflation on economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its devastating reach, the Covid-19 pandemic found fertile ground in societies with existing inequalities of race, gender, class, and geography. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Brazil, reproductive rights and social policies for women first stagnated, then suffered setbacks. [Extracted from the article]

This article considers the transformative potential of conditional cash transfers to address intergenerational poverty. Drawing on empirical evidence collected through qualitative research in the northeast of Brazil, it traces notions of intergenerational change and continuity amongst young recipients of the Bolsa Família programme (BFP) and their families. It argues that the BFP has contributed to raising expectations and aspirations of social mobility, through a policy narrative that explicitly links education to poverty reduction alongside some relatively limited but nonetheless significant intergenerational changes in material conditions and access to education. However, rising aspirations have not been matched by a concomitant expansion of opportunities available to poor young people in education and the labour market. The article thus highlights the contradictions that arise between policy narratives, the aspirations these narratives engender, and the realities of young people's everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the issue of low energy quality for low-income consumers, exploring whether the quality of electricity supplied to the low-income population is inferior to other residential consumers. The analysis is built by comparing various electricity service quality indicators among different groups of consumers. The study used different specifications of linear and nonlinear panel data, with disaggregated information in more than 300 million observations of consumer units served by Enel-GO (Goiás, Brazil) between 2014 and 2017. The results corroborate the study hypothesis, with consumers classified as low-income receiving lower-quality electricity than other consumers. • The article analyze whether low-income residential consumers receive worse quality energy when compared to other residential consumers. • The results reinforced our hypothesis that low-income residential consumers actually pay for low-quality energy, that is, with more interruptions to the detriment of other consumers. • The results are in line with the literature that states that power outages are affected by two main groups of variables: environmental and infrastructure. • The article therefore contributes to of the literature that points to the need for a more in-depth look at energy quality, respecting heterogeneity, especially for the poorest population in underdeveloped and developing countries. • The article makes some notes to ANEEL about the need to review its energy quality policy, in order to minimize impacts on the low-income population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how meanings ascribed to education influence lower-income parents on investing (or not) in their children's education, and how this in turn influences family expenditures and consumption priorities. Based on 62 ethnographic interviews with individuals who had ascended from poverty to the lower fractions of the Brazilian urban middle-class, we examine differences within a relatively homogeneous fraction in terms of social status and income. Three distinct groups emerged: (1) parents who live in the favelas (slums) and see school as an agent to keep children away from deviant behaviours, (2) parents who live in the favelas and invest in education as an enabler of upwards social mobility, and (3) parents from less affluent suburbs who pay for private education to keep their children from interacting with bad influences outside the territory. Even in socially segregated territories, meanings were shaped less by parents' amount and composition of cultural and economic capitals, and more by their own experiences with the educational system and access to positive role models (or lack thereof). It appears that the meanings attached to education end up defining family expenditures, family budget and important consumption trade-offs. In addition, our findings reveal a subtle, fine-grained mechanism of distinction based on school choice among the class fraction's members. We draw on Wilson's social isolation theory to show how parents of similar economic and cultural capital, and who were socialized in a similar cultural milieu, ascribe different meanings to education, and the resulting differences in household consumption patterns. We thus offer insights on the different reproduction mechanisms at play within an economically disadvantaged social fraction that had moved from poverty to the lower urban middle-class in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planet is currently experiencing a serious Covid-19 pandemic, which has been dramatically impacting health services and has claimed millions of lives worldwide. In underdeveloped countries like Brazil, a myriad of social inequities occurs, leading to the existence of different vulnerable population groups, such as the indigenous, quilombolas, and the most impoverished people, especially those living in the favelas. The impact of the pandemic on these vulnerable groups is much more intense when compared to the rest of the population because they have serious difficulties in preventing themselves from the disease and even from economic subsistence. The role of the State in protecting these groups is fundamental for the maintenance of dignity and, even, of life. In this context, Bioethics of Protection is shown to be an ideal guide for a more just and restorative implementation of public policies for these most vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alves, Jaime Amparo The Anti-Black City: Police Terror and Black Urban Life in Brazil, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2018; 334 pp.: ISBN 978-1-5179-0156-1, US$27 (pbk) I The Anti-Black City: Police Terror and Black Urban Life in Brazil i is a valuable resource to think critically about the struggle of marginalised people to subvert the Brazilian racial-colonial order. On the drug war front, the police have a free pass to kill in the favelas, and the police murder of black youth has rampantly increased since the community police were created. Jaime Amparo Alves argues that urban space in Brazil is racially produced, and that police terror represents the hands of the state which traces the boundaries of who belongs to the black necropolis. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: to identify factors resulting from the correlation between mother-child bonding, environment, and infant motor development (MD). Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted with 130 mothers/guardians and their infants at risk from 3 to 12 months of age, accompanied in an outpatient clinic follow-up at a public maternity. The data were collected using a form with socioeconomic data, mother/child routine at the hospital and home environments, and three other instruments validated in Brazil: Protocolo de Avaliação do Vínculo Mãe-Filho (Mother-Child Bonding Evaluation Protocol), Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale, and Escala Motora Infantil de Alberta (Alberta Infant Motor Scale). Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and a significance level of 5% was used for the correlation. Results: the data showed a predominance of preterm babies (74.5%), low-income families (86.2%), and domestic opportunities below the adequate (93.8%) for good motor development. Regarding the mother-child bonding, 60% of the mothers showed a strong bonding with their children. A total of 62.3% of the children had typical motor development. Concerning the interaction between variables, statistical significance (p>0.05) was observed in the correlation between bonding and typical motor development. Conclusion: despite the presence of risk factors, motor development was normal in most of the babies in this study, suggesting that the mother-child bonding favored motor development even with environmental and biological adversities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before launching a new beef brand concept based on high sustainability and environmental production principles, the Brazilian market was tested using a survey informed by Intentions' Framework scales. To identify the determinants of the willingness to consume and pay for a new brand of beef based on Carbon-Neutral production principles, 1,000 valid responses were evaluated, using Exploratory Factor Analysis. A Hierarchical Cluster Analysis identified five classes of respondents. The classes showed general skepticism regarding exaggerated ethical and/or sustainability claims which led to rejection or indifference, particularly of those from lower income families with children. Despite this, there was an overall positive attitude toward good production practices and product innovation. The resulting typology throws a light onto consumers in markets such as Brazil or similar. The dataset could be also further explored by stakeholders in beef chain, particularly in new product development, positioning and targeting segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite evidence to the contrary, favelas still loom large in Brazilian social imaginary as the quintessential poverty pockets. No study to date has systematically examined the place of favelas within the broader geographies of poverty in Brazilian cities. How prominent are these settlements in the context of urban poverty? How do they fare when compared with other kinds of poor settlements? We tackled these questions by examining the sociospatial patterns of the poor population living in five metropolitan areas across the Brazilian territory. Using tract-level data from the 2010 census, we compared favela and non-favela residents through exploratory, inferential, and spatial analyses. Our results suggest that, although sharing the same socioeconomic and ethnic profile, favela and non-favela households are contrastingly distributed across urban spaces: Whereas favela inhabitants tend to live nearer city centers, non-favela inhabitants tend to concentrate in peripheries. This finding has multidimensional implications. At the empirical dimension it reinforces the importance of evidence-based geographical targeting for poverty alleviation policies. At the technical-normative dimension it challenges the official geospatial definition of favela currently in use. At the epistemological dimension it calls attention to the politics of labeling—calling a settlement a favela helps produce it as such—and how scholars must be critical of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article aims to analyze the workers' probabilities of following their parents' occupational legacy and whether these individuals are paid differently compared to those who opted for occupations different from their parents, in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: To that end, the occupational legacy probability equation was estimated as the quantile wage equations with sample selection bias correction and the wage decomposition for Brazil from the microdata of the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) of 2014. It was found that families have a strong influence on the process of choosing the careers of their children. The average probability of a young person following the occupational legacy of their parents was 41.63%. This percentage is different when analyzing different groups of individuals, such as being male or female, being in a traditional or single parent family, being in an income household lower or higher per capita. Findings: The results also confirm the hypothesis that workers who tend to follow the occupational legacy have lower wages than individuals who choose other occupations and that this may cause a "poverty trap" since the lower the salary quantile, the stronger the "trap" as economically disadvantaged young people tend to follow in their parents' footsteps and to contribute to family income they face a tradeoff, opt between work or study, which ends up disrupting their education and forcing young people to entering the job market early, performing secondary occupations with lower income and arduous work, generating a "vicious cycle of poverty". Research limitations/implications: Given the database, we are comprised to its most recent version. Practical implications: This is the first work on Latin American problem of occupational legacy. Originality/value: This is the first work on Latin American problem of occupational legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education in the Rural Area, especially education developed in agrarian reform settlements in Brazil, is analyzed. The paper demonstrates that the establishment of the Thematic Complex System in rural settlement schools may be an important pedagogical alternative since it gives priority to concrete study through a theoretical and practical formation with the self-authorization of students and work as the educational principle. A bibliographical research was undertaken, based on authors who investigated studies on thematic complexes. The Thematic Complex System may contribute towards progress in the development of teaching and learning processes in rural schools from the perspective of labor, giving a learning opportunity for poor people living in the rural area through concrete situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present the genesis of social policy, from the first Law of the Poor in the fourteenth century to the neoliberal context of social policies in Brazil. A documentary and bibliographic study was carried out. In the fourteenth century lies the first law on poverty in Britain, which can be considered as one of the first social policies in the world. Until the eighteenth century other laws came to combat poverty, but much more punitive than welfare. The nineteenth century is marked by capitalism and the social struggle of the workers in search of rights. From the twentieth century to the present day, social policies have been linked to liberalism and neoliberalism. In the Brazilian context, social policies do not reach the objective of combating poverty, with palliative actions such as compensatory policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on poor Brazilians' fight for the right to settle on idle land. Landless Worker Movement; Culture of coronelismo; Professional militants; Lack of media support.

The city of São Paulo, historically important as a destination for migrants from across the world, has experienced newer waves of immigration in the past few decades. As Brazilian national legislation and municipal policies have been ill prepared to handle these recent flows, migrants find themselves without much institutional support and rely instead on other networks to find their way in the city. This article is based on ethnographic research among low-income migrants in São Paulo, many of whom are employed as tailors and garment vendors in the city’s thriving central commercial neighbourhoods. Migrants from Bolivia, Peru, China, Pakistan and Nepal co-exist alongside working-class Brazilians. This article traces the everyday forms of conviviality among these migrants who find themselves in precarious conditions in São Paulo. It will consider the lines along which friendships and networks of support and sociability are built and the depth of such relationships. It also considers the points of tension which divide people and strain potential friendships, for instance, when migrants compete to sell their goods and are exploited by ‘fellow migrants’ to survive in the city. What we see is an ambivalent field of interaction that is convivial yet competitive and distrustful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between local socio-economic characteristics and implementation performance by analyzing the performance of Brazilian municipalities implementing the Bolsa Família Program, the largest conditional cash transfer programme in the world. Counterintuitively, poor municipalities were found to outperform wealthy ones. Analysis of the interactions between local socio-economic characteristics and municipal administrative capacity, willingness and intergovernmental relations help to explain why this was the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to identify how learning factors -- social and pedagogical -- cause an individual transformation. Research focus on young people from poor communities who completed courses on classical music offered by Brazilian nonprofit organizations. The studied group took part in social projects offered by different organizations. Through interviews with these youngsters, it was possible to identify their perceptions about building their own careers considering their background. The article examines the challenges experienced by these young people, and the existing contrast between their social and family with the environment -- didactic and pedagogical -- provided by the nonprofit organizations. The article suggests dedicating further attention to public policies in order to come up with alternatives that promote social inclusion and ascension for young people from poor communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present new perspectives for the understanding on multidimensional poverty in northern Brazil in the years 2006-13, in order to assist the government in developing policies focused on fighting poverty and advancing the development process. The study used a methodology built by Bourguignon and Chakravarty (2003), which presents an alternative way of measuring the multidimensionality of poverty. The data was collected from the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and the results of six dimensions analyzed revealed a reduction in the proportion of multidimensional poor of the northern population, from 30.71% in 2006 to 25.79% in 2013. As for isolated analysis of metropolitan regions in urban and rural areas, it was found that poverty was more intense in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper criticizes the methodology of poverty measurement used by the Brazilian federal government called Brasil Sem Miséria Plan (PBSM). Using a compilation and analysis of secondary data collected from the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), we conducted a comparison between the government methodology and that one used by the economist Sonia Rocha. Her methodology establishes poverty lines which are regionalized and indexed to the consumer basket values found in different regions of the country. The results of both methodologies are compared, showing that PBSM lines are incapable of detecting 12.9 million Brazilians living in poverty. In our conclusions, we present suggestions to improve the government's poverty measurement methodology, i.e., the need of a regionalization of poverty lines and that they become indexed to regional consumer basket prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este artículo se analizan los efectos del crecimiento económico y la desigualdad de los ingresos en la pobreza del Brasil entre 1981 y 2013. Para ello se utiliza un modelo de panel dinámico, mediante el método generalizado de momentos de dos pasos desarrollado por Blundell y Bond (1998) para tres períodos. El primero, que comprende a los otros dos, va de 1981 a 2013, mientras que el segundo y el tercero corresponden a las etapas anterior y posterior a la implementación del Plan Real (1981-1994 y 1995-2013, respectivamente). Los resultados muestran que, para combatir la pobreza en el Brasil, las políticas de crecimiento económico que promueven simultáneamente el aumento de los ingresos y la reducción de las disparidades son preferibles a las que priorizan solo el aumento de los ingresos medios. Se observa también un crecimiento a favor de los pobres en el período posterior al Plan Real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principle focus of this article is to understand the influence of socialisation in the family on the success of girls at school. Eight low-income families with children of both sexes in the city of São Paulo, Brazil were studied through interviews and observation methods. It was found that socialisation in the family favoured in girls, and not in boys, the development of behaviours that schools desire, such as discipline. It also led each sex to attribute a different meaning to school attendance, since girls had more responsibilities and fewer opportunities for socialising. The same restrictions prompted girls to aspire to further their education and have higher skilled occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Compulsive buying can be characterized as an almost irresistible impulse to acquire various items. This is a current issue and the prevalence rate in the global population is around 5 to 8%. Some surveys indicate that the problem is growing in young and low-income populations. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of compulsive buying among people with low personal monthly incomes and analyze relationships with socio-demographic data. Methods: The Compulsive Buying Scale was administered to screen for compulsive buying and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess anxiety and depression in a sample of 56 participants. Pearson coefficients were used to test for correlations. Results: The results indicated that 44.6% presented an average family income equal to or greater than 2.76 minimum wages. It is possible that compulsive buying is not linked to the purchasing power since it was found in a low-income population. Conclusion: Despite the small sample, the results of this study are important for understanding the problem in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme Bolsa Família (Family Allowance), introduced in Brazil in 2003, is one of the largest such programmes in the world. Bolsa Família has played a role in the recent reduction of poverty and income inequality in Brazil. But what has been its impact on democracy? An assumption in the literature on social policy, derived from the European experience, is that targeted programmes such as Bolsa Família divide citizens, erode trust between citizens and between citizens and the state, and weaken democracy. This article challenges that assumption, showing that there is considerable evidence that Bolsa Família has strengthened the citizenship rights of the poor and enhanced democracy. The Brazilian experience suggests that, in highly unequal developing countries under conditions of 21st-century capitalism, the argument that targeted social programmes will inevitably undermine democracy is incorrect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from a national survey of formerly landless peasants residing in federal land-reform settlements in Brazil (Pesquisa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária- PNERA) confirm that the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra- MST) has been far more successful than other settlement movements in assuring a better quality of life for its members. This superior performance is attributed to an organizational structure that demands and assures membership involvement, and a commitment to participatory education in an environment that fosters and supports MST's goals and objectives. MST's members have higher self-perceived social status than members of non- MST movements, have better residential environments and more material possessions, and experience an education that emphasizes the movement's principles of social justice, radical democracy, and humanist and socialist values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the discourse on favelas produced by Brazilian society and consumed in the political field of local administration. The ideological conception of favelas (slums) determines the creation of public policies that reinforce the prejudicial notion of favelas. This work employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyse several texts extracted from mass-media stories and press releases of the Rio government. It shows that the state of praxis reproduces the understanding of slums as a phenomenon detached from the rest of society. This alienated vision impacts on different utterances blaming the poor (analysis 1); perpetuating poverty (analysis 2); and reinforcing exclusion (analysis 3). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With many of the poor people in Brazil living in rural areas, local governments have intensified their efforts to design and implement effective policies that boost rural development. In 2004, a national program for production and use of biodiesel was launched aiming at increasing income among less endowed family farmers across the country. With expectations building on further expansion of the mandatory blending of biodiesel with fossil diesel, national and local government bodies are challenged by the search for policies able to foster biodiesel crop production through the wider cultivation of crops that produce more oil than soybean (e.g. sunflower and castor bean) and by improving the participation of less endowed farmers, especially in semi-arid regions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform an ex-ante integrated assessment of the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of four biodiesel policy scenarios towards different farm types in a semi-arid and more humid region of southeast Brazil. The applied modelling framework was a combination of a technical coefficient generator (TechnoGIN) and a bio-economic farm model (FSSIM). We explored the impact of market-driven (bonus price policy), input provision (fertiliser and land preparation policy) and oil production (oil mill policy) policy scenarios on soybean farmers in Chapada Gaúcha and maize/beans farmers in Montes Claros. The impacts of the different policies on farm gross margins, oil crop production, labour requirements, nitrogen losses and biocide residues were assessed against the baseline scenario. Our results indicated that the scope for biodiesel crops on smallholder, non-soybean producers in Montes Claros is less evident than in Chapada Gaúcha, particularly among the less endowed farmers for whom the increase in farm gross margin in all scenarios is limited to only 6% while oil production was 140 kg per farm, which is very low compared to the 41% increase and more than 48,000 kg of oil of soybean producers. The most effective policy scenario was the provision of inputs such as fertiliser and land preparation. Because in Montes Claros farmers have limited access to fertiliser, machinery and biocides, strategies that enable farmers to increase their cropped area (i.e. land preparation policy more than doubled the crop area) and crop yield levels (i.e. fertiliser policy almost quadrupled crop yields) have highest potential to benefit these farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, developing countries around the world have undergone dual transitions to democracy and more open markets. Such reforms often have coincided with the retrenchment of state-sponsored social insurance, even as unemployment, crime, and informality have risen. This article examines how insecurity associated with lack of adequate protection against the risks of income loss and violent crime affects patterns of political engagement in Brazil. Although it is often assumed that insecurity is mobilizing, analysis of an original household survey reveals that those lacking the means to ensure against livelihood risks are systematically more likely to forbear from active political participation. Insecurity and poverty, moreover, reveal divergent effects on political participation, wherein it is not the poorest, but rather the most insecure citizens who are most likely to forbear from active citizenship. Emerging democracies thus may be more deeply riven by cleavages of insecurity than by income when it comes to the question of whose voice is heard in democratic politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses collective demonstrations in Brazil, focusing on the Brazilian government's efforts to control protests through federally controlled security forces and laws. Other topics include the government's repression of political groups and movements including Black Bloc and Anonymous, the impact of Lulism, or the movement of poor people from the political Right to the Left, on Brazilian society, and the relationship between the Brazilian people and the ruling Workers' Party.

Highlights: [•] The availability of fibers in Brazil and its dietary sources were estimated. [•] The mean density of fibers in Brazil was 7.6 g/1000 kcal. [•] Higher density of fibers in rural households and low-income families was observed. [•] Main fiber sources were beans, bread, rice, fruit, vegetables and manioc flour. [•] Fiber intake in Brazil was found to be insufficient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper discusses the peripheral relationships within a state's public school: circumstantial and singular occurrences defined by poverty and actual interference for improvements in the living conditions of the population. These are preliminary results of an investigation of ethnographic inspiration conducted in a school located in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul State), where 75% of the children are from families receiving regular payments from the government (Bolsa Família Program - Family Grant). Based on daily field notes, observations and open interviews, we tried to understand to what extent the Bolsa Família Program, which aims to inhibit child labor and keep children in school, is contributing to the improvement of process of teaching and learning in that place. The theoretical base of this paper is based on the work of Zygmunt Bauman. The study shows that, in that context, the Bolsa Família program is sometimes criticized by the teaching staff of the school, due to its welfare characteristic and it is sometimes used as an excuse to ignore students' absences, under the argument that the school cannot cause conflicts with the families. In both cases, the people of the place are being harmed: first, because the income redistribution has been a way of discursively disqualifying their existence and second, because when children have their absences ignored, the commitment of the family with the teaching process is automatically being dismissed. Furthermore, the results of evaluations, such as "Prova Brasil", that analyzes socioeconomic and educational information, are misinterpreted because the low scores tend to indicate the ineffectiveness of a program that was not actually introduced in the school context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues against the scholarly consensus that governments make pro-poor policies when they are democratic. In democracies and autocracies, a government's strongest incentive is to serve citizens who are organized, and poor citizens face collective-action disadvantages. But a ‘political entrepreneur’ can help poor citizens organize and attain power with their support; to stay in power, the political entrepreneur's incentive is to maintain poor citizens’ support with pro-poor policies. Politics and education are analyzed over half-a-century in countries with little in common – Ghana, Taiwan, and Brazil. Governments that expanded education for the poor were more often autocratic than democratic, but were always clearly associated with political entrepreneurs. The results suggest an alternative understanding of government incentives to serve poor citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The theme of the article is the analysis of the social-educational process that occurs as a result of the participation of individuals and groups in solidarity economy movements and the contribution of the university in this process, through university extension projects. Thus, as an object of study presents a project of university extension in low-income sector in the Grande ABC Paulista. Three questions assisted in this analysis, they are: 1. The solidarity economy movements enable the development of the sense of citizenship of those who participate in them? 2. What are the characteristics of the social-educational process in these solidarity economic movements? 3. The action of the university accelerates the social-educational process of individual and groups participating in the solidarity economy movement? Thus, one of the objectives of the article was to understand the characteristics of the movements of the solidarity economy, specifically with regard to socio-educational processes present in such movements and to characterize the university involvement. The investigation sees the university as a possible subject present in these processes. In developing this analysis, the paper aims to develop an understanding of the contribution of the university to the learning process inherent to participation in the movement. The analysis was based on the concepts of solidarity economy, the process of individual and group learning and emancipatory education. We used a qualitative research method called action research. This method enables the researcher's participation both in decision making about the reality and the subsequent reflection on the process occurred and the consequent production of scientific knowledge about the process. The results showed that the entrepreneurs who participated in the extension project acquired knowledge and concepts necessary to manage their investments and might perceive themselves as active subjects in the process of strengthening the solidarity economy. The participants oriented on this discussion, also concluded about the possibility of mobilization and participation in public spaces with their difficulties and benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar heaters are an appropriate technology for tropical and subtropical climate to warm bath water through the energy from the sunlight. The development of conventional solar heaters is in the market and its acceptance is still low due to high cost. However, low-cost solar heaters have been developed in recent years for the care of a potential consumer demand, which in addition to using a renewable energy provides significant reductions in energy consumption. Environmental issue has highlighted towards current world problems. Our project proposal is to promote the construction of solar water heater based on the technique developed in Santa Catarina by José Alcino Alano, 2004 NGO Super Ecology prize winner, sponsored by Super Interessante magazine. They are built by using recyclable materials such as PET bottles and long life milk cartons reducing costs and using "junk" in order to produce thermal energy. This equipment has been patented with the intention that there would be exploited by companies for profit, and its design is of public domain. The objective of this study is to analyze the profile of potential users of solar water heaters at low cost. Thus, lectures and practical activities for rural and local low-income communities were performed in order to show how to build effective heating systems with recyclable materials and install them in the houses and show its economic feasibility as well as thermal comfort afforded and benefits to environment generated by the system, providing a free guide to building the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social exclusion of the basic rigths of a great number of people, arisen by the increasing of the social inequality, requires strategies that may contribute to the formation of active individuals in their communities. Through an intervention of interns from the fifth year of Psychology, based on the Community Psychology discipline, in a nongovernmental organization, located in the suburbs of São Paulo, group activities with parents/grandparents were developed with the objective of promoting the exchange of experiences among the group participants and guiding them about matters related to their children and/or grandchildren's education. Through a participative methodology, institutional/community information with the parents/granparents' life historical were elaborated, resulting in an intervention that valued the subjective experiences as an instrument to find out the real meaning of the parents/granparents' role and of their empowerment as citizens, even revealing this empowerment as partners of the institution, searching for solutions collectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first analytic groups formed in Brazil were a psychiatrist initiative in the late 1950s to meet the substantial demand for psychotherapeutic care for a large population with inadequate access to material resources. Although group-analytic psychotherapy arrived in private practice a few years later with great success, such therapy has always been a privilege in public institutions that provide free care for low-income populations. This article reports the development of a group-analytic psychotherapy process performed for over 4 years with a neurotic low-income patient group in the psychiatric ward of a major urban hospital in Rio de Janeiro. The department is responsible for clinical education and training of psychiatrists and psychologists. The treatment provided is preferably performed in the group setting. The group report illustrates how group-analytic psychotherapy is delivered in public institutions in Brazil, presenting both its difficulties and specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]