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Having the South American Amazon as our spatial cut, this paper aims to discuss it as a space of physical, environmental and socioeconomic relevance to regional rearticulation, highlighting the issue of transport infrastructure and the importance of Brazil to boost this process in contemporary times. With the end of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) in 2019, several of its councils were paralyzed and discontinued, such as the Infrastructure and Planning Council (Cosiplan), reflecting the abandonment of efforts built since the beginning of the 21st century. In addition, relations between national preferences and the indispensable search for development, and mechanisms of cooperation and regional integration, which are fundamental instruments to meet such demands, were stressed. In turn, a scenario of discredited institutions made room for greater action by multiple public and private, internal and increasingly international and multinational actors who, in a way disconnected from regional arrangements, directed infrastructure investments focusing on their own interests, resulting in expiation of the the socio-environmental vulnerability in the Amazonian territories. We argue that it is necessary to integrate to preserve and develop. Regional governance and institutionality are central pillars for the resumption of a more resilient South American integration process, aimed at protecting and developing the Amazon, in which Brazil has an important driving role to be exercised and a directive leadership to retrieve.

La práctica artística contemporánea tuvo un espacio de reflexión y creación de opinión en las páginas de Papers d’Art. De la mano de un conjunto de voces propias e independientes se visibilizaron formas de producción artística multidisciplinarias, desde la perspectiva divulgadora de una crítica que conectaba dinámicamente los significados artísticos con los sociales y culturales. Conviene resaltar el desplazamiento del significado de la concepción del arte contemporáneo en calidad de pieza clave en la cultura intelectual, incluyendo política, filosofía, ciencia u otros formatos de creación como la música y la literatura. Partiendo del análisis de la conciencia crítica de los diferentes colaboradores y la investigación historiográfica en torno a cuestionamientos estéticos y simbólicos, se despliega una revisión del conjunto de los discursos incluidos en la sección Estudios e Investigación. Palabras clave: Fundació Espais; Papers d’Art; crítica de arte catalana; investigación universitaria sobre arte contemporáneo; perspectiva divulgadora del arte. Papers d’Art. Contents of the Study and Research section Abstract: Contemporary artistic practices were provided with a space for reflection and the creation of opinion in the galleries of the Fundació Espais and in the pages of its art magazine, Papers d’Art. A group of independent voices of multidisciplinary artistic production was made audible thanks to this publication that provided a critique which forged dynamic connections between artistic meaning and social and cultural contexts. This paper highlights a shift in meaning of the conception of contemporary art as a key element in intellectual culture, including politics, philosophy, science and other creative formats such as music and literature. Based on an analysis of the critical awareness of the various contributors to the magazine and on the historiographic study of certain aesthetic and symbolic questions, a review of the articles published in the Studies and Research section is detailed. Keywords: Fundació Espais; Papers d’Art; Catalan art Criticism; University Research on Contemporary art; Popularizing Issues of Art. Artículo recibido: 29/09/2021. Revisado: 08/10/2021. Aceptado: 11/10/2021

En la película La lavandería (2019), disponible en Netflix y basada en el escándalo de Panama Papers, se muestra la corrupción del mundo de una forma irónica y cómica, además, de poner en evidencia cómo las personas son utilizadas para alimentar cada vez más a los corruptos. Esta película trata de explicar todas las jugadas sucias o eso trata ya que se debe ver más de una vez para entender y buscar herramientas para proteger a los consumidores financieros.

O capitalismo demanda um sistema mundial, pois precisa de larga escala para funcionar, e as redes sociais são importante instrumento para sua expansão. A questão poderia ser vista como meramente comercial não fosse o fato de todas as empresas dominadoras desse segmento serem americanas e os EUA serem o representante-mor do capitalismo e eterno candidato a império mundial. Nesse ponto as coisas se embaralham. Essas plataformas foram criadas para a interação social, contudo propiciam também o compartilhamento de informação. Mais ainda: possibilitam a criação e publicação de conteúdos por qualquer pessoa. Publicar conteúdo não implica afirmar que se publique verdades. “Quem detém informação detém poder”, é ditado antigo. No mundo moderno, o poder se encontra na desinformação. E a desinformação tem corroído democracias. Fake news são o recurso mais eficaz para polarizar uma sociedade de modo a perturbá-la em variados níveis, em diversas esferas, predispondo-a a conflitos. A ascensão da extrema direita mundo afora, por exemplo, é fruto do adensamento desses grupos nas redes sociais. E “as direitas”, extrema ou moderada, são francamente capitalistas, defensoras da concentração de renda, da exploração da força de trabalho e do extrativismo irresponsável de recursos naturais.

The European Research Council (ERC) funding scheme classifies law within the social sciences and humanities sector, identifying legal science as a social science. The paper presents the case-study of such a classification as a deterministic model of evaluation and assessment of legal research. This may impact on career opportunities of individuals as well as on scientific independence, tacitly predefining the selection of research topics and legal methodology. The paper argues that ERC encourages a successful trend of conducting legal research to obtain funding, through the application of indicators. Their aim is to show which process has been followed to achieve and measure results. Legal science then risks being reduced to the analysis of legal performance. In this context, re-reading some writings of Polanyi on social sciences as well as on the critique of economic determinism sheds light on forms of academic determinism that affect the way of carrying-out research.

After several decades of economic integration and enlargement, divergence has been increasing in the European Union (EU), with weaker member states and regions falling behind their stronger counterparts. This paper argues that the structural causes of this increasing divide are explained in terms of the divergent trajectories of interdependent economies with different productive capabilities. In the process of European integration, the Southern peripheral countries were exposed to macroeconomic policies and shocks that, although apparently neutral, generated different effects and ever increasing regional disparities. Since the formation of the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union in 1992, events representing important milestones in the process of divergence include China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, the eastward orientation of German industry, and the 2008 financial and sovereign debt crises and the ensuing austerity. In the final part, the paper evaluates whether new divides are likely to emerge in the new global context triggered now by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The modern concept of State security comprises a transversal and multidisciplinary approach, including, among others, energy, cyber and food securities. Major food producers or food importers includes food security as one of the National security´s policies main stream. In this context, strategic food security policies are essential to the sovereignty, economic development and political stability. The aim of this work was to contribute to this debate, which includes food security as a relevant component of National security and defense policies. This paper discusses the role of food security on major security policies, comparing food security approach on countries with different political and economic systems. The paper highlights the strategy on food security policies involves the political model, the role-play by the country on the global food security and the food self-sufficient approach. As a major food producer and global food exporter, Brazil plays an important role on global food security. Meanwhile, a food security policy should be consider as essential part of a national security strategy, which would support the Brazil economic development and its global political influence.

Digital exclusion is a challenging phenomenon in many countries. The low level of digital and media competences among senior citizens raises many questions about the effectiveness of existing digital inclusion activities. This article fills a gap related to the development of digital competences from an intergenerational perspective. The paper answers the questions of 1) how to promote digital inclusion among seniors citizens, and 2) what role in the effective promotion of the development of digital competences could be played by young people. The paper used a standardised interview technique involving 22 young adults in Poland (20-35 years old) who reported on eleven ways to promote digital inclusion activities among seniors, and eight techniques that relate to the intergenerational development of digital and media competence.

The New Development Bank (NDB) has not yet received the attention it deserves in the development community. On the one hand, this lack of attention could be partially explained by its short existence. On the other hand, in its first five years of operations, the bank consolidated as a source of development finance in the bloc by claiming originality from the traditional multilateral development bank (MDB) business model. In this sense, the research gap on the bank points to a miscommunication between the NDB’s claims of originality and its engagement with the extended development community. Addressing the “new in the NDB” to consolidate it as a full member of the community, this paper analyses the bank’s very first operations to understand the possibilities of the NDB to position itself as a mission-oriented institution to finance the ecological transition in the BRICS countries by partnering up with local actors and institutions committed to public value. To understand these opportunities, this paper sheds light on five selected NDB projects and their engagement with the local sustainable development agendas. Studied together, the case studies provide important lessons on the bank’s approach to achieve its newness, but do not pretend to evaluate the whole of its first five years of operations – which should be tackled by further research. The paper concludes by suggesting a mission roadmap for the bank to consider in its corporate strategy. This implies a perspective shift from its current narrow focus on sustainable infrastructure investment by partnering up with local actors of the extended BRICS development community. For that matter, a shared commitment to strong sustainability and public value is required when connecting the bank’s operations with the country-specific challenges for the ecological transition.

The paper summarises and clarifies definitions of new and future industry development so-called INDUSTRY 4.0 e 5.0. There is a little confusion and a narrative influence from cultural and market leaders to evangelize scholars and less informed people. An increase in digitalization, information technology, and machine learning doesn’t imply a “revolution” it is something going on till the internet was open to the public. The paper summarises definitions to navigate the number of new words and definitions to avoid misunderstanding. The paper justifies itself for graduation and graduates to avoid errors following narrative fashions without an orientation. The aim of the paper is didactic and like a glossary. When academic discussions or research papers, the present paper could be used as a reference. The result also warns of the implications of the INDUSTRY5.0 definition because the more ideological side of the used the more ideal and academically irrelevant is the discussion. Depending on the aim of the research if the discussion is about human-machine development it is better in sociological or law areas.

The paper seeks to explain the importance of technology transfer for small firms. The technology transfer plan fits inside the Technology Plan of the Business Plan. Some suggestions give the framework for small firms to process a strategy and avoid failure in the technology cycle. The paper has a didactical purpose and uses bibliographic research to give the pieces of information and the logic of the process. The result is to inform and clarify its importance in a Business Plan somewhere missed in the general education and standard templates, but that is important for small firms to cure.

What drives the implementation of international cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)? Why do negotiations in some areas evolve to concrete measures and others do not? What factors explain variations in implementation in initiatives with different countries? At which circumstances can implementation be effective from the point of view of developing countries? To answer those questions this paper proposes an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that draws on studies from International Politics, Political Economy, Foreign Policy Analysis, Science and Technology Policy and History of Science and Technology. The paper departs from conceptual and theoretical elaborations on power and shows how they relate to STI and asymmetric negotiations involving developing countries and powerful counterparts. It concludes by proposing four patterns on implementation and non-implementation of STI negotiations and illustrating them with hypotheses related to cases of Brazil-US nuclear and aeronautic agreements and Brazil-China space and agriculture agreements.

The inquiry departs from the idea that heterogeneity is the rule, not the exception, regarding the National Innovation Systems (NIS) worldwide. The paper’s main goal is to advance understanding with empirical-based knowledge on how this uneven pattern occurs by formulating an original typology of NIS that surpasses the continental boundaries analysis and, primarily, highlights the strengths of few and weaknesses of most nations. Using the Global Innovation Index – GII, the paper employs descriptive analysis, bivariate correlation, and variance analysis, followed by clustering. The cluster analysis created five types of NIS that displayed an even more accurate description of how innovative countries are, beyond the income or continent cohorts. This original and comprehensive approach to the NIS disparities is crucial to advancing in how few countries continue to improve their innovative performance. At the same time, most countries keep struggling to increase innovation capacity to overcome their economic underdevelopment issues.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of the cooperation between Brazil and Australia in science, technology and innovation (ST&I), as a unique collaboration resulting from a bottom-up strategy. Different from the cooperation approaches with other countries, with whom historical and cultural relations exist, it was built upon people-to-people linkages. Substantial partnerships between universities were fundamental to those linkages, fostering exchange programs and collaborative projects. They contributed to consolidate a critical mass among researchers, a condition expected by both countries’ governments to move forward signing an international high-level political agreement, which is currently implementing its first Joint Committee. The paper describes both countries’ institutional architecture, policy documents, agreements and exchange data, providing inputs for an exploratory analysis of their agenda and policy objectives for ST&I cooperation. It also demonstrates how people-to-people linkages can be fruitful when established in areas of common interest, such as water resources management, agriculture and tropical diseases, leading to an inevitable thickening of the ST&I cooperation. This analysis confirms the success of a bottom-up approach to ST&I cooperation in the pursuit of joint solutions for common challenges. When political will meets a strong scientific knitting and bilateral technical awareness, forthcoming results are expected to enhance strategic projects in areas of emerging importance. The expectation is to help policy makers comprehend the value of already existing partnerships, therefore stimulating innovative projects under the Brazil Australia ST&I Agreement.

This paper examines China’s claim to the South China Sea, focusing on how to maintain peace in a region with competing claims through codified law or external mechanisms. The first part of the paper examines the different levels of China’s claim to ninety percent of the South China Sea, starting from its historical claim to its territorial claim. Additionally, an in-depth look is given to the provisions of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas, and how China’s claim conflicts with these provisions. The second part of the paper goes through the section of the dispute settlement provisions of the Convention, addressing the general provisions, procedures, and limitations concerning dispute resolution. The critiques of the dispute settlement provisions are addressed, alongside the lack of an enforcing body. Lastly, the external mechanisms that State parties can take to maintain peace with the region are analyzed, from other conventions to commercial responses.

RESUMO Objetivo: Este artigo revisa pesquisas existentes relacionadas à avaliação do impacto da inovação social e identifica várias barreiras para essa avaliação. Em seguida, são propostas intervenções para superar essas barreiras. Originalidade/valor: A inovação social tem desempenhado um papel importante na promoção de mudanças positivas para a sociedade. No entanto, medir seu impacto é um desafio muito significativo devido às muitas barreiras enfrentadas na seleção de métricas que se encaixam em sua definição e objetivo. Reconhecendo esses desafios, a principal contribuição deste artigo foi identificar as barreiras mais comuns e sugerir como elas podem ser superadas. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Duas abordagens foram consideradas nesta pesquisa. Por um lado, aplicou-se uma abordagem bottow-up para revisar a literatura relevante relacionada a métricas de impacto para inovação social e boas práticas para avaliação de impacto de inovação social. Por outro, utilizou-se uma abordagem top-down, por meio da coleta e análise de projetos de pesquisa relacionados à identificação de métricas de impacto da inovação social, amplamente difundidos e bem consolidados na literatura atual. Resultados: Esta pesquisa oferece insights valiosos para pesquisadores acadêmicos, decisores de políticas e profissionais que trabalham no campo da inovação social, identificando e classificando as principais barreiras enfrentadas para medir o impacto da inovação social, ou seja, a falta de conscientização das partes interessadas no campo da inovação social, dificuldades para selecionar as métricas para avaliar a inovação social, dificuldades para selecionar critérios para identificar indicadores mais adequados à inovação social, falta de engajamento dos beneficiários, falta de apoio financeiro e público e falta de consenso na definição de inovação social. / ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper reviews extant research related to the impact assessment of social innovation and identifies several barriers to this assessment. Following this is a proposal of interventions to overcome these barriers. Originality/value: Social innovation has played an essential role in enhancing positive changes for society. Nonetheless, measuring its impact is a very significant challenge due to the many barriers faced in selecting metrics that fit its definition and goal. Recognizing these challenges, the main contribution of this paper was to identify the most common barriers and to suggest how these barriers can be overcome. Design/methodology/approach: Two approaches were considered in this research. On the one hand, a bottom-up approach was applied to review relevant literature related to impact metrics for social innovation and good practices toward social innovation impact assessment. On the other hand, we used a top-down approach through collecting and analyzing research projects related to identifying metrics of social innovation impact, broadly disseminated and well-consolidated in the current literature. Findings: This research offers valuable insights to academic researchers, policy decision-makers, and practitioners working in the field of social innovation by identifying and classifying the main barriers faced to measuring the impact of social innovation, namely lack of stakeholder awareness in the field of social innovation, difficulties in selecting the metrics to assess social innovation, problems in selecting criteria to identify best-fitted indicators to social innovation, lack of beneficiaries engagement, lack of financial and public support, and lack of consensus in the social innovation definition.

What were the interests of Capital and Labor’s representative groups in the disputes for the formulation of Brazilian state policy for Mercosur during Lula’s administration (2003-2010)? Deploying from Nicos Poulantzas’ reading of the capitalist state and working with a theoretical framework for a state policy formulation analysis structured in inputs, policy, and outputs, this paper investigates the demands from São Paulo State’s Industries Federation and from the Workers Party to the Brazilian policy towards Mercosur. After the evaluation of some Mercosur policies in the considered period, this paper’s argument does not make the case of the literature’s interpretation of a post-hegemony period for regional integration in Latin America that drove Mercosur to pursue autonomy goals. Through a Brazilian class struggles lens, the economic gains of the industrial sector are more tangible than the perceived enlargement of Mercosur’s regional integration in autonomy key.

COVID-19 has exposed, reproduced, and created new inequalities in Latin America and the world. In this introductory paper, we discuss the impact of extant inequities on vulnerability to COVID-19 but we also identify new, and some unexpected, vulnerabilities. We emphasize vulnerabilities to the disease as well as vulnerabilities to policies and other responses in the fight against COVID-19. Building on insights from Peter Hall and Michele Lamont’s work on social resilience, we draw on the papers of this special issue to identify the important role of the state in addressing vulnerabilities and discuss the types of social resilience that vulnerable groups have turned to in their response to COVID-19.

This paper examines the Non-Habitual Residents (NHR) tax regime from a sociological perspective. This analysis is twofold: it explores the social conditions for its emergence and next conceptualizes the political rationality that determines it, and the type of individual subjectivity regulating it. Methodologically, the analysis is developed according to the principles of Foucauldian governmentality studies. The paper is structured in three sections: 1) characterization and analysis of the evolution of the beneficiaries applying for this tax regime; 2) analysis of the emergence of NHR regime within the scope of 2008 financial crisis; and 3) the definition of the political rationality that inspires the regime. We conclude that this is a program conceived according to a neoliberal political rationality, and also a procedure to reproduce such rationality through the promotion of an “economic citizen” model.

This paper investigates the use of a semiotic macrostructure called a pending account as an interpretive metatext to configure strategy texts’ motivational affordances and lend authority to deontic claims. Interpretive metatexts tell us what another text means; if they use a pending account to do so, they tell us what it means by telling us what we should do; and they tell us what we should do by telling us what inclines us to act in a certain way, either by verbalizing habits or convoking scripts and passions. Pending accounting is a speech genre oriented towards inducing action. Peircean and Greimasian semiotics suggest two different ways in which emotion is coupled to other sensemaking registers to set up these inducements. If Peirce teaches us how feelings set off an effortful inquiry oriented towards the fixing of belief, Greimas explains how passions (as well as scripts) play an important part in sanctioning and thereby (de)commissioning action. The paper shows how the two semioticians can be combined to explain how emotion is used to articulate and authorize pending accounts, based on an illustrative analysis of four interpretations of the 2020 Brexit withdrawal agreement.

This paper questions archaeology as a practice that, by unearthing and interpreting the signs of the past, leaves its own traces on the present of a site, a district, a community. Archaeology can be used to do so by different stakeholders, through the creation of discontinuity both in a region’s landscape – i.e. by choosing to attract visitors towards an archaeological site/museum rather than towards others – and in the history of a community – by implicitly (but also explicitly) giving the status of historical apex of a civilization to a specific period/event/monument according to which every other age is adjusted. This creates an unbalanced picture made of centres and peripheries. The few key archaeological ‘centres’ spread around the world and the uncountable neglected ‘peripheries’ that derive from this practice have an impact on our understanding of humanity. Bearing in mind this inevitable capacity of archaeology to leave material and cultural traces on us, this paper asks if and how archaeology can be used to have a positive impact on present societies answering current social questions. Does such practice just generate an indiscriminate accumulation of objects that will never be either studied by specialists or exhibited to the public tending to make museums’ storages collapse? Or does it help local and global communities to reflect upon themselves bearing an historically deeper viewpoint on humanity? Is archaeology used to justify actions taken in the present, to look for signs of prestigious ancestry, or as a medium towards accepting and dignifying otherness? Answers to such questions vary sensibly depending on the semiotic stand that specific archaeologists, as actors within the discipline, take on archaeology as a practice, whether they see it, in synthesis, as a discipline of things or as a discipline of traces. Reflecting on a few case studies such as Koudelka’s “Walking Through Outdoors Ruins” project for Magnum, the archaeology or Bronze Age Sardinia, and the dominant paradigm of communicating archaeology to the public, this paper exposes the social roles that archaeological interpretation has had so far, attempting a prediction of its future paths until some of its possible extreme – Funes el-memorioso driven – consequences.

In 2018 the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva organized together with Europaeum and Alternautas, the workshop on “Democracy, Indigenous Rights and Ethno-Racial Mobilization: Latin America in Comparative Perspective.” This workshop was part of the “Geneva Democracy Week” organized by the Geneva Chancellery of State to promote dialogue between political institutions, civil society, students and citizens, with a view to strengthening their participation in democratic processes. Our focus on Indigenous and Afrodescendant movements was intended to illuminate the ongoing contributions these populations have made to expanding and redefining democracy. Latin America has been the site of inspiring activism over the last decades, as formerly subaltern populations have challenged the ongoing legacies of colonialism and claimed citizenship rights. We received paper proposals from students of different European universities in Switzerland, England, Germany and Luxemburg and selected nine papers to be discussed at the workshop on the 6th of October at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The papers received feedback from the workshop conveners, Graziella Moraes, Filipe Calvão and Diego Silva from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, as well as from our special guests Nancy Postero, professor UC San Diego, Ethel Branch, former Attorney General of the Navajo Nation and Karen Ramirez Bóscan, founder of Wayunkerra Indigenous Women’s Initiative in Guajira Colombia, as well as anonymous peer review. Thus, the articles in this special issue of Alternautas are the product of a rich international conversation.

Purpose: This article investigates and classifies firm resources for the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from emerging countries. Originality/value: SMEs from emerging countries in global markets evidence their more restricted access to resources for internationalization. The mainstream international business literature classifies firm’s resources identified in large companies from developed economies. This research classifies firms’ internationalization resources located in different emerging countries based on a systematic literature review (SLR) and interviews. This paper contributes to the theoretical development about the internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries, indicating the importance of organizational resources in this process. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents an exploratory research developed in two stages: a SLR on emerging countries and interviews with experts, institutions, and SMEs about the Brazilian context. Bibliographic research and an interview with semi-structured script were adopted as data collection techniques. Interviews were analyzed with NVivo software using content analysis technique and providing categorization of resources. Findings: Up to 2016, 15 works mentioned resources for the internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries and seven were done in Asia. We identified 72 resources in ten emerging countries. Organizational resources predominate. The use of financial resources in Brazil contradicts the trend in other emerging countries. More tangible resources seem less strategic for SMEs’ internationali¬zation from emerging countries when compared to more intangible resources, as organizational ones. / Objetivo: Investigar e classificar recursos para internacionalização de pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) de países emergentes. Originalidade/valor: A participação de PMEs de países emergentes em mercados globais evidencia seu acesso mais restrito aos recursos para internacionalização. A literatura dominante de negócios internacionais segue classificações de recursos identificados em grandes empresas de economias desenvolvidas. Esta pesquisa classifica recursos da firma para internacionalização de PMEs baseada em diferentes países emergentes, com dados de revisão sistemática de literatura (RSL) e entrevistas. O artigo contribui para o desenvolvimento teórico sobre a internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes, indicando a importância dos recursos organizacionais nesse processo. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Este artigo apresenta uma pesquisa exploratória, de abordagem qualitativa, desenvolvida em duas etapas: RSL, abrangendo diferentes países emergentes, seguida de entrevistas com especialistas, instituições e PMEs no contexto brasileiro. Adotaram-se técnicas de coleta de dados de pesquisa bibliográfica e entrevista com roteiro semiestruturado. A análise das entrevistas baseou-se em técnica de análise de conteúdo e categorização dos recursos, com o software NVivo. Resultados: Até 2016, 15 trabalhos mencionaram recursos para internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes e sete foram feitos na Ásia. Identificaram-se 72 recursos em dez países emergentes. Predominam recursos organizacionais. O uso de recursos financeiros de terceiros no Brasil contradiz tendências em outros países emergentes. Recursos tangíveis parecem ter menor importância estratégica para a internacionalização do que recursos intangíveis, como os organizacionais.

This paper aims to analyze the importance of business leadership for the dissemination and implementation of environmental strategies in organizations, based on a case study in «Alumina», a Brazilian company producing aluminium and alumina. With main concepts and theories on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and organizational leadership as theoretical reference, we have assessed the basic skills of leaders, as well as the insights and contributions of organizational leadership for the dissemination and implementation of socio-environmental strategies. From semi-structured interviews carried out in the company, it was inferred that indeed leadership has an essential role at such purpose. The findings of the study are presented in the last part of the paper, as well as some reflections on the intended objectives.

This paper investigates factors that motivate entrepreneurs to completely operate within informality and the drivers of formal companies to underreport revenues. In particular, this work identifies and organizes the determinants of firm informality through a systematic literature review in Scopus and Web of Science databases. The article presents several contributions. First, it examines the two main frameworks of informality (structuralist/exclusion and legalistic/exit dimensions) and links this with the different roles of unregistered firms in economic development (survival, De Soto, and parasite views). It also studies the theoretical basis of informality, including economic, institutional, psychological, and sociological aspects. Second, the paper summarizes business informality determinants based on studies with different methodological approaches (macro, microeconomic), contexts (developed, emerging, transition economies), and periods (1983-2018). Our results show that firm informality is mostly addressed in the examined literature as a decision or voluntary choice by companies and entrepreneurs (legalistic vision). Third, the article proposes an integral theoretical model, according to which the firm informality level is determined by structural elements (company and entrepreneur’s characteristics) and environmental factors (corruption, bureaucracy, taxes, etc.). The analysis is relevant for researchers studying this subject and for policymakers as well.

Society management and the COVID-19 pandemic require continuous restatement and consolidation. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development created by the United Nations establishes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations and where Goal 5 addresses gender equality as a central priority. The main aim of this paper is to present a crossed-analysis study on how the health crisis has influenced differently the social behaviour between gender and generations in Spain. For this study there have been used a massive open data from the Sociological Research Centre (CIS). The mixed techniques´ methodology of this research was applied to study four social effect dimensions, such as “way of living”, “way of thinking”, “way of self-healthcare” and “social habits and behaviour”. The used techniques contributed analytically to gender and generations management during the pandemic with the intent of complementarity. Obtained findings by analysing four studied dimensions explain the effects and consequences of the pandemic involving differences between men and women, younger and older generations, leading to society management implications that can timely serve as a paradigm with scientific insights for public policies.

The paper focused on the recall of main European strategies against pandemic spread adding the innovation of green pass in july 2021. The objective of the paper is rise doubts about the claimed success of European strategies and to discuss if they can be replicate all over the world. Using a bibliographic research some pros and cons are summarized to prove the difficulties to export such model. The final remark underline that even if not reliable a strategy and solutions are better than the guilty inactivity in some countries.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the contributions of the method of empathic understanding to the field of Organizational Studies by highlighting the corporeality and sensitivity of the researcher in the production and interpretation of data. Originality/value: Since empathic understanding can be viewed as a method for analyzing the researcher’s experience during fieldwork, this paper situates the role of the researcher’s body as an instrument for the collection of data during their research. The theory of organizational aesthetics is taken as a basis to discuss the relevance of the sensory dimension during the research process. Without giving priority to any particular sense (such as that of sight, for example), the construction of scientific knowledge is therefore discussed in terms of the human senses that respond to diverse stimuli by highlighting the relevance of the processes involved in the production of embodied and sensible knowledge for Organizational Studies. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical-empirical study of qualitative nature was carried out in a street market of a Brazilian city. The method of empathic understanding directed the entire process of data collection and analysis, in which the limitations of field observations were discussed by expanding the notion of the researcher’s own experience into that of a sensory experience. Findings: The findings suggest that it is possible for the researcher to engage their mind and body during research by experiencing the field and overcoming dichotomies such as cognition/sensitivity. Such an engagement can be viewed as a major contribution of the method of empathic understanding to Organizational Studies. Thus, the notion of the body as a major vehicle for the construction of knowledge is made evident in this paper through both the discussion of the empathic understanding approach and the research carried out. / Objetivo: Este artigo objetiva discutir as contribuições do método da compreensão empática para o campo da pesquisa nos Estudos Organizacionais, evidenciando a corporalidade e sensibilidade do pesquisador na produção e interpretação dos dados. Originalidade/valor: Considerando que a compreensão empática é um método que centraliza a preocupação na experimentação sensível do campo por parte do pesquisador, a contribuição deste texto reside em situar o corpo como instrumento de produção dos dados na prática da pesquisa. Tomamos como base a teoria da estética organizacional para abordar a dimensão do sensível nesse processo. Discutimos, assim, a construção do conhecimento científico a partir dos sentidos humanos que captam estímulos de naturezas diversas, sem dar ênfase específica a um ou outro sentido (como a tradicional observação), destacando a importância dos processos de produção de conhecimento encarnado e sensível em Estudos Organizacionais. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Partimos de um estudo teórico-empírico de natureza qualitativa desenvolvido em uma feira livre de uma capital brasileira. O método da compreensão empática guiou todo o processo de produção e tratamento dos dados, em que refletimos sobre as limitações do observar o campo, ampliando a experiência do pesquisador para uma noção de experimentação sensível. Resultados: A discussão proposta permite reconciliar mente e corpo do pesquisador ao realizar a investigação, experimentando o campo e rompendo com dicotomias entre o domínio do cognitivo e o sensível, o que entendemos ser a principal contribuição do método para o campo dos Estudos Organizacionais. Nesse sentido, reiteramos o corpo como veículo central da produção do conhecimento, algo que fica evidente nas discussões sobre a abordagem da compreensão empática e na pesquisa realizada.

We start with two main hypotheses: a) the tendency to overproduction and expanded reproduction is inevitable in a context of production based on competition and the search for profit; b) conflicts for resources and the tendential degradation of the quality of life are also inevitable and are only going to worsen as the expanded reproduction takes its toll on the environment and on the material conditions for the reproduction of capital. This paper explores some underlying phenomena to support these claims, such as the Jevons Paradox, the Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall, and the Energy Return on Investment. Finally, it discusses the failure of some of the alternatives to the Growth Paradigm: Sustainable Development, Green Growth, Circular Economy and Degrowth.

Geography enlightened a vast area of social sciences. It consists earth’s land and ocean surface, different landforms and their formation, evolution, sub-surface phenomena, atmosphere and related activities, environment and its attributes, environment as a habitat of living elements as well as a human being and their reciprocal relationships in a very critical and analytical approach. From the inception of geography as a separate discipline, it evolved through its versatile, comprehensive and holistic nature. Alteration and modification change its nature through space and time. And accordingly, the established paradigm always changed depending on the demand of the geographers. This paper highlighted specifically the paradigm shift in geographical research with special reference to geospatial applications. Geography has two basic aspects, Pure and Applied. Recent trend shows that most of the geographical research is focused on the applied field rather than the pure aspects of the subject itself. The most interesting fact is that the applied research is basically depends upon the Geospatial technology. A distinct paradigm shifts have been taking place in both the Geographical Research and the Geospatial Technology through Digitalization. The large growing population of the world require a logical and scientific shift in both pure and applied research in the domain of geography. Particular mention may be made in the fields of Geography such as geomorphology, population geography, urban geography, rural development and environmental geography. This paper also highlights the major paradigmn shifts in the behavioural geography, systematic geography, regional geography, medical geography, geospatial sustainability and cartography from paper map to digital map. It is now established that no discipline can survive without adopting a new strategy and technology.

Purpose: A major thread in accounting literature, which has remained a contentious issue, is how accounting alchemy can be modeled. The paper builds on existing accrual models in proposing an accounting alchemy model and tests if it is still the right medicine for earnings and book value of firms. The accounting alchemy model was based on mechanisms of earnings, book value, earnings before extraordinary items, net profit after tax, cash flow from operations, revenue, and total assets. We modified accrual models on the view that accrual models suggest that incomes/expenses are the most manipulated; contrarily, accounting alchemy proposes that assets are alchemized. Originality/value: This paper proposes a new empirical model of accounting alchemy and practically assesses the validity of the model in Sub-Saharan Africa, where there are no studies. The proposed accounting alchemy model can be used in Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world to see if the study results can be replicated. Design/methodology/approach: Ex post facto design was used, and secondary data were obtained for selected quoted firms in Sub-Saharan Africa comprising Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya from 2012 to 2016. A sample of 64 firms was selected in the consumer and industrial goods subsector, and data were analyzed via descriptive (mean, standard deviation, correlation) and inferential (regression, fixed, and random effects) statistics. Findings: Findings indicated that earnings and book value are significantly affected by accounting alchemy. This implies that accounting alchemy is not the right medicine for firm’s earnings and book value. The result has practical application for researchers and the regulatory framework of accounting. / Objetivo: Uma grande linha da literatura contábil que se mantém como uma questão polêmica refere-se ao fato de a alquimia contábil poder ser modelada. O artigo constrói modelos de provisão (accrual) existentes ao propor um modelo de alquimia contábil e testar se ainda é o remédio correto para os ganhos e o valor contábil das firmas. O modelo de alquimia contábil foi baseado em mecanismos de ganhos, valor contábil, ganhos antes de itens extraordinários, lucro líquido depois das taxas, fluxo de caixa das operações, receita e total de ativos. Modificamos os modelos de acumulados com a visão de que modelos de acúmulo sugerem que renda/despesas são os mais manipulados; ao contrário, a alquimia contábil propõe que os ativos sejam alquimizados. Originalidade/valor: Este trabalho propõe um novo modelo empírico de alquimia contábil e praticamente avalia a validade do modelo na África subsaariana onde não existem estudos. O modelo proposto de alquimia contábil pode ser usado na Ásia, Europa e em outras partes do mundo para ver se os resultados do estudo podem ser repetidos. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Utilizaram-se o modelo ex post facto (a partir do fato passado) e os dados secundários obtidos por firmas selecionadas citadas na África subsaariana, incluindo Nigéria, África do Sul e Quênia, entre 2012 e 2016. Selecionaram-se amostras de 64 firmas dos setores de bens de consumo e industriais, e os dados foram anali­sados por meio de estatísticas descritivas (média, desvio padrão e correlação) e inferenciais (regressão, efeitos fixos e aleatórios). Resultados: Os resultados indicaram que os ganhos e o valor contábil são significativamente afetados pela alquimia contábil. Isso implica que a alquimia contábil não é o remédio correto para os ganhos e o valor contábil da firma. O resultado tem aplicação prática para pesquisadores e estrutura regulatória de contabilidade.

The notion of languaging provides a new understanding of the intimate relationship between sociality and language. In this paper, I address the evolutionary emergence of language by subscribing to the autopoietic theory of natural drift. I show that this systemic approach to evolution can offer the ideal epistemological background to evaluate the role of languaging throughout hominization. The central idea is that the languaging-based way of living acted as an attractor for the evolutionary process. This claim relies on three interrelated assumptions: 1) behavioral and relational habits may channel the course of genetic and structural change; 2) recursive coordination and specific forms of sociality set the systemic conditions for coexistence-through-languagingto be conserved over generations; 3) the conservation of these systemic conditions gives rise to a spiraling, positive-feedback process that involves body, cognition, and culture.

This paper aims to discuss Legal Pluralism from a transformative perspective as a product of community practices exercised by social collectivities that seek to address fundamental needs. In this perspective, the problem is to verify if the institutionalized pluralism in the Andean region (the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia) is qualified as a transforming legal pluralism, autonomous from state and with an authentic community profile. Even though this premise can be admitted, the essential question is: to what extent are its strength, validity and efficiency satisfactory inside the political-legal institutions? The result is the duality recognition of the legal pluralism that not only traditionally coexists with the State but is characterized as “subaltern” and limited by impositions of a monist culture that renews itself by keeping colonial remnants. For the discussion, a theoretical-reflective methodological approach with a critical and socio-legal content was employed, along with a specific bibliography.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) linked to the 2030 Agenda have been widely accepted by public and private companies, with many choosing to incorporate them within the framework of their social responsibility initiatives. This research article aims to find out how the SDGs are reflected in corporate sustainability reports and in which business activities they stand out the most. To this end, using a sequential explanatory methodology, the authors analyzed 12 sustainability reports issued in 2021 by large companies in Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador to verify their alignment with the SDGs. The reports showed evidence of a diverse range of programs associated with at least three SDGs, thus highlighting the importance of fulfilling not only the needs based on each company’s field of expertise but also those of its audiences and the community in general. The most prevalent SDGs were “decent work and economic growth” (SDG 8) and “gender equality” (SDG 5), followed by “responsible consumption and production” (SDG 12). This paper contributes to a growing interest among academia in the research on sustainability communication evidenced in annual reports.

A triple environmental crisis marks the current century: the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies that challenge¡ societies around the world and require global dialogue. Consequently, it seems worth assessing across international strata, whether young adults living in different regions would share social representations of the environmental crisis. Built on findings from 16 focus group discussions held in Ireland and Uruguay, comprising 109 participants, the objective of this article is to uncover and compare between countries: which environmental issues remain crucial for young citizens of diverse backgrounds and affiliations; how coincidental issues of concern are articulated across countries; and how structural factors are perceived as key to an environmentally unsustainable system. Let alone the case of Climate Change, the main findings point to shared topics of concern, such as Waste Generation and Disposal or Food Production and Consumption, with contrasting social representations of them between the two regions, which shed light on how environmental risk is socially built in dialogue with the context despite global discursive trends, in a highly mediatized and glocal era. Unlike university students focused studies, the paper offers a qualitative approach to the perceptions of young adults of diverse backgrounds in both countries.

The unprecedented growth in the illegal wildlife trade has created a serious challenge for conservation in Africa. Governments around the world often create entities to protect species and preserve biodiversity in their respective countries. Despite numerous interventions to conserve the world’s threatened rhino populations and reduce incidents of rhino poaching, poaching of the world’s rhino populations continue, especially in South Africa. Descriptive and inferential statistics are used to analyze and compare rhino-related disclosures with rhino poaching trends, to identify possible correlations between incidents of rhino poaching and rhino-related, and to establish differences between the periods between 2006 to 2015 (covered in Ackers, 2019) and the subsequent period from 2016 to 2021. Unlike the period from 2006 to 2015 where several rhino-related keywords were strongly correlated with rhino poaching incidents, no correlations were detected from 2016 to 2021. Although incidents of rhino poaching decreased, SANParks appear to have strategically increased its anti-poaching advocacy by retaining high levels of disclosures about rhino-related issues, demonstrating how it has discharged its biodiversity-related mandate. Using the same mixed-methods research approach and similar data, this paper extends the Ackers (2019) study, which examined how South African National Parks (SANParks), by including the disclosures from 2016 to 2021.

Resumo Objetivo: Os homens estão mais inclinados a assumir riscos do que as mulheres? A resposta a essa pergunta é de relevância imediata para várias questões econômicas, incluindo o comportamento humano em relação ao consumo de medicamentos e procedimentos médicos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar os benefícios percebidos do consumo de medicamentos, centrado na avaliação do risco farmacêutico. Originalidade/valor: A literatura documenta que riscos e benefícios podem ser considerados os principais trade-offs na tomada de decisão do consumidor, inclusive na indústria farmacêutica. É um tema atual com alto potencial de impacto social por causa dos muitos casos identificados de Covid-19. Nos países em desenvolvimento, a maioria dos medicamentos é utilizada por indivíduos que se automedicam, pois o acesso aos cuidados de saúde pode ser insuficiente. A automedicação é um problema potencialmente maior, pois nesse caso o uso de medicamentos geralmente segue o conselho de amigos, parentes e vizinhos. No entanto, há pouca evidência empírica sobre esse problema no contexto dos países emergentes. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Trata-se de uma pesquisa com mais de mil indivíduos em que se utilizou um modelo de regressão estendido (MRE) em um dos maiores países do mundo, o Brasil. Resultados: De acordo com os resultados obtidos, as mulheres percebem mais riscos e benefícios do uso de medicamentos e procedimentos médicos. A percepção dos benefícios dos medicamentos pode ser explicada pelas seguintes dimensões: risco (danos pessoais, alerta de risco e conhecimento do risco), gênero, uso regular e benefícios dos procedimentos médicos. Em relação às dimensões de risco, quanto menor a percepção de danos pessoais e quanto maior a percepção de alerta e conhecimento de risco, maiores os benefícios percebidos do uso de medicamentos./ Abstract Purpose: Are men more inclined to assume risks than women? The answer to this question is immediately relevant to various economic issues, including human behavior concerning medical remedies and procedures consumption. This paper aims to identify the perceived benefits of the consumption of medications centered on pharmaceutical risk assessment. Originality/value: The literature documents that risks and benefits can be considered the main trade-offs in consumer decision-making, including the pharmaceutical industry. It is a current theme with a high potential for social impact due to the many identified cases of Covid-19. In developing countries, most medication is used by self-medicating individuals, as access to health care can be insufficient. Self-medication is a potentially greater problem, as in this case, medication usage often follows advice from friends, relatives, and neighbors. Yet, there is little empirical evidence regarding this problem in the context of emerging countries. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of over 1,000 subjects using an extended regression model (ERM) in one of the biggest countries in the world, Brazil. Findings: The results reported that women perceive more risks and benefits from medication usage and medical procedures. The perception of the benefits of medications can be explained by the following dimensions: risk (personal injury, risk alertness, and risk awareness), gender, regular usage, and the benefits of medical procedures. Regarding risk dimensions, the lower the perceptions of personal injury and the higher the perceptions of risk alertness and risk awareness, the greater the perceived benefits of medication usage.

Discussions on the energy transition (ET) in the Brazilian electricity sector (sistema elétrico brasileiro – SEB) have often considered the insertion of natural gas (NG) thermoelectric plants (TPPs) as a solution to energy security. The SEB has a high penetration of renewable sources (84%). Its decarbonization is a mechanism that can contribute to Brazil’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets and help mitigate the impacts of climate change by increasing the share of renewable sources. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to analyse the requirement to contract 8,000 MW of new NG-fired thermal power plants – thermal-jabutis – based on Eletrobras’ privatization law No. 14,182/2021 and its impact on the SEB. Methodologically, two guiding questions are used: i) does the SEB need new NG TPPs?;and ii) what are the impacts of implementing the new NG TPPs provided for in the Eletrobras privatization law?The results show that the compulsory contracting of NG TPPs in Brazil will result in: i) additional infrastructure costs for transporting NG to the TPPs; ii) a 40% increase in the SEB’s annual GHG emissions; and iii) an increase in the demand for water resources, due to the consumption of water to operate the TPPs. On the other hand, in order to guarantee the increase in energy demand and the energy security of the SEB in the long term, the expansion of transmission networks and solar and wind generation are required as the most economical means of reducing GHG emissions from the electricity sector. It is necessary to guarantee the protection of biodiversity, the rights of communities affected by the implementation of these projects and the coordinated operation of these new plants with the Brazilian hydroelectric park, in order to guarantee the storage of energy in the form of water for periods of water scarcity and load control. Finally, we conclude that: i) it is essential to consider not only GHG emissions, but also environmental and social impacts when evaluating the expansion of power generation in Brazil; ii) the implementation of NG TPPs is a contradiction to the Brazilian TE, as it increases environmental impacts, the price of the energy tariff, delays the achievement of the decarbonization goals of the SEB and the 2030 Agenda; and iii) it goes against the scientific evidence, widely disseminated nationally and internationally, which recommends expanding the Brazilian supply of electricity from solar and wind sources. Therefore, the SEB does not need inflexible fossil TPPs.

At the end of the 1960s, neighborhood movements burst onto the municipal agenda in many metropolitan environments worldwide through numerous demands related to basic needs. In Madrid, these demands took different neighborhood spaces and some former municipalities that were integrated as districts in the city’s urban core as a geographic scale of reference. This placed these locations at the center of the political debate, which gradually faded away as a result of the various municipal reforms developed during the first two decades of parliamentary democracy in Spain. In the last fifteen years, neighborhood demands have taken a different turn, as a political phenomenon has appeared linked to new forms of neighborhood protest called neighborhoodnalism. This process was not diminished during the hardest moments of the global covid-19 pandemic; rather, it has been strengthened as a dynamic of political socialization, solidarity, and daily resistance in many of Madrid’s neighborhoods. As a result, the referents and elements of identification around the neighborhood, as well as the political practice of neighborhoodnalism itself, have been expanded. From a spatial perspective of neighborhood movements that considers political identity as a dynamic and resignified process through protest and collective organization, and through ethnography and the analysis of in-depth interviews held over five years in the Madrid district of Hortaleza around the Three Kings Parade, this paper studies how these socio-political practices are being articulated in urban space and how the learning of this form of spatial socialization is influencing Madrid’s municipal agenda as a whole.

This paper explores how the right to the city is understood and practiced in relation to public space by contrasting two models of urban planning in Bogotá, Colombia. It contrasts a best practice right to the city/public space model with an alternative vision for urban ordering based on participatory forms of living heritage. I argue that this represents a kind of insurgent heritage that offers a potentially rich and powerful concept for extending the right to the city to further push for including alternative worldviews and practices in planning and policymaking. To develop this argument, I discuss theories related to public space, the right to the city, and critical heritage. I then use these to discuss an ethnographic study of heritage planning in the Traditional Center of Bogotá.

This article describes aspects of the financing of compulsory education in England. In the first part, it provides an overview of the country’s educational policies that have shaped school funding changes. The second part explains the stages and ages of compulsory education in the country and examines the growth of enrolment in each school type. The paper also explores the National Funding Formula (NFF), its factors and allocations, and presents official data on spending by school type and average per-pupil expenditure in England. The data reveals an increase in compulsory enrolment in public schools since 2015, putting pressure on education costs. There has also been a proliferation of school types in the country, leading to varying per-pupil spending across school types and a significant flow of public funding to private actors. Additionally, public spending on education decreased over most of the 2010s, representing a significant squeeze on school resources and teacher pay. Despite the current government’s efforts to restore 2010 budget levels, this goal remains unmet.

Resumo Objetivo: Este estudo buscou analisar os elementos que compõem a resiliência das organizações diante de um evento disruptivo, utilizando como contexto a crise provocada pela Covid-19. Originalidade/valor: O estudo da resiliência organizacional nos ajuda a teorizar com mais precisão o ajuste e a adaptação organizacional em ambientes cada vez mais complexos e difíceis de ser compreendidos. Entretanto, embora a sua investigação tenha demonstrado ser algo promissor, o seu conceito ainda necessita de maior atenção independente e validação empírica. Nesse sentido, este trabalho contribui para que haja uma visão holística com uma definição consistente do termo, por meio de um modelo validado quantitativamente, pois a maioria dos estudos empíricos encontrados na literatura é de natureza qualitativa. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Foi aplicada uma survey a fim de testar um modelo para a mensuração da resiliência organizacional, por meio de uma análise fatorial exploratória, além da utilização de uma estatís-tica descritiva simples. A coleta dos dados ocorreu entre os dias 9 de novembro e 23 de dezembro de 2021, por meio de um formulário eletrônico, que contou com 41 respondentes (empresas). Resultados: O modelo testado apresentou um alto nível de confiabili-dade (ω de McDonald de 0,955), podendo ser aplicado no âmbito das organizações para medir sua resiliência. O modelo testado é composto por 12 itens: unidade de propósito; planos de teste de estresse; planejamento estratégico; postura proativa; quebra de silos; conhecimento aproveitado; recursos internos; parcerias eficazes; inovação e criatividade; tomada de decisão; engajamento da equipe; e liderança. / Abstract Purpose: This study sought to analyze the elements that compose the resilience of organizations when facing a disruptive event, using as context the crisis caused by Covid-19. Originality/value: The study of organizational resilience helps us to theorize, more accurately, organizational adjustment and adaptation in increasingly complex and difficult-to-understand environments. However, although their research has shown promise, its concept still needs more independent attention and empirical validation. In this sense, this paper contributes to a holistic view with a consistent definition of the term through a quantitatively validated model since most of the empirical studies found in the literature are qualitative in nature. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was applied to test a model for measuring organizational resilience, through an exploratory factor analysis, in addition to the use of simple descriptive statistics. Data collection occurred between November 9 and December 23, 2021, through an electronic form with 41 respondents (companies). Findings: The tested model showed a high level of reliability (McDonald’s ω of 0.955) and can be applied within organizations to measure their resilience. The tested model comprises 12 items: unity of purpose; stress testing plans; strategic planning; proactive posture; breaking silos; leveraged knowledge; internal resources; effective partnerships; innovation and creativity; decision-making; staff engagement; and leadership.

O nosso esforço para a organização de uma edição com artigos voltados a contextos de crises e eventos extremos foi motivado pela potencialidade de oferecer contribuições para o campo de estudos da Administração. O tema é de natureza multidisciplinar, mas, ainda assim, não foi suficientemente reconhecido por pesquisadores como um fenômeno organizacional que merece atenção como tal para a compreensão da magnitude dos seus impactos. As sociedades deparam-se com certos eventos, como guerras, terrorismo, violência e segurança pública, desastres naturais e aéreos, crises políticas e econômicas, extorsão e violação de privacidade, cada vez mais comuns nas manchetes de jornais do mundo todo. Nos anos mais recentes, o rompimento de barragens da Vale, o incêndio no Clube do Flamengo, o atentado terrorista na Nova Zelândia, o incêndio na Catedral de Notre-Dame, a morte de pessoas pisoteadas em baile funk em Paraisópolis, em São Paulo, o ter-remoto no Haiti, o incêndio na Amazônia, o acidente na Usina Nuclear de Fukushima, e, mais recentemente, a Covid-19 são exemplos de eventos que deixam aparentes a fragilidade e a vulnerabilidade do mundo, levantando questões importantes sobre como as organizações, as sociedades e os indivíduos recebem os impactos desses eventos e lidam com eles. No que tange às organizações contemporâneas, as questões centrais relativas a esses eventos estão relacionadas com as operações deles, as estruturas, os recursos, a comunidade e os(as) trabalhadores(as), que são centrais para a compreensão de contextos extremos. No campo de estudos da Administração, a necessidade de considerar o contexto é reconhecida pela sua importância em várias perspectivas de análise organizacional, a começar pelas teorias contingenciais, passando pela teoria da dependência de recursos, pelo novo institucionalismo, pelos estudos baseados na prática, pelos estudos críticos de gestão, entre outras. Contexto significa “oportunidades e restrições situacionais que afetam a ocorrência e o significado do comportamento organizacional, bem como as relações funcionais entre variáveis” (Johns, 2006, p. 386). Na literatura sobre contexto e eventos extremos, há uma diversidade de nomenclaturas atribuída a essas expressões, gerando controvérsias infrutí-feras (Hällgren et al., 2018). Tradicionalmente, o termo extremo é utilizado para se referir a [...] situações que ocorrem fora do comum e subculturas de lazer quase desviante que visam a uma fuga da modernidade comercializada e excessivamente racionalizada ou para profissões que envolvam alto riso, exposição a trabalho sujo e ameaça à vida (Granter et al., 2015, p. 443). Porém, o termo ganhou novos contornos, passando a definir domínios de trabalho e organizacionais convencionais que se caracterizam pela inten-sidade do trabalho e pela normalização de comportamentos e culturas de trabalho extremos, que trazem ameaças de danos materiais e não materiais. Um contexto extremo é aquele [...] ambiente no qual um ou mais eventos extremos estão ocorrendo ou são prováveis de ocorrer e que podem exceder a capacidade da organização de prevenir uma magnitude extensa e intolerável de consequências físicas, psicológicas ou materiais para os membros da organização e de resultar nela (Hannah et al., 2009, p. 897). Os danos são potenciais para os membros organizacionais e para aqueles que, de alguma forma, estão envolvidos com a organização. Contextos extremos não são homogêneos, sendo atravessados por variações em termos de temporalidade da organização, de magnitude das consequências, de probabilidade de ocorrer, de proximidade dos membros organizacionais e de formas de ameaças (Hannah et al., 2009). Apesar das similaridades, contexto extremo e crise1 são fenômenos distintos: em uma crise, causas e efeitos são ambíguos; já em contextos extremos, as ameaças são específicas e graves, as organizações são capazes de se antecipar, e as causas e efeitos são, frequentemente, identificáveis (Hannah et al., 2009). Eventos extremos têm ganhado um interesse mais forte de pesquisadores em diversos campos de conhecimento por causa das incertezas políticas, econômicas e ecológicas, dos desastres que resultam em tragédias e dos escândalos corporativos relacionados à irresponsabilidade social. São definidos como ocorrências que podem resultar em uma magnitude extensa e intolerável de consequências físicas, psicológicas ou materiais para os membros da organização (Hannah et al., 2009, p. 898) e os consumidores, afetando sua capacidade de produção e de obtenção de recursos (Hällgren et al., 2018). Os eventos extremos têm em comum alguns elementos: pré-crise, plano de emergência, crise, gestão da crise, pesquisa e implementação de mudanças (Buchanan, 2011). No entanto, os trabalhos acadêmicos sobre contextos extremos têm produzido respostas para eventos particulares (Maglajlic, 2019), ao comporem um corpo de pesquisa fragmentado (Hällgren et al., 2018) e limitarem os esforços para sistematizar o que podemos aprender sobre a natureza desses eventos e os contextos em que eles ocorrem, de forma que se possa melhorar nossa compreensão sobre esses fenômenos, suas características e seus fundamentos. Reconhecer que contextos extremos fornecem uma plataforma para o estudo de fenômenos organizacionais complexos potencializa a compreensão de comportamentos humanos e organizacionais, de jogos de poder, de processos organizacionais de adaptação e resiliência, bem como dos desafios e das barreiras a que as organizações encontram dificuldades para responder. Nesta edição especial, seis artigos oferecem respostas ou caminhos para a compreensão de contextos de crises e eventos extremos. Três artigos destacam a importância da resiliência: “Desempenho resiliente ante período de crise econômica: Modelo integrado de concepções e estratégia de pesquisa”, de Leandro K. Rosa, Roberto F. Decourt e Daniel F. Vancin; “Como mensurar a resiliência organizacional? Validando um modelo simplificado”, de Alã Y. P. Santos e Renata G. Spers; e “Social customer relationship management e resiliên-cia organizacional de microempresas brasileiras na pandemia de Covid-19”, de Guilherme A. S. Andrade, Márcia M. S. B. Espejo, Rigoberto García-Contreras e Cleston Alexandre dos Santos. Diferentemente do destaque à resi-liência, o artigo “Vale tudo: As estratégias de atuação da Vale após o desastre-crime da barragem de Córrego do Feijão”, de Tatiane Lúcia de Melo e Liliane de Oliveira Guimarães, mostra como a empresa Vale tratou as consequências do rompimento da barragem para a comunidade. O artigo “Percepção de empreendedo-res acerca das políticas públicas no enfrentamento da Covid-19”, de Claudia M. S. Bezerra, Heidy R. Ramos, Eudes V. Bezerra, Marco A. C. Teixeira e Marcos F. Magalhães, aponta o papel do governo no que tange às políticas públicas para enfrentamento de um evento extremo específico. Já “Líderes na pandemia: Contribuições para a literatura sobre liderança nas organizações em contextos extremos”, de Beatriz M. B. Braga e Vanessa M. Santos, apresenta um modelo de liderança que acreditamos poder contribuir tanto para a pesquisa sobre o tema como para a orientação de líderes que venham a viver esse contexto. / Our effort to organize an issue that brings together papers on crisis contexts and extreme events was motivated by the potential to contribute to Management studies. The topic is multidisciplinary, but even so, it has not been sufficiently recognized by researchers as an organizational phenomenon that deserves attention to understand the magnitude of its impacts. Societies are faced with certain events, such as wars, terrorism, violence and public safety, natural disasters, air disasters, political and economic crises, extortion, and violations of privacy, which are increasingly common in newspaper headlines worldwide. In recent years, the Vale’s dam collapse (Brumadinho, MG, Brazil), the fire at the Flamengo Club (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil), the terrorist attack in New Zealand, the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, the death of people trampled at a funk dance in Paraisópolis (São Paulo, SP, Brazil), the earthquake in Haiti, the fire in the Amazon, the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic, are examples of events that make the fragility and vulnerability of the world apparent, raising important questions about how organizations, socie-ties and individuals receive and deal with the impacts of these events. As far as contemporary organizations are concerned, the central issues relating to these events are related to their operations, structures, resources, community, and workers, which are central to understanding extreme contexts. In the field of Management studies, the need to consider context is recognized for its importance in various perspectives of organizational analysis, starting with contingency theories through to resource dependency theory, new institutionalism, practice-based studies, and critical management studies, among others. Context means “situational opportunities and constraints that affect the occurrence and meaning of organizational behavior, as well as the functional relationships between variables” (Johns, 2006, p. 386). In the literature on context and extreme events, there is a diversity of nomenclatures attributed to the term, generating unhelpful controversies (Hällgren et al., 2018). Traditionally, the term “extreme” is used to refer to [...] situations that occur out of the ordinary and subcultures of quasi-deviant leisure that aim at an escape from commercialized and over-rationalized modernity or to professions that involve high laughter, exposure to dirty work and threat to life (Granter et al., 2015, p. 443).

This paper analyses relations among FEDEDAM, Eureka Comitee and AFADEM during the 80s as a training space for memories of enforced disappearances. We examine from primary sources, some written some oral, the organisations’ trajectories and spots of memories’ production and circulation. We assert that within the common work concerning denunciation and search for justice, narrarives were made up as well as transnational memorial practices shared by parents’ organizations in Mexico and through the Latin American network issued by the federation.

This paper aims to study the historical experience of evil in Venezuela. From the history of the present time and the regimes of historicity, we inquire about the pernicious nature of the political and ideological mechanisms that, instituted by Chavismo, seek the subordination of the other, especially of those who oppose and resist it. Memory, testimonies and documentation thus allow us to show the institutionalization of violence and the use of evil as a political instrument.

This paper examines the history of Mexico’s native memory concept. To achieve this, three memorial phases are rebuilt : first, the emergence of the colonial past’s review as a historical trauma ; next, how the native Latin-American and Mexican movements have taken ownership of this past’s meaning in order to define their identity as “ancestral victims” ; and finally, the phase of such recognition within the new cultural plurality’s rhetoric.

This paper applies the concept of inequality regime, in the tradition of the Regulation School, to the analysis of the patterns and drivers of socioeconomic inequality in Portugal in the last few decades. Key empirical patterns are identified with respect to income inequality, top and bottom incomes, wealth inequality, monetary poverty and non-commodified provision of basic goods. We then discuss several underlying processes and mechanisms, namely the capital-labour relation, classification struggles, financialisation, redistribution, and welfare, to account for the identified empirical patterns. We conclude that Portugal’s inequality regime is remarkably contradictory and argue that the country’s success in curbing most measures of inequality in recent times is especially vulnerable to a variety of pressures.

Digital Platform Work (DPW) is part of a new phase of capitalism, in which monopolistic digital platforms use algorithms to mediate labour supply and demand. As DPW grows, the share of atypical workers in the labour market increases and European Union states are pressed to regulate it, but the strategies adopted are different. This is the case with the regulation of DPW in the passenger transport sector approved by the governments of Portugal and Spain. This paper makes a comparative analysis of these case studies based on parliamentary debates and media reports. We argue that the centre-left parties which led the governments in both countries, adopted a distinct regulation strategy because they each have specific conceptions of solidarity.

The cooperation between Brazil and China dates from 1980 and is inserted in the South-South cooperation scope. However, the literature observes a transformation of this cooperative modality in the crisis of international relations – as evidenced by the impact of covid-19 pandemic – and the domestic challenges faced by developing countries. This raises the question of whether there is increasingly a gray area between South-South and North-South cooperation, and whether there is any likelihood of a reversal of this low cooperative profile between states. In this context, the paper seeks to analyze Brazil-China cooperation in science, technology and innovation (STI), observing the nuances of the previous and subsequent period of the covid-19 pandemic. Has there been a reduction in this cooperation in the contemporary scenario? How has the pandemic impacted this process? To answer these questions, this research is based on a bibliographic and documental review, as well as official websites of the cooperative initiatives and the Brazilian organizations involved in the bilateral interaction. We conclude that the biggest leaps in bilateral STI relations occurred at the end of the first decade of the 21st century and at the beginning of the second, with a subsequent reduction in cooperative intensity, although relations remained active. Furthermore, we note a transition in strategic terms and that, during the pandemic, new bonds were established, as well as dialogues for the renewal of the existing cooperation. Under the current administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, recent international acts have been signed and there has been a strengthening of the partnership, especially in the space area, demonstrating a boost in South-South cooperation in STI between Brazil and China.

This paper looks at the reasons behind internationalization in Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and different mechanisms that can be used by the institutions themselves, financing agencies, as well as individual researchers to improve the international impact of their research and the production of quality alumni to solve problems posed by society. We question why institutions and researchers should consider the internationalization of research and teaching, and an operational approach is proposed. The need for strategic priorities and partnerships is highlighted as well as methods for monitoring and evaluating these methods. We also show that institutions should question how initiatives fit within the institution’s mission and overall strategy, and how they can go about framing and deciding upon various forms of internationalization.