Talita Cristiele Gomes Vieira, Luana Alves Ciriaco, Silvana Silva Santos, Gabriel Lucas de Souza and Polibio José de Campos Souza
This article aims to analyze the incorporation of harm reduction health workers with lived experience in all services focused on the care for drug users in Belo Horizonte’s mental…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to analyze the incorporation of harm reduction health workers with lived experience in all services focused on the care for drug users in Belo Horizonte’s mental health network, one of the largest Brazilian Psychosocial Care Networks (Rede de Atenção Psicossocial [RAPS]), and reports the findings of a qualitative study on the life stories, recovery journeys and the professional practice of harm reducers in Belo Horizonte.
Design/methodology/approach
For the development of this research, the authors chose the following methodological tools: documentary research; follow-up of harm reduction interventions; access to harm reducers’ field diaries; joint writing of the life stories of the harm reducers.
Findings
It indicates that these professionals, as harm reducers empowered by their life experience, have developed various elements and active ingredients of peer support. Their practices and the results of their actions have consolidated their inclusion as Belo Horizonte RAPS’ health workers and highlight that recovery-oriented care and peer support are a real possibility in Brazil.
Originality/value
In this research, harm reducers are coauthors and report their own life experience. In this article, they also talk about the impact of this experience on their work and on the lives of users of mental health services, emphasizing the protagonism and exercise of citizenship by harm reducers.
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This study constructs a comprehensive, internationally comparative set of foreign trade data for the period 1857–1875. The dataset is constructed using information at the…
Abstract
This study constructs a comprehensive, internationally comparative set of foreign trade data for the period 1857–1875. The dataset is constructed using information at the commodity group-level and contains import and export values for the UK, France, the Zollverein, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, and the United States, itemised by trade partner. The study tackles three basic problems related to the heterogeneity in national statistics of the period: different definitions of aggregates, inadequate ‘official’ pricing, and the ‘proximity bias’, i.e. the misleading practice of crediting imports to bordering countries from where they physically entered, but where they did not originate. After passing successfully a consistency test, the resulting dataset contains harmonised and country of origin-corrected bilateral trade values for 7 central importers, 10 points in time, and 21 commodity groups, along with ad valorem tariff rates for all commodity groups and countries. They offer new detailed insights into the composition and evolution of trade and tariffs in the third quarter of the 19th century. Furthermore, a basic implementation of the gravity equation shows that as a consequence of the proximity bias estimates using uncorrected data are to be taken with care, especially when assessing border effects and the impact of policy variables.
Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Jorge Mota, António Moreira, Rui Costa, Silvana Serrão, Vera Pais-Magalhães and Carlos Costa
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the main firm-level performance indicators and group them in dimensions that support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the main firm-level performance indicators and group them in dimensions that support decision-making in the wine industry.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this goal, an SLR approach was conducted in the Scopus database from 2009 to 2019. From a set of 607 articles, only 25 studies related to firm-level performance indicators were considered and, following an inductive thematic analysis and an interpretative synthesis, separated into different specific foci that include social, economic and environmental dimensions.
Findings
There is a limited number of papers identifying indicators regarding the firm-level performance of wine firms, and even fewer studies including indicators on an integrated approach to measure the different dimensions of firm performance. This paper documents that economic and environmental indicators cover 78.2% of all SLR indicators analyzed. As this group of indicators is limited to a set of sub-dimensions, this paper found that several groups of indicators are misrepresented, such as product portfolio or certifications related to marketing activities and indicators covering purchasing and supply chain activities, which play a crucial role in the competitiveness of the wine industry.
Practical implications
For practitioners, it discloses the most pertinent indicators they need to improve to craft their business strategies. This framework is of added value for policymakers to customize their support programs for specific producers to develop their competitive strategies. It could be deployed in teaching programs as a tool to address the importance of aligning different types of indicators to achieve firm-level performance in the wine industry.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature identifying a framework of analysis that includes indicators of four dimensions, namely, economic, social, territorial and environmental. This framework aims to relate performance measures to corporate strategy as a management control tool. The framework intends to improve the fit between firms’ activities and their competitive context and to be flexibly adapted to various products/firms in the wine industry.
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Camila Paulus Link, Silvana Dalmutt Kruger, Cristian Rogério Foguesatto, Alcindo Neckel, Lucas Bucior, Cleunice Zanella, Yasmin Gomes Casagranda and Giana de Vargas Mores
This research examines the impact of governance structures within the Brazilian pork supply chain on the necessary controls for exportation. Specifically, the goal is to unravel…
Abstract
Purpose
This research examines the impact of governance structures within the Brazilian pork supply chain on the necessary controls for exportation. Specifically, the goal is to unravel the intricacies of this supply chain and decode its complexity.
Design/methodology/approach
Using transaction cost economics as a theoretical lens, we surveyed the main bodies responsible for the export and quality assurance sectors of Brazilian organizations that trade and export pork. Our sample comprises 53.5% of the country’s pork exporting companies during the period analyzed.
Findings
The presence of vertical and horizontal governance structures in the pork export chain stands out. While the vertical structure enables greater control due to command relations, there are trust and cooperation relations in the horizontal structure. This makes it possible to establish mechanisms to control health, quality, safety and traceability in both structures. We also identified each company’s characteristics: formation configuration (if the cooperative, publicly traded company, or other modality), capital stock, location, the average daily slaughter of pigs for export and sows per producer. We conclude that the organizations have concerns related to the food safety programs, as there are programs that seek transparency throughout the process in many supply chain stages.
Research limitations/implications
Studies that relate the level of orientation to the export market with the occurrence or risk of corrupt and opportunistic behavior and the coordination mechanisms adopted may represent an interesting and important opportunity for studies.
Originality/value
This study helps to understand the complexity of the Brazilian pork supply chain.
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D.M. Silva, W.C. Pereira, D.C. Kligerman and Silvana do Couto Jacob
The purpose of this paper is to obtain knowledge about one of the issues that affects the ecosystem in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Studies on the environment are…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to obtain knowledge about one of the issues that affects the ecosystem in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Studies on the environment are of fundamental importance if the quality of life of the inhabitants of certain regions is to be assured.
Design/methodology/approach
Physicochemical and biological analysis were performed of samples collected at four points along the river. Some of the parameters established by CONAMA Brazilian Regulation #357/05 were evaluated.
Findings
This paper did a physicochemical and biological characterization of a significant tributary river to the Guanabara Bay. This level of characterization has not been done before. The results achieved show that this river was in a worse condition than what was expected.
Practical implications
With its potential for tourism and fishing, and its importance to Rio de Janeiro City and the State as a whole, Guanabara Bay should be the object of more in‐depth studies and actions of a practical nature to bring about its ecological recovery.
Originality/value
This paper is a new source of information about this important tributary, as is Faria‐Timbó River to Guanabara Bay. This bay borders on a number of municipalities in the State and is of crucial importance not just for the neighboring towns and cities, but also for the entire State because of the fish stocks it harbors, which are consumed in the region.