Rituals and Knowledge Construction: Ethical Dilemmas on Creating Oppositions

What is knowledge construction for? Mesopotamian rituals were practiced in order to grasp the future and guide war strategies. Nowadays, scientific rules are developed to avoid mysticism-constructing more accurate laws to explain the reality. Both rituals and science were, and usually are, grounded in a conception that to know is to decipher the correct meaning behind the expressive relief of the world. Contemporary studies on anthropology have shown that the opposition between nature and culture is the basis of a number of problems in human sciences aiming to comprehend the intricate relation between body and violence and overcome ethical dilemmas.

Promoting ethical and environmental awareness in vulnerable communities: a research action plan

Urban populations that live in the outskirts of major Latin American cities usually face conditions of vulnerability attached to complex environmental issues, such as the lack of sewerage, floods, pollution and soil and water contamination. This article reports an intervention research programme in Sao Paulo, Brazil that combines a moral education approach with sustainability awareness in vulnerable communities. The main conceptual foundations of the project, designed to empower the community and promote ethical and environmental awareness are: strengthening the ties between the school and the surrounding community in order to construct 'moral atmosphere'; adoption of Problem- and Project-based Learning and the Design Thinking approach to reach the proposed goals.

The relationship between banking market competition and risk-taking: Do size and capitalization matter?

This paper addresses the effects of bank competition on the risk-taking behaviors of banks in 10 Latin American countries between 2003 and 2008. We conduct our empirical approach in two steps. First, we estimate the Boone indicator, which is a measure of competition. We then regress this measure and other explanatory variables on the banking "stability inefficiency" derived simultaneously from the estimation of a stability stochastic frontier. Unlike previous findings, this paper concludes that competition affects risk-taking behavior in a non-linear way as both high and low competition levels enhance financial stability, while we find the opposite effect for average competition. In addition, bank size and capitalization are essential factors in explaining this relationship. On the one hand, the larger a bank is, the more it benefits from competition. On the other hand, a greater capital ratio is advantageous for banks that operate in collusive markets, while capitalization only enhances the stability of larger banks under high and average competition. These results are of extreme importance when considering bank regulations, especially in light of the recent turmoil in the global financial markets. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The ethical dimension f analyst's interventions facing institutional demands of CAPS

(The ethical dimension f analyst's interventions facing institutional demands of CAPS) Considering the complexities involved in setting up clinical work in the psychosocial field, analyst must question their own contributions toward improvements in this area. This issue is presented here as a considerable challenge, due to the limitations of psychoanalytic practice and, especially, the differences between conventional clinical practice and that carried out in institutional and political settings. From this perspective, we call attention to the notion of ethics as a differentiating and guiding concept for psychoanalytic practice in its contribution toward the treatment provided at CAPS.

Ethical Cultures in Large Business Organizations in Brazil, Russia, India, and China

This study focuses on comparison of perceptions of ethical business cultures in large business organizations from four largest emerging economies, commonly referred to as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), and from the US. The data were collected from more than 13,000 managers and employees of business organizations in five countries. The study found significant differences among BRIC countries, with respondents from India and Brazil providing more favorable assessments of ethical cultures of their organizations than respondents from China and Russia. Overall, highest mean scores were provided by respondents from India, the US, and Brazil. There were significant similarities in ratings between the US and Brazil.

Groups of services delivered by Brazilian branchless banking and respective network integration models

Over the last decade, Brazil has pioneered an innovative model of branchless banking, known as correspondent banking, involving distribution partnership between banks, several kinds of retailers and a variety of other participants, which have allowed an unprecedented growth in bank outreach and became a reference worldwide. However, despite the extensive number of studies recently developed focusing on Brazilian branchless banking, there exists a clear research gap in the literature. It is still necessary to identify the different business configurations involving network integration through which the branchless banking channel can be structured, as well as the way they relate to the range of bank services delivered. Given this gap, our objective is to investigate the relationship between network integration models and services delivered through the branchless banking channel. Based on twenty interviews with managers involved with the correspondent banking business and data collected on almost 300 correspondent locations, our research is developed in two steps. First, we created a qualitative taxonomy through which we identified three classes of network integration models. Second, we performed a cluster analysis to explain the groups of financial services that fit each model. By contextualizing correspondents' network integration processes through the lens of transaction costs economics, our results suggest that the more suited to deliver social-oriented, "pro-poor'' services the channel is, the more it is controlled by banks. This research offers contributions to managers and policy makers interested in understanding better how different correspondent banking configurations are related with specific portfolios of services. Researchers interested in the subject of branchless banking can also benefit from the taxonomy presented and the transaction costs analysis of this kind of banking channel, which has been adopted in a number of developing countries all over the world now. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vitrification of primordial germ cells using whole embryos for gene-banking in loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

In gene-banking, primordial germ cells (PGCs), which are embryonic precursor cells of germ cells, are useful for cryopreservation because PGCs have a potential to differentiate into both eggs and sperm via germ-line chimera. Here, we have established vitrification methods for PGCs cryopreservation using 12- to 17-somite stage embryos in loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, which were dechorionated, removed their yolk and injected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) -nos1 3'UTR mRNA to visualize their PGCs. In order to optimize cryopreservation medium for vitrification, the toxicity of cryoprotectants was analyzed. Different concentrations (2, 3, 4, 5 m) of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG) as cryoprotectants were tested. Then, 5 m DMSO showed significantly-high toxicity. Based on this information, combinations called DMP (2 m (14.2% [v/v]) DMSO, 2 m (8.1% [v/v]) MeOH and 2 m (14.4% [v/v]) PG), DP (2 m (14.2% [v/v]) DMSO and 4 m (28.7% [v/v]) PG) and DE (2.1 m (15% [v/v]) DMSO and 2.7 m (15% [v/v]) EG) were evaluated for their toxicities and efficacy of PGCs cryopreservation using two types of equilibration step: direct immersion of cryopreservation media (one-step) and serial exposure to half and full concentration of cryopreservation media (two-step). Viable PGCs were obtained from post-thaw embryos which were cryopreserved by DP and DE with both 1- and 2-step equilibrations. Despite DP showing the highest toxicity, it gave the highest survival rate of embryonic cells after cryopreservation. When PGCs recovered from vitrified embryos were transplanted into host embryos at the blastula stage, the transplanted PGCs were able to migrate to a host genital ridge similarly as endogenous PGCs. It suggests that our methods could be useful to create a germ-line chimera for the production of gametes from PGCs of cryopreserved embryos.