Contemporary issues in the government and administration of Latin American megacities

This paper is the first to systematically analyze and compare the structures of city governance and administration for seven major cities in Latin America, four of which are megacities (population of over 10 million), and three others are large national capitals. U.S. and U. K. models of city administration are reviewed as baseline models against which differences in Latin American may be explored. Structures of Government in Latin America show several important features and trends: 1) the lack of metropolitan (cross jurisdictional) authority; 2) the existence of strong mayors and weak councils"; 3) high levels of partisanship; 4) overlapping rather than interlocking bureaucracies; 5) pressures towards the privatization of city services, but continuing tension over the desirability of public versus private control; 6) greater fiscal responsibility and autonomy; and 7), a continuing marginalization of public participation in megacity governance.In spite of these features, many cities throughout the region (regardless of whether they are megacity size or national capitals), are actively intensifying their efforts to develop more effective, accountable and democratic governance structures.

When emergent countries reform global governance of climate change: Brazil under Lula

Due to its recent economic success, Brazil is considered an emerging country, but is it an emerging power concerning global environmental governance? This article argues that although Brazil has a sui generis profile, it can only be considered an emerging power in some environmental regimes, such as global climate change. Thus, international relations theory needs more analytical instruments to assess the impact of emerging powers in global environmental governance

Governance of global climate change in the Brazilian Amazon: the case of Amazonian municipalities of Brazil

With regards to the debate about governance of climate change, it should be assumed that the Amazon region plays an important role, as this large area is highly vulnerable to its effects. In this sense, this article aims to discuss how some Amazonian municipalities of Brazil have been taking part in the complexes and multilayered processes of climate governance.

The effects of air pollution on cardiovascular diseases: lag structures

OBJECTIVE: To assess the lag structure between air pollution exposure and elderly cardiovascular diseases hospital admissions, by gender. METHODS: Health data of people aged 64 years or older was stratified by gender in São Paulo city, Southeastern Brazil, from 1996 to 2001. Daily levels of air pollutants (CO, PM10, O3, NO2, and SO2) , minimum temperature, and relative humidity were also analyzed. It were fitted generalized additive Poisson regressions and used constrained distributed lag models adjusted for long time trend, weekdays, weather and holidays to assess the lagged effects of air pollutants on hospital admissions up to 20 days after exposure. RESULTS: Interquartile range increases in PM10 (26.21 mug/m³) and SO2 (10.73 mug/m³) were associated with 3.17% (95% CI: 2.09-4.25) increase in congestive heart failure and 0.89% (95% CI: 0.18-1.61) increase in total cardiovascular diseases at lag 0, respectively. Effects were higher among female group for most of the analyzed outcomes. Effects of air pollutants for different outcomes and gender groups were predominately acute and some "harvesting" were found. CONLUSIONS: The results show that cardiovascular diseases in São Paulo are strongly affected by air pollution.

Regional governance: strategies and disputes in health region management

OBJECTIVE To analyze the regional governance of the health systemin relation to management strategies and disputes.METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES A qualitative study with health managers from 19 municipalities in the health region of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. Data were drawn from 17 semi-structured interviews of state, regional, and municipal health policymakers and managers; a focus group; observations of the regional interagency committee; and documents in 2012. The political-institutional and the organizational components were analyzed in the light of dialectical hermeneutics.RESULTS The regional interagency committee is the chief regional governance strategy/component and functions as a strategic tool for strengthening governance. It brings together a diversity of members responsible for decision making in the healthcare territories, who need to negotiate the allocation of funding and the distribution of facilities for common use in the region. The high turnover of health secretaries, their lack of autonomy from the local executive decisions, inadequate technical training to exercise their function, and the influence of party politics on decision making stand as obstacles to the regional interagency committee’s permeability to social demands. Funding is insufficient to enable the fulfillment of the officially integrated agreed-upon program or to boost public supply by the system, requiring that public managers procure services from the private market at values higher than the national health service price schedule (Brazilian Unified Health System Table). The study determined that “facilitators” under contract to health departments accelerated access to specialized (diagnostic, therapeutic and/or surgical) services in other municipalities by direct payment to physicians for procedure costs already covered by the Brazilian Unified Health System.CONCLUSIONS The characteristics identified a regionalized system with a conflictive pattern of governance and intermediate institutionalism. The regional interagency committee’s managerial routine needs to incorporate more democratic devices for connecting with educational institutions, devices that are more permeable to social demands relating to regional policy making.

Morphological Studies on the Triatoma brasiliensis Neiva, 1911 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) Genital Structures and Eggs of Different Chromatic Forms

Triatoma brasiliensis is considered one of the most important Chagas disease vectors being a widespread species in semiarid areas of northeastern Brazil. The species displays distinct chromatic patterns of the cuticle in different localities. Four populations were analyzed in this study: 1-Caicó, Rio Grande do Norte, it will be called the brasiliensis population; 2-Espinosa, Minas Gerais, the melanica population; 3-Petrolina, Pernambuco, the macromelasoma population, and 4-Juazeiro, Bahia, the darker one in overall cuticle coloration, the Juazeiro population. In order to differentiate the four populations of T. brasiliensis, a comparative morphological analysis of external genital structures and of eggs were carried out. The analysis of the male genital structures evidenced minor individual structural variations that did not correlate with chromatic differences or the geographical origins, emphasizing the importance of examining sufficiently large and representative samples before using minor genital variations for taxonomic diagnosis. By scanning electron microscopy of the egg exochorion, each chromatic population presented a distinct ornamentation pattern. The melanica population differed mainly from the other populations studied since it had about 40.6%, 69.6% and 76.6% more perforations, on each cell exochorion, than the brasiliensis, the Juazeiro and the macromelasoma populations respectively. In the melanica population the perforation layout is also peculiar, with densely distributed perforations over all the egg surface. Morphometric measures of the eggs showed statistically significant differences: the macromelasoma population presented the longest length (2.43 mm) while the shortest was recorded in the brasiliensis population (2.29 mm).

Identification of Novel Membrane Structures in Plasmodium falciparum Infected Erythrocytes

Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the release of merozoites from malaria infected erythrocytes. In this study membranous structures present in the culture medium at the time of merozoite release have been characterized. Biochemical and ultrastructural evidence indicate that membranous structures consist of the infected erythrocyte membrane, the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane and a residual body containing electron dense material. These are subcellular compartments expected in a structure that arises as a consequence of merozoite release from the infected cell. Ultrastructural studies show that a novel structure extends from the former parasite compartment to the surface membrane. Since these membrane modifications are detected only after merozoites have been released from the infected erythrocyte, it is proposed that they might play a role in the release of merozoites from the host cell

New structures for goat corrals to control peridomestic populations of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in the Gran Chaco of Argentina

Goat production is an important economic activity for rural communities in the Gran Chaco of Argentina. Goat corrals are important for the survival of peridomestic populations of Triatoma infestans. This study evaluated the impact of modifying the traditional structure of goat corrals on T. infestans populations and goat productivity in the region of Los Llanos (La Rioja). Thirty-nine experimental corrals were constructed and 57 traditional corrals were used as controls. We evaluated the infestations of the control and experimental corrals for five years following construction of the structures. The results showed that the new structures did not prevent the colonization, although it enhanced the detection of infestation at low densities of T. infestans. No significant difference was found in T. infestans population abundance between control and experimental corrals, probably because of the different detectability in the two types of structures, especially among the small nymphs. Although goat productivity average was higher in experimental than in control corrals, no significant difference was found because of high variability. The new structures can be used as a complement to promote the development of rural communities. Acceptability and adoption of the new corrals by the owners was high, as the enclosures offered better protection for the goats, increased growth of kids and facilitated herd handling.

A study of governance practices in corporate foundations

Implementation of social investments through corporate foundations is growing and, therefore, it is important to study their governance aspects better. Governance is conceptualized as a set of control and incentive mechanisms to overcome the so-called agency conflicts, which originate from the separation of property and management in for-profit organizations, a concept also applied to nonprofit institutions. It is argued that corporate foundations have the characteristics both of companies and of civil society organizations, which distinguishes them from both types of organizations. This paper analyses a study in which a set of governance mechanisms, adapted from those identified by a literature review of corporate and nonprofit governance, was selected for study. It is an exploratory descriptive case study, which analyzed data about eight organizations collected through publications and interviews with their CEOs. The data analysis indicates that it is appropriate to distinguish the different organization types and to apply the agency theory. Research results indicate that the selected governance mechanisms may be adapted and used in corporate foundations. However, they are only partially applied in the observed cases, which suggests the need for further studies that might consolidate these practices in such organizations.

Understanding the hierarchy governance choice of some wineries in Brazil - case study of 3 Brazilian wineries

ABSTRACT This study aims to contribute towards understanding the multiple factors, which influence firm's governance decisions. To identify some of these factors, three cases in the Brazilian wine industry were analyzed: Miolo located in Vale dos Vinhedos (South of Brazil) and in Vale do Rio São Francisco (Northeast of Brazil); Don Laurindo located in Vale dos Vinhedos; and ViniBrasil located in Vale do Rio São Francisco. For the most part, all three firms procure the grapes they use for their wine production in-house. Only Miolo purchases an insignificant amount of grapes outside of its production. By Brazilian standards, these regions have a long tradition of grape production and it is not difficult to purchase sufficient quantity of grapes to produce wine. However, the wineries are concerned also about the quality of the grapes they use and purchasing high-quality grapes might be critical issue. On the other hand, the quality of grapes is easily measured and the cost to buy in the market is cheaper than producing in-house. Furthermore, also the level of asset specificity present in the grape-grower-wine-producer transaction seems, by itself, insufficient to justify the use of hierarchical governance forms. Then, the aim of the article is to analyze the reasons why these wineries largely rely on hierarchy governance forms to procure their grape-inputs. What explains their use of hierarchy governance, given that both asset specificity and measurement problems appear to be relatively low?

Community structures of soil animals and survival of land snails on an island of the Ogasawara Archipelago

On Chichijima, one of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean, land snails have declined, the suggested cause being predation pressure by an invasive flatworm (Platydemus manokwari). Soil fauna were investigated in areas where the snail survives, and where it has become extinct. Much of the fauna, dominated by introduced earthworms and ants, was undiminished, however, one undescribed but endemic carabid (Badister sp.), which selectively feeds on land snails, was absent in snail-extinct areas. The invasive flatworm P. manokwari has been reported to feed also on the carcasses of earthworms, as well as on live snails, and is therefore expected to occur in most parts of Chichijima Island. Among other groups, the density of isopods (also dominated by exotic species) was very low, in comparison with the reported ones 30 years ago. Community structure is currently reflected by dominance of earthworms and ants, decline of endemic isopods, and a high frequency of introduced or alien species.

An Inspection System to Identify Fatigue Damage on Steel-Bridge Structures

Crack formation and growth in steel bridge structural elements may be due to loading oscillations. The welded elements are liable to internal discontinuities along welded joints and sensible to stress variations. The evaluation of the remaining life of a bridge is needed to make cost-effective decisions regarding inspection, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement. A steel beam model has been proposed to simulate crack openings due to cyclic loads. Two possible alternatives have been considered to model crack propagation, which the initial phase is based on the linear fracture mechanics. Then, the model is extended to take into account the elastoplastic fracture mechanic concepts. The natural frequency changes are directly related to moment of inertia variation and consequently to a reduction in the flexural stiffness of a steel beam. Thus, it is possible to adopt a nondestructive technique during steel bridge inspection to quantify the structure eigenvalue variation that will be used to localize the grown fracture. A damage detection algorithm is developed for the proposed model and the numerical results are compared with the solutions achieved by using another well know computer code.

New-consensus macroeconomic governance in a Keynesian world, and the Keynesian alternative

The paper presents both the New Consensus and Keynesian equilibrium within the usual four competitive macro-markets structure. It gives theoretical explanations of the pernicious effects that the NCM governance, which has been designed for ergodic stationary regimes, brings about in Keynesian non-ergodic regimes. It put forward Keynesian principles of governance which include monetary, budgetary and fiscal instruments, and suggest new directions for the positive and normative analysis of macro-policies.

Knowledge governance, innovation and development

This paper aims to be a very preliminary effort to contribute to a better understanding of the interaction among innovation, competition and intellectual property policies from an evolutionary-developmental perspective. As such, it seeks to build a more coherent framework within which the discussions of both institution building and policy design for development can proceed. In order to accomplish that, the paper introduces the concept of "Knowledge Governance" as an alternative analytical and policy-oriented approach, and suggests that from a public policy/public interest perspective, and within an evolutionary framework, it is a better way to address the problems concerning the production, appropriability and diffusion of knowledge. In doing so, it also intends contribute to broaden the ongoing discussions on the "New Developmentalism".