The Brazilian class C women perception regarding premium mass products in the beauty industry

Recentemente, os mercados emergentes se tornaram um alvo potencial para a indústria da beleza e o Brasil está se tornando um mercado lucrativo para os produtos cosméticos Premium (Euromonitor International, 2013). A população de baixa renda no Brasil representa 70% de seus habitantes ao considerar as classes C, D e E (Barki e Parente, 2010), sendo a classe C representada por 56% da população (Neri, 2012). Este é um mercado potencial para as empresas multinacionais (MNCs), que enfrentam desafios de fazer negócios no país, visto que a classe C opta por gastar parte de sua renda com produtos relacionados a beleza (Silva e Parente, 2007) e ainda há um pouco conhecimento sobre o comportamento de consumo na base da pirâmide. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo é investigar e descrever o comportamento de consumo das mulheres brasileiras da classe C no setor de beleza, em relação aos produtos Mass Premium, melhorando o conhecimento no que diz respeito a essa população e ao tema proposto. Para atingir esse objetivo, o autor utilizou uma metodologia baseada em uma análise descritivas qualitativa em que foram entrevistadas 20 mulheres de todas as faixas etárias, que pertencem à classe C brasileira e citações foram usadas para fornecer a confirmação dos resultados da análise. Os resultados sugerem que, ao longo dos anos, houve de fato um movimento de trade up no consumo de produtos de beleza. Além disso, foram identificados cinco aspectos principais, que conduzem decisão de compra das mulheres de classe C, no setor de beleza: confiabilidade, qualidade, status, autoestima e bem-estar. Apesar das limitações de um estudo exploratório, espera-se que a pesquisa aumente o conhecimento sobre o mercado da base da pirâmide, especialmente no que diz respeito à indústria da beleza.

The BRICS: some historical experiences, growth challenges and opportunities

The acronym BRICS was a fad among the media and global investors. Now, the acronym sounds passé. However, the group of countries remains important, from both political and economic reasons. They have a large aggregate size, 28% of the global GDP and 42% of the world’s population, high growth potential due to the current significant misallocation of resources and relatively low stock of human capital, structural transformation is in progress and one of them, China, is taking steps to become a global power and a challenger to the US dominance. This paper provides a brief overview of the five economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. We focus on some aspects of their history, the Chinese initiatives in international finance and geopolitical strategic moves, their growth experience and structural transformation over the last 35 years, trade and investment integration into the global economy and among themselves, the growth challenges faced by their economies and the potential gains to the Brazilian economy from a stronger integration with the other BRICS. In association with its efforts to be a global power, China aims to become a major player in global finance and to achieve the status of global currency for the renminbi, which would be the first currency of an emerging economy to attain such position. Despite the similarities, the BRICS encompass very diverse economies. In the recent decades, China and India showed stellar growth rates. On the other hand, Brazil, Russia and South Africa have expanded just in line with global output growth with the Russian economy exhibiting high volatility. China is by far the largest economy, and South Africa the smallest, the only BRICS economy with a GDP lower than US$ 1 trillion. Russia abandoned communism almost 25 years ago, but reversed many of the privatizations of 90’s. China is still ruled by communism, but has a vibrant private sector and recently has officially declared market forces to play a dominant role in its economy. Brazil, Russia and South Africa are global natural resources powerhouses and commodity exporters while China and India are large commodity importers. Brazil is relatively closed to international trade of goods and services, in marked contrast to the other four economies. Brazil, India and South Africa are dependent on external capital flows whereas China and Russia are capital exporters. India and South Africa have younger populations and a large portion living below the poverty line. Despite its extraordinary growth experience that lifted many millions from poverty, China still has 28% of its population classified as poor. Russia and China have much older populations and one of their challenges is to deal with the effects of a declining labor force in the near future. India, China and South Africa face a long way to urbanization, while Brazil and Russia are already urbanized countries. China is an industrial economy but its primary sector still absorbs a large pool of workers. India is not, but the primary sector employs also a large share of the labor force. China’s aggregate demand structure is biased towards investment that has been driving its expansion. Brazil and South Africa have an aggregate demand structure similar to the developed economies, with private consumption accounting for approximately 70%. The same similarity applies to the supply side, as in both economies the share of services nears 70%. The development problem is a productivity problem, so microeconomic reforms are badly needed to foster long-term growth of the BRICS economies since they have lost steam due a variety of factors, but fundamentally due to slower total factor productivity growth. China and India are implementing ambitious reform programs, while Brazil is dealing with macroeconomic disequilibria. Russia and South Africa remain mute about structural reforms. There are some potential benefits to Brazil to be extracted from a greater economic integration with the BRICS, particularly in natural resources intensive industries and services. Necessary conditions to the materialization of those gains are the removal of the several sources of resource misallocation and strong investment in human capital.

Is the meander growth in the Brazil Current system off Southeast Brazil due to baroclinic instability?

Temporally-growing frontal meandering and occasional eddy-shedding is observed in the Brazil Current (BC) as it flows adjacent to the Brazilian Coast. No study of the dynamics of this phenomenon has been conducted to date in the region between 22 degrees S and 25 degrees S. Within this latitude range, the flow over the intermediate continental slope is marked by a current inversion at a depth that is associated with the Intermediate Western Boundary Current (IWBC). A time series analysis of 10-current-meter mooring data was used to describe a mean vertical profile for the BC-IWBC jet and a typical meander vertical structure. The latter was obtained by an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis that showed a single mode explaining 82% of the total variance. This mode structure decayed sharply with depth, revealing that the meandering is much more vigorous within the BC domain than it is in the IWBC region. As the spectral analysis of the mode amplitude time series revealed no significant periods, we searched for dominant wavelengths. This search was done via a spatial EOF analysis on 51 thermal front patterns derived from digitized AVHRR images. Four modes were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Modes 3 and 4, which together explained 18% of the total variance, are associated with 266 and 338-km vorticity waves, respectively. With this new information derived from the data, the [Johns, W.E., 1988. One-dimensional baroclinically unstable waves on the Gulf Stream potential vorticity gradient near Cape Hatteras. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans 11, 323-350] one-dimensional quasi-geostrophic model was applied to the interpolated mean BC-IWBC jet. The results indicated that the BC system is indeed baroclinically unstable and that the wavelengths depicted in the thermal front analysis are associated with the most unstable waves produced by the model. Growth rates were about 0.06 (0.05) days(-1) for the 266-km (338-km) wave. Moreover, phase speeds for these waves were low compared to the surface BC velocity and may account for remarks in the literature about growing standing or stationary meanders off southeast Brazil. The theoretical vertical structure modes associated with these waves resembled very closely to the one obtained for the current-meter mooring EOF analysis. We interpret this agreement as a confirmation that baroclinic instability is an important mechanism in meander growth in the BC system. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changes in phytoplankton composition in response to tides, wind-induced mixing conditions, and freshwater outflows in an urbanised estuarine complex

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Feeding habits of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) off the coast of Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Nesting architecture and population structure of the fungus-growing ant Cyphomyrmex transversus (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini) in the Brazilian coastal zone of Ilheus, Bahia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeito simultâneo da deficiência hídrica e do alumínio tóxico no solo na cultivar IAC91-5155 de cana-de-açúcar

Sugarcane is a very important economic crop in Brazil. The effects of abiotic stresses cause negative reduction of the productivity in the sugarcane industry. In order to identify indicators of stresses tolerance, two physiological variables were evaluated, nitrate reductase activity and chlorophyll contents in young plants of sugarcane, cv. IAC91-5155. The simultaneous effect of abiotic stresses of high occurrence in Brazilian soils are, water deficiency and aluminum toxicity. The plants were submitted to three treatments of water availability (% field capacity, FC): no stress (70% FC), moderate stress (55% FC), and extreme stress (40% FC); and three acidity treatments in the soil (base saturation, V%): no acidity (V=55%), average acidity (V=33%), and high acidity (V=23%). The experiment was carried out in greenhouse, with 29.7 +/- 4.3 degrees C and 75 +/- 10% RH. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, in 3x3 factorial arrangement, with four replicates. After 60 days, nitrate reductase activity and chlorophyll contents were evaluated in the diagnostic leaf. The results demonstrate that the response of plants to a combination of drought and aluminum toxicity, similar to the conditions in many natural environments, is different from the response of plants to each of these stresses applied individually, as typically tested in the laboratory. The nitrate reductase activity can be used as a biochemical-physiological marker of water deficiency while chlorophyll contents can be used as a biochemical-physiological marker of both of them, water deficiency or aluminum toxicity in soil. Both parameters can not be as a biochemical-physiological marker for acclimation of young plants of sugarcane cv. IAC91-5155, under the combined stresses.

Relative abundance and population biology of the non-indigenous crab Charybdis hellerii (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) in a southwestern Atlantic estuary-bay complex

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of steeping conditions (sulfur dioxide, lactic acid, and temperature) on starch yield, starch quality, and germ quality from the Intermittent Milling and Dynamic Steeping process (IMDS) for a Brazilian corn hybrid

Effect of lactic acid, SO2, temperature, and their interactions were assessed on the dynamic steeping of a Brazilian dent corn (hybrid XL 606) to determine the ideal relationship among these variables to improve the wet-milling process for starch and corn by-products production. A 2x2x3 factorial experimental design was used with SO2 levels of 0.05 and 0.1% (w/v), lactic acid levels of 0 and 0.5% (v/v), and temperatures of 52, 60, and 68degreesC. Starch yield was used as deciding factor to choose the best treatment. Lactic acid added in the steep solution improved the starch yield by an average of 5.6 percentage points. SO2 was more available to break down the structural protein network at 0.1% than at the 0.05% level. Starch-gluten separation was difficult at 68degreesC. The lactic acid and SO2 concentrations and steeping temperatures for better starch recovery were 0.5, 0.1, and 52degreesC, respectively. The Intermittent Milling and Dynamic Steeping (IMDS) process produced, on average, 1.4% more starch than the conventional 36- hr steeping process. Protein in starch, oil content in germ, and germ damage were used as quality factors. Total steep time can be reduced from 36 hr for conventional wet-milling to 8 hr for the IMDS process.

Avaliação dos níveis séricos de triiodotironina (T3) e tiroxina (T4) durante o ciclo estral em marrãs (Sus scrofa domestica - Linnaeus, 1758)

No presente trabalho, foram utilizadas 21 fêmeas suínas, virgens, sexualmente aptas, criadas e mantidas sob condições industriais, para observação dos perfis hormonais séricos de triiodotironina e tiroxina, durante o ciclo estral. As colheitas de sangue foram efetuadas sempre no mesmo intervalo, entre 8 e 10 horas. Cada animal foi submetido a 14 punções venosas, distribuídas nos dias zero, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22 e 23 do ciclo estral. Consideramos o dia zero como o primeiro dia da fase estral, e o 23º dia como o primeiro do estro subseqüente. Os ensaios para dosagens hormonais foram executados utilizando-se a técnica de radioimunoensaio (RIE) em fase sólida e para isso foi empregado conjunto de reagentes comerciais (Coat-A-Count®). Para o hormônio triiodotironina foram observados valores altos no 1º e 23º dia e valor mínimo no 12º dia do ciclo estral. O hormônio tiroxina apresentou valores que oscilaram entre 2,42 e 3,74 mig/dl.

Occurrence of Ancylostoma in dogs, cats and public places from Andradina city, São Paulo state, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Random regression models to estimate genetic parameters for test-day milk yield in Brazilian Murrah buffaloes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Surface dental enamel lead levels and antisocial behavior in Brazilian adolescents

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Environmental management system and human resource practices: is there a link between them in four Brazilian companies?

The aim of this article is to analyze the theoretical model proposed by [Jabbour CJC, Santos FCA. Relationships between human resource dimensions and environmental management in companies: proposal of a model. Journal of Cleaner Production 2008;16(1):5 1-8.] based on the data collected in four Brazilian companies. This model investigates how the phases of the environmental management system can be linked to human resource practices in order to attain continuous improvement of a company's environmental performance. Our aim is to contribute to a field, which has little empirical evidence. Although the interaction between the phases of the environmental management system and human resource practices is recommended by the specialized literature [Daily BE Huang S. Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource factors in environmental management. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 2001:21(12):1539-52.], the results indicate that most of the theoretical assumptions could not be confirmed in these Brazilian companies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Caracterização do repertório acústico do botocinza, sotalia guianensis, e impacto de embarcações no nordeste do brasil

The wide distribution along the Brazilian coast of specie Sotalia guianensis has been growing interest in searchers on the ecology of this species, addition to commercial interests by whalewatching. This work described the accoustic repertory of S. guianensis and their behavior associated and found if underwater noises affect this repertorie in Pipa-RN. It were analyzed 18:49h of recordings maked between april and june/2009. It were found 3258 whistles, 289 calls, 873 clicks and no gargle. The frequencies range of guiana dolphins was 1 a 48kHz and may be related to system response recorder and population s regionalization. The frequencies overlaps the noise made by motorboats, schooners and water bomb. The behavior travelling ocurred siletly in 72,58% and socialization presented no sound (56,4%) and presence of sound (43,6%). This great absence of sound may be relacioned to saving energy, probably because in this behaviors they can use physical and visual contacts. The foraging presented highest records of all class noise with 46,84% clicks, 33,84% whistles and 9,02% calls. All this sounds occurred differently in each behavior (travelling: x2 = 134,35 df = 3 p = 0,0001; foraging: x2 = 19,83 df = 3 p= 0,00018 and socialization x2 = 60,35 df = 3 p = 0,0001). It was possible to determine that underwater noise cause changes in the repertorie and does a considerable increase in whistle s number and reduce clicks. Also occurs changes in some whistles (FI: t=2,42, p=0,015; FF: t= -2,22, p=0,025), calls (FMI: t= -3,13, p=0,001; FMA: t= -3,49, p=0,0005; FD: t= -2,21, p=0,027; D: t=2,89, p=0,004) and clicks parameters (D: t= -3,85, p=0,0001; I: t= -5,32, p=0,0001) during presence of noise. These changes may be a strategy of these animals to win this sound barrier. We can not say which noise has more impact, ix however the water bomb seems to affect more the clicks and the motorboats seems to affect the others sounds. Little is know about auditive sensibility of this specie, but daily exposure to this noise may cause damage and this specie appears to have residence. The specie conservation is necessary because the population already seems to suffer damage as decrease in length of stay, number of individuals entering the inlet and the apparent diminution in the foragind during vessels presence and control standards and ambiental education can help. So, we can advance in knowledge about the ecology of this specie especially when it come to bioacoustics and their behaviors associated and reveals some of the impacts that the noise have brought to this population