Working an identity, buying a life: the remains of Disney way of life among ICP alumni

O Disney International College Program (ICP) é um programa de estágio patrocinado pela Walt Disney Company, destinado a estudantes universitários estrangeiros. Uma vez aceitos no programa, estes jovens viajam para os Estados Unidos durante as férias de verão para trabalhar por três meses no Walt Disney World Resort na Flórida. O ICP tornou-se um programa popular dentre os estudantes universitários brasileiros. Todos os anos, aproximadamente trinta mil jovens candidatam-se para o programa. Contudo, apenas cerca de oitocentos conseguem ser aprovados. Durante o programa esses jovens desenvolvem uma “identidade Disney” que passará a fazer parte do self deles. O objetivo deste trabalho é explorar o papel ICP na vida dos seus participantes, assim como desvendar seus efeitos na construção do self destes jovens. O presente estudo também procurou avaliar como os participantes conseguem sustentar sua “identidade Disney”, mesmo após deixarem o programa. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso qualitativo, no qual o caso analisado foi a identidade de participantes do ICP. Após uma breve análise da literatura sobre identidade, consideramos o self como a capacidade do individuo em manter viva uma narrativa particular. Assim, nossos dados foram coletados e analisados por meio do método de análise narrativo. Através deste estudo, descobrimos que a Walt Disney Company realiza um trabalho eficiente em convencer os participantes do ICP que a sua missão e seus valores são muito importantes. Com isso, estes jovens passam a louvar a marca Disney. Também foi observada a existência de uma comunidade de Disney Alumni (pessoas que participaram do ICP) unida por princípios, ideias e consumo.

Exploring different social media users from the millennials’ generation: a cross-cultural behavioral analysis of brazilian users of Facebook and chinese users of RenRen

With the increasing importance of digital communication and its distinct characteristics, marketing tools and strategies adopted by companies have changed dramatically. Among the many digital marketing tools and new media channels available for marketers, the phenomenon known as social media is one of the most complex and enigmatic. It has a range that still is quite unexplored and deeply transforms the present view on the promotion mix (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Conversations among users on social media directly affect their perceptions on products, services and brands. But more than that, a wide range of other subjects can also become topics of conversations on social media. Hit songs, sporting events, celebrity news and even natural disasters and politics are topics that often become viral on the web. Thus, companies must grasp that, and in order to become more interesting and relevant, they must take part in these conversations inserting their brands in these online dynamic dialogues. This paper focuses on how these social interactions are manifested in the web in to two distinct cultures, Brazil and China. By understanding the similarities and differences of these cultures, this study helps firms to better adjust its marketing efforts across regions, targeting and positioning themselves, not only geographically and culturally, but also across different web platforms (Facebook and RenRen). By examining how companies should focus their efforts according to each segment in social media, firms can also maximize its results in communication and mitigate risks. The findings suggest that differences in cultural dimensions in these two countries directly affect their virtual social networking behavior in many dimensions (Identity, Presence, Relationships, Reputation, Groups, Conversations and Sharing). Accordingly, marketing efforts must be tailored to each comportment and expectations.

The price of threat: the role of identity-safe marketplaces in predicting intergroup price sensitivity

In field experiments with subjects living either inside or outside Brazilian slums (n=955), we show that consumers living in slums are less price sensitive, in opposition with recent price sensitivity research. Comparing slum and non-slum dwellers, we found that negatively stereotyped consumers (e.g. slum dwellers) were more likely to pay higher amounts for friendlier customer service when facing social identity threats (SITs) in marketplaces such as banks. The mechanism which makes them less price sensitive is related to the perception of how other people evaluate their social groups, and we argue that they pay more because they are seeking identity-safe commercial relationships. This work, besides extending the literature in SITs, presents a perspective for the exchange between economics and psychology on price sensitivity, showing that consumers living in slums are willing to pay more to avoid possibly social identity threating experiences.

Evidence that the Ceratobasidium-like white-thread blight and black rot fungal pathogens from persimmon and tea crops in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest agroecosystem are two distinct phylospecies

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

Isoenzymatic variation in the germplasm of Brazilian races of maize (Zea mays L.)

Existem mais de 200 raças de milho (Zea mays L.), as quais são divididas em três grupos (raças comerciais antigas, raças comerciais recentes e raças indígenas). As raças indígenas, embora não tenham valor comercial, possuem muitas características importantes que podem ser utilizadas em programas de melhoramento de milho. A maior parte do germoplasma brasileiro das raças de milho indígena foi coletada, no mínimo, 40 anos atrás e nada é conhecido sobre a variabilidade presente neste germoplasma. Quinze populações de 4 raças indígenas de milho (Caingang, Entrelaçado, Lenha e Moroti) e 5 cultivares indígenas foram analisados utilizando-se 5 sistemas isoenzimáticos codificados por 14 locos. A análise revelou um baixo nível de variabilidade entre as amostras estudadas. O número médio de alelos/loco foi três, com 64,3% de locos polimórficos e uma heterozigosidade média esperada de 0,352. Por população, a média de número de alelos por loco polimórfico foi 1,6, em média 47,5% dos locos foram polimórficos e a heterozigosidade média foi 0,195. A distância genética média entre as populações foi 0,821 e a proporção da variabilidade genética, que é atribuída ao componente entre populações (Gst), foi 0,156. Os dados sugerem que um efeito de fundador poderia explicar a baixa variabilidade detectada.

Myxobolus cordeiroi n. sp., a parasite of Zungaro jahu (Siluriformes: Pimelodiade) from Brazilian Pantanal: Morphology, phylogeny and histopathology

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

EVIDENCE of A FAILED PREDATION ATTEMPT on A GUIANA DOLPHIN, Sotalia guianensis, BY A BULL SHARK, Carcharhinus leucas, IN BRAZILIAN WATERS.

Even though shark-cetacean interactions have been the subject of numerous studies worldwide, several ecological aspects such as competition, predation risk and co-evolution remain unclear. on February 16th, 2008, during a photo-identification survey to investigate population parameters of Guiana dolphins, Sotalia guianensis, in estuarine waters of Parana State (25[degree]S; 48[degree]W), Brazil, an adult dolphin was photographed without its dorsal fin. A detailed analysis of the healed area on the injured dolphin showed that the circular, crescent-shaped outlined wound was provoked by the bite of a bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas. Wound shape, prey-predator distributional patterns (sympatry) and feeding habits of the shark species here considered were indicative of the species' identity. The wound is likely to be the result of a failed predation attempt. Interactions between C. leucas and S. guianensis should be expected, since they are sympatric along almost all of their distribution range in the tropical and subtropical western South Atlantic. The presented observation adds S. guianensis to the list of cetacean species involved in interactions with large coastal predatory sharks.

Frugivory, Post-feeding Flights of Frugivorous Birds and the Movement of Seeds in a Brazilian Fragmented Landscape

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Molecular and Serologic Detection of Ehrlichia spp. in Endangered Brazilian Wild Captive Felids

Ehrlichiosis, an emergent tickborne disease that affects both humans and animals, may represent a threat to the survival and preservation of wild felids in Brazil There are few studies of ehrlichiosis in wild felids in Brazil, but Ehrlichia spp are present in domestic cats Antibodies to Ehrlichia canis have been reported in a puma (Puma concolor) In this study we assessed the presence of these hemoparasites in the blood of Brazilian wild captive felids of the 72 animals tested, 5 (7%) were seropositive for the E cams antigen, and L1 (15%) were positive for E emirs DNA sequences We also performed sequence alignment to establish the identity of the parasite species infecting these animals using 16S rRNA and omp-1 genes Sequences based on 16S rRNA were similar to those found in dogs and cats from Thailand, Brazil, China, and Taiwan and with E canis obtained from a single individual (human) in Venezuela Ehrlichia sp sequence from sampled felines based on omp-1. gene was similar to the p28 and p30 multigene family of E canis To our knowledge, this is the first study of molecular detection of Ehrlichia sp in Brazilian wild feline species

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Anaplasmataceae agents in free-ranging Brazilian marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus)

Anaplasmataceae organisms comprise a group of obligate intracellular gram-negative, tick-borne bacteria that can infect both animals and humans. In the present work we investigate the presence of Ehrlichia, Anaplasrna, and Neorickettsia species in blood samples from Brazilian marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), using both molecular and serologic techniques. Blood was collected from 143 deer captured along floodplains of the Parana River, near the Porto Primavera hydroelectric power plant. Before and after flooding, marsh deer were captured for a wide range research program under the financial support of São Paulo State Energy Company (CESP), between 1998 and 2001. Samples were divided into four groups according to time and location of capture and named MS01 (n = 99), MS02 (n = 18) (Mato Grosso do Sul, before and after flooding, respectively), PX (n = 9; Peixe River, after flooding), and AGUA (n = 17; Aguapei River, after flooding). The seroprevalences for Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum were 76.76% and 20.2% in MS01, 88.88% and 5.55% in MS02, 88.88% and 22.22% in PX, and 94.12% and 5.88% in AGUA, respectively. Sixty-one animals (42.65% of the total population) were PCR-positive for E. chaffeensis PCR (100.0% identity based on 16S rRNA, dsb, and groESL genes). Seventy deer (48.95% of the total population) were PCR-positive for Anaplasma spp. (99.0% of identity with A. platys, and in the same clade as A. phagocytophilum, A. bovis, and A. platys based on 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis). Our results demonstrate that Brazilian marsh deer are exposed to E. chaffeensis and Anaplasma spp. and may act as reservoirs for these rickettsial agents, playing a role in disease transmission to humans and other animals. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First cytogenetic information for Drymoreomys albimaculatus (Rodentia, Cricetidae), a recently described genus from Brazilian Atlantic forest

The recently described taxon Drymoreomys albimaculatus is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and its biology and genetics are still poorly known. Herein, we present, for the first time, the karyotype of the species using classical and molecular cytogenetics, which showed 2n=62, FN=62, and interstitial telomeric signals at the sex chromosomes. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from the two karyotyped individuals verify the taxonomic identity as the recently described D. albimaculatus and confirm the relationship of the species with other Oryzomyini. Additionally, external morphological information is provided. © Elkin Y. Suárez-Villota et al.

Context-dependence in seed removal by lekking and non-lekking frugivorous birds in Brazilian Atlantic forest

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Allele frequency distributions of six hypervariable loci (D1S80, APOB, D4S43, vW1, F13A and DYS19) in two African-Brazilian communities from the Amazon region

ABSTRACT: The allele frequency distributions of three VNTR (D1S80, APOB and D4S43) and three STR (vW1, F13A1 and DYS19) loci were investigated in two Afro-Brazilian populations from the Amazon: Curiau and Pacoval. Exact tests for population differentiation revealed significant differences in allele frequency between populations only for the D1S80 and APOB loci. A statistically significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed only in the D1S80 locus of the Pacoval sample. A neighbor-joining tree was constructed based on DA genetic distances of allele frequencies in four Afro-Brazilian populations from the Amazon (Pacoval, Curiau, Trombetas, and Cametá), along with those from Congo, Cameroon, Brazilian Amerindians, and Europeans. This analysis revealed the usefulness of these Amp-FLPs for population studies - African and African-derived populations were closely grouped, and clearly separated from Amerindians and Europeans. Estimates of admixture components based on the gene identity method revealed the prevalence of the African component in both populations studied, amounting to 51% in Pacoval, and to 43% in Curiau. The Amerindian component was also important in both populations (37% in Pacoval, and 24% in Curiau). The European component reached 33% in Curiau.

Diversity and three-dimensional structures of the alpha Mcr of the methanogenic Archaea from the anoxic region of Tucuruí Lake, in Eastern Brazilian Amazonia

ABSTRACT: Methanogenic archaeans are organisms of considerable ecological and biotechnological interest that produce methane through a restricted metabolic pathway, which culminates in the reaction catalyzed by the Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr) enzyme, and results in the release of methane. Using a metagenomic approach, the gene of the a subunit of mcr (mcrα) was isolated from sediment sample from an anoxic zone, rich in decomposing organic material, obtained from the Tucuruí hydroelectric dam reservoir in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The partial nucleotide sequences obtained were 83 to 95% similar to those available in databases, indicating a low diversity of archaeans in the reservoir. Two orders were identified -the Methanomicrobiales, and a unique Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) forming a clade with the Methanosarcinales according to low bootstrap values. Homology modeling was used to determine the three-dimensional (3D) structures, for this the partial nucleotide sequence of the mcrα were isolated and translated on their partial amino acid sequences. The 3D structures of the archaean mcrα observed in the present study varied little, and presented approximately 70% identity in comparison with the mcrα of Methanopyrus klanderi. The results demonstrated that the community of methanogenic archaeans of the anoxic C1 region of the Tucurui reservoir is relatively homogeneous.

Explanations and Representations of Violence by School-age Brazilian Youths

The violence staged by young people has often been subjected to scientific analysis. The way youths speak, in their role as aggressors or as victims, is examined to determine how they experience violence in a number of different spheres. Repeated group interviews are used to analyze how violence is explained and depicted within the family, at school and in the neighbourhood by two groups of young people (14-17 years old) attending the same school on the outskirts of Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. One of the groups involved is identified by the school as violent, and the other, as non-violent. Discourse analysis leads to two conclusions. First, the different contexts of violence infuse a mistrust of institutions, the environment and personal relationships into the subjects' experience, forming a fabric that clouds future prospects. Second, the group of youths identified as violent have a more simplistic, pessimistic view of reality: They see the world in black and white, and they lay no stock in the possibility that violence can be avoided. Consequently, they use violence and understand violence as a defensive strategy that gives one identity. On the other hand, the group identified as nonviolent feels it possible to intervene in situations with nonviolent tools like words. For the young subjects, violence is a context that they assume; it cancels their ability to identify rules and institutions, but it does not generate an effective interaction strategy. Violence causes their social microcontext (in which action prevails over meaning or meaning equals action) to assume overblown dimensions. Any intervention strategy must take into account this indissoluble unity between meaning and action.