Research notes

The globalization process has created a market opportunity to expand service businesses and attend diverse niche markets. The development of technology, by its turn, democratized access to knowledge and digital communication worldwide. Through online platforms, the final customer has access to the newest services and products worldwide, and, therefore, market trends and technologies are changing faster. These factors combined have been challenging the business model to create innovative strategies to meet customers' needs and stand out among competitors.

When we look back on 2020, the first fact that comes to mind is the COVID-19 pandemic and its harsh effects on public health and the world economy. However, suppose we reflect a bit longer. In that case, another event of global relevance stands out: the killing of the African-American citizen George Floyd during a police arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota (the United States of America).

In 2002, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected President, after presenting in his campaign the fight against inequality through the Fome Zero Program as his main agenda. However, due to political, economic, and social differences within the Workers' Party, a coalition who advocated a structurally simpler program than Fome Zero was formed. This group defended a direct income transfer program, in which the receiving family would not necessarily have to spend on food, but on the needs of any source. Because of this, an intra-party conflict happened in 2003 between the “Food Security” coalition, which was an advocate of the Fome Zero Program, and the “Basic Income” coalition, to determine which type of public policy should remain a priority in the fight against hunger in Brazil.

Christian Zionism was unnoticed in Brazil until the 2018 presidential elections. The candidate for the presidency of the Republic, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, supported massively by some Pentecostal churches, by Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, by Assembleia de Deus, and by Congregação Cristã do Brasil, as well as politicians and bishops that constitute the so-called "Bancada Evangélica" of the Brazilian parliament, appeared on the scene amid popular demonstrations taking as central symbols Brazil's flag along with the American and Israelis flags.

The 1988 Constitution is a milestone in the Brazilian journey towards a Democratic State that ensures the exercise of social and individual rights, freedom, equality, and the end of prejudice, breaking with a past marked by violence, intolerance, and authoritarianism. It highlights what should be the destiny of Brazil: a socioeconomically developed, fair, and an environmentally balanced country whose pillars of society are pluralism, social participation, and harmony with the peaceful resolution of controversies.

2021 started with a shock for the Brazilian industry. After more than 100 years of operation in Brazil, Ford Company Brazil decided to close its operations. With more than 5,000 direct employees, the closure of factories in the country tends to worsen a scenario that is already dramatic for the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the slow process of economic recovery.

The ones who are alive witnessed history being made on 6th January 2021. On this day, one of the eldest and stable democracies in the world was shaken up to the core. The U.S. Capitol was viciously overrun by pro-Trump rioters who stopped the joint session of Congress that had taken place to count the votes of the 2020 election and officially declare who is going to be the next president of the United States of America. Chaos and a tragedy unfolded due to a violent mob’s invasion of the U.S. Congress, a symbol of the American democracy.

Democracy requires that citizens are not treated in the same way that experts treat them in their respective technical deliberations, requiring real social inclusion. Therefore, the need for greater investment specifically focused on science education is highlighted, to provide an academic basis for all knowledge professionals to understand and develop, in the best possible way, their scientific practices.

To be or not to be? This dubiousness, uncertainty, and even alienation is an aspect of the social life of Mankind: is it fascism or not? Is it a dictatorship or not? Does it relate to a serious or severe violation of fundamental rights, the denial of social life and dignity - or does it not? Under Politics, in the sense of Polis, however, the law must be incisive to minimize such an outlook. For instance, the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, hereafter referred to as CF88, as a teleological map, must function as a guide, a moral compass, so that public policies are not strangulated.

The AK Gender's purpose is to promote research, reflection, and debate about persisting gender-related inequalities, encompassing role stereotypes, and their social impact. The AK Gender aims to favor an interdisciplinary approach; thus, the guest lecturer was Prof. Thiessen, whose research focus is gender-sensitive social work. She is currently the Vice Dean at the Faculty of Social Work from the Hochschule Landshut in Germany.