Maria Beatriz Rodrigues

Dar corpo à didática: diálogos internacionais

The article uses theoretical approaches as simplexity, neuroscience and enactivism to discuss everyday classroom activities. It tries to transpose the classical bipolar division between mind and body, through these approaches in cognitive science. Two experiments on the body’s role in teaching are presented to demonstrate the relevance of the awareness of the body, to improve performance in the classroom. The first experiment uses neurofeedback to measure the body temperature, as a means to understand the role of the body in self-regulation and control of the attention. The second uses a bracelet multi-sensor, which provides data on the energy spent by the teacher in daily activities in the classroom. Italian and Brazilian researchers cooperate in this experimental path of inclusive teaching, to be used in classes with children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Trajetórias de vida e de trabalho flexíveis: o processo de trabalho pós-Braverman

This article analyses the characteristics of the work process, forty years after the publication of Harry Bravermans book “Labor and Monopoly Capital: the Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century”. The focus relies on flexibility, a characteristic increasingly expected from the workforce, in a globalized labor market that moves at e-speed. Generalizing flexibility restricts the understanding of its uses in the processes and in labor relations. Therefore, two different ways of flexibility are examined: (1) in the workshop, with the introduction of multi-tasking, teamwork, the need for increased qualification and quality control; (2) the use of atypical job contracts. The two ways are made plain by two researches carried out in specific periods and contexts. The first one was a research in the industries of Rio Grande do Sul, during the productive re-structuring of the nineties. The second, by the introduction of atypical contracts in Italy after 2000. The latter is based on statements of Italian workers in a national enquiry made with a blog and carried out by a leading newspaper over the flexibility of job contracts. The choice for examining different moments of flexibility implementation comes from the belief that there is a use deepening of this productive strategy, with consequences on work and workers. Some questions raised already in previous researches come back in this article. The main issue is the impacts of flexibility in labor relations since the beginning of its implementation.

Integrating perspectives: proposal for the analysis of work as a multifaceted phenomenon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon of work from eight different and subsidiary perspectives: physiological, cultural, spiritual, ideological, economic, political, legal and psychosocial. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an exploratory quantitative survey with a probability sample composed of 407 cases. The bibliographic review resulted from several readings about the phenomenon of work and the impacts arising from these different perspectives. Findings The analysis of the data collected confirmed that the meaning and the sense of work are multifaceted. The authors also found that work is an important source of reflection and learning in people’s life. The research instrument promoted thinking and analysis of the participants’ careers. The research process resulted in mutual and interactive learning of investigators and investigation. Research limitations/implications The data collection came from a single source: a written questionnaire. This limits the scope of the data and raises interpretative discussion concerning the contents of the answers. For future reference, the authors suggest to complement it with different techniques of data collection, associating qualitative and quantitative approaches. Practical implications The main contributions of the paper are, on the one hand, the effort of synthetizing and recording eight different categories of analysis of the multiple and possible meanings of work, which were elaborated using the available literature, and on the other hand, to understand and analyze those categories using the perception of a numerically meaningful sample of the public, coming from different backgrounds. Social implications The purpose of this paper is to propose a guideline for future studies so that they could choose with increased awareness the initial perspectives at the basis of the analyses. This study could encourage continuity and provide greater incentives on this increasingly relevant subject. Originality/value After analyzing the data, it was acknowledged that work cannot be seen from a single perspective, but it must be viewed in its multifaceted character and sense. The published material on the meanings of work usually focuses on specific professions and careers, the authors argue that this fact limits the scope of perspectives and interpretations of the phenomenon.

Estudar e trabalhar na Itália: instrumentos e procedimentos para a inclusão de pessoas com deficiência

A Italia e conhecida por boas praticas de inclusao educacional e laboral. Um conjunto orgânico de leis permite o pleno acesso a educacao e ao trabalho, garantindo direitos e recursos necessarios as pessoas com deficiencia, suas familias e organizacoes que as acolhem. A evolucao do quadro normativo italiano, tem resultado no desenvolvimento de um arcabouco teorico-conceitual em pedagogia e didatica especial, para dar conta das constantes mudancas e demandas das instituicoes e da sociedade. Esse trabalho examina a evolucao das leis que transformaram a Italia em vanguarda na inclusao social, assim como os diferentes momentos e abrangencia das mesmas no tocante a participacao de pessoas com deficiencia na educacao e no trabalho.