Milena Pavan Serafim

A política científica e tecnológica e as demandas da inclusão social no governo Lula (2003-2006)

This paper is based on the perception that there has been increasing concern towards social issues in Brazil, particularly that of social inclusion, during the Lula Administration. The main objective of this paper is to analyze to what degree the agenda of science and technology policy has incorporated similar changes or concerns. We therefore explore the trajectory of this policy, in particular the more recent period. Based on the study of official documents and specialized references, we note that the creation of the National Secretary of Science and Technology for Social Inclusion should be recognized as the emergence of a new field for political struggle, albeit still asymmetrical and frail, in which previously excluded actors may now take part in the agenda setting.

Indicadores de desempenho da Aduana do Brasil: em busca de uma abordagem equilibrada

Procurement in international markets is a current practice in today’s global supply chains, leading logistics operations to include import and export activities in their procurement process. Such activities are usually of complex nature, since they are subject to diverse customs requirements in different countries. In this context, Brazilian customs is ranked low in terms of competitiveness according to various international organizations. However, published studies on customs administration in Brazil are rare, and there is no research addressing performance measurement in the specialized literature. Thus, this paper aims to present and discuss performance indicators employed by customs administrations around the world, with a special attention to Brazil. Customs is part of a global supply chain management. As an exploratory qualitative research, this manuscript provides a comparison of performance indicators employed in Brazil against those used by countries with high-performance customs. A set of performance indicators was selected according to international standards. Data concerning Brazilian customs was collected from the Ministry of Finance, using the Law on Access to Information, and published Management Reports related to the Brazilian Revenue Authority, in charge of tax and customs administration. This topic is relevant in Brazil because the indicators used so far favour tax collection and controls (related to “enforcement practices”) to the detriment of the service level provided to the taxpayer (related to “compliance practices” and the “service charter”), as used in countries with high customs performance. As a result, this paper puts into evidence the need to reform the Brazilian customs system, favouring a balanced approach combining “enforcement” and “compliance” in order to increase the competitiveness of international supply chains crossing this country.

EDUCAÇÃO CTS: UMA PROPOSTA PARA A FORMAÇÃO DE CIENTISTAS E ENGENHEIROS

The idea of the innovating scientist/engineer has been gaining strength in the last few years. In a context where the line that separated industries and universities is becoming increasingly elusive, voices from both sides profess the advantages related to possible and desirable changes in the education of these professionals. The common discourse emphasizes the need to produce scientists and engineers capable of combining profound technical knowledge and managerial skills, which would demand a series of curricular changes. Obviously, the diagnosis that the current education model for these professionals has become inadequate to respond to Brazilian reality is implicit in this discourse. In this paper, we express our agreement concerning this diagnosis: the profile of scientists and engineers currently graduating in Brazil is not coherent with Brazilian social reality. However, we completely disagree on the alternative model of education which is frequently proposed, since in our evaluation this model would also prove to be dysfunctional. We conclude this paper by presenting another alternative model, which we consider more adequate to Brazil.

TECNOLOGIA SOCIAL: UMA POLÍTICA PÚBLICA PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO SOCIAL

Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir os motivos que levam a desvinculacao entre a Politica Publica de Ciencia e Tecnologia (PCT) e as demandas da sociedade brasileira. Sua hipotese central e a de que a PCT brasileira tem baixa relevância para a sociedade devido a concepcao, presente na comunidade de pesquisa e na sociedade de forma geral, de neutralidade e determinismo da Ciencia e Tecnologia (C&T). Essa concepcao faz com que a PCT, cujo ator hegemonico em sua elaboracao e a comunidade de pesquisa, esteja voltada ao atendimento das possiveis demandas das empresas e nao as necessidades da sociedade brasileira. Seu primeiro item apresenta a concepcao de politicas publicas. Entender o significado de politicas publicas e fundamental para a analise aqui proposta. E por meio delas que se pode comprometer um maior numero de atores, que buscam elaborar uma PCT comprometida com um projeto de sociedade mais justa e igualitaria. O item 2 aborda as caracteristicas da atual PCT brasileira e discute os motivos que fazem com que ela nao atenda as demandas da sociedade. O item 3 apresenta o conceito de Tecnologia Social (TS) como estrategia Politica (politics e policy) fundamental para promover um outro estilo de desenvolvimento social, que seja coerente com as demandas da sociedade brasileira. O artigo, por fim, indica caminhos que podem ser explorados para viabilizar o atendimento das demandas sociais pela PCT. Esse caminho passa, necessariamente, pelo fortalecimento do conceito e do movimento da Tecnologia Social e pela elaboracao de uma politica publica que considere suas caracteristicas.

Universidade e pertinência social: alguns apontamentos para reflexão

O presente artigo parte da ideia de que as universidades publicas brasileiras vem passando por transformacoes significativas ao longo das ultimas decadas. Alguns autores apontam que as universidades estao deixando de ser um modelo de instituicao social e se transformando em uma organizacao operacional. Buscando contribuir com o debate sobre as transformacoes da universidade publica brasileira e sobre a mercantilizacao do ensino superior, o artigo – a partir de uma revisao historico-bibliografica – busca apresentar alguns apontamentos importantes sobre as mudancas recentes nas universidades. E discute, por fim, algumas das acoes que poderiam ser tomadas no sentido de permitir que a universidade assuma efetivamente seu papel de instituicao capaz de transformar a sociedade.

Educação CTS: uma proposta para a formação de cientistas e engenheiros

The idea of the innovating scientist/engineer has been gaining strength in the last few years. In a context where the line that separated industries and universities is becoming increasingly elusive, voices from both sides profess the advantages related to possible and desirable changes in the education of these professionals. The common discourse emphasizes the need to produce scientists and engineers capable of combining profound technical knowledge and managerial skills, which would demand a series of curricular changes. Obviously, the diagnosis that the current education model for these professionals has become inadequate to respond to Brazilian reality is implicit in this discourse. In this paper, we express our agreement concerning this diagnosis: the profile of scientists and engineers currently graduating in Brazil is not coherent with Brazilian social reality. However, we completely disagree on the alternative model of education which is frequently proposed, since in our evaluation this model would also prove to be dysfunctional. We conclude this paper by presenting another alternative model, which we consider more adequate to Brazil.

Cts education: a proposal for the education of scientists and engineers

The idea of the innovating scientist/engineer has been gaining strength in the last few years. In a context where the line that separated industries and universities is becoming increasingly elusive, voices from both sides profess the advantages related to possible and desirable changes in the education of these professionals. The common discourse emphasizes the need to produce scientists and engineers capable of combining profound technical knowledge and managerial skills, which would demand a series of curricular changes. Obviously, the diagnosis that the current education model for these professionals has become inadequate to respond to Brazilian reality is implicit in this discourse. In this paper, we express our agreement concerning this diagnosis: the profile of scientists and engineers currently graduating in Brazil is not coherent with Brazilian social reality. However, we completely disagree on the alternative model of education which is frequently proposed, since in our evaluation this model would also prove to be dysfunctional. We conclude this paper by presenting another alternative model, which we consider more adequate to Brazil.