Newton Muller Pereira

O papel da mídia na construção social do risco: o caso Adrianópolis, no Vale do Ribeira

This article analyzes the influence of the media on the social construction of risk, from the different perceptions and attitudes of the residents of a community exposed to lead poisoning. The study used a combination of documental analysis and field research to build up an understanding of the role the media had taken in the social amplification of risk in this particular case and to observe how the responses to a situation of risk interacted with psychological, social, institutional and cultural processes. Aside from the direct influence of the media, this case study reveals the importance of other factors in molding the communitys risk perceptions, such as a mistrust of institutions and politicians, the relationship between risk and work activities and cultural and social values.

Lead contamination, the media and risk communication: a case study from the Ribeira Valley, Brazil

Abstract This paper discusses the importance of risk communication in studies of public health issues, and analyses the roles of scientists and the media in communicating scientific data, and their influence on risk perception. The findings are based on a case study from Adrianópolis in the Ribeira Valley (Brazil), conducted between 2005 and 2006, where residents were exposed to lead contamination that originated from a smelter and a sulphide mine. This study had two goals: (1) to understand the impact of information regarding lead contamination on the daily lives of the local inhabitants; (2) to understand and analyse the consequences of an absence of a strategy for risk communication by the researchers involved in the study. Besides drawing attention to the need for studies concerning passive environmental issues, the Adrianópolis case study showed that there was a lack of adequate planning for dissemination of information to local inhabitants that seriously undermined the relationships between researchers, the community and the media, and this caused damage to the various stakeholders.

User-Producer Interaction in the Brazilian Oil Industry: The Relationship Between Petrobras and its Suppliers of Wet Christmas Tree

The objective of this work is to analyze the importance of the user-producer interaction for the innovative process of the Brazilian oil industry from the 2000s. To do so, we selected two of the three providers installed in Brazil that produce the set of valves used in the oil wellhead to control its production, set which is called wet Christmas tree (WCT), the Norways Aker Solutions and the American FMC Technologies. The results of this analysis indicate not only the development of the oil industry in Brazil is marked by a strategy of cooperative innovation, but they also reveal the importance of geographical proximity and direct cooperation, especially between the centers of engineering and research and development of companies. Furthermore, these partnerships are not limited to the adaptation of products to new needs, but they also include the development of new systems.

Conception and Execution of an Energy Innovation Program: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Analyses of the Brazilian National Program for Production and Use of Biodiesel

The National Program for Production and Use of Biodiesel aims to partially replace petroleum diesel consumed in Brazil by biodiesel. PNPB costs are subsidized by government and diesel consumers, based on economical, environmental and social benefits. Rules and incentives have been created in order to create a sectoral innovation system congruent with PNPB´s objectives. Nevertheless, PNPB didn´t reach its goals, especially social policy goals. The paper analyzes PNPB by applying public policy analysis methodologies. Top-down and bottom-up approaches have been adopted. Top-down approach investigates PNPB´s conception, focusing Program´s rules and results expected by formulators. Bottom-up approach investigates PNPB´s execution, focusing public/private actors enrolled on PNPB. Shortcomings identified are mainly related to the coordination of public/private actors and the Program´s goals.

Nuclear resources and nationalism: The Brazilian case☆

Abstract This study describes the international political context that led Brazil to adopt nationalistic directives in its thorium and uranium resources policy. These directives, since their origin in 1947, have remained constant throughout the various reformulations of Brazilian nuclear policy. They are present in the 1988 Constitution, where the state monopoly over nuclear resources is maintained. The nationalistic directives, by emphasizing the strategic nature of uranium ores, did not encourage the development of an industry oriented for the production and international commercialization of this nuclear energy mineral commodity.