Funded by
Brazil
Dr Edmundo Inacio Junior, University of Campinas
Professor Erkko Autio, Imperial College London
Profiling Brazil's Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
NG140058 One-Year £10,000.00
Entrepreneurship is a fundamental driver of economic development. Although Brazil has introduced many constituent elements of a entrepreneurship ecosystem, the effect of these elements on the entrepreneurial dynamic in the Brazilian economy remains unclear. In this collaborative study, we employ an analytic tool developed at Imperial College – the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index, in short GEDI – to undertake an examination of the entrepreneurial dynamic of the Brazilian economy and its potential contributions to economic development. Therefore, a project that provides a coherent monitoring and evaluation of the Brazilian entrepreneurial ecosystem is crucial to all stakeholders, but particularly so to policy-makers who are responsible of enhancing Brazil’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The GEDI methodology, combined with the theory of National Systems of Entrepreneurship (NSE) that underpins it, address the dearth of indicators of national-level entrepreneurial ecosystems, and will provide an organising framework to understand entrepreneurship in Brazil.
Professor Adriana Roseli Wunsch Takahashi, Federal University of Parana
Professor Luis Araujo, Lancaster University
Dynamic Capabilities, Operational Capabilities and Performance: How Organizations Can Learn to Innovate and Improve the Economic Growth and Development in Brazil
NG140092 One-Year £10,000.00
This study aims to analyze how the relationship occurs between Dynamic Capabilities, Operational Capabilities and Performance in Brazilian small and medium size enterprises in an emerging economy, Brazil, in the light of organizational learning theory. It is noteworthy that there is a significant impact of business in the economy and job creation, and there is a high number of companies, which did not survive in their first three years of existence. The concept of Dynamic Capabilities can explain how new businesses are created and discovered from seeking opportunities through a combination of resources and market needs (Jiao et al., 2013), which can result in superior performance. Thus, it is expected that the participating institutions expand their knowledge in relation to emerging countries, and how these institutions behave in relation to the challenges of organizational routine. The methodology will be case studies, using the technique "snowball". Data will be collected through interviews and analyzed using content analysis.
Dr Paolo Vittoria Federal, University of Rio de Janeiro
Dr Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, University of Bath
Social Movements and Autonomous Education: Pedagogical Experiments in Urban and Rural Settings (The Cases of Brazil and UK)
NG140126 One-Year £9,960.00
This research will explore autonomous pedagogical experiments by social movements in the Global North and in the Global South. By using a participatory action research methodology, the research will bring together the innovative critical pedagogies and practices of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) Brazil and the Social Science Centre (SSC) at Lincoln University, UK. The study will engage with scholarship that considers how new pedagogical practices by grassroots movements and cooperative endeavours are contributing to an innovation in education with wider social, political and economic implications for society. The research will produce theoretical and empirical knowledge about common trends shared by these different experiences and design a theoretical framework to understand them in global-context. The partnership will build upon the applicants' knowledge in the fields of social movements and alternative education and will advance long-term research collaboration between them and their institutions, within wider research networks in Brazil and the UK.
Dr Diego M. Coraiola, Positivo University
Professor Stephanie Decker, Aston University
Remembering in Organizations: The Strategic Role of Historical Archives in Commercial Banks to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration
NG140018 One-Year £9,910.00
This is a cross-national comparative research on the strategic role corporate archives play in commercial banks. The main purpose of this research is to understand how organizations manage their past to achieve strategic goals. More specifically, we want to analyse how the organizational mnemonic practices developed by corporate archives contribute to the corporate strategy of commercial banks in different national contexts. This mobility grant will provide the opportunity to initiate a partnership for joint research between Brazilian and UK scholars focused on collaborative learning and the production of new knowledge on the intersection between history, memory and organizations. The partnership will support the exchange of scholars from Brazil and the UK, the development of international cooperation for research, the transfer of knowledge and training of Brazilian scholars in international standards, the production and dissemination of new academic knowledge in the field, and will bring more visibility for both the Brazilian and UK research internationally.
The study of the collective memory of organizations recognises how organizations are embedded in their national communities, emphasising their responsibility for the welfare of the communities in which they operate. This is of particular interest not just since the Financial Crisis in the banking sector, but also very salient to the public relations of successful national companies in rapidly developing countries that are still dominated by poverty, urban deprivation and high criminality. It is also of commercial importance that organizations learn how to manage their collective memory and using history strategically as well as responsibly, and further research is necessary to transfer and diffuse different practices internationally. By providing more detailed and systematic information about these issues, our research will support organizations in better managing their heritage.
Dr Alpina Begossi, UNICAMP/CAPESCA/NEPA
Dr Andre Carlo Colonese, University of York
Bridging Ancient and Modern Artisanal Fisheries in Latin America: Assessing the Role of Cultural Heritage to Food Security and Poverty Alleviation in Coastal Brazil
NG140074 One-Year £9,663.00
This project represents the first interdisciplinary and co-participative action for assessing the economic and social contribution of archaeological fishing methods to modern artisanal fisheries management. Learning is strengthened through visit exchanges and a fieldschool promoting knowledge exchanges between the fishing communities and the researchers. This project capitalizes upon the growing importance of the artisanal fisheries to the economic development and welfare of Brazil, and publicize the existence of unique and significant interactions between cultural heritage and coastal livelihoods in Latin America. It will also cement a lasting interdisciplinary and intercontinental collaboration aimed at expanding the scope of the project findings to other fisheries along the Brazilian coast, which demand more effective management for increased wellbeing and resilience to environmental and social changes of its ecosystems and populations.
Dr Rosana Curzel, Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRRJ (Campus Seropédica)
Dr Joao Nunes, University of York
Compulsory Licensing of Antiretrovirals in Brazil: Lessons for Global Health Governance
NG140090 One-Year £9,650.00
The provision of antiretroviral therapy (ARVT) is one of the most pressing challenges in global health. In 2013 there were 35 million people living with HIV; only 37% were receiving ARVT. In this context, the Brazilian strategy for AIDS treatment emerges in stark contrast with the ‘business as usual’. It relies on a legal guarantee for universal and free access to ARVT; and, in a highly controversial move, on the compulsory licensing (that is, the breaking of patents) of antiretrovirals. This project seeks to draw lessons from the Brazilian experience. It explores the impact of compulsory licensing on the political economy of HIV/AIDS treatment in Brazil, asking whether it has resulted in better health outcomes and more efficient spending. It then studies the impacts of this measure in relation to Brazil’s position in the governance of HIV/AIDS. Finally, the project asks whether compulsory licensing signals a shift in the relation between states and markets in global health governance.
Dr Henrique Menezes, Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Dr Muzaka Valbona, King's College London
Access to Knowledge, Technology Transfer and Public Health in Brazil
NG140017 One-Year £8,890.00
The main purpose of this application is to initiate a new research project and foster academic collaboration between scholars at Federal University of Paraíba and King’s College London. The objective is to analyze the strategies of the Brazilian government geared towards the sustainability of its policy of access to health by fostering the production of essential medicines in Brazil. Increasing the domestic production of medicines, enhancing domestic technical capabilities and reducing external dependency is the main goal of the most recent chapter of the Brazilian public health and industrial policies. Focusing on the latter, the aim of this project is to analyse how the Brazilian government is seeking to gain access to knowledge and technology from various sources, especially through Productive Development Partnerships, as well as assess the level of participation and expectations of private and public labs/companies in them. This study is of interest not only to Brazil, but also to other developing countries who may seek to emulate this public health and industrial strategy.
Dr Maria Okumura, National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Professor Bruce Bradley, University of Exeter
Getting from the Point; combining geometric morphometrics and technology to investigate projectile point assemblages in Brazil and the USA – training a new generation of archaeologists.
NG140077 One-Year £8,480.00
Archaeology is a quite young discipline in Brazil, beginning to be more systematically developed in the 1970s. In the last decades, the importance of the discipline has been greatly increased, partly due to the sheer increase in commercial archaeology projects and the demand for qualified professionals. This is because of an increase of the importance of developing more high impact studies in academic venues. There is a huge lack of specialists in the country, including people with a solid knowledge of stone analysis. The transfer of knowledge and skills brought by this research project will greatly contribute toward the training of a new generation of archaeologists. The University of Exeter has developing links with the University of São Paulo and extending these links to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, through this project, would support a growing network of co-operation and knowledge transfer. Such collaborative activity would also build support for the Brazilian Federal government’s policies of sending students abroad in their international program “Science without Borders”.
Dr Mailce Borges Mota, Federal University of Santa Catarina
Professor Markus Friedrich Damian, University of Bristol
The Effects of Literacy on Speech Production: A Study with Brazilian Children
NG140089 One-Year £4,013.00
The present research project aims at investigating the relationship between the development of literacy (i.e., reading and writing skills) and speech production in a population of public school children who are in the processing of learning to read and write in Brazilian Portuguese, their native language. More specifically, the project aims at gaining a better understanding of how this relationship is affected in the case of children who are at risk for language learning disorders.
Mexico
Dr Alberto Martin Alvarez, Instituto Mora
Dr Tanya Harmer, London School of Economics and Political Science
Transnational and Global Histories of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left – enhancing public understanding of Mexico’s role and contribution to social welfare.
NG140061 One-Year £9,962.00
This project explores transnational and global histories of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left spanning three decades after the Cuban Revolution. By promoting the study and understanding of Mexico's place within the history of violence and ideological conflict that spanned the globe, this project contributes to social welfare by stimulating public debate on the legacies of previous conflicts as a means towards reconciliation. Its emphasis on global and transnational approaches to the revolutionary left also aims explicitly to promote awareness of Mexico's relationships with other parts of the world as a means of encouraging interest in other continents and learning from other countries' experiences of dealing with legacies of violent revolutionary upheaval. Beyond placing Mexican research of transnational and global history on the map in the UK, the award will thus serve a larger purpose of enhancing public historical understanding and will benefit Mexican society. The project will therefore broaden our collective understanding of the global Cold War, Latin America's recent past and its interactions with other parts of the world as a means of better understanding its contemporary politics and international relations. As part of the project, Alberto Martín Álvarez and Tanya Harmer will also share their knowledge, expertise, skills and academic networks with students and faculty at each other's institutions during visits to London and Mexico.
Dr Jose Luis Ramos, National School of Anthropology and History
Dr Hugo Gaggiotti, University of the West of England
Promoting economic and social welfare in Chihuahua - How to Study Business and Organising on Permanent Movement: New Ethnographic Practices to Study the Borderlands
NG140045 One-Year £9,957.00
Colleagues from ENAH and Colegio de Chihuahua have demanded the need for training on new research methodologies and technics on study organizing. There is a need for researchers with training in business ethnography. Institutions like city councils and companies demand the contribution of applied ethnographers to propose solutions based on professional research of problems like women and insecurity, management-workers relation or childcare of maquila women workers. The lack of specifically trained researchers implies that research funded projects are generally rejected. The aim of the project is to initiate a collaborative partnership between British and Mexican scholars to strengthen the research capacity to study business and organizing in the Texas-Chihuahuan borderland. The primary objective is to contribute to the promotion of economic social welfare in Chihuahua by transferring training on innovative ethnographic methods of studying the social and economic business world of the so called maquila culture in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Dr Francisco Javier Aparicio, Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE)
Dr Covadonga Meseguer, London School of Economics and Political Science
Outmigration and Pro-Americanism in Mexico
NG140034 One-Year £4,850.00
How does emigration impact home country politics? In this project we explore the different channels by which emigrants abroad influence the views of those left behind. In particular, we explore whether having relatives abroad and communicating with them, being a return migrant, or receiving financial remittances shape the views that those left behind have of Mexican foreign policy priorities. We focus on the particular case of the Mexico–US relationship and hypothesize that emigration has created a pro-American coalition south of the border. In other words, those with some migratory experience are more likely to value the relationship with the United States and more likely to endorse close collaboration between the two countries in concrete policy issues, prominently the war on drugs. This project is relevant for migration scholars and practitioners wanting to understand the consequences of emigration for sending countries as well as for scholars interested in how public opinion shapes foreign policy.
South Africa
Professor Marissa Rollnick, University of the Witwatersrand
Dr Vanessa Kind, Durham University
Research Capacity Building and Development of Teacher Knowledge Bases in Science Education
NG140116 One-Year £9,972.00
The South African Education system faces daunting challenges in science and mathematics education, particularly in improving the quality of mathematics and science teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge. In the United Kingdom the issue of content knowledge per se is less of an issue but there is a challenge related to teachers teaching out of field, and thus facing similar challenges in the teaching situation. This application for a mobility grant for academics from Wits University in South Africa and Durham University in the United Kingdom aims to forge collaboration through participation in a doctoral research school in South Africa, presentation at conferences of mutual interest and production of publications in research related to teacher knowledge in science teaching.
Dr David Hornsby, University of the Witwatersrand
Dr Michele Acuto, University College London
Mobilising Science Advice in International Governance
NG140095 One-Year £9,940.00
The role of science in international governance has received little attention in the international relations literature. Yet scientists, scientific information, and science advice play a clear role in international negotiations over issues like climate change, health and food standards or trade. Indeed, international actors are often required to translate complex technical information into options for policy making. This means that scientists can maintain a real position of authority, legitimacy and influence in international cooperation moments, and deserve greater attention when unpacking the politics of international governance. As such, the purpose of this project is to bring together a group of scholars and practitioners interested in the intersection of science and diplomacy to explore how scientists influence international policies and what role "science advice" plays in international governance. The intent is to foster collaborations between scholars in the UK and in South Africa, linking with key international bodies, and with the broader global science advice community.
Dr Helena Wessels, Stellenbosch University
Mr Geoffrey Wake, University of Nottingham
New Models of Professional Practice for Teaching Mathematical Problem Solving in South Africa
NG140121 One-Year £9,930.00
The level of mathematics, science and literacy in South Africa is under the poorest in Africa and internationally. In addition to poor subject knowledge, test results highlighted the lack of application and reasoning skills in SA learners when solving problems. It is therefore essential to develop and implement new models of professional learning in initial as well as in in-service teacher education for the improvement of the teaching and learning of problem solving and modelling. The focus of the project is understanding what works in establishing and sustaining change in the professional learning of mathematics teachers. It builds on the separate work of the proposed partners: work with trainee teachers in South Africa (SA) and research into in-service teacher groups in England. In both countries, Lesson Study, an internationally recognised model for professional learning, is central and has been the catalyst for the proposal. The researchers are also connected by their concern to improve the teaching and learning of mathematical modelling and problem solving. In England the researcher currently leads research into the sustainable development of collaborative communities of teacher inquiry and will ground the project in emerging findings and provide expertise in research methodology. The study will be adapted in SA to investigate the implementation of new practices whilst working with future teachers. Expected outcomes include rich comparative data informing enhanced theoretical understandings and capacity building in the SA research team and institution.
Dr Warren Maroun, University of the Witwatersrand
Professor Jill Atkins, University of Reading
Integrated reporting in South Africa – developing skills and capacity for researchers and institutions.
NG140029 One-Year £9,784.00
The aim of the study is to explore integrated reporting practices in South Africa. More specifically, the research deals with the challenges of auditing the integrated reporting using detailed interviews with local corporate governance and auditing experts. This study will add to the limited body of integrated reporting research by exploring the nature of assurance being provided on South African integrated reports by the Big 4 audit firms (Deloitte, Ernst Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers). The proposed research will also examine the challenges being encountered by auditors when expressing an opinion on information contained in the integrated reports and, indirectly, shed light on auditors’ views on the integrated reporting initiative. The project will assist with the development of research skills at Wits, an African-based institution, and will be relevant to both local academics and practitioners grappling with the challenge of preparing corporate reports and the assurance thereof. The project is also expected to support post-graduate initiatives and the development of research capacity at an African-based institution.
Turkey
Dr Dimitris Tsarouhas, Bilkent University
Dr Stella Ladi, Queen Mary University of London
Global Governance Transformed: Explaining the Nexus Between International Organizations and the European Union – exploring public procurement and its relevance to Turkey’s socio-economic prospects and welfare.
NG140035 One-Year £10,000.00
To what extent and in what ways does the European Union (EU) seek to adjust the global public policy debate to its own goals and priorities? Our project sheds light to these crucial questions regarding the EU’s global role by examining the Union’s relationship to the World Trade Organization (WTO), adopting public procurement policy as the case study under investigation. Using a qualitative research methodology and relying on more than 15 interviews with EU, WTO and interest groups, the project seeks to shed new light to an underdeveloped research area. The case study of public procurement is directly relevant to Turkey's socio-economic prospects and economic welfare. Public procurement accounts for 7% of Turkey's GDP, and the modernization of the relevant legislation in 2003 brought about a clearer and more transparent implementation in public procurement tendering and contracting. The changed legislation resulted from Turkey's EU membership ambitions; developments in the EU on public procurement directly affect Turkey, and the country has aligned its legislation further in 2008, following changes in EU law. By showing the role of the EU in relation to the WTO and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in particular, this project will offer policy-makers the opportunity to update their knowledge on the latest developments, and adopt suitable strategies benefiting the Turkish economy in the current conjuncture. The project's main results and conclusions can thus be presented to policy-makers, and thus contribute directly to the country's strategy on maximising economic development.