Predictive variables for feelings of sadness and depression while working remotely in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Remote work was evidenced in the pandemic and studies in this area increased. Most studies focus on professionals of companies or professors/students in the academic environment. At the same time, non-academic staff, that provide all the support required for the core activities of the institutions (research/teaching/extension activities) have been neglected. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to exploratory analyse which variables (interruptions when working remotely (1), health concerns (2) and fear of contracting coronavirus (3), anxiety and concern about professional career (4), frustration to have cancelled plans and missed opportunities (5) and gender (6)) can impact feelings of sadness and depression experienced by non-academic staff of a university working remotely. METHODS: Using a database on behaviour and feelings of non-academic staff from a Brazilian university working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, a binary logistic regression model was structured. In an exploratory manner, six independent variables (presented in the previous item) were analysed in terms of their ability to predict the dependent variable (feelings of sadness and depression). RESULTS: The results presented the prediction power of the independent variables for the dependent variable. The variables regarding concern with their health, increased anxiety and concern about their career presented Odds Ratios of 3.6 (1.4-8.5 -95% C.I.) and 3.3 (2.2-5.0 -95% C.I.), respectively, standing out from the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: These results focus on staff at one institution, but they can contribute to better understand feelings and behaviours experienced by professionals working remotely and provide information for debates on the field of COVID-19-related changes of work.

Productivity analysis in work from home modality: An exploratory study considering an emerging country scenario in the COVID-19 context.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the work environment worldwide and forced companies to adopt work from home (WFH) suddenly. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify factors that influence productivity in the WFH modality, considering the Brazilian scenario in the COVID-19 context. METHODS: The approach used was a Delphi method with 19 specialists in the subject. Three rounds were conducted; in the third round, specialists indicated how the factor influences productivity through a scale. For the data collected in this last round, data was analysed via Grey Relational Analysis technique. RESULTS: The results indicated that 17 factors could influence productivity in the WFH modality in the analysed context. Comparatively, the five factors with more capacity to influence productivity are 1) Availability of adequate equipment and peripherals to develop the work activities; 2) leadership support; 3) The adequate place to develop work activities; 4) Internet and electricity supply stability; and 5) Clarity from the collaborator regarding their role in the company, responsibilities and activities to be developed. The frequency analysis indicated that factors affect at least moderately productivity in WFH modality. CONCLUSIONS: This article contributes to increasing knowledge associated with the WFH modality in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The information present here can be used by academics and managers, even in a post-pandemic scenario, to debate productivity in remote work modalities.

COVID-19 and decent work: A bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among these impacts, those related to the SDG 8 can be highlighted. Consequently, the literature has addressed aspects related to economic growth and decent work. OBJECTIVE: This article aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on decent work according to the literature. METHODS: For this, a bibliometric analysis was conducted. Data from Web of Science were collected, and VOSviewer software was used to perform the analysis. RESULTS: Regarding the results, four main clusters that govern the subject were identified. A first cluster (identified in red) evidenced the consequences of the pandemic to the generation of informal work, increasing poverty and the impacts on gender issues. A second cluster (identified in blue) addresses mental health and stress issues, especially for nurses professionals who experience a situation in the COVID-19 pandemic. The green cluster focused on unemployment, precarious employment, and work conditions, which were highly related to coronavirus contagion. Finally, the yellow cluster evidenced the final consequences when there is a substantial public health problem. CONCLUSIONS: The results presented here can be helpful to researchers interested in the, as it allows a broad and condensed view of important information about a relevant topic for sustainable economic development.

Trends in remote work: A science mapping study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic made workers suddenly change their routines and several companies adopted a remote work modality. This change quickly started to be analysed in academic literature. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to perform a scientific mapping on the theme "remote work" to highlight the prominent themes associated with the subject for 2020 and 2021, covering the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying mainly the "motor themes", this study contributes to identify themes developed and relevant to the subjects analyzed. METHODS: An initial sample of 479 articles published in the analyzed period was listed from the Web of Science database. After analysing these articles, 186 were selected and were analyzed by Scimat software. Journals and references were also analyzed. RESULTS: The centrality and density indexes of the sub-themes "job-satisfaction" and "flexible-work" were more evidenced in the analysis, enabling the classification of these sub-themes directly as "motor themes". Regarding the density index of the sub-theme, the classification "stress" was less seen. After a careful analysis of the articles content, it was verified that this is also a "motor theme". CONCLUSIONS: Considering the three defined "motor themes", they can be considered the most developed and important sub-themes of study in this field and, therefore, need to be well understood by new researchers in the field. In addition, these findings show that the mentioned sub-themes must be focused on by managers, considering the relevance that the literature attributes to them.

Science Diplomacy in Ecuador: Political Discourse and Practices Between 2007 and 2017.

The decade 2007-2017 was a period in which the Republic of Ecuador experienced a series of economic, social, cultural, and political transformations. This research focused on science, technology, and innovation (STI) changes with implications for Ecuador's foreign policy. One of the core components incorporated was Ecuador's engagement with foreign governments and various regional and global actors to further scientific and technological advances. These far-reaching collaborations aimed to reduce gaps the country experienced in science and research. Moreover, to incorporate Ecuador into worldwide initiatives to tackle cross-border issues, such as climate change and environmental sustainability. These measures included academic and scientific mobility through an extensive scholarship program, the Prometeo Fellowship Program, the Yasuni ITT Initiative, the creation of emblematic research universities, and certain guidelines released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador related to these policies. This article reports on qualitative research in which President Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado's political discourse was analyzed, along with key STI policies promoted in his administrations. The objective of this study was to establish different implications from the Science Diplomacy perspective (SD); particularly, reflecting on the consistency between the political rhetoric and the policy implementation. Evidence suggests that the political discourse materialized into concrete STI policies that could partially explain positive transformations in various aspects of the STI context in Ecuador. Institutional strengthening, international mobility (inward and outward), increased scientific output, and foreign policy practices involving SD which can be traced in the studied period. SD strategies could have been more effective and lasting if they were not discontinued upon Correa's departure from the Presidency.

Educação em direitos humanos: a percepção dos docentes da unicamp / Educación en derechos humanos: la percepción de los profesores de la unicamp / L'éducation aux droits de l'homme: la perception des enseignants unicamp / Human rights education: the perception of unicamp professors

Resumo Este artigo tem como objetivo descrever e analisar a percepção de docentes da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) em relação à temática da educação em direitos humanos (EDH) no âmbito universitário. Metodologicamente, a pesquisa foi realizada por meio da submissão de um questionário aos docentes da Universidade que apresentaram produções e/ou práticas extensionistas na área temática. Na análise dos resultados alcançados, pode-se destacar que cerca de 80% dos respondentes indicaram haver entraves no desenvolvimento de pesquisas e práticas extensionistas em direitos humanos na Unicamp. Também foi possível observar uma concordância em relação à consideração da EDH enquanto um dos compromissos sociais a ser assumido pela Universidade.

Resumen Este artículo tiene como objetivo describir y analizar la percepción de los profesores de la Universidad Estatal de Campinas (Unicamp) en relación con el tema de la educación en derechos humanos a nivel universitario. Metodológicamente, esta investigación se realizó mediante el envío de un cuestionario a los profesores de la Universidad que presentaron producciones y/o prácticas de extensión en el área temática; luego, después del análisis realizado, presentaremos los resultados logrados a través de esto. Se puede resaltar lo siguiente: alrededor del 80% de los encuestados indicaron que existen barreras para el desarrollo de prácticas de investigación y extensión en derechos humanos en la Unicamp; fue posible observar un acuerdo en relación con la consideración de EDH como uno de los compromisos sociales a asumir por la Universidad.

Résumé Cet article vise à décrire et à analyser la perception des professeurs de l'Université Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) sur l'éducation aux droits de l'homme a l'université. Méthodologiquement, un questionnaire a été soumis aux professeurs de l'Université qui avaient des productions et des pratiques de vulgarisation dans ce domaine. L'analyse met en évidence les résultats suivants: environ 80% des interrogés ont indiqué qu'il existe des obstacles au développement de pratiques de recherche et de vulgarisation en matière de droits de l'homme à Unicamp et aussi un accord concernant la prise en compte de l'EDH comme l'un des engagements sociaux que l'université devrait assumer.

Abstract This article aims to describe and analyze the perception of professors at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) in relation to the subject of human rights education (HRE) at the university level. Methodologically, this research was carried out by submitting a survey to professors at the University who presented productions and/or extension practices in the thematic area; then, after the analysis performed, we will present the results achieved through this. The following can be highlighted: about 80% of respondents indicated that there are barriers to the development of research and extension practices in human rights at Unicamp; it was possible to observe an agreement in relation to the consideration of HRE as one of the social commitments to be assumed by the University.