Enactive behaviour settings: situating agency, normativity and transformation.

Behaviour settings are sociocultural places defined by three main ecological aspects: the affordances of material structures, typical patterns of skilful action and socially situated norms. These aspects explain the observed regularities of human behaviour associated with the material characteristics of places. However, the focus of ecological theories on how individual agents attune their actions to the pre-established order of behaviour settings neglects the agents' active role in sustaining or motivating transformations in this order. We therefore propose an alternative enactive approach to behaviour settings that accounts for the role of agents as active supporters and transformers of behaviour settings. Based on the enactive concepts of agency, normativity and dialectics, we argue that agents, as participants of behaviour settings, simultaneously respond to multiple normative dimensions (e.g. biological, sensorimotor and interactive). To sustain the order of behaviour settings, agents sometimes need to inhibit other normative responses of their bodies, which sometimes is detrimental to one or many aspects of their lives. Nonetheless, agents can collectively trigger the transformation of behaviour settings. This transformation can occur dialectically as tensions between two or more norms to which human bodies respond are resolved, even if new tensions arise and the process of changing behaviour setting continues. This article is part of the theme issue 'People, places, things and communities: expanding behaviour settings theory in the twenty-first century'.

Brain Networks, Neurotransmitters and Psychedelics: Towards a Neurochemistry of Self-Awareness.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Self-awareness can be defined as the capacity of becoming the object of one's own awareness and, increasingly, it has been the target of scientific inquiry. Self-awareness has important clinical implications, and a better understanding of the neurochemical basis of self-awareness may help clarifying causes and developing interventions for different psychopathological conditions. The current article explores the relationship between neurochemistry and self-awareness, with special attention to the effects of psychedelics. RECENT FINDINGS: The functioning of self-related networks, such as the default-mode network and the salience network, and how these are influenced by different neurotransmitters is discussed. The impact of psychedelics on self-awareness is reviewed in relation to specific processes, such as interoception, body ownership, agency, metacognition, emotional regulation and autobiographical memory, within a framework based on predictive coding. Improved outcomes in emotional regulation and autobiographical memory have been observed in association with the use of psychedelics, suggesting higher-order self-awareness changes, which can be modulated by relaxation of priors and improved coping mechanisms linked to cognitive flexibility. Alterations in bodily self-awareness are less consistent, being potentially impacted by doses employed, differences in acute/long-term effects and the presence of clinical conditions. Future studies investigating the effects of different molecules in rebalancing connectivity between resting-state networks may lead to novel therapeutic approaches and the refinement of existing treatments.

Injusticias epistémicas normalizadas y restricción de la agencia de las personas con discapacidad

Las injusticias epistémicas son aquellas formas de trato injusto que se relacionan con la producción, trasmisión o utilización del conocimiento por parte de los sujetos. El encuadre ético-epistémico y socio-epistémico proporcionado por estas injusticias se vincula con temas que atraviesan las principales tradiciones filosóficas como el pragmatismo, la fenomenología y la teoría crítica. Estas injusticias se interrelacionan, además, con movimientos sociales e intelectuales como el feminismo, la teoría crítica de la raza, los estudios críticos de la discapacidad y las epistemologías decolonizadoras. Sin embargo, existe un cuestionamiento a que las personas con discapacidad no han sido suficientemente abordadas. El presente artículo se posiciona en los debates actuales sobre las injusticias epistémicas y la discapacidad, y tiene como propósito aportar el concepto de "injusticias epistémicas normalizadas". Partiendo de la constatación de las formas en que se reconocen opresivamente los sujetos con discapacidad, como alejados de la "norma", establece que existen injusticias epistémicas asociadas con esta identificación. Propone que las injusticias epistémicas normalizadas ocurren en la intersección de dos ámbitos: un sistema hermenéutico capacitista y una agencia epistémica restringida en la que se producen al menos tres tipos de configuraciones: no agencia, agencias epistémicas disminuidas y agencias epistémicas en resistencia. Pensar las injusticias epistémicas considerando el peso de la "normalidad" en la constitución como sujetos de las personas con discapacidad permite reconocer una situación crítica de exclusión epistémica para algunas personas, mientras que otras resisten y luchan por ser comprendidas en los recursos hermenéuticos colectivos.

Epistemic injustices refer to those forms of unfair treatment that are related to the production, transmission, or use of knowledge by the subjects. The ethical-epistemic and socio-epistemic framework provided by these injustices is linked to themes that cross the main philosophical traditions such as pragmatism, phenomenology, and critical theory. These injustices are further intertwined with social and intellectual movements such as feminism, critical race theory, critical disability studies, and decolonizing epistemologies. However, there is a question that people with disabilities have not been sufficiently addressed. This article is positioned in the current debates on epistemic injustices and disability, and its purpose is to contribute the concept of "normalized epistemic injustices". Starting from the verification of the ways in which subjects with disabilities are oppressively recognized, as far from the "norm", it establishes that there are epistemic injustices associated with this identification. It proposes that normalized epistemic injustices occur at the intersection of two realms: a capacitist hermeneutic system and a constrained epistemic agency where at least three types of configurations are produced: non-agency; diminished epistemic agencies and epistemic agencies in resistance. Thinking about epistemic injustices considering the weight of "normality" in the constitution as subjects of people with disabilities allows us to recognize a critical situation of epistemic exclusion for some people, while others resist and fight to be understood in collective hermeneutical resources.

As injustiças epistêmicas referem-se àquelas formas de tratamento injusto que estão relacionadas à produção, transmissão ou uso do conhecimento pelos sujeitos. O enquadramento ético-epistêmico e socioepistêmico proporcionado por essas injustiças está vinculado a temas que atravessam as principais tradições filosóficas como o pragmatismo, a fenomenologia e a teoria crítica. Essas injustiças estão ainda mais entrelaçadas com movimentos sociais e intelectuais como o feminismo, a teoria crítica da raça, os estudos críticos da deficiência e as epistemologias descolonizadoras. No entanto, há uma questão de que as pessoas com deficiência não foram suficientemente abordadas. Este artigo se posiciona nos debates atuais sobre injustiças epistêmicas e deficiência, e seu objetivo é contribuir com o conceito de "injustiças epistêmicas normalizadas". A partir da verificação das formas como os sujeitos com deficiência são opressivamente reconhecidos, como distantes da "norma", constata-se que existem injustiças epistêmicas associadas a essa identificação. Propõe que injustiças epistêmicas normalizadas ocorrem na interseção de dois domínios: um sistema hermenêutico capacitista e uma agência epistêmica restrita onde pelo menos três tipos de configurações são produzidas: não-agência; agências epistêmicas diminuídas e agências epistêmicas em resistência. Pensar as injustiças epistêmicas considerando o peso da "normalidade" na constituição como sujeitos das pessoas com deficiência permite reconhecer uma situação crítica de exclusão epistêmica para algumas pessoas, enquanto outras resistem e lutam para serem compreendidas em recursos hermenêuticos coletivos.

La Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID) como arma contra la colaboración médica internacional de Cuba / United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a weapon against Cuba's international medical collaboration

El artículo analiza la labor subversiva asignada por la administración de Biden a la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional, para atacar a las brigadas médicas cubanas en el exterior. Especialmente, analiza el nuevo programa denominado Combatir el trabajo forzoso en las misiones médicas cubanas, y paralelamente, corrobora la existencia de una estrategia de boicot a la cooperación médica y a la exportación de servicios de salud, sobre todo dirigida a esta última modalidad, con el fin de cortar los ingresos económicos. El antecedente de este nuevo programa es uno similar financiado por el gobierno de Trump, en 2019, aunque este cuenta con 1 millón de dólares adicionales. Como la principal línea de mensaje que se emplea contra los convenios médicos cubanos internacionales, es que violan los derechos humanos al promover el trabajo esclavo, priorizan la búsqueda de testimonios para sustentar dicha campaña. El programa cuenta con elementos propios de acciones encubiertas y exige que los elegidos incidan dentro de Cuba y en países de América Latina. Esto último es consecuente con la estrategia sanitaria que Biden implementa para retomar su influencia en la región, además de restar protagonismo a Cuba. Finalmente, se demuestra que, aunque Biden le impone su impronta a la estrategia, es un continuador de Donald Trump(AU)

The article analyzes the subversive work assigned by the Biden administration to the United States Agency for International Development, to attack Cuban medical brigades abroad. Specifically, it analyzes the new program called Combating forced labor in Cuban medical missions, and at the same time, corroborates the existence of a strategy to boycott medical cooperation and the export of health services, especially aimed at the latter modality, with the in order to cut off economic income. The background to this new program is a similar one funded by the Trump government in 2019, although it has an additional one million dollars. Since the main line of message used against international Cuban medical agreements is that they violate human rights by promoting slave labor, they prioritize the search for testimonies to support said campaign. The program has elements of covert actions and requires those elected to carry out actions within Cuba and in Latin American countries. The latter is consistent with the health strategy that Biden implements to regain his influence in the region, in addition to reducing Cuba's prominence. Finally, it is shown that, although Biden imposes his imprint on the strategy, he is a follower of Donald Trump(AU)

The cognitive neuroscience of self-awareness: Current framework, clinical implications, and future research directions.

Self-awareness, the ability to take oneself as the object of awareness, has been an enigma for our species, with different answers to this question being provided by religion, philosophy, and, more recently, science. The current review aims to discuss the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying self-awareness. The multidimensional nature of self-awareness will be explored, suggesting how it can be thought of as an emergent property observed in different cognitive complexity levels, within a predictive coding approach. A presentation of alterations of self-awareness in neuropsychiatric conditions will ground a discussion on alternative frameworks to understand this phenomenon, in health and psychopathology, with future research directions being indicated to fill current gaps in the literature. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Consciousness Psychology > Brain Function and Dysfunction Neuroscience > Cognition.

Política de saúde e Autoridades Reguladoras: desafios da regulação de tecnologias nas Emergências em Saúde Pública / Health policy and regulatory authorities: challenges of technology regulation in Public Health Emergencies

Resumo As Emergências em Saúde Pública (ESP) têm repercutido nos sistemas de saúde em escala global. O acesso às novas tecnologias em saúde em tempo oportuno é um desafio para a política de saúde. As autoridades reguladoras nacionais (ARN) têm papel fundamental na avaliação e regulação dessas tecnologias. O estudo objetiva analisar as principais estratégias e instrumentos regulatórios utilizados para lidar com os desafios da regulação de novas tecnologias necessárias à resposta do sistema de saúde durante as ESP. Trata-se de uma pesquisa normativa e documental, tendo como fonte a OMS e a ARN brasileira. Foram consideradas as dimensões relacionadas às estratégias para o fortalecimento das atividades regulatórias e os instrumentos regulatórios utilizados para acelerar o acesso às tecnologias, especialmente durante as ESP. A cooperação e a colaboração internacional entre as ARN e com a OMS foram importantes estratégias para o fortalecimento das ARN, com destaque para o uso de confiança, regionalização, avaliações aceleradas e compartilhamento de trabalho/informações, bem como os processos de harmonização e convergência regulatória. Identificou-se, além da utilização de instrumentos regulatórios já existentes, esforços na implementação de novos, com destaque para Autorização de Uso Emergencial.

Abstract Public Health Emergencies (PHE) have had repercussions on health systems on a global scale, and timely access to new health technologies is a challenge for health policy. The national regulatory authorities (NRA) play a key role in the evaluation and regulation of these technologies. The present study aims to analyze the main strategies and regulatory instruments used to deal with the challenges of regulating new technologies necessary for the health system's effective response during a PHE. This research, based on WHO and Brazilian NRA norms and documents, considered dimensions related to strategies for strengthening regulatory activities and regulatory instruments used to accelerate access to technologies, especially during PHEs. International cooperation between the NRA and the WHO were important strategies for strengthening the NRA, with emphasis on the use of reliance, regionalization, accelerated assessments, and work/information sharing, as well as the processes of regulatory harmonization and convergence. In addition to the use of existing regulatory instruments, efforts were also identified in order to implement new ones.

A regulação de alimentos de origem animal no Brasil à luz da teoria processual administrativa da regulação / The regulation of animal-source foods in Brazil in the light of a process-oriented approach toregulation / La regulación de los alimentos de origen animal en Brasil a la luz de la teoría procesal administrativa de la regulación

Objetivo: analisar a regulação de alimentos de origem animal realizada pela Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa) e pelo Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA) sob a perspectiva da teoria processual administrativa da regulação, bem como casos normativos sobre substâncias químicas em alimentos de origem animal. Metodologia: foram realizados dois estudos de caso ­ um sobre os atos normativos da Anvisa sobre resíduos de medicamentos veterinários em alimentos de origem animal; e outro sobre a decisão do MAPA pelo fim das análises oficiais de amostras de água em indústrias de alimentos de origem animal de forma rotineira ­ a partir de uma abordagem qualitativa da composição institucional e normativa da Anvisa e do MAPA, sob a ótica da teoria processual administrativa da regulação. Resultados: a Anvisa tem adotado mecanismos condizentes com a teoria processual administrativa da regulação, como autonomia, estabilidade funcional dos agentes reguladores e participação social. Em relação ao MAPA, seu ambiente institucional detém menor autonomia e tem formalmente adotado, desde 2015, elementos processuais compatíveis com tal teoria, mas que podem ser desconsiderados durante a produção normativa interna. Conclusão: o modelo regulatório brasileiro, que divide a regulação dos alimentos de origem animal entre dois órgãos, pode gerar decisões que não levam em conta o interesse público e a participação social, o que pode ser percebido na produção normativa do MAPA, mesmo com a adoção formal de boas práticas regulatórias.

Objective: to analyze the regulation of food of animal origin carried out by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa, in Portuguese) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA, in Portuguese) from the perspective of a process-oriented approach to regulation, with a specific emphasis on cases involving chemical substances in food of animal origin. Methods: this research conducted two case studies. The first case study examined Anvisa's normative acts regarding residues of veterinary drugs in food of animal origin. The second case study analyzed MAPA's decision to discontinue routine official analyses of water samples in the animal food industry. The research approach was qualitative, focusing on investigating the institutional and normative composition of Anvisa and MAPA from the perspective of a process-oriented approach to regulation. Results: the analysis revealed that Anvisa has successfully implemented mechanisms consistent with a process-oriented approach to regulation, including regulatory autonomy, functional stability of regulatory bodies, and administrative procedures to promote social participation. On the other hand, MAPA's institutional-legal environment exhibits less autonomy and formally adopted procedural elements consistent with a process-oriented approach to regulation since 2015. However, there is a concern that these elements might be eliminated when drafting internal regulations. Conclusion: the Brazilian regulatory model divides animal food regulation between two agencies, potentially resulting in decisions that overlook the public interest and social participation. This is evident in the normative production of MAPA, despite their formal adoption of good regulatory practices.

Objetivo: analizar la regulación de alimentos de origen animal realizada por la Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (Anvisa) y por el Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Abastecimiento (MAPA, en portugués) en la perspectiva de la teoría procesal administrativa de la regulación, así como normativa casos sobre sustancias químicas en alimentos de origen animal. Metodología: se realizaron dos estudios de caso ­ uno sobre los actos normativos de Anvisa sobre residuos de medicamentos veterinarios en alimentos de origen animal; y otro sobre la decisión del MAPA de poner fin a los análisis oficiales de muestras de agua en las industrias de alimentos para animales de forma rutinaria ­ basado en un enfoque cualitativo de la composición institucional y normativa de Anvisa y MAPA, en la perspectiva de la regulación administrativa de la teoría procesal. Resultados: Anvisa ha adoptado mecanismos consistentes con la teoría procesal administrativa de la regulación, como la autonomía, la estabilidad funcional de los agentes reguladores y la participación social. Respecto al MAPA, su ámbito institucional tiene menor autonomía y ha adoptado formalmente, desde 2015, elementos procedimentales compatibles con dicha teoría, pero que pueden ser desestimados durante la producción normativa interna. Conclusión: el modelo regulatorio brasileño, que divide la regulación de los alimentos de origen animal entre dos órganos, puede generar decisiones que no toman en cuenta el interés público y la participación social, lo que se puede ver en la producción normativa del MAPA, incluso con la adopción formal de buenas prácticas regulatorias.

Absence of Reliable Screening Methods That Prove the Use of Gene Doping in Sports / Ausencia de métodos de tamizaje fiables que demuestren el uso del dopaje genético en el deporte / Falta de métodos de triagem confiáveis para provar o uso de doping genético no esporte

Abstract: Sport raises the level of human physical activity within the limits of genetic traits. The results of gene therapy have attracted some to think of using its technologies to create an "indomitable athlete." World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) applies uncertain genetic testing procedures to establish cases of this type of doping. Yet, if the results of these procedures are doubtful, then doubt must be interpreted in favor of the athlete concerned.

Resumen: El deporte eleva el nivel de actividad física humana dentro de los límites de los rasgos genéticos. Los resultados de la terapia génica han atraído a algunos a pensar en utilizar sus tecnologías para crear un 'atleta indomable'. La Agencia Mundial Antidopaje (AMA) aplica procedimientos de pruebas genéticas inciertos para establecer casos de este tipo de dopaje. Sin embargo, si los resultados de estos procedimientos son dudosos, entonces la duda debe interpretarse a favor del atleta en cuestión.

Resumo: O esporte eleva o nível da atividade física humana dentro dos limites dos traços genéticos. Os resultados da terapia genética têm atraído alguns a pensar em usar suas tecnologias para criar um "atleta indomável". A Agência Mundial Antidoping (WADA) aplica procedimentos incertos de testes genéticos para estabelecer casos deste tipo de dopagem. Entretanto, se os resultados desses procedimentos forem incertos, então a incerteza deve ser interpretada em favor do atleta em questão.

The impact of inclusion practices on the identity of people diagnosed with severe mental illness: Radio Nikosia / O impacto das práticas de inclusão na identidade de pessoas diagnosticadas com doença mental grave: Radio Nikosia

Abstract This article examines the discursive approach adopted by Radio Nikosia, highlighting its crucial role in the recovery of people diagnosed with severe mental illness. It examines how putting social representations aside has enabled Radio Nikosia to render agency to these social actors, acknowledging their capacity to construct, reconstruct and change their own identities. The geographic scope of the study comprises the Autonomous Community of Catalonia while the methodology followed is qualitative in nature, analysing programme audio and transcription, reports, academic articles, theses, and a participant interview. The aim of the analysis is to examine the significance of discursive practices in Radio Nikosia in modifying the permanence of identities anchored in severe mental illness. The results illustrate the practical use of radio as a powerful tool that both promotes social inclusion and impacts mental illness identity.

Resumo Este artigo examina a abordagem discursiva adotada pela Rádio Nikosia, destacando seu papel crucial na recuperação de pessoas diagnosticadas com doença mental grave. Examina como deixar de lado as representações sociais permitiu à Rádio Nikosia dar agência a esses atores sociais, reconhecendo sua capacidade de construir, reconstruir e mudar suas próprias identidades. O escopo geográfico do estudo compreende a Comunidade Autônoma da Catalunha, enquanto a metodologia seguida é de natureza qualitativa, analisando áudio e transcrição do programa, relatórios, artigos acadêmicos, teses e entrevista participante. O objetivo da análise é examinar o significado das práticas discursivas da Rádio Nikosia na modificação da permanência de identidades ancoradas na doença mental grave. Os resultados ilustram o uso prático do rádio como uma ferramenta poderosa que promove a inclusão social e impacta a identidade da doença mental.

Care-based community communication, capacity, and agency during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the Complexo da Maré Favela, Brazil.

Scholars and officials have argued that the strengthening of communities and community-led development constitute an important policy goal in the fight against emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, most strategies to address such crises fail to consider the significance of community-driven solutions, community-level knowledge, and actors. At the same time, researchers have recognized that communication, such as through local newspapers, promotes community development by increasing communities' social capital and cohesion. But the role of community communication in the encouragement and exercise of other levels of agency and in the development of community capacity, including to address emergencies, remains underexplored. This article investigates whether and how community journalists in a Rio de Janeiro favela have expressed and sought to develop favela residents' individual and collective agency during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do so by analyzing thematically the COVID-19 virus-related articles that appeared in a community-based newspaper, Maré Online, between March and September 2020. We also conducted semi-structured interviews with Maré Online reporters to augment our analysis and supplemented that data with participant observation of relevant virtual community-led organizing meetings and events. Our study shows how community-based journalists revealed and promoted individual and collective agency through what we term a "care-based, participatory solutions journalism," which supported favela residents' "communicative freedom" as conceptualized by Benhabib (2013). This analysis stresses the connection between communicative freedom and community capacity. It illustrates the importance of community-produced communication in development of and in community, especially when those populations are pejoratively framed in the media, public policy, and often also, research.

Consciousness, Exascale Computational Power, Probabilistic Outcomes, and Energetic Efficiency.

A central problem in the cognitive sciences is identifying the link between consciousness and neural computation. The key features of consciousness-including the emergence of representative information content and the initiation of volitional action-are correlated with neural activity in the cerebral cortex, but not computational processes in spinal reflex circuits or classical computing architecture. To take a new approach toward considering the problem of consciousness, it may be worth re-examining some outstanding puzzles in neuroscience, focusing on differences between the cerebral cortex and spinal reflex circuits. First, the mammalian cerebral cortex exhibits exascale computational power, a feature that is not strictly correlated with the number of binary computational units; second, individual computational units engage in noisy coding, allowing random electrical events to gate signaling outcomes; third, this noisy coding results in the synchronous firing of statistically random populations of cells across the neural network, at a range of nested frequencies; fourth, the system grows into a more ordered state over time, as it encodes the predictive value gained through observation; and finally, the cerebral cortex is extraordinarily energy efficient, with very little free energy lost to entropy during the work of information processing. Here, I argue that each of these five key features suggest the mammalian brain engages in probabilistic computation. Indeed, by modeling the physical mechanisms of probabilistic computation, we may find a better way to explain the unique emergent features arising from cortical neural networks.

Ethical content in artificial intelligence systems: A demand explained in three critical points.

Artificial intelligence (AI) advancements are changing people's lives in ways never imagined before. We argue that ethics used to be put in perspective by seeing technology as an instrument during the first machine age. However, the second machine age is already a reality, and the changes brought by AI are reshaping how people interact and flourish. That said, ethics must also be analyzed as a requirement in the content. To expose this argument, we bring three critical points - autonomy, right of explanation, and value alignment - to guide the debate of why ethics must be part of the systems, not just in the principles to guide the users. In the end, our discussion leads to a reflection on the redefinition of AI's moral agency. Our distinguishing argument is that ethical questioning must be solved only after giving AI moral agency, even if not at the same human level. For future research, we suggest appreciating new ways of seeing ethics and finding a place for machines, using the inputs of the models we have been using for centuries but adapting to the new reality of the coexistence of artificial intelligence and humans.

Social innovation in health: strengthening Community Systems for Universal Health Coverage in rural areas.

BACKGROUND: In seeking the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), there has been a renewed emphasis on the role of communities. This article focuses on social innovation and whether this concept holds promise to enhance equity in health services to achieve UHC and serve as a process to enhance community engagement, participation, and agency. METHODS: A cross-country case study methodology was adopted to analyze three social innovations in health in three low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): Philippines, Malawi, and Colombia. Qualitative methods were used in data collection, and a cross-case analysis was conducted with the aid of a simplified version of the conceptual framework on social innovation as proposed by Cajaiba-Santana. This framework proposes four dimensions of social innovation as a process at different levels of action: the actors responsible for the idea, the new idea, the role of the institutional environment, and the resultant changes in the health and social system. RESULTS: The study found that each of the three social innovation case studies was based on developing community capacities to achieve health through community co-learning, leadership, and accountability. The process was dependent on catalytic agents, creating a space for innovation within the institutional context. In so doing, these agents challenged the prevailing power dynamics by providing the communities with respect and the opportunity to participate equally in creating and implementing programs. In this way, communities were empowered; they were not simply participants but became active agents in conceptualizing, implementing, monitoring, and sustaining the social innovation initiatives. CONCLUSION: The study has illustrated how three creative social innovation approaches improved access and quality of health services for vulnerable rural populations and increased agency among the intervention communities. The processes facilitated empowerment, which in turn supported the sustained strengthening of the community system and the achievement of community goals in the domain of health and beyond.

Are community health programmes always benign? Community health worker perceptions and the social construction of users in Brazil's primary healthcare policy.

We examine how community health workers (CHWs), while working as links between doctors, nurses and vulnerable groups, participate in the social construction of citizens in the implementation of Brazil's primary healthcare policy. Drawing on interviews and a vignette experiment with CHWs in the city of São Paulo, we show that perceptions of CHWs about the vulnerability and agency of health system users impact upon their referrals to other levels of service. Judgments about the socioeconomic, cultural and moral conditions of families determine different referrals - on the one hand, to practices based on persuasion and respect for individual choices; on the other, to 'top-down' or forcible interventions. While implementing the same healthcare policy, CHWs construct users as (responsible) agents or (helpless) targets, thus determining different pathways in the health system and shaping the relationship between citizens and the state. Brazil's primary health policy, while seeking to tackle vulnerability, is also a site where social representations are reproduced that contribute to the denial of the agency of citizens deemed more vulnerable and to the definition of their bodies as sites for state intervention.

Roles of technologies for future teaching in a pandemic: activity, agency, and humans-with-media.

Research literature on the role of mathematics teachers during the COVID-19 crisis shows that teacher preparation for emergency situations is required. In reporting on this exploratory study, we present and analyse lesson plans created by seven future teachers for mathematics classes during the pandemic. Data were collected between April and October 2021 from 16 four-hour class sessions in a Mathematics Degree Program at a public university in Medellín, Colombia. The notion of Humans-with-Media and the Learning by Expanding theory were used as frameworks to understand what roles prospective mathematics teacher (PMTs) assign to technologies for teaching in pandemic conditions. The PMTs' uses of technology for teaching mathematics during a pandemic were categorized. The results show that technology was used to reorganize and reproduce mathematics teaching practices. This report addresses the impact of technology on the activity system, and we conclude with a discussion of opportunities and limitations of students' conceptions about teaching and technology during a pandemic.

Religion and Responsibility-Taking Among Offenders in Colombia and South Africa: A Qualitative Assessment of a Faith-Based Program in Prison.

This paper examines whether religion contributes to offenders taking responsibility for crimes. Specifically, we assessed whether participation in The Prisoner's Journey (TPJ), a bible study program, increased or decreased responsibility-taking. We also examined whether religious offenders that did not participate in TPJ were likely to take responsibility for their offenses. For this study, we conducted a quasi-experiment in two Colombian and five South African prisons from 2018 to 2019, collecting data from personal interviews with a total of 73 inmates-42 TPJ participants and 31 non-participants-before and after the program. Offenders frequently offered subtle accounts of responsibility that incorporated their own agency with other factors. Highly religious offenders were equally likely to take responsibility, and in some cases participation in TPJ heightened responsibility. In sum, this paper presents evidence that religious beliefs and practice are commensurate with responsibility-taking and desistance from crime.

Emotions, Agency, and Materiality: Embodiment of Homophobic Discrimination Amongst Mexican LGBTQ+ Youth.

Embodiment refers to understanding the body as the object and subject of culture, a process that allows an understanding of political, cultural, social, and emotional processes in the assemblage of a particular identity. We describe a qualitative-narrative study utilizing focus groups and interviews in three Mexican cities with 75 LGBTQ+ youth to understand the effects of discrimination and how this impacts subjectivity through embodied affection. Through axial and line-by-line analysis, we describe the process of embodiment through four dimensions: violence, emotions, agency, and materiality. Violence operates as the sediment for LGBTQ+ youth's subjective, social, and political life, and paves the way for particular emotions, such as guilt, shame, fear, sadness, and pain, that directly relates to material aspects such as gender expression and body presentation, beauty standards and a discourse around perversion and promiscuity. Finally, the combination of emotions and materiality prove relevant for certain expressions of agency and resilience.

Agência e poder na pesquisa: algumas reflexões sobre os termos de consentimento livre e esclarecido / Agency and power in research: some thoughts about informed consent forms

Resumo Neste artigo, discutimos algumas premissas do termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido (TCLE), partindo do princípio que elas não são dadas. Argumento que o uso de um termo de consentimento deve ser compreendido dentro de uma relação de pesquisa, que é ao mesmo tempo uma relação intersubjetiva entre duas ou mais pessoas posicionadas socialmente. Desenvolvo esta reflexão a partir de minhas experiências recentes de pesquisa antropológica sobre gestação e parto, nas quais apresentei um TCLE em duas etapas do estudo, mas não em uma intermediária, que se dedicava a explorar mais as relações familiares durante a gravidez do que a experiência corporal em si. Assim, comparando essas três situações, examino suas especificidades na obtenção do consentimento, para discutir as dimensões de agência, poder e ética na pesquisa social.

Abstract This article discusses some premises that constitute informed consent forms, assuming they should not be taken for granted. I argue that the use of informed consent forms should be understood within a research relationship, which is always an intersubjective relation between two or more socially positioned individuals. I develop these reflection based on my recent experiences of anthropological research on pregnancy and birth, during which I used an informed consent form in two stages but not in an intermediary phase, which was dedicated to focus on kinship relations during pregnancy more than the bodily experience itself. Thus, by comparing these three situations, I examine their particularities in obtaining consent, discussing agency, power, and ethics in social research.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on private hospitals in Brazil

ABSTRACT Objective To analyze the operational and/or financial impacts of regulatory measures implemented by the National Agency for Supplementary Health and government health departments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on a group of 118 private hospitals affiliated with the National Association of Private Hospitals. Methods This study used a quantitative methodological design of descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective studies, utilizing secondary data provided by the National Agency for Supplementary Health. Results There was a -20.1% reduction in hospital admissions and hospital occupancy rate and a decrease of -4.4 percentage points in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margins. Additionally, the average length of hospital stay increased by +0.5, while total expenses for hospital leaves and total net revenue for hospital leaves increased by +39.4% and +23.6%, respectively. Comparing the participation of the different International Classification of Diseases, according to ICD-10 in 2019 and 2020, revealed the following variations in percentage points of hospitalizations. Hospitalizations for infectious diseases (including COVID-19), treatment of neoplasms, and pregnancy increased by +2.1, +2.4, and +1.2, respectively. However, hospitalizations for respiratory diseases decreased by -4.1. Conclusion The most critical period of the pandemic required the redirection of activities to concentrate efforts on caring for COVID-19 cases. This situation highlighted the non-prioritization of primary care, as many problems presented by patients not affected by COVID-19 had to be referred to emergency services when and if appropriate.