The things we need to know about Brazil- and how to learn it

Norway is the seventh largest foreign investor in Brazil. To quote the Norwegian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morten Høglund, we do leave a “footprint on Brazilian economy”. That is impressive for a small country as Norway. Now, if we quote another amazing figure, we may also add that “with great powers comes great responsibility”. I think it is time we ask again what kind of knowledge we need about Brazil and how we should organize our research cooperation with Brazil. I have some suggestions.

Without doubt, the Norwegian “footprints” are related primarily to the activities in the off-shore and maritime sector. Brazil and Norway have strong interests in subsea technology, and research in these areas is vital to both countries. As a consequence we also see the tendency that a great majority of the agreements about research and education between the countries are based on the activities related to the petroleum sector. Some way or another. If you don’t agree, try to put it the other way around: if we did not have the common interest in petroleum and off-shore activities, how many bilateral agreements regarding research and education would there be between Norway and Brazil? Some, I am sure, but not many. Maybe not even the rain forest program.

What is the consequence of this? Research resources and consequently the development of new knowledge is channeled through the gas and petroleum sector. Other important areas like environment, education and health and social change, are every now and then mentioned as important areas of attention, but are in principle far from independent areas of priority in the same way. They tend to be included under the petroleum-umbrella.

But do we really need to know things about Brazil outside the common interests in petroleum and off-shore activities? Of course we do. We are talking about one of the biggest economies of the world with 200 million citizens. Or consumers if you wish. They influence their surroundings and Brazil is together with Mexico the most influential country in the Latin America. This alone should be a strong warning against focusing our research resources in only one sector of society. In addition to this we must be aware of what kind of footprints we wish to leave in Brazil. This is a political and ethical question. We must acknowledge that our participation in the petroleum enterprise has social and environmental consequences. And to many Brazilians, environment, education, health and social change is more important than oil.

My suggestion is that Norway develops strategies regarding research in Brazil that are organized in knowledge clusters, centered on defined areas of knowledge. To prove my point, I dare to suggest at least four areas of attention: (1) the obvious, the off-shore, subsea and petroleum sector, (2) research geared towards environment, then (3) education, health and social change and finally (4) politics and governance. The boarders between the sectors of research could of course be blurry, and sometimes they will contradict each other, but these are some important areas I believe we should pay attention to in our strategies. And to satisfy the courtesy conduct of research politics, we may build these clusters of knowledge in different geographical areas in Norway.

Now you might say that we do have research projects in all these sectors. Well, I am not talking about projects. I am talking about strategies. And our strategies regarding research and knowledge production about one of the 20 most influential countries in the world seem to be dominated by the offshore and maritime sector. That might not be a smart strategy. We need to do other things as well.

Violence towards children in Norway- what to learn from Brazil

The current discussion about violence against children in Norway is an issue all too familiar to Brazilian society and politics. But the image of the unattended child, visible in the streets of the big cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo that has figured as the ultimate symbol of social suffering and negligence in Brazil, is really not so unique.

If we go beyond the immediate symbolic image that the abandoned child represents in terms of a future in jeopardy, we find that the processes of marginalization and exclusion of some of the citizens, in this case children and adolescents, are not limited to the geographical area of Brazil and Latin-America. They are relevant to understand processes of exclusion found in Norway as well, something which in it’s ultimate expressions leads to violence towards children and death by the hands of adults.

In Norway, there seems to be a dominant focus on violence against children and adolescents as individualized criminal acts that are morally distasteful and condemned, which is a reasonable approach. But in Brazil, where the most severe cases have demonstrated that children living in the streets have been executed presumably by police officers, the question of equality and human rights has been central topics of discussion. This approach opens up a perspective where violence itself is a consequence of other processes in addition to being a deviant criminal act. Could this perspective be useful in a Norwegian context? I believe so.

If we treat violence as an extreme expression of marginalization and abuse of power, as the ultimate expression on a continuum of marginalization and exclusion, I believe that the questions we need to ask in Norway is in what circumstances are children and adolescents being neglected and marginalized, whom are these children, and when where their human rights being violated for the first time? I fear that we will find that in many (no, not all) cases we could see that those suffering from violence had their legal and moral rights infringed long time before the actual incidence of violence. And for some reason we let it happen.

I am not advocating a paradigmatic shift in the effort to reduce violence towards children and adolescents. What I am trying to say, is that when working with violence we should also add the perspective of structural marginalization and exclusion in society. This will help us to perceive violence as an expression of other concerns in society, like poverty as marginalizing processes and other forms of inequality where rights of the individual are being infringed. I am not in favor of adopting the concept of violence in all kinds of violation of legal and human rights, but I do see that it is a part of a continuum.

So, the conclusion is that even though Norwegain and Brazilian academics may seem to approach the concept of violence somewhat differently, valuable perspectives could be developed by collaboration between our academic traditions. Because we are both dealing with real life experiences involving acts that are experienced by individuals who live in societies that, through law, are entitled to protect all their citizens.

God should love Brazil

From October 2014 till April 2015, I am conducting field research in Brazil. In this period I will post reflections on Linkedin, aimed at a broader audience. However, these reflections will also be posted here, but with reference to academic litterature relevant for the post. As my training comes from social anthropology and social work, most references will naturally be based in these disciplines. Readers are more than welcome to add their references also from other disciplines in the commentaries below and by this help me to learn more about Brazil and human societies

Brazil is among the top 10 religious countries in the world. According to the Global Index of Religion and Atheism, 85% of the population claims to be religious and only 1% are convinced atheists. And this is visible, especially for someone coming from Scandinavia, one of the more non-religious corners of the world. And I discover that as a foreigner, I am not really accustomed to deal with such a visibility of religious expressions in daily life.

The expressions of religion are everywhere. Not only on maps with names referring to saints and deities, but also in everyday life. I have the pleasure of going by night bus between Rio de Janeiro and Vitória every now and then. It is an eight our drive along the BR-101, a 4800 kilometers coastal road considered to be one of the most important roads in the country, and the traffic can be quite fast and furious. The first time I saw dead people in the traffic, was actually at the BR-101. So, you should not be surprised when the driver welcomes everybody onboard, ending his greetings with a short prayer calling for God’s blessings upon the trip. In Norway, you can be sure that at least one of the passengers would complain formally to the bus company. In Brazil, at least one of the passengers will reply, “Amen!”.

No matter which denomination God himself actually follow, whether he prefers Afro-Brazilian religions, Catholicism, the Pentecostal evangélicos or more blurry spiritual movements, he will find a large and devoted crowd of worshippers here. He should love Brazil, because there seem to be many who loves him.

In my country we are quite trained to respect, or maybe refrain from, getting involved in people’s personal beliefs. Of course we engage in conversations and discussions about religion and God like people do in most of the world, but we usually talk about it in objective ways that do not reveal our own religious ponderings that easily. Especially if we actually hold some beliefs.  So, public religious expressions are often more polemic and not as common as we find them in Brazil. And Brazilians seem to accept religious variation more easily than the Norwegian do.

This can lead to some interesting situations. Like when I try to explain what I do not believe in without telling what I believe. One example was when I tried to explain that I do not share the views of a certain Christian denomination even though my children attend their school. I have given up on that. Because the Brazilians do not really seem to judge me personally any differently whether I am a Catholic, a Protestant, an Evangélico, or if I believe that God is a rock in the mountains. What they think is stranger, is when they get the impression that I do not believe in anything.

Given the strong presence of religion in everyday life in Brazil, I would like to get to know better the social role that religion plays. And maybe my biggest challenge as a researcher in the social sciences, is to not do it in the comfortable Norwegian way, where focus tend to be on the negative consequences of organized religion (yes, of course it is an aspect of religion also). My challenge here will be to see if religion plays a role in interaction, what reference does it play morale, and how does conceptions about “The Other World” matter? After all it is one of the most religious countries in the world. That should not be ignored.  

See also:
The Economist, July 2013: Religion in Brazil Earthly concerns

Women by the pool

From October 2014 till April 2015, I am conducting field research in Brazil. In this period I will post reflections on Linkedin, aimed at a broader audience. However, these reflections will also be posted here, but with reference to academic litterature relevant for the post. As my training comes from social anthropology and social work, most references will naturally be based in these disciplines. Readers are more than welcome to add their references also from other disciplines in the commentaries below and by this help me to learn more about Brazil and human societies.

I know that it is important to have a network. But if it is important in Norway, it is even more important here in Brazil. What I did not realize until recently, is that my network extends beyond the personal meetings I have with people. I have discovered the women by the pool.

Before anyone get the wrong ideas, I use the term “women by the pool” as an expression for the upper-middle-class women in the urban areas of Brazil that meet by the pool as they are attending lessons of water gymnastics (pretty light gymnastics where I suspect results are measured in kilograms with three digits after comma) or letting their children play with each other.

The pool in this context is located in private areas, for example inside closed communities, and have no resemblance with women at the beach appearing in many circumstances as the stereotyped image of Brazil. The women by the pool occupy a social space where they meet with social peers and where men are accepted but not included. I can talk with them about trivial matters, but like most men I find it rather difficult to continue a superficial, friendly, female conversation for more than 8 minutes. I am by no doubt accepted, but not really included. Which is quite okay.

My wife, on the other hand, is included. She gets access to their social lives and without too much effort get an overview over whom they are, what they do for living, and most important for me, what their husbands do for living.

So, the other day my wife had been together with the kids at the pool. And she had met with other women by the pool. Coming back it turned out she had not been relaxing at all, but she had done some networking on my behalf.

I am in Brazil to do research about social work and am interested, among other things, in the participation of the voluntarily sector in welfare services. One of the women by the pool is the wife of one of the leaders in a well-run NGO in the state, and another woman is married to the leader of one of the major a voluntarily organizations working in cooperation with the municipality providing social services.

So a few days later when some of the families got together for an evening dinner, (I am not really sure how that was arranged) I was already informed about who the leader of the voluntarily organization was, and he was informed about my doings in Brazil. Talks about getting access to areas relevant to my study started right away, as we were already introduced to each other through our wives. Regarding the other husband, the leader of the NGO, we still have not met but we are introduced.

To me, what at first sight seemed as an inaccessible community of women by the pool, turned out to be a place where doors were being opened. Now, I am only a PhD student doing research in Brazil. I imagine that this seemingly drowsy community of upper-middle-class women could be way more important for people way more important than me, for example those who are dealing with the serious matters in politics and economics. I suspect that these communities of women, have more influence than what you may believe at first glance.

References:
Riegelhaupt, J. F. (1967), Saloio women: An analysis of informal and formal political and economic roles of Portuguese peasant women. Anthropological Quarterly

The hard-to-get logic of Brazilian bureaucracy

From October 2014 till April 2015, I am conducting field research in Brazil. In this period I will post reflections on Linkedin, aimed at a broader audience. However, these reflections will also be posted here, but with reference to academic litterature relevant for the post. As my training comes from social anthropology and social work, most references will naturally be based in these disciplines. Readers are more than welcome to add their references also from other disciplines in the commentaries below and by this help me to learn more about Brazil and human societies.

I will be fined by the police. Normally, getting a speeding ticket or parking ticket just leaves me with a blush of embarrassment on my own behalf. However, today I met the Brazilian federal police and I felt a blush of embarrassment on behalf of the public servant in front of me. He tried to convince me of the logic in having to fine the public when they do not have the resources or sufficient managing abilities to do their job. I did not quite get it.

As a foreigner coming to Brazil I have to register my presence at federal police within thirty days of my arrival. This is done first electronically and then you will have to meet at the police. But they don’t tell you that. Most foreigners are told just to appear at the closest federal police within thirty days.

For those of us who are lucky enough to speak Portuguese almost all you need to know is on the internet. Almost that is. It does not say that you will have to bring a copy of all used pages in your passport. But as the clerk behind the counter said without a moment of hesitation no irony or any signs of a camouflaged smile: “We don’t tell you all you need to know on the internet. You need to come here and get information also”.

Well, back on track. We, me and my family, did go to the Federal Police 25 days after our arrival in Brazil. One week to settle things properly was included as a margin, as my experience with bureaucracies all over the world tells me that it normally does not work out the first time. Being there, with the necessary registrations done in advance through the internet, I was informed that they would not attend my wife and kids as the reservation was done in my name with the 30 minutes reserved for me only. This could actually happen in Norway too, but I did wonder a little bit why they have a system where a family of five with four dependents (yes, my wife is formally dependent on me for these six months), will need 2 and a half hours to get their registration approved. Well, I did enter a non-diplomatic mode asking the clerk, whom I suspect really is a failed law student who never passed the bar exam and now is having his revenge on the rest of the world as a public clerk, if he could find a time for the rest of the family. He could not.

I would have to make reservation again through the internet, but most likely they did not have any possibilities before next week. I entered the site through the computer in the waiting room at the police and fund out that next available hour was ten days later. The clerk could also inform me that because the police had no available time before three days after the 30-day period expired, I would be fined for not having shown up before. I tried to ask him in different ways how it could be possible that even though all registration and payments were done in time, and we had appeared at the police station, they would fine me because they did had a problem of meeting me sooner. I was told that the problem was not really theirs, but the big number of foreigners. So there must be a fine.

My wife, who acts more mature than I do in such occasions, asked if there were any adults present. She did not use that word “adult”, but made it clear that she would like to talk with the boss of the police station. Without too much waiting, he appeared and could only say that this situation is really a problem that could only be solved by the central administration in Brasilia. That he actually himself was the very representative of Brasilia in the state of Espírito Santo never seemed to cross his thoughts. As we talked I also got the impression that he was the kind of boss that had limited insight in the practical details at the station. Inspired by my wife I told him in friendly terms that the praxis of fining people because the police think there are too many foreigners seemed a little odd. He agreed, but still told us that there has to be a fine to be paid. And that Brasilia is to blame.
I am not sure what I am learning from all this, but my thoughts after this experience go to all the Brazilians who have to live with the experience of never being able to know if the system is working for or against you. Where the concept of citizenship is as much negative as a positive experience, and where the possibilities of success in life depends on whom you know. For my own part I just found out that, technically, I am about to become a criminal by just trying to do things right.  

Relevant litterature:
DaMatta, R. (1987). The Quest for Citizenship in a Relational Universe. State and Society in Brazil. by Wirth, J. D., Nunes, E. O. & Bogenschild, T. A. E. (eds.). Westpoint   

Barbosa, L. (2005). Jeitinho Brasileiro -a arte de ser mais igual do que os outros. Elsevier.

Football does not influence politics

I will start by making make a pretty boring statement:  There is no evidence indicating that the semi-final exit of Brazil will influence the presidential elections in October. The day after the humiliating loss, the newspaper Folha de São Paulo reminded us of the fact that Brazil has kept it’s governments when they have lost, and got a new government the last time they won in 2002. In addition to this no research or survey has ever been able to indicate any decisive connection between soccer and politics. So why should it be different now?

First of all the world cup is being held in Brazil for the first time in 64 years. It is obvious that a victory would boost the self-esteem of the Brazilians like it would for any nation. The frames for the celebration would be perfect as Brazil holds the image of being the true home of soccer. It would be electric and the humiliation of 1950 when Brazil lost the finals against Uruguay would be made up for. But it did not happen.

Secondly, looking at the big protests in relation to the Confederation Cup in 2013 and the following unrest related to overspending, police violence and lack of investment in public welfare, it was speculated in whether a World Cup victory could calm tensions and be a benefit for the president. But we will never know, because Brazil did not win.

My point is that any speculation about whether this will influence the presidential election are based on guesses about what could happen if Brazil won the World Cup, something they did not. It is basically speculating about what could happen if something that did not happen did happen.  In addition to this it is based on assumptions about relationships between soccer and politics that has never been proved. If we study the development of Brazil, it is true that soccer is often one of the references for Brazilian identity. But few, if any, analyzes of Brazilian politics points to defeats and success in the soccer field as relevant for the development in politics.

The world cup in Brazil is however of paramount interest as a social event where conflicts and problems in Brazilian society are being accentuated and more visible than usual. Abuse of public funding is nothing new and unfilled promises from politicians is more the expectation than the exception. As such, it is more the values and conflicts being visible as the World Cup is held in Brazil that is interesting than the results on the soccer field. So, the result of the 7-1 defeat is probably not influencing the elections in October, as there will be no victory that maybe could work as anesthetics. But I doubt that even a victory could make Brazilians forget the problems and challenges in Brazil.

Transcribation- a useless scientific practice

Just a warning: this is about research in genereal and less about Brazil...



When I did my master´s thesis, I committed what could be the closest one can get to the conception of  ”sin” within the world of qualitative research: I did not transcribe my interviews. Now, several years later, I have fallen deeper into the pit: I see no scientific value in transcribing the interviews and see it more as a practice of honoring the professional etiquette, a reminiscence of the past and a rite de passage of an academic career.

Within the traditions of qualitative interviews there is an elusive notion that after having done an interview, you should sit down and transcribe it all, transfer the data to a sheet of paper, including remarks on how the interviewee is talking, pauses (in parentheses), interrupted sentences…like, cut of in the middle of…not completed, a kind of, orally, nothing like one normally would do in writing, you know? Faithfully copying everything that has been said. And only after having gone through this ”systematization” of your data, you can start analyzing. In perspectives of good scientific practice this is not only a waste of time, it is also a well-established practice of deteriorating the data collected.

I can understand that in the earlier days, when recording was more complicated than today, detailed transcribation was a method to have easier access to the data when doing the analyses. Forewarding and rewinding over, and over again was time consuming and it was difficult to detect patterns and structure the information. However, making a detailed copy of your data in written and analyzing these data instead of your original recordings? I don’t see the point. As a master’s student I had all my interviews on tape. I listened carefully through the tape, divided the interview into equal time intervals and made a resymé of the content (every time the counter on the side running from 000 to 999 turned another 50, I made a new passage in my notes). This gave me a pretty good overview of the content of my interviews, and a reference for going back to the important data afterwards. And then I listen to it directly, the original source so to say, instead of reading about it on a paper. In the process of dissemination, of course transcribation was done. But only the passages actually quoted in the final product.

Today the practice of transcribing all the interviews is even more dubious. Recording is done electronically and computer programs for analyzing them is accessible to everyone. Notes and quotes can be attached to the sounds, exact length and number of pauses can be quantified (if it is a point at all to do this), and all the traditional practices of transcribation can be done. And even more exiting, you can twist the voice and anonymize your data, detect speed of speech, change in tone and frequency and a lot of fancy things that was difficult with analog recordings. While doing this, you still interact all the time with the original data- the sounds from the interview, not a sheet of paper which is nothing but a bad copy.

So what is the point of transcribing all the interviews in length? Well there is an aspect of honoring those who suffered through hours of boring and tiresome work. In respect for those who have bled before, we should also do some bleeding. Because research shall be boring some times, trancribation is a fantastic way to make it boring. It makes you reflect on the hard life and sacrifices of the researcher. A kind of rites de passage.

My point is this: when students complain and ask you why they must transcribe the interview, give them a heck of a good answer.