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The intangible assets of a company have been presented by national and international surveys as a resource to influence the creation of value and the increase in organizational performance. In view of this, this study aims to analyze the relationship between intangibility and the performance of companies in Latin America.

For this purpose, multiple regression with panel data was used and three perspectives for measuring intangible resources were defined: representativeness of the intangible asset, accounting measure for measuring the intangible, degree of intangibility and Tobin’ Q, the latter two representing economic and financial measures to determine intangibility. The study covered the period from 2011 to 2017 with a sample of 1,236 publicly traded companies located in some Latin American countries, namely, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The results demonstrated the existence of a significant and positive relationship between the variables of intangibility, degree of intangibility and Tobin’s Q, and the performance variables, return on assets, operating margin and asset turnover, reinforcing the study hypothesis that the greater the investment in intangible resource, the greater the company’s performance.

The limitations of this study involve the lack of complete information about intangible resources in the financial statements of some companies and some countries, making it hard to analyze the proposed relationship more broadly and accurately. Another limitation involves the causal relationship that may have existed between the regressors of the models defined in the study and their error, thus generating an endogeneity problem in the proposed models. It is recommended for future research to use specific methods to mitigate possible problems of endogeneity in regressions.

Mainly the possibility of deepening the relationship between intangibility and business performance, thus obtaining new knowledge through the reflexes of this relationship on companies in Latin American countries, finding more consistent results.

The study contributes to the decision-making process in the business world by informing the primary users of accounting information such as investors, administrators, accountants, regulators and creditors.

This research contributes by addressing a theme whose studies present many gaps, making it possible to deepen the relationship between intangibility and business performance and gain new knowledge through the reflexes of this relationship on companies in Latin American countries.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

Chronic ethanol consumption induces lipid peroxidation by increasing free radicals or reducing antioxidants and may increase damage to hepatic DNA. Tannins are polyphenolic metabolites present in various plants and one of their effects is antioxidant activity that reduces lipoperoxidation, as is the case for vitamin E. This paper aims to assess the role of tannic acid and vitamin E in lipid peroxidation and in DNA damage in rats receiving ethanol.

A total of 60 Wistar rats were divided into six groups: control+ethanol (0‐24hs), tannic acid+ethanol (0‐24 hs), and vitamin E+ethanol (0‐24 hs). The animals were sacrificed immediately (0 hour) or 24 hours after a period of four weeks of ethanol administration and the following measurements were made: plasma vitamin E and liver glutathione, thiobarbituric acid resistant substances, and α‐tocopherol. The comet test was also applied to hepatocytes.

Ethanol administration led to an increase in DNA damage (148.67±15.45 versus 172.63±18.94) during a period of 24 hours which was not detected in the groups receiving tannic acid or vitamin E. Steatosis was lower in the groups receiving tannic acid.

The paper highlights that antioxidant role of vitamin E and of tannic acid in biological systems submitted to oxidative stress should be reevaluated, especially regarding the protective role of tannic acid against hepatic steatosis.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and social distancing, the Virtual Mobility Program (Promover) implemented in 2021 in Brazil aimed to allow students enrolled in Brazilian federal universities to take curricular components at other institutions of the system remotely. The main objective of this research was to identify the most important factors, in students' perception, that affected their satisfaction with virtual mobility (VM) and the factors that drive the intention to continue mobility.

Data collection was performed through 433 questionnaires answered online. R software was used for descriptive analysis and SmartPLS to examine the relationship between independent and dependent variables through Structural Equation Modeling.

A positive relationship was verified between the constructs, and the hypothesized relations were confirmed at statistically significant level, revealing the students' satisfaction with VM and their intention to continue exploring this online learning option through Promover. The results showed that the motivations for VM are linked to the pursuit of knowledge and more opportunities for training and work. Plus, the use of VM proved to be a motivator for student engagement and e-learning effectiveness.

The findings can be useful as they highlight the opportunity to expand VM programs for students, even after the return to on-campus academic activities.

This study aims to estimate the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and evaluate the accuracy of an antibody rapid test compared to a reference serological assay during a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison complex housing over 13,000 prisoners in Brasília.

The authors obtained a randomized, stratified representative sample of each prison unit and conducted a repeated serosurvey among prisoners between June and July 2020, using a lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA). Samples were also retested using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLIA) to compare SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and 21-days incidence, as well as to estimate the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the LFIA test.

This study identified 485 eligible individuals and enrolled 460 participants. Baseline and 21-days follow-up seroprevalence were estimated at 52.0% (95% CI 44.9–59.0) and 56.7% (95% CI 48.2–65.3) with LFIA; and 80.7% (95% CI 74.1–87.3) and 81.1% (95% CI 74.4–87.8) with CLIA, with an overall IFR of 0.02%. There were 78.2% (95% CI 66.7–89.7) symptomatic individuals among the positive cases. Sensitivity and specificity of LFIA were estimated at 43.4% and 83.3% for IgM; 46.5% and 91.5% for IgG; and 59.1% and 77.3% for combined tests.

The authors found high seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within the prison complex. The occurrence of asymptomatic infection highlights the importance of periodic mass testing in addition to case-finding of symptomatic individuals; however, the field performance of LFIA tests should be validated. This study recommends that vaccination strategies consider the inclusion of prisoners and prison staff in priority groups.