Guidelines for the Brazilian ceramic sector strategic development, based on a comparison with the Italian market

Based on a structured literature review, the ceramic tiles sector of Italy (benchmark) and Brazil (2nd world producer and consumer) are compared, under four strategic factors: normative, market, technology and strategic management, in order to identify critical risks for a national strategic sector. The document aims to propose guidelines for a strategic re-planning of the Brazilian ceramic tiles sector, making the Brazilian producers aware of the national market fragility (in spite of its recent remarkable evolution) and helping the policy makers to reflect on the need of reviewing the strategic planning methods and practice, of designing new targeted programs (based on coherence between operation and business strategies), of providing improved management to strengthen the sector against unfair competition by low-cost producers, enhancing the necessary infrastructure in technology, work, marketing and quality management. The analysis is limited to the single-firing production technology. The wide-coverage strategic analysis of the Brazilian ceramic tiles sector, very little studied until now in a scientific way, emphasizes the importance of applying research methodology and may be valuable to both scholars and practitioners. Additionally, it highlights the need of investments in innovation (product design and production technology) and the fundamental role of the sector organization, identifying different dimensions. It is possible to conclude that the recent Brazilian production growth is not due to a natural strengthening because of the hit of the sector and of correct enterprises strategy, but it seems the result of a temporary and favorable economic contingency.

O processo histórico de disciplinarização da Metodologia do Ensino de Matemática

Desde as primeiras décadas do século XX, foi constatada nos currículos dos cursos de formação de professores a existência de uma disciplina cuja constituição, funcionamento e objetivos têm como pressuposto ensinar a ensinar a matemática. Historicamente, a disciplina Metodologia do Ensino de Matemática tem aparecido nos cursos de Licenciatura em Matemática com distintas denominações. Ao longo dessas mudanças, os pressupostos e as características dessa disciplina foram se modificando. Tomando como metodologia de pesquisa a análise documental e a história oral, e como referencial teórico os estudos de André Chervel (1990), este trabalho teve como objetivo compreender o processo histórico de disciplinarização da Metodologia do Ensino de Matemática em cursos de licenciatura em Matemática de instituições públicas de ensino superior do estado de São Paulo (USP, UNICAMP e UNESP-Rio Claro), buscando conhecer a gênese e o desenvolvimento histórico da disciplina, identificando conteúdos e métodos propostos bem como as mudanças pelas quais passou a disciplina.

Sudden Cardiac Death in Brazil: Study Based on Physicians' Perceptions of the Public Health Care System

Background: There are no available statistical data about sudden cardiac death in Brazil. Therefore, this study has been conducted to evaluate the incidence of sudden cardiac death in our population and its implications. Methods: The research methodology was based on Thurstone's Law of Comparative Judgment, whose premise is that the more an A stimulus differs from a B stimulus, the greater will be the number of people who will perceive this difference. This technique allows an estimation of actual occurrences from subjective perceptions, when compared to official statistics. Data were collected through telephone interviews conducted with Primary and Secondary Care physicians of the Public Health Service in the Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo (MASP). Results: In the period from October 19, 2009, to October 28, 2009, 196 interviews were conducted. The incidence of 21,270 cases of sudden cardiac death per year was estimated by linear regression analysis of the physicians responses and data from the Mortality Information System of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, with the following correlation and determination coefficients: r = 0.98 and r2= 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.81.0, P < 0.05). The lack of waiting list for specialized care and socioadministrative problems were considered the main barriers to tertiary care access. Conclusions: The incidence of sudden cardiac death in the MASP is high, and it was estimated as being higher than all other causes of deaths; the extrapolation technique based on the physicians perceptions was validated; and the most important bureaucratic barriers to patient referral to tertiary care have been identified. (PACE 2012; 35:13261331)

CARBON MARKET AND INSTITUTIONS: OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SEARCH OF A NEW MODEL FOR DEVELOPMENT

Seeking alternatives for the economic system to face the several crises it has gone through lately (electrical power, cultural, financing and technological) brought about a new market involving the Kyoto Protocol signatory countries: the carbon market. The present article aims at assessing the carbon market institutional issue in Brazil by identifying the risks and opportunities inherent to the institutional agent characteristics and to that market rules. The research methodology was bibliographic and based on the analysis of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios and Bolsa Mercantil de Valores) contents. Its theoretical basis rests on concepts of the institution and the new institutional economy. The results show that in spite of the risks and institutional problems it involves, the carbon market is promising due to the opportunities create by new technologies and energies developed to achieve and sustain the capitalist system new cycle, addressed to produce a clean development.

The 3C cooperation model applied to the classical requirement analysis

Aspects related to the users' cooperative work are not considered in the traditional approach of software engineering, since the user is viewed independently of his/her workplace environment or group, with the individual model generalized to the study of collective behavior of all users. This work proposes a process for software requirements to address issues involving cooperative work in information systems that provide distributed coordination in the users' actions and the communication among them occurs indirectly through the data entered while using the software. To achieve this goal, this research uses ergonomics, the 3C cooperation model, awareness and software engineering concepts. Action-research is used as a research methodology applied in three cycles during the development of a corporate workflow system in a technological research company. This article discusses the third cycle, which corresponds to the process that deals with the refinement of the cooperative work requirements with the software in actual use in the workplace, where the inclusion of a computer system changes the users' workplace, from the face to face interaction to the interaction mediated by the software. The results showed that the highest degree of users' awareness about their activities and other system users contribute to a decrease in their errors and in the inappropriate use of the system.

Qualidade do relato dos procedimentos metodológicos em periódicos nacionais na área de administração de empresas: o caso da modelagem em equações estruturais nos periódicos nacionais entre 2001 e 2010

Esta pesquisa teve o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade da descrição dos procedimentos metodológicos de artigos que utilizaram a modelagem em equações estruturais (MEE), incluindo a análise fatorial confirmatória e a path analysis, e que foram publicados na RAE, RAUSP, REAd, O&S, RAC e RAE-eletrônica entre 2001 e 2010. A partir da revisão da literatura metodológica, foi elaborado um check list para avaliar as treze etapas da MEE, sendo validado com 33 especialistas. Os principais resultados da análise de 68 artigos encontrados foram: a impossibilidade de replicar os estudos devido à falta de informações e o uso de estratégias exploratórias sem a posterior validação. Por outro lado, a justificativa do método utilizado e a explicação das implicações teóricas dos resultados são aspectos que têm sido atendidos plenamente. O check list foi um importante subproduto desta pesquisa, pois, a partir dele, são propostas novas linhas de investigação e até mesmo seu uso como ferramenta didática.