O voto e seus enigmas: A dimensão subjetiva das escolhas eleitorais

Ce travail analyse la portée subjective des Choix Électoraux à travers la notion psychanalytique du désarroi humain. Nous avons développé cette recherche ayant pour référence la pensée de Freud et de Lacan et suivant les jalons posés par les penseurs des sciences sociales nous nous sommes rapprochées de la réalité sociale pour y « atteindre sur son horizon la subjectivité de notre époque ». La condition de désarroi fait partie de la structuration du sujet, du fait qu il dépend entièrement de l Autre pour se construire. Cependant l être humain se crée des mécanismes pour se protéger du désarroi absolu, il trouve des arts de vivre qui lui rendent plus facile sa condition d être. Les idéaux, les pactes sociaux ce sont des modalités de sécurité sans lesquelles le sujet fixe ses particularités sans s engager dans le processus civilisatoire. Nous caractérisons la société contemporaine par la chute successive d une série d idéaux qui fait monter de plus en plus le désarroi. Dans l absence d idéaux sociaux et politiques sur lesquels l électeur puisse se repérer, nous remaquons une tendance vers l individualisme et vers l absence d investissements dans des projets colectifs. Cette façon d opérer se dévoile aussi au moment de choisir un candidat, ce qui se base sur la logique du particulier motivée par des perspectives individuelles, sans liens avec la promotion de la vie publique. Notre enquête a été réalisée à Natal durant la campagne électorale de 2002. Notre objectif est de comprendre surtout la logique des choix électoraux de la population de la périphérie, celle qui se trouve devant un double désarroi : celle de sa condition humaine et celle qu advient de la précaire condition de subsistance. Nous soutenons que l idée selon laquelle le candidat, par la position qu il occupe dans la société, détient la fonction d offrir quelques garanties à l électeur et de cette manière il entre dans la série de ce qui peut soulager et promouvoir un certain réconfort aux personnes, même si l on considère le fait que l électeur ne croit plus à ses représentants. Nous sommes partis des questions suivantes: comment identifier la dimension subjective des choix électoraux et de quelle manière celle-ci se manifeste-t-elle de nos jours ? Comment se passe le choix éléctoral de la population qui est à la marge du système? La thèse que nous soutenons est que l état de désarroi est un substrat subjectif qui est la base de tout choix éléctoral mais qui se configure de façon différenciée à partir des références de l électeur, de son contexte historique, des facteurs économiques, etc. Le sujet, face à son désarroi, construit des chemins pour pouvoir soutenir son existence ce que nous appellons ici un Projet Directionnel. Ce facteur directionnel est l un des éléments de motivation des électeurs dans leurs choix électoraux

Relações de poder, fragmentação e gestão do território no semi-árido nordestinho: um outro olhar sobre o Cariri paraibano

This study aims to analize the Cariri Paraibano territory, as a product of relations of power that were being established along its historic process of territory formation. In this process, the fragmentation and the territory management are fundamental elements to socioterritorial reality comprehension. The theoretical-conceptual basis is based on notions of territory, region, power and territory management, which are articulated to the opinions and empiric confirmations origined from interviews made with several social actions. They also were made photographical records and researches on books, newspapers and magazines, as well on other information sources related to the object of studying. Obtained data confirm the pressuposement on which the relations of dominations and the used methods by the power s owners in the region created a little fruitful political practice and little adequate to the process of active participation of the local population on the territory management, even being on disagreement with the new political-institutional mechanisms, which take to political-administrative more democratic and participative in the country

Contribuição ao estudo da isonomia na tributação sob a perspectiva da ordem econômica

The study aims to investigate the limits of state intervention via induction on Economic Order, especially in cases regarding tax equality, through the analysis of their effects on economic development and on free competition from the perspective of economic efficiency and the Constitution. Thus, the work seeks to demonstrate that the achievement of equality in taxation is important in that it strengthens the economic relations in terms of efficiency, protects competition and fosters economic development to reduce regional and social inequalities and other constitutional desiderata. A dissertation is characterized by interdisciplinarity and was divided into two parts. The first is to discuss the legal meaning of equality from the doctrinal analysis of the principle and the relationship between equality and justice in the economic sense without rejecting its philosophical content. It is noteworthy that hermeneutics and the philosophy of language are useful tools for achieving equality in presenting the pragmatic methodologies applicable to the subject in terms of corrective justice. Based on these general assumptions, is going to study the tax equality and their characteristics, the corollary of the ability to pay and its relation to the economic capacity and the issue of progressivity in taxation as an ideal of distributive justice. The second part concerns the legal foundations of Economic Order and its relation to extrafiscality as a means of economic regulation in order to investigate the efficiency of this induction in order to promote economic development, free competition and tax equality itself to reduce inequalities and distributing wealth. Within this context, we investigated the scope of the constitutional principles of economic order, free enterprise and free competition, and favored differential treatment for small and medium enterprises, the issue of regional development for the reduction of regional and social inequalities, the problem the "fiscal war" and finally the efficiency from the perspective of Economic Analysis of Law

O cuidar de enfermagem e da família à pessoa idosa no domicílio: uma abordagem etnográfica

O envelhecimento é um processo multidimensional que envolve entre outros os aspectos físico-biológicos, sociais, econômicos e psicológicos. Ao avaliar essa fase da vida dentro de uma visão social e cultural, percebe-se que ser idoso ou não varia com as concepções culturais, sendo necessário investigar as variações que atuam no processo e rege o fenômeno sociocultural da realidade em que se está inserido. Com o aumento da população idosa mundial, esse processo tende a se intensificar. Estima-se que até em 2050 existam cerca de dois bilhões de pessoas com mais de 60 anos no mundo, e a maioria delas vivendo em países em desenvolvimento. No Brasil, acredita-se que existam, atualmente, cerca de 20 milhões de idosos. A normatização e legislação brasileira de amparo ao idoso em relação à saúde iniciaram-se a partir da Constituição Federal de 1988 e da Lei 8080 que regulamenta o Sistema Único de Saúde em 1990, em seus níveis de complexidade: atenção básica, média e alta complexidade. Para auxiliar nessa prestação dos serviços na atenção básica de saúde é importante observar as condições sociais, culturais, econômicas e de saúde dos idosos e seus familiares. Nesse sentido, a visita ao domicílio e a avaliação deste idoso em seu ambiente doméstico torna-se fundamental para acompanhar o cuidar prestado e o quanto esse processo irá interferir no sistema de saúde, na família e na qualidade de vida dos idosos. Neste contexto, o enfermeiro como integrante da Equipe de Saúde da Família, presta assistência à saúde do idoso no domicílio. Nesse sentido, o objetivo do estudo é analisar o cuidado de enfermagem e da família à pessoa idosa no domicílio com vistas à identificação das influências socioculturais. Trata-se de um estudo do tipo descritivo e de abordagem qualitativa, norteados por princípios teórico-metodológicos da etnografia com vistas ao estudo da influência dos aspectos culturais e sociais na assistência da família e do enfermeiro à idosos em domicílio. Foi realizado no município de Santana do Matos, RN, tendo como participantes, idosos, familiares e enfermeiros da equipe da ESF, definidos a partir da população do município e obtendo-se uma amostra intencional de 25 participantes: 6 enfermeiras, 10 idosos e 9 grupos familiares. Para a coleta de informações, utilizou-se observação, entrevista, diário de campo e grupo focal. Os resultados foram apresentados em forma de narrativa descritiva, na perspectiva dos conceitos de Boris Cyrulnik, com análise interpretativa cultural de Geertz, na busca dos significados e símbolos próprios da cultura da velhice de idosos e dos seus familiares, sobre cuidados que são realizados, tanto pela família, como pelos enfermeiros em domicílio. Observou-se que a família e o cuidador, dentro de sua realidade social e cultural, precisam ser mais compreendidos pela equipe de saúde para ser melhor orientados e capacitados na realização do cuidar de forma adequada. Por sua vez, os profissionais de saúde, em especial o enfermeiro, enfrentam dificuldades para realizar o cuidado ao idoso no domicílio como a grande demanda de atribuições na unidade de saúde como consultas e atendimentos; falta de transporte até os domicílios; extensão territorial do município e das áreas assistidas; número de pessoas atendidas por cada equipe; falta de compreensão dos profissionais de saúde quanto à importância da visita domiciliária na atenção básica. Entendem a necessidade de realizar ações de promoção em saúde, prevenção de agravos e de educação em saúde, além de reconhecerem a importância de uma melhor formação acadêmica para atuar nessa perspectiva e contribuírem para as mudanças necessárias na prática dos cuidados ao idoso em domicílio

Governos locais e políticas de promoção econômica: uma análise da promoção econômica nos municípios brasileiros com população acima de 50 mil habitantes

This work aims to analyze the policy of economic promotion in the Brazilian cities of medium and great size (with population above of 50.000 hab.). The objective of the research is to launch light in the debate on the regional and municipal development, presenting the recent hypotheses supplied by literature. Of complementary form, had for specific objective presents the results of the Research of Basic Information of Cities - PIM, of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in two surveys carried through together to the Brazilian local governments (1999 and 2009). It analyzes the instruments of economic promotion used by local governments and the influence of the development variables, as the Local Human Index of Development (HID-L) and the Local Gross Domestic Product (GDP-L). The research sample that factors as HID-L and GDP-L has significant influence in economic promotion of cities and must be taken in account in the definition of the local strategies of development

Análise da rede política do turismo brasileiro.

The dissertation examines the influence of relationships among actors from Brazilian Tourism Political Network who compose the National Council of Tourism in the drafting of the National Tourism Plans (PNT) - PNTs 2003/2007 and 2007/2010, focusing on two main types of interaction: cooperation and information exchange. Therefore, the study departed from the understanding that the concept of tourism as a human phenomenon is configured as an essential conceptual basis for the development, implementation and analysis of public policies. The application of Network Theory and Social Network Analysis serves as an analytical tool, in addition, the use of concepts of Policy Networks enabled to interpret, in distinct aspects, the social reality of tourism in a more precise and detailed way. The study had a cross-sectional with a longitudinal perspective and case study was adopted, thus enabling to apply the model of social network analysis and qualitative approach. Through the survey conducted, it was found that the drafting process of National Tourism Plans was the result of the interaction of a complex network of actors from public and private initiatives, who compose the National Council of Tourism, and that their power of influence came out simultaneously, but not symmetrically, for both their performance/intervention in the meetings, and the possession of economic and organizational resources. Hence, the establishment of partnerships and information exchanges among the actors were underlying to the PNT drafting process, both in problems perception and insertion in the government agenda, as in making proposals to solve them, thus guiding the construction of large programs and programs contained in both investigated plans.

Urbanização turística em ponta negra: relações de força e processos sociais no período de 1979-2009

This master thesis aimed to investigate how the power relations operating in the tourism social processes, have shaped the urbanization of Ponta Negra district, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte - RN. The study assumes that the production of space is the result of global phenomena individualized by local forces a process of glocalization. The method used was the case study. It used primary and secondary data and information were treated using the technique of content analysis. The urbanization of Ponta Negra is inserted in the context of global process triggered in the 1970s. The Park of Dunas and Costeira Highway (PD/VC) urbanization project marks the beginning of the Tourisms since 1979. The period in focus was 1979 to 2009. The tourism was dived into four major sections time: tourism in Natal before the Coastal Highway (1939-1979); Project Parque das Dunas / Coastal Highway to the first boom in domestic tourism (1979 - 1990); the internationalization of tourism (1991-2000) and, of first "boom" to "decline" of international tourism (2001-2009). Based on the historical evolution of the tourism were elected three different social processes, able to demonstrate how relations of social forces brought in space act on them and help shape the process of urbanization of the neighborhood in question: The removal of beach hut , the soccer field Botafogo Football Club and the skyscrapers . Finally, it should summarize the research identified interests and conflicts among the actors that form the thrust of spatial transformations: cultural conflicts resulting from the imposition of social practices that differ from the taste of native; clashes between different groups that reflect the duality between use value and exchange value; and interests in land values. In addition, demonstrated that the social relations that involve the production of the area are stimulated by deep-seated societal processes historically and camouflaged by market relations and a modern facade that the city has acquired in recent times; revealed that the actors are linked in networks to increase their influence and that this influence varies mainly according to economic and political power that they or their associates hold

Análise da relação causal entre imagem de destinos, qualidade, satisfação e fidelidade: um estudo de acordo com a percepção do turista nacional no destino turístico Natal

This dissertation aims to analyze the causal relationship between the quality of tourist services, satisfaction with the attributes and globally, fidelity and image of tourist destinations. Therefore, it was conducted an exploratory, descriptive research with quantitative analytical approach. Data collection was performed by a questionnaire addressed to tourists at the Augusto Severo International Airport and Bus station of Natal, the main points of entry and exit of tourists. The composition was simple random sampling by reaching the final number of 400 tourists interviewed. Among the main results, is an assessment of the quality of the components of the destination. It was noted that nine are the dimensions of perceived quality of tourism products and services of ―Sun and Sand‖ segment, that is, Beaches and Facilities, Public Equipment, Catering Services, Transportation, Hotel Equipment, Hotel Services, Entertainment & Attractions, Access to the Hotel and Hospitality. Moreover, it was concluded that the Preview Tourism Destination Image has little direct influence in the Consumer Satisfaction, and only indirectly in the Post-Purchase Behavior. While the Complex Tourism Destination Image exerts strong and direct influence on both factors, in the Customer Satisfaction Process and Loyalty, the dimensions of quality also claimed to be strongly influences both factors

Turismo em jogo: a dinâmica da reterritorialização em Tibau do Sul/RN

The work seeks to understand the process of reterritorialization triggered by tourism development in Tibau do Sul / RN, noting its economic, socio-cultural and political implications to the local society. Tourist activity was addressed as socio-cultural phenomenon, considering the case of (dis) (re) territorialization and power relations between staff producers of the tourism space. Given the complexity of this issue and the need for further studies that focus on the reterritorialization cases generated by tourism in the northeastern coast, given the action of the agents involved in the construction of the spaces generated by tourism, this work is then justified. For such a study an exploratory and qualitative study was conducted, through a survey of secondary and primary data, and interviews with leaders of public, private nonprofit community in the investigated county. In this sense, it was found that the process of (dis) (re) territorialization in the city investigated, permeates the contradictions resulting from the conflicts existing power while providing the location and implications for economic and sociocultural dimensions, its heart is found in the political, the relationship between entrepreneurship - established mainly by outsiders who own businesses in Pipa - and local government - composed entirely by insiders who work in the municipal headquarters, that until then, hold the political and the economic power. Thus, to understand the regionalization of tourism it is necessary to analyze its economic, socio-cultural and political dimensions, referring to the complexity of relationships between producing space agents. It is believed that the reterritorialization can be capable of producing territorialities contextualized to the culture, history, economy and local politics, understanding that the active participation of the natives will contribute to a less perverse, since this has been one of the faces experienced by local people

Políticas públicas e as transformações socioespaciais correlacionadas ao turismo no município de Caicó: uma análise do período 2000 a 2010

The study presents an approach on planning, sociospatial transformations and public touristic policies implemented between 2000 and 2010 in Caicó, encompassing people from the government, private sector and the population of the municipality and informal traders who use the leisure facilities and services arranged in place. As the main goal, the research intends to analyze the performance of public and private sectors correlated to the touristic activity in Caicó city and their reflections in the process changes sociospatial. The dissertation is structured in order to carry out an investigation into the role of public policies to the development of a location with touristic potential, in this case, the municipality of Caicó; to investigate public policies implemented in the touristic industry of Rio Grande do Norte, particularly the actions of PRODETUR-Nordeste focused on the development of the tourism in the countryside, affecting particularly the region of Seridó region and the municipality of Caicó, and, finally, to check the main changes sociospatial verified in Caicó between 2000 and 2010. Cultural issues and certain natural beauties can be seen as attractions that can attract tourist demand, taking into consideration the awakening increasingly more evident quest by the tourist for knowledge of the peculiarities of the region. Several authors have worked in this view, pointing to the cultural aspects of the region as elements that are able to boost the touristic activity. The questions raised in this study was based on a literature, based mainly on authors like Beni, Dias, Cruz, Azevedo and Morais. To obtain the necessary data in the analysis, the methodological procedures used in intensive direct observation, using interviews, applied together with the public representatives who are acting as leaders of the political actions related to tourism in the municipality and members of the private sector related to tourism services such as lodging establishments, food and travel agency and, finally, the local people and informal traders benefited directly or indirectly, with the touristic resources and structure. These research agents were investigated by means of structured forms such as support for analysis. Was detected in the survey that the leisure facilities and services installed in the last decade in the city of Caico has a priority the population of the municipality, is necessary to emphasize that the residents interviewed perceive the importance of these tools for tourist activity. It was also found that the public sector is the main responsible for the observed changes. Therefore, proved to be relevant to study the role public private sector partnerships and population influences, considering that this analysis may contribute to the work of researchers, public administrators and businessmen, may serve as a norteador for planning and development of tourism in the city of Caico

O ecoturismo sob a égide da sociedade do consumo: um estudo das Unidades de Conservação de uso sustentável do RN

Ecotourism, in face to environmental demands and discussions, has achieved prominence in the tourism market and wide global development, occasioning a concern about the need for a scientific deepening through a critical approach of the dynamics of consumption and conservation that permeate this practice. This study addresses the ecotourism under aegis of consumer society, in which is perceived that it constitutes a contester practice of society in which it is embedded, nevertheless has been subjected to the logic of capital through commodification of nature. In order to comprehend the reality presented, this study had as geographical cutting two Conservation Units of Sustainable Use in Rio Grande do Norte state: the Jenipabu Environmental Protection Area (APAJ) and Ponta do Tubarão State Sustainable Development Reserve (RDSEPT). The research sought to investigate the relationship between conservation and consumption and their influences on ecotourism held in the Conservation Units (UCs) of sustainable use selected for this study. To this aim it was made a critical reflection about the relationship conservation versus consumption constant in the practice of ecotourism in UCs in the context of current society, analyzing the historical process of formation of UCs of sustainable use in RN state under the light of the contradictory pair conservation-consumption, as well as looking to apprehend the perception of ecotourism of the actors involved with this practice. It was adopted a qualitative approach under a critical perspective based on bibliographical and documentary research and realization of semi-structured interviews with three groups of actors, namely managers/technician, community and ectourists involved with ecotourism in the selected UCs. The analysis was made using two basic units of analysis (consumption and maintenance) and twelve categories. For definition of units of analysis and categories were taken as reference the authors Santos (1987; 1988; 1994; 2001; 2006), Guerreiro Ramos (1989) and A. B. Rodrigues (1996; 2003), which perform critical to society of consumption and describe the key characteristics of the technical-scientific-informational predominant means, and Diegues (1998; 2000), A. B. Rodrigues (2001), Pires (2002) and Neiman and Rabinovici (2010), which discusse historic and scientifically about the emphasis on conservation present in origins and discourse of ecotourism, describing also its founding characteristics. The main results show that the marketing use of the prefix eco has acted as a new dress for what in reality is in fact ancient, ie, the conservation is used as a justification for another new type of consumption. The results also show that despite the coexistence of commercial and symbolic intentions in both UCs, one can observe the predominance consumer society characteristics in the process of creation and the production activities of APAJ, while in RDSEPT we note the predominance of the conservationist characteristics proclaimed by ecotourism. It can be inferred therefore that tourism held in the APAJ can not be called ecotourism, while the practice found in RDSEPT show an alignment with the guidelines of ecotourism

Avaliação da informação de websites turísticos das cidades-sede da copa 2014

This study aims to analyze tourist information provided by the official websites of the 2014 FIFA World Cup host cities. The framework developed by Díaz (2005) was applied to analyze different aspects, such as: local tourist information, tourist services distribution, communication and interaction between website and users, and website foreign language versions. This dissertation describes how society and tourism are related by analyzing the consequences of technological evolution in the travel and tourism sector, showing the importance of the use of information and communication technology to provide accurate, upto- date and low-cost information to tourist destinations. Because of the nature of the study, the research subjects are the 12 Brazilian host cities represented by their respective official webpages (cities, states and convention bureaus), and also Brazil s official website, totalizing 36 elements to be analyzed. The methodology has been characterized as descriptive and exploratory with quantitative analysis, and also using desk research and survey literature review. In order to analyze the data collected, parametric and nonparametric statistics tests were used, such as: variance analysis (ANOVA and KRUSKAL-WALLIS) to measure means variance between groups combined with multiple comparison tests (Tukey and Games Howell); nonparametric correlations tests (Kendall s Tau b); and cluster analyses. Finally, Microsoft Excel was used to collect data and SPSS for managing data through quantitative analyses tests. Overall, the websites of the south region showed better results than the other Brazilian regions. Despite this result, the data analysis demonstrated that the available tourist information are incomplete as it was verified that tourist host cities websites are unable to provide all the information needed for the web visitors to organize and plan their journey. This means that visitors have to look for more information in other sources

Contribuição da teoria do caos para a gestão do turismo: uma análise a partir da percepção dos gestores da hotelaria de Natal/RN

O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar como os gestores da hotelaria percebem a relação da teoria do caos e turismo, descrever como é pensada e concebida a gestão do turismo; mostrar as características caopléxicas do turismo e sua gestão e identificar os elementos do padrão estratégico de gestão e planejamento na visão dos gestores dos Meios de Hospedagem. Os dados foram obtidos através da observação direta intensiva e aplicação de entrevistas aplicadas junto aos hoteleiros da cidade de Natal/RN. Constata que as teorias da mudança e do caos proporcionam visão do conjunto de relações, aspectos e implicações do turismo, com base nas incertezas e instabilidades ambientais e de mercado. Mostra que a maioria dos modelos de análise, planejamento e gestão do turismo ainda é limitada, em razão do seu caráter linear e unidimensional. Destaca que o objetivo da teoria do caos é fornecer explicações dos fenômenos, não é fazer previsões, pois é impossível prever o futuro a longo prazo. Trata das estratégias de gestão como geradoras de novas fontes de incerteza, pois a realidade não pode ser completamente representada por modelos. Ter consciência desses fatos significa, entretanto, considerar o campo de múltiplas possibilidades e oportunidades da mudança e do caos na gestão do desenvolvimento do turismo. Essas idéias foram aplicadas à análise da gestão do turismo na localidade investigada. Os questionamentos levantados no estudo pautaram-se em pesquisa bibliográfica, fundamentada, principalmente, em autores como Beni, Prahalad, Mintzberg, Ritto, Senge e Hamel. Conclui-se que na era do conhecimento, as organizações que continuam presas ao paradigma mecanicista têm dificuldade de acompanhar as mudanças do mercado e sendo a hotelaria uma indústria de serviços que tem características organizacionais complexas e adaptativas, é imprescindível que os empreendimentos hoteleiros funcionem como sistemas interativos, que acompanhem as mudanças de um mercado tão turbulento e instável tendo na teoria do caos e da complexidade uma das possibilidades de compreender a realidade fora do modelo mecanicista.

PERFIS ESTRATÉGICOS E PERCEPÇÃO DA QUALIDADE: um estudo nos restaurantes da rota turística de Natal-RN

This work is a study of strategic management of catering establishments in the tourist route from Natal, through the study of the strategic profile of the manager and the level of satisfaction with the quality of services offered. Identifies the strategic profile prevalent in the studied sector, measures the level of customer satisfaction with services and associate the two constructs to distinguish the services of strategic profile. Uses population of 33 restaurants, built for convenience, from a list composed establishments associated with the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants - ABRASEL, Veja magazine Christmas food and drink 2011/2012 and information from the natives. It presents statistical methodology used for descriptive bivariate analysis complemented by quantitative data. The quantitative characteristics of the population shows non-normality checked by the Shapiro-Wilks. Used the Kruskal-Wallis test for the realization of the association of variables and the Mann-Whitney test to perform post-test. It shows the strategic profile prevalent in the sector of restoration in Natal is the analyzer, although other types were detected. Notes that the level of satisfaction with the quality of service is getting a high score approximately 5 points in a 6-point Likert scale. Demonstrates that the client can tell the quality of services between the different strategic profiles. Identifies distinction between services provided by prospector profile compared to other profiles, indicating the size as the tangible aspects that presents noticeable difference. Certifies that these variables affect the environment of the restaurant in the building of strategic profile and reflect on the service provided. Concludes that the quality of services provided by catering establishments is influenced by the type of establishment and strategic profile of the study of this relation to establishments offering development opportunities and improving the quality of their services

GESTÃO AMBIENTAL E COMPETITIVIDADE EM DESTINOS TURÍSTICOS: percepção dos gestores de pequenos meios de hospedagem de Natal/RN sobre o uso de práticas ambientais como fator de competitividade

The present work aimed at investigating the small hotel managers perceptions from Natal/RN concerning the environmental practice uses as a competitive factor. This study is characterized as a descriptive exploratory research that used an aleatory probabilistic sample followed by the application of collect data instrument (questionnaire). The small hotels located in Natal/RN were the study participants and the specific location where 35 questionnaires were answered. Based on the data and on the mangers point of view, it is possible to comprehend that, among the presented indicators, the development of environmental programs in the hotel enterprise is showed as the least important for the client s choice. As the main conclusion it is relevant to argue that, according to the small hotel managers, the guests do not still search for hotels that implement environmental practices. On the other side, the interviewed managers believe that the use of these practices can generate a great competitive advantage in relation to their competitors. The information obtained by this present research will be able to contribute to establish a contemporary panorama in relation to the importance attributed by the managers concerning the use of environmental practices in small hotel enterprises in Natal/RN. In addition the correct use of this information can generate possibilities of major competitiveness in this segment