Contested dominance modifies the anovulatory consequences of social subordination in female marmosets

Dominance status among female marmosets is reflected in agonistic behavior and ovarian function. Socially dominant females receive submissive behavior from subordinates, while exhibiting normal ovulatory function. Subordinate females, however, receive agonistic behavior from dominants, while exhibiting reduced or absent ovulatory function. Such disparity in female fertility is not absolute, and groups with two breeding females have been described. The data reported here were obtained from 8 female-female pairs of captive female marmosets, each housed with a single unrelated male. Pairs were classified into two groups: “uncontested” dominance (UD) and “contested” dominance (CD), with 4 pairs each. Dominant females in UD pairs showed significantly higher frequencies (4.1) of agonism (piloerection, attack and chasing) than their subordinates (0.36), and agonistic behaviors were overall more frequently displayed by CD than by UD pairs. Subordinates in CD pairs exhibited more agonistic behavior (2.9) than subordinates in UD pairs (0.36), which displayed significantly more submissive (6.97) behaviors than their dominants (0.35). The data suggest that there is more than one kind of dominance relationship between female common marmosets. Assessment of progesterone levels showed that while subordinates in UD pairs appeared to be anovulatory, the degree of ovulatory disruption in subordinates of CD pairs was more varied and less complete. We suggest that such variation in female-female social dominance relationships and the associated variation in the degree and reliability of fertility suppression may explain variations of the reproductive condition of free-living groups of common marmosets

The Pair-Bond Formation and Its Role in the Stimulation of Reproductive Function in Female Common Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

SILVA, H.P.A.; SOUSA, M.B.C. The pair-bond formation and its role in the stimulation of reproductive function in female common marmosets (collithrix Jacchus). International Journal of Primatology, v, 18, n.3, p.387-400, 1997.

Autoeficácia, características sociodemográficas e capacitação profissional: um estudo com servidores de uma Universidade Federal

Self-efficacy, the construct developed by Albert Bandura in 1977 and widely studied around the world, means the individual's belief in his own capacity to successfully perform a certain activity. This study aims to determine the degree of association between sociodemographic characteristics and professional training to the levels of Self-Efficacy at Work (SEW) of the Administrative Assistants in a federal university. This is a descriptive research submitted to and approved by the Ethics Committee of UFRN. The method of data analysis, in quantitative nature, was accomplished with the aid of the statistical programs R and Minitab. The instrument used in research was a sociodemographic data questionnaire, variables of professional training and the General Perception of Self-efficacy Scale (GPSES), applied to the sample by 289 Assistants in Administration. Statistical techniques for data analysis were descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, reliability test (Cronbach's alpha), and test of significance (Pearson). Results show a sociodemographic profile of Assistants in Administration of UFRN with well-distributed characteristics, with 48.4% men and 51.6% female; 59.9% of them were aged over 40 years, married (49.3%), color or race white (58%) and Catholics (67.8%); families are composed of up to four people (75.8%) with children (59.4%) of all age groups; the occupation of the mothers of these professionals is mostly housewives (51.6%) with high school education up to parents (72%) and mothers (75.8%). Assistants in Administration have high levels of professional training, most of them composed two groups of servers: the former, recently hired public servants (30.7%) and another with long service (59%), the majority enter young in career and it stays until retirement, 72.4% of these professionals have training above the minimum requirement for the job. The analysis of SEW levels shows medium to high levels for 72% of assistants in administration; low SEWclassified people have shown a high average of 2.7, considered close to the overall mean presented in other studies, which is 2.9. The cluster analysis has allowed us to say that the characteristics of the three groups (Low, Medium and High SEW) are similar and can be found in the three levels of SEW representatives with all the characteristics investigated. The results indicate no association between the sociodemographic variables and professional training to the levels of self-efficacy at work of Assistants in Administration of UFRN, except for the variable color or race. However, due to the small number of people who declared themselves in color or black race (4% of the sample), this result can be interpreted as mere coincidence or the black people addressed in this study have provided a sense of efficacy higher than white and brown ones. The study has corroborated other studies and highlighted the subjectivity of the self-efficacy construct. They are needed more researches, especially with public servants for the continuity and expansion of studies on the subject, making it possible to compare and confirm the results

Histórias de vida de mulheres idosas :um estudo sobre o bem-estar subjetivo na velhice

The elderly population growth in Brazil and in the world is an incontestable reality, arising from a significant declining rate in mortality and fertility, resulting from the remarkable improvements in the quality of life of the people. Associated with the introduction of new technologies in the medical area, these issues have been highly contributing for the increase of the population longevity. The numbers of the elderly in Brazil and in the world show female population predominance within the aging segment, a phenomenon known as the feminisation of the old-age . Aging, therefore, is nowadays one of the primary issues and that has been mobilizing the Brazilian s society, since the development raised from this new reality brought with it enormous challenges and complex social implications which are already felt in the daily lives of the societies. My work experience among some age groups has shown that aging is a much differentiated process which has instigated my interest in understanding why aging has to face an overwhelming and painful experience for some people and enriched and full of signification for others. Overviewing, this research aimed to understand the aging development through the analysis of the processes of signification and production of meaning that permeate the aging and the subjective well-being of three aged women participants of the Project Health and Citizenship on Third Age /CEFET-RN, that evidenced attitudes and behaviors concerning the integration and the activity toward the elderly population. The methodological strategy used was History of Life, starting from collecting data based on deep interviews. The analysis of data evidenced that the elderly well-being is a unique and distinct meaningful experience for each person, concerning each story of their lives within differentiated social, cultural, economic context, from this perspective one can demystify the concept of that aging occurs in a homogeneous way for everyone, everywhere and with the same rhythm. The narratives presented in this research showed the human development as being a dialectic, discursive and interactionist process which extends throughout the adult life and continues to the aging life. The guarantee that development and aging are a parallel phenomenon always in interdependence on the preceding phases of live, are corroborated within the studies. This present study confirms that the elderly population can be a phase of growth, personal realization and continued development, without disrespecting the heterogeneous and the subjectivity of the person who ages. Notifying those healthy and well-succeeded aging experiences, this issue has the intention to contribute to demystify the concept of aging as a social problem, illness needed to be treated, and the stereotypy of the elderly being dependent and unproductive