A confiança interorganizacional nas compras

This research is part of the field of organizational studies, focusing on organizational purchase behavior and, specifically, trust interorganizational at the purchases. This topic is current and relevant by addressing the development of good relations between buyer-supplier that increases the exchange of information, increases the length of relationship, reduces the hierarchical controls and improves performance. Furthermore, although there is a vast literature on trust, the scientific work that deal specifically at the trust interorganizational still need further research to synthesize and validate the variables that generate this phenomenon. In this sense, this investigation is to explain the antecedents of trust interorganizational by the relationship between the variable operational performance, organizational characteristics, shared values and interpersonal relationships on purchases by manufacturing industries, in order to develop a robust literature, most consensual, that includes the current sociological and economic, considering the effect of interpersonal relationships in this phenomenon. This proposal is configured in a new vision of the antecedents of interorganizational trust, described as significant quantitative from models Morgan and Hunt (1994), Doney and Cannon (1997), Zhao and Cavusgil (2006) and Nyaga, Whipple, Lynch (2011), as well as qualitative analysis of Tacconi et al. (2011). With regard to methodological aspects, the study assumes the form of a descriptive, survey type, and causal trace theoretical and empirical. As for his nature, the investigation, explicative character, has developed a quantitative approach with the use of exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling SEM, with the use of IBM software SPSS Amos 18.0, using the method of maximum verisimilitude, and supported by technical bootstraping. The unit of analysis was the buyer-supplier relationship, in which the object under investigation was the supplier organization in view of the purchasing company. 237 valid questionnaires were collected among key informants, using a simple random sampling developed in manufacturing industries (SIC 10-33), located in the city of Natal and in the region of Natal. The first results of descriptive analysis demonstrate the phenomenon of interorganizational trust, in which purchasing firms believe, feel secure about the supplier. This demonstration showed high levels of intensity, predominantly among the vendors that supply the company with materials that are used directly in the production process. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, performed on each variable alone, generated a set of observable and unobservable variables more consistent, giving rise to a model, that needed to be further specified. This again specify model consists of trajectories was positive, with a good fit, with a composite reliability and variance extracted satisfactory, and demonstrates convergent and discriminant validity, in which the factor loadings are significant and strong explanatory power. Given the findings that reinforce the model again specify data, suggesting a high probability that this model may be more suited for the study population, the results support the explanation that interorganizational trust depends on purchases directly from interpersonal relationships, sharing value and operating performance and indirectly of personal relationships, social networks, organizational characteristics, physical and relational aspect of performance. It is concluded that this trust can be explained by a set of interactions between these three determinants, where the focus is on interpersonal relationships, with the largest path coefficient for the factor under study

O argumento de inclusão enquanto política de acesso à universidade pública

There are a great number of evidences showing that education is extremely important in many economic and social dimensions. In Brazil, education is a right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution; however, in the Brazilian legislation the right to the three stages of basic education: Kindergarten, Elementary and High School is better promoted and supported than the right to education at College level. According to educational census data (INEP, 2009), 78% of all enrolments in College education are in private schools, while the reverse is found in High School: 84% of all matriculations are in public schools, which shows a contradiction in the admission into the universities. The Brazilian scenario presents that public universities receive mostly students who performed better and were prepared in elementary and high school education in private schools, while private universities attend students who received their basic education in public schools, which are characterized as low quality. These facts have led researchers to raise the possible determinants of student performance on standardized tests, such as the Brazilian Vestibular exam, to guide the development of policies aimed at equal access to College education. Seeking inspiration in North American models of affirmative action policies, some Brazilian public universities have suggested rate policies to enable and facilitate the entry of "minorities" (blacks, pardos1, natives, people of low income and public school students) to free College education. At the Federal University of the state Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), the first incentives for candidates from public schools emerged in 2006, being improved and widespread during the last 7 years. This study aimed to analyse and discuss the Argument of Inclution (AI) - the affirmative action policy that provides additional scoring for students from public schools. From an extensive database, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique was used as well as a Quantile Regression considering as control the variables of personal, socioeconomic and educational characteristics of the candidates from the Brazilian Vestibular exam 2010 of the Federal University of the state Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The results demonstrate the importance of this incentive system, besides the magnitude of other variables

Influência de variáveis arquitetônicas no desempenho energético de hotéis no clima quente e úmido da cidade de Natal/RN

This master thesis aims to assess the influence of the design decisions on the energy building performance of hotels. The research is based on the integration of field study and computer simulation. Firstly, a detailed field study is carried out to identify the characteristics of hotels in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The items assessed are occupancies, light and equipment densities, types of air conditioning, total and monthly energy consumption, among others. A second and more comprehensive field study is carried out to identify the range of occurrence of architectural variables, with a larger number of buildings. A base case is modelled in VisualDOE, based on the first field study. Then, a first set of simulations are run to explore the sensitivity of the variables on the energy consumption. The results analyses were the base of a second set of simulations, which combined the most influential variables. The results of 384 models were assessed, and the impacts of design decisions were quantified. The study discusses tendencies and recommendations, as well as the methods advantages and disadvantages

Potencialidades de cultivo de macroalgas no litoral do Rio Grande do Norte (NE, Brasil): uma perspectiva de integração de dados ambientais em sistemas de informação geográfica (SIG)

Since centuries ago, the Asians use seaweed as an important source of feeding and are their greatest world-wide consumers. The migration of these peoples for other countries, made the demand for seaweed to increase. This increasing demand prompted an industry with annual values of around US$ 6 billion. The algal biomass used for the industry is collected in natural reservoirs or cultivated. The market necessity for products of the seaweed base promotes an unsustainable exploration of the natural banks, compromising its associated biological balance. In this context, seaweed culture appears as a viable alternative to prevent the depletion of these natural supplies. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide space and produce information that can facilitate the evaluation of important physical and socio-economic characteristics for the planning of seaweed culture. This objective of this study is to identify potential coastal areas for seaweed culture in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, from the integration of social-environmental data in the SIG. In order to achieve this objective, a geo-referred database composed of geographical maps, nautical maps and orbital digital images was assembled; and a bank of attributes including physical and oceanographical variables (winds, chains, bathymetry, operational distance from the culture) and social and environmental factors (main income, experience with seaweed harvesting, demographic density, proximity of the sheltered coast and distance of the banks) was produced. In the modeling of the data, the integration of the space database with the bank of attributes for the attainment of the map of potentiality of seaweed culture was carried out. Of a total of 2,011 ha analyzed by the GIS for the culture of seaweed, around 34% or 682 ha were indicated as high potential, 55% or 1,101 ha as medium potential, and 11% or 228 ha as low potential. The good indices of potentiality obtained in the localities studied demonstrate that there are adequate conditions for the installation of seaweed culture in the state of Rio Grande do Norte

Estudo do genoma do vírus causador da mionecrose infecciosa em camarões e desenvolvimento de métodos para detecção de diferentes variantes

Shrimp farming is one of the activities that contribute most to the growth of global aquaculture. However, this business has undergone significant economic losses due to the onset of viral diseases such as Infectious Myonecrosis (IMN). The IMN is already widespread throughout Northeastern Brazil and affects other countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and China. The main symptom of disease is myonecrosis, which consists of necrosis of striated muscles of the abdomen and cephalothorax of shrimp. The IMN is caused by infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV), a non-enveloped virus which has protrusions along its capsid. The viral genome consists of a single molecule of double-stranded RNA and has two Open Reading Frames (ORFs). The ORF1 encodes the major capsid protein (MCP) and a potential RNA binding protein (RBP). ORF2 encodes a probable RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and classifies IMNV in Totiviridae family. Thus, the objective of this research was study the IMNV complete genome and encoded proteins in order to develop a system differentiate virus isolates based on polymorphisms presence. The phylogenetic relationship among some totivirus was investigated and showed a new group to IMNV within Totiviridae family. Two new genomes were sequenced, analyzed and compared to two other genomes already deposited in GenBank. The new genomes were more similar to each other than those already described. Conserved and variable regions of the genome were identified through similarity graphs and alignments using the four IMNV sequences. This analyze allowed mapping of polymorphic sites and revealed that the most variable region of the genome is in the first half of ORF1, which coincides with the regions that possibly encode the viral protrusion, while the most stable regions of the genome were found in conserved domains of proteins that interact with RNA. Moreover, secondary structures were predicted for all proteins using various softwares and protein structural models were calculated using threading and ab initio modeling approaches. From these analyses was possible to observe that the IMNV proteins have motifs and shapes similar to proteins of other totiviruses and new possible protein functions have been proposed. The genome and proteins study was essential for development of a PCR-based detection system able to discriminate the four IMNV isolates based on the presence of polymorphic sites

Da bancada ao Bureau: análise do desenvolvimento da biotecnologia no Nordeste Brasileiro sob o enfoque de Sistema Regional de Inovação

The starting point of the present work consisted of investigating the development of biotechnology in the Northeast region of Brazil from the perspective of a Regional Innovation System (RIS). The theoretical framework adopted relied on the approaches and concepts presented by the Neo-Schumpeterian perspective. This framework was chosen because, by means of the Innovation System concept, this literature allows us to analyze the relationships and configurations of actors, as well as the role of the state and of social, science and technology, and economic policies in the studied region. The analysis considered four selected dimensions: physical infrastructure, human capital, scientific production, and funding. These variables were chosen because they allow us to verify the possibilities and limitations of developing a biotechnology RIS in the Northeast of Brazil, and these elements would help in answering the question behind this dissertation. The location of the physical infrastructure was determined by means of bibliographic and documental research and interviews with heads of institutions that do biotechnology research. Regarding human capital, the analysis focused on resource training in biotechnology, highlighting graduate courses and research groups in the area. To measure knowledge production, we delimited scientific collaboration among researchers in the field of biotechnology as the focus of this category. For the funding dimension, information was gathered from reports available at the websites of national and state funding agencies. The data was analyzed through method triangulation, involving quantitative and qualitative research stages. To back the analyses, we revisited the integration policies in the area of Science, Technology and Innovation. Our analysis has shown that these policies play a crucial role in the development of biotechnology in the region being studied. The data revealed that the physical infrastructure is concentrated in only three states (Bahia, Ceará, and Pernambuco). In this regard, the Northeast Biotechnology Network (Renorbio) stands out as a strategic actor, enabling states with poor infrastructure to develop research through partnerships with institutions located in another state. We have also verified that the practices involving human resource training and knowledge production are factors that enable the emergence of a regional system for biotechnology in the studied region. As limitations, we have verified the low immersion level of regional actors, the heterogeneity of socioeconomic indicators, the lack of financial resources, and a low innovation culture in the business sector. Overall, we have concluded that the development of a Regional Innovation System in Biotechnology, based on the current regional dynamics, depends on an effective change in the behavior of the social agents involved, both in the national and regional dimensions as well as in the public and private spheres

Efeito das variáveis laboratoriais protéticas na adesão da porcelana com ligas de níquel-cromo

The metalceramic crowns are usually used in dentistry because they provide a resistant structure due to its metallic base and its aesthetics from the porcelain that recovers this structure. To manufacture these crowns, a series of stages should be accomplished in the prosthetic laboratories, and many variables can influence its success. Changes in these variables cause alterations in the metallic alloy and in the porcelain, so, as consequence, in the adhesion between them. The composition of the metal alloy can be modified by recasting alloys, a common practice in some prosthetic laboratories. The aim of this paper is to make a systematic study investigating metalceramic crowns as well as analyzing the effect of recasting Ni-Cr alloys. Another variable which can influence the mechanism of metalceramic union is the temperature used in firing porcelain procedure. Each porcelain has to be fired in a fixed temperature which is determined by the manufacturer and its change can cause serious damages. This research simulate situations that may occur on laboratory procedures and observe their consequences in the quality of the metalceramic union. A scanning eletron microscopy and an optic microscopy were accomplish to analyse the metal-ceramic interface. No differences have been found when remelting alloys were used. The microhardness were similar in Ni-Cr alloys casted once, twice and three times. A wettability test was accomplished using a software developed at the Laboratório de Processamento de Materiais por Plasma, on the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. No differences were found in the contact angle between the solid surface (metallic substratum) and the tangencial plane to the liquid surface (opaque). To analyse if the temperature of porcelain firing procedure could influence the contact area between metal and porcelain, a variation in its final temperature was achieve from 980° to 955°C. Once more, no differences have been found

Uma aplicação da apredizagem por reforço na otimização da produção em um campo de petróleo

The objective of reservoir engineering is to manage fields of oil production in order to maximize the production of hydrocarbons according to economic and physical restrictions. The deciding of a production strategy is a complex activity involving several variables in the process. Thus, a smart system, which assists in the optimization of the options for developing of the field, is very useful in day-to-day of reservoir engineers. This paper proposes the development of an intelligent system to aid decision making, regarding the optimization of strategies of production in oil fields. The intelligence of this system will be implemented through the use of the technique of reinforcement learning, which is presented as a powerful tool in problems of multi-stage decision. The proposed system will allow the specialist to obtain, in time, a great alternative (or near-optimal) for the development of an oil field known

Um sistema para a inferência de variáveis usando redes neurais artificiais

This work aims to obtain a low-cost virtual sensor to estimate the quality of LPG. For the acquisition of data from a distillation tower, software HYSYS ® was used to simulate chemical processes. These data will be used for training and validation of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). This network will aim to estimate from available simulated variables such as temperature, pressure and discharge flow of a distillation tower, the mole fraction of pentane present in LPG. Thus, allowing a better control of product quality

Controle aplicado a poços com método de elevação e bombeio centrífugo submerso

The Electrical Submersible Pumping is an artificial lift method for oil wells employed in onshore and offshore areas. The economic revenue of the petroleum production in a well depends on the oil flow and the availability of lifting equipment. The fewer the failures, the lower the revenue shortfall and costs to repair it. The frequency with which failures occur depends on the operating conditions to which the pumps are submitted. In high-productivity offshore wells monitoring is done by operators with engineering support 24h/day, which is not economically viable for the land areas. In this context, the automation of onshore wells has clear economic advantages. This work proposes a system capable of automatically control the operation of electrical submersible pumps, installed in oil wells, by an adjustment at the electric motor rotation based on signals provided by sensors installed on the surface and subsurface, keeping the pump operating within the recommended range, closest to the well s potential. Techniques are developed to estimate unmeasured variables, enabling the automation of wells that do not have all the required sensors. The automatic adjustment, according to an algorithm that runs on a programmable logic controller maintains the flow and submergence within acceptable parameters avoiding undesirable operating conditions, as the gas interference and high engine temperature, without need to resort to stopping the engine, which would reduce the its useful life. The control strategy described, based on modeling of physical phenomena and operational experience reported in literature, is materialized in terms of a fuzzy controller based on rules, and all generated information can be accompanied by a supervisory system

Térmitas como bioindicadores de qualidade de habitat na caatinga, Brasil: há uma sintonia entre as variáveis estruturais dos habitats e as taxocenoses amostradas?

The composition of termite assemblages was analyzed at three Caatinga sites of the Seridó Ecological Station, located in the municipality of Serra Negra do Norte, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. These sites have been subjected to selective logging, and cleared for pasture and farming. A standardized sampling protocol for termite assemblages (30h/person/site) was conducted between September 2007 and February 2009. At each site we measured environmental variables, such as soil granulometry, pH and organic matter, necromass stock, vegetation height, tree density, stem diameter at ankle height (DAH) and the largest and the smallest crown width. Ten species of termites, belonging to eight genera and three families, were found at the three experimental sites. Four feeding-groups were sampled: wood-feeders, soil-feeders, wood-soil interface feeders and leaf-feeders. The wood-feeders were dominant in number of species and number of encounters at all sites. In general, the sites were not significantly different in relation to the environmental variables measured. The same pattern was observed for termite assemblages, where no significant differences in species richness, relative abundance and taxonomic and functional composition were observed between the three sites. The agreement between the composition of assemblages and environmental variables reinforces the potential of termites as biological indicators of habitat quality

Ocorrência da infecção por Toxoplasma gondii e avaliação da imunização em caprinos do sertão do cabugi, Rio Grande do Norte

Toxoplasmosis is one zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii protozoan. Goats, amongst the production animals, are one of the species most susceptible to this parasite, being one them main involved agents in ovine and goat abortions, determining great economic losses and implications for public health, since the presence it parasite in the products of goat origin, consist in one of the main sources of infection for the man. In this study 244 blood samples in 8 farms situated in 4 cities from the Sertão do Cabugi region, Rio Grande do Norte State, northeast of Brazil and, tested by ELISA assay. The results had shown a prevalence of 47.13% for anti- T. gondii antibodies and a significant association between positivity and variable evaluated as age, locality and property. The IgG avidity assay evaluated in 115 positive samples was carried to discriminate acute and chronic infection. Twelve samples (10.4%) had presented antibodies of low avidity while 103 (89.6%) presented high avidity antibodies; indicating that most of the animals was precocious exposure to the parasite. Significant difference was verified only for the variable sex. We also evaluate the capacity of recombinant adenoviruses codifying SAG1, SAG2, SAG3 and CMV in inducing activation of specific immune response in goat. These 109 animals received 109 pfu of the AdSAG1, AdSAG2, AdSAG3, AdCMV or PBS in vaccine protocol with 3 immunizations. Serum samples of the each animal, before and after mmunization, had been submitted to the ELISA. The results demonstrate that the immunizations had induced the production of IgG antibodies specific against T. gondii proteins

Efeitos das variáveis ambientais locais sobre a abundância, a riqueza e a biomassa da macrofauna de solo em um ecossistema semiárido no estado do rio grande do norte, nordeste do brasil

The soil macrofauna is influenced to several biotic and abiotic environmental factors, from changes in the physical environment to a variety of interactions among the species involved, affecting the patterns of biodiversity of soil fauna. The power and specificity of the mechanisms that act on soil organisms vary greatly depending on environmental conditions at different scales of space and time. The Caatinga has great spatial heterogeneity of vegetation, climate and soil, so the soil macrofauna would follow this local spatial variation in the environment? This study aimed to investigate the effects of local environmental variables on biological parameters (taxa richness, total abundance and biomass) of soil macrofauna in a fragment of caatinga in João Câmara, Rio Grande Norte, Northeast Brazil. The study was conducted in the Cauaçu farm, where a grid of 2000m x 500m was drawn, and later, 30 sampling points were randomly selected. The methodology used to collect the macrofauna was the TSBF method. We tested the effects of 10 environmental variables on macrofauna across the plots and across the layers of soil. The hypothesis that macrofauna soil responds to changes in the environment was not supported throughout the plots, but was confirmed to soil layers. The soil macrofauna shows a pattern of concentration in the surface layer and decreases considerably in the deeper layers. This pattern had significant and positive relationship with the aerial plant biomass and fine root stock. The aerial plant biomass releases plant necromass that accumulates in the surface layer, providing an important source of resource and shelter for soil macrofauna, explaining their greater abundance in this layer. The roots are used as a means for the arrival of nutrients to the soil from the primary production, thus a greater amount of root conditions higher food intake for macrofauna, especially the herbivores

Predição da maturação puberal de indivíduos do sexo masculino a partir de variáveis antropométricas

The methods of analysis of the selection system sports talent sometimes do not consider the biological age of the athletes, since that the assessment of maturational moment have several limitations The aim of this work is to develop a predictive equation of pubertal assessment in male subjects, based on anthropometric measurements. We evaluated 206 young boys, aged between eight and 18 years, and studing in public and private schools in Natal, Brazil. The sample selection was done randomly, being used the anthropometric measurements and pubertal maturation evaluation according to the Tanner stages. Statistical analysis followed the presentation of central tendency measures and their derivatives. The inferential analysis was performed according to the ANOVA test, multivariate discriminant analysis and weighted Kappa. The advancement of pubertal stages was accompanied by significant changes in anthropometric variables, demonstrating the relationship presented in both. For this purpose, discriminant analysis selected eight variables with the highest prediction of pubertal maturation, and created an equation with a significance level of 75%. and concordance level of 0.840, considered as excellent. This shows that the prediction of pubertal maturation from anthropometric variables presented as a valid method, being used as a practical tool in sports talents selection

Fatores que afetam a satisfação e a fidelidade do cliente: um estudo com compradores de automóveis

This thesis presents a contribution to the study customer satisfaction models, analyzing the relationship between antecedent variables satisfaction and customer loyalty, through a survey with car s buyers in Natal. The theorical survey is focused in concepts of customer satisfaction and loyalty, and in the customer satisfaction index models. For the field survey, was applied a questionnaire, based on the Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer (NCSB), considered by Johnson et al. (2001), with 106 customer of concessionary Fiat, the Pontanegra Automóveis. The main results obtained by the multiple regression analysis reveal that, considering the Fiat, the satisfaction is influencing by reliance degree in the firm seriousness and by complaining handling, the loyalty is influenced by possibility of again pay the same value if was again buy a car, the satisfaction degree with a car, affective commitment relationship firm customer of the own car and the complaining handling. Considering the concessionaire, the satisfaction is influenced by reliance degree in the firm seriousness, ability degree of the concessionaire in delivery service and by complaining handling, already the loyalty is influencing by possibility of again pay the same value if was again buy a car, affective commitment relations to be concessionaire s customer, by calculate commitment in relation the economic loss of bought this car of this firm and complaining handling