Linking strategy and the knowledge of the firm

Discovering the ways through which firms develop and maintain competitive advantage is a central research stream in management theory. The objective of this paper is to present a contribution to the discussion of the knowledge of the firm as a source of competitive advantage. The paper states that a firm's success is a consequence of its ability in the continuous development of core competencies that will sustain its competitiveness over time. Core competencies are understood as the sets of knowledge that differentiate a company strategically. The firm must discover, develop, share and update the knowledge that sustains the present and future core competencies. Knowledge management, through processes of knowledge creation and integration, is one way of doing this.

Problems and potentialities of e-Learning for regular undergraduate courses in emergency medicine

BACKGROUND: E-learning techniques are spreading at great speed in medicine, raising concerns about the impact of adopting them. Websites especially designed to host courses are becoming more common. There is a lack of evidence that these systems could enhance student knowledge acquisition. GOAL: To evaluate the impact of using dedicated-website tools over cognition of medical students exposed to a first-aid course. METHODS: Prospective study of 184 medical students exposed to a twenty-hour first-aid course. We generated a dedicated-website with several sections (lectures, additional reading material, video and multiple choice exercises). We constructed variables expressing the student's access to each section. The evaluation was composed of fifty multiple-choice tests, based on clinical problems. We used multiple linear regression to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: There was no association of website intensity of exposure and the outcome - beta-coeficient 0.27 (95%CI - 0.454 - 1.004). These findings were not altered after adjustment for potential confounders - 0.165 (95%CI -0.628 - 0.960). CONCLUSION: A dedicated website with passive and active capabilities for aiding in person learning had not shown association with a better outcome.

Knowledge of common pediatric cancers among medical students in northeast Brazil

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, early diagnosis of childhood cancer has taken an important place on the international agenda. The authors of this study evaluated a group of medical students in Recife, Brazil, regarding knowledge and practices related to early diagnosis of common childhood cancers. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 82 medical students, from a total of 86 eligible subjects. Data were collected using self-completed questionnaires. Subgroups were defined according to knowledge of the theme and students' perceptions of their own skills and interest in learning. RESULTS: 74.4% of the sample demonstrated a minimum level of knowledge. The group without minimum knowledge or self-perceived competence to identify suspected cases (23.3%) was in the worst position to perform early diagnosis. All subjects expressed interest in learning more about this topic. CONCLUSIONS: Despite acceptable levels of knowledge among these medical students, the definition of central aspects of the teaching and learning processes would be useful for training physicians with the skills for diagnosing and treating pediatric cancers

Health knowledge of prostitutes in Saigon, Vietnam: a study of health attitudes and habits relating to venereal diseases taken from a group of prostitutes

A study of health knowledge and practices of prostitutes is presented here. The study took place at the V. D. Center in Saigon, Vietnam. It was designed with the objective of obtaining information to be used in preparing an educational program to be offered to the prostitutes at the Center, and for using, in preparing educational materials with focus on V. D. prevention. The outline of a course is also presented.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge of the inhabitants of Marajó Island, Eastern Amazonia, Brazil

There have been ethnoveterinary reports from around the world investigating plant usage in therapeutic protocols; however, there is no information regarding the ethnoveterinary practices in Brazilian Amazonia. The objective of this work was to register and document the ethnoveterinary knowledge of the inhabitants of the Island of Marajó, eastern Amazonia, Brazil. In the study, interviews were conducted with 50 individuals, with the application of semi-structured questionnaires that were quantitatively analyzed using descriptive statistic methods of frequency distribution. Use-value was calculated to determine the most important species. Samples of plants that were reported to have medicinal value were collected and identified by botanical classification. Fifty plants, distributed among 48 genera and 34 families, were indicated for 21 different medicinal uses. The family Asteraceae had the largest number of reported species; Carapa guianensis Aubl., Copaifera martii Hayne, Crescentia cujete L., Caesalpinia ferrea Mart., Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Jatropha curcas L. and Momordica charantia L. were species with highest use- value. The plant parts that were more commonly utilized for the preparation of ethnoveterinary medicines were the leaves (56%), bark (18%), roots (14%), seeds (14%) and fruit (8%). With regard to usage, tea was reported as a usage method by 56% of the informants; most preparations (90.9%) utilized only a single plant. In addition to medicinal plants, informants reported using products of animal and mineral origin. The present study contributed to the construction of an inventory of Marajó Island's ethnoveterinary plants, which might be the basis for future scientific validation studies.

A contribution to the knowledge of the Brazilian Strepsiptera: (Insecta)

Neste trabalho procuramos atualizar e acrescentar observações novas ao conhecimento dos Strepsiptera do Brasil. Descrevemos 4 espécies novas da família Myrmecolacidae, representados apenas por machos e uma espécie nova da família Halictophagidae, representada por macho, fêmea e hospedador. Registramos a ocorrência, no Brasil, de uma espécie da família Stylopidae, conhecida anteriormente da Argentina e fornecemos dados adicionais sôbre uma espécie da família Mengeidae, Triozocera paulistana Kogan, 1958. Baseados em HOFENEDER & FULMEK (1942-43) damos a lista dos hospedadores encontrados estilopizados no Brasil.

Fifth contribution to the knowledge of the genus Archytas Jaennicke, 1867 (Diptera, Tachinidae)

No presente trabalho são redescritas as seguintes espécies do gênero Archytas Jaennicke, 1867: Archytas lateralis Macquart, 1842, Archytas metallicus Desvoidy, 1830; Archytas aterrimus Desvoidy, 1830 e Archytas willistoni Curran, 1925. São ainda descritas duas espécies novas, provenientes do Estado do Pará, Brasil: Archytas pearsoni e A. araujoi. O material estudado pertence à coleção do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro.

Contribution to the knowledge of Philometra lateolabracis Yamaguti, 1935 (Nematoda, Filarioidea)

In this paper the authors refere Philometra lateolabracis Yamaguti, 1935 for the first time from the Atlantic Ocean also as a new host record. They report the rpesence of one male of diminished dimensions, found in close relationship with the females of Ph. lateolabracis; as the male of this species is unknown, they admit the possibility of this small nematode be the male of this species.

Second contribution to the knowledge of the larvae of the Raviniini (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) based on observations using scanning electron microscope

First and second instar larvae of some Sarcophagidae (Diptera) of the tribe Raviniini are described on observations with a scanning electron microscope.

Third contribution to the knowledge of the Raviniini (Diptera, Sarcophagidae), based on observations of the larvae, using scanning electron microscope

L1, L2 and L3 of Oxysarcodexia paulistanensis (Mattos), L3 of O. confusa Lopes, L2 of Ravinia belforti (Prado & Fonseca) and L2 of Oxyvinia excisa (Lopes) were described and figured using scanning electron microscope.