(Re)shaping the South Bank: the (post)politics of sustainable place-making

While the private sector has long been in the vanguard of shaping and managing urban environs, under the New Labour government business actors were also heralded as key agents in the delivery of sustainable places. Policy interventions, such as Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), saw business-led local partnerships positioned as key drivers in the production of economically, socially and environmentally sustainable urban communities. This research considers how one business-led body, South Bank Employer’s Group (SBEG), has inserted itself into, and influenced, local (re)development trajectories. Interview, observational and archival data are used to explore how, in a neighbourhood noted for its turbulent and conflictual development past, SBEG has led on a series of regeneration programmes that it asserts will create a “better South Bank for all”. A belief in consensual solutions underscored New Labour’s urban agenda and cast regeneration as a politically neutral process in which different stakeholders can reach mutually beneficial solutions (Southern, 2001). For authors such as Mouffe (2005), the search for consensus represents a move towards a ‘post-political’ approach to governing in which the (necessarily) antagonistic nature of the political is denied. The research utilises writings on the ‘post-political’ condition to frame an empirical exploration of regeneration at the neighbourhood level. It shows how SBEG has brokered a consensual vision of regeneration with the aim of overriding past disagreements about local development. While this may be seen as an attempt to enact what Honig (1993: 3) calls the ‘erasure of resistance from political orderings’ by assuming control of regeneration agendas (see also Baeten, 2009), the research shows that ‘resistances’ to SBEG’s activities continue to be expressed in a series of ways. These resistances suggest that, while increasingly ‘post-political’ in character, local place shaping continues to evidence what Massey (2005: 10) calls the ‘space of loose ends and missing links’ from which political activity can, at least potentially, emerge.

The agile governance of business IT projects

Organisations typically define and execute their selected strategy by developing and managing a portfolio of projects. The governance of this portfolio has proved to be a major challenge, particularly for large organisations. Executives and managers face even greater pressures when the nature of the strategic landscape is uncertain. This paper explores approaches for dealing with different levels of certainty in business IT projects and provides a contingent governance framework. Historically business IT projects have relied on a structured sequential approach, also referred to as a waterfall method. There is a distinction between the development stages of a solution and the management stages of a project that delivers the solution although these are often integrated in a business IT systems project. Prior research has demonstrated that the level of certainty varies between development projects. There can be uncertainty on what needs to be developed and also on how this solution should be developed. The move to agile development and management reflects a greater level of uncertainty often on both dimensions and this has led the adoption of more iterative approaches. What has been less well researched is the impact of uncertainty on the governance of the change portfolio and the corresponding implications for business executives. This paper poses this research question and proposes a govemance framework to address these aspects. The governance framework has been reviewed in the context of a major anonymous organisation, FinOrg. Findings are reported in this paper with a focus on the need to apply different approaches. In particular, the governance of uncertain business change is contrasted with the management approach for defined IT projects. Practical outputs from the paper include a consideration of some innovative approaches that can be used by executives. It also investigates the role of the business change portfolio group in evaluating and executing the appropriate level of governance. These results lead to recommendations for executives and also proposed further research.

Follow the leaders? An analysis of convergence and innovation of faculty recruiting practices in US business schools

The debate associated with the qualifications of business school faculty has raged since the 1959 release of the Gordon–Howell and Pierson reports, which encouraged business schools in the USA to enhance their legitimacy by increasing their faculties’ doctoral qualifications and scholarly rigor. Today, the legitimacy of specific faculty qualifications remains one of the most discussed topics in management education, attracting the interest of administrators, faculty, and accreditation agencies. Based on new institutional theory and the institutional logics perspective, this paper examines convergence and innovation in business schools through an analysis of faculty hiring criteria. The qualifications examined are academic degree, scholarly publications, teaching experience, and professional experience. Three groups of schools are examined based on type of university, position within a media ranking system, and accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Data are gathered using a content analysis of 441 faculty postings from business schools based in the USA over two time periods. Contrary to claims of global convergence, we find most qualifications still vary by group, even in the mature US market. Moreover, innovative hiring is more likely to be found in non-elite schools.

THE FUNDAMENTAL GROUP OF THE SPACE OF MAPS FROM A SURFACE INTO THE PROJECTIVE PLANE

In this work we compute the fundamental group of each connected component of the function space of maps from it closed surface into the projective space

On Polar Foliations and the Fundamental Group

In this work we investigate the relation between the fundamental group of a complete Riemannian manifold M and the quotient between the Weyl group and reflection group of a polar action on M, as well as the relation between the fundamental group of M and the quotient between the lifted Weyl group and lifted reflection group. As applications we give alternative proofs of two results. The first one, due to the author and Toben, implies that a polar action does not admit exceptional orbits, if M is simply connected. The second result, due to Lytchak, implies that the orbits are closed and embedded if M is simply connected. All results are proved in the more general case of polar foliations.

Differences in muscle activity during hand dexterity tasks between women with arthritis and a healthy reference group

Background. Impaired hand function is common in patients with arthritis and it affects performance of daily activities; thus, hand exercises are recommended. There is little information on the extent to which the disease affects activation of the flexor and extensor muscles during these hand-dexterity tasks. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during such tasks in subjects with arthritis and in a healthy reference group. Methods. Muscle activation was measured in m. extensor digitorium communis (EDC) and in m. flexor carpi radialis (FCR) with surface electromyography (EMG) in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 20), hand osteoarthritis (HOA, n = 16) and in a healthy reference group (n = 20) during the performance of four daily activity tasks and four hand exercises. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was measured to enable intermuscular comparisons, and muscle activation is presented as %MVIC. Results. The arthritis group used a higher %MVIC than the reference group in both FCR and EDC when cutting with a pair of scissors, pulling up a zipper and—for the EDC—also when writing with a pen and using a key (p < 0.02). The exercise “rolling dough with flat hands” required the lowest %MVIC and may be less effective in improving muscle strength. Conclusions. Women with arthritis tend to use higher levels of muscle activation in daily tasks than healthy women, and wrist extensors and flexors appear to be equally affected. It is important that hand training programs reflect real-life situations and focus also on extensor strength.

O Impacto da tecnologia da informação no ensino do curso de graduação em administração de empresas: estudo de caso do Centro Superior de Vila Velha

This study analyses the impact of Information Technology used in the undergraduate course of Business Administration at Centro Superior de Vila Velha. The Information Technology considered in the study is computer connected to the Internet, projectors, televisions and VCRs. To support the analysis, a survey was conducted in three different groups: directors (shareholders, principal, dean and chairperson), faculty and students. A questionnaire was developed for each group and validated through discussions and critical reviews by the academic committee for of this study. Items and questions were explicitly defined from the literature and based on expert opinion to provide respondents with a common understanding of the questions. The questionnaire used in the directors group focused mainly on motivation and on the investment planning for Information Technology in the institution. For the faculty and student groups, the questionnaire focused on the extent to what the group use of IT for classes and assignments, and to what extent the faculty understands the availability of IT to be used. The instrument was sent each person, for directors and faculty, and applied during class for students. The results show that although faculty and students perceive Information Technology are important for research and as a tool in the teaching and learning process, the available IT in the institution has been used under its capacity of utilization.

Adoção do modelo MVNO no Brasil e consequências para a cadeia de valor de telecomunicações móveis

O modelo de negócio MVNO, acrônimo em inglês para operadoras móveis virtuais, foi introduzido no Brasil em Novembro de 2010 por uma regulamentação específica, visando aumentar a qualidade dos serviços e a competição entre as empresas do setor de Telecomunicações Móveis. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o fenômeno MVNO em seu estágio atual de adoção no Brasil, contrapondo as óticas dos atores de mercado, às teorias de Cadeia de Valor (PORTER, 1985), e decupagem da Cadeia de Valor (CHRISTENSEN et al, 2001; ANDERSON; WILLIAMS, 2004). Por se tratar de um fenômeno intrinsecamente ligado à desagregação de atividades de valor, em uma indústria originalmente verticalizada, a análise se concentrou nessa dinâmica, mas não se limitou a ela: o estudo também traz comparações com casos de MVNO estudados em diversos países e outras referências teóricas do campo da Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação, tais como Economia da Informação (SHAPIRO; VARIAN, 1999), Inovação Disruptiva (CHRISTENSEN; BOWER, 1999), e Dimensões da Inovação (SAWHNEY et al, 2011). A pesquisa se baseou nas categorias conceituais da Abordagem Multinível (POZZEBON; DINIZ, 2011) – Contexto, Processo e Conteúdo – buscando conhecer os perfis e interesses de cada Grupo Social Relevante e a negociação entre os envolvidos. A partir dessa articulação, foi possível compreender o fenômeno e algumas de suas consequências para o cenário brasileiro de Telecomunicações Móveis, destacando-se entre os resultados encontrados: as linhas gerais da nova Cadeia de Valor em formação, a influência decisiva de um grupo social relevante para a adoção do modelo – os MVNE, que são integradores de MVNOs à estrutura das operadoras – e a utilização da regulação para incentivar negócios com aplicações máquina a máquina (M2M). A descrição do modelo e das características que vem assumindo no Brasil proporcionam insumos tanto para praticantes do mercado, quanto para acadêmicos. Estes últimos podem se beneficiar, além de um ponto de partida para pesquisas futuras sobre MVNO no Brasil, de uma inédita articulação da Abordagem Multinível com a teoria de Cadeia de Valor

The influence of the supply chain agents on the new product development's performance: an analysis based on the multi-group moderation

Este estudo buscou verificar a influencia dos agentes da cadeia de suprimentos no desempenho do desenvolvimento de novos produtos quando os agentes são analisados em conjunto. A motivação desta pesquisa veio de estudos que alertaram para a consideração da integração da cadeia de suprimentos como um constructo multidimensional, englobando o envolvimento da manufatura, fornecedores e clientes no desenvolvimento de novos produtos; e devido à falta de informação sobre as influencias individuais destes agentes no desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Sob essas considerações, buscou-se construir um modelo analítico baseado na Teoria do Capital Social e Capacidade Absortiva, construir hipóteses a partir da revisão da literatura e conectar constructos como cooperação, envolvimento do fornecedor no desenvolvimento de novos produtos (DNP), envolvimento do cliente no DNP, envolvimento da manufatura no DNP, antecipação de novas tecnologias, melhoria contínua, desempenho operacional do DNP, desempenho de mercado do NPD e desempenho de negócio do DNP. Para testar as hipóteses foram consideradas três variáveis moderadoras, tais como turbulência ambiental (baixa, média e alta), indústria (eletrônicos, maquinários e equipamentos de transporte) e localização (América, Europa e Ásia). Para testar o modelo foram usados dados do projeto High Performance Manufacturing que contém 339 empresas das indústrias de eletrônicos, maquinários e equipamentos de transporte, localizadas em onze países. As hipóteses foram testadas por meio da Análise Fatorial Confirmatória (AFC) incluindo a moderação muti-grupo para as três variáveis moderadoras mencionadas anteriormente. Os principais resultados apontaram que as hipóteses relacionadas com cooperação foram confirmadas em ambientes de média turbulência, enquanto as hipóteses relacionadas ao desempenho no DNP foram confirmadas em ambientes de baixa turbulência ambiental e em países asiáticos. Adicionalmente, sob as mesmas condições, fornecedores, clientes e manufatura influenciam diferentemente no desempenho de novos produtos. Assim, o envolvimento de fornecedores influencia diretamente no desempenho operacional e indiretamente no desempenho de mercado e de negócio em baixos níveis de turbulência ambiental, na indústria de equipamentos de transporte em países da Americanos e Europeus. De igual forma, o envolvimento do cliente influenciou diretamente no desempenho operacional e indiretamente no desempenho de mercado e do negócio em médio nível de turbulência ambiental, na indústria de maquinários e em países Asiáticos. Fornecedores e clientes não influenciam diretamente no desempenho de mercado e do negócio e não influenciam indiretamente no desempenho operacional. O envolvimento da manufatura não influenciou nenhum tipo de desempenho do desenvolvimento de novos produtos em todos os cenários testados.

Growth process in business and social entrepreneurship: the case of Brazil

The purpose of the dissertation is to investigate in depth the difference between the challenges social and business entrepreneurs face in the growth phase of their business in the particular environment of Brazil. This objective has been achieved through a two-steps methodology. The first step is a set of in-depth interviews carried out with industry experts such as professors, venture capitalists, consultants, fund managers or people involved in the support of growing startups (i.e. accelerators). These interviews allowed, first, to build a general perspective on the environment entrepreneurs operate into and to identify a list of challenges entrepreneurs face in the growth process of their business. This list was completed with the additional challenges identified in the previous literature. The second step of the methodology was to test the relevance of these challenges in the mind and experience of social and traditional entrepreneurs. A questionnaire was then submitted to 145 social and 286 traditional entrepreneurs. The results were statistically analyzed to test the relative relevance of these challenges for one group of entrepreneurs with respect to the other. The outcome of the analysis was significant. The most relevant challenges identified were, for both groups, taxation, bureaucracy, finding the right employees, creating effective teams, measuring firm performance and social value creation and obtaining funds. On the other side motivation, innovation, competition and lack of market space for growth represented the least relevant issues in the minds of entrepreneurs. This rank however did not differ significantly from social to traditional entrepreneurs. This testifies that in Brazil social and traditional entrepreneurs face the same set of challenges despite the widespread belief of the opposite.

Responsabilidade social e investimento social privado na empresa GTECH Brasil: estudo de caso

Esta dissertação traça uma trajetória, evitando, no entanto, uma linha evolucionista, dos termos e conceitos que foram usados no decorrer da história para identificar as intervenções das empresas em ações sociais, desde as atuações assistencialistas até a atuação direta em projetos, com criação de institutos e fundações ligados às empresas, compartilhando não só investimentos financeiros, mas conhecimento, tecnologia e mão de obra especializada. Mas, como veremos, só isso não é suficiente para que uma empresa seja caracterizada como socialmente responsável. Como parâmetro, será trabalhada a diferenciação entre responsabilidade social empresarial (RSE) e investimento social privado (ISP), usando as definições e modelos do Instituto Ethos de Responsabilidade Social e do Grupo de Institutos e Fundações e Empresas (GIFE), respectivamente. Como estudo de caso, será apresentada a GTECH Brasil, empresa multinacional do ramo de loterias online, que, para realizar ações sociais, criou o Instituto Gtech de Cidadania e Cultura (IGCC), em 2000. A empresa, fazendo uso da verba disponível de incentivo à cultura, com a Lei Rouanet, realizou um projeto corporativo de arte-educação, chamado Projeto Asa, que tinha por foco trabalhar com jovens de sete a 17 anos, englobando arte e tecnologia. Por acreditar no poder transformador da arte, o projeto foi se atualizando e passou a desenvolver o conceito de arte-cidadania. O Asa funcionou até 2009, durando mais do que a própria empresa, que, em 2006, encerrou as atividades no Brasil. Nesse período, atendeu a mais de 3.500 crianças e jovens. Por meio de documentos, manuais, relatórios e diversas entrevistas, o presente trabalho delineou as atividades sociais da GTECH, analisando se a empresa deveria se enquadrar como RSE ou ISP e também demonstrando alguns dos impactos gerados pelas ações realizadas tanto nos funcionários da empresa, quanto na equipe do projeto e, principalmente, nos jovens que participaram das atividades.

Brazilian Students and Working Capital: An Analysis of Their Decisions When Using Virtual Market Business Games

This study aims to demonstrate that data from business games can be an important resource for improving efficiency and effectiveness of learning. The proposal presented here was developed from preliminary studies of data from Virtual Market games that pointed the possibility of identifying gaps in learning by analyzing the decisions of students. This proposal helps students to refine their learning processes and equips tutors with strategies for teaching and student assessment. The proposal also complements the group discussion and/or debriefing, which are widely used to enhance learning mediated by games. However, from a management perspective the model has the potential to be erroneous and miss opportunities, which cannot be detected because of the dependence on the characteristics of the individual, such as ability to communicate and work together. To illustrate the proposed technique, data sets from two business games were analyzed with the focus on managing working capital and it was found that students had difficulties managing this task. Similar trends were observed in all categories of students in the study-undergraduate, postgraduate and specialization. This discovery led us to the analysis of data for decisions made in the performance of the games, and it was determined that indicators could be developed that were capable of indentifying inconsistencies in the decisions. It was decided to apply some basic concepts of the finance management, such as management of the operational and non-operational expenditures, as well as production management concepts, such as the use of the production capacity. By analyzing the data from the Virtual Market games using the indicator concept, it was possible to detect the lack of domain knowledge of the students. Therefore, these indicators can be used to analyze the decisions of the players and guide them during the game, increasing their effectiveness and efficiency. As these indicators were developed from specific content, they can also be used to develop teaching materials to support learning. Viewed in this light, the proposal adds new possibilities for using business games in learning. In addition to the intrinsic learning that is achieved through playing the games, they also assist in driving the learning process. This study considers the applications and the methodology used.

The Yang-Lee edge singularity in spin models on connected and non-connected rings

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comparison of Single-Standing or Connected Implants on Stress Distribution in Bone of Mandibular Overdentures: A Two-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis

This study aimed to compare the influence of single-standing or connected implants on stress distribution in bone of mandibular overdentures by means of two-dimensional finite element analysis. Two finite element models were designed using software (ANSYS) for 2 situations: bar-clip (BC) group-model of an edentulous mandible supporting an overdenture over 2 connected implants with BC system, and o'ring (OR) group-model of an edentulous mandible supporting an overdenture over 2 single-standing implants with OR abutments. Axial loads (100 N) were applied on either central (L1) or lateral (L2) regions of the models. Stress distribution was concentrated mostly in the cortical bone surrounding the implants. When comparing the groups, BC (L1, 52.0 MPa and L2, 74.2 MPa) showed lower first principal stress values on supporting tissue than OR (L1, 78.4 MPa and L2, 76.7 MPa). Connected implants with BC attachment were more favorable on stress distribution over peri-implant-supporting tissue for both loading conditions.

Frequency of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 in a group of patients with pituitary adenoma: genetic study and familial screening

The purpose of this study it was to evaluate the frequency of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) in patients with pituitary adenoma and to perform genetic analysis and familial screening of those individuals afflicted with MEN1. 144 patients with pituitary adenoma at Botucatu Medical School, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, were assessed retrospectively for MEN1 during the years of 2005-2011. The patients were evaluated for the presence of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) and enteropancreatic tumors. Genetic analysis was performed for the individuals with clinically diagnosed MEN1. Thirteen patients met the diagnostic criteria for MEN1, but three individuals belong to the same family and they were considered as a single MEN1 event, revealing 7.7 % frequency of MEN1 in this patient group. Genetic analysis showed MEN1 mutations in four index cases: IVS4+1 G>A, IVS3-6 C>T, c.1547insC and a new D180A mutation. One patient did not agree to participate in the genetic study and another one was referred for follow up in other hospital. Only polymorphisms were found in the other individuals, one of which was novel. We identified a high frequency of MEN1 in pituitary adenoma patients. Since PHP is one of the most common MEN1 tumor and patients are mostly asymptomatic, we suggest that all pituitary adenoma patients have their calcium profile analyzed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.