Factors influencing consumer decision in crowdfunding

Crowdfunding é um método recente e emergente de captar dinheiro para desenvolvimento de projetos (tanto orientados a lucro ou não) sem a intermediação tradicional de instituições financeiras, liberando empreendedores de custos, regulações e burocracia associada a essa prática. Além disso, também é um método de pré-testar novos produtos com um público selecionado e entusiasmado. O objetivo dessa dissertação é entender que fatores estão influenciando a decisão do consumidor de investir em projetos. A literatura contribui com: (1) fatores intrínsecos, como desejo de patronagem; (2) fatores extrínsecos, como a apresentação do projeto; e (3) pressão social. Há ainda fatores associados com o nível atual de captação e número de investidores, assim como tipo de projeto envolvido, sendo ele de caridade ou não. Além disso, atitudes também possuem um papel em afetar a decisão de compra. Para responder a pergunta de pesquisa, uma metodologia de duas fases foi usada: uma entrevista de profundidade para capturar intenção de investir e motivação, de forma a construir um processo de decisão que englobasse todas as possibilidades descritas pela literatura. Após essa pesquisa qualitativa, uma pesquisa quantitativa foi feita para validar as informações coletadas pela fase anterior e coletar dados adicionais para gerar uma associação entre intenção de investir e comportamento. Dentre as informações geradas pela fase qualitativa, temos o fato que a maioria dos investidores tiveram como principal motivação a compra do produto sendo oferecido como se eles estivessem participando de uma pré-venda. Entretanto, essa não foi a principal razão para o investidor de caridade. Além disso, os respondentes que pré-compraram os produtos o fizeram para única razão que esses produtos satisfizeram desejos que tinham. Esses desejos variavam, sendo desde saudade de jogos antigos como resolver um problema de organização da carteira. Outra característica da pré-compra foi que eles não investiam valores simbólicos, pela razão que se o fizessem não receberiam o produto em troca. Recompensas tiveram um grande papel em atrair os respondentes para investimento em valores maiores que consideravam anteriormente. Também é verdade para o investidor em caridade, que também doou mais. A fase quantitativa confirmou as informações acima e gerou informação extra sobre as categorias de produto. Projetos de caridade e arte concentraram a maioria dos respondentes que disseram que a principal razão para investir foi basicamente ajudar a desenvolver o projeto sem demandar um produto em retorno. Entretanto, outros projetos como Música também apresentaram altos números de comportamento caridoso, possivelmente por causa do envolvimento emocional com o artista. Outras categorias apresentaram um mix de razões para investir ou enviesado a comprar o produto apenas, o que pode ser explicado pelo efeito de recompensas e pelo fato que essas categorias estão simplesmente pré-vendendo produtos. Essa pesquisa também confirmou as principais fontes usadas para conhecer mais sobre os projetos: recomendação pessoal e blogs e fóruns. Outro resultado dessa fase foi o desenvolvimento de fatores a partir de frases atitudinais que puderam explicar intenção de investir. Seis fatores foram criados: Entusiasmo (por crowdfunding), Exclusividade (compra de recompensas), Caridade (doações pequenas para ajudar o desenvolvimento do projeto), Cautela (similar à difusão de responsabilidade, isto é, espera por mais investidores para dar o primeiro passo), Intimidade (projeto foi recomendado ou há ligação emocional com o criador) e Compartilhamento (compartilhar para ajudar a trazer mais investidores para o projeto). Categorias com alto envolvimento emocional apresentaram associação com Intimidade, como música, filme e tecnologia. Dado o fato que a amostra não continha muitos entusiastas por crowdfunding, esse fator não apresentou qualquer associação com as categorias. Categorias que não entregam produtos em troca, como comida e fotografia, apresentaram altos níveis de associação com o fator caridade. Compartilhamento é altamente associado com tecnologia, dado o fato que essa categoria concentra os respondentes que são mais orientados à inovação e entusiastas sobre o produto, então precisam compartilhar e gerar boca-a-boca para ajudar a atingir a meta de investimento.

The benefits and pitfalls of participating in a corporate inversion: a case study of two companies on two different paths

Even though the term corporate inversion has been heard globally for decades, it has only become more prevalent in the United States during the past two years. This case study examines two United States companies that recently had very high profile and public corporate inversion experiences. Complicated tax laws and high tax rales have long eroded the ability of United States companies to remain competitive on a global scale. During the past two years, tax reform has been elevated to the Presidential and Congressional levei. Because these reform efforts have stalled, however, and in the constant search for ways to become more competitive and profitable, United States dorniciled companies have begun to more aggressively explore corporate inversion. This case study of Walgreens Alliance Boots and Mylan N.V., is undertaken because while the reasons to pursue a corporate inversion for both companies were very similar and done during the same time period, the internai process and final outcome were dramatically different. The other dynamic studied is the role both internai and externai politics had on these two cornpanies and how they influenced the decisions made by the executives. Lastly, the Obama Administration continues to threaten so called "corporate America" to remain in the country through regulatory pressure, but this has not stopped companies frorn pursing corporate inversions. Legislatively, attempts at corporate tax reform, another way to encourage Untied States companies to remain, have also failed. I will not try to determine i f a corporate inversion is the right path for a company to take. I am examining how the rise o f the practice o f corporate inversions has been elevated in boardroorns, on Wall Street, in Congress and at the White House during the past two years.

A regulação da previdência complementar fechada sob a perspectiva da economia comportamental: e a adesão automática como proposta para a mitigação de vieses cognitivos

A presente dissertação investiga a utilização de medidas como a adesão automática pela regulação da previdência complementar fechada a partir da flexibilização do conceito de racionalidade, tendo como base a Análise Econômica e Comportamental do Direito. Inicia-se o trabalho pela evolução histórica da regulação da previdência no Brasil, avaliando os impactos sistêmicos das alterações ocorridas no primeiro pilar previdenciário (regimes básicos). Em virtude dessas alterações e do crescimento da relevância do segundo pilar de previdência social (Previdência Complementar Fechada) para a manutenção do bem-estar, analisa-se a possibilidade de ocorrência de vieses cognitivos que implicam desvios de racionalidade dos indivíduos nas decisões relativas à previdência complementar. Esses vieses cognitivos podem fazer com que indivíduos escolham alternativas que não maximizam seu bem-estar, por razões como inércia, procrastinação e superotimismo, ao contrário do que aponta o pressuposto de racionalidade da Economia Neoclássica. Os resultados analisados conduzem à necessidade de adoção de medidas regulatórias capazes de mitigar esses desvios de racionalidade, na forma de adoção de arquitetura de escolhas que induzam à maximização do bem-estar individual, sem limitar a liberdade individual dos envolvidos. Essas medidas, entretanto, especialmente a adesão automática aos planos de benefícios, destinam-se à mitigação de vieses cognitivos, sendo criticável sua adoção em planos de previdência onde observa-se predominância de outras razões para baixos níveis de adesão, como desconfiança em relação à gestão do plano. Ademais, faz-se necessário respeitar certos critérios para sua implementação, a fim de garantir que esse instrumento somente seja utilizado quando se observar vieses cognitivos que prejudiquem significativamente o bem-estar, bem como que a opção à qual os indivíduos estão sendo induzidos é vantajosa, ao menos na grande maioria das vezes. Ao final, verifica-se a juridicidade dessas medidas, à luz da proporcionalidade, norma que permite identificar os limites para a intensidade regulatória.

A cláusula de melhores esforços (best efforts) na prática jurídica brasileira: uma nova perspectiva

A utilização da cláusula de melhores esforços, ou best efforts, é prática comum do empresariado e advogados nacionais. Este trabalho realiza um levantamento a fim de demonstrar a alta incidência em acordos sofisticados entre acionistas de companhias abertas brasileiras. Tal inclusão tem fortes motivos econômicos, a justificar o reconhecimento e interpretação pelo aplicador do direito nacional. O padrão de conduta dessa obrigação de meio deve ser analisado por critérios distintos, por meio de elementos subjetivos e objetivos, bem como à luz do contexto social e usos e costumes relacionados, baseados em normas e princípios de direito privado amplamente aceitos. A escassa jurisprudência sobre o tema bem como a já consolidada jurisprudência norte-americana contribuem para o melhor entendimento sobre a natureza jurídica e o modelo de interpretação de conduta a ser aplicado, diferenciando a obrigação de melhores esforços dos deveres decorrentes da boa-fé objetiva. Entre as conclusões, pode-se mencionar que a cláusula de melhores esforços não deve ser igualada aos deveres de boa-fé ou a um mero dever moral. Seu reconhecimento legal como padrão de conduta distinto, apurado conforme cada caso, deve ser amparado pelo ordenamento jurídico nacional

Lula and Brazil: investors twisted logic

Investors were wrong to believe in change for the better; Brazil is stuck for at least two years

Contribuição previdenciária sobre a receita bruta: análise crítica e estudo de alternativas

Neste trabalho são analisados os principais aspectos da desoneração da folha de salários. São apresentadas considerações sobre os efeitos fiscais e extrafiscais dos tributos. Em seguida, apresentam-se informações sobre o histórico da Contribuição Previdenciária sobre a Receita Bruta ("CPRB"). Após, analisa-se a adequação da CPRB à CF/88 e conclui-se que a referida contribuição não possui fundamento de validade na CF/88. Em seguida, a CPRB é estudada à luz de princípios constitucionais, administrativos e econômicos considerados relevantes. Conclui-se que (i) o tributo é nocivo por ser cumulativo; (ii) a CPRB não é eficiente, já que a renúncia de receita não foi compensada pelo aumento do emprego nem gerou o desejado desenvolvimento econômico; (iii) a contribuição viola os princípios da isonomia, publicidade, motivação e impessoalidade, pois o regime não é assegurado a todos e não há razões que levem à inclusão de apenas alguns setores econômicos; e (iv) as regras de apuração do novo tributo são complexas. Por fim, sugere-se extinguir a CPRB e promover a redução da tributação sobre a folha (i) no contexto de uma reforma tributária, como a trazida pela PEC 233, ou (ii) acompanhada da majoração de alíquotas de contribuições não-cumulativas, se necessário para compensar a perda de arrecadação.

Eficácia do treinamento de força sobre parâmetros cardiovasculares e antropométricos em adultos sedentários

This study aimed to determine the influence of strength training (ST), in three weekly sessions over ten weeks, on cardiovascular parameters and anthropometric measurements. It is a before and after intervention trial, with a sample composed of 30 individuals. Participants were adults aged between 18 and 40 years, from both sexes and sedentary for at least three months previously. Tests were computed ergospirometry, CRP, PWV and body composition (dependent variables) before and after the experiment. Independent variables, age and sex, were considered in order to determine their influence on the dependent variablesevaluatedend. By comparing the initial cardiovascular parameters with those obtained after intervention in patients undergoing the ST proposed (a Student s t-test was conducted within each group for samples matched to parameters with normal distribution, while the Wilcoxin was applied for those without), there was no significant difference in PWV(p =0469) or PCR(p =0.247), but there was an increase in anaerobic threshold(AT) (p=0.004) and Maximal Oxygen Uptake(VO2max) (p =0.052). In regard to anthropometric measures, individuals significantly reduced their body fat percentage (p<0.001) and fat mass (p<0,001), as well as increasing lean mass (p<0.001). However, no changes were recorded in the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (p= 0.777), body mass (p=0.226) or body mass index (BMI) (p =0.212). Findings of this study lead us to believe that the proposed ST, and did not increase the VOP or PCR improves cardiorespiratory capacity and body composition. Devotees of this training can therefore safely enjoy all its benefits without risk to the cardiovascular system

A economia social e os estados do cooperativismo: ascensão ou declínio dos princípios do cooperativismo em empreendimentos autogestionários

Crisis in the capitalist system of production, contributes to appearance of social enterprises. In spite of, to believe these undertakings were to promote a true revolution that supply alternatives to consolidation of a socialist society, which it wasn t succeed. The cooperatives which was our object of study, get appearance in the middle of the capitalist system of production in a disorganized way, therefore, many of them Just get rich or they became true work machines and exploration of the human work. This study has like main objective: Do cooperatives have knowledge and/or they pratice rudments of the cooperativist moviment?. Get some conclusions, the cooperatives of work come promoting a decline of the rudments of the cooperativism and they don t have a knowledge about the rudments of the cooperativism and they don t pratice the same ones, instead of, the ccoperative of production comes promoting the appearance of the self-management idealism which they know the rudments of thecooperativism and they pratice the same ones

É como se tivesse a roça e faltasse a enxada: formação em serviço de professores de História no ensino sergipano

This thesis has the aim to comprehend the development of the superior graduation in life service and daily scholar of the history teachers in-land of Sergipe. The History Course graduation was realized through the second part of (Projeto de Qualificação Docente-PQD), the so-called, Teaching Qualification Project of the Federal University of Sergipe, first settled in 1998. Eight teachers were chosen for this research with more than (15) fifteen years of teaching in the Fundamental and Medium levels at public schools of our state (Sergipe). This empiric research priviledged oral testimony from them, which (ones) reveled about the memory tragetory of life. Since childhood until the History Course graduation, besides the evidence as Principal of schools as well as the following classes. All of them were interviewed from in-land and they are from very poor families with lack of social economical conditions. Those evidencies point out economic limitations in their different towns, that contributed to the continuous obstacle in the following studies, moreover in the common market. Therefore they still teach in order to believe in who´s at the botton of this business. Their testimony about this history graduation through PQD , gave them new Professional horizons, modifying their pedagogic practice, choosing what is worth into the social space beyond life expectancy. Through the analyses from all the documents and evidence in loco, it was evident that this graduation is not sufficient to change all the acting of teaching. Consequently, the lack of scholar situation still happens because this qualification doesn´t consider the knowledge of the teachers into their contexts. This research could also observe that besides the changing purposes in the suggested common-job by the globalization, the public politics education, is still underdeveloped in-land of Sergipe. According to the educational laws which obliges all tearches should be graduated, it could be observed that nothing changed into their acting. The old curricula don´t give them new possibility in their acting. At last their salaries, poor conditions in their common-job as well as the difficult ways to get to their pos graduation course still contributes to the underdeveloped acting before they´d graduated from the period before of their graduation

Ave! Mossoró! : os mecanismos discursivos sobre o episódio da resistência ao bando de Lampião

This thesis has as objective the interdiscursive relations in the process of language construction in use in the poetic and in the journalistic spheres, with the purpose of perceiving how the genre news is constituted in different fields of social activity, as well as to analyze the argumentative processes that structure the written discourses about the resistance episode to the group of Lampião in Mossoró in the year of 1927. The corpus of the research is constituted by the news of the period informed in the printed newspapers: Correio do povo and O Nordeste, both from Mossoró/RN, and the narratives presented in the cordéis de acontecido : Mossoró in the resistance to the group of Lampião; Lampião in Mossoró in 1927, and Mossoró attacking to the group of Lampião, all potiguar poets. The analysis of the texts had as theoretical background the studies of: The texts analysis had as theoretical background The Discourse Analysis; The Argumentation Theory and the studies about Discourse Genres. We focused our discussion in the emphasis given to the news in the discursive perspective of the social-historic memory constructed in the cordéis, from ideological values (political, economical, religious etc.) that pass to be a fundamental element in the constitution of the image of the resistance. Methodologically, this is a documental research, since it makes use essentially of the written document. Regarding to the nature of the data, the research is characterized as a qualitative one. In the analysis, we considered the argumentative techniques adopted in the defense of the thesis, the meaning effects suggested, and the genres mentioned, that revealed to us the manner in which the episode was informed by the newspapers and the cordéis. That way, we affirm, based on the positions assumed by the announcers of the genres analyzed who defended clearly positions in favor of the defense of Mossoró, that the relation between both is captured interdiscursively, since they are asked by the same ideology, and converge to the same discursive formation, defending identical positions, and structuring their discussions with resembling argumentative techniques, reason by which take us to believe that the discourse presented in that social activity demonstrates and develops traces of a manipulation of the subject. In this case, the discursive construction of the text points towards determining standard of repetition, since the linguistic context is characterized in the journalistic field, and in the poetic field assuming, in the first instance, a local expression

Linguagem e argumentação na produção escrita de vestibulandos

In this study, we analyzed the argumentative processes of written texts produced by UERN (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte) vestibulandos : (students who apply for University Entrance Examinations in Brazil). It has as its corpus twenty compositions by such students. These compositions, collected in UFRN COMPERVE (Permanent Commission of vestibular examinations) and written in 2005 examination, were selected in a random way. The theoretical support is based on Perelman & Olbrechts-Tyteca (1999; 2002), Reboul (2004), Bakhtin (1992), Faraco (2003), Platão e Fiorim (2003) e Geraldi (1997), and other scholars. The work aimed to investigate how vestibulandos make use of argumentative techniques in order to construct their arguments in the vestibular examination. In the analysis of the corpus we considered that the used argumentative techniques, the relationship with the thesis, the sense effects students wanted to produce and the type of the required speech. It showed that in the, discourse construction of argumentative texts, students made use, with more frequency, of the following argumentative techniques: pragmatic arguments, arguments of the definition, comparison arguments, division arguments, example arguments, argument of the model and authority arguments as means to support their theses. However it was not carried out in a conventional way, reason why it leads us to believe that schools, as part of human activity, responsible for education and for the insert of learners in the literate world, have a fundamental role concerning the offer of conditions, so that, the teaching of Portuguese Language leads students to a systematic and explicit preparation of the knowledge, regarding the social and functions of the language, as well as of the strategies of the construction of argumentative texts. This can lead learners to develop communicative competence and to feel more confident when working with text production

Antidiarrheal Activity of Campomanesia xanthocarpa Fruit

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Conveniência e plausibilidade da proposição de que justiça é harmonia n A República de Platão

This thesis endorses the interpretation that in Plato`s Republic the argument made by Thrasymachus in which justice is the convenience of the most powerful one is implicitly accepted by Socrates. Although Thrasymachus´ discussion does not show any similarity with the argument of Socrates, it proposes a sarcastic and ironic comment on political life. Socrates accepts this comment to develop a more refined notion of the category of the most powerful ones. While Thrasymachus assumes that the convenience of the most powerful ones includes the power to subordinate all and everything to their individual pleasures, Socrates admits that the most powerful ones are defined only by their characteristic of being able to hold power in perpetuity. In this context, the main theme of The Republic is that the harmony between the functional classes of the city is convenient for perpetual power. For preservation of harmony, the functional class of the most powerful considers the convenience of forsaking a possible monopoly on pleasure towards a redistribution that promotes harmony, which also makes it convenient for the other classes. Thus, we can explicitly say that the most powerful ones believe in a sense of justice as convenience for everyone, but implicitly believe only in the argument that justice is what is convenient for themselves. Since convenience is what promotes harmony between functional classes, it becomes convenient to Socrates to believe that the understanding justice that the most powerful ones have is not publicly disclosed. The notion that all the speculation of the dialogue between the characters cannot be true, but, at best, only plausible and convenient is also part of the central argument in The Republic. Socrates needs to modify the nature of the functional classes through a targeted program of sexual reproduction and a program of ideological indoctrination so that the proposal to promote harmony through the elements of the city, declaring that justice is in favor of the weakest becomes a more plausible and convenient speech. To make the new system more plausible, Socrates develops a metaphysics based on the mathematical notion of harmony, such metaphysics serving the official rhetoric of the political regime presented by Socrates

Estudo das propriedades críticas do processo de contato por par para diferentes atualizações

We study the critical behavior of the one-dimensional pair contact process (PCP), using the Monte Carlo method for several lattice sizes and three different updating: random, sequential and parallel. We also added a small modification to the model, called Monte Carlo com Ressucitamento" (MCR), which consists of resuscitating one particle when the order parameter goes to zero. This was done because it is difficult to accurately determine the critical point of the model, since the order parameter(particle pair density) rapidly goes to zero using the traditional approach. With the MCR, the order parameter becomes null in a softer way, allowing us to use finite-size scaling to determine the critical point and the critical exponents β, ν and z. Our results are consistent with the ones already found in literature for this model, showing that not only the process of resuscitating one particle does not change the critical behavior of the system, it also makes it easier to determine the critical point and critical exponents of the model. This extension to the Monte Carlo method has already been used in other contact process models, leading us to believe its usefulness to study several others non-equilibrium models

Avaliação do padrão do ciclo sono-vigília e a cognição em estudantes de medicina com diferentes esquemas de horários de aulas

The sleep patterns of students entering the university, is accompanied by many factors that can lead to changes in sleep habits, such as academic demands, new social opportunities, reduced parental care and irregular teaching schedules. The irregular pattern of sleep-wake cycle is usually accompanied by several daytime consequences, for example, reduced levels of motivation, performance, concentration, alertness and mood as well as increased fatigue and sleepiness.Thus, there are numerous reasons to support the fact that these students may suffer damage in their academic performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sleep-wake cycle (SWC) and cognition in medical students with different schemes teaching schedules. One group started classes at 08am, while the other started at 07am. We analyzed the data from 88 volunteers, 39 from each group. However, only those who participated in both stages of the study (n = 78) underwent cognitive testing. For subjective evaluation of the SWC was used questionnaires to check the quality of sleep, chronotype, daytime sleepiness and sleep habits. For objective evaluation was used actigraphy. For cognitive assessment was used the test MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment). The results indicate that the group has class earlier had a greater irregularity of the SWC and a worse performance in cognitive testing. There was a difference between the schedules the week and weekend in the subjective variables, bedtime, wake up and sleep duration in both groups. The objective variables, time in bed showed difference between the schedules the week and weekend to the group started class at 08am and the variables bedtime, get up time, actual sleep time, time in bed and wake bouts in the class at 07am. In the cognitive test, there were differences between the groups in overall score and in the areas of executive function and memory recall. Thus, it is suggested that the class starting time may cause irregularity of the SWC and the irregularity may cause mild cognitive impairment. Moreover, cognitive testing MoCA was sensitive to detect differences among students, although the difference between the schedules is small