Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Although largely solitary, humpback whales exhibit a number of behaviours where individuals co-operate with one another, for example during bubble net feeding. Such cases could be due to reciprocal altruism brought on by exceptional circumstances, for example the presence of abundant shoaling fish. An alternative explanation is that these behaviours have evolved through kin selection. With little restriction to either communication or movement, diffuse groups of relatives could maintain some form of social organization without the need to travel in tight-nit units. To try to distinguish between these hypotheses, we took advantage of the fact that migrating humpback whales often swim together in small groups. If kin selection is important in humpback whale biology, these groups should be enriched for relatives. Consequently, we analysed biopsy samples from 57 groups of humpback whales migrating off Eastern Australia in 1992. A total of 142 whales were screened for eight microsatellite markers. Mitochondrial DNA sequences (371 bp) were also used to verify and assist kinship identification. Our data add support to the notion that mothers travel with their offspring for the first year of the calf's life. However, beyond the presence of mother-calf/yearling pairs, no obvious relatedness pattern was found among whales sampled either in the same pod or on the same day. Levels of relatedness did not vary between migratory phases (towards or away from the breeding ground), nor between the two sexes considered either overall or in the north or south migrations separately. These findings suggest that, if any social organization does exist, it is formed transiently when needed rather than being a constant feature of the population, and hence is more likely based on reciprocal altruism than kin selection.

Fundamentos para uma pol??tica de carreiras no contexto da reforma gerencial

Com o advento da administra????o gerencial no ??mbito do aparelho do Estado, em complementa????o ?? administra????o burocr??tica, verifica-se certa turbul??ncia na gest??o de pessoal na administra????o p??blica, decorrente da s??bita aus??ncia de fundamentos conceituais s??lidos que permitam pensar a administra????o do capital humano do Estado em um contexto de transforma????o. Este artigo procura estabelecer as bases para a recupera????o destes fundamentos, propondo tr??s crit??rios de design de carreiras: a estrutura de incentivos, os mecanismos de governan??a e a gest??o do conhecimento. Em seguida, exemplifica-se a utiliza????o destes crit??rios pela an??lise de seis temas pr??prios ?? discuss??o sobre carreiras no servi??o p??blico: remunera????o, sele????o, recrutamento e desenvolvimento, mobilidade, promo????o, carreiras para ag??ncias executivas e controle social da burocracia.

The study of public administration in India, the Philippines, Canada and Australia: the universal struggle against epistemic colonization, and toward critical assimilation

The study of public administration has been characterized as a strong international focus, as both governments and scholars have sought to learn from the experience of other societies. While in a perfect world, one would expect a sort of pragmatic universalism, instead, many scholars tend to bring lessons from one country, or from a single cultural reality. This modest contribution lies in showing a series of national experiences rarely brought to the discourse about public administration in Brazil: Canada, Australia, India and the Philippines. Special emphasis will be given to the following: the origins and the development of public administration; the influence of ideology; and the complex tension between global theory and local practices.

Performance assessment in the portuguese public administration

Apresentação realizada na Conferência "Changing Public Sevice in a Changing World" realizada em Budapeste a 24 de Abril de 2009

The portuguese public administration organization

Apresentação realizada no INA por ocasião da visita de uma delegação da República da Sérvia a Portugal.

Evaluation of portuguese public administration - institutions, managers and workers

Apresentação realizada a uma delegação da Administração pública da Bulgária, que visitou o INA em 2 de Dezembro de 2008.

Evaluation of training of public managers in the context of portuguese public administration

Comunicação apresentada na 32ª conferência anual do European Group of Public Administration (EGPA), em Toulouse.

The portuguese public administration reforms potencial impact in the development of civil servants work related stress : SIADAP case

Poster apresentado na 8.ª Conferência da European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, em Valencia, 12-14 de novembro de 2008.

Accessibility in portuguese public administration : manager's point of view

Apresentação realizada na LivingAll European Conference, em Valência, Espanha, de 15-16 janeiro de 2009

Gender inequities in portuguese state administration: how expressive feminization and facilitating laws are not enough to guarantee effective gender equity at public work

Comunicação apresentada na 69th ASPA Anual Conference, em Dalas, Texas de 7 a 11 de março de 2008

How can public administration reforms instill (or not) cooperation among the society?

Comunicação apresentada na Conferência Anual do IASIA, em Paris, a 6 de julho de 2015

The selection of senior civil servants in the context of the different public administration models: an issue of accountability

Comunicação apresentada no Congresso do IIAS-IISA no âmbito do IX Grupo de Estudo: Serviço público e política, realizado em Ifrane, Marrocos de 13 a 17 de junho de 2014