Identification and characterisation of telomere regulatory and signalling pathways after induction of telomere dysfunction

Telomeres are DNA-protein complexes which cap the ends of eukaryotic linear chromosomes. In normal somatic cells telomeres shorten and become dysfunctional during ageing due to the DNA end replication problem. This leads to activation of signalling pathways that lead to cellular senescence and apoptosis. However, cancer cells typically bypass this barrier to immortalisation in order to proliferate indefinitely. Therefore enhancing our understanding of telomere dysfunction and pathways involved in regulation of the process is essential. However, the pathways involved are highly complex and involve interaction between a wide range of biological processes. Therefore understanding how telomerase dysfunction is regulated is a challenging task and requires a systems biology approach. In this study I have developed a novel methodology for visualisation and analysis of gene lists focusing on the network level rather than individual or small lists of genes. Application of this methodology to an expression data set and a gene methylation data set allowed me to enhance my understanding of the biology underlying a senescence inducing drug and the process of immortalisation respectively. I then used the methodology to compare the effect of genetic background on induction of telomere uncapping. Telomere uncapping was induced in HCT116 WT, p21-/- and p53-/- cells using a viral vector expressing a mutant variant of hTR, the telomerase RNA template. p21-/- cells showed enhanced sensitivity to telomere uncapping. Analysis of a candidate pathway, Mismatch Repair, revealed a role for the process in response to telomere uncapping and that induction of the pathway was p21 dependent. The methodology was then applied to analysis of the telomerase inhibitor GRN163L and synergistic effects of hypoglycaemia with this drug. HCT116 cells were resistant to GRN163L treatment. However, under hypoglycaemic conditions the dose required for ablation of telomerase activity was reduced significantly and telomere shortening was enhanced. Overall this new methodology has allowed our group and collaborators to identify new biology and improve our understanding of processes regulating telomere dysfunction.

Revisiting molecular diagnostics of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human pathobiont that colonizes the nasopharynx. S. pneumoniae is responsible for causing non-invasive and invasive disease such as otitis, pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis, being a leading cause of infectious diseases worldwide. Due to similarities with closely related species sharing the same niche, it may be a challenge to correctly distinguish S. pneumoniae from its relatives when using only non-culture based methods such as real time PCR (qPCR). In 2007, a molecular method targeting the major autolysin (lytA) of S. pneumoniae by a qPCR assay was proposed by Carvalho and collaborators to identify pneumococcus. Since then, this method has been widely used worldwide. In 2013, the gene encoding for the ABC iron transporter lipoprotein PiaA, was proposed by Trzcinzki and collaborators to be used in parallel with the lytA qPCR assay. However, the presence of lytA gene homologues has been described in closely related species such as S. pseudopneumoniae and S. mitis and the presence of piaA gene is not ubiquitous between S. pneumoniae. The hyaluronate lyase gene (hylA) has been described to be ubiquitous in S. pneumoniae. This gene has not been used so far as a target for the identification of S. pneumoniae. The aims of our study were to evaluate the specificity, sensitivity, positive predicted value (PPV) and negative predicted value (NPV) of the lytA and piaA qPCR methods; design and implement a new assay targeting the hylA gene and evaluate the same parameters above described; analyze the assays independently and the possible combinations to access what is the best approach using qPCR to identify S. pneumoniae. A total of 278 previously characterized strains were tested: 61 S. pseudopneumoniae, 37 Viridans group strains, 30 type strains from other streptococcal species and 150 S. pneumoniae strains. The collection included both carriage and disease isolates. By Mulilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) we confirmed that strains of S. pseudopneumoniae could be misidentified as S. pneumoniae when lytA qPCR assay is used. The results showed that as a single target, lytA had the best combination of specificity, sensitivity, PPV and NPV being, 98.5%, 100.0%, 98.7% and 100.0% respectively. The combination of targets with the best values of specificity, sensibility, PPV and NPV were lytA and piaA, with 100.0%, 93.3%, 97.9% and 92.6%, respectively. Nonetheless by MLSA we confirmed that strains of S. pseudopneumoniae could be misidentified as S. pneumoniae and some capsulated (23F, 6B and 11A) and non-capsulated S. pneumoniae were not Identified using this assay. The hylA gene as a single target had the lowest PPV. Nonetheless it was capable to correctly identify all S. pneumoniae.

Contribuições da inserção musical para a qualidade de vida no trabalho em ambiente laboral fabril

The present thesis aimed at understanding how the insertion of music in the work environment contributes to achieving Quality of Work Life. - QWL, under the perspective of biopsychosocial and organizational well-being. As to music insertion we considered the theoretical-empirical perception about how music is inserted at work and its functions on such place. The context where the study was taken was the manufacturing area of a major textile company, located in Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, in which music is used during labor activities. The only study case was the research strategy adopted, with exploratory and descriptive purposes. The primary data were collected through the focus group technique, applied to the collaborator in the manufacturing sector. The semi-structured interview was done as a complementary tool, directed to the supervisor in that sector. Respecting the theoretical saturation criterion, we formed four focus groups, each one composed of eight members randomly selected, among the seventy-six collaborators in the sector. The data were analyzed qualitatively, through the content analysis technique, more specifically the category analysis. We identified twenty-eight QWL attributes. Six of them were found present in the four focus groups and in the interview. Among these ones, the attribute of Interpersonal Relationship at Work, contemplating the Psychological and Organizational dimensions, was the only one anticipated in four out of fifteen theoretical models here listed. The attribute Music at Work Environment could be inserted in the four QWL dimensions, highlighting the power and relevance of this attribute for the research participants. The way music has been inserted in the labor environment contributes to promoting well-being at work, which goes against theoretical conceptions, especially when it comes to musical genre. We identified nine functions of music at work, among which, Improving Work Conditions, Improving Interpersonal Relationship at Work and Favoring Motivation for Work had to be emphasized for being associated to three QWL attributes. In the total, we highlighted seven associations. The most affected QWL dimension through the insertion of music at work was the Psychological one, followed by the Organizational one. We conclude that music insertion provides biological, social and, above all, psychological and organizational well-being to the contributors, thus contributing to obtaining QWL at the labor environment researched. However, we should consider the context and proceed to periodical plans and adjustments in the way of music insertion so as to avoid health and well-being problems to those people at work

Desenvolvimento do Sistema de gestão da qualidade (NP EN ISO 9001:2008) na empresa Centi-Support

Dissertação de Mestrado em Gestão Integrada da Qualidade, Ambiente e Segurança

Una aproximación basada en Linked Data para la detección de potenciales redes de colaboración científica a partir de la anotación semántica de producción científica: Piloto aplicado con producción científica de investigadores ecuatorianos

En este documento se propone un marco de trabajo basado en tecnologías de la Web Semántica para detectar potenciales redes de colaboración, mediante el enriquecimiento semántico de artículos científicos producidos por investigadores que publican con afiliaciones ecuatorianas. El marco de trabajo se describe a través de un ciclo de publicación de datos enlazados. Como alcance se consideraron publicaciones que tienen al menos un autor con afiliación ecuatoriana. Las redes de colaboración detectadas son un insumo importante para fortalecer los esfuerzos del gobierno ecuatoriano y las autoridades universitarias del país, priorizar los esfuerzos y recursos invertidos en investigación y determinar la pertinencia o coherencia de los programas de investigación.

Burnout em cuidadores formais de idosos

O Síndrome de Burnout é, na atualidade, uma das consequências mais marcantes do stress profissional, pelo que se revela importante a investigação acerca da mesma, sobretudo nos denominados grupos de risco, como é o caso dos cuidadores formais de idosos institucionalizados. Com o objetivo de estudar os níveis de Burnout nos colaboradores de uma estrutura residencial, desenhou-se um estudo descritivo, analítico de caráter transversal, com recurso à metodologia quantitativa, tendo-se estudado uma amostra de 37 colaboradores. Para tal, aplicou-se um questionário construído para o efeito e que incluía a escala de avaliação MBI-HSS (Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey), que revela os níveis de Burnout através de três dimensões: a Exaustão Emocional, a Despersonalização e a Realização Pessoal. Os resultados obtidos na escala de Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), na amostra em estudo, indicam que, grande parte dos cuidadores foram classificados como possuindo níveis baixos de Burnout nas três dimensões: Exaustão Emocional, Despersonalização; e Realização Pessoal. Apesar disso, verificou-se que 16,2% dos participantes evidenciaram níveis moderados de Exaustão Emocional e 10,8% níveis altos na mesma dimensão; 16,2% apresentaram nível moderado de Despersonalização; 21,6% evidenciaram níveis moderados e 10,8% níveis altos de Realização Pessoal.

BURNOUT: analisando a síndrome do ramo das indústrias alimentícias do Rio Grande do Norte

This paper aims to verify the Burnout´s possibilities of incidence, finding the creating dimensions and comparing with the socio-demographics characteristics of the researched professionals. This quantitative-descriptive search has a population of 197 workers of 23 nourishing companies in Rio Grande do Norte. This population is predominantly male, younger than 28 years old, single, relatively instructed (57,07% with complete high school) and having just started their current job since 79% of the interviewees are in the company less than six years. The AUDITORIA DO SISTEMA HUMANO (ASH) model, utilized for investigation and developed for the Spaniards Quijano and Navarro in 1999, has several dimensions about human resources management and the organizational effectiveness, but only makes part of the research in 19 questions Burnout referring. It was used factorial analyses with extraction method, varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization with the intuition to define the creating dimensions of the syndrome, they were evaluated with Cronbach Alpha coefficient after extraction. The dimensions found through the factorial analyses were: emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion and vitality. The accumulated explanation value reached 65,30% of total variation. The data socio-demographics don t justify the syndrome appearance, because the T test and ANOVA showed irrelevant values. It has been also observed that the founded dimensions were different of the Maslach sociopsychological perspective (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low professional realization) allowing comparison with others researches and the possibility to develop new ones with workers from different assistance areas. These new researches are important, since the syndrome refers to chronic labor stress consequences and any professional is favorable to Burnout, harmful to the company as to the collaborators

O associativismo cultural e o impacto na educação artística contemporânea em Portugal : o caso da Associação Cultural d'Orfeu

As associações culturais, como coletividades que emancipam o papel do cidadão na criação e produção de atividades culturais, contribuindo para a dinamização das sociedades, podem ser um veículo de desenvolvimento da educação artística, ao nível do ensino não formal e informal, tendo como ponto de partida o contributo da participação ativa dos cidadãos, que buscam a promoção e dinamização de atividades de teor cultural e artístico. Sendo assim, a seleção do Associativismo Cultural para o estudo da evolução da educação artística é um caminho para a compreensão da dinâmica das coletividades e o seu impacto no desenvolvimento cultural e artístico, a nível local, regional e nacional. Neste estudo, foi selecionada a Associação Cultural d´Orfeu, como estudo de caso, pela sua longevidade como associação e pelo seu destaque a nível cultural e artístico da zona centro do país. Ao nível da metodologia optámos por uma metodologia mista, tanto numa abordagem qualitativa, ao nível da análise de conteúdo, como quantitativa, na análise de dados. As técnicas de recolha de dados consistiram em entrevistas a dirigentes associativos e colaboradores (metodologia qualitativa), inquéritos a sócios, colaboradores e participantes de associações culturais (metodologia quantitativa), registos para diário de campo (acontecimentos, atividades e formação artística), análise de espólio documental da Associação Cultural d´Orfeu e registo audiovisual e fotográfico. Com este estudo, espera-se compreender as dinâmicas que estão inerentes ao associativismo cultural ao nível da educação/formação artística e que impactos apresentam no desenvolvimento cultural, social e artístico da sociedade. Além disso, queremos verificar que estratégias são utilizadas pelas associações culturais para a diversificação da oferta cultural e para o incentivo da cidadania ativa.

Medical Device Development: the challenge for ergonomics

High quality, well designed medical devices are necessary to provide safe and effective clinical care for patients as well as to ensure the health and safety of professional and lay device users. Capturing the user requirements of users and incorporating these into design is an essential component of this. The field of ergonomics has an opportunity to assist, not only with this area, but also to encourage a more general consideration of the user during medical device development. A review of the literature on methods for assessing user requirements in engineering and ergonomics found that little published work exists on the ergonomics aspects of medical device development. In particular there is little advice available to developers on which issues to consider during design and development or recommendations for good practice in terms of the methods and approaches needed to capture the full range of user requirements. The Multidisciplinary Assessment of Technology Centre for Healthcare (MATCH) is a research collaboration that is working in conjunction with industrial collaborators to apply ergonomics methods to real case study projects with the ultimate aim of producing an industry-focused guide to applying ergonomics principles in medical device development.

Qualidade nos serviços turísticos náuticos no Alto Douro Vinhateiro: perspetiva dos clientes internos (colaboradores)

No contexto atual, marcado pela crise económica e financeira, as organizações dos serviços turísticos procuram aliar o conceito de qualidade com os seus serviços, de modo a satisfazer os clientes internos (colaboradores) e os clientes externos (turistas) e a garantir a prestação de um serviço personalizado e de excelência. O objetivo da presente dissertação consiste em proporcionar uma visão geral da qualidade dos serviços turísticos náuticos efetuados na região do Alto Douro Vinhateiro (ADV), junto dos clientes internos (colaboradores). Para o efeito, foi aplicado um inquérito a 117 colaboradores de diversas organizações dos serviços turísticos náuticos da região do ADV e realizada uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que existem aspetos a serem melhorados nas organizações (preocupação com os colaboradores; formação especifica; condições de trabalho; maior dialogo entre chefias e colaboradores; atribuição de carga horária e de folgas) para que os colaboradores se sintam satisfeitos. Por outro lado, verificou-se que as perceções sobre a qualidade nos serviços turísticos náuticos são iguais em ambos os géneros; Abstract: Quality in Nautical Touristic Services in Alto Douro Vinhateiro – The Internal Clients (Collaborators) Perspective In the actual context marked by the economic and financial crisis, the organizations of touristic services are looking to ally the concept of services with their services, in order to satisfy internal customers (collaborators) and external costumers (tourists) and to guarantee the installment of an excellent and personalized service. The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the quality of nautical tourism services made in the region of Alto Douro Vinhateiro, with internal clients (employees). For this purpose it applied a survey of 117 employees from various organizations of nautical tourism services of the ADV region and conducted an exploratory and descriptive research. The results show that there are areas to be improved in organizations (preoccupation with employees; specific training,; working conditions; greater dialogue between managers and employees; allocation of hours and days off) so that employees can feel satisfied- Moreover it was found that the perceptions of the quality of nautical tourism services are equal in both sexes.

Contrasts: Quartets and Art Songs of the Nineteenth Century

The nineteenth-century Romantic era saw the development and expansion of many vocal and instrumental forms that had originated in the Classical era. In particular, the German lied and French mélodie matured as art forms, and they found a kind of equilibrium between piano and vocal lines. Similarly, the nineteenth-century piano quartet came into its own as a form of true chamber music in which all instruments participated equally in the texture. Composers such as Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Gabriel Fauré offer particularly successful examples of both art song and piano quartets that represent these genres at their highest level of artistic complexity. Their works have become the cornerstones of the modern collaborative pianist’s repertoire. My dissertation explored both the art songs and the piano quartets of these three composers and studied the different skills needed by a pianist performing both types of works. This project included the following art song cycles: Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Gabriel Fauré’s Poème d’un Jour, and Johannes Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder. I also performed Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47, Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 15, and Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25. My collaborators included: Zachariah Matteson, violin and viola; Kristin Bakkegard, violin; Molly Jones, cello; Geoffrey Manyin, cello; Karl Mitze, viola; Emily Riggs, soprano, and Matthew Hill, tenor. This repertoire was presented over the course of three recitals on February 13, 2015, December 11, 2015, March 25, 2016 at the University of Maryland’s Gildenhorn Recital Hall. These recitals can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

Pratiques parentales coercitives, anxiété et traitement de la peur chez les jeunes en bonne santé: corrélats neuronaux, biologiques, physiologiques et comportementaux

L’adversité tôt dans la vie est associée au développement de symptômes anxieux pouvant perdurer jusqu’à l’âge adulte (Casey et el, 2010, Pine 2003). Des études chez l’adulte suggèrent que ces liens pourraient être associés à des altérations du « circuit de la peur » qui inclut l’amygdale, l’hippocampe antérieur, l’insula et le cortex préfrontal (Marek, 2013, Etkin & Wager, 2007). Ceci a cependant peu été étudié chez les jeunes. L’objectif principal de cette thèse était de définir les corrélats comportementaux, physiologiques, biologiques et neuronaux du traitement de la peur chez les jeunes en bonne santé, en lien ou non avec un historique d’adversité -- sous la forme de pratiques parentales coercitives -- et d’anxiété. D’abord, puisque nous nous intéressions aux pratiques parentales coercitives chroniques, nous avons examiné leur évolution et facteurs de risque, en nous concentrant sur la période de 17 à 72 mois. Un total de 2045 dyades mère-enfant ont été incluses dans une analyse de courbe de croissance latente. Nous avons démontré que la coercition maternelle suit une évolution non linéaire durant cette période et atteint un sommet à 42 mois. Les facteurs de risque relatifs à l’enfant et à la mère, mesurés à 17 mois, permettent de prédire les niveaux de coercition à 42 mois. Finalement, les prédicteurs relatifs à l’enfant et l’efficacité maternelle prédisent l’évolution des pratiques parentales coercitives entre 17 et 72 mois. Ensuite, afin de définir une méthodologie solide pour étudier le traitement de la peur chez des jeunes, nous avons adapté une tâche développée par Lau et ses collaborateurs (2008), employant des visages féminins comme stimuli. Le sexe des participants et des visages employés comme stimuli pouvant potentiellement moduler le traitement de la peur (Kret & de Gelder, 2012; McClure, 2000), nous avons étudié leurs influences respectives sur les réponses électrodermales et subjectives de peur durant le conditionnement et l’extinction de la peur chez 117 jeunes. Nous avons démontré que les stimuli féminins suscitent des réponses davantage comparables entre les garçons et les filles que les stimuli masculins. De plus, nous avons observé un effet du « même sexe », caractérisé par un conditionnement différentiel uniquement face aux stimuli du même sexe que le participant. Finalement, nous avons exploré les différences individuelles et conjointes associées aux différents niveaux de pratiques parentales coercitives et d’anxiété en termes de réponses de peur et d’activité cérébrale, durant le conditionnement et l’extinction de la peur chez 84 jeunes. Nous avons démontré que la coercition est spécifiquement associée au fonctionnement du lobe temporal médian et aux interactions entre l’amygdale et l’insula, durant le conditionnement. Durant l’extinction, les niveaux d’anxiété étaient associés à des différences spécifiques d’activation du gyrus cingulaire antérieur (GCA) dorsal. Enfin, les pratiques parentales coercitives et l’anxiété interagissent et viennent moduler la connectivité fonctionnelle amygdale - GCA rostral, l’activation d’une sous-région du GCA dorsal et les réponses subjectives de peur. Ces résultats ajoutent une pièce au casse-tête des neurosciences développementales et fournissent des pistes intéressantes pour le développement d’interventions futures.

Espionage against Poland in the Documents and Analyses of the Polish Special Services (1944 - 1989) - as Illustrated by the Intelligence Activities of the USA

The text analyses the intelligence activity against Poland in the period 1944-1989. The paper also contains a case study, i.e. an analysis of the American intelligence service activity held against Poland. While examining the research thesis, the author used the documents and analyses prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In order to best illustrate the point, the author presented a number of cases of persons who spied for the USA, which was possible thanks to the analysis of the training materials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs directed to the officers of the Security Service and the Citizens’ Militia. The text tackles the following issues: (1) to what extent did the character of the socio-political system influence the number of persons convicted for espionage against Poland in the period under examination?, (2) what was the level of interest of the foreign intelligence services in Poland before the year 1990?, (3) is it possible to indicate the specificity of the U.S. intelligence activity against Poland? 1) The analysis of data indicates that the period 1946-1956 witnessed a great number of convictions for espionage, which is often associated with the peculiar political situation in Poland of that time. Up to 1953, the countries of the Eastern bloc had reproduced the Stalin’s system, which only ceased due to the death of Stalin himself. Since then, the communist systems gradually transformed into the system of nomenklatura. Irrespective of these changes, Poland still witnessed a wave of repressions, which resulted from the threats continuously looming over the communist authorities – combating the anti-communist underground movement, fighting with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Polish government-in-exile, possible revisionism of borders, social discontent related to the socio-political reforms. Hence, a great number of convictions for espionage at that time could be ascribed to purely political sentences. Moreover, equally significant was the fact that the then judicial practice was preoccupied assessing negatively any contacts and relations with foreigners. This excessive number of convictions could ensue from other criminal-law provisions, which applied with respect to the crimes against the State, including espionage. What is also important is the fact that in the Stalin’s period the judiciary personnel acquired their skills and qualifications through intensive courses in law with the predominant spirit of the theory of evidence and law by Andrey Vyshinsky. Additionally, by the decree of 1944 the Penal Code of the Polish Armed Forces was introduced; the code envisaged the increase in the number of offences classified as penalised with death penalty, whereas the high treason was subject to the military jurisdiction (the civilians were prosecuted in military courts till 1955; the espionage, however, still stood under the military jurisdiction). In 1946, there was introduced the Decree on particularly dangerous crimes in the period of the State’s recovery, which was later called a Small Penal Code. 2) The interest that foreign intelligence services expressed in relation to Poland was similar to the one they had in all countries of Eastern and Central Europe. In the case of Poland, it should be noted that foreign intelligence services recruited Polish citizens who had previously stayed abroad and after WWII returned to their home country. The services also gathered information from Poles staying in immigrant camps (e.g. in FRG). The activity of the American intelligence service on the territory of FRG and West Berlin played a key role. The documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs pointed to the global range of this activity, e.g. through the recruitment of Polish sailors in the ports of the Netherlands, Japan, etc. In line with the development in the 1970s, espionage, which had so far concentrated on the defence and strategic sectors, became focused on science and technology of the People’s Republic of Poland. The acquisition of collaborators in academic circles was much easier, as PRL opened to academic exchange. Due to the system of visas, the process of candidate selection for intelligence services (e.g. the American) began in embassies. In the 1980s, the activity of the foreign intelligence services concentrated on the specific political situation in Poland, i.e. the growing significance of the “Solidarity” social movement. 3) The specificity of the American intelligence activity against Poland was related to the composition of the residency staff, which was the largest in comparison to other Western countries. The wide range of these activities can be proved by the quantitative data of convictions for espionage in the years 1944-1984 (however, one has to bear in mind the factors mentioned earlier in the text, which led to the misinterpretation of these data). Analysing the data and the documents prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one should treat them with caution, as, frequently, the Polish counter-intelligence service used to classify the ordinary diplomatic practice and any contacts with foreigners as espionage threats. It is clearly visible in the language of the training materials concerned with “secret service methods of the intelligence activity” as well as in the documents on operational activities of the Security Service in relation to foreigners. The level of interest the USA had in Poland was mirrored in the classification of diplomatic posts, according to which Warsaw occupied the second place (the so-called Group “B”) on the three-point scale. The CIA experienced spectacular defeats during their activity in Poland: supporting the Polish underground anti-communist organisation Freedom and Independence and the so-called Munich-Berg episode (both cases took place in the 1950s). The text focuses only on selected issues related to the espionage activities against Poland. Similarly, the analysis of the problem has been based on selected sources, which has limited the research scope - however, it was not the aim of the author to present the espionage activity against Poland in a comprehensive way. In order to assess the real threat posed by the espionage activity, one should analyse the case of persons convicted for espionage in the period 1944-1989, as the available quantitative data, mentioned in the text, cannot constitute an explicit benchmark for the scale of espionage activity. The inaccuracies in the interpretation of data and variables, which can affect the evaluation of this phenomenon, have been pointed out in the text.

Impacto(s) da gestão de recursos humanos na gestão do conhecimento em organizações industriais

Focalizando as dimensões humana e comportamental da gestão do conhecimento, a presente investigação visa uma análise do(s) impacto(s) (facilitador ou inibidor) dos pressupostos da gestão de recursos humanos no grau de aplicação da gestão do conhecimento em organizações industriais. Em particular, explora a(s) dinâmica(s) de influência entre a sofisticação dos pressupostos da formação profissional, da avaliação de desempenho e da gestão de recompensas na aplicação da gestão do conhecimento. Tendo em vista a medição dos constructos centrais do presente estudo, de acordo com a revisão de literatura efectuada, desenvolveram-se acções conducentes à adaptação de um questionário de gestão do conhecimento (GC), à construção, validação e desenvolvimento de três novos questionários (PPFP, PPAD e PPSR) que visaram aceder à percepção dos agentes organizacionais acerca dos pressupostos da gestão de recursos humanos vigentes ou culturalmente característicos do seu contexto laboral. O presente estudo envolveu múltiplas análises aos dados de 1364 questionários individuais auto-administrados e recolhidos em 55 empresas de quatro sub-sectores da cerâmica em Portugal. Para o estudo da relação linear entre um conjunto de variáveis preditoras e uma variável critério optou-se por realizar equações de regressão múltipla hierárquica, considerando-se dois blocos de variáveis. Num primeiro modelo foram introduzidas, apenas, as duas dimensões relativas à formação profissional medidas pelo instrumento PPFP e num segundo modelo aduziram-se as variáveis de avaliação de desempenho e de sistema de recompensas, especificamente, o primeiro factor retido na análise psicométrica dos instrumentos PPAD e PPSR.

Qualidade e triagem de Manchester : Estudo de caso Hospital CUF Descobertas

A saúde em Portugal encontra-se no caminho da mudança, rumo à excelência, pois questiona-se o sistema, a sua estrutura, os seus processos e os resultados. Uma das condições que mais influencia a competitividade entre instituições da saúde é a qualidade. Sendo a sociedade cada vez mais exigente, medi-la e avalia-la é um imperativo da época actual. O presente estudo teve como objectivo, contribuir para a realização de um diagnóstico de um processo de melhoria implementado num hospital privado de Lisboa - Hospital CUF Descobertas (HCD), no Serviço de Atendimento Permanente (SAP), à luz dos princípios da qualidade total. O procedimento da Triagem de Manchester é um processo que tem como principal objectivo o estabelecimento de prioridades, ou seja, identificar critérios de gravidade, de forma objectiva e sistematizada, que indicam a prioridade clínica com que o cliente deve ser atendido e o respectivo tempo de espera alvo recomendado até observação médica. Não se trata de estabelecer diagnósticos. Para o efeito, utilizou-se uma abordagem metodológica, suportada pelo modelo de auto-avaliação, designado Modelo Common Assessment Framework (CAF). Neste sentido, privilegiando-se a utilização dos critérios de meios deste modelo. Foi aplicado um questionário aos colaboradores do Serviço de Atendimento Permanente do Hospital CUF Descobertas. O Tratamento de dados estatísticos foi realizado com o apoio do SPSS, versão 16.0 e do Microsoft Excel. Os resultados deste estudo culminam com a identificação de pontos fortes, pontos fracos e sugestões de melhorias para o serviço em estudo. Neste sentido, este trabalho serviu de diagnóstico para se poder identificar em que ponto se situa e que rumo se deve seguir para se atingir um patamar de excelência relativamente à qualidade. Abstract: Health in Portugal finds itself on the path toward change, trying to find excellence while challenging the system and its structure, processes, and results. One of the conditions that most influences the competitiveness between the institutes of health is quality because society is becoming more demanding. Measuring and evaluating this change is happening in this current time. The present study has the objective of contributing and establishing a diagnostic tool relative to the process of improvement. This tool was used in a private hospital in Lisbon, Hospital CUF Descobertas, in the Emergency Room, in looking at the principles of total quality. This process designed through the Manchester Triage System has the main objective of the establishment of priorities through which we want to identify criteria of seriousness in an objective and systematic way that indicate a clinical priority with which the client is attended to in respect to the waiting time, giving a recommended time until medical observation. ln this sense, we do not diagnose patients in triage. For this effect, we used a methodological overview supported by the model of self-evaluation, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF}, in which we used the criteria: Leadership, Planning and Strategy, People, Resources and Processes. To arrive at this, a questionnaire was used by the collaborators of the emergency room of Hospital CUF Descobertas. The statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS version 16.0 and Microsoft Excel. The results of this study culminated with the identification of strong points, weak points, and suggestions for improvements for the work in study. ln this way, with this study, we can identify in where an organization finds itself and the path it should take in order to achieve a high level of quality excellence.