CAPELANIA ESCOLAR BATISTA: as práticas pastorais desenvolvidas pela capelania dos Colégios Batistas - um estudo de caso do sistema batista mineiro de educação

Este trabalho estuda a capelania escolar desenvolvida no Sistema Batista Mineiro de Educação (STBM), organização formada por seis colégios, uma faculdade, um instituto de idiomas e três projetos socio-educacionais, localizados em Minas Gerais, mantida pela Jutna de Educação da Convenção Batista Mineira, instituição das igrejas batistas de Minas Gerais. Apresenta a origem, contexto, desenvolvimento e constituição do Sistema Batisa Mineiro de Educação, bem como sua relação com a estrutura da deominação batista. Descreve os objetivos, importância, funções e legalidade da capelania escolar e o papél, a formação e o perfil ideal de um capelão ou capelã escolar. A capelania (ou pastoral) escolar está presente em praticamente todas as instituições educacionais confessionais, isto é, naquelas que estão ligadas a uma religião e que adotam os princípios de fé e vida dessa tradição religiosa como norteadores de sua ação poliítico-pedagógica. O objetivo da capelania escolar é ministrar aos alunos, funcionários administrativos e docentes e familiares de uma instituição de ensino, em suas necessidades emocionais, espirituais e morais, ajudando-os a superarem suas dificuldades e lutas, a fim de que o processo de formação do ser integral aconteça. A Capelania do SBME, como todas as capelanias escolares, enfrenta muitos desafios oriundos do exercício da sua confessionalidade, do ambiente interno e externo da escola, da sociedade e de vários problemas que vivenciam o jovem estudante contemporâneo, relacionados ao longo do texto. Para responder a esses desafios e demandas a capelania do SBME usa uma série de estratégias e desenvolve várias ações. Entre as estratégias e possibilidades de ação pastoral apresentadas neste trabalho, destaca-se o Projeto Ética e Caráter na Escola , que objetiva ajudar aos corpos docentes, discente e adminsitrativo a construirem e adotarem valo res e princípios éticos cristãos, ao longo de todo o processo educativo na escola e para a vida(AU)

ASPECTOS PSICODINÂMICOS E CAPACIDADE MATERNA DE MÃES DE CRIANÇAS ABRIGADAS

Este estudo teve como objetivos investigar aspectos da dinâmica intrapsíquica de mães de crianças institucionalizadas em abrigo por ordem judicial, e identificar recursos defensivos utilizados por essas mães. Para atingir estes objetivos, realizou-se uma investigação clínica com estudo de três casos de mães de crianças abrigadas. Foram utilizados dois instrumentos: a) Roteiro de Entrevista roteiro de temas a serem abordados em uma ou mais entrevistas não diretivas de cunho clínico, a fim de auxiliar na investigação da psicodinâmica destas mães. b) Procedimento de Desenho Estória com Tema técnica projetiva que associa o uso de desenhos com estórias, como forma de explorar livre e dinamicamente os conteúdos da personalidade. A técnica permite o estudo das características formais e estruturais da personalidade, pois tem a particularidade de facilitar a expressão de aspectos inconscientes relacionados a pontos de angústias presentes, focos conflituosos e perturbações emergentes. Estes procedimentos foram realizados nas dependências da instituição (abrigo) onde as crianças estavam hospedadas. Os principais resultados comuns aos três casos foram: Ambigüidade e os Impeditivos de Crescimento a primeira mãe entrevistada ao mesmo tempo ataca a mãe que a abandona (mãe biológica e a mãe adotiva), em busca de uma mãe idealizada. Essa ambigüidade a impede de crescer. Nota-se a mesma tentativa de idealização na segunda mãe estudada que demonstra dificuldade em aceitar a atual situação em que vive e não consegue perceber que a aproximação de sua mãe é por causa da doença que ela adquiriu e não por continência. A terceira e última mãe entrevistada demonstra conteúdos persecutórios diante do abrigamento dos filhos e dificuldade de sentir gratidão. Os mecanismos predominantes que aparecem nos três casos são os de: idealização e regressão a estágios primitivos. Nota-se ainda, depressão, dificuldade de elaboração da posição depressiva. Estas mães não conseguem vivenciar continuamente a realidade psíquica, que implicaria na elaboração da posição depressiva, pois não conseguem fazer, ainda que tentem, uma comparação entre os mundos interno e externo, o que as levariam à uma melhor compreensão das semelhanças e diferenças. De modo que, a figura dos pais (principalmente da mãe) fica cindida entre aterrorizante e idealizada, porém os mecanismos predominantes são suas fantasias que propiciam idealização; identificação projetiva maciça. A persecutoriedade e a culpa, ao mesmo tempo parecem indicar a depressão que pode ser tão forte que levam à intensificação destes sentimentos. Há a presença da inveja que também intensifica as angústias persecutórias, requerendo mecanismos de defesa que violentam as funções psíquicas.(AU)

Acquirer and owner perceptions of technology integration:the South African case

Developing countries are subject to the same global pressures as their developed counterparts but have additional domestic challenges that may place them at a significant, and perhaps insurmountable, disadvantage. However, technology still offers them the opportunity to participate in the international economy. Difficult conditions in their countries do not absolve managers from formulating and implementing technology policies that can make their firms globally competitive. At a macro-economic level, a number of broad developmental issues impact on the use of technology in developing countries. The subject of this paper is to examine the challenge for South African firms in their efforts to master technology, despite internal and external difficulties. Owners of technology need to consider the local context when supplying their technology to developing markets. The paper aims to investigate the views of technology recipients by examining the perceptions of South African managers regarding technology integration in a manufacturing environment. A number of technology suppliers were also interviewed in order to obtain their opinions on the issues raised by the technology acquirers. The importance of different factors in integrating technology is studied in relation to managers ’ abilities to control these variables. An importance-control grid framework is used to identify critical parameters and to assess how they can be managed in a complex environment.

The East Asian crisis and financing corporate investment:is there a cause for concern?

In view of limited empirical evidence concerning the microeconomic aspects of corporate financial problems in the East Asian countries in the 1990s, this paper analyses the financing pattern of corporate investment in Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. The analysis is based on an unbalanced panel of listed firms during the period 1989–1997. By using firm size, retention practices, and leverage as three different indicators of financial constraint on firm investment, we have examined the role of various internal and external financing variables on corporate investment in the sample countries. Results indicate that a large number of sample firms depend on free cash flow, especially in Indonesia; there was also a steady increase in debt-equity ratio in all countries. There were signs of agency costs in the use of cash flow in Korea and Malaysia and also in the use of debt financing in Malaysia and Thailand. There was also sign of over-investment among the Thai firms during 1994–1997 though it appears very little if at all was done to redress it in time.

Do external funds yield lower returns? Recent evidence from East Asian economies

One of the central explanations of the recent Asian Crisis has been the problem of moral hazard as the source of over-investment and excessive external borrowing. There is however rather limited firm-level empirical evidence to characterise inefficient use of internal and external finances. Using a large firm-level panel data-set from four badly affected Asian countries, this paper compares the rates of return to various internal and external funds among firms with low and high debt financing (relative to equity) among financially constrained and other firms. Selectivity-corrected estimates obtained from random effects panel data model do suggest evidence of significantly lower rates of return to long-term debt, even among firms relying more on debt relative to equity in our sample. There is also evidence that average effective interest rates often significantly exceeded the average returns to long-term debt in the sample countries in the pre-crisis period. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adoption of electronic commerce tools in business procurement:enhanced buying center structure and processes

Modern procurement is being shifted from paper-based, people-intensive buying systems toward electronic-based purchase procedures that rely on Internet communications and Web-enhanced buying tools. Develops a typology of e-commerce tools that have come to characterize cutting-edge industrial procurement. E-commerce aspects of purchasing are organized into communication and transaction tools that encompass both internal and external buying activities. Further, a model of the impact of e-commerce on the structure and processes of an organization's buying center is developed. The impact of the changing buying center on procurement outcomes in terms of efficiency and effectiveness is also analyzed. Finally, implications for business-to-business marketers and researchers are discussed.

Strategy as practice:Interactive governance spaces and the corporate strategies of retail transnationals

There is growing interest in the role of corporate governance systems within the strategy-making process of firms. Using a 'strategy as practice' perspective, we conceptualize the governance system as a contested space in which management and security analysts mutually adapt/transform and enact corporate strategies vis-à-vis argumentation. Synthesizing this micropractice perspective within corporate governance research, the supple role of securities analysts' arguments in shaping corporate strategies assumes a new significance. It also provides a basis for observing and understanding the contested nature of the retail internationalization process. The implications and opportunities for management studies and economic geography are considered. © The Author (2007). Published by Oxford Press. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity of LPGs in PCFs fabricated by an electric arc to temperature, strain, and external refractive index

Sensing properties of long-period gratings (LPGs) fabricated in photonic crystal fibers by an electric arc are explained and quantified by semianalytical and numerical models. In particular, the grating's insensitivity to temperature and simultaneous sensitivity to strain and refractive index are simulated. The modeling procedure is generalized so that it can be applied to a wide range of LPGs in various fibers.

An exploratory study of management accounting and control systems in a developing country

This thesis reports on the results of case studies in four commercial banks in Nigeria. The study focuses how management accounting and control systems (MCS) operate in the four banks. The study is motivated by the dearth of literature on management accounting practices in the developing world in general and in Nigeria in specific. The case study approach adopted in conducting the research was useful in exploring the dynamics of the MCS in the organisations. Data was gathered from two sources. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers at the head office, regional office and branches of each bank. The participants were selected from different backgrounds and managerial levels to provide broader understanding of the operations of the MCS. Second, various internal and external documents were reviewed to provide supporting evidence for the interview results. New institutional sociology (NIS) provided the theoretical framework to understand the results. NIS provided explanations for how the MCS in the four banks were shaped by diverse external and internal factors. The key factors identified as shaping the operations of the MCS were the need to comply with the regulatory environment (coercive isomorphism), the need to maintain social and cultural support (normative isomorphism) and the need to imitate successful organisations in order to appear legitimate (mimetic isomorphism). The study also examines the interplay between the institutional forces, market forces and infra-organisational power relations. This analysis is necessary to overcome the criticism of NIS that it downplays the role of market forces, agency and intra-organisational relations. The findings of the study have implications for understanding the operations of MCS in the developing world.

Human resource management, employee attitudes and business performance in Post Office Ltd

Whilst a consistent link between the adoption of human resource management (HRM) practices by organisations and their performance has been confirmed by numerous studies, there is a need for greater understanding of why such effects occur. Recently, the attention of researchers has shifted towards understanding the so-called ‘black box’ linking HRM and business performance. This study focuses on this area of research by testing processes through which HRM may affect performance, in particular the process of HR implementation, mediation mechanisms, and fit with internal and external boundary conditions. This research was based on a sample of 136 Post Office branches in the UK and investigated the role of HR implementation, employee attitudes and competitive environment. The study revealed that HR implementation, a climate for service, job satisfaction and effective organisational commitment predicted independent measures of economic and service performance in branches. Employee attitudes moderated the relationship between implemented HRM and service performance, and both job satisfaction and commitment were found to mediate relationships between a climate for service and service performance. Finally, relative levels of competition faced by branches moderated the relationship between employee attitudes and sales. The findings demonstrate how the process of HR implementation, interactions with employee attitudes and moderation by external competition all influence the impact of HR systems on service and economic performance outcomes. These results illustrate the need for greater attention to processes of internal and external fit within HRM research in order to develop theory relating to why HR systems affect performance.

Generation of nitric oxide and its protective and toxic actions in the gastrointestinal tract

Nitric oxide is a free-radical gas which can exert both protective and damaging effects. The objectives of the thesis were: (i) to investigate arginine metabolism in isolated rat gastric mucosal cells, (ii) to investigate the role of NO in the induction of ornithine decarboxylase in the rat gastric mucosa damaged by hypertonic saline in vivo, (iii) to expose primary cultures of guinea-pig gastric mucosal cells to oxidative challenge and an NO donor, and to investigate the response in terms of heat shock protein 72 (HSP 72) induction, and (iv) to investigate the induction of iNOS and the role of potential modulators of activity in gastric cell lines. Isolated rat gastric mucosal cells converted exogenous arginine to ornithine and citrulline. This metabolism of arginine was not affected by a range of NO synthase inhibitors, but was reduced by the arginase inhibitors NG-hydroxy-L-arginine and L-ornithine. Thus, the predominant pathway of arginine metabolism involves arginase and ornithine transcarbamoylase, not NO synthase. Pretreatment of rats with NG-nitro-L-arginine promoted activation of ornithine decarboxylase after intragastric hypertonic saline, but did not increase acid phosphatase release (damage). NO may therefore restrict activation of ornithine decarboxylase in response to damage. Exposure of primary cultures of guinea-pig gastric mucosal cells to S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) caused a concentration dependent induction of HSP 72, which was inhibited by an NO scavenger and blockade of transcription. The effect of SNAP was enhanced by decreasing the intracellular reduced thiol content with diethyl maleate, which itself also induced HSP 72 formation. Substantial amounts of NO may induce defensive responses in cells. Induction of iNOS was not detected in HGT-1 or AGS cells exposed to cytokines. Conclusions An arginase pathway may restrict availability of arginine for NO synthase in gastric mucosa or may be present to supply ornithine for polyamine synthesis. NO may modulate the response to damage of the stomach epithelium in vivo. Exogenous NO may induce a defensive response in gastric mucosal cells.

Improving diagnosis and oral vaccination strategies against bovine tuberculosis

In this work peptide antigens [ESAT-6,p45 in water (1ml, 1mg/ml)] have been adsorbed onto 10mg inorganic substrates (hydroxyapatite (MHA P201;P120, CHA), polystyrene, calcium carbonate and glass microspheres) and in vitro release characteristics were determined. The aim of formulation was to enhance the interaction of peptides with antigen presenting cells and to achieve rapid peptide release from the carrier compartment system in a mildly acidic environment. Hydroxyapatite microparticle P201 has a greater surface area and thus has the largest peptide adsorption compared to the P120. CHA gave a further higher adsorption due to larger surface area than that available on microparticles. These particles were incorporated into the BOVIGAMTM assay to determine if they improve the sensitivity. After overnight incubation the blood plasma was removed and the amount of IFN-g in each plasma sample was estimated. CHA and MHA P201 gave a significantly higher immune response at low peptide concentration compared to the free peptide, thus indicating that these systems can be used to evaluate Tuberculosis (TB) amongst cattle using the BOVIGAMTM assay. Badgers are a source of TB and pass infection to cattle. At the moment vaccination against TB in badgers is via the parenteral route and requires a trained veterinary surgeon as well as catching the badgers. This process is expensive and time consuming; consequently an oral delivery system for delivery of BCG vaccines is easier and cheaper. The initial stage involved addition of various surfactants and suspending agents to disperse BCG and the second stage involved testing for BCG viability. Various copolymers of Eudragit were used as enteric coating systems to protect BCG against the acidic environment of the stomach (SGF, 0.1M HCl pH 1.2 at 37oC) while dissolving completely in the alkaline environment of the small intestine (SIF, IM PBS solution pH 7.4 at 37oC). Eudragit L100 dispersed in 2ml PBS solution and 0.9ml Tween 80 (0.1%w/v) gave the best results remaining intact in SGF loosing only approximately 10-15% of the initial weight and dissolving completely within 3 hours. BCG was incorporated within the matrix formulation adjusted to pH 7 at the initial formulation stage containing PBS solution and Tween 80. It gave viability of x106 cfu/ml at initial formulation stage, freezing and freeze-drying stages. After this stage the matrix was compressed at 4 tons for 3 mins and placed in SGF for 2 hours and then in SIF until dissolved. The BCG viability dropped to x106 cfu/ml. There is potential to develop it further for oral delivery of BCG vaccine.

Simultaneous measurement of temperature and external refractive index by use of a hybrid grating in D fiber with enhanced sensitivity by HF etching

We propose a dual-parameter optical sensor device achieved by UV inscription of a hybrid long-period grating-fiber Bragg grating structure in D fiber. The hybrid configuration permits the detection of the temperature from the latter's response and measurement of the external refractive index from the former's response. In addition, the host D fiber permits effective modification of the device's sensitivity by cladding etching. The grating sensor has been used to measure the concentrations of aqueous sugar solutions, demonstrating its potential capability to detect concentration changes as small as 0.01%.