The importance of organizational commitment to knowledge management

In recent years, Knowledge Management (KM) has assumed great importance in the literature on business and management. However, we still have so little understanding of the human issues in KM processes. Thus, this research aims to contribute to analysing the importance of Organizational Commitment (OC) to KM. First, we used the Cardoso (2003) Knowledge Management Questionnaire (QGC) that embraces all organizational activities around knowledge processes and distinguishes four dimensions of KM. Secondly we applied the Quijano, Masip, Navarro and Aubert (1997) questionnaire (ASH-ICI) that distinguishes two types of commitment (personal and instrumental) into four dimensions. These two questionnaires were applied with 300 employees in the Portuguese industrial ceramics sector. Through multiple regression analysis we found that levels of organizational commitment are statistically important to KM dimensions. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that personal commitment is more important than need commitment. These results are discussed and Organizational Behaviour specialists and Work and Organizational psychologists are challenged to assume more responsibility and an active role in KM studies and practices and to explore human issues in this field.

Affecting Factors of Public Employees’ Ganizational Commitment

Purpose – The aim of this chapter is to shed some light on the antecedents of organizational commitment, the mediating role of job engagement and job satisfaction as determinants of organizational commitment within the public sector environment, and the effects that national cultural values may have on these relationships. Approach – This paper presents a review of the works that, from both theoretical and empirical points of view, explore the affecting factors of public employees’ organizational commitment in an international setting. Findings – A comprehensive model has been developed, detailing the expectations on the influence that these factors might have on public employees’ level of commitment, either as mediators or moderators. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is the paper’s theoretical nature; the subsequent implication is a future empirical research that may prove or disprove these theoretical findings. In addition, there are some other possible mediating factors and antecedents which may be of interest for future researchers. Originality/value – This comprehensive review of the extant literature may provide academics and public managers with a deeper comprehension of how organizational commitment might be achieved, and why some practices may or may not be transferrable from one country to another.

Behavioural outcomes of next-generation family members’ commitment to their firm

Are there variations in behaviours and leadership styles of next-generation family members or descendants who join their family business due to different forms of commitment? Evidence from a dual respondent study of 109 Canadian and Swiss family firms suggests that descendants with affective commitment to their family firms are more likely to engage in discretionary activities going beyond the job description, thereby contributing to organizational performance. Next-generation members with normative commitment are more likely to engage in transformational leadership behaviours. Both affectively and normatively motivated next-generation members use contingent reward forms of leadership. A surprising finding of this study is the binding force of normative commitment on positive leadership behaviours of next-generation members. This study empirically tests the generalizability of the three-component model of commitment to family businesses, a context in which different forms of commitment may play a unique role.

One Step Forward: Contrasting The Effects Of Toe Clipping And Pit Tagging On Frog Survival And Recapture Probability.

Amphibians have been declining worldwide and the comprehension of the threats that they face could be improved by using mark-recapture models to estimate vital rates of natural populations. Recently, the consequences of marking amphibians have been under discussion and the effects of toe clipping on survival are debatable, although it is still the most common technique for individually identifying amphibians. The passive integrated transponder (PIT tag) is an alternative technique, but comparisons among marking techniques in free-ranging populations are still lacking. We compared these two marking techniques using mark-recapture models to estimate apparent survival and recapture probability of a neotropical population of the blacksmith tree frog, Hypsiboas faber. We tested the effects of marking technique and number of toe pads removed while controlling for sex. Survival was similar among groups, although slightly decreased from individuals with one toe pad removed, to individuals with two and three toe pads removed, and finally to PIT-tagged individuals. No sex differences were detected. Recapture probability slightly increased with the number of toe pads removed and was the lowest for PIT-tagged individuals. Sex was an important predictor for recapture probability, with males being nearly five times more likely to be recaptured. Potential negative effects of both techniques may include reduced locomotion and high stress levels. We recommend the use of covariates in models to better understand the effects of marking techniques on frogs. Accounting for the effect of the technique on the results should be considered, because most techniques may reduce survival. Based on our results, but also on logistical and cost issues associated with PIT tagging, we suggest the use of toe clipping with anurans like the blacksmith tree frog.

Infertility Care And The Introduction Of New Reproductive Technologies In Poor Resource Settings.

The overall prevalence of infertility was estimated to be 3.5-16.7% in developing countries and 6.9-9.3% in developed countries. Furthermore, according to reports from some regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence rate is 30-40%. The consequences of infertility and how it affects the lives of women in poor-resource settings, particularly in developing countries, has become an important issue to be discussed in reproductive health. In some societies, the inability to fulfill the desire to have children makes life difficult for the infertile couple. In many regions, infertility is considered a tragedy that affects not only the infertile couple or woman, but the entire family. This is a position paper which encompasses a review of the needs of low-income infertile couples, mainly those living in developing countries, regarding access to infertility care, including ART and initiatives to provide ART at low or affordable cost. Information was gathered from the databases MEDLINE, CENTRAL, POPLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and ICTRP with the key words: infertility, low income, assisted reproductive technologies, affordable cost, low cost. There are few initiatives geared toward implementing ART procedures at low cost or at least at affordable cost in low-income populations. Nevertheless, from recent studies, possibilities have emerged for new low-cost initiatives that can help millions of couples to achieve the desire of having a biological child. It is necessary for healthcare professionals and policymakers to take into account these new initiatives in order to implement ART in resource-constrained settings.

Histopathological Alterations In The Prostates Of Mongolian Gerbils Exposed To A High-fat Diet And Di-n-butyl Phthalate Individually Or In Combination.

Both high-fat diet and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been implicated in susceptibility to pathological prostate lesions, but the consequences of combining the two have not yet been examined. We evaluated the effects of gestational and postnatal exposure to a high-fat diet (20% fat) and low doses of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP; 5mg/kg/day), individually or in combination, on the tissue response and incidence of pathological lesions in the ventral prostate of adult gerbils. Continuous intake of a high-fat diet caused dyslipidemia, hypertrophy, and promoted the development of inflammatory, premalignant and malignant prostate lesions, even in the absence of obesity. Life-time DBP exposure was obesogenic and dyslipidemic and increased the incidence of premalignant prostate lesions. Combined exposure to DBP and a high-fat diet also caused prostate hypertrophy, but the effects were less severe than those of individual treatments; combined exposure neither induced an inflammatory response nor altered serum lipid content.

Critical applications of SW 846 US EPA methods to evaluation of marine samples quality

Technical evaluation of analytical data is of extreme relevance considering it can be used for comparisons with environmental quality standards and decision-making as related to the management of disposal of dredged sediments and the evaluation of salt and brackish water quality in accordance with CONAMA 357/05 Resolution. It is, therefore, essential that the project manager discusses the environmental agency's technical requirements with the laboratory contracted for the follow-up of the analysis underway and even with a view to possible re-analysis when anomalous data are identified. The main technical requirements are: (1) method quantitation limits (QLs) should fall below environmental standards; (2) analyses should be carried out in laboratories whose analytical scope is accredited by the National Institute of Metrology (INMETRO) or qualified or accepted by a licensing agency; (3) chain of custody should be provided in order to ensure sample traceability; (4) control charts should be provided to prove method performance; (5) certified reference material analysis or, if that is not available, matrix spike analysis, should be undertaken and (6) chromatograms should be included in the analytical report. Within this context and with a view to helping environmental managers in analytical report evaluation, this work has as objectives the discussion of the limitations of the application of SW 846 US EPA methods to marine samples, the consequences of having data based on method detection limits (MDL) and not sample quantitation limits (SQL), and present possible modifications of the principal method applied by laboratories in order to comply with environmental quality standards.

A closer look at multiple-clone Plasmodium vivax infections: detection methods, prevalence and consequences

The naturally occurring clonal diversity among field isolates of the major human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax remained unexplored until the early 1990s, when improved molecular methods allowed the use of blood samples obtained directly from patients, without prior in vitro culture, for genotyping purposes. Here we briefly review the molecular strategies currently used to detect genetically distinct clones in patient-derived P. vivax samples, present evidence that multiple-clone P. vivax infections are commonly detected in areas with different levels of malaria transmission and discuss possible evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of the competition between genetically distinct clones in natural human infections. We suggest that, when two or more genetically distinct clones are present in the same host, intra-host competition for limited resources may select for P. vivax traits that represent major public health challenges, such as increased virulence, increased transmissibility and antimalarial drug resistance.

Políticas públicas para o controle da anemia ferropriva

A anemia por deficiência de ferro configura um problema epidemiológico da maior relevância atuando nos gastos públicos de saúde, nas consequências sociais do aumento de riscos no período gestacional, na redução da produtividade e, ainda, nas consequências, em longo prazo, do desenvolvimento mental. Algumas datas marcam o envolvimento do governo brasileiro em busca de alternativas de controle da deficiência marcial: 1977 - 1ª Reunião do Ministério da Saúde (INAN), com especialistas nacionais e internacionais, para discutir perspectivas e intervenções para o controle da anemia; 1982/83 - distribuição de suplemento de ferro para a clientela do Programa de Atenção à Gestante e dosagem de hemoglobina na 1ª consulta; 1992 - assinatura de compromisso brasileiro de reduzir em 1/3 a prevalência de anemia em gestantes; 1994 - implantação do Programa de Leite Vivaleite, no estado de São Paulo, fornecendo leite fortificado com ferro a famílias com crianças até 6 anos e renda inferior a dois salários mínimos; 2002/junho 2004 - fortificação das farinhas de trigo e de milho com ferro; 2005 - programa de suplementação de ferro a lactentes; 2009/março - divulgação do resultado do levantamento de prevalência de anemia em mulheres (15-49 anos) e crianças (6 - 59 meses) no Brasil; 2009/agosto - foi reeditada a Portaria no 1793/GM/agosto/2009 do Ministério da Saúde, instituindo a Comissão Interinstitucional para implementação, acompanhamento e monitorização das ações de fortificação das farinhas de trigo e milho e seus subprodutos.

Economic impact of a rotavirus vaccine in Brazil

The study was done to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a national rotavirus vaccination programme in Brazilian children from the healthcare system perspective. A hypothetical annual birth-cohort was followed for a five-year period. Published and national administrative data were incorporated into a model to quantify the consequences of vaccination versus no vaccination. Main outcome measures included the reduction in disease burden, lives saved, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted. A rotavirus vaccination programme in Brazil would prevent an estimated 1,804 deaths associated with gastroenteritis due to rotavirus, 91,127 hospitalizations, and 550,198 outpatient visits. Vaccination is likely to reduce 76% of the overall healthcare burden of rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis in Brazil. At a vaccine price of US$ 7-8 per dose, the cost-effectiveness ratio would be US$ 643 per DALY averted. Rotavirus vaccination can reduce the burden of gastroenteritis due to rotavirus at a reasonable cost-effectiveness ratio.

Risk optimization of a steel frame communications tower subject to tornado winds

The structural engineering community in Brazil faces new challenges with the recent occurrence of high intensity tornados. Satellite surveillance data shows that the area covering the south-east of Brazil, Uruguay and some of Argentina is one of the world most tornado-prone areas, second only to the infamous tornado alley in central United States. The design of structures subject to tornado winds is a typical example of decision making in the presence of uncertainty. Structural design involves finding a good balance between the competing goals of safety and economy. This paper presents a methodology to find the optimum balance between these goals in the presence of uncertainty. In this paper, reliability-based risk optimization is used to find the optimal safety coefficient that minimizes the total expected cost of a steel frame communications tower, subject to extreme storm and tornado wind loads. The technique is not new, but it is applied to a practical problem of increasing interest to Brazilian structural engineers. The problem is formulated in the partial safety factor format used in current design codes, with all additional partial factor introduced to serve as optimization variable. The expected cost of failure (or risk) is defined as the product of a. limit state exceedance probability by a limit state exceedance cost. These costs include costs of repairing, rebuilding, and paying compensation for injury and loss of life. The total expected failure cost is the sum of individual expected costs over all failure modes. The steel frame communications, tower subject of this study has become very common in Brazil due to increasing mobile phone coverage. The study shows that optimum reliability is strongly dependent on the cost (or consequences) of failure. Since failure consequences depend oil actual tower location, it turn,,; out that different optimum designs should be used in different locations. Failure consequences are also different for the different parties involved in the design, construction and operation of the tower. Hence, it is important that risk is well understood by the parties involved, so that proper contracts call be made. The investigation shows that when non-structural terms dominate design costs (e.g, in residential or office buildings) it is not too costly to over-design; this observation is in agreement with the observed practice for non-optimized structural systems. In this situation, is much easier to loose money by under-design. When by under-design. When structural material cost is a significant part of design cost (e.g. concrete dam or bridge), one is likely to lose significantmoney by over-design. In this situation, a cost-risk-benefit optimization analysis is highly recommended. Finally, the study also shows that under time-varying loads like tornados, the optimum reliability is strongly dependent on the selected design life.

Mutational analysis of genes p14ARF, p15INK4b, p16INK4a, and PTEN in human nervous system tumors

The cancer is one of the most common and severe problems in clinical medicine, and nervous system tumors represent about 2% of the types of cancer. The central role of the nervous system in the maintenance of vital activities and the functional consequences of the loss of neurons can explain how severe brain cancers are. The cell cycle is a highly complex process, with a wide number of regulatory proteins involved, and such proteins can suffer alterations that transform normal cells into malignant ones. The INK4 family members (CDK inhibitors) are the cell cycle regulators that block the progression of the cycle through the R point, causing an arrest in G1 stage. The p14ARF (alternative reading frame) gene is a tumor suppressor that inhibits p53 degradation during the progression of the cell cycle. The PTEN gene is related to the induction of growth suppression through cell cycle arrest, to apoptosis and to the inhibition of cell adhesion and migration. The purpose of the present study was to assess the mutational state of the genes p14ARF, p15INK4b, p16INK4a, and PTEN in 64 human nervous system tumor samples. Homozygous deletions were found in exon 2 of the p15INK4b gene and exon 3 of the p16INK4a gene in two schwannomas. Three samples showed a guanine deletion (63 codon) which led to a loss of heterozygosity in the p15 gene, and no alterations could be seen in the PTEN gene. Although the group of patients was heterogeneous, our results are in accordance with other different studies that indicate that homozygous deletion and loss of heterozygosity in the INK4 family members are frequently observed in nervous system tumors.

Cellular Renewal and Improvement of Local Cell Effector Activity in Peritoneal Cavity in Response to Infectious Stimuli

The peritoneal cavity (PerC) is a singular compartment where many cell populations reside and interact. Despite the widely adopted experimental approach of intraperitoneal (i.p.) inoculation, little is known about the behavior of the different cell populations within the PerC. To evaluate the dynamics of peritoneal macrophage (Mempty set) subsets, namely small peritoneal Mempty set (SPM) and large peritoneal Mempty set (LPM), in response to infectious stimuli, C57BL/6 mice were injected i.p. with zymosan or Trypanosoma cruzi. These conditions resulted in the marked modification of the PerC myelo-monocytic compartment characterized by the disappearance of LPM and the accumulation of SPM and monocytes. In parallel, adherent cells isolated from stimulated PerC displayed reduced staining for beta-galactosidase, a biomarker for senescence. Further, the adherent cells showed increased nitric oxide (NO) and higher frequency of IL-12-producing cells in response to subsequent LPS and IFN-gamma stimulation. Among myelo-monocytic cells, SPM rather than LPM or monocytes, appear to be the central effectors of the activated PerC; they display higher phagocytic activity and are the main source of IL-12. Thus, our data provide a first demonstration of the consequences of the dynamics between peritoneal Mempty set subpopulations by showing that substitution of LPM by a robust SPM and monocytes in response to infectious stimuli greatly improves PerC effector activity.

The Liver Plays a Major Role in Clearance and Destruction of Blood Trypomastigotes in Trypanosoma cruzi Chronically Infected Mice

Intravenous challenge with Trypanosoma cruzi can be used to investigate the process and consequences of blood parasite clearance in experimental Chagas disease. One hour after intravenous challenge of chronically infected mice with 5610 6 trypomastigotes, the liver constituted a major site of parasite accumulation, as revealed by PCR. Intact parasites and/or parasite remnants were visualized at this time point scattered in the liver parenchyma. Moreover, at this time, many of liver-cleared parasites were viable, as estimated by the frequency of positive cultures, which considerably diminished after 48 h. Following clearance, the number of infiltrating cells in the hepatic tissue notably increased: initially (at 24 h) as diffuse infiltrates affecting the whole parenchyma, and at 48 h, in the form of large focal infiltrates in both the parenchyma and perivascular spaces. Phenotypic characterization of liver-infiltrating cells 24 h after challenge revealed an increase in Mac1(+), CD8(+) and CD4(+) cells, followed by natural killer (NK) cells. As evidence that liver-infiltrating CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were activated, increased frequencies of CD69(+) CD8(+), CD69(+) CD4(+) and CD25(+) CD122(+) CD4(+) cells were observed at 24 and 48 h after challenge, and of CD25(-)CD122(+)CD4(+) cells at 48 h. The major role of CD4(+) cells in liver protection was suggested by data showing a very high frequency of interferon (IFN)-gamma-producing CD4(+) cells 24 h after challenge. In contrast, liver CD8(+) cells produced little IFN-gamma, even though they showed an enhanced potential for secreting this cytokine, as revealed by in vitro T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. Confirming the effectiveness of the liver immune response in blood parasite control during the chronic phase of infection, no live parasites were detected in this organ 7 days after challenge.

Induction of mitotic crossing-over in diploid strains of Aspergillus nidulans using low-dose X-rays

As a contribution towards detecting the genetic effects of low doses of genotoxic physical agents, this paper deals with the consequences of low-dose X-rays in the Aspergillus nidulans genome. The irradiation doses studied were those commonly used in dental clinics (1-5 cGy). Even very low doses promoted increased mitotic crossing-over frequencies in diploid strains heterozygous for several genetic markers including the ones involved in DNA repair and recombination mechanisms. Genetic markers of several heterozygous strains were individu`ally analyzed disclosing that some markers were especially sensitive to the treatments. These markers should be chosen as bio-indicators in the homozygotization index assay to better detect the recombinogenic/carcinogenic genomic effects of low-dose X-rays.