Environmental management system and human resource practices: is there a link between them in four Brazilian companies?

The aim of this article is to analyze the theoretical model proposed by [Jabbour CJC, Santos FCA. Relationships between human resource dimensions and environmental management in companies: proposal of a model. Journal of Cleaner Production 2008;16(1):5 1-8.] based on the data collected in four Brazilian companies. This model investigates how the phases of the environmental management system can be linked to human resource practices in order to attain continuous improvement of a company's environmental performance. Our aim is to contribute to a field, which has little empirical evidence. Although the interaction between the phases of the environmental management system and human resource practices is recommended by the specialized literature [Daily BE Huang S. Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource factors in environmental management. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 2001:21(12):1539-52.], the results indicate that most of the theoretical assumptions could not be confirmed in these Brazilian companies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brazilian Students and Working Capital: An Analysis of Their Decisions When Using Virtual Market Business Games

This study aims to demonstrate that data from business games can be an important resource for improving efficiency and effectiveness of learning. The proposal presented here was developed from preliminary studies of data from Virtual Market games that pointed the possibility of identifying gaps in learning by analyzing the decisions of students. This proposal helps students to refine their learning processes and equips tutors with strategies for teaching and student assessment. The proposal also complements the group discussion and/or debriefing, which are widely used to enhance learning mediated by games. However, from a management perspective the model has the potential to be erroneous and miss opportunities, which cannot be detected because of the dependence on the characteristics of the individual, such as ability to communicate and work together. To illustrate the proposed technique, data sets from two business games were analyzed with the focus on managing working capital and it was found that students had difficulties managing this task. Similar trends were observed in all categories of students in the study-undergraduate, postgraduate and specialization. This discovery led us to the analysis of data for decisions made in the performance of the games, and it was determined that indicators could be developed that were capable of indentifying inconsistencies in the decisions. It was decided to apply some basic concepts of the finance management, such as management of the operational and non-operational expenditures, as well as production management concepts, such as the use of the production capacity. By analyzing the data from the Virtual Market games using the indicator concept, it was possible to detect the lack of domain knowledge of the students. Therefore, these indicators can be used to analyze the decisions of the players and guide them during the game, increasing their effectiveness and efficiency. As these indicators were developed from specific content, they can also be used to develop teaching materials to support learning. Viewed in this light, the proposal adds new possibilities for using business games in learning. In addition to the intrinsic learning that is achieved through playing the games, they also assist in driving the learning process. This study considers the applications and the methodology used.

In the eye of the storm: exploring the introduction of environmental issues in the production function in Brazilian companies

This article aims to analyse the introduction of environmental issues in the context of the production function, which has been referred to as the organisational area to lead corporate environmental management. With that purpose, the theoretical references for corporate environmental management and the necessary alterations in production function have been organised to include environmental aspects, especially in terms of product and process development, quality management, and logistics. Considering that this research field still lacks empirical evidence for Brazilian companies, four case studies were conducted using companies located in the country. The environmental management maturity level of those companies tends to follow the rate with which the environmental issue is introduced in production sub-areas, especially in the product development process. However, in most cases we found that the companies had difficulties in structuring the insertion of the environmental dimension in logistics. The final notes point out the distance observed between what is recommended by international literature and the reality of Brazilian companies in the challenge of making the production function environmentally friendly.

Experimental performance of a direct evaporative cooler operating during summer in a Brazilian city

This paper presents the basic principles of the evaporative cooling process for human thermal comfort, the principles of operation for the direct evaporative cooling system and the mathematical development of the equations of thermal exchanges, allowing the determination of the effectiveness of saturation. It also presents the results of experimental tests in a direct evaporative cooler that take place in the Air Conditioning Laboratory at the University of Taubate Mechanical Engineering Department, and the experimental results are used to determinate the convective heat transfer co-efficient and to compare with the mathematical model. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Forest natural regeneration and biomass production after slash and burn in a seasonally dry forest in the Southern Brazilian Amazon

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

Biodiesel CO2 emissions: A comparison with the main fuels in the Brazilian market

The use of biodiesel is increasing as an attractive fuel due to the depleting fossil fuel resources and environmental degradation. This paper presents results of an investigation on the potentials of biodiesel as an alternative fuel and main substitute of diesel oil, comparing the CO2 emissions of the main fuels in the Brazilian market with those of biodiesel, in pure form or blended in different proportions with diesel oil (2%, 5%, and 20%, called B2, B5, and B20, respectively). The results of the study are shown in ton CO2 per m(3) and ton CO2 per year of fuel. The fuels were analyzed considering their chemical composition, stoichiometric combustion parameters and mean consumption for a single vehicle. The fuels studied were: gasoline, diesel oil, anhydrous ethyl alcohol (anhydrous ethanol), and biodiesel from used frying oil and from soybean oil. For the case of biodiesel, its complete life cycle and the closed carbon cycle (photosynthesis) were considered. With data provided by the Brazilian Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA) for the number of vehicles produced in Brazil, the emissions of CO2 for the national fleet in 2007 were obtained per type of fuel. With data provided by the Brazilian Department of Transit (DENATRAN) concerning the number of diesel vehicles in the last five years in Brazil, the total CO2 emissions and the percentage that they would decrease in the case of use of pure biodiesel, B100, or several mixtures, B2, B5 and B20, were calculated. Estimates of CO2 emissions for a future scenario considering the mixtures B5 and B20 are also included in this article. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ergonomics work analysis applied to dentistry - a Brazilian case study

This paper presents the Ergonomic Work Analysis method in a Brazilian Dentist's office. Through the study, the constraints and the strategies in avoiding them were identified. It was found that dentists hardly use the position most indicated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Federation Dentaire Internacionale (FDI) for both the patient and the dentist, which is respectively supine and 9 o'clock, due to the limited space and layout. Five types of treatments performed by the professional have been studied. The frequency and duration of actions in these treatments were accounted for and the standard positions adopted were identified. The AET was found to be a very suitable method to grasp the dentist's activity and build a point of view of the profession, which is characterized as: stressful, perfectionist and restrictive. Time management is presented as an important strategy to control the tension arising from performing the treatments.

Eimeria Spp. in Brazilian Water Buffalo

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

Spermatozoon ultrastructure and sperm cryopreservation of the Brazilian dry season spawner fish pirapitinga, Brycon nattereri

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Analysis of the Electrical Characteristics of an Alternative Solution for the Brazilian-Amazon Transmission System

This article analyzes the electrical parameters of a 3-phase transmission line using a 280-m-high steel tower that has been proposed for the Amazon transmission system in Brazil. The height of the line conductors and the distance between them are intrinsically related to the longitudinal and transverse parameters of the line. Hence, an accurate study is carried out in order to show the electrical variations between a transmission line using the new technology and a conventional 3-phase 440-kV line, considering a wide range of frequencies and variable soil resistivity. First, a brief review of the fundamental theory of line parameters is presented. In addition, by using a digital line model, simulations are carried out in the time domain to analyze possible and critical over-voltage transients on the proposed line representation.

Multidimensional cluster stability analysis from a Brazilian Bradyrhizobium sp RFLP/PCR data set

The taxonomy of the N(2)-fixing bacteria belonging to the genus Bradyrhizobium is still poorly refined, mainly due to conflicting results obtained by the analysis of the phenotypic and genotypic properties. This paper presents an application of a method aiming at the identification of possible new clusters within a Brazilian collection of 119 Bradryrhizobium strains showing phenotypic characteristics of B. japonicum and B. elkanii. The stability was studied as a function of the number of restriction enzymes used in the RFLP-PCR analysis of three ribosomal regions with three restriction enzymes per region. The method proposed here uses Clustering algorithms with distances calculated by average-linkage clustering. Introducing perturbations using sub-sampling techniques makes the stability analysis. The method showed efficacy in the grouping of the species B. japonicum and B. elkanii. Furthermore, two new clusters were clearly defined, indicating possible new species, and sub-clusters within each detected cluster. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the performance of an extraction-condensation steam turbine on a cogeneration system of a Brazilian sugar-alcohol factory

In this work a detailed thermodynamic analysis for an extraction-condensation steam turbine capable to drive a 40 MVA electricity generator in a sugar-alcohol factory was carried out. The use of this turbine in the cogeneration system showed that its efficiency contributed to increase the power generation, although the condensation reduces the overall efficiency of the plant. Sensibility analyses were performed to evaluate the behavior of the overall energy efficiency of a plant with the extraction-condensation turbine in function of the boiler efficiency, the specific consumption of steam in the processes and the condensation rate in the turbine. It was observed that the plant efficiency is very sensible to the condensation rate variation and it increases when there is an increase in the demand of steam for processes.

Influence of alkaline extraction on the characteristics of humic substances in Brazilian soils

An investigation was made of the influence of alkaline extraction on the characteristics of humic substances extracted from Brazilian soil samples. Humic substances (HS) from seven different soils samples collected in Brazil were extracted using the procedure recommended by the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS). Soils, HS and humins were characterized by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. About 8 mg of each material (soil, HS and humin) were placed in a platinum crucible and heated continuously from 20 to 750 degrees C at a heating rate of 10 degrees C min(-1) in an atmosphere of synthetic air (100 ml min(-1)). A thermal analysis revealed a difference between the content and structural characteristics of organic matter present in HS and humin fractions in relation to their soils. The results indicated that alkaline extraction alters the characteristics of humic substances during the extraction process, underlining the importance of developing methodologies and analytical procedures that allow organic matter in soils to be studied without extracting it. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial variability of soil water content and mechanical resistance of Brazilian ferralsol

The spatial variability of mechanical resistance to penetration (PR) and gravimetric moisture (GM) was studied at a depth of 0-0.40 m, in a ferralsol cropped with corn, and under conventional tillage in llha Solteira, Brazil (latitude 20 degrees 17'S, and longitude 52 degrees 25'W). The purpose of this study was to analyse and to try explaining the spatial variability of the mentioned soil physical properties using geostatistics. Soil data was collected at points arranged on the nodes of a mesh with 97 points. Geostatistics was used to analyse the spatial variability of PR and GM at four depths: 0-0. 1, 0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3 and 0.3-0.4 m. PR showed a higher variability of data, with coefficients of variation of 52.39, 30.54, 16.91, and 15.18%, from the surface layers to the deepest layers. The values of the coefficients of variation for GM were lower: 9.99, 5.13, 5.59, and 5.69%. Correlation between GM and PR for the same soil layers was low. Penetration resistance showed spatial structure only in the 0.30-0.40 m layer, while gravimetric moisture showed spatial structure at all depths except for 0-0. 10 m. All the models of fitted semivariograms were spherical and exponential, with ranges of 10-80 m. Data for the variable 'GM' in the 0.20-0.30 and 0.30-0.40 m layers revealed a trend in data attributed to the occurrence of subsurface water flow. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evidence that the Ceratobasidium-like white-thread blight and black rot fungal pathogens from persimmon and tea crops in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest agroecosystem are two distinct phylospecies

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