Lifestyle factors, direct and indirect costs for a Brazilian airline company

OBJECTIVE: To analyze lifestyle risk factors related to direct healthcare costs and the indirect costs due to sick leave among workers of an airline company in Brazil. METHODS: In this longitudinal 12-month study of 2,201 employees of a Brazilian airline company, the costs of sick leave and healthcare were the primary outcomes of interest. Information on the independent variables, such as gender, age, educational level, type of work, stress, and lifestyle-related factors (body mass index, physical activity, and smoking), was collected using a questionnaire on enrolment in the study. Data on sick leave days were available from the company register, and data on healthcare costs were obtained from insurance records. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to investigate the association between direct and indirect healthcare costs with sociodemographic, work, and lifestyle-related factors. RESULTS: Over the 12-month study period, the average direct healthcare expenditure per worker was US$505.00 and the average indirect cost because of sick leave was US$249.00 per worker. Direct costs were more than twice the indirect costs and both were higher in women. Body mass index was a determinant of direct costs and smoking was a determinant of indirect costs. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity and smoking among workers in a Brazilian airline company were associated with increased health costs. Therefore, promoting a healthy diet, physical activity, and anti-tobacco campaigns are important targets for health promotion in this study population.

Optimal Mirrleesian taxation in non-competitive labor markets

We study optimal labor income taxation in non-competitive labor markets. Firms offer screening contracts to workers who have private information about their productivity. A planner endowed with a Paretian social welfare function tries to induce allocations that maximize its objective. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for implementation of constrained efficient allocations using tax schedules. All allocations that are implementable by a tax schedule display negative marginal tax rates for almost all workers. Not all allocations that are implementable in a competitive setting are implementable in this noncompetitive environment.

HACCP plan proposal for a typical Brazilian peanut processing company

Peanuts are likely to be infested by fungi with consequent contamination by aflatoxin in post-harvest industries. A hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plan is proposed for a typical Brazilian post-harvest industry from raw in-shell reception to the unpeeled peanuts transportation. Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines were followed, with four critical control points (CCP) for aflatoxin being identified. The process steps with highest probability of aflatoxin occurrence (risk) are the in-shell reception, the dried in-shell storage, and the unpeeled kernel storage. During the storage steps there is a lack of control of air moisture and temperature. Therefore, there is no option but to keep rigid monitoring and control over each CCP, and detour lots with high aflatoxin levels to either oil or seed production. Attempts to correlate the aflatoxin levels with the rainfall showed an irregular trend of the toxin level. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Work and injuries in dancers: Survey of a professional dance company in Brazil

This study examined the daily life and most important physical injuries suffered and reported by the dancers of a professional (contemporary) dance company in S (a) over tilde $o Paulo, Brazil. Through an observational, cross,sectional, retrospective procedure using a questionnaire that collected qualitative and quantitative data, we were able to gather information on 30 dancers who collaborated with the survey. We determined that the injuries considered as most important by dancers were those that prevented dance activity during some months. These injuries occurred mainly during rehearsals (which is the activity occuppying, the most time on the schedule). Articular injuries were the most frequent and mainly involved the knee and ankle. They were related to classical technique, in which most of the company's artists started their dance careers. Medical care usually was sought within 1 day, and the prescribed treatment resolved the problem, but the injury cause was not identified in all cases.

Taxation and the architecture of the international economic system

Includes bibliography

Integration in new product development: Case study in a large Brazilian high-technology company

Proficiency in management activities undertaken in product development processes is regarded as a key competitive advantage for companies, particularly for high-tech industrial firms, which benefit from the important competitiveness factor of launching products with a differentiated technological content. This paper's objective was to identify, through case study, practices for integration between the roles of R & D with others involved in product development in a large Brazilian company of industrial automation. The results suggest some management practices to improve the integration in new products development, such as the use of employees from marketing with knowledge and experience previously gained from R & D activities and uses the heavyweight product manager to solve synchronization problems between product and technology development. © Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Facultad de Economía y Negocios.

Worker participation in company profits or operating results in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Multi-choice mixed integer goal programming optimization for real problems in a sugar and ethanol milling company

Goal Programming (GP) is an important analytical approach devised to solve many realworld problems. The first GP model is known as Weighted Goal Programming (WGP). However, Multi-Choice Aspirations Level (MCAL) problems cannot be solved by current GP techniques. In this paper, we propose a Multi-Choice Mixed Integer Goal Programming model (MCMI-GP) for the aggregate production planning of a Brazilian sugar and ethanol milling company. The MC-MIGP model was based on traditional selection and process methods for the design of lots, representing the production system of sugar, alcohol, molasses and derivatives. The research covers decisions on the agricultural and cutting stages, sugarcane loading and transportation by suppliers and, especially, energy cogeneration decisions; that is, the choice of production process, including storage stages and distribution. The MCMIGP allows decision-makers to set multiple aspiration levels for their problems in which the more/higher, the better and the less/lower, the better in the aspiration levels are addressed. An application of the proposed model for real problems in a Brazilian sugar and ethanol mill was conducted; producing interesting results that are herein reported and commented upon. Also, it was made a comparison between MCMI GP and WGP models using these real cases. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Selecting green suppliers based on GSCM practices: Using fuzzy TOPSIS applied to a Brazilian electronics company

Due to an increased awareness and significant environmental pressures from various stakeholders, companies have begun to realize the significance of incorporating green practices into their daily activities. This paper proposes a framework using Fuzzy TOPSIS to select green suppliers for a Brazilian electronics company; our framework is built on the criteria of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. An empirical analysis is made, and the data are collected from a set of 12 available suppliers. We use a fuzzy TOPSIS approach to rank the suppliers, and the results of the proposed framework are compared with the ranks obtained by both the geometric mean and the graded mean methods of fuzzy TOPSIS methodology. Then a Spearman rank correlation coefficient is used to find the statistical difference between the ranks obtained by the three methods. Finally, a sensitivity analysis has been performed to examine the influence of the preferences given by the decision makers for the chosen GSCM practices on the selection of green suppliers. Results indicate that the four dominant criteria are Commitment of senior management to GSCM; Product designs that reduce, reuse, recycle, or reclaim materials, components, or energy; Compliance with legal environmental requirements and auditing programs; and Product designs that avoid or reduce toxic or hazardous material use. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suggestions regarding the principles which may be adopted by the Caribbean countries in negotiating agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with developed countries

Includes bibliography