Entre as tramas da indústria da moda: argumentos sobre o trabalho escravo contemporâneo na sociedade de consumo

Even after its abolition, the slave labor still exists in the world. In a new socio-historic context, the shackles and slave quarters have been left behind, nowadays the workers are tempted, subjected to degrading conditions and have their rights retrenched. The contemporary slave labor has been emerging as subject of research in the Organizational Studies since the early 2000s, calling attention to many gaps to be filled about the way organizations all around the world use this practice. Contemporary slave labor is found in many and various economic activities, since coal to textile industries or even stores. In this dissertation, we have incorporated the consumption dimension to the field of Organizational Studies, discussing the modern slavery, aiming to understand the consumers’ point of view about this topic, that is, we have researched the consumers’ interpretations concerning the slave labor in the fashion industry. Our objective is to analyze consumer’s argumentative construction in the decision of buying or not products made by industries from the fashion field that were denounced because of slave labor usage. We have adopted fashion industry as research focus because it obscures the reflection of the consumers that feel like in a new world while shopping, a world of beauty and fantasy, seeking their own satisfaction. Furthermore, the Brazilian fashion industry is one of the biggest of the world (ABIT, 2015), with a huge symbolic strength in the country. We have realized a qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with 35 consumers to identify their arguments according to the criteria defined by Liakopoulos (2002): data, propositions, guarantees, supports and refutations. The data are the statements used by the interviewees categorically, that is, those which are clear in the interviews. The propositions are what qualifies and justifies the used data. The guarantees are related to the nature of the data, they are what gives the sense to the data and are introduced implicitly in the interviewee speech. The supports are universal premises introduced in order to legitimate the arguments. The refutations, when present, counter the used arguments. As results, we’ve found consumers who developed arguments pro-consumption and anti-consumption and who have defended ideas about the responsibility of different actors for the existence of this practice and for the fight against it. From these two categories: (1) pro-consumption – consume despite the complaints and (2) anti-consumption – don’t consume, because of the accusations; we have identified the following argumentative lines: skepticism, faultfinding and moral engagement. By the end, we have presented the interviewees’ argumentative construction and the obtained results.

Uma abordagem baseada em filtragem colaborativa integrada a mapas de saliência para a recomendação de imagens

Nowadays, the amount of customers using sites for shopping is greatly increasing, mainly due to the easiness and rapidity of this way of consumption. The sites, differently from physical stores, can make anything available to customers. In this context, Recommender Systems (RS) have become indispensable to help consumers to find products that may possibly pleasant or be useful to them. These systems often use techniques of Collaborating Filtering (CF), whose main underlying idea is that products are recommended to a given user based on purchase information and evaluations of past, by a group of users similar to the user who is requesting recommendation. One of the main challenges faced by such a technique is the need of the user to provide some information about her preferences on products in order to get further recommendations from the system. When there are items that do not have ratings or that possess quite few ratings available, the recommender system performs poorly. This problem is known as new item cold-start. In this paper, we propose to investigate in what extent information on visual attention can help to produce more accurate recommendation models. We present a new CF strategy, called IKB-MS, that uses visual attention to characterize images and alleviate the new item cold-start problem. In order to validate this strategy, we created a clothing image database and we use three algorithms well known for the extraction of visual attention these images. An extensive set of experiments shows that our approach is efficient and outperforms state-of-the-art CF RS.

Differences in expenditure and amounts of fresh foods, fruits & vegetables and fish purchased in urban and rural Scotland

Peer reviewed

Differences in expenditure and amounts of fresh foods, fruits & vegetables and fish purchased in urban and rural Scotland

Peer reviewed

Entre chegadas e partidas: a sociabilidade em trânsito

New ways of sociability can be perceive in a historical context marked by the social change. The investigation developed by this thesis follow this idea, pointing the emergency of social relations established between individuals in drift. The foremost aim of this research was to assay, using a case study, the bonds constructed among the people that attend the Terminal Central - Pratic Shopping of Uberlândia-MG, the main responsible for the reception and distribution of public transport of the city. With the growth of the urban centers, their population became attractive objects of analysis in the social science field and the understanding of the city, in their core, by the dwellers displacement. Thus, after the separation of the people that use the Terminal Central in seven groups (students, families and couples, elderly, deaf and/or mute, employees of the stores in Terminal and of the bus companies), their interactions tried to be understood, by identifying the similarity with the sociability in traffic studies. In places with a great flow of people, the sociability in traffic suggests bonds of friendship, kindness, as foray, impersonality, frailty and the sudden break of contact.

Consumer Behavior and Firm Competition

Understanding consumer behavior is critical for firms' decision making. How consumers make decisions about what they want and buy directly affect the profits of firms. Therefore, it is important to consider consumer behaviors and incorporate them into the model when studying the optimal strategy of firms and competition between firms. In this dissertation, I study rich and interesting consumer behaviors and their impact on firms' strategy in two essays. The first essay considers consumers' shopping cost which leads to their preference for one-stop shopping. I examine how store visit costs and consumer knowledge about a product affect the strategic store choice of consumers and, in turn, the pricing, customer service and advertising decisions of competing retailers. My analysis offers insights on how specialty stores can compete with big-box retailers. In the second essay, I focus on a well-established psychology phenomenon, cognitive dissonance. I incorporate the idea of cognitive dissonance into a model of spatial competition and examine its implications for selling strategy. I provide new insight on the profitability of advance selling and spot selling as well as the pricing of bundle and its components. Collectively, two essays in this dissertation introduce novel ways to model consumer behaviors and help to understand the impact of consumer behaviors on firm profitability and strategy.

L’accès aux ressources alimentaires : facteurs prédicteurs de l’insécurité alimentaire sévère parmi les ménages bénéficiers des programmes communautaires en sécurité alimentaire à Montréal

Objectif : Examiner la relation entre l’accès aux ressources alimentaires et le degré de l’insécurité alimentaire du ménage parmi les nouveaux utilisateurs des organismes communautaires d’intervention en sécurité alimentaire de Montréal. Méthode : Étude observationnelle transversale. Elle consiste en une analyse secondaire de données (n=785) qui proviennent du premier temps de mesure de l’enquête sur les effets des interventions en sécurité alimentaire à Montréal menée entre 2011 et 2012. La variable dépendante a été l’insécurité alimentaire. Les variables indépendantes ont été le mode de transport utilisé pour transporter les aliments, l’emplacement de l’épicerie la plus fréquentée par le participant, la distance entre l’organisme communautaire fréquenté par le participant et son domicile, la proximité de l’épicerie la plus fréquentée, la satisfaction quant à l’acceptabilité et le caractère abordable des aliments dans l’épicerie la plus fréquentée, et les difficultés d’accès aux aliments. Des régressions logistiques furent effectuées afin d’évaluer la relation entre les variables indépendantes et le degré de l’insécurité alimentaire, en utilisant l’insécurité sévère comme catégorie de référence. Résultats : Nos données suggèrent que la sévérité de l’insécurité alimentaire est associée à la difficulté d’accès aux aliments à cause de la cherté des aliments (pour la sécurité alimentaire, OR=0.13; CI : 0.07-0.25 et pour l’insécurité alimentaire modérée, OR=0.42; CI : 0.28-0.63), au fait de faire l’épicerie à l’extérieur du quartier ou de faire rarement l’épicerie (pour l’insécurité alimentaire modérée, OR=0.50, CI : 0.30-0.84), au fait d’avoir accès au transport collectif (pour l’insécurité alimentaire modérée, OR=1.73; CI : 1.09-2.73), au fait de résider à une distance moyenne (soit entre 1000 et 2000 mètres) d’un organisme communautaire en sécurité alimentaire (pour l’insécurité alimentaire modérée, OR=1.83; CI : 1.14-2.92), et à la difficulté d’accès aux aliments à cause de contraintes de transport (pour la sécurité alimentaire, OR=0.18, CI : 0.06-0.52). Conclusion : L’accès aux ressources alimentaires est associé au degré de l’insécurité alimentaire des nouveaux ménages participant aux interventions en sécurité alimentaire à Montréal.

Assisting End-users in Filling Out Web Services

With the quick advance of web service technologies, end-users can conduct various on-line tasks, such as shopping on-line. Usually, end-users compose a set of services to accomplish a task, and need to enter values to services to invoke the composite services. Quite often, users re-visit websites and use services to perform re-occurring tasks. The users are required to enter the same information into various web services to accomplish such re-occurring tasks. However, repetitively typing the same information into services is a tedious job for end-users. It can negatively impact user experience when an end-user needs to type the re-occurring information repetitively into web services. Recent studies have proposed several approaches to help users fill in values to services automatically. However, prior studies mainly suffer the following drawbacks: (1) limited support of collecting and analyzing user inputs; (2) poor accuracy of filling values to services; (3) not designed for service composition. To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, we need maximize the reuse of previous user inputs across services and end-users. In this thesis, we introduce our approaches that prevent end-users from entering the same information into repetitive on-line tasks. More specifically, we improve the process of filling out services in the following 4 aspects: First, we investigate the characteristics of input parameters. We propose an ontology-based approach to automatically categorize parameters and fill values to the categorized input parameters. Second, we propose a comprehensive framework that leverages user contexts and usage patterns into the process of filling values to services. Third, we propose an approach for maximizing the value propagation among services and end-users by linking a set of semantically related parameters together and similar end-users. Last, we propose a ranking-based framework that ranks a list of previous user inputs for an input parameter to save a user from unnecessary data entries. Our framework learns and analyzes interactions of user inputs and input parameters to rank user inputs for input parameters under different contexts.

Trademark Licensing in Keyword Advertising

This article examines the use of trademarks as keywords in sponsored links campaigns - in particular the impact of such usage on consumer confusion. It is thus important to highlight that there are a number of reasons why a consumer uses search engines. For example, it may be that a consumer searches for a type of product or service that appeals to them; the consumer may engage in comparison-shopping; or the consumer may already know the specific brand that he or she intends to purchase. Secondly, this article explores the possibility of infringement on other functions of trademarks in the case of the double-identity rule. Thirdly, the article discusses the negative aspects of broadening the concept of taking advantage and isolates this concept from the possibilities of confusion, detriment to the distinctive character, or the reputation of the trademark. Lastly, the article proposes possible remedies to the current situation – in particular the introduction of licensing models for the use of trademarks in keyword advertising and the application of the law on comparative advertising regarding the way the licensee uses those trademarks.

O conglomerado comercial da rua 25 de Março, em São Paulo: uma região socialmente construída

A presente pesquisa foi elaborada com o objetivo de analisar o processo de construção da regionalidade no conglomerado comercial constituído pela Rua 25 de Março e adjacências, na capital paulista. Trata-se de um estudo de caráter exploratório com dados obtidos mediante análise documental, observação e entrevistas com atores locais. A fundamentação teórica foi proporcionada pelo modelo analítico de construção de regiões de Ansi Paasi, que define quatro etapas nesse processo: 1) definição da abrangência territorial; 2) formação de uma imagem conceitual e simbólica da região; 3) desenvolvimento de instituições regionais e 4)estabelecimento da região como parte de um sistema de regiões, com papel administrativo definido e associado à consciência regional da comunidade. Conclui-se que este conglomerado comercial, que é considerado o maior shopping center a céu aberto da América Latina encontra-se no último estágio do processo de construção da regionalidade. Cabe considerar, no entanto, notáveis mudanças na identidade regional, sobretudo porque a região, que se consolidou como área cultural sírio-libanesa, tem recebido nas últimas décadas grande número de empresários de origem chinesa e coreana.

Exploring the Success of Student Experiential Learning through Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Academic literature has increasingly recognized the value of non-traditional higher education learning environments that emphasize action-orientated experiential learning for the study of entrepreneurship (Gibb, 2002; Jones & English, 2004). Many entrepreneurship educators have accordingly adopted approaches based on Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle to develop a dynamic, holistic model of an experience-based learning process. Jones and Iredale (2010) suggested that entrepreneurship education requires experiential learning styles and creative problem solving to effectively engage students. Support has also been expressed for learning-by-doing activities in group or network contexts (Rasmussen and Sorheim, 2006), and for student-led approaches (Fiet, 2001). This study will build on previous works by exploring the use of experiential learning in an applied setting to develop entrepreneurial attitudes and traits in students. Based on the above literature, a British higher education institution (HEI) implemented a new, entrepreneurially-focused curriculum during the 2013/14 academic year designed to support and develop students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions. The approach actively involved students in small scale entrepreneurship activities by providing scaffolded opportunities for students to design and enact their own entrepreneurial concepts. Students were provided with the necessary resources and training to run small entrepreneurial ventures in three different working environments. During the course of the year, three applied entrepreneurial opportunities were provided for students, increasing in complexity, length, and profitability as the year progressed. For the first undertaking, the class was divided into small groups, and each group was given a time slot and venue to run a pop-up shop in a busy commercial shopping centre. Each group of students was supported by lectures and dedicated class time for group work, while receiving a set of objectives and recommended resources. For the second venture, groups of students were given the opportunity to utilize an on-campus bar/club for an evening and were asked to organize and run a profitable event, acting as an outside promoter. Students were supported with lectures and seminars, and groups were given a £250 budget to develop, plan, and market their unique event. The final event was optional and required initiative on the part of the students. Students were given the opportunity to develop and put forward business plans to be judged by the HEI and the supporting organizations, which selected the winning plan. The authors of the winning business plan received a £2000 budget and a six-week lease to a commercial retail unit within a shopping centre to run their business. Students received additional academic support upon request from the instructor, and one of the supporting organizations provided a training course offering advice on creating a budget and a business plan. Data from students taking part in each of the events was collected, in order to ascertain the learning benefits of the experiential learning, along with the successes and difficulties they faced. These responses have been collected and analyzed and will be presented at the conference along with the instructor’s conclusions and recommendations for the use of such programs in higher educations.

Retail trading areas in Des Moines, Henry, and Lee counties : a study / by the Committee on Business and Industry, Iowa State Planning Board, 1936

This study provides information on retail trade and market surveys in Des Moines, Henry and Lee Counties in Iowa. Maps and tables are included. Transportation facilities, sources of income, trading areas, banking changes, shopping centers and other factors that impact retail trade are discussed.

Fatores de longevidade do programa Central do Cidadão no Rio Grande do Norte

The public management reform in Brazil, since 1995, provoked new experiences in public administration. Among the new models of public service the one-stop shopping has distinguished and was adopted at Rio Grande do Norte with the Citizens Center Program. The one-stop shopping assembles in the same place many public services with appropriate structure, enabled human resources and citizens focus processes. The goal of this research was understand how citizens focus processes help to explain Citizens Center Program s longevity. It was made a case study and the research tools were applied with Citizen Center Programs workers and citizen-users at South Unit of Citizen Center Program placed at Via Direta Mall, Natal. The major contributions for Citizen Center Program s longevity were imputed to Basic Operation Processes. The most spoken features in Citizen Center Program mentioned were quality, efficiency, celerity e personal appearance, what demonstrate concern and care with citizen-users. Worker s personal appearance, accommodation, celerity, politeness and attending capacity planning were high evaluated by citizen-users revealing the wisely choice of use a large quality concept and citizenship concept in public administration. Citizen-users also pointed the necessity of refine and enlarge the communication ways that form an essential mechanism to public citizen focus administration. Not ignoring the policy aspect citizen focus processes were noticed like especial management actions that make easier citizen s activities and public service access, what generate satisfaction to citizen-users. It s possible to conclude that the high level approving evaluation of Citizen Center Program consolidates it an especial public policy that serves citizen s necessities e create appropriate legitimacy conditions of the public policy making harder the choice of ending the policy even in more fragile moments strongly contributing for its longevity

A liderança e suas relações com o comprometimento organizacional

This study presents the results of field research of an exploratory descriptive character that seeks to identify the latent dimensions of leadership and organizational commitment as well as to discover the relationship between these two sets of indicators. In the study, 236 respondents were interviewed, 84 being managers or owners and 152 being sales personnel. The research was undertaken in five shopping centers in the municipality of Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte, and employed two different questionnaires. One of them was developed by Bass and Avolio, 1992 (in NORTHOUSE, 2004), contained 21 indicators of leadership and was completed by store managers. The other instrument, completed by sales personnel in the stores, was developed by Medeiros, Albuquerque, Marques and Siqueira (2003) and contained a total of 28 indicators of organizational commitment. For the analysis of the data, factor analysis techniques and structural equations modeling were used. Using the factor analysis, five dimensions of leadership and seven dimensions of organizational commitment were found, all of which have a theoretical basis for their explanation. Through the structural equations modeling, a relationship was established between leadership and organizational commitment, in which it was possible to observe that certain leadership styles influence in a positive form the commitment of the employee

Espaços de pobreza e mobilidade urbana: os deslocamentos da população de baixa renda em Natal/RN

This dissertation is an attempt to understand how families with an income of up to three minimum wages and living in different Areas of Demographic Expansion (AEDs) of Natal municipality specifically in the districts of Igapó and Salinas (North Administrative Zone of the city), Ponta Negra (South Administrative Zone), Santos Reis, Praia do Meio, Areia Preta and Mãe Luíza (East Administrative Zone) and Felipe Camarão (West Administrative Zone) solve their problems of urban mobility. It is, therefore, a reflection upon the mobility needs of poor urban households as expressed in terms of origin-destiny displacements for specific movements (house-work, house-school, house-shopping, house-healthcare and house-leisure), all of which being analyzed within the relationship between public transportation and poverty spaces of the city. In order to develop the study, theoretical aspects and themes related to the production of the urban space, to social and spatial segregation, to urban mobility and to transportation were confronted with the collected data referring to the urban population previously selected. One of the research main findings is the crucial role mobility plays in the social differentiation of such people living in Natal and that any policy for the improvement of their living conditions must take mobility issues into account