Desenvolvimento de uma estratégia promocional para o turismo do oeste

Mestrado em Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, Faculdade de Economia, Univ. do Algarve, 2004

Rigidez ou flexibilidade governamental? Discursos anti-corrupção e pró-eficiência sobre contratações com orçamento sigilogo

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciência Política, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Política, 2016.

Uma metodologia para a análise do desempenho sustentável dos postos de revenda de combustível na cidade de Natal/RN, com o uso de data envelopment analysis-DEA

The increasing use of fossil fuels in line with cities demographic explosion carries out to huge environmental impact in society. For mitigate these social impacts, regulatory requirements have positively influenced the environmental consciousness of society, as well as, the strategic behavior of businesses. Along with this environmental awareness, the regulatory organs have conquered and formulated new laws to control potentially polluting activities, mostly in the gas stations sector. Seeking for increasing market competitiveness, this sector needs to quickly respond to internal and external pressures, adapting to the new standards required in a strategic way to get the Green Badge . Gas stations have incorporated new strategies to attract and retain new customers whom present increasingly social demand. In the social dimension, these projects help the local economy by generating jobs and income distribution. In this survey, the present research aims to align the social, economic and environmental dimensions to set the sustainable performance indicators at Gas Stations sector in the city of Natal/RN. The Sustainable Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) framework was create with a set of indicators for mapping the production process of gas stations. This mapping aimed at identifying operational inefficiencies through multidimensional indicators. To carry out this research, was developed a system for evaluating the sustainability performance with application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) through a quantitative method approach to detect system s efficiency level. In order to understand the systemic complexity, sub organizational processes were analyzed by the technique Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) figuring their micro activities to identify and diagnose the real causes of overall inefficiency. The sample size comprised 33 Gas stations and the conceptual model included 15 indicators distributed in the three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. These three dimensions were measured by means of classical models DEA-CCR input oriented. To unify performance score of individual dimensions, was designed a unique grouping index based upon two means: arithmetic and weighted. After this, another analysis was performed to measure the four perspectives of SBSC: learning and growth, internal processes, customers, and financial, unifying, by averaging the performance scores. NDEA results showed that no company was assessed with excellence in sustainability performance. Some NDEA higher efficiency Gas Stations proved to be inefficient under certain perspectives of SBSC. In the sequence, a comparative sustainable performance and assessment analyzes among the gas station was done, enabling entrepreneurs evaluate their performance in the market competitors. Diagnoses were also obtained to support the decision making of entrepreneurs in improving the management of organizational resources and promote guidelines the regulators. Finally, the average index of sustainable performance was 69.42%, representing the efforts of the environmental suitability of the Gas station. This results point out a significant awareness of this segment, but it still needs further action to enhance sustainability in the long term

An introduced competitor elevates corticosterone responses of a Native Lizard (Varanus varius).

Glucocorticoid hormone profiles are increasingly used as physiological markers to infer the strength of species interactions that can influence fitness and ensuing population dynamics of animals. Here we investigated two aims. First, we measured the effect of a 90-min capture stress protocol on the plasma corticosterone responses of a large native Australian lizard, the lace monitor (Varanus varius). Second, we compared the basal and postcapture stress corticosterone responses of lace monitors in habitats where they were exposed to high or low densities of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes), an introduced competitor. Lace monitors responded to the capture stress protocol by significantly increasing plasma levels of corticosterone above basal at 45- and 90-min-postcapture blood-sampling intervals. In habitats with high fox densities, lace monitors produced a significantly greater basal and capture-stress-induced corticosterone response compared to individuals in low-fox density habitat. A significant interaction among fox density, time postcapture, and body condition was also found to influence plasma corticosterone values. These results suggest competition with red fox, perhaps via nutritional stress and increased hypersensitivity of the adrenocortical axis in lizards. At present, without further research, we do not understand whether such responses mediate lizard fitness or whether they have adaptive or maladaptive consequences for lizard populations in response to red fox competition. Nevertheless, our results help broaden understanding of the physiological implications arising from species interactions and specifically how introduced competitors could mediate diverse impacts on native biodiversity.

The distinctive politics of campaign finance reform

This article presents a unified theory explaining several conflicting empirical observations in the politics of campaign finance. It identifies those circumstances that foster or frustrate the enactment of financing laws that increase the competitiveness of elections. I argue that the competitiveness of financing laws is a result of three strong incentives when they operate in differently structured party systems. First, lawmakers have an incentive to make laws to protect their incumbency from competitors. This incentive generally overwhelms the (weaker) incentive to enact popular, competition-enhancing reforms. Secondly, lawmakers, when they act through political parties, have an incentive to cooperate with rivals to reduce the costs of political defeats. Thirdly, lawmakers seek to enact reforms that are consistent with their normative goals. These incentives combine with several party system variables to determine when campaign finance reform is likely to occur and how it will impact on the competitiveness of elections.

Selection on mitochondrial variants occurs between and within individuals in an expanding invasion

Mitochondria are critical for life, yet their underlying evolutionary biology is poorly understood. In particular, little is known about interaction between two levels of evolution: between individuals and within individuals (competition between cells, mitochondria or mitochondrial DNA molecules). Rapid evolution is suspected to occur frequently in mitochondrial DNA, whose maternal inheritance predisposes advantageous mutations to sweep rapidly though populations. Rapid evolution is also predicted in response to changed selection regimes after species invasion or removal of pathogens or competitors. Here, using empirical and simulated data from a model invasive bird species, we provide the first demonstration of rapid selection on the mitochondrial genome within individuals in the wild. Further, we show differences in mitochondrial DNA copy number associated with competing genetic variants, which may provide a mechanism for selection. We provide evidence for three rarely documented phenomena: selection associated with mitochondrial DNA abundance, selection on the mitochondrial control region, and contemporary selection during invasion.

The relationship between start performance and race outcome in elite 500-m short-track speed skating

Initial short-track speed-skating 14-m start performance has substantial influence on 500-m race outcome at the international level, yet the relationship has not been systematically quantified. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between rank position entering first corner (RPEFC) and race outcome and to understand how this relationship changes with competition round and absolute race intensity. Data were compiled from 2011-2014 World Cup seasons and 2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Association between RPEFC and race outcome was determined through Kendall tau-rank correlations. A visual comparison was made of how the relationship changes with relative competition level (race tau correlations were sorted by competition round) and with race intensity (race tau correlations were sorted by within-event winning time). A very large relationship between RPEFC and race outcome was observed (correlations for cohort, τ = .60; men, τ = .53; women, τ= .67). When examined by competition round (quarter- to A-finals), no substantial change in relationship was observed (men, τ= .57-.46; women, τ= .73-.53). However, when the start-performance relationship was considered by within-event winning time, the relationship strength increased with decreasing time (men, τ = .61 to .46; women, τ = .76 to .57; fastest to 7th- and 8th-fastest combined, respectively). These results establish and quantify RPEFC as an important aspect of elite short-track 500-m race outcome. RPEFC as an indicator of race outcome becomes increasingly important with absolute race intensity, suggesting that RPEFC capability is a discriminating factor for competitors of similar top speed and speed endurance.

Guarding against the erosion of competitive advantage: a knowledge leakage mitigation model

A critical objective of knowledge-intensive organizations is to prevent erosion of their competitive knowledge base through leakage. Our review of the literature highlights the need for a more refined conceptualization of perceived leakage risk. We propose a Knowledge Leakage Mitigation (KLM) model to explain the incongruity between perceived high-risk of leakage and lack of protective actions. We argue that an organization's perceived risk of leakage increases if competitors can benefit from leakage incidents. Further, perceived leakage risk decreases if the organization is shielded from impact due to their diversity of knowledge assets and their ability to reconfigure knowledge resources to refresh their competitive knowledge base. We describe our approach to the design of a large-scale survey instrument that has been tested and refined in two stakeholder communities: 1) knowledge managers responsible for organizational strategy, and 2) Information security management consultants.

Sales–marketing encroachment effects on innovation

The role of sales has changed dramatically during the last two decades, with sales becoming increasingly strategic and encroaching on domains that traditionally belong to marketing. Many studies address the role of marketing in new product development (NPD) success, but research on the increasing importance of sales, its changing role and changing dynamics with marketing is scarce. This empirical study of 296 Hungarian firms addresses this gap and shows that the extent to which sales encroaches on marketing's tasks is influenced by interface relations, exchange processes and sales' capabilities. The effect of sales–marketing encroachment on NPD financial success is partially mediated by customer involvement, while its effect on market success is fully mediated by customer involvement. These findings suggest that firms may improve their NPD financial performance by letting sales encroach on marketing tasks, but need to establish customer co-creation initiatives to benefit from sales–marketing encroachment in terms of superior NPD performance compared with competitors.

Random walk with restart over dynamic graphs

Random Walk with Restart (RWR) is an appealing measure of proximity between nodes based on graph structures. Since real graphs are often large and subject to minor changes, it is prohibitively expensive to recompute proximities from scratch. Previous methods use LU decomposition and degree reordering heuristics, entailing O(|V|^3) time and O(|V|^2) memory to compute all (|V|^2) pairs of node proximities in a static graph. In this paper, a dynamic scheme to assess RWR proximities is proposed: (1) For unit update, we characterize the changes to all-pairs proximities as the outer product of two vectors. We notice that the multiplication of an RWR matrix and its transition matrix, unlike traditional matrix multiplications, is commutative. This can greatly reduce the computation of all-pairs proximities from O(|V|^3) to O(|delta|) time for each update without loss of accuracy, where |delta| (<<|V|^2) is the number of affected proximities. (2) To avoid O(|V|^2) memory for all pairs of outputs, we also devise efficient partitioning techniques for our dynamic model, which can compute all pairs of proximities segment-wisely within O(l|V|) memory and O(|V|/l) I/O costs, where 1<=l<=|V| is a user-controlled trade-off between memory and I/O costs. (3) For bulk updates, we also devise aggregation and hashing methods, which can discard many unnecessary updates further and handle chunks of unit updates simultaneously. Our experimental results on various datasets demonstrate that our methods can be 1–2 orders of magnitude faster than other competitors while securing scalability and exactness.

A critical review of habitat use by feral cats and key directions for future research and management

Feral cats (Felis catus) have a wide global distribution and cause significant damage to native fauna. Reducing their impacts requires an understanding of how they use habitat and which parts of the landscape should be the focus of management. We reviewed 27 experimental and observational studies conducted around the world over the last 35 years that aimed to examine habitat use by feral and unowned cats. Our aims were to: (1) summarise the current body of literature on habitat use by feral and unowned cats in the context of applicable ecological theory (i.e. habitat selection, foraging theory); (2) develop testable hypotheses to help fill important knowledge gaps in the current body of knowledge on this topic; and (3) build a conceptual framework that will guide the activities of researchers and managers in reducing feral cat impacts. We found that feral cats exploit a diverse range of habitats including arid deserts, shrublands and grasslands, fragmented agricultural landscapes, urban areas, glacial valleys, equatorial to sub-Antarctic islands and a range of forest and woodland types. Factors invoked to explain habitat use by cats included prey availability, predation/competition, shelter availability and human resource subsidies, but the strength of evidence used to support these assertions was low, with most studies being observational or correlative.Wetherefore provide a list of key directions that will assist conservation managers and researchers in better understanding and ameliorating the impact of feral cats at a scale appropriate for useful management and research. Future studies will benefit from employing an experimental approach and collecting data on the relative abundance and activity of prey and other predators. This might include landscape-scale experiments where the densities of predators, prey or competitors are manipulated and then the response in cat habitat use is measured. Effective management of feral cat populations could target high-use areas, such as linear features and structurally complex habitat. Since our review shows often-divergent outcomes in the use of the same habitat components and vegetation types worldwide, local knowledge and active monitoring of management actions is essential when deciding on control programs.

Oportunidades comerciales para productores y exportadores colombianos de mangostanes y mangos en los Países Bajos a partir del Tratado de Libre Comercio con la Unión Europea

El presente trabajo de investigación se realizó con el propósito de esclarecer y brindarle información pertinente y actualizada a los productores nacionales de frutas exóticas como el mango y el mangostán, acerca de las oportunidades comerciales que estos poseen con países pertenecientes a la Unión Europea (UE), debido al creciente consumo de frutas en estos países y al acuerdo comercial vigente que posee Colombia y la UE. Con el fin de que el sector agrícola crezca y pueda establecerse en mercados diferentes al nacional, facilitando el crecimiento económico del sector y del país. Así mismo, se buscó ilustrar a los empresarios colombianos acerca de los potenciales consumidores, formas de ingreso y los requisitos sanitarios y fitosanitarios solicitados en dichos países. Así como, las ventajas y desventajas que poseen frente a otros competidores del Suroeste Asiático y Africano, productores asiduos de frutas exóticas y grandes exportadores mundiales, que a la vez poseen convenios con la UE, que facilitan el ingreso de sus productos a la misma. De esta forma, esta investigación reduce la brecha entre la información que poseen los productores nacionales del sub-sector agrícola, frente a la información existente del mercado, mitigando las desventajas de la desinformación y analizando las oportunidades más favorables para los mismos.

Plan estrategico en el area de ventas

Esta es una empresa colombiana que hace parte del sector de la metalmecánica, fue creada con capital nacional y fundada en los años 70´s. Paso de ser una pequeña empresa de asesorías técnicas y de producción de pequeños equipos, al desarrollo de una nueva línea de productos que abarcan la fabricación de todos los equipos que tienen que ver con la maquinaria pesada, sin incluir la maquinaria amarilla. A pesar de las diferentes crisis económicas por las que ha pasado Colombia, esta empresa ha logrado sobrevivir. Actualmente los diferentes TLC que se han firmado, han llevado a que los competidores aumenten de forma significativa, esto se vea reflejado en el movimiento de las ventas en el transcurso de los años. Este proyecto busca desarrollar un plan estratégico en el área de ventas de la empresa que le permita volver a captar la cantidad de negocios y clientes que solía tener hace unos años. Esto será basándonos en la elaboración de una estrategia clave, que nos permita prolongar la perdurabilidad de la empresa en el mercado, producto de un respectivo conocimiento detallado del servicio y del producto que ofrece la empresa, seguido de un análisis enfocado tanto en los clientes potenciales de la empresa para saber sus razones de no compra, como en el comportamiento del mercado y la competencia analizando temas de carácter financiero (P&G).

Potencialidades de exportación de carne de bovino de Colombia, en el marco de un posible tratado de libre comercio con Japón

Este proyecto se enfoca hacia la posibilidad de exportar carne de bovino colombiana a Japón, en el marco de un posible tratado de libre comercio. Japón, es un país asiático que posee alta demanda de la misma, sin embargo, su falta de superficie le impide la producción de carne bovina, volviéndose uno de los mayores importadores (puesto 5) a nivel mundial de este producto. En vista de lo anterior, nace la oportunidad para Colombia de convertirse en un viable exportador de carne bovina hacia el país asiático. Todo esto se debe, a que el país cuenta con ventajas como la superficie y el clima, llevándolo a convertirse en un país agrícola con alto potencial y capacidad de producción de carne de bovino. Al realizar el estudio pertinente, se considera que los mayores exportadores del producto hacia Japón son: Australia, Estados Unidos, Nueva Zelandia, Canadá y México, siendo Australia y Estados Unidos los mayores proveedores de Japón. Por ello, se evaluaron estos países como los principales competidores de Colombia, demostrando altas diferencias, dado que Colombia no cuenta con los requerimientos para exportar carne de bovino hacia Japón, por deficiencias en calidad, precio y cantidad.

Percentiles de salto con contramovimiento en escolares de Bogotá, Colombia: Estudio FUPRECOL

Objetivo: Determinar la distribución por percentiles de salto con contramovimiento (CMJ) en una población escolar de Bogotá, Colombia, perteneciente al estudio Fuprecol. Métodos: Estudio transversal realizado entre 2846 niños y 2754 adolescentes, entre 9 a 17 años de edad, pertenecientes a 18 instituciones educativas oficiales de Bogotá, Colombia. Se evaluó el CMJ, de acuerdo, con lo establecido por la batería de condición física, Fuprecol. Se calcularon, los percentiles (P3, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90 y P97), y curvas centiles por el método LMS, según su sexo y edad. Se realizó una comparación entre los valores de la CMJ observados con estándares internacionales. Resultados: La muestra estuvo constituida por 5.600 niños y adolescentes entre 9 y 17 años; el promedio de edad fue 12,6 ± 2,4 años. En el CMJ, los valores altos, los obtuvieron los niños, franja en la que la media osciló entre 25,1 cm a los 9 años, y 38,6 cm a los 17; para las niñas, la media fluctuó entre 23,2 cm a los 9 años, y 28,6 a los 17; en ambos sexos esos valores aumentan proporcional a la edad. Conclusiones: Se registran percentiles del CMJ de acuerdo con la edad y el sexo, que podrán ser usados como referencia en la evaluación del salto vertical desde edades tempranas.