Structural analysis of the place of wine in Brazil

With the constant decrease of the wine consumption in traditional winemaking countries, more and more Brazil is seen as an appealing market. But the country also pretends to become an international player of winemaking in its own right. Both the participants of the Brazilian wine industry and the foreigners trying to get advantage of this promising market are facing new challenges to develop the consumption of wine in the world’s fifth largest country. Among all the possible actions to be taken in that sense, it also is worth taking time for a collective thought on the place of wine in the country, as well as the factors that shape it. What are these factors, which ones really make the difference, and what is their respective impact on the evolution of the place of wine in the country? After drawing the big picture of the wine market situation, this thesis tries to identify the levers of the evolution of the place of wine in Brazil. Using the tools of prospective, it aims at putting into perspective the different driving forces that influence its development, and in particular the relative influence of the political drivers. This paper also intends to be a first step of a prospective study as it constitutes a solid base for scenario planning. This paper is divided in five chapters starting with “introduction”, followed by chapter 2 “Theoretical framework”. Chapter 3 is “Methodology”, followed by chapter 4 “Description and analysis of the results”. Finally the results are discussed and concluded in the last part “Conclusions and implications for future studies”.

Brazil and Turkey, a comparative analysis of both countries' economic development and institutional design from the Great Depression to the early 21st century

Apos uma década de rápido crescimento econômico na primeira década do século 21, Brasil e Turquia foram considerados duas das economias emergentes mais dinâmicas e promissoras. No entanto, vários sinais de dificuldades econômicas e tensões políticas reapareceram recentemente e simultaneamente nos dois países. Acreditamos que esses sinais e a sua simultaneidade podem ser entendidos melhor com um olhar retrospectivo sobre a história econômica dos dois países, que revela ser surpreendentemente paralela. Numa primeira parte, empreendemos uma comparação abrangente da história econômica brasileira e turca para mostrar as numerosas similaridades entre os desafios de política econômica que os dois países enfrentaram, assim como entre as respostas que eles lhes deram desde a virada da Grande Depressão até a primeira década do século 21. Essas escolhas de política econômica comuns dão forma a uma trajetória de desenvolvimento notavelmente análoga, caracterizada primeiro pela adoção do modelo de industrialização por substituição das importações (ISI) no contexto da recessão mundial dos anos 1930; depois pela intensificação e crise final desse modelo nos anos 1980; e finalmente por duas décadas de estabilização e transição para um modelo econômico mais liberal. Numa segunda parte, o desenvolvimento das instituições econômicas e políticas, assim como da economia política subjacente nos dois países, são analisados comparativamente a fim de prover alguns elementos de explicação do paralelo observado na primeira parte. Sustentamos que o marco institucional estabelecido nos dois países durante esse período também têm varias características fundamentais em comum e contribui a explicar as escolhas de política econômica e as performances econômicas comparáveis, detalhadas na primeira parte. Este estudo aborda elementos do contexto histórico úteis para compreender a situação econômica e política atual nos dois países. Potencialmente também constitui uma tentativa de considerar as economias emergentes numa perspectiva histórica e comparativa mais ampla para entender melhor as suas fraquezas institucionais e adotar um olhar mais equilibrado sobre seu potencial econômico.

Project portfolio management: an analysis from the insurance industry IT area

This paper aims to bring more information related to the critical question "how IT areas of insurance companies are defining and delivering their strategic initiatives Portfolios?" and make conclusions based on the collected data. To reach these interpretations, it is composed of a theoretical investigation on the theme, a strategy delineation for the research methodology and a conclusion presentation based on the findings. In this last part, this study concluded that explored organization does not applied a sufficient number of best practices answering the critical question as "the company is not mature on this subject".

Exploring different social media users from the millennials’ generation: a cross-cultural behavioral analysis of brazilian users of Facebook and chinese users of RenRen

With the increasing importance of digital communication and its distinct characteristics, marketing tools and strategies adopted by companies have changed dramatically. Among the many digital marketing tools and new media channels available for marketers, the phenomenon known as social media is one of the most complex and enigmatic. It has a range that still is quite unexplored and deeply transforms the present view on the promotion mix (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Conversations among users on social media directly affect their perceptions on products, services and brands. But more than that, a wide range of other subjects can also become topics of conversations on social media. Hit songs, sporting events, celebrity news and even natural disasters and politics are topics that often become viral on the web. Thus, companies must grasp that, and in order to become more interesting and relevant, they must take part in these conversations inserting their brands in these online dynamic dialogues. This paper focuses on how these social interactions are manifested in the web in to two distinct cultures, Brazil and China. By understanding the similarities and differences of these cultures, this study helps firms to better adjust its marketing efforts across regions, targeting and positioning themselves, not only geographically and culturally, but also across different web platforms (Facebook and RenRen). By examining how companies should focus their efforts according to each segment in social media, firms can also maximize its results in communication and mitigate risks. The findings suggest that differences in cultural dimensions in these two countries directly affect their virtual social networking behavior in many dimensions (Identity, Presence, Relationships, Reputation, Groups, Conversations and Sharing). Accordingly, marketing efforts must be tailored to each comportment and expectations.

Deregulation and The 2007-2008 Housing/Debt Crisis Analysis of the Housing/Debt Crisis of 2007-2008 and its impact on the Financial Strength and Vulnerability of the United States and Global Economy

One looming question has persisted in the minds of economists the world over in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 American Housing and Debt Crisis: How did it begin and who is responsible for making this happen? Another two-part question is: What measures were implemented to help end the crisis and what changes are being implemented to ensure that it will never happen again? Many speculate that the major contributing factor was the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 that prompted a virtual feeding frenzy among the banking community when new calls from Capitol Hill encouraged home ownership in America as well as the secondary mortgage market which skyrocketed thereafter. The Glass-Steagall Act will be among many of the topics explored in this paper along with the events leading up to the 2007-2008 housing/debt crisis as well as the aftermath.

Comparison and analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of the top five companies ranked on the 2013 CSR RepTrak

In the 1970s, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was discussed by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman in his article “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” (Friedman, 1970). His view on CSR was contemptuous as he referred to it as “hypocritical window-dressing” a reflection of the view of Corporate America on CSR back then. For a long time short-term maximization of shareholder value was the only maxim for top management across industries and companies. Over the last decade, CSR has become a more important and relevant factor of a company’s reputation, shifting the discussion from whether CSR is necessary to how best CSR commitments should be done (Smith, 2003). Inevitably, companies do have an environmental, social and economic impact, thereby imposing social costs on current and future generations. In 2013, 50 of the world biggest companies have been responsible for 73 percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emission (Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013). Post et al. (2002) refer to these social costs as a company’s need to retain its “license to operate”. In the late 1990s, CSR reporting was nearly unknown, which drastically changed during the last decade. Allen White, co-founder of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), said that CSR reporting”… has evolved from the extraordinary to the exceptional to the expected” (Confino, 2013). In confirmation of this, virtually all of the world’s largest 250 companies report on CSR (93%) and reporting by now appears to be business standard (KPMG, 2013). CSR reports are a medium for transparency which may lead to an improved company reputation (Noked, 2013; Thorne et al, 2008; Wilburn and Wilburn, 2013). In addition, it may be used as part of an ongoing shareholder relations campaign, which may prevent shareholders from submitting Environmental and Social (E&S)1 proposals (Noked, 2013), based on an Ernst & Young report 1 The top five E&S proposal topic areas in 2013 were: 1. Political spending/ lobbying; 2. Environmental sustainability; 3. Corporate diversity/ EEO; 4.Labor/ human rights and 5. Animal testing/ animal welfare. Three groups of environmental sustainability proposal topics of sub-category number two (environmental sustainability) 6 2013, representing the largest category of shareholder proposals submitted. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) even goes as far as to claim that CSR reports are “…becoming critical to a company’s credibility, transparency and endurance.” (PwC, 2013).

A sociometric analysis for the creation of an integrated multicultural work team

This research aimed to apply the sociometric theory and its methodology to create an integrated multicultural work team. The study focused on the application of the sociometry theory, developed by Jacob L. Moreno in 1934, to analyze the small multicultural group. In the beginning, a review of the literature was done to have a better understanding of Sociometric Theory as well as the modern tools and software developed to analyze and map the social networks. After this part of the study, the qualitative study was done, in which 26 students from 12 countries, which studied together in a Corporate International Master (2014-2015), developed by Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Corporate Master of Business Administration from ESADE Business School and FGV/EBAPE, were surveyed and asked them to choose people, among the selected group, who they attracted, rejected or they were neutral towards, in 4 different scenarios: work team, leadership, trip (leisure time) and personal problem. Additionally, there were, two questions asked about how they felt when they answered the survey and which question(s) was/were difficult to answer and why. The focus on these two questions was to understand the emotional state of the respondents when they answered the survey and related this emotional state to the Sociometric Theory. The sociometric matrix, using Microsoft Excel, was created using the answers and the total of the positive, negative and neutral choices were analyzed for each scenario as well as the mutualities and incongruences of the choices. Furthermore, the software Kumu was used to analyze the connections between the people in the selected group using three metrics: size, degree centrality and indegree. Also Kumu was used to draw the social maps or sociometric maps. Using the relationship level analyses of the sociometric matrix and maps, it was possible to create an integrated multicultural work team. In the end, the results obtained suggest that it is possible to apply the sociometric methodology to study the relationships inside companies, project teams and work teams and identify the best work team based on the interrelationship between the people as well as the lack of communication among the team members, project team or inside the company as a whole.

New palladium(II) complexes with pyrazole ligands Part II. Synthesis, spectral and thermal studies, and antitumor evaluation

This study describes the synthesis, IR, (1)H, and (13)C{(1)H} NMR spectroscopic as well the thermal characterization of the new palladium(II) pyrazolyl complexes [PdCl(2)(HmPz)(2)] 1, [PdBr(2)(HmPz)(2)] 2, [PdI(2)(HmPz)(2)] 3, [Pd(SCN)(2)(HmPz)(2)] 4 {HmPz = 4-methylpyrazole}. The residues of the thermal decomposition were identified as Pd(0) by X-ray powder diffraction. From the initial decomposition temperatures, the thermal stability of the complexes can be ordered in the sequence: 1 > 2 > 4 a parts per thousand 3. The cytotoxic activities of the complexes and the ligand were investigated against two murine cancer cell lines: mammary adenocarcinoma (LM3) and lung adenocarcinoma (LP07) and compared to cisplatin under the same experimental conditions.

New palladium(II) complexes with pyrazole ligands Part I. Synthesis, spectral and thermal studies, and antitumor evaluation

The pyrazole ligand 3,5-dimethyl-4-iodopyrazole (HdmIPz) has been used to obtain a series of palladium(II) complexes (1-4) of the type [PdX(2)(HdmIPz)(2)] {X = Cl(-) (1); Br(-) (2); I(-) (3); SCN(-) (4)}. All compounds have been isolated, purified, and characterized by means of elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, (1)H and (13)C{(1)H}-NMR experiments, differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermogravimetry (TG). The TG/DTA curves showed that the compounds released ligands in the temperature range 137-605 A degrees C, yielding metallic palladium as final residue. The complexes and the ligand together with cisplatin have been tested in vitro by MTT assay for their cytotoxicity against two murine cancer cell lines: mammary adenocarcinoma (LM3) and lung adenocarcinoma (LP07).

Modeling a system of phosphated cross-linked high amylose for controlled drug release. Part 1: Synthesis and polymer characterization

High amylose was cross-linked with sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP) using 2% and 4% solutions of NaOH at room temperature with reaction contact times of 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 h. The different polymers obtained were analyzed by FT IR, C-13 and P-31 solid state NMR, SEM and C, H and P elemental analysis. The results were used to propose a two-stage mechanism for phosphate incorporation, the first being kinetically controlled. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the accumulated energy by thermal stratification of liquid inside storage tanks with porous layers

A mathematical model was developed in order to study the behavior of thermal stratification of liquid in a typical storage tank with porous medium. The model employs a transient stream function-vorticity formulation to predict the development of stream function and temperature fields in a charging process. Parameters analyzed include Biot, Darcy, Reynolds and Richardson numbers, position, and the thickness of the porous medium. The results show the influence of these physical parameters that should be considered for a good design of storage tanks with thermal stratification.

Family visitors and companions of hospitalized elderly and adults: analysis of the experience from the perspective of the nursing working process

Trata-se de estudo qualitativo, utilizando-se como referencial metodológico a Grounded Theory e como referencial teórico o Processo de Trabalho em Enfermagem, para compreender o papel assumido pelo enfermeiro perante as normas e rotinas hospitalares, relativas aos familiares visitantes e acompanhantes de adultos e idosos internados em um Hospital Universitário. A análise dos dados permitiu a identificação do tema: definindo-se a modalidade de apoio familiar durante a hospitalização, que reúne duas categorias principais: tornando-se familiar visitante e tornando-se familiar acompanhante. Por meio da análise, pôde-se aprofundar a compreensão do quanto as regras estabelecidas, com o objetivo de disciplinar e tornar eficiente o trabalho desenvolvido no hospital, podem explicitar o desprovimento de autonomia no processo de trabalho, para modificar as relações nesse contexto e o quanto a apropriação do familiar como parte da equipe de saúde, está distante de ser pensada no concreto das instituições.

EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria for Henoch-Schonlein purpura, childhood polyarteritis nodosa, childhood Wegener granulomatosis and childhood Takayasu arteritis: Ankara 2008. Part I: Overall methodology and clinical characterisation

Objectives To report methodology and overall clinical, laboratory and radiographic characteristics for Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP), childhood polyarteritis nodosa (c-PAN), c-Wegener granulomatosis (c-WG) and c-Takayasu arteritis (c-TA) classification criteria.Methods The preliminary Vienna 2005 consensus conference, which proposed preliminary criteria for paediatric vasculitides, was followed by a EULAR/PRINTO/PRES-supported validation project divided into three main steps. Step 1: retrospective/prospective web-data collection for HSP, c-PAN, c-WG and c-TA, with age at diagnosis <= 18 years. Step 2: blinded classification by consensus panel of a subgroup of 280 cases (128 difficult cases, 152 randomly selected) enabling expert diagnostic verification. Step 3: Ankara 2008 Consensus Conference and statistical evaluation (sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve, kappa-agreement) using as 'gold standard' the final consensus classification or original treating physician diagnosis.Results A total of 1183/1398 (85%) samples collected were available for analysis: 827 HSP, 150 c-PAN, 60 c-WG, 87 c-TA and 59 c-other. Prevalence, signs/symptoms, laboratory, biopsy and imaging reports were consistent with the clinical picture of the four c-vasculitides. A representative subgroup of 280 patients was blinded to the treating physician diagnosis and classified by a consensus panel, with kappa-agreement of 0.96 for HSP (95% CI 0.84 to 1), 0.88 for c-WG (95% CI 0.76 to 0.99), 0.84 for c-TA (95% CI 0.73 to 0.96) and 0.73 for c-PAN (95% CI 0.62 to 0.84), with an overall. of 0.79 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.84).Conclusion EULAR/PRINTO/PRES propose validated classification criteria for HSP, c-PAN, c-WG and c-TA, with substantial/almost perfect agreement with the final consensus classification or original treating physician diagnosis.

Identification, characterization and expression analysis of hepcidin gene in sheep

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of low-level laser therapy on the healing process after tooth replantation: a histomorphometrical and immunohistochemical analysis

Success of tooth replantation is limited because part of the replanted tooth is lost because of progressive root resorption. This study used histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry to evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the healing process of rat teeth replanted after different extra-oral periods, simulating immediate and delayed replantation. Sixty Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) had their maxillary right incisors extracted and randomly assigned to six groups (n = 10): C4, C30 and C45, in which the teeth were replanted 4 min (immediate), 30 min (delayed) and 45 min (delayed) after extraction, respectively, and L4, L30 and L45, in which the teeth were replanted after the same extra-alveolar times, but the root surfaces and the alveolar wounds were irradiated with a gallium-aluminum-arsenate (GaAlAs) diode laser before replantation. The animals were sacrificed after 60 days. The anatomic pieces containing the replanted teeth were obtained and processed for either histomorphometrical analysis under optical microscopy or immunohistochemical expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor Kappa-B (RANK), and its ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) proteins. Areas of external replacement and inflammatory root resorption were observed in all groups, without statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). Ankylosis was more frequent in L30 than in C30 (P < 0.05). RANKL immunostaining predominated over RANK and OPG immunostaining in both groups with immediate tooth replantation (P < 0.05). For the 45-min extra-alveolar time, however, there was greater evidence of RANK immunostaining compared to RANKL for both control and laser-treated groups (P < 0.05). Positive TRAP immunostaining predominated in L4 and L30 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, under the tested conditions, the treatment of the root surface and the alveolar wound with LLLT did not improve the healing process after immediate and delayed tooth replantation in rats.