Comportamento de compra dos consumidores num ambiente multicanal : o caso de um grande varejista brasileiro

Nas últimas décadas, o varejo passou por várias transformações. Depois da popularização da internet, muitas mudanças ocorreram, como o crescimento dos canais virtuais e a mudança de papel das lojas físicas. Essas mudanças impactaram diretamente no comportamento de compra do consumidor, que passou a ter vários pontos de contato com o varejista. O presente trabalho visa refinar, no cenário brasileiro, o artigo de Schröder e Zaharia (2008), que analisa as Orientações para Compras dos consumidores (Conveniência, Independência, Recreação e Aversão ao Risco) e como essas Orientações para Compra influenciam na escolha, por parte dos consumidores, dos canais de pesquisa e compra de um varejista. Por meio do estudo de caso, com um grande varejista multicanal brasileiro, foi feita pesquisa junto aos seus consumidores para avaliar como as Orientações para Compra influenciam o comportamento de compra e a escolha pelos canais a serem utilizados. Acredita-se que com os achados obtidos, poderão contribuir, no cenário acâdemico, para o melhor entendimento do impacto das Orientações para Compra no comportamento de compra do consumidor, nesse ambiente em transformação; e, com relação ao cenário gerencial, colaborar com o varejo, demonstrando que o uso das Orientações para Compras, na melhoria dos processos e desenvolvimento dos canais de contato com os consumidores, pode impactar de forma positiva o relacionamento com o cliente, possibilitando atender as suas necessidades e aumentar sua fidelidade.

The art of being together: a social constructionist perspective on dialogic methods in the organizational context

The purpose of this project is to understand, under a social constructionist approach, what are the meanings that external facilitators and organizational members (sponsors) working with dialogic methods place on themselves and their work. Dialogic methods, with the objective of engaging groups in flows of conversations to envisage and co-create their own future, are growing fast within organizations as a means to achieve collective change. Sharing constructionist ideas about the possibility of multiple realities and language as constitutive of such realities, dialogue has turned into a promising way for transformation, especially in a macro context of constant change and increasing complexity, where traditional structures, relationships and forms of work are questioned. Research on the topic has mostly focused on specific methods or applications, with few attempts to study it in a broader sense. Also, despite the fact that dialogic methods work on the assumption that realities are socially constructed, few studies approach the topic from a social constructionist perspective, as a research methodology per se. Thus, while most existing research aims at explaining whether or how particular methods meet particular results, my intention is to explore the meanings sustaining these new forms of organizational practice. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 people working with dialogic methods: 11 facilitators and 14 sponsors, from 8 different organizations in Brazil. Firstly, the research findings indicate several contextual elements that seem to sustain the choices for dialogic methods. Within this context, there does not seem to be a clear or specific demand for dialogic methods, but a set of different motivations, objectives and focuses, bringing about several contrasts in the way participants name, describe and explain their experiences with such methods, including tensions on power relations, knowledge creation, identity and communication. Secondly, some central ideas or images were identified within such contrasts, pointing at both directions: dialogic methods as opportunities for the creation of new organizational realities (with images of a ‘door’ or a ‘flow’, for instance, which suggest that dialogic methods may open up the access to other perspectives and the creation of new realities); and dialogic methods as new instrumental mechanisms that seem to reproduce the traditional and non-dialogical forms of work and relationship. The individualistic tradition and its tendency for rational schematism - pointed out by social constructionist scholars as strong traditions in our Western Culture - could be observed in some participants’ accounts with the image of dialogic methods as a ‘gym’, for instance, in which dialogical – and idealized –‘abilities’ could be taught and trained, turning dialogue into a tool, rather than a means for transformation. As a conclusion, I discuss what the implications of such taken-for-granted assumptions may be, and offer some insights into dialogue (and dialogic methods) as ‘the art of being together’.

Genetic diversity and population structure of pumas (Puma concolor) in southeastern Brazil: implications for conservation in a human-dominated landscape

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

Lixiviação de potássio em função da textura e da disponibilidade do nutriente no solo

O manejo correto da adubação potássica pode minimizar perdas assim como evitar o esgotamento de K do solo. Objetivou-se estudar a dinâmica do K no perfil do solo em função do teor de argila e do teor do nutriente resultantes da adubação da soja. Foram coletados solos de texturas média e argilosa, que vinham sendo adubados com 0, 60, 120, e 180 kg ha-1 de K2O na soja por 6 anos. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, em tubos de PVC estratificados nas profundidades de 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, e 20-40 cm. Na superfície das colunas, aplicaram-se mais 80 kg ha-1 de K2O. Durante 16 semanas, foi aplicada, semanalmente, água em quantidade equivalente a 100 mm de chuva. em cada aplicação, o volume de solução percolada foi determinado, assim como as quantidades de K contidas nessa solução. Após a desmontagem das colunas de solo, foram determinados os teores de K trocável e não-trocável nas diferentes profundidades. A percolação de K foi maior no solo de textura argilosa, que tinha mais K disponível devido ao maior efeito residual da adubação potássica anterior. A intensidade de lixiviação foi proporcional ao teor de K disponível, mas inicialmente a lixiviação foi mais intensa no solo mais arenoso, decrescendo com o tempo. No argiloso, as perdas foram mais constantes. Houve proporcionalidade entre teor inicial e lixiviação no perfil do solo, nas duas formas de K e nos dois tipos de solo. Conclui-se que o efeito residual da adubação potássica aumentou as quantidades de K percolado. A movimentação de K no perfil do solo teve boa relação com o teor inicial de K no solo, resultante da adubação potássica anterior nos dois tipos de solo. A passagem de K considerado não-trocável para trocável foi rápida e influenciou na lixiviação.

Increasing trends of sleep complaints in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

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

Increasing Moodle Resources Through Cloud Computing

The increase of higher education offer is a basic need of developed and emerging countries. It requires increasing and ongoing investments. The offer of higher education, by means of Distance Learning, based on the Internet, is one of the most efficient manners for the massification of this offer, as it allows ample coverage and lower costs. In this scenario, we highlight Moodle, an open and low-cost environment for Distance Learning. Its utilization may be amplified through the adoption of an emerging Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Cloud Computing, which allows the virtualization of Moodle sites, cutting costs, facilitating management and increasing its service capacity. This article diffuses a public tool, opened and free, for automatic conversion of Moodle sites, such that these may be hosted on Azure: the Cloud Computing environment of Microsoft.

The transformation between exploration and exploitation applied to inventors of packaging innovations

While the inventor is often the driver of an invention in the early stages, he/she needs to move between different social networks for knowledge in order to create and capture value. The main objective of this research is to propose a literature-based framework based on innovation network theory and complemented with C-K theory, in order to analyze the invention/innovation process of inventors and the product concepts in a packaging industry context. Empirical input from three case studies of packaging inventions and their inventors is used to elaborate the suggested framework.The article identifies important gaps in the literature of innovation networks. This is addressed through a theoretical framework based on network theories, complemented with C-K theory for the product design level. The strength-of-ties dimension of the theoretical framework suggests, in agreement with the mainstream literature and the cases presented, that weak ties are required to access the knowledge related to exploration networks and strong ties are required to utilize the knowledge in the exploitation network. The transformation network is an intermediate step acting as a bridge where entrepreneurs can find required knowledge. The transformation network is also an intermediate step where entrepreneurs find financing and companies interested in commercializing inventions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the Phase Transformation in Mechanically Alloyed Ni-Nb and Ni-Ta and Ni-Nb-Ta Powders

This paper reports on the phase transformation during the preparation of Ni-25Nb, Ni-25Ta, Ni-20Nb-5Ta and Ni-15Nb-10Ta (at-%) powders by high-energy ball milling from elemental powders. The milling process was performed in a planetary ball milling using stainless steel balls and vials, rotary speed of 300rpm, and a ball-to-powder of 10:1. To minimize contamination and spontaneous ignition the powders were handled under argon atmosphere in a glove box. The milled powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction techniques. Results indicated that the Ni atoms were preferentially dissolved into the Nb (and/or Ta) lattice at the initial milling times, which contributed to change the relative intensity on the diffraction peaks. After the dissolution of Nb (and/or Ta) into the Ni lattice, the Ni peaks were moved to the direction of lower diffraction angles in Ni-25Nb, Ni-25Ta, Ni-20Nb-5Ta, Ni-15Nb-10Ta powders, indicating that the mechanical alloying was achieved.

Modal transformation applied to double three-phase transmission lines

Double three-phase transmission lines are analyzed in this paper using a modal transformation model. The main attribute of this model is the use of a single real transformation matrix based on line geometrical characteristics and the Clarke matrix. Because of this, for any line point, the electrical values can be accessed for phase domain or mode domain using the considered transformation matrix and without convolution methods. For non-transposed symmetrical lines the errors between the model results and the exact modes are insignificant values. The eigenvector and eigenvalue analyses for transposed lines search the similarities among the three analyzed transposition types and the possible simplifications for a non-transposed case.

Modal transformation analyses for double three-phase transmission lines

Eigenvector and eigenvalue analyses are carried out for double three-phase transmission lines, studying the application of a constant and real phase-mode transformation matrix and the errors of this application to mode line models. Employing some line transposition types, exact results are obtained with a single real transformation matrix based on Clarke's matrix and line geometrical characteristics. It is shown that the proposed technique leads to insignificant errors when a nontransposed case is considered. For both cases, transposed and nontransposed, the access to the electrical values (voltage and current, for example) is provided through a simple matrix multiplication without convolution methods. Using this facility, an interesting model for transmission line analysis is obtained even though the nontransposed case errors are not eliminated. The main advantages of the model are related to the transformation matrix: single, real, frequency independent, and identical for voltage and current.

Single real transformation matrices applied to double three-phase transmission lines

Single real transformation matrices are tested as phase-mode transformation matrices of typical symmetrical systems with double three-phase and two parallel double three-phase transmission lines. These single real transformation matrices are achieved from eigenvector matrices of the mentioned systems and they are based on Clarke's matrix. Using linear combinations of the Clarke's matrix elements, the techniques applied to the single three-phase lines are extended to systems with 6 or 12 phase conductors. For transposed double three-phase lines, phase Z and Y matrices are changed into diagonal matrices in mode domain. Considering non-transposed cases of double three-phase lines, the results are not exact and the error analyses are performed using the exact eigenvalues. In case of two parallel double three-phase lines, the exact single real transformation matrix has not been obtained yet. Searching for this exact matrix, the analyses are based on a single homopolar reference. For all analyses in this paper, the homopolar mode is used as the only homopolar reference for all phase conductors of the studied system. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ações educativas com portadores de diabetes Mellitus através da educação popular em saúde

Popular Health Education in its emancipatory dimension refers to individuals and groups to exchange knowledge and experiences, allowing them to associate health to the outcomes of their living conditions. Under this view, health workers and health users are subjects of the educative process. Thus, this study aims to identify the key clinical and socio sanitary attributes and promote educational activities with patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in a Family Health Care Unit of the Western Sanitary District, in the city of Natal / RN. It is an action research which uses the references of the Theory of Liberating Education, which is based on a problem-solving pedagogy and that values dialogue in the process of understanding oneself and the world. Thirty-six diabetics, who are residents of the area covered by the health care unit, and thirty health workers participated in the survey. Each group had an average of twelve participants, and the meetings took place at the Unit´s hall, using conversation wheels, group dynamics, life narratives, experiences telling, movie exhibition and discussions, music, knowledge telling, desires, limitations, beliefs and values socially constructed. Data collection took place during the second half of two thousand and thirteen through Free Word Association Technique (FWAT), recordings of conversation wheels, participative observation, group dynamics, testimonies, questionnaires, life narratives and photographs. The empirical material was organized and subjected to three analyzes: thematic content (Bardin), textual statistics analysis by software IRAMUTEQ (Ratinaud), and photographic analysis (Edmund Feldman). The data analyses originated words, expressions, categories, themes and creative situations showing that popular health education is in process of construction, but still very incipient in primary care. The National Policy on Popular Health Education shows us the necessary ways for the transformation of health practices and the build of a more shared and solidary society. The meetings could be place to reverse that normative logic that has been happening over the years in primary care, but that by itself is not enough. It is possible to conclude that the use of active practices, increasing of listening and training on Popular Health Education will enable changes in the scenario where users and health workers deal with diabetes mellitus. Thus we see the popular health education is being timidly incorporated to the educational process of the subjects involved in this study, and far away from the principles of participation, organization of political work, increase opportunities for dialogue, respect, solidarity and tolerance among different actors involved in addressing the health problems that are fundamental to the improvement in building healthy practices of primary care

Lymphocyte transformation assay for C neoformans antigen is not reliable for detecting cellular impairment in patients with Neurocryptococcosis

Background: Cryptococcus neoformans causes meningitis and disseminated infection in healthy individuals, but more commonly in hosts with defective immune responses. Cell-mediated immunity is an important component of the immune response to a great variety of infections, including yeast infections. We aimed to evaluate a specific lymphocyte transformation assay to Cryptococcus neoformans in order to identify immunodeficiency associated to neurocryptococcosis (NCC) as primary cause of the mycosis.Methods: Healthy volunteers, poultry growers, and HIV-seronegative patients with neurocryptococcosis were tested for cellular immune response. Cryptococcal meningitis was diagnosed by India ink staining of cerebrospinal fluid and cryptococcal antigen test (Immunomycol-Inc, SP, Brazil). Isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with C. neoformans antigen, C. albicans antigen, and pokeweed mitogen. The amount of H-3-thymidine incorporated was assessed, and the results were expressed as stimulation index (SI) and log SI, sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off value (receiver operating characteristics curve). We applied unpaired Student t tests to compare data and considered significant differences for p<0.05.Results: The lymphotoxin alpha showed a low capacity with all the stimuli for classifying patients as responders and non-responders. Lymphotoxin alpha stimulated by heated-killed antigen from patients with neurocryptococcosis was not affected by TCD4+ cell count, and the intensity of response did not correlate with the clinical evolution of neurocryptococcosis.Conclusion: Response to lymphocyte transformation assay should be analyzed based on a normal range and using more than one stimulator. The use of a cut-off value to classify patients with neurocryptococcosis is inadequate. Statistical analysis should be based on the log transformation of SI. A more purified antigen for evaluating specific response to C. neoformans is needed.

Utilização de indicadores financeiros e não-financeiros na gestão de hotéis no Rio Grande do Norte: um estudo sob a ótica do Balanced Scorecard

This study presents the results of a research on the use of financial and non-financial performance indicators used by medium and large hotels. The research was conducted in Rio Grande do Norte, a Brazilian State. The objective is to identify the usage of performance measures by these companies. Hotel industry is one of the most important sectors in the Rio Grande do Norte economy. The research takes the Balanced Scorecard as a conceptual framework, since it represents an original contribution to the literature of managerial accounting, for rethinking old issues, pointing out themes that were forgotten or badly interpreted, to discuss the requirements imposed by the economy environment, dominated by competitive companies, and increasing the understanding of the relationship between strategy and operation. The objective of the research is to investigate if the hotel managers make use of a managerial information system or not, when evaluating the performance of their business unit. The research reveals the usage of performance evaluation using a large variety of measures. Among them is worth mention: the usage of accounting profit altogether with the EVA/MVA, the process cycle time, total quality management, process transformation, strategic mission, vision, strategic measures, measures related to feedback, risk, costs, productivity, incomes, customers retention, customer satisfaction and profitability, measures using time as a component, quality of the process, cost of the processes, employees capabilities, information systems, motivation, empowerment and alignment. The research leads to the conclusion that the usage of the deriving concepts of Balanced Scorecard can improve the performance measurement systems used by hotels

Traumatic surdural hygroma - Five cases with changed density and spontaneous resolution

Thirty-four consecutive adult patients with subdural traumatic hygroma were analysed for clinical evolution, serial computed tomography scan (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a period of several months. Five of the patients presented CT scan and MRI evolution data showing increasing density over a period of 11 days to 6 months post trauma. In these five patients, final clinical and CT scan data were benign, with complete spontaneous resolution. Descriptions in literature of evolving traumatic subdural hygroma have presented CT scan density modifications changing into chronic subdural hematoma. Our patients show another possibility, density transformation, which sometimes show as subdural hematoma in CT scan and MRI, but with final evolution where clinical condition and CT scan return to normal.