Teaching and learning production and operations management: the journey from identity crisis to a cross, disciplinary approach

Este artigo tem suas raízes em algumas questões relacionadas à "forma" e ao "conteúdo" do que nós, professores, ensinamos na área de Administração da Produção e Operações. Inicialmente, descrevo a evolução histórica desse campo no Brasil. Em seguida, discuto a crise de identidade que o campo está sofrendo. Com o objetivo de apresentar respostas para essa situação, apresento seis propostas para o desenvolvimento e consolidação do campo. Finalmente, descrevo uma iniciativa prática, envolvendo uma disciplina específica da área, ensinada para alunos de pós-graduação. Essa iniciativa enfatiza a "dimensão do conteúdo" (de uma abordagem técnico-operacional para uma abordagem estratégico-gerencial) como também a "dimensão da forma" (do foco no ensino para o foco no aprendizado). O sucesso dessa experiência em curso confirma a coerência da agenda proposta e induz futuros aperfeiçoamentos.

How middle managers contribute to strategy formation process: connection of strategy processes and strategy practices

The role of middle management is essential when managing integrative and emergent strategy formation processes. We stand out the importance of its role connecting micro and macro organizational level offering a very important contribution when examining the strategy-as-practice perspective and integrative strategy formation process. The main goal of this research is to analyse the relationship between the integrative strategy formation process and the roles of middle management under the strategy-as-practice perspective. To check it out we adopted a qualitative methodology droving a case analysis in a Spanish University. Data was collected by means of personal interviews with members of different levels of the Institution, documents analysis and direct observation. In advance of some results we find out that the University develops an integrative strategy formation process and confers to middle management an important role extended all over the organization.

Corporate social responsibility practices at brazilian firms

Corporate Social Responsibility practices have been on the rise in recent years in firms all over the world. Brazil, as one of the most important countries emerging on the international scene, is no exception to this, with more and more firms taking up these practices. The present study focuses on analyzing the corporate social responsibility practices that Brazilian companies engage into. The sample used is comprised of 500 firms grouped by geographical area; the theoretical framework is based on stakeholder and institutional theories; and the technique used for the analysis is the biplot, more specifically the HJ Biplot and cluster analysis. From the results obtained it is possible to infer that the CSR variables corresponding to environmental practices are more closely linked to companies located in the northern areas of Brazil. Social and community practices are related to companies primarily in the southern and northeastern regions of the country.

Recensao de: I. K. Healy, Social Work Practices: Contemporary Perspectives on Change, London, Sage, 2000.

Revista Lusófona de Ciências Sociais

Predictors of Successful Weight Control: Cross-Cultural Moderators of Treatment Outcomes

Given the heterogeneity of effect sizes within the population for any treatment, identifying moderators of outcomes is critical [1]. In weight management programs, there is a high individual variability in terms of weight loss and an overall modest success [2]. Some people will adopt and sustain attitudes and behaviors associated with weight loss, while others won’t [3]. To predict weight loss outcome just from the subject’s baseline information would be very valuable [4,5]. It would allow to: - Better match between treatments and individuals - Identify the participants with less probability of success (or potential dropouts) in a given treatment and direct them to alternative therapies - Target limited resources to those most likely to succeed - Increase cost-effectiveness and improve success rates of the programs Few studies have been dedicated to describe baseline predictors of treatment success. The Healthy Weight for Life (USA) study is one of the few. Its findings are now being cross-validated in Portuguese samples. This paper describes these cross-cultural comparisons.

Climate strategies of firms in the automotive and pulp & paper industries in Brazil: insights from an international perspective

This article focuses on the results of the final stage of research into the climate strategies of firms in the automotive and pulp-and-paper industries in Brazil, a country that is becoming increasingly important also in terms of climate change issues. In the first stage, the Climate Strategy Model (CSM) was developed to assess whether firms were adopting the necessary practices to assure the successful implementation of climate strategies. In the second, the CSM was applied to firms in the above mentioned industries that were chosen because of their important role in the domestic economy. In the final stage, interviews with executives of these firms were conducted to identify root causes of climate strategy implementation deficiencies and obtain new insights from an international perspective.

O aluno com deficiência motora e a acessibilidade arquitectónica no Ensino Básico : um estudo de caso : o concelho de Guimarães

RESUMO:Para que o sucesso educativo se verifique, a escola tem de ajustar a sua prática educativa a todos os alunos, incluindo os que apresentam necessidades educativas especiais (NEE). Portugal dispõe de legislação que assegura o direito à educação e à igualdade de oportunidades, consignados na Constituição da República Portuguesa (artigos 71º, 73º e 74º), em consonância com a Declaração Universal dos Direitos do Homem e na Lei de Bases do Sistema Educativo (artigos 2º, 7º, 17º e 18º). O nosso país subscreveu também a Declaração de Salamanca, a qual reuniu, em 1994, o consenso de noventa e dois governos e de vinte e cinco organizações internacionais, reafirmando o direito à educação para todos. A construção da escola inclusiva passa pela responsabilização da escola por todos os alunos, na perspectiva de educação para todos, exigindo a sua concretização novas estratégias e resposta a novos desafios. Há que alterar práticas para atender à diversidade. Assim, as escolas precisam de estar arquitectonicamente adaptadas às necessidades dos alunos que utilizam a cadeira de rodas como forma de mobilidade, respeitando o direito à diferença e possibilitando, em igualdade de oportunidades, o sucesso escolar e educativo. Levar à prática as medidas previstas na lei portuguesa e implementar, em cada escola, a inclusão do aluno com mobilidade condicionada, implica equipar as escolas com adaptações, meios e recursos educativos facilitadores do seu processo ensino/aprendizagem. A constatação do que efectivamente acontece no terreno educativo no que concerne aos alunos com deficiência motora que usam a cadeira de rodas para se movimentarem assume toda a centralidade da nossa investigação, que tem o cariz de um estudo de caso. Incide sobre a compreensão mais aprofundada de como se processa o acesso arquitectónico nas escolas do Ensino Básico da Zona Norte e mais concretamente do Concelho de Guimarães. Recolhemos dados através de questionários dirigidos aos professores de apoio educativo e coordenadores de escola; ouvimos os alunos com deficiência motora pronunciar-se sobre as dificuldades que sentiam; observámos o seu quotidiano escolar e, finalmente, escutámos as entidades locais, através de uma entrevista realizada à Vereadora da Cultura do Concelho de Guimarães. Os resultados obtidos serão, como foi acordado, divulgados aos intervenientes com responsabilidades directas no campo da educação que se prontificaram a partilhar connosco a sua informação e saber, no sentido de os sensibilizar para a necessidade de rever o aspecto das acessibilidades arquitectónicas nas instituições educativas que servem o seu concelho, pois, como verificámos, muito há ainda a fazer para que o Ensino Básico, universal e obrigatório, se traduza numa igualdade de oportunidades de acesso e sucesso educativo para os alunos que utilizam a cadeira de rodas para se movimentarem no espaço escolar. ABSTRACT: For the educational success of a school it has to adjust its educational practice so that it includes those with special needs. According to the Portuguese law, disabled people have the right to education and equal opportunities, well expressed in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (articles 71st, 73rd, and 74th), in consonance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the main law the educational system (articles 2nd, 7th, 17th and 18th). Our country has also subscribed the Declaration of Salamanca, which was written in 1994 with the agreement of Representatives from ninety-two governments and twenty-five International Organizations, where was reaffirmed the right of education for all. It is necessary that school increases its responsibility in what concerns the education of all its students. Educating all and every student demands new strategies to face new challenges and so some practices have to be changed to respond to diversity. Schools must be architecturally adapted to give the disabled students, who use a wheel chair, equal opportunities to achieve educational success. Taking the measures foreseen in Portuguese law into practice, and implementing in each school the inclusion of students with conditioned mobility, involves equipping schools with adaptations, equipment and educational resources that facilitate the teaching / learning process. The observation of what actually happens on educative ground, regarding to pupils with motor disabilities who use a wheelchair to move, assumes the centrality of our research, which is a case study. It focuses on the deeper understanding of the way the architectonic access in primary schools of the North, and more specifically the Municipality of Guimarães, is processed. We collected data through questionnaires addressed to educational support teachers and school coordinators; heard students with motor disabilities to comment on the difficulties they felt; observed their daily school life, and finally heard the local authorities, through an interview the Councillor of Culture of the Municipality of Guimarães. As agreed, the results will be communicated to intervenients with direct responsibilities in the field of education who were willing to share with us their information and knowledge in order to raise awareness of the need of looking over the aspect of architectural accessibility in educational institutions that serve their county, because, as noted, much remains to be done so that the basic education, universal and compulsory, will result in equality of educational opportunities in access and success for students who use a wheelchair to move in school space.

«Estudar história com os pés na terra»: uma perspectiva museológica aplicada ao currículo da história no 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico: o caso de Alcobaça

RESUMO: Analisando o actual contexto do Ensino Básico na perspectiva da docência da História, o presente trabalho problematiza a contribuição da disciplina para a formação dos cidadãos. Estruturado a partir da análise das sintonias existentes entre a Educação, a História e a Museologia, relativamente a conceitos-chave como o Património Cultural e as suas formas de abordagem, a investigação propõe uma perspectiva museológica sobre o actual currículo da disciplina de História. Aplicando metodologias e conceitos desenvolvidos na Museologia, a proposta curricular estrutura-se a partir das componentes locais e regionais do currículo (na óptica da História) da região específica de Alcobaça. Centrado na aplicação da relação entre o Ensino da História por competências e o desenvolvimento da Consciência Histórica, num espaço concreto, este trabalho constrói uma proposta visando contribuir para os debates existentes e necessários no contexto da relação entre os saberes da escolaridade e as práticas de Cidadania, designadamente a contribuição activa dos indivíduos para o desenvolvimento da(s) comunidade(s). ABSTRACT: This research arises the problem of Compulsory Highschool from the perspective of teaching History, that matters the contribution to the Education of Citizenship. Structured from the analyses of the agreements between Education, History and Museology, concerning concepts like Cultural Heritage and its forms of communication, this research makes a proposition based on a museological perspective applied to History curriculum. This curricular approach is anchored in local and regional components of curriculum (from the historical view point) to Alcobaça and its region. Focused on the exercise of a relationship between Teaching History by skills development and the bringing up of an Historical Consciousness in a specific territory, this research builds a curricular proposition aiming to contributing to the discussions (current and necessaries) in the context of the connections between school acknowledgments and citizenship practices, specially the individual’s active engagement in communities development.

O trabalho em equipas docentes e o desenvolvimento da Educação Física

RESUMO: O sucesso das respostas aos novos desafios, exigências e expectativas que, nos dias de hoje, recaem sobre a escola, parece depender da concepção das estratégias organizacionais que globalmente a escola define, tendo em conta as características do contexto e das populações que serve. Depende por isso do modo como os actores chave se organizam e trabalham. Os modos de entender o trabalho docente em equipa prenunciam formas de entender a acção educativa e de conduzir a aprendizagem dos alunos. Tomando como ponto de partida as nossas experiências profissionais, este trabalho constitui uma reflexão sobre as possibilidades de desenvolvimento da Educação Física, baseada na escola e sustentada na organização do trabalho dos seus professores. Elaborando uma síntese dos principais problemas do seu desenvolvimento discutem-se as possibilidades e as vantagens da organização do trabalho dos professores em equipas, num contexto organizacional marcado por avanços e retrocessos nos processos de descentralização e atribuição de autonomia às escolas. Enquadra-se a organização do trabalho docente no âmbito das culturas de escola. Revisita-se o conceito de trabalho em equipa, distinguindo-o da simples participação nas estruturas da escola, realçando a sua importância na construção e gestão de conhecimento profissional através do estabelecimento de parcerias sinérgicas, onde o desempenho de papéis de liderança tem uma enorme importância. ABSTRACT: Successful responses to the new challenges, demands and expectations that currently are ascribed to schools seem to depend on the design of organizational strategies that broadly define the school, taking into account the characteristics of its context and the population it serves. Therefore, their success depends on how the key players are organized and work. The ways of perceiving the teaching team work forecast the ways of understanding the educational activity and how to lead learning. Starting from our own professional experience, this study is a reflection on the school based development of physical education, sustained by the organization of their teachers’ work. On organizing a summary of the major problems found in the development of this subject, we discuss the feasibilities and the gains got from the organization of teachers' teamwork, in an organizational context marked by promises and setbacks in the processes of decentralization and schools autonomy. The organization of teaching is to be seen as part of the school culture. We review the concept of teamwork as distinct from mere participation in the structures of the school, and its importance in the construction and management of professional knowledge will be highlighted by the establishment of synergistic partnerships, in which the performance of leadership roles is of the greatest importance. RÉSUMÉ: Le succès des réponses aux nouveaux défis, les exigences et les attentes que dans ces jours, s’accomplissent sur l'école, semble dépendre de la conception des stratégies d'organisation qui définit de façon générale l'école, en tenant compte des caractéristiques du contexte et des populations qu'elle dessert. Tout cela dépend donc de la façon dont les acteurs principaux sont organisés et travaillent. Les façons de comprendre l'équipe pédagogique démontrent des formes de comprendre l'activité éducative et de conduire à l'apprentissage des élèves. En prenant comme point de départ nos expériences professionnelles, ce travail est une réflexion sur le potentiel de développement de l'Éducation Physique, dépendante de l'école et soutenue dans l'organisation du travail de leurs enseignants. En préparant une synthèse des principaux problèmes de leur développement, on discute les possibilités et les avantages de l'organisation du travail des enseignants dans les équipes, dans un contexte organisationnel marqué par des avancées et des reculs dans le processus de décentralisation et l'accomplissement de l'autonomie aux écoles. On encadre l'organisation du travail des enseignants dans le champ des cultures de l’école. On revoit le concept du travail en équipe, en le distinguant de la simple participation dans les structures de l'école, en soulignant son importance dans la construction et gestion des connaissances professionnelles à travers l'établissement de partenariats synergiques, où les rôles de leadership joue un rôle d'une grande importance.

Foreign languages in the primary school

Of vital importance to the successful implementation of the teaching of FLs in the 1st Cycle...

Causal attributions in Brazilian children's reasoning about health and illness

INTRODUCTION: At a time when a great number of diseases can be prevented by changing one's habits and life style, investigations have focused on understanding what adults and children believe to be desirable health practices and uncovering the factors associated with successful adherence to such practices. For these, causal attributions for health and illness were investigated among 96 Brazilian elementary school students. METHODS: Ninety six subjects, aged 6 to 14, were interviewed individually and their causal attributions were assessed through 14 true-false items (e.g. people stay well [healthy] because they are lucky). The relationship between the children's causal attributions and demographic characteristics were also examined. RESULTS: Overall, the results were consistent with previous researches. "Taking care of oneself" was considered the most important cause of good health. "Viruses and germs" and "lack of self-care" were the most selected causes of illness. Analyses revealed significant relationship between subjects' causal attribution and their age, school grade level, socioeconomic status and gender. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that there may be more cross-cultural similarities than differences in children's causal attributions for health and illness. Finding ways to help individuals engage in appropriate preventive-maintenance health practices without developing an exaggerated notion that the individuals can control their own health and illness is a challenge which remains to be addressed by further research.