Inser����o de pessoas com defici��ncia intelectual: um estudo em empresas situadas na regi��o metropolitana de S��o Paulo

Esta disserta����o teve origem no questionamento sobre as reais possibilidades de inclus��o das pessoas com defici��ncia intelectual (PCDI), cada vez mais frequentemente inseridas nas organiza����es brasileiras. O objetivo principal �� analisar a maneira como tem acontecido a inser����o de PCDI em cinco grandes empresas situadas na regi��o metropolitana de S��o Paulo, a partir das perspectivas das pessoas diretamente envolvidas. Isso implica, primeiramente, em uma contextualiza����o das pol��ticas de inser����o adotadas pelas organiza����es participantes. Al��m disso, a partir da an��lise dos temas mais abordados pelas pessoas entrevistadas, pretende-se identificar os significados da inser����o das pessoas com defici��ncia intelectual e suas implica����es mais relevantes para as pessoas envolvidas: os sujeitos com defici��ncia intelectual, seus chefes, pares hier��rquicos de conviv��ncia direta, profissionais de gest��o de pessoas e pessoas vinculadas a organiza����es externas, mas que de alguma forma influenciam ou interferem nas atividades de inser����o e inclus��o no ambiente organizacional. Como arcabou��o te��rico foram abordados os conceitos de inclus��o, inser����o e diversidade nas organiza����es; preconceito, estigma e demais barreiras atitudinais �� inclus��o; quest��es familiares e educacionais; as concep����es de defici��ncia ao longo da hist��ria, al��m de aspectos demogr��ficos e regulat��rios relacionados ao tema. A pesquisa foi realizada por meio de entrevistas com baixo grau de estrutura����o e as transcri����es analisadas conforme a abordagem de an��lise de conte��do proposta por Bardin (1977), a partir dos pressupostos do interacionismo simb��lico estrutural (STRYKER, 2006). A partir da discuss��o dos temas que emergiram da an��lise de conte��do e da contextualiza����o e compara����o das pol��ticas de inser����o adotadas pelas organiza����es, p��de-se concluir que �� poss��vel incluir as pessoas com defici��ncia intelectual, tendo em vista as fronteiras organizacionais em que elas se inserem.

Reelaborando conceitos e ressignificando a pr��tica na educa����o infantil

In this research we described the path of thirty one teachers involved with elementary school, amog which we included ourselves, looking for professional formation that allowed us to understand the function of educating childen. In this sense, this group of teachers begins a process of intentional, systematic and voluntary reflection, in an attempt to give new meanings to daily concepts of life and work, and linking them to their socialpractices. Having as reference the theoretical and methodological principles of socio-historical approach and collaborative research, the Group of Studies: The Dialogue Reflection as Re-meaning of Pedagogical Practice: a continuous education proposal, motivated by the willing and the necessity of re- elaborate knowledge about collaboration, reflection, infant education, playing and development which meets the new and goes the inverse way revisiting concepts and conception already consolidated, confronting and re-meaning them enlightened by one s own effort and the collaboration of pairs, mediated by Cycles of Reflexive Studies and Inter/intrapersonal Sessions. We can affirm that these tools helped the process of reflexivity put into practice by participants, which most important consequence was the theoretical re-meaning and practice in the ambit of infant education. During this investigation, we could see some theoretical and practice presuppositions which permitted to attribute to the exercise of reflexivity in collaboration the means into which the involved people could rescue the actions taken, justified their choices, confronted their theoretical options with their peers and with the systematized knowledge would question their certainties and rebuild in intra-psychological level, the knowledge elaborated socially. To this group which main activity is the docent profession, the personal and professional development constitutes the objective in which actions were articulated and operations which made learning possible as well as professional development

A d��ade saberes e pr��ticas docentes : um estudo de suas inter-rela����es

This study The Dyad of knowledge and teaching practices: an inter-relational study deals with the relationship between conceptual knowledge on behalf of the teachers and their teaching practices. The research aims to investigate the relations amongst conceptual meanings related to the professor and the practices of three (03) Fundamental Cycle public schools teachers in Natal-Brazil. Thus, a collaborative research of qualitative nature was performed by us. It was based on collaboration and critical reflection, as well as the socialhistorical theoretical methodological principles of Ferreira (2009). This was acknowledged as an analytical support for the reflections that were realized on concepts related to teachers and teaching considering the archeology on these concepts. The methodological procedures and tools we used consisted of Formative Autobiographies, Reflexive Study, Collaborative Observation, as well as some Reflexive Sessions. The analysis framework was based on information obtained by these methodological procedures as well as the critical collaborative and reflexive procedures. The studies permitted us to widen our knowledge related to the conceptual meaning of teaching and teachers. But it was not always possible for us to (re)elaborate these meanings in the conceptual phase. This was only possible to understand once our Formative Autobiographies were analyzed. They reveal that the concept elaboration process is not a part of our own formative path. The time that was dedicated to that proved to not be enough. The concept elaboration process demands time, effort as well as life-long learning skills. This is not always possible to achieve in this part of the study, on the other hand, this was possible to acknowledge that in the different stages of our conceptual elaboration. The teaching practices that we analyzed were predominantly heterogeneous and were fundamented on meanings of concepts related to teachers and teaching, that were internalized beforehand, (re)elaborated according to the conflicted and contradictory situations. The reflexive and collaborative process that we experimented during the Reflexive Sessions pointed out the predominance of technical and practical reflection process. In some moments it was possible for us to critically reflect on teaching practices due to the collaborative mode that we experienced. The importance of collaboration for teaching formation and professional development of behalf of teachers in general is pointed out by this research. Also regarding this research it was possible to see that there was personal and professional growth, experiencing learning together to collaborative reflect, as well as to counter-argument, reformulate concepts and conceptions aiming to transform our teaching practice

Um estudo sobre forma����o de conceitos alg��bricos

Neste artigo relatamos uma investiga����o sobre a forma����o dos conceitos alg��bricos iniciais realizada com estudantes de uma classe de 7�� s��rie de uma escola estadual de ensino fundamental e m��dio. Como suporte te��rico para esta investiga����o, foi empregada a teoria de forma����o de conceitos elaborada por Lev Semenovich Vygotsky e descrita no seu livro Pensamento e Linguagem.

Hist��ria e m��sica: can����o popular e conhecimento hist��rico

Esse trabalho procura levantar e discutir algumas quest��es te��ricas e metodol��gicas que surgem das rela����es entre Hist��ria, m��sica e a can����o popular. As transforma����es te��ricas, as novas concep����es de material documental e a pr��tica renovada do historiador determinaram a incorpora����o de novas linguagens pela Hist��ria. Seguindo nessa trilha, o artigo pretende justamente mostrar, a partir de uma perspectiva interdisciplinar, como as rela����es entre hist��ria, cultura e m��sica popular podem desvendar processos pouco conhecidos e raramente levantados pela historiografia. Para alcan��ar esse objetivo �� necess��rio ultrapassar a tradicional concep����o de hist��ria da m��sica e, para isso, tenta-se refletir e organizar alguns elementos para compreender melhor as m��ltiplas rela����es entre a can����o e o conhecimento hist��rico. A discuss��o aponta para a possibilidade e, principalmente, a viabilidade do historiador tratar a m��sica e a can����o popular como uma fonte documental importante para mapear e desvendar zonas obscuras da hist��ria, sobretudo aquelas relacionadas com os setores subalternos e populares.

A organiza����o do trabalho pedag��gico no contexto das atividades de leitura e escrita

P��s-gradua����o em Educa����o - FFC

Prematuridade: um estudo sobre a psicodin��mica familiar das m��es acompanhantes de beb��s prematuros

P��s-gradua����o em Psicologia - FCLAS

A inser����o do uso do computador no processo de modelagem matem��tica contribuindo para o aprendizado de conhecimentos matem��ticos

Nesta pesquisa investigamos de que forma a inser����o do uso do computador e do portf��lio no processo de Modelagem Matem��tica, contribui para a aprendizagem de conhecimentos matem��ticos a partir das percep����es de alunos do ensino m��dio. Na busca de respostas a esta problem��tica, tra��ou-se como objetivo principal uma investiga����o �� inser����o do uso do computador no processo de Modelagem Matem��tica, com auxilio do portf��lio para o aprendizado deste processo. A abordagem da pesquisa foi qualitativa. Levantamos um referencial te��rico focando em especial pesquisadores da ��rea de Modelagem Matem��tica como: Biembengut e Hein (2007); Bassanezi (2006), Barbosa (2001, 2004, 2007); Borba e Penteado(2001); Ponte e Canavarro (1997) entre outros, e com alguns autores que abordam mais especificamente a inser����o de tecnologias na educa����o como: Valente (1993); Almeida (2000), Belloni (2005) entre outros. No entrela��amento das id��ias relacionaram-se os elementos (computador, Modelagem e portf��lio) para subsidiar um tratamento diferenciado do conhecimento matem��tico em busca de minimizar, por exemplo, os baixos ��ndices no Sistema de Avalia����o do Ensino B��sico (SAEB) dos alunos do ensino m��dio do Estado do Par�� em Matem��tica. Sendo assim, foi necess��rio rever a forma atual de transposi����o do ensino dessa disciplina. O hist��rico da Modelagem �� descrito em algumas concep����es, buscando pontos de aproxima����o com as novas tecnologias em especial o computador. A pesquisa de campo foi desenvolvida a partir do curso: Modelagem Matem��tica: Aprendendo Matem��tica com a utiliza����o do Computador. Na pesquisa de campo os instrumentos utilizados foram: o portf��lio e o question��rio. O uso do portf��lio na pesquisa foi inspirado a partir de uma id��ia em Biembengut e Hein (2007) que dizem haver a necessidade de se criar um relat��rio no final do processo de Modelagem. No entanto verificou-se que o uso do portf��lio extrapola sua utilidade como coleta de dados, j�� que se constitui tamb��m como instrumento de organiza����o e constitui����o do processo de Modelagem da Matem��tica. Para a an��lise dos dados definiu-se categorias de an��lises do tipo emergentes a partir de Fiorentini e Lorenzato (2007). A pesquisa de campo foi desenvolvida no Laborat��rio de Inform��tica da Escola Estadual de Ensino M��dio M��rio Barbosa na ��rea correspondente a Regi��o metropolitana de Bel��m no Estado do Par��, onde por meio da inser����o do uso computador neste processo, potencializou-se a aprendizagem dos conhecimentos matem��ticos pelos alunos do ensino m��dio. Nas atividades desenvolvidas, percebeu-se que o ambiente gerado pelo processo de Modelagem dentro do laborat��rio de inform��tica, permitiu-se trabalhar de forma coletiva e colaborativa, onde os resultados foram significativos, principalmente, articulado ao uso do computador. Nesta pesquisa mostraremos que a Modelagem e o portf��lio estabelecem uma rela����o de troca, possibilitando dessa forma a condu����o do processo de Modelagem Matem��tica de forma din��mica, facilitando o aprendizado do conte��do matem��tico.

An��lise da desigualdade regional no Estado de Rond��nia �� luz da teoria institucionalista de Douglas North

Este trabalho foi constru��do a partir de um questionamento central que procurava entender o porqu�� de uma regi��o como a do munic��pio de Guajar��-Mirim que era considerada a cidade mais bonita do estado de Rond��nia, durante as d��cadas de 1970 e 1980, hoje, por��m, se v�� ap��tica, desfocada de uma vis��o de progresso, cega de um projeto de desenvolvimento local definido, sem ��nimo e sem o brilho que no passado t��o recente fazia com que sua popula����o se orgulhasse de seu ���apelido��� mais famoso, ���P��rola do Mamor�����. De outro lado, os munic��pios ao longo do eixo da BR-364 que apresentavam uma situa����o bem distinta de Guajar��-Mirim, portanto, mais pr��speros. Diante deste aspecto, se pretendeu verificar se a teoria institucionalista de Douglass North seria adequada para explicar a desigualdade regional do Estado de Rond��nia j�� que para esta corrente te��rica, a quest��o hist��rica exercia um poder ���path dependence���. Deste modo, procurou-se testar se o contexto hist��rico atrelado ��s mudan��as institucionais estaria interferindo ou n��o no desempenho institucional das mesorregi��es do Estado de Rond��nia. Como primeira grande a����o deste processo foi evidenciada, no territ��rio rondoniense, a exist��ncia de duas mudan��as institucionais que impactaram, de forma distinta, as respectivas mesorregi��es, as quais foram relacionadas aos dois grandes empreendimentos implantados em Rond��nia, ou seja, a EFMM com impacto sobre a por����o mesorregional Madeira-Guapor�� e a BR-364 com impacto sobre a por����o mesorregional Leste Rondoniense, ampliando, com isso, o poder de an��lise. Como segunda grande a����o foi levantado indicadores agrupados nas categorias de ���capacidade institucional���, de ���gest��o ambiental���, de ���economia regional��� e de ���qualidade de vida���, os quais permitiram chegar, com base na an��lise fatorial e na utiliza����o da ferramenta estat��stica SPSS, aos ��ndices de desempenho institucional municipal, microrregional e mesorregional do Estado. Com base nos ��ndices de desempenho institucional levantados pela pesquisa ficou, portanto, evidenciado que a hist��ria econ��mica interferiu no desempenho institucional mesorregional de Rond��nia, o qual demonstrou uma tend��ncia de crescimento positivo para a mesorregi��o Leste Rondoniense e negativo para a mesorregi��o Madeira-Guapor��, comprovando o poder ���Path Dependence���. Contudo, objetivando averiguar a capacidade de explica����o da desigualdade regional com base no capital social, a partir de um contexto qualitativo, fica evidenciada a coer��ncia deste resultado com o pensamento te��rico do institucionalismo de Douglass North j�� que pelos par��metros de capital social utilizados pela pesquisa, o poder ���Path Dependence��� fica, ainda mais, transparente, o que demonstra a adequa����o destas perspectivas te��ricas para a explica����o da desigualdade regional do Estado de Rond��nia, mesmo se tratando de uma regi��o perif��rica inserida em um pa��s, tamb��m perif��rico, como o Brasil.

Resolu����o de problemas e linguagem em EJA

Funda����o de Amparo �� Pesquisa do Estado de S��o Paulo (FAPESP)

Parental Ethnotheories of Child Development: Looking Beyond Independence and Individualism in American Belief Systems

Over the past several decades, the topic of child development in a cultural context has received a great deal of theoretical and empirical investigation. Investigators from the fields of indigenous and cultural psychology have argued that childhood is socially and historically constructed, rather than a universal process with a standard sequence of developmental stages or descriptions. As a result, many psychologists have become doubtful that any stage theory of cognitive or socialemotional development can be found to be valid for all times and places. In placing more theoretical emphasis on contextual processes, they define culture as a complex system of common symbolic action patterns (or scripts) built up through everyday human social interaction by means of which individuals create common meanings and in terms of which they organize experience. Researchers understand culture to be organized and coherent, but not homogenous or static, and realize that the complex dynamic system of culture constantly undergoes transformation as participants (adults and children) negotiate and re-negotiate meanings through social interaction. These negotiations and transactions give rise to unceasing heterogeneity and variability in how different individuals and groups of individuals interpret values and meanings. However, while many psychologists���both inside and outside the fields of indigenous and cultural psychology���are now willing to give up the idea of a universal path of child development and a universal story of parenting, they have not necessarily foreclosed on the possibility of discovering and describing some universal processes that underlie socialization and development-in-context. The roots of such universalities would lie in the biological aspects of child development, in the evolutionary processes of adaptation, and in the unique symbolic and problem-solving capacities of the human organism as a culture-bearing species. For instance, according to functionalist psychological anthropologists, shared (cultural) processes surround the developing child and promote in the long view the survival of families and groups if they are to demonstrate continuity in the face of ecological change and resource competition, (e.g. Edwards & Whiting, 2004; Gallimore, Goldenberg, & Weisner, 1993; LeVine, Dixon, LeVine, Richman, Leiderman, Keefer, & Brazelton, 1994; LeVine, Miller, & West, 1988; Weisner, 1996, 2002; Whiting & Edwards, 1988; Whiting & Whiting, 1980). As LeVine and colleagues (1994) state: A population tends to share an environment, symbol systems for encoding it, and organizations and codes of conduct for adapting to it (emphasis added). It is through the enactment of these population-specific codes of conduct in locally organized practices that human adaptation occurs. Human adaptation, in other words, is largely attributable to the operation of specific social organizations (e.g. families, communities, empires) following culturally prescribed scripts (normative models) in subsistence, reproduction, and other domains [communication and social regulation]. (p. 12) It follows, then, that in seeking to understand child development in a cultural context, psychologists need to support collaborative and interdisciplinary developmental science that crosses international borders. Such research can advance cross-cultural psychology, cultural psychology, and indigenous psychology, understood as three sub-disciplines composed of scientists who frequently communicate and debate with one another and mutually inform one another���s research programs. For example, to turn to parental belief systems, the particular topic of this chapter, it is clear that collaborative international studies are needed to support the goal of crosscultural psychologists for findings that go beyond simply describing cultural differences in parental beliefs. Comparative researchers need to shed light on whether parental beliefs are (or are not) systematically related to differences in child outcomes; and they need meta-analyses and reviews to explore between- and within-culture variations in parental beliefs, with a focus on issues of social change (Saraswathi, 2000). Likewise, collaborative research programs can foster the goals of indigenous psychology and cultural psychology and lay out valid descriptions of individual development in their particular cultural contexts and the processes, principles, and critical concepts needed for defining, analyzing, and predicting outcomes of child development-in-context. The project described in this chapter is based on an approach that integrates elements of comparative methodology to serve the aim of describing particular scenarios of child development in unique contexts. The research team of cultural insiders and outsiders allows for a look at American belief systems based on a dialogue of multiple perspectives.

The firm. Techno-organizational changes, industrial relations and performances. An enquiry on Reggio Emilia local industrial system

It is not unknown that the evolution of firm theories has been developed along a path paved by an increasing awareness of the organizational structure importance. From the early ���neoclassical��� conceptualizations that intended the firm as a rational actor whose aim is to produce that amount of output, given the inputs at its disposal and in accordance to technological or environmental constraints, which maximizes the revenue (see Boulding, 1942 for a past mid century state of the art discussion) to the knowledge based theory of the firm (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka & Toyama, 2005), which recognizes in the firm a knnowledge creating entity, with specific organizational capabilities (Teece, 1996; Teece & Pisano, 1998) that allow to sustaine competitive advantages. Tracing back a map of the theory of the firm evolution, taking into account the several perspectives adopted in the history of thought, would take the length of many books. Because of that a more fruitful strategy is circumscribing the focus of the description of the literature evolution to one flow connected to a crucial question about the nature of firm���s behaviour and about the determinants of competitive advantages. In so doing I adopt a perspective that allows me to consider the organizational structure of the firm as an element according to which the different theories can be discriminated. The approach adopted starts by considering the drawbacks of the standard neoclassical theory of the firm. Discussing the most influential theoretical approaches I end up with a close examination of the knowledge based perspective of the firm. Within this perspective the firm is considered as a knowledge creating entity that produce and mange knowledge (Nonaka, Toyama, & Nagata, 2000; Nonaka & Toyama, 2005). In a knowledge intensive organization, knowledge is clearly embedded for the most part in the human capital of the individuals that compose such an organization. In a knowledge based organization, the management, in order to cope with knowledge intensive productions, ought to develop and accumulate capabilities that shape the organizational forms in a way that relies on ���cross-functional processes, extensive delayering and empowerment��� (Foss 2005, p.12). This mechanism contributes to determine the absorptive capacity of the firm towards specific technologies and, in so doing, it also shape the technological trajectories along which the firm moves. After having recognized the growing importance of the firm���s organizational structure in the theoretical literature concerning the firm theory, the subsequent point of the analysis is that of providing an overview of the changes that have been occurred at micro level to the firm���s organization of production. The economic actors have to deal with challenges posed by processes of internationalisation and globalization, increased and increasing competitive pressure of less developed countries on low value added production activities, changes in technologies and increased environmental turbulence and volatility. As a consequence, it has been widely recognized that the main organizational models of production that fitted well in the 20th century are now partially inadequate and processes aiming to reorganize production activities have been widespread across several economies in recent years. Recently, the emergence of a ���new��� form of production organization has been proposed both by scholars, practitioners and institutions: the most prominent characteristic of such a model is its recognition of the importance of employees commitment and involvement. As a consequence it is characterized by a strong accent on the human resource management and on those practices that aim to widen the autonomy and responsibility of the workers as well as increasing their commitment to the organization (Osterman, 1994; 2000; Lynch, 2007). This ���model��� of production organization is by many defined as High Performance Work System (HPWS). Despite the increasing diffusion of workplace practices that may be inscribed within the concept of HPWS in western countries��� companies, it is an hazard, to some extent, to speak about the emergence of a ���new organizational paradigm���. The discussion about organizational changes and the diffusion of HPWP the focus cannot abstract from a discussion about the industrial relations systems, with a particular accent on the employment relationships, because of their relevance, in the same way as production organization, in determining two major outcomes of the firm: innovation and economic performances. The argument is treated starting from the issue of the Social Dialogue at macro level, both in an European perspective and Italian perspective. The model of interaction between the social parties has repercussions, at micro level, on the employment relationships, that is to say on the relations between union delegates and management or workers and management. Finding economic and social policies capable of sustaining growth and employment within a knowledge based scenario is likely to constitute the major challenge for the next generation of social pacts, which are the main social dialogue outcomes. As Acocella and Leoni (2007) put forward the social pacts may constitute an instrument to trade wage moderation for high intensity in ICT, organizational and human capital investments. Empirical evidence, especially focused on the micro level, about the positive relation between economic growth and new organizational designs coupled with ICT adoption and non adversarial industrial relations is growing. Partnership among social parties may become an instrument to enhance firm competitiveness. The outcome of the discussion is the integration of organizational changes and industrial relations elements within a unified framework: the HPWS. Such a choice may help in disentangling the potential existence of complementarities between these two aspects of the firm internal structure on economic and innovative performance. With the third chapter starts the more original part of the thesis. The data utilized in order to disentangle the relations between HPWS practices, innovation and economic performance refer to the manufacturing firms of the Reggio Emilia province with more than 50 employees. The data have been collected through face to face interviews both to management (199 respondents) and to union representatives (181 respondents). Coupled with the cross section datasets a further data source is constituted by longitudinal balance sheets (1994-2004). Collecting reliable data that in turn provide reliable results needs always a great effort to which are connected uncertain results. Data at micro level are often subjected to a trade off: the wider is the geographical context to which the population surveyed belong the lesser is the amount of information usually collected (low level of resolution); the narrower is the focus on specific geographical context, the higher is the amount of information usually collected (high level of resolution). For the Italian case the evidence about the diffusion of HPWP and their effects on firm performances is still scanty and usually limited to local level studies (Cristini, et al., 2003). The thesis is also devoted to the deepening of an argument of particular interest: the existence of complementarities between the HPWS practices. It has been widely shown by empirical evidence that when HPWP are adopted in bundles they are more likely to impact on firm���s performances than when adopted in isolation (Ichniowski, Prennushi, Shaw, 1997). Is it true also for the local production system of Reggio Emilia? The empirical analysis has the precise aim of providing evidence on the relations between the HPWS dimensions and the innovative and economic performances of the firm. As far as the first line of analysis is concerned it must to be stressed the fundamental role that innovation plays in the economy (Geroski & Machin, 1993; Stoneman & Kwoon 1994, 1996; OECD, 2005; EC, 2002). On this point the evidence goes from the traditional innovations, usually approximated by R&D investment expenditure or number of patents, to the introduction and adoption of ICT, in the recent years (Brynjolfsson & Hitt, 2000). If innovation is important then it is critical to analyse its determinants. In this work it is hypothesised that organizational changes and firm level industrial relations/employment relations aspects that can be put under the heading of HPWS, influence the propensity to innovate in product, process and quality of the firm. The general argument may goes as follow: changes in production management and work organization reconfigure the absorptive capacity of the firm towards specific technologies and, in so doing, they shape the technological trajectories along which the firm moves; cooperative industrial relations may lead to smother adoption of innovations, because not contrasted by unions. From the first empirical chapter emerges that the different types of innovations seem to respond in different ways to the HPWS variables. The underlying processes of product, process and quality innovations are likely to answer to different firm���s strategies and needs. Nevertheless, it is possible to extract some general results in terms of the most influencing HPWS factors on innovative performance. The main three aspects are training coverage, employees involvement and the diffusion of bonuses. These variables show persistent and significant relations with all the three innovation types. The same do the components having such variables at their inside. In sum the aspects of the HPWS influence the propensity to innovate of the firm. At the same time, emerges a quite neat (although not always strong) evidence of complementarities presence between HPWS practices. In terns of the complementarity issue it can be said that some specific complementarities exist. Training activities, when adopted and managed in bundles, are related to the propensity to innovate. Having a sound skill base may be an element that enhances the firm���s capacity to innovate. It may enhance both the capacity to absorbe exogenous innovation and the capacity to endogenously develop innovations. The presence and diffusion of bonuses and the employees involvement also spur innovative propensity. The former because of their incentive nature and the latter because direct workers participation may increase workers commitment to the organizationa and thus their willingness to support and suggest inovations. The other line of analysis provides results on the relation between HPWS and economic performances of the firm. There have been a bulk of international empirical studies on the relation between organizational changes and economic performance (Black & Lynch 2001; Zwick 2004; Janod & Saint-Martin 2004; Huselid 1995; Huselid & Becker 1996; Cappelli & Neumark 2001), while the works aiming to capture the relations between economic performance and unions or industrial relations aspects are quite scant (Addison & Belfield, 2001; Pencavel, 2003; Machin & Stewart, 1990; Addison, 2005). In the empirical analysis the integration of the two main areas of the HPWS represent a scarcely exploited approach in the panorama of both national and international empirical studies. As remarked by Addison ���although most analysis of workers representation and employee involvement/high performance work practices have been conducted in isolation ��� while sometimes including the other as controls ��� research is beginning to consider their interactions��� (Addison, 2005, p.407). The analysis conducted exploiting temporal lags between dependent and covariates, possibility given by the merger of cross section and panel data, provides evidence in favour of the existence of HPWS practices impact on firm���s economic performance, differently measured. Although it does not seem to emerge robust evidence on the existence of complementarities among HPWS aspects on performances there is evidence of a general positive influence of the single practices. The results are quite sensible to the time lags, inducing to hypothesize that time varying heterogeneity is an important factor in determining the impact of organizational changes on economic performance. The implications of the analysis can be of help both to management and local level policy makers. Although the results are not simply extendible to other local production systems it may be argued that for contexts similar to the Reggio Emilia province, characterized by the presence of small and medium enterprises organized in districts and by a deep rooted unionism, with strong supporting institutions, the results and the implications here obtained can also fit well. However, a hope for future researches on the subject treated in the present work is that of collecting good quality information over wider geographical areas, possibly at national level, and repeated in time. Only in this way it is possible to solve the Gordian knot about the linkages between innovation, performance, high performance work practices and industrial relations.

La costruzione razionale della casa. Scritti e progetti di Giuseppe Pagano

The rational construction of the house. The writings and projects of Giuseppe Pagano Description, themes and research objectives The research aims at analysing the architecture of Giuseppe Pagano, which focuses on the theme of dwelling, through the reading of 3 of his house projects. On the one hand, these projects represent ���minor��� works not thoroughly known by Pagano���s contemporary critics; on the other they emphasise a particular methodological approach, which serves the author to explore a theme closely linked to his theoretical thought. The house project is a key to Pagano���s research, given its ties to the socio-cultural and political conditions in which the architect was working, so that it becomes a mirror of one of his specific and theoretical path, always in a state of becoming. Pagano understands architecture as a ���servant of the human being���, subject to a ���utilitarian slavery��� since it is a clear, essential and ���modest��� answer to specific human needs, free from aprioristic aesthetic and formal choices. It is a rational architecture in sensu stricto; it constitutes a perfect synthesis between cause and effect and between function and form. The house needs to accommodate these principles because it is closely intertwined with human needs and intimately linked to a specific place, climatic conditions and technical and economical possibilities. Besides, differently from his public and common masterpieces such as the Palazzo Gualino, the Istituto di Fisica and the Universit�� Commerciale Bocconi, the house projects are representative of a precise project will, which is expressed in a more authentic way, partially freed from political influences and dogmatic preoccupations and, therefore, far from the attempt to research a specific expressive language. I believe that the house project better represents that ���ingenuity���, freshness and ���sincerity��� that Pagano identifies with the minor architecture, thereby revealing a more authentic expression of his understanding of a project. Therefore, the thesis, by tracing the theoretical research of Pagano through the analysis of some of his designed and built works, attempts to identify a specific methodological approach to Pagano���s project, which, developed through time, achieves a certain clarity in the 1930s. In fact, this methodological approach becomes more evident in his last projects, mainly regarding the house and the urban space. These reflect the attempt to respond to the new social needs and, at the same time, they also are an expression of a freer idea of built architecture, closely linked with the place and with the human being who dwells it. The three chosen projects (Villa Colli, La Casa a struttura d���acciaio and Villa Caraccio) make Pagano facing different places, different customers and different economic and technical conditions, which, given the author���s biography, correspond to important historical and political conditions. This is the reason why the projects become apparently distant works, both linguistically and conceptually, to the point that one can define them as ���eclectic���. However, I argue that this eclecticism is actually an added value to the architectural work of Pagano, steaming from the use of a method which, having as a basis the postulate of a rational architecture as essence and logic of building, finds specific variations depending on the multiple variables to be addressed by the project. This is the methodological heritage that Pagano learns from the tradition, especially that of the rural residential architecture, defined by Pagano as a ���dictionary of the building logic of man���, as an ���a-stylistic background���. For Pagano this traditional architecture is a clear expression of the relationships between a theme and its development, an architectural ���fact��� that is resolved with purely technical and utilitarian aims and with a spontaneous development far from any aprioristic theoretical principle. Architecture, therefore, cannot be an invention for Pagano and the personal contribution of each architect has to consider his/her close relationship with the specific historical context, place and new building methods. These are basic principles in the methodological approach that drives a great deal of his research and that also permits his thought to be modern. I argue that both ongoing and new collaborations with younger protagonists of the culture and architecture of the period are significant for the development of his methodology. These encounters represent the will to spread his own understanding of the ���new architecture��� as well as a way of self-renewal by confronting the self with new themes and realities and by learning from his collaborators. Thesis��� outline The thesis is divided in two principal parts, each articulated in four chapters attempting to offer a new reading of the theory and work of Pagano by emphasising the central themes of the research. The first chapter is an introduction to the thesis and to the theme of the rational house, as understood and developed in its typological and technical aspects by Pagano and by other protagonists of the Italian rationalism of the 1930s. Here the attention is on two different aspects defining, according to Pagano, the house project: on the one hand, the typological renewal, aimed at defining a ���standard form��� as a clear and essential answer to certain needs and variables of the project leading to different formal expressions. On the other, it focuses on the building, understood as a technique to ���produce��� architecture, where new technologies and new materials are not merely tools but also essential elements of the architectural work. In this way the villa becomes different from the theme of the common house or from that of the minimalist house, by using rules in the choice of material and in the techniques that are every time different depending on the theme under exploration and on the contingency of place. It is also visible the rigorous rationalism that distinguishes the author's appropriation of certain themes of rural architecture. The pages of ���Casabella��� and the events of the contemporary Triennali form the preliminary material for the writing of this chapter given that they are primary sources to individuate projects and writings produced by Pagano and contemporary architects on this theme. These writings and projects, when compared, reconstruct the evolution of the idea of the rational house and, specifically, of the personal research of Pagano. The second part regards the reading of three of Pagano���s projects of houses as a built verification of his theories. This section constitutes the central part of the thesis since it is aimed at detecting a specific methodological approach showing a theoretical and ideological evolution expressed in the vast edited literature. The three projects that have been chosen explore the theme of the house, looking at various research themes that the author proposes and that find continuity in the affirmation of a specific rationalism, focussed on concepts such as essentiality, utility, functionality and building honesty. These concepts guide the thought and the activities of Pagano, also reflecting a social and cultural period. The projects span from the theme of the villa moderna, Villa Colli, which, inspired by the architecture of North Europe, anticipates a specific rationalism of Pagano based on rigour, simplicity and essentiality, to the theme of the common house, Casa a struttura d���acciaio, la casa del domani, which ponders on the definition of new living spaces and, moreover, on new concepts of standardisation, economical efficiency and new materials responding to the changing needs of the modern society. Finally, the third project returns to the theme of the, Villa Caraccio, revisiting it with new perspectives. These perspectives find in the solution of the open plant, in the openness to nature and landscape and in the revisiting of materials and local building systems that idea of the freed house, which express clearly a new theoretical thought. Methodology It needs to be noted that due to the lack of an official Archive of Pagano���s work, the analysis of his work has been difficult and this explains the necessity to read the articles and the drawings published in the pages of ��Casabella�� and ��Domus��. As for the projects of Villa Colli and Casa a struttura d���acciaio, parts of the original drawings have been consulted. These drawings are not published and are kept in private archives of the collaborators of Pagano. The consultation of these documents has permitted the analysis of the cited works, which have been subject to a more complete reading following the different proposed solutions, which have permitted to understand the project path. The projects are analysed thought the method of comparison and critical reading which, specifically, means graphical elaborations and analytical schemes, mostly reconstructed on the basis of original projects but, where possible, also on a photographic investigation. The focus is on the project theme which, beginning with a specific living (dwelling) typology, finds variations because of the historico-political context in which Pagano is embedded and which partially shapes his research and theoretical thought, then translated in the built work. The analysis of the work follows, beginning, where possible, from a reconstruction of the evolution of the project as elaborated on the basis of the original documents and ending on an analysis of the constructive principles and composition. This second phase employs a methodology proposed by Pagano in his article Piante di ville, which, as expected, focuses on the plant as essential tool to identify the ���true practical and poetic qualities of the construction���(Pagano, ��Costruzioni-Casabella��, 1940, p. 2). The reading of the project is integrated with the constructive analyses related to the technical aspects of the house which, in the case of Casa a struttura d���acciaio, play an important role in the project, while in Villa Colli and in Villa Caraccio are principally linked to the choice of materials for the construction of the different architectural elements. These are nonetheless key factors in the composition of the work. Future work could extend this reading to other house projects to deepen the research that could be completed with the consultation of Archival materials, which are missing at present. Finally, in the appendix I present a critical selection of the Pagano���s writings, which recall the themes discussed and embodied by the three projects. The texts have been selected among the articles published in Casabella and in other journals, completing the reading of the project work which cannot be detached from his theoretical thought. Moving from theory to project, we follow a path that brings us to define and deepen the central theme of the thesis: rational building as the principal feature of the architectural research of Pagano, which is paraphrased in multiple ways in his designed and built works.

Rastros e rostos do protestantismo brasileiro: uma historiografia de mulheres

Esta pesquisa abrange mulheres atuantes no chamado protestantismo hist��rico, principalmente vinculadas �� Igreja Metodista do Brasil. O trabalho pretende visibilizar especialmente mulheres leigas e suas redes, geralmente informais, de articula����o e chamar a aten����o para seu papel na constitui����o destas comunidades de f��. Trata-se de um aspecto pouco explorado nas investiga����es sobre o protestantismo no Brasil que, quando abordado, se restringe a alguns ��cones femininos. O foco principal do trabalho se restringe ao per��odo de 1930, ano em que a Igreja Metodista do Brasil se constituiu como institui����o aut��noma, desvinculando-se formalmente de sua cong��nere nos EUA, at�� 1970/71, quando mulheres metodistas passam a ser admitidas no presbiterato, ou seja, podem solicitar a ordena����o ao pastorado. Al��m de discutir a produ����o bibliogr��fica principalmente no ��mbito da hist��ria do protestantismo, a pesquisa se baseia em fontes prim��rias, como boletins e jornais denominacionais, relat��rios de eventos, correspond��ncias e informa����es dispersas em diferentes materiais. Como referencial te��rico a pesquisa se valeu da micro-hist��ria, procurando assim dar vida a personagens esquecidos e desvelar enredos ocultados pela hist��ria oficial. Portanto, al��m de demonstrar aspectos da atua����o de mulheres no protestantismo brasileiro, silenciados tanto na mem��ria institucional como na historiografia em suas diferentes matizes, a pesquisa pretende contribuir para uma avalia����o cr��tica da mentalidade de mulheres sobre sua atua����o no campo religioso, entre a adequa����o aos padr��es culturais dominantes e os ind��cios de autonomia de pensamento diante de demandas espec��ficas.(AU)

Rastros e rostos do protestantismo brasileiro: uma historiografia de mulheres

Esta pesquisa abrange mulheres atuantes no chamado protestantismo hist��rico, principalmente vinculadas �� Igreja Metodista do Brasil. O trabalho pretende visibilizar especialmente mulheres leigas e suas redes, geralmente informais, de articula����o e chamar a aten����o para seu papel na constitui����o destas comunidades de f��. Trata-se de um aspecto pouco explorado nas investiga����es sobre o protestantismo no Brasil que, quando abordado, se restringe a alguns ��cones femininos. O foco principal do trabalho se restringe ao per��odo de 1930, ano em que a Igreja Metodista do Brasil se constituiu como institui����o aut��noma, desvinculando-se formalmente de sua cong��nere nos EUA, at�� 1970/71, quando mulheres metodistas passam a ser admitidas no presbiterato, ou seja, podem solicitar a ordena����o ao pastorado. Al��m de discutir a produ����o bibliogr��fica principalmente no ��mbito da hist��ria do protestantismo, a pesquisa se baseia em fontes prim��rias, como boletins e jornais denominacionais, relat��rios de eventos, correspond��ncias e informa����es dispersas em diferentes materiais. Como referencial te��rico a pesquisa se valeu da micro-hist��ria, procurando assim dar vida a personagens esquecidos e desvelar enredos ocultados pela hist��ria oficial. Portanto, al��m de demonstrar aspectos da atua����o de mulheres no protestantismo brasileiro, silenciados tanto na mem��ria institucional como na historiografia em suas diferentes matizes, a pesquisa pretende contribuir para uma avalia����o cr��tica da mentalidade de mulheres sobre sua atua����o no campo religioso, entre a adequa����o aos padr��es culturais dominantes e os ind��cios de autonomia de pensamento diante de demandas espec��ficas.(AU)