Ocorrência de auto-incompatibilidade homomórfica em Mitracarpus longicalyx E. B. Souza & M. F. Sales (Rubiaceae - Spermacoceae)

O estudo da biologia reprodutiva de Mitracarpus longicalyx E.B. Souza & M.F. Sales foi realizado durante os meses de setembro a dezembro de 2004, em Feira de Santana, BA, Brasil. Esta espécie é uma erva anual ocorrente em áreas de caatinga, florescendo de junho a dezembro. As inflorescências são glomérulos com 90 flores em média, que apresentam corola hipocrateriforme, medindo 4-5 mm de comprimento e coloração branca, sendo visitadas e polinizadas por borboletas da espécie Hemiargus hanno hanno (Stoll, 1790) (Lycaenidae). As flores são protândricas, com duração da fase estaminada de três dias e da fase pistilada de cinco dias. Não ocorre sobreposição das duas fases na mesma flor, mas podem ocorrer flores em diferentes fases na mesma inflorescência. Polinizações experimentais indicaram que M. longicalyx é uma espécie auto-incompatível não agamospérmica, com produção natural de frutos elevada (97,8%) na população estudada. A frutificação também foi elevada nas polinizações cruzadas manuais (82,3%), não ocorrendo frutificação nas polinizações manuais geitonogâmicas. Tubos polínicos provenientes de polinizações cruzadas alcançaram o ovário dentro de 24 horas, enquanto que grãos de pólen provenientes de autopolinização não germinaram ou, quando germinaram, não penetraram as papilas estigmáticas. Os resultados indicam que M. longicalyx possui auto-incompatibilidade homomórfica, possivelmente do tipo esporofítica, atuando em adição à protandria no impedimento da autofertilização. Auto-incompatibilidade homomórfica é muito rara nas Rubiaceae, uma família com abundante ocorrência de auto-incompatibilidade heteromórfica.

Pólen de gimnospermas e angiospermas do perfil sedimentar de uma turfeira em São Francisco de Paula, Planalto Leste do Rio Grande do Sul, Sul do Brasil

Este catálogo polínico visa servir de base para o estudo de reconstituições paleoambientais através da palinologia de sedimentos no Planalto do Sul do Brasil. Para tanto, apresenta os grãos de pólen de gimnospermas e angiospermas encontrados no perfil sedimentar de uma turfeira do Planalto Leste do Rio Grande do Sul. O perfil possui 286 cm de comprimento, correspondendo aproximadamente aos últimos 25.000 anos. As 22 amostras foram retiradas do perfil em intervalos regulares, tratadas quimicamente seguindo o método padrão e analisadas em microscópio óptico. São apresentados grãos de pólen de duas gimnospermas e 43 angiospermas (uma Magnoliidae, cinco Hamamelidae, seis Caryophyllidae, seis Dillenidae e 25 Rosidae). O material polínico é descrito e ilustrado. As descrições são acompanhadas, sempre que possível, de dados ecológicos do esporófito de origem.

Pólen de Magnoliopsida (Asteridae) e Liliopsida do perfil sedimentar de uma turfeira em São Francisco de Paula, planalto leste do Rio Grande do Sul, Sul do Brasil

(Pólen de Magnoliopsida (Asteridae) e Liliopsida do perfil sedimentar de uma turfeira em São Francisco de Paula, Planalto Leste do Rio Grande do Sul, Sul do Brasil). O trabalho tem por finalidade fornecer material de referência para pesquisas paleopalinológicas no sul do Brasil através da análise do perfil sedimentar de uma turfeira do Planalto Leste do Rio Grande do Sul. São apresentados os grãos de pólen de Asteridae, Alismatidae, Commelinidae e Liliidae. O perfil possui 286 cm de comprimento correspondendo, aproximadamente, aos últimos 25.000 anos. O processamento químico das 22 amostras obtidas seguiu o método padrão e a análise foi feita em microscopia óptica. As descrições morfológicas, incluindo medidas dos eixos polar e equatorial, são acompanhadas de fotomicrografias e dados ecológicos do esporófito de origem. Foram identificados grãos correspondentes a 21 Asteridae, uma Alismatidae, quatro Commelinidae, três Liliidae e mais três grãos de pólen indeterminados de Angiospermas.

Benefits of sales force automation to salespeople and to their customers in business-to-business markets

This study applied qualitative case study method for solving what kind of benefits salespeople and their customers perceived to gain when sales reps used a specific sales force automation tool, that defined the values and identified segment that best fit to each customer. The data consisting of four interviews was collected using semi-structured individual method and analyzed with thematic analysis technique. The analysis revealed five salespeople perceived benefits and four customer perceived benefits. Salespeople perceived benefits were improvements in customer knowledge, guidance of sales operations, salesperson-customer relationship building, time management and growing performance. Customer perceived benefits were information transmission, improved customer service, customer-salesperson relationship building and development of operations, which of the last was found as a new previously unrecognized customer benefit.

"Receber não é compor": música e emoção na religião do Santo Daime

O objetivo do presente artigo é investigar a música na religião do Santo Daime em especial entre adeptos e líderes de duas igrejas ligadas à "linha do Padrinho Sebastião Mota de Melo" na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Mais especificamente, analiso a interpretação nativa sobre a gênese dos hinos religiosos em sua relação com os pensamentos, sentimentos e subjetividade, refletida nas noções de sagrado e nas diferenciações hierárquicas dentro do grupo. O suporte teórico está ancorado nos campos da etnomusicologia e da antropologia das emoções.

Religião, identidade e segurança entre imigrantes luteranos da Pomerânia, no Espírito Santo (1880-2005)

No século 19, muitas pessoas de diversas regiões rurais da Alemanha emigraram pra o Brasil. Vários contingentes oriundos da Pomerânia Oriental (hoje noroeste da Polônia) fixaram-se no estado do Espírito Santo. A maioria era seguidora da igreja luterana. Neste artigo, examinamos como sua religião ajudou esses imigrantes a conservar um nível de segurança satisfatório. A palavra segurança é utilizada especialmente mas não exclusivamente no sentido existencial ou ontológico. Na busca de certo nível de segurança em sua nova pátria, eles e seus descendentes construíram, reproduziram, desconstruiram e reconstruíram suas identidades coletiva e individual. Mostra-se como a religião ressaltou entre os recursos transnacionais utilizados, junto com a cultura e a língua pomeranas.

Revisitando os Tabus: as cautelas rituais do povo de santo

O presente artigo propõe uma reflexão sobre o papel das interdições rituais pessoais, chamadas de quizilas, no contexto do candomblé da Bahia (Jeje-Nagô). A pesquisa de campo levou à hipótese de que, para além das proibições profiláticas e dos tabus de cunho coletivo, existem interdições pessoais baseadas em sensibilidades negativas, notadamente em ojerizas ou alergias alimentares, que guiam o iniciado numa relação particular com os orixás. A constatação de que a sensibilidade corporal desempenha um papel importante nesse tipo de gesto ritual indica, portanto, a importância de uma prática etnográfica debruçada sobre a noção de "corpo que sente".

Dos igarapés da Amazônia para o outro lado do Atlântico: a expansão e internacionalização do Santo Daime no contexto religioso global

Este artigo analisa os processos de expansão da religião ayahuasqueira do Santo Daime da Amazônia para o mundo. O crescimento e internacionalização daimistas são explicados em função de suas características estruturais, a psicoatividade e miscibilidade. Essa expansão é contextualizada dentro do movimento diaspórico das religiões do sul global, isto é, responde ao crescente papel do Brasil e da América Latina no cenário religioso global contemporâneo. Tal crescimento, contudo, foi conflituoso e permeado de tensões nos vários locais em que ocorreu. A expansão também produziu varias consequências nas comunidades tradicionais amazônicas. Argumenta-se que a internacionalização do Santo Daime ilustra as controvérsias e ambivalências religiosas de nosso tempo, estimulando o debate sobre questões fundamentais relacionadas ao contexto religioso global e à própria modernidade.

Integrating Use of Customer Information Throughout Multiple Sales Channels to Create Customer Competence

Customer knowledge management (CKM) practices enable organizations to create customer competence with systematic use of customer information that is integrated throughout the organization. Nonetheless, organizations are not able to fully exploit the vast amount of data available. Previous research on use of customer information is limited especially in a multichannel environment. The aim of this study was to identify the main obstacles for utilizing customer information efficiently across multiple sales channels. The study was conducted as a single case study in order to gain deeper understanding of the research problem. The empirical findings indicate that lack of CKM practices and a common goal are major challenges obstructing effective utilization of customer information. Furthermore, decentralized organizational structure and insufficient analytical skills create obstacles for information sharing and capabilities to process information and create new knowledge. The implications of the study suggest that in order to create customer competence organizations should shift their focus from technology to the organizational factors affecting use of information and implement CKM practices throughout the organization.

Customer orientation of sales personnel: Implications for service quality

Prior customer orientation research has concentrated mainly on studying the economical potential of customer orientation to companies. Service quality research instead has concentrated on emphasizing the evaluation of service quality from the customer’s perspective. This means that the service providers lack important information regarding customer orientation and service quality they would need for managerial purposes such as selecting and training employees. Therefore, there is an emerging need to study how customer orientation and service quality relate to company processes, policies and employees, and this study answers to those calls. The objective of this study was to examine what is the role of sales personnel’s’ customer orientation in quality of service delivery and what features support the development of customer orientation among sales personnel. Also the components customer orientation were studied extensively in order to understand how they relate to service quality. The empiric part of the study was conducted as a qualitative research by interviewing seven sales people from operative, tactical and strategic levels of the case corporation in order to get a broader view for customer orientation. The findings propose that both organizational factors and individual factors are affecting customer orientation construct inseparably. Organizational factors are bundled in this study under standards, support and systems, whereas individual factors are formed of employees’ personal attributes, motivation and self-perceived decision making authority. The findings suggest that in the service delivery process at an operative level, customer orientation appears largely in the employees’ individualistic characteristics. Their social and technical skills and motivation to serve customers are the most identifiable factors for customer orientation and consequently, quality service. However, organizational standards, support and systems are strongly dictating the frames the operative sales people operate in, having an influence on how the employees are experiencing their decision making authority and in the end, customer orientation. When looking at the service delivery process at tactical and strategic levels, customer orientation is affecting mainly in the organizational constructs through setting standards, support and systems. However, tactical and strategic level employees influence the operative level through individual customer orientation components as well. The findings indicate that their emotion and personal interaction skills are affecting the overall service delivery process mainly through supervisor support and motivation of the operative level employees. Based on this study it can be argued that an organization can operate as a facilitator and create certain frames for customer oriented sales behavior through standards, support and systems. However, as the impact of individual customer orientation factors on sales people’s service quality seems decisive, from an organizational perspective it puts pressures on the recruitment.

Management of Soft Information in Sales and Operations Planning

With a Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process, a company aims to manage the demand and supply by planning and forecasting. The studied company uses an integrated S&OP process to improve the company's operations. The aim of this thesis is to develop this business process by finding the best possible way to manage the soft information in S&OP, whilst also understanding the importance and types (assumptions, risks and opportunities) of soft information in S&OP. The soft information in S&OP helps to refine future S&OP planning, taking into account the uncertainties that affect the balance of the long-term demand and supply (typically 12-18 months). The literature review was used to create a framework for soft information management process in S&OP. There were not found a concrete way how to manage soft information in the existing literature. In consequence of the poor literature available the Knowledge Management literature was used as the base for the framework creation, which was seen in the very same type of information management like the soft information management is. The framework created a four-stage process to manage soft information in S&OP that included also the required support systems. First phase is collecting and acquiring soft information in S&OP, which include also categorization. The categorization was the cornerstone to identify different requirements that needs to be taken into consideration when managing soft information in S&OP process. The next phase focus on storing data, which purpose is to ensure the soft information is managed in a common system (support system) in a way that the following phase makes it available to users in S&OP who need by help of sharing and applications process. The last phase target is to use the soft information to understand assumptions and thoughts of users behind the numbers in S&OP plans. With this soft management process the support system will have a key role. The support system, like S&OP tool, ensures that soft information is stored in the right places, kept up-to-date and relevancy. The soft information management process in S&OP strives to improve the relevant soft information documenting behind the S&OP plans into the S&OP support system. The process offers an opportunity to individuals to review, comment and evaluate soft information in S&OP made by their own or others. In the case company it was noticed that without a properly documented and distributed soft information in S&OP it was seen to cause mistrust towards the planning.

A Phase Model for Building a Customer Value Based Sales Tool – Case Mining and Metals Industry

The objective of this research is to observe the state of customer value management in Outotec Oyj, determine the key development areas and develop a phase model with which to guide the development of a customer value based sales tool. The study was conducted with a constructive research approach with the focus of identifying a problem and developing a solution for the problem. As a basis for the study, the current literature involving customer value assessment and solution and customer value selling was studied. The data was collected by conducting 16 interviews in two rounds within the company and it was analyzed by coding openly. First, seven important development areas were identified, out of which the most critical were “Customer value mindset inside the company” and “Coordination of customer value management activities”. Utilizing these seven areas three functionality requirements, “Preparation”, “Outotec’s value creation and communication” and “Documentation” and three development requirements for a customer value sales tool were identified. The study concluded with the formulation of a phase model for building a customer value based sales tool. The model included five steps that were defined as 1) Enable customer value utilization, 2) Connect with the customer, 3) Create customer value, 4) Define tool to facilitate value selling and 5) Develop sales tool. Further practical activities were also recommended as a guide for executing the phase model.

Accuracy in book papers' sales forecasting

The main objective of this thesis was to study if the quantitative sales forecasting methods will enhance the accuracy of the sales forecast in comparison to qualitative sales forecasting method. A literature review in the field of forecasting was conducted, including general sales forecasting process, forecasting methods and techniques and forecasting accuracy measurement. In the empirical part of the study the accuracy of the forecasts provided by both qualitative and quantitative methods is being studied and compared in the case of short, medium and long term forecasts. The SAS® Forecast Server –tool was used in creating the quantitative forecasts.