PERCEPTIONS OF AUTHENTIZOTIC CLIMATES AND EMPLOYEE HAPPINESS: PATHWAYS TO INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE?1

We discuss how six dimensions of the authentizotic psychological climate explain stress and affective well-being at work, and how stress and affective well-being explain self-reported individual performance. The sample comprises 199 employees from 118 organizations. The findings indicate the good psychometric properties of the authentizotic climate measure, and suggest that (a) affective well-being, mainly enthusiasm and vigor, explain unique variance of selfreported performance and (b) the perceptions of authentizotic climates explain unique variance of stress, affective well-being and self-reported performance. A configurational approach is also presented for dealing with the ways people combine their perceptions of authentizotic climates, emotional states, stress and self-reported performance.

COMPLEXITY * SIMPLICITY * SIMPLEXITY

“In the midst of order, there is chaos; but in the midst of chaos, there is order”, John Gribbin wrote in his book Deep Simplicity (p.76). In this dialectical spirit, we discuss the generative tension between complexity and simplicity in the theory and practice of management and organization. Complexity theory suggests that the relationship between complex environments and complex organizations advanced by the well-known Ashby’s law, may be reconsidered: only simple organization provides enough space for individual agency to match environmental turbulence in the form of complex organizational responses. We suggest that complex organizing may be paradoxically facilitated by a simple infrastructure, and that the theory of organizations may be viewed as resulting from the interplay between simplicity and complexity. JEL codes:

Behavioral Economics: Theoretical Conception to Understand Economic Behavior

Behavioral Economics has shown the limitations of conventional economics to explain the behavior of economic agents, achieving its acceptance and recognition in the academic field and in practical areas. However, the foundation of the two systems to explain the mental processing of behavior has reductionist limitations. The present article aims to base the theoretical conception of the cognitive functioning of human behavior from the theory of Behavioral Economy. The methods used are at the theoretical level of the research, specifically related to the analysis of the literature, the systematization of the contents, and the modeling of the proposal.The final reflections indicate the need to develop the methods and techniques that allow the study of economic behavior from a complex perspective, although it recognizes the value of the proposed theoretical conception in overcoming the dualistic and reductionist limitations of the preceding models. Keywords: Behavioral sciences, Behavioral economics, Economic behavior, Heuristics, Cognitive biases Resumen La Economía Conductual ha evidenciado las limitaciones de la Economía convencional para explicar el comportamiento de los agentes económicos; logrando su aceptación y reconocimiento en el ámbito académico y en áreas prácticas. Sin embargo, la fundamentación de dos sistemas para explicar el procesamiento mental del comportamiento presenta limitaciones reduccionistas. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo fundamentar la concepción teórica del funcionamiento cognitivo del comportamiento humano desde la teoría de la Economía Conductual. Los métodos empleados se encuentran en el nivel teórico de la investigación, específicamente relacionados con el análisis de la literatura, la sistematización de los contenidos y la modelación de la propuesta. Las reflexiones finales señalan la necesidad de desarrollar los métodos y técnicas que permitan el estudio del comportamiento económico desde una perspectiva compleja, aunque reconoce el valor que encierra la concepción teórica propuesta al superar las limitaciones dualistas y reduccionistas de los modelos precedentes. Palabras Clave: Ciencias del comportamiento, Economía conductual, Comportamiento económico, Heurísticas, Sesgos cognitivos

Arqueología experimental en Italia

This paper is a review of the establishment of experimental archaeology in Italy from an historical perspective: from the first attempts to introduce experimentation in archaeological and Heritage culture, by the end of the 70s (with a clear delay comparing with the rest of Europe), up to its recent systematization. The first experimental approach, both in the academy and university, in Italy occurred in the 80s, with the creation of several institutes devoted to experimentation, as the Italian Institute of Experimental Archaeology (1986) that is still active. This institute has created a team able to experiment with an architecture of archaeological research and subsequent reconstruction on a broad scale. This paper includes also a review of the introduction of experimental archaeology in the academy. Several laboratories of experimental archaeology have been created in Italian universities, specifically integrated into the university teaching program. Finally, this work includes a short revision of the contribution in experimental archaeology by individual scholars, academics or not to the expansion of research, and the role of the archaeological parks. To address this issue, some case studies are reported to highlight the main trends in different regions of ItalyEste artículo es una revisión de la implantación de la arqueología experimental en Italia desde una perspectiva histórica: a partir de los primeros intentos de introducir la experimentación en la cultura arqueológica y del Patrimonio, desde finales de los años 70 (con un claro retraso en comparación con el resto de Europa), hasta su reciente sistematización. El primer acercamiento a la experimentación, tanto en la academia como en la universidad, tuvo lugar en los años 80 con la creación de varios institutos dedicados a la actividad de experimentación, como el Instituto Italiano de Arqueología Experimental (1986), todavía activo. Este instituto se ha dedicado a crear un equipo capaz de hacer investigación en arquitectura experimental y posterior reconstrucción a gran escala. Este trabajo incluye también la revisión de la aplicación de la arqueología experimental en la academia. Se han creado varios laboratorios de arqueología experimental en varias universidades italianas, específicamente integrados en el programa de enseñanza universitaria. Por último, se trata una breve revisión de la arqueología experimental realizada por personas individuales, académicos o no, y el papel de los parques arqueológicos, que han contribuido a la expansión de la investigación. Para abordar el problema, se utilizan algunos casos de estudio con el objetivo de subrayar las tendencias principales en diferentes regiones de Itali

Communication framework for distributed computer vision on stationary and mobile platforms

Recent advances in the complexity and manufacturability of digital video cameras coupled with the ubiquity of high speed computers and communication networks have led to burgeoning research in the fields of computer vision and image understanding. As the generated vision algorithms become increasingly complex, a need arises for robust communication between remote cameras on mobile units and their associated distributed vision algorithms. A communication framework would provide a basis for modularization and abstraction of a collection of computer vision algorithms; the resulting system would allow for straightforward image capture, simplified communication between algorithms, and easy replacement or upgrade of existing component algorithms. The objective of this thesis is to create such a communication framework and demonstrate its viability and applicability by implementing a relatively complex system of distributed computer vision algorithms. These multi-camera algorithms include body tracking, pose estimation and face recognition. Although a plethora of research exists documenting individual algorithms which may utilize multiple networked cameras, this thesis aims to develop a novel way of sharing information between cameras and algorithms in a distributed computation system. In addition, this thesis strives to extend such an approach to using both stationary and mobile cameras. For this application, a mobile computer vision platform was developed that integrates seamlessly with the aforementioned communication framework, extending both its functionality and robustness

Management ideologies and organizational spirituality: a typology

The topic of spirituality is gaining an increasing visibility in organization studies. It is our contention that every theory of organization is a theory of organizational spirituality. Based on Barley and Kundas 1992 Administrative Science Quarterly article, we discuss the evolution of management theories as spirituality theories. From such analysis, we suggest that there may be both a meaningful/liberating and an instrumental/exploitative side in the relationship between organizations and spirituality. Such a possibility is illustrated with a typology that advances four possible types of organizations regarding spirituality: the soulful organization, the holistic organization, the ascetic organization, and the professional organization. The expression of spirituality in each of these forms is discussed with the aim of contributing to a theoretically-based analysis of organizational spirituality.management ideologies, organizational spirituality, religion

Weed control in no-till organic soybean in southern Brazil

Organic soybean production is a fast growing enterprise in southern Brazil, particularly in the State of Parana, where 854 farmers harvested 48 thousand metric tons in 2002, or 11 times more tons than in 1997. However, the expansion of organic soybean production is hindered by the difficulty to control weeds, particularly in no-till organic fields. Brachiaria plantaginea is the most deleterious in the region. To facilitate control of this weed in organic no-till systems, seven experiments were conducted and a simulation model was developed. The experiments addressed the suppressive effect of black oat (Avena strigosa) mulch on the emergence of B. plantaginea, and weed seed and biomass production in different crop environments and emergence times. Potential strategies for more effective weed control were examined with the simulation model. Increasing black oat mulch from 0 to 10 Mt/ha reduced the population density of B. plantaginea exponentially. By reducing weed density, increasing mulch quantity increased soybean biomass and yield. Substantial reductions in weed population density required mulch quantities at or above 6 Mt/ha. Increasing mulch also decreased weed seed production exponentially, although weed seed production always remained above 1,000 seeds/m2, which is high enough to support heavy infestation in subsequent crops. In association with maize, the weed caused a loss in crop yield of at least 80%, when no weed control was applied. When the crop was kept free of weeds for at least 20 days after planting, crop yield was not affected. Weed seed production in the maize stand decreased exponentially as the weed-free period increased from 0 to 60 days, counted from the crop planting. Without control, the weed produced up to 7,000 seeds/m2. Weed plants that emerged after the 40-day weed-free period produced at the very most 50 seeds/m2. Seed production of pure weed stands ranged between 9,000 and 47,000 seeds/m 2, and was always greater than weed seed production in adjacent soybean or maize stands. Modeling indicated that alternating seasons of heavy mulch with seasons of low mulch combined with strict weed control may be a more effective strategy than continuous heavy mulch to keep low weed populations