CSR and Millennial Job Attraction : the case of Academia BAI & Total

The relationship between corporate social responsibility and millennial job attraction, is one that is extremely insightful to managers all around the world. A rapidly changing economic climate has exacerbated the need for managers to attract the best talent available, and equally important, retain that talent. This dissertation will focus on two corporations operating in Angola; Academia BAI & Total EP. Both companies are established in the Angolan market, and already have some form of internal CSR policies. These existing policies will be examined in order to better comprehend how they can be leveraged in order to intensify the desired impact (increased millennial attraction). When attempting to justify the relationship, social identity theory is used to explain the importance of shared values between an organization and a prospective job seeker. Signalling theory complements social identity theory by expressing the importance of communicating said values. In addition, the dissertation also tackles this problem from the perspective of Angolan university students. A series of interviews were conducted in order to better comprehend millennial preferences in terms of CSR and job attraction. Overall this dissertation shows that in the case of the two Angolan companies, a combination of new CSR initiatives with adjustments to pre-existing policies can be effectively used to increase the appeal of working at either firm.A relação entre a responsabilidade social das empresas e a o recrutamento de millennials é extremamente ilustrativa para os gestores em toda a parte. O atual clima de mudança económica exacerbou a necessidade de os gestores recrutarem o melhor talento disponível, assim como a necessidade de retenção desse talento. A presente dissertação tem como escopo duas empresas que conduzem a sua atividade em Angola; Academia BAI & Total EP. Ambas empresas estão estabelecidas no mercado angolano e têm já políticas de responsabilidade social em vigor. As políticas existentes serão analisadas de forma a compreender como estas podem ser utilizadas para intensificar o impacto desejado, i.e., a atração de millennials. Ao justificar a relação entre estes dois conceitos, utilizamos a teoria da identidade social para destacar a importância da partilha de valores entre uma empresa e um potencial funcionário. A signalling theory complementa a teoria da identidade social ao expressar a relevância da comunicação dos suprarreferidos valores. Esta dissertação aborda a problemática em questão do prisma de alunos universitários angolanos. Realizaram-se uma série de entrevistas que são agora expostas, com o objetivo de compreender as preferências de millennials no que tange à relação entre a atratividade de postos de trabalhos e a responsabilidade social das empresas. Em suma, esta dissertação demonstra que, no caso das empresas angolanas analisadas, uma combinação de iniciativas de responsabilidade social e de ajustamentos às políticas existentes pode ser utilizada para tornar mais apelativo um emprego em qualquer das empresas

Beyond the Zipf-Mandelbrot law in quantitative linguistics

In this paper the Zipf-Mandelbrot law is revisited in the context of linguistics. Despite its widespread popularity the Zipf--Mandelbrot law can only describe the statistical behaviour of a rather restricted fraction of the total number of words contained in some given corpus. In particular, we focus our attention on the important deviations that become statistically relevant as larger corpora are considered and that ultimately could be understood as salient features of the underlying complex process of language generation. Finally, it is shown that all the different observed regimes can be accurately encompassed within a single mathematical framework recently introduced by C. Tsallis.Comment: 6 pages and 7 figures; minor changes in text, added referece

‘Cognitive systemic dichotomization’ in public argumentation and controversies

We describe and analyze an important cognitive obstacle in inter- and intra-community ar-gumentation processes, which we propose to call \u27Cognitive Systemic Dichotomization\u27 (CSD). This social phenomenon consists in the collective use of shared cognitive patterns based upon dichotomous schemati-zation of knowledge, values, and affection. We discuss the formative role of CSD on a community’s collec-tive cognition, identity, and public discourse, as well as the challenges it raises to reasoned argumentation, and how different approaches to argumentation undertake to face this obstacle to the reasonable debate of issues of public concern

Effect of the explicit flexibility of the InhA enzyme from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in molecular docking simulations

Background: Protein/receptor explicit flexibility has recently become an important feature of molecular docking simulations. Taking the flexibility into account brings the docking simulation closer to the receptors’ real behaviour in its natural environment. Several approaches have been developed to address this problem. Among them, modelling the full flexibility as an ensemble of snapshots derived from a molecular dynamics simulation (MD) of the receptor has proved very promising. Despite its potential, however, only a few studies have employed this method to probe its effect in molecular docking simulations. We hereby use ensembles of snapshots obtained from three different MD simulations of the InhA enzyme from M. tuberculosis (Mtb), the wild-type (InhA_wt), InhA_I16T, and InhA_I21V mutants to model their explicit flexibility, and to systematically explore their effect in docking simulations with three different InhA inhibitors, namely, ethionamide (ETH), triclosan (TCL), and pentacyano (isoniazid)ferrate(II) (PIF). Results: The use of fully-flexible receptor (FFR) models of InhA_wt, InhA_I16T, and InhA_I21V mutants in docking simulation with the inhibitors ETH, TCL, and PIF revealed significant differences in the way they interact as compared to the rigid, InhA crystal structure (PDB ID: 1ENY). In the latter, only up to five receptor residues interact with the three different ligands. Conversely, in the FFR models this number grows up to an astonishing 80 different residues. The comparison between the rigid crystal structure and the FFR models showed that the inclusion of explicit flexibility, despite the limitations of the FFR models employed in this study, accounts in a substantial manner to the induced fit expected when a protein/receptor and ligand approach each other to interact in the most favourable manner. Conclusions: Protein/receptor explicit flexibility, or FFR models, represented as an ensemble of MD simulation snapshots, can lead to a more realistic representation of the induced fit effect expected in the encounter and proper docking of receptors to ligands. The FFR models of InhA explicitly characterizes the overall movements of the amino acid residues in helices, strands, loops, and turns, allowing the ligand to properly accommodate itself in the receptor’s binding site. Utilization of the intrinsic flexibility of Mtb’s InhA enzyme and its mutants in virtual screening via molecular docking simulation may provide a novel platform to guide the rational or dynamicalstructure-based drug design of novel inhibitors for Mtb’s InhA. We have produced a short video sequence of each ligand (ETH, TCL and PIF) docked to the FFR models of InhA_wt. These videos are available at http://www.inf.pucrs. br/~osmarns/LABIO/Videos_Cohen_et_al_19_07_2011.htm

De la franqueza

Ya llevábamos unos años de amistad cuando me sorprendió que Sergio Chejfec hiciera vida literaria. Pronto me di cuenta de que no simplemente le gustaba: era un aficionado incondicional, un adepto, y al cabo comprobé que la entendía como práctica de una ética indiscernible de una estética (y viceversa, dicho de una manera que quizás se habría tomado con una semisonrisa). No las costumbres y obligaciones de la mundanidad literaria sino la paridad afectuosa surgida de las lecturas mutuas, el afe..

Anatomical study of the lateral patellofemoral ligament in cadaver knees

OBJECTIVES: To describe the lateral patellofemoral ligament (LPFL) after anatomical dissection of fresh cadaver knees. The literature shows a particular interest for the LPFL. Such special attention is due to its anatomical and biomechanical importance, and also due to the need to reconstruct the ligament in the cases of medial patellar instability. METHODS: The LPFL was studied in 20 knees of 20 fresh cadavers by means of anatomical dissections. The dissections were standardized and the data were noted down and forwarded to statistical analysis. RESULTS: The LPFL presented a mean 16.05 mm width (standard deviation of 2.48), 42.10 mm length (standard deviation of 8.84). The femoral insertion was found at the lateral femoral epicondyle and with a fan-like expansion of the fibers, predominantly in the posterior region proximal to the lateral epicondyle. In the patella, the insertion found was in the upper-lateral region (in the middle of the upper third of the coronal plan), also with expanded fibers, but less intensely so. In the sagittal plan, the ligament was located in the posterior half of the border of the patella. The LPFL was isolated in the second lateral retinacular layer, the deep transverse retinaculum. CONCLUSION: The LPFL is located in the deep transverse retinacular layer with the presence of a fan-like expansion of its fibers both in the femoral and in the patellar insertions. The insertion is more posterior and proximal at the femoral epicondyle and in the posterior half of the patellar border (sagittal plan) and in the upper-lateral aspect.OBJETIVOS: Descrever o ligamento patelofemoral lateral (LPFL) por meio de dissecação anatômica de joelhos de cadáveres frescos. Na literatura existe particular interesse pelo LPFL. Essa especial atenção é dada pela sua importância anatômica, biomecânica e pela necessidade da sua reconstrução nos casos de instabilidade medial da patela. MÉTODOS: O LPFL foi estudado em 20 joelhos de 20 cadáveres frescos por meio de dissecações anatômicas. As dissecações foram padronizadas e os dados anotados enviados para análise estatística. RESULTADOS: O LPFL apresentou em média 16,05mm de largura (desvio-padrão: 2,48), 42,10mm de comprimento (desvio-padrão: 8,84). Sua inserção femoral mostrou-se no epicôndilo femoral lateral e com expansão em forma de leque das suas fibras, predominantemente na região posterior e proximal ao epicôndilo lateral. Na patela a inserção encontrada foi na região súpero-lateral (na metade do terço superior no plano coronal), também com expansão das fibras, mas com menor intensidade. No plano sagital, o ligamento situava-se na metade posterior da borda da patela. O LPFL foi isolado na segunda camada retinacular lateral, o retináculo transverso profundo. CONCLUSÃO: O LPFL situa-se na camada retinacular transversa profunda, com a presença de uma expansão das suas fibras em forma de leque, tanto na inserção femoral quanto na patelar. No epicôndilo femoral a inserção encontra-se mais posterior e proximalmente e na patela está na metade posterior da borda patelar (plano sagital) e no aspecto súpero-lateral.Faculdade de Medicina do ABC Grupo de Traumatologia Esportiva da Disciplina de OrtopediaUNIFESP Departamento de OrtopediaFaculdade de Medicina do ABCUNIFESP, Depto. de OrtopediaSciEL

Gauged Fermionic Q-balls

We present a new model for a non-topological soliton (NTS) that contains interacting fermions, scalar particles and a gauge field. Using a variational approach, we estimate the energy of the localized configuration, showing that it can be the lowest energy state of the system for a wide range of parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; revised version to appear in Phys. Rev.