Quitting in Protest: A Theory of Presidential Policy Making and Agency Response

This paper examines the effects of centralized presidential policy-making, implemented through unilateral executive action, on the willingness of bureaucrats to exert effort and stay in the government. Extending models in organizational economics, we show that policy initiative by the president is a substitute for initiative by civil servants. Yet, total effort is enhanced when both work. Presidential centralization of policy often impels policy-oriented bureaucrats ( zealots ) to quit rather than implement presidential policies they dislike. Those most likely to quit are a range of moderate bureaucrats. More extreme bureaucrats may be willing to wait out an opposition president in the hope of tempering future policy when an allied president is elected. As control of the White House alternates between ideologically opposed extreme presidents, policy-minded moderates are stripped from bureaucratic agencies leaving only policy extremists or poorly performing slackers. These departures degrade policy initiative in moderate agencies

Public Sector Personnel Economics: Wages, Promotions, and the Competence-Control Trade-off

We model personnel policies in public agencies, examining how wages and promotion standards can partially offset a fundamental contracting problem: the inability of public sector workers to contract on performance, and the inability of political masters to contract on forbearance from meddling. Despite the dual contracting problem, properly constructed personnel policies can encourage intrinsically motivated public sector employees to invest in expertise, seek promotion, remain in the public sector, and develop policy projects. However, doing so requires internal personnel policies that sort slackers from zealots. Personnel policies that accomplish this task are quite different in agencies where acquired expertise has little value in the private sector, and agencies where acquired expertise commands a premium in the private sector. Finally, even with well-designed personnel policies, there remains an inescapable trade-off between political control and expertise acquisition

A experência da criança no perioperatório de cirurgia programada

A experiência da criança submetida a cirurgia programada é sempre uma vivência individual, não descorando o binómio criança/família. A ansiedade, o medo, o choro, e outras reacções são conhecidas da nossa prática como manifestações à separação familiar e ao ambiente hospitalar. Numa tentativa de compreender a experiência da criança, em idade escolar, no perioperatório de cirurgia programada, levamos a cabo um estudo qualitativo de intervenção. A amostra incluiu 30 crianças admitidas no Serviço de Cirurgia da Instituição. O primeiro grupo (A), seguiu os procedimentos habituais da instituição. O segundo grupo (B), foi submetido a uma intervenção de enfermagem no pré-operatório, realizada na véspera do acto cirúrgico. Após análise das entrevistas, constatou-se a existência de oito categorias: experiência hospitalar, experiência cirúrgica, experiência de aprendizagem, experiência no bloco operatório, sensações, resultados da experiência, papel do enfermeiro e hospital pediátrico. Estas categorias foram alvo de análise de conteúdo para compreensão das mensagens das crianças. As conclusões deste estudo, revelam-nos que as crianças submetidas a intervenção de enfermagem pré-operatória, quando comparadas com as crianças que seguiram o procedimento habitual da instituição, expressam maior entendimento, aceitação e reconhecimento dos procedimentos cirúrgicos; estabelecem, com maior facilidade, uma relação terapêutica com a equipa de enfermagem; relatam menos medo e encaram a experiência como fonte de aprendizagem, e a presença do familiar como o garante tranquilizador

Stability properties and asymptotics for N non-minimally coupled scalar fields cosmology

We consider here the dynamics of some homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models with $N$ interacting classical scalar fields non-minimally coupled to the spacetime curvature, as an attempt to generalize some recent results obtained for one and two scalar fields. We show that a Lyapunov function can be constructed under certain conditions for a large class of models, suggesting that chaotic behavior is ruled out for them. Typical solutions tend generically to the empty de Sitter (or Minkowski) fixed points, and the previous asymptotic results obtained for the one field model remain valid. In particular, we confirm that, for large times and a vanishing cosmological constant, even in the presence of the extra scalar fields, the universe tends to an infinite diluted matter dominated era.Comment: 10 page

Stability of Biaxial Nematic Phase for Systems with Variable Molecular Shape Anisotropy

We study the influence of fluctuations in molecular shape on the stability of the biaxial nematic phase by generalizing the mean field model of Mulder and Ruijgrok [Physica A {\bf 113}, 145 (1982)]. We limit ourselves to the case when the molecular shape anisotropy, represented by the alignment tensor, is a random variable of an annealed type. A prototype of such behavior can be found in lyotropic systems - a mixture of potassium laurate, 1-decanol, and $D_2O$, where distribution of the micellar shape adjusts to actual equilibrium conditions. Further examples of materials with the biaxial nematic phase, where molecular shape is subject to fluctuations, are thermotropic materials composed of flexible trimeric- or tetrapod-like molecular units. Our calculations show that the Gaussian equilibrium distribution of the variables describing molecular shape (dispersion force) anisotropy gives rise to new classes of the phase diagrams, absent in the original model. Depending on properties of the shape fluctuations, the stability of the biaxial nematic phase can be either enhanced or depressed, relative to the uniaxial nematic phases. In the former case the splitting of the Landau point into two triple points with a direct phase transition line from isotropic to biaxial phase is observed.Comment: 18 pages containing 6 figure

Demandas tecnológicas para o manejo florestal da castanha-do-brasil (Bertholletia excelsa Humb e Bompl).

A coleta e exportação de castanha-do-brasil occorem há várias décadas. NO entanto, iniciativas de estudos técnico-científicos relacionados a processamento e, principalmente, ao manejo das áreas de coleta são recentes, daí a grande lacuna de conhecimentos. É necessário estabelecer novas linhas de pesquisa nessas áreas, por meio de critérios que priorizem demandas, evitando desperdício de recursos financeiros e humanos, com maior eficácia no uso de recursos públicos e privados e atendendo aos anseios do setor produtivo, do consumidor e da sociedade como um todo.bitstream/CPAF-AC/3716/1/doc61.pd

Superinflation, quintessence, and the avoidance of the initial singularity

We consider the dynamics of a spatially flat universe dominated by a self-interacting nonminimally coupled scalar field. The structure of the phase space and complete phase portraits for the conformal coupling case are given. It is shown that the non-minimal coupling modifies drastically the dynamics of the universe. New cosmological behaviors are identified, including superinflation ($\dot{H}>0$), avoidance of big bang singularities through classical birth of the universe from empty Minkowski space, and spontaneous entry into and exit from inflation. The relevance of this model to the description of quintessence is discussed.Comment: RevTex, 10 pages, 4 figures, To appear in the proceedings of the 5th Peyresq meetin

Effect of heat treatment on rheological properties of mixed nectars based on cashew apple, mango and acerola pulps

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on the rheological properties of mixed nectars, based on cashew apple, mango, and acerola pulps. Ten different formulations with different mass fractions of cashew apple, mango, and acerola pulps were prepared using a simplex centroid design [with a total of 35% (w/w) pulp] and submitted to heat treatment at 90 °C for 1 min. Samples were collected before and after heat treatment and characterization of their rheological properties was carried out. The rheological behaviour was obtained at 25 °C, with shear rate ranging from 108 to 500 s−1 (upward curve) and from 500 to 108 s−1 (downward curve) for 1 min with 25 readings for each curve. The Ostwald de Waele model showed to be a good fit for all formulations studied, which showed a non-Newtonian behaviour and a pseudoplastic character. Results of apparent viscosity for the non-heated formulations were well fitted by the linear model and the heat treated formulations by the cubic model. The heat treated formulations had higher (P<0.05) values of consistency index and apparent viscosity, as well as lower (P<0.05) values of flow behaviour index compared to non-heated formulations. The rheological characterization of these formulations is a very useful tool during product development and processing control of mixed nectars of fruit juice