Communication in organizations and 360-degree evaluation: what is the relationship between the two concepts?

The performance appraisal has a very important role in the strategic objectives of the organization, because it contributes to its efficacy (Aguinis, 2007). However, some limitations of top-down performance appraisal like the subjectivity have been proposed other evaluations, like 360-degree evaluation (Kondrasuk, 2012). This is a specific evaluation that considers more than one appraiser (Brutus & Gorriti, 2005). The purpose of this research is to know if the application of 360-degree evaluation influences organizational communication. We conducted a qualitative exploratory study through the interviews with experts. The results that will be presented are still preliminary and have theoretical and practical applications. In general, we conclude that 360-degree evaluation could be advantageous for organizational communication (e.g. active voice of employees; symmetrical and bi-directional communication).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Role of Media Literacy in the Public Relations: What Is Happening in the Portuguese Universities?

Media literacy has a key role in education. It is known that the public relations profession often involves a position of media relations. In this context, this type of expert must obtain skills in the critical and active use of media. Afterwards it arises the need to understand what kind of investment in media literacy has been done by Portuguese Public Universities. This will be the objective of this exploratory qualitative study. For the collection of information, we have proceeded to the analysis of the curricula of Degree’s and master’s degree in Public Relations courses of 15 Portuguese Public Universities. In general, it was concluded that there is still little investment at this level. Of the 15 Portuguese public universities analyzed, only three universities hold courses on media education in their curricula, within the degree in public relations / organizational communication / strategic communication. Regarding to the master’s degree we found that only four of the 15 Portuguese Public Universities consider the media literacy in their curricula. This research focuses specifically in Public Universities. However, in future studies it will be also important to include private universities to compare the main differences

The organizational communication and the leadership: what is the relationship between the 360-degree evaluation and the leadership communication?

Organizational communication and evaluation processes play a key role for organizations, as they are responsible for better individual performance and consequently for greater organizational effectiveness (Proctor & Doukakis, 2003). In general, organizational communication may be defined as a way of disseminating information that enables coordination and conclusion of tasks, decision-making and conflict resolution (Ayub, Manaf & Hamzah, 2014). On the other hand, performance evaluation may be generically defined as a continuous process of monitoring and management that allows correcting of certain behaviors (Hosain, 2016). Over the years it has become clear that the traditional performance appraisal process (i.e., the top-down evaluation process in which the leader evaluates the subordinate) presents some limitations, such as non-confidentiality and quotation errors of the evaluators (Caetano, 2008). In this sense, it became necessary to promote other alternative forms of performance evaluation, such as the 360-degree performance evaluation.N/

O VIVER E O FAZER CONSTRUINDO MUNDOS

Neste artigo discute-se o passado/presente na perspectiva de explicitar e compreender o saber/conhecimento contido nas metáforas da linguagem sobre a origem e a importância de produtos vegetais, utilizados na alimentação pelos indígenas na Amazônia. A análise de geração e produção mental/intelectual dos mecanismos sociais de seleção, apropriação e institucionalização informam os processos transmissão de conhecimento. Busca-se refletir, entender e compreender as relações existentes entre os componentes do grupo sociocultural e seus ambientes. Ressalta, também, os procedimentos específicos adotados na produção de conhecimento que se conforma e configura na relação do viver num mundo oriundo no processo das vivencias

A new feature selection method based on stability theory - Exploring parameters space to evaluate classification accuracy in neuroimaging data

Recently we proposed a feature selection method based on stability theory. In the present work we present an evaluation of its performance in different contexts through a grid search performed in a subset of its parameters space. The main contributions of this work are: we show that the method can improve the classification accuracy in relation to the wholebrain in different functional datasets; we evaluate the parameters influence in the results, getting some insight in reasonable ranges of values; and we show that combinations of parameters that yield the best accuracies are stable (i.e., they have low rates of false positive selections)

Pattern classification of valence in depression

Copyright @ The authors, 2013. This is an open access article available under Creative Commons Licence, CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0.Neuroimaging biomarkers of depression have potential to aid diagnosis, identify individuals at risk and predict treatment response or course of illness. Nevertheless none have been identified so far, potentially because no single brain parameter captures the complexity of the pathophysiology of depression. Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) may overcome this issue as it can identify patterns of voxels that are spatially distributed across the brain. Here we present the results of an MVPA to investigate the neuronal patterns underlying passive viewing of positive, negative and neutral pictures in depressed patients. A linear support vector machine (SVM) was trained to discriminate different valence conditions based on the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of nine unipolar depressed patients. A similar dataset obtained in nine healthy individuals was included to conduct a group classification analysis via linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Accuracy scores of 86% or higher were obtained for each valence contrast via patterns that included limbic areas such as the amygdala and frontal areas such as the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The LDA identified two areas (the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and caudate nucleus) that allowed group classification with 72.2% accuracy. Our preliminary findings suggest that MVPA can identify stable valence patterns, with more sensitivity than univariate analysis, in depressed participants and that it may be possible to discriminate between healthy and depressed individuals based on differences in the brain's response to emotional cues.This work was supported by a PhD studentship to I.H. from the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (NISCHR) HS/10/25 and MRC grant G 1100629

Will artificial intelligence eventually replace psychiatrists?

SUMMARY: The dystopian scenario of an 'artificial intelligence takeover' imagines artificial intelligence (AI) becoming the dominant form of intelligence on Earth, rendering humans redundant. As a society we have become increasingly familiar with AI and robots replacing humans in many tasks, certain jobs and even some areas of medicine, but surely this is not the fate of psychiatry?Here a computational neuroscientist (Janaina Mourão-Miranda) and psychiatrist (Justin Taylor Baker) suggest that psychiatry as a profession is relatively safe, whereas psychiatrists Christian Brown and Giles William Story predict that robots will be taking over the asylum

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A máscara dos objectos em torno de um beijo dado mais tarde

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Composições nanoestruturadas de cloreto de cetilpiridínio com β-ciclodextrina: síntese, caracterização físico-química e avaliação da interação com Staphylococcus aureus

The high occurrence of multiresistant microorganisms is considered a global health problem, and the presence and dissemination of these organisms has been documented more frequently in recent decades. In order to reduce the number of these pathogens, the use of antiseptics has become an important ally, reducing the risks of contamination. Cetylpyridinium Chloride – CPC is a cationic surfactant that has been used in the United States as a mouthwash for over 70 years and has biocidal activity against a broad spectrum of bacteria. Amongst them, Staphylococcus aureus stands out, that although it is often the usual human microbiota, is an important pathogen that causes a wide variety of clinical infections. In order to try to reduce the inconvenience of bacterial resistance and potentiate the effect of CPC, the complexation of the compound with β-cyclodextrin was proposed in the present work. The initial objective of this work was the synthesis and physicochemical characterization (FTIR, thermal analysis, NMR, ZP, DLS, ITC) of CPC/βCD nanostructured composition, paying special attention to the process of CPC/βCD complexation in face of the possibility self-organization of surfactant in micelle form. Subsequently, the antimicrobial activity of CPC was evaluated, in the absence and presence of βCD, against clinical and standard strains (ATCC) of S. aureus. Finally, the direct interaction of the CPC/βCD complex with S. aureus membranes was investigated in order to understand the mechanism of interaction. The results showed spontaneous formation of the inclusion complex between βCD and CPC, which was preferable to the pure CPC mycelization process, and βCD delays the mycelization process. Regarding its biological activity, it was observed that in the presence of βCD there was a reduction of LD50 and alteration in thermodynamic and colloidal parameters, suggesting that the proposed molecular encapsulation model may be a promising tool.A alta ocorrência de microrganismos multirresistentes é considerada um problema de saúde global, sendo a presença e disseminação desses organismos documentada com mais frequência nas últimas décadas. Visando diminuir o número desses patógenos, o uso de antissépticos tornou-se um importante aliado, reduzindo os riscos de contaminação. O Cloreto de Cetilpiridínio – CCP é um surfactante catiônico já utilizado nos Estados Unidos da América como colutório há mais de 70 anos, possuindo atividade biocida contra um largo espectro de bactérias. Dentre elas, destaca-se o Staphylococcus aureus, que apesar de constituir frequentemente a microbiota habitual humana, é um importante patógeno que causa uma grande variedade de infecções clínicas. No intuito de se tentar reduzir os inconvenientes da resistência bacteriana e potencializar o efeito do CCP, foi proposto no presente trabalho, a complexação do composto com a -ciclodextrina. O trabalho teve como objetivo inicial, a síntese e caracterização físico-química (FTIR, análise térmica, RMN, ZP, DLS, ITC) de composição nanoestruturada do CCP/βCD, dando especial atenção ao processo de complexação CCP/βCD frente à possibilidade de auto-organização do surfactante na forma de micela. Na sequência, foi avaliada a atividade antimicrobiana do CCP, na ausência e na presença de CD, frente a cepas clínica e padrão (ATCC) de S. aureus. Ao fim, foi investigada a interação direta do complexo CCP/CD com membranas de S. aureus, com vistas à compreensão do mecanismo de interação. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram formação espontânea do complexo de inclusão entre a βCD e CCP, o qual foi preferencial ao processo de micelização do CCP puro, sendo que a CD atrasa o processo de micelização. Quanto à sua atividade biológica, observou-se que na presença da βCD houve redução da DL50 e alteração nos parâmetros termodinâmicos e coloidais, sugerindo que o modelo de encapsulamento molecular proposto pode ser uma ferramenta promissora