A UNIVERSIDADE CORPORATIVA COMO REDUTORA DE DESIGUALDADES SOCIAIS NO SETOR DE SERVIÇOS: UM ESTUDO DE CASO EM UMA CENTRAL DE ATENDIMENTO A CLIENTES

Atualmente existe uma discussão sobre a eficácia das universidades tradicionais em relação ao seu papel de formação de profissional. Tal discussão, apesar de válida, reflete apenas uma imagem que as empresas têm destas instituições. Para tanto, visando minimizar os hiatos de formação, verifica-se que as empresas estão assumindo a responsabilidade pela educação de seus profissionais através de suas Universidades Corporativas. Porém, a adoção das Universidades Corporativas não vem apenas a sanar o problema de formação e sim a possibilitar o desenvolvimento e maximização de competências críticas, assim como a manutenção da cultura organizacional. Todavia, um fator interessante é que as práticas empresariais referentes as Universidades Corporativas estão migrando para as causas sociais, no intuito de reduzir as diferenças e as desigualdades. Portanto esse trabalho vem a demonstrar uma experiência válida de uma empresa que possui uma Universidade Corporativa. Para tanto, utilizou-se de procedimentos exploratórios e descritivos, assim como quantitativos e qualitativos visando conhecer melhor o assunto e relatar as práticas da Universidade em questão. Como resultados, foram verificados uma maior aproximação com a sociedade, uma diminuição no nível de absenteísmo e um aumento no nível de comprometimento dos funcionários para com a empresa

Emerging Marketing Channels in Hospitality: A Global Study of Internet-Enabled Flash Sales and Private Sales

The potential uses of flash deals or daily deals have caught the attention of many restaurant and hotel firms, as well as third-party distributors, such as Expedia. A survey of nearly 200 international hospitality practitioners found that a remarkable 42 percent had tested a flash deal promotion, and some of those firms had offered numerous flash deals. At the same time, 46 percent of the responding hospitality firms had no intention of offering a flash deal, with some citing concerns about the potential damage of group discounts to brand integrity. Individual hotels that had offered flash deals tended to be on the large side, averaging more than 150 rooms. Discounts offered in the deals ranged widely, from 15 to over 75 percent off rack rates. Likewise, commissions paid to deal vendors saw a wide range, as the most typical commission was 15 to 20 percent, but some hotels paid as much as a 40-percent commission. Most of the deals reported in this survey had been offered through Groupon or LivingSocial, but Jetsetter unexpectedly appeared as the number-three flash-deal channel for these respondents. Deal structures also varied widely, although many deals were offered for mid-week. Although most offers involve a non-refundable purchase, deal vendors are increasingly offering their customers opportunities to obtain refunds in certain circumstances. Respondents’ general assessment of the deals’ success was moderate. They agreed that their deals brought in new customers, but repeat business was more tenuous. One favorable outcome was that the respondents saw little evidence of cannibalization of existing business, particularly when they packaged their deal carefully. On balance, hoteliers who were most pleased with the outcome of their deals were also the ones who managed the cost of the deal most assertively

Design and Fabrication of Terahertz Metallic Gratings on a Two-Wire Waveguide

In this study, we present the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of waveguide-integrated gratings operating at THz frequencie

Using fine-scale field data modelling for planning the management of invasions of Oenothera stucchii in coastal dune systems

Invasive alien species risk assessment and adaptive management are often hindered by a lack of information for most species. This work aims at predicting the probability of successful establishment and invasion of Oenothera stucchii Soldano, a neophyte invasive species belonging to the sect. Oenothera subsect. Oenothera, in xerophilous grasslands of grey dunes. Based on fine-scale field data, we modelled O. stucchii presence/absence and abundance as a function of environmental factors, human disturbance, and attributes of the recipient community through a zero-inflated Poisson model. The invasion success of O. stucchii depended on a combination of factors which differed when considering either the patterns of occurrence (species presence/absence) or those of species abundance. While human-driven disturbance strongly influenced the probability of presence/absence of O. stucchii, patterns of abundance were mostly driven by a combination of environmental and biotic features. Attributes of the recipient community remarkably influenced both O. stucchii presence and abundance. Based on fine-scale field data, we determined the mechanisms which drive the spatial patterns of presence and abundance of O. stucchii in xerophilous grasslands and provided quantitative thresholds to identify the most susceptible areas of grey dune habitats prone to invasion, which combine human disturbance (distance from the nearest beach access), attributes of the resident community (resident vegetation cover and structure), and environmental disturbance (foredune ridge height). These results provide useful insights to be used to plan cost-effective measures to prevent O. stucchii establishment and spread in sandy coastal systems. Our model may also be applied to closely related congener species included in the subsect. Oenothera, sharing similar biological and ecological traits

Effective photodarkening suppression in Yb-doped fiber lasers by visible light injection

Al-silicate fibers have excellent manufacturing quality. Unfortunately, high-Yb doping concentration may be limited by severe losses induced by photodarkening phenomenon. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time that Al-silicate Yb-doped fibers with highinversion and doping concentration above 1 wt% can be successfully used by implementing a simple optical bleaching scheme. A co-injection into the active fiber of a few mW of light at around 550 nm wavelength successfully eliminates almost all photodarkening induced losses. We demonstrate operation at above 90% of the pristine output power level in several lasers with up to 30% Yb ions in the excited state. These results may allow to use Yb-doped Al-silicate fibers with doping level increased by one order of magnitude. Finally, we provide a comprehensive picture of main parameters affecting photobleaching performance and, to the best of our knowledge, we report the first quantitative measurement of the Ytterbium excited state absorption cross-section in the visible range. © 2014 Optical Society of America

Superação de dormência em sementes de vassoura-vermelha (Dodonea viscosa (L.) Jacq. , Sapindaceae).

Organizado por Patricia Póvoa de Mattos, Celso Garcia Auer, Rejane Stumpf Sberze, Katia Regina Pichelli e Paulo César Botosso

The Role of IgLON Cell Adhesion Molecules in Neurodegenerative Diseases

In the brain, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are critical for neurite outgrowth, axonal fasciculation, neuronal survival and migration, and synapse formation and maintenance. Among CAMs, the IgLON family comprises five members: Opioid Binding Protein/Cell Adhesion Molecule Like (OPCML or OBCAM), Limbic System Associated Membrane Protein (LSAMP), neurotrimin (NTM), Neuronal Growth Regulator 1 (NEGR1), and IgLON5. IgLONs exhibit three N-terminal C2 immunoglobulin domains; several glycosylation sites; and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchoring to the membrane. Interactions as homo- or heterodimers in cis and in trans, as well as binding to other molecules, appear critical for their functions. Shedding by metalloproteases generates soluble factors interacting with cellular receptors and activating signal transduction. The aim of this review was to analyse the available data implicating a role for IgLONs in neuropsychiatric disorders. Starting from the identification of a pathological role for antibodies against IgLON5 in an autoimmune neurodegenerative disease with a poorly understood mechanism of action, accumulating evidence links IgLONs to neuropsychiatric disorders, albeit with still undefined mechanisms which will require future thorough investigations

Body composition analysis with bioelectric impedance in adult Indians with ESRD: Comparison with healthy population

Evaluation of body composition provides clinically useful information in several diseases including chronic kidney disease. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) is a simple, cheap, and noninvasive tool for monitoring body composition. We performed BIA in 451 healthy adults and 162 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) values were obtained at 50-kHz frequency using a tetrapolar impedance meter. Body compartments were derived using population-specific regression equations. Phase angles (arctan Xc/R) were calculated and impedance vector distribution was determined using the RXc graph method. Compared to healthy population, ESRD patients had similar post-dialysis resistance with lower reactance and phase angle, indicating decreased soft tissue mass and inadequate ultrafiltration. BIA equations estimated decreased fat mass index and intracellular water, whereas the total body and extracellular water percentages were increased. Sex-specific reference RXc plots with 95, 75, and 50% tolerance ellipses were drawn for the healthy population. A significant difference was noted in the vector positions and 95% confidence ellipses of the two sexes and body mass indices of ≤25 and >25. In conclusion, we present the reference BIA parameters for Indian population. ESRD patients show significant body compartment alterations. The RXc score graph can differentiate ESRD patient from normal controls and can be used to monitor nutrition and hydration status