Tribal Marketing: portuguese adaptation and preliminary psychometric results of tribalism, team brand loyalty, team brand value and personal/group identity questionnaire

O objetivo deste estudo foi adaptar para a população portuguesa e validar as características psicométricas preliminares do questionário de Tribalismo de Rudi Meir, Lealdade Marca-Equipa, Valor Marca e Identidade pessoal/grupo. Foi seguido um protocolo de investigação quantitativo. A recolha de dados foi realizada através de um inquérito com uma amostra selecionada por conveniência composta por n=734 participantes distribuídos por 13 níveis de formação académica. Foi realizada uma análise fatorial confirmatória, no contexto dos modelos de equações estruturais. Os resultados obtidos na amostra portuguesa permitem suportar a estrutura fatorial do Questionário original, “Tribalism, team brand loyalty, team brand value and personal/group identity ”, proposto por Rudi Meir (2009). A versão portuguesa do questionario apresenta propriedades psicométricas satisfatórias quanto à validade e fidelidade representando uma opção valida para a mensuração da fenomenología em causa

The Effects of Sex-Role Attitudes and Group Composition on Men and Women in Groups

The dual impact of group gender composition and sex-role attitudes on self-perceptions and social behavior was explored. Androgynous and stereotyped men and women were placed in groups of skewed sex composition. Subjects\u27 self-descriptions of masculine attributes shifted significantly in the group environment. In some instances, sex role-stereotyped subjects responded most stereotypically when their gender was in the minority in the group. Differences between men and women and between androgynous and stereotyped subjects in sex role-related preferences for group roles and discussion topics were also found

Constructing female entrepreneurship policy in the UK : is the US a relevant benchmark?

Successive UK governments have introduced a range of policy initiatives designed to encourage more women to start new firms. Underpinning these policies has been an explicit ambition for the UK to achieve similar participation rates as those in the US where it is widely reported that women own nearly half the stock of businesses. The data underlying these objectives are critically evaluated and it is argued that the definitions and measures of female enterprise used in the UK and the US restrict meaningful comparisons between the two. It is suggested that the expansion of female entrepreneurship in the US is historically and culturally specific to that country. UK policy goals should reflect the national socioeconomic context, while drawing upon good practice examples from a range of other countries. The paper concludes by discussing the economic and social viability of encouraging more women in the UK to enter self-employment without fully recognising the intensely competitive sectors in which they are often located

Seasonal differences in Varroa destructor population growth in western honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies

Varroa destructor is a major threat for apiculture worldwide. A successful approach to control this parasite must include the application of effective treatments at the correct time. To understand the effect that treatment timing has on Varroa populations at different seasons, we conducted an experiment using a dataset comprising two separate field trials over multiple years, both trials containing four apiary sites composed of 20 honey bee colonies across an area representative of north central Florida environments. Before the start of the season, colonies were treated with two acaricides simultaneously to bring the Varroa populations to ∼0.25 mites/100 bees. Following treatment, we monitored the mite populations monthly via alcohol washes. Our results show that the temporal efficacy of Varroa treatments varies across seasons. We observed that it takes about 4–5 months after treatment in winter and spring for mite populations to return to the standard economical threshold (3 mites/100 bees). Nevertheless, there is a steeper increase in mite populations (<3 months to exceed the economic threshold) after treating colonies in summer and fall. The level of infestation that leads to colony collapse and the rate of colony decline also varied by season. To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating seasonal effects on Varroa population growth and the first model of Varroa population growth in Florida, USA. Our results serve as a foundation for Varroa treatment models, aiding beekeepers in the future as a part of a holistic approach to control this devastating honey bee parasite

Use of next-generation sequencing and candidate gene analysis to identify underlying defects in patients with inherited platelet function disorders

Background: Inherited platelet function disorders (PFDs) are heterogeneous, and identification of the underlying genetic defects is difficult when based solely on phenotypic and clinical features of the patient. Objective: To analyze 329 genes regulating platelet function, number, and size in order to identify candidate gene defects in patients with PFDs. Patients/methods: Targeted analysis of candidate PFD genes was undertaken after next-generation sequencing of exomic DNA from 18 unrelated index cases with PFDs who were recruited into the UK Genotyping and Phenotyping of Platelets (GAPP) study and diagnosed with platelet abnormalities affecting either Gi signaling (n = 12) or secretion (n = 6). The potential pathogenicity of candidate gene defects was assessed using computational predictive algorithms. Results: Analysis of the 329 candidate PFD genes identified 63 candidate defects, affecting 40 genes, among index cases with Gi signaling abnormalities, while 53 defects, within 49 genes, were identified among patients with secretion abnormalities. Homozygous gene defects were more commonly associated with secretion abnormalities. Functional annotation analysis identified distinct gene clusters in the two patient subgroups. Thirteen genes with significant annotation enrichment for 'intracellular signaling' harbored 16 of the candidate gene defects identified in nine index cases with Gi signaling abnormalities. Four gene clusters, representing 14 genes, with significantly associated gene ontology annotations were identified among the cases with secretion abnormalities, the most significant association being with 'establishment of protein localization.' Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the genetic complexity of PFDs and highlight plausible candidate genes for targeted analysis in patients with platelet secretion and Gi signaling abnormalities

Hygienic assessment of educational load in school children

The article describes the analysis of the weekly lesson schedule of students in the 5th grade of one of the schools in the region, the purpose of which is a hygienic assessment of the lesson schedule and the study of the level of performance of students. As a result of the hygienic assessment, violations in the schedule were revealed (optional classes are scheduled for the busiest day of the week, irrational distribution of lessons in accordance with the scale of difficulty of subjects).В статье описан анализ недельного расписания уроков учеников 5-го класса одной из школ, целью которого являются гигиеническая оценка расписания уроков и исследование уровня работоспособности школьников. В результате гигиенической оценки были выявлены нарушения в составлении расписания (факультативное занятие запланировано на самый загруженный день недели, нерациональное распределение уроков в соответствии со шкалой трудности предметов)

Event-related potentials modulated by the perception of sexual dimorphism : the influence of attractiveness and sex of faces

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and Programa Operacional de Potencial Humano/Fundo Social Europeu [Grant reference SFRH/BD/77592/2011 to M. L. C.].Sexual dimorphism has been proposed as one of the facial traits to have evolved through sexual selection and to affect attractiveness perception. Even with numerous studies documenting its effect on attractiveness and mate choice, the neurophysiological correlates of the perception of sexual dimorphism are not yet fully understood. In the present study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during visualisation of faces that had been previously transformed in shape to appear more masculine or more feminine. The participants’ task consisted of judging the attractiveness of half of the total number of faces, and performing a sex discrimination task on the other half. Both early and late potentials were modulated by the sex of faces, whereas the effect of the sexually dimorphic transform was mainly visible in the P2 (positive deflection around 200 ms after stimulus onset), EPN (early posterior negativity) and LPP (late positive potentials) components. There was an effect of sexual dimorphism on P2 and EPN amplitudes when female participants visualised male faces, which may indicate that masculinity is particularly attended to when viewing opposite sex members. Also, ERP results seem to support the idea of sex differences in social categorisation decisions regarding faces, although differences were not evident on behavioural results. In general, these findings contribute to a better understanding of how humans perceive sexually dimorphic characteristics in other individuals’ faces and how they affect attractiveness judgements.PostprintPeer reviewe

Awards, incentives and mutual benefit

Frey argues that if buyers and sellers of labour understand their relationship merely as exchange, workers’ intrinsic motivation can be impaired; this problem can be partially overcome by using awards as a supplementary reward mechanism. I argue that this proposal is self-defeating. In an economy that relies on the division of labour, it is an unavoidable fact that individuals are subject to the will of others; award-giving practices are merely camouflage. However, recognising this fact need not impair anyone’s sense of autonomy as a paid worker if participation in market exchanges is understood as expressing intentions for mutual benefit