bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estradiol administration controls eosinophilia through estrogen receptor-α activation during acute peritoneal inflammation
Authors: Douin-Echinard Victorine , Calippe Bertrand , Billon-Galès Audrey , Fontaine Coralie , Lenfant Françoise , Trémollières Florence , Bayard Françis , Guéry Jean-Charles , Arnal Jean-François , Gourdy Pierre
Published: April 2011

Estrogens influence the incidence and the course of numerous immune or inflammatory diseases in humans and in experimental models. For instance, estrogens prevent the accumulation of granulocytes in acute inflammatory murine models, but the respective actions on neutrophil and eosinophil trafficking remain to be clarified. We demonstrate here that in a model of TGC-induced sterile peritonitis in ovx mice, chronic E2 administration electively and strongly inhibited peritoneal eosinophil accumulation. E2 decreased BM eosinophil number, contributing to a marked prevention of the TGC-induced eosinophil blood mobilization. These effects on eosinophil mobilization and peritoneal accumulation were abolished in ER-α−/− mice, demonstrating the crucial role of this nuclear receptor. Grafting ER-α−/− mice with ER-α+/+ BM cells restored the suppressive effect of E2 on peritoneal eosinophilia, although the action on eosinophil blood mobilization was still abrogated. We therefore explored additional mechanisms and found that E2 reduced the peritoneal concentrations of key eosinophil prosurvival factors (IL-5, IL-9, and IL-25) and enhanced eosinophil apoptosis during the inflammatory process. Furthermore, this proapoptotic effect of E2 was abrogated in IL-5-overexpressing Tg mice. To conclude, we demonstrate for the first time that ER-α activation by exogenous E2 administration strongly inhibits eosinophil accumulation during acute inflammation in a nonreproductive target site for estrogen through combined actions on eosinophil mobilization and apoptosis. This specific, suppressive effect of chronic E2 replacement therapy on eosinophils has to be integrated to further understand the evolution of eosinophil-associated diseases in menopausal women.
Kinetics of lymphocyte reconstitution after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: markers of graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Zinöcker Severin , Sviland Lisbet , Dressel Ralf , Rolstad Bent
Published: April 2011

GVHD causes extensive morbidity and mortality in patients who receive alloHCT. Predictive and reliable markers for GVHD are currently lacking but required to improve the safety and accessibility of alloHCT. We present an experimental rat model of myeloablative total body irradiation and fully mismatched major and minor histoincompatible, T cell-depleted BMT, followed by delayed infusion of donor lymphocytes. This treatment, in contrast to marrow transplantation alone, resulted in severe aGVHD and 100% lethality within 2–6 weeks. We investigated the reconstitution kinetics and phenotypes of donor leukocyte subpopulations as well as the histopathology of selected organs that may correlate with GVHD, with the goal to find potential disease-related markers. We observed histological changes mainly confined to the skin, with degenerative changes in the basal layer. LNs and spleen showed deranged architecture with markedly increased accumulation of lymphocytes, whereas the gut, liver, and lungs appeared normal. Of the lymphocyte markers tested, donor-derived CD62L+ T cells were markedly decreased in animals suffering from GVHD. Furthermore, we observed peripheral depletion of CD4+CD25hiFoxP3+ Treg, which was in contrast to controls. The relative frequency of these lymphocyte subpopulations in blood may therefore serve as accessible cellular markers of aGVHD. We propose that the animal model presented is instructive for the identification of clinically relevant markers of GVHD, which could improve disease diagnosis and management in alloHCT.
Rat resident testicular macrophages have an alternatively activated phenotype and constitutively produce interleukin-10 in vitro
Authors: Winnall Wendy R , Muir Julie A , Hedger Mark P
Published: April 2011

The ability of the rodent testis to tolerate graft alloantigens and spermatogenic cell autoantigens is well known. The mechanisms underlying this “immune privilege” are poorly understood, but the numerous resident TMs have been implicated. Although it has been assumed that TMs display a phenotype consistent with immune privilege, this has not been formally established. Consequently, TMs were isolated from adult rats and cultured under basal conditions and following stimulation with LPS and IFN-γ (classical activation) or IL-4 (alternative activation). BMMs matured in vitro were used as control. Expression of the classical (proinflammatory) activation markers TNF-α, IL-1β, iNOS, IL-6, RANTES, IL-12p40, and SOCS3 and alternative (immunoregulatory) activation markers IL-10, TGF-β1, CXCL2, and SOCS1 was measured by QPCR or ELISA. In culture, TMs were characterized by poor expression of classical activation genes and TGF-β1 but constitutively high IL-10 production and reduced costimulatory activity in a polyclonal T cell activation assay. This pattern of gene expression was associated with TMs expressing the scavenger receptor CD163, which is characteristic of tissue resident macrophages and alternative activation. By contrast, CD163-negative TMs displayed reduced inflammatory gene expression but did not constitutively produce IL-10. These data indicate that under the influence of the testicular environment, macrophages adopt an alternatively activated phenotype, involving reduced capacity for proinflammatory gene expression, constitutive IL-10 production, and impaired ability to support T cell activation, consistent with a role in maintaining testicular immune privilege.
Human PD-L1-overexpressing porcine vascular endothelial cells induce functionally suppressive human CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+ Treg cells
Authors: Ding Qing , Lu Liming , Zhou Xiaorong , Zhou Yun , Chou Kuang-Yen
Published: April 2011

In xenotransplantation models, direct activation of hCD4+ T cells by porcine VECs leads to a robust proliferation of T cells. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, human antiporcine MLEC culture was used to investigate cross-species cell interactions, proliferation of hCD4+ T cells, and induction of human cytokines. We report that xenoantigen presentation by PIEC expands hCD4+ Foxp3+ Tregs and hCD4+ Foxp3– Teffs, and this process is dependent on porcine MHC-II antigen expression. Stable transfection of hPD-L1 into PIEC inhibits Teff proliferation, but Treg proliferation is not affected. Surprisingly, IL-10 production by hCD4+ T cells is augmented significantly by PIEChPD-L1. Notably, hPD-L1-induced Tregs have higher suppressive potency and mediate suppressive function partially through IL-10 and CD73. This study opens the possibility of using hPD-L1-overexpressing porcine VECs as a novel therapeutic to allow tolerance of xenotransplants and also supports the possibility of using hPD-L1 transgenic pigs as xenotransplant donors.
Hidden Convergence: Toward a Historical Comparison of U.s. and U.k. Health Policy
Authors: Glennerster Howard , Lieberman Robert C.
Published: April 2011

The social science literature on the comparative history of the welfare state offers conflicting accounts of the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. At first blush, the comparative history of health care policy in the United States and the United Kingdom seems to affirm the dominant view that the U.S. and U.K. welfare states have diverged substantially during the twentieth century. A comparison of U.S. and U.K. health policy, however, suggests that there are more parallels and points of tangency between the two systems than are readily apparent. The comparative history of health policy over the past century reveals common political and policy challenges and frequent interchanges of policy ideas, and helps uncover the political dynamics behind the development of health policy in the two countries, which can, in turn, help illuminate the contemporary politics of reform in both countries.
Inching toward Incrementalism: Federalism, Devolution, and Health Policy in the United States and the United Kingdom
Authors: Sparer Michael S. , France George , Clinton Chelsea
Published: April 2011

In the United States, the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 envisions a significant increase in federal oversight over the nation's health care system. At the same time, however, the legislation requires the states to play key roles in every aspect of the reform agenda (such as expanding Medicaid programs, creating insurance exchanges, and working with providers on delivery system reforms). The complicated intergovernmental partnerships that govern the nation's fragmented and decentralized system are likely to continue, albeit with greater federal oversight and control. But what about intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom? What impact did the formal devolution of power in 1999 to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have on health policy in those nations, and in the United Kingdom more generally? Has devolution begun a political process in which health policy in the United Kingdom will, over time, become increasingly decentralized and fragmented, or will this “state of unions” retain its long-standing reputation as perhaps the most centralized of the European nations? In this article, we explore the federalist and intergovernmental implications of recent reforms in the United States and the United Kingdom, and we put forward the argument that political fragmentation (long-standing in the United States and just emerging in the United Kingdom) produces new intergovernmental partnerships that, in turn, produce incremental growth in overall government involvement in the health care arena. This is the impact of what can be called catalytic federalism.
Incentivizing Professionals and Patients: A Consideration in the Context of the United Kingdom and the United States
Authors: Oliver Adam , Brown Lawrence D.
Published: April 2011

We are at the beginning of an era in which the pressure to secure the biggest possible “bang” for the health care “buck” is perhaps higher than it ever has been, on both sides of the Atlantic, and within the health policy discourse, incentives, for both professionals and patients, are occupying an increasingly prominent position. In this article, we consider issues related to motivating the professional and the patient to perform targeted actions, drawing on some of the evidence that has thus far been reported on experiences in the United Kingdom and the United States, and we present an admittedly somewhat speculative taxonomy of hypothesized effectiveness for some of the different methods by which each of these two broad types of incentives can be offered. We go on to summarize some of the problems of, and objections to, the use of incentives in health and health care, such as those relating to motivational crowding and gaming, but we conclude by positing that, following appropriate consideration, caution, and methodological and empirical investigation, health-related incentives, at least in some contexts, may contribute positively to the social good.
Health Care for Older Persons in England and the United States: A Contrast of Systems and Values
Authors: Gusmano Michael , Allin Sara
Published: April 2011

This article extends previous comparisons of access to health care for older persons in England and the United States by comparing rates of avoidable hospital conditions as a proxy for primary care access and by examining the distribution of care within these older populations. Drawing on hospital data from the two countries, we find that older persons in the United States, particularly those over the age of seventy-five, receive far more revascularizations than do older persons in England. Differences in the use of lower-joint replacement are not as great, but we are unable to assess differences in the need for these procedures. Although older persons have greater access to specialty care in the United States, there appears to be much better access to primary care in England. We are unable to draw comparisons on the extent of inequalities in access to health care, although in the United States there is evidence of inequalities in access by race, and in England we confirm earlier studies that find inequalities by level of deprivation. These findings are discussed in the context of the political debates over access to care and rationing in the two countries.
Another Special Relationship? Interactions between Health Technology Policies and Health Care Systems in the United States and the United Kingdom
Authors: Sampat Bhaven , Drummond Michael
Published: April 2011

Confronted with similar challenges, the United States and the United Kingdom have adopted very different health technology policies. In the United States, the focus has been on technology creation, in particular the funding of basic biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health. This both reflects and reinforces an innovation-first culture in the United States, including in health. By contrast, the United Kingdom has been much more heavily committed to applied research and evaluative research, including health-technology assessment. That is, while U.S. policy has focused on technology creation, U.K. policy has been more oriented toward technology diffusion. This article surveys the sources of these differences. We consider the impacts of institutional, cultural, and other factors that may explain them, and emphasize that it is hard to disentangle the separate effects of those factors. We conclude with a discussion of the difficulties in drawing cross-national lessons in health technology policy.
Why Hasn't Integrated Health Care Developed Widely in the United States and Not at All in England?
Authors: Bevan Gwyn , Janus Katharina
Published: April 2011

There have been influential advocates for financing and organizing health care in the United States and England based on the model of integrated health care delivery systems (IHCDSs). Despite good evidence that a few IHCDSs provide high-quality health care economically, such organizations are rare and localized in a few market areas in the United States and are absent in the English National Health Service (NHS). The explanation of why this is so includes various contributory factors: the way the development of the medical profession in each country pursued specialization; the division in British medicine between general practitioners and specialists; and the characteristics that we identify of established successful IHCDSs, which created formidable barriers to entry for a new IHCDS. This explains why currently the most promising organizational developments in U.S. health care are hybrids resulting from vertical integration. In England government policies of an “internal market,” as adopted in the 1990s and currently, were and are based on a purchaser-provider split with the objectives that providers would compete and be funded by a system in which “money follows the patient.” These policies recognize the division in British medicine, which also means that it is difficult to implement a reorganized English NHS based on high-performing IHCDSs.
Infectious Disease Surveillance in the United States and the United Kingdom: From Public Goods to the Challenges of New Technologies
Authors: Barnett Tony , Sorenson Corinna
Published: April 2011

Infectious diseases are a long-standing and continuing threat to health and welfare, with their containment dependent on national disease surveillance and response capacities. This article discusses infectious disease surveillance in the United States and the United Kingdom, examining historical national traditions for identifying and controlling infectious disease risks and how globalization and technical advances have influenced the evolution of their respective approaches. The two systems developed in different but parallel ways. In the United States, surveillance remained quite localized at the state level until the early twentieth century and still retains many of those features. The U.K. approach became centralized from the latter part of the nineteenth century and has principally remained so. In both cases, disease surveillance was traditionally conceived as a public good, where national or local authorities held sovereign rights and power to protect public health. With the increasing globalized nature of infectious disease, such notions shifted toward surveillance as a global public good, with countries responding in turn by creating new global health governance arrangements and regulations. However, the limitations of current surveillance systems and the strong hold of national interests place into question the provision of surveillance as a global public good. These issues are further highlighted with the introduction of new surveillance technologies, which offer opportunities for improved disease detection and identification but also create potential tensions between individual rights, corporate profit, equitable access to technology, and national and global public goods.
Does Racism Affect Health? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom
Authors: Muennig Peter , Murphy Michael
Published: April 2011

Blacks have worse overall health than whites in both the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the relative difference in health between the two groups within each cultural context differs between each context. In this article, we attempt to glean insights into these health disparities. We do so by first examining what is currently known about differences in morbidity and mortality for blacks and whites in the United States and the United Kingdom. We then turn to medical examination data by race and country of birth in an attempt to further untangle the complex interplay of socioeconomic status (SES), race, and racism as determinants of health in the United States and the United Kingdom. We find that (1) longer exposure of blacks to the recipient country is a risk for mortality in the United States but not in the United Kingdom; (2) adjustment for SES matters a good deal for mortality in the United States, but less so in the United Kingdom; (3) morbidity indicators do not paint a clear picture of black disadvantage relative to whites in either context; and (4) were one to consider medical examination data alone, differences between the two groups exist only in the United States. Taken together, we conclude that it is possible that the “less racist” United Kingdom provides a healthier environment for blacks than the United States. However, there remain many mysteries that escape simple explanation. Our findings raise more questions than they answer, and the health risks and health status of blacks in the United States are much more complex than previously thought.
Refining cage change routines: comparison of cardiovascular responses to three different ways of cage change in rats
Authors: Meller A , Kasanen I , Rukšėnas O , Apanavičiene N , Baturaitė Ž , Voipio H-M , Nevalainen T
Published: April 2011

Cage change is one of the unavoidable routines in laboratory rodent care. However, cage change disrupts the rodents’ olfactory environment and can evoke stress reactions. In this study, the short-term cardiovascular responses to three different cage change procedures were compared with telemetric monitoring. These procedures were: placing the rats into a new, clean cage (NEW), transferring the old cage lid into the clean cage (LID) and transferring an enrichment object into the clean cage (ENR) with the animals. Seven outbred rats (four Hsd:Sprague-Dawley and three HsdBrlHan:WIST) were instrumented with telemetric transmitters. The reactions were recorded during the 24 h following the cage change procedures. All cage change procedures (and also simple handling) caused elevated heart rate and mean arterial pressure levels for up to 5 h after the procedure, with the largest effect seen during the first hour. The reactions observed after cage change were significantly ( P < 0.05) greater than those observed after simple handling. The reactions after NEW were significantly higher than the reactions after ENR or LID, though the results were dependent on the stock. In Wistar rats the LID procedure resulted in smaller reactions than ENR. In Sprague-Dawley rats, the differences between ENR and LID were not so clear, but the transfer of scent-marked material into the new cage decreased the reactions compared with the NEW procedure also in this stock. Based on these results, using the old cage lid on the new cage could reduce the disturbance of cage change in rats.
The effects of enriching laboratory cages using various physical structures on multiple measures of welfare in singly-housed rats
Authors: Abou-Ismail Usama A , Mahboub Hamada D
Published: April 2011

The single housing of laboratory rats may be recommended in some situations such as hypothesis-driven or test-specific studies, during electroencephalogram recording of phases of sleep and after surgical procedures. However, as single housing of laboratory rats has been shown to be stressful, modification of the housing environment is needed to improve the welfare of these animals. This experiment was carried out to investigate the long-term effects of environmental enrichment on some behavioural, physiological, pathological and psychological measures of welfare. With two batches of animals, 24 rats were housed singly in either enriched cages (EC) ( n = 12 cages) or unenriched cages (UC) ( n = 12 cages). Behaviour was sampled every week and so was body weight and weight gain over a six-week observation period. Behaviours of the rats in the elevated plus-maze were recorded on the seventh week, whereas organ weights were recorded postmortem. The results revealed that long-term single housing of rats in super-enriched cages increased levels of indicators of good welfare including sleep, exploration, movement and feeding behaviour, body weights, weight gains and the relative weights of the thymus gland and spleen, and decreased levels of indicators of poor welfare such as stationary behaviour and the relative weight of adrenal glands. Thus, enrichment of conventional cages of newly weaned singly-housed laboratory rats with multiple physical structures appeared to improve their ability to control the environment and to promote their species-specific behaviour; changes that can ultimately result in good welfare.
Complete Monotone Quasiconcave Duality
Authors: Cerreia-Vioglio Simone , Maccheroni Fabio , Marinacci Massimo , Montrucchio Luigi
Published: April 2011

We introduce a notion of complete monotone quasiconcave duality, motivated by some economic applications. We show that this duality holds for important classes of quasiconcave functions.
Convex Duality in Stochastic Optimization and Mathematical Finance
Authors: Pennanen Teemu
Published: April 2011

This paper proposes a general duality framework for the problem of minimizing a convex integral functional over a space of stochastic processes adapted to a given filtration. The framework unifies many well-known duality frameworks from operations research and mathematical finance. The unification allows the extension of some useful techniques from these two fields to a much wider class of problems. In particular, combining certain finite-dimensional techniques from convex analysis with measure theoretic techniques from mathematical finance, we are able to close the duality gap in some situations where traditional topological arguments fail.
A Model for Optimally Advertising and Launching a Product
Authors: Lon Pui Chan , Zervos Mihail
Published: April 2011

We formulate and solve a problem that combines the features of the so-called monotone follower of singular stochastic control theory with optimal stopping. In particular, we consider a stochastic system whose uncontrolled state dynamics are modelled by a general one-dimensional Itô diffusion. The aim of the problem that we solve is to maximise the utility derived from the system's state at the discretionary time when the system's control is terminated. This objective is reflected by the performance criterion that we maximise, which also penalises control expenditure as well as waiting. The model that we study is motivated by the so-called goodwill problem, a variant of which is concerned with how to optimally raise a new product's image, e.g., through advertising, and with determining the best time to launch the product into the market. In the presence of the rather general assumptions that we make, we fully characterise the optimal strategy, which can take one of three qualitatively different forms, depending on the problem data.
The Chvátal-Gomory Closure of a Strictly Convex Body
Authors: Dadush Daniel , Dey Santanu S. , Vielma Juan Pablo
Published: April 2011

In this paper, we prove that the Chvátal-Gomory closure of a set obtained as an intersection of a strictly convex body and a rational polyhedron is a polyhedron. Thus, we generalize a result of Schrijver [Schrijver, A. 1980. On cutting planes. Ann. Discrete Math. 9 291–296], which shows that the Chvátal-Gomory closure of a rational polyhedron is a polyhedron.
Appointment Scheduling with Discrete Random Durations
Authors: Begen Mehmet A. , Queyranne Maurice
Published: April 2011

We consider the problem of determining an optimal appointment schedule for a given sequence of jobs (e.g., medical procedures) on a single processor (e.g., operating room, examination facility, physician), to minimize the expected total underage and overage costs when each job has a random processing duration given by a joint discrete probability distribution. Simple conditions on the cost rates imply that the objective function is submodular and L-convex. Then there exists an optimal appointment schedule that is integer and can be found in polynomial time. Our model can handle a given due date for the total processing (e.g., end of day for an operating room) after which overtime is incurred, as well as no-shows and some emergencies.
From Uncertainty to Nonlinearity: Solving Virtual Private Network via Single-Sink Buy-at-Bulk
Authors: Grandoni Fabrizio , Rothvoß Thomas , Sanità Laura
Published: April 2011

The virtual private network problem (VPN) models scenarios in which traffic is uncertain or rapidly changing. The goal is supporting at minimum cost a given family of traffic matrices, which are implicitly given by upper bounds on the ingoing and outgoing traffic at each node. Costs are classically defined by a linear function (linear VPN), but we consider here also the more general case of concave increasing costs (concave VPN).

In this paper we give the first constant factor approximation for concave VPN, and we improve the best-known approximation factor for linear VPN. Our approximation results build on a novel reduction, based on König's theorem, which allows us to turn uncertainty of traffic into nonlinearity of the objective function. This way, we are able to reduce linear VPN and concave VPN to the single-sink rent-or-buy problem (SROB) and the single-sink buy-at-bulk problem (SSBB), respectively. Using the machinery developed for the latter two problems plus additional ideas, we are able to improve the approximation ratio for VPN.

Along the way we also obtain, among other results, an improved approximation algorithm for SSBB and a tighter bound on the gap between the costs of arbitrary solutions and tree solutions for VPN. Furthermore, solving an open problem, we show that VPN remains NP-hard even in the balanced case, where the sum of ingoing and outgoing traffic bounds is equal.
Hamiltonian Cycles, Random Walks, and Discounted Occupational Measures
Authors: Eshragh Ali , Filar Jerzy
Published: April 2011

We develop a new, random walk-based, algorithm for the Hamiltonian cycle problem. The random walk is on pairs of extreme points of two suitably constructed polytopes. The latter are derived from geometric properties of the space of discounted occupational measures corresponding to a given graph. The algorithm searches for a measure that corresponds to a common extreme point in these two specially constructed polyhedral subsets of that space. We prove that if a given undirected graph is Hamiltonian, then with probability one this random walk algorithm detects its Hamiltonicity in a finite number of iterations. We support these theoretical results by numerical experiments that demonstrate a surprisingly slow growth in the required number of iterations with the size of the given graph.
Familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus due to a novel mutation in the arginine vasopressin–neurophysin II gene
Authors: de Fost M , van Trotsenburg A S P , van Santen H M , Endert E , van den Elzen C , Kamsteeg E J , Swaab D F , Fliers E
Published: April 2011

Background

Familial neurohypophyseal (central) diabetes insipidus (DI) is caused by mutations in the arginine vasopressin–neurophysin II (AVP–NPII) gene. The majority of cases is inherited in an autosomal dominant way. In this study, we present the clinical features of a mother and her son with autosomal dominant neurohypophyseal DI caused by a novel mutation.

Case

A thirty-four-year-old woman and her three-year-old son were evaluated because of polyuria and polydipsia since the age of 1.5 years onwards. Both patients were subjected to a water deprivation test confirming the diagnosis of central DI. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain of the mother showed a hypothalamus without apparent abnormalities and a relatively small neurohypophysis without a hyperintense signal. Mutation analysis showed a c.322G>T (p.?/p.Glu108X) in Exon 2 of the AVP–NPII gene in both mother and son.

Discussion

This study reports neurohypophyseal DI in a mother and her son due to a novel mutation in Exon 2 of the AVP–NPII gene. Clinical and pathophysiological aspects of this disease are shortly reviewed and discussed.
Signalling by insulin and IGF receptors: supporting acts and new players
Authors: Siddle Kenneth
Published: April 2011

The signalling pathways utilised by insulin receptor (IR) and IGF receptor to transduce their diverse effects on cellular metabolism, growth and survival are well established in broad outline, but many details remain to be elucidated. Tyrosine phosphorylation of IR substrates and Shc initiates signalling via canonical phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt and Ras/MAP kinase pathways, which together mediate many of the actions of insulin and IGFs. However, a variety of additional substrates and scaffolds have been described that may play roles in modulating the canonical pathways or in specific biological responses. This review will focus on recent studies that have extended our understanding of insulin/IGF signalling pathways, and the elements that may contribute to specificity.
Competências organizacionais e vantagem competitiva: o desafio da gerência intermediária
Authors: Wilcox King Adelaide , W. Fowler Sally , P. Zeithaml Carl
Published: April 2011

Embora a maior parte dos gerentes reconheça as competências da empresa como fonte importante de vantagem competitiva, muitas organizações encontram dificuldades em identificá-las e avaliá-las. Para os gerentes, competências específicas são, muitas vezes, ambíguas, e a percepção individual sobre elas pode variar muito. Essa falta de especificidade pode ocultar visões distorcidas e errôneas acerca das competências, e, quando isso ocorre com os gerentes de nível intermediário, encarregados da administração rotineira de tais competências, as implicações para a empresa podem ser extremamente graves. Identificamos e examinamos os principais aspectos das competências e a relação existente entre a percepção dos gerentes de nível intermediário sobre elas e o desempenho da empresa. Descrevemos um estudo realizado com gerentes de nível intermediário de 17 empresas em dois setores: o têxtil e o hospitalar. Os resultados indicam a relação entre os aspectos das competências e o êxito da empresa. Além disso, apresentamos um método que pode ser empregado por qualquer empresa, a fim de avaliar suas competências, e indicamos como a gerência pode fazer uso dessa avaliação para aumentar a vantagem competitiva da empresa.
Gestão de recursos humanos e identidade social: um estudo crítico
Authors: Freitas Gouveia de Vasconcelos Isabella , C. Vasconcelos Flávio
Published: April 2011

No início deste artigo, descrevemos os diversos tipos de identidade social formados a partir das relações de trabalho e os associamos a dois modelos de gestão de recursos humanos: o Modelo Instrumental e o Modelo Político. Pretendemos mostrar como as práticas de gestão próprias aos modelos citados estão relacionadas com o grau de autonomia e diferenciação de suas identidades atingido pelos atores sociais nas organizações. Após apresentar resumidamente o método da Análise Comparativa Contínua e os pressupostos metodológicos que embasaram este artigo, relatamos um estudo de caso realizado em uma empresa francesa do setor de informática. Concluímos que atores sociais autônomos, acostumados ao Modelo Político de Gestão de Recursos Humanos, têm dificuldades em aceitar mudanças que implementem práticas gerenciais mais restritivas, próprias ao Modelo Instrumental. Nesse tipo de situação, a resistência dos atores sociais pode ameaçar a consolidação do processo de mudança organizacional.
Fatores de impacto no sucesso do marketing boca a boca on-line
Authors: Jucá Bentivegna Fernando
Published: April 2011

O marketing boca a boca caracteriza-se pela divulgação de produtos e serviços por canais interpessoais e consiste em um componente essencial no composto de comunicação de diversas empresas. Nesse sentido, o crescimento do número de consumidores conectados à Internet motiva as empresas a buscarem caminhos para maximizar o marketing boca a boca por meio de ferramentas on-line, como o marketing viral. Com o objetivo de identificar as principais características de uma ação eficaz de marketing boca a boca virtual, realizou-se uma pesquisa exploratória com usuários de Internet em janeiro e fevereiro de 2001. Ao final, são indicados seis fatores que podem influenciar o sucesso do marketing boca a boca virtual.
Canais de marketing, valor e estruturas de governança
Authors: Fasti de Souza Ricardo
Published: April 2011

Este artigo discute a contribuição do marketing para a apropriação de fluxos de caixa superiores em transações entre membros do canal de marketing. Propõe-se um modelo em que a capacidade de apropriação de fluxo de caixa pelos membros do canal é resultado da forma como a estrutura de governança transacional é construída em relação às fontes individuais de geração de valor, de poder e do grau de dependência entre os membros.
Experiências em cenários temáticos de serviços
Authors: Felicio dos Santos de Carvalho José Luis , Cesar Motta Paulo
Published: April 2011

Este artigo pretende ampliar a compreensão sobre as experiências dos consumidores com os ambientes físicos oferecidos pelas empresas de serviços. Propõe-se, para tanto, a atualização de um modelo originário da teoria de Psicologia Ambiental, capaz de examinar a interação vivencial dos clientes com os cenários em que a empresa realiza a entrega do serviço. Para ilustrar o framework de Mehrabian-Russell, oferecem-se como exemplos situações nas quais os estímulos luminosos constituem o fulcro da interação entre clientes e cenários. Revigorando-se o entendimento dos ambientes a partir da integração entre o fenômeno de serviços e a própria existência humana, discutem-se os espaços temáticos como alternativas congruentes com as vivências perceptuais dos clientes nas “horas da verdade”. Nesse contexto, ao se abordar a noção pósmodernista de arquitetura mercadológica, abrem-se novas oportunidades de aproveitamento dos recursos de iluminação ambiental e teatro de serviços.
Análise de métodos de replicação: o caso IBOVESPA
Authors: Hua Sheng Hsia , Saito Richard
Published: April 2011

Este artigo apresenta e implementa os principais métodos quantitativos para replicar o Índice Bovespa. Os modelos utilizados são: replicação plena, carteira de mínima variância global, Black e minimização quadrática sem venda a descoberto, cujos critérios de análise incluem os parâmetros de tracking error, beta, R-quadrado e semelhança de série em relação à média e à variância. Concluiu-se que não existe o melhor modelo na aplicação ao Ibovespa, porque todos mostraram seus méritos e suas limitações nas diversas condições simuladas, além do fato de cada administrador poder ter necessidades diferentes, mutáveis no espaço e no tempo.
Governança e pensamento estratégico: uma crítica a Michael Porter
Authors: Aktouf Omar
Published: April 2011

No presente trabalho, o autor procura analisar, ou mais exatamente desconstruir, a essência do pensamento dito de “estratégia” e de governança das organizações, atualmente dominante na cena acadêmica da administração. Servindo-se de uma leitura tanto histórica, heurística, como epistemológica e metodológica da obra e do sistema dominantes no assunto, denominado por ele “porterismo”, o autor faz um balanço crítico do conjunto de teorias da “estratégia” gerencial em geral e daquela do autor mais considerado no assunto: Michael Porter.
Organização e satisfação no contexto do teletrabalho
Authors: Tremblay Diane-Gabrielle
Published: April 2011

Este artigo baseia-se em uma pesquisa sobre o teletrabalho realizada em seis organizações dos setores público e privado, bem como em 500 respostas obtidas a partir de uma pesquisa telefônica. Destas, a metade provinha de teletrabalhadores assalariados. Após a apresentação dos indivíduos implicados no teletrabalho, trataremos dos impactos deste no que concerne à organização e às condições de trabalho, bem como às vantagens e desvantagens que os trabalhadores a ele conferem. Abordaremos, em seguida, a questão da satisfação para os teletrabalhadores e as principais dimensões a serem consideradas pelas organizações que desejem implementar o teletrabalho. Ainda que a pesquisa tenha sido desenvolvida no Canadá, as empresas brasileiras apresentam os mesmos interesses que as canadenses no desenvolvimento desse tipo de trabalho: redução do engarrafamento urbano, aumento de sua presença em diferentes partes do território nacional e garantia da satisfação dos trabalhadores para aumentar a produtividade e a qualidade.
A fenomenologia e a pesquisa dos espaços de serviços
Authors: Luis Felicio Carvalho José , Constant Vergara Sylvia
Published: April 2011

A compreensão das experiências interativas e das vivências essenciais dos consumidores com os ambientes físicos de serviços não parece estar sendo adequadamente suprida por meio dos procedimentos metodológicos convencionais. No entanto, a recente emergência da perspectiva epistemológica da fenomenologia, e sua conseqüente metodologia em Marketing, vem constituindo-se como opção particularmente interessante e promissora para propiciar um melhor conhecimento daquelas situações. Embora seja assim, essa abordagem metodológica tem encontrado poucas formalizações acadêmicas capazes de ampliar seu uso por pesquisadores. Dessa forma, a proposta do presente ensaio é apresentar argumentos, procedimentos e formas pelas quais a fenomenologia pode constituir-se como opção metodológica adequada para a pesquisa dos espaços físicos de serviços.
Resistência carnavalesca ao espetáculo global
Authors: M. Boje David
Published: April 2011

Este artigo apresenta uma proposta de aplicação crítica pós-moderna do "espetáculo" de Debord e do "carnaval" de Bakhtin às encenações que têm acontecido nas ruas das cidades, nos campi de universidades e na Internet resistindo à nova economia globalizada. Na última década, a Administração Pública passou por uma virada pós-moderna, ficando presa às encenações conflitantes de um espetáculo corporativo orquestrado pela mídia e ao carnaval de resistência do discurso de globalização. Pretende-se neste artigo teorizar a interação do espetáculo e do carnaval como construções teatrais de poder e resistência empresarial e estatal. São analisados o crescimento do espetáculo da indústria de monitoramento, que atesta códigos corporativos de conduta em narrativas de progresso, e os carnavais anti-sweatshop1 e anti-globalização, que desempenham um roteiro de entrega no teatro de rua, nos shows de moda anti-sweatshop e no ativismo cibernético.
Pesquisa em redes estratégicas: descobertas e reflexões etnográficas
Authors: Faria Alexandre
Published: April 2011

Redes estratégicas de fornecedores vêm sendo implantadas, principalmente por grandes empresas européias e norte-americanas, em diversos países nos últimos anos. Teorias correspondentes têm sido transferidas para esses países e a pesquisa internacional, encorajada. Entretanto, o modelo teórico dominante tem se mostrado pouco útil para gerência local e para pesquisa acadêmica, pois reproduz um modelo estático, centralizador e universal de estratégia. Mais especificamente, apresenta três problemas principais: a) simplifica a dimensão processual de decisões estratégicas; b) marginaliza a voz e a realidade dos gerentes das redes; e c) desconsidera a dimensão cultural em processos gerenciais e organizacionais. O autor deste artigo desenvolve um tipo de abordagem particular da etnografia para pesquisa em redes internacionais. Dessa forma, é descrita uma pesquisa internacional em decisão estratégica, realizada no Brasil quando o pesquisador estava vinculado a uma escola de administração na Inglaterra. Em seguida, são descritas as principais descobertas de pesquisa e a importância da abordagem desenvolvida para a construção de teorias realistas e relevantes na área. Finalmente, o autor desenvolve reflexões críticas sobre pesquisa internacional e sobre como a aproximação entre antropologia e management pode ser explorada por pesquisadores culturais no Brasil.
Produção acadêmica em recursos humanos no Brasil: 1991-2000
Authors: José Tonelli Maria , P. Caldas Miguel , Maria Braga Lacombe Beatriz , Tinoco Tatiana
Published: April 2011

O crescimento da produção acadêmica em Administração no Brasil desde 1980 tem incentivado a publicação recente de muitos balanços críticos, como os realizados pelas áreas de Organizações, Marketing, Administração da Informação e Administração Pública. O presente artigo faz um balanço da produção em Recursos Humanos na década de 1990, publicada nos principais periódicos científicos brasileiros (RAUSP, RAP, RAE e RAC) e no Enanpad. O artigo levanta e analisa temática, base epistemológica, orientação metodológica e demografia de autoria de todos os 127 artigos publicados nos periódicos e os 290 veiculados no Enanpad no período. Os resultados indicam que, embora a produção da área tenha aumentado significativamente em volume, o perfil acadêmico de RH no Brasil é preocupante: seu escopo temático é contestado pelo recente crescimento e autonomia do campo de comportamento organizacional; sua base epistemológica é eminentemente funcionalista; a base metodológica é frágil, predominando estudos de caso tipicamente ilustrativos de teoria consolidada (ou seja, sem maior pretensão de indução ou criação de teoria); e a diversidade de origem é baixa: mais de 65% da produção vem de apenas 7 programas de pós-graduação.
Qual será o futuro dasfábricas de administradores?
Authors: Nicolini Alexandre
Published: April 2011

O ensino de graduação em Administração no Brasil caracterizou-se, desde seu início, pela transferência de tecnologia de gestão, principalmente norte-americana, e posteriormente pela desvinculação das atividades de ensino e pesquisa. Está experimentando, ao longo da última década, uma expansão sem precedentes. Os resultados, no entanto, deixam muito a desejar. Estruturadas a partir do ideário da "gerência científica", as escolas podem ser comparadas a fábricas, e os bacharéis em Administração, a produtos. Esse "padrão de produção", no entanto, contradiz a opinião de mestres consagrados, como Paulo Freire e Guerreiro Ramos. Sendo assim, este ensaio busca verificar quais são as chances de sobrevivência do modelo de ensino em uso.
Mestrado modalidade profissional: em busca da identidade
Authors: Ruas Roberto
Published: April 2011

Este artigo pretende identificar e analisar elementos importantes no debate acerca da identidade dos programas de Mestrado Modalidade Profissional em Administração (MPA) no Brasil. A partir de uma perspectiva geral sobre os tipos de demanda mobilizados pelos programas de formação gerencial mais difundidos no Brasil (pós-graduação lato sensu, ou Especialização, e stricto sensu, nas formas de Mestrado Acadêmico e Mestrado Modalidade Profissional), procura caracterizar as condições de resposta de cada um deles às perspectivas de tais demandas. Ao mesmo tempo, introduz nesse debate a noção de competência, considerando-a como um elemento-chave para a avaliação da efetividade desses programas. Finalmente, analisa as vantagens diferenciais dos MPAs face ao atual contexto de negócios e destaca a questão da noção de competência em tal processo. O artigo conclui identificando as razões que têm estimulado sua forte disseminação no espaço dos programas de formação gerencial.
Cultura organizacional: generalizações improváveis e conceituações imprecisas
Authors: Alcadipani Rafael , Crubellate João Marcelo
Published: April 2011

Neste artigo buscamos problematizar, por meio da perspectiva epistemológica pós-moderna, parte da produção nacional de pesquisas e estudos sobre cultura organizacional brasileira. Para tanto, primeiramente apresentamos aspectos da perspectiva pós-moderna de análise, focando em suas contribuições para o estudo da cultura nas organizações. Em seguida, desenvolvemos uma breve apresentação das idéias centrais de artigos publicados em periódicos e congressos nacionais, no período de 1991 a 2000, que versaram sobre cultura organizacional brasileira, buscando traçar suas características fundamentais. Com base nesse quadro de referência, concluímos que a maioria dos estudos sobre cultura brasileira desenvolvidos no âmbito da administração analisa o tema de forma homogênea, não levando em conta a pluralidade e a heterogeneidade de nosso país e de nossas organizações.
O fenômeno dos MPAs brasileiros: hibridismo, diversidade e tensões
Authors: Wood Jr. Thomaz , Paula Ana Paula Paes de
Published: April 2011

Na década de 1990, os programas de MBA - Master in Business Administration - ganharam sólida reputação e expandiram-se para além das fronteiras norte-americanas. No Brasil, o movimento ganhou força com o crescimento vigoroso do ensino profissionalizante de gestão. Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar e analisar, sob uma perspectiva crítica, o fenômeno dos Mestrados Profissionais em Administração (MPAs) brasileiros. Para traçar um retrato do fenômeno, realizamos pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, e entrevistas com coordenadores e pessoas-chave dos principais programas locais. Apesar de eventualmente classificados como MBAs, os MPAs apresentam características que os diferenciam do modelo norteamericano. Ao buscar responder ao contexto socioeconômico e às restrições regionais, cada um deles seguiu rotas próprias, o que gerou um quadro marcado pela diversidade. Acreditamos que o fenômeno que este artigo descreve e analisa possa contribuir para o debate em curso sobre o ensino de Administração.