Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral analisar se e de que modo o cooperativismo pode ser um meio eficiente para auxiliar a concretização do ideal democrático de uma economia de mercado com inclusão econômica e social, oportunizando o desenvolvimento de caráter endógeno, em um modelo desenvolvimentista com participação da sociedade civil e novas formas de organização econômica, favorecendo a emergência de uma nova classe empresarial. Como objetivos específicos, figuram analisar as origens do cooperativismo e as conformações específicas deste sistema, enquanto valores e ideais de sociedade; analisar os aspectos econômicos e institucionais do cooperativismo; analisar o cooperativismo na atual Constituição brasileira, de acordo com os valores que regem essa norma e sua relevância teleológica; bem como, formular sugestões de princípios de organização institucional do cooperativismo, para potencializar seu emprego como meio de concretizar os ideais democráticos e suprir carências brasileiras, como as existentes nas áreas de educação, infraestrutura e saúde. São empregadas conjuntamente diretrizes teóricas tanto da área econômica quanto de áreas correlatas ao tema, com o intuito de demonstrar a possibilidade de adoção do cooperativismo como ferramenta de desenvolvimento social. O trabalho é composto por quatro partes, sendo a primeira focada na análise das origens do cooperativismo. Na segunda parte, são analisados os aspectos econômicos e institucionais do cooperativismo. Esse item do trabalho foi complementado por três anexos de cunho jurídico: um sobre a evolução da legislação referente ao cooperativismo no Brasil, o segundo sobre a personalidade jurídica das cooperativas e o terceiro sobre as sociedades cooperativas no Código Civil. Na terceira parte, consta a análise do cooperativismo na Constituição Federal de 1988. Na quarta seção, são formuladas propostas de princípios de organização institucional do cooperativismo. Mais precisamente, dado que o ambiente e os arranjos institucionais têm acentuada influência sobre o comportamento dos agentes econômicos, são citadas propostas para mitigar eventuais dificuldades microeconômicas próprias das cooperativas, bem como para constituir incentivos na adoção do cooperativismo como ferramenta auxiliar na concretização dos ideais democráticos e na supressão das carências atuais existentes no Brasil. / This paper has as its main objective to analyze whether and how cooperativism can be an efficient means to assist the realization of the democratic ideal of a market economy with economic and social inclusions, providing opportunities for the development of endogenous character, in a developmental model with participation of civil society and new forms of economic organization, favoring the emergence of a new entrepreneurial class. Specific objectives include analyzing the origins of the cooperativism and the specific conformations of this system, while values and ideals of society; analyze the economic and institutional aspects of cooperativism; analyze cooperativism in the current Brazilian Constitution, in accordance with the values that govern this standard and its teleological significance; as well as make suggestions of principles of institutional organization of cooperativism to enhance their employment as a means of achieving democratic ideals and meet Brazilian needs, as those existing in the areas of education, infrastructure and health. They are employed together both theoretical guidelines of the economic area as well as of those related to correlated areas, in order to demonstrate the possibility of adoption of cooperativism as a tool for social development. The paper consists of four parts, the first focused on the analysis of the origins of cooperativism. In the second part, the economic and institutional aspects of cooperativism are analyzed. This item was complemented by three appendixes of legal nature: one on the evolution of the legislation on cooperativism in Brazil, the second about the legal status of cooperatives and the third on the cooperative societies in the Civil Code. The third part consists in the analysis of cooperativism in the Federal Constitution of 1988. In the fourth section, proposed principles of institutional organization of cooperativism are formulated. More precisely, since the environment and institutional arrangements have marked influence on the behavior of economic agents, proposals are cited to mitigate eventual microeconomic difficulties characteristic of cooperatives, as well as provide incentives for the adoption of cooperativism as an auxiliary tool in the realization of democratic ideals and suppression of current deficiencies in Brazil.

Interest in flexible work arrangements has proliferated in the last years, fuelled by technological advancements that allow people to work from anywhere at any time. This systematic literature review explores the impact of flexibility in time and place of work on intra-group relations and subsequent effects on group-level outcomes. Findings suggest that flexibility in place of work has positive effects on employee-supervisor relationships but negative effects on co-worker relationships. Although teleworkers remain well connected to their co-workers and overall workgroup communication does not appear to change, informal socialisation processes are affected. Knowledge sharing and creation is subsequently challenged. Furthermore, managers of mixed workgroups face issues of fairness and justice as well as challenges of creating and maintaining group cohesion when some of their employees are not always present. However, little is known of how flexibility in time of work impacts intra-group relations and group outcomes from groups containing flexible workers have not been explored. This paper therefore identifies significant gaps in the literature and presents opportunities for further research.

The South African Customs Union (SACU) is one of the many regional trade arrangements that litter the African continent. However unlike its counterparts it is unique in terms of the huge disparities between the economic states of its member states. SACU is currently struggling to redefine itself from its historical trimmings as a plumped up South African foreign policy tool to a regional body that caters for the needs of all its member nations. Key to this purported transformation would be how SACU copes with the increased presence of foreign multinational companies within the common market and coupled to this the persistent threat from established South African companies on infant industries within smaller SACU states. This dissertation highlights the potential role of competition policy as a market correcting mechanism within the regional context. It does so by shedding insights as to the workings of competition law, its natural impediments, modifications it would require and the objectives which it can be used to achieve. It considers the current state of competition law within SACU both on the domestic and regional front and compares them with examples found in other regional arrangements. It strives having regard to peculiarities within SACU to draw attention to shortfalls in its current approach to competition issues and makes a case for the modifying the current modus operandi. It proceeds from the viewpoint that without a fortification of SACU current approach to competition issues, the huge lacuna currently existing would deprive the regional body of any true gains to be made from trade liberalisation. It also proposes a regional competition policy as a means of controlling the ever present threat of established South African to infant industries in smaller SACU states and hopes this instrument will have the secondary effect of easing political tensions within the union. It makes an important call that special consideration be given towards smaller SACU states noting the cost and burden of implementing competition policy. It also considers the role competition law plays within a development framework dispelling prevailing conceptions within certain schools that it stunts growth of industries. It factors into its analysis, the ongoing negotiations between the European Union and SADC. It holds these processes as placing a further impetus on SACU nations to consider a movement from the current positive comity form which competition policy takes in the region by declaring it to be a weak form of cooperation and unsuited to effectively managing the new challenges that successfully negotiated EPA’s would place on competition authorities within SACU. Ultimately it proposes that SACU requires a strengthened competition policy to secure the gains from international trade but that more importantly it requires the right form of policy, a policy created in consideration of its history, current tensions, developmental needs, that foresees the potential for harm inherent in the EPA process and a policy that appreciates the burden a generic law might place on its member states. Its solution to the current crisis is a hybrid system incorporating elements of the EC supranational competition directorate and CARICOM special and differential treatment provisions. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether different time arrangements for individual psychotherapy vary in effectiveness for the vi therapeutic process. The following time arrangements were compared against each other: Treatment I, 1/ 2 hour sessions twice per week; Treatment II, 1 hour sessions once per week; and Treatment III, 2 hour sessions every other week. Twenty-one subjects and seven therapists were selected from six mental health facilities in Utah and Idaho for this project. All therapists participating had at least 2 years experience as psychotherapists. All subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three treatments. Each therapist received one subject for each of the three treatments under study, which spread therapist differences equally across treatments. It was found that time arrangements, by themselves, have no effect upon outcome as measured by the D, Pt, and Sc scales of the MMPI, and a Therapeutic Progress Questionnaire which attempted to tap the subjects' evaluation of their therapeutic experience. When all subjects (Ss) were compared between pre- and posttesting, it was found that, overall, patients improved significantly (beyond the . 01 level) as measured by the D and Sc scales of the MMPI. The Pt scale of the MMPI showed improvement beyond the . 05 level of significance--thus, indicating that patients improved regardless of whether they were seen for 30 minute sessions, 1 hour sessions, or 2 hour sessions, when all subjects completed a total of 8 therapy hours before posttesting.

Understanding dimensions that influence reinforcement is important for applied behavior analysts. Preference, and reinforcer effectiveness, may change depending upon several dimensions of reinforcement. Two influential dimensions that may influence preference and reinforcer efficacy are response-reinforcer arrangements and stimulus type. Many leisure items used as reinforcers may be classified depending upon technology level (e.g., highly technological items versus non-technological items). In recent years use of highly technological items has increased among individuals with disabilities. When using high- and low-tech reinforcers, reinforcer deliveries may be arranged to occur in a distributed manner (i.e., every response results in a reinforcer delivery), or an accumulated manner (i.e., reinforcers are accumulated and exchanged following completion of all the work). The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction and effects of reinforcer arrangements (i.e., distributed reinforcement and accumulated reinforcement) and technology level of items (i.e., high-tech and low-tech) on preference and reinforcer efficacy with three children with autism. Results demonstrated higher response rates and preference toward accumulated reinforcer arrangements compared to distributed reinforcer arrangements regardless of technology level. Overall, participants’ responding and preference were sensitive to different reinforcer arrangements but were less sensitive to differences in the technology level of the reinforcers used.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Workers who request a flexible schedule to accommodate their biologically-determined sleep-wake cycle (chronotype) may face prejudice if supervisors perceive them, particularly “night owls”, as lazy or unconscientious. Such bias may be exacerbated in organizational cultures characterized by stability and control. Thus, chronotype bias was examined in a 2 (rigid vs. flexible organizational norms) X 3 (morningness chronotype, eveningness chronotype, educational pursuit/control as reason for a flexible schedule request) online scenario study. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N=398) and were instructed to act as managers to decide whether to approve a fictitious employee’s request for a flexible schedule. Organizational culture and reason for schedule request were orthogonally manipulated in the scenarios. Ps completed measures of schedule approval (including an open-ended justification item), beliefs about the employee’s performance (job-specific task performance, contextual performance, personal discipline, and conscientiousness), and manipulation checks, as well as measures of their own chronotype. Ps were less likely to approve a flexible schedule request for employees with chronotype-based requests (both morningness and eveningness) compared to control (educational pursuit/control request). Task performance beliefs mediated the effect. Organizational norms had both a direct and moderating effect on schedule approval, such that approval was higher and chronotype bias was weakened in the flexible norm condition compared to the rigid norm condition. Ps’ own chronotype had no direct or moderating effect on schedule approval. Qualitative content analysis of Ps’ justification for the schedule approval decision revealed that Ps justified their decision on the impact of schedule approval on the organization.

No description available.

No description available.

Promoting population health is an essential task for sustainable development. This study explores the association between socioeconomic status and perceived health in the United States, with special attention on the influence of living arrangements. It also improves the existing explanations of causal mechanisms underlying the impact of SES on health among Americans over 50. Using the first and seventh waves of Health and Retirement Study to run ordered logistic regression, this research addresses the importance of living arrangements and social capital on self-reported health. Income and education are both important predictors of self-reported health. In addition, living arrangements and household social capital also affects self-reported health after controlling individuals’ characteristics and SES indicators. These effects do not appear to mediate the socioeconomic effects on self-reported health. Future research should highlight better measures of living arrangements and social capital, as well as explore longitudinal analyses.

No description available.