Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:53:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AyallaCF_DISSERT.pdf: 1302436 bytes, checksum: 735536125bb9104df5aa030d5b08c735 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-13 / This dissertation examines the organizational innovation as a nonlinear process, which occurs in a social and political context and, therefore, socially immersed. Examines the case of shrimp in the state of RN, starting from the following problem: although the norteriograndense shrimp occupies the largest producer of farmed shrimp from Brazil, has a series of bottlenecks concerning the generation of industry innovation, concerning the social relationships and policies between the various actors in the network, whether private or public, and its consequences in terms of opportunity and limits generated for the innovative dynamics. The objective of the research is to understand how the social embeddedness of political actors affects norteriograndense shrimp within the context of structural relations, the industry generation of innovation, throughout its technological trajectory . The approach of social embeddedness balances atomised perspectives, undersocialized and oversocialized, of economic action, considering both the human capacity to act as sources of constraint, whose mechanisms are analyzed the structural and political. In methodological terms this is a case study, analyzed from the research literature, documentary and experimental. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed in depth by the technique of content analysis. Was adopted a longitudinal approach, seeking to understand the phenomenon from the perspective of the subjects, describing it in an inductive process of investigation. After characterizing the sector and defining their technological trajectory, the analysis of the results followed its four stages: (1) Introduction of Technology: 1973-1980, (2) Intensification of Research: 1981-1991, (3) Technological Adaptation, 1992 -2003, (4) Technological Crisis: 2004-2009. A cross-sectional analysis along the evolutionary trajectory revealed the character of structural changes and policies over time, and implications on the generating process of innovation. Note that, the technological limit to which the sector reached requires changes in technology standards, but is more likely that the potiguar shrimp is entering a new phase of his career in technology rather than a new technological paradigm / Esta disserta??o trata da inova??o organizacional como processo n?o-linear, que ocorre em um contexto social e pol?tico, estando, portanto, socialmente imerso. Analisa-se o caso da carcinicultura potiguar, partindo-se da seguinte problem?tica: embora a carcinicultura norteriograndense ocupe a posi??o de maior produtor de camar?o cultivado do Brasil, apresenta uma s?rie de gargalos a respeito da gera??o de inova??o no setor, referentes ?s rela??es sociais e pol?ticas entre os diversos atores na rede, sejam privados ou p?blicos, e suas consequ?ncias em termos de oportunidade e limites gerados para a din?mica inovativa. O objetivo geral da pesquisa ? compreender como a imers?o social pol?tica dos atores da carcinicultura norteriograndense afeta, dentro do contexto de rela??es estruturais, a gera??o de inova??o no setor ao longo de sua trajet?ria tecnol?gica‟. A abordagem da imers?o social permite equilibrar perspectivas atomizadas, subsocializadas e sobresocializadas, da a??o econ?mica, considerando tanto a capacidade de a??o humana quanto fontes de constrangimento, cujos mecanismos analisados s?o o estrutural e o pol?tico. Em termos metodol?gicos trata-se de um estudo de caso, analisado a partir de pesquisa bibliogr?fica, documental e emp?rica. Os dados prim?rios foram coletados atrav?s de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, analisadas em profundidade pela t?cnica de an?lise de conte?do. Foi adotada uma abordagem longitudinal, buscando compreender o fen?meno a partir da perspectiva dos sujeitos, descrevendo-o em um processo indutivo de investiga??o. Ap?s a caracteriza??o do setor e defini??o de sua trajet?ria tecnol?gica, a an?lise dos resultados seguiu suas quatro fases: (1) Introdu??o de Tecnologia: 1973-1980; (2) Intensifica??o de Pesquisas: 1981-1991; (3) Adapta??o Tecnol?gica; 1992-2003; (4) Crise Tecnol?gica: 2004-2009. Uma an?lise transversal ao longo da trajet?ria revelou o car?ter evolucion?rio das mudan?as estruturais e pol?ticas ao longo do tempo, e implica??es sobre o processo de gera??o de inova??o. Nota-se que, o limite tecnol?gico ao qual o setor chegou requer mudan?as nos padr?es tecnol?gicos, no entanto ? mais prov?vel que a carcinicultura potiguar esteja entrando em uma nova fase de sua trajet?ria tecnol?gica do que em um novo paradigma tecnol?gico

Alternative food systems (AFSs) are so defined because they purport to challenge a value or ameliorate a negative impact of the dominant conventional food system (CFS). Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are a type of AFS whose alterity is defined by socially proximal economic exchanges that are embedded in and regulated by social relationships. This relational closeness is argued to have benefits with respect to economic, environmental, and social sustainability. However, it would be a mistake to assume that AFSs and CFSs are paradigmatically differentiated or that their structures engender particular outcomes. The first article traces a misguided attempt to find indicators of success for farms participating in short food supply chains. The effort was misguided, because in designing the original study there was an assumption that producers participating in these AFSs shared similar goals, values, and definitions of success. The true diversity of these variables was discovered through the analysis of eighteen semi-structured interviews with Burlington and Montpelier area farmers who participate in SFSCs. This diversity motivated an exploration of the origins, common applications, and recent academic skepticism regarding assumptions of the relationship between certain food systems structures and broader food systems outcomes. The second article undertakes to develop a framework for exploring the actual motivations of SFSCs farmers and challenging common AFS assumptions. A framework that differentiates motivations guided by formal and substantive rationality is used to code the aforementioned data. Common themes amongst the responses are discussed demonstrating that producer motivations for participating in AFSs can be diverse, contradictory, and subject to change.

Unplanned and frequent employee turnover can result in significant costs to an organization. Grounded in Herzberg's two-factor theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employees' job satisfaction and their degree of job embeddedness, and their intent to leave the organization. In this study, 63 full-time Southeastern U.S. manufacturing employees completed surveys that included the Andrews and Withey's job satisfaction questionnaire, Crossley, Bennett, Jex, and Burnfield's global measurement of job embeddedness, and Mobley, Horner, and Hollingsworth's intent to stay scale. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated the model was able to significantly predict employee turnover intention, F(2, 95) = 71.822, p < .001, R2 = .705. Both employee job satisfaction (t = -.703, p < .001) and employee job embeddedness (t = -.501, p < .001), were statistically significant predictors of turnover intent. These results indicate that satisfied and committed employees are less likely to plan to leave their employment. This research adds to the body of knowledge concerning what contributes to why people leave their jobs. Reduced employee turnover can financially benefit an organization and that in turn can have a positive social benefit on the community. More secure employees and companies with improved financial security can result in improved financial support to communities and help increase economic stability.

Le capital social est un concept de plus en plus populaire en économie mais des ambiguïtés persistent quant à la manière de saisir l'aspect "social" de la vie humaine et d'interpréter le terme "capital". Par rapport aux précédents travaux, cette thèse fournit des outils analytiques nouveaux pour identifier et mesurer le capital social et étudier son rôle dans le bien-être individuel. Dans une perspective théorique, ces outils apportent un éclairage sur les raisons de ses différentes interprétations. Nous définissons d'abord le capital social comme l'ensemble des attentes et obligations que les individus accumulent lors des interactions et identifions trois dimensions le composant: l'homogénéité entre individus, la fréquence des contacts et la hiérarchisation des relations. Ces dimensions sont responsables de la fonction de coordination, attribuée au capital social, et du vaste éventail d'effets observés jusqu'à présent. Ce cadre est opérationnalisé à l’aide d’une mesure d’un index multidimensionnel au niveau individuel en Indonésie et un lien avec l'approche des capabilités est établi avec pour objectif de mieux identifier les canaux à travers lesquels le capital social impacte le bien être d’individus. Dans une perspective empirique, une étude des déterminants de l'empowerment des femmes est ensuite proposée avec, comme principale variable explicative, le capital social. Cette thèse démontre que le capital social est, tout d’abord, un concept fondamental dans la compréhension de la capacité à agir et dans le bien-être d’individus et que, de plus, celui-ci peut générer des effets négatifs sur l'empowerment des femmes, simultanément à ses effets positifs et prépondérants. / In the last decades, the concept of social capital has gained increasing popularity in economics. Yet substantial ambiguity exists about how to assess the "social" aspect of human life and what meaning to attribute to the term "capital". To shed a new light on the concept, I develop a new conceptual framework and I make it operational for analysis and policy in the context of development by investigating issues of gender empowerment. From a theoretical perspective, this conceptual framework defines social capital as the amount of expectations and obligations that individuals accumulate when they interact and identifies its constituting dimensions: homogeneity among individuals, frequency of contacts and hierarchization of relationships. These dimensions are responsible for the function of coordination, attributed to social capital, as well for the wide range of outcomes observed in the literature. This framework is then operationalized through an index of social capital at the individual level in Indonesia. A connection with the capability approach to welfare economics is established to better understand those channels through which social capital affects individual well-being. At the empirical level, an investigation of the determinants of women empowerment in the household is consequently proposed, with social capital as the main explanatory variable. This work shows that the concept of social capital is fundamental to explore individuals' agency and well-being and that it has both positive and negative effects on women empowerment.

The relationship between international regimes regulating intellectual property, traditional knowledge and biodiversity has received much attention in recent times. Of the many complex and controversial issues in contemporary international legal discourse on this matter, the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) stands out as a significant challenge. Choices abound in the search for modalities to regulate rights to use and control TK systems and their underlying biodiversity. In recent times, the protection of geographical indications (GIs) has emerged as an option for protecting TK. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over it, there is appreciable research dearth on how far and in what context GIs can be used as a protection model. Indeed, not only is the concept of GIs itself widely misunderstood. As well, analyses as to their applicability for protecting TK often reflect underlying cultural differences in the nature, scope and the jurisprudence regarding GIs across jurisdictions. This thesis examines the relationship between GIs and TK, focusing on the responsiveness of GIs to the needs and desires of indigenous peoples and local communities (ILCs). The thesis posits that the search for a model to protect TK should involve identifying different modalities, including those based on intellectual property, to fit to the nature and uses of TK in particular contexts. The analysis conceptualizes GIs as a form of IP that are structurally and functionally suitable to protect aspects of TK in traditional knowledge-based agricultural products (TKBAPs). Substantively, the thesis draws attention to the conceptual underpinnings of GIs as encompassing cultural and economic objectives in the protection of TK. As such, it is argued that stronger protection of GIs should be achieved by integrating the negotiations and discussion concerning GIs and TK at the international level. Further, the case is made for the determination of immediate challenges and long-term opportunities in choosing a legal means for protecting GIs at the national level. In this connection, the thesis suggests that the potential of GIs to meet national and local imperatives to protect TK be assessed, inter alia, based on their instrumentality for economic, biodiversity, cultural and food security objectives in protecting TKBAPs.