This paper refers to the unevenness on the quality of life originated by the environmental settings that are calibrated by the different human activities on the natural systems. We emphasize the issue of vulnerability of the poorest societies, looking for explanations that support that condition and the social responsibility of administrators to change those inequalities. / Este artículo se refiere a las desigualdades de calidad de vida que se originan en las ofertas ambientarles y se calibran por las diferentes actuaciones humanas en los sistemas naturales. Se toca el tema de la vulnerabilidad de las sociedades más pobres, buscando explicaciones que mantienen esa condición y la responsabilidad social de los administradores para cambiar estas desigualdades.

O presente trabalho apresenta o estudo das camadas estratigráficas de três sambaquis situados nos municípios de Jaguaruna e Treze de Maio, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Partimos do princípio de que eles são estruturas erigidas intencionalmente por uma população que habitou a região por aproximadamente 6000 anos, e que para a construção de seus cemitérios se apropriavam do material malacológico disponível na região. O desmembramento dos componentes de cada camada nos forneceu informações a respeito do material construtivo dos sítios, e a partir destes resultados foi possível testar algumas hipóteses sobre a mudança da matriz construtiva verificada nos sambaquis. / This work presents the study of stratigraphical layers of three sambaquis located on Jaguaruna and Treze de Maio, Santa Catarina, Brazil. We assume that such structures were intentionally built by a population that inhabited the region for over 6000 years, and that for the pilling up of their burial grounds they gathered malacological material available within the area. The breakdown of the elements of each layer provided us information regarding the construction material of the sites, and based on these results it was possible to test some hypothesis regarding a change on the constructive matrix recorded on the sambaquis.

O presente trabalho apresenta o estudo das camadas estratigráficas de três sambaquis situados nos municípios de Jaguaruna e Treze de Maio, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Partimos do princípio de que eles são estruturas erigidas intencionalmente por uma população que habitou a região por aproximadamente 6000 anos, e que para a construção de seus cemitérios se apropriavam do material malacológico disponível na região. O desmembramento dos componentes de cada camada nos forneceu informações a respeito do material construtivo dos sítios, e a partir destes resultados foi possível testar algumas hipóteses sobre a mudança da matriz construtiva verificada nos sambaquis. / This work presents the study of stratigraphical layers of three sambaquis located on Jaguaruna and Treze de Maio, Santa Catarina, Brazil. We assume that such structures were intentionally built by a population that inhabited the region for over 6000 years, and that for the pilling up of their burial grounds they gathered malacological material available within the area. The breakdown of the elements of each layer provided us information regarding the construction material of the sites, and based on these results it was possible to test some hypothesis regarding a change on the constructive matrix recorded on the sambaquis.

Due to a high rate of teacher attrition currently being experienced in public schools, a teacher shortage may be looming in the near future. Research shows that attrition rates are highest among novice teachers. In part, teacher attrition has also made it increasingly difficult for schools to meet the "highly qualified" requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Past efforts to reverse this trend have concentrated on increasing the supply of qualified teachers; however, more recent studies have shown that the solution lies partially in raising retention rates. Research has identified several reasons teachers have left the profession, such as, low salary, student misbehavior and working conditions, including administrative support. Another common thread among teachers who leave the profession has been dissatisfaction with working conditions in their school. This study examined the relationship between teachers' intent to stay in teaching, teachers' job satisfaction, perceived administrative support, teaching experience, perceived student behavior, and teachers' satisfaction with their salaries. After the conduct of a preliminary descriptive analysis, a hypothesized path model was employed through the use of four different samples derived from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey, Public School Teacher Questionnaire (Form SASS-4A). The first sample was the combined environmental setting. The second, third, and fourth sub-samples were urban, urban fringe, and rural samples, respectively, as identified by the respondent. Based on the path analysis, perceived administrative support, teaching experience, perceived student behavior, and teachers' satisfaction with their salary were identified as significant predictors of teachers' job satisfaction and intent to stay in teaching. Administrative support was the most significant predictor of teachers' job satisfaction, while teachers' job satisfaction was the most significant predictor of teachers' intent to stay in teaching. The path analysis also confirmed that perceived administrative support mediates the effect of teaching experience, perceived student behavior, and teachers' satisfaction with their salary relative to both teachers' job satisfaction and intent to stay in teaching. No significant differences were found among the sample and their sub-samples based on the environmental setting of the school. / Ph. D.