Master of Agribusiness / Agricultural Economics / Kevin Gwinner / House-Autry Mills is a food manufacturing company located in Eastern North Carolina. It produces a variety of products including corn meals, breaders, hushpuppies and biscuits. House-Autry Mills has been producing these types of products for over 200 years and is always looking for ways to promote and expand its business. Before House-Autry Mills decides to add a new line of products, it must conduct a lot of research and evaluate the success in this potential market. The purpose of this thesis is to look at the data available, and determine if grits will be a good fit for House-Autry, and for the market in general. Chapter I is an introduction to the entire thesis project. Much of the literature I reviewed deals with successfully bringing new products to the market. It also goes through an eight-step decision making process when determining if the project should be worked on, or if the project should be dropped at various stages. This is Chapter II of the thesis. The Methods and Data Collection section of this thesis is located in Chapter III. This chapter will go through the process of forming a focus group, screening the participants, and determining what types of questions should be asked, based on the feedback that the firm wants to receive. I also look at several data sets collected through Infoscan Resources, Inc. There are two chapters that contain the results. Chapter IV looks at the results found from the data collected, and chapter V looks at the results that were observed during the two focus groups findings. The final chapter is where my conclusion and recommendations are listed. I included the action that House-Autry Mills took, and also my thoughts on that action. The section goes through different recommendations including the market first approached, risk involved in the new product, the benefit of keeping the price competitive, and the eventual expansion of the line.

Situações críticas e emergenciais permeiam todos os setores do hospital, mas ocorrem prioritariamente no Pronto-Socorro e nas Unidades de Terapia Intensiva. Estes cenários são marcados por sofrimento físico e emocional intensos; limites de diversas ordens; imprevisibilidade; vivências de perdas e morte. Vivências que geram uma angústia que pode ultrapassa o limiar de contenção dos atores nesse cenário pacientes, familiares e equipe de saúde e implicam a necessidade de intervenção psicológica. A interconsulta psicológica é uma modalidade de intervenção que permite considerar a demanda institucional, que inclui a subjetividade nas relações da equipe, e a assistência psicológica aos pacientes e a seus familiares. O presente trabalho utilizou o método da pesquisa clínico-qualitativa para descrever o serviço de interconsulta psicológica nas unidades de emergências médicas do Instituto Central do Hospital das Clínicas FMUSP. São apresentados cinco relatos de interconsulta, a partir das intervenções junto aos pacientes e junto aos profissionais envolvidos no caso (médicos, auxiliares de enfermagem, enfermeiros e assistentes sociais). Os casos foram analisados por meio do referencial psicanalítico freudiano e evidenciaram que nas unidades de emergência existem urgências físicas e subjetivas, cujo impacto atinge o paciente, seus familiares e os profissionais que se relacionam com ele. A relação pacienteprofissional de saúde aparece repleta de conteúdos inconscientes e transferenciais A equipe vivencia sofrimentos psíquicos relacionados a identificações com o paciente e principalmente ao sentimento de impotência. Observa-se que esse sofrimento interfere na conduta do profissional e, conseqüentemente, na assistência que ele oferece. A intervenção da psicóloga interconsultora permitiu a explicitação de conflitos inconscientes e a intermediação das relações entre pacientes e equipe de saúde. / Critical situations and emergencies are present in all the areas of the hospital, however, they do occur at the emergency rooms and Intensive Care Units. The core traits of these pictures are physical and mental suffering, several ways of limitations, unpredictability as well as loss and death experiences. Such exposures engender anguish which can get out of control of the people involved in the situations patients, their families, hospital staff therefore psychological intervention is necessary. Psychological consultation-liaison is a way of intervention which takes into account the institutional demand, the subjectivity among the team relationships and the psychological assistance to the patients and their families. The present work makes use of a clinic-qualitative study describing the consultation-liaison psychology service in emergency medical units of the Central Institute of Hospital das Clínicas FMUSP. There are five reports described resulting from the intervention in patient and other staff members involved in the case (doctors, nurses, nurse assistants and social workers).The cases were analyzed through the Freudian frames of reference and showed that there are subjective and physical urgencies which impacts the patients, theirs families and the staff in contact with them. The relationship hospital staff-patient presents itself to be full of unconscious and transferential contents. The team experiences mental suffering which is related to their identification with the patient and, mainly, to their feeling of impotence. It was noticed that this suffering influences the professional behavior and consequently the assistance he will offer. The intervention made by the interconsulting psychologist enabled the disclosure of unconscious conflicts and the intermediation of the relationship between the hospital staff and the patients.

In diesem Beitrag wird am Beispiel einer Verpackungsmaschine für Schokoladenprodukte eine Mechanismensynthese unter Verwendung eines computergestützten Prozessmodells dargestellt. Ausgehend von Prozessanalysen mit Hilfe eines Messproduktes werden die Beschränkungen der bisherigen mechanischen Umsetzung identifiziert und entsprechende Verbesserungsvorschläge diskutiert. Die dabei gewonnenen Messdaten dienen zur Validierung des Prozessmodells, das in Form eines MKS-Modells umgesetzt wird. Damit können auf effiziente Art und Weise die Vor- und Nachteile verschiedener synthetisierter Mechanismenvarianten untersucht werden. Hieraus wird eine Vorzugsvariante abgeleitet, die unter Berücksichtigung der mechanischen Umsetzbarkeit, Schwingungsanregung sowie Nachrüstbarkeit konstruktiv realisiert wird. Den Abschluss bilden experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Nachweis des Erfolges des hier verfolgten Ansatzes. / This paper illustrates the synthesis of mechanisms using computer-aided process models at the example of a packaging machine for chocolate products. Starting with a process analysis by applying a measuring product, limitations of the previous mechanical implementation are identified and corresponding suggestions for improvements are discussed. Furthermore the measured process data is used for the validation of a process model implemented with a multi-body-system. By analysing the model, advantages and disadvantages of the different variants of synthesized mechanims can be examined in a very efficient way. This leads to a preferred variant which is realised taking into consideration the mechanical feasibilty, the vibration excitation as well as the machine upgradeability. Eventually the success of the here presented approach is experimentally proved.

In diesem Beitrag wird am Beispiel einer Verpackungsmaschine für Schokoladenprodukte eine Mechanismensynthese unter Verwendung eines computergestützten Prozessmodells dargestellt. Ausgehend von Prozessanalysen mit Hilfe eines Messproduktes werden die Beschränkungen der bisherigen mechanischen Umsetzung identifiziert und entsprechende Verbesserungsvorschläge diskutiert. Die dabei gewonnenen Messdaten dienen zur Validierung des Prozessmodells, das in Form eines MKS-Modells umgesetzt wird. Damit können auf effiziente Art und Weise die Vor- und Nachteile verschiedener synthetisierter Mechanismenvarianten untersucht werden. Hieraus wird eine Vorzugsvariante abgeleitet, die unter Berücksichtigung der mechanischen Umsetzbarkeit, Schwingungsanregung sowie Nachrüstbarkeit konstruktiv realisiert wird. Den Abschluss bilden experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Nachweis des Erfolges des hier verfolgten Ansatzes. / This paper illustrates the synthesis of mechanisms using computer-aided process models at the example of a packaging machine for chocolate products. Starting with a process analysis by applying a measuring product, limitations of the previous mechanical implementation are identified and corresponding suggestions for improvements are discussed. Furthermore the measured process data is used for the validation of a process model implemented with a multi-body-system. By analysing the model, advantages and disadvantages of the different variants of synthesized mechanims can be examined in a very efficient way. This leads to a preferred variant which is realised taking into consideration the mechanical feasibilty, the vibration excitation as well as the machine upgradeability. Eventually the success of the here presented approach is experimentally proved.

Clostridium sporogenes PA 3679 spores were inoculated into a meat-vegetable mixture before extrusion, cooking, and vacuum packaging into "stewsticks" to simulate Clostridium botulinum growth. The experiment was a 3 x 5 x 2 x 3 factorial which determined the influence of pH, water activity, initial spore load, and storage period on spore survival. Spore levels decreased throughout storage for all treatments. Spore levels decreased linearly (P = 0.02) as water activity increased, in samples that were heated to kill vegetative cells and activate spores. Other significant interactions of heat-treated samples were observed with inoculum level (P < 0.01) and storage time (P < 0.01). Spore levels in stored products were also significantly affected by water activity* inoculum level (P = 0.03), pH * time, water activity* time (P = 0.01), inoculum level * time (P < 0.01), and water activity * inoculum levels * time (P < 0.01). The interaction between pH * water activity * time tended towards significance (P = 0.06). Most probable number estimates in nonheated samples accounted for naturally occurring viable cells and spores, and added spores and were significantly affected by the main effects of inoculum level (P < 0.01) and time (P < 0.01). The two-way interactions of water activity * inoculum level (P = 0.04), pH * inoculum level (P < 0.01),water activity * time (P < 0.01), and three-way interaction of pH * inoculum level * time (P = 0.03) were significant. Spore levels approached 102, or less (compared to an inoculum level of 106 spores per gram) due to the effects of many treatments. Some stewstick packages were observed to become "gassy" or "loose" during storage. Subsequently the stewstick packages were used to isolate microorganisms that were able to grow at water activities of 0.96-0.86, in glycerol-adjusted Rogosa agar, and were acid tolerant to pH 4.4-4.2. One produced gas in pure culture, and some produced indole. These bacteria were not destroyed by heating to 74°C for at least 30 minutes, and lowered the pH in the stewstick during storage. In conclusion, in all stewstick samples, regardless of pH or Aw, inoculated clostridial spore levels decreased during storage, apparently because spores germinated and vegetative cells subsequently died. Thus, if stewsticks are cooked to 74°C throughout, have a Aw ≤ 0.86 and pH ≤ 4.8, they appear to be safe.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第21520号 / 経博第588号 / 新制||経||288(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 久野 秀二, 教授 黒澤 隆文, 講師 久野 愛 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DFAM

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A presente investigação tem por objetivo analisar a prática gerencial em hospitais públicos – hospitais gerais com emergência do município do Rio de Janeiro, vinculados aos níveis municipal, estadual e federal. Apoiando-se centralmente na abordagem da Psicossociologia francesa de análise das organizações, busca compreender as dimensões sociais, intersubjetivas e inconscientes de tais práticas, tendo como principal fonte as narrativas de seus diretores. Do ponto de vista metodológico, o estudo adotou a abordagem de narrativas de vida, focalizando a gestão hospitalar pública tanto como um mundo social, como também, expressão dos processos imaginários presentes nas organizações e que atravessam o relato dos entrevistados. A análise do material empírico teve como um de seus eixos o estudo do percurso profissional dos diretores, especialmente os processos que os levaram à função de direção de um hospital público. A designação para a primeira experiência na função de direção hospitalar encontra-se marcada pela contingência, em um contexto em que não existe carreira ou qualquer exigência de formação gerencial. No momento da pesquisa, no entanto, sete dos oito entrevistados já tinham formação adequada no campo da gestão hospitalar e experiências consolidadas. O segundo eixo remete às práticas gerenciais. São examinados os sentidos que o exercício da função de direção tem para os sujeitos, como também as suas estratégias de trabalho. O exame das práticas gerenciais norteia-se pela análise das possibilidades e limites para desencadear processos de mudança nesses hospitais. Os depoimentos expressam que os diretores de hospitais encontram-se submetidos a pressões políticas, escassez de recursos, precárias condições de funcionamento e são alvo das resistências, dos ataques, da descrença, enfim, encontram-se em um contexto de baixa governabilidade, expressão das forças instituídas, contra as quais procuram lutar. A partir deste quadro, a investigação aprofundou a análise das práticas gerenciais dos diretores revelando três modalidades. Uma primeira, em que se vislumbra o desenvolvimento de um processo de mudança, ganhando destaque os elementos imaginários que contribuem para a construção de uma visão de futuro do hospital, favorecendo os processos de ligação na organização. Uma segunda modalidade de prática é marcada por projetos específicos que ganham destaque e são objeto de investimento da gestão. Um terceiro modelo estaria pautado pela luta para fazer funcionar, tendo como motor o imaginário da urgência. Na urgência, não há estratégia, só ato. A ação contínua se impõe, não havendo brechas para a reflexão. Nos hospitais a intensa precariedade tem implicações de vida ou morte, gerando grande sofrimento entre os profissionais e gestores. A crise dos hospitais públicos no Rio de Janeiro em 2004 e 2005 ganha vulto sem precedentes, levando a um contexto de “guerra" e de generalização do modelo da urgência. Os hospitais tornam-se espaço para manifestação de todo tipo de violência e desvalorização da vida. Os processos de mudança, presentes em duas das oito experiências, foram negativamente impactados, em um caso, pela exoneração do diretor e no outro, pela crise, evidenciando a fragilidade dos movimentos de mudança e impondo uma visão mais modesta quanto às possibilidades da organizações de saúde no contexto atual. / This research aims to analyze management practices in public hospitals – general hospitals with emergence service in the city of Rio de Janeiro, under municipal, state and federal administration. Based upon French Psychosociological perspectives for organizational analysis, the study seeks an understanding of the social, intersubjective and unconscious dimensions of such practices. Narratives of hospital directors are the main source of data in this investigation. In terms of methodology, this study adopted the life story approach, understanding public hospitals’ management in a two-fold perspective: as a social process as well as an expression of imaginary processes present in the organization dynamics, which permeate the narratives of the directors interviewed. The directors’ professional history, mainly the processes that led them to taking up this post, was one of the key aspects selected for analysis. Results show the first appointment was usually incidental- characterized by contingency - in a period when formal career or specializations of any kind were not required. Throughout the course of the research, however, seven among the total of eight directors interviewed had already acquired proper specialization in hospital management and a solid experience. Apart from describing their professional histories, the analysis discusses the directors’ managerial practices, focusing both on the main strategies adopted and on views, feelings and meanings attached to the experience of being a hospital director. Key elements under analysis are the possibilities and limits in the process of implementing changes in those hospitals. Their testimonies reveal that directors work under heavy political pressure, insufficient material resources, poor working conditions, and that they are targets of disbelief, defiance and aggressive behaviors in a situation of low governability, all of which are representative of the power structure they try to oppose. From this point of view, the analysis of managerial practices revealed three different patterns. In the first one, there is a glimpse of a possibility of change, in which imaginary elements, that help conjure a vision of the hospital’s future and open paths for building up organizational links, are strengthened. The second style of management practice is characterized by investments in specific projects, which concentrate major efforts. The core of the third model is founded on the dedication to keep the hospital working and is impelled by the imaginary of urgency. In this scenario of urgency, there is no place for strategy, only for action. Imposition of continuous action makes reflection impossible. Inside the hospitals, the extremely deficient work basis and its implications in terms of life and death, brings almost unbearable suffering to staff and directors. The crisis in Rio de Janeiro Public Hospitals has gained, since 2004, unprecedented scope, achieving now the status of a “war". As a consequence, the urgency model spreads. Hospitals have turned into a space where every sort of violence and depreciation of human life takes place. Attempted changes observed in two of the eight experiences were seriously affected either by the director’s dismissal or by the mounting of a crisis, revealing the weakness of the movement toward change and casting doubt on the possibilities of the public health institutions at the present time.

A presente investigação tem por objetivo analisar a prática gerencial em hospitais públicos – hospitais gerais com emergência do município do Rio de Janeiro, vinculados aos níveis municipal, estadual e federal. Apoiando-se centralmente na abordagem da Psicossociologia francesa de análise das organizações, busca compreender as dimensões sociais, intersubjetivas e inconscientes de tais práticas, tendo como principal fonte as narrativas de seus diretores. Do ponto de vista metodológico, o estudo adotou a abordagem de narrativas de vida, focalizando a gestão hospitalar pública tanto como um mundo social, como também, expressão dos processos imaginários presentes nas organizações e que atravessam o relato dos entrevistados. A análise do material empírico teve como um de seus eixos o estudo do percurso profissional dos diretores, especialmente os processos que os levaram à função de direção de um hospital público. A designação para a primeira experiência na função de direção hospitalar encontra-se marcada pela contingência, em um contexto em que não existe carreira ou qualquer exigência de formação gerencial. No momento da pesquisa, no entanto, sete dos oito entrevistados já tinham formação adequada no campo da gestão hospitalar e experiências consolidadas. O segundo eixo remete às práticas gerenciais. São examinados os sentidos que o exercício da função de direção tem para os sujeitos, como também as suas estratégias de trabalho. O exame das práticas gerenciais norteia-se pela análise das possibilidades e limites para desencadear processos de mudança nesses hospitais. Os depoimentos expressam que os diretores de hospitais encontram-se submetidos a pressões políticas, escassez de recursos, precárias condições de funcionamento e são alvo das resistências, dos ataques, da descrença, enfim, encontram-se em um contexto de baixa governabilidade, expressão das forças instituídas, contra as quais procuram lutar. A partir deste quadro, a investigação aprofundou a análise das práticas gerenciais dos diretores revelando três modalidades. Uma primeira, em que se vislumbra o desenvolvimento de um processo de mudança, ganhando destaque os elementos imaginários que contribuem para a construção de uma visão de futuro do hospital, favorecendo os processos de ligação na organização. Uma segunda modalidade de prática é marcada por projetos específicos que ganham destaque e são objeto de investimento da gestão. Um terceiro modelo estaria pautado pela luta para fazer funcionar, tendo como motor o imaginário da urgência. Na urgência, não há estratégia, só ato. A ação contínua se impõe, não havendo brechas para a reflexão. Nos hospitais a intensa precariedade tem implicações de vida ou morte, gerando grande sofrimento entre os profissionais e gestores. A crise dos hospitais públicos no Rio de Janeiro em 2004 e 2005 ganha vulto sem precedentes, levando a um contexto de “guerra” e de generalização do modelo da urgência. Os hospitais tornam-se espaço para manifestação de todo tipo de violência e desvalorização da vida. Os processos de mudança, presentes em duas das oito experiências, foram negativamente impactados, em um caso, pela exoneração do diretor e no outro, pela crise, evidenciando a fragilidade dos movimentos de mudança e impondo uma visão mais modesta quanto às possibilidades da organizações de saúde no contexto atual. / This research aims to analyze management practices in public hospitals – general hospitals with emergence service in the city of Rio de Janeiro, under municipal, state and federal administration. Based upon French Psychosociological perspectives for organizational analysis, the study seeks an understanding of the social, intersubjective and unconscious dimensions of such practices. Narratives of hospital directors are the main source of data in this investigation. In terms of methodology, this study adopted the life story approach, understanding public hospitals’ management in a two-fold perspective: as a social process as well as an expression of imaginary processes present in the organization dynamics, which permeate the narratives of the directors interviewed. The directors’ professional history, mainly the processes that led them to taking up this post, was one of the key aspects selected for analysis. Results show the first appointment was usually incidental- characterized by contingency - in a period when formal career or specializations of any kind were not required. Throughout the course of the research, however, seven among the total of eight directors interviewed had already acquired proper specialization in hospital management and a solid experience. Apart from describing their professional histories, the analysis discusses the directors’ managerial practices, focusing both on the main strategies adopted and on views, feelings and meanings attached to the experience of being a hospital director. Key elements under analysis are the possibilities and limits in the process of implementing changes in those hospitals. Their testimonies reveal that directors work under heavy political pressure, insufficient material resources, poor working conditions, and that they are targets of disbelief, defiance and aggressive behaviors in a situation of low governability, all of which are representative of the power structure they try to oppose. From this point of view, the analysis of managerial practices revealed three different patterns. In the first one, there is a glimpse of a possibility of change, in which imaginary elements, that help conjure a vision of the hospital’s future and open paths for building up organizational links, are strengthened. The second style of management practice is characterized by investments in specific projects, which concentrate major efforts. The core of the third model is founded on the dedication to keep the hospital working and is impelled by the imaginary of urgency. In this scenario of urgency, there is no place for strategy, only for action. Imposition of continuous action makes reflection impossible. Inside the hospitals, the extremely deficient work basis and its implications in terms of life and death, brings almost unbearable suffering to staff and directors. The crisis in Rio de Janeiro Public Hospitals has gained, since 2004, unprecedented scope, achieving now the status of a “war”. As a consequence, the urgency model spreads. Hospitals have turned into a space where every sort of violence and depreciation of human life takes place. Attempted changes observed in two of the eight experiences were seriously affected either by the director’s dismissal or by the mounting of a crisis, revealing the weakness of the movement toward change and casting doubt on the possibilities of the public health institutions at the present time.

El siguiente estudio preliminar evalúa la viabilidad de implementar una planta productora de ensaladas de verduras envasadas para ser comercializadas en tiendas por conveniencia en el mercado local. El estudio demuestra que este proyecto es rentable ya que se obtiene un VAN Económico de S/.1, 957,403. / Trabajo de investigación