Practices for caring in nursing: Brazilian research groups.

BACKGROUND: The present study considers the production of knowledge and the interactions in the environment of research and their relationships in the system of caring in nursing and health. AIM: To elaborate a theoretical model of the organization of the practices used for caring, based on the experiences made by the research groups of administration and management in nursing, in Brazil. METHODS: The study is based on grounded theory. Twelve leaders of research groups, working as professors in public universities in the south and the south-east of Brazil, distributed in sample groups, were interviewed. FINDINGS: The core phenomenon 'research groups of administration and management in nursing: arrangements and interactions in the system of caring in nursing' was derived from the categories: conceptual bases and contexts of the research groups; experiencing interactions in the research groups; functionality of the research groups; and outputs of the research groups. The research groups are integrated in the system of caring in nursing. CONCLUSIONS: The activities of the Brazilian administration and management in nursing research groups are process oriented and in a process of constant renovation, socially relevant, operate in a complex scenario and contribute to the advancement of the organizations of the system of caring in nursing through strengthening the connection among academia, service and community.

[Solidarity relationships in health services -- utopia?]. / Relações solidárias nos serviços de saude--uma utopia?

The article approaches some aspects considered relevant to rethink relations on the care offered by health services, especially, hospital organizations. It presents some reflection upon the possibilities of constructing human civility, centered on solidarity relations and on the exercise of citizenship, on an ethical condition of a dignified and healthier life. Mutual comprehension between human beings is vital to restore life, nature and conviviality values.

Right-hemispheric superiority in split-brain monkeys for learning and remembering facial discriminations.

Twenty-six split-brain rhesus monkeys learned and remembered 8 go/no-go discriminations of monkey faces significantly better with the right hemisphere than with the left. Four discriminations required differentiating individual identity with expression held constant, and 4 required discriminating facial expression with identity held constant. There was no significant difference in the degree of laterality shown for these 2 types of problems. Female monkeys were more lateralized for learning to discriminate faces than were males. This sex difference in laterality was significant for learning but not for memory. Laterality for the facial discriminations was not significantly related to handedness of the monkeys. Overall, rhesus monkeys, like humans, show a right-hemispheric superiority for facial processing.

[Viability of a proposal of change for the continuous improvement of a complex organization: the nursing department]. / Viabilidad de una propuesta de cambio para el mejoramiento continuo en una organización compleja: departamento de enfermería.

The nursing department is a complex organization, or a social system, made up of two or more groups interconnected through a complex net of social relations, common values and goals, used as the context for nursing interventions. The complex organization embodies type, subsystems, limitations, philosophy, life styles and process of adaptation to the environment, integration of subsystems, decision making, information processing, communications, coalition-formation and commitment. Theoretical interchange proposal to achieve full quality parameters is based on the seven stages of Lippit's exchange theory.