"Times of war and time of uncertain peace": Narratives of parents of childhood cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the meaning attributed by parents to the extended and permanent survival of childhood cancer. METHOD: qualitative narrative inquiry, developed with parents of adolescents and young adults who survived childhood cancer. Recruitment and data collection involved virtual and in-person approaches. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed according to reflective thematic analysis. RESULTS: a total of ten parents were included in the study. Two thematic narrative syntheses were constructed: "Times of war"; and "Time of uncertain peace", with their respective sub-themes. The cancer diagnosis marks the beginning of times of war in the parents' lives. They experience cancer treatment as "highs and lows" with potential threats to their children's lives. After that, "Time of uncertain peace" are reached, and the balance of the family unit is reestablished. However, the fear of recurrence makes the family peace uncertain, and its maintenance requires constant vigilance and attention to the signs and symptoms of a possible new battle. CONCLUSION: the results highlight the experience of being a parent of a childhood cancer survivor and can be applied to develop models of care centered on the survivors' family.

Qualitative analysis of nurses' performance and experiences in hospital management in the face of COVID-19. / Análise qualitativa sobre a atuação e as experiências dos enfermeiros na gestão hospitalar frente à COVID-19.

This study aimed to analyze the role of nurses in hospital management in the face of COVID-19. The study had a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory approach. The setting was a hospital that was completely transformed to care for patients with COVID-19. At the time of data collection, ten nurses managed the services, and all participated in the semi-structured interview. After thematic analysis, the data were presented in three categories, representing the elements of Donabedian's triad: structure, process, and result. Category 1 highlighted the hospital structure reconfiguration based on material and people management; category 2 addressed the work process restructuring to achieve goals with safety and quality; and category 3 focused on nurses' experiences in describing the results achieved and expected. The analysis highlighted the importance of teamwork, involvement, and adaptation of managers in the face of the challenges of a new and life-threatening disease, scarce resources, and the complexity of human relationships in the crisis. In transformational leadership, these nurses encouraged behavior change, professional growth, and resilience.

Objetivou-se analisar a atuação dos enfermeiros na gestão hospitalar frente à COVID-19. O estudo teve uma abordagem qualitativa, do tipo descritivo e exploratório. O cenário foi um hospital que se transformou totalmente para atendimento de pacientes com COVID-19. No momento da coleta de dados, dez enfermeiros estavam à frente da gestão dos serviços, e todos participaram da entrevista semiestruturada. Os dados, após análise temática, foram apresentados em três categorias representativas dos elementos da tríade de Donabedian, ou seja, estrutura, processo e resultado. A categoria 1 realçou a reconfiguração da estrutura hospitalar a partir da gestão de materiais e das pessoas; a categoria 2 abordou a reestruturação do processo de trabalho para alcance das metas com segurança e qualidade; e a categoria 3 focou nas experiências dos enfermeiros na descrição dos resultados alcançados e esperados. A análise evidenciou a importância do trabalho em equipe, do envolvimento e da adaptação do gestor diante dos desafios da doença nova e ameaçadora da vida, dos recursos escassos e da complexidade das relações humanas na crise. Na liderança transformacional esses enfermeiros incentivaram a mudança de comportamento, o crescimento profissional, e resiliência.

Strategic location model for oil spill response vessels (OSRVs) considering oil transportation and weather uncertainties.

In the event of oil spills in offshore oil and gas projects, containment and dispersion equipment must be sent to the affected areas within a critical time by vessels known as oil spill response vessels (OSRVs). Here, we developed an optimization tool, integrated with an oil spill trajectory simulation model, both in deterministic and stochastic alternatives, to support decision-making during the strategic planning of OSRV operations. The tool was constructed in Python using GNOME for oil spill simulations and the GUROBI to solve the optimization model. The tool was applied to a case study in Brazil and afforded relevant recommendations. In terms of research contributions, we proved the viability of the integration between oil spill simulation and mathematical modeling for OSRV strategic operation planning, we explored the stochasticity of the problem with an innovative strategy and we demonstrated flexibility and easy applicability of the framework on real operations.

Green missing spots: Information entropy on greenhouse gas emission disclosure by Brazilian companies.

This study aims to address a critical gap in the literature by examining the incorporation of uncertainty in measuring carbon emissions using the greenhouse gas (GHG) Protocol methodology across all three scopes. By comprehensively considering the various dimensions of CO2 emissions within the context of organizational activities, our research contributes significantly to the existing body of knowledge. We address challenges such as data quality issues and a high prevalence of missing values by using information entropy, techniques for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and an artificial neural network (ANN) to analyze the contextual variables. Our findings, derived from the data sample of 56 companies across 18 sectors and 13 Brazilian states between 2017 and 2019, reveal that Scope 3 emissions exhibit the highest levels of information entropy. Additionally, we highlight the pivotal role of public policies in enhancing the availability of GHG emissions data, which, in turn, positively impacts policy-making practices. By demonstrating the potential for a virtuous cycle between improved information availability and enhanced policy outcomes, our research underscores the importance of addressing uncertainty in carbon emissions measurement for advancing effective climate change mitigation strategies.

River flow intermittence influence biodiversity-stability relationships across spatial scales: Implications for an uncertain future.

Climate change is increasing the proportion of river networks experiencing flow intermittence, which in turn reduces local diversity (i.e., α-diversity) but enhances variation in species composition among sites (i.e., ß-diversity), with potential consequences on ecosystem stability. Indeed, the multiscale theory of stability proposes that regional stability can be attained not only by local processes but also by spatial asynchrony among sites. However, it is still unknown whether and how scale-dependent changes in biodiversity associated with river flow intermittence influence stability across spatial scales. To elucidate this, we here focus on multiple metacommunities of French rivers experiencing contrasting levels of flow intermittence. We clearly show that the relative contribution of spatial asynchrony to regional stability was higher for metacommunities of intermittent than perennial rivers. Surprisingly, spatial asynchrony was mainly linked to asynchronous population dynamics among sites, but not to ß-diversity. This finding was robust for both truly aquatic macroinvertebrates and for taxa that disperse aerially during their adult stages, implying the need to conserve multiple sites across the landscape to attain regional stability in intermittent rivers. By contrast, metacommunities of truly aquatic macroinvertebrates inhabiting perennial rivers were mainly stabilized by local processes. Our study provides novel evidence that metacommunities of perennial and intermittent rivers are stabilized by contrasting processes operating at different spatial scales. We demonstrate that flow intermittence enhances spatial asynchrony among sites, thus resulting in a regional stabilizing effect on intermittent river networks. Considering that climate change is increasing the proportion of intermittent rivers worldwide, our results suggest that managers need to focus on the spatial dynamics of metacommunities more than on local-scale processes to monitor, restore, and conserve freshwater biodiversity.

Uncertainties experienced by nursing professionals who contracted Covid-19: a priori, everyone is human.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the uncertainties experienced by nursing professionals who contracted COVID-19. METHODS: This qualitative research was conducted with 20 nursing professionals who fell ill from COVID-19. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews; the data were then organized using thematic analysis and discussed in the context of Merle Mishel's Reconceptualized of Uncertainty in Illness Theory. RESULTS: The antecedents of the disease had a strong influence on how nursing professionals who contracted COVID-19 perceived uncertainty. The media coverage of the increasing number of cases, the collapse of the healthcare system, and the high mortality rate contributed to associating the disease with fear and panic. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Viewing it from the perspective of the disease's antecedents, the illness of a nursing professional from COVID-19 underscores that before being professionals, they are human beings just like anyone else, undergoing adversities and facing the possibilities associated with being ill.

On the uncertainty in numerical modeling of wireless communication devices operating at frequencies of 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 28 GHz.

Some of the difficulties in numerical modeling of wireless communication devices for dosimetric evaluations arise from, e.g. incomplete documentation available for the numerical model, such as missing information on dielectric materials or the antenna matching circuitry. This study investigates the impact of these difficulties on the dosimetric results, such as the peak spatial average specific absorption rate at 900 and 1800 MHz and the peak spatial average power density at 28 GHz. The impact of dielectric losses, detuning, and mesh resolution is quantified using different generic and Computer Aided Design (CAD) based models of wireless transmitters. The findings show that the uncertainties of the numerical results due to detuning and mesh resolution can be reduced by normalization to the antenna feedpoint power instead of the feedpoint current. Uncertainties due to variations in dielectric losses can largely be compensated by normalization to the radiated power.

Simplified and Detailed Evaluations of the Uncertainty of the Measurement of Microbiological Contamination of Pharmaceutical Products.

BACKGROUND: The control of the microbial contamination of pharmaceutical products (PP) is crucial to ensure their safety and efficacy. The validity of the monitoring of such contamination depends on the uncertainty of this quantification. Highly uncertain quantifications due to the variability of determinations or the magnitude of systematic effects affecting microbial growth or other analytical operations make analysis unfit for the intended use. The quantification of the measurement uncertainty expressing the combined effects of all random and systematic effects affecting the analysis allows for a sound decision about quantification adequacy for their intended use. The complexity of the quantification of microbial analysis uncertainty led to the development of simplified ways of performing this evaluation. OBJECTIVE: This work assesses the adequacy of the simplified quantification of the uncertainty of the determination of the microbial contamination of PP by log transforming microbial count and dilution factor of the test sample whose uncertainty is combined in a log scale using the uncertainty propagation law. METHODS: This assessment is performed by a parallel novel bottom-up and accurate evaluation of microbial analysis uncertainty involving the Monte Carlo method simulation of the Poisson log-normal distribution of counts and of the normally distributed measured volumes involved in the analysis. Systematic effects are assessed and corrected on results to compensate for their impact on the determinations. Poisson regression is used to predict precision affecting determinations on unknown test samples. RESULT: Simplified and detailed models of the uncertainty of the measurement of the microbial contamination of PP are provided, allowing objective comparisons of several determinations and those with a maximum contamination level. CONCLUSIONS: This work concludes that triplicate determinations are required to produce results with adequately low uncertainty and that simplified uncertainty quantification underevaluates or overevaluates the uncertainty from determinations based on low or high colony numbers, respectively. Therefore, detailed uncertainty evaluations are advised for determinations between 50 and 200% of PP's maximum admissible contamination value. HIGHLIGHT: User-friendly tools for detailed and simplified evaluations of the uncertainty of the measurement of microbial contamination of PP are provided together with the understanding of when simplifications are adequate.

Large environmental changes reduce valence-dependent belief updating.

When updating beliefs, humans tend to integrate more desirable information than undesirable information. In stable environments (low uncertainty and high predictability), this asymmetry favors motivation towards action and perceived self-efficacy. However, in changing environments (high uncertainty and low predictability), this process can lead to risk underestimation and increase unwanted costs. Here, we examine how people (n = 388) integrate threatening information during an abrupt environmental change (mandatory quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic). Given that anxiety levels are associated with the magnitude of the updating belief asymmetry; we explore its relationship during this particular context. We report a significant reduction in asymmetrical belief updating during a large environmental change as individuals integrated desirable and undesirable information to the same extent. Moreover, this result was supported by computational modeling of the belief update task. However, we found that the reduction in asymmetrical belief updating was not homogeneous among people with different levels of Trait-anxiety. Individuals with higher levels of Trait-anxiety maintained a valence-dependent updating, as it occurs in stable environments. On the other hand, updating behavior was not associated with acute anxiety (State-Anxiety), health concerns (Health-Anxiety), or having positive expectations (Trait-Optimism). These results suggest that highly uncertain environments can generate adaptive changes in information integration. At the same time, it reveals the vulnerabilities of individuals with higher levels of anxiety to adapt the way they learn.

Identifying outbreaks in sewer networks: An adaptive sampling scheme under network's uncertainty.

Motivated by the implementation of a SARS-Cov-2 sewer surveillance system in Chile during the COVID-19 pandemic, we propose a set of mathematical and algorithmic tools that aim to identify the location of an outbreak under uncertainty in the network structure. Given an upper bound on the number of samples we can take on any given day, our framework allows us to detect an unknown infected node by adaptively sampling different network nodes on different days. Crucially, despite the uncertainty of the network, the method allows univocal detection of the infected node, albeit at an extra cost in time. This framework relies on a specific and well-chosen strategy that defines new nodes to test sequentially, with a heuristic that balances the granularity of the information obtained from the samples. We extensively tested our model in real and synthetic networks, showing that the uncertainty of the underlying graph only incurs a limited increase in the number of iterations, indicating that the methodology is applicable in practice.

Perspectives on the timing of ecosystem collapse in a changing climate.

Climate change is one of the most important drivers of ecosystem change, the global-scale impacts of which will intensify over the next 2 decades. Estimating the timing of unprecedented changes is not only challenging but is of great importance for the development of ecosystem conservation guidelines. Time of emergence (ToE) (point at which climate change can be differentiated from a previous climate), a widely applied concept in climatology studies, provides a robust but unexplored approach for assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse, as described by the C criterion of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Ecosystems (RLE). We identified 3 main theoretical considerations of ToE for RLE assessment (degree of stability, multifactorial instead of one-dimensional analyses, and hallmarks of ecosystem collapse) and 4 sources of uncertainty when applying ToE methodology (intermodel spread, historical reference period, consensus among variables, and consideration of different scenarios), which aims to avoid misuse and errors while promoting a proper application of the framework by scientists and practitioners. The incorporation of ToE for the RLE assessments adds important information for conservation priority setting that allows prediction of changes within and beyond the time frames proposed by the RLE.

Perspectivas sobre el momento del colapso ecosistémico en un clima cambiante Resumen El cambio climático es uno de los principales causantes del cambio ecosistémico, cuyo impacto a escala global se intensificará en las próximas dos décadas. No sólo es un reto estimar el momento de los cambios sin precedentes, sino también es de gran importancia para el desarrollo de las directrices de conservación de los ecosistemas. El momento de aparición (MdA), el punto en el que el cambio climático puede diferenciarse de un clima previo; es un concepto de aplicación extensa en los estudios de climatología y proporciona una estrategia sólida pero poco explorada para evaluar el riesgo del colapso ecosistémico, como está descrito por el criterio C de la Lista Roja de Ecosistemas (LRE) de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. Identificamos las tres consideraciones teóricas del MdA para la evaluación de la LRE (grado de estabilidad, análisis multifactoriales en vez de unidimensionales y distintivos del colapso ecosistémico) y cuatro fuentes de incertidumbre cuando se aplica la metodología MdA (difusión intermodelo, periodo de referencia histórica, consenso entre las variables y consideración de escenarios distintos), la cual busca evitar el mal uso y los errores mientras se promueve una aplicación adecuada del marco de los científicos y lo practicantes. La incorporación del MdA a las evaluaciones de la LRE añade información importante para el establecimiento de prioridades de conservación que permiten la predicción de cambios dentro y más allá del marco temporal propuesto por la LRE.

Predators control pests and increase yield across crop types and climates: a meta-analysis.

Pesticides have well-documented negative consequences to control crop pests, and natural predators are alternatives and can provide an ecosystem service as biological control agents. However, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding whether such biological control can be a widely applicable solution, especially given ongoing climatic variation and climate change. Here, we performed a meta-analysis focused on field studies with natural predators to explore broadly whether and how predators might control pests and in turn increase yield. We also contrasted across studies pest suppression by a single and multiple predators and how climate influence biological control. Predators reduced pest populations by 73% on average, and increased crop yield by 25% on average. Surprisingly, the impact of predators did not depend on whether there were many or a single predator species. Precipitation seasonality was a key climatic influence on biological control: as seasonality increased, the impact of predators on pest populations increased. Taken together, the positive contribution of predators in controlling pests and increasing yield, and the consistency of such responses in the face of precipitation variability, suggest that biocontrol has the potential to be an important part of pest management and increasing food supplies as the planet precipitation patterns become increasingly variable.

Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system.

The possibility that the Amazon forest system could soon reach a tipping point, inducing large-scale collapse, has raised global concern1-3. For 65 million years, Amazonian forests remained relatively resilient to climatic variability. Now, the region is increasingly exposed to unprecedented stress from warming temperatures, extreme droughts, deforestation and fires, even in central and remote parts of the system1. Long existing feedbacks between the forest and environmental conditions are being replaced by novel feedbacks that modify ecosystem resilience, increasing the risk of critical transition. Here we analyse existing evidence for five major drivers of water stress on Amazonian forests, as well as potential critical thresholds of those drivers that, if crossed, could trigger local, regional or even biome-wide forest collapse. By combining spatial information on various disturbances, we estimate that by 2050, 10% to 47% of Amazonian forests will be exposed to compounding disturbances that may trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions and potentially exacerbate regional climate change. Using examples of disturbed forests across the Amazon, we identify the three most plausible ecosystem trajectories, involving different feedbacks and environmental conditions. We discuss how the inherent complexity of the Amazon adds uncertainty about future dynamics, but also reveals opportunities for action. Keeping the Amazon forest resilient in the Anthropocene will depend on a combination of local efforts to end deforestation and degradation and to expand restoration, with global efforts to stop greenhouse gas emissions.

The parietal cortex has a causal role in ambiguity computations in humans.

Humans often face the challenge of making decisions between ambiguous options. The level of ambiguity in decision-making has been linked to activity in the parietal cortex, but its exact computational role remains elusive. To test the hypothesis that the parietal cortex plays a causal role in computing ambiguous probabilities, we conducted consecutive fMRI and TMS-EEG studies. We found that participants assigned unknown probabilities to objective probabilities, elevating the uncertainty of their decisions. Parietal cortex activity correlated with the objective degree of ambiguity and with a process that underestimates the uncertainty during decision-making. Conversely, the midcingulate cortex (MCC) encodes prediction errors and increases its connectivity with the parietal cortex during outcome processing. Disruption of the parietal activity increased the uncertainty evaluation of the options, decreasing cingulate cortex oscillations during outcome evaluation and lateral frontal oscillations related to value ambiguous probability. These results provide evidence for a causal role of the parietal cortex in computing uncertainty during ambiguous decisions made by humans.

Effect of a Nursing intervention on the uncertainty of family members in Intensive Care

Introduction: Family members of patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit present high uncertainty level due to not knowing what is happening and to not having clear details about the related events; therefore, interventions are required to allow modulating those levels. Objective: To evaluate the effect of an educational Nursing intervention compared to conventional care on the uncertainty of family members of patients hospitalized in an ICU. Materials and methods: An experimental study with a sample comprised by 132 relatives of patients admitted to an ICU, randomly distributed in four Solomon groups (33 in each group). The Nursing intervention based on the concepts of the Uncertainty in Illness Theory was applied to both experimental groups and devised under the Whittemore and Grey parameters with three moments: assessment; education about the relative's hospitalization in the ICU; and accompaniment. This was done with pre-assessments for two groups and post-assessments for the four groups, using the PPUS-FM Uncertainty Scale. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and respective non-parametric analyses. The study took into account the ethical principles in research. Results: The family members in the experimental groups presented a lower final uncertainty level when compared to the control groups, with a difference of 73.04 points and a p-value of 0.001. Discussion: Standardized interventions and under a theoretical model allow reducing uncertainty in relatives of patients in ICUs. Conclusions: The Nursing intervention based on the Uncertainty theory allows reducing uncertainty in relatives of patients hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit.

Sentence-final completion norms for 2925 Mexican Spanish sentence contexts.

Sentence-final completion tasks serve as valuable tools in studying language processing and the associated predictive mechanisms. There are several established sentence-completion norms for languages like English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish, each tailored to the language it was designed for and evaluated in. Yet, cultural variations among native speakers of the same language complicate the claim of a universal application of these norms. In this study, we developed a corpus of 2925 sentence-completion norms specifically for Mexican Spanish. This corpus is distinctive for several reasons: Firstly, it is the most comprehensive set of sentence-completion norms for Mexican Spanish to date. Secondly, it offers a substantial range of experimental stimuli with considerable variability in terms of the predictability of word sentence completion (cloze probability/surprisal) and the level of uncertainty inherent in the sentence context (entropy). Thirdly, the syntactic complexity of the sentences in the corpus is varied, as are the characteristics of the final word nouns (including aspects of concreteness/abstractness, length, and frequency). This paper details the generation of the sentence contexts, explains the methodology employed for data collection from a total of 1470 participants, and outlines the approach to data analysis for the establishment of sentence-completion norms. These norms provide a significant contribution to fields such as linguistics, cognitive science, and machine learning, among others, by enhancing our understanding of language, predictive mechanisms, knowledge representation, and context representation. The collected data is accessible through the Open Science Framework (OSF) at the following link: https://osf.io/js359/?view_only=bb1b328d37d643df903ed69bb2405ac0 .

Human biology and the study of precarity: How the intersection of uncertainty and inequality is taking us to new extremes.

Inequality represents an extreme environment to which humans must respond. One phenomenon that contributes to this growing extreme is precarity or the intersection of uncertainty and some form of inequality. While precarity has an important intellectual history in the fields of sociology and sociocultural anthropology, it has not been well studied in the field of human biology. Rather human biologists have engaged with the study of closely related concepts such as uncertainty and resource insecurity. In this article, we propose that human biology take on the study of precarity as a novel way of investigating inequality. We first provide a brief intellectual history of precarity which is followed by a review of research on uncertainty and resource security in human biology which, while not exhaustive, illustrates some key gaps that precarity may aid us in addressing. We then review some of the pathways through which precarity comes to affect human biology and health and some of the evidence for why the unpredictable nature of precarity may make it a unique physiological stress. A case study based on research in Nuñoa, Peru provides an important example of how precarity can elucidate the influences of health in an extreme setting, albeit with insights that apply more broadly. We conclude that precarity holds important potential for the study of human biology, including helping us more effectively operationalize and study uncertainty, encouraging us to explore the predictability of resources and stressors, and reminding us to think about the intersectional nature of stressors.

Determinantes da proatividade e do capital psicológico: fatores individuais e organizacionais / Determinants of proactivity and psychological capital: individual and organizational factors / Determinantes de la proactividad y del capital psicológico: factores individuales y organizacionales

A proatividade e o capital psicológico (PsyCap) são construtos associados às virtudes psicológicas, recursos despertados por fatores individuais e organizacionais, que podem maximizar resultados. Este estudo visou investigar qualitativamente os determinantes e aspectos que podem estimular o PsyCap e a proatividade, a partir da perspectiva de trabalhadores de duas empresas brasileiras. A pesquisa foi realizada por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com uma amostra de 26 funcionários. Os resultados revelaram determinantes comuns para a proatividade e o PsyCap, dentre eles a aprendizagem formal e informal, o feedback, a felicidade, a persistência, a curiosidade, os desafios e a estratégia. Foram observados alguns consequentes positivos, como euforia, alegria, realização, entusiasmo, engajamento e gratidão. Notou-se também que a ausência de proatividade e níveis baixos de PsyCap podem desencadear reações negativas, como indignação, tristeza, procrastinação, paralisação, desequilíbrio e frustração. Esses resultados sugerem que intervenções focadas no desenvolvimento da proatividade e do PsyCap podem ser essenciais para potencializar o bem-estar individual e resultados positivos nas organizações.(AU)

Proactivity and psychological capital (PsyCap) are concepts associated with psychological virtues, resources awakened from individual and organizational factors, which can maximize results. This study aimed to investigate qualitatively the determinants and aspects that can stimulate PsyCap and proactivity, from the perspective of workers of two Brazilian businesses. The research was carried out with semi-structured interviews with a sample of 26 employees. The results revealed common determinants for proactivity and PsyCap, among them formal and informal learning, feedback, happiness, persistence, curiosity, challenges, and strategy. Some positive consequences were observed, such as euphoria, joy, fulfillment, enthusiasm, engagement, and gratitude. Also note that the absence of proactivity and low levels of PsyCap could trigger negative reactions, such as indignation, sadness, procrastination, paralysis, imbalance, and frustration. These results suggest that interventions focused on the development of proactivity and PsyCap can be essential to enhance individual well-being and positive results in organizations.(AU)

La proactividad y el capital psicológico (PsyCap) son constructos asociados a las virtudes psicológicas, recursos que pueden ser despertados por factores individuales y organizacionales para maximizar los resultados. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar cualitativamente los determinantes y aspectos que pueden despertar el PsyCap y la proactividad desde la perspectiva de los trabajadores de dos empresas brasileñas. Este estudio se realizó mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas en una muestra de 26 empleados. Los resultados revelaron determinantes comunes para la proactividad y el PsyCap, entre ellos, el aprendizaje formal e informal, la retroalimentación, la felicidad, la persistencia, la curiosidad, los desafíos y la estrategia. Se observaron algunas consecuencias positivas, como euforia, alegría, logro, entusiasmo, compromiso y gratitud. También se señaló que la ausencia de proactividad y los bajos niveles del PsyCap pueden desencadenar reacciones negativas, como indignación, tristeza, procrastinación, parálisis, desequilibrio y frustración. Estos resultados sugieren que las intervenciones centradas en el desarrollo de la proactividad y del PsyCap pueden ser esenciales para mejorar el bienestar individual y los resultados positivos en las organizaciones.(AU)

Multivariate guard-bands and total risk assessment on multiparameter evaluations with correlated and uncorrelated measured values

Abstract The quality, efficacy, and safety of medicines are usually verified by analytical results. Measurement uncertainty is a critical aspect for the reliability of these analytical results. The pharmacopeial compendia usually adopt a simple acceptance rule that does not consider information from measurement uncertainty. In this work, we compared decision-making using simple acceptance and decision rules with the use of guard-band for multiparameter evaluation of ofloxacin ophthalmic solution and acyclovir topical cream. Ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution and acyclovir topical cream samples were subject to pharmacopeial tests and assays. Multivariate guard-band widths were calculated by multiplying the standard uncertainty (u) by an appropriate multivariate coverage factor (k'). The multivariate coverage factor (k') was obtained by the Monte Carlo method. According to the simple acceptance rule, all the results obtained for ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution and acyclovir topical cream are within the specification limits. However, the risk of false conformity decisions increases for ciprofloxacin tests. Decisions made using the simple acceptance rule and decision rules with the use of guard-band may differ. The simple acceptance rule may increase the risk of false conformity decisions when the measured value is close to the regulatory specification limits and/or when the measurement uncertainty value is inappropriately high. Nevertheless, the guard-band decision rule will always reduce the risk of false conformity decisions. Therefore, using information on measurement uncertainty in conformity assessment is highly recommended to ensure the proper efficacy, safety, and quality of medicines.

Ferramentas da administração estratégica e tomada de decisão em empresas estatais / Herramientas de gestión estratégica y toma de decisiones en empresas estatales / Strategic management tools and decision-making in state-owned enterprises

Resumo Dada a necessidade de se compreender mais detalhadamente como as ferramentas da administração estratégica (FAE) contribuem para a tomada de decisão no contexto da administração pública, este artigo tem o objetivo de avaliar o uso das FAE e sua influência na tomada de decisão em um grupo de empresas estatais. O estudo foi realizado com três empresas selecionadas por acessibilidade. Uma análise do conteúdo das entrevistas com os gestores de cada empresa foi realizada, obtendo-se os seguintes resultados: decisões de longo prazo foram associadas, principalmente, àquelas necessárias ao cumprimento do planejamento estratégico, porém, pouca ênfase foi dada às decisões que envolvessem risco ou incerteza; o uso das FAE com foco no cumprimento de exigências legais tendia a minar a conscientização e o preparo dos usuários. Tais fatores, assim como a necessidade de acomodar alterações de natureza política às ferramentas, restringem os benefícios plenos do uso das FAE nas empresas estatais e sua capacidade de lidar com a complexidade do ambiente estratégico. O estudo contribui para maior compreensão dos aspectos específicos do uso de FAE, bem como seus benefícios e limitações em organizações públicas, particularmente, empresas estatais.

Resumen Dada la necesidad de entender con más detalle cómo las herramientas de gestión estratégica (HGE) contribuyen a la toma de decisiones en el contexto de la administración pública, este artículo tiene como objetivo evaluar el uso de HGE y su influencia en la toma de decisiones en un grupo de empresas estatales. El estudio se realizó con tres empresas seleccionadas por su accesibilidad. Se realizó un análisis de contenido de las entrevistas con los gerentes de cada empresa, obteniendo los siguientes resultados: las decisiones a largo plazo se asociaron principalmente a las necesarias para cumplir con la planificación estratégica, pero se dio poco énfasis a las decisiones que involucran riesgo o incertidumbre; el uso de HGE con un enfoque en el cumplimiento de los requisitos legales socava la conciencia y la preparación de los usuarios. Tales factores, así como la necesidad de acomodar los cambios de naturaleza política a las herramientas, restringen todos los beneficios del uso de HGE en las empresas estatales y su capacidad para hacer frente a la complejidad del entorno estratégico. El estudio contribuye a una mayor comprensión de aspectos específicos del uso de HGE, así como sus beneficios y limitaciones en organizaciones públicas, particularmente, empresas estatales.

Abstract Given the need to understand in more detail how strategic management tools (SMT) contribute to decision-making in the context of public management, this article aims to evaluate the use of SMTs and its influence on decision-making in a group of state-owned companies. The study was conducted with three companies selected by means of accessibility. A content analysis of transcripts from the interviews with managers of each company was performed, leading to the following results: long-term decisions were mainly associated with those necessary to comply with strategic planning, but little emphasis was placed on decisions involving risk or uncertainty; the use of SMTs with a focus on complying with legal requirements undermines the awareness and training of users. Such factors, as well as the need to accommodate changes of a political nature to the tools, undermine the full benefits of SMTs in state-owned companies and their ability to deal with the complexity of the strategic environment. The study contributes to a broader comprehension of specific aspects of the use of SMTs, as well as their benefits and limitations in public organizations, particularly, state-owned enterprises.