Patrícia Jardim da Palma

Effect of a Supplemented Diet with Canned Sardine on the Lipid Fraction of Human Plasma and Erythrocytes

Abstract Over the past 20 years many studies and clinical investigations have addressed the beneficial effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids in general and ω3 fatty acids in particular. It is currently known that ω3 fatty acids play important role in the prevention of several pathologies like the coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other. The protection played by ω3 fatty acids against coronary heart disease may be related to antiatherogenic effects and/or to the modification of risk factors through mechanisms related to lipid metabolism. The objective of this work was to evaluate, in healthy volunteers, the effect of a diet supplementation with canned sardine, which is rich in co3 fatty acids on the profile of plasma and erythrocytes, lipids, phospholipids and fatty acids. The serum levels of total cholesterol and high density lipoproteins (HDL) did not change during the period of the supplementation, tri-acylglycerol levels showed a trend for a decrease and low density lipoproteins (LDL)-derived thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (LDL TBARS) levels showed a decrease. Incorporation of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic fatty acids (EPA and DHA, respectively) into plasma and erythrocyte phospholipids was observed. The results suggest that the undergone dietary supplementation may have allowed the incorporation of co3 polyunsaturated fatty acids into cell membranes and has increased the resistance of LDL to oxidative stress. This may represent protection factors against atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

The best of two worlds

Abstract Policies have been introduced in the public sector to increase efficiency. Following a privatization, there is a split between operational and strategic control. In this study, we explored how a public organization restores its identity after losing its operational structure. Based on a case study of a seaport, we found that when the self-defining properties were lost, the organizational identity dissolved into a managerial public identity. The organizational meaning that provided security and guided behavior was lost and the new identity was unable to serve as a provider of meaning. Implications for new public management policy and practice are discussed.

Case Studies on What Entrepreneurs Actually Do to Attract Resources: A Two-Route Framework

Taking a grounded approach, we devised a framework to explain how entrepreneurs attract critical resources to venture creation and development. The study was based on qualitative data from a series of interviews with thirteen entrepreneurs conducted in a sample of six case studies. The framework distinguishes two routes that entrepreneurs use to attract resources for their ventures: idea selling, referring to how the entrepreneurs seek to engage others within the venture and to persuade them to support their entrepreneurial efforts; and network building, concerning the attraction effects of the entrepreneurs social network positions and venture legitimacy. The framework adds to entrepreneurship theory by proposing a conceptual model of resource gathering strategies in new venture creation and development.

Training for happiness: the impacts of different positive exercises on hedonism and eudaemonia

Abstract Theoretical conceptions on happiness have generally considered two broad perspectives: hedonic enjoyment and eudaemonia. However, most research on how to improve people’s happiness has focused primarily on the enhancement of hedonic happiness. In this longitudinal experimental study we test the differential impact of two positive exercises—Best Possible Selves and the Lottery Question—on hedonic and eudaemonic happiness. The hypothesis that the practice of the Best Possible Selves exercise would increase hedonic happiness was confirmed. This effect was immediate and maintained a week after the exercise. Furthermore, this exercise also increased eudaemonic happiness. However, its effect decreased after a week. Contrary to what was expected the Lottery Question exercise decreased both eudaemonic happiness and hedonic happiness over time. We discuss implications of this study for the literature on positive psychological and behavioral interventions to increase happiness.

Supplementation of the Diet of Haemodialysis Patients with Portuguese Canned Sardines and Evaluation of ω3 Fatty Acid Level in Erythrocyte Phospholipids

ABSTRACT It is currently accepted that a dietary enrichment with fish or fish-derived lipids is associated with a reduced incidence or amelioration of several pathological conditions, particularly in the cardiovascular area, due to the modification of risk factors through mechanisms related to lipid metabolism and profile. Among the changes of plasma and cells lipid profile responsible for this prevention is the increase of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA-20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA-22:6ω3) levels in cell membrane phospholipids. Provided that haemodialysis patients present a high risk of cardiovascular disease, they constitute a group where the evaluation of the putative beneficial effects of dietary supplementation with ω3 fatty acids supplementation is of interest. A group of 23 haemodialysis patients and a control group of 10 healthy volunteers were submitted to a diet supplemented with Portuguese canned sardine (4.3 g of ω3 fatty acids; 2.1 g EPA and 1.33 g DHA) three times per week during 3 months. The fatty acid profile of erythrocyte phospholids was evaluated at the start and at the end of supplementation period. Before supplementation EPA content was lower in haemodialysis patients (0.56%) than in controls (1.33%) and increased significantly in both groups, respectively, to 1.5% and 2.5%, after the 3-month dietary supplementation. The percentages of DHA and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA-22:5ω3) were similar before supplementation in patients and in controls (1.76 and 1.96%, respectively) but after supplementation only an increase of DPA in the control group (2.67%) was observed. Nevertheless, after supplementation, DPA/EPA and DHA/DPA ratios, used to evaluate the activity of desaturases and elongases enzymes, were similar in both groups suggesting the presence of an active system of these enzymes in both controls and haemodialysis patients. These results could be explained by a permanent deficiency in absorption/incorporation of EPA in haemodialysis patients which can be the cause of the initial low EPA levels in spite of identical regular fish consumption in both groups and further supported by the finding of an only partial correction after supplementation.

The Live Well Index and the Motivation for Physical Activity Profile: Two Cross-National Studies on the Correlates and Drives for a Life with Quality

Two studies were undertaken in two different samples of eight European countries. The aim of these studies was twofold: (1) to develop and validate, according to psychometric standards, an online self-administered instrument to measure the variables related to what is to “Live well” (the Live Well Index, LWI) taking into consideration four major domains: To Move Well, to Eat Well, to Feel Well and Perceived Health; (2) To investigate the particular role of physical activity in a life well lived, and to develop and validate motivational profiles for doing and sustaining the practice of physical exercise (Aspirational Profiles). The two initial questionnaire were developed using data from (a) a qualitative study (twenty Interviews and two Focus Group) on what is to Live Well, taking the four dimensions into contemplation, and (b) a quantitative study on motivations for physical activity. Both were conducted to generate items that identify domains and portraits. Alongside, an extensive literature review was implemented. Content analysis for the qualitative data was intertwined with principal factor analysis and cluster analysis, regarding the quantitative data, with the aim of generating the final items, either for the LWI and the Aspirational Profiles. The second phase of the two studies included 876 participants from eight European countries for the LWI and a sample of 1177 participants that joined in the pilot validation of the initial questionnaires; This phase included translation, retroversion and validation for each of the languages used in the two questionnaires. A list of easily comprehensible, non-redundant items was defined for the two instruments. The final Live Well Index is a brief measure that includes 17 questions. It can be connected to the Aspirational Profile on physical activity, that includes 19 quastions, and allows for a deeper exploration of the Move Well dimension, one of the four scopes of the LWI. Implications for the study and promotion of quality of life, supported in these pillars, are addressed, in particular in what concerns the role of physical activity for quality of life, and how to promote exercise in accordance with people’s specific motivations.

Calling for leadership: leadership relation with worker’s sense of calling

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to understand the relation between leadership perception and workers’ sense of calling. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nWorkers’ sense of calling has been shown to relate to organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, career development, personal growth, and well-being. Although recent studies point the sense of calling as a consequent of several organizational variables, the role of leadership in promoting workers’ sense of calling is yet to be analyzed. A self-report questionnaire was applied to a group of 325 Portuguese nurses to analyze this relation. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the results. n n n n nFindings n n n n nResults indicate a positive relation between a leader perceived as transformational or transactional and workers’ sense of calling. Directive and empowering leadership perception were found not to be related to calling. Unexpectedly, a significant positive relation with aversive leadership perception was identified. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nA confounding relation between aversive leadership perception and sense of calling cannot be excluded. It is possible that an unknown third variable, such as resilience or positive affect, is serving as a mediating bridge between leadership perception and the sense of calling. Further studies are necessary in order to explore this alternative path. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThe sense of calling is known as a relevant organizational construct. Knowing what kinds of leadership promote workers’ sense of calling adds value for the literature and can help managers to learn how to improve their followers’ sense of calling.

Entrepreneurship as a Calling: A Pilot Study with Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Previous research in work and organisational studies has found that individuals may experience their work as a job, a career or a calling. That experience, in turn, has a significant influence on their performance. In the present study, we apply this framework to the field of entrepreneurship and examine if the experience of aspiring entrepreneurs as a job, a career or a calling impacts their ability to attract resources for a new venture by considering two different resource attraction strategies presented in the literature: network positioning and proactive search. The results show that seeing entrepreneurship as a job has a negative impact on both network positioning and proactive search strategies. Experiencing entrepreneurship as a calling, however, has a positive impact on proactive search strategy. Perceiving entrepreneurship as a career is not related to resource attraction strategies. These findings illustrate that the way aspiring entrepreneurs experience their role as entrepreneurs affects their efforts as well as others’ confidence in terms of attracting resources for their new ventures. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed at the end of this work.

The Impact of Objective and Subjective Measures of Security on Subjective Well Being: Evidence from Portugal

Quality of life has been receiving much attention in organizational studies due to its effects on how people feel about themselves and their situation in life (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EFILWC), Second European quality of life survey overview, 2007). Although the effects of criminality on urban sites may be found in the literature (e.g., Djuric, Polic Int J Police Strateg Manage 32(3):541–559, 2009), a clear approach to regional security is still missing. This study seeks to shed some light on this by analyzing the impact of both objective and subjective measures of regional security on subjective well-being (SWB). As objective measures, 14 statistical indicators were collected in 20 Portuguese regions. Perception of security was assessed in a sample of 3,757 individuals from those 20 regions. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the theoretical model was generally supported: Total criminality indicators were found to be negative predictors of SWB (b = −0.21; p < 0.001), and subjective security also revealed a positive impact on people’s overall SWB (b = 0.09; p < 0.001). Comparative analysis indicates that subjective security is higher in the interior regions (F = −13.084; p < 0.001) and SWB is higher in the islands (F = −4.875; p < 0.001) where a superior perception of security also exists. More insecurity is perceived in the large cities (F = −13.927; p < 0.001) where there is higher criminality index. Based on these measures, the study contributes to a more complete approach to regional security by identifying threats inside regions as well as their effects on the well-being of citizens. Implications of the findings to improve public policies are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.