Search results

This study aims to estimate the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and evaluate the accuracy of an antibody rapid test compared to a reference serological assay during a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison complex housing over 13,000 prisoners in Brasília.

The authors obtained a randomized, stratified representative sample of each prison unit and conducted a repeated serosurvey among prisoners between June and July 2020, using a lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA). Samples were also retested using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLIA) to compare SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and 21-days incidence, as well as to estimate the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the LFIA test.

This study identified 485 eligible individuals and enrolled 460 participants. Baseline and 21-days follow-up seroprevalence were estimated at 52.0% (95% CI 44.9–59.0) and 56.7% (95% CI 48.2–65.3) with LFIA; and 80.7% (95% CI 74.1–87.3) and 81.1% (95% CI 74.4–87.8) with CLIA, with an overall IFR of 0.02%. There were 78.2% (95% CI 66.7–89.7) symptomatic individuals among the positive cases. Sensitivity and specificity of LFIA were estimated at 43.4% and 83.3% for IgM; 46.5% and 91.5% for IgG; and 59.1% and 77.3% for combined tests.

The authors found high seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within the prison complex. The occurrence of asymptomatic infection highlights the importance of periodic mass testing in addition to case-finding of symptomatic individuals; however, the field performance of LFIA tests should be validated. This study recommends that vaccination strategies consider the inclusion of prisoners and prison staff in priority groups.

This study aims to expose the main knowledge management (KM) practices applied in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) industries using scientific literature published in the Scopus database from 2001 to 2010.

A search was performed in papers selected from the Scopus database, which houses the KM practices of industries in BRIC countries.

The results show that Brazil, Russia and India have an easier way of converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge compared to China, where informal relationships of trust and friendship play a special role within organizations, as well as where the political structure (communism) is an intervening factor. Brazil, Russia and India practice similar KM mechanisms such as the use of technology, process standardization and electronic data management. They also model the positive experiences of western companies. In China, interpersonal relationships shape the tacit and explicit features of organizations.

The methodological filter could potentially limit the volume of responses, as not every case study can demonstrate the usual practices of KM. Empirical studies are able to capture the nuances and even provide a holistic picture of these practices.

The results have practical implication, in particular. They are expected to help managers and workers to better comprehend KM practices in BRIC countries or even suggest new KM practices in the business.

The main discussion of this paper brings together a large range of KM practices applied in BRIC, addressing similarities and differences between KM deployments.

The aim of the study is to build and validate a perceived financial well-being scale (PFWBS).

A total of 34 items were developed on a five-point Likert scale. Validation involved two phases and four steps. In the qualitative phase, interviews, validation by specialists and the pre-test were carried out. In the quantitative phase, a sample of 1,020 cases was used in the exploratory stage and another sample of 2,293 individuals in the confirmatory validation stage.

The PFWBS is composed of 23 items distributed in four dimensions (financial security, financial tranquility, financial freedom and satisfaction with financial management) that identify the perception of financial well-being of the consumers of financial products.

The authors propose a methodological framework that allows researchers, managers and policy makers to use the indicator to assess citizens' perception of financial well-being.

The PFWBS can be useful in evaluating the results of different public policies, such as income transfer programs and financial education policies. It can also serve as a parameter for the financial system to assess the perception of its customers, helping to evaluate products and services.

Financial well-being lacks valid measurement scales in the literature. This study advances by creating a scale for the assessment of the perception of financial well-being, which can be applied in different contexts.

This article aims to investigate the most applied lean warehouse practices in Brazilian warehouses.

To perform this research, three phases were conducted: a literature review, a multiple case study, and an analysis of lean warehouses practices implementation by an engineering committee. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Additionally, the study has an applied nature, with an exploratory and descriptive character.

Results showed that regardless of the type of criterion used, the most implanted practices are those that do not involve investments in technology. On the other hand, practices like RFID and Cross Docking systems were not found in any of the operations, which shows numerous possibilities for improvement.

The main contribution of this article is to initiate a debate about the management and productivity of Brazilian warehouses, a theme still little explored by the academic community despite the importance that the logistic scenario represents for Brazil as an emerging country and leader in Latin America, participating actively in several global supply chains.

This study aims to develop a sustainable brand identity model to help organizations align their managerial practices to sustainable development goals (SDGs) and examine its applicability for a Brazilian electrical sector company.

A systematic qualitative review of the literature was carried out to provide a theoretical basis for the attributes chosen to compose the sustainable brand identity management (SBIM) model. To apply the model, the authors collected the data from internal and public domain documents, semi-structured in-depth interviews and non-participant observation of the company's work environment.

The first SBIM model was developed. The Brazilian power sector company implemented sustainable actions related to most of the models' attributes, contributing to the SDGs. A research agenda was presented.

The theoretical contribution is provided toward brand identity and sustainability literature with the sustainable brand identity model development and the conceptual explanation regarding its attributes.

The practical implications are provided from the model application to an electrical company leading to some managerial suggestions that might be used to companies willing to align their practices to sustainability.

The studies on SDG and brand identity models were analyzed in order to create the first SBIM model. This article extends the concept of the brand identity of marketing theory by linking its core to sustainability actions, so far not addressed in academic studies.

To translate theory into a practical tool, the purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for the development of social marketing strategies to modify event attendee behaviour in a sustainable direction.

Consumer value is synthesised with social marketing and consumer behaviour theory to develop the framework. A major problem for festivals (throwaway tents) and current pro-environmental practices are used to determine the framework's applicability.

The conceptual framework suggests that achieving desired behaviour(s) within an audience requires consideration of the added value at the downstream level, strategies that recognise offsite/onsite behaviour settings, engagement of upstream advocacy and more attention to the evaluation of success.

A single low-involvement behaviour example is used to validate the conceptual framework suggesting further work is needed to widen tests of its applicability.

This paper synthesises theory into a framework that has significant potential as a tool to develop behavioural change strategies at events.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that collaboration was a key characteristic of Cuban science to maintain their scientific capacity during a period of economic restrictions and an important feature of Cuban science policy and practice for the benefit of society.

Collaboration was studied through Cuban scientific publications listed in PubMed for the period 1990-2010. The search was carried out using the advanced search engine of PubMed indicating < Cuba > in the affiliation field. To identify participating institutions a second search was performed to find the affiliations of all authors per article through the link to the electronic journal. A data set was created to identify institutional publication patterns for the surveyed period. Institutions were classified in three categories according to their scientific production as Central, Middle or Distal: the pattern of collaboration between these categories was analysed.

Results indicate that collaboration between scientifically advanced institutions (Central) and a wide range of national institutions is a consequence of the social character of science in Cuba in which cooperation prevails. Although this finding comes from a limited field of biomedical science it is likely to reflect Cuban science policy in general.

Using bibliometric tools the study suggests that Cuban science policy and practice ensure the application of science for social needs by harnessing human resources through national and international collaboration, building in this way stronger scientific capacity.

This paper aims to evaluate the profile of food truck consumers at gourmet events, identifying their food preferences and opinions about the provision of safe food by this segment.

A total of 750 food truck customers in the city of Curitiba, Brazil, participated in the study. The survey investigated the socio-economic profile of the consumers, the frequency of their food consumption, the criteria for their choice of food trucks, their mean spending value, the method of payment used and the opinion of consumers about food cost and food truck hygiene conditions.

Most consumers were female (62.7 per cent), students (31.3 per cent) and with an average age of 29 ± 10 years. Many customers preferred the consumption of salty foods (84.0 per cent), mainly burgers and kabobs. The consumers reported spending between $6.32 and $9.03 during the events, and men spent more money than women (p = 0.000). Both thought that good conditions of hygiene (81.9 per cent), food presentation (46.9 per cent) and service (48.0 per cent) were more important than the product price (19.3 per cent). Consumers thought that the food trucks had an adequate structure (73.5 per cent) and the food handlers (74.4 per cent) had good conditions of hygiene, ensuring the safety of the food sold.

On account of the convenience sampling in an urban environment, the data cannot be generalized to the entire population of the municipality and to other regions.

There are few studies with food trucks consumers in Brazil, to this writing the largest sample ever used for this type of research in this country. The results were designed to be used by professionals working in the area.

The purpose of this paper is to characterize food consumption outside the home and verify the existence of relationships between income, expenditure and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adult individuals in Brazil.

Food expenditure data were used as well as those on the prevalence of overweight and obesity available in the reports from Family Budgets Research carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in the years 2002-2003 and 2008-2009. In addition, the authors used the Kruskall-Wallis test to verify whether there were significant differences between the classes of income with respect to the average expenditure on food outside the home.

It was observed that the higher the income of the individual, the greater the expenditure on food outside the home. It was also found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher in individuals who have higher income, particularly among men. Thus, it is suggested that the higher the income of the individual, the larger the expenditure on food outside the home and the greater the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

This study used spending on food away from home (FAFH), but the authors know that is need to use other variables like frequency of FAFH and quantities but this data were not available.

The study points to the importance of restaurants in the prevention of obesity, since they can offer in their menus foods with fewer calories, and they can also increase the variety and availability of fruits and vegetables.

The study discusses the public health problem, obesity, at the same time as it presents the importance of agribusiness in providing a balanced diet for individuals.