Guilherme Paulo Andrade, Júlio César Andrade de Abreu and Ruan Carlos dos Santos
This paper aims to explore the impacts of a blockchain network implementation to support purchasing processes of a Brazilian public organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impacts of a blockchain network implementation to support purchasing processes of a Brazilian public organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The Grumbach method was used to build the scenarios. Five experts with knowledge in blockchain and experience in public procurement were consulted on 20 possible preliminary events, defining their probability of occurrence and relevance. The data obtained were processed in Puma software, which returned a selection of ten definitive events, based on probability, relevance and standard deviation indicators, generating a map of prospective scenarios.
Findings
Three following scenarios are shown, the ideal scenario, the one with greater implantation benefits and fewer complications; the trend scenario, more likely to occur under current conditions; and the most likely scenario of occurrence, according to experts. The results indicated which simulated events are drivers (motives), and which are influenced (dependent). They were categorized as opportunities or threats to the deployment of the technology.
Research limitations/implications
Although public procurement processes are standardized by Brazilian legislation, new events may arise from the replication of the model in different organizations. The research revealed the need for practical testing in a simulated public procurement environment.
Originality/value
The article explores the interaction between disruptive network technology and processes linked to public sector efficiency. Studies on electronic government point to the future of public management.
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Paulo Guilherme Fuchs, Manoel Honorato Filho, Liziane Araújo da Silva, Ana Regina Aguiar Dutra and José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra
Universities and their actions affect the environment directly and significantly. Therefore, the carbon footprint (CF) needs to be implemented in these institutions for mitigating…
Abstract
Purpose
Universities and their actions affect the environment directly and significantly. Therefore, the carbon footprint (CF) needs to be implemented in these institutions for mitigating climate change and its potential risks. Based on this understanding, the university consortium quality and environment (QualEnv) stands out by its main objective – to increase the university's contribution to sustainable development (SD) through the deployment of systematic environmental practices and quality processes. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present the CF of the Latin American universities of the QualEnv consortium.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on the actions for adopting CF and its implementation at the universities that take part in the QualEnv consortium. The measurement process and report presentation were done properly by the universities and published as institutional documents. Therefore, data were collected and analyzed through a document search, systematic literature review and participant observation.
Findings
The results show knowledge deepening and systematization on CF in higher education. In addition, it presents the effort of a group of universities that, through a research network, seek to adopt practices towards a carbon-neutral university, which requires an incremental and systematic change to break out of the traditional system.
Originality/value
This paper discusses the practical implications for universities and the need to implement initiatives for measuring and reducing their CF since it shows how the institutions belonging to QualEnv consortium have created their own strategies to mitigate climate change and contribute to SD.
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Priscila Cembranel, Luiza Gewehr, Leila Dal Moro, Paulo Guilherme Fuchs, Robert Samuel Birch and José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Andrade Guerra
This study aims to investigate the contribution of higher education institutions (HEIs) to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and propose strategies to cultivate a culture…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the contribution of higher education institutions (HEIs) to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and propose strategies to cultivate a culture centred on the SDGs in HEIs.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used encompassed an integrative literature review, combining bibliographic analysis on how HEIs incorporate the SDGs into their practices, adopting a qualitative approach for the analysis and categorization of the results.
Findings
The multifaceted contributions of HEIs in promoting the SDGs stand out, through their roles in teaching, research, management and integration and communication between university and society.
Research limitations/implications
While influencing policies at various levels, HEIs encounter challenges in the effective integration of SDGs into their strategies. This underscores the need for contextualized governance, understanding students’ perspectives on sustainability and active external collaboration in policy formulation.
Practical implications
There is an urgent need to integrate SDGs into academic programmes, emphasizing the importance of redesigning curricula, actively involving teachers, researchers and students, establishing partnerships and promoting research applied to SDGs.
Social implications
The social relevance of the study lies in the emphasis on an SDG-centred culture, involving teaching, research, outreach, community engagement and governance practices.
Originality/value
The study’s uniqueness lies in identifying persistent challenges during the transition to an SDG-centred culture, necessitating multisectoral collaboration and educational programmes that integrate sustainability principles into the strategy of HEIs.
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Carla Patricia Finatto, Paulo Guilherme Fuchs, Ana Regina Aguiar Dutra and José Baltazar Salgueirinho de Andrade Guerra
Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly aware of their role in developing and implementing a sustainable paradigm, with the potential to accelerate progress toward…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly aware of their role in developing and implementing a sustainable paradigm, with the potential to accelerate progress toward sustainable development (SD). Therefore, this study aims to investigate the environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) practices of the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL) and, based on this analysis, indicate how HEIs in general can contribute to the promotion of these concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on the authors' experiences and participant observations made during the establishment of sustainability practices at UNISUL. Additional data collected from documentary research and literature review were analyzed qualitatively.
Findings
The results show that sustainability is present in UNISUL’s educational and management processes as actions related to all SDGs and, thus, to all ESG dimensions. On the other hand, it was noted that many actions identified in the literature are not present, with governance being the dimension with fewer practices, thus indicating possibilities for improvement. In this way, new practices were suggested.
Originality/value
New actions linked to SDGs and ESG at UNISUL were identified that can be adopted by other HEIs.
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Ana Cecilia Andrade de Moraes Weintraub and Maria da Penha Costa Vasconcellos
This paper presents the results of a field research conducted with five immigrant women in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The aim of this paper is to show the itineraries they…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents the results of a field research conducted with five immigrant women in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The aim of this paper is to show the itineraries they used in order to build a new life as foreigners in the city.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethnography study was undertaken during one year (May/2010 to May/2011) mapping the itineraries made by them in the city and their correspondent narratives.
Findings
Foreign women did not have difficulties to access health care structures in São Paulo, since the health care system is universal in Brazil; they found many more opportunities of social care and assistance in the multiplicity of the city, rather than in the self-proclaimed institutions that exists especially for foreigners. Their different juridical categories did not impact much in their routine activities in the city.
Practical implications
This research may impact the activities of institutions that offer assistance to immigrants.
Originality/value
This paper presents a unique map of itineraries of foreign undesirable immigrant women in São Paulo, in contrast with other researches that tend to focus either on the juridical status or mental health care strategies for immigrants.
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Guilherme Homrich, Aly Ferreira Flores Filho, Paulo Roberto Eckert and David George Dorrell
This paper aims to introduce an alternative for modeling levitation forces between NdFeB magnets and bulks of high-temperature superconductors (HTS). The presented approach should…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce an alternative for modeling levitation forces between NdFeB magnets and bulks of high-temperature superconductors (HTS). The presented approach should be evaluated through two different formulations and compared with experimental results.
Design/methodology/approach
The T-A and H-ϕ formulations are among the most efficient approaches for modeling superconducting materials. COMSOL Multiphysics was used to apply them to magnetic levitation models and predict the forces involved.The permanent magnet movement is modeled by combining moving meshes and magnetic field identity pairs in both 2D and 3D studies.
Findings
It is shown that it is possible to use the homogenization technique for the T-A formulation in 3D models combined with mixed formulation boundaries and moving meshes to simulate the whole device’s geometry.
Research limitations/implications
The case studies are limited to the formulations’ implementation and a brief assessment regarding degrees of freedom. The intent is to make the simulation straightforward rather than establish a benchmark.
Originality/value
The H-ϕ formulation considers the HTS bulk domain as isotropic, whereas the T-A formulation homogenization approach treats it as anisotropic. The originality of the paper lies in contrasting these different modeling approaches while incorporating the external magnetic field movement by means of the Lagrangian–Eulerian method.
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Leandro da Silva Nascimento, Rafaela Cabral Almeida Trizotto, Nathália Amarante Pufal, Guilherme Freitas Camboim and Paulo Antonio Zawislak
This paper investigates which innovation capabilities are more important for driving technological and non-technological innovations and which of the two innovation types has the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates which innovation capabilities are more important for driving technological and non-technological innovations and which of the two innovation types has the greatest impact on the financial performance of manufacturing companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a theoretical model of four innovation capabilities – two technological: Technology Development Capability and Operations Capability, and two non-technological: Management Capability and Transaction Capability – a database of 1,331 Brazilian manufacturing companies was analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results indicate that technological capabilities (Technology Development and Operations) have a greater impact on technological innovation. However, both technological capabilities also affect non-technological innovation, with the Technology Development Capability being the most influential in this relationship. Results also indicate that non-technological capabilities (Management and Transaction) have a greater impact on non-technological innovation. Nevertheless, both non-technological capabilities also impact technological innovation, especially the Transaction Capability, which is the most influential in this relationship. Furthermore, it was identified that non-technological innovation has a more significant impact on financial performance than technological innovation, presenting a novel finding to the field of innovation in manufacturing.
Originality/value
This manuscript refutes prior discussions and opens new possibilities for the interconnection of dynamic and ordinary innovation capabilities in two different arrangements, each aimed at improving a specific type of innovation. A theoretical framework is proposed to highlight that, depending on the innovation type focused on, ordinary innovation capabilities can be more relevant than dynamic ones for innovation in the manufacturing sector. From these theoretical advancements, practitioners can understand that investments in non-technological resources, skills and routines can also boost technological innovation, as well as sales, profit and market share growth.
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Rodrigo Helleis, Guilherme Arielo Rodrigues Maia, Eryza Guimarães de Castro, Larissa Oliveira Berbel, Isolda Costa and Everson do Prado Banczek
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the protection against corrosion of carbon steel SAE 1020 promoted by a niobium- and titanium-based coating produced from a resin obtained…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the protection against corrosion of carbon steel SAE 1020 promoted by a niobium- and titanium-based coating produced from a resin obtained by the Pechini method.
Design/methodology/approach
A resin was prepared with ammonium niobium oxalate as niobium precursor and K2TiF6 as titanium precursor. Carbon Steel SAE 1020 plates were dip coated in the resin and calcinated for 1 h at 600 ºC. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the coating morphologically and structurally. Open circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, anodic potentiodynamic polarization and scanning vibrating electrode technique were used to evaluate the corrosion protection of the coating.
Findings
The electrochemical analyses evidence slight protection against corrosion of the coating by itself; however, the needle-like crystal structure obtained may potentially provide a good anchorage site, suggesting the coating could be used as a pretreatment that may present similar application to phosphating processes, generating lower environmental impacts.
Originality/value
Due to increasingly restrictive environmental laws, new environmentally friendlier surface treatments must be researched. This paper approaches this matter using a combination of niobium- and titanium-based coating, produced by a cleaner process, the Pechini method.
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Felipe Terra Mohad, Leonardo de Carvalho Gomes, Guilherme da Luz Tortorella and Fernando Henrique Lermen
Total productive maintenance consists of strategies and procedures that aim to guarantee the entire functioning of machines in a production process so that production is not…
Abstract
Purpose
Total productive maintenance consists of strategies and procedures that aim to guarantee the entire functioning of machines in a production process so that production is not interrupted and no loss of quality in the final product occurs. Planned maintenance is one of the eight pillars of total productive maintenance, a set of tools considered essential to ensure equipment reliability and availability, reduce unplanned stoppage and increase productivity. This study aims to analyze the influence of statistical reliability on the performance of such a pillar.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, we utilized a multi-method approach to rigorously examine the impact of statistical reliability on the planned maintenance pillar within total productive maintenance. Our methodology combined a detailed statistical analysis of maintenance data with advanced reliability modeling, specifically employing Weibull distribution to analyze failure patterns. Additionally, we integrated qualitative insights gathered through semi-structured interviews with the maintenance team, enhancing the depth of our analysis. The case study, conducted in a fertilizer granulation plant, focused on a critical failure in the granulator pillow block bearing, providing a comprehensive perspective on the practical application of statistical reliability within total productive maintenance; and not presupposing statistical reliability is the solution over more effective methods for the case.
Findings
Our findings reveal that the integration of statistical reliability within the planned maintenance pillar significantly enhances predictive maintenance capabilities, leading to more accurate forecasts of equipment failure modes. The Weibull analysis of the granulator pillow block bearing indicated a mean time between failures of 191.3 days, providing support for optimizing maintenance schedules. Moreover, the qualitative insights from the maintenance team highlighted the operational benefits of our approach, such as improved resource allocation and the need for specialized training. These results demonstrate the practical impact of statistical reliability in preventing unplanned downtimes and informing strategic decisions in maintenance planning, thereby emphasizing the importance of your work in the field.
Originality/value
In terms of the originality and practicality of this study, we emphasize the significant findings that underscore the positive influence of using statistical reliability in conjunction with the planned maintenance pillar. This approach can be instrumental in designing and enhancing component preventive maintenance plans. Furthermore, it can effectively manage equipment failure modes and monitor their useful life, providing valuable insights for professionals in total productive maintenance.