Search results
1 – 10 of 120Isabel Vaz de Freitas, Cristina Sousa, Makhabbat Ramazanova and Helena Albuquerque
This paper aims to monitor the urban landscape through the perceptions of residents and visitors, identifying features that cause visual impacts and providing insights for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to monitor the urban landscape through the perceptions of residents and visitors, identifying features that cause visual impacts and providing insights for landscape management decision-makers. Captured impressions about the city whilst moving around are important to assess the satisfaction of city residents and city visitors through key elements, such as directional signage, outdoor advertising, restaurants’ outdoor terrace furniture, urban furniture, green spaces, traffic, cleaning, pedestrian areas, visitor flow and conservation of monuments, museums and buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was applied in the historical Porto city centre (Portugal) to understand residents’ and visitors’ perceptions of the city landscape and assess the differences between these two groups. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the reliability of the constructs (dimensions) of urban landscape. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used to find significant differences in the perceptions of residents and visitors.
Findings
The results suggest significant differences in the perceptions. Residents value more two constructs of the landscape (heritage conservation and transport mobility) whilst visitors value more other two (pedestrian mobility and aesthetic quality). It is showed that residents have a strong sense of place and are concerned with the conservation of historical heritage. Visitors are more concerned with dimensions intrinsically related to tourism.
Originality/value
This research allowed to fill a gap found in the literature, namely, the importance of considering the perceptions of different actors in the urban landscape monitoring. These results are an important contribution for local authorities to understand the value of urban landscape elements from the perspective of residents and visitors. This study opened the possibility of comparing the results from different historical cities centres.
Details
Keywords
Carlos Peixeira Marques, Carla Marques, Cristina Leal Sousa and Carmem Leal
This study aims to assess how undergraduates’ exposure to entrepreneurship education (EE) may increase their volitional desire and behavioral control to start-up a business.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess how undergraduates’ exposure to entrepreneurship education (EE) may increase their volitional desire and behavioral control to start-up a business.
Design/methodology/approach
The model establishes three different paths from EE to entrepreneurial intention (EI): attraction and passion through desire and confidence through control. These paths are assessed by partial least-squares structural equation modeling in a sample of 650 undergraduates from Poland, Turkey and Portugal.
Findings
The most effective way by which EE may increase EI is by promoting a favorable change in the attractiveness of the entrepreneurship career. Contrary to expectations based on the literature, the effects of EE on perceived behavioral control are weak and limited to aspects related to financial control.
Practical implications
EE programs should consider desire and control in different phases of training, with the following learning outcomes: explore prospective rewards of an attractive entrepreneurial career, develop self-efficacy regarding management competences and gain control by assuring skills to cope with failure.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to establish a path from EE to EI through passion and desire. It is also the first to consider entrepreneurial passion as a positive anticipated emotion in the model of goal-directed behavior. The results allow to relate the different paths with different learning outcomes of EE programs.
Details
Keywords
Camila Cristina Avelar de Sousa, Luccas de Jesus Pereira dos Santos, Mauricio Costa Alves da Silva and Carlos Pasqualin Cavalheiro
Meat is a crucial source of protein and other nutrients for human health. However, excessive consumption of meat products is not advisable due to their elevated sodium and animal…
Abstract
Purpose
Meat is a crucial source of protein and other nutrients for human health. However, excessive consumption of meat products is not advisable due to their elevated sodium and animal fat levels. Hence, there is a strong recommendation for reducing sodium and fat content in meat products. This study aims to delve into the current sodium, total and saturated fat content of meat products in the Brazilian market.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,600 products underwent analysis.
Findings
The highest sodium concentrations were identified in jerked beef (5.48 g/100 g), charqui (5.21 g/100 g) and salted pork meat (2.58 g/100 g). In contrast, the highest total and saturated fat levels were observed in bacon (35.33 and 12.50 g/100 g), salami (26.00 and 9.25 g/100 g) and pork coppa (22.00 and 9.75 g/100 g). Most meat products were categorized as medium in terms of sodium (77.75%), total fat (52.93%) and saturated fat (48.25%). However, many meat products exhibited high total and saturated fat levels.
Originality/value
This study represents the first comprehensive examination of the sodium, total fat and saturated fat content listed on the labels of many meat products in Brazil.
Details
Keywords
Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
Details
Keywords
Manuel Castelo Branco, Catarina Delgado, Cristina Sousa and Manuel Sá
The purpose of this paper is to compare the internet and annual reports as media of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) and analyse its determinants.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the internet and annual reports as media of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) and analyse its determinants.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines ICD on the internet in 2009 and compares the internet and 2008 annual reports as disclosure media using content analysis. Non‐parametric statistical methods are used to analyse some factors which influence disclosure.
Findings
Portuguese companies attribute greater importance to the internet. The analysis showed that size is significant in explaining ICD only in the case of annual reports. The results also indicated that industrial affiliation is only partially a factor explaining ICD.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues associated with subjectivity in the coding process and the use of a limited content analysis method.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the scarce research on ICD by Portuguese companies by providing new empirical data. This paper is one of the first to investigate ICD both in annual reports and on the internet.
Details
Keywords
Margarida Fontes and Cristina Sousa
The purpose of this paper is to address the strategies adopted by science-based start-ups to gain access to knowledge resources at diverse spatial levels. It investigates the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the strategies adopted by science-based start-ups to gain access to knowledge resources at diverse spatial levels. It investigates the presence and relative importance of ties endowed with different types of proximity in firms’ knowledge networks, and the role played by non-geographical proximity in gaining access to knowledge sources, both nearby and distant.
Design/methodology/approach
An analytical framework is proposed that distinguishes between two dimensions of proximity – geographical and relational – leading to different forms of proximity, which are further linked with modes of knowledge interaction (formal or informal). A methodology for network reconstruction is developed and applied to Portuguese molecular biology firms, permitting to identify the origin, location and nature of the ties and to position them along forms of proximity.
Findings
The results show that the incidence and mix of the different forms of proximity vary in firms’ individual networks, being possible to identify several patterns. They also uncover the relevance of relational proximity, whether or not coexisting with geographical proximity and often compensating for its absence.
Research limitations/implications
This approach needs to be complemented with further research that refines the operationalization of relational proximity, by attempting to disentangle the influence of different types of non-geographical proximity. Further research will also explore in greater detail the factors that may explain variety in the proximity mix of firms’ networks.
Practical implications
The paper offers insights into the knowledge sourcing strategies adopted by science-based firms located outside the main concentrations of knowledge in their field.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature on the role of proximity in knowledge access, by developing and empirically testing a taxonomy of forms of proximity, considering the characteristics of science-based firms. It uncovers the mechanisms through which relational proximity can contribute to span spatial boundaries, highlighting the role played by entrepreneurs’ personal networks.
Details
Keywords
Maria Cristina Sousa Gomes, Maria Luís Rocha Pinto and Gabriela Gomes dos Santos
With this reappraisal, the purpose of this paper is to present a reflexion on and discussion of the concept of quality of life (QL) with the intention of delimiting its meaning…
Abstract
Purpose
With this reappraisal, the purpose of this paper is to present a reflexion on and discussion of the concept of quality of life (QL) with the intention of delimiting its meaning and application within the scope of the research project entitled “Costs and benefits of urban dispersion on a local scale”.
Design/methodology/approach
The concept of QL contains a significant degree of complexity and multidimensional variables, in addition to the dynamic nature inherent in all social phenomena. The application of this concept at a local level and within the context of the Portuguese socio‐territorial reality requires rethinking the concept through the different authors and approaches, in order to delineate the research process, and guarantee its operationalisation, selecting the social indicators than can serve this purpose, with the intent of gaining a clearer understanding of QL as perceived and evaluated by the people and groups living in various dispersed urban areas.
Findings
From the readings of literature in the field, one can understand the importance of choosing the relevant domains when analysing and measuring QL. As with the choice of indicators, in order to be able to measure the QL, simultaneously, at a local level, the choice of indicators and the delimitation of units of analysis are also fundamental in order to be able to obtain the comparison and real measure of quality of life and not the contingencies of specific contextual characteristics.
Originality/value
The study aims to open a new research perspective in the field of social sciences, more specifically in the areas related to QL and urban dispersion.
Details
Keywords
Manuel Castelo Branco, Catarina Delgado, Manuel Sá and Cristina Sousa
The purpose of this paper is to analyse annual reports as media of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) by Portuguese listed companies and to evaluate size, industry and time…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse annual reports as media of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) by Portuguese listed companies and to evaluate size, industry and time effects on disclosure as well as the effects of ICD on the growth of a company.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines ICD in 2004, 2006 and 2008 annual reports using content analysis. Non‐parametric statistical methods are used to test size and industry effects on disclosure, the effects of the level of disclosure on the growth of a company and to determine the significance of the differences in disclosure between the years under analysis.
Findings
The analysis showed that size is significant in explaining ICD. The results also indicated that industrial affiliation is only partially a factor explaining ICD. It was not possible to confirm neither an increase in ICD over time, nor the relationship between ICD and growth.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues associated with subjectivity in the coding process and the use of a limited content analysis method.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the scarce research on ICD by Portuguese companies by providing new empirical data.
Details
Keywords
Manuel Castelo Branco, Catarina Delgado, Manuel Sá and Cristina Sousa
This study investigates the use of the internet by the largest companies based in Sweden and Spain to communicate their engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the use of the internet by the largest companies based in Sweden and Spain to communicate their engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Its purpose is to analyse to what extent, if any, are there differences in the CSR communication on the web sites companies from these two countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines CSR communication on the internet by companies based in Sweden and Spain. Non-parametric statistics are used to analyse some factors that influence disclosure, namely country, industry affiliation, profitability, and size.
Findings
Findings suggest that in spite of the existence of a high degree of similarity between CSR communication practices, companies from Spain place social responsibility information in more prominent sections and devote more space to said information. Swedish companies are found to disclose more their codes of conduct/ethics and CSR-related press clips and published articles.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues associated with subjectivity in the coding process.
Originality/value
It adds to the scarce research on CSR communication by companies in these countries by providing new empirical data and extends prior research comparing such practices in different international models of CSR.
Details