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1 – 10 of 31Gabriela Fernandes, Madalena Araújo, Eduardo B. Pinto and Ricardo J. Machado
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an extension of a previously conceived framework for improving and embedding project management (PM) practice in organisations…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an extension of a previously conceived framework for improving and embedding project management (PM) practice in organisations. The framework identifies the most useful project management improvement initiatives (PMIIs) and the key factors for embedding PM practice. However, professionals need guidance on how to operationalise such framework in their organisations, therefore a method for applying the framework is developed.
Design/methodology/approach
The method being proposed for applying the framework is demonstrated and tested with a large University–Industry consortium case study. During the case study analysis three research methods were applied: participant observation, document analysis and focus groups.
Findings
In what concerns both the PMIIs and key embedding factors in the framework, the proposed method comprises their acknowledgement, scoring, relevance analysis, selection and planning. The detailed report on how the framework was applied in the particular case study also sheds light on how University–Industry consortiums can make use of PM to become more successful.
Research limitations/implications
The research was performed using only one case study which limits the generalisability of its findings.
Practical implications
Detailed guidance is provided for applying the framework’s both constructs, “improving” and “embedding”, through a set of clear steps.
Originality/value
The paper shows the explanatory power of the framework for improving and embedding PM practice in a case study, demonstrating that the method for its application is practical and suitable.
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João Varajão, Gabriela Fernandes and Hélio Silva
The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of practice in information systems (IS) project management (PM) by analyzing the use of tools and techniques by IS…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of practice in information systems (IS) project management (PM) by analyzing the use of tools and techniques by IS project managers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors carried out an international questionnaire-based survey with experienced IS project managers.
Findings
Results reveal that, notwithstanding the similarities between the tools and techniques used in IS projects and projects from other areas, there are also significant differences concerning those more frequently used. The top five tools and techniques most used are “kick-off meeting,” “progress meetings,” “progress reports,” “requirements analysis” and “activity list.” However, the low use of some tools and techniques, from management areas such as risk and quality management, or related to the project monitoring and control, should raise concern.
Research limitations/implications
Through the results of this research, researchers, organizations and practitioners can identify ways of developing and enhancing PM by examining the tools and techniques identified as the most used and those that are not being used as frequently as expected.
Originality/value
It provides a useful benchmarking basis for evaluating the most applicable tools and techniques, designing training and teaching programs and identifying academic research opportunities in IS PM.
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Jose da Assuncao Moutinho, Gabriela Fernandes, Roque Rabechini and Cristiane Pedron
Knowledge production in project studies is continuously challenged to combine scientific rigour and practical relevance, and a professional graduate programme in Project…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge production in project studies is continuously challenged to combine scientific rigour and practical relevance, and a professional graduate programme in Project Management is a suitable environment for addressing this issue. This research aims to generate a framework of the Ecosystem of a University Research Centre in Project Studies (URC-PS) to enhance the benefits of research developed in a professional graduate programme.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was developed under the paradigm of Design Science and operationalised through a method of Design Science Research. The prescriptive approach was used to identify, design, develop, demonstrate, and evaluate the framework.
Findings
The framework comprises four macro-elements: Project Studies; Impact Generation Process; Circumstances, Governance and Management; and Context, broken into sixty elements. It provides a structure that is simultaneously holistic, integrative, and procedural. It also develops a perspective of knowledge co-creation between academics and practitioners in an engaged scholarship approach.
Practical implications
The framework provides a more thorough understanding of the ecosystem university management to the research centre itself, to engaged academics, and to external actors, which allows them to discuss, plan, execute, and evaluate the co-creation of knowledge in Project Studies.
Originality/value
The framework contributes to Organisational Knowledge Creation Theory by including and discussing outcomes and impacts from co-created knowledge in a URC-Project Studies environment. It also explores the concept of “Ba” in its proposal for structuring, organising, and operationalising the “Ba”.
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Gabriela Fernandes, David O' Sullivan, Eduardo B. Pinto, Madalena Araújo and Ricardo J. Machado
University–industry projects provide special challenges in understanding and expressing the values required of project management (PM) in delivering stakeholder benefits. This…
Abstract
Purpose
University–industry projects provide special challenges in understanding and expressing the values required of project management (PM) in delivering stakeholder benefits. This paper presents a framework for understanding, identifying and managing the values of PM in major university–industry R&D projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The value framework identifies for each of the key stakeholders, the key PM values that may require to be managed and are largely derived from research literature. Empirical research then explores, prioritises and selects key PM values that need to be managed for a specific project. A large case study is used involving one university and one industry collaborating on a multi-million Euro initiative over six years. Empirical research was conducted by researchers who observed at close quarters, the challenges and successes of managing the competing values of key stakeholders.
Findings
The value framework takes a stakeholders' perspective by identifying the respective PM values for each of six stakeholders: university–industry consortium, university, industry, R&D external entities, funding entity and society.
Research limitations/implications
The research was performed using only one case study which limits the generalisability of its findings; however, the findings are presented as a decision support aid for project consortia in developing values for their own collaboration.
Practical implications
Guidance and decision support are provided to multi-stakeholder research consortia when selecting values that need to be managed for achieving tangible and intangible project benefits.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates a proposed framework for designing and managing the value of PM in large multi-stakeholder university–industry R&D projects.
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Joana Baleeiro Passos, Daisy Valle Enrique, Camila Costa Dutra and Carla Schwengber ten Caten
The innovation process demands an interaction between environment agents, knowledge generators and policies of incentive for innovation and not only development by companies…
Abstract
Purpose
The innovation process demands an interaction between environment agents, knowledge generators and policies of incentive for innovation and not only development by companies. Universities have gradually become the core of the knowledge production system and, therefore, their role regarding innovation has become more important and diversified. This study is aimed at identifying the mechanisms of university–industry (U–I) collaboration, as well as the operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is aimed at identifying, based on a systematic literature review, the mechanisms of university–industry (U–I) collaboration, as well as the operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process.
Findings
The analysis of the 72 selected articles enabled identifying 15 mechanisms of U–I collaboration, proposing a new classification for such mechanisms and developing a framework presenting the operationalization steps of the interaction process.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors screened nearly 1,500 papers and analyzed in detail 86 papers addressing U–I collaboration, mechanisms of U–I collaboration and operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process. This paper provides a new classification for such mechanisms and developing a framework presenting the operationalization steps of the interaction process. This research contributes to both theory and practice by highlighting managerial aspects and stimulating academic research on such timely topic.
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Anete Abramowicz, Gabriela Guarnieri de C. Tebet and Tatiane Cosentino Rodrigues
This text is the result of an extensive bibliographical research on the development of Childhood Studies in various regions of Brazil based on the understanding that childhood is…
Abstract
This text is the result of an extensive bibliographical research on the development of Childhood Studies in various regions of Brazil based on the understanding that childhood is a social discursive construction, as well as human rights, and both concepts are interlinked when the subject in focus is the children’s rights. According to research data while advances in the concept of childhood have supported specific child protection policies, the issue of marginalization and inequalities affecting children is some of the central matters developed within childhood studies in Brazil. In this article, we map the advances of childhood studies in Brazil and its relation to children’s rights. However, we may state that neither childhood nor children’s rights are still a reality for all Brazilian children, especially when considering other markers that have challenged the rights of our children, such as race, ethnicity, social class, and gender.
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Jie Zhang and Ahmed Aboud
The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of the EVA performance evaluation model for the Chinese banking industry. The authors investigate the impact of six…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of the EVA performance evaluation model for the Chinese banking industry. The authors investigate the impact of six bank-specific factors and corporate governance factors on financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use the ordinary least square regression to examine the determinants of the EVA performance evaluation model for the Chinese banking industry. The findings are generally robust to alternative proxies of performance.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that credit risk, operational efficiency and the degree of innovation are positively related to banks’ EVA while capital management has a negative impact on it. In addition, although board size and independent directors are not related to the bank’s EVA, from the perspective of the traditional performance evaluation indicators, executive compensation has a positive impact on the bank’s profitability.
Research limitations/implications
This paper has some limitations. First, due to the large number of adjustments to accounting items are required in the application of EVA when evaluating business performance, some items of the EVA model in this paper have been simplified, which may cause the bank’s EVA value to deviate slightly from the actual situation. Moreover, the sample includes only listed banks, so our results cannot generalize to non-listed banks, such as some small- and medium-sized commercial banks.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the limited body of literature concerning the use and the determinants of EVA in emerging markets. The authors construct an EVA model which is suitable for China’s banks and reports comprehensive evidence on the drivers of EVA as a measurement tool.
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André Manoel Correia-Santos, Gabriela Câmara Vicente and Gilson Teles Boaventura
The purpose of this review of the literature is to provide data about flaxseed intake during pregnancy and/or lactation and its effects in the offspring from birth to adulthood.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this review of the literature is to provide data about flaxseed intake during pregnancy and/or lactation and its effects in the offspring from birth to adulthood.
Design/methodology/approach
This review includes up-to-date information from evidence-based sources on flaxseed intake and its by-products, during pregnancy and lactation and its effects on male and female offspring, from post-weaning until adulthood. Topics included are effects on body mass; glycaemic metabolism; lipid profile; blood pressure and aortic structure; reproductive system and brain tissue.
Findings
The main effects of flaxseed or its by-products were observed in the cardiovascular system, where a lipid profile improvement and minor aortic remodelling were noticed, and in the cerebral development, where greater n-3 PUFA incorporation in the brain was detected.
Originality/value
The research done in this study, to understand the offspring response that were early exposed to the flaxseed components during pregnancy and lactation, may be the first step toward guiding future strategies for recommending the use of this seed during the offspring’s perinatal period.
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Ana Flávia Ramos, Gabriela da Rocha Lemos Mendes, Renato Souza Cruz, Fabiane Neves Silva, Geany Peruch Camilloto, Handray Fernandes de Souza, Juliana Pinto de Lima, Caroline Liboreiro Paiva and Igor VIana Brandi
Baru is a fruit of the Brazilian Cerrado, important to the local economy and social culture. The use in food formulation is due to it being highly available and its nutritional…
Abstract
Purpose
Baru is a fruit of the Brazilian Cerrado, important to the local economy and social culture. The use in food formulation is due to it being highly available and its nutritional profile; however, the changes in the texture of products are still unclear. In this study, an experimental design was conducted to develop cakes by replacing different levels of wheat flour with baru nut flour, and comparing them.
Design/methodology/approach
Cakes were developed with 20, 40, 60, and 80 replacement of wheat flour by baru nut flour and compared with standard formulation (100% wheat flour). The physical-chemistry composition of the flour, nutritional composition of the cakes and texture profile analysis were evaluated.
Findings
Baru nut flour showed greater protein, lipids, and ash than wheat flour, and this result was also observed in the cakes developed. The cake with 80% of almond baru flour showed an increase of 60.3% in protein. The texture profile analysis showed that the addition of baru nut flour affected the texture of products. The cakes showed more hardness and chewiness; however, the springiness and cohesiveness were decreased.
Originality/value
The findings of this study demonstrate that baru nut flour is a great option as a new ingredient for bakery products, due the increase of protein. This is the first study analyzing the effect of baru nut flour addition on the texture profile of bakery products. These results can orientate future studies, especially sensory assays.
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