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The purpose of the article is to identify relevant criteria for decision support in the implementation of waste-to-energy (WtE)-based systems.

The methodology is a simple case study with a qualitative approach. Five experts involved in the project of a thermoelectric power plant qualitatively evaluated, on a Likert scale, a decision model with 15 indicators derived from recent studies. The research object was the first stage of a project to implement a thermoelectric plant employing municipal solid waste (MSW) in southern Brazil.

The study identified 15 criteria supporting the decision-making process regarding WtE implementation for MSW in a mid-sized city in southern Brazil. The study identified that compliance with MSW legislation, compliance with energy legislation, initial investment and public health impact are the most influential criteria. The study offered two models for decision processes: a simplified one and a complete one, with ten and fifteen indicators, respectively.

The study concerns mid-sized municipalities in southern Brazil.

Municipal public managers have now a methodology based on qualitative evaluation that admits multiple perspectives, such as technical, economic, environmental and social, to support decision-making processes on WtE technologies for MSW.

MSW management initiatives can yield jobs and revenues for vulnerable populations and provide a correct destination for MSW, mainly in developing countries.

The main originality is that now municipal public decision-makers have a structured model based on four constructs (technical, economic, environmental and social) deployed in 15 indicators to support decision-making processes involving WtE and MSW management.

This study aims to analyze the current state of entrepreneurship research in Latin America based on data from the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Student’s Survey (GUESSS) project, to map its usage in publications in this context.

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocol was employed for the systematic literature review. A total of 23 empirical studies published from 2015 to 2023 were included. Furthermore, it suggests directions for future research by utilizing the structuring of theories, contexts and methodologies (TCM) identified in the analyzed articles.

Factors related to individuals, the university environment and the family influence the outcomes; the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was the most commonly employed. Additionally, there is a gap in comparative approaches between countries.

This study identifies a gap in research using GUESSS data specific to Latin America, suggesting the need for further exploration of these data. By integrating the PRISMA protocol with the TCM framework, the study provides structured analyses and syntheses that reduce knowledge fragmentation.

This study discusses the factors influencing entrepreneurship among Latin American university students, providing insights for policymakers, managers and educational institutions.

The current state of results in studies using GUESSS data from several Latin American countries is presented.

Este estudio analiza el estado actual de la investigación sobre emprendimiento en América Latina basado en los datos del proyecto GUESSS, con el fin de mapear su uso en publicaciones en este contexto.

Se utilizó el protocolo Preferred Reporting PRISMA para realizar una revisión sistemática de la literatura, que incluyó 23 estudios empíricos publicados entre 2015 y 2023. Además, se sugieren orientaciones para futuras investigaciones, utilizando la estructuración de Teorías, Contextos y Metodologías (TCM) identificados en los artículos analizados.

Los factores relacionados con los individuos, el entorno universitario y familiar influyen en los resultados; la Teoría del Comportamiento Planeado (TCP) fue la más utilizada. Además, existe una brecha en los enfoques comparativos entre países.

Este estudio identifica una brecha en la investigación con datos específicos de América Latina de la base GUESSS, sugiriendo la necesidad de explorar más estos datos. Al integrar el protocolo PRISMA con el marco TCM, el estudio presenta análisis estructurados y síntesis que reducen la fragmentación del conocimiento.

Se presenta el estado actual de los resultados en estudios que utilizan datos del GUESSS de varios países de América Latina.

Este estudio analiza los factores que influyen en el emprendimiento entre los estudiantes universitarios latinoamericanos, ofreciendo ideas para formuladores de políticas públicas, gerentes e instituciones educativas.

The challenges facing 21st-century society are becoming increasingly complex, requiring the development of new citizen competencies. This study aims to validate an educational model focused on developing complex thinking in higher education students. Current educational models lack future-ready competencies, necessitating the emergence of new models to guide future generations toward the common good.

This was an adaptation of the causal-layered analysis (CLA) applied to 415 participants from higher education institutions in Mexico, Panama and Spain. Sessions were designed to present the proposed educational model and explore participants’ perceptions of its significance and contributions to future education.

Key findings include the following: participants perceived complexity as difficult and challenging; causes of problems were linked to outdated educational models requiring replacement by those that develop students’ competencies; participants envisioned changes that would develop individuals capable of understanding and transforming society; and participants recognized the model’s transformative potential, offering a novel proposal for 21st-century education.

This research sought to gather opinions from different stakeholders using the CLA methodology, providing a deep understanding of participants’ perspectives on the proposed solution.

This research investigates the barriers impeding innovation within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil, exploring 54 innovation-related barriers categorized into six distinct groups to offer substantial insights and analyses pertinent to the decision-makers, researchers and SMEs.

This research employed a mixed quantitative and exploratory approach, utilizing fuzzy Delphi, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methods. The fuzzy Delphi method confirmed the categories and barriers through quantitative analysis, the fuzzy AHP ranked the validated obstacles and the fuzzy DEMATEL method identified causal connections among the top-priority barriers.

Out of 54 barriers, 23 significantly impacted SMEs. The “Financing and Financial” category was the most significant barrier, with “Access to Financing” being the most critical impediment. The barrier with the most influence was “Instability of Fiscal Policies,” and the highest causal priority was “Survival of the Priority Business,” identifying the government’s unstable fiscal policy as the principal barrier confronting SMEs in Brazil.

The primary challenges for Brazilian SMEs center on financing, fiscal policies and maintaining ongoing operations. By addressing these barriers and fostering a resilient business environment, SMEs’ innovation capabilities and competitiveness can be enhanced, serving as key drivers for sustainable economic growth in fluctuating economic conditions. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting and validating the main barriers to SME innovation, providing highly relevant information about the innovation process.

This study aims to examine how Brazilian universities have implemented the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in institutional practices, curriculum and teaching, management and community outreach programs.

This study is based on content analysis of the data sets of Brazilian higher education courses and their link to SDGs. A literature review has also been developed to integrate the knowledge of sustainability practices in Brazilian universities. Dashboards will be used to present the related findings.

Brazilian universities’ practices have concentrated their efforts on SDGs, which include responsible consumption and production, sustainable cities and communities and quality education. The literature emphasizes energy efficiency, reflecting its prominence as a subject of study among universities.

This research highlights the innovative use of data analysis techniques to present the findings. It also provides examples of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, frameworks and tools that can help sustainability management in this sector.

The recent increase in the number of infections and mortality rates in many regions has emphasized the cyclical nature of this pandemic, with new variants emerging constantly. Understanding what has been done by efficient administrations to contain the outbreak is essential while new immunization developments for the new variants are not available.

This work adapts the traditional Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) Variable Returns to Scale model for including panel data on the Brazilian Federal Government spending over the first pandemic months in Pernambuco to identify efficient municipalities and conduct a benchmark on the best practices, reactions and implications that can serve as a guide for the post-Covid recurrence era.

The results provide an interesting panorama of municipal response to the pandemic and some quantitative and qualitative prospects on potentials for improvements from the perspective of efficient and inefficient cities. Only one administration (São Bento do Una) was identified as efficient for the entire period. The authors’ benchmark and discussion are focused on this municipality.

The authors believe this work has two innovative components. The first is a robust and systematic methodology integrating the advances in testing convexity and returns to scale in the construction of a production frontier based on panel data. The second is a discussion on what drives efficiency (benchmarking of best practices) in addition to how to quantitatively attain such efficiency prospects. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, both methodological and empirical implications are original to the present manuscript.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of characteristics of capitalism on environmental performance.

The authors analyzed a sample of 6,257 companies, based in 55 countries and 8 typologies of capitalism. The independent variables are the characteristics of capitalism, measured through five indicators: cooperation between employees and employers, index of economic freedom, local competition between industries, human development index (HDI) and quality of the governance environment. To measure environmental performance, the authors created an index composed of 20 indicators. Data were analyzed using panel data regression and dynamic panel of the generalized method of moments.

The results indicate that the characteristics of capitalism can shape the environmental behavior of companies. The authors find that in countries with better cooperation between employees and employers, more economic freedom, and competition between firms, in addition to better HDI and national governance, companies have higher environmental performance. When they are in more developed countries, companies have a greater environmental performance.

Managers must consider the country's characteristics of capitalism when making their environmental decisions and strategies. The findings invite governments to incorporate into their regulations mechanisms to protect other interest groups, not just shareholders.

Few studies have examined environmental performance, which is less susceptible to greenwashing. The metric for environmental performance measures the company's concrete effort in relation to environmental issues and not just the disclosure of information. Additionally, the authors examine characteristics of capitalism supported by Varieties of Capitalism, an approach still little explored in the environmental management.

Global demand for agricultural commodities, including beef, soy, and palm oil, has driven tropical deforestation throughout the 21st century, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem services while contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation in the tropics is a wicked problem because there is no consensus on its solution, conflicting moral and political considerations among stakeholders, and uncertainty about the potential effects of intended solutions. Faced with such complex policy challenges, jurisdictional approaches (JAs) are being increasingly embraced as potential means of increasing policy capacity to tackle deforestation and support the Sustainable Development Goals. JAs integrate tools such as public and private regulations, collaborative planning processes, and payments for ecosystem services to respond to the complexity that characterizes deforestation. In this chapter, we study PROAmazonia, an anti-deforestation JA implemented in Ecuador’s Amazon region since 2017.

Our study shows that enhancing policy capacities to manage wicked problems associated with deforestation requires confronting the inherent complexity of these problems and the wider socio-environmental system in which they emerge. However, this requires integrated policy strategies that exceed the scope of JAs, also demanding support from wider governance structures.

To analyze the quality of transitional care for patients with COVID-19 at discharge from Brazilian university hospitals.

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in five Brazilian university hospitals between April and December 2021. The sample consisted of 527 participants. Data collection consisted of a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Care Transitions Measure (CTM-15), a care transition assessment instrument, which was translated and validated in Portuguese.

Most participants were patients (n = 369; 70.0%), with primary school completion (n = 218; 43.4%), multiracial (n = 218; 43.5%) and with an income of up to two minimum wages (n = 182; 42.8%). Dimension 1 – management preparation – obtained the highest score (71.2 points, SD = 16.5), while Dimension 4 – care plan – obtained the lowest score (62.2 points, SD = 23.4). Among the participating hospitals, there was a difference in the overall mean with results ranging from 67.0 to 72.9 points.

A satisfactory quality of care transition was found, considering the context of a pandemic. The main weaknesses in the care transitions were related to the care planning after hospital discharge.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the causal relationship between Lean practices and team performance. Specifically, the authors tried to demonstrate which practices act as enablers of continuous improvement and waste elimination and what is their impact on team performance.

A survey was carried out in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Southern Brazil. The authors obtained a sample of 785 respondents. The data analysis procedures involved confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling.

The results of the research provided support for the positive influence of continuous improvement on waste elimination and of these two practices on team performance. In addition, empirical support was obtained for the effect of leadership support, employee involvement and internal process customers on continuous improvement.

Data collection was carried out online, so we were not able to maintain full control of the research respondents. This research generates relevant insights for decision-makers in the HEI environment, especially concerning Lean practices and team performance. The effects analyzed are even more relevant given the pandemic context.

This study shows how some higher education Lean practices can positively affect continuous improvement and better team performance. The results raise important insights for decision-makers to offer better higher education public services, especially given the context and changes imposed by the pandemic situation.

This paper initiates the discussion about enablers of continuous improvement and waste elimination in HEI and demonstrates their impact on team performance.