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In this paper, the authors review the literature on the nature of the small and medium-sized enterprise concept. The review examines the broad diversity of terms and definitions used to describe these kinds of firms in scholarly and practical settings. They relate this examination to the concept of small business for the purpose of comparison, in order to highlight differences and similarities between the concepts.

Relevant literature including articles from academia and defining documents from practical settings was identified through a scope literature review. Field data were subsequently collected via questionnaires sent to editors and authors of articles related to the theme. The data were content analyzed and the resulting codes consolidated into dimensions in accordance with the Gioia method. Chi-squared tests were applied to categorical data.

The use of the composite category “small and medium” was found to be predominant in the labeling of small businesses in scientific articles, including those in journals that specialize in small businesses, with no justifications presented for this, characterizing a widespread and consensual practice between authors and editors. In the defining documents of practical settings, however, the authors observed greater consistency and precision both in the terms used and in the delimiting values for a small business (self-employed, micro business, small business). In the sample of 27 defining documents mentioned in the articles, 25 specifically defined “small business” and 20 defined “micro business,” using indicators such as number of employees and annual turnover. The indicators delimiting values regarding the category of micro business were the same in all the documents analyzed and, regarding the category of small business, many documents used the same delimiting values.

Recognizing the “non-large enterprise” myth will provide a more effective posture for editors and authors to avoid using the term “small and medium,” resulting in greater precision, understanding and knowledge regarding small businesses. A better definition of a small business by academia can help public policymakers and managers of organizations that support small businesses to tailor their actions better according to the different sizes of companies. This will also lead to social gains, given the importance of small businesses in terms of job creation and countries' economies.

The authors identified and described the myth of the “non-large enterprise” among academics, characterized by the dichotomous view of the business universe, composed of “large enterprises” and “non-large enterprises,” the latter group being characterized by the widespread use of the term “small and medium.”

This paper aims to explore the perception of successful entrepreneurs and resource providers regarding the minimum operational time necessary to legitimize an enterprise as an established company, as well as the tactics used by the entrepreneurs to minimize the distrust of society during this initial period of the life cycle of the organization.

Data collection from two groups: (i) interviews with 62 entrepreneurs and founders of established companies; and (ii) a questionnaire completed by 77 sales managers of companies that provide businesses with resources (they practice business-to-business). Regarding analyses: (i) to analyze information, this study applied the content analysis technique; and (ii) for data, this study applied the one-sample t-test, mean comparison t-test, Pearson’s correlation test, chi-square test of association, Mann–Whitney U test and correspondence analysis technique.

In this study, a period of 42 months was identified for the legitimization of enterprises by society, in other words, the time necessary for enterprises to be recognized as an established company and a company of low risk by customers and resource providers. A set of managerial and behavioral actions practiced by successful entrepreneurs to face the difficulties they experience during the legitimization period was also identified.

In addition to establishing a period of 42 months for the legitimization of an enterprise in the eyes of society, a set of 15 strategies used by successful entrepreneurs was identified to combat the prejudice associated with the youthfulness of their companies. Of these, 12 are linked to managerial actions and 3 to the entrepreneur’s behavior. It should be highlighted that eight of these strategies are innovative and have yet to be addressed in the literature on mitigating risks associated with the liability of newness principle.

The authors discuss the legitimization of enterprises based on the perception of actors who play a fundamental role regarding entrepreneurial action: resource providers for companies, customers and successful entrepreneurs. This is a triangulation of sources, as well as a triangulation of collected data and qualitative and quantitative techniques, which sought to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information that resulted from this analytical process.

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.

The rapid growth of 3D printing has transformed the cost-effective production of prototypes and functional items, primarily using extrusion technology with thermoplastics. This study aims to focus on optimizing mechanical properties, precisely highlighting the crucial role of mechanical compressive strength in ensuring the functionality and durability of 3D-printed components, especially in industrial and engineering applications.

Using the Box−Behnken experimental design, the research investigated the influence of layer thickness, wall perimeter and infill level on mechanical resistance through compression. Parameters such as maximum force, printing time and mass utilization are considered for assessing and enhancing mechanical properties.

The layer thickness was identified as the most influential parameter over the compression time, followed by the degree of infill. The number of surface layers significantly influences both maximum strength and total mass. Optimization strategies suggest reducing infill percentage while maintaining moderate to high values for surface layers and layer thickness, enabling the production of lightweight components with adequate mechanical strength and reduced printing time. Experimental validation confirms the effectiveness of these strategies, with generated regression equations serving as a valuable predictive tool for similar parameters.

This research offers valuable insights for industries using 3D printing in creating prototypes and functional parts. By identifying optimal parameters such as layer thickness, surface layers and infill levels, the study helps manufacturers achieve stronger, lighter and more cost-efficient components. For industrial and engineering applications, adopting the outlined optimization strategies can result in components with enhanced mechanical strength and durability, while also reducing material costs and printing times. Practitioners can use the developed regression equations as predictive tools to fine-tune their production processes and achieve desired mechanical properties more effectively.

This research contributes to the ongoing evolution of additive manufacturing, providing insights into optimizing structural rigidity through polylactic acid (PLA) selection, Box−Behnken design and overall process optimization. These findings advance the understanding of fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology and offer practical implications for more efficient and economical 3D printing processes in industrial and engineering applications.

Different from most academic publications about tourism in Brazil, this paper provides an overarching and comprehensive perspective. Analysing key developments, and focusing on the period 2000–2019, this paper also considers long-standing structural issues that hinder tourism development. Although this viewpoint paper deals with Brazil, very similar issues can be identified for many countries worldwide.

This viewpoint paper is a combination of reflections by leading Brazilian tourism academics; most are members of ABRATUR, the International Academy for the Development of Tourism Research in Brazil. This paper uses secondary data from the grey (e.g. government reports) and academic literature to support this opinion paper. The tourism-related topics covered in this paper include economics, policy and planning, marketing, transport, nature-based tourism, gastronomy, hospitality and education, amongst others.

Brazil has missed several unique opportunities to place it as a destination of international renown. Since the 1990s, efforts to support regional tourism development have achieved only moderate success as political instability, violence and corruption have impacted tourism. A lack of a coordinated approach between the various levels of government, a shortage of tourism data and a long-term supra-government marketing campaign, among other factors, have meant Brazil has missed several critical opportunities in the 2010s to establish itself as a leading tourism destination in the global market.

From leading tourism academic experts in Brazil, a unique opinion paper offers an overview of the critical development issues in 2000–2019. The paper presents matters that have hindered potential tourism contributions to the largest nation in South America. While these matters may be specific to Brazil, many of these challenges are not dissimilar to those in other emerging (democratic) nations. The authors offer several public policies and technical recommendations to scaffold tourism development towards the 2030 agenda.

本篇观点论文是巴西前沿旅游学者们思考的集合, 其中大多数的学者是巴西旅游发展国际研究院ABRATUR的成员。这篇论文使用了诸如政府工作报告的二手数据和学术文献来支撑文章观点。其中涉及的与旅游相关的主题包括经济学, 政策和规划, 市场营销, 交通, 自然旅游, 烹饪学, 酒店, 教育等等。

与巴西大多数旅游研究的出版物不同, 本文提供了一个重要且全面的视角。文章重点分析了从2000-2009年的旅游业主要发展状况, 同时考虑了阻碍旅游业发展的长期结构性问题。尽管此观点论文涉及巴西, 但在世界许多国家都可以发现非常相似的问题。

巴西已经错失了作为国际知名旅游目的地的几个独特机会。二十世纪九十年代以来, 因为政治动荡, 暴力和腐败对旅游业的影响, 支持区域旅游业发展的努力仅仅取得了有限的成功。各级政府之间缺乏协调方式, 旅游数据短缺和长期的跨政府营销活动等因素, 已经意味着巴西在二十一世纪前十年已经错失了将自己在全球市场中确立为领先旅游目的地的几个重要机会。

这篇来源于一些巴西学术旅游届的领头羊的独特观点论文概述了从2000年到2019年巴西旅游业发展的关键问题。本文介绍了那些已经阻碍南美洲最大旅游国家潜在旅游业贡献的重要事项。尽管这些事项可能是巴西独有的, 但是其中许多问题与其他新兴的（民主的）国家也没有什么不同。我们提供了一些公共政策和技术建议, 以支持旅游业向2030年议程迈进。

Este artículo de opinión es una combinación de reflexiones de destacados académicos brasileños del turismo, la mayoría miembros de ABRATUR, la Academia Internacional para el Desarrollo de la Investigación en Turismo en Brasil. Se utilizan fuentes secundarias (por ejemplo, informes gubernamentales) y literatura académica para respaldar este artículo. Los temas relacionados con el turismo que se tratan en este documento incluyen economía, política y planificación, marketing, transporte, turismo basado en la naturaleza, gastronomía, hotelería, y educación, entre otros.

A diferencia de la mayoría de las publicaciones académicas sobre el turismo en Brasil, este artículo ofrece una perspectiva global e integral. Al analizar los desarrollos clave y centrarse en 2000–2019, este documento también considera problemas estructurales de larga data que obstaculizan el desarrollo del turismo. Aunque este documento trata de Brasil, se pueden identificar problemas muy similares en muchos otros países del mundo.

Brasil ha perdido varias oportunidades únicas para colocarse como un destino de renombre internacional. Los esfuerzos realizados desde la década de 1990 para apoyar el desarrollo del turismo regional solo han logrado un éxito moderado debido a que la inestabilidad política, la violencia y la corrupción han impactado al turismo. La falta de un enfoque coordinado entre los distintos niveles de gobierno, la escasez de datos turísticos, una campaña de marketing supra gubernamental a largo plazo, entre otros factores, han significado que Brasil haya perdido varias oportunidades críticas en la década de 2010 para establecerse como un destino turístico líder en el mercado global.

Un artículo de opinión único de destacados expertos académicos en turismo en Brasil, que ofrece por primera vez una visión general de los problemas críticos del desarrollo desde la década del 2000. El documento presenta asuntos que han obstaculizado las posibles contribuciones del turismo a la nación más grande de América del Sur. Si bien estos asuntos pueden ser específicos de Brasil, muchos de estos desafíos no son diferentes a los de otras naciones (democráticas) emergentes. Ofrecemos diversas recomendaciones técnicas y de políticas públicas para impulsar el desarrollo turístico hacia la agenda 2030.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the yield, physico-chemical and microbiological parameters during the shelf life of the Minas Frescal cheese hand-manufactured by family farms.

In the milk, analyses of total bacterial counts, somatic cell counts and centesimal composition were performed. The milk coagulation was analyzed, with different curd times (40, 80 and 120 min), with respect to the proximate composition, pH, titratable acidity, yield and microbiological counts. The means were compared using the Tukey test with a significance level of 5 per cent. The most probable number of microorganisms were also determined in water.

The results for milk quality were within the requirements established in Normative Instruction 62, except for total dry extract. It was found that curd time did not influence the protein and fat in dry matter contents; however, the ash content in cheese of 40 min of curd time (2.8 g/100g) is significantly higher (p = 0.02) than the values found for the other curd times. The same behavior was observed for moisture content (p = 0.04). The parameters determining the cheese quality were outside the standards for human consumption, but this result is directly related to the water conditions, which were outside of potability levels. To meet the requirements established in the legislation, dairy products must follow strict standards of quality hygiene, both the raw material (water, milk) and their employees who act directly in the process.

For the preparation of the Minas Frescal cheese, it takes several steps, from obtaining the milk to the product ready to be consumed, so the importance of doing this monitoring and evaluating its quality.

The purpose of this study is to formulate an algorithm designed to discern the optimal routes for efficient municipal solid waste (MSW) collection.

The research method is simulation. The proposed algorithm combines heuristics derived from the constructive genetic algorithm (CGA) and tabu search (TS). The algorithm is applied in a municipality located at Southern Brazil, with 40,000 inhabitants, circa.

The implementation achieved a remarkable 25.44% reduction in daily mileage of the vehicles, resulting in savings of 150.80 km/month and 1,809.60 km/year. Additionally, it reduced greenhouse gas emissions (including fossil CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, total CO₂e and biogenic CO₂) by an average of 26.15%. Moreover, it saved 39 min of daily working time.

Further research should thoroughly analyze the feasibility of decision-making regarding planning, scheduling and scaling municipal services using digital technology.

The municipality now has a tool to improve public management, mainly related with municipal solid waste. The municipality reduced the cost of public management of municipal solid waste, redirecting funds to other priorities, such as public health and education.

The study integrates MSW collection service with an online platform based on Google MapsTM. The advantages of employing geographical information systems are agility, low cost, adaptation to changes and accuracy.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the compensation between research groups and companies that contribute the most for the innovative performance of Brazilian public higher educational institutions (PHEI), using as database the 2010’s tabular plan from CNPq’s Directory of Research Groups.

Descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques such as spearman correlation, cluster analysis, ANOVA and discriminant analysis were used.

Compensations that contribute the most for the updating of the PHEI are identified as transfer of financial resources from the partner to the group; providing grants for the group; transfer of material supplies to partner’s activities; temporary physical transfer of human resources from the group to the activities conducted by the partner; other forms of compensation that do not fit in the previous categories; and partnering with transfers of resources of any kind going in any direction.

As a limitation, it is pointed out the discontinuity of the tabular plan, which presents 2010 as the last available data.

The results can contribute to programs and policies to encourage innovation within universities.

It may be inferred that the stimulus to specific compensations may expand the quantitative idea of interaction points between the university and companies, linking qualitative aspects, which leads to an understanding that such interactions may, in fact, contribute directly to the activity of generating and spreading knowledge and innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate straw modification by chemical degradation generated by two forms of pretreatment, using citric acid in an autoclave and urea solution with sodium hydroxide at low temperature.

The material was digested and compared in biodigester reactors lined with natural straw, straw pretreated with citric acid, straw pretreated with urea and NaOH, and straw subjected to both the pretreatments. The amount of straw has been delimited to 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 percent v/v, and used 20 percent v/v inoculum in all reactors, consisting of 30 percent v/v poultry litter and 70 percent swine wastewater (SW). The experiment was conducted in an incubator kept in mesophilic conditions (35°C).

The results indicate significant change in the studied material, with degradation of lignin as well as hemicellulose and cellulose exposed to further hydrolysis. Spectrophotometric methods were used for monitoring degradation. These methods were efficient in monitoring changes caused by the treatments. When the proposed pretreatments are applied to sugarcane straw, there is a significant gain in biogas production (L g VSR⁻¹). The most appropriate rates for higher methane production in the pretreatments are 2.5 and 5 percent straw-SW. The best results for the anaerobic digestion of sugarcane straw were obtained by pretreating it with citric acid.

This paper shows a new use for the sugarcane straw waste after being pretreated with acid or base for the coproduction of biogas.

This study aimed to analyze the most common child’s play of students (approximately seven years old) both during the playtime and the time they are not at school, also considering the teacher’s interpretation of the child’s play practiced in the school, located in a small slum of the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte. In this way, the analysis considered the issues that involve the recognition of the essentiality of childhood (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 2003; Sarmento, 2007), in the context of the reality and affectivity of children in the place called slum (Coelho, 2007; Perez & Jardim, 2015, Tuan, 1983), as well as in aspects that demonstrate the control of their bodies through the child’s play performed in the school (Brighente & Mesquida, 2011; Foucault, 2009). As a methodological basis, participant observation was chosen because it was believed that from this practice it was possible to extract important experiences and reflections from the research participants, know our actions and, by observing these people, their behaviours and attitudes in routine situations (Lüdke & André, 1986). The results suggested that the slum children’s play, both in school and outside, are different among boys and girls. In the open areas of the slum, the boys explore more spaces than girls, who prefer child’s play in the domestic sphere. At school, educators try to censure some behaviours and attitudes of children, suggesting the pursuit of obedient postures and disciplined bodies. In this context, it is crucial that educators do not convert the school into a place of censorship of the child’s play that resides in the slums and thus transforming the school into a space that reinforces the domestication of bodies from the earliest stages of childhood.