Peter Wanke, Jorge Junio Moreira Antunes, Antônio L. L. Filgueira, Flavia Michelotto, Isadora G. E. Tardin and Yong Tan
This paper aims to investigate the performance of OECD countries' long-term productivity during the period of 1975–2018.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the performance of OECD countries' long-term productivity during the period of 1975–2018.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed different approaches to evaluate how efficiency scores vary with changes in inputs and outputs: Data Envelopment Analysis (CRS, VRS and FDH), TOPSIS and TOPSIS of these scores.
Findings
The findings suggest that, during the period of this study, countries with higher freedom of religion and with Presidential democracy regimes are positively associated with higher productivity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that uses efficiency models to assess the productivity levels of OECD countries based on several contextual variables that can potentially affect it.
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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.
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Erika Lisboa, Ricardo Corrêa Gomes and Humberto Falcão Martins
Teresa Cunha Ferreira, David Ordóñez-Castañón and Rui Fernandes Póvoas
This research seeks to provide methodological bases for the identification, documentation and critical reflection of good practices of architectural design in built heritage…
Abstract
Purpose
This research seeks to provide methodological bases for the identification, documentation and critical reflection of good practices of architectural design in built heritage. These are applied explicitly to the School of Porto architects, which express a high sense of pedagogy and community practice in this field. The methodological approach defines the selection criteria for a georeferenced inventory and the procedures for in-depth analysis of adaptive reuse strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The works included in the inventory were selected according to geographical, chronological, typological, qualitative and quantitative criteria. The cases chosen for in-depth analysis have been studied along four thematic axes to dissect all the intervention processes (previous state, design/construction and final state). This approach is supported by a cross-analysis of different sources (oral, written, graphic) and using drawing as a fundamental research tool.
Findings
The research has collected and disseminated up to 150 works by 44 architects, providing a comprehensive portrait of heritage intervention by the School of Porto over the past decades. The selection of 22 buildings for in-depth documentation reveals a particular sensibility toward the cultural values through a case-by-case approach based in deep knowledge of the preexisting context and the introduction of contemporary additions in continuity and harmonious relation with the environmental and sociocultural context.
Originality/value
This work provides a novel methodology suitable for further extension and adaptation to other case studies, as a first contribution to a more comprehensive “Atlas of Architectural Design in Built Heritage” with European case studies. The research aims to introduce new and deeper perspectives on reference works that may constitute pedagogy for the future practice of architects within contextual, inclusive and sustainable approaches.
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Denise Morado Nascimento and Regina Maria Marteleto
The purpose of this paper is to understand the information phenomenon through the means of informational practice – the way of acting that gives identity to a group – in a social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the information phenomenon through the means of informational practice – the way of acting that gives identity to a group – in a social field and knowledge domain.
Design/methodology/approach
By relating Pierre Bourdieu's sociology of culture to the domain analysis approach of Birger Hjørland, the intention was to achieve a comprehensive interpretation of the structure which generates the discourse communities and, also, of the social structure from which they are derived. All of these form the conditions for understanding the efforts, objectives and interests of the actors in the social field that causes them to develop determined informational practices. The field of architecture was elected for analysis.
Findings
The conclusions show that both the products and subjects of a domain of knowledge, inserted in social fields, are expressions of their informational practice.
Research limitations/implications
The authors believe the theoretical model based on Bourdieu and Hjørland's concepts, here built to analyze the architecture domain, may be used to analyze other domains.
Originality/value
Domain analysis is employed as an approach to the study of the information aspects but here supported by the sociological concepts of Bourdieu. Thus, it is possible to understand what, how and why the informational practices are constituted inside a domain of knowledge, and, fundamentally, interpret the historical, cultural, and social dimensions that influence the construction of information.
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Francisco Villarreal-Valderrama, Carlos Santana Delgado, Patricia Del Carmen Zambrano-Robledo and Luis Amezquita-Brooks
Reducing fuel consumption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during transient operation is a cornerstone to achieve environment-friendly operations. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Reducing fuel consumption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during transient operation is a cornerstone to achieve environment-friendly operations. The purpose of this paper is to develop a control scheme that improves the fuel economy of a turbojet in its full operating envelope.
Design/methodology/approach
A novel direct-thrust linear quadratic integral (LQI) approach, comprised by an optimal observer/controller satisfying specified performance parameters, is presented. The thrust estimator, based in a Wiener model, is validated with the experimental data of a micro-turbojet. Model uncertainty is characterized by analyzing variations between the identified model and measured data. The resulting uncertainty range is used to verify closed-loop stability with the circle criterion. The proposed controller provides stable responses with the specified performance in the whole operating range, even with after considering plant nonlinearities. Finally, the direct-thrust LQI is compared with a standard thrust controller to assess fuel economy and performance.
Findings
The direct-thrust LQI approach reduced the fuel consumption by 2.1090% in the most realistic scenario. The controllers were also evaluated using the environmental effect parameter (EEP) and transient-thrust-specific fuel consumption (T-TSFC). These novel metrics are proposed to evaluate the environmental impact during transient-thrust operations. The direct-thrust LQI approach has a more efficient fuel consumption according to these metrics. The results also show that isolating the thrust dynamics within the feedback loop has an important impact in fuel economy. Controllers were also evaluated using the EEP and T-TSFC. These novel metrics are proposed to evaluate the environmental impact during transient-thrust operations. The direct-thrust LQI approach has a more efficient fuel consumption according to these metrics. The results also show that isolating the thrust dynamics within the feedback loop has an important impact in fuel economy.
Originality/value
This study shows the design of an effective direct-thrust control approach that minimizes fuel consumption, ensures stable responses for the full operation range, allows isolating the thrust dynamics when designing the controller and is compatible with classical robustness and performance metrics. Finally, the study shows that a simple controller can reduce the fuel consumption of the turbojet during transient operation in scenarios that approximate realistic operating conditions.