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This work seeks to present the theoretical study considerations and the characteristics of a general design methodology in optimal time for electronic systems using numerical methods and optimal control theory. Through this, the design problem of a system is formulated in terms of optimal control in minimal time.

This general design methodology includes the traditional design strategy (TDS), and the modified traditional design strategy (MTDS), where the model of the system is part of the optimization procedure but an objective function of the optimization process is constructed such as includes the traditional objective function and some penalty functions that feign the model of the system. Many special control functions are introduced artificially to generalize the methodology and produce several design trajectories for the same optimization process – the first and final trajectories correspond to TDS and MTDS, respectively. The combination of these trajectories produce an infinite number of design strategies, some of these are quasi‐optimal in time and only one is optimal in time.

Qualitative and numeric results of this iterative process are generated in a personal computer in a C++ language elaborated with a visual C++ graphic user interface. An algorithm is constructed to form an optimal in time design strategy switching from a MTDS subset to a TDS subset. Results of measured times are analyzed, showing that there is a control input U, such that the objective function is minimized in a minimum time.

These ideas are proposed using method of gradient optimization and special acceleration effect.

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.

This study aimed to understand how administrative employees of an oil company perceive the role of software solutions in their routines.

Starting from an interpretive perspective, we used the phenomenographic method to analyze software solutions based on users’ experience, by means of 20 interviews carried out between November 2020 and May 2021.

Interviewees ranked the function of software solutions in their routines in three categories: (1) information repository; (2) orchestration mechanism and (3) guidelines for action. Four explanatory dimensions were identified: (1) artifact performance; (2) configuration between actors; (3) degree of automation and (4) accountability aspects.

The results expand knowledge on the role of software solutions in organizations. As players consider software essential to their routines, human agency in actions tends to decrease. Furthermore, the incorporation of digital elements in routines varies, based on how actors perceive their integration, from external tools to dominant elements that shape actions.

Respecting the autonomy of the actors involved in automated routines; ideally, automating routine steps that add value to the process.

The study explores the function of software solutions in organizational routines through the phenomenographic approach, presenting different concepts of that event.

To meet the consumer demand for a healthier diet, this study emphasizes the feasibility of using vegetable oil gelled emulsions in low-fat industrialized burgers with high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAS). Commercial canola and olive oils have been tested as a relatively inexpensive source of PUFAS.

Beef burgers were reformulated by replacing (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) pork back-fat with two carrageenan gelled emulsions of vegetable oils (canola and olive oil). The technological characteristics, sensorial properties and the fatty acid profile of reformulated burgers were evaluated.

Moisture content and cooking loss increased and fat and protein contents reduced with higher replacements. Oxidative stability was not affected and replacements of up to 75% did not affect the burger's acceptance. A total fat content reduction of 40% was achieved in burgers with 100% back-fat replacement, improving its nutrient value by increasing the ω−6/ω−3 ratio and decreasing the saturated fatty acids content (in 47%) and the atherogenic (from 0.61 to 0.22) and thrombogenic (from 1.29 to 0.65) indexes. Replacing up to 75% with canola oil gelled emulsion is a promising approach in the design of healthier industrial low-fat burgers.

Due to the association of some diseases with the consumption of products rich in saturated fat, the industry looks for alternatives not only to reduce the fat content but also to modify the fatty acid profile in meat products. This study further confirms the possibility of using carrageenan gelled fat replacer in industrialized burgers formulated with meat and other ingredients/additives commonly used to provide economic benefit. Also, confirms the feasibility to use commercial vegetable oils with relatively cheap cost than ω−3 rich oils as the oil phase in the gelled emulsion.

In the classic recency‐frequency‐monetary value (RFV or RFM) approach to market segmentation, customers are grouped together into an arbitrary number of segments according to data on their most recent day of purchase (R), the number of buying orders placed (F) and the total monetary value of their purchases (V). The purpose of this paper is to show how to select the order in which the RFV dimensions are applied to data and choose the number of segments and the time frame used in such a way as to maximize the results of direct marketing campaigns.

A “genetically” optimized RFV model is built from data collected from a real world direct marketing campaign. The results produced when it is used are compared with the results yielded without the use of any forecasting method at all and with the support of a widely used basic RFV model.

Not only does the new model provide better results, but it is also easy to build and allows for the introduction of new dimensions that may improve its performance even further.

The new model improves the cost‐effectiveness of direct marketing campaigns by permitting more accurate identification of a company's most valuable customers and improving the quality of communication with its customers. It can thereby help them to become more competitive and profitable. This has clear implications for the gathering of marketing intelligence and planning of marketing strategies.

Although genetic algorithms have been shown to be powerful tools for problem solving, their use in marketing has been little reported. This work is a step towards bridging that gap. The genetically optimized RFV model is a new contribution to direct and relationship marketing, generating a positive qualitative and quantitative impact on the way companies relate to their customers.

This chapter analyzes events leading to the collapse of President Dilma Rousseff’s parliamentary base that are essential for understanding the impeachment process in 2016. First, it assesses structural factors shaping the Brazilian political system and the adaptation strategy of Lula da Silva’s government in its relationship with the National Congress. Next, it analyzes the changing relationship between Dilma Rousseff’s government and Congress, especially the House of Representatives, as the main locus for presidential impeachment actions.

This study aims to examine the extant literature to analyze the relationship between quality assurance (QA) and innovation in the higher education context.

This study selected 63 articles through a systematic literature review in Scopus and Web of Science databases and performed a descriptive and thematic synthesis-analysis on the sample.

The research identifies several perspectives discussed on QA systems covering experiences, criticisms and practice implications. The literature review shows there is no clear consensus on whether innovation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is fostered or hindered by QA processes. However, it seems that the likelihood of innovativeness and positive QA outcomes are directly linked to how these processes are managed in universities.

This review highlights the university management concerns that emerge with QA issues as it is not yet clear to what extent innovation is actually promoted in scenarios where QA is applied. Hence, this literature review could be considered comprehensive but not exhaustive. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of how HEIs can both innovate and ensure quality at the same time.

The paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by advancing the opportunities and challenges that HEIs face due to QA system features.

Housing prices in Brazil have displayed an impressive growth in recent years, raising some concerns about the existence of a bubble in housing markets. In this paper, the authors implement an empirical methodology to identify whether or not there is a bubble in housing markets in Brazil.

Based on a theoretical model that establish that, in the absence of a bubble, a long-run equilibrium relationship should be observed between the market price of an asset and its dividends. The authors implement two methodologies. First, the authors assess whether there is a cointegration relationship between housing prices and housing rental prices. Second, the authors test whether the price-to-rent ratio is stationary.

The authors’ results show that there is evidence of a bubble in housing prices in Brazil. However, given the short span of the data, the authors perform a Monte Carlo simulation and show that the cointegration tests may be biased in small samples. Therefore, the authors should be caution when assessing the results.

The results obtained from the cointegration analysis can be biased for small samples.

The information on the excessive increase of the prices of the properties in relation to their fundamental value can help in the decision-making on investment of the economic agents.

These results corroborate the hypothesis that Brazil has an excessive appreciation in housing prices, and, as Silva and Besarria (2018) have suggested, this behavior explains, in part, the fact that the central bank has taken this issue into account when deciding about the stance of monetary policy of Brazil.

The originality is linked to the use of the Gregory-Hansen method of cointegration in the identification of bubbles and discussion of the limitations of the research through Monte Carlo simulation.

Motivated by the advancements in the discussions of environmental, social, and governance globally, this study aims to improve the knowledge of corporate sustainability motivations and engagement through a qualitative cross-company case study analysis of two consumer goods multinationals, Natura & Co. headquartered in Brazil, and The Coca-Cola Company, headquartered in the USA. The cases were chosen to compare the two companies’ corporate sustainable development (SD) motivations, one headquartered in an emerging and the other in a developed country. This study also assesses the balance between these corporations’ global and local sustainability agendas, comparing their worldwide engagement promises to their actual deliveries vis-à-vis national-institutional arrangements. As contributions to the field, comparing the cases surfaced valuable insights and additional theoretical abstractions on corporate sustainability, including proposing a new SD-engagement typology.