Search results

Describes a research project in which a cotton twill fabric was subjected to various finishing treatments. Then the level of puckering of finished fabrics before and after washing was evaluated subjectively. Simultaneously, by means of the KES‐F instruments, all the mechanical properties of these samples were determined, and the results were used to calculate their formability and sewability. All the results were then analysed by means of the multivariate method. Concludes that a higher level of sewability generally offers samples without puckering as well as higher values of 2HB, 2HG and 2HG5, and to some extent higher levels of B and G also.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues of accountability, social responsibility and law related with local action groups (LAGs) to achieve local economic and sustainable development.

The literature review justifies the conceptual frame of the issues under discussion. Thus, on the one hand, the LEADER+ programme system statistics were used and, on the other hand, the Portuguese Government and European Union laws, regulations and official documents were used.

LAGs represent civil society in its various aspects and interests, assuming many times as privileged partners of the State, strengthening the rights of individual citizens against the political and economic power. Also, the LAGs as partners have specific local conditions, such as historical, social and cultural identities, governance and geography, that should be equally considered.

The results of the paper show accountability limitations, but the LAG is developed as a source of indispensable and fundamental information for the decision‐making process of local sustainability.

LAGs sometimes, forgetting their real purpose, follow socially responsible practices, often, to apply the strict compliance with the law, regulations and norms, even if social responsibility strategies are arguably recognized as crucial to promote economic success, social and life quality, and environmental sustainability.

The challenges of local development in which the citizen, firms, entities and policy makers are merged need sophisticated and comprehensive strategies and socially responsible best practices to promote the welfare of the society.

This paper identifies case studies that highlight different strategic approaches to recognize the importance of the LAGs in the implementation of sustainable policies and social responsibility strategies. Also, different levels of accountability, social responsibility and law are applied and promoted by LAG.

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.

Most research and development (R&D) activities in Brazil are performed by science and technology institutions (STIs). The purpose of this research was to determine whether environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) developed by these organizations were transferred to companies, either through cooperation during research or through mechanisms such as licensing agreements or spin-offs.

In total, 1,939 research groups and 702 patent registers, identified from the same set of words related to ESTs, using semantic search in open-access databases, covering a period from 2005 to 2014, were examined. The two data sets (patents and research groups) were overlaid, and it was possible to associate inventors’ names with researchers’ names.

The results showed that only six patents could be related to the 1,939 identified research groups. Of the six patents, only one was the object of a licensing agreement, and no spin-off was identified.

This study evidenced that it is necessary to expand the mechanisms of knowledge transfer, directed not only from STIs to companies but also in the opposite direction, given that companies recognize potential market opportunities.

This study shows that improvements in the Brazilian National Innovation System are necessary, as ESTs research groups demonstrated a weak association with technologies transferred to companies, with only one case of technology transfer in the form of a licensing agreement.

Individuals’ intentional responses to declining job satisfaction have been associated with the EVLN model. Employees’ silence, as an independent construct, can be understood as an individual, intentional and deliberate decision to retain important information for the organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze employees’ silence, which can be understood as a fifth individual response to job satisfaction declining, along with the remaining four responses proposed in the EVLN model. It is proposed as an extension to the original model through the introduction of employee silence; the model is referred to as the EVLNS model.

The present study is quantitative, hypothetical-deductive, correlational and transversal. The sample is composed of 756 professionals working in the higher education sector. The paper used structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses to test its hypotheses.

Results showed that employees’ silence has a dual factorial structure, which is composed of an adhesion dimension and a rejection dimension. The study also finds that these two dimensions can be integrated as an extension of the original EVLN model. It is found that, although they are related, these dimensions also capture a certain degree of independence, with different levels of influence of job satisfaction.

An important implication is that silence is a complex phenomenon, suggesting that this is more than the simple absence of voice and may have different motives. Additionally, it is important to emphasize that job satisfaction can contribute to different individual responses and managers must act accordingly.

The study contributes to a better understanding of the individuals’ potential responses to declining job satisfaction through the extension of the original EVLN model with the introduction of a fifth response – the employees’ silence.

As respostas intencionais dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação com o trabalho têm sido associadas ao Modelo EVLN. O silêncio dos colaboradores, enquanto construto independente de outros, pode ser entendido como uma decisão intencional e deliberada do indivíduo em reter informação importante para a organização. Pretende-se analisar medida o silêncio dos colaboradores pode ser entendido como uma resposta dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação com o trabalho, a par das restantes quatro estratégias propostas no Modelo EVLN. Propõe-se uma extensão ao modelo original através da introdução do silêncio denominando-se assim de modelo EVLNS.

O presente estudo caracteriza-se pela sua componente quantitativa, hipotético-dedutiva, correlacional e transversal. A amostra é construída 756 profissionais que atuam no sector do ensino superior. Os dados foram analisados fazendo recurso à técnica da modelagem por equações estruturais.

Os resultados demonstraram que o silêncio dos colaboradores apresenta uma estrutura fatorial dual, composta por uma dimensão de adesão e uma de rejeição e que estas duas dimensões correspondem à expansão do modelo original EVLN sobre as respostas deliberadas dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação. Verifica-se assim que estas respostas apresar de relacionadas apresentam um determinado grau de independência nomeadamente pelos diferentes graus de influência da satisfação com o trabalho.

Uma importante implicação deste estudo é o facto do silêncio ser um fenómeno complexo, sugerindo-se que este é mais que a simples ausência da voz e que pode ter diferentes motivos. Adicionalmente, destaca-se também a importância reforçar que a satisfação com o trabalho poderá contribuir para diferentes respostas dos indivíduos, devendo os gestores atuar em conformidade.

O estudo contribui com um melhor entendimento das potenciais respostas dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação, nomeadamente através da extensão do modelo original com a introdução de uma quinta estratégia – o silêncio dos colaboradores.

Silêncio dos colaboradores, Modelo EVLN, Voz, Saída, Lealdade, Satisfação com o Trabalho

Trabalho de investigação

Las respuestas intencionales de los individuos a la disminución de la satisfacción laboral se han asociado con el Modelo EVLN. El silencio de los empleados, como constructo independiente, puede entenderse como una decisión individual, intencional y deliberada de retener información importante para la organización. Nuestro objetivo es analizar el silencio de los empleados, que puede entenderse como una quinta respuesta individual a la disminución de la satisfacción laboral, junto con las cuatro respuestas restantes propuestas en el Modelo EVLN. Se propone como una extensión del modelo original a través de la introducción del silencio de los empleados; el modelo se conoce como el modelo EVLNS.

El presente estudio es cuantitativo, hipotético-deductivo, correlacional y transversal. La muestra está compuesta por 756 profesionales que trabajan en el sector de la educación superior. El artículo utilizó análisis de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para probar sus hipótesis.

los resultados mostraron que el silencio de los empleados tiene una estructura factorial dual, que se compone de una dimensión de adhesión y una dimensión de rechazo. El estudio también encuentra que estas dos dimensiones se pueden integrar como una extensión del modelo EVLN original. Se observa que, aunque están relacionadas, estas dimensiones poseen un cierto grado de independencia, con diferentes niveles de influencia de la satisfacción laboral.

una implicación importante es que el silencio es un fenómeno complejo, lo que sugiere que esto es más que la simple ausencia de voz y puede tener diferentes motivos. Además, es importante enfatizar que la satisfacción laboral puede contribuir a diferentes respuestas individuales y que los gerentes deben actuar en consecuencia.

el estudio contribuye a una mejor comprensión de las posibles respuestas de los individuos a la disminución de la satisfacción en el trabajo mediante la extensión del modelo EVLN original con la introducción de una quinta respuesta: el silencio de los empleados.

Silencio de los empleados, Modelo EVLN, Voz, Salida, Lealtad, Satisfacción laboral

Trabajo de investigacion

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of acai pulp consumption on biometric parameters and inflammatory biomarkers (sCD40L, CCL5, TNF-a and CRP) in apparently healthy women.

Nutritional intervention was performed with women who consumed 200 g of acai pulp daily during 30 consecutive days. Firstly, they were divided into two groups: normal weight and overweight related to BMI. Then, such volunteers were subdivided into other two groups according to values below or above the median of sCD40L.

sCD40L (ρg/mL) concentrations increased in overweight volunteers post-consumption of acai (964 ± 542) compared with the same volunteers pre-consumption of acai (633 ± 187, p = 0.03), and the CCL5 concentrations (ρg/mL) decreased in volunteers with sCD40L concentrations below median after the treatment (4.1 ± 1.5) when compared in same volunteers before the treatment (5.8 ± 1.8, p = 0.02). Protein consumption (g) reduced in volunteers with sCD40L concentrations below median after the intervention (96.6 ± 44.5), when compared before the intervention (96.7 ± 33.8, p = 0.03).

This paper concluded that the acai consumption can modulate the inflammatory profile in both stratified volunteers according to the BMI and the sCD40L marker median.

The purpose of this paper is to explore employees’ perceptions about customers’ reactions to mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In particular, the aim is to explore how M&A in the banking sector affects the relationship between customers and the financial entity in a real-life context.

Using a case analysis methodology, this paper investigates the most important cases of M&A that occurred between 54 retail banks and saving banks in the Spanish market between 2009 and 2014. To do so, 36 face-to-face exploratory interviews were conducted amongst a sample of employees selected through a purposive sampling technique.

The perceptions of the employees about the impact of the M&A on customer relationship development suggest that financial M&A negatively affect prices, the location and closeness of the branches, and the routines of the financial activity, and positively affect products and services offered after the M&A.

Given that the objective is to explore perceptions rather than test them, despite being insightful, the results of this study should be generalised with caution.

This paper explores customer responses and attitudes towards financial M&A from the point of view of marketing. This paper considers the effect that M&A changes generate on consumer satisfaction and bank−client long-term relationships.

Service quality (SQ) has become an essential and indispensable component in healthcare and many other industries. SQ can deliver guaranteed stakeholder value and consequent consumer delight in the healthcare sector. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships of various SERVQUAL elements with respect to the SQ of surgical instrument suppliers among surgeons.

Data were collected from a sample of 112 surgeons working in the USA using the “snowball sampling” technique. A few standardised questionnaires, including SERQUAL, were used to collect the data. R-programming was used to perform structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis on the collected data.

The research study identified that service delivery factors and the SQ of surgical instruments contribute significantly towards medical practitioner sensitivity in the US healthcare industry. Word of mouth (WOM) did not have any significant impact on the medical practitioners' sensitivity.

A review of related literature revealed that studies that examine the surgeon's perspectives of SQ are scarce. Thus, the present study is directed towards this gap in literature. The findings of the study are significant in nature and have made a substantial contribution to management literature.

The use of citation analysis to identify the first 100 articles on malaria offers unique insights into understanding the disease and subsequent follow-up treatment innovations over time. In this study, the 100 most-cited articles on malaria were analyzed, and key studies were highlighted.

The data of the most-cited articles for the period of four decades were extracted from the Web of Science database. The search terms malaria, plasmodium infection and remittent fever were used to identify the related articles for the study.

The preliminary data of the 100 most-cited articles were recorded and analyzed. The total number of retrieved articles was 55,517. Dondrop and colleagues wrote the most-cited articles focusing on a new treatment for falciparum malaria resistant to existing medications. The author, with the most publications, was N. J. White. The most-cited articles on malaria were published in 35 journals. The USA had published most of the influential articles, while the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit was the leading institute active in malaria research. The experimental method was the most frequent method used by the most-cited articles. There was a significant relationship between the number of authors, the presence of the corresponding author on Research Gate, the availability of the full text of the article on Research Gate, the impact factor of the journal in which the article was published and the international collaboration of authors and the number of citations on malaria. The most influential authors, countries, institutes, journals and articles were specified. Most of the notable articles on malaria were published in journals with high impact factors. A group of journals was introduced as the core journals.

It was found that having co-authors, the presence of the corresponding author on Research Gate, the availability of the full text of the article on Research Gate, the impact factor of the journal in which the article was published and international collaboration contributed to the publication of high-quality scientific products. Updated information on malaria is needed to present and expand the screening strategies to improve health and reduce burden of malaria.

This study examines the effect of various attributes of leadership and teams, modeled as perceived e-leadership and perceived team dynamics on virtual team (VT) performance in a public organization.

Using a survey instrument, data were collected from 184 participants involved in a virtual workplace from one of the largest Canadian public organizations. This study uses PLS-SEM software and quantitative methods.

This research identified that perceived team dynamics, which includes team member behavior, collaboration and support, has a significant medium effect on VT member performance. However, perceived e-leadership, which includes leaders' trust, leader communication/co-ordination and leader behavior, has a significant small effect on VT performance.

This study contribute to literature on VTs and VT's performance specially in public organizations. As the existing literature on employee performance has mainly focused on private organizations, and more so on VTs. However, little is known about VTs in public organizations and specifically about their performance.