José Carvalho Ferreira, Eduardo Santos, Hugo Madureira and João Castro
To provide an innovative way for manufacturing in which the integration of rapid technologies is simultaneously used methodologically in real‐time for the rapid product and…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an innovative way for manufacturing in which the integration of rapid technologies is simultaneously used methodologically in real‐time for the rapid product and process development (RPPD).
Design/methodology/approach
A range of related works are discussed and an experimental implementation of the RPPD methodology is described for composite functional prototype design and rapid manufacturing (RM). The simultaneous integration of VP/RP/RT/RE/RM technologies consolidates a powerful methodology to achieve the RPPD objectives.
Findings
The RPPD developed methodology takes advantage of both virtual prototyping (VP) and physical prototypes made by rapid prototyping (RP) technology to evaluate performances and design ergonomic aspects. The increasing needs to reduce lead‐time and costs have direct converting RP in rapid tooling (RT) technology for RM. Furthermore, to verify the parts and tools geometry accuracy the simultaneous use of scanning techniques for metrology control aided by reverse engineering (RE) as allow decreasing the RPPD time.
Originality/value
This paper evaluated RPPD results and the metrology control plotted in error distribution function and cumulative error distribution histograms validate the best practice developed that industrial manufacturers could implement allowing time and costs reductions.
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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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José Marcelo Honório Ferreira Barros, Sálvio Lima de Carvalho Neto, Ana Julia Dal Forno, Rita de Cássia Siqueira Curto Valle and José Alexandre Borges Valle
The primary goal of domestic washing and drying processes is to deliver clean and dry clothes, but they often result in excessive wrinkling of fabrics. This study aims to evaluate…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary goal of domestic washing and drying processes is to deliver clean and dry clothes, but they often result in excessive wrinkling of fabrics. This study aims to evaluate the wrinkling of linen fabric using image processing techniques after these processes and to quantify various drying performance indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
An image processing software was developed to quantify the smoothness level of linen fabrics subjected to domestic washing and drying processes. Additionally, different washing parameters in a front-loading washer that affect fabric wrinkling were evaluated. Three drying cycles (easy-iron, normal and extra-dry) in a condensation dryer were also analyzed in terms of moisture and fabric wrinkling parameters.
Findings
The results demonstrated a close relationship between water extraction from the fabrics and wrinkle formation. The shortest drying cycle with milder temperatures produced wetter and less wrinkled fabrics at the end of the drying cycle. Conversely, the longer, higher-temperature programs completely removed the moisture from the linen fabrics but resulted in greater wrinkling.
Originality/value
The development of an image processing technique to quantify the wrinkling of linen fabric allowed for more objective evaluation of this parameter. Additionally, this study allowed for the correlation of various drying indicators with the wrinkling generated in the linen fabric.
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Silvia Midori Saito, Mariane Carvalho de Assis Dias, Daniela Ferreira Ribeiro, Regina Célia dos Santos Alvalá, Daiane Batista de Souza, Rodrigo Amorim Souza de Moraes Santana, Pilar Amadeu de Souza, Júlia Vicente Martins Ribeiro and Claudio Stenner
This paper aims to shed some light on the distribution of population, living in disaster risk areas in Brazil, on the intra-urban scale. The following three aspects are evaluated…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to shed some light on the distribution of population, living in disaster risk areas in Brazil, on the intra-urban scale. The following three aspects are evaluated in this paper: the distribution of exposed population according to municipal size classification; the population density in disaster risk areas; and the municipal human development classification for the municipalities with disaster risk areas.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on an explorative approach. The main database used is a result of the association of landslide and flood risk areas to demographic census, available for 825 Brazilian municipalities. Additional databases were integrated to characterize disaster risk management and municipal human development.
Findings
The results revealed that the population exposed to disaster areas is concentrated within the capitals and small cities in the country. Moreover, disaster risk areas are densely populated even in small cities, suggesting that it is a reality faced not only by the larger cities. Finally, disaster risk areas exist even inside municipalities with a high level of human development.
Practical implications
These findings could contribute to the understanding of the spatialisation of disaster risk in Brazil, a primordial step for the reduction of human losses.
Originality/value
A novel perspective about the Brazilian population exposed to disaster risk was obtained, revealing a current issue faced by the municipalities independent of the size classification and level of human development.
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Rui Vinhas da Silva, Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes, Helena Carvalho and José Duarte
The net outward investment position (NOIP) indicator is insufficient for the purposes of understanding firms’ internationalization decision-making behaviour. The indicator does…
Abstract
Purpose
The net outward investment position (NOIP) indicator is insufficient for the purposes of understanding firms’ internationalization decision-making behaviour. The indicator does not allow for the withdrawal of insights into the structure of an economy and is a weak predictor of the degree of foreign direct investment. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a typology of firms aggregated according to intrinsic characteristics of those firms is a better predictor of the degree of internationalization of an economy than the NOIP.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a database of 2,133 firms located in Portugal with international operations, made available by AICEP, a government agency. This paper uses multiple correspondence and cluster analyses to build a typology of firms and obtains evidence of common characteristics of the constituent groups.
Findings
This paper identifies a typology of firms characterized by five types differentiated by firm age, length of internationalization process, sector of economic activity, legal status and psychological/cultural proximity. These variables suggest an evolutionary, iterative, self-learning approach to internationalization, which can be better explained by the combined use of the investment development path (IDP) framework, the Uppsala Evolutionary School and Vernon’s product life cycle theory. Additionally, this paper finds that the most striking differences between developed and developing host countries are in terms of the economic sector, legal status of the firm and belonging (or not) to an economic group.
Originality/value
This paper establishes a link between the IDP framework, the Uppsala Evolutionary School and Vernon’s product life cycle theory, using a categorization of firms made according to selected characteristics to understand the internationalization of firms.
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Cristiane Oliveira Viana, Hermes Carvalho, José Correia, Pedro Aires Montenegro, Raphael Pedrosa Heleno, Guilherme Santana Alencar, Abilio M.P. de Jesus and Rui Calçada
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fatigue process through the dynamic analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling in a critical detail using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fatigue process through the dynamic analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling in a critical detail using the hot-spot stress approach. The detail was studied in three different positions at the “Alcácer do Sal” access viaduct, and the methodologies from the IIW and Eurocode EN 1993-1-9 were compared.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the fatigue life process based on the hot-spot stress approach was evaluated using a global dynamic analysis and a local sub-modelling based on a static analysis of welded connections in the “Alcácer do Sal” railway structure, Portugal, taking into consideration the recommendations from IIW and Eurocode EN 1993-1-9. The hot-spot stresses were calculated through the static analysis of the sub-model of the welded connection for each vibration mode with the aim to obtain the temporal stresses using the modal coordinates and modal stresses of the extrapolation points. The Ansys® and Matlab® softwares were used for the numerical analysis and the hot-spot stress calculations, respectively.
Findings
The proposed methodology/approach to obtain fatigue assessment is based on the modal analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling. The modal analysis was used to extract the boundary conditions to be used in the local model to determine the temporal stresses of the extrapolation points. Based on the modal superposition method, the stresses as function of time were obtained for fatigue life evaluation of a critical detail by the hot-spot stress approach. The detail was studied in three different positions.
Originality/value
In the present study, a global-local fatigue methodology based on dynamic analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling of the critical detail using the hot-spot stress approach is proposed. Herein, the modal analysis of the global structural model supported by the modal superposition method was used to obtain the matrix of modal coordinates. The static analysis of the local sub-model for each mode from the modal analysis of global structural model was done to estimate the hot-spot stresses. The fatigue damage calculation was based on S-N curve of the critical detail and rainflow method. The IIW recommendation proved to be more conservative compared to the proposed rules in the Eurocode EN 1993-1-9. The global-local modelling based on dynamic analysis is an important and effective tool for fatigue evaluation in welded joints.
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Clóvis Reis and Yanet María Reimondo Barrios
This chapter presents a comparative study of the trends and patterns of communication and tourism research in Brazil and the United States over the last 20 years. Through a…
Abstract
This chapter presents a comparative study of the trends and patterns of communication and tourism research in Brazil and the United States over the last 20 years. Through a bibliometric analysis of the CAPES and EBSCO databases, the study identifies the main theoretical and methodological references, classifies the fundamental themes in the area, and describes the role of communication for tourism. The results indicate the predominance in North American scientific literature of research related to the image and the brand of the tourist destinations, as well as the measurement and the evaluation of the communicative strategies. On the other hand, Brazilian research presents a greater diversity of approaches: destination image studies, tourism consumption, tourist narrative analysis, identities, social networks, community-based tourism, sports, and ecological tourism, with an explicit recognition of the dangers of sexual objectification and dehumanization within tourism. The survey showed that the scientific community has a strong interest in this area, signaling a search for knowledge to deepen the conceptual understanding of the subject. Thus, this chapter provides insights regarding the opportunities and directions for the next decades of research in this field of study.
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Elisabete Correia, Susana Garrido Azevedo and Helena Carvalho
In recent years, there has been a growing importance of sustainability communication and the role of the Internet in contemporary corporate communication that has allowed the…
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing importance of sustainability communication and the role of the Internet in contemporary corporate communication that has allowed the diversification of information dissemination tools. Thus, the objective of this study is to determine the quantity and nature of the content of the information related to sustainability disclosed through the corporate website of Portuguese metal mould companies. The results obtained based on the content analysis seem to indicate that the number of metal mould companies that discloses sustainability information is quite low. Those who disclose information are in a very limited way whether in quantity or in relation to the type of information disclosed. Considering the various dimensions of sustainability, the information disclosed about environmental and social aspects is scarce. The focus is on aspects related to the economic dimension, particularly in the areas related to products and services and customers.
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Ricardo Terranova Favalli, Alexandre Gori Maia and Jose Maria Ferreira Jardim da Silveira
This paper aims to evaluate the relation between governance and financial efficiency of credit unions in Brazil. The study shows how poor financial efficiency in credit unions may…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the relation between governance and financial efficiency of credit unions in Brazil. The study shows how poor financial efficiency in credit unions may result from undesirable configurations in executive management and other variables related to governance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study develops an innovative methodology to classify credit unions according to the level of governance using indicators of representativeness and participation, leadership, management and supervision. This methodology integrates the use of multiple correspondence and cluster analysis. The study then applies stochastic frontier models to analyze how governance affects the indicators of financial efficiency.
Findings
The results highlight that better governance substantially increases the efficiency of credit unions in terms of a higher level of credit operations per institution.
Originality/value
The paper uses a pioneering survey applied by the Central Bank to almost the total population of credit unions in Brazil. The results highlight how to operationalize a subjective and broad concept related to cooperative governance to identify the remarkable impacts of good governance practices on the financial efficiency of credit unions.
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Cláudia Barbosa, Filipa Borrego, Teresa Costa, Ana Ferreira, Madalena Martins, Susana Moreira, José M. R. C. A. Santos and José Avelino Silva
This chapter addresses the profession of research management and administration (RMA) in Portugal. It starts with a brief outline of the national research and innovation (R&I…
Abstract
This chapter addresses the profession of research management and administration (RMA) in Portugal. It starts with a brief outline of the national research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem that contextualises the development of the profession. The RMA community is characterised and the expectations for the future of the RMA profession are summarised using data collected through a national online survey. It is posited that RMA in Portugal is an emergent career having developed key traits of a profession, namely common interests and practices, a concern with deepening specialised knowledge and skills, the existence of an organised network of practitioners, the offer of academic qualifications and training in the area, and the integration in international RMA communities of practice. Nevertheless, future developments in the European Research Area (ERA) are identified as a critical milestone that will influence the development and formal legislative institutionalisation of the RMA profession in Portugal.