Luís Leite, Daniel Rodrigues dos Santos and Fernando Almeida
This paper aims to explore the changes imposed by the general data protection regulation (GDPR) on software engineering practices. The fundamental objective is to have a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the changes imposed by the general data protection regulation (GDPR) on software engineering practices. The fundamental objective is to have a perception of the practices and phases that have experienced the greatest changes. Additionally, it aims to identify a set of good practices that can be adopted by software engineering companies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a qualitative methodology through four case studies involving Portuguese software engineering companies. Two of these companies are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) while the other remaining two are micro-companies. The thematic analysis is adopted to identify patterns in the performed interviews.
Findings
The findings indicate that significant changes have occurred at all stages of software development. In particular, the initial stages of identifying requirements and modeling processes were the stages that experienced the greatest changes. On the opposite, the technical development phase has not noticeably changed but, nevertheless, it is necessary to look at the importance of training software developers for GDPR rules and practices.
Research limitations/implications
Two relevant limitations were identified as follows: only four case studies involving micro-companies and SMEs were considered, and only the traditional software development methodology was considered. The use of agile methodologies was not explored in this study and the findings can only be mainly applied to the waterfall model.
Originality/value
This study offers mainly practical contributions by identifying a set of challenges that are posed to software engineering companies by the implementation of GDPR. Through their knowledge, it is expected to help these companies to better prepare themselves and anticipate the challenges they will necessarily face.
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This chapter seeks to describe the successive stages in the training and recruitment of economists at the service of the political regime that ruled over Portugal between 1926 and…
Abstract
This chapter seeks to describe the successive stages in the training and recruitment of economists at the service of the political regime that ruled over Portugal between 1926 and 1974. This chapter presents the main institutional settings for the education and practices of those who served the government in economic functions throughout this period. Its main aim is to show the changes that occurred in the understanding of the problems related with the development of the Portuguese economy, seeking to elucidate the processes of legitimation of an authoritarian regime, but also to show the signs of a critical break with a model of economic and social organization and a political regime that had reached the point of exhaustion.
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Sandra Leonara Obregon, Luis Felipe Dias Lopes, Wesley Vieira da Silva, Deoclécio Junior Cardoso da Silva, Bratriz Leite Gustmann de Castro, Nuvea Kuhn, Maria Emilia Camargo and Claudimar Pereira da Veiga
This study aims to investigate the impact of spirituality, spiritual experiences, religiosity, efficacy and job engagement among Brazilian university professors, particularly…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of spirituality, spiritual experiences, religiosity, efficacy and job engagement among Brazilian university professors, particularly focusing on the implications for social responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered from a nonprobability sample of academics from private and public universities in Brazil during periods of crisis using a standardized survey. The study used partial least squares structural equation modeling as the method for data analysis.
Findings
The study identified robust correlations between daily spiritual experiences (DSE), spirituality and job engagement and efficacy. Additionally, an indirect effect of religiosity on these variables was identified, mediated via DSE. Religiosity was found to impact spiritual experiences and spirituality. The results identified a direct influence of spirituality on work vigor and self-efficiency. However, the study revealed no significant indirect relationship between religiosity, job engagement and efficacy when mediated solely through spirituality.
Research limitations/implications
This study is primarily limited by its sampling method and Brazil’s cultural context, potentially affecting the generalizability of the findings. Future research should include a more diverse demographic and extend beyond the Brazilian context to various cultural settings. Despite these limitations, the study provides valuable insights for managers leveraging religiosity, spiritual experiences and spirituality to create a more inclusive workplace. Emphasizing these aspects can help foster an environment that respects and accommodates employees’ diverse religious and spiritual beliefs, enhancing workplace harmony and engagement.
Practical implications
The findings are relevant for university administrations and policymakers. Recognizing the role of spirituality, spiritual experiences and religiosity in academic engagement can guide the development of more supportive, inclusive and socially responsible work environments.
Social implications
This research underscores the social responsibility of educational institutions to consider and integrate their faculty members’ spiritual and religious dimensions, especially during times of crisis. It highlights how these aspects can significantly influence engagement and efficacy, contributing to a more holistic approach to employee well-being and organizational culture.
Originality/value
This study brings a novel contribution to the dialogue around social responsibility in academia by associating religiosity, spiritual experiences and spirituality with job engagement and effectiveness during a global crisis. It highlights the importance of these personal dimensions in the professional environment, particularly in times of elevated stress and uncertainty.
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The chapter seeks to reflect on the dynamics of the reconstruction of family farming and peasant agriculture in agrarian reform settlements (“assentamentos”) in Brazil, exploring…
Abstract
The chapter seeks to reflect on the dynamics of the reconstruction of family farming and peasant agriculture in agrarian reform settlements (“assentamentos”) in Brazil, exploring the limits and potential of government food purchases from family farming, particularly the Food Acquisition Program (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos – PAA), in the creation of alternative paths of rural development. The work analyzes the different strategies through which farmers and their organizations mobilize public policy instruments and market connections, expanding their room for maneuver and agency capacity. Research was conducted in the Baixo Sul Territory of the state of Bahia, focusing the heterogeneous web of social organizations involved in the implementation of the Food Acquisition Program in this setting.
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Jeferson Carvalho, Paulo Vitor Jordão da Gama Silva and Marcelo Cabus Klotzle
This study investigates the presence of herding in the Brazilian stock market between 2012 and 2020 and associates it with the volume of searches on the Google platform.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the presence of herding in the Brazilian stock market between 2012 and 2020 and associates it with the volume of searches on the Google platform.
Design/methodology/approach
Following methodologies are used to investigate the presence of herding: the Cross-Sectional Standard Deviation of Returns (CSSD), the Cross-Sectional Absolute Deviation (CSAD) and the Cross-Sectional Deviation of Asset Betas to the Market.
Findings
Most of the models detected herding. In addition, there was a causal relationship between peaks in Google search volumes and the incidence of herding across the whole period, especially in 2015 and 2019.
Originality/value
This study suggests that confirmation bias influences investors' decisions to buy or sell assets.
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João Paulo Vieito, Christian Espinosa, Wing-Keung Wong, Munkh-Ulzii Batmunkh, Enkhbayar Choijil and Mustafa Hussien
It has been argued in the literature that structural changes in the financial markets, such as integration, have the potential to cause herding behavior or correlated behavioral…
Abstract
Purpose
It has been argued in the literature that structural changes in the financial markets, such as integration, have the potential to cause herding behavior or correlated behavioral patterns in traders. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is any financial herding behavior in the Latin American Integrated Market (MILA), a transnational stock market composed of Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico stock exchanges and whether there is any ARCH or GARCH effect in the herding behavior models.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the modified return dispersion approach on daily index return data. The sample period is from January 03, 2002 to May 07, 2019. The data are obtained from the MILA database. To count time-varying volatilities in herding models, the authors run ARCH family regression with GARCH (1,1) settings. Hwang and Salmon (2004) model is used as a robustness test.
Findings
The authors found strong herding behavior under the general market conditions and moderate and partial herding behavior under some specified markets circumstances, such as bull and bear markets and high-low volatility states. Moreover, the pre-MILA period exhibits more herding behavior than the post-MILA period. The empirical results show that most of the ARCH and GARCH effects are statistically significant, implying that the past information of stock returns and market volatility significantly affect the volatility of following periods, which can also explain the formation of herding tendency among investors. Finally, the results of the robustness tests (Hwang and Salmon, 2004) confirm herding in all periods, except full sample period for Mexico and post-MILA period for Mexico and Colombia.
Research limitations/implications
This study investigates the herding behavior in the MILA market in terms of market return, volatility and timing. A limitation of the paper is that the authors have not included other factors on the formation of herding behavior, such as macroeconomic factors, effects of regional or international markets and policy influences. The authors will explore the issue in the extension of the paper.
Practical implications
As MILA is the first virtual integration of stock exchanges without merging, the study provides useful findings and draws good inferences of herding behavior in the MILA market in terms of market return, volatility and timing which are useful for academics, investors and policymakers in their investment and decision makings.
Social implications
The paper provides useful findings and draws good inferences of herding behavior in the MILA market in terms of market return, volatility and timing which are not only useful in practical implications, but also in social implications.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the herding literature by examining four different hypotheses in respect of the unique case of transnational stock exchange without fusions or corporate mergers, where each market maintains its independence and regulatory autonomy. The authors also contribute to the literature by including both ARCH and GARCH effects in the herding behavioral models along the Hwang and Salmon (2004) approach.
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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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Luciana Teixeira de Andrade and Luís Vicente Baptista
The authors begin the chapter with the contemporary discussion on the crisis of public spaces and use a Simmelian regarding to focus on two dimensions of this debate. First, the…
Abstract
The authors begin the chapter with the contemporary discussion on the crisis of public spaces and use a Simmelian regarding to focus on two dimensions of this debate. First, the meaning of the thesis that argues the death of the public areas of large cities. Then, the relevance of the category public spaces, using the diversity of types of spaces and types of interaction that are associated with and try to show why they cannot be reduced and homogeneously represented. Hence, from research conducted in Brazil and Portugal, the authors illustrate the various dimensions of public spaces with examples of conflicts and appropriations from its everyday uses.
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Nhi Thao Ho-Mai, Vinh Trung Tran, Vien Ky Nguyen, Uyen Thi Thu Do, Thanh Ba Truong and Phuong Thi Kim Tran
From a consumer–brand relationship (CBR) perspective, this study proposes a serial multiple mediation model to explore the pathways (e.g. cognitive, affective and hybrid) to…
Abstract
Purpose
From a consumer–brand relationship (CBR) perspective, this study proposes a serial multiple mediation model to explore the pathways (e.g. cognitive, affective and hybrid) to increase online celebrity brand equity (OCBE) and follower's hotel booking intentions (FBI).
Design/methodology/approach
Paper-based and online surveys were used to collect data from 443 respondents who had been using TikTok and had followed at least one online celebrity on TikTok, while that online celebrity had reviewed one or more types of accommodation. A serial multiple mediation model was evaluated through covariance-based structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results confirmed the hybrid cognitive–affective and cognitive–affective–conative pathways among antecedents and components of OCBE and FBI.
Originality/value
From a CBR perspective, this study provides a serial multiple mediation model to increase OCBE via hybrid cognitive–affective pathways and to drive FBI via cognitive–affective–conative pathways. These sequential relationships contribute to the human branding literature by defining a mechanism of how online celebrities can efficiently attract followers, thus driving online celebrity brand loyalty and hotel booking intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The results should be validated in other cultural contexts to generalize findings and broaden the range of target respondents to include international followers and those within other nations.
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Norberto Santos, Claudete Oliveira Moreira and Luís Silveira
Tourism in Coimbra today is influenced by the fact that the Univer(s)city was distinguished as a World Heritage Site in 2013. The number of visits has grown very significantly in…
Abstract
Purpose
Tourism in Coimbra today is influenced by the fact that the Univer(s)city was distinguished as a World Heritage Site in 2013. The number of visits has grown very significantly in recent years, but the diversification of the tourist offer is still weak and unable to take advantage of existing resources. This paper aims to present genealogy tourism as an alternative urban cultural tourism in Coimbra.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodology involved mapping the Jewish culture elements in the city of Coimbra, and a route was outlined and proposed.
Findings
Genealogy tourism resources are identified in the historic centre of the city. These alternative spaces need urban rehabilitation and (re)functionalisation, which allowed the authors to rethink tourism in Coimbra. They are the motivation to visit for all urban cultural tourists, especially Israelis/Jews, and provide contact with places where the experiences of ancestors combine with the history and memory of places, with recent discoveries and the elements of Jewish culture in the city.
Originality/value
It is concluded that the quantity, diversity, authenticity and singularity of the heritage resources that bear witness to the Jewish presence in Coimbra are sufficient assets to create a route, to enrich the tourist experience in the city and to include the destination in the Sephardic routes.