Annor da Silva Junior, Priscilla de Oliveira Martins-Silva, Karina Santos Feu, Aline Chima Komino, Vitor Correa da Silva and Katia Cyrlene de Araújo Vasconcelos
This paper aims to investigate the viewpoint of undergraduate Management students at a Brazilian public university regarding the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR)…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the viewpoint of undergraduate Management students at a Brazilian public university regarding the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It theoretically articulates the notion of CSR and the formal education perspective to discuss managerial education.
Design/methodology/approach
Stude nts in the Management program were surveyed for their opinion on the notion of CSR. Data were collected through triangulation by combining the application of questionnaire and documentary research. There were 241 valid questionnaires, and this is the size of the sample. Data were analyzed by using the SPSS software (version 20), descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests.
Findings
Results reveal that, for undergraduate Management students, the most important CSR dimensions are, in hierarchical order, the philanthropic, the ethical, the legal and the economic. Thus, one can notice an inversion of the original CSR pyramid proposed by Carroll (1991).
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation is the conduction of research in the context of a single public university.
Practical implications
Results indicate a change in how CSR is understood, the philanthropic dimension becoming the main factor for the establishment of organizational goals.
Social implications
Considering that undergraduate Management students are the future members of the corporate world and decision-makers in society, these results indicate the stance these future professionals will take when confronted by dilemmas involving CSR.
Originality/value
This investigation is original in Brazilian context, for it identifies students’ opinion on CSR using a questionnaire whose development was based on the CSR pyramid.
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Vitor Hugo da Silva Vaz, Jorge Maikel Alves Batista and Ana Eleonora Almeida Paixão
This study aims to analyze the correlation between the investments in the Brazilian Space Agency (BSA) and the patenting process.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the correlation between the investments in the Brazilian Space Agency (BSA) and the patenting process.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used was a statistical analysis through correlation and linear regression between the secondary data of investments made by the federal government, retrieved from the Transparency Portal, in the BSA and the patenting process, taking into consideration the number of invention, utility model and certificate of addition of invention.
Findings
After a brief presentation of the emergence of innovation and patent applications with the investments of governments in space agencies, this study presents the analysis of information in different times of investment that showed positive correlation between the two variables adopted.
Originality/value
One can point to the value of this study as strategic investments in space agencies to boost the filing of patents in a nation in the most diverse areas.
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Joao Vitor da Silva Moreira, Karina Rodrigues, Daniel José Lins Leal Pinheiro, Thaís Cardoso, João Luiz Vieira, Esper Cavalheiro and Jean Faber
One of the main causes of long-term prosthetic abandonment is the lack of ownership over the prosthesis, which was caused mainly by the absence of sensory information regarding…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the main causes of long-term prosthetic abandonment is the lack of ownership over the prosthesis, which was caused mainly by the absence of sensory information regarding the lost limb. The period where the patient learns how to interact with a prosthetic device is critical in rehabilitation. This ideally happens within the first months after amputation, which is also a period associated with the consolidation of brain changes. Different studies have shown that the introduction of feedback mechanisms can be crucial to bypass the lack of sensorial information. To develop a biofeedback system for the rehabilitation of transfemoral amputees – controlled via electromyographic (EMG) activity from the leg muscles – that can provide real-time visual and/or vibratory feedback for the user.
Design/methodology/approach
The system uses surface EMG to control two feedback mechanisms, which are the knee joint of a prosthetic leg of a humanoid avatar in a virtual reality (VR) environment (visual feedback) and a matrix of 16 vibrotactile actuators placed in the back of the user (vibratory feedback). Data acquisition was inside a Faraday Cage using an OpenEphys® acquisition board for the surface EMG recordings. The tasks were performed on able-bodied participants, with no amputation, and for this, the dominant leg of the user was immobilized using an orthopedic boot fixed on the chair, allowing only isometric contractions of target muscles, according to the Surface EMG for Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscles (SENIAM) standard. The authors test the effectiveness of combining vibratory and visual feedback and how task difficulty affects overall performance.
Findings
The authors' results show no negative interference combining both feedback modalities and that performance peaked at the intermediate difficulty. These results provide powerful insights of what can be accomplished with the population of amputee people. By using this biofeedback system, the authors expect to engage another sensory modality in the process of spatial representation of a virtual leg, bypassing the lack of information associated with the disruption of afferent pathways following amputation.
Research limitations/implications
The authors developed a showcase with a new protocol and feedback mechanisms showing the protocol's safety, efficiency and reliability. However, since this system is designed for patients with leg amputation, the full extent of the effects of the biofeedback training can only be assessed after the evaluation with the amputees, and the results obtained so far establish a safe and operational protocol to accomplish this.
Practical implications
In this study, the authors proposed a new biofeedback device intended to be used in the preprosthetic rehabilitation phase for people with transfemoral amputation. With this new system, the authors propose a mechanism to bypass the lack of sensory information from a virtual prosthesis and help to assimilate visual and vibrotactile stimuli as a cue for movement representation.
Social implications
With this new system, the authors propose a mechanism to bypass the lack of sensory information from a virtual prosthesis and help to assimilate visual and vibrotactile stimuli as a cue for movement representation.
Originality/value
The authors' results show that all users were capable of recognizing both feedback modalities, both separate and combined, being able to respond accordingly throughout the tasks. The authors also show that for a one-session protocol, the last difficulty level imposed a greater challenge for most users, explained by the significant drop in performance disregarding the feedback modality. Lastly, the authors believe this paradigm can provide a better process for the embodiment of prosthetic devices, fulfilling the lack of sensory information for the users.
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Vitor da Silva, Rui de Oliveira, David Watts and Erik van der Bij
The ChemicalVia process, patented by CERN, provides a new method of making microvias in high‐density multilayer printed circuit boards of different types, such as sequential…
Abstract
The ChemicalVia process, patented by CERN, provides a new method of making microvias in high‐density multilayer printed circuit boards of different types, such as sequential build‐up (SBU), high density interconnected (HDI), or laminated multi‐chip modules (MCM‐L). The process uses chemical etching instead of laser, plasma or other etching techniques and can be implemented in a chain production line. This results in an overall reduced operation and maintenance cost and a much shorter hole production time as compared with other microvia processes.
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Lucas Thadeu Vulcão da Rocha, Lucas Ryu Morotomi Pereira, Reimison Moreira Fernandes, André Cristiano Silva Melo, Dirceu da Silva, Izabela Simon Rampasso, Rosley Anholon and Vitor William Batista Martins
Manufacturing systems have undergone radical changes because of the implementation of physical and digital innovating technologies with high levels of connectivity…
Abstract
Purpose
Manufacturing systems have undergone radical changes because of the implementation of physical and digital innovating technologies with high levels of connectivity, interoperability and autonomy. In this regard, the objective of this study was to investigate whether industrial engineers graduated in recent years in Brazil are prepared or not to work in companies and industries within the scope of Industry 4.0 technologies in a way that they positively contribute to the implementation and management of such technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve these objectives, a literature review and a survey on managers of the industrial sector acting in Brazil were carried out as the research strategies. The data collected were analyzed through a quantitative approach by means of the structural equations modeling method.
Findings
The hypothesis that the competencies of industrial engineers currently graduating in Brazil have a positive impact on the implementation and management of Industry 4.0 technologies has been confirmed. Predicting the evolution of production scenarios, understanding the interaction between organizations and their impacts on competitiveness and keeping abreast of technological advancements, organizing them and putting them to the service of business and societal demands were the competencies that obtained the highest factor loadings in the construct of industrial engineer competencies. In addition, cloud manufacturing, automation and robotization were the competencies that obtained the highest factor loadings in the industry 4.0 construct.
Originality/value
The analysis of skills development stands out as a source of competitive advantage for companies that intend to transition to a production system aligned with the principles of Industry 4.0, considering the training of professionals in an emerging economy context.
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Annor da Silva Junior, Priscilla de Oliveira Martins-Silva, Vitor Daher Coelho and Anderson Fioresi de Sousa
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) pyramid conceived by Archie B. Carroll. Anchored by theoretical and empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) pyramid conceived by Archie B. Carroll. Anchored by theoretical and empirical evidence, this paper proposes a new model of analysis: the “CSR Spinner.”
Design/methodology/approach
To propose this new model, the authors are presenting a conceptual paper.
Findings
As a result of the analyses conducted in this paper, the authors propose the “CSR Spinner” model. This model which contemplates four dimensions (ethical, economic, legal and philanthropic) has in its structure a center bearing and three lobes that are derived from the center. In the center of the “CSR Spinner,” the ethical dimension is positioned and in the lobes are the other dimensions. In the “CSR Spinner,” the ethical dimension has the role of giving the model dynamism, defining both the direction and speed with which the lobes rotate, thus generating total CSR.
Originality
The “CSR Spinner” is original, as it consists of a new way of conceiving of the CSR pyramid.
Research limitations/implications
As a knowledge instrument that allows the manipulation of reality, that is, to think, analyze, understand and predict this reality, the “CSR Spinner” model has the potential to provide advances in research on CSR. Because it proposes a theoretical refinement, this model still needs to go through a process of theoretical and empirical validation.
Practical implications
The “CSR Spinner” model has pragmatic connotations that can help corporate management adapt to various national and international contexts.
Social implications
The “CSR Spinner” model represents an advance over the CSR pyramid, because of the model’s characteristics of dynamism, flexibility and adaptability across all types of organizations and within various national and international contexts.
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Vitor da Mata Quintella, Antônio Francisco de Almeida da Silva Jr, Jose Ricardo Uchoa Cavalcanti Almeida and Marcelo Embiruçu
The purpose of this paper is to identify, measure and optimise financial risk and its effect on returns from innovation projects on an accrual basis and on a cash basis in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify, measure and optimise financial risk and its effect on returns from innovation projects on an accrual basis and on a cash basis in a commodity industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A hypothetical case study, based on a real case, of a petrochemical commodity industry in Brazil was analysed with commodities pricing rules based on actual contracts. Earnings at risk (EaR) and cash flow at risk (CFaR) measures were applied, as well as a metric proposed in this paper called cash balance at risk (CBaR).
Findings
The paper demonstrates that financial risk measurement and optimisation are important issues in the decision-making process in the petrochemical industry. EaR, CFaR and CBaR measures are helpful when used alongside standard procedures of project evaluation. The findings also show that innovative technologies, in certain conditions, may act as “natural hedging”. It was found that the time delay between revenues and expenses leads to financial risk exposure to changes in prices and foreign exchange rates. Projects can use financing and hedging to boost their results.
Originality/value
An innovative project was compared with an expansion project in a petrochemical industry. A model for petrochemical commodities contract pricing was added in an analysis that included financing and hedging. The findings in this paper suggest that it is important to consider financial risk measures in project evaluation.
Objetivo
O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar, medir e otimizar o risco financeiro e seus efeitos sobre os resultados de projetos com inovação, tanto na perspectiva do regime contábil quanto do regime de caixa, em uma indústria de commodities.
Abordagem
Um estudo de caso hipotético, baseado em um caso real de uma indústria petroquímica brasileira, foi analisado com regras de precificação de commodities baseados em contratos reais. As métricas Earnings at Risk (EaR) e Cash Flow at Risk (CFaR) foram utilizadas, assim como uma métrica proposta neste trabalho, denominada Cash Balance at Risk (CBaR).
Resultados
Este artigo demonstrou que a mensuração e otimização do risco financeiro são questões importantes no processo de tomada de decisão em uma indústria petroquímica. As medidas EaR, CFaR e CBaR se apresentaram como contribuições ao processo padrão de avaliação de projetos. Os resultados também demonstraram que inovações tecnológicas, em certas condições, podem funcionar como um “hedge natural”. Foi verificado que descasamentos temporais entre recebimentos e despesas geram uma exposição financeira a oscilações em preços e em valores de moedas estrangeiras. Financiamento e hedge podem ser utilizados em conjunto para aprimorar resultados de projetos.
Originalidade/valor
Um projeto com inovação foi comparado com um projeto de expansão em uma indústria petroquímica. Foi realizada uma analise de risco que agrega ao financiamento e ao hedge o uso de contratos de precificação de commodities. Os resultados desse projeto demonstram que é importante considerar medidas de risco financeiro nas avaliações de projetos.
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Ivana Stevic, Vítor Rodrigues, Zélia Breda, Medéia Veríssimo, Ana Margarida Ferreira da Silva and Carlos Manuel Martins da Costa
This paper aims to analyse residents’ perceptions of tourism growth in Porto prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to determine the most appropriate strategies to mitigate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse residents’ perceptions of tourism growth in Porto prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to determine the most appropriate strategies to mitigate negative tourism impacts. Studies on resident perceptions of tourism impacts are still scarce, particularly the ones addressing the topic in the context of Portuguese urban tourism areas.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected through an online survey, focusing on three categories of impacts: (i) economic, (ii) sociocultural (iii) and spatial-environmental, and the respective mitigation strategies, analysed from the perspective of Porto’s residents. Descriptive and bivariate statistics – T-test and Eta correlation – were used to analyse the collected data.
Findings
Respondents who live in the city centre experience specific tourism impacts more negatively, when compared to those living outside the inner-city area. Furthermore, no strong correlation is found between the said impacts and the respective mitigation strategies. However, creating awareness among tourists about acceptable behaviour in shared spaces is the strategy that stands out, as it has a medium correlation with all three impact categories. Most impact-strategy associations are weak, meaning that the defined strategies are not the most case-appropriate, which is something that policymakers should address.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s/authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to adopt this approach in tackling the negative impacts of rapid tourism growth in Porto.
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An intended numerical analysis of solids and structures by spring cell substitutes in place of finite elements has occasioned considerable research on the subject. This paper aims…
Abstract
Purpose
An intended numerical analysis of solids and structures by spring cell substitutes in place of finite elements has occasioned considerable research on the subject. This paper aims to expose two alternative concepts evolving out of Argyris’ natural approach to the simplex triangular element. One is based on an approximation of the element flexibility and the other approximates the stiffness with coincidence at the ideal conditions of complete substitution.
Design/methodology/approach
Characteristic of the natural formalism is the homogeneous definition of strain and stress along the sides of the triangular element. The associated elastic compliance offers itself for the transition to the spring cell. The diagonal entities are interpreted immediately as springs along the element sides, and the off-diagonal terms account for the completeness of the substitution. In addition to the flexibility concept, the spring cell is deduced alternatively from the element’s natural stiffness. The difference in the flexibility result lies in the calculatory cross-sectional areas of the elastic bar members.
Findings
From the natural point of view, the spring cell evolves out of the continuum element to the desired degree of substitution. The simplest configuration of pin-joined bars discards all geometrical and physical cross effects. The approach is attractive because of its transparent simplicity.
Research limitations/implications
The difference between the stiffness and the flexibility approach to spring cells is demonstrated for triangular elements that suit the problems lying in plane stress or plane strain. More general states of stress and strain involve spring cell counterparts of the tetrahedral finite element.
Practical implications
Apart from plane geometries, triangular spring cells are assembled to lattice models of space structures, such as membrane shells and similar.
Originality/value
The natural formalism of simplex finite elements is used for deducing spring cells in two variants and exploring their properties. This is a novel approach to spring cells and an original employment of the natural concept.
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André Luiz Maranhão de Souza-Leão, Bruno Melo Moura, Walber Kaíc da Silva Nunes, Vitor de Moura Rosa Henrique and Italo Rogerio Correia de Santana
Fans are proactive consumers of pop culture products, who can be seen as prosumers. Fanvideo production is one of their most widespread practices in the participatory culture…
Abstract
Purpose
Fans are proactive consumers of pop culture products, who can be seen as prosumers. Fanvideo production is one of their most widespread practices in the participatory culture scenario. Thus, the aim of the present study is to analyze how ludic prosumption is featured on plays performed in Brazilian fanvideos based on successful pop culture franchises.
Design/methodology/approach
Research based on the interpretive content analysis of fanvideos of plays produced by Brazilian fans based on five emblematic pop culture franchises and published on YouTube.
Findings
Results have shown six play types in the analyzed fanvideos – i.e. child's play, performing powers, cosplay, play in social rites, teaching to play and “zuêra” –, which revealed a way of having fun in different situations through different practices based on ludic consumption experiences in different spheres of social life.
Originality/value
CCT-based studies focused on investigating plays as ludic consumption phenomenon, as well as fan culture, remain at early research stage. Thus, the main contribution of the present study lies on associating such concepts based on the concept of prosumption.