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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 September 2022

Christian Kazuo Fuzyama, Ana Heloisa Lemos and Marcelo Almeida de Carvalho Silva

This study aims to understand the production of consent to precarious working conditions in administration students' internship experiences.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand the production of consent to precarious working conditions in administration students' internship experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 13 students of an undergraduate program in Business Administration in a private university were interviewed. The students' perceptions about the dynamics of the internship and their engagement in this experience were explored through thematic analysis.

Findings

Internships became more than spaces to learn about the world of work. They are also the locus of professional socialization toward precarious work. The detachment of internships from their educational scope is mediated by neonormative control mechanisms that subjectively mobilize the interns, producing the institutionalization and appreciation of the precarious experience, resignified as something that leads to autonomy, learning and a job position.

Practical implications

The article can help students, universities and companies to assess the role of internships in training future professionals.

Social implications

The research problematizes the internship as a form of professional socialization toward precarious work and its detachment from the original educational purpose. The article critically contributes to the debate about the current professional socialization process of young students.

Originality/value

The article highlights the subjective dimension that supports students' consent to dysfunctional internships, discussing both the experience of work precariousness and exploitation, and the terms of the students' engagement in such dynamics, bridging consent to neonormative controls.

Details

Revista de Gestão, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1809-2276

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 September 2023

Ana Carolina Ferreira Costa, Fernando Capelo Neto, Maximilian Espuny, Aglaé Baptista Torres da Rocha and Otávio José de Oliveira

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are fundamental to the socioeconomic development of a country or region. They directly contribute to increasing employment generation and…

Abstract

Purpose

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are fundamental to the socioeconomic development of a country or region. They directly contribute to increasing employment generation and improving income distribution. Despite the importance of SMEs, there are still opportunities for developing works that support and guide SMEs to use digital technologies, especially to digitalize their customer service. Therefore, this work aims to propose drivers containing recommendations for developing and improving the digitalization of customer service in SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

This work uses a qualitative approach to systematize the main SMEs' characteristics and identify the boosting elements of the digitalization of customer service in the scientific literature. To this end, the authors conducted a content analysis of the most influential empirical and theoretical articles on the theme published from 2016 to 2021 in the Scopus database.

Findings

This work identified 38 boosting elements of the digitalization of customer service based on the scientific literature. These elements were grouped into six drivers for developing and improving the digitalization of customer service. The drivers contain recommendations that were adapted for SMEs according to their characteristics and based on the experience of the authors of this work.

Originality/value

This work contributes to promoting socioeconomic development, providing important solutions for managers and owners of SMEs to improve their customer service. The proposed drivers support and encourage the use of digital technologies for developing and improving customer service, overcoming the challenges of digitalization in these companies. Thus, SMEs will be able to increase the satisfaction of their customers and improve their competitiveness.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 March 2023

Macarena Torroba Diaz, Anna Bajo-Sanjuan, Ángela María Callejón Gil, Ana Rosales-Pérez and Lidia López Marfil

This study aims to build a model for the analysis of the environmental behavior of university students.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to build a model for the analysis of the environmental behavior of university students.

Design/methodology/approach

A partial least square method was adopted, and a questionnaire on intelligence, knowledge, attitude and environmental behavior was performed on 480 Spanish university students.

Findings

The results indicate that environmental intelligence positively affects university students’ environmental behavior through environmental knowledge and attitude.

Research limitations/implications

The conclusions of the present study are based on a sample drawn from Spanish university students. Therefore, new studies are needed to cover other educational institutions and cultural contexts.

Practical implications

Many university students’ environmental behavior depends on implementing educational actions that improve their environmental intelligence and knowledge.

Social implications

The study suggests that educational programs should implement strategies that maintain a sense of responsibility toward the sustainable development of university students, ensuring that future generations can live a quality life in a sustainable and safe environment.

Originality/value

The present study identifies the mechanism through which the environmental behavior of university students is formed.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore barriers and pathways to a whole-institution governance of sustainability within the working structures of universities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on multi-year interviews and hierarchical structure analysis of ten universities in Canada, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil, the UK and The Netherlands. The paper addresses existing literature that championed further integration between the two organizational sides of universities (academic and operations) and suggests approaches for better embedding sustainability into four primary domains of activity (education, research, campus operations and community engagement).

Findings

This research found that effective sustainability governance needs to recognise and reconcile distinct cultures, diverging accountability structures and contrasting manifestations of central-coordination and distributed-agency approaches characteristic of the university’s operational and academic activities. The positionality of actors appointed to lead institution-wide embedding influenced which domain received most attention. The paper concludes that a whole-institution approach would require significant tailoring and adjustments on both the operational and academic sides to be successful.

Originality/value

Based on a review of sustainability activities at ten universities around the world, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the governance implications of integrating sustainability into the four domains of university activity. It discusses how best to work across the operational/academic divide and suggests principles for adopting a whole institution approach to sustainability.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2023

Robson Soe Rocha

Since the early 1990s, Brazil has adopted an experimental approach to environmental management. Its reforms continue to this day and have produced robust water-management…

Abstract

Purpose

Since the early 1990s, Brazil has adopted an experimental approach to environmental management. Its reforms continue to this day and have produced robust water-management policies. This article reveals the different positions, the power structures involved, and the result of the disputes and agreements concerning the social construction of legitimate environmental behaviour in jeans manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach

Comparative case study. Data collection for this research started in 2017 and ended in 2020. The data were gathered by concentrating on a few cases in two clusters. The author visited public agencies, trade associations, and firms of all sizes and levels of specialization in the industry and conducted semi-structured interviews with them. The intention was to acquire systemic and deep knowledge of the local industry.

Findings

The article's findings demonstrate a divergence in typologies that reflects the ecological limits in the use of natural resources, law-enforcement policies, and firms' legal status. The article extends our understanding of the ability of organizations to respond to institutional pressures to become sustainable. This study's findings provide insights for policy design in times of increasingly catastrophic pollution in regions that are immersed in global competition.

Research limitations/implications

The study focuses only on two industrial textile clusters in Brazil, which may not be representative of the wider industry in the country or in other regions. The findings may not be generalizable to other industries or locations with different ecological limits, legal frameworks, and firm structures.

Practical implications

The article's practical implications include the need for tailored regulatory frameworks, effective law enforcement policies, promoting a culture of environmental responsibility among businesses, and collaboration among stakeholders in promoting sustainability. Policymakers, regulators, and businesses in industrial textile clusters in Brazil and other regions facing similar ecological and regulatory challenges can use these insights to develop more effective policies and practices that balance economic growth with environmental sustainability.

Social implications

State actors emerge as the most important stakeholder group in forging the upgrading of water-management systems and technology. The optimal solution to the problem is cross-institutional and multilevel collaboration and coalitions between the different authorities and organizations involved who need to pay due attention to the relevant ecological limits and social needs. Only when this multilevel collaboration is achieved and maintained will the state's agents be able to collaborate with industrial actors and society at large.

Originality/value

The article examines the various factors that influence water usage and analyses the dynamics of change in two distinct locations in an emerging market. It demonstrates that, despite the existence of the same regulatory framework in both locations, different outcomes can arise due to the construction of diverse coalitions between social actors.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0154

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 51 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Abstract

Details

Technology-Enhanced Healthcare Education: Transformative Learning for Patient-centric Health
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-599-6

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to estimate the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and evaluate the accuracy of an antibody rapid test compared to a reference serological assay during a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison complex housing over 13,000 prisoners in Brasília.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors obtained a randomized, stratified representative sample of each prison unit and conducted a repeated serosurvey among prisoners between June and July 2020, using a lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA). Samples were also retested using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLIA) to compare SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and 21-days incidence, as well as to estimate the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the LFIA test.

Findings

This study identified 485 eligible individuals and enrolled 460 participants. Baseline and 21-days follow-up seroprevalence were estimated at 52.0% (95% CI 44.9–59.0) and 56.7% (95% CI 48.2–65.3) with LFIA; and 80.7% (95% CI 74.1–87.3) and 81.1% (95% CI 74.4–87.8) with CLIA, with an overall IFR of 0.02%. There were 78.2% (95% CI 66.7–89.7) symptomatic individuals among the positive cases. Sensitivity and specificity of LFIA were estimated at 43.4% and 83.3% for IgM; 46.5% and 91.5% for IgG; and 59.1% and 77.3% for combined tests.

Originality/value

The authors found high seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within the prison complex. The occurrence of asymptomatic infection highlights the importance of periodic mass testing in addition to case-finding of symptomatic individuals; however, the field performance of LFIA tests should be validated. This study recommends that vaccination strategies consider the inclusion of prisoners and prison staff in priority groups.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 August 2023

Douglas Legramante, Ana Azevedo and Jose Manuel Azevedo

This paper aims to analyse the factors that influence the satisfaction and intention of continuity of use, of teachers and students, regarding using Moodle in undergraduate…

2261

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the factors that influence the satisfaction and intention of continuity of use, of teachers and students, regarding using Moodle in undergraduate courses in one Campus at the Federal Institute of Rondônia in Brazil. The starting point was an integration of DeLone and McLean's Information Systems Success Model (ISSM) with Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research approach was adopted. After the definition of the hypotheses, data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were designed to measure the five constructs: Quality of Information (QI), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), User Satisfaction (US) and Behavioural Intention to use (BI) that make up the conceptual model of the study. The data were analysed based on 144 valid questionnaires. The technique of maximum likelihood estimation was adopted in the data analysis through structural equation modelling (SEM).

Findings

The results confirmed six of the nine hypothesised relationships. QI positively impacts PEOU and US. PEOU positively impacts PU, which in turn positively impacts US and BI. Similarly, US positively impacts Moodle's BI. It was also evidenced that PU is the strongest predictor of US.

Practical implications

These results can help educational institutions, managers, administrators and designers of e-learning systems to develop strategies to increase Moodle's user satisfaction.

Originality/value

This study provides insights into the perception of students and teachers regarding the use of Moodle. A model that integrates constructs from two models widely used in research related to e-learning (TAM and ISSM) was used in a developing country context. This is important, given cultural differences and social idiosyncrasies in different contexts, particularly in an educational institution in the Amazonia region in northern Brazil.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2023

Rita Melo, João Lima, Ana Lúcia Baltazar, Ezequiel Pinto and Sónia Fialho

The purpose is to analyse the nutritional adequacy and carbon footprint of intermediated meals provided to preschool children and primary-level students in a Portuguese…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to analyse the nutritional adequacy and carbon footprint of intermediated meals provided to preschool children and primary-level students in a Portuguese municipality.

Design/methodology/approach

An observational cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sampling consisting of school snacks from a Portuguese municipality. The nutritional assessment used food labels and a Portuguese food composition table. The literature review for carbon footprint assessment was conducted by searching for the products under analysis or similar ones.

Findings

The results showed that 80% of snacks have a higher energy value than recommended. The majority of options are below recommendations for protein and fat and above recommendations for carbohydrates. The intermediated meals with more dairy products in composition have the highest carbon footprint. The carbon footprint included the packaging of the products, and it wasn't possible to determine the influence of non-food products.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations in the fact that we do not know the carbon footprint of Portuguese products and we had to compare them with others, from different countries, with possibly different types of production.

Practical implications

Intermediate meals are inadequate, and the carbon footprint is higher when the intermediated meals include products of animal origin – the reason why the composition of intermediated meals should be redesigned considering the achievement of these targets.

Social implications

The promotion of intermediated meals that promote the Mediterranean eating pattern contributes to health and well-being and is a vehicle for nutrition education and healthy food consumption in schools.

Originality/value

Many studies have been conducted to analyse the carbon footprint and environmental impact of school meals, but commonly lunch is the meal evaluated and the assessment of intermediated meals' impact is an open field.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2023

Célia Santos, Arnaldo Coelho, Ana Filipe and Alzira Maria Ascensão Marques

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of abusive supervision on employees' emotional and work-related outcomes, using a theoretical framework that integrates affective…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of abusive supervision on employees' emotional and work-related outcomes, using a theoretical framework that integrates affective events theory (AET) and self-determination theory (SDT). The research sought to explore the effects of abusive supervision on subordinates' positive and negative affect, and the subsequent impact on customer orientation and life satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this study were collected cross-sectionally through a structured questionnaire completed by employees who have experienced abusive supervision in their current or previous jobs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results indicated that when subordinates experienced abusive supervision, they reported lower levels of positive affect and higher levels of negative affect. These emotions, in turn, impacted their customer orientation and life satisfaction. Positive affect was found to positively influence both customer orientation and life satisfaction, while negative affect had a negative effect on life satisfaction. Surprisingly, customer orientation was positively impacted by negative affect.

Originality/value

Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that positive and negative affects mediate the relationship between abusive supervision and life satisfaction, but not with customer orientation. This study advances prior research by linking the impact of an abusive supervisor to employees' customer behavior and life satisfaction, using positive and negative affects as mediators, and building upon the theories of AET and SDT.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

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