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1 – 10 of 16Isabel Soares Silva and Renata Bastos
The purpose of this paper is to understand workers’ resistance toward change from a semi-continuous (SCW) to a continuous shift work system (CW), especially focusing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand workers’ resistance toward change from a semi-continuous (SCW) to a continuous shift work system (CW), especially focusing the perspective of change and its impact on workers’ personal lives.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted at a Portuguese steel plant. A questionnaire was administered to 98 shift workers of the two systems, three focus groups (FG) each with ten CW workers, and three interviews with their managers.
Findings
The results of the FG and the interviews indicate the loss of days off during weekends as the main drawback of this change, leading to work schedule dissatisfaction. The consequences of the change focused on social and family life. For the CW workers, the conciliation between working hours and life outside the company were the only predictors of satisfaction with work schedule.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design is one of the main limitations, as well the use of only one organization in the study suggests future replication. Organizations need to consider the aspects of family and social life in the management of working hours.
Originality/value
Globally, this case study highlights the importance of family and social aspects in the adjustment process to working hours, especially when these involve performing work on the weekends, such as shift work.
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Suzana Paula Gomes Fernando da Silva Lampreia, José Fernando Gomes Requeijo, José António Mendonça Dias, Valter Martins Vairinhos and Patrícia Isabel Soares Barbosa
The application of condition-based maintenance on selected equipment can allow online monitoring using fixed, half-fixed or portable sensors. The collected data not always allow a…
Abstract
Purpose
The application of condition-based maintenance on selected equipment can allow online monitoring using fixed, half-fixed or portable sensors. The collected data not always allow a straightforward interpretation and many false alarms can happen. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Statistical techniques can be used to perform early failure detection. With the application of Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) Modified Charts and the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) Charts, special causes of variation can be detected online and during the equipment functioning. Before applying these methods, it is important to check data for independence. When the independence condition is not verified, data should be modeled with an ARIMA (p, d, q) model. Parameters estimation is obtained using the Shewhart Traditional Charts.
Findings
With data monitoring and statistical methods, it is possible to detect any system or equipment failure trend, so that we can act at the right time to avoid catastrophic failures.
Originality/value
In this work, an electro pump condition is monitored. Through this process, an anomaly and four stages of aggravation are forced, and the CUSUM and EWMA modified control charts are applied to test an online equipment monitoring. When the detection occurs, the methodology will have rules to define the degree of intervention.
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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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Fernando Augusto Gouvea-Reis, Danniely Carolinne Soares da Silva, Lairton Souza Borja, Patrícia de Oliveira Dias, Jadher Percio, Cassio Peterka, Janaína de Oliveira, Giselle Sodré, Claudia Mendes Feres, Wallace Dos Santos, Fábio Souza, Ana Izabel Passarella Teixeira, Daiani Cristina Cilião-Alves, Gustavo Adolfo Sierra Romero, Elza Ferreira Noronha, Julio Croda, Rodrigo Haddad, Walter Massa Ramalho, Camile de Moraes and Wildo Navegantes de Araújo
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…
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.
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Maria Francisca Reis Rabaça Vaz, Maria Elisabete Silva, Marco Parente, Sofia Brandão and António Augusto Fernandes
Develop biodegradable meshes as a novel solution to address issues associated with using synthetic meshes for POP repair.
Abstract
Purpose
Develop biodegradable meshes as a novel solution to address issues associated with using synthetic meshes for POP repair.
Design/methodology/approach
Computational models were created with variations in the pore geometry, pore size, filament thickness, and inclusion of filaments around specific mesh regions. Subsequently, one of the meshes was 3D printed to validate the results obtained from the simulations. Following this, a uniaxial tensile test was carried out on the vaginal tissue of a sow to compare with the simulations, to identify meshes that displayed behaviour akin to vaginal tissue. Finally, the most promising outcomes were compared with those of the uterosacral ligament and a commercially available mesh.
Findings
Following a comprehensive analysis of the results, the mesh that most accurately replicates the behaviour of the vaginal tissue showcases a smaller pore diameter (1.50 mm), filaments in specific areas of the mesh, and variable filament thickness across the mesh. Nevertheless, upon comparing the outcomes with those of the uterosacral, the meshes do not exhibit similar behaviour to the ligament. Finally, the commercially available mesh does not represent the behaviour of both the vaginal tissue and the uterosacral ligament and in this sense may not be the best treatment option for POP repair.
Originality/value
Their biocompatibility and biomechanical properties make them a potential solution to the disadvantages of synthetic meshes. Personalized/customized meshes could be part of the future of surgical POP repair.
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Patrícia Pereira da Silva and Isabel Soares
The aim of this paper is to assess the state of spot price convergence between several European electricity day‐ahead markets.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to assess the state of spot price convergence between several European electricity day‐ahead markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The concept of a fully integrated market is developed through the arbitrage relationship in which spot prices at one location should equal spot prices at another location plus the price of transmission. Accordingly, neighbouring markets are analysed to measure the relevance or their respective interconnecting and transmission constraints. Exploratory data approach is used and results are discussed, namely by correlation analysis.
Findings
This paper empirically shows that price differences have decreased during the analysed period, suggesting that integration between markets might be rising. The correlation analysis indicates very few relationships between these continental European power exchanges, what makes us to anticipate continuing difficulties in the building of a single electricity market. Nevertheless, there is some evidence for local integration and some price convergence. Only France and Germany appear to be relatively integrated with higher correlation coefficients, compared to the other cases. In respect to the other markets, this correlation analysis demonstrates that price variations in several locations do not affect prices in the neighbouring locations. Spain appears to be poorly integrated with the other locations as might be expected by its peripheral position and limited cross‐border transmission capacity.
Originality/value
The paper assesses electricity market integration in the context of European Union spot prices and industry structure.
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Rosiane Serrano, Daniel Pacheco Lacerda, Ricardo Augusto Cassel, Aline Dresch and Maria Isabel Wolf Motta Morandi
Football is deployed into various segments and consists of a complex value chain, with interrelationships and circularities. It is relevant in various segments and therefore it is…
Abstract
Purpose
Football is deployed into various segments and consists of a complex value chain, with interrelationships and circularities. It is relevant in various segments and therefore it is important to understand the structure. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a model of a football value chain and the managerial implications inherent to this chain.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a field study as its methodology, developing a semi-structured questionnaire containing open-ended questions about the representativeness of the football value chain. In-depth interviews with specialists in football were performed to collect data.
Findings
The results of the interviews indicated that the theoretical model is representative. Furthermore, through validation, the relevance and representativeness of the football value chain was shown, as well as its interrelationships with the other commodity and service segments. In addition, it was found that this segment is relevant and influential in the national and international market, and can be considered a factor of economic and social development.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides a view of the actors who make up the football value chain, and also supplies a complementary view to the models of chains presented in the theoretical review, enabling the provision of evidence on the axis with greater added value as a new step. The limitation of this research involves the context approached, because as identified throughout the investigation, this context is complex and dynamic. In this way, the linear approach used to construct this chain led to a reduced view of reality and of present relationships.
Practical implications
The model shows the presence of the main actors and the structure for the transformation of raw material into a final product, and is useful to understand the existing relationships and the layers of added value.
Social implications
The evaluation of the conceptual model of football value chain confirms that this is a professionalized chain, which generates a significant number of direct and indirect jobs.
Originality/value
The authors propose a model of a football value chain which is complementary to the theoretical review developed, exposing a linkage of the players present in this chain and at what stage they are present, and supplies the managerial implications inherent to this.
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Bruno Sousa, Laurentina Vareiro, Ana Rita Marques, Vasco Ribeiro Santos and Marco Valeri
Ana Ares-Pernas, Carmen Coronado Carvajal, Alfonso Gomis Rodríguez, María Isabel Fernández Ibáñez, Vicente Díaz Casás, María Sonia Zaragoza Fernández, María Sonia Bouza Fernández, Manuela del Pilar Santos Pita, Antonio Domingo García Allut, María Pilar Comesaña Pérez, María Jesús Caínzos López, Belén Feal Cabezón and Araceli Torres Miño
This paper aims to present and describe the main actions carried out in six different faculties and common areas such as cultural and research centres and administrative buildings…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present and describe the main actions carried out in six different faculties and common areas such as cultural and research centres and administrative buildings in the Ferrol campus at the University of A Coruña to achieve the second green flag on a Galician University.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study describing the steps for implementing a green campus programme in a medium-size, young university campus integrated into a small city. An Environmental Campus Committee was created to assess the main factors that affect environmental footprint, discuss sustainability initiatives and develop a guide to action regarding different goals related to sustainable transport options, energy, water conservation and waste reduction. The actions included several fields such as education, circular economy and healthy life and involved the on and off-campus community.
Findings
The programme achieved a decrease in water consumption and electrical energy. An important change in educational values and behaviours regarding sustainability was observed in and out of the campus community. The measurements adopted mainly in waste management, mobility and education led the Ferrol campus to achieve a green campus flag on November 2019.
Originality/value
This experiment can serve as a guide to establish the Green Campus philosophy in other similar university campuses.
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