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This paper aims to evaluate the influence of the parameters of the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process on the mechanical properties and on the mass of parts printed in Polylactic Acid (PLA). In addition, the authors developed predictive models for the analysed responses.

A full Factorial type of experimental planning method was used to define the conditions for manufacturing parts according to the variation of the construction parameters, extrusion temperature and print speed. Samples were printed for tensile, flexion and compression tests. Their mass was measured. Multiple regression methods, based on power equations, were used to build the forecasting models.

It was found that the extrusion temperature was the parameter of greatest influence in the variation of the analysed responses, mainly because it generates behaviour patterns and indirectly demonstrates thermal/rheological characteristics of the material used. Print speed affects responses, however, with variations dependent on part geometry and printer hardware/software. It was possible to establish prediction models with low error rates in relation to the experimental values.

The study demonstrates a good relation between the use of a structured experimental planning method as the basis for the development of predictive models based on mathematical equations, the same structure of which can be used to describe different responses.

This paper aims to systematize the contextual factors that influence the intention to use citizens and governments-initiated platforms, presenting them as non-functional requirements (NFRs), to facilitate their understanding to implementers.

A systematic mapping of the literature was done to identify the contextual factors from citizens and governments (C2G) adoption, followed by a survey applied to 938 potential users of this type of technology. The results were analyzed through logistic regression to understand the impact of the contextual factors on the intention to use C2G platforms and then those contextual factors were formalized as NFRs represented by a Softgoal Interdependence Graph.

Among the results, the most prominent factors were the influence of the “users perceived contribution” and the “citizens concern about the city conditions”. Finally, some strategies are suggested to help public managers and developers to optimize the factors that have shown to be significant.

This study can support e-gov policies in the implementation of C2G platforms because several municipalities need assistance in taking actions to foster greater citizens’ engagement. An example of this type of contribution is the indication of the factors of greatest impact in the adoption of use and the indication of paths to be followed if the manager and developers decide to focus on each of them.

The identification of several contextual factors which influence C2G platforms adoption and their systematization with the purpose of jointly visualizing and evaluating them.

The primary concern of quality improvement in processes is not the input–output conversion but the information that enables and controls process. This paper presents process fragments for dimensions of information quality (IQ).

Research is based on the design science paradigm to create four fragments of reusable processes, that contemplate the following dimensions of IQ: accessibility, completeness, accuracy and consistency.

There is a theoretical discussion of the concept of IQ in process models, in which the fragments presented provide designers with a reduction in modeling time through reuse. Therefore, the designer has the flexibility to improve the IQ according to the context of each process.

The discussion is relevant for both researchers and business designers because it shows that IQ is essential to guarantee the efficient execution of processes.

Processes modeling can be a challenge for inexperienced designers as they always try to solve a problem from the start, without worrying about the IQ dimensions in process models. Fragments here presented can be (re)used to guide these designers in processes modeling with more IQ.

Process modeling approaches provide expressive techniques but do not guarantee IQ in the models. However, these approaches present process fragments that can be easily used to contemplate IQ in process models. In this context, process fragments reuse stands out as an innovative solution to mitigate the shortcomings of process models related to IQ.

The rapid advancement in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has brought enormous business opportunities as well as challenges. One of these challenges is the demand for ICTs skills and expertise in adopting and implementing these emerging technologies. Coping with skills shortage poses a serious challenge across all European countries. Lack of ICTs skills and knowledge is more evident in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). As training is regarded as the most effective way of improving skills and enhancing knowledge, this paper attempts to address skills shortage at pan‐European level by identifying SMEs’ needs on ICTs training in the UK, Portugal and Poland. The investigation focuses on the most needed training areas, the required training levels and the preferred training delivery channels. The paper summarises findings from three‐country investigations and highlights the implications of findings for the design and development of a Web‐based training system for the use of ICTs in SMEs.

This study aims to explore the relationship between folk religious place-making and the development of urban public spaces and summarize its influence on community network construction and daily behavior to discover the authentic practices and role of folk faith culture in social space.

Taking Macau's Shi Gandang Temple and its belief culture as an example, on-site research, historical evidence and interviews were used to elaborate and analyze the processes of place-making, social functions, management mechanisms and folk culture to establish a new perception of folk religious place-making in contemporary urban spaces.

The article argues that the culture of folk beliefs profoundly influences urban spaces and the social management system of Macau and has a positive significance in building the local community and geopolitical relations. In addition, it suggests that the participation of folk religious places in local practices is important as key nodes and emotional hubs of local networks, reconciling conflicts between communities of different backgrounds and driving urban spaces toward diversity while forming a positive interaction and friendly cooperation between regional development and self-contained management mechanisms, governance models and cultural orientations.

This study takes an architectural and anthropological perspective of the impact of faith on urban spaces and local governance, using the Shi Gandang Temple in Macau as an example, to complement related studies.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to describe six recovery-oriented peer support experiences and strategies implemented in different regions of Brazil in the past 12 years, and explore challenges to their development and potential for empowerment and citizenship.

In this paper, a group of stakeholders in mental health services involving people with lived experience of severe mental illness describe their experiences with services of peer support. These were all conducted in Brazil and in partnership with the International Recovery and Citizenship Collective (IRCC) and The Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health. The authors met monthly to exchange experiences, studies and practices, and six experiences were selected, described, analyzed and compared. A discussion of these experiences, their challenges, impact and potential followed.

The explored experiences emphasize that peer support, lived experience leadership and advocacy are feasible in the Brazilian mental health system and can help advance the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform.

This paper is limited to the experience of researchers already engaged in peer support work in six cities in Brazil. Although they represent several different regions in Brazil, there are areas it has not reached. Further research should address and provide a broader view of peer support and recovery strategies spreading in the country.

These experiences demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of the recovering citizenship approach to reduce stigma, promote empowerment, autonomy, activism and advocacy, and increase a sense of belonging for those in recovery and marginalized by society. The Brazilian psychiatric reform can benefit from including peer supporters as mental health treatment providers.

This paper provides a novel view of the state of the art of peer support initiatives in Brazil and can inspire individuals, government and communities as they see and understand the breadth, depth and meanings of these peer support experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to interpret the use of accounting information relating to the House of Correction, a public safety institution established in Rio de Janeiro for the control of workers under a tutelage system (1831–1864). The aim of the House of Correction was to develop a disciplined workforce of former slaves and other “Free Africans”. Various control and information procedures were put in place to monitor its achievement of this goal.

This study is based on historical archival research, mainly conducted at the National Archive of Rio de Janeiro and at the Brazilian National Library. The study uses Althusser’s ideology concept and the Marxist concept of reproduction of labour to show how accounting information enabled the administrator of the House of Correction to exercise control over the “Free Africans” consistent with the ideologies of the period and place.

The authors find that the House of Correction pursued a policy of ensuring “Free Africans” were docile, obedient and familiar with State ideology.

The research is based on a single case study and it shows the need for both comparative and interdisciplinary analysis in order to increase an understanding of the use of accounting information in ancient prison contexts, as well as in contemporary situations.

This paper extends our knowledge of the use of accounting for the control of workers, who were either captive or repressed due to their ethnical differences; and it shows how ideology can be imposed through the use of accounting information. The authors extend theory by applying the Marxist and Althusserian concept of reproduction of labour to the case of “Free Africans”.