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The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an analytical and experimental research for the development of an innovative product designated RFID environment (RFID‐Env). This software is designed for the use of professionals in computer systems and plant engineering who are engaged in research and development (R&D) of ultra high frequency (UHF) passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems as applied to the management and operation of logistic supply chains.

The RFID‐Env makes it possible to simulate on computer screens a complete RFID‐Env by processing user data on the technical and physical characteristics of real or virtual RFID‐Envs. Information outputted can include descriptions of the performance to be expected from a given configuration and detailed reports as to whether that particular configuration will succeed in reading all the RFID tags flowing through a defined system.

The paper shows the models and methods on how these simulations can be performed, and this is the major scientific contribution of this work, i.e. what are the logical and physical models that enable the development of software simulators for RFID‐Envs.

This work will be continued to introduce more consideration of the physical environment, such as the interferences produced by the tagged products themselves by scattering the radio frequency (RF) signals, and the models, positioning and focusing of the antennas. New RF prediction models shall be created along the continuation of this paper, with the purpose to rise the amount of environments that can be simulated.

The product is intended for use by developers in computer sciences, and by engineers doing R&D for the solution of RFID problems, and makes it possible to simulate a complete range of virtual RFID‐Envs so that R&D can proceed in a non‐factory atmosphere.

There are only a few related papers that consider in an isolated form some of the problems approached here, but it was not found models that proposed as an integrated form all the processing to an RFID‐Env simulation like here presented.

In recent years, governments, donors, and NGOs have increasingly embraced value chain development (VCD) for stimulating economic growth and combating rural poverty. In line with the rise in interest, there has been a proliferation of guides for VCD. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a review of 11 guides for value chain along six different dimensions, ranging from objectives and value chain definitions to monitoring impact. The paper concludes with suggestions for the use of guides based on local needs and context, and recommendations for future guide development.

The review compares the concepts and methods endorsed and it assesses the strengths and limitations of the guides for steering development practice.

Overall, the guides provide a useful framework for understanding markets and engaging with chain stakeholders, with a strong emphasis on strengthening institutions and achieving sustainability of interventions. However, the guides often lack discussions on the conditions necessary at different levels for VCD to advance development objectives and achieve that sustainability. The guides are designed to be implemented largely independently of the specific context, in which the chain is situated, despite the major implications context has for the design of interventions and overall success of the chain. Attention to mutual learning, whether related to tool design or the outcomes and impacts of VCD interventions, is limited.

More critical reflection and debate is needed on the design of guides for VCD. The authors suggest three areas for this reflection and debate: concepts, methods, and tools for addressing the needs of the poor in value chains; tools for addressing variations in the context; and mechanisms for mutual learning on the design and implementation of VCD.

The paper concludes with various recommendations for guide authors and donors that support VCD.

The purpose of this paper is to present a mathematical model of one very flexible transport category airplane whose structural dynamics was modeled with the strain-based formulation. This model can be used for the analysis of couplings between the flight dynamics and structural dynamics.

The model was developed with the use of Hamiltonian mechanics and strain-based formulation. Nonlinear flight dynamics, nonlinear structural dynamics and inertial couplings are considered.

The mathematical model allows the analysis of effects of high structural deformations on airplane flight dynamics.

The mathematical model has more than 60 degrees of freedom. The computational burden is too high, if compared to the traditional rigid body flight dynamics simulations.

The mathematical model presented in this work allows a detailed analysis of the couplings between flight dynamics and structural dynamics in very flexible airplanes. The better comprehension of these couplings will contribute to the development of flexible airplanes.

This work presents the application of nonlinear flight dynamics-nonlinear structural dynamics-strain-based formulation (NFNS_s) methodology to model the flight dynamics of one very flexible transport category airplane. This paper addresses also the way as the analysis of results obtained in nonlinear simulations can be made. Comparisons of the NFNS_s and nonlinear flight dynamics-linear structural dynamics methodologies are presented in this work.

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic framework with a meta-analytical approach to find various types of antecedents, consequences and moderation effects of the technological acceptance model (TAM) in banking contexts.

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of a total of 142 articles, which generated 636 observations, in an accumulated sample of 45,781 respondents.

The findings of this meta-analysis demonstrated 18 constructs that were antecedent to the TAM and four constructs that functioned as consequences. Most of these relationships were significant and consistent. The authors also found some methodological, cultural, economic and theoretical moderations effects between TAM constructs and the attitudes/behavioural intentions of banking technological devices.

This meta-analysis reviewed the relationships found worldwide in the literature on TAM constructs in banking contexts. It was possible to identify new avenues for future research. Some specific limitations, such as the non-use of qualitative studies and the clipping of adverse concepts, exist in the secondary data and should be registered.

The work could assist managers in decision-making because the findings resulting from the meta-analysis are more consistent than those from traditional primary surveys.

This research tested the impact of the antecedents, consequences and moderators of the TAM in the banking sector and presented important results via a meta-analytical review. This meta-analysis contributes to the marketing literature by offering a set of empirical generalisations, including relationship coefficients and calculated fail-safe numbers.

This study aims to propose an approach to assess the security of supply (SS) in a coal-fired electricity generation supply chain subject to public price regulation in Brazil. This study characterizes the Brazilian scenario of coal-fired electricity generation, which represents less than 3.5% of the energy sources.

Data from six mining companies that supply a coal plant were analyzed in a case study. The risks were characterized and objectively estimated through a synthetic multidimensional index. Structural changes in the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and exploration indicator time series of coal companies (CC) were statistically detected.

Empirical evidence demonstrates that the supply chain has a low disruption risk (SS index equal to 0.74). However, when suppliers are individually analyzed, 48.64% of all coal shows moderated disruption risk, and 2.51% is under high risk. In addition, this study finds a drop in the financial results of CC related to public regulation of coal prices. This impacts the security of coal supply.

This study discusses the influence of legal and regulatory policy risks in a coal power generation supply chain and the implications of the SS index as a management tool.

A novel SS index is presented and empirically operationalized, and its dimensions – environmental, occupational, operational, economic-financial and supply capacity – are analyzed.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is highly emerging in the management literature. However, recent studies highlight the necessity to associate with reflections on this theme, usually approached from an economic perspective, propositions also derived from relational approaches. This paper aims to investigate associations between EO and social networks, specifically about the still little explored relational coupling/decoupling theme.

This paper provides an empirical and qualitative study of religious entrepreneurs. A total of 18 pastors responsible for creating and leading independent neo-Pentecostal churches located in Belo Horizonte/Brazil, selected using the snowball technique, participated in this qualitative, case-study research. Two analysis categories guided data collection: pastors’ EO (behaviors suggestive of their innovativeness, proactivity, competitive aggressiveness, risk-taking and autonomy) and churches’ social framework (the resources and attributes that pastors obtain from their institutional structure).

The study concludes that pastors combine attributes representing their EO and their social structure in developing their religious endeavors.

Among the limitations are the restricted use of semi-structured interviews as a data collection source and the absence of data proving the churches’ performance.

The paper contributes by showing that entrepreneurs can influence the structure of their networks by using EO; proving that networks influence pastors’ EO; revealing recursivity between EO and networks; emphasizing a relational dimension of the EO construct and presenting new theoretical propositions that can be explored and tested in future investigations.

This paper investigates the transaction decoupling phenomenon in purchase and consumption of football match tickets. The theoretical approach describes several economical constructs behind individual decision-making behaviour, including sunk costs, mental accounting and coupling. Results indicate that people who buy bundled tickets are less likely to use their tickets than those who purchase individual ones. Furthermore, the phenomenon proved to be a valid theory in an actual Brazilian football ticket purchase and consumption scenario, confirming that rational elements can also be part of sports consumption. Thus, it can be stated that the type of purchase (bundle or single tickets) influences consumer decision-making.

This study aims to focus on the entrepreneurial education and profile in undergraduate business administration programs in Brazil, particularly in the southern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Assuming that the entrepreneurial profile can be developed by teaching and learning processes.

The research performed qualitative approach through interviews and a quantitative approach using multiple criteria decision-making methods. Data were collected along 2015 in a survey with a population of 412 students from three high education institutions (HEIs) and analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process with ratings.

The study has found that the key entrepreneurial trait for all groups was the ability to “plan”. Other relevant dimensions were “self-realization”, “innovative” and “leader”. The dimensions “risk taking” and “sociability” were considered not important in the opinion of all groups.

The entrepreneurial profile does not seem to evolve over the four-year college period, thus suggesting a failure of the entrepreneurial education at the three surveyed HEIs to impact the overall perception of students about the requirements for creating and developing new ventures. Actions to revert this trend should be taken.

This research aims to identify differences in perception about the entrepreneurial profile among freshmen and senior undergraduates. The theme is relevant in a knowledge era where academy has to prepare students to be entrepreneurs. Similar studies were done around in Brazil and around the world but no one in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The work has a contribution by proposing and applying a method to compare students groups, programs, institutions and countries over time.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case report involving environmental performance analysis of a small Brazilian business from the foundry industry.

An environmental performance indicator was developed (I_epa) which is calculated taking into consideration the weighting of potential environmental impacts of each residue/sub product generated, the relative spatial dispersion which each residue/sub product can reach, and the adequacy evaluation of final allocation accomplished by the company for each residue/sub product.

Despite the evidence that the corporation do not conduct washing of gases emitted from the chimney of the foundry furnace, which consists an environmentally inadequate attitude, the result of I_epa=97.50 percent was obtained. This favorable result is due to the adequate allocation given to residues generated in greater volume in the process, the molding sand. This sand is addressed to an industrial landfill, which is an environmentally adequate practice and approved by competent environmental authorities.

The method used can be applied to measure the environmental impact generated by any business of the foundry sector industry.

The originality of the work is in the developed method, which takes into account: the potential impact of each residue/sub product generated, the amount of each residue/sub product generated in a given time period, the dispersion that each residue/sub product can attain, and the evaluation of eventual allocation of each residue/sub product.