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The purpose of this paper is to present Zeuss, a software-based tool designed to improve grammar learning process in elementary school children. Despite efforts by the Colombian Government, the results of the final high school test indicate that students have major deficiencies with language, grammar and reading comprehension. Several difficulties have been evidenced in activities like writing essays or understanding academic papers. Among the reasons that may lead to these results include outdated courses, overcrowded classrooms and lack of interest.

A diagnostic test is performed on third-grade elementary school students to assess the current grammar knowledge and identify areas for improvement. The test results are used to design a software-based tool called Zeuss. The authors include playful activities inspired by several pedagogic exercises found in the literature and personalization so that interaction is tailored to specific user preferences and tastes.

Zeuss has been tested with third-grade students of the Gimnasio Campestre San Francisco de Sales elementary school in Bogotá, Colombia. The results show that using the tool leads to an overall improvement in the grammar construction learning process.

Zeuss aims at improving the learning process in elementary schools helping teachers to overcome several limitations like overcrowded classrooms and outdated pedagogic strategies. Zeuss focuses specifically on the grammar learning process.

Zeuss features updated pedagogical strategies, playful activities and a personalization model to tailor the learning process and help in context. It also allows teachers to track individual and classroom progress.

This study investigates which dimensions of the management control system (MCS) increase the perception of organizational justice and reduce unethical behavior in the perception of managers. The purpose of this paper is to validate the theoretical model of the study of Langevin and Mendoza (2012), testing the theoretical hypotheses formulated by the authors.

A survey was performed in companies listed among the Best and Largest of Exame Magazine, and the sample is composed of 102 respondents of the research, which consists of 41 assertions.

The results of the structural equation modeling show that the definition of objectives increases the perception of procedural justice, but the same was not observed regarding the remuneration of the managers. Likewise, disregarding aspects that are uncontrollable by managers in performance evaluation does not lead to the perception of procedural and distributive justice. However, feedback quality leads to the understanding that the MCS is fair. Perception of procedural and distributive justice was also observed in the use of multiple measures of performance by the company.

Other factors that have not been investigated may interfere with and contribute to the reduction of unethical behavior (budget slack and data manipulation).

The only variable that interferes in the reduction of unethical behavior is feedback quality. The non-confirmation of all the hypotheses instigates the replication of the research in other contexts for empirical validation of the theoretical model of Langevin and Mendoza (2012).

This chapter offers insights into how sibling dyads manage to prevent falling into the trap of conflicts and decision-making paralysis. The study draws on the case study of a family business that was co-founded by a married couple and is currently led by their daughter and son. The family business is 50-years-old.

The case provides inputs on how the three factors identified by Bövers and Hoon (2020) emerge in a duo-shared leadership and are influenced by the siblings’ personal relationship’s evolution since infancy. It also provides details into the role other family members and the family stories play in nurturing and strengthening relationships. Furthermore, it explores how some dimensions related to masculinity and femininity that can be at the origin of quarrels and conflicts between gender-diverse siblings can weaken or challenge the stability of the dynamic equilibrium of a siblings’ duo-shared leadership.

In addition, the case offers helpful examples into how the board of directors can help prevent conflict escalation, as well as on how triangulation can facilitate a dialogue between two family members who have different communication styles that cause difficulties in their direct interaction. Takeaways and recommendations close the chapter.

This study empirically tests a model of human capital (HC) factors affecting the organisational competitiveness (OC) of automotive parts suppliers in the Industry 4.0 framework, including concepts such as Toyota Kata (TK), Kaizen and Quality 4.0, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

An instrument was created to measure emotional intelligence (EI) and analytical skill (AS) as input variables and OC as the output variable. The instrument was distributed electronically to Tier 1 non-technical employees in Nuevo León and Querétaro, México. A total of 195 surveys were obtained. The instrument used stepwise multiple linear regression.

This study proposes a model to strengthen the OC of Tier 1 automotive parts supply industry from the perspective of HC factors. Furthermore, it is shown that EI and AS have a positive and significant impact on OC.

From an HC perspective, this study provides a useful basis to improve OC for researchers, industry experts and managers at different levels of the automotive industry, including the triple helix (academia, industry and the government).

No studies simultaneously test the relationship of EI and AS to OC; therefore, this study fills a gap in the literature. Furthermore, the study explored the literature on individual Kaizen (IK) and TK, leading to a contrast between the definitions of EI and AS. Finally, for EI, a reference to motivation was found in the IK. In the case of AS, an orientation to ability of problem solving was found in TK.

The purpose of this study was to explore the innovative and proactive practices adopted by subsistence businesses under the COVID-19 health contingency. Evidence of the current situation and the contingency practices that businesses have implemented in dealing with the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was collected through a literature review of secondary information sources: bibliographic and hemerographic, as well as in-depth interviews with five owners of artisanal and agricultural subsistence businesses.

Faced with uncertainty, artisanal and agricultural subsistence businesses have adopted innovative and proactive survival practices. The closure of markets, the absence of tourism, the suspension of non-essential activities, the lack of mobility and transportation, and the closure of access in rural communities are some of the realities these businesses are experiencing. Subsistence businesses in marginalised areas are a long way from accessing information technologies for online sales and home deliveries, which are implemented by most businesses in urban areas. In contrast, they revert to ancestral marketing practices such as bartering and low prices to earn an income for family food. Despite the loss of over 50% of subsistence businesses in urban and semi-urban areas, online sales through social media and websites, socially responsible initiatives, along with government support programmes, have helped others stay in business.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of accruals-based earnings management (AEM) and institutional and financial development on corporate risk of Latin-American firms.

The GMM estimator was used according to Arellano and Bond (1991) for panel data on a sample of 914 non-financial companies between 2005 and 2017.

AEM practices significantly increase corporate risk. This result indicates that the risk increase is associated to weakening of the corporate governance of companies. Positive discretionary accruals also have the same impact on corporate risk. In addition, accrual-based earnings management has a non-linear impact on corporate risk. Higher institutional and financial development systemically reduces the risk of Latin American firms. Institutional development can mitigate the effects of earnings management on corporate risk.

These results support that AEM represents a practice that managers use to weaken firms' corporate governance and expropriate wealth from shareholders. These practices promote higher firm's risk. However, the institutional and financial development reduces the corporate risk and contributes to mitigate the impact of AEM on it. These results have relevant implications for firms' corporate governance because they warn the relevance to control AEM practices and its impact over corporate risk perception by investors. These results also are relevant to policymakers because they orient the financial policies design to strengthen the institutional and financial development as a systematic way to reduce the firm's risk.

El propósito de este artículo es analizar los efectos de la gestión de ganancias basada en devengos (AEM) y el desarrollo institucional y financiero sobre el riesgo corporativo de las empresas latinoamericanas.

Se utilizó el estimador GMM de Arellano y Bond (1991) sobre una muestra de 914 empresas no financieras entre 2005 y 2017.

Las prácticas de AEM aumentan significativamente el riesgo corporativo. Este resultado indica que el aumento del riesgo está asociado al debilitamiento del gobierno corporativo de las empresas. Los devengos discrecionales positivos también tienen el mismo impacto en el riesgo corporativo. Además, la gestión de ganancias basada en el devengo tiene un impacto no lineal sobre el riesgo. Un mayor desarrollo institucional y financiero reduce sistémicamente el riesgo de las empresas. El desarrollo institucional puede mitigar los efectos de la gestión de ganancias sobre el riesgo corporativo.

Estos resultados revelan que AEM es una práctica que debilita los gobiernos corporativos y permite expropiar riqueza de los accionistas. Estas prácticas promueven un mayor riesgo corporativo, aunque el desarrollo institucional y financiero lo reduce. Estos resultados tienen implicancias relevantes para el gobierno corporativo de las empresas porque indican la relevancia de controlar estas prácticas en la percepción de riesgo de los inversionistas. Estos resultados también son relevantes para los reguladores porque orientan el diseño de políticas financieras hacia el fortalecimiento del desarrollo institucional y financiero como una vía sistemática que reduce el riesgo de las empresas.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of the integration process for the Integrated Market of Latin America (MILA) on its stock markets behavior as well as their degree of integration.

Daily time series data were used for stock returns, volatility, volume and the number of transactions and securities between August 16, 2007 and December 28, 2018. A DCC-MGARCH model was applied to analyze the impact of MILA on stock market behavior and predict dynamic correlations. A GARCH (1,1) model was used to determine the effect of MILA on co-movements between markets. Finally, a Markov regime switching model was used for robustness analysis.

MILA increased stock market activity in terms of volume, transactions and securities traded. However, it reduced returns and volatility. MILA had significant effects on the dynamic correlations between regional stock markets. After the integration process, the dynamic correlations of returns and volatility were reduced, but those related to volume, transactions and securities traded increased. Mexico's subsequent entry into MILA further reduced market volatility, but it did not have relevant effects on markets' co-movements.

These results are relevant for investors and policymakers. MILA has benefited the markets by promoting stock market activity, reducing risk, creating a margin for diversification and limiting risk contagion between them. These results help to guide investment decisions due to the fact that MILA's benefits in terms of regional diversification would be greater in some markets.

This study aims to demonstrate the derivation of social sustainability metrics that guide the decision-making of hotel managers regarding sustainability strategies based on the case study of Hotel Tigaiga in the Canary Islands, using a noninstrumental approach of the stakeholder theory.

The analytic–synthetic method of integrated social value (ISV) was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders’ representatives, direct observations and relevant documents.

Metrics referring to hotel outputs valued by stakeholders and expressed in monetary terms were obtained.

The findings cannot be directly applied to a similar hotel. Applying the ISV model to a set of similar hotels to standardize outputs and proxies is necessary.

The results can guide efforts to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Hotel Tigaiga’s social sustainability strategies.

Research on measuring the sustainability of hotels in terms of generating maximum value for society is limited. This study is unique because it demonstrates the process of deriving comprehensible indicators to guide hotel managers toward social sustainability.