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Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Paulo Guilherme Fuchs, Manoel Honorato Filho, Liziane Araújo da Silva, Ana Regina Aguiar Dutra and José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra

Universities and their actions affect the environment directly and significantly. Therefore, the carbon footprint (CF) needs to be implemented in these institutions for mitigating…

Abstract

Purpose

Universities and their actions affect the environment directly and significantly. Therefore, the carbon footprint (CF) needs to be implemented in these institutions for mitigating climate change and its potential risks. Based on this understanding, the university consortium quality and environment (QualEnv) stands out by its main objective – to increase the university's contribution to sustainable development (SD) through the deployment of systematic environmental practices and quality processes. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present the CF of the Latin American universities of the QualEnv consortium.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on the actions for adopting CF and its implementation at the universities that take part in the QualEnv consortium. The measurement process and report presentation were done properly by the universities and published as institutional documents. Therefore, data were collected and analyzed through a document search, systematic literature review and participant observation.

Findings

The results show knowledge deepening and systematization on CF in higher education. In addition, it presents the effort of a group of universities that, through a research network, seek to adopt practices towards a carbon-neutral university, which requires an incremental and systematic change to break out of the traditional system.

Originality/value

This paper discusses the practical implications for universities and the need to implement initiatives for measuring and reducing their CF since it shows how the institutions belonging to QualEnv consortium have created their own strategies to mitigate climate change and contribute to SD.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Carla Patricia Finatto, Paulo Guilherme Fuchs, Ana Regina Aguiar Dutra and José Baltazar Salgueirinho de Andrade Guerra

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly aware of their role in developing and implementing a sustainable paradigm, with the potential to accelerate progress toward…

Abstract

Purpose

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly aware of their role in developing and implementing a sustainable paradigm, with the potential to accelerate progress toward sustainable development (SD). Therefore, this study aims to investigate the environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) practices of the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL) and, based on this analysis, indicate how HEIs in general can contribute to the promotion of these concepts.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on the authors' experiences and participant observations made during the establishment of sustainability practices at UNISUL. Additional data collected from documentary research and literature review were analyzed qualitatively.

Findings

The results show that sustainability is present in UNISUL’s educational and management processes as actions related to all SDGs and, thus, to all ESG dimensions. On the other hand, it was noted that many actions identified in the literature are not present, with governance being the dimension with fewer practices, thus indicating possibilities for improvement. In this way, new practices were suggested.

Originality/value

New actions linked to SDGs and ESG at UNISUL were identified that can be adopted by other HEIs.

Details

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

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainability is understood as a complex and integrating area, involving the most diverse areas and fields of knowledge. Because of the innumerable socio-environmental challenges in the current scenario, a sustainable development that finds the necessary changes and advances for communities, industry and the various stakeholders involved is required. In this process of promoting sustainable development, universities stand out for being institutions capable of taking an analytical and questioning look at the directions of the society in which they are inserted and not just helping them to pursue them, serving as a model and living laboratory for the implementation of greener practices in cities. One of the actions that contributes to the consolidation process of a more sustainable university and the development of the green campus is the use of green marketing, understood as a set of all the practices that involve conventional marketing, focused on the search to reduce the negative impact or promote positive effects on the relationship between the institution and the environment. This paper aims, based on the balanced scorecard (BSC), to propose a strategic management tool as support for green marketing strategies, thus promoting, more quickly, the promotion of sustainable development in higher education institutions (HEIs).

Design/methodology/approach

Four universities were chosen, from the literature, in terms of best practices for sustainable development, where the main dimensions used by green marketing were mapped. Based on them, the BSC structure was adapted to enhance its strategies.

Findings

To achieve the objective of this work, this paper proposed an adaptation of the original BSC for better management of green marketing strategies for universities, based on four dimensions: community members, university members, product and strategy.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is to propose a BSC as a strategic management system focused on the green marketing of universities to accelerate the promotion of sustainable development in HEIs.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 21 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Daniele B. Vinholes, Carlos Alberto Machado, Hilton Chaves, Sinara L. Rossato, Ione M.F. Melo, Flavio D. Fuchs and Sandra C. Fuchs

A staff canteen in the workplace can offer a healthier diet, which may lower the blood pressure (BP). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the presence of staff…

Abstract

Purpose

A staff canteen in the workplace can offer a healthier diet, which may lower the blood pressure (BP). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the presence of staff canteen in the workplace is associated with consumption of healthy food and lower systolic and diastolic BP.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was conducted, randomly selecting workers through a multistage sampling, stratified by company size in Brazil. Demographic, socioeconomic, and life style characteristics were evaluated, and weight, height, and BP were measured. Statistical analysis used generalized linear models, controlling for design effect and confounding factors, to assess the association between BP and staff canteen and the intake of food items.

Findings

In total, 4.818 workers, aged 35.4±10.7 years, 76.5 percent men, with 8.7±4.1 years of formal education were enrolled. Prevalence of hypertension was 24.7 percent (p-value <0.001) among workers from industries with staff canteen vs 30.6 percent among those with no staff canteen. Workers of industries with staff canteen consumed higher proportion of fruits, green leafy vegetables, and milk than workers of industries without canteen, and had lower systolic and diastolic BP, independently of the frequency of intake.

Practical implications

Workers of industries with staff canteen consumed a healthier diet, and had lower systolic and diastolic BP, and lower prevalence of hypertension than workers from workplaces without staff canteen.

Originality/value

This study was the first carried out among workers of industries reporting that the presence of a staff canteen in the workplace is associated with lower systolic and diastolic BP and prevalence of hypertension.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 120 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Margarethe Born Steinberger-Elias

In times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, journalists who write about biomedical information must have the strategic aim to be clearly and easily understood by…

Abstract

In times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, journalists who write about biomedical information must have the strategic aim to be clearly and easily understood by everyone. In this study, we assume that journalistic discourse could benefit from language redundancy to improve clarity and simplicity aimed at science popularization. The concept of language redundancy is theoretically discussed with the support of discourse analysis and information theory. The methodology adopted is a corpus-based qualitative approach. Two corpora samples with Brazilian Portuguese (BP) texts on Covid-19 were collected. One with texts from a monthly science digital magazine called Pesquisa FAPESP aimed at students and researchers for scientific information dissemination and the other with popular language texts from a news Portal G1 (Rede Globo) aimed at unspecified and/or non-specialized readers. The materials were filtered with two descriptors: “vaccine” and “test.” Preliminary analysis of examples from these materials revealed two categories of redundancy: paraphrastic and polysemic. Paraphrastic redundancy is based on concomitant language reformulation of words, sentences, text excerpts, or even larger units. Polysemic redundancy does not easily show material evidence, but is based on cognitively predictable semantic association in socio-cultural domains. Both kinds of redundancy contribute, each in their own way, to improving text readability for science popularization in Brazil.

Details

Geo Spaces of Communication Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-606-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 November 2019

David J. Park

This research draws on qualitative interviews with primarily lower socioeconomic status (SES) public library internet users to illuminate their perceptions of economic benefits…

Abstract

This research draws on qualitative interviews with primarily lower socioeconomic status (SES) public library internet users to illuminate their perceptions of economic benefits afforded by the internet. This powerful evidence challenges utopian new technological theories. The results from this study allow for the comparison of perspectives from Millennials, Generation Xers, Boomers, and the Silent generation. These results suggest a disconnect between the cultural mythology around the internet as an all-powerful tool and the lived experiences of lower SES respondents. Lower SES participants primarily use the internet to train and educate themselves in areas where they would like to work in the process of applying for jobs using the internet. Participants recognized marginal benefits such as socialization and less burdensome job application processes. However, they struggled to identify significant job-related benefits when comparing applying for jobs online as opposed to applying for jobs in person. With the exception of millennials, all generational groups believed in the economic promise of the internet to make their lives easier given enough time. Millennials, however, challenged the techno-utopianism expressed by other generations. Only millennials recognized the realities of digital inequalities that make techno-utopian outcomes unattainable given broader economic realities for low-SES individuals.

Details

Mediated Millennials
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-078-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2018

Vanderli Correia Prieto and Marly M. de Carvalho

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of internal strategic alignment (ISA) on business performance. A model is developed in which internal alignment is explained…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of internal strategic alignment (ISA) on business performance. A model is developed in which internal alignment is explained by the covariance between vertical and horizontal alignment. The perspective of business strategy implementation is adopted in order to support the theoretical relationship between the variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The partial least squares method, a structural equation modeling technique, is applied to estimate the model.

Findings

The results provide empirical validation for the model and confirm the positive relationship between internal alignment and business performance.

Practical implications

The ISA model is an essential aid for executives when implementing strategies and the validated research instrument can be applied for firms as a diagnosis of internal alignment in the organization.

Originality/value

The research contributed to meet the need for studies involving strategy implementation, as its formulation has already been emphasized, as well as to the need for models of strategic internal alignment that include activities relevant to the successful execution of the strategy, and to the need for alignment studies based on a holistic perspective.

Objetivo

O estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o impacto do alinhamento estratégico interno sobre o desempenho do negócio. Foi desenvolvido um modelo em que o alinhamento interno é explicado pela covariância entre o alinhamento vertical e o alinhamento horizontal. É adotada a perspectiva da implementação da estratégia de negócios para apoiar a relação teórica entre as variáveis.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Os dados foram processados e validados por meio da técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais com estimação pelo método Partial Least Squares (PLS).

Resultados

Os resultados dão validação ao modelo e confirmam a relação positiva entre o alinhamento estratégico interno e o desempenho organizacional.

Implicações práticas

O Modelo de Alinhamento Estratégico Interno define um conjunto de ações que podem servir de guia para os executivos quando da implementação da estratégia. Os instrumentos validados podem ser aplicados pelas organizações para realizar um diagnóstico do alinhamento interno.

Originalidad/valor

Esta pesquisa traz contribuições quanto à necessidade de estudos envolvendo a implementação da estratégia, uma vez que ênfase tem sido dada à formulação; quanto à escassez de modelos de alinhamento estratégico interno que integrem atividades relevantes para a execução bem sucedida da estratégia e à necessidade de estudos de alinhamento empregando a perspectiva holística.

Article
Publication date: 30 June 2020

Jose Celso Contador, Walter Cardoso Satyro, Jose Luiz Contador and Mauro de Mesquita Spinola

The purpose of this paper is to identify, characterize, classify and conceptualize different perspectives on strategic alignment still in use, propose a taxonomy and definitions…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify, characterize, classify and conceptualize different perspectives on strategic alignment still in use, propose a taxonomy and definitions that allow understanding the various coexisting concepts, as well as investigate the implications of strategic alignment for data-driven sustainable performance of firms and supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Bibliographic review was used.

Findings

The taxonomy proposes two classes of strategic alignment: (1) Align – more rigorous types of alignment: structure alignment, strategic congruence and strategy alignment; (2) Fit – less rigorous types of alignment: contingency strategic adjustment, strategic coalignment and strategic consistency. Companies are accumulating large amounts of data, which relevance varies widely. The strategic alignment can define criteria to select only the data that have strategic value, which restricts the amount of data to be analyzed. Each of the six types of strategic alignment is appropriate for a given situation in companies and/or supply chains.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations stem from the exclusive use of the taxonomy of strategic alignment, without considering the most diverse perspectives of strategy.

Practical implications

Decision makers will be able to identify more objectively which classes of data should be explored in each situation.

Social implications

Theoretical implications – The taxonomy proposal and the definition of each of the strategic alignment perspectives solve generalized misunderstandings resulting from the lack of a clear delimitation between the perspectives and the conceptual divergence between authors, who use them as equivalent or synonymous.

Originality/value

From 1961 to 2019, no paper was found proposing taxonomy, typology, systematization, ranking, distribution or classification of strategic alignment. The strategic alignment can define criteria to select, within the large amount of data accumulated by the company, only those that have strategic value, what restricts the quantity of data to be analyzed and facilitates the decision of the leaders.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 December 2021

Suzanne Temwa Gondwe Harris

When questioning the relationship between media, development, and democracy, especially in the ill-defined “Global South,” it’s important to go beyond the commonly held…

Abstract

When questioning the relationship between media, development, and democracy, especially in the ill-defined “Global South,” it’s important to go beyond the commonly held meta-narratives that frame these concepts as common sense. In a quest to investigate alternative characterizations of these terms, this chapter uses Ghanaian political economist Lord Mawuko-Yevugah’s (2014) theoretical framework of “developmentality” to explain how development has been used as an ideological instrument to promote the Western liberal media model in the “Global South.” Using a case study of Malawi, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid from the same countries who have defined and promoted this liberal media model aboard, raises important questions about a media model that is characterized by high objectivity and political neutrality on one side, but subjects countries to high levels of competition and free market principles on the other. By outlining the temporal sequence of events that have unfolded since the arrival of missionary media in the 1800s, the presence of international donors and the rise in non-governmental organizations, this chapter reveals how certain ideologies and practices have been legitimized through development to preserve the unequal balance of power between the “Global South” and their former colonial powers.

Book part
Publication date: 8 December 2021

Nipa Saha

This chapter explores the development of advertising regulations governing food advertising to children in Australia since the 1940s. By introducing the advertising and marketing…

Abstract

This chapter explores the development of advertising regulations governing food advertising to children in Australia since the 1940s. By introducing the advertising and marketing self-regulatory system, the Australian Government is taking a neoliberal approach, advocating for the free market to initiate and sustain the country’s economic development, instead of greater government regulation. By examining the primary and secondary literature, such as government reports and research, and newspaper and academic articles, this chapter outlines different regulatory initiatives adopted by both the government and food industry to limit food and beverage advertising to children on television and online, in order to prevent obesity rates increasing in children. This chapter synthesizes and critically evaluates food industry and public health studies, government and non-government reviews, and other research studies to evaluate the influence of self-regulation on Australian television food advertising within the neoliberal context since the 1990s. It contributes to the literature on food advertising regulations for children in Australia by offering evidence of how the government, public health authorities and the food industry have attempted to keep pace with changes in the advertising, marketing and media industries by developing and reviewing advertising codes. It identifies the loopholes that exist in these self-regulatory codes and concludes that Australia’s current advertising regulatory arrangements are failing to protect our children from unhealthy food marketing on television, especially on relatively under-regulated online platforms such as social media and branded websites. The issues identified in this chapter could aid the food and beverage industry, as well as the self-regulatory system, to offer comprehensive and applicable solutions to combat Australia’s obesity crises by implementing new legislations that align with different marketing practices.

Details

Media, Development and Democracy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-492-9

Keywords

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