Search results

This papers aims to study lattice structures in terms of geometric variables, manufacturing variables and material-based variants and their correlation with compressive behaviour for their application in a methodology for the design and development of personalized elastic therapeutic products.

Lattice samples were designed and manufactured using extrusion-based additive manufacturing technologies. Mechanical tests were carried out on lattice samples for elasticity characterization purposes. The relationships between sample stiffness and key geometric and manufacturing variables were subsequently used in the case study on the design of a pressure cushion model for validation purposes. Differentiated areas were established according to patient’s pressure map to subsequently make a correlation between the patient’s pressure needs and lattice samples stiffness.

A substantial and wide variation in lattice compressive behaviour was found depending on the key study variables. The proposed methodology made it possible to efficiently identify and adjust the pressure of the different areas of the product to adapt them to the elastic needs of the patient. In this sense, the characterization lattice samples turned out to provide an effective and flexible response to the pressure requirements.

This study provides a generalized foundation of lattice structural design and adjustable stiffness in application of pressure cushions, which can be equally applied to other designs with similar purposes. The relevance and contribution of this work lie in the proposed methodology for the design of personalized therapeutic products based on the use of individual lattice structures that function as independent customizable cells.

Despite the technological paradigm shift presented to the architecture, engineering, construction and operations sector (AECO), the full-fledged acceptance of the building information modelling (BIM) methodology has been slower than initially anticipated. Indeed, this study aims to acknowledge the need for increasing supportive technologies enabling the use of BIM, attending to available human resources, their requirements and their tasks.

A complete case study is described, including the development process centred on design science research methodology followed by the usability assessment procedure validated by construction projects facility management operational staff.

Results show that participants could interact with BIM using openBIM processes and file formats naturally, as most participants reached an efficiency level close to that expected for users already familiar with the interface (i.e. high-efficiency values). These results are consistent with the reported perceived satisfaction and analysis of participants’ discourses through 62 semi-structured interviews.

The contributions of the present study are twofold: a proposal for a virtual reality openBIM framework is presented, particularly for the semantic enrichment of BIM models, and a methodology for evaluating the usability of this type of system in the AECO sector.

The purpose of this study is to identify the possible efficiency gains in using tokenization for the execution of public expenditure on governmental investments.

Through design science research methodology, the exploratory research produced a tokenized prototype in the blockchain, through the Ernst and Young OpsChain traceability solution, allowing automated processes in the stages of public expense. A focus group composed of auditors from the public sector evaluated the possibility of improving the quality of information available in the audited entities, where the tokens created represent and register the actions of public agents in the blockchain Polygon.

The consensus of the experts in the focus group indicated that the use of tokenization could improve the quality of the information, since the possibility of recording the activities of public agents in the metadata of the tokens at each stage of the execution of the expenditure allows the audited entities the advantages of the information recorded on the blockchain, according to the following ranking: first the immutability of audited data, followed by reliability, transparency, accessibility and efficiency of data structures.

This research makes an empirical contribution to the real use of tokenization in blockchain technology to the public sector through a value chain in which tokens were created and moved between the wallets of public agents to represent, register and track the operations regarding public expense execution.

Embeddedness has gained prominence in entrepreneurship studies. However, the notion that the embeddedness metaphor relates to “market” structures prevails in studies in the area. Entrepreneurship scholars still know little about whether entrepreneurs are eventually embedded in other structures whose relationships go beyond the restricted dimension of the interested actor’s assumption. This study aims to propose investigating the social structures in which a specific type of entrepreneurship, the religious one, is embedded.

The research was qualitative, using interviews as an evidence collection instrument. A total of 17 entrepreneur-pastors responsible for business churches in Brazil and eight parishioners took part in the study.

Religious entrepreneurs are embedded in market structures, corroborating a perspective that associates embeddedness with the utilitarian notion. At the same time, entrepreneurs are embedded in two other social structures: reciprocity and redistribution.

This article emphasizes the relevance of going beyond the predominant perspective associated with the utilitarian and rationalized understanding of embeddedness in relationship networks.

This study makes essential contributions. Initially, it attests to the utilitarian perspective of Granovetter’s embeddedness while suggesting incorporating two other dimensions into the metaphor. By highlighting this, this article stresses the need to reinterpret the metaphor of embeddedness and how entrepreneurship scholars use it. Further, by emphasizing the need to consider embeddedness in networks beyond its still utilitarian perspective, this paper highlights unexplored opportunities for entrepreneurship scholars.

Lean healthcare (LHC) applies lean philosophy in the healthcare sector to promote a culture of continuous improvement through the elimination of non-value-added activities. Studies on the subject can be classified as conceptual (theoretical) or analytical (applied). Therefore, this research compares bibliometric indicators between conceptual and analytical articles on LHC.

For data collection, the PRISMA Protocol was employed, and 488 articles published from 2009 to 2021, indexed in the Scopus and WoS databases, were retrieved.

This study reveals how conceptual and analytical LHC studies are organized in terms of the most relevant journals, articles, institutions, countries, the total number of citations, collaboration networks (co-authorship, international collaboration network and institutional collaboration network) and main co-words.

Only four papers conducting bibliometric analysis on LHC studies were identified in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. In addition, none of these papers compared conceptual and analytical bibliometric indicators to reveal the evolution, organization and trends of each category. Therefore, this work is not only the first to make this comparison but also the first to analyze the collaboration between authors, institutions and countries in relation to studies on LHC. The analyses performed in this work allow one new possible understanding, by researchers and health professionals, of the literature behavior in this field of study.

This study aims to investigate how a sample of US municipalities use social media for strategic communication, focusing on efforts to effectively measure and evaluate that communication. Research questions focus on measurement and evaluation practices, as well as the motivations and impacts associated with these practices.

This research uses a qualitative approach. Interviews were conducted with 12 municipal government personnel responsible for social media communication. The self-selected participants represent 10 states and all US Census regions. Data was content analyzed and categorized according to four research questions, with emergent themes described.

The results show a diverse set of approaches and motivations, with surface-level measurement and evaluation methods. Initial efforts at more ad hoc use of social media are moving toward more deliberate strategies, but limited resources inhibit progress for some municipalities.

Few studies exist which explore how US municipalities formally measure and evaluate their social media activities as part of their overall strategic communication efforts. This study adds to the existing literature by providing insight into the measurement and evaluation practices that municipalities use to assess their social media communication. The study also provides a basis for larger and deeper investigations of municipal strategic communication practices related to measurement and evaluation.

This paper aims to study the influence of leisure-time physical activity on depression crises and the difficulty in performing light household tasks.

A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the 2020 European Health Survey in Spain. A total of 1,076 individuals diagnosed with depression were selected. ANOVA, chi-square, Fisher’s exact test and Mann–Whitney U test were applied, and a simple moderation analysis was conducted using the SPSS PROCESS 4.0 macro.

Women had higher percentages of some or much difficulty in performing domestic activities (p = 0.007). Differences were found between experiencing a crisis in the past 12 months versus not having one (p < 0.001): less physical activity was performed, perceived health was worse and difficulty in performing domestic activities increased. The moderation analysis confirmed the moderating effect of physical activity on the relationship between experiencing a crisis and having difficulty with domestic activities (p = 0.017).

The usual limitation of descriptive cross-sectional studies, which cannot establish causal relationships, must be added to low sample sizes in some categories.

The analysis with gender differentiation, promoting gender-specific adapted practices, considering age and personal circumstances of the patient, appropriate exercise prescription, as well as its evaluation and follow-up, are areas where specialist nurses need to delve deeper to enhance the quality of care.

Leisure-time physical activity moderates the relationship between experiencing a crisis and having difficulty with light household tasks: those who engage in occasional physical activity have less difficulty compared to those who do not engage in it.

This study is a targeted review of some of the major changes in European regulation that guided energy policy decisions in the Iberian Peninsula and how they may have aggravated the problem of lack of flexibility. This study aims to assess some of the proposed short-term solutions to address this issue considering the underlying root causes and suggests a different course of action, that in turn, could help alleviate future market strains.

The evolution of the most important (macro) energy and price-related variables in both Portugal and Spain is assessed using market and grid operator data. In addition, the authors present critical viewpoints on some of the most recent EU and national regulation changes (official document analysis).

The Iberian energy policy and regulatory agenda has successfully promoted a rapid adoption of renewables (main goal), although with insufficient diversification of generation technologies. The compulsory closings of thermal plants and an increased tax (mainly carbon) added pressure toward more environmentally friendly thermal power plants. However, inevitably, this curbed the bidding price competitiveness of these producers in an already challenging market framework. Moving forward, decisions must be based on “a bigger picture” that does not neglect system flexibility and security of supply and understands the specificities of the Iberian market and its generation portfolio.

This work provides an original account of unprecedented spikes in energy prices in 2021, specifically in the Iberian electricity market. This acute situation worries consumers, industry and governments. Underlining the instability of the market prices, for the first time, this study discusses how some of the most important regulatory changes, and their perception and absorption by involved parties, contributed to the current environment. In addition, this study stresses that if flexibility is overlooked, the overall purpose of having an affordable and reliable system is at risk.

The purpose of this study is to identify the uses of Industry 4.0 technologies in the area of education and how they contribute to learning in addition to highlighting at what educational level they are used.

A systematic literature review was carried out in the Scopus (Elsevier), Web of Science and ScienceDirect (Elsevier) databases, starting in 2011. In total, 51 articles were selected for a quantitative analysis, and 23 of them were read to answer the questions of the research from a qualitative analysis.

The results show a greater use of augmented reality, simulation, Internet of Things and virtual reality. The level of education at which they are most present is higher education. They collaborate to increase immersion in content, student engagement, interpersonal interaction, reduce costs and risks, simulate real work scenarios, expand study possibilities, without limited time and space, develop soft skills and learn about technologies, their uses and modes of operation. It is concluded that the technologies of Industry 4.0 support the entire learning process, but they are not used as much as they should. They are still largely restricted to universities and courses related to manufacturing. It is hoped that this work can contribute to the development of Education 4.0 at all stages of teaching.

Reviews have already been carried out on the use of technologies in teaching. The originality of this work is in the fact that it focuses on Industry 4.0 technologies in the Education 4.0 scenario.

In Brazil, the city of Pelotas experienced an economic apex between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, reflecting in the construction of several buildings. The aim of this article is to evaluate the state of degradation of the facades of the Old School of Agronomy Eliseu Maciel, using qualitative and quantitative indicators.

The study was divided into visual and photographic survey, damage map and subsequent application of the Degradation Measurement Method (MMD) and the Element Performance Index (Ip). Taking into consideration the evaluation of the building: through historical research and survey of damages. Finally, the building was framed at a level of degradation.

By calculating the average damage between the methods – damage map, MMD and Ip – a more faithful representation of the damage was obtained, since the values become balanced. The results show the potential of the use of the methods in the analysis of pathological manifestations in facades.

The originality of this article refers to the use of methods for evaluation of historical buildings. The authors believe that the methods described applied jointly provide the results about the state of degradation through nondestructive and low-cost analyses. The methods of surveying damage to Brazilian heritage are a little researched area. This work will hopefully be engaged by academics and professionals to help establish and promote broad government interest and investments.