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It is our pleasure as editors to dedicate Research on Economic Inequality, Volume 20 to Professor Jacques Silber. Jacques is a long-time friend of the series and has kindly functioned as a mentor and advisor to us.

Cooperative agreements between universities and firms (U–F) have gained prominence. However, the literature on organisational culture and the formation of cooperation agreements is scarce. This study aims to analyse, from the perspective of the managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and those in charge in universities, the perceptions of the influence of organisational culture on this type of U–F cooperation.

To this end, multiple case studies were adopted, involving cooperation agreements between a Portuguese and eight SMEs incubated in UBImedical. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information, aiming to understand the meaning, importance and possible obstacles caused by organisational culture in this U–F cooperation agreement.

Content analysis of the results obtained leads to the conclusion that cultural compatibility is a crucial factor for successful U–F cooperation. The exchange of knowledge, mutual trust and flexibility between those involved are identified as key determinants to build shared norms that allow a more productive, assertive union.

The study represents an important tool to support SME managers and those in charge of universities, as the evidence obtained can help them to define policies and actions with regard to the U–F cooperation process. More precisely, these SME and university managers could give more attention to culture in future cooperation agreements.

This study advances understanding of the role of organisational culture in a cooperation agreement since this was a gap identified in the literature on the topic. It also contributes to the existing body of work on U–F cooperation, demonstrating that organisational culture is considered important by partners in these agreements and should be adjusted towards compatible alignment of each party’s expectations.

This paper aims to investigate the possibility of lowering the time taken during the aircraft design for unmanned aerial vehicles by using machine learning (ML) for the configuration selection phase. In this work, a database of unmanned aircraft is compiled and is proposed that decision tree classifiers (DTC) can understand the relations between mission and operational requirements and the resulting aircraft configuration.

This paper presents a ML-based approach to configuration selection of unmanned aircraft. Multiple DTC are built to predict the overall configuration. The classifiers are trained with a database of 118 unmanned aircraft with 57 characteristics, 47 of which are inputs for the classification problem, and 10 are the desired outputs, such as wing configuration or engine type.

This paper shows that DTC can be used for the configuration selection of unmanned aircraft with reasonable accuracy, understanding the connections between the different mission requirements and the culminating configuration. The framework is also capable of dealing with incomplete databases, maximizing the available knowledge.

This paper increases the computational usage for the aircraft design while retaining requirements’ traceability and increasing decision awareness.

The goal of this study was to use census information to measure the level of occupational segregation of workers of African descent with respect to whites in various Latin American countries. I further investigated the extent to which segregation levels can be accounted for by different workers’ characteristics. The results show that Afro-Latinos are generally highly segregated across occupations but with high heterogeneity across countries. A large proportion of this segregation would not exist if Afro-Latinos had attained the same education as whites in Brazil and Ecuador, where most segregation occurs across major occupational categories. However, the proportion of occupational segregation explained by educational inequalities is much lower in other countries, where most segregation occurs within the major occupational groups. Further, occupational segregation would be even higher, especially in Costa Rica, if the geographical distribution of black and white populations were similar across these countries.

Environmental studies have developed slowly within social sciences in Latin America. This paper seeks to assess and systematize the contribution of social sciences in the research on the human dimensions of global environmental change (HDGEC) in the region outlining its state of the art and process of development.

The approach taken is the organization of a manual compilation and systematic review of publications on topics related to the HDGEC in order to investigate major research topics covering the period between 2001 and 2008.

Although it is possible to identify an emergent body of the literature and scholarship in the region, the involvement of Latin American social science in the HDGEC research is still timid and tentative and not yet institutionalized. The evidence from this compilation has shown that this literature is fragmented bringing difficulties for the homogenization of criteria for analysis and assessment.

The paper is one of the very few attempts to assess and analyze the research on HDGEC in Latin America through an international perspective. It provides an overview of its development building upon the progress of environmental studies in the region and looks to its challenges ahead in order to call for more involvement of social sciences in these research activities.

Communicating the identity of a family business generates positive results in consumer response. The paper aims to understanding how the efficient transmission of family identity can influence consumer behavior is essential for designing family firms' marketing communication strategies.

An experimental study based on the eye-tracking technique was designed to determine how attention to (familiar vs non-familiar) visual stimuli on a website influences consumer recognition of a family firm status and how it influences consumer behavior. A sample of 212 individuals was exposed to (simulated) websites of family and non-family firms in the hospitality industry to capture information about their eye movements and measure visual attention to specific stimuli that communicated family identity.

Visual attention has a direct and positive influence on recognizing family firm's identity (FFI). Through FFI, visual attention has an indirect positive effect on trust in the company and attitude toward the brand (BraAtt). Trust in a firm positively affects purchase intention (PurInt).

It is known that consumers can perceive a FFI; however, there is no study on the sensory mechanisms operating in consumers' perceptions of family identity. The study contributes to understanding how consumers can perceive a FFI. This study proposes a novel method for evaluating consumer responses by transmitting family business identity on digital platforms.

To identify transitional palliative care (TPC) interventions for older adults with non-malignant chronic diseases and complex conditions.

A systematic review of the literature was conducted. CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase and Pubmed databases were searched for studies reporting TPC interventions for older adults, published between 2002 and 2019. The Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool was used for quality appraisal.

A total of six studies were included. Outcomes related to TPC interventions were grouped into three categories: healthcare system-related outcomes (rehospitalisation, length of stay [LOS] and emergency department [ED] visits), patient-related outcomes and family/carer important outcomes. Overall, TPC interventions were associated with lower readmission rates and LOS, improved quality of life and better decision-making concerning hospice care among families. Outcomes for ED visits were unclear.

Positive outcomes related to healthcare services (including readmissions and LOS), patients (quality of life) and families (decision-making) were reported. However, the number of studies supporting the evidence were limited.

Studies examining the effectiveness of existing care models to support transitions for those in need of palliative care are limited. This systematic literature review identified and appraised interventions aimed at improving transitions to palliative care in older adults with advanced non-malignant diseases or frailty.