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This study aims to propose and evaluate the progress in the basic-pixel (a strategy to generate continuous trajectories that fill out the entire surface) algorithm towards performance gain. The objective is also to investigate the operational efficiency and effectiveness of an enhanced version compared with conventional strategies.

For the first objective, the proposed methodology is to apply the improvements proposed in the basic-pixel strategy, test it on three demonstrative parts and statistically evaluate the performance using the distance trajectory criterion. For the second objective, the enhanced-pixel strategy is compared with conventional strategies in terms of trajectory distance, build time and the number of arcs starts and stops (operational efficiency) and targeting the nominal geometry of a part (operational effectiveness).

The results showed that the improvements proposed to the basic-pixel strategy could generate continuous trajectories with shorter distances and comparable building times (operational efficiency). Regarding operational effectiveness, the parts built by the enhanced-pixel strategy presented lower dimensional deviation than the other strategies studied. Therefore, the enhanced-pixel strategy appears to be a good candidate for building more complex printable parts and delivering operational efficiency and effectiveness.

This paper presents an evolution of the basic-pixel strategy (a space-filling strategy) with the introduction of new elements in the algorithm and proves the improvement of the strategy’s performance with this. An interesting comparison is also presented in terms of operational efficiency and effectiveness between the enhanced-pixel strategy and conventional strategies.

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.

Our study aims to evaluate the impact of infrastructure and public investment on private investment in machinery and equipment in Brazil from 1947 to 2017. The contribution of our article to the existing literature lies in providing a more comprehensive understanding of the presence or absence of the crowding effect in the Brazilian economy by leveraging an extensive historical database. Our central argument posits that the recent decline in private capital accumulation over the last few decades can be attributed to shifts in economic policies – moving from a developmentalist orientation to nondevelopmental guidance since the early 1990s, which is reflected in the diminished levels of public investment and infrastructure since the 1980s.

We conducted a series of econometric regressions utilizing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model as our chosen econometric methodology.

Employing two different variables to measure public investment and infrastructure, our results – robust across various specifications – have substantiated the existence of a crowding-in effect in Brazil over the examined period. Thus, we have empirical evidence indicating that the state has influenced private capital accumulation in the Brazilian economy over the past decades.

Our article contributes to the existing literature by offering a more comprehensive understanding of the crowding effect in the Brazilian economy, utilizing an extensive historical database.

This paper examines the impact of extreme rainfall shocks on the performance in test scores of students living near at-risk urban areas in Brazil.

To identify the causal effect, we consider the exogenous variation of rainfall at the municipal level conditioned on the distance from the school to risk areas and the rainfall intensity in the school months.

The results suggest that extreme precipitation shocks, defined as a shock of at least three months of high-intensity rainfall, have an adverse impact on both math and language performance. Through a heterogeneous effects analysis, we find that the impact varies by student gender, with girls being more affected. In addition, among students who study near at-risk areas, those with better previous school performance and higher socioeconomic status are more negatively affected.

Our results suggest that extreme weather events can increase the differences in human capital accumulation between the population living near risk areas and those living more distant from these areas.

Sustainability has become a priority for companies due to pressure from multiple stakeholders. In an overly competitive market, shareholders push for economic results, allowing lean manufacturing to establish itself as dominant paradigm in manufacturing. However, concerns grow regarding how lean implementation can allow companies to achieve sustainable development goals, or, if the resources required for a successful lean implementation can result in a detriment of environmental and social performance. This paper intends to help close the knowledge gap regarding the effects of lean manufacturing on sustainable performance from a triple bottom line perspective, and how operational, environmental and social outcomes interact between themselves.

Two models for the interaction between lean and sustainability were proposed. The first is called the “sand-cone” model, which poses that performance improvements derived from lean are cumulative on each one of the sustainability dimensions. The second is called the “trade-offs” approach. In this case, the resources required to improve one dimension of sustainability clash with those required by the others. Data were gathered from a sample of 133 Colombian metalworking companies and processed using structural equations models.

The results support the cumulative “sand-cone”, which follows a sequence of operational-environmental-social improvement in the presence of lean. For the “trade-offs” model, partial evidence suggests that they can occur in detriment of social performance.

The “sand-cone” and “trade-offs” are empirically tested for the first time in the context of sustainability, providing further knowledge into its interaction with lean manufacturing. The models’ results contribute to practitioners by providing a tested path for companies to improve their performance in a cumulative sequence that will provide better long-term results.