Search results

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the seasonal and spatial variations in the statistical descriptors of the Markov chain model as well as the expected values of the length of dry and wet days and to estimate the probability of dry and rainy sequences in the state of Santa Catarina.

Daily rainfall data from 1970 to 2013 of five rainfall stations in the state of Santa Catarina were used. To model the sequence of dry and wet days, the first order of the Markov chain was used. The statistical descriptors of the Markov model were evaluated, as well as the expected values of the length of dry and wet days and the number of dry and rainy days for each month. Along with geometric distribution, the probability of occurrence of sequences of dry and rainy days was determined. The adherence of the data to geometric distribution was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.

The results showed that there is a seasonal and spatial variation in Markov model descriptors and also in the duration of the dry and rainy periods. These variations may be related to the mechanisms responsible for the formation and distribution of rainfall in the state, such as the air masses and relief. The Lages station, located in the Plateau of Santa Catarina, had the highest P₀₀ values, reflecting more stable conditions of the atmosphere. In autumn and winter, no marked differences were found between the coastal stations and west of the state. The geometric distribution was adequate for estimating the probability of dry and rainy days.

Although some work has already been carried out on the modeling of the Markov chain in the state of Santa Catarina, this study was found to be more complete with the use of various statistical descriptors of the model and its application in estimating the duration of the cycles of dry and wet periods and the number of rainy days in the period.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the dairy production barriers: lack of cooperation between the chain actors, milk quality deficiencies, rural exodus and, productivity limitations in southern Brazil, based on Santa Catarina’s dairy production ecosystem players perceptions.

From inquiry result analysis with 305 dairy sector experts, the authors performed statistical tests using the technique of factorial analysis and confirmatory factorial analysis to confirm and/or refute the dairy production barriers presented by Bonamigo et al. (2016b).

The results confirmed the presence of the barriers presented by Bonamigo et al. (2016b). The barrier lack of cooperation between the chain actors is presented as the biggest obstacle in the sector, according to the interviewees. The authors also found that rural exodus is the barrier with the smallest impact on the dairy sector development in relation to other barriers presented by Bonamigo et al. (2016b). The confirmation of these barriers in practice allows developing new studies to eliminate and/or mitigate these barriers of the dairy sector. Furthermore, the study might shed some light on dairy production activities and help improve management skills.

This study does not cover all the players that make up the dairy production ecosystem. It is limited only to the main players that are inserted in this sector. The authors observed the lack of data characterizing the dairy production system in Santa Catarina.

This study presents theoretical and practical contribution. By the confirmation that these barriers are present in the field, it is possible to direct new studies that seek to mitigate them and results in dairy production improvements. As for the practical contribution, the confirmation of those barriers can serve as a basis for the dairy sector decision-making actors, such as government, research institutions, and extension, producers, cooperatives, among others, and assist them in developing strategic actions that concern a cooperative way to develop the whole sector.

This paper aim to propose a methodological mapping approach for the evaluation of dissertations and theses of graduate programs in the area of environmental sciences in Brazil in relation to the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The research is characterized as exploratory with qualitative/quantitative approach. The proposed model was developed as a computational algorithm with a pilot being adopted as a professional master in national network for teaching in environmental sciences (ProfCiAmb) comprising associated courses from nine Brazilian public universities. 230 dissertations completed between 2018 and 2020 were analyzed.

A total of 266 correlations were identified between the texts and descriptors of each SDG. Correlation values between 0.100 (minimum value – Vmin) and 0.464 (maximum value – Vmax) were observed. SDG 4 – Quality Education (Vmax = 0.399) and SDG 6 – Drinking Water and Sanitation (Vmax = 0.464) were those with the highest correlation values, followed by SDG 3 – Health and Well-Being (Vmax = 0.299) and SDG 17 – Partnerships and Means of Implementation (Vmax = 0.249).

The construction of the computational algorithm provided consistent quantitative analyses with potential to contribute to the improvement of the multidimensional evaluation of graduate studies, as well as to support public policies related to teaching and research and strategic planning of the programs.

The relevance of this study lies in the creation of a model that involves the creation of metrics and tools regarding the impact of graduate studies on society.

This paper aims to demonstrate how customer knowledge management (CKM) can assist destination management organizations (DMOs) in the smart management of the tourist experience to contribute to the creation of smart solutions and the promotion of smart tourism destinations (STDs). To accomplish it, a CKM conceptual framework aligned with smart tourism and composed of eight processes is developed to guide managers in this management.

This research adopts the design science research methodology and applies its steps. It was supported by a systematic integrative literature review on CKM models and frameworks and their main elements, as well as by semi-structured interviews with tourism specialists in the context of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

From the literature it appears that tourist experiences are customer knowledge essential to the improvement and innovation of tourism products and services, and that CKM, still little explored in this scenario, tends to contribute to the management of this crucial knowledge for smart tourism. The analyses and improvements to the structure developed by specialists show its applicability and contributions to the management of STD experiences.

This paper offers an original contribution to the integration of the theoretical constructs of CKM, tourist experience and STDs by showing how the CKM, from tourism experiences, technologies and social networks, can assist DMOs in the management of experiences and promotion of STDs.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a programme aimed at raising standards of care and levels of professionalism in private, drug-free therapeutic communities (TCs) in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

The paper describes the Reviver intervention in detail and draws on subjective insights collected during its implementation.

Over 100 TCs applied to the Reviver project, of which 83 qualified to participate. The large majority of TCs were found to combine community-as-method, religious worship and abstinence in their treatment model.

The paper highlights the significant role religious organisations have in the treating substance dependency in Brazil and raises ethical and practical questions regarding the incorporation of religious TCs into mainstream public mental health provision.

The paper outlines the qualification process, control systems and monitoring procedures employed by the Reviver project.

The paper attends to the gap in English language publications regarding TCs in Brazil and raises important questions regarding the role of religion, faith and spirituality in the treatment of substance dependency.

This study aims to analyse how Natura's practices of circular economy and sustainability overlap.

This study is descriptive and qualitative, based on a thematic content analysis, and it describes and compares the performance of Natura in several dimensions, including economic, environmental, social, human rights, society, product responsibility and stakeholder engagement. A longitudinal study was carried out on the basis of an analysis of all Natura sustainability reports; these reports are available for public consultation and cover the period from 2001 to 2016.

The main results show that there is symmetry between sustainability practices and the premises of the circular economy, with the ReSOLVE classification being met in most of the items.

Innovation is the essential element that facilitated the creation of a portfolio of products that meet consumer demand.

The effect of oxalic acid (OA) on corrosion resistance of carbon steel in sulphuric acid pH=2.5‐6.0 solutions containing 10⁻⁷‐10⁻³M OA was investigated by means of potentiodynamic polarisation measurements and immersion tests. The results suggest that OA is a good corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel, exhibiting inhibition efficiencies (IE) ranging from 50 to 85 per cent in dilute 10⁻⁷‐10⁻⁵M OA solutions of pH>3.0, whereas for pH≤3.0 solutions, an increase in corrosion rate was found. Non‐accelerated experiments (weight loss tests) carried out by immersing carbon steel specimens into OA‐containing solutions during at least 6 h revealed only positive IE values, regardless of both solution pH and OA content. The results were explained considering the solution composition as function of pH.

This paper highlights the importance and demonstrates the application of a segmentation strategy, based on the concept of the family life cycle, in real estate market analysis. Each stage in the family life cycle has its particular preferences regarding locational attributes. Neighbourhood characteristics can, therefore, reveal which segments should be the target of marketing campaigns. In order to increase the chances of a building successfully meeting the user’s requirements and therefore of achieving quick sales, its spatial conception, facilities and leisure attributes must be orientated to satisfy these different segments. To confirm this hypothesis and to exemplify the method presented, two high rise apartment buildings, in the city of Florianópolis, Brazil, are evaluated. The compatibility of their architectural attributes and the identified needs of respective potential marketing segments (according to the study of the locations) is verified. The results of this analysis, based on how fast the apartments were sold, confirm the effectiveness of the method.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and diagnosis waste management practices used by clothing manufacturing companies in Santa Catarina state Brazil.

The data for this multiple case study were obtained from interviews and by using a questionnaire to collect company data. After the analysis of the responses to questionnaires issued to 22 companies, a scoring system was developed to systematically classify these companies at either a basic, intermediate or advanced levels.

According to the classification used, eight companies were characterized at the basic level, eight at the intermediate level and six as advanced. Most of the companies have already implemented measures for reuse or recycling of textile scraps, probably because of the economic value added.

The classification system proposed proved to be an effective tool for identifying: if each company had a plan of action involving requirements of Brazil’s National Solid Waste Policy; if the company had a management system in accordance with Law 12,305; the quality of solid waste treatment at the entire company and in its clothing sector; if the company adopted shared responsibility actions; and if it had knowledge of the negative environmental impacts.

This paper presents a classification system for companies based on a questionnaire. The system allows determining the degree of compliance with Brazilian waste management legislation.

This paper aims to propose a method based on Linked Data and Semantic Web principles for composing microservices through data integration. Two frameworks that provide support for the proposed composition method are also described in this paper: Linkedator, which is responsible for connecting entities managed by microservices, and Alignator, which aligns semantic concepts defined by heterogeneous ontologies.

The proposed method is based on entity linking principles and uses individual matching techniques considering a formal notion of identity. This method imposes two major constraints that must be taken into account by its implementation: architectural constraints and resource design constraints.

Experiments were performed in a real-world scenario, using public government data. The obtained results show the effectiveness of the proposed method and that, it leverages the independence of development and composability of microservices. Thereby, the data provided by microservices that adopt heterogeneous ontologies can now be linked together.

This work only considers microservices designed as data providers. Microservices designed to execute functionalities in a given application domain are out of the scope of this work.

The proposed composition method exploits the potential data intersection observed in resource-oriented microservice descriptions, providing a navigable view of data provided by a set of interrelated microservices. Furthermore, this study explores the applicability of ontology alignments for composing microservices.