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Numerous finite elements are proposed based on analytical solutions. However, it is difficult to find the solutions for complicated governing equations. This paper aims to present a novel formulation in the framework of assumed stress quasi-conforming method for the static and free vibration analysis of anisotropic and symmetric laminated plates.

Firstly, an initial stress approximation ruled by 17 parameters, which satisfies the equilibrium equations is derived to improve the performance of the constructed element. Then the stress matrix is treated as the weighted function to weaken the strain-displacement equations. Finally, the Timoshenko’s laminated composite beam functions are adopted as boundary string-net functions for strain integration.

Several numerical examples are presented to show the performance of the new element, and the results obtained are compared with other available ones. Numerical results have proved that the new element is free from shear locking and possesses high accuracy for the analysis of anisotropic and symmetric laminated plates.

This paper proposes a new QC element for the static and free vibration analysis of anisotropic and symmetric laminated plates. In contrast with the complicated analytical solutions of the equilibrium equations, an initial stress approximation ruled by 17 parameters is adopted here. The Timoshenkos laminated composite beam functions are introduced as boundary string-net functions for strain integration. Numerical results demonstrate the new element is free from shear locking and possesses high accuracy for the analysis of anisotropic and symmetric laminated plates.

The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a structured literature review to examine the relationship between entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence in academic settings as well as the current entrepreneurship pedagogy for flexible, innovative and creative graduates. One hundred and twenty-eight peer-reviewed papers were analysed based on Webster’s and Watson’s (2002) methodology. Papers classified into three topics and a content analysis was implemented to discuss about the publication year, journals, authors, frequency of keywords and research method adopted. The contribution of this chapter is twofold. It is a bibliometric study which provides a macropicture of a research field, its evolution and connections among studies, in order to be a starting point for future researchers who are already studying entrepreneurial education or entrepreneurship-related scientific areas. Also, this chapter helps academics to improve educational programmes and curriculum to increase students’ entrepreneurial intention taking into account the factors that affect it.

The purpose of this paper is to present a general formulation of the quadrature element method (QEM). The method is then used to investigate the free vibration of functionally graded (FG) beams with general boundary conditions and different variations of material properties.

The quadrature elements with arbitrary number of nodes and nodal distributions are established on the basis of two types of FG Timoshenko beam theories. One called TBT-1 takes the cross-sectional rotation as the unknown function and the other called TBT-2 uses the transverse shear strain as the unknown function. Explicit formulas are provided via the help of the differential quadrature (DQ) rule and thus the elements can be implemented adaptively with ease.

The suitability and computational efficiency of the proposed quadrature elements for the vibration analysis of FG beams are demonstrated. The convergence rate of the proposed method is high. The elements are shear-locking free and can yield accurate solutions with a small number of nodes for both thin and moderately thick beams. The performance of the element based on TBT-1 is better than the one based on TBT-2.

The present QEM is different from the existing one which exclusively uses Gauss–Lobatto–Legendre (GLL) nodes and GLL quadrature and thus is more general. The element nodes can be either the same or different from the integration points, making the selection of element nodes more flexible. Presented data are accurate and may be a reference for other researchers to develop new numerical methods. The QEM may be also useful in multi-scale modeling and in the analysis of civil infrastructures.

The purpose of this paper is to undertake a cross-comparative inquiry into Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) related to governance, initiatives and practices in initial teacher education (ITE) across four countries with very different contexts – Sweden, Scotland, Canada and Australia. It provides insights into issues arising internationally, implications for ESD in ITE and offers learnings for other countries and contexts.

A cross-comparative study design with overarching themes and within-case descriptions was applied to consider, compare and contrast governance characteristics, initiatives and practices from each context.

The approaches to governance, initiatives and practices that each country adopts are unique yet similar, and all four countries have included ESD in ITE to some extent. Comparing and contrasting approaches has revealed learnings focussed on ESD in relation to governance and regulation, practices and leadership.

Making comparisons between different contexts is difficult and uncertain and often misses the richness and nuances of the individual sites under study. However, it remains an important endeavour as the challenges of embedding ESD in ITE will be better understood and overcome if countries can learn from one another.

Scrutinising different approaches is valuable for broadening views about possibilities and understanding how policies and initiatives translate in practice.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency in financial intermediation and the cost efficiency in banking service of credit unions in Brazil, based on essentially accounting variables, and to analyze the temporal evolution of the efficiency of these cooperatives.

With a sample of 315 cooperatives over the period from 2007 to 2014, this research uses a two-stage process: application of regression models with panel data to verify which variables are related to the defined outputs, with the reduction of 31 variables to 8 variables in both models; and application of the data envelopment analysis method to obtain an analysis of credit unions’ efficiency.

The results demonstrate a high level of efficiency in financial intermediation, with low variation over time, associated with a low efficiency in the banking service, in which few cooperatives have remained efficient over time. In addition, the cooperatives with highest efficiency in financial intermediation were also the most efficient in providing services.

This research has some limitations about the capacity of the proxies used to capture the real effect of the variables and assumptions of economic relations resulting in restrictions to generalize the results.

Cooperatives are usually analyzed under just one dimension. By separating the analysis into financial intermediation and banking services, cooperatives that are more efficient in each dimension can be identified, in addition to analyzing the evolution over time. The authors found that efficiency tends to be lower in banking services, and few cooperatives remain at the highest level of efficiency over time in both models.

Credit unions provide an important service in the banking and credit market. Therefore, understanding its operation and the characteristics that influence its efficiency allows a better management of the cooperatives themselves and a greater understanding of this important segment of the financial market.

This chapter seeks to conceptualize a new approach to the identification of the factors influencing the adoption of a political risk assessment (PRA) function. By making use of firm value maximization and risk aversion and considering the rationale for risk management activities, a number of determinants are identified which can be deployed in future PRA studies. A model for predicting the PRA adoption decision is proposed. Geographical contextualization in one or more emerging markets (EMs) provides a further dimension of originality as well as reflecting an increasingly important international business phenomenon. Political risk (PR) and political risk assessment (PRA) are of increasing importance in the context of the growth and development of emerging markets (EMs). The latter provide opportunities for inward investment from more developed economies. There has also been a rapid growth in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from emerging markets to other economies. This chapter adds to the current understanding of PRA by examining this issue in emerging markets (EMs) through the model developed here.

Using a comprehensive sample from developed and emerging economies, this study aims to examine whether foreign institutional investors (FIIs) enhance the value of excess cash by constraining the potential self-appropriating managerial propensity related to its inefficient utilization.

This study uses a large panel data set of firms from 32 non-US countries from 2007 to 2018. Using data from COMPUSTAT Global and S&P Capital IQ, this study uses ordinary least squares regression with year- and firm-fixed effects for the baseline analysis. In addition, two-stage least squares with instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching approaches were used to address the potential endogeneity.

This study shows that FIIs significantly increase the value of excess cash holdings. The authors also found that the positive impact of FIIs is more significant when investors come from common-law countries with better governance and investor protection. Furthermore, in countries and firms with weaker governance controls, the relationship between FIIs and the value of excess cash is stronger, consistent with the institutional monitoring hypothesis. Collectively, the findings imply that FIIs are advantageous to investees because they effectively promote the efficient deployment of corporate resources.

Collectively, the findings of this study imply that FIIs are advantageous to investees because they effectively promote the efficient deployment of corporate resources.

This study offers new evidence on how FIIs impact the value of excess cash in an international setting. In addition, it highlights the significance of the legal origin of institutional investors’ home country and the governance quality of host countries and investee firms in influencing the effect of foreign institutional monitoring on the value of excess cash.

The entrepreneurial education has obtained special attention by researchers hoping to develop better entrepreneurship programmes that may result in higher entrepreneurial activity outputs of students. The culture on its own is one of the main determinants, among others, of the entrepreneurial activities undertaken in different countries. In that sense, this research contributes to a greater understanding of the relationship between culture and entrepreneurial education. Using one of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s surveys, the National Experts’ Survey, the authors used Structural Equation Models to analyse the sample of N =  445 experts in Mexico as an effort to achieve a consensus about which of these two constructs is dependent on the other, ‘entrepreneurial education’ or ‘cultural and social norms’. The results of this chapter show that in Mexico there is an influence of the cultural and social norms on entrepreneurial education at all levels, primary, secondary, and superior. Nevertheless, an important limitation of the study was that it does not differentiate between private and public education, but yet it contributes to the understanding of the less visible entrepreneurial educational levels in the literature. This chapter aims with the phenomena of how teaching entrepreneurship works by analysing the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s social environment variable effect on entrepreneurial education. This research contributes to the evidence that the teaching practice under the socio-cultural dimension enables to detect the continuity factors to make an educational transformation.

This study examines whether and how the legal origin of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) impacts corporate investment efficiency.

The study employs a large panel dataset of firms from 32 non-USA countries from 2005 to 2018. Financial and institutional ownership data are obtained from the COMPUSTAT Global and Public Ownership databases in S&P Capital IQ, respectively. The study employed ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with year and firm fixed effects. In addition, two-stage least squares with instrumental variable regression (2SLS-IV) and propensity score matching (PSM) approaches were employed to address the potential endogeneity.

The findings of this study suggest that common- and civil-law FIIs differ in their monitoring capabilities to promote investment efficiency. The authors find evidence that increased equity ownership by common-law FIIs, not civil-law investors, strengthens the investment-Q sensitivity, resulting in higher investment efficiency. Consistent with the monitoring and information channel, the results further indicate that the positive impact of common-law FIIs on investment efficiency is stronger in host environments susceptible to agency conflicts and information asymmetry.

This study offers novel evidence on the heterogeneous monitoring role of FIIs with regard to their home countries' legal origins and their impact on investment efficiency in an international context.