Science (Universidade Europeia)
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Does fair trade breed contempt? A cross-country examination on the moderating role of brand familiarity and consumer expertise on product evaluation
No full textThis article is a within- and cross-country
examination of the impact of fair trade certification on
consumers’ evaluations and attitudes toward ethically certified
products. Across three experimental studies, the
authors analyze how different levels of brand familiarity
and fair trade expertise impact consumer decisions. The
authors study this phenomenon across markets with different
social orientation cultures to analyze potential dissimilarities
in the way consumers evaluate and behave
toward ethically certified products. Findings suggest that
fair trade certifications enhance product valuations. However,
this effect is especially observed for low familiar
brands, once the level of fair trade expertise increases.
Findings also suggest that there are individual cultural
differences with respect to social and environmental
labeling expertise that may account for some of the unexplained
variation in choice behaviors observed across
countries. Results indicate that especially in more (mature)
individualistic markets (vs. collectivistic) consumer ethical behavior seems to be greatly influenced by consumers’
perceptions about the eligibility of brands using (or not)
fair trade. This effect is strengthened by the significant
mediating role of consumers’ ethicality perceptions on the
relationship between fair trade and the willingness to pay
for brands
Motivations and perceived opportunities for partnerships among international business consultancy firms
No full textPurpose – Consultancy services for internationalisation are crucial to help companies to grow and find new
businesses abroad. This kind of service used to be provided by consultancy firms operating in the home
country of the clients. Considering the advantages of partnerships that theory has enhanced, this paper aims
to identify the motivations and perceived opportunities from consultancy firms to establish business-tobusiness
partnerships with international consultancy companies in other countries, with the purpose of
reinforcing international trading.
Design/methodology/approach – As an exploratory study, this paper shows the perspective of 13
interviewed German consultancy managers focused on international business about developing a partnership
with international consultancy firms from Portugal.
Findings – Consultants indicate that with mutual benefits, partnerships are welcome. However, the study
enhances the importance of signals of status and reputation for international partnerships among business
consultancy firms and reveals a lack of knowledge about the market opportunities for internationalisation that
mightmotivate German consultancy firms to establish partnerships with consultancy companies in Portugal.
Originality/value – The paper highlights the low motivation of consultants from a higher-status country
to establish partnerships with international business consultancy firms in lower-status countries. The study
addresses useful recommendations for consultancy firms, governments and international trade agencies to
intensify marketing activities and enhance country reputation and positioning in international business,
communicating the opportunities and potential of markets and building signals of status and reputation for
international consulting
A mobile health system to empower healthcare services in remote regions
No full textNowadays, access to healthcare services in rural or remote regions remains a major issue in both developing and developed countries. The advent of mobile health (m-Health) services is becoming a major improvement for patients. The main objective of this paper is the development and Quality of Experience (QoE) evaluation of a mHealth solution for healthcare professionals in remote areas. The system architecture is based on a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). Android OS was chosen for developing the application, mainly, due to its open source APIs and the vast diversity of covered mobile devices. The system was evaluated and demonstrated in a real pilot in cooperation with a healthcare institution involving 42 patients and 4 healthcare professionals. A total of 294 patients evaluated the solution. Hardware issues, such as network disconnection and energy issues were reported in 4% of all the cases. This system reduced significantly care costs lessen the need for physical contact between patient and physician
Procedural generation of quests for games using genetic algorithms and automated planning
No full textThe production of high-quality commercial games requires the work of a few hundred individuals, including designers, artists, and story writers, to produce game content, such as 3D models, textures, and narratives. Over the last decade, the production of game content has grown to the point of becoming a bottleneck in companies' schedules and budgets. In this context, procedural content generation techniques are increasingly being applied to reduce the work overload of the development teams. Although game developers and academic researchers have extensively explored procedural content generation, there is a lack of techniques to handle procedural generation of quests. In this paper, we present a new quest generation method based on genetic algorithms and automated planning. By combining planning with an evolutionary search strategy guided by story arcs, the proposed method can generate coherent quests based on a specific narrative structure. Preliminary results show that quests created with our method are nearly at par with those created by game design professionals
Association between whey protein, regional fat mass, and strength in resistance-trained men: a cross-sectional study
No full textThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between whey protein supplementation, body composition, and muscle strength in resistance-trained individuals. Forty-nine healthy males, aged 18 to 35 years and were engaged in resistance training for at least 1 year, were assigned into 2 groups according to whey protein intake (whey - n = 26, age: 30.7 +/- 7.4 years, body mass: 75.8 +/- 9.0 kg; without whey: n = 23, age: 31.0 +/- 7.4 years, body mass: 77.9 +/- 9.3 kg). Using a cross-sectional design, a morning assessment of body fat mass (FM) (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and strength (using 1-repetition maximum for bench press and back squat) was performed. Nutritional assessment was performed by 3-day food records. Regarding nutritional habits, differences between total energy intake (kcal) and estimated energy requirements (kcal) were observed. Results, from raw data or controlling for energy intake, estimated energy requirements, or achieved percentage of energy requirements, showed that whey protein supplementation was inversely correlated with whole-body FM (R = -0.367 (p = 0.010); R = -0.317 (p = 0.049); R = -0.380 (p = 0.011); R =-0.321(p = 0.047), respectively), trunk FM (R = -0.396 (p = 0.005), R = -0.367 (p = 0.022), R = -0.423 (p = 0.004), R = -0.369 (p = 0.021), respectively) and android FM (R = -0.381(p = 0.007), R = -0.332 (p = 0.039), R = -0.383 (p = 0.010), R = -0.336 (p = 0.036), respectively). No correlations were found between muscle strength outcomes and whey protein supplementation. The present data suggest that whey protein ingestion has a positive association with whole-body and regional (trunk and android) FM
Creating knowledge and entrepreneurial capacity for HE students with digital education methodologies: Differences in the perceptions of students and entrepreneurs
No full textThis main paper goal is to propose a model of digital education methodologies and tools to develop knowledge and entrepreneurial capacity in Higher Education (HE) students. Digital education is increasingly influencing both classroom/campus-based teaching, but more import is leading to new models or designs for teaching and learning.
The paper makes a literature review on e-education, start-up stages and e-education methodologies and tools to develop the entrepreneurial capacity and uses quantitative methodology based on an online questionnaire applied to a sample of 75 HE Students and 75 Entrepreneurs in order to identify differences in their perceptions regarding the stages of the start-up process and also the most relevant methodologies to develop the entrepreneurial capacity of a potential entrepreneur.
The paper is structured of the following research questions: RQ1. What are the most important stages of the entrepreneurial start-up process? Moreover, RQ2-Which methods and methodologies can be employed to promote the entrepreneurial activity?
Besides the analysis of the methodologies and the tools of digital education, the research will also propose a model of E-Education methodologies for entrepreneur's strategic knowledge and skills development in each stage of the start-up process
O silêncio dos colaboradores de Van Dyne, Ang e Botero (2003): Estudo da validade fatorial e da invariância da medida para Portugal
No full textO silêncio dos colaboradores tem sido entendido como a decisão deliberada do indivíduo em reter
informação, opiniões e sugestões acerca da organização. Nos últimos anos tem-se verificado um
acréscimo de estudos sobre este constructo verificando-se, no entanto, falta de consistência teórica e
empírica. O presente estudo tem como objetivo estudar a validade fatorial e a invariância da medida
proposta por van Dyne, Ang e Botero (2003) para Portugal. Partindo de uma estrutura teórica
tridimensional, os resultados sugerem que, para a população portuguesa, a medida é invariante e
composta por duas dimensões que se correlacionam, negativamente. Uma primeira denominada de
silêncio de adesão que corresponde ao silêncio prosocial de van Dyne et al. (2003) e uma dimensão
de rejeição composta pela junção das dimensões defensiva e submissa de van Dyne et al. (2003). As
implicações teóricas e práticas são discutidas
The link between social interactions and trust recovery in customer–business relationships
No full textTrust plays a crucial role in interpersonal relationships, including customer–company
relationships, where the customer expects that a company will behave predictably in
any particular situation. Companies do not always fulfill customers' expectations and
thereby breach the trust relationship. To avoid negative consequences of this trust
violation, companies may issue a formal apology as one possible path to regaining
customer trust. In the same way, a previous social interaction, which can increase
the customer's levels of oxytocin, can help to recover trust after service failures. In
this study, three experiments were conducted as follows: the first manipulating a
simulated social interaction with images; the second manipulating a physical social
interaction, (i.e., a hug); and the third with exogenous oxytocin administration. The
results showed that both physical interaction, (i.e., a hug) and simulated social interaction,
(i.e., images of people interacting with each other) had a positive effect on customer
trust recovery and provided support for oxytocin release as the underlying
mechanism in this process. This research contributes to understanding of the link
between social interactions and trust by elucidating the effects of both simulated
and physical interactions on trust recovery
Oxford foot model kinematics in landings: a comparison between professional dancers and non-dancers
No full texttObjectives: Dancers frequently perform jump-landing activities, with the foot-ankle complex playingan essential role to attenuate the landing forces. However, scarce research has been conducted inprofessional dancers multi-segmented foot in landings. The aim of this study was to compare the multi-segmented foot kinematics between professional dancers and non-dancers, during forward and lateralsingle-leg jump-landings.Design: Descriptive group comparison.Methods: Marker trajectories and synchronized ground reaction forces of 15 professional dancers and 15non-dancers were collected using motion capture and a force plate, during multidirectional single-legjump-landings. Sagittal and frontal hindfoot-tibia, forefoot-hindfoot, and hallux-forefoot kinematics ofthe multi-segmented foot model were computed at initial contact, peak vertical ground reaction forceand peak knee flexion. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted (p < 0.05).Results: Professional dancers landed with higher hindfoot-tibia and forefoot-hindfoot plantarflexionangles at initial contact (p < 0.001), and hindfoot-tibia dorsiflexion angles at peak vertical ground reac-tion force and peak knee flexion (p < 0.001) than non-dancers. Also, dancers exhibited higher sagittalhindfoot-tibia and forefoot-hindfoot excursions than non-dancers (p < 0.001). No statistically significantdifferences were found in the frontal plane.Conclusions: The multi-segmented foot allows a comprehensive kinematic analysis of the different footjoints. In jump-landings, professional dancers higher hindfoot-tibia, and forefoot-hindfoot plantarflexionat initial contact, compared to non-dancers, contributed to a subsequent higher foot joints excursion. Thispattern is commonly linked to a better shock absorption mechanism in landings
A serious game to promote compliance with hand hygiene among healthcare workers: Results from user research stage
No full textHand hygiene has been recognized over the past two decades as the most effective method of preventing healthcare-associated infections, which are responsible for increased morbidity, mortality and costs of healthcare per year, worldwide. Although hand hygiene practice is considered critical, compliance with the “Five Moments for Hand Hygiene”, proposed by the World Health Organization, is still considerably below the expected rate. Thus, keeping healthcare workers motivated and engaged in maintaining the best hand hygiene practices remains a challenge for the community. Based on previous cases suggesting a good potential of games for achieving behavioural changes in various health domains, this paper reports the creation of Personas for the development of a Serious Games aiming to promote hand hygiene in a hospital context. This is part of the knowledge/information and ideation phases (user research), which involved data collection and interaction with healthcare workers; i.e., physicians, nurses, technicians and medical auxiliaries from a hospital in Lisbon area