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1 – 10 of 126
Article
Publication date: 11 August 2023

Ana Moreira, Adriana Nishimura, Maria José Sousa and Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira

This study aims at validating a scale for the perception of competences and attitudes of the Portuguese public administration employees. The sample of this study consists of 1,119…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at validating a scale for the perception of competences and attitudes of the Portuguese public administration employees. The sample of this study consists of 1,119 participants working in public administration and other labour sectors in Portugal. The psychometric qualities of this instrument were studied to assess its use in future studies.

Design/methodology/approach

An initial exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale is composed of one factor, with a Kaiser–Meyer–Oklin value of 0.83. The subsequent confirmatory factor analysis performed in AMOS 27 confirmed the existence of a single factor.

Findings

The analysis of the psychometric qualities of the scale allows concluding that it can be applied in the context of the Portuguese public administration.

Originality/value

Given the universality of the competences and attitudes adopted, it can be extended to other work and cultural contexts.

Details

Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 55 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0019-7858

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 June 2023

Marina Duarte, Sandra Sofia Caeiro, Carla Sofia Farinha, Ana Moreira, Margarida Santos-Reis, Constança Rigueiro and João Simão

This study aims to explore the alignment between strategic plans of the Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs) and their perception of the integration of…

1186

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the alignment between strategic plans of the Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs) and their perception of the integration of sustainability in education and curricula.

Design/methodology/approach

The strategic plans from 15 institutions were selected for content analysis; data about the integration of sustainability in education and curricula, from these HEI, were collected with an online questionnaire (self-report survey). Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed.

Findings

Strategic plans of the Portuguese public HEIs seem to not be sufficiently aligned with self-assessment integration of sustainability in education and curricula.

Research limitations/implications

The classifications used in the content analysis were constructed and revised by the authors to reduce coder interpretation issues and subsequent bias in the results. However, some subjectivity could remain. The analysis of strategic plans and self-report surveys answered by top management, or a technician, does not assess the practices and sustainability implementation in education and curricula.

Practical implications

This study allows the self-report of already-implemented practices to be compared to the planned strategy of HEI governance in Portugal as stated in their strategic plans.

Originality/value

An analysis and respective insights on the lack of connection between strategic planning and self-report practices about sustainability implementation, using Portugal as a case study.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2023

Maria José Sousa, Ana Moreira, João Leão, Miguel Sousa, Paolo Pietro Biancone and Federico Lanzalonga

The research aims to investigate the changing skills required for international entrepreneurship (IE) and the awareness of these skills among students and professionals in four…

Abstract

Purpose

The research aims to investigate the changing skills required for international entrepreneurship (IE) and the awareness of these skills among students and professionals in four European countries. The study intends to investigate students' and professionals' perceptions of entrepreneurial skills and the potential for educational programs to improve their awareness of these skills.

Design/methodology/approach

This quantitative cross-sectional analysis uses an online questionnaire to collect data from 75 university students and 75 entrepreneurs in four European countries. Several tests validate the data, and Cronbach's alpha succeeded in measuring internal consistency. The results showed differences in the perception of skills between students and entrepreneurs.

Findings

Entrepreneurs had developed all competencies except access to finance, while students had lower perceptions of their skills, except for collaboration. Students needed to improve significantly in access to finance, business planning, financial skills, knowledge of the labour market and digital marketing. Practitioners only required significant improvement in access to finance and digital marketing.

Practical implications

Education programs should fit the needs of different groups: a broader program for students and more specific courses on access to finance and digital marketing for practitioners.

Originality/value

The present research's original feature highlights the need to monitor and adapt to the constantly changing skills for IE and the importance of hard and soft skills. The paper provides insights into the subject's awareness and perceived standard, with reflections for policymakers and practitioners.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 November 2020

Ana Moreira, Francisco Cesário, Maria José Chambel and Filipa Castanheira

This study aims to explore the serial mediation effect of perceived internal employability and affective commitment in the relationship between the organisational practices of…

3481

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the serial mediation effect of perceived internal employability and affective commitment in the relationship between the organisational practices of competences development and turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology was quantitative and is based on a survey with a sample of 313 participants, all of whom were employed in several organisations located in Portugal.

Findings

A significant and negative effect of organisational practices of competences development, perceived internal employability and affective commitment on turnover intentions was verified. A total serial mediation effect was also found from perceived internal employability and affective commitment in the relationship between organisational practices of competences development (i.e., training, individualised support and functional rotation) and turnover intentions.

Practical implications

These practices should be developed by leaders of organisations in order that employees feel that the organisation is investing in their development, which can lead to an increase in their emotional attachment towards the organisation and consequently increase their desire to stay in the organisation.

Originality/value

This study makes two important contributions. First, it confirms the existence of a significant and negative relationship between perceived internal employability and turnover intentions. Second, it proves the existence of a total serial mediation effect of perceived internal employability and affective commitment in the relationship between organisational practices of competences development and turnover intentions.

Details

European Journal of Management Studies, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2183-4172

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2009

Sheila Walbe Ornstein, Nanci Saraiva Moreira, Rosaria Ono, Ana J.G. Limongi França and Roselene A.M.F. Nogueira

The paper describes the purpose of and strategies for conducting post‐occupancy evaluations (POEs) as a method for assessing school building performance. Set within the larger…

2511

Abstract

Purpose

The paper describes the purpose of and strategies for conducting post‐occupancy evaluations (POEs) as a method for assessing school building performance. Set within the larger context of global efforts to develop and apply common indicators of school building quality, the authors describe research conducted within the newest generation of São Paulo's schools.

Design/methodology/approach

The various methods of POE, including expert walkthroughs, physical measurements, observations, behavioral mapping, user interviews, focus groups, and survey questionnaires were applied within a purposefully selected case study school.

Findings

The POE carried out at Fernando Gasparian High School revealed limitations in the building's design, particularly in light of the neighborhood context, thus raising significant concerns about safety and security. Users gave the construction quality of the building, a generally positive evaluation, however, there were some important aspects of the building design judged as deficient. In particular, researchers observed a significant mismatch between the building design and the realities of the surrounding community. This sort of incongruity introduced important challenges to principals, teachers, and staff, as they worked to ensure the safety of students who attend the school.

Originality/value

The research explores the effectiveness of POE methods in capturing user and expert assessments of overall building quality, as well as the degree to which building designs assist educators and community members in realizing Brazil's larger educational reform goals.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 47 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 September 2018

Ana Lúcia Manrique and Geraldo Eustáquio Moreira

Few people with special educational needs (SEN) had access to higher education in Brazil until the 1980s, mainly due to their lack of access to basic education and a lack of…

Abstract

Few people with special educational needs (SEN) had access to higher education in Brazil until the 1980s, mainly due to their lack of access to basic education and a lack of specific public policies for this population. It was only in 2003 that the Brazilian government implemented strategies for the dissemination of the factors referring to inclusive education. The objective was one of the support for the transformation of educational systems into inclusive educational systems. As these policies are recent; few studies have been carried out in Brazil. According to Brazilian statistical data, the number of enrollments connected to special education in regular basic education classes, in 2015, was almost 751,000 students, while in higher education in diverse graduation courses the number was 38,000. In this sense, this chapter aims to unveil and discuss Brazilian public policies for the access and permanence of SEN students in higher education. Reflections will also be presented related to the evolution of the number of enrollments of students with specific SEN (visual, physical, hearing, and intellectual) in basic and higher education, as well as the implementation of public policies focused on this population in a Brazilian context.

Details

Contexts for Diversity and Gender Identities in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-056-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2019

Ana Lucia Manrique, Ely A.T. Dirani, Annie F. Frere, Geraldo E. Moreira and Pedro M. Arezes

Despite dealing with special educational needs (SEN) students, many teachers feel unprepared for this task. This situation reveals the urgent need for studies in different areas…

1601

Abstract

Purpose

Despite dealing with special educational needs (SEN) students, many teachers feel unprepared for this task. This situation reveals the urgent need for studies in different areas, directed toward the inclusion of students in regular classrooms. Therefore, a diagnosis about the situation of inclusive education and the resources available in schools offering regular teaching becomes of paramount importance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the results of an investigation that sought information on pedagogical work in inclusive education and in the use of support materials by teachers of basic education in Brazil and Portugal.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to carry out this investigation, a questionnaire was developed by a partnership between researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil and the University of Minho, Portugal, and applied to mathematics teachers. The study participants consisted of 197 mathematics teachers, working in primary school, secondary school and young people and adult education. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire, available online and designed in Google Forms, with 48 questions (both open and closed formats).

Findings

From the results obtained, there is a clear need not only for promoting initial and further teacher training that takes into consideration the profile of this teacher, but also for promoting the development of support materials (games, software, devices and assistive technology) in a collaborative way, involving users, teachers, engineers in a way to ensure a good usability and adequate adaptability. Thus, the inclusion of SEN students in schools must not take place only with their physical integration, but also must consider their integration at social, emotional and educational levels.

Originality/value

It is understood that the teacher should receive a solid training in successful inclusion experiences in terms of technological, educational and didactic experiences. Another problem that seems to be recurrent is that support materials have been developed in a way that is somehow disconnected from the reality of the classroom. The context in which the support material is inserted is fundamental to the success of its utilization. What is more, it cannot be isolated from the individuals who will use it. It thus becomes urgent to prepare the school environment for the reality of inclusion. This involves aspects from changes in infrastructure and development of assistive technology to assist the student with SEN in their learning, to the establishment of public policies that involve teacher initial and further training, specialized support and curricular discussions.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2017

Ricardo Torres, Rui Marques Vieira, Ana V. Rodrigues, Patrícia Sá and Gillian Moreira

The research aims to evaluate whether this educational approach is being implemented in a Portuguese public university and looking for explicit references to education for…

Abstract

Purpose

The research aims to evaluate whether this educational approach is being implemented in a Portuguese public university and looking for explicit references to education for sustainable development (ESD) in the online descriptions of course units (CU).

Design/methodology/approach

The research design adopted for this qualitative research follows the principles of a case study with exploratory, multiple and collective features.

Findings

It was possible to find direct matches with key ESD expressions in fifteen of CU. In addition, nine CU were identified in the second stage of analysis of the teacher training master programmes.

Research limitations/implications

One of the limitations of this study which the authors identified, and which was responsible for considerably reducing the probability of finding matches, was that only results in which the key expressions appeared in the description of the CU in exactly the same form as in the research instrument were recorded.

Practical implications

The need for an educational programme for teachers to be developed and implemented in the near future.

Social implications

A training workshop will be proposed with the main aim of supporting teaching staff in making the necessary shift in their pedagogical practices to include a ESD orientation in their CU.

Originality/value

The instrument eveloped that appears in Appendix - Analysis Tool with key ESD expressions.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 18 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 July 2020

Ana Roque, José Manuel Moreira, José Dias Figueiredo, Rosana Albuquerque and Helena Gonçalves

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the relaxion on what can be done to develop ethical cultures that may be less permeable and more resilient to changes in leadership…

10760

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the relaxion on what can be done to develop ethical cultures that may be less permeable and more resilient to changes in leadership from an ethical point of view. The influence of leaders on organisational ethics is recognised, and there are even those who consider that it is not possible to maintain an ethical culture when leaders are not engaged. But, if this theory is true, all business ethics programmes that can be created, and the cultures that can gradually be developed in organisations, will always have their existence and robustness suspended at each leadership change. How to maintain an ethical culture beyond leadership?

Design/methodology/approach

As a strategy, we used the case study with a narrative methodology, in which a chief executive officer (CEO) and a chief compliance officer (CCO) narrate in the first person a case of perceived collapse of the ethical culture of a multinational company.

Findings

The findings point to the difficulty in maintaining ethical leadership. Key aspects to protect an organization from leadership changes are as follows: the management of the succession process, the quality of the training on ethics and the mechanisms developed by the organization to foment speak up and take notice of the situations. Moral blindness and the banality of evil that also can be observed in organizations appear as facilitating elements for collapse.

Originality/value

Ethical leadership is generally presented as a necessary condition for an ethical culture. However, leaders often have unethical or ethically neutral leadership. This case helps to understand the difficulties experienced by leaders in adopting ethical leadership and proposes a set of instruments and procedures that, when included in an ethical programme, can protect the company's ethical culture against unethical leaders. Some characteristics of our case study make it particularly relevant: action occurs in a multinational, a context where, by size and complexity, achieving uniformity in culture becomes particularly relevant, and actions happen in the context of a CEO succession process, something that may occur in any company and which is often a trigger for ethical misconducts. Additionally, our case is narrated by a CEO and a CCO, which makes it rare, as it is especially difficult to have access to these executives.

Details

Journal of Global Responsibility, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2041-2568

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2019

Luiza Helena da Silva Martins, João Moreira Neto, Paulo Weslem Portal Gomes, Ana Vânia Carvalho, Antônio Manoel da Cruz Rodrigues and Alessandra Santos Lopes

The purpose of this paper is to use Amazon River shrimp meal and cassava flour as the raw materials for the production of an extruded product. Both these raw materials are highly…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use Amazon River shrimp meal and cassava flour as the raw materials for the production of an extruded product. Both these raw materials are highly consumed foods in the northern region of Brazil, but are not processed industrially, only being used for local consumption and there is little in the literature concerning their use.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was carried out using a full 23 factorial central composite rotational experimental design with three independent variables, which were shrimp meal; feed moisture content and temperature, with four replicates at the central point and six axial points. The dependent variables were: expansion index (EI), bulk density (BD) and specific length (SL). The principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for the sensory analysis.

Findings

Almost all the parameters studied had a significant influence (p<0.10) on the responses analysed. The product was well accepted by 78.11 per cent of the volunteers. Increases in the shrimp meal and feed moisture contents strongly influenced the physical analyses (EI, BD and SL) of the extruded product. In the application of the PCA for the sensory analysis, the influence of the variables aroma, appearance and purchase intention corresponded to PC1, and that of the variables flavour, texture, global acceptance and colour to PC2.

Social implications

The development of a product based on animal protein which is more available than common snacks, as a way of reducing the negative environmental impact caused by the disposal of Macrobrachium amazonicum, which is considered as accompanying fauna to artisan fishery.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in the quest for the development and/or application of technologies that allow for the use of raw materials from the Amazon as a way of aggregating value to the existing wealth of this region.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 121 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

1 – 10 of 126