A cultura do cafe no sul de Minas Gerais

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Curso de Agronomia

Improving IP Literacy among Brazilian Startups: the Design of an Innovative Learning System

Intellectual Property (IP) is considered a valuable asset for a company and the relevance of effective IP management has been intensely discussed in the literature. However, research gets scarce when the focus is on SMEs and startups. Scholars and experts appoint the lack of knowledge on IP as one of the main reasons for the underperformance of small firms in the matter. Several initiatives attempted to solve the lack of knoweldge on IP unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, Brazil is seeking improvement in competitiveness and increasing its efforts on innovation. The number of startups sontrongly increased in the last years. This work uses Design Science Research to develop an innovative artifact to improve IP literacy among Brazilian startups. Using the design process stated in the methodology, we analyzed existing IP literacy systems and concluded with design recommendation for future systems. Additionally, we surveyed Brazilian startups to understand how these companies manage their IP and how they access knowledge. Consequently, we developed the system based on the recommendation from initial studies and evaluated it with potential users and IP experts in Brazil. Finally, Brazilian startups used the learning system and improved their knowledge on IP by increasing their capabilities of designing strategies to improve the IP value

Uso racional: a fonte energética oculta

Modern energy systems are complex exploitation networks of natural resources with successive conversion and energy transportation processes and a high level of losses. These losses constitute a virtual energy source that must be better exploited in order to provide economic and environmental advantages. Here, the concept of energy system loss and the evolution of Brazilian institutional framework to enhance the promotion of a rational use of energy will be presented, as well as the perspectives to reduce energy waste in end uses: domestic refrigeration, residential water heat, light vehicles and cogeneration. The estimated total capacities of electric energy and fuel economy (by consuming sectors) are also presented.Os sistemas energéticos modernos são complexas redes de exploração de recursos naturais, com sucessivos processos de conversão e transporte de energia e um elevado nível de perdas, cuja redução constitui uma fonte virtual de energia, que deve ser mais bem explorada, com vantagens econômicas e ambientais. Nestas notas se revisam os conceitos de perdas em sistemas energéticos e a evolução do marco institucional brasileiro para fomento do uso racional de energia, apresentando-se as perspectivas para a redução dos desperdícios de energia em alguns usos finais: refrigeração doméstica, aquecimento de água residencial, veículos leves e cogeração. São apresentados os potenciais totais estimados de economia de energia elétrica e combustíveis, desagregados por setores de consumo

Ethical ideology and ethical judgments in the portuguese accounting profession

Mestrado em Gestão/MBAO objectivo deste estudo é o de examinar as atitudes dos Técnicos Oficiais de Contas Portugueses relativamente a questões de natureza ética que podem surgir na sua actividade profissional. Foram desenvolvidas várias hipóteses sobre: ( 1) a influência da idade, sexo e nível de educação nos níveis de idealismo e relativismo dos inquiridos; (2) a influência da idade, sexo, educação, e níveis de idealismo e relativismo nos julgamentos éticos dos inquiridos, e (3) a relação entre ideologia ética e julgamentos éticos. Foi pedido aos inquiridos que respondessem ao Questionário de Posição Ética desenvolvido por Forsyth ( 1980), com o intuito de determinar os seus níveis de idealismo e relativismo. Posteriormente, responderam a questões sobre cinco cenários relativos a práticas contabilísticas, com o objectivo de medir os seus julgamentos éticos. Com base nos níveis de idealismo e relativismo dos nossos inquiridos, os mesmos foram classificados num dos quatro grupos, representando diferentes ideologias éticas (absolutismo, excepcionismo, subjectivismo, e situacionismo). Os testes de hipóteses foram efectuados utilizando Modelos de Regressão Linear Múltipla, Análise de Variância Univariada, e Análise de Variância Multivariada. Os resultados indicaram a idade como principal determinante do relativismo. Contrariamente a estudos anteriores (Bass et al., 1998 e Hartikainen e Torstila, 2004), os inquiridos mais idosos revelaram-se significativamente mais relativistas que os mais novos. O sexo parece ser o determinante mais importante dos julgamentos éticos; contra as expectativas, os homens evidenciaram julgamentos éticos significativamente mais severos que aqueles evidenciados pelas mulheres em dois dos cinco cenários. Os resultados revelaram igualmente que os julgamentos éticos dos inquiridos não diferiam significativamente com base nas suas ideologias éticas, suportando a ideia de que a ideologia ética não é um determinante importante dos julgamentos éticos.The purpose of the present study is to examine the attitudes of Portuguese chartered accountants with respect to questions of ethical nature that can arise in their professional activity. Several hypotheses were developed conceming: ( 1) the influence of age, sex and education levei on respondents' idealism and relativism leveis; (2) the infiuence of age, sex, education, and idealism and relativism leveis on respondents' ethical judgments, and (3) the relationship between ethical ideology and ethical judgments. Respondents were asked to respond to the Ethics Position Questionnaire developed by Forsyth ( 1980), in order to determine their idealism and relativism leveis. Subsequently, they answered questions about five scenarios related to accounting practices, with the objective of measuring their ethical judgments. Based on the idealism and relativism leveis of our respondents, they were classified into one of four groups, representing different ethical ideologies (absolutism, exceptionism, subjectivism, and situationism). Hypothesis testing was performed using Linear Multiple Regression Analysis, Univariate Analysis of Variance, and Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The results indicated that age was the major determinant of relativism. Contrary to previous research (Bass et al., 1998; Hartikainen and Torstila, 2004), older respondents revealed themselves significantly more relativistic than younger ones. Gender seems to be the most important detenninant of ethical judgments; against expectations, men evidenced significantly harsher judgments than women in two of the five scenarios. Findings also indicated that respondents' ethical judgments did not differ significantly based on their ethical ideology, supporting the idea that ethical ideology is not an important determinant of ethical judgments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Drivers to Equity Valuation: Perpetuities or Annuities Approach? An Application to the main European Stock Markets

Academics and practitioners have been applying equity valuation methods mainly based on discount cash flow models, residual income models or dividend discount models combined with balance sheet and income statement multiples of market comparables to analyse share price and to provide price targets for investors or even base for transactions such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Most of those methods rely on mathematical deductions of growing or constant perpetuities or near perpetuities (such as annuities) to attain market values. However, it is of the outmost relevance for valuation to verify how the theoretical models relate with real values and what is its relationship with companies’ firm past age. Beyond stating a non-linear relationship for valuation models and ascertain important valuation drivers, using a sample of more than 3400 European companies with cross section data, this paper contributes to the improvement of valuation model’s effectiveness by inducing non-explicit period valuation modifications to long term annuities and perpetuities considering class age intervals. This paper’s originality is supported by the study of the relation of past company age with predicted annuities, the proof of non-compliance of perpetuity-based valuation models and the contribution with new value drivers for valuation purposes. &nbsp

Determinants Of Firm Terminal Value: The Perspective Of North American And European Financial Analysts

Company valuation models attempt to estimate the value of a company in two stages: (1) comprising of a period of explicit analysis and (2) based on unlimited production period of cash flows obtained through a mathematical approach of perpetuity, which is the terminal value. In general, these models, whether they belong to the Dividend Discount Model (DDM), the Discount Cash Flow (DCF), or RIM (Residual Income Models) group, discount one attribute (dividends, free cash flow, or results) to a given discount rate. This discount rate, obtained in most cases by the CAPM (Capital asset pricing model) or APT (Arbitrage pricing theory) allows including in the analysis the cost of invested capital based on the risk taking of the attributes. However, one cannot ignore that the second stage of valuation that is usually 53-80% of the company value (Berkman et al., 1998) and is loaded with uncertainties. In this context, particular attention is needed to estimate the value of this portion of the company, under penalty of the assessment producing a high level of error. Mindful of this concern, this study sought to collect the perception of European and North American financial analysts on the key features of the company that they believe contribute most to its value. For this feat, we used a survey with closed answers. From the analysis of 123 valid responses using factor analysis, the authors conclude that there is great importance attached (1) to the life expectancy of the company, (2) to liquidity and operating performance, (3) to innovation and ability to allocate resources to R&D, and (4) to management capacity and capital structure, in determining the value of a company or business in long term. These results contribute to our belief that we can formulate a model for valuating companies and businesses where the results to be obtained in the evaluations are as close as possible to those found in the stock market

Effect of SGLT2-Inhibitors on Epicardial Adipose Tissue: A Meta-Analysis

(1) Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2-i) reduce adipose tissue and cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Accumulation of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is associated with increased cardio-metabolic risks and obstructive coronary disease events in patients with T2D. (2) We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of SGLT2-i therapy on T2D patients, reporting data on changes in EAT after searching the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases. A random effects or fixed effects model meta-analysis was then applied. (3) Results: A total of three studies (n = 64 patients with SGLT2-i, n = 62 with standard therapy) were included in the final analysis. SGLT2 inhibitors reduced EAT (SMD: −0.82 (−1.49; −0.15); p < 0.0001). An exploratory analysis showed that HbA1c was significantly reduced with SGLT2-i use, while body mass index was not significantly reduced with this drug. (4) Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that the amount of EAT is significantly reduced in T2D patients with SGLT2-i treatment.Fil: Masson, Walter. No especifíca;Fil: Lavalle Cobo, Augusto. No especifíca;Fil: Nogueira, Juan Patricio. Universidad Nacional de Formosa; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin

Ovarian Cancer Overview: Molecular Biology and Its Potential Clinical Application

Over the previous two decades, there has been a shift in the ovarian cancer paradigm to consider it as a multiplicity of disease types rather than a single disease, requiring specialized medical management from molecular diagnosis through to treatment. Despite the achieved improvements in diagnosis, surgery, and systemic treatment, ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynecological tumors in western countries. The study of ovarian cancer at a molecular level could reveal potential biomarkers of disease diagnosis and progression, as well as possible therapeutic targets in areas such as angiogenesis and homologous recombination deficiencies. Although this area of research is proving invaluable concerning newer therapeutic approaches, platinum-based chemotherapy continues to be the core of the first-line treatment. Genomic screening focusing on the identification of prognostic and predictive markers is considered one of the leading areas for future ovarian cancer research