Evolving the enterprise resource planning system in use to improve control management: a case study in the communications and multimedia services trade

This research aims to understand how and why an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system should evolve to improve management control. Having as supporting theory the ERP system, the holistic single case study method was applied in a communications and multimedia services trading company. Data collection was based on documents, participant observation and interview with the company manager. The main results showed the need to change the ERP system in order to allow disaggregating information to greater detail. Such disaggregation was evidenced for accounting reporting, costs per vehicle, costs per driver, nonfinancial performance per employee and performance per store. As an extension of theory, the need for management accounting to build disaggregated information and the interdependence of adaptive Information Systems (ISs) are reinforced.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integrated reporting an exploratory study on the motivations and obstacles in the adoption of a new information reporting system

This study explores the motives for voluntary adoption and reasons for non-adoption of integrated reporting by Portuguese listed companies. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was addressed to adopters and non-adopters of integrated reporting. The results reveal motivations for integrated reporting associated with external pressures and reporting trends of other companies. The cost of implementing this new reporting system seems to be the main reason why few companies do it yet. The preparation of sustainability information in accordance with internationally recognized frameworks seems to be the current priority of companies and an intermediate step between traditional financial reporting and integrated reporting.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Covid-19 pandemic related disclosures in corporate reports of Portuguese listed companies: an interpretation of evidence provided by accounting information systems

This work analyzes how Portuguese listed companies disclosed pandemic-related information in their annual reports in the years 2019 and 2020, focusing on the sections where information was presented, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions implemented, and the risks disclosed. Based on a manual content analysis, this work provides preliminary evidence on corporate disclosures made in the pandemic context, suggesting that institutional forces and stakeholder groups may have influenced the information disclosed and provided by accounting information systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Management control decisions in gym services in Portugal and Brazil during pandemic confinement COVID-19: accounting information systems approach

The present research aimed to identify similarities and differences in management control decisions implemented in gyms in Portugal and Brazil in reaction to the pandemic confinement COVID-19. The theoretical approach was in the context of Information Systems (ISs). The cases of one gym in Portugal and one in Brazil were studied through a qualitative methodology using the holistic multiple case study method. Data collection was made through a content analysis and interviews with managers of both gyms. The results allow the conclusion that the global and sudden pandemic confinement COVID-19 affected management control decisions in gym services, especially the budget control which showed abnormally unfavorable deviations in income, expenses and investments. Although the studied gyms were located in different continents (Portugal and Brazil), the managers' control decisions were similar, evidencing an immediate damage containment response and short-term resilience. As for the ISs, the results showed that the instrumental usefulness of these systems implemented in both gyms was never questioned as a support to operation and decision making. But the temporary and drastic reduction in the activity of the gyms, in response to an unexpected confinement context, meant a consequent and natural reduction in their use. As for the extent of the theoretical framework, the study reinforces the weaknesses of the budgeting process in an unexpected pandemic context, on the one hand, and the interdependence between ISs and management control decisions in the gym services sector. Additionally, without questioning that interdependence relationship, it can also be interpreted that ISs have an instrumental character because they are more dependent on managers' decisions and critical junctures.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Standardization of an isolated pig heart preparation with parabiotic circulation: methodological considerations

In the present study we standardized an experimental model of parabiotic circulation of isolated pig heart. The isolated heart was perfused with arterial blood from a second animal as support and submitted to regional ischemia for 30 min, followed by total ischemia for 90 min and reperfusion for 90 min. Parameters for measurement of ventricular performance using different indices measured directly or indirectly from intraventricular pressure were defined as: maximum peak pressure, final diastolic pressure, pressure developed, first derivative of maximum pressure (dP/dt max), first derivative of minimum pressure (dP/dt min), systolic stress of the left ventricle (sigmas), and maximum elastance of the left ventricle. Isolated hearts subjected to regional and global ischemia presented significant worsening of all measured parameters. Less discriminative parameters were dP/dt max and dP/dt min. Elastance was the most sensitive parameter during the reperfusion period, demonstrating an early loss of ventricular function during reperfusion. The model proved to be stable and reproducible and permitted the study of several variables in the isolated heart, such as ischemia and reperfusion phenomena, the effects of different drugs, surgical interventions, etc. The model introduces an advantage over the classical models which use crystalloid solutions as perfusate, because parabiotic circulation mimics heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation.64965

Africa and the global carbon cycle

The African continent has a large and growing role in the global carbon cycle, with potentially important climate change implications. However, the sparse observation network in and around the African continent means that Africa is one of the weakest links in our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Here, we combine data from regional and global inventories as well as forward and inverse model analyses to appraise what is known about Africa's continental-scale carbon dynamics. With low fossil emissions and productivity that largely compensates respiration, land conversion is Africa's primary net carbon release, much of it through burning of forests. Savanna fire emissions, though large, represent a short-term source that is offset by ensuing regrowth. While current data suggest a near zero decadal-scale carbon balance, interannual climate fluctuations (especially drought) induce sizeable variability in net ecosystem productivity and savanna fire emissions such that Africa is a major source of interannual variability in global atmospheric CO(2). Considering the continent's sizeable carbon stocks, their seemingly high vulnerability to anticipated climate and land use change, as well as growing populations and industrialization, Africa's carbon emissions and their interannual variability are likely to undergo substantial increases through the 21st century

Impact of clinical phenotypes on management and outcomes in European atrial fibrillation patients: a report from the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in AF (EORP-AF) General Long-Term Registry

Background: Epidemiological studies in atrial fibrillation (AF) illustrate that clinical complexity increase the risk of major adverse outcomes. We aimed to describe European AF patients\u2019 clinical phenotypes and analyse the differential clinical course. Methods: We performed a hierarchical cluster analysis based on Ward\u2019s Method and Squared Euclidean Distance using 22 clinical binary variables, identifying the optimal number of clusters. We investigated differences in clinical management, use of healthcare resources and outcomes in a cohort of European AF patients from a Europe-wide observational registry. Results: A total of 9363 were available for this analysis. We identified three clusters: Cluster 1 (n = 3634; 38.8%) characterized by older patients and prevalent non-cardiac comorbidities; Cluster 2 (n = 2774; 29.6%) characterized by younger patients with low prevalence of comorbidities; Cluster 3 (n = 2955;31.6%) characterized by patients\u2019 prevalent cardiovascular risk factors/comorbidities. Over a mean follow-up of 22.5 months, Cluster 3 had the highest rate of cardiovascular events, all-cause death, and the composite outcome (combining the previous two) compared to Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 (all P <.001). An adjusted Cox regression showed that compared to Cluster 2, Cluster 3 (hazard ratio (HR) 2.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.27\u20133.62; HR 3.42, 95%CI 2.72\u20134.31; HR 2.79, 95%CI 2.32\u20133.35), and Cluster 1 (HR 1.88, 95%CI 1.48\u20132.38; HR 2.50, 95%CI 1.98\u20133.15; HR 2.09, 95%CI 1.74\u20132.51) reported a higher risk for the three outcomes respectively. Conclusions: In European AF patients, three main clusters were identified, differentiated by differential presence of comorbidities. Both non-cardiac and cardiac comorbidities clusters were found to be associated with an increased risk of major adverse outcomes