Linking corporate social responsibility, brand activism, and corporate reputation: The Portuguese case

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and, more recently, brand activism has become an important topic in business strategies, with companies playing an increasingly prominent role in socio-political life and addressing a wide range of social issues. However, the legitimacy of spending capital for investments in CSR and activism actions is not yet fully accepted by the business and academic world, with several companies and authors considering these expenses as unnecessary. As such, this chapter aims to highlight Portuguese empirical research that demonstrates how companies' social and environmental responsibility actions can impact their corporate reputation, based on a quantitative investigation carried out to 613 consumers of a company in the Portuguese energy sector. The results showed that CSR is one of the factors that has the greatest positive impact on corporate reputation, thus contributing to a better understanding of how companies' social investments can be a source of competitive advantage and benefit corporate performance. This chapter also helps to encourage other authors to study a recent line of research in the field of marketing – brand activism – which is still under development and, therefore, has a great potential to be explored.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

O papel das redes sociais na proliferação e incentivo do Ativismo de Marca

Despite the relevance and actuality of brand activism, there are few theoretical investigations about the origins of this concept, and particularly about the role that social networks played in its proliferation and encouragement. This extensive literature review, based on the most prominent articles published in this field of expertise, investigates and discusses the role of technological advances, and particularly the role of the popularization of the use of social networks, in the proliferation of brand activism worldwide. Likewise, the concept of brand activism as a new trend in strategic communication between brands and stakeholders is explored, giving real examples of brand activism campaigns to present a current picture of the application of this concept, both online and offline.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Activism in the age of mediated communication: The impact of new media on the development of activist movements

The emergence and expansion of new digital media led to profound economic, cultural, political and social transformations, which not only changed the relationship between media and audiences but also had a strong impact on the dissemination and organization of broader social phenomena, such as activist movements. New interactive technologies and their use by the common citizen have strongly intensified globalization, led to the decentralization of geopolitical authorities, provided large-scale two-way communication, expanded cultural circulation, reduced barriers between private and public issues, and brought greater opportunities for civic expression. The potentialities of new media thus led to profound changes in the behavior of the public, which, by starting to participate in communication exchanges, today assumes the role of Produser, becoming both a producer, receiver and user of online content. This new type of public, with bigger power to contribute and influence the attitudes of others in relation to the most diverse subjects, began to use the new media to group themselves in multiple “virtual communities” with greater capacity to initiate or strengthen social movements on a global scale, as they can communicate and share their ideals worldwide and, consequently, can more easily place these issues on the public agenda. In this way, digital media gave greater power of expression to activist movements and influenced the methods by which these movements are prepared and implemented. If initially activist movements were processed through direct actions, such as protests, demonstrations, boycotts or civil disobedience, since the 1990s there has been a growing debate about activism practices on the Internet - the so-called Cyberactivism - and how new media can be used by a variety of sociopolitical movements. However, the possibility of communicating and establishing activist practices mediated by digital technologies brings several advantages, but also challenges, for the communication of these social movements, derived from the inequality of access and use of technology, from the economic, social and political context in that the use of this technology occurs, the nature of transience of digital platforms and the information overload that often occurs on it. This theoretical investigation will explore how the new media contributed to the propagation of activist movements and how it came to shape the practices of these social movements, in addition to highlighting and debating the benefits and risks that mediated communication brought to activism. Based on a literature review and concrete examples, an overview of current cyberactivism practices will be presented, as well as the media transformations and evolutions that led to the development of these social movements and to broader notions of citizenship. In addition, the benefits and risks of digitally mediated communication in terms of activism will be discussed, adopting a critical view of how activist movements can gain power, but also be obstructed, in cyberspace. Finally, the investigation will conclude on the importance of adopting a holistic approach between online and offline as a way of not distorting activist militancy and effectively promoting new models of civic engagement and participation.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

How social networks promote brand activism and the importance of authenticity in achieving results

The use of the Web on a global scale and based on two-way communication, provided by Web 2.0, enabled the creation and dissemination of social movements and online activist practices, due to the greater ease and reach of the association of individuals in “virtual communities”, characterized by shared interests and common issues. In addition, the access to additional sources of information on the Web and the greater ability of the masses to make their opinions heard, has balanced the distribution of power, allowing an increasingly closer and interactive relationship between audiences and social organisms, like companies. In the field of online communication between brands and consumers, social networks play a prominent role as a stage for this new ability for public influence and participation. The public, increasingly aware of the most varied socio-political problems, quickly began to approach brands on social platforms as a way to pressure companies to adopt a more active role in society and to comment on relevant social and political issues. Some even join in “anti-brand movements” or in “anti-brand communities” when considered that brands reveal an irresponsible position regarding the consequences of their activities and/or a communication that doesn’t suit the values defended by consumers. From this closer communication, brands began to become aware of the need to commit themselves to the demands of consumer-activists and to get involved in the causes of society itself, beginning to take a public position on the most pressing and current social, political, economic and/or environmental issues, initiating the so-called Brand Activism. However, there are several factors influencing adherence of brands to activism and the outcomes of such actions, like the possibility and ease of access of companies and consumers to the Information Age and mainly the authenticity demonstrated by brands when defending a certain cause, complementing online actions with offline activist practices. This gave rise to positive, negative and neutral theories about the impact and effectiveness of digital activism. This theoretical investigation will thus contribute to expose and discuss the factors that made social networks a dual platform, which, on the one hand, presents itself as a lever for the emergence and proliferation of Brand Activism and, on the other hand, is today one of the most important means for brands to develop actions to fight for positive socio-political changes. Based on a bibliographic review and concrete examples of brands that are already involved in activism actions, a current picture of the application of this concept will be presented, as well as the different perspectives that guide the area. In addition, conclusions will be presented on the constraints to the practices of brand activism around the globe, derived from the unequal access and use of technology and the economic, social and political context in which the use of the technology occurs. Finally, the importance of authenticity for obtaining favorable results will be explained, namely in terms of coherence between the communication carried out by brand on its various platforms and its values and offline practices regarding the same subjects.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Therapeutic use of VR serious games in the treatment of negative schizophrenia symptoms : a systematic review

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects 1 in every 300 people worldwide. This study intended to perform a systematic review to describe the state-of-the-art of interventions involving patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia that use Virtual Reality (VR) games as a complement to therapy, and to analyze the key features of such games. Literature research was conducted in three databases, namely, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Scopus, and PubMed, to identify relevant publications dated from 2010 to 2021. Of the initial 74 publications found, only 11 satisfied the eligibility requirements and were included in this study. The results were then organized and displayed in a flow diagram. Overall, the results from the studies suggest that the use of VR in therapies enables an increase in social skills and a decrease in anxiety symptoms. The use of such technology in therapy has proven to be effective, although it still lacks features to provide better long-term results.2411-78B2-7CDB | Pedro Miguel MoreiraN/

Bearing capacity of spread foundations on rock masses according to EC7

O Eurocódigo 7 (EC7) define diretivas para o projeto de fundações superficiais assentes em maciços rochosos e apresenta o exemplo de um método para estimar a capacidade resistente presumida deste tipo de fundação. Contudo, o mesmo não tem em conta importantes fatores que influenciam a capacidade de carga da fundação, o que pode ser considerado como uma importante limitação. Neste trabalho, o método recomendado pelo EC7 é comparado com dois métodos existentes na literatura. São utilizados dois casos de estudo simples e os resultados são comparados. Da análise dos resultados detetou-se que a capacidade resistente obtida utilizando o método do EC7 é a menos conservativa num dos casos analisados e a mais conservativa, conjuntamente com um dos métodos alternativos, no outro caso estudado. Isto revela que o método preconizado pelo EC7 deve ser usado com precaução mesmo em casos muito simples.In Eurocode 7 (EC7), some guidelines are provided for the design of spread foundations built on rock masses and a method for the calculation of the bearing capacity for this type of foundations is suggested. However, this method does not take into account important factors that influence the bearing capacity of the foundation, which can be an important limitation of the method. In this work, the EC7 method is compared with two other methods that can be found in literature. They are applied to two simple examples and the results are compared. The results revealed the EC7 method as the least conservative in one of the analysed cases and the greatest conservative, jointly with other used method, in the other studied case. This means that the EC7 method should be used with caution even for very simple cases

Cone geometry optimization and thermal behavior for lithium-ion battery separators

A 3D cone separator geometry for lithium-ion batteries has been optimized taking into account the increase of radius size of one side. Theoretical simulations have been carried out for evaluating the influence of radius size in the cone structure at different discharge rates (1 C and 60 C) in which it was also determined the produced ohmic heat. The value of the discharge capacity in the cone structure depends on the increases of the radius, which is correlated with the electrolyte volume and interface between free electrolyte/cathode. The optimum balance of these parameters is essential for obtaining higher battery performance through this geometry that can be used in the next generation of lithium-ion batteriesPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): UID/FIS/04650/2019, PTDC/CTMENE/5387/2014, UID/CTM/50025/2013, PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017, grant SFRH/BPD/112547/2015 (C.M.C.) and contract CEECIND/00833/2017 (R.G.), including FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 Programme and National Funds through FCT. Financial support from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK and HAZITEK programs is also acknowledged. F. Miranda was also supported by Portuguese funds through the CIDMA - Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (“FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia”), within project UID/MAT/04106/201

Theoretical simulation of different 3D separator geometries for lithium-ion batteries

The battery separator is an essential component of batteries and affects their cycling performance. In this work, the effect of different 3D geometries of the battery separator on battery performance was studied keeping the same volume. It was observed that the different geometries affect the cycling performance, the best geometry being the perforated one that cycled up to 90 C. The cycling performance is affected by parameters such as the separator thickness and the electrolyte volume. Through the control of the battery separator geometry it is possible to obtain high performance lithium-ion batteries.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): UID/FIS/04650/2019, PTDC/CTMENE/5387/2014, UID/CTM/50025/2013, PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017, grant SFRH/BPD/112547/2015 (C.M.C.) and contract CEECIND/00833/2017 (R.G.), including FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 Programme and National Funds through FCT. Financial support from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK and HAZITEK programs is also acknowledged. F. Miranda was also supported by Portuguese funds through the CIDMA - Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (“FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia”), within project UID/MAT/04106/2013

Study on guardrail post behavior located on organic soil using simplified experimental and numerical methods

For the purpose of road safety, it is vital to reduce the severity of road accidents and increase safety around the roadway area by deploying guardrails. In case of a car crash, a guardrail post must be deformable so that such restraint is not too abrupt due to the occupant’s sensitivity. Soil type influences on the guardrail post behavior have been a somewhat unfounded variable due to the high soil heterogeneity and challenging interpretation of its real implications on the safety of guardrail systems. Since little attention is concentrated on evaluating the guardrail post behavior through simplified procedures, this article aims to provide a simplified experimental and numerical approach to study the behavior of guardrail posts located on organic soil. Results of laboratory and in-situ tests indicated that guardrail posts behavior located on organic soil depends on section orientation, driving depth, and loading speed. To confirm and compare the in-situ tests, simplified numerical simulations through Plaxis 3D software were carried out, and data from numerical modeling approved the accuracy of in-situ results.The authors acknowledge the financial support by FCT / MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020; and ANI through national funds (Portugal 2020), under project “BARROD - Barreiras de Segurança Rodoviária”, reference 33497

Inteligência Artificial em Radiologia: Do Processamento de Imagem ao Diagnóstico

The objective of this article is to present a view on the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on processing medical images, in particular in relation to diagnostic. This topic is currently attracting major attention in both the medical and engineering communities, as demonstrated by the number of recent tutorials [1-3] and review articles [4-6] that address it, with large research hospitals, as well as engineering research centers contributing to the area. Furthermore, several large companies like General Electric (GE), IBM/Merge, Siemens, Philips or Agfa, as well as more specialized companies and startups are integrating AI into their medical imaging products. The evolution of GE in this respect is interesting. GE SmartSignal software was developed for industrial applications to identify impending equipment failures well before they happen. As written in the GE prospectus, with this added lead time, one can transform from reactive maintenance to a more proactive maintenance process, allowing the workforce to focus on fixing problems rather than looking for them. With this background experience from the industrial field, GE developed predictive analytics products for clinical imaging, that embodied the Predictive component of P4 medicine (predictive, personalized, preventive, participatory). Another interesting example is the Illumeo software from Philips that embeds adaptive intelligence, i. e. the capacity to improve its automatic reasoning process from its past experience, to automatically pop out related prior exams for radiology in face of a concrete situation. Actually, with its capacity to tackle massive amounts of data of different sorts (imaging data, patient exam reports, pathology reports, patient monitoring signals, data from implantable electrophysiology devices, and data from many other sources) AI is certainly able to yield a decisive contribution to all the components of P4 medicine. For instance, in the presence of a rare disease, AI methods have the capacity to review huge amounts of prior information when confronted to the patient clinical data