2020
Authors
Baltazar, S; Amaral, A; Barreto, L; Silva, JP; Gonçalves, L;
Publication
Implications of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in Urban and Rural Environments - Practice, Progress, and Proficiency in Sustainability
Abstract
2020
Authors
Dziadkiewicz, A; Duarte, NJR; Niezurawska-Zajac, J; Niezurawski, L;
Publication
Journal of Positive Management
Abstract
2020
Authors
Barros, T; Rodrigues, P; Duarte, N; Shao, XF; Martins, FV; Barandas Karl, H; Yue, XG;
Publication
JOURNAL OF RISK AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Abstract
The current literature focuses on the cocreation of brands in dynamic contexts, but the impact of the relationships among brands on branding is poorly documented. To address this gap a concept is proposed concerning the relationships between brands and a model is developed, showing the influence of the latter on the identity and reputation of brands. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop a brand relationships concept and to build a framework relating it with corporate brand identity and reputation, in a higher consumer involvement context like higher education. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for this purpose. In line with this, interviews, cooperatively developed by higher education lecturers and brand managers, were carried out with focus groups of higher education students, and questionnaires conducted, with 216 complete surveys obtained. Data are analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Results demonstrate that the concept of brand relationships comprises three dimensions: trust, commitment, and motivation. The structural model reveals robustness regarding the selected fit indicators, demonstrating that the relationships between brands influence brand identity and reputation. This suggests that managers must choose and promote brand relationships that gel with the identity and reputation of the primary brand they manage, to develop an integrated balanced product range.
2020
Authors
Sun, SL; Li, TT; Ma, H; Li, RYM; Gouliamos, K; Zheng, JM; Han, Y; Manta, O; Comite, U; Barros, T; Duarte, N; Yue, XG;
Publication
SUSTAINABILITY
Abstract
This paper investigated the impact of employee quality on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on data from China A-share-listed companies for the years 2012-2016 and using ordinary least squares, our empirical results show that the educational level of the workforce, as a proxy for employee quality, is positively associated with CSR, which suggests that higher education can promote CSR implementation. Additional analyses found that this positive relationship is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises in regions with lower marketisation processes, and firms with lower proportions of independent directors. This study extends the literature on human capital at the level of firms' entire workforce and CSR by elaborating the positive effect of employee quality on CSR in the context of an emerging economy (China). The results suggest that it is necessary to consider the educational level of employees when analysing CSR, which is of strategic significance for corporate sustainable development.
2020
Authors
Ramos, D; Carneiro, D; Novais, P;
Publication
INTELLIGENT DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING XIII
Abstract
Machine Learning is a field in which significant steps forward have been taken in the last years, resulting in a wide variety of available algorithms, for many different problems. Nonetheless, most of these algorithms focus on the training of static models, in the sense that the model stops evolving after the training phase. This is increasingly becoming a limitation, especially in an era in which datasets are increasingly larger and may even arrive as sequential streams of data. Frequently retraining a model, in these scenarios, is not realistic. In this paper we propose evoRF: a combination of a Random Forest with an evolutionary approach. Its key innovative aspect is the evolution of the weights of the Random Forest over time, as new data arrives, thus making the forest's voting scheme adapt to the new data. Older trees can also be replaced by newly trained ones, according to their accuracy, ensuring that the ensemble remains up to date without requiring a whole retraining.
2020
Authors
Carneiro, D; Silva, F; Guimarães, M; Sousa, D; Novais, P;
Publication
Ambient Intelligence - Software and Applications - 11th International Symposium on Ambient Intelligence, ISAmI 2020, L'Aquila, Italy, October 7 - 9, 2020
Abstract
The main focus of an Intelligent environment, as with other applications of Artificial Intelligence, is generally on the provision of good decisions towards the management of the environment or the support of human decision-making processes. The quality of the system is often measured in terms of accuracy or other performance metrics, calculated on labeled data. Other equally important aspects are usually disregarded, such as the ability to produce an intelligible explanation for the user of the environment. That is, asides from proposing an action, prediction, or decision, the system should also propose an explanation that would allow the user to understand the rationale behind the output. This is becoming increasingly important in a time in which algorithms gain increasing importance in our lives and start to take decisions that significantly impact them. So much so that the EU recently regulated on the issue of a “right to explanation”. In this paper we propose a Human-centric intelligent environment that takes into consideration the domain of the problem and the mental model of the Human expert, to provide intelligible explanations that can improve the efficiency and quality of the decision-making processes. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.
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