Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Organizations are exposed to several types of risks, such as environmental, legal, operational, financial, and technological; that are subjected to epistemic uncertainty. In this context, a contemporary issue is how to deal with accidents, with greater difficulty in understanding the sociotechnical system, due to its complex and dynamic characteristics, in an attempt to prevent accidents based on components’ behavior. Although, for most complex systems and projects, a record of the exposure to hazards is incomplete or nonexistent, especially when it is highly innovative. This study developed a risk analysis framework for complex aerospace research projects by integrating different methods: problem structuring, safety control action analysis, and prioritization of results. Three methods are proposed: (1) Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) for initial review and understanding of the problem situation, and preliminary identification of hazards and losses; (2) Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA), to identify Unsafe Control Actions (UCAs) and their causal scenarios; and (3), Preferences Sorting Technique by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS Fuzzy) for prioritization of the UCAs and mitigating causal scenarios. This proposal was applied to the Liquid Propulsion Injection Systems Laboratory (CEPROS), and, through the SSM, 7 hazards and 4 losses were found. On the other hand, the STPA method found 15 loops with 48 UCAs and 106 causal scenarios. In the end, it is recommended that the Decision Maker establishes a cut-off criterion, that is, a Hierarchy of Management and Control of the identified UCAs. The proposed methods follow the line of sociotechnical systems, considering the difficulty of the decision-maker for risk analysis in aerospace research projects. Thus, this work presents a structure of different methods covering the entire risk management process, increasing the difficulty in fulfilling the mission due to the level of complexity of the project, and supporting strategies for coordinated decision-making.

Investments in port container terminals are sensitive to uncertainties. Public investments in infrastructure have been significantly reduced in the last decade in developing countries. The Brazilian government infrastructure investment was only 1.85 % of GDP in 2019, representing the lowest level in the last fifty years. Nonetheless, the regulatory framework of the port sector in Brazil has undergone significant changes over time, increasing the number of private port container terminal leases. The expansion capacity of the private port facilities is strongly linked to the demand uncertainty, which impacts the financial return to the long run. In this scenario, the uncertainty of global cargo transportation can discourage infrastructure investments in this class of project in Brazil. To overcome these issues, the financial modelling applying real options approach is better suited than the traditional valuation methods based on Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis. The present study aims to value flexibilities of anticipating, or postponing, or interrupting investments of an existing operational port terminal in Brazil with expansion capacity under the demand uncertainty. The financial decision to invest in a port expansion is modeled by an American option. The results demonstrate that the investor adds significant value to the project by having the possibility to postpone investments. The proposed model presents the contribution of optimizing the decision of sequential expansions of capacity in port terminals, at any time and according to scenarios' revelation. In addition, the model allows the government authorities to review lease contracts, considering the relevance of timing to invest in project expansion decisions. The proposed model can also be extended to other infrastructure projects in emerging economies.

The natural fiber market has been growing extraordinarily. Hereupon the current work presents the natural fiber of the periquiteira tree Cochlospermum orinocense of the Amazon forest. The chemical composition, physical aspects, morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of this fiber will be discussed. The thermal stability of the fiber samples was about 200 °C. The decomposition of cellulose and hemicelluloses in the fibers occurred at 300 ºC and above, while the degradation of the fibers happened above 400 °C. This fiber had good specific strength and good binding properties due to their low weight and presence of high cellulose (60.15wt.%), low lignin (12.03wt.%). More pronounced mass loss indicated the degradation of the amorphous regions of the cellulose, and finally reached a peak of approximately 390 °C.

Effect of foreign direct investment on gross national income in Nigeria, 2006-2017   Kelechi Johnmary Ani Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Nigeria E-mail: kelechi.ani@funai.edu.ng   Chigozie Onu Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria E-mail: asiano.jc@gmail.com   Submission: 11/4/2020 Revision: 12/15/2020 Accept: 1/5/2021   ABSTRACT The study analyzed the effect of foreign direct investment on gross national income over the period of 2006- 2019. The main type of data used in this study is secondary; which were sourced from various publications of Central Bank of Nigeria, such as; Statistical Bulletin, Annual Reports and Statement of Accounts. The regression analysis of the ordinary least square (OLS) is the estimation technique that was employed in this study to determine the effect of the Direct Foreign Investment on gross national income in Nigeria. The cointegration test showed existence of a long run relationship and an indication that 1 cointegrating vectors exist at 5% level of significance among the variables which was corrected with error correction mode (ECM). The result showed that foreign direct investment had a positive effect on gross national income during the period 2006 – 2019. It also revealed that gross domestic product, exchange rate and unemployment rate has a positive effect on gross national income in Nigeria during the same period. The study recommends that government should try to develop trade zones, which are solely based on free economic movements and policies. The study recommends official re-consideration of different determinants of gross national income (GNI) attractions. Government incentives, infrastructure and policies should be put in place to make it easy for general foreign investors, to find Nigeria safe and reliable to invest. Finally, unique fiscal and monetary policies should be formed to strengthen the other macroeconomic variables which will help to overcome the situation of shocks in Nigeria while hosting Foreign Direct Investment inflow for future sustainable economic development.

The Professional Master's in Production Engineering at the Federal University of Amazonas has an important role in the technological, economic, and social development of the northern region. The Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel seeks to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the insertion of new masters in the academic environment and the impact on society of the knowledge obtained. In this sense, this article aims to analyze the contributions of the Professional Master's course in Production Engineering at UFAM to the development of the area and its future challenges. To achieve the proposed objective, quantitative and qualitative research was carried out, of a descriptive nature and based on data collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results of the research indicate that contributions are generated both for the graduates from the improvement in their professional situation, for the organizations through the researches implemented, and for the academy through terms of partnerships to train these professionals, thus contributing, to local and western Amazon economic and sustainable development.

This study investigates coopetition in addressing the interactions among micro, small and medium enterprises. The fundamental cause of coopetition was examined and the degree to which it affects the enterprise performance as evidenced from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) was evaluated. Premised on existing literature, intensity of cooperation, intensity of competition and intensity of equality were used as the dimensions of coopetition. The descriptive survey research method was applied. Structured questionnaires were administered to 1876 MSMEs in Nigeria. The structural equation model was used in analyzing data to establish the extent of influence of coopetition on MSMEs performance.  It was established that coopetition affects asses to technology and market share. It was also revealed that the intensity of competition affects coopetition more and access to technology was seen as the most significant reason MSMEs are involved in coopetition. The findings of the study also show that MSMEs mostly take part in coopetition in order to ripe the benefits of technological advancement. The study is limited in scope to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Future studies should investigate the effect of coopetition on specific industries. MSMEs should engage more in coopetition in order to achieve their objectives and Entrepreneurs should design and manage competitive relationships with their key competitors in order not to lose their core competence. The study pays attention to the fundamental cause of coopetition and establishing factors that influence cooperation which have direct effect on competition. This study also adds intensity of equality as a measurement of coopetition based on literatures reviewed as previous empirical studies did not include it.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the most promising technological innovations in order to track and trace products as well as material flow in manufacturing systems. High Frequency (HF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID systems can track a wide range of products in the part production process via radio waves with level of accuracy and reliability.   As a result, quality and transparency of data across the supply chain can be accurately obtained in order to decrease time and cost of part production. Also, process planning and part production scheduling can be modified using the advanced RFID systems in part manufacturing process. Moreover, to decrease the cost of produced parts, material handling systems in the advanced assembly lines can be analyzed and developed by using the RFID. Smart storage systems can increase efficiency in part production systems by providing accurate information from the stored raw materials and products for the production planning systems. To increase efficiency of energy consumption in production processes, energy management systems can be developed by using the RFID-sensor networks. Therefore, smart factories and intelligent manufacturing systems as industry 4.0 can be introduced by using the developed RFID systems in order to provide new generation of part production systems. In this paper, a review of RFID based wireless manufacturing systems is presented and future research works are also suggested. It has been observed that the research filed can be moved forward by reviewing and analyzing recent achievements in the published papers.