Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-02-01"
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- Beyond the business case for responsible artificial intelligence: strategic CSR in light of digital washing and the moral human argumentPublication . Fioravante, RosaThis paper, normative in nature and scope, addresses the perks and limits of the strategic CSR approach when confronted with current debates on the ethics of artificial intelligence, responsible artificial intelligence, and sustainable technology in business organizations. The paper summarizes the classic arguments underpinning the “business case” for the social responsibility of businesses and the main moral arguments for responsible and sustainable behavior in light of recent technological ethical challenges. Both streams are confronted with organizational ethical dilemmas arising in designing and deploying artificial intelligence, yielding tensions between social and economic goals. While recognizing the effectiveness of the business argument for responsible behavior in artificial intelligence, the paper addresses some of its main limits, particularly in light of the “digital washing” phenomenon. Exemplary cases of digital washing and corporate inconsistencies here discussed are taken from the literature on the topic and re-assessed in light of the proposed normative approach. Hence, the paper proposes to overcome some limits of the business case for CSR applied to AI, which mainly focuses on compliance and reputational risks and seeks returns in digital washing, by highlighting the normative arguments supporting a moral case for strategic CSR in AI. This work contributes to the literature on business ethics and strategic CSR at its intertwining with the ethics of AI by proposing a normative point of view on how to deploy the moral case in organizations when dealing with AI-related ethical dilemmas. It does so by critically reviewing the state-of-the-art studies on the debate, which, so far, contain different streams of research, and adding to such a body of literature what is here identified and labeled as the “human argument”.
- Common volatility shocks driven by the global carbon transitionPublication . Campos-Martins, Susana; Hendry, David F.We propose a novel approach to measure the global effects of climate change news on financial markets. For that purpose, we first calculate the global common volatility of the oil and gas industry. Then we project it on climate-related shocks constructed using text-based proxies of climate change news. We show that rising concerns about the energy transition make oil and gas share prices move at the global scale, controlling for shocks to the oil price, US and world stock markets. Despite the clear exposure of oil and gas companies to carbon transition risk, not all geoclimatic shocks are alike. The signs and magnitudes of the impacts differ across climate risk drivers. Regarding sentiment, climate change news tends to create turmoil only when the news is negative. Moreover, the adverse effect is amplified by oil price movements but weakened by stock market shocks. Finally, our findings point out climate news materialises when it reaches the global scale, supporting the relevance of modelling geoclimatic volatility.
- Esculturas de Soares dos Reis: análise de características metálicas e corrosão para a preservação artística em ligas de cobrePublication . General-Toro, P.; Bottaini, C.; Bordalo, R.; Moreira, P.; Vieira, E.As esculturas de António Soares dos Reis (1847-1889) representam um acervo inestimável no contexto do património escultórico português do século XIX. No entanto, as suas obras em metal nunca tinham sido estudadas desde o ponto de vista analítico. A degradação de obras esculturais metálicas, causada por fatores intrínsecos e ambientais (impulsionados pelas alterações climáticas), torna necessário o estudo do metal utilizado nas esculturas, bem como as pátinas artificiais e naturais que surgem na superfície. Um estudo analítico de treze esculturas de Soares dos Reis, executado pelo Laboratório HERCULES, permitiu determinar a composição do metal e a tecnologia e práticas de fundição portuguesa, assim como o tipo de corrosão que sofrem estas obras. Os resultados possibilitam estabelecer estratégias de conservação e salvaguarda para melhor proteger este importante patrimônio, não apenas nas obras de Soares do Reis, mas para a escultura em metal em geral.
- Public value and guiding values of national digital health strategy in FrancePublication . Lewerenz, Simon Luca; Martins, HenriqueDigital health can enhance health outcomes and has become an even more important priority on health agendas. In Europe, more than 4 out of 5 states have a national digital health strategy (NDHS) or policy. Still, challenges persist in their adequate formulation and execution. This research aims to contribute to understanding if and how a NDHS can be enhanced using a “public value” lens. It does so by exploring different stakeholders’ perceptions of guiding values within the French NDHS. The study thematically analysed three focus group discussions involving 19 participants (n=19) from different backgrounds. Findings highlight persisting technical and cultural issues in France and uncover digital health-specific aspects of “public value”. Whilst public clients, health professionals, and private sector align on the necessity of ethics, interoperability, pragmatic considerations, patient-centricity, and coproduction, disparities arise regarding ethics, cultural change, and data. Hence, findings confirm the plurality of perceptions of “public value” among different stakeholders. With this, a framework of public values is developed to guide digital health policymakers, implementers, and developers. The main novel argument developed is the dual interplay of democratic and managerial value classes, in a context where digital health’s successful implementation and adoption are seen as hinging on adequate management and culture and the underlying values. This thesis proposed that the two value classes can respectively foster trust and performance, two complementary and measurable values. Ultimately, the “public value” lens appears well tailored for further research in digital health strategy, and useful to guide adequate digital health implementation and adoption.
- Religious discrimination toward other religious groups by descendants of religiously heterogamous versus homogamous parentsPublication . Leite, Ângela; Dias, PauloThis study aimed to develop a model that explains personal attitudes toward religious groups and the role of parental religious heterogamy and homogamy. The sample included 32,595 participants from 26 countries around the world and was obtained from the International Social Survey Programme. Participants whose parents were religiously homogamous presented higher well-being, better health perception, and higher religiosity than participants whose parents were religiously heterogamous. Having had parental heterogamy or homogamy is a moderator of the relationship between religious practice and attitudes toward religious groups, with this relationship being stronger among participants who had parental homogamy. Religious variables are directly related to heterogamy/homogamy and indirectly related to well-being and personal attitude toward religious groups through parents’ religious heterogamy/homogamy. Religious variables are related to personal attitudes toward religious groups through patents’ religious heterogamy/homogamy and well-being. Participants whose parents are religiously heterogamous present a more negative attitude toward Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews, and participants whose parents are religiously homogamous present a more negative attitude toward atheists or nonbelievers. In the context of globalization and the merging of cultures, these results open new research questions and may support religious, spiritual, and clinical practitioners in their approach to religious discrimination.
- A.I.-based digital therapeutics in diabetes managementPublication . Foktas, Žygimantas; Martins, HenriqueThe Diabetes Mellitus is a global health challenge which underscores the need for advanced technologies to provide effective management solutions. The integration of DTx and AI could offer new solutions for diabetes management which are much in need given the widespread prevalence and the need for personalized care. Therefore, this study seeks to explore AI's impact and challenges in the field of digital therapeutics for diabetes management. The research delves into potential applications, effectiveness, and challenges within digital therapeutics. It also examines the transformative impact of AI on healthcare, particularly in enhancing treatment personalization, predictive care, and patient education through advanced monitoring systems. Research included the use of primary data and secondary data. This included literature review, semi-structured interviews and analysis. Results include the identification of AI's potential in personalizing care, enhancing predictive analytics, improving patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency. It also uncovers significant challenges such as regulatory complexities, data privacy concerns, adoption barriers due to stakeholder resistance, and healthcare system integration issues. This thesis also advocates for further research in broader geographical contexts and deeper insights from a diverse range of experts. Nontheless, it suggests that AI, with its unique capabilities, holds promise for revolutionizing diabetes management, calling for strategic approaches to overcome existing limitations and fully harness its potential.
- The rise of refurbished smartphones : the interplay between brand, price and environmental consciousnessPublication . Guerreiro, José Guilherme Pinto; Hortinha, PaulaIn a rapidly evolving electronics industry, marked by the accelerating turnover of smartphones, this thesis explores the unexplored potential of refurbished smartphones in Portugal. Applying an experimental methodology, including a pilot study and a main study with 421 responses, the research reveals a more detailed understanding of two variables that are essential to comprehending consumer behavior in relation to refurbished smartphones: brand equity and price perception. The study's findings highlight the importance of brand equity for sales of refurbished products and its close relationship with pricing strategies. Notably, it was also shown that the customer's environmental consciousness had no significant effect on sales of refurbished products, indicating the predominance of economic factors in influencing consumer purchasing decisions. After all, environmental consciousness remains a low significant factor in buying refurbished smartphones in Portugal.
- Revenue implications of choosing discrete bid levels in a Japanese-English auctionPublication . Gonçalves, Ricardo; Ray, IndrajitWe consider the set-up of a Japanese-English auction with exogenously fixed discrete bid levels for a specific game (the wallet game with two bidders, following Goncalves and Ray in Econ Lett 159:177-179, 2017). We show that in this auction, partition equilibria exist that may be separating or pooling. We illustrate separating and pooling equilibria in games with two and three discrete bid levels and compare the revenues of the seller from these equilibria to find the optimal bid levels for these cases.
- Japan in 70’s : a speculative run on an interest rate peg?Publication . Fernandes, João Afonso; Teles, PedroThis thesis aims to present the Japanese Great Inflation of 1974 as a case study of the equilibria developed by Bassetto and Phelan (2015), identifying in a set of Japanese macroeconomic variables the mechanisms that characterise a corner equilibrium and its recovery. The theoretical framework of the authors is explained and discussed, a terse account of the Japanese markets and institutions is provided, and, finally, an analysis of the period between 1973-1975 is presented, concluding that there are strong similarities between the Japanese context and a corner equilibrium.
- Remittances as inequality and consumption smoother? : evidence from PortugalPublication . Costa, Maria Benedita Nascimento Portela; Correia, Isabel HortaThis thesis proposes to analyse data from a household-level survey on the Portuguese population comprising years 2009 to 2020, as to explore the role that remittances from emigrants might have in reducing income inequality, and in allowing households to maintain a relatively stable level of consumption over time, even when there are fluctuations in income. We conclude that remittances not only play a role in reducing inequality but also, and more surprisingly, have a quantitatively stronger impact on inequality relatively to social transfers, even comparing to those including pensions. By analysing the empirical relations between remittances and consumption we conclude that Portuguese families use remittances to increase both consumption and savings, however the second at a higher degree than the first. There is therefore a consumption smoothing role from remittances for those households.
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