Sapientia
Repositório Científico da UAlg
Entradas recentes
Transformative blockchain technological approaches to sports events
Publication . Principe, Vitor; Ribeiro, Tiago; López-Carril, Samuel
The integration of blockchain technology in sports event management represents a significant shift towards more decentralized and efficient governance structures, particularly relevant to small and medium-sized events. Despite growing interest, its practical implementation remains limited and lacks comprehensive theoretical guidance. This study addresses this gap by proposing an integrated theoretical framework, combining the Dynamic Capabilities Framework (DCF), Collaborative Governance Theory (CGT), and the Four Modes of Governance (FMG), to systematically explore blockchain’s application within sports event management. Our analysis reveals that blockchain technology can effectively foster transparency, efficiency, and enhanced stakeholder participation through Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). These advantages are realized through key mechanisms of access, control, and incentives, which interact across external environments, governance structures, and blockchain core infrastructure. Furthermore, the study identifies critical managerial implications necessary for successful blockchain implementation, emphasizing strategic infrastructure assessments, stakeholder engagement, and risk management protocols. Ultimately, this research contributes both theoretical insights and practical guidelines, addressing existing knowledge gaps and providing a structured framework for leveraging blockchain in managing small to mediumsized sports events.
The behavioural ecology of hominin locomotion: what can we learn from landscapes of fear and primate terrestriality?
Publication . Hammond, Philippa; Bobe, René; Carvalho, Susana
A defining feature of the hominin clade is bipedality, often parcelled together with terrestriality. However, there is increasing evidence of locomotor diversity, both within the hominin clade and amongst the Miocene apes that came before them. There is also growing recognition that bipedalism might have arboreal origins and that arboreality persisted in several hominin taxa, including our own genus Homo. Furthermore, the difference between terms like “habitual” and “obligate” bipedality is not clearly defined and is often inferred from fossil features, rather than a description of each behaviour in vivo. Combining fossil and palaeoecological evidence with insights from behavioural ecology facilitates new interpretations of evolutionary pathways and highlights the importance of considering convergent evolution in the emergence of locomotor traits and characteristics. Taking such an approach also moves away from assumptions of a straight-line trajectory towards modern human locomotion and explores the likelihood that independent forms of bipedality and terrestriality arose at different times and in different combinations with other features of ape morphology and behaviour. Evidence from extant primate species can broaden our understanding of the correlates, causes, and consequences of terrestriality and can be used to generate hypotheses which are then explored further using paleontological methods. In this paper, we explore the evolutionary origins of hominin locomotion, but extend our review to include broader timescales, a wider range of primate taxa, and an integrated set of methods and disciplines for generating and testing hypotheses about locomotion. Perceived risk (or, the “landscape of fear”) is a key pressure that has selected for primate arboreality – particularly nocturnal arboreality. We propose that shifts in Plio-Pleistocene landscapes of fear – caused by declining carnivoran abundance and diversity – might also have been a key selection pressure in changes to primate locomotion, particularly papionin and hominid terrestriality. We discuss this hypothesis and propose future research avenues to explore it further. Not only will such research provide a more nuanced view of the causes and consequences of a rare behavioural trait in primates, but it could ultimately help us explain how one group of African apes came to spend all their time on the ground, and how that made them human.
Hosting eSports events: the quality-response-behavioural intentions relationship of eSports fans
Publication . Cerqueira, Luís; Ribeiro, Tiago; Almeida, Victor Manoel Cunha de
Introduction: The current study aims to explore how the physical environment of eSports events can influence fan affective responses and their future behavioral intentions. Following the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, affective response (pleasure) is conceptualized as the organism (mediator) between the physical environment (stimulus) and behavioral intentions (response). Method: The dependent variables were revisit intention and word-of mouth, while demographic factors including age, education level, nationality, and event attendance to describe the sample and examine their potential influence. Data collection was carried out at a “Lisboa Games Week” event (n = 328) by using a self-administered questionnaire. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis analyzed the psychometric properties of the constructs and a subsequent Structural Equation Modelling examined the substantive hypotheses tested. Results: Results indicate that the physical environment quality positively influences the affective responses of fans, which motivates them to follow eSports events. Furthermore, fans affectively attached to an eSports event are more intent on revisiting it and making word-of-mouth recommendations about it. Discussion: A high standard service quality is a critical issue for event managers, marketeers, and publishers due to its impact on the behavioral and affective value creation towards the event.
Psychopathy: what are fearless people afraid of?
Publication . Coelho, Carlos M.; Araújo, Ana S.; Suttiwan, Panrapee; Barbosa, Fernando; Bento, Tiago; Zsido, Andras N.
Introduction: Historically, the distinction between primary and secondary psychopathy has focused on fear or lack thereof and limited anxiety symptoms. Individuals high in primary psychopathy traits often exhibit little or no anxiety or fear. These traits are key features, and several methods used to differentiate primary and secondary psychopathy emphasize fear and anxiety as key discriminators. However, there is limited evidence on what individuals high in psychopathy traits might specifically fear. Most previous studies have either included specific phobias within an anxiety cluster, thereby precluding the possibility of observing the number and type of phobias reported by participants with psychopathic traits, or have addressed specific phobias in general without further detailing the specific fears to which these participants were referring. Methods: This study attempts to address this evidence gap by using the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale to measure psychopathy and the Fear Survey Schedule III to measure phobic anxiety. Results: Results indicate that individuals with higher levels of secondary psychopathy report a greater number of specific fears. In contrast, those with primary psychopathy show fear or discomfort primarily related to seeing naked people. Discussion: These findings are discussed in detail.
Roman-indigenous interaction in the Salas River valley (Northwest Iberia): the Roman camp of Alto da Raia and its archaeological landscape.
Publication . Fonte, João; Tereso, João Pedro; Vaz, Filipe Costa; Rodrigues, Ana Luísa; Dias, Maria Isabel; Marques, Rosa; Russo, Dulce; Monteiro, Patrícia; Rodrigues, Mariana Costa; Pereiro, Tiago; Carvalho, José; Raimundo, Francisco; Cardoso, Vanessa; Jorge, Carlos; García Sánchez, Jesús; Gago, Manuel; Gonçalves, José Alberto; Meunier, Emmanuelle; Oliveira, Nuno; Oltean, Ioana
This paper discusses the archaeological research and historical contextualisation of the Alto da Raia enclosure located on the border between northern Portugal and Galicia, identified as a possible Roman camp, following an interdisciplinary and multi-proxy approach. This included archaeological excavation, remote sensing and geophysical survey, as well as sample collection for archaeobotanical and geochemical studies by means of chemical and mineralogical analyses and absolute dating using radiocarbon and luminescence protocols. The results seem to indicate that this site was a Roman camp probably built and occupied between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, when major changes occurred in Northwest Iberia driven by the expansion of the Roman State. The camp overlaps with previous prehistoric occupations possibly dating back to the Bronze Age and Iron Age.