Since the invention of beer by the Sumerian people in 5000 BC, alcohol was the main reason of the interest of consumers on beer. Dnly in the beginning of the 20th century alcohol-free beer was demanded and since then technology has advanced dramatically in the production of those beverages. The aim on alcohol-free beer production is to have products that taste similarly to their alcoholic equivalents, the sole absence of alcohol and low concentrations of esters and higher alcohols and the higher concentration of aldehydes create a "worty" organoleptic impression of those products. Alcohol-free beers can be obtained by the restriction of alcohol formation during fermentation, the use of special yeast strains that consume or don't produce alcohol, the thermal removal of alcohol and by the removal of alcohol trough membrane processes. Membrane separated alcohol-free beers preserve more of the natural constituents of beer aroma and those products usually taste better than those obtained through other processes. Pervaporation techniques show a broad spectrum of use and can even be combined with other processes and perform the removal of undesired products or separation and recuperation of aromatic substances.

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for investigating stakeholder theory in organizations. The organizations theory can be understood in three theoretical models: rationalist, natural and open systems. These models are presented to justify that organizations should be analyzed taking into account that social system aspects and the natural and open system models are employed. The applications of this paper rely upon the theoretical framework which is based on an extensive literature review comprising environment based theories. This paper would be of help to researchers examining the whole set of the relationship of organizations with their environment instead of only the relationships with external agents. Employing the theoretical basis presented in this analysis, the researcher will be able to identify both feasible theoretical sources for his/her studies and useful approaches for carrying on his/her investigations. The paper presents theories for explaining the organization's behavior and performance as being influenced by stakeholders who inhabit its environment. Resource dependence and institutional theory are employed to give theoretical support to the stakeholder. At the end of the paper, a diagram representing the theoretical framework is presented.

Purpose -The aim of this paper is to describe the arena in which managers of small size Brazilian municipalities make decisions as constrained by stakeholder influence. Design/methodology/approach -Four case studies were carried out with municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The investigation was carried out using grounded theory. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with managers and with the main stakeholders. Data were analysed using content analysis, supported by QSR N6 software. Findings -The contribution of this paper to theory is based on a description of the arena in which Brazilian municipal districts make decisions. In so doing, it endeavours to model this arena as comprised of five clusters of stakeholder concerns: limitation, collaboration, orientation, legitimacy, and inspection. The paper raises some issues that are helpful in explaining the relationship between stakeholder influences and public organisations. In other words, it helps to label stakeholder influences and to make stakeholder influence more manageable by public organisations at the local government level. In practical terms, the paper concludes that the number of stakeholders is less important than the sort of influence they are supposed to exert upon organisations.Research limitations/implications -The limitations of this investigation relate to the features of the case study methods employed. The results show the particular situation of the State of Minas Gerais (at the southeast of Brazil) and represent the situation of small municipalities. Originality/value -There has been very little prior analysis of stakeholder influence focusing on local government. This investigation is the first with a specific focus on identifying the arena in which Brazilian municipalities make decisions and the relationship of those municipalities with stakeholders.

This paper presents the results of an ongoing investigation, whose main aim is to analyze the network in which public organizations make decisions. The findings presented here resulted from a cross-sectional survey carried out with Municipal Districts from the State of Minas Gerais. Data was analyzed through statistical techniques, employing the SPSS software program. The investigation pointed out some stakeholders who are regarded as strongly influential and able to demand decision-makers' attention, and they are: the City Council, Local Population, the Accountancy Tribunal and the Management Team. The limitation of the ideas presented here are related to the fact that it is an ongoing investigation and other steps are being taken in order to fulfil the picture of stakeholder's influences at the local level in developing countries. In terms of innovation, this is one of the first empirical investigations carried out with Brazilian Municipal Districts published in Europe.

The purpose of this article is to present an empirical, descriptive contribution to the literature on stakeholder management in the area of local government decision making. The research presented here examines the web of interactions, inter-connections and influences on local government authorities in Brazil and England. It provides a crosscultural survey of Brazilian and English municipal districts with data being analysed using statistical techniques (Chi-squared is calculated to test for goodness of fit and Cronbach's alpha to test reliability). The paper identifies two stakeholder lists for the countries under investigation, and concludes that, despite cultural differences between Brazil and England, there is convergence in the way local government managers identify stakeholders. The empirical evidence provided here supports the hypothesis that stakeholder identification is very likely to be seen as a universal phenomenon. A comprehensive review of the extant literature revealed that this research constitutes the very first cross-cultural investigation that has focused on stakeholder identification in the local government domain.

Performance assessment in profit and not-for-profit organizations has been on the agenda for scholars and practitioners for the last thirty years or so. Despite this effort, a comprehensive model of organizational performance for all kinds of organizations does not exist. This paper aims to contribute to this field by presenting findings from a constructive and interpretative investigation carried out in public organizations at the local level. This research aims to identify the dimensions of performance that addresses stakeholder interests in public organizational performance. To this end, data was collected by semi structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. The theoretical framework is based on resource dependence, institutional theory, agency theory, and social network theory. Evidence from the investigation indicates that stakeholders assess public service performance on criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. This paper provides practical and theoretical contributions by suggesting ways of assessing performance in public organizations, which can contribute to strategic planning by setting milestones related to stakeholder expectations and by defining the dimensions of stakeholders’ assessments of the performance of public service organizations.

Este artigo discute como ocorreram os processos e mecanismos de mudança institucional na institucionalização de ouvidorias públicas, da sua criação até o ano de 2013. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com estudos de caso na Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (Antaq) e na Agência Nacional de Transportes Terrestres (ANTT). A coleta de dados foi feita em três fases: pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e entrevistas. A análise dos dados fundamentou-se na análise documental, dado o grande volume de documentos oficiais e das entrevistas transformadas em texto, e análise de conteúdo. O modelo analítico utilizado inclui uma proposta inédita de utilização da Teoria da Mudança Institucional na análise dos processos de institucionalização. O modelo proposto permitiu observar evidências de ações de criação e desmantelamento de instituições nas respectivas ouvidorias. De fato, observou-se que uma mesma lei de criação das agências não influiu para que ambas fossem institucionalizadas da mesma maneira. Tem maior influência o desempenho de empreendedores institucionais quando encaram ante si um espaço de negociação para reinterpretação das regras atuais definidas pelos governos criadores dessas organizações.

The functions of university libraries (UL) are to provide the bibliographic, documentary and informational infrastructure to support scientific activities, as well as to disseminate the knowledge produced by their academic entity to society. To achieve their mission, ULs need to be evaluated and, in Brazil, this evaluation is done by the National Student Performance Exam (ENADE - ExameNacional de Desempenho de Estudantes) through the Student Questionnaire (SQ). The present study evaluated the quality of the indicators used in the SQ for the evaluation of ULs. This quality was evaluated by considering the presence of the following essential properties for good indicators: stability, validity and importance of parameters. For the stability analysis, the SQ questions were repeated in the period from 2004 to 2014. Regarding the validity, a correlation analysis was performed between the results obtained in the SQ with another theoretically related indicator. For the analysis of the importance, a group of specialists was formed, composed of librarians with experience in the management of ULs and, through the Delphi method, indicators were evaluated as to their relevance. This work verified that the indicators used by ENADE are considered important, but they do not have stability and validity.