Combating corruption is crucial to achieve sustainable development. With the digital revolution, the use of Information and Communications Technology by the government can promote more efficient services, diminishing the discretionary power of officials, and thus reducing corruption and promoting sustainable development. This study empirically investigates the impact of e-Government in reducing corruption on a large panel data of 175 countries, from 2003 to 2019, by estimating regression models. The results suggest that e-Government, accountability, political stability, economic wealth, and internet are significant determinants of corruption. E-Government can be a significant tool to curb corruption, although e-Government Development Index needs to exceed a threshold of 0.39 to reduce corruption. Although e-Government is a recent phenomenon, it can be regarded as an important tool for combating corruption and improving governance, enhancing transparency in public administration, since it reduces discretional power and increases the chance of exposure, eliminating some opportunities for corruption.

In this study, a logistic regression model is applied to credit scoring data from a given Portuguese financial institution to evaluate the default risk of consumer loans. It was found that the risk of default increases with the loan spread, loan term and age of the customer, but decreases if the customer owns more credit cards. Clients receiving the salary in the same banking institution of the loan have less chances of default than clients receiving their salary in another institution. We also found that clients in the lowest income tax echelon have more propensity to default. The model predicted default correctly in 89.79% of the cases.

The societal disturbance created by the rapid outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the entire globe, profoundly affecting all levels of education. The challenge presented by COVID-19 is broad, rapidly evolving, and complex; it threatens everyone’s well-being, the global economy, the environment, and all societal and cultural standards and our daily activities. Throughout the Coronavirus outbreak and any future lockdowns, it is crucial that the needs of students be ultimately and regularly met and that they are supported effectively. We intend to address skill shortages and mismatches, particularly regarding the readiness to teach in an online environment that encourages flexible and innovative learning. The main contribution of this paper is addressing this subject with an integrated vision of three different players in higher education: students, teachers and librarians. Using the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), a conceptual model was developed to explain both the behavior and intentions of users when using e-learning systems. Among Portuguese students, 91% of e-learning satisfaction can be attributed to perceived usefulness, actual use, and personal considerations. For educators, satisfaction appears to be mostly dependent on perceived usefulness and usability, while librarians’ satisfaction is negatively dependent on technological factors. Students’ actual use of technology is 89% dependent on organizational and technological variables. However, the actual use by teachers appears to be primarily dependent on personal and technological factors. Similarly, 91% of the variability of the use of e-learning tools by librarians can be explained by organizational, personal and technological factors, with the personal factors having a negative impact on the actual use.

The main objective of this study is to empirically test capital structure decisions in Portuguese family-owned businesses under trade-off theory (TOT) and pecking order theory (POT) and attend to the relationships between family/business interaction and agency conflicts. Family-owned businesses are essential for the development of economies, but the financing logic they adopt is not yet adequately clarified by scientific research, especially as they are more exposed to the constraints of markets imperfections. The specific pattern of business ownership may affect the financing decision and the ability to obtain funds externally. This issue is more relevant in economies where family business initiatives and less sophisticated management strategies are expressive. The greater convergence of interests in family businesses and the consequent decrease in agency costs may lead to higher levels of recognized reputation and thus easier access to indebtedness. The empirical study uses static models and dynamic panel models in order to analyze data from 4,952 Portuguese family-owned firms over the period from 2009 to 2016: the TOT following the partial debt adjustment model, and the POT following the model of the impact of the deficit of funds on debt and the model of the relationship between debt and the determinants of financing. The results of the individual tests suggest that Portuguese family-owned businesses adjust debt at the target ratio, albeit influenced by adjustment costs that keep them distant from the optimal, as well as use sources other than debt when a financial deficit occurs. Although the impact of the financial deficit is greater in total debt ratio, the velocity of adjustment to the optimal level is higher in short-term debt. Evidence from a joint test confirms that both theories explain part of the capital structure of Portuguese family-owned businesses.