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This study aims to properly and objectively assess the students’ study progress in bachelor programmes by applying statistical process control (SPC). Specifically, the authors focused their analysis on the variation in performance rates in business studies courses taught at a Spanish University.

A qualitative methodology was used, using an action-based case study developed in a public university. Previous research and theoretical issues related to quality indicators of the training programmes were discussed, followed by the application of SPC to assess these outputs.

The evaluation of the performance rate of the courses that comprised the training programs through the SPC revealed significant differences with respect to the evaluations obtained through traditional evaluation procedures. Similarly, the results show differences in the control parameters (central line and control interval), depending on the adopted approach (by programmes, by academic year and by department).

This study has inherent limitations linked to both the methodology and selection of data sources.

The SPC approach provides a framework to properly and objectively assess the quality indicators involved in quality assurance processes in higher education.

This paper contributes to the discourse on the importance of a robust and effective assessment of quality indicators of the academic curriculum in the higher education context through the application of quality control tools such as SPC.

Firms are increasingly aware of environmental degradation and this has led many of them to include “quality, safety and protecting the environment” among their competitive priorities. This also involves large capital investments aimed at reducing the environmental impact of their manufacturing activities. This study suggests a method for estimating the return of manufacturing investments with environmental effects (costs and benefits). It considers the value of the asset being preserved as a consequence of a firm’s social responsibility. The practical case studied is Huelva’s industrial area.

This study aims to reveal consumers' internal and external motivations to prefer online food shopping. The paper proposes an integrated model including aspirations, capabilities, subjective norms (divided into online resources and offline resources), perceived value and traditionalism to examine their effects on consumers' intention to do online food shopping.

A cross–sectional design was used to understand which factors affect consumers' intention to do online food shopping. The data were collected from a total of 400 people via an online survey. The conceptual model was tested using structural equational modeling to understand the relationships between the factors.

The results suggest that the conceptual framework can be used to have a better understanding of consumers' internal and external motivations to do online food shopping. The study proves that aspirations have a considerable direct effect on and a mediating role between capabilities, subjective norms from online resources, traditionalism and the effect of COVID-19 pandemics and the intention. Also, traditionalism was found to be an antecedent for consumers to prefer online food shopping.

This study reveals better insights for the sellers, marketers and system providers dealing with supplying food products through online channels. The findings suggest that the stakeholders take into consideration aspirations, capabilities, subjective norms, perceived value and traditionalism to organize their activities in food marketing in the online area.

In this study, aspirations–capabilities framework was adopted and confirmed within consumers' online food shopping domain. Also, it was proved that traditionalism was a driver of individuals' intention to do online shopping for food products.

The purpose of this research is to develop and characterize a sugar-free Brazilian mixed fruit jam, containing marolo, sweet passion fruit and soursop, enriched with polydextrose and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), and evaluate in vivo the effect of consumption of this product.

In total, 48 male rats were divided into six groups and fed a AIN-93M rodent diet supplemented with 10% jam enriched with different proportions of FOS and polydextrose. The effects on glycemic response, mineral utilization and fecal and histological characteristics were evaluated.

The addition of the jams enriched with the fibers in different levels based on current legislation, in the diet of the rats, for 30 days, did not affect significantly (p = 0.05) parameters such as daily mean consumption (DMC) and daily weight gain (DWG), fecal weight, mineral absorption, glycemic responses and glycemic index of the diets and histological parameters. Moisture and ether extract contents of the stool, however, were positively affect by these ingredients. These parameters were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in groups treated with FOS and polydextrose.

The sugar-free Brazilian mixed fruit jam besides to increase availability and add value to exotic Brazilian fruits could be an alimentary source of interest. However, more specific studies, aimed at questioning and confirming the optimal doses of prebiotics to normal and dysglycemic individuals and with longer duration, are needed.