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This paper aims to identify emerging fronts and hot topics in educational research. The identification of such educational trends can help decision-makers in educational policies and research agendas.

Through a quantitative and scientometric research approach, the authors analyze a sample of 198 highly cited scientific papers extracted from Web of Science corresponding to the 2012-2016 period using a co-verbal analysis to process the papers’ keywords and titles. The result of the co-occurrence analysis is further processed to generate clusters and visualize network maps that allow identifying the different emerging fronts and hot topics.

The results indicate that there exist pervasive and generalist topics, thus denoting the perennial nature of some themes within the education research discipline; which coexist with other more specific themes that center the focus of attention in more specific and actual topics that also attract the interest of researchers as technology, assessment, strategies or environment. These emergent fronts could conform a plausible research agenda educational research agenda.

The authors contribute a method to infer emerging fronts and hot topics of research and have used it to identify the novel avenues of educational research that may guide the agendas in the near future. In the scientific literature, they find studies and reports on fronts and topics mainly within the broader framework of social sciences. Here, the main focus of attention is placed on education as a scientific discipline on its own.

The paper aims to apply the probabilistic analysis of risks, improve the prediction and control of infections and optimise the use of resources and the knowledge available at all times.

First, a model based on Bayesian inference, which can be solved with the WinBUGS (Windows interface Bayesian inference Using Gibbs Sampling) simulation software, is described to reduce the uncertainty of the parameter that most influences air transmission: the rate of quanta emitted by the infected. Second, a method for predicting the expected number of infections and combining available resources to reduce parameter is described.

The results indicate that it is possible to initiate a powerful learning process when all available knowledge is integrated alongside the newly observed data and that it is possible to quantify the interaction between the environment and the spaces, improving the communication process by providing the values in a format that facilitates the objective perception of danger.

The implementation of the inference model requires access to the spaces where there were infected.

The current study provides a model and a method to improve the probabilistic analysis of risks, which allows the systematisation of the risk-based management approach to control community transmission caused by infectious agents that use the airway.

The application of the risk assessment and treatment method requires collaboration between the parties that will help the effective implementation of the improvements, such as to verify whether the available resources are sufficient to achieve control.

A hierarchical Bayesian inference model is presented to control the uncertainty in the quanta rate. Bayesian inference initiates a learning process to better understand random uncertainty. A method to quantify and communicate risk was also presented, which proposes to decompose the risk into four components to predict the expected number of infected individuals, helping to implement improvement measures, with the resources and knowledge available.

Covid-19 pandemic, war, climate emergency and other recent challenges are inflicting tremendous stress to youth. However, death and tragedy are nowadays considered taboo, as there is generally no standardized nor naturalized discussion on the subject, especially with young people. The current multi-crisis scenario is intensifying the need to incorporate an education on tragedy and resilience in our learning systems. In this context, it is necessary to find suitable teaching resources for this educational challenge that are attractive, entertaining and suitable for children and youth. A resource that meets all these requirements are children’s folk songs (CFSs). Apart from the intrinsic educational potential of music, folk songs have a simplicity and musicality that make them an ideal teaching resource. Considering their oral historical transmission, their survival confirms the attraction that this type of composition causes on children. However, to consider CFSs as an adequate resource to carry out an education for death and tragedy, it is necessary to study whether they present a non-negligible proportion of tragic passages and with enough variety of themes. This paper aims to address the study of the presence of explicit tragic content in Spanish CFSs and thus could be considered a cultural resource with transformative educational potential to develop resilience capabilities on the face of tragedy.

An analysis of lyrics of 2,558 Spanish CFSs is presented, using a manual content analysis as well as a computerized content analysis with the aim of identifying the tragic component of these songs and, thereby, assessing their pedagogical potential as a transformative educational resource.

The results obtained show a considerable presence of death and tragedy (19.78%) and a variety of tragedy dimensions. CFSs have been transmitted orally not only as a ludic resource, but also to prepare children for life (and death). The results show the complementarity of both analyses to avoid subjectivity while considering the underlying meanings of the songs.

This task had previously not been approached in an automated manner in the literature, nor there had been a similar study with a sample of this magnitude. The outcomes obtained show the considerable presence of tragedy in Spanish CFSs and emphasize the interest of this currently undervalued didactic resource.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the relationships existing among three basic constructs in the visitor’s decision-making process (motivation and satisfaction) in a tourist destination that is a World Heritage Site, such as the city of Cordoba (Spain). Bearing in mind the perception of heritage by the foreign visitors, the following four types were determined: alternative tourists, cultural tourists, emotional tourists and heritage tourists.

This paper uses the multivariate technique of grouping cases (K-means clusters) to analyse the similarity existing among the surveyed persons. From the groups or segments obtained, statistics and measurements of association were applied that provide the information necessary to study the possible trends of association existing between variables from a table of bidimensional contingencies. In the same way, non-parametric statistical procedures were used (Kruskal–Wallis H test and the Mann–Whitney U test).

The results show the existence of four diverse motivational dimensions among the foreign tourists to visit it: hedonic, cultural, convenience and circumstantial. Of the four dimensions, the hedonic and the cultural are the most relevant. The results show the existence of a common cultural identity: the Arabic cultural identity.

This paper contributes to complete the academic literature existing on the links of the tourist with the historical and monumental heritage that he visits, and with the tourist’s behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the existing relations between three fundamental constructs (motivation and satisfaction) and the type of travellers in a World Heritage Site (WHS) tourist destination, the city of Cuenca (Ecuador).

The methodology used consisted of a fieldwork to determine the motivations and satisfaction of the visitor in the city of Cuenca, and then their segmentation.

The relationship between the study of motivation and satisfaction is a fundamental element in the development of WHSs. Similarly, it presents four different types of tourists obtained from their motivational variables. The results show the existence of three motivational dimensions for visiting Cuenca: cultural, circumstantial and convenience. Similarly, and using the motivation scenarios, four types of visitor have been identified: a cultural tourist, a cultural convenience tourist, a cultural circumstantial tourist and an alternative tourist.

The principal practical application of this research is to contribute to understanding the motivations of the visitors in relation to the city of Cuenca as a WHS for the purpose of designing tourist and cultural products that better satisfy the needs of the tourists and that, at the same time, are compatible with the sustainable management of the destination.

This paper seeks to contribute to promoting the relationship between tourism, sustainability and heritage in Latin America.

The CIM framework pursues the integration of components in a manufacturing enterprise by means of computer systems. This, however, may be obstructed due to heterogeneity in the field: programmable controllers, robots, sensors and actuators, etc. in communications: different kinds of networks and/or field buses; and in the programming tools for all these devices. Thus a solution is needed to integrate heterogeneous software/hardware components in a well‐defined and flexible fashion. This paper seeks to address these issues.

This paper proposes a metalanguage, called H, and a set of tools that serve for designing, implementing, deploying, and debugging distributed heterogeneous software on the shopfloor. The metalanguange includes fault‐tolerance and real‐time mechanisms, among other features.

The use of a framework that can integrate different software and hardware components enables the engineer to take advantage of the best features of each existing technology. The use of object‐oriented techniques, concurrent and distributed programming, and the isolation of heterogeneous parts, have also important benefits in the reusability and optimality of the solutions.

The use of a metalanguage like H, that separates the parts of the application that depend on particular (heterogeneous) components from the parts that are portable, has, as a main implication, important improvements in the development time, effort, and cost of CIM projects.

H is the first metalanguage coping with heterogeneity through the complete development cycle of software for manufacturing applications. It also provides a formal and well‐defined framework for future extensions.

The purpose of this paper is to review and provide a detailed performance evaluation of a number of texture descriptors that analyse texture at micro‐level such as local binary patterns (LBP) and a number of standard filtering techniques that sample the texture information using either a bank of isotropic filters or Gabor filters.

The experimental tests were conducted on standard databases where the classification results are obtained for single and multiple texture orientations. The authors also analysed the performance of standard filtering texture analysis techniques (such as those based of LM and MR8 filter banks) when applied to the classification of texture images contained in standard Outex and Brodatz databases.

The most important finding resulting from this study is that although the LBP/C and the multi‐channel Gabor filtering techniques approach texture analysis from a different theoretical perspective, in this paper the authors have experimentally demonstrated that they share some common properties in regard to the way they sample the macro and micro properties of the texture.

Texture is a fundamental property of digital images and the development of robust image descriptors plays a crucial role in the process of image segmentation and scene understanding.

This paper contrast, from a practical and theoretical standpoint, the LBP and representative multi‐channel texture analysis approaches and a substantial number of experimental results were provided to evaluate their performance when applied to standard texture databases.

The aim of this research is to identify sources of differentiation in the fashion market as well as finding out sources of brand equity to distinguish the offer, enabling a better competitive position to be achieved.

To reach this objective, qualitative research was first carried out with 36 sector executives. Based on the results from the initial stage, 250 surveys were then carried out with potential consumers in order to analyze sources of brand equity.

In the fashion industry, the variables that show great potential for differentiation are excellence in the delivered finished product, brand image and design. In addition, loyalty and brand associations, in which image and design stand out, have been shown to be the most outstanding sources of brand equity.

The allocation of financial resources to the intangible assets of brand image and design should be profitable for the company. The creation of networks of designers and stylists would allow first‐hand information on market evolution. This input would be the basis for identifying new opportunities (e.g. fashionable colours, etc.) and also for anticipating new trends in clothing.

Discovering the sources of equity and their contribution to differentiating and developing high added‐value products for the consumer represents an original contribution in research into fashion markets and brand equity.

The purpose of this paper is to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Quick thinking, an ability to react swiftly to changing circumstances, knowing what to do immediately when faced with a challenging situation. What company can afford to have a CEO who does not fit that description? But how do those in the top job stay alert to unstable, dynamic environmental conditions? How do they gain the knowledge and expertise they need to act nimbly in the best interests of their organization? How do they ensure their firms embrace strategic flexibility and what is their role in fostering it? These are questions which an organization cannot ignore if they accept that their CEO is one of their most powerful actors and chief decision maker.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

This paper provides an overview of the Aztec 13 – the top 13 multinational enterprises in Mexico. Different from research that groups countries and regions, the purpose of the paper is to deliver a nuanced picture of these multinationals in terms of their key characteristics and the strategies they follow when they internationalize.

All data sources that have been identified and reviewed are documents, printed and electronic. The Aztec multilatinas were identified using Forbes Global 2000 (2017). Other data sources such as media texts, company annual reports, reports filed with the Mexican Stock Exchange and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as investor presentations, were collected and analyzed. Data sources were published in English and Spanish. The analytic procedure adopted entailed identifying, selecting, making sense of and synthesizing the data contained in the documents.

Aztec multilatinas have specific characteristics which, to a great extent, influence their internationalization strategies. Characteristics include the geographical location of their headquarters, their origin and history, their ownership structure and ties with families and government. These factors, combined, help to describe in greater nuance the internationalization strategies and activities of the Aztec 13. Such a detailed and focused description is a first necessary step for subsequent potential theorizing.

This paper contributes to the vibrant scholarly conversation on multinational enterprises from less researched regions and countries. Latin America is such a region and Mexico is such a country. Focusing on a single country and its top 13 multinationals allow a comprehensive description and disciplined analysis, with no dangerous generalizations to large regions and even larger settings such as emerging markets multinationals and with no false claims for theorizing.