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This research delineates the interdependencies between e-service quality (e-SQ), product quality (PQ) and food biosafety measures (FBM) in shaping consumer satisfaction and loyalty within the online food delivery services (OFDS) landscape. Anchored by the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the study integrates these frameworks to examine how perceived service efficiency, reliability, product appeal and biosafety protocols contribute to overall consumer trust and repurchase intentions.

Surveys were conducted on several 100 online food delivery app users, ages 20 to 64, in major cities in Colombia, which provided data for structural equation modeling analysis.

The analysis revealed that reliable, responsive service and appealing food presentation significantly influence consumer perceptions of behind-the-scenes safety protocols during delivery. Strict standards around mitigating contamination risks and verifiable handling at each point further engender trust in the platform and intentions to repurchase among users. The data cement proper food security as pivotal for customer retention.

Quantitatively confirming biosafety’s rising centrality provides an impetus for platforms to integrate and promote integrity, safety and traceability protection as a competitive differentiator.

The study’s originality lies in its comprehensive exploration of the OFDS quality attributes and their direct impact on consumer loyalty. Besides, it offers valuable insights for both academic and practical implications in enhancing service delivery and marketing strategies.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way in which education was delivered in early 2020, and the impacts of these changes continue to be questionable. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) the results obtained by students of the Dentistry course in the progress test carried out both before and after the pandemic, (2) the results obtained by a specific group of students who took the test in 2019–2022, and compare their results and (3) subjects that showed a reduction in the percentage of correct answers when the two tests were compared.

The progress test consisting of 100 multiple choice questions was applied before and after the pandemic to all students in the Dentistry course. The analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS for Statistics v.26 software program. The level of significance of 5% was adopted (<0.05).

The test was applied to 320 students in 2019 and to 272 in 2022, of whom the sample of this study was composed. The mean score values in 2019 (M = 49.10; SD = 12.03) were significantly (p = 0.026) higher than those in the year 2022 (M = 46.97; SD = 12.15), with the disciplines in the area of specific knowledge showing a greater drop in the percentage of correct answers by students. This study showed that the emergency remote education had a negative effect on the academic performance of students, based on the progress testing as an evaluation method.

Many studies that assessed the impacts of the pandemic on teaching were focused on the opinions of students. However, the great advantage of our study was the use of a theoretical assessment tool to verify student performance. The post-pandemic landscape beckons for comprehensive inquiries into these domains. This type of research would be valuable for gathering evidence relative to the performance of students after the emergency remote education.

Joint research is pointed out by the literature as a potentially virtuous cooperation scheme to generate learning in the public sphere and beneficial effects in society. The purpose of this study, based on the Argentine experience in the COVID-19 pandemic, is to analyze the network of capacities, relationships and effects generated, over time, by a series of projects financed by the State in 2010, to clarify the link between learning effects and social effects.

A qualitative methodology focused on the multiple case study method was used. Each case covers joint R&D projects financed 10 years ago by the state that subsequently led to different solutions for COVID-19.

The work identifies a public learning process that integrates both industry’s contributions and the intellectual dimension of economic benefits and their translation into specific capabilities; conceptualizes the capacities accumulation process as a multiplier of social effects (direct and indirect) that emerge as knowledge is reused; identifies the articulation between different schemes as a condition for learning effects and social effects to manifest over time.

An aspect not studied in the literature is addressed, the relationship between the learning process induced by joint research, in terms of capabilities, and the social effects specifically generated over time. This is taking place in a context, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where calls from the scientific and academic community to promote science–industry cooperation are multiplying.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of bacterial exopolysaccharides (Eps) in reactive black 5 (RB5) textile dye wastewater bioremediation.

The Eps were produced by bacteria isolated from cotton gin trash soils collected from different cotton-growing regions in Kenya for comparison purposes. A broth medium reconstituted using molasses was assessed for its capacity to produce the Eps. RB5 textile dye wastewater was optimized for dye removal under different temperatures, times and molasses concentrations. Dye removal was studied by Lovibond-Day Light Comparator, UV–Vis spectrophotometer and FTIR.

It was found that cotton gin trash soils contained Eps-producing bacteria. Three of the Eps studied were found to have the capacity to remove at least 80% of the dye from the wastewater.

This research did not assess the efficacy of the RB5 dye removal from the wastewater by mixtures of the Eps.

Bioremediation of textile dye wastewater with Eps produced by bacteria cultured from cotton gin trash soil is significant because it will offer an effective and cleaner alternative to the chemical coagulants.

Alternative treatment of textile wastewater with the Eps would result in safer water being released into the water bodies as opposed to the chemically treated wastewater that contains remnant chemicals.

Research on the use of Eps produced by bacteria isolated from cotton gin trash soils for removal of RB5 dye from textile wastewater has not been done before.

Despite city authorities in Bangladesh being concerned about urban sustainability, they often face difficulties in addressing predominant urban challenges threatening urban sustainability, due to limited relevant literature. To reduce this gap, this study aims to address the predominant urban challenges and assess their severity levels in four city corporations of Bangladesh, e.g. Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barishal, and Gazipur.

Using a mixed-method approach, this study rigorously analyzed field-level data obtained from 1,200 residents across selected cities using diverse statistical techniques. The quantitative analysis included descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and chi-square tests, whereas qualitative insights were derived through thematic analysis.

The study uncovered nine predominant urban challenges under two crucial factors “Feeble Urban Management” and “Illicit Activities” that collectively explain 62.20% variance. “Feeble Urban Management” explains 44.17% variance, whereas “Illicit Activities” accounts for 18.13%. Within these challenges, uncontrolled urban sprawl, inadequate disaster management, congested roads, and shabby drainage and waste management pose significant threats to urban sustainability. Illicit activities, manifested by encroachment on water sources, grabbing roadside, destruction of natural properties, and activities undermining social security, compound the urban sustainability issue. Severity analysis reveals Sylhet (54.5%), Rajshahi (46.4%), and Barishal (31.2%) as highly impacted, whereas Gazipur exhibits moderate severity (66.7%).

The findings of this study reveal intrinsic insights into urban challenges in Bangladesh that will provide valuable guidance to city authorities, equipping them to implement integrated and effective initiatives and programs that overcome these predominant urban challenges, with a specific focus on Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Barishal city corporations.

This study aims to assess the nutritional status and physical fitness status of school children among major ethnic and Dalit populations, in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to mothers or caregivers of the children, followed by physical fitness assessments. Anthropometric indicators were used to evaluate nutritional status, including body mass index-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height, based on Centre for Disease Control guidelines. Physical fitness was assessed through tests for flexibility, abdominal, muscular, speed, and lower limb strength. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.

Approximately 45% of boys and 55% of girls had normal nutritional status. However, the study also identified varying percentages of children with stunted, underweight, wasted, and mixed nutritional issues, highlighting the prevalence of malnutrition among this population. Boys consistently outperformed girls in terms of physical fitness across all age groups, with 84% to 90% of boys meeting established fitness criteria. Girls face a 1.8-fold and 2.2-fold increased risk of wasted and underweight conditions compared to boys. Lower-income group children exhibit a 2.6-fold and 1.6-fold increased risk of wasted conditions and underweight conditions. Children consuming meals twice a day have a 2.1-fold and 2.5-fold elevated risk of wasted and underweight conditions compared to others.

This study highlights the need for interventions and strategies to improve the nutritional and health status of ethnic children in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, considering their diverse dietary habits and lifestyles. By addressing these issues, the authors can empower these communities to actively contribute to the social and economic development of the region.

Prodigious teamwork is the basis for augmenting the level of productivity on construction projects. Globalisation of the construction market has meant that many practitioners work outside of their geographical spectrum; however, the multicultural dissimilarities of construction workforces within the project management team (and how these may impact upon project productivity performance) have been given scant academic attention. To bridge this knowledge gap, this paper aims to analyse the effects of a multicultural workforce on construction productivity.

The epistemological positioning of the research adopted mixed philosophies (consisting of both interpretivism and postpositivism) to undertake a deductive and cross-sectional survey to collate primary quantitative data collected via a closed-ended structured questionnaire. Census sampling and convenience sampling techniques were adopted to target Ghana’s construction workforce and their opinions of the phenomenon under investigation. Out of 96 questionnaires administered, 61 were retrieved. The data obtained were analysed by using mean score ranking, relative important index, one sample t-test and multiple regression. The reliability of the scale was checked by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.

From the t-test analysis, 11 variables sourced from extant literature, and the null hypothesis for the study was not rejected and all factors (except high cost of training and improper gender diversity management) were affirmed as negative effects of the multicultural workforce on construction productivity. Using multiple regression analysis, six of the independent variables were shown to impact upon productivity. The goodness of fit was verified by collinearity and residual analysis. The model’s validation revealed a relatively high predictive accuracy (R² = 0. 589), implying that the results could be generalized. In culmination, these findings suggest that the predictors can be used to accurately predict the effects of multicultural workforce on construction productivity performance.

The findings indicate that multicultural workforce/teams have a substantial effect on overall construction productivity in the construction sector; consequently, stakeholders must address this issue to enhance productivity across the sector.

The current study significantly contributes to our understanding of how multicultural workers/teams affect construction productivity in the construction business perspective and how to respond to the negative menace.