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Increased competition and the constant need for companies to differentiate make markets more competitive and consumers more demanding when making purchasing decisions. Consequently, companies recognized the importance of marketing and economics, which has gradually replaced its transactional practices, focused essentially on a single transaction, with relational practices, in which the customer is considered an integral part of the process. Creating long and profitable relationships has become a business priority and the use of tools such as customer relationship marketing (CRM) has become crucial. With the increasing importance of health and wellness tourism, thermalism has become a very competitive product wanted by tourists who need treatments that are not available in their country due to lack of availability or because they are quite expensive. Since tourism is integrated in the services sector, a set of relational marketing strategies can be applied to establish and maintain relationships with tourists. Therefore, it is important to understand how relational marketing can improve health and wellness tourism. Based on a combination of theoretical and practical research, this chapter explores the dynamic system and mechanism of innovation and development of relational marketing strategies in specific contexts of tourism (i.e. health and wellness tourism) considering cross-border (i.e. Northern Euroregion of Portugal and Galicia). From an interdisciplinary perspective, the chapter presents insights for marketing and tourism (health and well-being) and for the economic development of territories (i.e. cross-border regions).

This paper aims to investigate delegation decisions in supply chains, exploring the metaphor that consumers who make environmentally and socially responsible choices are equivalent to voters in an election.

This theoretical paper relies on the principles of agency theory to shed light on fundamental challenges that shape our ability to transform supply chains.

This paper unravels two puzzles linked to delegation decisions within sustainable supply chains. It shows that as firms adopt sustainable production systems, their ability to convey relevant information that convinces consumers to enter in a delegation relationship diminishes, ceteris paribus; and once a delegation relationship is established, complementarity within the dimensions of the contract is necessary to guarantee the delivery of sustainability attributes.

The findings of this paper offer insights that can inspire empirical research on sustainable supply chain management.

Policymakers and entrepreneurs willing to incentivize the transformation of supply chains must think about the nature of the relationship between firms and consumers. This paper provides a metaphor that can help practitioners to reinterpret their role as providers or consumers of products and services with sustainability attributes.

This paper provides insights that may enhance the understanding of how individual consumption decisions may contribute to transforming supply chains.

This paper expands the repertoire of theoretical tools that can be applied to study the emergence and resilience of sustainable supply chains.

During a fall, a significant part of the major forces is absorbed by the dorsolumbar column area. When the applied stresses exceed the yield strength of the bone tissue, fractures can occur in the vertebrae. Vertebral fractures constitute one of the leading causes of trauma-related hospitalizations, accounting for 15% of all admissions. Posterior pedicle screw fixation has become a common method for treating burst fractures. However, physicians remain divided on the number of fixed segments that are needed to improve clinical outcomes. The present work aims to understand the biomechanical impact of different fixation methods, improving surgical treatments.

A finite element model of the dorsolumbar spine (T11–L3) section, including cartilages, discs and ligaments, was created. The dorsolumbar stability was tested by comparing two different surgical orthopedic treatments for a fractured first lumbar vertebra on the L1 vertebra: the posterior short segment fixation with intermediate screws (PSS) and the posterior long segment fixation (PL). Distinct loads were applied to represent daily activities.

Results show that both procedures provide acceptable segment fixation, with the PL offering less freedom of movement, making it more stable than the PSS. The PL approach can be the best choice for an unstable fracture as it leads to a stiffer spine segment.

This study introduces a novel computational model designed for the biomechanical analysis of dorsolumbar injuries, aiming to identify the optimal treatment approaches within both clinical and surgical contexts.

This work aims to integrate the concepts generated by a systematic literature review on patient flows in emergency departments (ED) to serve as a basis for developing a generic process model for ED.

A systematic literature review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines, considering Lean Healthcare interventions describing ED patients’ flows. The initial search found 141 articles and 18 were included in the systematic analysis. The literature analysis served as the basis for developing a generic process model for ED.

ED processes have been represented using different notations, such as value stream mapping and workflows. The main alternatives for starting events are arrival by ambulance or walk-in. The Manchester Triage Scale (MTS) was the most common protocol referred to in the literature. The most common end events are admission to a hospital, transfer to other facilities or admission to an ambulatory care system. The literature analysis allowed the development of a generic process model for emergency departments. Nevertheless, considering that several factors influence the process of an emergency department, such as pathologies, infrastructure, available teams and local regulations, modelling alternatives and challenges in each step of the process should be analysed according to the local context.

A generic business process model was developed using BPMN that can be used by practitioners and researchers to reduce the effort in the initial stages of design or improvement projects. Moreover, it’s a first step toward the development of generalizable and replicable solutions for emergency departments.

This study aims to show the complexities of engagement between students - Venezuelan and Brazilian - and their teachers. This qualitative ethnographic study documents the everyday pedagogies and practices that take place in elementary schools with high levels of refugee and immigrant children. While Brazilian law ensures the basic right to public education, forbidding discrimination based on nationality or immigration status (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação, 1996), the barriers remain. Through the frameworks of multicultural (USA) and intercultural (Brazil) education, this paper shows how Brazilian teachers and students of Venezuelan and Brazilian backgrounds engage, learn from one another and build welcoming spaces, but also how stereotypes are reinforced inside classrooms and schools.

This qualitative study uses ethnography to understand how recent Venezuelan migratory flow influences Brazilian and Venezuelan children’s educational experiences in elementary education. Participants were Venezuelan (N = 57) and Brazilian (N = 76) children in two elementary schools in the city of Boa Vista. Data sources for the study are school observations in four elementary classrooms (1st and 2nd grade) and semi-structured interviews with caregivers, teachers, administrators and other educators. This paper also collected children’s drawings and writings and documents like curricula, strategic planning, guidelines, policies, grades, reports and any other textual or photographic material made available at the city level.

In the field of education, there is a critical need for understanding children’s education experiences. This paper focuses on the experiences of teachers and students in two elementary schools in Brazil. This paper focus on two findings: first that teachers promote the learning of Portuguese to show care toward their Venezuelan students. Second, children in the classroom show solidarity with one another and resist some of the more rigid Portuguese-only practices enacted by teachers. This work uses the frameworks of intercultural (more commonly used in Brazil) and multicultural education to inform the analysis.

In this study, this paper puts these frameworks of interculturalism, multiculturalism, language use and solidarity into conversation to understand the dynamics of two elementary classrooms in the city of Boa Vista, Brazil. While this paper shows the shortcomings of a seemingly multicultural and multilanguage classroom, it also shows how children actively resist the rigidity of teaching and learning in elementary schooling.

This study is a response both to the increasing South–South migration trend in Latin America and its consequences on public education systems. Through multicultural and intercultural lenses, this research highlighted the complexity of interactions within multicultural classrooms by delving into a two-year ethnographic study conducted in Boa Vista, Brazil, focusing on Venezuelan and Brazilian children in two local elementary schools. This paper focused on two main observations this paper refers to as “Teaching Portuguese as a Way of Caring” and “Children's Solidarity Work.” Teachers primarily centered their instruction on teaching Portuguese to migrant children, believing it to lead to quicker integration in the classroom and beyond – thus as a way of caring for their migrant students.

This study aims to analyze the effect of social media marketing (SMM), generated by doctors and dentists, on consumers’ purchase intention, via the influence of the value co-creation perception, brand equity and consumer brand engagement. Additionally, this study analyzes the moderating role of purchase frequency.

A sample of 110 respondents was surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research hypothesis.

The findings reveal that SMM positively influences value co-creation perception. Value co-creation perception positively influences brand equity and consumer brand engagement. Brand equity positively influences purchase intention. The moderating role of frequency was confirmed. However, the effects of consumer brand engagement on purchase intention were not confirmed.

The study findings enable healthcare marketers to develop social media marketing and branding strategies to engage consumers and increase perceived value, brand equity and purchase intention of healthcare services.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to introduce SMM as an antecedent of the relationship between value co-creation and brand equity. This study is also the first to test the relationship between value co-creation and brand equity in the healthcare sector. A new integrated model was proposed to understand the effects of SMM on the intention to purchase healthcare services.

This study aims to identify comfort food (CF) consumption and its associated factors during the pandemic period. The study also involves an online survey conducted five months after the quarantine started in Brazil.

Data on lifestyle, eating habits and anthropometric data were collected before and during the pandemic, and the differences in these habits were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were performed to identify predictors of CF consumption by gender.

A total of 1,363 individuals were included in the sample, with a median age of 31 years old, of whom 80.3% were women. Since individuals were free to respond about the food consumed without predetermined categories, it was possible to carry out a faithful assessment of the occurrence of this behavior. At the same time, allowing the subjectivity and symbolism inherent to the concept of CF to be embraced. CF consumption was present for 54%, with “sweets” being the most mentioned group by both genders. The factors associated with CF consumption in women during the pandemic were increased snacking, increased bread, candies and alcoholic beverage intake, increased time spent at work, worsened sleep quality, reduced meals, perceived stress (PS), emotional eating (EE), age and increased frequency of meat intake. In men, the predictors for CF consumption were remote full-time work/study, PS, EE and early waking time. For both genders, CF consumption during the pandemic period was associated with PS and EE.

This study provides an important overview of the possible contributions of the pandemic on behaviors and food choices related to the consumption of CF in Brazilians. This information is valuable to support further studies to investigate and treat the impacts of the pandemic on lifestyle, eating habits and behavior, mental health and other factors in the postpandemic period.

This study examines the temporal trends and determinants of household cooking fuel choices in India. Access to affordable, reliable, clean cooking fuels is crucial for improving household health and mitigating environmental issues. However, a significant portion of the population in developing countries, including India, still relies on traditional solid biomass fuels, leading to adverse health impacts. Using data from India Human Development Survey conducted in 2005 and 2012, this research analyzes changes in fuel choices. It explores the influence of socio-demographic characteristics, education, and accessibility on these choices over time. The findings reveal a gradual transition toward mixed fuel usage but a limited reduction in the use of dirty fuels, indicating the challenges in achieving cleaner cooking practices. Education is a crucial driver of fuel choices, highlighting the need for targeted educational campaigns. Age and household size also play significant roles, with older household heads and larger households exhibiting different fuel preferences. The availability and cost of firewood and kerosene influence fuel choices. The study also suggests developing educational campaigns, improving the availability and affordability of clean cooking fuels, and tailored strategies for larger households. These findings provide guidance for policymakers in promoting the adoption of cleaner cooking fuels and improving household air quality and public health in India.

The world of investing has changed drastically. Investors are willing to invest the companies that give high priority to environmental, social and governance issues (ESG). This study delves into the performance of the BSE CARBONEX index in comparison to the BSE 100, BSE Sensex, BSE Energy and BSE Oil & Gas. It seeks to examine the impact of calendar anomalies, particularly focusing on the day-of-the-week effect, on these indices. To accomplish this, daily closing prices of the BSE CARBONEX, BSE 100, BSE Sensex, BSE Energy and BSE Oil & Gas were gathered from the BSE official website. The study period was divided into three segments: the full period, period I (2017–2020) and period II (2020–2022). The study's findings reveal that throughout the full period, period I and period II, BSE Energy exhibited the highest mean daily return compared to the other selected indices. There appears to be a discernible Tuesday effect on the daily average mean returns of BSE CARBONEX, BSE 100, BSE Sensex, BSE Energy and BSE Oil & Gas in both the full sample period and period II. Results from ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis by day indicate a notably high positive and statistically significant daily return on Tuesdays, particularly during the full sample period and period II. Furthermore, the GARCH (1,1) model suggests a significant Tuesday effect on the BSE Energy and BSE Oil & Gas indices.