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This study aims to construct a mental health service system for middle school students in the post-COVID-19 era with the framework of Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) and analyze the influencing factors of the mental health service system to study the implementation strategies of quality-oriented mental health services in middle schools.

This study was conducted in Tianjin, China, from September to November 2022, and 350 middle school students from Tianjin Public Middle School were selected as subjects. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data. In this study, the Six Sigma DMAIC method, sensitivity analysis method, exploratory factor analysis and principal component analysis were used to analyze the mental health services provided to middle school students.

Based on the Six Sigma DMAIC framework, this study indicates that the contribution rate of the mental health service process factor is the largest in the post-COVID-19 era. The mental health cultivation factor ranks second in terms of its contribution. Mental health quality and policy factors are also important in the construction of middle school students’ mental health service system. In addition, the study highlights the importance of parental involvement and social support in student mental health services during the post-COVID-19 era.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a study on middle school students’ mental health in the post-Covid-19 era has not yet been conducted. This study developed a quality-oriented mental health system and analyzed the influencing factors of mental health for middle school students based on data analysis and the Six Sigma DMAIC method.

This paper analyses children's experiences of school or family visits to Hare Krishna eco-farms in Europe. The article evaluates the extent to which these encounters enable retention and recollection of memories and, consequently, trigger change towards more sustainable behaviour.

Participatory research, qualitative observations and theories of childhood memory are used to explore the nature of children's environmental encounters on Hare Krishna eco-tours.

Findings reveal that Krishna eco-tours offer a conducive environment for cerebral registering and future reminiscing through the following components: experiential learning of sustainable practices which are radically different to mainstream alternatives, sensory experiences, nature play and entertainment and freedom from everyday constraints.

The emerging literature on children's eco-tourism has largely focussed on market-related aspects and farmers' needs. In contrast, the authors’ conceptual framework, based on contemporary research in childhood memories, offers a tool to evaluate the impacts of eco-tourism from a more holistic perspective.

Through active learning and experiential learning theoretical perspectives, this paper explores the role of gamification on the student experience and student learning of undergraduate business management students in the UK.

To capture the impact of gamification on student experience and student learning during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, data were collected through online surveys with L6 undergraduate students studying during the academic years 2020–2021, 2021–2022 and 2022–2023.

The analysis of the data revealed three core themes: a) gaining practical experience through gamification b) opportunities for peer engagement and active participation and c) development of soft skills and hard skills.

Based on the lessons learnt, the paper proposes actions and guidelines for integrating gamification into business management curricula that prepare future business managers and leaders to respond to unforeseen challenges and changes.

This study contributes to a series of design suggestions for fellow tutors and practitioners seeking to advance their pedagogical approach to developing agile and resilient future managers and leaders.

This paper aims to respond to calls in academia for an update of the product lifecycle (PLC). Through a systematic literature review, the authors provide an updated agenda, which aims to advance the PLC concept in research, teaching and practice.

The authors started by surveying 101 marketing academics globally to ascertain whether a PLC update was viewed necessary and beneficial in the marketing community and thereafter conducted citation analysis of marketing research papers and textbooks to ascertain PLC usage. The subsequent literature review methodology was split into two sections. First, 97 empirical articles were reviewed based on an evaluative framework. Second, research pertaining to the PLC determinants were assessed and discussed.

From the results of this review and primary data from marketing academics, the authors find that the method of predicting the PLC based on past sales has been largely unsuccessful and perceived as somewhat outdated. However, a new stream of PLC literature is emerging, which takes a consumer-centric perspective to the PLC and has seen more success at modeling lifecycles in various industries.

First, the study outlines the most contemporary and successful methodological approaches to modeling the PLC. Namely, the use of artificial intelligence, big data, demand modeling and consumer psychological mechanisms. Second, it provides several future research avenues using modern market trends such as sustainability, globalization, digitization and Covid-19 to push the PLC into the 21st century.

The PLC has shown to be resolutely popular in management application and education. However, without a continued effort in academic PLC research to update the knowledge around the concept, its use as a productive management tool will likely become outdated. This study provides a necessary and comprehensive literature update resulting in actionable future research and teaching agendas intended to advance the PLC concept into the modern market context.

The first public share offer represents a crucial step in the life of a company. When the firm places shares linked to its business activity on sale in the financial markets, it is taking a strategic decision of major importance because this is going to involve shareholders who will subsequently become real partners in the organisation. This paper attempts to determine the place of financial communication in the company with regard to its general situation.

Analyses the key role played by the financial communicator and the organisation he represents in determining the type of communication needed so as to prepare for the first public share issue. Examines the initial results of a quantitative analysis (carried out by means of a questionnaire) of the importance attached to financial communication by managers of firms present on the Belgian financial market.

Financial communication is a form of communication that is still growing. The appearance of new technological tools seems favourable to this development. It seems that the information obtained by means of the questionnaire confirms not only the theoretical approach concerning the various targets, but also the role played by some specific players such as the press. It also seems that the development of the internet allows one to devise elaborate new approaches to the question so that one can contact a lot of people (more often with the same message) everywhere in the world and at a price which is reasonable. It is also interesting to confirm the attention given to specific events in the financial life of a firm. As a matter of fact, the budget allocated to financial communication is almost doubled in the case of a public offering.

The initial results are not representative enough to allow the drawing of conclusions about the global population of firms concerned.

The present paper can be envisaged as a pilot study insofar as it allows one to highlight certain development axes which could be interesting, such as the impact of new technologies on financial communication or the influence of the various stakeholders on a share issue and in its future enhanced value on the market.

The purpose of this paper is to understand in-depth how consumers create value in their lives using WhatsApp, the leading mobile instant messaging (MIM) application.

The study adopts the perspective of customer-dominant logic (CDL) and uses a qualitative multimethod design involving 3 focus groups and 25 subsequent in-depth interviews. The research setting was Ecuador, a Latin American country.

Analysis and interpretation of the participants’ stories made it possible to identify and understand the creation of four types of value: maintaining and strengthening relationships; improving role performance; emotional support; and entertainment and fun. In addition, the present study proposes a conceptual model of consumer value creation as it applies to MIM.

Understanding the way consumers create value in their lives using MIM is important not only for organizations that offer MIM applications, but also for those companies that develop other applications for mobile phones or for those who wish to use MIM as an electronic word-of-mouth vehicle.

The current study is one of the first to address the topic of consumer behavior in the use of technologies from the perspective of CDL; this perspective enables an integrated qualitative vision of value creation in which the consumer is the protagonist.

El presente estudio busca comprender a profundidad la forma en que los consumidores crean valor en sus vidas usando WhatsApp, la aplicación líder de mensajería instantánea basada en móviles (MIM).

El estudio adopta la perspectiva de la lógica dominante del cliente y utiliza un diseño cualitativo multimétodo que involucra 3 grupos focales seguidos de 25 entrevistas a profundidad. El escenario de estudio es Ecuador, un país Latinoamericano.

El análisis e interpretación de los relatos de los participantes hace posible identificar y comprender la creación de cuatro tipos de valor: Mantener y fortalecer relaciones, mejorar el desempeño de roles, apoyo emocional y, diversión y entretenimiento. Adicionalmente, el estudio propone un modelo conceptual de creación de valor aplicado a MIM.

La comprensión de la forma en que los consumidores crean valor en sus vidas usando MIM, es importante no solo para las empresas que ofrecen aplicaciones MIM, sino también para las empresas que desarrollan otras aplicaciones para móviles o para aquellas que desean usar MIM como canal electrónico para estrategias boca a boca.

El presente estudio es uno de los primeros en abordar el área del comportamiento del consumidor en el uso de tecnologías desde una perspectiva de la lógica dominante del cliente. Esta perspectiva permite presentar una visión cualitativa integrada de la creación de valor, en la cual el consumidor es el protagonista.

Nigeria, a prominent country in Sub-Sahara Africa, is plagued with a protracted, erratic and low power supply. The purpose of this paper is to present an experimental investigation of the noise levels and pollutants’ (CO, CO₂ and particulate matter (PM_2.5)) concentrations associated with the prevalent use of diesel-powered generators in the country. It is aimed to provide information on the level of gaseous, particulate and noise pollutants that are related to diesel-powered generators that could assist in policy formulation and create public awareness on the possible health risks.

Diesel-fueled generators (105) with age and installed capacity ranging from 0.5 to 14 years and 10 to 500 kVA, respectively, were engaged in this work at Sango area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Standard measuring instruments were placed at 1 m from the diesel-powered generators to determine the noise levels and concentrations of CO, CO₂ and PM_2.5.

Ranges of 72.6–115.6 dB, 19–198 ppm, 501–5,805 ppm and 221–492 µg/m³ for the noise level, CO, CO₂ and PM_2.5 concentrations, respectively, were obtained. Both the averages and ranges of the noise levels and pollutants’ concentrations were considerably higher than the recommended maximum limits. Thus, this study substantiated the pollution of ambient noise and air because of the operation of diesel-fueled generators. Furthermore, the health risks connected to the exposure to CO and PM_2.5 as implied via the evaluation of the air quality index revealed very unhealthy and hazardous conditions, respectively.

The measurement of the pollutants’ concentrations at the tips of the exhaust pipes of the diesel-powered generators was desirable but could not be achieved using manually logged devices. Nonetheless, adequate pollutants’ concentration data that satisfactorily represent the level of air pollution associated with diesel-fueled generators’ operations were obtained at around 1 m from the exhaust pipes.

The study provided additional knowledge on the levels of noise and pollutants, and the public health risks connected to the operations of diesel-powered generators that will be beneficial to the public and policymakers.

The results revealed a considerably high level of noise and air pollution, and the inherent environmental and public health problems connected to diesel-powered generators’ usage in Nigeria. This could serve as a viable tool for formulating environmental policy and providing the necessary societal awareness in this regard.

Human resource management (HRM) is still a new concept in Iran and there is significant research to be done, mainly because of the changes over the past two decades and the recent increase in the re‐emergence of multinational companies (MNCs). An active area of academic debate is the degree to which HRM practices follow the multinational or local partners practice in international joint ventures (IJVs). The research suggests the significance of ownership structure of critical resources. The study also shows the importance of socio‐cultural differences on the transferability of HR practices and whether these are MNC standardised or localised to the host country. Based on the information from the research findings, the main factors which influenced MNC standardisation or localisation of HRM practices were ownership and control of critical resources, the compatibility of national culture and socio‐cultural differences, mutual trust and respect between partners and the compatibility of management styles of the IJV.

This study aims to develop a simplified bioink preparation method that can be applied to most hydrogel bioinks used in extrusion-based techniques.

The parameters of the bioprinting process significantly affect the printability of the bioink and the viability of cells. In turn, the bioink formulation and its physicochemical properties may influence the appropriate range of printing parameters. In extrusion-based bioprinting, the rheology of the bioink affects the printing pressure, cell survival and structural integrity. Three concentrations of alginate-gelatin hydrogel were prepared and printed at three different flow rates and nozzle gauges to investigate the print parameters. Other characterizations were performed to evaluate the hydrogel structure, printability, gelation time, swelling and degradation rates of the bioink and cell viability. An experimental design was used to determine optimal parameters. The analyses included live/dead assays, rheological measurements, swelling and degradation.

The experimental design results showed that the hydrogel flow rate substantially influenced printing accuracy and pressure. The best hydrogel flow rate in this study was 10 ml/h with a nozzle gauge of 18% and 4% alginate. Three different concentrations of alginate-gelatin hydrogels were found to exhibit shear-thinning behavior during printing. After seven days, 46% of the structure in the 4% alginate-5% gelatin sample remained intact. After printing, the viability of skin fibroblast cells for the optimized sample was 91%.

This methodology offers a straightforward bioink preparation method applicable to the majority of hydrogels used in extrusion-based procedures. This can also be considered a prerequisite for cell printing.

The study aims to propose a decision-support system to determine the location of a regional disaster logistics warehouse. Emphasizing the importance of disaster logistics, it considers the criteria to be evaluated for warehouse location selection. It is aimed to determine a warehouse location that will serve the disaster victims most efficiently in case of a disaster by making an application for the province of Izmir, where a massive earthquake hit in 2020.

The paper proposes a fuzzy best–worst method to evaluate the alternative locations for the warehouse. The method considers the linguistic evaluations of the decision-makers and provides an advantage in terms of comparison consistency. The alternatives were identified through interviews and discussions with a group of experts in the fields of humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations. The group consists of academics and a vice-governor, who had worked in Izmir. The results of a previously conducted questionnaire were also used in determining these locations.

It is shown how the method will be applied to this problem, and the most effective location for the disaster logistics warehouse in Izmir has been determined.

This study contributes to disaster preparedness and brings a solution to the organization of the logistics services in Izmir.