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The purpose of the instrument is to favour and strengthen, in a timely and relevant manner, the processes of design, planning, investment, execution and evaluation of various public and private initiatives in the territory, thereby strengthening the preventive, responsive and adaptive capacities of the communities, institutions and territory. The instrument allows the generation of a single single-community diagnosis, a definition of a baseline which leads to progress assessment at different levels and provides specific risk management recommendations to municipalities.

The definition of the purpose and design of this tool was the result of the work in a year by a group of national experts from the public, private, organised civil society and academia members of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. This initial stage has sought to capture the different sectoral visions with a multidimensional approach that considers the territorial differences cautioning that local governments are key actors to achieve risk reduction, and they are also the first respondents and responsible for managing their territory and community. In order to help local governments, to understand their situation, the experts’ group established that the assessment should consist of a guided self-diagnosis using a survey. The dimensions considered are as follows: governance, territorial planning, socio-economic and demographic conditions and climate change and natural resources. The four dimensions encompass in total 41 variables that are considered relevant for the disaster risk management discipline.

The rural to semiurban municipalities classified as medium or low development, according to the national standard, present a high-risk level in the dimension of territorial ordering. The municipalities that show a moderate to low dependence on the common municipal fund have a low risk in all the evaluated dimensions, related to greater financial autonomy and own or self-management of resources. The municipalities with low percentage of poverty by income are better evaluated in all the dimensions showing a low level of the Communal Underlying Risk Factors Index (CURFI). A high percentage of communes with a low level of the CURFI have low-urban growth in the last 15 years.

One of the main difficulties was raising awareness amongst the mayors that the reduction of the underlying factors does not necessarily imply monetary investment, understanding the scarcity of local government resources. The important thing was to sensitise them that the diagnosis per se was already a result to manage risk in their community.

To be able to count for the first time in Chile with a methodology that allows diagnosing risk-based conditions and to target structural and non-structural measures aimed at reducing these factors in local governments. Additionally, it will be possible to monitor the reduction of the underlying risk factors (URF), for accompanying the work of the municipalities in terms of knowing if they have been able to implement the individualised recommendations that are provided.

The methodology was formulated by reviewing and considering the methodologies applied in different regions of the world, which generally coincide in the dimensions that group the main underlying factors of disaster risk. However, the numerical treatment of the variables obeys to novel statistical processing (multicriteria method), which provides robustness to the model and, therefore, to the results obtained.

Despite the significance of knowledge sharing for competitive advantage in networked businesses like franchising systems, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the strategic value of knowledge sharing in the context of franchising. In particular, the specific contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in facilitating interorganizational knowledge exchange among franchising members remains inadequately understood, particularly in emerging economies. Therefore, this study aims to explore the mechanisms involved in the knowledge-sharing process facilitated by a virtual learning environment (VLE) within franchising networks and examine the role of VLEs in facilitating knowledge.

This study uses a multiple-case study approach involving 24 franchisees and the franchisor within a Brazilian franchising network operating in the furniture market to examine the role played by a VLE.

The results of the study reveal that the introduction of a VLE has played a significant role in fostering enhancements in the knowledge-sharing process among the franchisor and franchisees in the network. Moreover, the results indicate that VLEs play a significant role in overcoming geographical obstacles, thereby enabling efficient knowledge sharing between franchisees and franchisors operating in extensive territorial contexts. Finally, findings indicate that intracommercial competition acts as a prominent barrier, leading to low levels of cooperation and knowledge-sharing intent among franchisees within the network.

This study contributes to the existing knowledge by enhancing the understanding of how ICTs can facilitate knowledge sharing in organizations operating within franchising systems. Furthermore, this paper advances the comprehension of the role of networking franchising configuration and governance in supporting organizational improvements. Additional actionable insights are provided.

This case illustrates the differences between customers and the occasions when conditions change and buyer-seller relationships fail. The key issue is to find ways to anticipate this problem with other clients.

It may be used in second-year courses of MBA marketing programs as well as in specific executive education programs dealing with key account management (KAM) systems, business strategy, industrial marketing and/or sales management courses. This case can also be used at undergraduate programs and courses dealing with sales, sales management, international business, and organizational behavior.

In 2003, after Carlos Etcheverry joined San Antonio (SA) as Latin American Region Vice President, the company implanted a KAM System. SA's relationships with its two key clients, Vintage and Chevron, seemed to progress nicely until mid 2004, when Chevron's newly hired Purchasing Manager decided to change the company's commercial structure, rendering its purchasing process more bureaucratic and extremely competitive. In March 2005, Etcheverry was to meet Chevron's purchasing manager, since Chevron had decided to reassign a service contract through a new invitation to bid, leaving San Antonio out. The case puts forth the questions faced by Etcheverry at the time of the meeting: How had San Antonio come to jeopardize a key account? Would SA's organization need a change? Was this the only solution available? What other factors should be considered?

This case may help students to: understand the complexity of key account management (KAM) system implementation, sales force concepts and business-to-business relationships; and analyze the difficulties faced by companies upon implementing a change in their sales strategies and the effects of this change on the sales force, corporate culture and the organization as a whole management system.

Teaching notes and a Technical note are available; also access to audio visual support with an interview to Carlos Etcheverry.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the chemical and functional composition of acerola, guava and cashew freeze-dried pomaces.

Fruit pomaces were obtained from the pulp juice industrial sector and submitted to freeze-drying. Samples were analysed for composition (macronutrients, micronutrients, moisture and ash), technological attributes (morphological, hygroscopicity, retention of oil and water and solubility), bioactive compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanins, anthocyanins, carotenoids and ascorbic acid), antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Total phenolics, brown pigments and antioxidant activity of thermally treated samples were evaluated. Results were presented as mean and standard deviation, and submitted to Shapiro–Wilk normality test, and ANOVA statistical significance follows by Tukey’s post hoc test (p<0.05). Also, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to test the relationship between selected parameters.

Guava pomace had the highest insoluble fibre (40.6 per cent), protein (13.8 per cent) and lipid (9.3 per cent) contents and acerola higher soluble fibre (14.2 per cent) and water and oil holding capacity (12 and 5.4 g/g, respectively). Cashew pomace had higher solubility (45.3 per cent) and hygroscopicity (11.2 per cent). Acerola pomace had the highest phenolic content (5,331.7 mg AGE/100 g), DPPH and oxygen radical absorbance capacity antioxidant activity (63.3 and 756.6 µmol TE/g). Despite of that none of extracts showed antibacterial activity. All pomaces presented good antioxidant activity retention after thermal treatments (> 70 per cent), which might be correlated to thermally induced brown pigments.

This investigation was motivated by the large amounts of pomaces produced by the fruit pulp and juice processing industries, which represents a waste of residual phytochemicals and cause potential environmental problems. Overall, it was demonstrated that freeze-dried acerola, guava and cashew pomaces are promising ingredients for multiple food applications.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand selfie phenomenon on two different levels. On the level of consumer brand experiences, the focus is on how brand selfie practices add new features to brand experiences and consumer–brand relationships. On the level of marketplace brand image, the authors explore how consumers contribute to marketplace conversations by posting brand selfies in social media and how this practice shapes and changes brand image.

The researchers conducted an extensive search on different social media platforms to collect various types of brand selfies. The authors approach brand selfies as rich visual texts and their analysis comprises four key steps: descriptive analysis, response analysis, formal analysis and polytextual thematic analysis.

On the level of consumer brand experiences, the findings illuminate how different types of brand selfies extend the brand experience in space and time and transfer it into the hybrid space of the consumer-defined social networks. On the level of marketplace brand image, it is illustrated how brand selfies contribute to the process of co-creating brand meaning in the social media.

The study proposes a typology of brand selfie assemblages showing how consumers contribute to the visual production and consumption of brand meanings. The brand selfie is a unique material and expressive reality enabling us to theorise new perspectives on how consumers consume brands and how aggregates of brand selfie production and dissemination affect marketplace dynamics.

This paper aims to study the use of pumpkin pulp and its by-products in food formulation. Pumpkins are important and useful in the food industry. However, only the pulp is used, and the shell and seeds are wasted, which represents an important food waste.

A systematic review was performed by searching electronic databases relating to the physicochemical, textural and sensory effects of the pumpkin pulp and its by-products’ incorporation into foods. No human subjects were involved, and ethical approval was not required.

Pumpkin seeds and shell have been included in quite a variety of products. The primary effects on the physicochemical properties of bakery products, dairy products, beverages and snacks are the increase in energy, protein, iron, calcium, carotene content and textural properties (hardness, chewiness, snapping force and viscosity).

Limitations comprise the heterogeneity of the studies included, which causes varied results.

It was evidenced that pumpkin is already included in food products, especially in bakery products. However, there are not many products where the shell and seeds are used. Therefore, it is a field to be explored, as these by-products have great potential both to enrich food products and to reduce food waste contributing to sustainability.

The aim of the study presented in this paper is to investigate the interrelationships among technologies in retail, webrooming and showrooming purchase intentions and customer experience.

The study was conducted in the fashion industry in three fashion groups: LPP, CCC and Inditex, which declare to use omnichannel solutions in their supply chains. The study focusses on 825 customers drawn from the emerging market in Poland. The research follows the partial least squares path model procedure.

Based on the study, it was concluded that out-store technologies are positively associated with omnichannel purchase intentions and also positively associated with cognitive and affective customer experience. This study proves that the boundary between traditional and online stores is beginning to blur, and thanks to new technologies, customers can experience traditional shopping resembling online shopping, and vice-versa.

Although the results provide several major contributions to theory and implications for practitioners, the study still demonstrates some methodological constraints. More specifically, although the study employs a relatively large research sample of 825 shoppers, it still focusses only on a selected group of customers in three fashion groups, LPP, CCC and Inditex, and is limited to investigating a particular type of customer experience solely in the fashion industry.

The results of this study not only verify the theoretical concepts and assumptions of technologies supporting omnichannel retail but also offer a practical roadmap for creating omnichannel solutions providing the best customer experience.

In a world where customer empowerment is continuously increasing and changing the service landscape, retailers must provide memorable shopping experiences to retain and attract new customers. When customers decide to go shopping in physical stores, they expect to enjoy their visit, experiencing cognitive, affective, social, and physical responses evoked by in-store stimuli. The purpose of this paper is to propose and validate a scale to measure in-store customer experience (ISCX).

This study’s theoretical review of customer experience (CX) demonstrates that a formative model provides the best structure for measuring the construct ISCX. Furthermore, the study follows the guidelines for rigorous construction of a formative scale, which include three main stages: generation of items, scale purification, and assessment of scale validity and reliability.

The results provide evidence that a formative third-order scale with a reflective second-order dimension (social experience) and three reflective first-order dimensions (cognitive, affective, and physical experience) has satisfactory psychometric properties. The findings also provide useful information on the effect of the ISCX scale on key performance variables such as satisfaction and loyalty to the store.

The ISCX scale proposed constitutes a useful multi-concept diagnostic tool for use by retailers to create fully experiential shopping environments with differential value for the customer. By providing a complete, robust, precise measure of CX in a retail environment, the scale gives researchers a structured way to examine the causes and consequences of CX in retail.

The purpose of this study is to review the existing fatigue and vibration-based structural health monitoring techniques and highlight the advantages of combining both approaches.

Fatigue monitoring requires a fatigue model of the material, the stresses at specific points of the structure, a cycle counting technique and a fatigue damage criterion. Firstly, this paper reviews existing structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques, addresses their principal classifications and presents the main characteristics of each technique, with a particular emphasis on modal-based methodologies. Automated modal analysis, damage detection and localisation techniques are also reviewed. Fatigue monitoring is an SHM technique which evaluate the structural fatigue damage in real time. Stress estimation techniques and damage accumulation models based on the S-N field and the Miner rule are also reviewed in this paper.

A vast amount of research has been carried out in the field of SHM. The literature about fatigue calculation, fatigue testing, fatigue modelling and remaining fatigue life is also extensive. However, the number of publications related to monitor the fatigue process is scarce. A methodology to perform real-time structural fatigue monitoring, in both time and frequency domains, is presented.

Fatigue monitoring can be combined (applied simultaneously) with other vibration-based SHM techniques, which might significantly increase the reliability of the monitoring techniques.

In late 2020, a group of librarians at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) came together to pursue the design of a diversity audit for monograph collections. After initial research and reflection, the authors realized that evaluating their existing collection on its racial or ethnic representation would not only be problematic, but also unnecessary, because it was clear to the authors that their collections are dominated by white voices and perspectives. How could they be otherwise? They were built for a primarily white audience as part of a system of knowledge production dominated by whiteness. The authors questioned whether the framework of a “diversity audit” really addressed their goal of a systematic anti-racist approach to collections management. This chapter details the authors’ process of rejecting the diversity audit framework for a large-scale review of monographs in a large academic library collection in the United States. It reviews the literature regarding diversity audits, as well as background on whiteness studies, as it leads to the authors’ rationale for instead developing a workbook for collection selectors. This workbook will position collection management practices within the white institutional presence (WIP) conceptual framework developed by scholar Diane Gusa (2010).