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This study aims to investigate the contribution of higher education institutions (HEIs) to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and propose strategies to cultivate a culture centred on the SDGs in HEIs.

The methodology used encompassed an integrative literature review, combining bibliographic analysis on how HEIs incorporate the SDGs into their practices, adopting a qualitative approach for the analysis and categorization of the results.

The multifaceted contributions of HEIs in promoting the SDGs stand out, through their roles in teaching, research, management and integration and communication between university and society.

While influencing policies at various levels, HEIs encounter challenges in the effective integration of SDGs into their strategies. This underscores the need for contextualized governance, understanding students’ perspectives on sustainability and active external collaboration in policy formulation.

There is an urgent need to integrate SDGs into academic programmes, emphasizing the importance of redesigning curricula, actively involving teachers, researchers and students, establishing partnerships and promoting research applied to SDGs.

The social relevance of the study lies in the emphasis on an SDG-centred culture, involving teaching, research, outreach, community engagement and governance practices.

The study’s uniqueness lies in identifying persistent challenges during the transition to an SDG-centred culture, necessitating multisectoral collaboration and educational programmes that integrate sustainability principles into the strategy of HEIs.

Prismatic specimens were fabricated, consisting of two ceramic tiles bonded by an intermediate adhesive mortar layer. To simulate pre-existing defects, an acetate film was strategically inserted into one of the mortar-ceramic interfaces, creating controlled cracks of varying sizes. The specimens were subjected to low-amplitude cyclic loading, inducing simultaneous tensile and shear stresses within the system. The vibrational responses of the samples were recorded, and their frequency-domain amplitudes were analyzed.

Ceramic tile detachment remains a significant issue in contemporary construction, despite advancements in technology and updates to regulatory standards. The majority of these failures occur at the adhesive mortar-ceramic tile interface due to the combined effects of tensile and shear stresses. While this phenomenon is well-documented, experimental studies assessing the adhesion integrity of façade cladding systems are limited. This study aims to evaluate the adhesion performance of adhesive mortars using a non-destructive vibrational analysis technique.

The results enabled the characterization of the dynamic behavior of the specimens, identification of frequency regions corresponding to individual components, and formulation of diagnostic criteria for damage detection. Analysis of the resonance spectra also made it possible to identify a peak that can be related to the behavior of the mortar-substrate interface. Additionally, the elastic and dissipated energy metrics were calculated to quantify the system’s mechanical behavior. The study further investigated the impact of crack size, curing time and adhesive mortar type on the overall structural integrity.

This work aims to evaluate the adhesion performance of adhesive mortars using a non-destructive vibrational analysis technique. Resonance frequency measurements have also been used in research to analyze the propagation paths of cracks in metallic samples from aircraft engines. However, despite the widespread use of non-destructive techniques based on resonance frequencies for damage assessment, their application in the field of coating systems seems to be virtually unexplored. Therefore, this research attempts to address this gap by investigating the bond integrity of adhesive mortar joints, focusing on the analysis of the material’s resonance frequencies and their associated peak parameters.

The shift toward a circular economy (CE) represents a collaborative endeavor necessitating the presence of efficient frameworks, conducive contexts and a common comprehension. This research serves as a pivotal stride towards this goal, presenting an exclusive prospect for the investigation and fusion of these frameworks, with particular emphasis on the Quintuple Helix Model (5HM), into a unified theoretical framework that underscores the core principles of the CE. This study is centered on three pivotal questions aimed at decoding the CE transition in specific regional settings.

Adopting an abductive approach firmly anchored in a two-stage qualitative process, this study specifically merges the foundational principles from institutional theory, entrepreneurship literature and CE frameworks to provide insights into the dynamics of circular ecosystems, with a specific focus on the Huelva region in Spain.

The findings demonstrate significant potential in the CE, ranging from the integration of product and service systems to innovations in eco-industrial practices. Yet, a notable deficiency exists: the absence of institutional entrepreneurs, highlighting the essential role that universities can play. As recognized centers of innovation, universities are suggested to be key contributors to the transformation toward a CE, aligning with their societal and economic responsibilities.

This study highlights the importance of managing relationships with entities like SMEs and policymakers or academia for effective CE adoption. Policymakers can refine strategies based on the research’s insights, while the impact of university-driven circular ecosystems on sustainable societies is another crucial area for research.

The sustainability models cited in CE literature may not be comprehensive enough to prevent problem shifting, and it can be argued that they lack a sound theoretical and conceptual basis. Furthermore, the connections between sustainability objectives and the three levels of the CE operating system remain vague. Additionally, there is insufficient information on how regions foster the involvement of the environment in fivefold helix cooperation and how this impacts the CE.

The study aims to analyze consumer reaction to counterintuitive communication linked to the LGBTQIAP+ cause.

The theoretical framework focused on marketing communication, counterintuitive communication and the insertion of the LGBTQIAP+ issue in them. A hypothetical-deductive approach was adopted, carried out through an online experiment with a factorial design 2 (high involvement product − wedding ring × low involvement − perfume) × 2 (homosexual couple − counterintuitive × heterosexual − intuitive), with two subsequent steps: eye tracker collection (n = 21) and questionnaire application (n = 136).

It was possible to attest to the differences between traditional (intuitive) and counterintuitive marketing communications, identified both in terms of visualizations and fixations (eye tracking), and objective responses (online questionnaire), finding more positive consumer behavior in the case of counterintuitive communication with insertion of the LGBTQIAP+ cause.

Marketing communication has great potential to create “new/other” values and worldviews, thus having an important role in social responsibility that goes beyond the marketing sphere. Precisely in this context, the study contributes to endorse the literature concerning counterintuitive communication, reinforcing the increasing importance and favorable scenario for its practice, as well as highlighting its importance as an efficient marketing strategy.

The study extends the understanding of counterintuitive communication with the scope of an investigation linked to the LGBTQIAP+ cause, especially from the perspective of the receiving public, the consumers. Furthermore, it advances in the sense of aggregating empirical evidence by means of both exploratory (with neuroscientific technique as eye tracking) and explanatory factors.

This study aims to explore factors that affect gendered consumption (male and female), willingness to pay (economic attributes) and the socio-cultural context of Gen-Z consumers towards specialty coffee as compared to other types in Taiwan.

Samoggia and Riedel’s (2018) theoretical framework is adopted to examine the concepts of interest. A mixed method approach comprising interviews and experimental taste tests was used to collect data from Gen-Z specialty coffee consumers in a purposive sampling manner.

The findings suggested the effect of price elasticity of demand where specialty coffee was perceived as an expensive commodity by young consumers, and hence, not a regularly purchased item. Nevertheless, specialty coffee was linked to health benefits, and a signal for conspicuous consumption – where café experiences facilitated self-promotion on sites like Instagram and Facebook. Finally, the findings alluded to a potential gender effect, with more female young consumers likely to consume specialty coffee as compared to their male counterparts.

This study is located within the context of Taiwan, which has been a tea-dominated consumption landscape for numerous decades. The use of an experimental design also presents a unique angle to elucidate sensory elements surrounding specialty coffee as a research design for Gen-Z research projects. The study points to the relevance of social context in the consumers’ behavioural patterns, which has been largely implicit within consumer behaviour scholarship.