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This study aims to understand the impact of rational and emotional appeals on children’s attitude towards two public service announcements (PSAs) that promoted eating fruits and vegetables.

A mixed-methods study was conducted with children aged 8 to 11. A convergent parallel design was selected that comprised a questionnaire for the quantitative approach and a semi-structured focus group for the qualitative approach.

The results from the quantitative and qualitative phases converged, showing that both components (i.e. emotional and rational) play a significant role in children’s preference towards an advertisement, but the emotional component appeared to be the preeminent.

Future studies should use other social subjects and children of different age brackets from various countries to test whether they continue to prefer emotional appeals in advertising.

An understanding of which elements children prefer in PSAs will enable advertising campaigns and social marketing strategies with targeted approaches that respect children’s tastes to be planned.

A properly designed social advertisement could have important effects on disseminating useful information, changing or preventing unhealthy habits and adopting good practices in children.

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of PSAs, especially those targeted at children. This paper contributes to extend concepts from the commercial field of advertising directed to children to the field of social advertising. To date, this field has received little attention.

This study aims to examine the different effects that the fear and humor appeals in anti-smoking advertisements for children have on their affective reactions to the advertisements, on their beliefs about smoking and on their behavioral intentions to smoke.

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study conducted in Italy with children aged from 8 to 11 years.

The results indicated that the humor appeal is a useful method for conveying a social theme in a pleasant way and creating a likable character that becomes an example for children to imitate; however, it is necessary to employ the fear appeal to make children reflect carefully about the negative consequences of smoking.

This study examined only children's behavioral intentions derived from anti-smoking advertisements, but future research should also examine their real behaviors after a period following repeated viewing of public service announcements about smoking prevention or other social issues.

Understanding how different types of appeals can influence children represents an important result for the prevention of youth smoking and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits during childhood.

Understanding how different types of appeals can influence children represents an important result for the prevention of youth smoking and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits during childhood.

Few studies have examined the impact of social advertisements on children, and particularly little is known about the effectiveness of fear appeals on this group.

Recent substantial developments of consumer-to-consumer social commerce platforms (C2C-SCPs) emboldened consumers/users to be involved as sellers. Considering C2C social networks that privilege local reach, this paper aim to explore how the practice-based view informs non-professional sellers' involvement.

Underpinned by data from 29 semi-structured interviews with non-professional sellers on Kaskus, one of the largest local Indonesian C2C-SCPs, the study reveals the emergence of a novel structural practice that we call casual selling.

The findings show that casual selling allows non-professional sellers' involvement in C2C-SCPs through three broad categories of practices: priming oneself, producing commercial operations and valuing others. Within these three categories, non-professional sellers are found to generate both personal and collective involvement along nine situated market practices.

This paper adds to previous research by introducing the practice-based view to social commerce literature. In doing so, it deals with the under-investigated seller's perspective and activities that prevail in C2C-SCPs.

In C2C-SCPs, casual selling constitutes a distinct mode of involvement in social commerce in which established professional selling standards are suspended. As a structural practice, it entices non-professional sellers to consider a wider variety of situations in which they are in dialogue with other individuals (buyers and sellers) to shape s-commerce potential. In doing so, C2C-SCP users draw on a dynamic intertwining between digital technology and the socio-cultural environment surrounding s-commerce.

A burgeoning body of evidence points out the importance of spatial proximity in influencing firm efficiency besides internal characteristics. Nevertheless, the family status of the firm has been traditionally overlooked in that debate. Therefore, this study aims to investigate productivity spillovers stemming from the geographical closeness to innovators and family firms.

Using secondary data on Italian technology-intensive manufacturing firms, the paper exploits spatial econometric models to estimate productivity spillovers across firms.

As regards the presence of spatial dependence, this study reveals that a firm's level of efficiency and productivity is influenced by that of nearby firms. Specifically, three main results emerge. First, spatial proximity to innovators is beneficial for the productivity of neighbouring firms. Second, closeness to family firms is a source of negative externalities for spatially proximate firms. However, and this is the third result, the adverse effect vanishes when the nearby family firms are also innovators.

As the study relies on cross-sectional data, future research should explore productivity spillovers in a longitudinal setting. Additionally, the channels through which productivity spillovers occur should be measured.

The study highlights the importance of co-location for public policy initiatives to strengthen the competitiveness of firms and, indirectly, that of localities and regions. Moreover, the findings show the crucial role of innovation in mitigating the productivity gap between family and non-family firms.

Notwithstanding the advent of the digital era, spatial proximity and localized social relationships are still a relevant factor affecting firms' performance.

By exploring the role of family firms in influencing the advantages of geographical proximity, this study contributes to the growing efforts to explore family enterprises across spatial settings.

The purpose of this paper is to describe an experience of R&D in the field of new technologies for solar energy exploitation within the Italian context. Concentrated solar power systems operating in the field of medium temperatures are the main research objectives, directed towards the development of a new and low‐cost technology to concentrate the direct radiation and efficiently convert solar energy into high‐temperature heat.

A multi‐tank sensible‐heat storage system is proposed for storing thermal energy, with a two‐tanks molten salt system. In the present paper, the typology of a below‐grade cone shape storage is taken up, in combination with nitrate molten salts at 565°C maximum temperature, using an innovative high‐performance concrete for structures absolving functions of containment and foundation.

Concrete durability in terms of prolonged thermal loads is assessed. The interaction between the hot tank and the surrounding environment (ground) is considered. The developed FE model simulates the whole domain, and a fixed heat source of 100°C is assigned to the internal concrete surface. The development of the thermal and hygral fronts within the tank thickness are analysed and results discussed for long‐term scenarios.

Within the medium temperature field, an innovative approach is here presented for the conceptual design of liquid salts concrete storage systems. The adopted numerical model accounts for the strong coupling among moisture and heat transfer and the mechanical field. The basic mathematical model is a single fluid phase non‐linear diffusion one based on the theory by Bažant; appropriate thermodynamic and constitutive relationships are supplemented to enhance the approach and catch the effects of different fluid phases (liquid plus gas).