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In today’s world, the higher education system represents a means of developing the national and global economy by providing individual and collective benefits. Student loyalty is a critical measure in the success of higher education institutions that aim at retaining students until graduation and then attracting them back. As they fuel the knowledge economy, universities create a more educated labor market, providing employment and higher salaries. Having this major significance, it is vital to study the key determinants that persuade stakeholders to form long-term relationships with universities, revealing high loyalty. Aiming to stay competitive and survive the drastic, ongoing changes, successful universities thrive on building loyalty among all stakeholder groups, especially students. Despite the importance of the higher education institutions (HEIs), little research has been conducted on student loyalty. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to empirically examine the key factors influencing student loyalty by testing two models, namely perceived quality, brand associations, satisfaction, trust, and commitment, and to test the relationships among them. To analyze the data, a confirmatory factor analysis was applied where it explored the associations between items and constructs and, then, utilized a structural equation model (SEM) to investigate the relationships existing between constructs with the application of the STATA program. A structured questionnaire comprising of 66 questions was developed, using a five Likert scale. A total of 682 students from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies filled in the questionnaire. In both cases, the findings reveal that commitment has the most significant direct impact on loyalty. The other factors have an indirect effect, satisfaction having the most significant total effect, followed by trust and commitment. Therefore, universities must focus on improving service quality to develop positive brand associations, student satisfaction, trust, and commitment in developing student loyalty.

The recent crises (sanitary, energetic, socio-economic) have undoubtedly altered consumers’ daily lives, the way they socialize and how they relate to activities, their own desires and their peers. Especially the recent pandemic has caused major social disruptions, forcing consumers to become more individualistic and give up or change previous lifestyles and traditional socializing. This research examines how socializing through fitness and well-being through sport activities fosters consumers satisfaction and loyalty towards their preferred fitness center, which benefits the best image in their own minds. Factors like fitness centers services, location, lockers, staff, pricing, or advertising generate a unique perception of the preferred fitness center, thus leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. 1,498 clients from sport fitness centers were approached using a face-to-face administered questionnaire; the collected data were analyzed using structural equation modelling in SmartPLS. Various fitness center vectors, like equipment, lockers, pricing, advertising, location, and staff, positively impact on the center’s image, which in turn, mediated by well-being through fitness generates satisfaction and loyalty. Socializing at fitness centers impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and well-being. This paper contributes to existing knowledge by applying the Stimulus-Organism-Response model to fitness center clients in a post-crisis context on an emerging country.

Specialists in the field of business administration have tried over time to identify those elements or combination of elements which lead to a higher performance and excellence of companies. One of these models was created and it is applied by the European Foundation of Quality Management. This model defines nine elements, divided into enablers and results. Although this model is widely used in the evaluation of businesses, empirically there are still concerns regarding the characterization and correlations between the elements of the model and the connection with the performance of a company. This article aims to determine the correlations between the elements of the EFQM model based on the results of a research conducted in a clothing company in Romania. For this, the factor analysis was applied in order to determine both the correlations between the elements of the model and in order to group them in several strategic directions. Based on the results, there were determined three strategic directions. Out of these directions, one was oriented towards the external environment of the company, one was oriented towards the internal environment and the third one towards the \"brain\" of the company, who has the vision and the strategic thinking.

The aim of the study is to determine and confirm the main vectors that define the concept of sustainable university based on the example of a higher education institution that is representative for the Romanian economic higher education system. As objectives the authors defined the following: clarifying the concept of sustainable university based on the literature review; determining the main groups of stakeholders of the university and classifying them tridimensional; researching the perception regarding the vectors needed for the sustainable development of the university. The research stems from the three main stakeholders' categories, in the authors' opinion. A quantitative marketing research was undertaken on two main stakeholders' categories: students, and representatives of the business environment that are part of the Alumni Association of the university. Using the factor analysis, the four vectors that define, in the authors opinion, the sustainable university were validated, which was confirmed. A qualitative research based on a focus group among academia and management counterbalanced the results of the study, confirming through results the stated hypotheses. The limitations of the current study stem from the involvement of only a part of the university's stakeholders. Future research could investigate the perception of other stakeholders.

The main concern of this study is an extension of some results, proposed by Green and Lindsay in the classical theory of elasticity, in order to cover the theory of thermoelasticity for dipolar bodies. For dynamical mixed problem we prove a reciprocal theorem, in the general case of an anisotropic thermoelastic body. Furthermore, in this general context we have proven a result regarding the uniqueness of the solution of the mixed problem in the dynamical case. We must emphasize that these fundamental results are obtained under conditions that are not very restrictive.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality globally and a main cause of disability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance and utility of the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) as a mortality predictor factor in diabetic vs. non-diabetic patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), correlated with age, monocyte values, and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI). The prospective longitudinal observational study included 340 patients with AIS divided into two groups: diabetics and non-diabetics. ASPECTS was evaluated within the first 24 h after admission to the center. The ASPECTS was lower in the group of diabetic patients on average 4.9 vs. 6.05 (P<0.0001). As the age of the patients increased, the lower the ASPECTS and the higher infarct size, indicating a statistically significant (P<0.0001) result. The optimal correlation was observed between infarct size (ASPECTS) and hs-cTnI serum level [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.3216 to -0.1193; P<0.0001]. Almost 94% of patients who had an ASPECTS higher than 3 points on admission survived, resulting in a favorable outcome and a very good predictability of the score (95% CI: 0.85 to 0.926, P<0.0001). The ASPECTS is a mortality predictor, its value correlating inversely with the severity and evolution of patients, confirming a good predictability with good specificity, sensitivity and area under the curve.

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that nearly one third of the world's adults (31%) are physically inactive. This study explored gender differences in physical fitness among undergraduate students majoring in physical education. Objective: The main goal of this research was to analyze and compare physical fitness indicators between male and female higher education students. Specifically, we aimed to identify clusters of students based on their physical fitness profiles and understand the implications of these clusters on their overall health and fitness. Methods: A total of 324 students from Romania and Ukraine participated in the study. The Romanian students were enrolled at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Babe§-Bolyai University, and the Ukrainian students were enrolled at the National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport. A combination of physical fitness tests, including the Three Mnute Step Test, Sit-up Test, Push-up Test, and Standing Long Jump Test, Plate tapping Test were used to assess various fitness parameters. Cluster analysis, specifically k-means clustering, was used to categorize students into distinct groups based on their fitness profiles. The Davies-Bouldin index was computed to evaluate the robustness of the cluster separation. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationships between different physical development and fitness indicators. Results: The analysis identified significant gender differences in physical fitness. Male students were divided into two clusters: Cluster 1 demonstrated superior cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle endurance, and strength, while Cluster 3 exhibited higher body weight-to-length ratios and better coordination and speed of upper limb movements. Female students, categorized in Cluster 2, showed superior coordination and speed of upper limb movements, but lower strength and endurance compared to males. The Davies-Bouldin index of 0.017 indicates strong separation between clusters. Conclusions: The present study highlights the critical importance of promoting physical fitness among higher education students. The findings suggest that higher body weight relative to height can negatively impact certain fitness aspects. Tailored fitness programs addressing specific gender and individual needs are essential. Continued research is necessary to further understand the factors influencing physical fitness and to develop effective strategies for improvement, ensuring students are well-prepared for both professional challenges and healthy, active lives.

Millennials of the 21st century tend to have an active daily life and practice more sports, spending more on health and fitness. Therefore, the present paper seeks to investigate the propensity of Millennials to recommend their preferred fitness center, depending on their psychological condition (i.e., introversion versus extraversion), which may lead to their tendency to practice and to their involvement and satisfaction with the fitness center. The authors deduce a conceptual model from the literature, which is further analyzed with data collected through an empirical investigation based on a face-to-face administered questionnaire. Data gathered from 2138 Millennials are investigated with the help of structural equation modeling using SmartPLS. The results show that a positive image of a fitness center stimulates the satisfaction of extravert and introvert consumers. Millennials have different personality types, such as extraversion and introversion, that influence their propensity to practice fitness and to recommend their favorite fitness center. It can be concluded that not only extraversion but also introversion influence consumers’ satisfaction, positively impacting the consumer’s intention to recommend their favorite fitness center to peers.

This paper analyzed the behavior of polymer composite materials reinforced with randomly oriented short natural fibers (hemp, flax, etc.) subjected to external stresses under quasistatic contact conditions with dry Coulomb friction. We presumed the composite body, a 2D flat rectangular plate, being in frictional contact with a rigid foundation for the quasistatic case. The manuscript proposes the finite element method approximation in space and the finite difference approximation in time. The problem of quasistatic frictional contact is described with a special finite element, which can analyze the state of the nodes in the contact area, and their modification, between open, sliding, and fixed contact states, in the analyzed time interval. This finite element also models the Coulomb friction law and controls the penetrability according to a power law. Moreover, the quasi-static case analyzed allows for the description of the load history using an incremental and iterative algorithm. The discrete problem will be a static and nonlinear one for each time increment, and in the case of sliding contact, the stiffness matrix becomes non-symmetric. The regularization of the non-differentiable term comes from the modulus of the normal contact stress, with a convex function and with the gradient in the sub-unit modulus. The non-penetration condition was achieved with the penalty method, and the linearization was conducted with the Newton–Raphson method.

In engineering practice, structures with identical components or parts are useful from several points of view: less information is needed to describe the system; designs can be conceptualized quicker and easier; components are made faster than during traditional complex assembly; and finally, the time needed to achieve the structure and the cost involved in manufacturing decrease. Additionally, the subsequent maintenance of this system then becomes easier and cheaper. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an opportunity for international researchers to share and review recent advances in the finite element modeling of computational friction contact mechanics. Numerical modeling in mathematics, mechanical engineering, computer science, computers, etc. presents many challenges. The finite element method applied in solid mechanics was designed by engineers to simulate numerical models in order to reduce the design costs of prototypes, tests and measurements. This method was initially validated only by measurements but gave encouraging results. After the discovery of Sobolev spaces, the abovementioned results were obtained, and today, numerous researchers are working on improving this method. Some of applications of this method in solid mechanics include mechanical engineering, machine and device design, civil engineering, aerospace and automotive engineering, robotics, etc. Frictional contact is a complex phenomenon that has led to research in mechanical engineering, computational contact mechanics, composite material design, rigid body dynamics, robotics, etc. A good simulation requires that the dynamics of contact with friction be included in the formulation of the dynamic system so that an approximation of the complex phenomena can be made. To solve these linear or nonlinear dynamic systems, which often have non-differentiable terms, or discontinuities, software that considers these high-performance numerical methods and computers with high computing power are needed. This Special Issue is dedicated to this kind of mechanical structure and to describing the properties and methods of analysis of these structures. Discrete or continuous structures in static and dynamic cases are also considered. Additionally, theoretical models, mathematical methods and numerical analysis of these systems, such as the finite element method and experimental methods, are used in these studies. Machine building, automotive, aerospace and civil engineering are the main areas in which such applications appear, but they can also be found in most other engineering fields. With this Special Issue, we want to disseminate knowledge among researchers, designers, manufacturers and users in this exciting field.