Abstract
Grasping the intricacy and diversity of complex systems dealing with ever-growing amounts of data is essential to public and private institutions' continuous improvement. Composite indicators (CIs) emerge as aggregators of key performance indicators, providing a single measure that reflects those multidimensional performance aspects. One way to build such measures is based on the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA). Several DEA models can be used to generate CIs. Still, not many of them can deal concurrently with desirable and undesirable outputs, and incorporate the decision-making actors' preference information. Based on the directional 'Benefit-of-the-Doubt' model, we propose a novel approach consisting of the simultaneous use of weight restrictions and an artificial target reached via a range directional vector. The resulting CI assesses the Portuguese public hospitals' performance under two perspectives of hospital activity: users and providers. In the end, managerial and policy implications are withdrawn from the results of this study conducted in cooperation with the Portuguese Ministry of Health.

Abstract
The Internet of Things asserts that several applications, such as smart cities or intelligent agriculture, can be based on various embedded systems programmed to do different tasks, by transferring data over a network from sensors to a server, where the information is stored and treated, supporting the decision-making process. In this context, LoRaWAN is an accurate network topology based on a wireless technology called LoRa that is capable of transmitting small data rates at a long range, using low-powered devices, making it ideal for the acquisition of climate variables, such as temperature and relative humidity. Applying this architecture to agriculture buildings can be very useful to guarantee indoor thermal comfort conditions. In this study, this technology is applied to a passive solar system composed by a high thermal inertia wall, defined as Trombe wall, with air vents provided in the massive wall to improve heat transfer by air convection, and an external shading device to avoid overheating during summer and heat losses during winter. It is intended to analyze the possibility to control the interiortemperature of a poultry brooding house given that, in the early stages of life, chickens need accurate climate conditions in order to enhance their growth and reduce their mortality rate. In brief, temperature values acquired by different sensors placed on the Trombe wall travel through a LoRaWAN wireless network and are received by an application that controls the actuators, in this case, the opening and closing of the Trombe wall air vents, while the external shading device is controlled locally.

Abstract
With the expansion of power electronics possibilities for smart homes, new perceptions for power control are emerging, suggesting new possibilities also for smart grids. In this prospect, the solid-state transformer (SST) has a substantial impact to interface smart homes with smart grids, guaranteeing high levels of power quality in both grid (consumed current) and load side (produced voltage). Nevertheless, as advanced contributions, the SST can deal with other possibilities of controllability. In such situation, an analysis of new operation opportunities for the SST into smart homes and smart grid perspectives is offered in this paper. It is discussed the SST principle of operation, with a thorough clarification concerning the proposed control algorithms, as well as an intuitive computational validation contemplating contingencies of operation about power quality effects for the load and grid side. The attained results strengthen the attractiveness of the new operation opportunities for the SST when utilized as interface between homes and smart grids.

Abstract
To identify the most frequently developed topics in the area of Big Data and Digital Marketing, a quantitative analysis was developed in December 2020. This analysis was focused on 750 publications and later on 67 publications on Big Data and Digital Marketing from the Scopus database. A bibliometric analysis was developed using the VOSviewer software and the technique of term co-occurrence and author co-authorship. Clusters were found for each of the analyzed situations.

Abstract
Most empirical research on the effects of the economic downturns has been a-spatial and overlooked the location choices of creative industries (CIs). The present study addresses an open debate on whether economic downturns have pushed a change in the relative importance of resilience-based versus traditional CIs location factors. Considering the location choices of 6332 CIs Portuguese start-ups in the period 2005-2012, we found that: (1) the crisis brought changes in the relative importance of location factors, enhancing traditional CI location factors such as technology and diminishing the relevance of resilience-based factors related to regions industrial specialisation; (2) resilience-based factors, such as industrial diversity, higher education, cultural and social networking and traditional CI factors, namely lower social inequality and life quality, were robust drivers for the emergence of new start-ups all over the period; and (3) although cultural policy significantly and positively support the emergence of new CIs start-ups in the crisis period, the austerity period reversed that role. Our results suggest that the sustainable development of regions implies encompassing public stimulus to the generation of a diversified, interdependent network of creative activities, able to enhance innovation through their own synergies and linkages with the rest of the economy.

Abstract
Purpose - This paper aims to investigate if the inclusion of Bitcoin among the assets available to retail investors in the Brazilian market has an impact on the efficient frontier and, therefore, on the optimal choices of investors. Design/methodology/approach - This study calculates the efficient frontier with and without the inclusion of Bitcoin and estimates optimal portfolios for different criteria and time intervals. The sample period runs from 07/01/2013 to 06/30/2018 and the daily closing values of the selected assets/indices were used. Findings - This study finds evidence that the inclusion of Bitcoin among the investment alternatives would cause a statistically significant positive displacement and an expansion of the efficient frontier of the Brazilian retail market. This would result in a significant increase in the return on the tangency portfolio. In addition to improving the indicators of optimization of the risk-return binomial, the cryptoasset would be included in many optimal portfolios in the 2013Q3-2018Q2 period. Originality/value - The results obtained show that, as reported for more developed markets, Bitcoin has caused an expansion of the efficient frontier of the Brazilian retail market.