Abstract
Remaining current with emerging trends and technologies is crucial for businesses to stay at the forefront, satisfy consumer demands, and maintain competitiveness. As marketing strategies such as phygital and omnichannel tactics continue to evolve, technologies like augmented reality are becoming increasingly relevant and disruptive. Augmented reality is an innovative technology that is currently revolutionizing omnichannel marketing strategies. It offers numerous opportunities in both the metaverse and phygital marketing, greatly improving the overall customer experience, increasing sale success rate, and improving brand image. A systematic review using PRISMA methodology incorporating a total of six studies explores augmented reality (AR) technology’s influence on omnichannel marketing strategies in the retail industry. The findings analyze AR, omnichannel marketing, and the metaverse in-depth, their interplay, and how they influence the customer journey, experience, and behavior. This study explores how to effectively integrate AR into omnichannel marketing for retail, emphasizing on harnessing synergies between channels and devising targeted strategies. Research gaps in the literature are identified and future steps to seamlessly integrate channels through AR technology in retail. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.

Abstract
The current surge in the deployment of web applications underscores the need to consider users' individual preferences in order to enhance their experience. In response to this, an innovative approach is emerging that focuses on the detailed analysis of interaction data captured by web browsers. These data, which includes metrics such as the number of mouse clicks, keystrokes, and navigation patterns, offer insights into user behavior and preferences. By leveraging this information, developers can achieve a higher degree of personalization in web applications, particularly in the context of interactive elements such as online games. This paper presents the WebTraceSense project, which aims to pioneer this approach by developing a framework that encompasses a backend and frontend, advanced visualization modules, a DevOps cycle, and the integration of AI and statistical methods. The backend of this framework will be responsible for securely collecting, storing, and processing vast amounts of interaction data from various websites. The frontend will provide a user-friendly interface that allows developers to easily access and utilize the platform's capabilities. One of the key components of this framework is the visualization modules, which will enable developers to monitor, analyze, and interpret user interactions in real time, facilitating more informed decisions about user interface design and functionality. Furthermore, the WebTraceSense framework incorporates a DevOps cycle to ensure continuous integration and delivery, thereby promoting agile development practices and enhancing the overall efficiency of the development process. Moreover, the integration of AI methods and statistical techniques will be a cornerstone of this framework. By applying machine learning algorithms and statistical analysis, the platform will not only personalize user experiences based on historical interaction data but also infer new user behaviors and predict future preferences. In order to validate the proposed components, a case study was conducted which demonstrated the usefulness of the WebTraceSense framework in the creation of visualizations based on an existing dataset.

Abstract
Many companies have been trying to take advantage of the entertainment boom on the internet and are searching for the bestways to make money from content creators. Among these are Virtual YouTubers, who have been growing in English-speaking spaces. This paper compares their popularity and influence in Portugal and the USA, while reflecting on their impact on viewers. To accomplish this, we created a survey, which obtained 102 answers, 46 being from Portuguese people and 44 being from U.S. citizens. We noted that only 37% of Portuguese people had heard of VTubers before and only 13% watch them on a weekly basis. On the other hand, every respondent from the USA was familiar with VTubers, with 86.4% watching them regularly. When asked about how VTubers affected the respondents' personal lives, some stated that it was merely a form of entertainment, however, many U.S. citizens reported that they watch VTubers to fulfill their need for social interaction or cope with loneliness. Thus, it is evident that these creators are much more popular in the USA. Lastly, we conclude that VTubers can have a positive impact on people's lives, but they also serve as an unhealthy escape from reality at times.

Abstract
Reading, adapting, and maintaining complex software can be a daunting task. We might need to refactor it to streamline the process and make the code cleaner and self-explanatory. Traditional refactoring tools guide developers to achieve better-quality code. However, the feedback and assistance they provide can take considerable time. To tackle this issue, we explored the concept of Live Refactoring. This approach focuses on delivering real-time, visually-driven refactoring suggestions. That way, we prototyped a Live Refactoring Environment that visually identifies, recommends, and applies several refactorings in real-time. To validate its effectiveness, we conducted a set of experiments. Those showed that our approach significantly improved various code quality metrics and outperformed the results obtained from manually refactoring code.

Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of the article is to develop an innovative pedagogic tool: an escape room board game to be played in-class, targeting an introduction to an ethics course for engineering students. The design is student-centred and aims to increase students' appreciation, commitment and motivation to learning ethics, a challenging endeavour for many technological students.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology included the design, development and in-class application of the mentioned game. After application, perception data from students were collected with pre- and post-action questionnaire, using a quasi-experimental method.FindingsThe results allow to conclude that the developed game persuaded students be in class in an active way. The game mobilizes body and mind to the learning process with many associated advantages to foster students' motivation, curiosity, interest, commitment and the need for individual reflection after information search.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of the game is its applicability to large classes (it has been successfully tested with a maximum of 65 students playing simultaneously in the same room).Originality/valueThe originalities and contributions include the presented game that helped to captivate students to ethics area, a serious problem felt by educators and researchers in this area. This study will be useful to educators of ethics in engineering and will motivate to design tools for a similar pedagogical approach, even more so in areas where students are not especially motivated. The developed tool is available from the authors at no expense.

Abstract
The energy sector transition to more decentralized and renewable structures requires greater participation by local consumers, which may be enabled by innovative models such as the setup of renewable energy communities (RECs). To maximize the self-consumption of local renewable energy generated by assets normally connected to the low voltage distribution grid, these RECs typically involve jointly owned assets such as collective photovoltaic solar panels (CPVs) and collective energy storage systems (CESS). This work proposes a novel mathematical model for a REC, accounting for three distinct economic approaches to the redistribution of collective benefits among community members. The main objective of this study is to understand how the participation of community members in collective assets (CAs) can help increase the fairness and equity of RECs. An illustrative REC case comprising members with individual and collective ownership of the assets is used to assess the proposed economic approaches. Extracting several answers, among them that the most advantageous configuration comes from agents with quotas in the CESS and CPV. An important conclusion is that depending on the selected economic approach, the social welfare and agent's revenue vary significantly. In any case, CESSs increase equity among REC members.