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This paper aims to explore how Traditional Healers (THs) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) support women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period in Soweto, Johannesburg. Traditional healing remains a central part of maternal healthcare in South Africa, where cultural beliefs and accessibility influence women’s health-seeking behaviours. Using a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive design, data were collected through key informant interviews with eight participants (five THs and three TBAs) selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns in traditional knowledge, practices, and beliefs related to maternal healthcare. Findings revealed that THs and TBAs play an essential role across the maternal care continuum. In the diagnostic phase, they identify fertility challenges, breech pregnancies, and spiritual causes of illness through ancestral guidance, bone divination, and dreams. During the antenatal period, they provide herbal remedies such as isihlambezo to cleanse and strengthen the womb and perform protective rituals against witchcraft and evil spirits. In the perinatal stage, TBAs assist with labour management, delivery, and placental expulsion using culturally informed methods. Their postnatal care includes uterine cleansing, breastfeeding support, newborn care, and follow-up home visits. These practices, grounded in indigenous knowledge systems, coexist with biomedical care and remain vital due to their cultural resonance and accessibility. The study concludes that strengthening collaboration between traditional and biomedical health systems could enhance culturally sensitive, community-based approaches to maternal healthcare in South Africa.

Food Codex requires safe products and packaging is an important factor to comply with this consumer right, so developing packaging with antimicrobial properties that protect the product by eliminating or inhibiting bacteria or pathogens that cause damage to health is important in the food industry. The objective of this work was to perform a bibliographic analysis of some additives that generate antimicrobial properties in packaging by reviewing some studies that have developed antimicrobial films or also called smart films. Microbial agents have become an important factor in maintaining food quality over time. Biopolymers are an excellent alternative due to their availability, low cost, biodegradability and their origin are from renewable sources.

Work engagement is one of the critical factors at an organization, so considering some factors such as leadership styles and organizational support is important. Lack of attention to these factors can lead to undesirable environments for workers. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review based on these variables. Data for this research were gathered from databases of Web of Knowledge, psycarticles, Scopus, psycinfo, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. A total of 165 records were identified in databases. 15 records were discovered in other sources. 149 records remained after deleting duplicates. 117 of these records were examined, 52 registers excluded. 65 complete articles were chosen to be evaluated, and after 10 completed articles had been excluded, 55 studies ultimately remained for inclusion in the synthesis. Overall, leadership styles (transformational leadership and transactional leadership) and organizational support were found as two imperative organizational factors to access better outcomes at the workplace.

This study presents a review of the Quality of Higher Education through the incidence of learning styles. The quality is important l element the private sector, as well as for the public sector since it evaluates services, supply and working conditions, and the relationship with the environment where they carry out their activities. Therefore, higher education organizations cannot be exempt from the importance of quality. However, there are several factors that affect the quality of education, being one of the most important learning styles. Generally, from this background, the main objective of this study to define the role and quality concepts of higher education the analysis of the key aspects of quality assurance and its relationship with student learning styles, by briefly reviewing the literature in this regard that allows for defining this relationship and its importance. The results showed through these studies that there is no single style of learning, and that this must be flexible within the classroom to improve the educational experience of students, but that this cannot lead to the choice of a single style considered as suitable.

The article presents an action research process for the improvement of Vocational Guidance and Career Education in a school center in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands). The research perspective, from a collaborative and critical work, responds to the need to improve the teaching-learning practice. Priority is given to the ulterior need to improve learning for all students and increase the impact of their journey through school by means of an educational attention and guidance based on a curriculum project with an integrated and global Career Education and Guidance. Finally, results, process and conclusions are displayed of the two years of critical action research carried out by the different educational agents participating.

<p><em>This paper proposes an empirical analysis of the role of memory in determining the size of credits granted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during 1991–2003. We first build an original database from information associated with the number and contract types granted by clients, after which we develop an empirical strategy for capturing the role of memory, namely by defining three different indicators to approximate each client’s reputation. These indicators rely on the client’s identity and, when available, information associated with previous EBRD-financed investment projects. With the fixed-effects estimation technique, our results unambiguously show that the value of the first investment project financed by the EBRD, as a proxy for reputation, is the most effective indicator for established clients to determine the size of the credits they receive to finance further investments.</em></p>

This paper proposes an empirical analysis of the role of memory in determining the size of credits granted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during 1991–2003. We first build an original database from information associated with the number and contract types granted by clients, after which we develop an empirical strategy for capturing the role of memory, namely by defining three different indicators to approximate each client’s reputation. These indicators rely on the client’s identity and, when available, information associated with previous EBRD-financed investment projects. With the fixed-effects estimation technique, our results unambiguously show that the value of the first investment project financed by the EBRD, as a proxy for reputation, is the most effective indicator for established clients to determine the size of the credits they receive to finance further investments.