Crude oil price forecasting is an important research area in the international bulk commodity market. However, as risk factors diversify, price movements exhibit more complex nonlinear behavior. Hence, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of forecasting Brent crude oil prices by comparing various hybrid combinations of linear and nonlinear time series models. To this end, first, the logarithmic transformation is used to stabilize the variance of the crude oil prices time series; second, the original time series of log crude oil prices is decomposed into two new subseries, such as a long-run trend series and a stochastic series, using the Hodrick–Prescott filter; and third, two linear and two nonlinear time series models are considered to forecast the decomposed subseries. Finally, the forecast results for each subseries are combined to obtain the final day-ahead forecast result. The proposed modeling framework is applied to daily Brent spot prices from 1 January 2013 to 27 December 2022. Six different accuracy metrics, pictorial analysis, and a statistical test are performed to verify the proposed methodology’s performance. The experimental results (accuracy measures, pictorial analysis, and statistical test) show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed hybrid forecasting methodology. Additionally, our forecasting results are comparatively better than the benchmark models. Finally, we believe that the proposed forecasting method can be used for other complex financial time data to obtain highly efficient and accurate forecasts.

A maturity model is a widely used tool in software engineering and has mostly been extended to domains such as education, health, energy, finance, government, and general use. It is valuable for evaluations and continuous improvement of business processes or certain aspects of organizations, as it represents a more organized and systematic way of doing business. In this paper, we only focus on college higher education. For this reason, we present a novel approach that allows detecting some gaps in the existing maturity models for universities, as they are not models that address the dimensions in their entirety. To identify these models and their validities, as well as a classification of models that were identified in universities, we carried out a systematic literature review on 27,289 articles retrieved with respect to maturity models and published in peer-reviewed journals between 2007 and 2020. We found 23 articles that find maturity models applied in universities, through exclusion and inclusion criteria. We then grouped these items into nine categories with specific purposes. We concluded that maturity models used in Universities move towards agility, which is supported by the semantic web.

Over the last 30 years, day-ahead electricity price forecasts have been critical to public and private decision-making. This importance has increased since the global wave of deregulation and liberalization in the energy sector at the end of the 1990s. Given these facts, this work presents a new decomposition–combination technique that employs several nonparametric regression methods and various time-series models to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of day-ahead electricity price forecasting. For this purpose, first, the time-series of the original electricity prices deals with the treatment of extreme values. Second, the filtered series of the electricity prices is decomposed into three new subseries, namely the long-term trend, a seasonal series, and a residual series, using two new proposed decomposition methods. Third, we forecast each subseries using different univariate and multivariate time-series models and all possible combinations. Finally, the individual forecasting models are combined directly to obtain the final one-day-ahead price forecast. The proposed decomposition–combination forecasting technique is applied to hourly spot electricity prices from the Italian electricity-market data from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2019. Hence, four different accuracy mean errors—mean absolute error, mean squared absolute percent error, root mean squared error, and mean absolute percent error; a statistical test, the Diebold–Marino test; and graphical analysis—are determined to check the performance of the proposed decomposition–combination forecasting method. The experimental findings (mean errors, statistical test, and graphical analysis) show that the proposed forecasting method is effective and accurate in day-ahead electricity price forecasting. Additionally, our forecasting outcomes are comparable to those described in the literature and are regarded as standard benchmark models. Finally, the authors recommended that the proposed decomposition–combination forecasting technique in this research work be applied to other complicated energy market forecasting challenges.

In the present liberalized energy markets, electricity demand forecasting is critical for planning of generation capacity and required resources. An accurate and efficient electricity demand forecast can reduce the risk of power outages and excessive power generation. Avoiding blackouts is crucial for economic growth, and electricity is an essential energy source for industry. Considering these facts, this study presents a detailed analysis of the forecast of hourly electricity demand by comparing novel decomposition methods with several univariate and multivariate time series models. To that end, we use the three proposed decomposition methods to divide the electricity demand time series into the following subseries: a long-run linear trend, a seasonal trend, and a stochastic trend. Next, each subseries is forecast using all conceivable combinations of univariate and multivariate time series models. Finally, the multiple forecasting models are immediately integrated to provide a final one-day-ahead electricity demand forecast. The presented modeling and forecasting technique is implemented for the Nord Pool electricity market’s hourly electricity demand. Three accuracy indicators, a statistical test, and a graphical analysis are used to assess the performance of the proposed decomposition combination forecasting technique. Hence, the forecasting results demonstrate the efficiency and precision of the proposed decomposition combination forecasting technique. In addition, the final best combination model within the proposed forecasting framework is comparatively better than the best models proposed in the literature and standard benchmark models. Finally, we suggest that the decomposition combination forecasting approach developed in this study be employed to handle additional complicated power market forecasting challenges.

The objective of this study was to determine if religiousness and spirituality predict life satisfaction among Peruvian citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a non-experimental, predictive and cross-sectional study with a sample of 734 people of both sexes (39.5% males and 60.5% females) between 17-75 years of age (M = 32.05). To measure the variables, the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used. A multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the variables that best predict life satisfaction, finding that the spirituality variable explains 10.7 % of the total variance of the life satisfaction variable. In summary, a positive and significant correlation between spirituality and life satisfaction is identified (r = .328, p < .01).

Research competencies are adopted in higher education, however, little is known about the role of these competencies in the virtual environment. This research is one of the first to describe research competences in postgraduate students in virtual learning environments. An observational design study using the research competences questionnaire was conducted with 89 students. The findings indicate that cognitive and teamwork competences are the most predominant (58.4% and 71.9%) and that the weakest areas are related to technological competences 33.7%, methodological competences 39.7% and project management 22.5%. These findings highlight the need to improve curricula in postgraduate schools where research competences are strengthened by prioritising technological, methodological and project management aspects so that students obtain the necessary skills and abilities and can improve their research processes. Keywords: research competences, virtual learning environments, research training.