World

Economic growth, especially in emerging economies, has altered the composition of international tourism. It is therefore essential to possess the skills necessary to understand the influence of culture on human behaviour, thereby enabling an appropriate response to the traveller. This research aims to develop a tool for identifying openness, flexibility, awareness, and intercultural preparedness. It focuses on the metacognitive and cognitive aspects of cultural intelligence that shape the development of empathy in customer service staff in hotels in Quintana Roo. The variables were validated and incorporated into a quantitative study using multivariate analysis and inferential statistics. A sample of 77 questionnaires was analysed using simple random sampling under a proportional design. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was employed as a discriminatory technique to identify the most significant independent variables. These were subsequently entered as regressors into ordinal logistic regression (OLR), along with age and work experience, in order to estimate the probabilities associated with each level of the dependent variable. The results indicated that age had minimal influence on the metacognitive and cognitive variables, whereas years of experience among tourism staff exerted a significant effect. Full article

Social trust has been linked to the development and severity of depression, but trust is a complex, multidimensional construct. This study examines the extent to which two distinct forms of trust, general trust and specific trust, predict depressive symptoms. Drawing on longitudinal data from the Directorate of Health’s national surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, the analysis includes responses from 3211 Icelanders selected through a stratified random sample. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), while specific trust captured trust in close relationships, and general trust measured broader perceptions of trustworthiness in others. The two forms of trust together explained 7.6% of the variance in depressive symptoms, with specific trust contributing a substantially greater share. Both remained significant predictors after controlling for prior depression and physical health. These findings highlight the protective role of specific trust and suggest that general trust, an indicator of broader social capital, may also help buffer against depression. The results underscore the relevance of trust as a public health resource and support continued research into social determinants of mental health in Iceland. Full article

This study investigates the foundational causes of unsustainability that obstruct efforts to address global challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, water crises, and public health deterioration. Using qualitative research with in-depth expert interviews from education, environmental studies, and business, it finds that these global challenges, while visible on the surface, are deeply rooted in worldviews that shape human behavior, societal structures, and policies. Building on this insight, the thematic analysis manifests three interrelated systemic paradigms as the fundamental drivers of unsustainability: a crisis of wholeness, reflected in fragmented identities and collective disorientation; a disconnection from nature, shaped by human-centered perspectives; and the influence of dominant political-economic systems which prioritize growth logics over ecological and social concerns. These paradigms underlie both structural and cognitive barriers to systemic transformation, which influence the design and implementation of education for sustainability. By clarifying a body of knowledge and systemic paradigms regarding unsustainability, this paper calls for transformative education that promotes a holistic, value-based approach, eco-empathy, and critical thinking, aiming to equip future generations with the tools to challenge and transform unsustainable systems. Full article

Global policy narratives on livestock development increasingly emphasize environmental concerns, often overlooking the social dimensions of the sector. In the case of dairy, the world’s most valuable agricultural commodity, its role in social and economic development remains poorly quantified. Our study contributes to a more balanced vision of the UN SDGs thanks to the inclusion of a socio-economic dimension. Here we present a novel empirical approach to assess the socio-economic impacts of dairy development using a new global dataset and non-parametric modelling techniques (local polynomial regressions), with yield as a proxy for sectoral performance. We find that as dairy systems intensify, the number of farm households engaged in production declines, yet household incomes rise. On-farm labour productivity also increases, accompanied by a reduction in employment but higher wages. In dairy processing, employment initially grows, peaks, and then contracts, again with rising wages. The most substantial impact is observed among consumers: an increased milk supply leads to lower prices and improved affordability, expanding the access to dairy products. Additionally, dairy development is associated with greater agricultural value added, an expanding tax base, and the increased formalization of the economy. These findings suggest that dairy development, beyond its environmental footprint, plays a significant and largely positive role in social transformation, yet is having to adapt sustainably while tackling labour force relocation, and that dairy development’s social impacts mimic the general agricultural sector. These results might be of interest for the assessment of policies regarding dairy development. Full article

The right to development, an inherent human right for all, emphasizes that all individuals and communities have the right to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from development that ensures the full realization of human rights. In Kenya, where a significant portion of the population faces poverty and vulnerability to climate change, access to rights-based needs such as clean water, healthcare, and education still remains a critical challenge. This study explored the implementation of a Human Rights-Based approach to community development through a Public–Private Development Partnership model (PPDP), with a focus on alleviating poverty and improving access to rights-based services at the community level in Narok and Nakuru counties. The research aimed to identify critical success factors for scaling the PPDP model and explore its effects on socio-economic empowerment. The study employed a mixed-methods approach for data collection, using questionnaires to obtain quantitative data, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews with community members, local leaders, and stakeholders to gather qualitative data. We cleaned and analyzed all our data in R (version 4.4.3) and used the chi-square to establish the significance of differences between areas where the PPDP model was implemented and control areas where it was not. Results reveal that communities with the PPDP model experienced statistically significant improvements in employment, income levels, and access to rights-based services compared to control areas. The outcomes underscore the potential of the PPDP model to address inclusive and sustainable development. This study therefore proposes a scalable pathway beginning with access to rights-based needs, followed by improved service delivery, and culminating in economic empowerment. These findings offer valuable insights for governments, development practitioners, investment agencies, and researchers seeking community-driven developments in similar socio-economic contexts across Africa. For the first time, it can be adopted in the design and implementation of development projects in rural and local communities across Africa bringing into focus the need to integrate rights-based needs at the core of the project. Full article

This article introduces the Index of Distributive and Developmental Outlook (IDDO), a composite indicator designed to jointly assess economic performance and income inequality across EU-27 Member States. While GDP per capita is widely used to evaluate national prosperity, and the Gini coefficient captures income distribution, their separate use often obscures the interaction between growth and equity—an essential dimension of sustainable development. To address this gap, the IDDO integrates normalized values of both indicators using arithmetic and geometric means. The study applies the IDDO to a longitudinal dataset covering the years 2005, 2014, and 2024, allowing for comparative and temporal analysis. Based on IDDO scores, countries are classified into four development types: balanced development, growth with inequality, equity with stagnation, and dual vulnerability. Results show that while some Member States, such as Luxembourg, Czechia, and Slovenia, maintain consistently high IDDO levels, others—including Bulgaria, Romania, and Latvia—exhibit persistent challenges in aligning growth with equitable outcomes. The findings underscore the need for cohesion policies that prioritize not only economic convergence but also distributive fairness. The IDDO provides a practical and adaptable tool for diagnosing development patterns, benchmarking performance, and informing policy design within the EU framework. Full article

The aim of this research is to identify policy and practice interventions that support a just transition towards resilient practices for resource-dependent communities. We focus on Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho, two provinces in the Northern Midlands and Mountains of Vietnam. The region is reliant on agriculture but is assessed as highly vulnerable to climate change. We surveyed 105 farming households. A Likert-type questionnaire asked respondents to self-assess their experiences of weather extremes and of changes they had made to their farming practices. Our results show that for both Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho, farmers see the effects of climate change on their crops. Respondents in Thai Nguyen were more likely to report technically driven adaptation and engagement with extension services. Respondents in Pho Tho were more likely to continue traditional practices. For both, use of traditional knowledge and practices was related to taking measures to adapt to climate change. Our main conclusion is that at least three actions could support a just transition to resilient livelihoods. First is incorporating natural science and traditional knowledge into decision-making for just transitions. Second is considering long-term implications of interventions that appear to support livelihoods in the short term. Third is tailoring messaging and engagement strategies to the requirements of the most vulnerable people. The main message of this study is that a just transition for resource-dependent communities will inevitably be context-specific. Even in centralized and authoritarian contexts, flexibility to adapt top-down policies to locals’ own experiences of changing climates is needed. Full article

This study explores key factors influencing Aging-in-Place Attachment (AiPA) among older adults in Macau’s high-density community spaces, emphasizing interactions between the built environment, behavior, and psychology. A multidimensional framework evaluates environmental, behavioral, human-factor, and psychological contributions. A mixed-methods, multisource approach was employed. This study measured spatial characteristics of nine public spaces, conducted systematic behavioral observations, and collected questionnaire data on place attachment and aging intentions. Eye-tracking and galvanic skin response (GSR) captured visual attention and emotional arousal. Hierarchical regression analysis tested the explanatory power of each variable group, supplemented by semi-structured interviews for qualitative depth. The results showed that the physical environment had a limited direct impact but served as a critical foundation. Behavioral variables increased explanatory power (~15%), emphasizing community engagement. Human-factor data added ~4%, indicating that sensory and habitual interactions strengthen bonds. Psychological factors contributed most (~59%), confirming AiPA as a multidimensional construct shaped primarily by emotional and social connections, supported by physical and behavioral contexts. In Macau’s dense urban context, older adults’ desire to age in place is mainly driven by emotional connection and social participation, with spatial design serving as an enabler. Effective age-friendly strategies must extend beyond infrastructure upgrades to cultivate belonging and interaction. This study advances environmental gerontology and architecture theory by explaining the mechanisms of attachment in later life. Future work should explore how physical spaces foster psychological well-being and examine emerging factors such as digital and intergenerational engagement. Full article

In light of constrained resources and the rise of digitalisation in higher education, management control systems (MCSs) have emerged as essential tools for university management because of their integrity, flexibility, and effectiveness. This paper aims to elucidate the current challenges in the implementation and functioning of MCSs in higher education. To this end, a systematic literature review was undertaken in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, following the PRISMA guidelines. The review yielded 15 relevant sources published between 2020 and June 2025. Induction, deduction, content analysis, and K-means clustering were employed to analyse them. Forty-eight challenges to MCSs in higher education were identified and systematised into four groups (Growth Threats, Limitations, Malpractices, and Stakeholder Issues), covering twelve subgroups. These subgroups were ranked according to their frequency of mention. The top-ranked subgroups were HR problems (first), organisational constraints and management engagement (second), and technological integration and lack of technology training (third). All challenges were classified into clusters based on the countries analysed in the reviewed sources. This review primarily contributes to the existing knowledge by identifying and categorising the challenges to MCSs in higher education. Practically, it lays the groundwork for improving these MCSs, thus contributing to enhanced university management. Full article

This study presents a comparative benchmarking analysis of G20 nations’ agri-food competitiveness across five critical pillars: food security and nutrition, trade and geopolitics, environmental sustainability, fiscal regimes, and entrepreneurship support. Using a structured benchmarking framework with 13 performance indicators sourced from internationally recognized datasets, the research delivers a comprehensive evaluation of national agri-food systems. The analysis reveals significant disparities in transparency, policy coherence, and investment in innovation across member states. Countries such as the United States, Germany, and Australia emerge as leaders, driven by integrated policy frameworks, trade surpluses, and sustainable production practices. Others fall behind due to import dependence, fragmented governance, or weak innovation ecosystems. Canada performs consistently in trade metrics but is hindered by high emissions intensity, infrastructure constraints, and a lack of a cohesive national food strategy. Theoretically, this work contributes to the emerging field of agri-food system diagnostics by operationalizing a cross-pillar benchmarking methodology applicable at the national level. Practically, it offers policymakers a decision-support tool for identifying structural gaps and setting reform priorities. The framework enables governments, trade partners, and multilateral institutions to design targeted interventions aimed at boosting food system resilience, economic competitiveness, and sustainability in an era of rising geopolitical and environmental volatility. Full article

The Global Talent Competitiveness Index is a system created by the Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires, based on which we compared China’s talent competitiveness rankings with those of the G20 countries and analyzed the performance of each indicator. Thus, we analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of each country’s talent cultivation policies and then explored the factors affecting them based on their national conditions. The analysis shows that, despite fluctuations, China’s global talent competitiveness ranking is generally on an upward trend compared with other G20 countries. Further analysis of strengths and weaknesses shows that China’s talent competitiveness has advantages in government efficiency, market dynamism, education system, R&D investment, and technological innovation. This study develops an original matrix model to examine the internationalization level of China’s talent competitiveness. However, there are gaps between China and developed countries in terms of labor market policy effects, education matching, vocational education, and key human resources. Drawing from large-scale data, four strategies can be implemented in the future, namely piloting & enterprising, opportunity utilization, threat transformation, and disadvantage adjustment, to improve China’s talent competitiveness. Full article

In a global context characterized by budgetary pressures, aging populations, and accelerated economic transitions, the capacity of countries to mobilize stable and sustainable tax revenues represents a crucial pillar for maintaining macroeconomic stability and social cohesion. This research investigated the determinants of total tax revenues in the developed economies of the G7 group (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) during the period 2000–2022, employing both static and dynamic panel econometric approaches. The estimated model considered total tax revenues as the dependent variable, while the explanatory variables encompassed the main categories of government revenues: direct taxes (personal and corporate income), indirect taxes (consumption, trade, and other taxes), social contributions, grants, other non-tax revenues, and institutional quality indicators (regulatory quality and control of corruption). The empirical findings revealed that all tax components analyzed exert a positive and significant influence on total tax revenues, with particularly strong effects observed for consumption taxes, social contributions, and personal income taxes. Based on these results, the study provides policy recommendations aimed at diversifying revenue sources, balancing direct and indirect taxation, and broadening the tax base equitably. The study advances the literature on international taxation by offering an integrated and comparative analysis of the revenue structures in advanced economies, while also identifying relevant pathways for sustainable tax reforms in a dynamic global environment. Full article

This article investigates issues in the local operationalization of the Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc), crucial for assessing human impacts on the Earth system and guiding sustainable development policies. Originally designed for the global scale, this concept requires local adaptation to align territorial actions with global environmental goals. Following a qualitative analysis of 34 review articles, a systematic categorization method is employed to identify recurrent localization and operationalization issues. Their analysis provides three main contributions that improve the understanding of PBc downscaling mechanisms. First, it identifies a prevalent quantification-based localization approach. Second, it categorizes local operationalization constraints into three distinct groups. Third, it reveals underlying patterns demonstrating that the prevalent approach, despite ensuring scientific rigor, generates methodological and practical constraints to effective local operationalization. This “operational paradox” reveals fundamental tensions between the PBc’s biophysical interpretation, localization by quantification, and local operationalization, contrasting measurement or meaning, precision or participation, and standardized solutions or locally adapted responses. For future research, the analysis of the interactions between these contributions suggests operating a paradigm shift based on a socio-biophysical interpretation of the PBc and the contextualization of the resulting components. This alternative approach could prioritize territorial anchoring, stakeholder inclusion, and the co-construction of sustainability trajectories. Full article

This research analyzes the discourses and narratives surrounding the platform tourism economy in a highly touristified city, using Madrid as a case study. Rather than focusing on the socio-economic or spatial transformations themselves, the study examines how these processes are discussed, identifying the discursive strategies employed by different actors and ideologies, along with the power relations embedded in these narratives. A corpus of literature was compiled from twelve newspapers with varying ideological orientations and categorized according to political stance, access mode, and ideological radicalism. Using the LancsBox concordancer, a quantitative analysis was conducted to identify key discursive categories and preferred lexical items across ideological positions. These findings informed a subsequent in-depth qualitative analysis aimed at uncovering the rationalities behind each discourse: who speaks, how, and with what intent. The results reveal a dominant left-wing narrative that emphasizes institutional and economic mechanisms underlying platform tourism, highlighting associated social and urban harms. In contrast, conservative and liberal narratives are divided into two strands: a ‘heretic’ discourse that promotes and defends this new economic model, but also its urban results (e.g., gentrification), and a more institutional narrative framing platform tourism as inevitable and benign, thereby concealing the underlying structures of power. Full article

This study uses a nationally representative longitudinal dataset in the US to examine the long-term association of volunteering for environmental, recycling, and conservation groups with a person’s (a) willingness to continue to volunteer later in life and (b) several measures of their mental and physical well-being including perceived social status, optimism, psychological stress, suicidal thoughts and attempts, depressive symptoms and general self-reported physical health. By using Add Health data, we match responses to an environmental volunteerism question in Wave III (2002) with subjective well-being responses in Wave V (2016–2018) to examine the long-term association between these variables. After excluding missing responses, the analysis sample consists of 9800 individuals. After using linear survey regression analyses and several techniques based on propensity scores (stratification, weighting, matching) two key results emerged: first, being involved in environmental groups and organizations early in life showed a significant positive association with more hours spent on volunteering or community service work later in life; and second, people who volunteer in early adulthood are more optimistic, more sociable, have a higher perceived social status, display less stress and depressive symptoms. Full article

The forestry industry, both primary (sawn wood production) and secondary (output of reels, pallets, boxes, cooperage, and tool handles), is growing in importance in Honduras. In 2023, exports from this industry were mainly destined for Central America (58.19%), followed by North America (22.92%) and the Caribbean region (17.20%), with hardly any Honduran wood reaching Asia or Europe. Objective: The goal of this paper is to analyze the current situation of the Honduran timber industry, which is defined by its environmental deterioration caused by the overexploitation of timber resources. Methodology: Using secondary data from official national and international sources regarding the forestry industry in Honduras, we conducted a Welch’s ANOVA analysis added to two post hoc tests (Tukey and Bonferroni), complemented by a linear regression analysis using JASP software, version 0.19.3.0. to carry on our analysis. Findings: The results of our analysis underscore the urgent need to implement a series of public policies in both the medium and short term to strengthen the forestry industry in Honduras. One of Honduras’ greatest strengths is its civil society, particularly its indigenous communities, which are actively working to protect their land from deforestation and soil degradation. If public policies are not implemented in collaboration with private firms to foster the Honduran forest industry cluster, it could lead to significant socioeconomic and environmental consequences. These may include increased pressure on natural forests, rising unemployment, and the loss of an essential income source for forest owners, ultimately exacerbating poverty. Full article

This study investigates voluntary compliance with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework in 64 financial, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reports from six Spanish IBEX-35 energy firms (2020–2023) and explores the implications for intangible assets and corporate reputation, employing empirical quantitative text mining and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in Python. A validated scale-based taxonomy within the TCFD framework applies query-driven rules to extract relevant text. This enables an evaluation of aspects of the reports, facilitating the development of a compliance index measuring each company’s adherence to TCFD recommendations. All companies showed year-on-year improvements (2023 was the most comprehensive), yet none fully adhered due to information gaps. Disparities in the disclosures of Scope 1,2 and 3, persisted, suggesting reputational risks. A replicable methodological model generating a compliance index that assesses the ‘being’ (‘true performance’) versus ‘seeming’ (‘external perception’) dichotomy within sustainability reports and acts as a potential reputational barometer for stakeholders. By providing unprecedented evidence of TCFD reporting in the Spanish energy sector, this study closes a significant academic gap. Future research may analyze ESG reports using AI agents, study the impact of ESG on energy-intensive companies from AI data centers, supporting services like Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and extend this methodology to other industrial sectors. Full article

Having the proper infrastructure is crucial because it fosters prosperous enterprise and a skilled labor force capable of solving environmental issues. There are worries about the potential negative effects of human capital centered on innovation, despite studies showing benefits. This study examines how contextual factors such as business environment, infrastructure, and human capital, influence South Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Multiple Regression Technique was used for analysis. Findings showed that each of the three factors has a remarkable impact, with business environment showing the highest positive relationship to the Ecosystem Index. The results highlight the significance of focusing on sustainable activities when developing human capital. To promote a more sustainable entrepreneurship environment, the study suggests that policymakers should implement incentives, allocate finances for infrastructure, and establish educational and knowledge-sharing initiatives to encourage the sustainability of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Future research directions will focus on investigating how additional contextual factors affect ecosystems in various regions and industries. The study also suggests the evaluation of gender equality in access to financial and business assistance. Full article

Escalating environmental challenges severely impede global sustainable development, prompting countries worldwide to innovate environmental governance approaches. As the world’s largest developing country, China’s paradigm shifts in environmental governance from “pollution control” to “ecological conservation” embody many inherent complexities. To investigate the evolution and underlying logic of such paradigm shifts, this study introduces a nested asynchrony framework. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates qualitative content analysis, Social Network Analysis, and machine learning, this study analyzes China’s environmental planning documents since the 11th Five-Year Plan to clarify the process of the paradigm shifts and their driving mechanisms. The principal conclusions derived from this study are as follows: (1) Environmental planning is uniquely valued as an analytical lens for identifying paradigm shifts in environmental governance. (2) The paradigm shifts in environmental governance are temporally distinct, wherein transformations in value norms precede structural reforms, while shifts in action logic and disciplinary foundations exhibit path-dependent inertia. (3) Inconsistencies within the planning authority framework spanning central and local governments impede the effective allocation and implementation of resources. This study reconstructs the transformation pathway of environmental governance paradigms, validates computational methods in policy analysis, and presents a longitudinal framework for tracking governance evolution. Applicable to other countries or sectors undergoing similar sustainable development transitions, the framework can provide broader utility. Full article