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High-altitude regions are known as corridors assisting exchange among communities, and the implementation of economic corridors in these regions provides connections and networks based on two geographical territories. For example, the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), established as an infrastructural development project with wide-reaching socioeconomic and environmental implications, is regarded as a significant driver of regional transformation, with the potential to generate several businesses, build institutional resilience, reduce poverty, foster a circular economy, and create job opportunities. The current study explores the perceptions and attitudes of educated adult residents in selected mountain districts regarding CPEC, which is vital to ensure wide-ranging and sustainable infrastructure development in alignment with the SDG goals, explicitly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 15 (Environmental Protection). Grounded in Social Exchange Theory, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to assess local perceptions concerning the costs and benefits linked with infrastructural development projects and concentrating on its socioeconomic and environmental outcomes in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The questionnaire was self-administered by respondents, who documented their own responses to all items. The researcher remained present throughout data collection to distribute the questionnaires, provide verbal explanations or translations into the local language for specific terms upon request, and collect completed forms; in total, 384 respondents completed the survey. Findings revealed that surveyed educated adult respondents perceived sustainable infrastructural development favorably, particularly regarding anticipated improvements in quality of life, job creation, alleviating poverty, and the current education system, with 59.9%, 53.1%, 53.1% and 41.7% agreement, respectively. Respondents also expressed concerns about environmental protection, such as health and safety, environmental risks, and construction/transportation-related pollution at 39.8%, 37.5% and 36.7%, respectively. Backed up by SEM direct path analysis, which showed significant positive relationships between infrastructural development and educational development (H1: β = 0.439), quality of life (H2: β = 0.638), job opportunities (H3: β = 0.603), poverty alleviation (H4: β = 0.534), and environmental protection (H5: β = 0.267). Thus, all hypotheses H1-H5 were supported. This study recommends that officials and policymakers promote stakeholder investment for regional sustainability transitions, formulate regional environmental policies and governance for sustainable development to enhance the benefits of CPEC. Full article

The paper examines the impact of economic complexity (EC) on income inequality in South Africa using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) estimation techniques from 2000 to 2025. The study utilises principal component analysis (PCA) to generate the EC index from sub-indices, including trade and technology EC. The study also evaluates the Kuznets curvilinear effect and assesses the moderating roles of human capital and institutional quality on the relationship between EC and income inequality in South Africa. The results indicate a monotonic relationship. The calculated vertices of 1.67 for the short run and 1.55 for the long run lie outside the observed EC data range of 0.00–1.30. Therefore, within the sample, a negative relationship between income inequality and EC is observed. The results also indicate that human capital and institutional quality amplify the income-inequality-reducing effect of economic complexity in South Africa. Based on these results, policy recommendations are proposed to address the identified issues. Full article

Military activities remain insufficiently represented in greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and debates on climate security. This article develops a system-based model for assessing direct operational GHG emissions from artillery training. The model adapts established inventory logic to the structure of an artillery battery and separates emissions from mobility, stationary operation, support and logistics, and a supplementary firing-process module. It is demonstrated using a single hypothetical standardized training scenario for a battery of self-propelled howitzers, based on assumed and estimated parameters rather than field measurements. Under the stated assumptions, the training day generated an estimated 4353.74 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e). Operational fuel combustion accounted for 93.94% of the total, and the supplementary firing-process proxy accounted for 6.06%; stationary engine operation of the howitzers in firing positions was the dominant source (73.87%). Within the defined gate-to-activity boundary, the scenario’s direct operational carbon footprint was therefore driven primarily by energy demand rather than projectile discharge. The article’s contribution is an artillery-specific, transparent decomposition of established GHG accounting principles, not a new emission-factor method. The model provides a transferable structure for tactical-level assessment, while the numerical results are scenario-specific and require validation against measured data and additional operational scenarios. Full article

The European Union operates in a highly fragmented international environment shaped by geopolitical rivalry, geoeconomic competition, technological disruption, and growing uncertainty regarding critical external dependencies. These developments have elevated economic security and resilience to the centre of European policymaking, challenging assumptions that traditionally linked economic openness with stability, prosperity, and sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to examine how geopolitical and geoeconomic fragmentation is reshaping the European Union’s approach to economic and technological resilience and to analyse the implications of this transformation for long-term competitiveness and sustainable development. Employing a qualitative research design based on policy analysis and systematic document analysis, supported by secondary statistical evidence from European and international institutional sources, the study investigates three interconnected dimensions of resilience: technological resilience, resource resilience, and competitiveness resilience. The findings indicate that the European Union is moving from an efficiency-oriented model of globalisation towards a resilience-oriented governance framework focused on managing sensitive dependencies in critical technologies, strategic resources, and supply chains. The analysis further demonstrates that resilience cannot be sustained through risk reduction measures alone. Its long-term effectiveness depends on productivity growth, innovation performance, technological capabilities, industrial strength, and investment capacity. The article concludes that competitiveness constitutes a foundational condition for durable resilience and that economic security increasingly functions as an enabling factor for sustainable development in a more contested global economic environment. Full article

Dengue and other arboviruses are a rising public health concern, worsened by climate change, globalization, and weak vector control. This study assessed the preparedness of local institutions and general practitioners (GPs)/paediatricians in ASL Roma 5 (Lazio, Italy) for potential arboviral outbreaks. A cross-sectional survey (April–May 2024) conducted 99 interviews: 57 with mayors and 42 with general GPs/paediatricians. A Health Belief Model (HBM)-based questionnaire assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding arbovirus transmission and management. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Dengue transmission awareness was low. Most mayors (85.96%) and GPs/paediatricians (88.1%) rated community knowledge as poor; 12.8% of mayors and 4.76% of GPs/paediatricians believed residents recognized local transmission risks. Environmental prevention programs were reported by 57.89% of mayors and 26.19% of GPs/paediatricians. Staff resource adequacy perceptions differed significantly (73.33% GPs/paediatricians vs. 21.82% mayors; p = 0.0005). In emergencies, 84.62% of GPs/paediatricians and 66.07% of mayors felt ready to act within 24 h. Local administrations face organizational and staffing limitations that hinder effective dengue prevention. While GPs/paediatricians showed greater confidence, they stressed the need for further training. Enhancing risk communication, environmental management, and intersectoral collaboration is crucial to improve preparedness for dengue and emerging arboviruses. Full article

The compatibility between economic profitability and environmental commitment remains key in sustainable entrepreneurship research. This study presents a 20-year longitudinal case (2006–2026) of INAMSOS, S.A., a small Spanish environmental enterprise (31 shareholders; initial valuation of €262,500, i.e., the total nominal share capital contributed by shareholders between 2006 and 2009) promoted by an ecological restoration NGO (FIRE) and linked to the University of Alcalá (UAH). The aim is to assess whether a sustainability-inspired business model can simultaneously generate economic, social, and environmental value over time. Data include corporate records, shareholder information, project documentation, and institutional linkages. Economic performance is measured through valuation changes, inflation-adjusted returns, and total shareholder return (TSR). Social and environmental dimensions are assessed via stakeholder engagement, agroecological product distribution, and support for ecological restoration. Results show an accumulated revaluation of 41.4%, above cumulative inflation (~35%), indicating a positive real return. TSR reached 59.5% nominally. Additionally, shareholders received agroecological products valued at €37,495.25 and supported €9812.5 for ecological restoration via FIRE. The case suggests that such hybrid firms can strengthen interactions among the private sector, civil society, and academia, although academic links were weaker than expected. Findings suggest that small hybrid enterprises can create multiple value forms beyond financial metrics and support sustainability transitions. Diversified investments may enhance long-term financial resilience. Evidence supports the feasibility of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship aligned with European and global ecological restoration targets. Full article

Freshwater scarcity is an increasing concern for agricultural systems, making water footprint (WF) assessment an important tool for evaluating water use in crop production and supporting sustainable water resource management. Two main methodological approaches are widely used: the water footprint network (WFN) framework and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based approaches. This review synthesizes 27 peer-reviewed studies that use tomato production as a representative case study to compare the two approaches across methodological frameworks, geographical contexts, production systems, system boundaries, functional units, and research objectives. The reviewed studies revealed substantial methodological heterogeneity, with WFN representing the predominant approach, whereas LCA-based applications remained comparatively limited. WFN was primarily applied to quantify water use and identify water-use hotspots, whereas LCA-based approaches focused on evaluating the potential environmental impacts of water consumption under local water-scarcity conditions. The review also highlights the ongoing debate surrounding scarcity-weighted indicators and the interpretation of water footprint results. Reported water footprint values varied considerably due to differences in climate, irrigation management, crop productivity, system boundaries, and methodological assumptions, particularly in the calculation of gray water footprint. Overall, the findings indicate that WFN and LCA-based approaches provide complementary perspectives on freshwater sustainability. Their combined application can support more comprehensive water assessments and better-informed decision-making in agricultural systems, while greater methodological harmonization is needed to improve the comparability of future studies. Full article

Contemporary sustainable development is affected by geopolitical competition, geoeconomic fragmentation and growing strategic uncertainty. These developments challenge conventional assumptions on which sustainability governance is based and raise questions about the relationship between sustainable development, economic security and strategic autonomy. This article examines how geopolitical and geoeconomic transformations are reshaping sustainable development within the European Union and assesses their implications for the future evolution of the European development model. The analysis is based on a qualitative analysis of policies and documents in key EU strategic frameworks, legislative instruments, sustainability reports and the academic literature. Particular attention is paid to the European Green Deal, the European Economic Security Strategy and the Europe 2026 Sustainable Development Report. Sustainable development now depends not only on environmental and social outcomes but also on resilience, secure access to key resources and technologies and the ability to adapt to external disruptions. Economic security and strategic autonomy do not emerge as competing priorities but as enabling conditions for the implementation of sustainability goals. This article argues that sustainability governance in the European Union is undergoing a process of geopoliticisation, in which environmental, economic and strategic considerations are now closely intertwined. Its main contribution is the creation of a framework of sustainable strategic resilience that conceptualises these interactions as mutually reinforcing dimensions of contemporary EU governance. Full article

Background: Environmental determinants of health (EnvDoH) are widely recognised as shaping health and behaviour, yet little attention has been given to how they are conceptually defined. This is notable given their use across disciplines and the lack of a consistent definition of “environment,” which contributes to inconsistencies in research, policy, and practice. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed English-language publications addressing EnvDoH definitions, components, or relationships with other determinants. Searches of Scopus, PubMed, and EBSCOhost databases (including CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PsycInfo) included studies published up to 31 August 2025. Definitions and relationships were synthesised narratively, and components were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Among 1157 included publications, 52.3% originated from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, and 47.5% were published from 2020 onwards. Only in 77 publications (6.7%) we were able to identify a definition of EnvDoH, ranging from broad descriptions (“everything that is not genetic”) to multidimensional frameworks encompassing physical, natural, built, social, political, and behavioural domains. Components identified in 1147 (99%) publications were grouped into 56 themes and 12 domains, with food and physical/natural environments most frequently represented. Discussion: The absence of conceptual consensus on EnvDoH limits comparability across studies and may hinder research, policy, advocacy, and education. Greater conceptual clarity is needed to strengthen public health responses to accelerating environmental change. Limitations include single-reviewer screening for some full texts, possible omission of implicit determinants, exclusion of non-English publications and grey literature. Funding was provided by the Provincial Secretariat for Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia. The study was not registered. Full article

Rising electricity prices, grid instability, and climate concerns are increasing the need for sustainable residential energy solutions in developing countries. This study evaluates four residential photovoltaic (PV) configurations for a household in Karachi, Pakistan, to identify a suitable option for sustainable urban energy transition and climate mitigation. The assessed systems include daytime PV with grid supply, daytime PV with 6 h battery backup and grid supply, daytime PV with full battery backup, and daytime PV with net metering. Energy requirements, installed capacity, area demand, and battery storage were calculated using household load data, while economic performance was assessed through payback period, net present value (NPV), and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Environmental benefits were evaluated using avoided CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O emissions, and the best-performing system was further simulated in PVsyst. Case C, comprising daytime PV with full battery backup, achieved the highest NPV of USD 25,104.3 and a payback period of approximately 4 years. Case B achieved the second-highest NPV of USD 19,183.58 while providing a more practical balance between battery backup and grid support. Case D achieved the lowest LCOE of USD 0.0307/kWh. Fully solar-dependent configurations provided the greatest emission reductions. The findings support residential PV deployment as a practical pathway for improving urban energy security and reducing climate impacts. Full article

This study investigates how community engagement and outreach programs can serve as a vehicle for knowledge co-production between higher educational institutions (HEIs) and industry in developing economies. Despite growing calls for collaboration between HEIs and industry, the existing literature remains policy-driven and largely instrumental, offering a limited understanding of how engagement practices are socially constructed, negotiated, and experienced by diverse stakeholders. There is limited qualitative research on how community voices are integrated into co-creation processes and how these interactions shape sustainable development in emerging economies. The research methodology for the study was developed using the research onion, and an interpretivist research philosophy was adopted. The study employed an inductive research approach to explore actors’ lived experiences and the meanings attached to engagement practices and collected data through in-depth interviews. Participants in the study included representatives from HEIs, industry, and community stakeholders across selected sectors of the economy, and the data were analysed thematically to capture patterns of interactions, power relations, and knowledge and exchange processes underpinning co-production. The study revealed that effective community engagement goes beyond formal partnerships to encompass building lasting relationships which are characterised by trust, mutual learning, and context adaptation. Further, the study also showed that power asymmetries, institutional pressures, and resource constraints have restricted real co-production, resulting in symbolic rather than real engagement. Nevertheless, the use of inclusive and reflective approaches has been shown to foster locally acceptable and essential innovative interventions that can improve sustainable development. The study therefore recommends embedding participatory frameworks within HEIs and industry collaborations to strengthen institutional support for inclusive engagement and to reorient policies towards community-centred knowledge systems. This study, therefore, contributes to the body of knowledge by enhancing theoretical and practical understanding of sustainable higher education–industry collaboration in developing economies by promoting an understanding of engagement as a co-production process. Full article

Professional online communities increasingly function as digital social infrastructures during societal disruption, yet less is known about how their support practices reorganize during prolonged crises. This study examined how social support, engagement patterns, and support-seeking behavior changed in a large Hebrew-language professional Facebook group for Israeli educators across routine and crisis periods. Quantitative content analysis was conducted on an analytic sample of 1008 posts published between January 2022 and July 2025, covering the pre-war period and the wartime period following October 2023. Posts were coded for informational, emotional, and instrumental support and for support-seeking, and negative binomial and logistic regression models examined engagement and predictors of support-seeking. Informational support was dominant (69.3%), followed by support-seeking (30.7%), emotional support (12.8%), and instrumental support (4.4%). During wartime, support-seeking and instrumental support were less frequent, whereas informational and emotional support were more frequent. Informational posts received approximately three times more likes, while support-seeking posts received fewer likes but sustained comment activity. Anonymous authors were more likely to seek support, but posts by anonymous authors received fewer comments. The findings suggest an aggregate pattern of support flexibility in the analytic sample, reflected in a relative shift from reactive support-seeking toward proactive informational sharing and emotional processing as part of collective resilience-building during sustained societal crisis. Full article

This study examines spatial inequalities in job accessibility in Porto Alegre, Brazil, through a multimodal perspective that incorporates walking, cycling, and public transport within the 15-minute city framework. Accessibility was assessed using cumulative opportunity measures with a 15-minute travel threshold, combining open data on employment, transport networks, and demographics into hexagonal grids. Travel-time matrices were generated using the R5 routing engine via the r5r package in R, accounting for realistic multimodal routing conditions, including transfers and waiting times. The resulting accessibility measures were then integrated with socioeconomic and racial indicators for subsequent analysis. The analysis identified four accessibility profiles structured by a center–periphery divide: a low-accessibility southern periphery, a transitional northern belt with strong transit but limited active mobility, a central corridor with consistently high multimodal access, and a hyper-accessible core with exceptional walking and cycling opportunities. Income-elasticity analysis revealed stronger associations between income and active mobility accessibility than with public transport, highlighting how proximity to jobs privileges wealthier, centrally located households. High-skilled employment was concentrated in central areas, reinforcing cumulative advantages and deepening inequalities for low-income and racially marginalized populations. The findings underscore the urgency of integrated mobility and land-use policies to expand active and public transport infrastructure and decentralize employment opportunities, ensuring equitable access to jobs. Full article

Transport infrastructure is commonly viewed as a key driver of development, although its actual contribution remains debated and appears to be dependent on geographical and economic context. This study investigates the impact of transport infrastructure on regional economic growth in Romania, with a particular focus on spatial spillover effects. Using panel data for Romanian regions over the period 2000–2024, the analysis applies spatial econometric techniques to capture both direct and indirect effects of transport infrastructure and economic factors. A structured model selection procedure, based on Lagrange Multiplier tests and robust diagnostics, supports the use of the Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR) as the preferred specification. The results reveal significant spatial dependence in regional economic performance, indicating that growth processes extend across regional boundaries. Nonetheless, the findings show that transport infrastructure does not exert a statistically significant direct effect on economic growth once spatial and structural factors are controlled. Instead, labor and private gross capital formation emerge as the primary drivers, generating both strong local impacts and substantial spillover effects. These results suggest that transport infrastructure acts mainly as an enabling factor rather than a standalone driver of growth, making the concept of “political mythification” of transport infrastructure effectiveness relevant in the Romanian context. Full article

Savings and credit cooperatives support financial inclusion, community-based economic participation, and the social economy in emerging countries, yet their protection mechanisms are often discussed through models designed for commercial banks. This article examines whether bank-based deposit insurance is institutionally suitable for Indonesian savings and credit cooperatives and how alternative protection arrangements can be designed without weakening cooperative governance. Using conceptual institutional analysis and comparative policy analysis, the article combines institutional economics, financial safety net theory, cooperative governance literature, Indonesian regulatory developments, and comparative lessons from European cooperative banking systems, particularly Germany’s Institutional Protection Scheme. The analysis shows that direct transplantation of bank-centric deposit insurance may create institutional mismatch because cooperative members may simultaneously act as owners, savers, borrowers, users, and governance participants. The article develops the Contextualized Cooperative Deposit Protection Design (CC-DPD) framework, integrating external protection with federated risk pooling, tiered eligibility, peer monitoring, early intervention, and governance-aligned incentives. It contributes to debates on institutional resilience, social economy sustainability, and inclusive financial governance by showing that financial safety nets are not institutionally neutral; their effectiveness depends on governance congruence between regulatory design and the organizational logic of the institutions they protect. In this article, cooperative deposit protection refers specifically to protection of member-savings claims rather than cooperative equity or ordinary commercial bank deposits. Full article

Understanding multidimensional deprivation requires consideration not only of who experiences overlapping disadvantages but also of how those disadvantages vary geographically. This study provides a comprehensive descriptive assessment of geographic variation in multidimensional deprivation across the United States using pooled 2022–2023 American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample data and a Multidimensional Deprivation Index (MDI) constructed using the Alkire–Foster methodology. The MDI incorporates eight indicators spanning four equally weighted dimensions of well-being: economic security, education, health, and housing. Variation is examined across four nested geographic scales—Census regions, Census divisions, states, and all 2487 Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs)—using the Headcount Ratio (H), Average Deprivation Intensity (A), and the MDI. The results reveal substantial geographic differences in multidimensional deprivation across the United States, with progressively finer geographic scales revealing increasingly localized patterns. Geographic areas with similar overall MDI values often differ substantially in the composition of deprivation, underscoring the importance of examining the composition as well as the overall level of deprivation. Across all geographic scales, differences in multidimensional deprivation primarily reflect variation in deprivation incidence rather than deprivation intensity, while the PUMA-level analysis suggests that important local variation is obscured by broader regional and state averages. The principal contribution of this study is its integrated multiscale framework. Rather than developing a new deprivation measure or evaluating formal spatial dependence, the analysis applies an established Alkire–Foster methodology to recent nationally representative ACS microdata. This framework provides a consistent descriptive assessment of multidimensional deprivation across multiple nested geographic scales. The findings establish a descriptive empirical benchmark for geographically informed policy discussions and for demonstrating that both the level and composition of multidimensional deprivation vary systematically across geographic scales and that important local variation is obscured by broader regional and state averages. Full article

Persistent development constraints and material-intensive production have become central features of Southern Africa’s economic landscape. Globalisation has simultaneously intensified the region’s vulnerability to external shocks and heightened pressure to enhance resource efficiency and transition toward sustainable development. This study examines the effect of economic globalisation on resource productivity among members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), a highly integrated, resource-dependent, and economically diverse regional bloc. Using a panel econometric approach covering 1996–2023, the analysis employs a dynamic common correlated effects estimator and panel causality tests to identify long-run elasticities and causal relationships. Results indicate that economic globalisation exerts a significant and negative effect on resource productivity in SACU, with these effects driven primarily by the de jure dimension of the integration process. The findings reveal important complexities within this nexus, including core–periphery dynamics and the internal architectural characteristics of the customs union, with notable feedback loops also identified. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that it is not merely the extent of integration that matters for resource efficiency, but the quality and nature of that integration. In doing so, it offers a nuanced understanding of how regional institutional frameworks interact with globalisation to shape sustainability outcomes. Full article

Assessing sustainability in complex adaptive systems (CAS) is still considerable challenge, due to the prevalence of dynamic non-linear interdependent socio-ecological processes. Traditional assessment approaches often target a single outcome and have a limited ability to model the interactions and feedback loops that influence system behavior. To overcome this limitation, this research proposes a hybrid methodological framework that integrates the Ecotourism Opportunity Spectrum (ECOS), the Delphi method, and key components of CAS theory. The framework allows for the systematic identification, organization, and validation of sustainability indicators in a structured way. It uses a layered approach where indicators are first conceptualized within an integrated framework, then adapted through expert agreement, and subsequently interpreted through the theoretical perspective of CAS to better understand interdependencies and adaptive dynamics. The findings demonstrate strong expert agreement across the identified sustainability indicators and highlight the importance of understanding sustainability dimensions as interdependent rather than isolated assessment components. The CAS-based interpretation further revealed that sustainability indicators operate through adaptive and interconnected relationships, where changes in external environmental, institutional, or socio-economic conditions may influence multiple sustainability dimensions simultaneously. This study contributes to the improvement of sustainability assessment tools and supports decision-making in a more informed, flexible, and context-specific manner by providing a structured but still flexible decision-support approach. Full article

Artificial intelligence is increasingly reshaping leadership practices and organizational decision-making, yet its implications for innovation outcomes remain insufficiently understood. Existing research largely assumes that AI-driven leadership enhances innovation while paying limited attention to its effects on the human capabilities required to sustain innovation quality. This study examines whether AI-driven leadership creates an innovation paradox in which increased innovation activity is accompanied by declining innovation quality. Cross-sectional self-reported data were collected from 2990 employees working in digitally intensive organizational environments. A split-sample EFA–CFA validation procedure was applied, and the proposed framework was tested using structural equation modeling. AI-Driven Leadership was positively associated with Innovation Activity and Human Capital Erosion. Human Capital Erosion was negatively associated with Innovation Quality, while Innovation Activity was also negatively associated with Innovation Quality. Mediation analysis indicated a substantial indirect association between AI-Driven Leadership and Innovation Quality through Human Capital Erosion. Organizational Learning Erosion did not significantly influence Innovation Quality and did not mediate the proposed relationships. The findings suggest an innovation paradox whereby AI-driven leadership is associated with higher innovation activity while simultaneously being associated with greater human capital erosion, potentially reducing innovation quality. Accordingly, preserving human capital may be important for sustaining innovation quality in AI-enabled organizations. Full article