Search Results (4,993)

This article presents a case of strategic and participatory institutional innovation in higher education, focused on developing teacher digital competence (TDC) as a key enabler of sustainable digital transformation. In response to the post-pandemic challenges faced by the National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), a large and multi-campus public university in Argentina, the European CUTE methodology was adapted and implemented to align professional development with institutional planning. Grounded in the DigCompEdu framework, this action-oriented process moved beyond individual initiatives to create a coordinated, multi-level strategy involving educators, department leaders, and university authorities. Through a research-based design that included context analysis, participatory diagnosis, and co-designed interventions, the project built a shared understanding of digital teaching needs and institutional readiness. The implementation highlights how locally adapted frameworks, collaborative structures, and iterative decision-making can drive meaningful change across a complex university system. This case contributes to the international conversation on how higher education institutions can operationalize innovation at scale by investing in teacher competence, inclusive processes, and strategic alignment. Lessons learned from this experience are relevant for universities seeking to build institutional capacity for digital transformation in diverse educational contexts with potential downstream benefits for student learning and inclusion. Full article

In the current era, Indian agriculture faces a significant demand for increased food production, which has led to the integration of advanced technologies to enhance efficiency and productivity. Drones have emerged as transformative tools for enhancing precision agriculture, reducing costs, and improving sustainability. This study provides a comprehensive review of drone adoption in Indian agriculture by examining its effects on precision farming, crop monitoring, and pesticide application. This research evaluates technological advancements, regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, farmers’ perceptions, and the financial accessibility of drone technology in the Indian agricultural context. Key findings indicate that, while drone adoption enhances efficiency and sustainability, challenges such as high costs, lack of training, and regulatory barriers hinder widespread implementation. This paper also explores the growing market for agricultural drones in India, highlighting key industry players and projected market growth. Furthermore, it addresses regional differences in adoption rates and emphasizes the increasing social acceptance of drones among Indian farmers. To bridge the gap between potential and practice, the study proposes several policy and institutional recommendations, including government-led financial incentives, training programs, and public–private partnerships to facilitate drone integration. Moreover, this review article also highlights technological advancements, such as AI and IoT, in agriculture. Finally, open issues and future research directions for drones are discussed. Full article

Economic systems face critical challenges, including widening income inequality, unemployment driven by automation, mounting public debt, and environmental degradation. This study introduces Economocracy as a transformative framework aimed at addressing these systemic issues by integrating democratic principles into economic decision-making to achieve social equity, economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability. The research focuses on two core mechanisms: Economic Productive Resets (EPRs) and Economic Periodic Injections (EPIs). EPRs facilitate proportional redistribution of resources to reduce income disparities, while EPIs target investments to stimulate job creation, mitigate automion-related job displacement, and support sustainable development. The study employs a theoretical and analytical methodology, developing mathematical models to quantify the impact of EPRs and EPIs on key economic indicators, including the Gini coefficient for inequality, unemployment rates, average wages, and job displacement due to automation. Hypothetical scenarios simulate baseline conditions, EPR implementation, and the combined application of EPRs and EPIs. The methodology is threefold: (1) a mathematical–theoretical validation of the Cycle of Money framework, establishing internal consistency; (2) an econometric analysis using global historical data (2000–2023) to evaluate the correlation between GNI per capita, Gini coefficient, and average wages; and (3) scenario simulations and Difference-in-Differences (DiD) estimates to test the systemic impact of implementing EPR/EPI policies on inequality and labor outcomes. The models are further strengthened through tools such as OLS regression, and Impulse results to assess causality and dynamic interactions. Empirical results confirm that EPR/EPI can substantially reduce income inequality and unemployment, while increasing wage levels, findings supported by both the theoretical architecture and data-driven outcomes. Results demonstrate that Economocracy can significantly lower income inequality, reduce unemployment, increase wages, and mitigate automation’s effects on the labor market. These findings highlight Economocracy’s potential as a viable alternative to traditional economic systems, offering a sustainable pathway that harmonizes growth, social justice, and environmental stewardship in the global economy. Economocracy demonstrates potential to reduce debt per capita by increasing the efficiency of public resource allocation and enhancing average income levels. As EPIs stimulate employment and productivity while EPRs moderate inequality, the resulting economic growth expands the tax base and alleviates fiscal pressures. These dynamics lead to lower per capita debt burdens over time. The analysis is situated within the broader discourse of institutional economics to demonstrate that Economocracy is not merely a policy correction but a new economic system akin to democracy in political life. Full article

Digitalization is rapidly reshaping the global construction industry; however, its adoption in developing countries, such as Pakistan, remains limited and uneven. Hence, this study investigates and evaluates the current status of digital technology integration in Pakistan’s construction industry, with a primary focus on key tools, implementation challenges, and necessary policy interventions. Using a three-phase mixed-method approach involving a literature review, expert interviews, and a nationwide survey, this research identifies Building Information Modeling, Geographic Information Systems, and E-Procurement as essential technologies with strong potential to improve transparency, efficiency, and collaboration. However, adoption is hindered by a lack of awareness, limited technical expertise, and the absence of a cohesive national policy. This study also highlights that the private sector shows greater readiness compared to the public sector; however, systemic barriers persist across both sectors. Based on stakeholder insights, a three-part policy strategy was also proposed. This includes establishing a national regulatory framework, investing in capacity-building programs, and providing financial or institutional incentives to encourage the adoption of these measures. The findings emphasize that digitalization is not just a technical upgrade; it represents a pathway to improved governance and more efficient infrastructure delivery. With timely and coordinated policy action, the construction industry in Pakistan can align itself with global innovation trends and move toward a more sustainable and digitally empowered future. Full article

Social media has become a vital communication tool for higher education institutions (HEIs) to reach larger targets, attract followers, and engage with diverse audiences. This study conducted a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 4148 Facebook posts from 16 public and private HEIs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The aim of the study is to evaluate users’ engagement through their reactions to various post characteristics, including format, language, and content type. The posts generated 177,022 emotes, 17,269 shares, and 8374 comments. The results showed that images are an efficient format for boosting interaction, whereas plain text posts did not generate high engagement. The English language was more conducive for generating shares, while Arabic-language posts generated more emotes and likes. The comparative analysis results showed that private HEIs are more active on their Facebook pages than public HEIs. The content analysis suggested that student-related posts generate the highest level of engagement, while announcements and faculty- and research-related posts drive the lowest levels of engagement. These results offer valuable insights into how HEIs can optimize their social media strategies to enhance user engagement. Full article

To address water sustainability challenges, this study investigates how public water concern influences corporate water responsibility (CWR) and how managerial green cognition moderates this relationship. Drawing on institutional theory and cognitive theory, we analyze a panel of 1292 publicly listed high-water-consuming firms in China from 2015 to 2024. The results show that public water concern significantly improves CWR by increasing legitimacy pressure, while its effect through government water governance attention is not statistically significant. Furthermore, managerial green cognition—including both economic and moral dimensions—positively moderates this relationship. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the moderating effect is stronger in firms with more female directors, older executives, and internationally experienced teams. These findings contribute to refining institutional theory in the context of environmental responsibility and highlight the critical role of executive cognition and demographic structure in corporate sustainability behavior. Full article

In the context of both domestic and international economic landscapes, regional policy has emerged as an increasingly influential factor shaping the developmental trajectories of Chinese enterprises. Despite its growing significance, the extant literature lacks a comprehensive and systematically visualized synthesis that encapsulates the scope and trends of research in this domain. This study addresses this critical gap by conducting an integrative bibliometric and qualitative review of the academic output related to regional policy and Chinese firm growth. Drawing on a final dataset comprising 3428 validated academic publications—selected from an initial pool of 3604 records retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection between 1991 and 2022, the research employs a two-stage methodological framework. In the first phase, advanced bibliometric tools, and software applications, including RStudio, Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CitNetExplorer, are utilized to implement techniques such as keyword co-occurrence analysis, thematic clustering, and the tracing of thematic evolution over time. These methods facilitate rigorous data cleansing, breakpoint identification, and the visualization of intellectual structures and emerging research patterns. In the second phase, a targeted qualitative review is conducted to evaluate the influence of regional policies on Chinese firms across three critical stages of business development: start-up, expansion, and maturity. The findings reveal that regional policy interventions generally exert a positive influence on firm performance throughout all stages of development. Notably, a significant concentration of citation activity occurred prior to 2017; however, post-2017, the volume of scholarly publications, journal-level impact (as measured by h-index), and author-level influence experienced a marked increase. Among the 3428 analyzed publications, a substantial portion—2259 articles—originated from Chinese academic institutions, highlighting the strong domestic research interest in the subject. Furthermore, since 2015, there has been a discernible shift in keyword co-occurrence trends, with increasing scholarly attention directed towards sustainable development issues, particularly those related to carbon dioxide emissions and green innovation, reflecting evolving policy priorities and environmental imperatives. Full article

Background/Objectives: Mumps remains a relevant vaccine-preventable disease globally, especially in settings where immunization coverage fluctuates or vaccine-induced immunity wanes. This study aimed to assess long-term trends in mumps incidence, vaccination coverage, clinical outcomes, and demographic characteristics in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (AP Vojvodina), Serbia, over a 47-year period. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study using surveillance data from the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina. Analyses included annual mumps incidence rates (1978–2024), coverage with mumps-containing vaccines (MuCVs; 1986–2024), monthly case counts, and individual-level case data for the 1997–2024 period. Variables analyzed included age, month of notification, gender, vaccination status, presence of clinical complications, and the method used for case confirmation. Results: Following the introduction of MuCV in 1986, the mumps incidence markedly declined, with limited resurgences in 2000, 2009, and 2012. Between 1997 and 2024, a total of 1358 cases were reported, with 62.7% occurring in males. Over time, the age distribution shifted, with adolescents and young adults being increasingly affected during the later (2011–2024) observed period. In 2012, the highest age-specific incidence was observed among individuals aged 10–19 and 20–39 years (49.1 and 45.5 per 100,000, respectively). Vaccination coverage for both MuCV doses was suboptimal in several years. The proportion of unvaccinated cases decreased over time, while the proportion with unknown vaccination status increased. Mumps-related complications—such as orchitis, pancreatitis, and meningitis—were rare and predominantly affected unvaccinated individuals: 84.2% of orchitis, 40.0% of pancreatitis, and all meningitis cases. Only two pancreatitis cases (40.0%) were reported after one MMR dose, while fully vaccinated individuals (two doses) had one orchitis case (5.3%) and no other complications. Laboratory confirmation was applied more consistently from 2009 onward, with 49.6% of cases confirmed that year (58 out of 117), and, in several years after 2020, only laboratory-confirmed cases were reported, indicating improved diagnostic capacity. Conclusions: Despite substantial progress in controlling mumps, gaps in vaccine coverage, waning immunity, and incomplete vaccination records continue to pose a risk for mumps transmission. Strengthening routine immunization, ensuring high two-dose MuCV coverage, improving vaccination record keeping, and enhancing laboratory-based case confirmation are critical. Consideration should be given to booster doses in high-risk populations and to conducting a seroepidemiological study to estimate the susceptible population for mumps in AP Vojvodina. Full article

At a time when globalisation and the economic crisis have forced a reduction in public expenditure at all levels, social policy and social welfare systems’ efforts for sustainable development are focused on identifying alternative ways to provide integrated services and achieve balanced social development. Post-colonial Cyprus has experienced radical socio-political changes that have demanded rapid responses to address its needs. This paper aims to discuss the role of the Cypriot voluntary sector in the national integrated care. Within the spectrum of ensuring social rights and social justice, the voluntary sector has emerged as a key factor of social policy implementation. Through the exploration and analysis of this context, an in-depth insight is given into socio-political and economic factors, dimensions, relationships, processes, patterns, and critical junctures that, under the influence of history, have shaped the voluntary sector’s path, formed its major stages of transformation, and defined its relationship with structures and institutions. Full article

This study aims to understand the meaning nursing professionals attribute to their lived experiences of providing humanized care within a public hospital setting. Grounded in Jean Watson’s theory of human caring, the research adopts a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological design to capture the perceptions and emotions of nurses regarding humanized care. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine experienced nurses, selected through purposive sampling. The interviews, conducted virtually between July and December 2024, were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method and supported by Atlas.ti software. Four main thematic categories emerged: institutional health policies, professional image and identity, strengths and challenges in care, and essential competencies for humanized care. The findings highlight the critical role of empathy, cultural sensitivity, ethical commitment, and emotional presence in delivering compassionate care. Participants emphasized that, beyond clinical procedures, humanized care requires relational and contextual sensitivity, often hindered by institutional limitations and excessive administrative burdens. The study concludes that nursing professionals are key agents in promoting ethical, empathetic, and culturally respectful practices that humanize health services. These insights offer valuable contributions for designing policies and training strategies aimed at strengthening humanized care as a cornerstone of quality healthcare systems. Full article

Directed Energy Deposition is an additive manufacturing subgroup that uses a laser beam to melt the wire or powder to create a melt pool. In the current study, a scientometric analysis has been carried out to analyze the contribution of countries, publication type analysis, distribution of publications over the years, keywords analysis, author analysis, cited journal, categories, institutes of publication, and report the practical implications. Firstly, the database was extracted from the Web of Science and then post-processed with CiteSpace 6.2.R4 and VOSviewer 1.6.20 software. Afterward, the associated results had been extracted and reported. It was found that China is the leader according to publication, followed by the USA and Germany, which mostly published their achievements in article and proceeding paper formats, which are increasing annually. According to the keywords, additive manufacturing, Laser Metal Deposition, and fabrication are the most commonly used. Based on the CiteSapce and VOSviewer results, Lin, Xin and Huang, Weidong are the authors with the highest publication rates. In addition, Additive Manufacturing, Materials & Design, and Materials Science and Engineering: A are the most cited journals, and regarding the categories, materials science, multidisciplinary, applied physics, and manufacturing engineering are the most commonly used DED processes. Northwestern Polytechnical University, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) have performed the most research in the field of DED. Full article

With the advance of digital transformation, the assessment of the environmental impact of digital tools and technologies grows more relevant. Considering the inflated expectations of environmental responsibility in higher education, this study analyses how websites of Polish universities conform to sustainable web design criteria. The sustainability audit employed a methodology encompassing carbon emissions measurement, technical website analysis, and SEO evaluation. The author analysed 63 websites of public universities in Poland using seven independent audit tools, including an original AI Custom GPT agent preconfigured in the ChatGPT ecosystem. The results revealed a substantial differentiation in CO₂ emissions and website optimisation, with an average EcoImpact Score of 66.41/100. Nearly every fourth website exhibited a significant carbon footprint and excessive component sizes, which indicates poor asset optimisation and energy-intensive design techniques. The measurements exposed considerable variability in emission intensities and resource intensity among the university websites, suggesting the need for standardised digital sustainability practices. Regulations on the carbon footprint of public institutions’ websites and mobile applications could become vital strategic components for digital climate neutrality. Promoting green hosting, “Green SEO” practices, and sustainability audits could help mitigate the environmental impact of digital technologies and advance sustainable design standards for the public sector. The proposed auditing methodology can effectively support the institutional transition towards sustainable management of digital infrastructure by integrating technical, sustainability, and organisational aspects. Full article

Background: School-based tobacco control policies are critical for preventing youth tobacco use. While many districts adopt formal policies to create smoke- and vape-free environments, the degree to which these policies are enforced at the school level may vary, influencing their effectiveness. Little is known about how consistently such policies are implemented across schools within urban school districts. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the existence and enforcement of school-level tobacco control policies in an urban public school system, using Baltimore City schools as a case example. Methods: We conducted a survey of school personnel from 20 high schools in Baltimore City in 2024. The survey instrument assessed the presence and enforcement of policies related to tobacco use prevention, communication, signage, disciplinary actions, and institutional support. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used to summarize responses. Spearman correlations were also used for bivariate correlations. Additional school-level and neighborhood-level contextual data were collected from the internet (neighborhood socioeconomic status and school performance). Results: While many policies existed across the 20 participating schools, their enforcement was widely inconsistent. Most schools reported the existence of policies prohibiting tobacco use in school buildings (60%) and vehicles (55%). However, few schools had visible tobacco-free signage (35%) or offered cessation programs (15%). Communication of policies to students (70%) and staff (65%) was the most commonly enforced aspect of tobacco control policies. Conclusions: Findings suggest that while tobacco control policies may be adopted across urban school systems, their enforcement at the school level remains uneven. Greater attention may be needed to support policy implementation and to reduce variability in school-level practices. Baltimore City serves as a useful case study to understand these challenges and identify opportunities for strengthening school-based tobacco prevention efforts. Full article

Water governance in Europe faces mounting challenges from climate change, demographic pressures, and aging infrastructure—especially in Southern regions increasingly affected by drought and institutional fragmentation. In contrast, Nordic countries such as Denmark and Sweden exhibit coherent, integrated governance systems with strong regulatory oversight. This study introduces the Water Governance Maturity Index (WGMI), a document-based assessment tool designed to evaluate national water governance across five dimensions: institutional capacity, operational effectiveness, environmental ambition, equity, and climate adaptation. Applying the WGMI to eight EU countries—four Nordic and four Southern—reveals a persistent North–South divide in governance maturity. Nordic countries consistently score in the “advanced” or “model” range, while Southern countries face systemic gaps in implementation, climate integration, and territorial inclusion. Based on these findings, the study offers actionable policy recommendations, including the establishment of independent regulators, strengthening of river basin coordination, mainstreaming of climate-water strategies, and expansion of affordability and participation mechanisms. By translating complex governance principles into measurable indicators, the WGMI provides a practical tool for benchmarking reform progress and supporting the EU’s broader agenda for just resilience and climate adaptation. Unlike broader frameworks like SDG 6.5.1, the WGMI’s document-based, dimension-specific approach provides granular, actionable insights for governance reform, enhancing its utility for EU and global policymakers. Full article

This article investigates the macroeconomic and labor market conditions that shape the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies among large firms in Europe. Based on panel data econometrics and supervised machine learning techniques, we estimate how public health spending, access to credit, export activity, gross capital formation, inflation, openness to trade, and labor market structure influence the share of firms that adopt at least one AI technology. The research covers all 28 EU members between 2018 and 2023. We employ a set of robustness checks using a combination of fixed-effects, random-effects, and dynamic panel data specifications supported by Clustering and supervised learning techniques. We find that AI adoption is linked to higher GDP per capita, healthcare spending, inflation, and openness to trade but lower levels of credit, exports, and capital formation. Labor markets with higher proportions of salaried work, service occupations, and self-employment are linked to AI diffusion, while unemployment and vulnerable work are detractors. Cluster analysis identifies groups of EU members with similar adoption patterns that are usually underpinned by stronger economic and institutional fundamentals. The results collectively suggest that AI diffusion is shaped not only by technological preparedness and capabilities to invest but by inclusive macroeconomic conditions and equitable labor institutions. Targeted policy measures can accelerate the equitable adoption of AI technologies within the European industrial economy. Full article