Search Results (190)

The use of DevSecOps seeks to ensure that the functionality of securing software is incorporated throughout the software development life cycle, but the difference between the theoretical model and the empirically proven version, specifically for multi-tier web applications, remains wide. This research proposes the evaluation of a “proxy” DevSecOps pipeline, defined as an automated intermediary architecture that decouples intensive security scanning from the primary build flow to prevent bottlenecks. Designed specifically for multi-tier PHP-based web applications, the model leverages infrastructure as code (Terraform) and Static Application Security Testing (SAST) to ensure that security validation remains continuous without impeding the integration speed. This research utilized the Terraform model on the Amazon Web Services cloud platform, with three EC2 instances and Jenkins integration, and the use of many tools for the testing process, divided into the following experiments for DevSecOps functionality measurement: the first for the baseline efficiency process, the dynamic scaling process, the validation test for the fail-safe mechanism, and the accuracy process for the vulnerabilities’ detection. This research indicates that the process exhibited stability and consistency for the average execution times, which took 122.08 ± 1.69 s, and low values for the 5.04% additional cost for concurrent executions. The 100% activation process for the fail-safe mechanism for the injection of vulnerabilities indicates that the process took 41.82% of the total pipeline execution time, demonstrating that security validation is the most time-intensive part of the automated proxy workflow, and the low costs of 0.0047 dollars for the entire process, specifically for the infrastructure aspect. The false positives for the process were measured as 10–15%, and the low costs for the entire process, which took 0.56–0.58 s for the total process. Full article

The rapid proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) has positioned Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology as an important enabler for mitigating grid congestion, accelerating the energy transition, and supporting the sustainable transition of regional energy systems. However, recent incentive mechanisms often fail to balance EV users’ willingness to participate with the economic viability of intermediary operators, thereby hindering effective multi-party collaboration in Regional Integrated Energy System (RIES). To address this challenge, this paper proposes a novel commission-based service fee mechanism for V2G incentive mechanisms to dynamically regulate revenue distribution among Integrated Energy System Operator (IESO), Energy Supplier (ES), Charging Station Operator (CSO), and Electric Vehicle Aggregator (EVA). The study further examines how different incentive strategies affect V2G market liquidity. Case studies indicate that the proposed strategy significantly increases effective V2G transaction power while preserving CSO profit margins and encouraging EV participation. The results also indicate that the reward rate, commission rate, and subsidy have nonlinear effects on V2G transaction performance and should be set within reasonable ranges. The proposed model also exhibits superior performance in enhancing system economic benefits and promoting multi-agent coordination. It provides an actionable framework for sustaining CSO participation under upper-level subsidy mechanisms while improving the long-term commercial viability and ecological sustainability of smart-grid ecosystems. These findings provide practical guidance for designing incentive policies that facilitate the low-carbon energy transition and sustainable smart-grid development. Full article

Post-COVID rural revitalisation policies and digital platform economies have renewed attention to returning to the Chinese countryside, yet return rarely becomes durable residence, livelihood, or recognised membership. This concept paper addresses that problem through a scoping-oriented critical literature review and interpretive synthesis of scholarship on rural return in China. It develops internal rural re-bordering as an analytic for explaining how rural return is governed as a form of conditional inclusion within national territory. The synthesis identifies three interacting mechanisms: institutional bordering, which shapes eligibility and service portability; platform governance, which shapes visibility and monetisation; and aesthetic governance, which shapes admissible rural identities, livelihoods, and spaces. Across the literature, durable return depends on whether mobility can be converted into regularised entitlements, relatively stable income, and locally recognised legitimacy, often through local intermediaries and relational labour. Rural return is therefore better understood as a conditional pathway of incorporation than as a simple demographic reversal. Full article

(1) Background. Food sovereignty and local sustainability are ensured by large agro-industrial holdings and small-scale farms; this synergy forms a complementary model of the agrifood system. Maintaining this model’s balance requires the creation of a unified digital ecosystem that integrates all suppliers and consumers into production chains, thereby eliminating unnecessary intermediaries. (2) Methods. This study employs a comprehensive methodological framework, including systems analysis and mathematical modeling, to develop service algorithms. Object-oriented design and software engineering methods facilitated the development and implementation of a service-oriented architecture for the digital system. (3) Results. The study presents a multi-tier architecture featuring an integration bus based on a service-oriented approach. To implement direct supply-and-demand coupling strategies, the system integrates both internal services (microeconomic indicators) and external services (macroeconomic indicators). Additionally, a recommender system based on neural networks and mathematical models was developed to personalize consumer requests and manage product sales. (4) Conclusions. The software solution is consistent with the AgTech 4.0 concept and enables the creation of a seamless environment for interstate trade. The implementation of the system enhances the transparency of the “product footprint”, facilitates the redistribution of surpluses, and, consequently, contributes to price stabilization. Full article

Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have gained increasing attention as institutional mechanisms for improving the resilience of smallholder farming systems under changing climatic conditions. This study examines the role of FPOs in promoting the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices, improved irrigation strategies, and sustainable land management in the arid region of Pali district, Rajasthan, India. A comparative assessment was conducted between FPO-associated member and non-member farmers to evaluate differences in climate change perception, adoption behaviour, and adaptive capacity. The study employed a mixed-methods research design using primary data collected from 408 farm households through structured interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant consultations. Descriptive statistics, mean comparison tests and regression analysis were used to examine adoption patterns and identify the major factors influencing farmers’ responses to climate risks. The findings indicate that delayed rainfall, rising temperatures, and increasing drought frequency are widely perceived by farmers as major threats to agricultural production. FPO membership was associated with higher levels of climate-risk awareness and greater reported adoption of CSA practices; however, these findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. Farmers linked with FPOs reported stronger uptake of improved and stress-tolerant crop varieties, crop diversification, mixed farming systems, agroforestry, soil moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting, improved irrigation methods, and integrated pest management practices. Education, farm size, access to extension services, market linkages, and climate information were also found to significantly influence adoption decisions. The study highlights the important contribution of FPOs in reducing transaction costs, improving access to inputs, technical knowledge, credit and markets, and encouraging collective responses to climate stress. Strengthening FPO governance, expanding extension support, and targeting vulnerable farmer groups can substantially enhance climate resilience and support sustainable agricultural transitions in arid regions. The findings demonstrate that farmer organizations can serve as effective intermediary institutions linking household-level adaptation strategies with broader goals of irrigation efficiency, land management, and rural sustainability. Full article

Medium-sized cities play an important role in regional settlement systems as intermediary centres linking metropolitan areas with smaller towns and rural regions. Due to their relatively compact spatial structure, such cities are often associated with the principles of the 15-min city concept, which promotes accessibility to key services and public spaces within walking distance. Urban regeneration is an important instrument supporting sustainable development and improving quality of life in these cities. This study examines the relationship between legal regulations, spatial delimitation patterns, and the spatial distribution of degraded and revitalised areas in medium-sized cities. The research is based on a comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative criteria, GIS-based spatial analyses, and accessibility modelling conducted for five cities in the Pomeranian Voivodeship using planning documents and statistical data, verified through field surveys. The results indicate a high degree of spatial continuity of revitalisation areas despite changes in legal frameworks and delimitation methodologies. Revitalisation areas remained concentrated mainly within historic city centres and their multifunctional surroundings, while degraded areas gradually expanded toward residential districts. The findings also demonstrate a strong spatial relationship between revitalisation areas and 15 min walking accessibility zones. The study provides useful comparative insights for countries developing formal urban regeneration systems. Full article

This scoping review maps 224 empirical studies (205 from a structured Scopus search, 2020–2026, plus 19 from a targeted Central Asia supplement) across four digital technology domains for crop production: IoT and sensor-based systems, UAVs and remote sensing, machine learning and AI, and nanostructured agrochemicals. The review follows the PRISMA-ScR framework and pursues three research questions concerning documented effects and validation limitations (RQ1); cross-cutting barriers in human capital, data governance, and infrastructure (RQ2); and the state of empirical evidence from Central Asia and Kazakhstan relative to international findings (RQ3). Across all four domains, the strongest reported effects occur where the data-to-decision-to-action loop is closed and sustained over multiple seasons, yet most published metrics rest on single-season, single-site, or controlled-environment validation that overstates likely field portability. IoT and selected UAV and ML workflows are closest to operational readiness where maintenance, calibration, and advisory support are sustained. Nanostructured materials remain the least mature domain in agronomic terms. For Central Asia, foundational monitoring and salinity-oriented remote sensing are the most immediately transferable elements; intervention-grade ML and integrated digital systems require local calibration, extension infrastructure, and multi-season field validation that are largely still absent. The review identifies the digital skills gap, incomplete data governance, and underreported total cost of ownership as the principal institutional barriers to scaling. Policy priorities include shifting from technical pilots to multi-season agronomic proof, building intermediary service capacity, and establishing transparent data-governance frameworks before large-scale procurement. Full article

Background: Studies of fish supply chain efficiency often rely on price spreads or frontier-based measures, which do not fully capture actor-level coordination performance in heterogeneous, informal supply chains. This study addresses this gap by developing a composite Market Efficiency Index (MEI) that integrates financial performance, operational quality, service equity, and relational governance. Methods: The MEI, a multidimensional alternative to frontier-based measures, was developed and applied to data collected from 250 supply chain actors in Sri Lanka. Results: The results show a clear efficiency gradient along the supply chain, with fishers scoring the lowest (MEI = 0.44), intermediaries moderate (MEI = 0.54), and retailers the highest (MEI = 0.67), yielding an overall system efficiency of 0.55 and relational governance emerging as the weakest system-level dimension. These results indicate persistent structural differences in value distribution and in how well the fish supply chain functions as a cohesive network, driven by liquidity constraints, information asymmetry, and weak cold-chain infrastructure. Conclusions: A multidimensional supply chain assessment provides a more effective basis for diagnosing coordination constraints and enables targeted digital interventions that offer feasible pathways to improve transparency, liquidity, and inclusiveness in smallholder-dominated fish supply chains. Full article

Authentic Digital Interaction (ADI) refers to citizens’ direct, secure, and independent engagement with e-government services without reliance on intermediaries. This systematic literature review applies ADI as an organizing lens to synthesize recent empirical evidence on determinants shaping citizen interaction with e-government. Following PRISMA, 178 peer-reviewed studies published between January 2020, and October 2025 were identified across five databases, and 43 met the inclusion criteria. Descriptive mapping and ADI-guided narrative synthesis were used to consolidate related determinants and interpret their associations and contextual conditions. The review identifies three dominant patterns: perceived usefulness and performance expectancy are most frequently associated with intention, use, and continuance; trust and confidence shape whether perceived benefits translate into engagement; and policy and governance condition service consistency and the effects of usability and accessibility. Theoretically, the review shows that ADI provides a useful lens for interpreting e-government research beyond adoption and satisfaction by emphasizing direct, trustworthy, inclusive, and independent citizen interaction. Practically, the findings suggest that public agencies should prioritize accessible design, transparent processes, visible safeguards, and supportive governance arrangements. However, no formal risk-of-bias assessment was conducted. In addition, the evidence base remains limited by the sparse examination of participation, value co-creation, autonomy, and empowerment, and the review protocol, although prepared in advance, was not registered. Full article

The Digital Services Act (DSA) represents a landmark regulatory context aiming to secure a safer, trusted and more transparent digital environment. While the DSA establishes a harmonised regulatory framework for intermediary services across the EU, its enforcement system relies significantly on national regulatory authorities, leaving member states a degree of institutional autonomy in designing the supervisory structures. This article examines the implementation of the DSA in Cyprus and discusses the national legal framework adopted through primary and secondary legislation. It analyses the powers, legally mandated tasks, rights, and obligations of the digital services coordinator in Cyprus including its supervisory, investigatory, and enforcement competences as well as the sanctioning mechanisms. This article provides a comprehensive legal analysis of the coordinator’s operation and contributes to the academic debate on the national implementation of the DSA as a horizontal legal tool of intermediary services and digital platforms accessed by European citizens. Full article

While telemedicine has proliferated globally, its sustainable implementation in resource-constrained settings remains understudied. This study evaluates the efficacy, determinants of patient satisfaction, and systemic resilience of a “Home Ward” model at a rural Thai community hospital. Employing a convergent mixed-methods design, we surveyed 51 participants and conducted in-depth interviews with service users (n = 5) and a multidisciplinary team (n = 7). Multiple linear regression revealed high patient satisfaction ($\overline{x}$ = 3.70), explaining 67.3% of the variance (R² = 0.673). Notably, Perceived Usefulness (β = 0.589, p < 0.001) and the Effectiveness of Symptom Monitoring (β = 0.317, p < 0.05) significantly predicted satisfaction. Conversely, Overall System Quality was not a significant predictor (β = 0.142, p > 0.05), highlighting a ‘Low-Tech, High-Touch’ paradox. Qualitative analysis elucidated this through the “Human-in-the-Loop” mechanism, where Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) and healthcare providers bridge the digital divide. However, the study identifies an “invisible workload”—non-formalized discretionary effort—that sustains this resilience. Findings suggest that rural digital health governance should prioritize human intermediaries and pragmatic utility over purely technical upgrades. The study concludes that long-term sustainability requires institutionalizing human support networks while mitigating the exploitation of healthcare personnel’s goodwill. Full article

The decarbonisation of the transport sector is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, necessitating a transition toward integrated, digital, and sustainable mobility solutions such as Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). While early MaaS implementations were characterised by local bottom-up experiments, recent state-level actions mark a shift toward large-scale systemic deployment. This paper investigates the evolving role of universities within this transition, using MaaS4Italy initiative as a primary case study. Through a qualitative analysis of 11 pilot projects, conducted between January and July 2025, the research examines how academic institutions have been integrated into the national governance framework, transitioning from traditional living labs for technical testing to pivotal institutional anchors and governance buffers. The findings reveal a dual role for universities: as scientific partners and as neutral mediators. However, a relevant paradox is highlighted as well: while the institutionalisation of universities de-risks public investment and fosters data-sharing trust, it may simultaneously limit their potential as high-density operational testbeds for innovative Corporate MaaS (CMaaS) solutions. Present research supports a broader understanding for policymakers, thus underscoring the importance of formalising the role of intermediary institutions to ensure the long-term sustainability and scalability of smart mobility ecosystems. These insights prove to be pivotal towards the implementation of multi-level environmental governance mechanisms and the strategic use of recovery funds to catalyse the transition toward climate neutrality. Full article

Promoting the commercialization of agricultural science and technology (S&T) achievements is a critical pathway toward achieving agricultural sustainability and a key governance challenge in advancing global food security and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, China faces a structural paradox: despite sustained expansion of policy supply, the performance gains in technology commercialization remain limited. To uncover the underlying causes, this study integrates Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling with the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) index to conduct a systematic analysis of 82 central-level policy documents issued between 2015 and 2025. The findings reveal that policy attention is heavily concentrated on upstream R&D support, while insufficient emphasis is placed on downstream “last-mile” enablers—such as diffusion services, risk-sharing mechanisms, and intermediary capacity building. Moreover, many policies exhibit structural deficiencies in temporal specificity and multi-actor coordination, which hinder the formation of closed-loop implementation chains. The results suggest that policy structural inconsistency may be a key mechanism constraining policy effectiveness. By adopting a dual analytical lens of “attention allocation–structural design,” this study provides empirical evidence for optimizing policy formulation and enhancing institutional efficacy in agricultural S&T commercialization. Full article

The European Union’s energy transition framework presents significant challenges for the maritime sector, requiring technical, organizational, and market-based compliance measures. The FuelEU Maritime Regulation (FuelEU) introduces flexible mechanisms such as banking, borrowing, and pooling that broaden compliance options for shipowners. This study examines the role of pooling in European shipping, focusing on its operational models, enabling conditions, and economic implications. Pool formation demands extensive information exchange and effective coordination, creating a need for specialized intermediaries and supporting the emergence of a market in which pooling prices are shaped by supply and demand. The research employs a qualitative methodology combining stakeholder and exploratory market analysis, assessment of regulatory and market drivers, case studies, and comparative analysis, complemented by expert interviews and a targeted survey. The findings highlight pooling as a pivotal compliance instrument, particularly as a fallback option during the reporting period, and show that it currently represents the most cost-efficient means of achieving FuelEU compliance. Intermediary service providers, especially digital platforms, play a central role by facilitating coordination, improving transparency, and reducing compliance costs. The study further identifies key factors influencing shipowners’ costs and revenues in pools, emphasizing the critical importance of alternative fuel availability and prices. Full article

This article examines graduate employability challenges in the tourism and hospitality sector of Marrakech, a major tourism destination and strategic regional labour market in Morocco, characterised by strong seasonality, high labour turnover, and persistent education–employment mismatches. Rather than focusing exclusively on technology, the study analyses employability as a multidimensional and context-dependent process, in which digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) constitute one influencing factor among others. The research adopts a qualitative, purposive design based on semi-structured interviews conducted between August and October 2025 with 20 stakeholders directly involved in recruitment, training, or early career integration. These include five-star hotel general managers and HR officers, riad managers, travel agencies, recruitment intermediaries, representatives of Morocco’s public employment service (ANAPEC—National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills) and private, regional tourism authorities, academics and young tourism graduates. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using NVivo to identify recurrent patterns in recruitment practices, skill expectations, and the impact of AI in employability. The results, reflecting stakeholders’ perceptions within this local labour market, show that employability is shaped by six interrelated dimensions: (1) the structure and functioning of the tourism labour market (segmentation, turnover, mobility); (2) partial misalignment between training provision and operational service realities; (3) recruitment standards that prioritise behavioural and relational competences alongside formal qualifications, particularly for frontline positions; (4) language proficiency, especially English and French, as a baseline employability condition; (5) growing expectations regarding digital literacy linked to tourism operations (property management systems, reservation platforms, online reputation management); and (6) the perceived impact of AI-enabled tools (automation of routine tasks, decision-support systems, chatbots), which is seen less as a source of job destruction than as a driver of task reconfiguration and skill upgrading. By situating employer and graduate perceptions within the broader Moroccan employment and training context, the study contributes a place-based understanding of employability in tourism. It highlights the shared responsibility of individuals, employers, and education and training institutions in supporting skill development. The article concludes by discussing policy and practice-oriented levers to strengthen graduate employability, including co-designed curricula, structured internships and mentoring schemes, employer-supported upskilling in tourism-specific digital and AI-related competences, and reinforced labour-market intermediation through ANAPEC and regional governance actors. Full article