Abstract The women’s sector in the academe is one of the most affected profiles during the COVID-19 pandemic which directly ravages their livelihood and other economic activities. Thus, this research project investigated the economic situations of 30 private and public-school teachers who were displaced from their occupations or were forcibly deprived of income-generating activities. In-depth interviews as research instruments were employed in the study to extract responses on how the educators creatively apply adaptive economic strategies and how government should aid them during a global crisis. The research findings showed that the pandemic has affected the economic activities of the respondents including the loss of their livelihood and other economic sidelines. They responded to these economic effects through adaptive strategies using diversifying and analyzing trends, using digital technology resources, data-driven, acquiring new alternative skills, pricing strategy, and becoming an expert. Results dictated that government could support affected women by initiating training options, homepreneurship support, encouraging independent income-earners, financial management and tax breaks, and industry compatibility endorsement. This study is important to map out the specific economic effects of the pandemic and aid them with initiatives by providing them with concrete economic tools and programs.

Abstract This article provides an argument for amending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. That will ensure accountability, reduce criticism of corruption, and secure Chinese investment in Pakistan. The study’s main question is why CPEC does not have constitutional protection in Pakistan, which is more investment than Pakistan’s annual budget. CPEC should reduce the sense of deprivation and inequality within Pakistan and ensure its transparency in various aspects. The CPEC Amendment can establish parliamentary oversight and reduce the deprivations of the provinces by electing members on a National Economic Council (NEC) formula and a regional basis. Furthermore, it can provide some basic constitutional framework for upcoming governments regarding heavy investment in infrastructure. The constitutional provisions of the flagship project can serve as an example for BRI member countries.

Abstract The present paper discusses the case of the Madrid Nuevo Norte Project (MNNP) in order to examine the relation of this mega-project with the city’s sustainable development. For this reason, the study used a qualitative approach using semi-structural interviews with experts (Madrid’s town hall, Madrid State, and the program management office and other external) that relayed strongly with MNNP. The expert panel requirements are split in six expertise areas: sustainability, urban development, urban planning, government or public affairs, project management or Madrid Nuevo Norte (MNN) key stakeholders. The study highlighted the vital importance of MNNP as a flagship sustainable project for the rest of Europe, that meets sustainability criteria for contributing substantially in the improvement of the quality of life of final users and for the community in general. For instance, it contributes to the regeneration of the city’s degraded area, to the interconnection of an isolated part of the city and public transportation connection, improving the external image of Madrid. Despite of it, there are some challenges that should be carefully managed such as applying sustainable solutions from other cities not properly tailored to Madrid, housing pricing accessibility increase due to the lack of terrain in Madrid and the politization of the project as discussion topic between local parties. In this context, local authorities should give particular emphasis in complying with the principles of sustainability for improving the overall performance of MNNP, ensuring social justice and prosperity for the people of Madrid.

Abstract With the increasing concentration of people and services in urban centers, there is a growing prevalence of issues related to mobility, accessibility, housing, access to urban infrastructure, safety, leisure, tourism, sanitation, and sustainability. In response to the need for sustainability, these urban centers integrate information and communication technologies to optimize and assist in decision-making for public service management. As smart cities integrate the social, physical, and digital systems, they enable a participatory model of government management. Touristic cities, which include smart city indicators and integrate sustainability and technology throughout the tourism value chain, create sustainable development based on local limitations and capacities while enhancing the integration of technology throughout the tourism destination’s value proposition. Thus, this paper aims to analyze the municipality of Foz do Iguaçu as a smart tourism destination by applying the DTI-BR model. As a result, the application of the DTI-BR model in Foz do Iguaçu showed evidence that the municipality needs to improve its indicators to be considered a smart tourism destination, which implies the need for improvements in public-private partnerships for the municipality’s development as a smart city.

Abstract This study provides an empirical examination of the design and modification of China’s urban social security programme. In doing so, this study complements the popular assumption regarding the correlation between economic growth and social security development. Focusing on the economic and political motivations behind the ruling party’s decision to implement social security, this study first discusses the modification of urban social security and welfare in China. It then empirically demonstrates the mechanisms behind the system’s operation. This study proposes the following hypothesis: in a country like China, a change in the doctrine of the ruling party will affect government alliances, negating the positive impact of economic growth on the development of social security. In demonstrating this hypothesis, this study identifies a political precondition impacting the explanatory power of popular conceptions of social security development.

Abstract Iran has one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and many elements of today’s urban planning and design have their origins in the country. However, mass country-city migration from the 1960s onwards brought enormous challenges for the country’s main cities in the provision of adequate housing and associated services, resulting in a range of sub-standard housing solutions, particularly in Tehran, the capital city. At the same time, and notably in the past decade, Iran’s main cities have had significant involvement in the smart city movement. The Smart Tehran Program is currently underway, attempting to transition the capital towards a smart city by 2025. This study adopts a qualitative, inductive approach based on secondary sources and interview evidence to explore the current housing problems in Tehran and their relationship with the Smart Tehran Program. It explores how housing has evolved in Tehran and identifies key aspects of the current provision, and then assesses the main components of the Smart Tehran Program and their potential contribution to remedying the housing problems in the city. The article concludes that although housing related issues are at least being raised via the new smart city technology infrastructure, any meaningful change in housing provision is hampered by the over centralized and bureaucratic political system, an out of date planning process, lack of integration of planning and housing initiatives, and the limited scope for real citizen participation.

Abstract This paper explores the development of the concept of “green banks” in Tunisia, focusing on the role of regulators and the central bank in ensuring this transmission. The paper also examines the involvement of banks in the green economic transition and the various challenges. The study is based on the review of articles and research works regarding the emergence of green banks, especially in Tunisia (2018–2022); it also collected information and statistics from the websites and reports of Tunisian banks. The results of this work showed the critical role played by the Central Bank of Tunisia in encouraging banks to move towards greening the system. Also, several Tunisian banks are aware of the seriousness of climate change and have tried to implement several initiatives and services to accelerate green growth. However, Tunisia still needs to catch up with developed and some developing countries. Our findings help bankers and regulators better address climate change and its effect on the financial sector to achieve greater financial stability. These results contribute to banking in Tunisia by providing bankers and regulators with new tools to manage the impact of climate change on the banking sector.

Abstract National governments and academic higher education institutions continue to realign human resource development (HRD) strategies to address the gaps in HRD mandate. This study will investigate new and recalibrated skills that higher institutions (HEIs) professionals and the labor force produce to reconfigure curriculum development in tertiary education. The study extracts narrative from 6 curriculum developers, 3 HRD heads and h3 manpower organizations on the labor landscapes from different local and multinational industries from entry-level to mid-career ranges through case scenario-based interviews and focus group discussions to determine the skills around motivation, innovativeness, and adaptability and subsequently integrate strategic initiatives to reconfigure the compatibility of these skills from higher education institutions to post-pandemic industries. The findings reveal skills that can be managed at the individual level, e.g., self-motivation and adaptability as well as the need to emerge from the technological pressures by adapting to organizational and clientele demands. These human resource traits become the mantra of surviving and progressing in a landscape shaped by the pre- and post-pandemic setting and become the basis of HEI programs to match the needs of the labor force and the industries.

Abstract Cities, in addition to being physical, are also digital, requiring the use of information technology resources and strategies, information, and services to make appropriate decisions. The objective is to present the strategic digital city (SDC) concept and project model and its research considering the subprojects: city strategies; city information; public services to citizens; and information technology resources applied in cities. The research methodology comprises approaches mixing techniques in respective phases, including bibliometrics assignment, and model theory applied in SDC cases with more than 11 doctoral, 100 master’s, undergraduate, scientific initiation, and postdoctoral program orientations obtained from more than 300 cities since 2003. The results showed that the SDC can be understood as a social project of public policy and is on the city managers’ agenda, as demonstrated in the 8 cases researched and in the more than 86 publications in different scientific international journals in the recent decade. The conclusion reiterates the importance of the participatory and democratic SDC original project accepted to contribute to the proper city management and the citizens’ quality of life expansion, including infrastructure, policy, and city development. Then, the SDC contemporary concept and model have been maintained regularly over the 10 years.

Abstract The mining sector faces a complex dilemma as an economic development agent through social upliftment in places where mining corporations operate. Resource extraction is destructive and non-renewable, making it dirty and unsustainable. To ensure corporate sustainability, this paper examines the effects of knowledge management (KM), organizational learning (OL), and innovation capability (IC) on Indonesian coal mining’s organizational performance (OP). We used factor and path analysis to examine the relationships between the above constructs. After forming a conceptual model, principal component analysis validated the factor structure of a collection of observed variables. Path analysis examined the theories. The hypothesized framework was confirmed, indicating a positive association between constructs. However, due to mining industry peculiarities, IC does not affect organizational performance (OP). This study supports the importance of utilizing people and their relevant skills to improve operational performance. The findings have implications for managers of coal mining enterprises, as they suggest that KM and OL are critical drivers of OP. Managers should focus on creating an environment that facilitates knowledge sharing and learning, as this will help improve their organizations’ performance.

Abstract Using as a case study the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the present research studied the social-economic consequences of major sport events management. The present study examined many researches that had to do with the concept of infrastructure growth as a result of major sport events, as well as offered statistics on evidence of infrastructure development as a consequence of major sport events. The data that were used for the research were collected via online survey questionnaires, and they were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Event infrastructures employed in major sport events have a favorable social-economic impact. That comes as a result of the good impact that the audience at major sporting has on the social-economic development in general, and also the beneficial impact that the degree of organization at major sport events has on the social-economic welfare. The 2022 World Cup has been shown to have a significant influence on the country’s infrastructural development. As a result, it was established that major sport events are critical for a country’s infrastructure development. It is suggested that the present research is used on the future as a source in the investigation of infrastructure changes caused by major sporting events.

Abstract This article is a study of the institutional governance of farmers in Bukit Batu District, Bengkalis Regency using the concept of Society 5.0 and the governance paradigm for analysis in peat area studies. This study aims to determine the form of institutional governance of smallholder agriculture in peat areas and determine the truth of the influence of community economic management and development indicators on Society 5.0, which results from empirical studies in the field. This study uses the mixed methods method, which combines quantitative and qualitative data analysis to measure the truth of information. The results of the study illustrate that the question study first finds existing forms of institutional governance walk, however still passive; this is caused by constraints of knowledge management plant horticulture in the region peat, utilization process nutrients, and management techniques group sustainable farming in aspect regulation government and empowerment company around through CSR; on the question, it has been furthermore found that management variables and community economic development have a positive influence on Society 5.0. This study uses quantitative analysis and calculation results from the SPSS analysis test to support this conclusion. From this study, it formulated recommendation from the synergy between economic development and management of peat areas to socio-economic and environmental impacts that must be considered by interested stakeholders, as well as maximizing function technology in making it easy to manage horticulture plants in peat areas as a form of Society 5.0 to minimize behind.

Abstract The implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) in developing countries is represented by less advanced economic growth than in industrialized countries. It is reasonable to presume that different nations may have different constructs influencing GSCM adoption. Even though, there is a gap in the literature regarding the execution of GSCM in developing nations like Pakistan. This demonstrates the necessity and importance of undertaking empirical research on the variables influencing GSCM adoption from the perspective of Pakistan small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To close the gap in GSCM research, this study tries to pinpoint the variables influencing GSCM adoption among Pakistan SMEs. SPSS software version 23 is used to apply statistical techniques to the primarily obtained data. The survey form was administrated to 600 target respondents from all administrative levels. There were 210 complete and usable survey forms, showing a response rate of around 35%. First, the reliability of all questions is checked; second, we use multiple regression analysis to identify which factors are affecting the implementation of green supply chain management in Pakistani SMEs. The findings suggest that environmental factors and organizational factors have a great influence on managers’ intention to adopt GSCM. Meanwhile, technological factors have no significant impact on managers’ intentions to adopt GSCM.

Abstract The significance of infrastructure development as a determinant of economic growth has been widely studied by economists and policymakers. Though there is no much debate about the importance of infrastructure on growth, the extent to which infrastructure affects growth in the long run is often debated among researchers. This paper aims to examine the effect of infrastructure development on economic growth in ten sub-Saharan Africa. This study uses balanced panel data of ten African countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa over the period of 2010–2020 by analyzing a set of independent variables with relation to the dependent, which is GDP per capita. The study has found that water supply & sanitation index and electricity index have positive and significant relationship with economic growth, while transport index and Information & Communications (ICT) have negative relationship with economic growth in these countries.

Abstract This study explores the marginalization of a poor fishing community in Gwadar, Pakistan. The study provides an insight into how different levels of power, such as hidden, visible/pluralist, and invisible ideological powers, are used in policy arenas to hinder fishers’ access to participatory spaces, decision-making, and resource use. By employing Gaventa’s power cubes analytical model, we analyze fishers’ experiences and prevailing scenarios. Qualitative research methods were used to collect data, including in-depth interviews and participant observation. The finding shows that the interests of the fishing community in fishery policies and ongoing development projects are excluded both with intention and unintentionally. The exclusion of the local fisher community from key spaces brings interruptions and transformations that influence their lives. Due to this, they are induced to join insurgent groups to confront exclusion-based policies in Gwadar, Pakistan.

Abstract This study aims to develop a framework that helps organizations to fulfill their environmental and social responsibility amid constraints in selecting which stakeholders’ interest comes first and the essential to have an evolved strategic planning that can accommodate broader systemic planning and practice that will yield authenticity in business sustainability with components of environmental worldview of its leaders and organizational learning in the framework. This research uses the method of literature review with the data from interviews and content analysis of the report from one organization that has successfully implemented social and environmentally friendly practices. Based on an in-depth review of literatures on worldview, organizational learning, and strategic planning, and with empirical study from one organization, a conceptual framework by combination of the existing concepts is produced to enable an integration of theories in a range of possible actions for organizations to achieve sustainable development. The result from this research’s framework will allow further study to be carried out in the future to verify associations between existing concepts or variables within the framework, and to produce next empirical results in supporting those theories being reviewed in this paper.

Abstract Purpose: The housing need (owning a home to live in) represents one of the primary needs of people. Housing markets are search markets and, thus, the relation between housing need and trading frictions deserves a lot of attention. Design/methodology/approach: To study the relation between housing need and trading frictions, this theoretical paper develops a search and matching model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that addresses the topic by the search and matching theory. Findings: The model finds that only in a case the supply side’s profit maximisation condition coincides with the housing need satisfaction. In general, therefore, search markets are not able to satisfy the housing need. Housing policies that protect the weaker side (the demand side) of the market are thus needed. Policy implications: Housing policies can increase the “actual” and the “realised” housing demand, but a “potential” housing demand remains unsatisfied. Hence, labour market policies that increases both employment and wages are also needed. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that analyses the housing market equilibrium with search frictions from the perspective of “non-well-off first-time buyers”. Research limitations/implications: This model represents a first theoretical attempt to study the housing need by the search and matching framework. Future studies, therefore, should further develop the theoretical model by considering the close link between housing and labour markets.

Abstract This study informs the academic and policy debate on the policy effectiveness of exchange rate interventions on exchange rate levels and volatility. Using a constructed data set comprising daily data on exchange rates, monetary policy fundamentals, exchange rate intervention dates and magnitudes of those interventions as well as financial news speculation of such interventions, we empirically estimate the policy effectiveness of Bank of Japan interventions in the exchange rate over the 12-year period between 2010 and 2022. This allows us to investigate the policy effectiveness of a variety of exchange rate interventions, or news of exchange rate interventions, across different time-horizons. We find that policy interventions in the yen exchange rate are more effective over short-horizons than long-horizons, more effective when the policy objective is a competitive devaluation of the yen rather than a revaluation, and more effective at influencing the level of the yen against major world currencies other than the US dollar. In fact, for the yen-dollar rate, we find that policy interventions may have the unintended consequences of weakening the yen (when the policy intention is to strengthen it) and increasing volatility in the yen-dollar exchange rate.

Abstract Purpose: Drawing on the Resource Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the study seeks to investigate the impact of Big Data Analytics (BDA) on Project Success (PS) through Knowledge Sharing (KS) and Innovation Performance (IPF). Design/Methodology: Survey data were collected from 422 senior-level employees in IT companies, and the proposed relationships were assessed using the SMART-PLS 4 Structural Equation Modeling tool. Findings: The results show a positive and significant indirect effect of big data analytics on project success through knowledge sharing. IPF significantly mediated the relationship between BDA and PS in IT companies. Originality/Value: This study is one of the first to consider big data analytics as an essential antecedent of project success. With little or no research on the interrelationship of big data analytics, knowledge sharing, innovation performance, and organizational performance, the study investigates the mediating role of knowledge sharing and innovation performance on the relationship between BDA and PS. Implications: This study, grounded in RBV and DCT, investigates BDA’s influence on PS through KS and IPF. Implications encompass BDA’s strategic role, KS and IPF mediation, and practical and research-based insights. Findings guide BDA integration, collaborative cultures, and sustained success.

Abstract This paper presents an overview of the policies and efforts of the Provincial Government of Bali, Indonesia, to tackle the development of HIV/AIDS. This study considers the socio-cultural context and analyzes the factors that are most likely to influence its spread, the response of the community, and the local government’s efforts to form Provincial AIDS commission whose movement is supported by the village government and the community to suppress the spread of HIV/AIDS. The authors observe the micro factors that most determine this program, such as attitudes, behaviors, and desires of policy-making actors, stakeholders, implementing organizations, adequacy of human resources, financial funds, information, education, communication, advocacy, regional languages, the role of students, and field workers, and local culture in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. Therefore, this research does not focus on just one dimension in efforts to deal with this outbreak. Following the application of the public policy theory, all potential contributing elements must be addressed simultaneously. This requires a truly interdisciplinary and multisectoral approach that requires to be comprehended by policymakers in other provinces where the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is quite high. This effort also requires commitment and strong political will from levels of government.

Abstract Today urban development lacks ecological foundations in many cities of Turkey. The purpose of this study is to reveal the relationship between urban green spaces and ecological zones in the sample of Aksaray/Turkey. In this study, a study design has been created to improve the urban ecological infrastructure and to associate the green space network with the ecological zones. This design is divided into four parts as data processing, landscape pattern of urban green spaces, analysis of the spatial boundaries of urban natural ecological zones, and determination of the importance of spatial regions by overlaying two different stratified analyses. This study proposes a methodological framework that can be integrated into efforts to identify ecological zones to increase the sustainability of urban ecology and green space quality. One potential limitation of the proposed methodology can be the lack of consensus and enthusiasm among the administrative actors regarding the issue. Therefore, it is recommended that the administrative bodies should be correctly informed by the relevant scholars and practitioners who are working on the subject.