The purpose of this article is to determine the equitability of airport and university allocations throughout Ethiopian regional states based on the number of airports and institutions per 1 million people. According to the sample, the majority of respondents believed that university allocation in Ethiopia is equitable. In contrast, the majority of respondents who were asked about airports stated that there is an uneven distribution of airports across Ethiopia’s regional states. Hence, both interviewees and focus group discussants stated that there is a lack of equitable distribution of universities and airports across Ethiopia’s regional states. This paper contributes a lesson on how to create a comprehensive set of determining factors for equitable infrastructure allocation. It also provides a methodological improvement for assessing infrastructure equity and other broader implications across Ethiopian regional states.

Inequity in infrastructure distribution and social injustice’s effects on Ethiopia’s efforts to build a democratic society are examined in this essay. By ensuring fair access to infrastructure, justice, and economic opportunity, those who strive for social justice aim to redistribute resources in order to increase the well-being of individuals, communities, and the nine regional states. The effects that social inequity and injustice of access to infrastructure have on Ethiopia’s efforts to develop a democratic society were the focus of the study. Time series analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) and composite infrastructure index (CII), as well as structural equation modeling–partial least squares (SEM-PLS), were necessary to investigate this issue scientifically. This study also used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to support the quantitative approach. The research study finds that public infrastructure investments have failed or have been disrupted, negatively impacting state- and nation-building processes of Ethiopia. The findings of this research also offer theories of coordination, equity, and infrastructure equity that would enable equitable infrastructure access as a just and significant component of nation-building processes using democratic federalism. Furthermore, this contributes to both knowledge and methodology. As a result, indigenous state capability is required to assure infrastructure equity and social justice, as well as to implement the state-nation nested set of policies that should almost always be a precondition for effective state- and nation-building processes across Ethiopia’s regional states.

This article reports the development of an index of culturality in Chile. Fifteen quantitative variables indicative of local cultural development are used to measure the access to cultural opportunities in each Chilean district. This approach was adopted from the theoretical framework of cultural materialism theorized by Marvin Harris in the seventies. Using this framework, a ranking is developed among 164 districts to determine the degree of cultural development exists in each and the variables that are the influential on the enhancement of this indicator. The results showed that the districts of Rancagua, Providencia, La Reina, El Bosque, and Valparaíso have better cultural opportunities based on their material forms, which are mainly driven by obtaining funds for cultural projects, workers’ salaries, civic activity, and public libraries. Based on the results of this ranking, a baseline is proposed to develop it using new data. In addition, recommendations are provided regarding public policies that have promoted cultural development in the communities with unsuccessful results. The article provides significant information for decision makers in Chile and a quantitative method for exploring cultural materialism in specific territories.

Foodborne diseases are a global health problem. Every year, millions of people die worldwide from these diseases. It has been determined that the high prevalence of these diseases is related to unfavorable socioeconomic conditions of the population. In this study, the relationship between foodborne diseases and socioeconomic conditions of the population was determined using principal component analysis as a multivariate statistical analysis technique. In this study, the socioeconomic variables of each Ecuador province and the prevalence of foodborne diseases (hepatitis A, salmonella, shigellosis and typhoid fever) during the years 2018 and 2019 were considered. The results show the relationship between foodborne diseases and the socioeconomic conditions of the population, as well as identifying regions more vulnerable to present high levels of prevalence of foodborne diseases, thus facilitating the implementation of social investment programs to reduce the prevalence of these diseases.

Countries employ various strategies to strengthen their soft power through education, public campaigns, mandatory service, and community involvement, essential for building a well-informed, prepared, and resilient citizenry. In Indonesia, the Civic Awareness for State Defence (CASD) program is designed to instil state defence awareness among citizens. This study introduces the Indonesia State Defence Index (SDI), a novel metric grounded in theoretical constructs such as national identity, nationalism, patriotism, and national pride. Differentiating from previous indices, our SDI employs advanced methodologies including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to enhance measurement accuracy. Unlike earlier approaches that used traditional aggregation methods, our use of PCA ensures the reduction of dimensions for each state defence indicator, thereby guaranteeing that only the intended dimensions are measured. Utilising data from the State Defence Survey conducted by the Indonesian Ministry of Defence from 1 March to 26 June 2024, we aim to measure and benchmark SDI values across Indonesian regions, thereby elucidating the civic awareness profile in the context of state defence. The refined SDI provides critical insights for policymakers, highlighting regions that require focused interventions to bolster state defence preparedness.

This study evaluates the health and sustainability of higher education systems in nine countries: the USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, China, Brazil, India, and South Africa. Using a multi-level analysis model and principal component analysis (PCA), nine key factors—such as international student numbers, academic levels, and graduate employment rates—were identified, capturing over 90% of the cumulative impact on higher education systems. India, scoring 6.2036 initially, shows significant room for improvement. The study proposes policies to increase graduate employment, promote international faculty collaboration, and enhance India’s educational expenditure, which surpasses 9.8% of GDP. Post-policy simulations suggest India’s score could rise to 8.7432. The paper also addresses the impact of COVID-19 on global education, recommending a hybrid model and increased graduate enrollment in China to reduce unemployment by 5.4%. The research aims to guide sustainable development in higher education globally.