Using the Intercultural Competence and Inclusion in Education Scale (ICIES), this study examines variations in intercultural competence and inclusion between mainstream and multiethnic high schools. The sample consisted of 384 high school students, aged 17 to 18, from both rural and urban areas in Western Romania, enrolled in grades 11 and 12. The ICIES demonstrated strong reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.721. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three distinct dimensions: Intercultural opportunities and activities, Comfort in diverse settings, and Cultural reflection and values. Independent samples t-tests identified significant differences between mainstream and multiethnic schools across several items, with students in multiethnic schools reporting higher levels of intercultural competence and inclusion. These findings highlight the critical role of multicultural educational settings in fostering students’ cultural awareness and inclusive attitudes. This study provides actionable insights for enhancing multicultural education practices and policies, including teacher training programs, inclusive curricula, and extracurricular initiatives that promote intercultural engagement and reduce intergroup biases.

The food supply chain in South Africa faces significant challenges related to transparency, traceability, and consumer trust. As concerns about food safety, quality, and sustainability grow, there is an increasing need for innovative solutions to address these issues. Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising tool to enhance transparency and accountability across various industries, including the food sector. This study sought to explore the potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing through promoting transparency that enable the achievement of sustainable food supply chain infrastructure in South Africa. The study found that blockchain technology used in food supply chain creates an immutable and decentralized ledger of transactions that has the capacity to provide real-time, end-to-end visibility of food products from farm to table. This increased transparency can help mitigate risks associated with food fraud, contamination, and inefficiencies in the supply chain. The study found that blockchain technology can be leveraged to enhance supply chain efficiency and trust among stakeholders. This technology used and/or applied in South Africa can reshape the agricultural sector by improving production and distribution processes. Its integration in the food supply chain infrastructure can equally improve data management and increase transparency between farmers and food suppliers.There is need for policy-makers and scholars in the fields of service delivery and food security to conduct more research in blockchain technology and its roles in creating a more transparent, efficient, and trustworthy food supply chain infractructure that address food supply problems in South Africa. The paper adopted a qualitative methodology to collect data, and document and content analysis techniques were used to interpret collected data. 

In order to address severe siltation and enhance urban green spaces in Xianyang Lake, the research offers a sustainable solution by proposing an innovative integration of ecological dredging and landscape transformation. The key findings are as follows: Firstly, an ecological dredging mechanism was established by directly transporting sediment from Xianyang Lake to its central greenbelt, reducing dredging costs and environmental impact while creating a sustainable funding cycle through revenue from eco-tourism activities. Secondly, the landscape artistic conception of the central greenbelt was significantly improved by leveraging the natural distance between the lakeshore and the greenbelt, offering diverse viewing experiences and enhancing the cognitive abilities and urban life satisfaction of tourists. Thirdly, the project demonstrated substantial economic and social benefits, including revenue generation from paid activities like boat tours, increased public awareness of biodiversity through ecological education, and improved community well-being. The central greenbelt also enhanced the urban environment by improving air quality, mitigating the “heat island effect,” and providing habitats for wildlife. This integrated approach serves as a model for sustainable urban development, offering valuable insights for cities facing similar ecological challenges. Future research should focus on long-term monitoring to further evaluate the ecological and socio-economic impacts of such projects.

To investigate the effect of the location of vacuum insulation panels on the thermal insulation performance of marine reefer containers, a 20^ft mechanical refrigeration reefer container was employed in this paper, and the physical and mathematical models of three kinds of envelopes composed of vacuum insulation panels (VIP) and polyurethane foam (PU) were numerically established. The heat transfer of three types of envelopes under unsteady conditions was simulated. In order to be able to analyze theoretically, the Rasch transform is used to analyze the thermal inertia magnitude by calculating the thermal transfer response frequency and the thermal transfer response coefficient for each model, and the results are compared with the simulation results. The results implied that the insulation performance of VIP external insulation is the best. The delay times of each model obtained from the simulation results are 0.81 h, 1.45 h, 2.03 h, and 2.24 h, while the attenuation ratios are 8.93, 20.39, 20.62, and 21.78, respectively; the delay times calculated from the theoretical analysis are 0.78 h, 1.43 h, 1.99 h, and 2.20 h, respectively; and the attenuation ratios are 8.84, 20.31, 20.55, and 21.72, respectively. The carbon reduction effect of VIP external insulation is also the best. The most considerable carbon reduction is 3.65894 kg less than the traditional PU structure within 24 h. The research has a guiding significance for the research and progress of the new generation of energy-saving reefer containers and the insulation design of the envelope of refrigerated transportation equipment.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between internal and information integration within the supply chain (SCI-INTI and SCI-INFI), supply chain management (SCM) practices, and port operational performance (POP) in Oman’s container ports. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of SCM practices in the relationship between SCI-INTI, SCI-INFI, and POP in Oman. To meet the study’s objectives, a quantitative cross-sectional survey method was used. A total of 377 questionnaires were distributed to managers responsible for supply chain operations in the main departments at Sohar and Salalah ports, yielding 331 usable responses, with a response rate of 88 percent. The data collected were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that both internal and information integration within the supply chain have positive and statistically significant effects on the operational performance of Oman’s container ports (POP). Specifically, Supply Chain Integration with Internal Integration (SCI-INTI) significantly impacts POP (β = 0.249, t = 5.039, p < 0.001), and Supply Chain Integration with Information Integration (SCI-INFI) also significantly affects POP (β = 0.259, t = 4.966, p < 0.001). Additionally, SCI-INTI positively influences Supply Chain Management Practices (SCMP) (β = 0.381, t = 7.674, p < 0.001), as does SCI-INFI (β = 0.484, t = 9.878, p < 0.001). Furthermore, SCMP positively and significantly influences the operational performance of Oman’s container ports (β = 0.424, t = 7.643, p < 0.001). These findings contribute to the literature by emphasizing the significance of internal and information integration within the supply chain and SCM practices as strategic internal resources and capabilities that enhance operational performance in container ports. Understanding these elements enables decision-makers and policymakers within government port authorities and port operating companies to optimize internal resources and capabilities to improve port operational performance.

In this study, the effect of roasting and boiling on the yield and oxidative stability of soya bean oil was investigated. The oil was soxhlet extracted and the oxidative stability was determined by the free fatty acid value, acid value and peroxide value. The results showed that the oil yield, free fatty acid value, acid value and peroxide value were significantly affected by roasting, boiling, and the thermal treatment time. The percentage oil yield in the control oil sample was 18.51%, which increased to 20.24% and 20.73% after boiling and roasting respectively, at 40mins. The corresponding free fatty acid and the peroxide value of the control oil sample were 0.14% and 2.04 meqO₂/kg, which increased to 0.82% and 6.60 meqO₂/kg by roasting, and 0.47% and 5.62 meqO₂/kg by boiling respectively. Thus the oil yield, free fatty acid value, peroxide value, and acid value increased with increasing roasting and boiling time.
The results indicate that roasting provides a higher oil yield than boiling, but boiled oil has higher oxidative stability than roasted oil.