Despite Cameroon’s immense sand reserves, several enterprises continue to import standardized sands to investigate the properties of concretes and mortars and to guarantee the durability of built structures. The present work not only falls within the scope of import substitution but also aims to characterize and improve the properties of local sand (Sanaga) and compare them with those of imported standardized sand widely used in laboratories. Sanaga sand was treated with HCl and then characterized in the laboratory. The constituent minerals of Sanaga sand are quartz, albite, biotite, and kaolinite. The silica content (SiO₂) of this untreated sand is 93.48 wt.%. After treatment, it rose 97.5 wt.% for 0.5 M and 97.3 wt.% for 1 M HCl concentration. The sand is clean (ES, 97.67%–98.87%), with fineness moduli of 2.45, 2.48, and 2.63 for untreated sand and sand treated with HCl concentrations of 0.5 and 1 M respectively. The mechanical strengths (39.59–42.4 MPa) obtained on mortars made with untreated Sanaga sand are unsatisfactory compared with those obtained on mortars made with standardized sand and with the expected strengths. The HCl treatment used in this study significantly improved these strengths (41.12–52.36 MPa), resulting in strength deficiencies of less than 10% after 28 curing days compared with expected values. Thus, the treatment of Sanaga sand with a 0.5 M HCl concentration offers better results for use as standardized sand.

Universities continue to provide solutions to private and public sectors of the economy by providing a skilled economy, increasing employment potentials, and improving employee performance. This study offered a theoretical model on the contributing factors to graduate employability among student entrepreneurs in Malaysian Higher Education and the mediating mechanism of perceived support and usefulness in social entrepreneurship to solve the graduate unemployment problem. We attained data using purposive and face-to-face sampling methods with acceptable data from 296 undergraduates and analyzed with the SEM software from respondents of various cultural backgrounds. Findings suggest a positive significant relationship between motivations, skills in social entrepreneurship, knowledge, and social elements on graduate employability. Similarly, perceived support explained skills, knowledge and social elements’ relationship to graduate employability except for perceived usefulness. The outcome further discovered the perceived support role for graduates of social entrepreneurship in fostering job crafting and future employability with various implications and recommendations. The results require the application of other research approaches to provide concrete implementations and social and economic solutions. Insightful results and proposals helpful to policymakers like higher education curricula developers and implementers, scholars, government and private universities of this study can help curb graduate unemployment through social entrepreneurship.

The study, taking China as an example, employs a mixed-method approach of questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews to explore the differing perspectives of disabled and non-disabled individuals on how to improve the social integration and quality of life of disabled people in developing countries. The study finds that the vicious cycle created by severe accessibility issues in developing countries is the root cause of the disabled’s difficulty in integrating into society. The impersonal barrier-free facilities suppress the desire of the disabled to travel, resulting in fewer disabled people on the streets and less visibility and attention, which leads to poorer accessibility facilities. Secondly, the study also finds that non-disabled people unconsciously show excessive sympathy and compassion when helping the disabled, which affects their self-esteem due to being patronized and helped. This creates two separate “social circles” between the disabled and the healthy. To address these issues, we have designed an application called “AbleMind” where the disabled can share experiences, make friends, seek help, and better integrate into society.

The article analyzes the process of formation of research universities as one of the elements of a strong innovation economy. The formation of a new university model is a global trend, successfully implemented in English-speaking countries. In Russia, the educational system is not yet ready to ensure the country’s effective competition in the innovation market. The Strategic Academic Leadership Program “Priority-2030” is designed to carry out the functional transformation of the entire infrastructure of human capital reproduction in a short period of time in Russia. The article presents an analysis of the main conditions for the development of a university with a research strategy, as well as an assessment of the implementation of this strategy by Moscow Polytechnic University. The methodological basis of the study was formed by qualitative methods: included observation and benchmarking of universities’ activities, which allowed to generalize the current global trends and best practices in the field of education. For the analysis we used the data of monitoring the activities of higher education organizations, data of official statistics, as well as data from reports and presentation materials of universities and online publications participating in the “5-100” and “Priority-2030” programs. The results of the study may be useful for researchers and practitioners engaged in the transformation of the Russian higher education system.

The following paper assesses the relationship between electricity consumption, economic growth, environmental pollution, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development in Kazakhstan. Using the structural equation method, the study analyzes panel data gathered across various regions of Kazakhstan between 2014 and 2022. The data were sourced from official records of the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan and include all regions of Kazakhstan. The chosen timeframe includes the period from 2014, which marked a significant drop in oil prices that impacted the overall economic situation in the country, to 2022. The main hypotheses of the study relate to the impact of electricity consumption on economic growth, ICT, and environmental sustainability, as well as ICT’s role in economic development and environmental impact. The results show electricity consumption’s positive effect on economic growth and ICT development while also revealing an increase in pollutant emissions (emissions of liquid and gaseous pollutants) with economic growth and electricity consumption. The development of ICT in Kazakhstan has been revealed to not have a direct effect on reducing pollutant emissions into the environment, raising important questions about how technology can be leveraged to mitigate environmental impact, whether current technological advancements are sufficient to address environmental challenges, and what specific measures are needed to enhance the environmental benefits of ICT. There is a clear necessity to integrate sustainable practices and technologies to achieve balanced development. These results offer important insights into the relationships among electricity consumption, technology, economic development, and environmental issues. They underscore the complexity and multidimensionality of these interactions and suggest directions for future research, especially in the context of finding sustainable solutions for balanced development.

The Bini people of Edo State, located in the Edo South senatorial district, have been the focus of a study investigating the impact of international migration on Nigerian infrastructure. The study employed a descriptive-qualitative approach, using a survey research methodology and structured questionnaires to gather data from 401 respondents. The study used regression and thematic analysis to examine the collected data, focusing on the connection between migration and the advancement of infrastructure. The findings suggest that low incomes, job insecurity, and the development of domestic infrastructure contribute to the momentum behind international migration movements. The study suggests that remittances from migrants and investments are needed to alleviate the situation, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and sustainable approach to addressing the challenges faced by the Bini people in Edo State.