The development of critical thinking (CT) enhances academic and professional opportunities. A review of literature reveals the use of fragmented analysis techniques, such as descriptive and correlational methods, among others, which hinder a deeper understanding of CT levels. This research aims to develop a methodology for analyzing Critical Thinking test scores, integrating five phases: exploratory, item analysis, scoring, gap analysis, and correlational. Using a quantitative approach, CT skills were analyzed with the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, which includes both open- and closed-ended questions to measure five skills: Verbal Reasoning (VR), Argument Analysis (AA), Hypothesis Testing (HT), Probability Use (PU), and Problem Solving (PS). The sample consisted of 214 students aged 18 and older. The item analysis phase categorized the items into quadrants: satisfactory, for review, or for elimination, based on difficulty and discrimination indices. The gap analysis revealed that Verbal Reasoning and open-ended formats were less satisfactory. The correlational phase, using heat maps, showed a stronger association between Verbal Reasoning and Probability Use. The methodological contributions include a variety of strategies that provide recommended procedures for analyzing tests or questionnaires in general. In today’s digital age, the development of critical thinking is not only a desirable skill but an essential necessity for the higher education system.

This study applies the multiple streams theory. It will further analyze the internal factors of the confluence of multiple sources, in order to explain why the “Joint Recruitment of Four Universities in Macao” policy has become the agenda of the Macao government. The entrance examination requirements from Macau universities are various. They increase local students’ pressure and consume their energy, thus serving as the source of the Problem Stream. The Policy Stream is represented by the Macau government’s intention to reduce students’ educational burden through establishing a unified assessment system. The Political Stream includes the Macau government’s commitment to improving the Macau education system, such as strengthening the multi-assessment system and the “The Fundamental Law of Non-tertiary Education System”. The convergence of these three sources has opened a policy window for the “Joint Recruitment of Four Universities in Macao” system, leading to a new student evaluation system. This policy not only addresses Macau’s social challenges and improves education governance while also highlighting the city’s educational diversity endeavors. Additionally, the strategies for implementing the “Four-University Joint Examination” policy include reducing the number of exams for students, implementing multi-education and multi-enrollment in higher education institutions, analyzing and improving the examination system based on educational big data, and understanding the basic elements and integration paths of big data in higher education. The Macau government can adjust major settings and enrollment quota allocation in the future, draw in more students from the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries and the “Belt and Road” regions, and integrate the joint admission method into the Greater Bay Area education cooperation in order to meet the needs of the growing Macao education industry.

Uncontrolled economic development often leads to land degradation, a decline in ecosystem services, and negative impacts on community welfare. This study employs water yield (WY) modeling as a method for environmental management, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Land Use Land Cover (LULC), Land Use Intensity (LUI), and WY to support sustainable natural resource management in the Cisadane Watershed, Indonesia. The objectives include: (1) analyzing changes in WY for 2010, 2015, and 2021; (2) predicting WY for 2030 and 2050 under two scenarios—Business as Usual (BAU) and Protected Forest Area (PFA); (3) assessing the impacts of LULC and climate change on WY; and (4) exploring the relationship between LUI and WY. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model calculates actual and predicted WY conditions, while the Coupling Coordination Degree (CCD) analyzes the LULC-WY relationship. Results indicate that the annual WY in 2021 was 215.8 × 108 m³, reflecting a 30.42% increase from 2010. Predictions show an increasing trend in WY under both scenarios for 2030 and 2050 with different magnitudes. Rainfall contributes 88.99% more dominantly to WY than LULC. Additionally, around 50% of districts exhibited unbalanced coordination between LUI and WY in 2010 and 2020. This study reveals the importance of ESs in sustainable watershed management amidst increasing demand for natural resources due to population growth.

The year of 2024 marked the twelfth anniversary of the cooperative mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries (China-CEEC). China has repeatedly affirmed its willingness to implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which created many opportunities to enhance the cooperation of the two sides. The paper exemplified some cases in the process of the cooperation, which were rarely discussed previously as normally it was dominated by the large-scale investment project. The cases of the climate change and ocean issues were perceived as a package of holistic EU-China relations that demonstrates the commitments from both sides to deal with SDG 13 and SDG 14. A qualitative method of the policy-circle evaluation and the goal-setting in the global governance was applied in the paper. The findings affirm that the current China-CEEC cooperation scheme is still carrying on both opportunities and challenges and affected by various internal and external factors.

The article examines the issues of application and improvement of the methodology for evaluating industrial enterprises as recipients of state support within the framework of the implementation of industrial policy. The authors considered approaches to the content of industrial policy, investigated the factors influencing its efficiency, identified aspects of its imperfections that arise when applying an incomplete list of important parameters of economic development and ambiguity in the interpretation of previously applied estimates. The article presents proposals to improve the methodology for assessing potential recipients of state support based on the development of a comprehensive indicator for assessing enterprises (recipients of support), taking into account not only the classical parameters of the economic efficiency of industrial enterprises applying for state financial assistance, but also such aspects as the development of budgetary funds, belonging to priority sectors of the economy, characteristics of sustainable development and export and innovation potential. Combining the results of a comprehensive assessment of the recipient of state support with a map of the business demography of the territory allows making a decision not only about the fact of support and its efficiency, but also to predict the assessment of the life cycle of the enterprise and its subsequent development.

This research investigates the safety status of water transport in Lake Towuti, South Sulawesi, employing the MICMAC and MACTOR methodologies to discern the factors that affect navigation safety and the interactions among the relevant stakeholders. The MICMAC analysis reveals that the effectiveness of sustainable transportation in Lake Towuti is significantly dependent on technical elements such as vessel certification, maintenance practices, and safety monitoring, alongside robust relationships among key entities like The South Sulawesi Class II Land Transportation Management Center (BPTD), The East Luwu District Transportation Office (Dishub), and the Timampu Port Service Unit (Satpel). When implementing the MICMAC-MACTOR model, it is essential to consider the technical implications of the proposed recommendations from the perspectives of social justice, environmental sustainability, and economic feasibility. The outcomes derived from the MICMAC and MACTOR assessments in Lake Towuti provide critical insights that can be utilized in other lakes across Indonesia, especially those that exhibit deficiencies in safety measures and adherence to inland water transport safety regulations.