Noise pollution in construction sites is a significant concern, impacting worker health, safety, communication, and productivity. The current study aims to assess the paramount consequences of ambient noise pollution on construction activities and workers’ productivity in Peshawar, Pakistan. Noise measurements have been recorded at four different construction sites in Peshawar at different times of the day. Statistical analysis and Relative Importance Index (RII) are employed to evaluate the data Risk variables, such as equipment maintenance, noise control, increased workload, material handling challenges, quality control issues, and client satisfaction. The results indicated that noise levels often exceeded permissible limits, particularly in the afternoon, posing significant worker risks. In addition, RII analysis identified communication difficulties, safety hazards, and decreased productivity as significant issues. The results show that noise pollution is directly linked with safety risks, decreased performance, and client dissatisfaction and needs immediate attention by authorities. This paper proposes a strategic policy framework, recommending uniform hand signals and visual communication methods without noise for workers, worker training about safety, and using wearable devices in noisy settings. Communication training for teams and crane operators, proactive quality control, and customer-oriented project schedules are also proposed. These recommendations aim to mitigate the adverse effects of noise pollution, enhance construction industry resilience, and improve overall operational efficiency, worker safety, and client satisfaction in the construction sector of Peshawar, aligning with policy and sustainable development objectives.

This study investigated the changing land use patterns and their impacts on ecosystem in the Teesta River Basin of northwestern Bangladesh. Although anthropocentric land use patterns, including agricultural land use, settlements, built areas, and waterbody loss, have been increasing in the Nilphamari district, by negatively affecting local ecosystems, they have not been identified by prior research. Limitations of contemporary literature motivated me to work on this crucial ground in the Teesta River Basin in Northwestern Bangladesh. This study applied a mixed research approach to identify the study objectives. Firstly, the land use and land cover (LULC) changes which occurred between 2000 and 2020 were detected using satellite imagery and supervised classification method. In addition to the detection of LULC changes, the study explored the people’s perceptions and experiences about the ecosystem changes resulted from the LULC changes over the last 20 years, conducting stakeholders’ consultations and household surveys utilizing a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings indicated that waterbodies in Nilphamari district have significantly decreased from 378 km² in 2000 to 181 km² in 2020. In the same way, the vegetation coverage has reduced 187 km² between the years 2000 and 2020. On the contrary, agricultural lands (croplands) have increased from 595 km² to 905 km² and settlements have increased from 81 km² to 206 km² between the years 2000 and 2020. From the chi-square test, it was found a significant association between ecosystem change and biodiversity loss. It was further identified that waterbody decreases have significant impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The results of this study also indicated that due to the introduction of foreign tree species, local and native species have been significantly decreasing over the time. This study emphasizes the non-anthropocentric and inclusive land use policy implications for protecting life on land and preserving the aquatic ecosystem in Bangladesh.

 This study explores the primary drivers influencing sustainable project management (SPM) practices in the construction industry. This research study seeks to determine whether firms are primarily motivated by external pressures or internal values when embracing SPM practices. In doing so, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on SPM drivers by considering coercive pressures (CP), ethical responsibility (ER), and green transformational leadership (GTL) as critical enablers facilitating a firm’s adoption of SPM practices. Based on data from 196 project management practitioners in Pakistan, structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Results highlight that CP influences the management of sustainability practices in construction projects, signifying firms’ concern for securing legitimacy from various institutional actors. As an ‘intrinsic value’, ER emerges as a significant motivator for ecological stewardship, driven by a genuine commitment to promoting sustainable development. This study also unveils the significant moderating effect of GTL on the association among CP, ER, and SPM. Lastly, the results of IMPA reveal that ER slightly performs better than CP as it helps firms internalize the essence of sustainability. This research study expands our understanding of SPM drivers in construction projects by exploring the differential impact of external pressures and the firm’s intrinsic values. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners, aiding them in promoting SPM to attain sustainable development goals.

For this, the primary aim of this study was to analyze of the impact of cultural accessibility and ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructure on economic growth in Kazakhstan, employing regression models to asses a single country data from 2008 to 2022. The research focuses on two sets of variables: cultural development variables (e.g., number of theaters, museums, and others) and ICT infrastructure variables (e.g., number of fixed Internet subscribers, total costs of ICT, and others). Principal component analysis (PCA) as employed to reduce the dimensionality of the data and identify the most significant predictors for the regression models. The findings indicate that in the cultural development model (Model 1), the number of recreational parks and students are significant positive predictors of GDP per capita. In the ICT infrastructure model (Model 2), ICT costs are found to have a significant positive impact on GDP per capita. Conversely, traditional connectivity indicators, such as the number of fixed telephone lines, show a low dependence on economic growth, suggesting diminishing returns on investment in these outdated forms of ICT. These results suggest that investments in cultural and ICT infrastructure are crucial for economic development. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers, emphasizing the need for quality improvements in education and strategic modernization of communication technologies.

Women play a pivotal role in national development, and it is essential for every country to harness their skills to promote economic growth and comprehensive development. The purpose of the current study is to analyze and evaluation the impact of the most recent legislatives and legal reforms in the Saudi Arabia laws in the women’s empowering and economic growth. In addition, the research method is used is analyzing laws, regulations, and reports documents related to women rights in Saudi Arabia to clarify its impact on the women’s empowerments and economic developments. The study’s results indicate a significant and positive impact of recent legal and legislative reforms in Saudi Arabia on women’s empowerment and economic growth. Legal reforms have expanded employment opportunities and fostered entrepreneurship among women, resulting in increased workforce participation and a rise in women-owned businesses. Social empowerment has been enhanced through greater autonomy and improved access to education and vocational training, equipping women with competitive skills. Additionally, reforms have facilitated women’s participation in governance that creating a safer and more equitable environment. These changes have contributed positively to the economic incomes and diversification that reflecting the efforts undertaken by the Kingdom to enhance women’s empowerment and ensure the sustainability of reforms to achieve the ambitious goals of the Kingdome Vision 2030.

The holding of soccer events has an important impact on modern urban activities, which is conducive to the economic development, social harmony, cultural integration and regional integration of cities. However, massive energy is consumed during the event preparation and infrastructure construction, resulting in an increase in the city’s carbon emissions. For the sustainable development of cities, it is important to explore the theoretical mechanism and practical effectiveness of the relationship between soccer events and urban carbon emissions, and to adopt appropriate policy management measures to control carbon emissions of soccer events. With the development of green technology, digitalization, and public transportation, the preparation and management methods of soccer events are diversified, and the possibility of carbon reduction of the event is further increased. This paper selects 17 cities in China from 2011 to 2019 and explores the complex impact of soccer events on urban carbon emissions by using green technology innovation, digitalization level and public transportation as threshold variables. The results show that: (1) Hosting soccer events increases carbon emissions with an impact coefficient of 0.021; (2) There is a negative single-threshold effect of green innovation technology, digitalization level and public transportation on the impact of soccer events on carbon emissions, with the impact coefficients of soccer events decreasing by 0.008, 0.01 and 0.06, respectively, when the threshold variable crosses the threshold. These findings will enhance the attention of city managers to the management of carbon emissions from soccer events and provide guidance for reducing carbon emissions from soccer events through green technology innovation, digital means and optimization of public transportation.