This paper provides a concise historical analysis of the political economy of privatization in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia from the 1980s to 2007, a period that witnessed the emergence of privatization as a primary policy tool to reform the public sector. The paper examines the influence of political history, macroeconomic considerations, and International Development Agencies (IDAs) on the early privatization processes in these North African countries. Despite shared developmental trajectories, internal and external factors had a significant impact on the outcomes of economic liberalization. The paper aims to answer the following key questions: What were the underlying political-economic factors driving privatization, and how successful was it in achieving the promised economic growth? Through a focused analysis of each country’s contextual factors, privatization processes, and outcomes, the paper contributes valuable insights into the nuanced dynamics shaping privatization in developing countries.

Sustainability is a top priority for municipal administrations, particularly in large urban centers where citizens rely on transportation for work, study, and daily errands. Public transportation faces a significant challenge beyond availability, performance, safety, and comfort: balancing the cost for the city with fare attractiveness for passengers. Meanwhile, bicycles, supported by public incentives due to their clean and healthy appeal, compete with public transit. In Curitiba, the integrated transport system has been consistently losing passengers, exacerbated by the pandemic and the rise in private vehicle usage. To address this, the city is expanding bicycle infrastructure and electric bike rental services, impacting public transit revenue, and prompting the need for financial compensation to maintain affordable fares for those reliant on public transport. Therefore, this study’s objective is to analyze the bicycle’s impact on public transportation, considering the impact of public policies on economic and social efficiency, not just ecological and environmental factors. Data from six main bus lines were collected and analyzed in two separate linear regression models to verify the effects of new bicycles in circulation, bus tariffs, and weather conditions on public transportation demand. Research results revealed a significant impact of bus tariffs and fuel prices on the number of new bicycles that are diverting passengers from public transportation. The discussion may offer a different perspective on public transport policies and improve city infrastructure investments to strategically change the urban form to address social and economic issues.

This study aims to investigate what influences local workers over the age of 40 to work and stay employed in oil palm plantations. 414 individuals participated in a face-to-face interview that provided the study’s primary source of data. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to analyse the given data. The study revealed that factors influencing local workers over the age of 40 years to leave or continue working in oil palm plantations can be classified as income factors, internal factors and external factors. The income factor was the most significant factor as the percentage variance explained by the factor was 26.792% and Cronbach Alpha was high at 0.870. Therefore, the study suggested that the oil palm plantation managements pay more attention to income elements such as basic salary, wage rate paid to the workers and allowance given to the workers since these elements contribute to the monthly total income received by the workers and in turn be able to attract more local workers to work and remain in the plantations.

Studies on the influence of public policies on the regional tourism sector are of high scientific and practical interest, as they offer inputs to guide public management towards strengthening the tourism development of the territories. Through the structural equation model, this study took a sample 99 companies in the tourism sector in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, addressing the relationship between public policy management (PPM) and regional tourism development (RTD), from the perspective of the rational model of business performance. The findings show that the capacity of the state and its entities to comply with the requirements of the organizations, as well as the rigor to take criticism and suggestions for improvement, as a basis to strengthen their management, are the factors that best explain the relationship between the PPM and RTD based on the performance of organizations in the sector, especially focused on increasing market share, productivity, and income. Other findings and practical implications are discussed.

In order to explore how hygiene factors and motivational factors indirectly affect job satisfaction through teacher self-efficacy. Based on the two factor theory and Teacher Job Satisfaction Survey (TJS), this study analyzes how hygiene factors and motivational factors indirectly affect job satisfaction through teacher self-efficacy. The study collects valid questionnaires from 120 teachers and conducts mediation analysis using structural equation modeling. From the results, teacher self-efficacy had obvious mediating effects between hygiene factors and job satisfaction (β > 0.6, P < 0.001), as well as between motivational factors and job satisfaction (β > 0.6, P < 0.001). This discovery not only provides new perspectives and strategies for improving teacher job satisfaction, but also emphasizes the importance of enhancing teacher self-efficacy in improving job satisfaction. In addition, the study provides strong empirical evidence for education management departments and school leaders to formulate more effective teacher development policies and management measures, which has positive theoretical and practical significance for improving education quality and promoting education reform.

Infrared thermal imaging technology is another new branch for medical imaging after traditional medical imaging technologies such as X-ray, ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MRI). It has the advantages of noninvasive, nondestructive, simple and fast. Its application can radiate multiple clinical departments. This paper mainly expounds the principle, influencing factors of medical infrared thermography and its application in radiation protection and other medical fields.