The formation and implementation of migration policy cannot avoid being influenced by political elements, particularly political actors who have a direct or indirect interest in migration issues. Previous studies show that the influence on the administration and migration policy of a country has created the concept of ‘client politics’, that is, employers have a certain influence on the administration of foreign workers, especially in western countries. This situation has also created two groups which are pro-migrants consisting of employers, fundamental rights groups and trade unions; and anti-migrants are often associated with bureaucrats, nationalists and others. This study has used qualitative methods and has interviewed the informants consisting of government agencies, academics, employers, trade unions and NGOs. The results of the study show that those actors have a certain influence on the management of foreign workers including in the aspects of policy making and implementation. The concept of ‘client politics’ is seen to only apply to certain sectors, especially the manufacturing sector. Therefore, practically in Malaysia it is considered as ‘sectoral client politics’. In conclusion, the influence of both groups is not pursuing the interests of the country but rather on the interests of their respective sectors and entities.

The development of the personal innovative competences in workers is of capital importance for the competitiveness of organizations, where the ability of the employees must respond in an innovative way to diverse situations that arise in specific contexts. Considering this, the question arises: How do innovative employees' competences affect the sustainable development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)? Therefore, the objective of this work is to present a multi-criteria method based on the Analytic Network Process (ANP), to relate innovative personal competences and the sustainable development of MSMEs. An instrument was applied to groups of experts from 31 Ecuadorian fruit-exporting MSMEs, to develop a multi-criteria decisional network that allowed identifying the innovative personal abilities that have the greatest impact on the sustainable development of these organizations. The results demonstrate the relevance of the elements of innovative personal competencies, with a cumulative participation of 39.15%, Sustainable Export Development with 32.18% and Improvements with 28.66%. It also presents three types of analysis: i) Global to establish the weight of each variable; ii) Influences, to establish solid cause-effect relationships between the variables and iii) Integrated. The most relevant innovative personal competences for sustainable development and improvements for exporting SMEs are teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity within the international context.

Combining physical, social, and economic elements, urban planning plays a critical role in creating sustainable, resilient, and livable urban environments. It encompasses the regulation of land use, infrastructure, transportation systems, and environmental resources, with a focus on sustainable urban design and green infrastructure. While progress has been made, there are still areas that have not been fully explored, including the integration of renewable energy sources and the development of urban environments that are resilient to environmental stresses. This study aims to analyze the direction and scope of urban planning research and to identify research gaps in this area. The method used is bibliometrics by analyzing data obtained from the Scopus database in January 2024. The results of this study showed that Yufeng Zhang, a professor at Wuhan University, China, was the most productive author in producing publications, namely 22 documents. In addition, the article produced by Qianqian Zhou is also influential in this research topic because it gets a number of citations, as high as 204 citations. Additionally, the results indicate the current focus of research on sustainability, adaptation to climate change, and technology in urban planning. These findings can guide future research, direct policy, and ensure an interdisciplinary approach to modern urban and regional challenges.

This study aims to explore the relationship between classroom anxiety and self-efficacy among Chinese Korean language learners and the impact of these variables on learning outcomes. Utilizing a quantitative research approach, the study conducted a questionnaire survey with 300 learners to assess their levels of Korean language learning classroom anxiety and self-efficacy. The questionnaire comprised two parts: one for assessing learning anxiety and the other for self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. The results indicate a significant negative correlation between classroom anxiety and self-efficacy. That is, higher levels of classroom anxiety in Korean language learners correspond to lower levels of self-efficacy. Additionally, self-efficacy played a partial mediating role between classroom anxiety and learning outcomes. The study also found that teaching strategies offering positive feedback and encouragement can effectively reduce learners’ classroom anxiety and enhance their self-efficacy, thereby improving learning outcomes. This research is significant for understanding the psychological characteristics of Chinese Korean language learners and their impact on the learning process. The findings underscore the need to focus on learners’ psychological states in language teaching and provide strategies for teachers on how to improve teaching effectiveness by alleviating classroom anxiety and enhancing self-efficacy.

Low-cost housing homeownership funding for junior staffers is challenging in private sector organisations, especially in developing countries. Motivating private sector investment in junior staffers’ homeownership via a developed expanded corporate social responsibility (ECSR) may promote achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11). Therefore, the study investigates the role of the ECSR framework in improving Nigeria’s private sector junior staffers’ homeownership and achieving SDG 11. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews with selected participants in six of Nigeria’s geo-political zones. The study adopted thematic analysis to analyse the collected data. Six variables emerged from the 18 re-clustered sub-variables. This includes institutionalising ECSR in low-income homeownership, housing finance for junior staffers’ homeownership, and housing incentives and stakeholders’ participation for low-income earners. The research employed six variables and 18 sub-variables to develop the improved private sector’s junior staffers’ homeownership via ECSR and achieving SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and their targets. The research presents a novel approach by attempting to integrate SDG 11 with Corporate Social Housing, an extension of corporate social responsibility, especially to align the SDGs with evolving perspectives on Expanded Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria.

Research into electro-conductive textiles based on conductive polymers like polypyrrole has increased in recent years due to their high potential applications in various fields. Conductive polymers behave like insulators in their neutral states, with typical electrical conductivity in the range 10^–10 to 10^–25 Scm^–1. These neutral polymers can be converted into semi-conductive or conductive states with conductivities ranging from 1 Scm^–1 to 10^–4 Scm^–1 through chemical or electro-chemical redox reactions. By applying these polymers to a textile surface, we can obtain novel composites that are strong, flexible, lightweight, and highly electroconductive. These textile composites are suitable for applications such as heating pads, sensors, corrosion-protecting materials, actuators, electrochromic devices, EMI shielding, etc. The methods of application of conductive polymers onto the textile surface, such as in-situ chemical, in-situ electrochemical, in-situ vapor phase, in-situ polymerization in a supercritical fluid, and solution coating processes, are described here briefly. The merits and demerits of these methods are mentioned here. The reaction mechanisms of chemical and electrochemical polymerization proposed by the different researchers are described. Different factors affecting the kinetics of chemical and electrochemical polymerization are accounted for. The influence of textile materials on the kinetics of chemical polymerization is reviewed and reported.