The recent development of characteristic towns has encountered a multitude of challenges and chaos. Nevertheless, there have been many instances of information asymmetry due to the absence of an effective management model and an intuitive digital management system. Consequently, this has caused the erosion of public interests and inadequate supervision by public agencies. As society is progressing at a rapid pace, there is a growing apprehension regarding poor management synergy, outdated management practices, and limited use of technology in traditional construction projects. In today's technologically sophisticated society characterized by the “Internet+” and intelligent management, there is an urgent requirement to identify a more efficient collaborative management model, thereby reducing errors caused by information asymmetry. This paper focuses on the integration of building information modeling (BIM) and integrated project delivery (IPD) for collaborative management within characteristic towns in the PPP mode. By analyzing the available literature on the application status, this study investigates the implementation methods and framework construction of collaborative management while exploring the advantages and disadvantages. On this basis, this study highlights the problems that arise and provides recommendations for improvement. Considering this, the application of the BIM-based IPD model to characteristic towns in PPP mode will enhance the effectiveness of collaborative management among all parties involved, thereby fostering an environment that facilitates decision-making and operational management in the promotion of characteristic industries.

With the continuous development and rapid progress of Internet technology, the technology of “Internet +” has been widely used in almost all walks of life, including education. The new learning mode of “Internet + education” is changing learners’ learning habits, and this learning mode has become a hot issue that scholars pay attention to. Although there is much research on blended learning, the research on the influencing factors of blended learning in Chinese private colleges and universities is limited. In this paper, the questionnaire was designed based on the theory of planning behavior and the technical acceptance model theory, and distribute these questionnaires to undergraduates at Harbin Cambridge University, a private university in China, and 162 valid questionnaires were collected. Analysis was performed by multiple linear regression and structural equation model method. It is found that college students’ blended learning effect is positively correlated with perceived usefulness, interactive behavior, and learning acceptance, while perceived ease of use and learning atmosphere have no significant influence on the learning effect. This study further found that perceived usefulness and interactive behavior can influence the effect of blended learning through the mediating effect of learning acceptance. The results of this study provide a new idea for the study of blended learning; that is, students will know how to improve the effectiveness of blended learning, and also provide a valuable reference for teachers to solve the problem of how to improve the quality and effectiveness of blended classroom teaching.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the detection and diagnosis of plant diseases has gained significant interest in modern agriculture. The appeal of AI arises from its ability to rapidly and precisely analyze extensive and complex information, allowing farmers and agricultural experts to quickly identify plant diseases. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the detection and diagnosis of plant diseases has gained significant attention in the world of agriculture and agronomy. By harnessing the power of AI to identify and diagnose plant diseases, it is expected that farmers and agricultural experts will have improved capabilities to tackle the challenges posed by these diseases. This will lead to increased effectiveness and efficiency, ultimately resulting in higher agricultural productivity and reduced losses caused by plant diseases. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the detection and diagnosis of plant diseases has resulted in significant benefits in the field of agriculture. By using AI technology, farmers and agricultural professionals can quickly and accurately identify illnesses affecting their crops. This allows for the prompt adoption of appropriate preventative and corrective actions, therefore reducing losses caused by plant diseases.

The development of the maize agribusiness system is highly dependent on the role of social capital in facilitating interaction among actors in the chain of activities ranging from the provision of farm supplies to marketing. Therefore, this research aimed to characterize the key elements of social capital specifically bonding, bridging, and linking, as well as to demonstrate their respective roles. Data were collected from farmers and non-farmers actors engaged in various activities in the maize agribusiness system. The data obtained were processed using ATLAS Ti, applying open, axial, and selective coding techniques. The results showed the roles played by bonding, bridging, and linking social capital in the interaction between farmers and multiple actors in activities such as providing farm supplies, farming production, harvesting, post-harvest, and marketing. The combination of these social capital forms acted as the glue and wires that facilitated access to resources, collective decision-making, and reduced transaction costs. These results have theoretical implications, suggesting that bonding, bridging, and linking should be combined with the appropriate role composition for each activity in the agribusiness system.

Ancient Minipe Anicut, Sri Lanka is world-famous for its engineering excellence. Due to its importance, conserving the ancient anicut, another anicut was constructed downstream in the 20th century. Nevertheless, the water diverted from the ancient anicut to the Minipe Left Bank (LB) Canal was kept as it was due to inherited agricultural importance. This research focuses on studying the contributions made by the adjacent catchment along the Minipe LB Canal. There are several level crossings along the Minipe Left Bank Canal from which the runoff of the local catchment flow into the Minipe LB Canal. Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is used to obtain the yield from each catchment into the Canal, which was compared with the annual diversions from Minipe anicut. The total yield from each stream has been compared with the annual diversion of the Minipe LB Canal from 2014 to 2020. The results obtained from this study reveal that there is sufficient water available for water augmentation in the basin, with an estimated annual average cumulative yield from the catchment of 453.6 MCM. This cumulative yield is 1.7 times the annual average diversion from the Mahaweli River, which is 271.9 MCM. With the findings, it is concluded that there is a potential to augment water from the catchment to address pertaining water shortages conveyance in the command area.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be viewed as the aftermath of the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs). This is due to the fact that the seventeen (17) SDGs are designed to continue the work expected to have been done by the MDGs. In other words, the failure of the MDGs to eradicate poverty birthed the SDGs. However, the SDGs seem not to be achieving the desired result. This has led to the projection for the need for a decade of action. In the African context, the questions of why the MDGs failed and the SDGs tend to be failing are yet to be asked. By projection, if the questions are not asked and answers are not provided, the projection of the decade of action may also fail. Hence, the reason for this conceptual paper which was targeted at exploring the possibility of considering the Africanization of the SDGs as remedy to ensuring sustainable development in the African continent. Different relevant sources were identified, reviewed and analysed. The findings from the reviewed and analysed sources showed among others that for Africanization of the SDGs to be a reality and practicable, glocalization must be embraced. Meanwhile, there will be need to question the use of Eurocentric curricula in African institutions of learning.