The COVID-19 outbreak on international cruise ships during the early stages of the pandemic has exposed deficiencies in the governance of public health emergencies within the framework of existing international law. These deficiencies encompass various aspects, including the shortcomings of the system of flag state jurisdiction, the vague definition and reasonableness of governments’ “additional health measures” as stipulated in the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005, the role of World Health Organization (WHO) in the protection of the fundamental rights of passengers and crew members during epidemic outbreaks on cruise ships, the application of the free pratique rule under the international health law, and other challenges that have not been adequately addressed in current international law. In the post-COVID era, it is essential to revisit these core issues of international law and reassess the allocation of responsibilities among all evolving actors to foster effective multilateral cooperation in epidemic control. This paper adopts the “Diamond Princess” incident as a case study, examining how such public health emergencies pose challenges to international laws, particularly when they occur within the context of a cruise ship. The paper argues that cooperation on global health emergencies will continue to be a challenge until responsibility is more clearly allocated among stakeholders. Additionally, the paper formulates three principles for enhancing governmental cooperation, namely the fairness principle, the nationality principle, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. It is advisable to carefully consider these key principles when reevaluating the international laws on public health emergencies in the post-COVID era.

As a key factor in the macroeconomic process, the interaction between public confidence and the commodity market, especially its impact on commodity facilitation returns and macroeconomic linkages, is worth exploring in depth. This study adopts the TVP-SV-VAR model to analyze the causal linkages, dynamic characteristics, and mechanisms of the interaction, and reveals the following core findings: (1) The economic background and information shocks contribute to the variations in the effects and orientations of the economic variables, which highlight the time-varying nature of the economic interactions. (2) Consumer and investor confidence exert heterogeneous influence on the macroeconomy, and their different responses to the negative effect of interest rates and convenience gains are particularly significant in the post-crisis recovery period. (3) In the short-term perspective, the influence of public confidence on monetary policy and inflation exceeds that in the medium and long term, highlighting the immediate sensitivity of individual economic behavior. (4) Since 2015, accommodative monetary policy has accelerated market capital flows, delaying the interaction between confidence indices and inflation, revealing policy time lag effects. (5) Convenience gains exhibit complex time-varying interactions with key economic parameters (interest rates, commodity prices, and inflation), with 2011 and 2014 displaying particular patterns, mapping differences between short- and long-term mechanisms, respectively. The study highlights the central role of consumer and investor confidence in the precise tailoring of macroeconomic policies, providing a scientific basis for policy forecasting and economic regulation, and contributing to economic stability. Meanwhile, the dynamic evolution of consumer confidence deepens market trend foresight, enhances the precision of market participants’ decision-making, and reinforces the resilience and predictability of economic operations.

Background: In an increasingly globalized world, public health is a challenge in the future of health systems. Nursing is a fundamental profession in health systems and the purpose of the study is to quantify the scientific production in global public health carried out by nursing to demonstrate its competence, capacity and specialization in this subject. Methods: A bibliometric study was carried out to understand the scientific production of public health nursing in WoS. A total of 17,545 documents were analyzed using Bibliometrix software in version 4.0.5. Results: A notable increase in production is observed over time, a sign of specialization and capacity. The theme focuses on three stages: hygiene and sanitation, infectious diseases and quality, prevention and non-communicable diseases coinciding with the real social needs of each moment. Most of the production is in English and produced by countries with developed economies. Nursing is aligned with current public health needs. Conclusions: Bibliometrics is a good method to quantify scientific production. The results show extensive scientific production in public health nursing, which translates into extensive knowledge of public health by nursing. There is a growth in production in accordance with time as well as an adaptation to the most current themes in accordance with population needs. Public health is an area of concern to countries and nursing can actively participate in studies, planning and leadership of health systems. Public health nursing should not be considered relegated to medicine but independent and of crucial importance to the “Onehealth” concept. Public, private and educational administrations must promote and support nursing research in public health, and it is not advisable to reduce the teaching load of global public health in nursing studies, in favor of the family and community environment.

Modern technologies have intensified innovations and necessitated changes in public service processes and operations. Continuous employee learning development (CELD) is one means of the molecule-atom that keep employees motivated and sustain competitiveness. The study explored the efficacy of CELD in relation to modern technology in the South African (SA) public service departments between 2014 to 2023 era. Departments are faced with challenge of equipping their employees with adequate professional and technical skills for both the present and the future in order to deliver specific government priorities. Data for the study were gathered utilizing a qualitative semi-structured e-questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 677 human capital development practitioners from national and provincial government departments in SA. The inefficacy CELD and the inadequacy of technological infrastructure and service delivery can be attributed to the failure by executive management and senior managers to invest in CELD to prepare employees for digital world. It is recommended that departments should use Ruggles’s knowledge management, Kirkpatrick’s training, and Becker and Schultz’s human capital models as sound measurement tools in order to gain a true return on investment. The study adds pragmatic insight into the value of CELD in the new technological environment in public service departments.

This study aims to determine the level of satisfaction of business actors with halal certification services by the Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency (BPJPH), the only Indonesian government-owned agency for halal certification. This study uses a mixed method (quantitative-qualitative), with data collected using questionnaires involving 2367 respondents. The overall quality of certification services was evaluated using key dimensions from the perspective of the Service Quality Model (SERVQUAL), such as (1) certification requirements, (2) information and procedures, (3) completion time, (4) costs/tariffs, (5) service products, (6) competencies of executors, (7) executor behavior, (8) complaint handling, and (9) suggestions and inputs. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and the analysis of the weighted average of each dimension of satisfaction with the quality of public services. This study revealed that the overall satisfaction level of business actors was 84.86 (0–100). Among the nine indicators measured, eight fall within the “good” category (above 80.19); one indicator, i.e., the processing time of halal certification, was rated unsatisfactory (76.45); and none was classified as “very good.” The service gap between business actors’ expectations and BPJPH’s service delivery indicates the need to improve halal certification services. These include improvement in completion time, the executive’s behavior, costs, infrastructure, and information and procedures to streamline the certification process. The application of the SERVQUAL model in assessing halal certification standards in this study highlights the specific dimensions of service quality and the performance gaps, suggesting the need for continuous improvement to meet customer expectations effectively. This study examines halal certification services from BPJPH based on inputs from a large sample of Indonesian companies.

Smart cities incorporate fundamental aspects such as sustainability and citizens’ well-being. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the feasibility and effectiveness of the implementation of an evaluation model of the transformation processes towards smart cities as a strategy to improve the state of the transformation processes in Lima, Peru. The research is descriptive and basic. A questionnaire was administered to 80 municipal officials in Lima, focusing on the variable “smart cities evaluation model”, covering three key dimensions: open data, smart public transport and energy efficiency, with a total of 15 questions and the variable “state of the transformation processes”, analysed through the dimensions of educational level of the population and municipal budget, with 10 questions. The results revealed that 48% expressed a gap in terms of the availability and quality of accessible information. 53% argued that stronger energy conservation and sustainability strategies need to be implemented. In addition, 53% felt that the education level needs to focus on improving local education systems. In conclusion, transformation processes drive economic, social and environmental development, improving the quality of life and promoting equality among citizens. This study contributes to a broader understanding of how to address these challenges in order to build more sustainable and liveable cities in the future.