The prospects of digital infrastructure in promoting rural economic growth and development are by and large immense. The paper found that rural development is considerably important for economic development and for achievement of sustainable livelihoods that increases people’s ability to achieve good health and wellbeing that enable the achievement of sustainable development. The paper found that digital imbalance and digital illiteracy in the rural areas hinder implementation of digital infrastructure to lead to rural economic growth. Digital infrastructure is the source of economic opportunities that enables local people in the rural areas to be more creative in achieving development success. It enables them to have a unique sense of place and fashioning of vibrant economic and financial opportunities that ensure the achievement of sustainable rural economic development. However, the paper found that the application of digital infrastructure to South Africa’s rural areas in the bid to promote rural economic growth has been hindered by factors like the digital divide, financial constraints, digital illiteracy and the failure to own a smart phone. These factors hinder digital infrastructure from leading to sustainable rural economic development and growth. The paper used secondary data gathered from existing literature. The use of qualitative research methodology and document and content analysis techniques became vital in the process of collecting and analyzing collected data.

Research networks organized around a particular topic are built as knowledge is produced and socialized. These are parts of a seminal or initial production, to which new authors and subtopics are added until research and knowledge networks are formed around a particular area. The purpose of the research was to find this type of relationship or network between authors, institutions, and countries that have contributed to the issue of the circular economy and specifically its relationship with sustainability. This allows those interested in the said object of study to know the research advances of the network, enter their research lines, or create new networks according to their interests or needs. The study used a bibliometric-type descriptive quantitative approach using the Scopus scientific database, the R Studio data analytics application, and the Bibliometrix library. The results were found to determine a relationship building from 2006, which makes it an emerging topic. However, the growth it has achieved in recent years of more than 31% shows a strong interest in the subject. Of the subtopics that have been addressed, sustainability, recycling, solid waste, wastewater, and renewable energy. Similarly, sectors such as construction, the automotive industry, tourism, cities, the agricultural sector, the chemical industry, and the implementation of technologies 4.0 and 5.0 in their processes stood out. The most prominent country in the scientific approach to this area is Italy. The most prominent author for his citations is Molina-Moreno, the source of knowledge that stands out for his contributions is the University of Granada and different networks have been built around their knowledge.

In wealthy nations, biofuel usage has grown in importance as a means of addressing climate change concerns, ensuring energy security, and promoting agricultural development. Because they understand the potential advantages of biofuel for rural development and job creation, governments have created policies and legislation to encourage the production of biofuel. However, the province of Limpopo hasn’t fully taken advantage of the potential to use biofuel production as a vehicle for job development, despite a higher demand for the fuel. There is currently a lack of understanding of the role of biofuel in promoting local development in developing regions. For this reason, this study made use of semi-structured interviews to explore how biofuel production can be used as an instrument for Local Economic Development (LED) in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The research investigated the determinants of empowerment that could impact the commercial feasibility of biofuel production in the province. It also identified the need for human resource development to get workers ready for jobs in Limpopo’s biofuel sector. The results showed that, provided certain conditions were met, the production of biofuel in Limpopo may be a useful instrument for creating local jobs. By highlighting the potential for job creation and the importance of human resource development, this research aims to facilitate evidence-based decision-making that can harness biofuel production for sustainable rural development in the region. The value of this study lies in its contribution to the understanding of biofuel’s role in LED, offering actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders in Limpopo. 

The effects of aid dependency on preventing the achievement of sustainable development in Africa has not been given appropriate academic attention. Aid dependency in Africa is undoubtedly among the most factors that have promoted poverty and underdevelopment. Aid dependency which hindered the growth of local innovation, promoted divisions that has affected good governance for sustainable development. Aid dependency has promoted chronic poverty, mental laziness and unstable health and well-being. It has ignited unhealthy condition that has created a perpetual vicious cycle of poverty that prevents the achievement of sustainable development. The study found that planning diplomacy can serve as a solution to aid diplomacy and address its effects thus promoting the achievement of sustainable development. Planning diplomacy was found to have critical links with Africa’s communalism theory, thus making it an ideal approach to addressing the effects of aid dependency in Africa. Planning diplomacy was found to promote local and business in collective manner. It is through this collective approach that sustainable development can be achieved in Africa. Planning diplomacy was found a key for sustainable development because it makes good use of foreign aids, promotes local ownership thus strengthens sustainable economic growth and development that makes sustainable development achievable. Planning diplomacy was equally found a remedy to aid dependency because it enhances knowledge and skills transfer. Knowledge and skills transfer promotes sustainable development because it facilitates sharing of skills that brings innovation and technologies to local citizens in a collective manner. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology with the use of secondary data collected from existing literature published in the public domain. Collected data was analysed and interpreted through document analysis technique.   

The aim was to examine the relationships between selected demographic and psychographic factors and consumers' willingness to accept content generated by advanced technological innovations (AIGC) in social infrastructure. The sample consisted of 1,308 respondents. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationships between ordinal variables. To assess the differences between groups of respondents, a one-way analysis of variance was used, during which multiple linear regression analysis was used to confirm the predictive power of awareness and experience in relation to AI-generated content in relation to the tendency to accept such content. The study confirmed a statistically significant but weak negative relationship between the age of respondents and their willingness to accept AIGC, with younger age groups showing a slightly higher rate of acceptance. Respondents' attitudes toward the use of personal data through AI and their overall awareness of technological trends had a more significant impact on acceptance. The findings show that respondents who are open to data collection through AI technologies show a significantly higher level of acceptance of automatically generated content. Similarly, respondents who positively evaluate the current quality of AIGC have higher expectations for the future transformation of marketing strategies and media practices. The decisive factors in the social infrastructure for the acceptance of AIGC are not so much the age of the respondents, but rather their awareness, technological literacy, and level of trust in the technology itself. The study therefore recommends increasing transparency and public awareness about the use of AI in marketing and media practices in order to strengthen consumer confidence in automated content.

Historically, women have faced progressive and persistent obstacles and prejudices preventing them from fully participating in and receiving recognition for scientific research in academia. In Panama, local gender studies specifically targeting the area of academia are scarce. However, to close the gender gap, this article tries to uncover the realities of women academics who dare to research and do science in Panama, beyond statistics. A virtual survey was distributed from May to August 2023, in which 921 academics (45% men and 55% women) affiliated with public universities in Panama were surveyed. Through an empirical analysis from a gender perspective, participants’ attitudes and perceptions on the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on research, the quality of higher education in Panama, the dissemination and transmission of knowledge, and research as an adjuvant to higher education were revealed. Findings reiterate the gender bias and underrepresentation of women in Panamanian public universities and the lack of commitment to their capacity building, research, and dissemination of results. It also confirmed that, despite the covid-19 pandemic and its negative effects in all areas, the importance and recognition of scientific research were highlighted, allowing women academics to excel competitively and take advantage of new opportunities in their career development.