The Human Development Index, which accounts for both net foreign income and the total value of goods and services generated domestically, illustrates how income becomes less significant as Gross National Income (GNI) rises by using the logarithm of income. South Africa ranks 109th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) within the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economic bloc, raising long-term sustainability concerns. The study explores the relationship between economic, demography, policy indicators and human development in South Africa. South Africa’s unique status as a developing country within the BRICS economic group, alongside its lengthy history of racial discrimination, calls for a sophisticated approach to understanding Human Development. Existing research considered economic, demography, policy indicators independently; the gap of understanding their interconnection and long-term effects in the South African contexts exists. The study addresses the gap by using Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the short-term and the long-term relationship between economic, demography, policy indicators and human development in South Africa. By discovering these links, the study hopes to provide useful insights for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable human development in South Africa. The findings indicate that growth in GDP is a key factor in the HDI since it shows that there are more financial resources available for human development. By discovering these links, the study hopes to provide useful insights for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable human development in South Africa.

This study aims to examine the influence of employee and entrepreneur competencies on work efficiency and performance of export companies at the Nong Khai border checkpoint. The research conducted is a quantitative survey. The population for this study includes employees and entrepreneurs from the cross-border export service industry, exporters, and freight forwarder agents operating at the Nong Khai border checkpoint. A non-probability sampling method was employed to select participants. The sample size was Cochran estimated using Cochran’s formula. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 385 logistics employees and entrepreneurs selected through purposive sampling. The questionnaires were distributed to employees and entrepreneurs from the export entrepreneurial industry, cross-border export service providers, exporters, and freight forwarder agents at the Nong Khai border checkpoint. The findings revealed that employee and entrepreneur competencies have a direct influence on the work efficiency and performance of export companies. The study concludes that enhancing the competencies of employees and entrepreneurs positively impacts work efficiency and the overall export performance of the company. The research suggests that entrepreneurs should prioritize training and competency development for employees to further improve work efficiency.

Adequate sanitation is crucial for human health and well-being, yet billions worldwide lack access to basic facilities. This comprehensive review examines the emerging field of intelligent sanitation systems, which leverage Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to address global sanitation challenges. The existing intelligent sanitation systems and applications is still in their early stages, marked by inconsistencies and gaps. The paper consolidates fragmented research from both academic and industrial perspectives based on PRISMA protocol, exploring the historical development, current state, and future potential of intelligent sanitation solutions. The assessment of existing intelligent sanitation systems focuses on system detection, health monitoring, and AI enhancement. The paper examines how IoT-enabled data collection and AI-driven analytics can optimize sanitation facility performance, predict system failures, detect health risks, and inform decision-making for sanitation improvements. By synthesizing existing research, identifying knowledge gaps, and discussing opportunities and challenges, this review provides valuable insights for practitioners, academics, engineers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. It offers a foundation for understanding how advanced IoT and AI techniques can enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of the sanitation industry.

The last decades have offered new challenges to researchers worldwide through the problems our planet is facing both in the environment protection field and the need to replace fossil fuels with new environmentally friendly alternatives. Bioenergy as a form of renewable energy is an acceptable option from all points of view and biofuels due to their biological origin have the ability to satisfy the new needs of humanity. By releasing some non-polluting combustion products into the atmosphere, biofuels have already been adopted as additives in traditional liquid fuels, being intended mainly for internal combustion engines of automobiles. The current work proposes an extension of biofuels application in combustion processes specific to industrial furnaces. This technical concern is not found in the literature, except for achievements of the research team involved in this work, which has performed previous investigations. A 51.5 kW-burner was designed to operate with glycerine originating from triglycerides of plants and animals, mixed with ethanol, an alcohol produced by the chemical industry recently used as an additive in gasoline for automobile engines. Industrial oxygen was chosen as the oxidizing agent necessary for the liquid mixture combustion, allowing to obtain much higher flame temperatures compared to the usual combustion processes using air. Mixing glycerine with ethanol in 8.8 ratio allowed growing flame stability, accentuated also by creating swirl currents in the flame through the speed regime of fluids at the exit from the burner body. Results were excellent both through the flame stability and low level of polluting emissions.

Financial markets have adopted measures aiming at strengthening insurance industry and digital financial assets. Efforts have also been made to strengthen the financial sector and expand lending opportunities in times of economic turmoil. The role of the central banks as a mega-regulator have played a crucial role in implementing coordinated policies and improving the stability of the financial sector. This review paper analyses 100 papers and proposes recommendations for policy makers. The results confirm the financial sector has shown positive performance indicators, and the capital market has become increasingly important along with non-credit financial institutions. However, the growing number of first-time investors in the capital market requires a renewed focus on consumer protection and financial literacy. In addition, the development of digital technologies has changed the landscape of financial services, forcing financial institutions to fight for continued customer loyalty.