This study examines the relationship between macroeconomic determinants and education levels in eight selected African oil-exporting countries (AOECs) over the period 2000–2022. Drawing on human capital theory, the paper scrutinizes the impact of factors such as income inequality, health outcome, economic growth, human development, unemployment, education expenditure, institutional quality, and energy consumption on education levels. Employing robust estimation techniques such as fixed effects (FE), random effects (RE), pooled mean group (PMG) and cross-section autoregressive distributed lag model (CS-ARDL), the study unveils vital static and dynamic interactions among these determinants and education levels. Findings reveal notable positive and significant connections between education levels and some of the variables—human capital development, institutional quality, government expenditure on education, and energy consumption, while income inequality demonstrates a consistent negative relationship. Unexpectedly, health outcomes exhibit a negative impact on education levels, warranting further investigation. Furthermore, the analysis deepens understanding of long-run and short-run relationships, highlighting, for example, the contradictory impact of gross domestic product (GDP) and unemployment on education levels in AOECs. Finally, the study recommends targeted human development programs, enhanced public investment in education, institutional reforms for good governance, and sustainable energy infrastructure development.

This study analyzes the role of innovation in the development of smart cities in Latin America. It focuses on how emerging technologies and sustainable strategies are being integrated into urban planning and urban development. In this sense, this study seeks to contribute to the smart city literature by answering the following research questions: (i) To what extent smart city innovative initiatives have been addressed in Latin America? and (ii) To what extent scholars have addressed sustainable innovation strategies in the smart city literature? To this end, this is the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of smart city research in Latin America, with a structured and systematized review of the available literature. This methodological approach allows cluster visualization and detailed analysis of inter-node relationships using the VOSViewer software. The research comprises 4 stages: (a) search criteria; (b) selection of documents; (c) software and data extraction; and (d) analysis of results and trends. Results indicate that studies on the Latin America region began to develop in 2012, with Brazil as a leader in this field and the tourism sector as the most relevant. Nevertheless, strong international collaboration was identified in co-authoring studies, underscoring a cooperative approach to solving common urban problems. The most active research area is technological innovation and sustainability, with focus on solutions for urban mobility, quality of life and smart governance. Finally, this work underlines the need to continue exploring the integration of technology in urban development, suggesting an agenda to guide future research to evaluate the sustainability and long-term impacts of smart city initiatives in Latin America. From the policy perspective, smart city initiatives need to be human-centered to boost smart solutions adoption and to guarantee long term local impacts.

This paper is the third in a series focused on bridging the gap between secondary and higher education. Our primary objective is to develop a robust theoretical framework for an innovative e-business model called the Undergraduate Study Programme Search System (USPSS). This system considers multiple criteria to reduce the likelihood of exam failure or the need for multiple retakes, while maximizing the chances of successful program completion. Testing of the proposed algorithm demonstrated that the Stochastic Gradient Boosted Regression Trees method outperforms the current method used in Lithuania for admitting applicants to 47 educational programs. Specifically, it is more accurate than the Probabilistic Neural Network for 25 programs, the Ensemble of Regression Trees for 24 programs, the Single Regression Tree for 18 programs, the Random Forest Regression for 16 programs, the Bayesian Additive Regression Trees for 13 programs, and the Regression by Discretization for 10 programs.

Law Number 20 of 2003 on the National Education System states that citizens have the right to obtain basic education for children aged seven to fifteen years. In addition, it is also a commitment to the implementation of Grobogan district’s regional regulation No 5 of 2019 on education implementation, especially article 12 related to the obligation of local governments to ensure the implementation of basic education according to their authority. The purpose of this study is to determine the implementation of the basic education management program in Grobogan district; analyze the factors that support and hinder the implementation of the basic education management program in Grobogan district; formulate a model for implementing the basic education management program in Grobogan district. The method used in this research is qualitative. This method was used to analyse the phenomenon of policy implementation of the basic education management program in Grobogan district. The research site was in Grobogan district. The informants are policy actors who know a lot about the basic education program in Grobogan district. The results show that the implementation of the Grobogan district education office’s policy on basic education management consists of three areas, namely (1) equalization and expansion of access to education; (2) improvement of quality, relevance and competitiveness; (3) education governance and accountability. These three areas aim to achieve the national standards of education and the minimum service standards of education.

High-risk pregnancies are a global concern, with maternal and fetal well-being at the forefront of clinical care. Pregnancy’s three trimesters bring distinct changes to mothers and fetal development, impacting maternal health through hormonal, physical, and emotional shifts. Fetal well-being is influenced by organ development, nutrition, oxygenation, and environmental exposures. Effective management of high-risk pregnancies necessitates a specialized, multidisciplinary approach. To comprehend this integrated approach, a comparative literature analysis using Atlas.ti software is essential. Findings reveal key aspects vital to high-risk pregnancy care, including intervention effectiveness, case characteristics, regional variations, economic implications, psychosocial impacts, holistic care, longitudinal studies, cultural factors, technological influences, and educational strategies. These findings inform current clinical practices and drive further research. Integration of knowledge across multidisciplinary care teams is pivotal for enhancing care for high-risk pregnancies, promoting maternal and fetal well-being worldwide.

With the declaration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the importance of localisation principles and, consequently, the local-level institutions in implementing development policies came to the forefront. India adopted a thematic approach by condensing the seventeen goals into nine themes, to be worked upon by the local administrative units, furthering that each Village Panchayat (constitutionally known as Grama Panchayats) should select a theme in a plan year and strive towards attaining it. For the South Indian state of Kerala, with its good trajectory of decentralised governance, this localisation process of SDGs was rather smooth. In this article, we discuss the case of the best-performing Grama Panchayat (GP) in Kerala, which has identified ‘Village with Self-Sufficient Infrastructure’ as the development theme. Through qualitative research methodology, we examine how the Panchayat included projects specific to this theme in the development plans and how the implementation helped produce effects on multidimensional aspects of SDGs using the SDG Impact Assessment Tool. The case studies of different infrastructure-based projects endorse that with proper planning and implementation of such projects, the lowest tier of administration can significantly contribute to the improvement of development goals. We have delineated full fund utilisation through convergence schemes, community participation, and strong monitoring mechanisms as the factors leading the selected Panchayat to be the champion of the cause. The accomplishment exhibited by the Panchayat by integrating SDGs into the Village Development Plan through the projects on the theme of self-sufficient infrastructure can be well emulated by other local bodies across the world.