This study investigates how financial cognitive abilities influence individual investors’ intentions to engage in the stock market, particularly considering the mediating role of financial capability. It seeks to address the gaps in understanding the factors that drive investors’ participation in emerging markets like Pakistan, highlighting the importance of financial knowledge, financial planning, and financial satisfaction and financial capability. Data were collected from 377 individual investors through a self-administered questionnaire using a cross-sectional design and non-probability convenience sampling approach. Results reveal that financial knowledge affects investors’ intentions both directly and indirectly, with financial capability serving as a partial mediator. Financial planning influences intentions indirectly through complete mediation, while financial satisfaction affects intentions in both direct and indirect ways, with partial mediation. The study provides valuable insights for the researchers, individual investors, governmental officials, policymakers, and stock market regulators in context of emerging economies like Pakistan, highlighting key determinants of stock market participation.

The operational performance of container ports is crucial for efficient logistics and trade. However, there is limited understanding of how external integration through Customer and Supplier Integration (SCI-CI and SCI-SI) impacts port operational performance (POP), particularly in emerging markets like Oman. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between SCI-CI, SCI-SI, and POP, and explores the mediating role of supply chain management (SCM) practices in this context. Using the Resource-Based View (RBV) as the theoretical framework, the study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey method. A total of 377 questionnaires were distributed to managers at Sohar and Salalah ports, with 331 usable responses obtained, representing an 88 percent response rate. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that SCI-CI and SCI-SI have significant direct and indirect positive effects on POP, and they directly influence SCM practices. SCM practices, in turn, significantly enhance POP. Notably, SCM practices partially mediate the relationship between SCI-CI and SCI-SI with POP. These findings underscore the strategic importance of external integration and SCM practices as internal resources for improving port performance. This research provides valuable insights for decision-makers and policymakers in optimizing port operations.

The Akit tribe fishermen on Rupat Island, Riau, Indonesia, are a remote indigenous community with a low level of education. They have experienced cultural acculturation after the influx of outsiders and the government built road infrastructure to break the isolation. The government also provides internet facilities to speed up the process of modernizing communications between them. The research aim is to analyze the role of government support as a mediator in the influence of education and acculturation on communication modernization among Akit fishermen. The research used a survey method, involving 165 of the 763 Akit fishermen as respondents. This number determine used the Sample Size Calculator technique. Respondents were selected using a purposive random sampling technique. The variables studied consisted of education, acculturation, government support (as mediator), and communication modernization. Data collection was carried out through a closed questionnaire containing statements, which were measured with a 5-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling method with the help of SmartPLS 4 software. The research results show that acculturation and government support have a positive and significant influence on communication modernization, while education plays a negative influence. Government support as a mediator plays a positive and significant role in the influence of education on communication modernization, while it does not play any role in the influence of acculturation. The most implication of this research is that the government must further increase its role in organizing the acculturation process for Akit fishermen to accelerate the communication modernization process.

This research aims to investigate how technological innovation influences social sustainability via the mediating role of organizational innovation and digital entrepreneurship. This investigation employed a quantitative research approach and used data from survey questionnaires based on a set of suppositions evaluated using structural equation modeling. A total of 320 respondent companies from digital provider companies in Thailand. The findings of the research expose that technological innovation has a positive effect on organizational innovation and digital entrepreneurship. Both serve as mediators in the correlation between technology innovation and social sustainability. Moreover, this research will be beneficial for businesses that are implementing new technologies and innovation, considering their role in attaining both environmental and social sustainability.

This study examines factors associated with an increasingly poor perception of the novel coronavirus in Africa using a designed electronic questionnaire to collect perception-based information from participants across Africa from twenty-one African countries (and from all five regions of Africa) between 1 and 25 February 2022. The study received 66.7% of responses from West Africa, 12.7% from Central Africa, 4.6% from Southern Africa, 15% from East Africa, and 1% from North Africa. The majority of the participants are Nigerians (56%), 14.1% are Cameroonians, 8.7% are Ghanaians, 9.3% are Kenyans, 2% are South Africans, 2.1% are DR-Congolese, 1.6% are Tanzanians, 1.2% are Rwandans, 0.4% are Burundians, and others are Botswana’s, Chadians, Comoros, Congolese, Gambians, Malawians, South Sudanese, Sierra Leoneans, Ugandans, Zambians, and Zimbabweans. All responses were coded on a five-point Likert scale. The study adopts descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and binary logistic regression analysis for the data analysis. The descriptive analysis of the study shows that the level of ignorance or poor “perception” of COVID-19 in Africa is very high (87% of individuals sampled). It leads to skepticism towards complying with preventive measures as advised by the WHO and directed by the national government across Africa. We adopted logistic regression analysis to identify the factors associated with a poor perception of the virus in Africa. The study finds that religion (belief or faith) and media misinformation are the two leading significant causes of ignorance or poor “perception” of COVID-19 in Africa, with log odd of 0.4775 (resulting in 1.6120 odd ratios) and 1.3155 (resulting in 3.7265 odd ratios), respectively. The study concludes that if the poor attitude or perception towards complying with the preventive measures continues, COVID-19 cases in Africa may increase beyond the current spread.

Soil and groundwater remediation Act was enacted in year 2000. More than ten years has already passed,  Monitoring project has been completed,pollution status has been defined,contaminated sites depollution have been launched,a great progress has been made. This paper majorly to depict the extensive farmland soil qauality monittoring which is unpredent in Taiwan and believe has never been done worldwide.

This project was initiated from February 8^th, 2002 to August 8^th, 2002. The project tasks including digitalization of cadastre, farmland listing, basic information collecting, field investigation, sampling & analysis planning, field sampling, soil sample analysis, data evaluation, suggestion of contaminated farmland control, and analysis of potential pollution sources and transfer routes.

2,251 soil samples,had been sampled from Chang-Hwa County, Yun-Lin County, Nan-Tao County, and Chia-Yi City, and been analyzed in this project. 44% of these samples concentration exceed the soil pollution control standard (Table 1), including 492 farmlands (125.65 ha registered) with total contaminated farming area of 108.38 ha in Chang-Hwa, and 6 farmlands (0.39 ha registered) with total contaminated farming area of 0.39 ha in Nan-Tao County. However, the concentration of samples from Ynu-Lin County and Chia-Yi City do not exceed the soil pollution control standard.

To coordinate with the investigation results of the relative project regarding to water and sediment quality of irrigation channels in Chang-Hwa area, the pollution sources are preliminary concluded to be the irrigation channels surrounding the farmlands in Chang-Hwa area. As to the Nan-Tao County, the abandoned brick furnace plants neighboring the farmland are suspected to be the pollution sources.

The results show that the soil of the investigation area in Chang-Hwa County is the most polluted. Base on the Geostatistics study and the distribution of the irrigation channels; the area neighboring the investigated farmland in this project is suspected being polluted. For the farmlands exceeding soil control standard, Geostatistics method is suggested to coordinate with the information of the irrigation system to clarify the contaminated area so as to be the basis of land control and remediation work. As to the farmlands, not being investigated in this project but with high pollution potential according to the Geostatistics study, detail investigations are suggested. Regarding to soil pollution remediation, it is suggested to coordinate with the effluent control and irrigation channel remediation to achieve an all-out success.