Sustainability in road construction projects is hindered by the extensive use of non-renewable materials, high greenhouse gas emissions, risk cost, and significant disruption to the local community. Sustainability involves economic, environmental, and social aspects (triple bottom line). However, establishing metrics to evaluate economic, environmental, and social impacts is challenging because of the different nature of these dimensions and the shortage of accepted indicators. This paper developed a comprehensive method considering all three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, environmental, and social burdens. Initially, the economic, environmental, and social impact category indicators were assessed using the Life cycle approach. After that, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) were utilized to prioritize the alternatives according to the acquired weightings and sustainable indicators. The steps of the AHP method involve forming a hierarchy, determining priorities, calculating weighting factors, examining the consistency of these assessments, and then determining global priorities/weightings. The TOPSIS method is conducted by building a normalized decision matrix, constructing the weighted normalized decision matrix, evaluating the positive and negative solutions, determining the separation measures, and calculating the relative closeness to the ideal solution. The selected alternative performs the highest Relative Closeness to the Ideal Solution. Lastly, a case study was undertaken to validate the proposed method. In three alternatives in the case study (Cement Concrete, Dense-Graded Polymer Asphalt Concrete, and Dense-Graded Asphalt Concrete), option 3 showed the most sustainable performance due to its highest Relative Closeness to the Ideal Solution. Integrating AHP and TOPSIS methods combines both strengths, including AHP’s structured approach for determining criteria weights through pairwise comparisons and TOPSIS’s ability to rank choices based on their proximity to an ideal solution.
The rapid shift to online learning during COVID-19 posed challenges for students. This investigation explored these hurdles and suggested effective solutions using mixed methods. By combining a literature review, interviews, surveys, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the study identified five key challenges: lack of practical experience, disruptions in learning environments, condensed assessments, technology and financial constraints, and health and mental well-being concerns. Notably, it found differences in priorities among students across academic years. Freshmen struggled with the absence of hands-on courses, sophomores with workload demands, and upperclassmen with mental health challenges. The research also discussed preferred strategies for resolution, emphasizing independent learning methods, managing distractions, and adjusting assessments. By providing tailored insights, this study aimed to enhance online learning. Governments and universities should support practical work, prioritize student well-being, improve digital infrastructure, adapt assessments, foster innovation, and ensure resilience.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a vital gauge of economic performance, reflecting fluctuations in the costs of goods, services, and other commodities essential to consumers. It is a cornerstone measure used to evaluate inflationary trends within an economy. In Saudi Arabia, forecasting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) relies on analyzing CPI data from 2013 to 2020, structured as an annual time series. Through rigorous analysis, the SARMA (0,1,0) (12,0,12) model emerges as the most suitable approach for estimating this dataset. Notably, this model stands out for its ability to accurately capture seasonal variations and autocorrelation patterns inherent in the CPI data. An advantageous feature of the chosen SARMA model is its self-sufficiency, eliminating the need for supplementary models to address outliers or disruptions in the data. Moreover, the residuals produced by the model adhere closely to the fundamental assumptions of least squares principles, underscoring the precision of the estimation process. The fitted SARMA model demonstrates stability, exhibiting minimal deviations from expected trends. This stability enhances its utility in estimating the average prices of goods and services, thus providing valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. Utilizing the SARMA (0,1,0) (12,0,12) model enables the projection of future values of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Saudi Arabia for the period from June 2020 to June 2021. The model forecasts a consistent upward trajectory in monthly CPI values, reflecting ongoing economic inflationary pressures. In summary, the findings underscore the efficacy of the SARMA model in predicting CPI trends in Saudi Arabia. This model is a valuable tool for policymakers, enabling informed decision-making in response to evolving economic dynamics and facilitating effective policies to address inflationary challenges.
Gamification is an active methodology of great value that, in a quality educational environment, provides students with the necessary motivation to participate in their teaching-learning process. An emerging active methodology, which is based on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and requires an educational space that guarantees greater flexibility in the pedagogical dynamics in favor of academic achievement. This increase in interest in active methodologies, and specifically in gamification, has raised doubts about whether current educational spaces are prepared to host a renewal in methodology or if, on the contrary, they could undermine the attitude of change. For this reason, this research seeks to analyze whether current educational spaces are facilitating elements for the incorporation of gamification in the classroom. The methodological cut of the research is quantitative, specifically in two phases. On the one hand, a descriptive analysis of the results is carried out, obtaining information on the trend of each item. On the other hand, an inferential analysis is carried out around different variables to verify their possible influence on the evaluations of the participants. The results obtained, in the sample made up of 210 teachers distributed in the different centers and who carry out their educational activity from 3rd to 6th grade of primary school, indicate that teachers believe it is relevant to take into account the educational space when incorporating active methodologies in class.
One of the most important factors for raising living standards is the drivers supporting water conservation and water management. Individual’s attitude and emotional factors with social cognitive behavior will play an essential role. This empirical study utilizing mixed methods was carried out in Malaysia with the Y generation. The focus group consisted of 52 participants (18 men and 34 women). As for the quantitative study, 607 respondents from the Generation Y population were used with the convenience sampling method. The finding revealed that the outcome expectancy of Generation Y significantly improves water conservation with appropriate water management. Environmental factors, personal factors, and perceived self-efficacy all predicted the result expectancy, which is confirmed by identifications of reciprocal determinism.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) crimes by rogue fisheries companies are rife in the sea waters of Riau Province. However, this issue is rarely reported by those provincial journalists in the online media where they work. In fact, in Riau, there are 163 online media companies and 600 competent journalists; 200 of them live in capture fisheries center areas. Apart from the journalist competency factor, the decision to make IUU fishing news can also be influenced by the fisheries company intervention that committed the crime. Besides, the policy role of media leaders—editors, editors-in-chief, and media owners—also determines journalists’ decisions to make those news stories. This research aims to analyze the influence of journalist competence and fishing company intervention on the decision to make IUU fishing news, as well as the role of media leader policy as mediators in these influences. This survey involved 100 competent journalists as respondents. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire containing a number of closed statements measured on a 5-point Likert scale, which was distributed to respondents. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The research results show that the fishing company intervention has a negative and significant influence on the decision to make IUU fishing news in Riau, while journalist competence does not. Additionally, media leader policy was found to play a significant role in mediating the influence of fisheries company intervention and journalist competence on the decision to make IUU fishing news. The leader policy could prevent journalists from making IUU fishing news if fisheries companies, who are responsible for those crimes, intervene and request it. Those actions of media leaders need to be questioned because they can hamper the media’s function as a means of disseminating information, educating the public, and implementing social control, especially those related to combating IUU fishing crimes.
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