Over the past twenty years, service organizations have adopted total quality management to enhance their service quality, significantly impacting business performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability. This study delves into policy development of sustainable quality management theory, benefits, and various service components, while reviewing its implementation in services industries and policy innovation. The concept of Sustainable Quality Management 4.0 (SQM 4.0) integrates sustainable management, traditional quality management, and Quality 4.0 principles to optimize resources, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance decision-making through Industry 4.0, IoT, AI, and big data analytics. The findings offer valuable framework and policy insights for managers and practitioners on quality management and service systems, providing an implementation framework for Sustainable Quality Management in the service sector. The paper outlines comprehensive elements and strategies for implementation as a SQM framework for attaining sustainable quality management in the services industry.

This study developed a specific scale to measure the impact of extrinsic motivations on students’ decisions to pursue online graduate programs at business schools in Latin America. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research proceeded in three stages. In the first stage, the construct was defined by identifying key extrinsic factors motivating students to enroll in online graduate programs, followed by the creation and initial validation of the scale in Colombia. The second stage involved testing the scale in Chile to determine its cross-cultural applicability. In the third stage, the scale’s predictive validity was confirmed, demonstrating its effectiveness in explaining how extrinsic motivations influence students’ intentions to enroll in online graduate programs. The findings indicate that the scale, composed of five dimensions—Cost Reduction, Ability to Study from Any Location, Control Over Learning Pace, Flexibility to Balance Study and Work, and Avoiding Commuting Time—is a reliable predictor of student preferences and intentions in online graduate education. The final scale includes 25 items across these dimensions, measuring extrinsic factors through items related to flexibility, time savings, and global accessibility. Validation in two Latin American countries confirms the scale’s relevance across diverse cultural contexts, enhancing its applicability within the region. This study provides empirical evidence that extrinsic motivation is a key determinant of students’ intentions to enroll in online programs in developing countries. It confirms that extrinsic motivations reflect a preference for flexible learning options compatible with students’ lifestyles and professional needs, linked to their beliefs about time management, professional advancement, and career opportunities associated with earning a graduate degree.

The fear of ghosts is a common thing that can be managed as a social condition that turns out to have an impact on the continuity of forest maintenance. Applying a qualitative approach supported by in-depth interview methods, observation, and literature study. This research does not attempt to prove the existence of ghosts or discuss the psychological conditions of people who fear ghosts. The main finding of this research is the reality of the reproduction of stories and experiences of fear of ghosts, as well as the implementation of traditions or rituals related to community activities in the forest. Stories of fear of ghosts with various forms and versions of naming not only enrich the cultural life of the community but also encourage social conditioning in the form of togetherness to agree on the fear of ghosts as a means of creating a social system in order to carry out activities in the forest. The social system is identified in the form of pamali traditions or things that should not be done in the forest, balian rituals to eliminate or treat ghost disturbances, and besoyong rituals to utilize forest products, which then have an impact on the awareness to respect the continuity of these rituals and tradition. So, even though the fear of ghosts can be overcome psychologically and disappear quickly, the reality of respect for the social system related to the forest can still survive. In addition, ghost stories’ reproduction continues to be rolled out and adapted to the times. In turn, ghosts and forest rituals continue to be conditioned into a social system that has implications for forest conservation.

“Global South” is undoubtedly a broad term that typically refers to developing countries with varying degrees of economic, cultural and political influence. The rise of the Global South signifies the importance of reassessing the existing international order. In terms of international relations theory, this should be an innovative, progressive and reflective field of study. However, this research is predominantly led by the Western mainstream international relations theories. This often neglects the internal and external factors in the development processes of other countries, the formation of relationship frameworks, foreign policy formulation, and the need of foreign relations. Despite the ongoing and intense debate over the innovation of international relations theory, it is difficult to see it keeping pace with contemporary developments. Various schools and thoughts frequently innovate only within their foundational frameworks. Therefore, for Global South countries, there is the need for international relations theories that can reflect their specific needs and actual conditions. This does not only require breaking away from the westcentric theoretical framework, but ensuring that the innovation process is aligned with practical realities that recognize mutual interests and encompass both local and global perspectives. This approach should involve a comprehensive reflection on international relations, allowing innovation of international relations theories to genuinely “enter” the Global South countries.

The Nevado de Toluca Flora and Fauna Protection Area presents a constant fragmentation of its forests. The objective of the research was to identify the processes of forest deterioration and the role of local stakeholders in its conservation. Geographic information systems were used as a basis for the generation of thematic maps, in addition to the application of a flow diagram that defines the problems of the forest and another that describes and analyzes them for the search of solutions. The results show that the main factors affecting deterioration are forest fires, immoderate logging, pests and diseases. Finally, strategies and scenarios for forest management are proposed based on the articulation of local stakeholders.