This paper provides a comparative perspective on infrastructure provision in developing Asia's three largest countries: China, India, and Indonesia. It discusses their achievements and shortfalls in providing network infrastructure (energy, transport, water, and telecommunications) over the past two decades. It documents how three quite distinct development paths—and very different levels of national saving and investment—were manifested in different trajectories of infrastructure provision. The paper then describes the institutional, economic, and policy factors that enabled or hindered progress in providing infrastructure. Here, contrasting levels of centralization of planning played a key role, as did countries’ differing abilities to mobilize infrastructure-related revenue streams such as user charges and land value capture. The paper then assesses future challenges for the three countries in providing infrastructure in a more integrated and sustainable way, and links these challenges with the global development agenda to which the three countries have committed. The concluding recommendations hope to provide a platform for further policy and research dialogue.

In the context of contemporary global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change, food security assumes particular significance, being an integral part of national security. This study aims to investigate the interplay between food security and national security systems, with a focus on identifying gaps in the literature and determining directions for further research. The study conducted a systematic literature review on food security and national security systems employing a rigorous and transparent process. The qualitative analysis is grounded in the quantitative one, encompassing studies from Scopus. The examination of the selected peer-reviewed articles revealed several methodological and thematic limitations in existing research: i Geographic imbalance: There is a predominant focus on developed countries, while food security issues in developing countries remain insufficiently studied; ii Insufficient explication: There is a lack of research dedicated to managerial and economic aspects of food security in the context of national security; iii Methodological constraints: There is a predominance of quantitative methods and retrospective/cross-sectional studies. Recommendations include developing comprehensive strategies at both global and national levels to enhance food stability and accessibility.

Cities are no longer viewed as creatures with a linear-climax-established cycle but as ecosystems with dynamic and complicated processes, with people as the primary component. Thus, we must understand urban ecology’s structure and function to create urban planning and appreciate the mechanisms, dynamics, and evolution that connect human and ecological processes. The ecological city (ecocity) is one of the city conceptions that has evolved with the perspective of urban ecology history. The concept of ecocity development within urban ecology systems pertains to recognizing cities as complex ecosystems primarily influenced by human activities. In this context, individuals actively engage in dynamic problem-solving approaches to address environmental challenges to ensure a sustainable and satisfactory quality of life for future generations. Therefore, it is necessary to study how ecocity has developed since it was initiated today and how it relates to the urban ecology perspective. This study aims to investigate the progression of scholarly publications on ecocity research from 1980 to 2023. Additionally, it intends to ascertain the trajectory of ecological city research trends, establish connections between scientific concepts, and construct an ecological city science network using keyword co-occurrence analysis from the urban ecology perspective. The present study used a descriptive bibliometric analysis and literature review methodology. The data was obtained by utilizing the Lens.org database, was conducted using the VOS (Visualization of Similarities) viewer software for data analysis. The urban ecology research area ecology of cities can be studied further from density visualization of ecosystem services and life cycle assessment. Finally, the challenges and future agenda of ecocity research include addressing humans by modeling functions or processes that connect humans with ecosystems (ecology of cities), urban design, ecological imperatives, integration research, and improving the contribution to environmental goals, spatial distribution, agriculture, natural resources, policy, economic development, and public health.

Objectives: The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the stress on blood banks and deprived the blood sources due to the containment measures that restrict the movement and travel limitations among blood donors. During this time, Malaysia had a significant 40% reduction in blood supply. Blood centers and hospitals faced a huge challenge balancing blood demand and collection. The health care systems need a proactive plan to withstand the uncertain situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the psychosocial factors that affect blood donation behavior during a pandemic and aims to propose evidence-based strategies for a sustainable blood supply. Study design: Qualitative design using focus group discussion (FGD) was employed. Methods: Data were acquired from the two FGDs that group from transfusion medicine specialists (N = 8) and donors (N = 10). The FGD interview protocol was developed based on the UTM Research Ethics Committee’s approval. Then, the data was analyzed using Nvivo based on the General Inductive Approach (GIA). Results: Analysis of the text data found that the psychology of blood donation during the pandemic in Malaysia can be classified into four main themes: (i) reduced donation; (ii) motivation of donating blood; (iii) trends of donation; and (iv) challenges faced by the one-off, occasional, and non-donors. Conclusions: Based on the emerging themes from the FGDs, this study proposes four psycho-contextual strategies for relevant authorities to manage sustainable blood accumulation during the pandemic: (1) develop standard operating procedure for blood donors; (2) organize awareness campaigns; (3) create a centralized integrated blood donors database; and (4) provide innovative Blood Donation Facilities.

High-quality implementation of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (cross-border M&As) is an important pathway for emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) to enhance their international competitiveness. However, in comparison to developed countries, cross-border M&As by EMNEs are often prohibited by the liability of origin caused by negative political coverage. How and why negative political coverage affect the completion of cross-border M&As by EMNEs? What are the contextual constraints that moderate the impact of negative political coverage on cross-border M&As completion? Based on the “liability of origin” theory, this paper addresses these questions using data from the Zephyr database on cross-border M&As by EMNEs in the United States from 2016 to June 2021 and employing a logit model for estimation. The research findings are as follows: (1) Negative political coverage leads to negative perceptions of emerging market countries by host country stakeholders, creating the liability of origin and stigmatizing the corporate nationality, thereby reducing the success rate of cross-border M&As by EMNEs. (2) Increasing geographical distance leads to information asymmetry, reinforcing the negative impact of negative political coverage on the completion of cross-border M&As by EMNEs. (3) Relevant mergers and acquisitions exacerbate the negative effect of negative political coverage on the success rate of cross-border M&As by EMNEs. (4) Being a publicly traded firm and having successful experience in cross-border M&As both intensify the negative impact of negative political coverage on the success rate of cross-border M&As by EMNEs.