Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) are critical for biodiversity conservation and ecological balance. These areas are not only refuges for wildlife but also pivotal in promoting sustainable tourism. Geoparks, a unique subset of NPAs, emphasize geological heritage, offering distinctive educational and recreational opportunities. This article explores the significance of Geoparks in Portugal for geotourism and assesses the accessible digital communication strategies of Portuguese Geoparks, emphasizing the analysis of pedagogical concerns. The study highlights the importance of online engagement in enhancing visitor experiences and promoting sustainable tourism practices.
This paper reviews and compares the opportunities and challenges in terms of port and intermodal development in China and India—the two fast-growing economic giants in the world. The study analyzes the future direction of these two countries’ port-hinterland intermodal development from the sustainability perspective. Both China and India face some major opportunities and challenges in port-hinterland intermodal development. The proposal of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offers plentiful opportunities for China. A challenge for China is that its development of dry ports is still in the infancy stage and thus it is unable to catch up with the pace of rapid economic growth. As compared with China, India focuses more on the social aspect to protect the welfare of its residents, which in turn jeopardizes India’s port-hinterland intermodal development in the economic sense. The biggest challenge for India is its social institution, which would take a long time to change. These in-depth comparative analyses not only give the future direction of port-hinterland intermodal development in China and India but also provide references for other countries with similar backgrounds.
This research aims to empirically examine the role of learning organization practices in enhancing sustainable organizational performance, utilizing knowledge management and innovation capability as mediating variables. The study was conducted in public IT companies across China, which is a vital sector for driving innovation and economic growth. A mixed-methods approach was employed, with quantitative methods accounting for 70% and qualitative methods for 30% of the research. Purposive sampling was utilized to distribute questionnaires to 546 employees from 10 public IT companies. Statistical analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that learning organization practices significantly influence knowledge management practices (β = 0.785, p < 0.001) and innovation capability (β = 0.405, p < 0.001). Furthermore, knowledge management practices positively contribute to sustainable organizational performance (β = 0.541, p < 0.001), while innovation capability also has a positive effect (β = 0.143, p < 0.001). Moreover, knowledge management practices partially mediate the relationship between learning organization practices and sustainable performance, with a total effect of 0.788 (p < 0.001). The mediating role of innovation capability is also significant, with a total effect of 0.422 (p = 0.045). The study further includes qualitative in-depth interviews with 20 managers from 10 IT companies across five regions in China: East, South, West, North, and Central. Senior managers were selected through a stratified sampling method to ensure comprehensive representation by including both the largest and smallest companies in each region. These findings underscore the critical role of learning organizations in promoting sustainability through effective knowledge management and innovation capabilities within the IT sector.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is related to the dynamic development of digital skills. This article focuses on the impact of AI on the work of non-profit organizations that aim to help those around them. Based on 10 semi-structured interviews, it is presented here how it is possible to work with AI and in which areas it can be used—in social marketing, project management, routine bureaucracy. At the same time, workers and volunteers need to be educated in critical and logical thinking more than ever before. These days, AI is becoming more and more present in almost all the activities, bringing several benefits to those making use of it. On the one hand, by using AI in the day-to-day activities, the entities are able to substantially decrease their costs and have the advantage of being able to have, in most cases, a better and faster job done. On the other hand, those individuals that are more creative and more innovative in their line of work should not feel threatened by those situations in which organizations decide to use more AI technologies rather than human beings for the routine activities, since they will get the opportunity to perform tasks that truly require their intellectual capital and decision making abilities.
The present paper discusses the case of the Madrid Nuevo Norte Project (MNNP) in order to examine the relation of this mega-project with the city’s sustainable development. For this reason, the study used a qualitative approach using semi-structural interviews with experts (Madrid’s town hall, Madrid State, and the program management office and other external) that relayed strongly with MNNP. The expert panel requirements are split in six expertise areas: sustainability, urban development, urban planning, government or public affairs, project management or Madrid Nuevo Norte (MNN) key stakeholders. The study highlighted the vital importance of MNNP as a flagship sustainable project for the rest of Europe, that meets sustainability criteria for contributing substantially in the improvement of the quality of life of final users and for the community in general. For instance, it contributes to the regeneration of the city’s degraded area, to the interconnection of an isolated part of the city and public transportation connection, improving the external image of Madrid. Despite of it, there are some challenges that should be carefully managed such as applying sustainable solutions from other cities not properly tailored to Madrid, housing pricing accessibility increase due to the lack of terrain in Madrid and the politization of the project as discussion topic between local parties. In this context, local authorities should give particular emphasis in complying with the principles of sustainability for improving the overall performance of MNNP, ensuring social justice and prosperity for the people of Madrid.
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