This study explores the spatial distribution pattern of educational infrastructure development across districts and cities in North Sumatra, identifying significant disparities between urban and rural areas. The study aims to: (1) determine the distribution of educational development across districts and cities, (2) analyze global spatial autocorrelation, and (3) identify priority locations for educational development policies in North Sumatra Province. The methodology includes quantile analysis, Moran’s Global Index, and Local Indicators of Spatial Autocorrelation (LISA) using GeoDa software to address spatial autocorrelation. The results indicate that there are nine areas with a low School Participation Rate Index (SPRI), eleven areas with a low School Facilities and Infrastructure Index (SFII), and eleven areas with a low Regional Education Index (REI). Spatial autocorrelation analysis reveals that SFII shows positive spatial autocorrelation, while SPRI and REI exhibit negative spatial autocorrelation, indicating a high level of inequality between regions. Labuhan Batu Selatan and Labuhan Batu are identified as priorities for the provincial government in overseeing educational development policies.

Himalayan ‘Ecotone’ temperate conifer forest is the cradle of life for human survival and wildlife existence. Human intervention and climate change are rapidly degrading and declining this transitional zone. This study aimed to quantify the floristic structure, important value index (IVI), topographic and edaphic variables between 2019 and 2020 utilizing circular quadrant method (10m × 10m). The upper-storey layer consisted of 17 tree species from 12 families and 9 orders. Middle-storey shrubs comprise 23 species representing 14 families and 12 orders. A total of 43 species of herbs, grasses, and ferns were identified from the ground-storey layer, representing 25 families and 21 orders. Upper-storey vegetation structure was dominated by Pinus roxburghii (22.45%), while middle-storey vegetation structure was dominated by Dodonaea viscosa (7.69%). However, the ground layer vegetation was diverse in species composition and distribution. By using Ward’s agglomerative clustering technique, the floral vegetation structure was divided into three floral communities. Ailanthus altissima, Pinus wallichiana, and P. roxburghii had the highest IVI values in Piro–Aial (Group 2), Piwa–Quin (Group 3) and Aial–Qugal (Group 2). The IVI values for Aesculus indica, Celtis australis, and Quercus incana in Aial-Qugal (Group 2) were not determined. Nevertheless, eleven of these species had 0 IVI values in Piro–Aial (Group 2) and Piwa–Quin (Group 3). Based on the CCA ordination biplot, significant differences were observed in floral characteristics and distribution depending on temperature, rainfall, soil pH, altitude, and topographic features. Based on Ward’s agglomerative clustering, it was found that Himalayan ‘Ecotone’ temperate conifer forests exhibit a rich and diverse floristic structure.

Our main objective in this research is to affirm that philosophy, in its true essence and depth, has never been inherently opposed to religion. Rather, the turn toward atheism within philosophy represents isolated, personal stances, often reactionary in nature, and not rooted in genuine intellectual reflection, which the Qur’an encourages and calls people to adhere to. Our endeavor is to show that the call to atheism is foreign to reason, understood as a sound faculty or a sense linked to the pursuit of truth, as previously demonstrated by Descartes in his focus on the principles and methods of philosophical inquiry. To facilitate the achievement of these goals, we have employed several methodologies, primarily the structural method, which helps us analyze selected texts, this methodology enables the understanding of the elements within the studied positions, the relationships that link them, and the underlying implications upon which they are based. We will apply this method practically when analyzing conceptions that reject religion, uncovering the framework underpinning each conception. This approach facilitates comprehension by examining the rational foundations that support each interpretation of religion and later pave the way for its denial or transcendence. the historical method, which allows us to trace the development and dissemination of atheism, this approach is based on the premise that every sensory or intellectual phenomenon has an origin defined by time and place, evolving through transformations and additions over time. By employing this method, we can trace the development of various interpretations of religion and understand the intellectual accumulations shaped by successive historical periods, and the deconstructionist method, through which we identify the contradictions and flawed principles underlying atheistic arguments, this method allows for in-depth critique of the foundations, developmental trajectories, and final outcomes of phenomena. It also provides a means to establish new perspectives—whether by modifying the existing model, recontextualizing it, or replacing it with an entirely new framework. The importance of re-examining the relationship between philosophy and atheism stems from the profound influence of certain philosophical positions and their negative views on religion within various atheistic currents, especially contemporary ones. Contemporary atheism today poses a threat to religion as a symbolic human system, rich in a value-laden framework that upholds the essence of humanity in an era dominated by materialism and the absence of values. The central question of this research is: Can the human being truly achieve existence independently? Or can one live in this world isolated from all influential forces, including the creative and divine force?

Energy systems face serious difficulties due to economic policy uncertainty, which affects consumption trends and makes the shift to sustainability more difficult. While adjusting for economic growth and carbon emissions, this study examines the dynamic relationship between economic policy uncertainty and energy consumption (including renewable and nonrenewable) in China from 1985Q1 to 2023Q4. The research reveals the frequency-specific and time-varying relationships between these variables by employing sophisticated techniques such as Wavelet Cross-Quantile Correlation (WCQC) and Partial WCQC (PWCQC). Economic policy uncertainty and energy consumption do not significantly correlate in the short term; however, over the long term, economic policy uncertainty positively correlates with renewable energy consumption at medium-to-upper quantiles, indicating that it may play a role in encouraging investments in sustainable energy. On the other hand, EPU has a negative correlation with nonrenewable energy usage at lower quantiles, indicating a slow move away from fossil fuels. These results are confirmed by robustness testing with Spearman-based WCQC techniques. The study ends with policy recommendations to maximize economic policy uncertainty’s long-term impacts on renewable energy, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and attain environmental and energy sustainability in China.