The Human Development Index, which accounts for both net foreign income and the total value of goods and services generated domestically, illustrates how income becomes less significant as Gross National Income (GNI) rises by using the logarithm of income. South Africa ranks 109th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) within the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economic bloc, raising long-term sustainability concerns. The study explores the relationship between economic, demography, policy indicators and human development in South Africa. South Africa’s unique status as a developing country within the BRICS economic group, alongside its lengthy history of racial discrimination, calls for a sophisticated approach to understanding Human Development. Existing research considered economic, demography, policy indicators independently; the gap of understanding their interconnection and long-term effects in the South African contexts exists. The study addresses the gap by using Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the short-term and the long-term relationship between economic, demography, policy indicators and human development in South Africa. By discovering these links, the study hopes to provide useful insights for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable human development in South Africa. The findings indicate that growth in GDP is a key factor in the HDI since it shows that there are more financial resources available for human development. By discovering these links, the study hopes to provide useful insights for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable human development in South Africa.

This study aims to examine the influence of employee and entrepreneur competencies on work efficiency and performance of export companies at the Nong Khai border checkpoint. The research conducted is a quantitative survey. The population for this study includes employees and entrepreneurs from the cross-border export service industry, exporters, and freight forwarder agents operating at the Nong Khai border checkpoint. A non-probability sampling method was employed to select participants. The sample size was Cochran estimated using Cochran’s formula. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 385 logistics employees and entrepreneurs selected through purposive sampling. The questionnaires were distributed to employees and entrepreneurs from the export entrepreneurial industry, cross-border export service providers, exporters, and freight forwarder agents at the Nong Khai border checkpoint. The findings revealed that employee and entrepreneur competencies have a direct influence on the work efficiency and performance of export companies. The study concludes that enhancing the competencies of employees and entrepreneurs positively impacts work efficiency and the overall export performance of the company. The research suggests that entrepreneurs should prioritize training and competency development for employees to further improve work efficiency.

Adequate sanitation is crucial for human health and well-being, yet billions worldwide lack access to basic facilities. This comprehensive review examines the emerging field of intelligent sanitation systems, which leverage Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to address global sanitation challenges. The existing intelligent sanitation systems and applications is still in their early stages, marked by inconsistencies and gaps. The paper consolidates fragmented research from both academic and industrial perspectives based on PRISMA protocol, exploring the historical development, current state, and future potential of intelligent sanitation solutions. The assessment of existing intelligent sanitation systems focuses on system detection, health monitoring, and AI enhancement. The paper examines how IoT-enabled data collection and AI-driven analytics can optimize sanitation facility performance, predict system failures, detect health risks, and inform decision-making for sanitation improvements. By synthesizing existing research, identifying knowledge gaps, and discussing opportunities and challenges, this review provides valuable insights for practitioners, academics, engineers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. It offers a foundation for understanding how advanced IoT and AI techniques can enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of the sanitation industry.

Private banking institutions serve the financial sector’s wealthiest clientele via a dedicated value proposition. Based on the relevant tendencies and statistics, a remarkable expansion can be outlined since the mid-1990s. The aim of this study is to elaborate the Hungarian private banking market’s development as a case study. The paper also intends to add to the literature on this unique segment of the financial market. Based on the available statistics, the analysis primarily focuses on the Hungarian private banking market’s rapid development process. This can be underpinned by the clientele’s savings, number of accounts and respective segmentation limits of the institutions. Referring to the amount of savings, a correlation analysis indicates significant co-movements with specific social and economic variables. The growth rate of the Hungarian clientele’s savings outperformed the respective indicator in Western Europe during the review time period (2007–2020). The current paper also includes a section that summarises general challenges that private banking managers need to address during the development process. Generally, the literature on private banking can still be considered scarce, whereas there is a lack of studies on the Central-Eastern European region. The analysis of the Hungarian sector’s development path can serve with relevant information to any financial expert in the field.

This study aims to explore the perceptions of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) of primary and secondary school teachers in C City, China, as well as the challenges they face in developing these abilities. Through narrative inquiry involving five current teachers, the research collected their personal experiences in the development of teaching and academic abilities, with data gathered through semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that teachers are primarily driven by external forces, professional identity, personal growth, and the need to improve teaching quality in their efforts to enhance teaching and academic abilities. However, they also encounter challenges such as teaching pressures, time management difficulties, insufficient school support, and declining energy. To overcome these obstacles, teachers have adopted strategies such as time management, task allocation, and cognitive enhancement. The study concludes by recommending that through the combined efforts of teachers, schools, and society, a strong professional belief system should be established, and a supportive environment should be created to collaboratively promote the development of teaching and academic abilities among primary and secondary school teachers, thereby fostering their professional growth.