Education is one of the basic needs that every child should have. Information communication technology has a significant influence on special needs children’s schooling. Instead of considering learning a difficult chore, the adoption of measures such as ICT can simplify it and make inclusive education a reality. Aim: This current systematic literature review aims to determine the extent of ICT adoptions in special education scenarios. Method: This paper examined pertinent literature on ICT in special education in the period 2000 to 2023. The key articles extracted through keyword search were gathered from databases indexed in Web of Science and Scopus. The collected data were then screened using a VOS viewer for the most relevant information. From the web of Science, 31 articles were found to have connections with one another while the same process when applied to the Scopus database, helped obtain 8 articles. Results: A total of 39 articles fulfilled the search inclusion criteria of minimum two keyword occurrences. These articles were all written in English and published between 2000 and 2023. The in-depth analysis of all these articles was performed along three broad themes, viz., availability of SEN based ICTs and their impact on children with disabilities, quality of available ICT integrated curriculum for SEN and the challenges in promoting ICTs for inclusive education. Conclusions: The paper concludes that ICT integration in special education would make learning easier for children with disabilities when compared to learning using traditional methods. Implications: The paper pinpoints significant limitations in ICT use found in existing literature and the lack of it to support inclusive education. The authors make recommendations for improved ICT integrated curriculum to improve inclusivity.

Purpose: Religiosity as an intrinsic principle affects the sustainable behavior of consumers. Studies have been undertaken to discover the impact of religiosity on sustainable consumer behavior in various contexts, cultures, and countries. The current bibliometric study focused on religiosity and sustainable consumer behavior in Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries who has similar religions and cultures so that the research trend, contribution, and gap through thematic and content analysis could be investigated and future direction could be suggested. The literature for this study was solicited from 2016 to June 2024. Methodology: Bibliometrics and content analysis were used to study the existing literature on religiosity and sustainable consumption behavior in GCC countries. The VOS viewer was used to visualize literature and understand the network landscape of the research topic and their interconnectivity. Additionally, Scopus analytics and Microsoft Excel were used to review and analyze the religiosity of consumers regarding the sustainable consumption of products and services. Finding: The descriptive analysis revealed trends, prolific countries, and researchers in this area along with their affiliation. The co-occurrence analysis showed 3 main clusters of co-occurrences with various link strengths. The content analysis looked at the 6 clusters depicted by the coupling function and compared them against co-occurrence analysis to uncover related themes. This analysis produced 4 related themes for content analysis. Contribution: This research contributed to understanding the current themes, challenges, and the need for marketing strategies and action so that sustainable consumption could be encouraged. As such this research will fill the void in the current literature left in this research area. This research has practical and policy implications for businesses, organizations, and policymakers as they try to capture consumers for sustainable products and services in GCC countries.

Sustainable development within music education is essential, particularly in ensuring that popular music can continually and effectively serve educational systems. This research aims to 1) examine pop music chord progression, 2) develop a chord progression book specifically for teaching music students, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of this educational tool in improving music composition skills. A mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research, was used. Research tools included an interview guide, Ioc forms, a textbook, and a performance assessment form. Interviews were conducted with five experts in pop music composition, while a group of 14 undergraduate music students participated in the experimental study. These methods evaluated how teaching popular music chord composition enhances students’ practical composition abilities. The findings indicate that 1) chord composition in popular music primarily involves five aspects: melody, rhythm, chord structure, music form, and melody development techniques, with melody and chord as the foundational elements; 2) the chord progression textbook for popular music differs from traditional composition theory texts, combining theory and practical application with a focus on chord progression techniques; and 3) instruction in popular music chord composition significantly enhances students’ skills in melody creation, production, and listening, ultimately fostering practical music creation abilities. This study supports the sustainable integration of popular music in both music infrastructure construction and music education system development, offering insights into how such integration can drive long-term advancements in music education.

The carbon footprint, which measures greenhouse gas emissions, is a good environmental indicator for choosing the best sustainable mode of transportation. The available emission factors depend heavily on the calculation methodology and are hardly comparable. The minimum and maximum scenarios are one way of making the results comparable. The best sustainable passenger transport modes between Rijeka and Split were investigated and compared by calculating the minimum and maximum available emission factors. The study aims to select the best sustainable mode of transport on the chosen route and to support the decision-making process regarding the electrification of the Lika railroad, which partially connects the two cities. In the minimum scenario, ferry transport without vehicles was the best choice when the transportation time factor was not relevant, and electric rail transport when it was. In the maximum scenario, the electric train and the ferry with vehicles were equally good choices. Road transportation between cities was not competitive at all. The comparison of the carbon footprint based on minimum and maximum scenarios gives a clear insight into the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles in passenger transport. It supports the electrification of the Lika railroad as the best sustainable transport solution on the route studied.

This study employs a mixed-methods approach to explore the financial ramifications and perceived hurdles of adopting international accounting guidelines on asset value reduction in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Barranquilla, Colombia, over a recent multi-year timeframe. Through scrutiny of fiscal data and thorough dialogues with SME leaders and finance professionals, the investigation unveils significant industry-specific variations in the monetary impact of embracing these global standards. Manufacturing SMEs are found to shoulder a weightier burden compared to their counterparts in the service sector. The research underscores the pivotal role of perceived standard intricacy in molding the financial outcomes for SMEs, even when accounting for factors such as acquaintance with the guidelines and professional tenure. These discoveries augment our comprehension of global accounting standard adoption in emerging economies and accentuate the necessity for bespoke support mechanisms to assist SMEs in traversing the complexities of implementing these international norms. The insights gleaned from this inquiry can guide policymakers and accounting authorities in crafting sector-specific directives and resources. Such targeted assistance can aid SMEs in harmonizing with worldwide accounting practices while curtailing potential adverse effects on their fiscal performance.

Regardless of the importance of accreditation and the role faculty play in a such process, not much attention was given to those in dental colleges This study aimed to explore faculty perceptions of accreditation in the College of Dental Medicine and its impact, the challenges that hinder their involvement in accreditation, and countermeasures to mitigate these barriers using a convergent mixed methods approach. The interviewees were faculty who hold administrative positions (purposeful sample). The remaining faculty were invited for the survey using convenience sampling. Quantitative data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests at 0.05 significance. A consensus was achieved on the positive impact of accreditation with an emphasis on the collective responsibility of faculty for the entire process. Yet their involvement was not duly recognized in teaching load, promotion, and incentives. Quality Improvement and Sustainability Tools and Benchmarking were identified as common themes for the value of accreditation to institutions and faculty. Global ranking and credibility as well as seamless service were key themes for institutional accreditation, while education tools and guidance or unifying tools were central themes for faculty. Regarding the challenges, five themes were recognized: Lack of Resources, Rigorous Process, Communication Lapse, Overwhelming Workload, and Leadership Style and Working Environment. To mitigate these challenges, Providing Enough Resources and Leadership Style and Working Environment were the identified themes. This research endeavors to achieve a better understanding of faculty perceptions to ease a process that requires commitment, resources, and readiness to change.