Background: Despite China’s 1.4 billion population and massive investment in improving medical education, there is no transformational national or international course focused on emergency trauma care. In order to overcome recognized deficiencies, we developed an affordable knowledge and skills workshop called Essential Trauma Critical Care China (ETCCC). Methods: Pre-course and post-course MCQs were used to test knowledge and simulation scenarios quantified clinical competence. Structured feedback was obtained. To evaluate the effect of ETCCC on staff performance, we analyzed the clinical records and questioned resuscitation team peers for trauma patients requiring resuscitation room intervention in the 10 consecutive patients before and after the workshops. Results: During 2022–2023, five workshops were delivered to participants from six hospitals in two Chinese provinces. Cost per participant did not exceed US$125. Fifty-eight doctors and 37 nurses participated. For all delegates pre-course knowledge scores increased from mean 35% to 70% post-course. 99% (n = 82/83) participants reached the required standard in the post-course written test. Post-course skills tests scores were mean 67% for doctors and 84% for nurses. Nurses demonstrated significant improvements in the rate and quality of trauma history acquisition as well as triage skills after the course (all p < 0.01). Doctors scored significant improvement in the areas of leadership and teamwork, care of cervical spine, circulation assessment and fluid resuscitation (all p < 0.02). Conclusion: Essential Trauma Critical Care China (ETCCC) is the first economically developed medical educational tool shown to improve performance of emergency room staff. Its success may have relevance for trauma-care education in similar medium-resource environments.

This research aims to investigate the factors shaping the investment choices of individuals in Saudi Arabia concerning cryptocurrencies, particularly focusing on the influence of the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) psychological phenomenon. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to comprehend the factors influencing Saudi investors' decisions in the cryptocurrency realm. Quantitative surveys are conducted to gauge perceptions of risk, return, regulatory factors, and social influence. Additionally, qualitative interviews delve into the nuanced interplay of these elements and the impact of FOMO on decision-making. Integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and Behavioral Finance theories, this research offers a holistic understanding of cryptocurrency investment determinants. The combined quantitative and qualitative methods provide a comprehensive view, enabling an in-depth analysis of the subject matter. The study reveals that Saudi Arabian investors' decisions regarding cryptocurrencies are significantly influenced by multiple factors, including perceived risk, potential return, regulatory environment, and social dynamics. FOMO emerges as a crucial psychological factor, interacting with these influences and driving decision-making. This research underscores the intricate interplay between these factors and FOMO, shedding light on the dynamics of cryptocurrency investment choices in the Saudi Arabian market. The findings hold implications for policymakers, financial institutions, and investors seeking deeper insights into this evolving landscape. Drawing from the Theory of Planned Behavior and Behavioral Finance, it examines perceived risk, return, regulatory factors, and social influence in influencing cryptocurrency investment choices among Saudi investors, focusing on the influence of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).  The research outcome provides insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and investors seeking to understand cryptocurrency investment dynamics in Saudi Arabia.

The R3A Route represents a collaborative initiative involving the governments of Thailand, Laos, and China aimed at bolstering connectivity along the North-South Economic Corridor, as a vital component of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program (GMS). Since its inception in 2008, this endeavor has substantially enhanced the logistical framework between Thailand, Laos, and China. However, it has also revealed an imbalance in the benefit distribution of value chains within the tourism industry. One of the fact that, local stakeholders in each country often leverage their home country’s advantages, leading to the exploitation of counterparts with lower capacity in other nations. This unfair utilization goes against the initial intentions of fostering collaboration among these countries. Given China and its development as a starting point for tourism and its popularity among tourists traveling this route, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of China’s policy and insights of its influences on R3A tourism development in Laos and Thailand. The study constructs a content analysis with an umbrella of stakeholder analysis based on reliable data and is cross-verified through data triangulation. The findings lead to recommendations aimed at making Thai-Lao-Chinese tourism cooperation more sustainable and effective.

This paper provides a unique empirical analysis of the effects of political factors on the adoption of PPP contracts in Brazil. As such, it innovates along two different lines: first, political factors behind the adoption of PPPs have been largely ignored in the vast body of empirical literature, and second, there is scant work done on the motives of any kind behind the adoption of PPPs in Brazil. Various economic and financial reasons have been evoked to justify the use of PPPs in general. These include the goal of promoting socio-economic development in a tight public budgetary framework or of improving the quality of public services through the use of economically efficient and cost-effective mechanisms. Any possible underlying political motives, however, have been overlooked in the PPP research. And yet, there is abundant literature suggesting a link between the adoption of PPPs and the ideology of the governing body or the political cycles associated with elections. This study examines the impact of ideological commitment and opportunistic political behavior on the process of PPP contracting in Brazil, including the stages of public consultation, the publication of tender, and the signature of the contract, using federative-level data for the period between 2005 and 2022. Consistent with the outstanding literature, the two hypotheses are tested: first, conservative parties tend to celebrate more PPP contracts than left-leaning parties, and second, the electoral calendar has a significant effect in the process, allowing for opportunistic behaviors. Empirical results suggest that there is little evidence for the relevance of ideological leanings in the process of adopting PPPs in Brazil. Additionally, regardless of ideology, parties significantly choose to enter PPPs at specific points in the electoral cycle, suggesting decisions are influenced by political considerations and electoral strategy rather than by purely financial or ideological considerations. This may pose severe constraints on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the contracts, negatively impacting public governance and leading to protracted costs for taxpayers.

This study investigates the impact of various educational and social factors on the digital skills of vocational education and training (VET) students, emphasizing the significance of continuous skill development in the digital age. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), the paper analyzes data from 382 adult VET students in Greece, examining the effects of Erasmus program participation, daily computer use, educational platforms, and social network engagement on digital competencies. The findings reveal that participation in Erasmus programs and the use of educational platforms significantly enhance students’ digital skills, highlighting the value of international experiences and digital learning tools in VET. Conversely, daily computer use alone does not significantly impact digital skills, suggesting that structured and purposeful digital tool integration is essential for skill development. The study also underscores the positive role of social networks in improving content management skills, advocating for their strategic use in educational settings. These results demonstrate the need for targeted digital literacy initiatives within VET programs to prepare students for modern labor market demands. The research contributes to the theoretical understanding of digital skill acquisition and offers practical insights for educators and policymakers to enhance VET curricula, fostering economic and social progress through improved digital literacy.

Studies show that Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies can enhance compliance with COVID-19 guidelines within the parties in the construction industry in the future and mitigate job loss. It implies that mitigating job loss improves the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) (eliminate poverty). There is a paucity of literature concerning 4IR technologies application and COVID-19 impact on South Africa’s construction industry. Thus, this paper investigates the impacts of the pandemic on the sector and the roles of digital technologies in mitigating job loss in future pandemics. Data were collected via virtual semi-structured interviews. The participants proffered unexplored insights into the impact of the pandemic on the sector and the possible roles that 4IR technology can play in mitigating the spread of the virus within the sector. Findings show that the sector was hit, especially the low-income earners, threatens to achieve Goal 1, despite government institutions’ intervention, such as economic support programmes, health and safety guidelines awareness, and medical facilities. Findings group the emerged impacts into health and safety, environmental, economic, productivity, social, and legal and insurance issues in South Africa. The study shows that technology can be advantageous to improving achieving Goal 1 in a pandemic era due to limited job loss.