This financial modelling case study describes the development of the 3-statement financial model for a large-scale transportation infrastructure business dealing with truck (and some rail) modalities. The financial modelling challenges in this area, especially for large-scale transport infrastructure operators, lie in automatically linking the operating activity volumes with the investment volumes. The aim of the paper is to address these challenges: The proposed model has an innovative retirement/reinvestment schedule that automates the estimation of the investment needs for the Business based on the designated age-cohort matrix analysis and controlling for the maximum service ceiling for trucks as well as the possibility of truck retirements due to the reduced scope of tracking operations in the future. The investment schedule thus automated has a few calibrating parameters that help match it to the current stock of trucks/rolling stock in the fleet, making it to be a flexible tool in financial modelling for diverse transport infrastructure enterprises employing truck, bus and/or rail fleets for the carriage of bulk cargo quantifiable by weight (or fare-paying passengers) on a network of set, but modifiable, routes.

The rapid advancement of information and communication technology has greatly facilitated access to information across various sectors, including healthcare services. This digital transformation demands enhanced knowledge and skills among healthcare providers, particularly in comprehensive midwifery care. However, midwives in rural areas face numerous challenges such as limited resources, cultural factors, knowledge disparities, geographic conditions, and technological adoption. This research aims to evaluate the impact of AI utilization on midwives’ knowledge and behavior to optimize the implementation of healthcare services in accordance with Delima Midwife Service standards in rural settings. The analysis encompasses competencies, characteristics, information systems, learning processes, and health examinations conducted by midwives in adopting AI. The research methodology employs a cross-sectional approach involving 413 rural midwives selected proportionally. Results from Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling indicate that all reflective evaluation variables meet the required criteria. Fornell-Larcker criterion demonstrates that the square root of AVE is greater than other variables. The primary findings reveal that information systems (0.029) and midwives’ competencies (0.033) significantly influence AI utilization. Furthermore, midwives’ competencies (0.002), characteristics (0.031), and AI utilization (0.011) also significantly impact midwives’ knowledge and behavior. Midwives’ characteristics also significantly affect their competencies (0.000), while midwives’ learning influences health examinations (0.000). Midwives’ knowledge and behavior affect the transformation of healthcare services in rural midwifery (0.022). The model fit results in a value of 0.097, empirically supporting the explanation of relationships among variables in the model and meeting the established linearity test.

The proliferation of digital literary discourse has led to a competitive, and often times antagonistic, relationship between this new form and its traditional paper-based counterpart. The success of this new critical literary media has come as a result of major global changes to social consciousness and societal pressures to utilize communication systems that can keep pace with the speed of social action. Discussions on the legitimacy of digital literary discourse are often limited by the use of conciliatory debates that merely present moderate viewpoints. This research addresses the issue using a socio-discursive lens, focusing on a critical exploration of the underlying reasoning for the technological wariness of paper-based literary practitioners. Contrary to the views of many traditionalists, digital literature does not derive its discursive identity, nor its legitimacy, from a combative relationship with paper-based criticism. Instead, this analysis indicates that the use of digital media marks a significant turning point in the institution of literary discourse, formed as a response to shifting individual and collective needs of an accelerating pace of life. Therefore, digital literary discourse is not simply a form or idea that can be accepted or rejected. Rather, it is a forced formation of a new and constantly evolving expressive and inferential space, created by the combination of existing and innovative media, producing new meanings that were impossible to generate under the dominance of old media.

The Akit tribe fishermen on Rupat Island, Riau, Indonesia, are a remote indigenous community with a low level of education. They have experienced cultural acculturation after the influx of outsiders and the government built road infrastructure to break the isolation. The government also provides internet facilities to speed up the process of modernizing communications between them. The research aim is to analyze the role of government support as a mediator in the influence of education and acculturation on communication modernization among Akit fishermen. The research used a survey method, involving 165 of the 763 Akit fishermen as respondents. This number determine used the Sample Size Calculator technique. Respondents were selected using a purposive random sampling technique. The variables studied consisted of education, acculturation, government support (as mediator), and communication modernization. Data collection was carried out through a closed questionnaire containing statements, which were measured with a 5-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling method with the help of SmartPLS 4 software. The research results show that acculturation and government support have a positive and significant influence on communication modernization, while education plays a negative influence. Government support as a mediator plays a positive and significant role in the influence of education on communication modernization, while it does not play any role in the influence of acculturation. The most implication of this research is that the government must further increase its role in organizing the acculturation process for Akit fishermen to accelerate the communication modernization process.

Border areas can play a crucial role in market integration and infrastructure development between Central Asian countries, thus creating favorable economic growth and regional cooperation conditions. This study aims to assess the economic impact of border areas between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, focusing on their role in enhancing market integration and infrastructure development to foster regional growth and cooperation.  Focusing on labor and capital as essential production drivers, this study employs a sophisticated panel data regression model to explore the Cobb-Douglas production function’s application in these border territories. The research findings indicate that regions’ elasticity towards capital and labor inputs vary, necessitating differentiated economic strategies. For capital-intensive areas, we recommend prioritizing investments in infrastructure and technology to boost production outputs. Conversely, in regions where labor significantly influences production, the emphasis should be on human capital development through education, training, and improved labor market conditions. The study’s insights into the evolving trade relations between the two countries underscore the need for flexible economic policies to enhance regional integration and cooperation. This research not only fills a crucial knowledge gap but also offers a blueprint for leveraging the diverse economic landscapes of Central Asia’s border areas in future policy-making and regional economic strategy.

This study aims to explain the design of policy strengthening in forest and land fire disaster mitigation governance, through the integration of ecotourism development in Siak Regency. Based on the research topic, this study employs a qualitative approach to describe governance conditions and the design of policy strengthening in ecotourism-based disaster mitigation governance. Data analysis is performed using Nvivo 12 Plus software. The results of this study indicate that forest and land fire disaster mitigation governance based on ecotourism development still has shortcomings that need to be addressed in the principles of conservation, economy, and community involvement. Then, the design of a policy to strengthen ecotourism-based disaster mitigation governance includes three crucial policy recommendations, namely: the need for special regulations related to forest and land fire disaster mitigation prevention based on the integration of ecotourism principle development, the need for a balance of roles between actors in determining and implementing ecotourism-based disaster mitigation policies, and the need for effective and efficient implementation of ecotourism-based disaster mitigation policies through increasing the involvement of strategic actors. Substantially, the handling of forest and land fire disasters in Siak Regency can be combined with ecotourism activities, especially in tourist village areas, by developing policies to strengthen the utilization of village-owned disaster mitigation facilities such as reservoirs, lakes, or ponds that are converted into water supplies during the dry season for forest and land fire disaster prevention activities and local economy-based tourist destinations. Our findings are a strategic effort to raise awareness among actors and highlight the need for policy-strengthening design in ecotourism-based disaster mitigation. These findings can also contribute to the literature that will be useful for all stakeholders in developing future long-term disaster mitigation governance policies. This study relies heavily on information from key informants, who represent only the perspectives and expertise of the stakeholders encountered. However, it still refers to important elements based on the informants’ knowledge capabilities in the disaster and tourism sectors. Therefore, we propose to conduct future studies on a comprehensive analysis of sustainable ecotourism-based disaster mitigation governance to promote and accelerate the idea of disaster and tourism in the future.