Against the backdrop of anti-globalization rhetoric, this paper summarizes our joint book entitled Going Beyond Aid (Lin and Wang, 2017a) and discusses the prospects for development finance in the broad context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Based on the New Structural Economics (Lin, 2010; 2011), here we focus on China’s demonstrated comparative advantages in infrastructure, e.g. in hydropower and high-speed railways (HSR). In addition, long-term orientation (LTO) and patient capital are latent comparative advantages that many Asian economies possess, and are critical for the Belt and Road Initiative. Only if these comparative advantages are utilized can these economies cooperate to potentially achieve win-win.

Creative cities as a study discipline have garnered extensive attention and research in theory and practice as a practical approach to urban revitalization and sustainable development. This study conducted a systematic review of academic research on creative cities. Utilizing the visual analysis tools Citespace and VOSviewer, a comprehensive analysis was performed on 570 relevant articles from the Web of Science database. This study analyzed the most influential publications, authors, journals, institutions, and countries within the sample. The investigation spans various disciplinary domains, including geography, environment, culture, and others. Additionally, an exploration of the structure and characteristics of co-cited references was undertaken to enhance our understanding of the theoretical foundations of creative cities research further. Among these, the focal points of the study encompass urban development, urban policies, and the challenges faced. Finally, through co-occurrence analysis of keywords and examining the evolutionary process, the study forecasted that future trends will focus on the practical application of cities to enhance the urban image and improve urban governance from multi-dimensional perspectives such as creativity-related cultural places, public art, and so forth, exploring novel models of creative cities from case to universal. The results of this study can support scholars in grasping the development trends and exploring focal points.

Herein, we report a facile preparation of super-hydrophilic sand by coating the sand particles with cross-linked polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels for enhanced water absorption and controlled water release aimed at desert agriculture. To prepare the sample, 4 wt% of aqueous PAM solution is mixed with organic cross-linkers of hydroquinone (HQ) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) in a 1:1 weight ratio and aqueous potassium chloride (KCl) solution. A specific amount of the above solution is added to the sand, well mixed, and subsequently cured at 150 °C for 8 h. The prepared super-hydrophilic sands were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for chemical composition and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for successful polymer coating onto the sand. The water storage for the samples was studied by absorption kinetics at various temperature conditions, and extended water release was studied by water desorption kinetics. The water swelling ratio for the super-hydrophilic sand has reached a maximum of 900% (9 times its weight) at 80 °C within 1 h. The desorption kinetics of the samples showed that the water can be stored for up to a maximum of 3 days. Therefore, super-hydrophilic sand particles were successfully prepared by coating them with PAM hydrogels, which have great potential to be used in sustainable desert agriculture.

Management and efficiency have a fundamental impact on the performance of public hospitals, as well as on their philanthropic mission. Various studies have shown that the financial weaknesses of these entities affect the planning, setting of goals and objectives, monitoring, evaluation and feedback necessary to improve health systems and guarantee accessibility as an inalienable right. This study aims to analyze the management and efficiency of third-level and/or high-complexity hospitals in Colombia, through a statistical model that uses financial analysis and key performance indicators (KPIs) such as ROA, ROE and EBITDA. A non-experimental cross-sectional design is used, with an analytical-synthetic, documentary, exploratory and descriptive approach. The results show financial deficiencies in the hospitals evaluated; hence it is recommended to make adjustments in the operating cycle to increase efficiency rates. In addition, the use of the KPIs ROA and ROE under adjusted models is suggested for a more precise analysis of the financial ratios, since these adequately explain the variability of each indicator and are appropriate to evaluate hospital management and efficiency, but not in EBITDA ratio, hence the latter is not recommended to evaluate hospital efficiency reliably. This study provides relevant information for public health policy makers, hospital managers and researchers, in order to promote the efficiency and improvement of health services.

This study explores the interconnected roles of organizational atmosphere, psychological capital, work engagement, and psychological contract on the work performance. Structural equation modeling and moderated mediation analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. Methodologically, the study employed a stratified random sampling of 369 faculty members across various disciplines. Key findings reveal that both organizational atmosphere and psychological capital have a significant positive impact on work engagement, which in turn, enhances work performance. Work engagement acted as a mediator in these relationships. Moreover, the psychological contract was found to moderate the relationship between work engagement and work performance, indicating that the engagement-performance link is stronger when employees perceive their psychological contract has been fulfilled. The implications of this research are multifaceted. Theoretically, it contributes to organizational behavior literature by integrating psychological contracts into the engagement-performance narrative. Practically, it provides actionable insights for university administrators, suggesting that investments in a supportive organizational atmosphere and the development of faculty psychological capital are likely to yield improvements in engagement and performance. The study also underscores the importance of effectively managing psychological contracts to maximize employee output.

The transfer of knowledge and the preservation of traditions is passed down from generation to generation. The main objective of this study was to explore people’s knowledge of the gastronomic heritage of the Kisalföld regions through an analysis of the county’s (attendance to, decision-making and willingness to spend on food and beverages) taking place in the county, such as the Flavours of Szigetköz, the County Wines Festival, the Flavours of Rábaköz or Eszterházy Baroque Food Festival at Fertőd. A quantitative research was used to analyse the topic (N = 666), the sample is not representative and the selection of respondents was random. Data were collected between 1 September 2023 and 31 October 2023 using electronic questionnaires shared on Google Drive. Data were processed using SPSS 25.0 and MS Office Excel in addition to the descriptive statistical data (modus, median, standard deviation), correlation, and crosstabulation analyses. Important research questions of the study were whether the respondents’ place of respondents influences gastronomic awareness whether age determines willingness to travel to attend a gastronomy event, The most popular gastronomic event in the county was the Vegetables of Hanság Region (mean 3.35), and the least popular was the Szigetköz Flavours of Szigetköz festival (mean 3.01). The key finding of the study is that an essential aspect of sustainability for decision-makers is to know the characteristics of tourists (middle-aged female target group), to select and maximize the different program packages in the marketing of the offer, to distribute the traffic and to avoid mass tourism.