This study investigates the relationship between hydrological processes, watershed management, and road infrastructure resilience, focusing on the impact of flooding on roads intersecting with streams in River Nile State, Sudan. Situated between 16.5° N to 18.5° N latitude and 33° E to 34° E longitude, this region faces significant flooding challenges that threaten its ecological and economic stability. Using precise Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and advanced hydrological modeling, the research aims to identify optimal flood mitigation solutions, such as overpass bridges. The study quantifies the total road length in the area at 3572.279 km, with stream orders distributed as follows: First Order at 2276.79 km (50.7%), Second Order at 521.48 km (11.6%), Third Order at 331.26 km (7.4%), and Fourth Order at 1359.92 km (30.3%). Approximately 27% (12 out of 45) of the identified road flooding points were situated within third- and fourth-order streams, mainly along the Atbara-Shendi Road and near Al-Abidiya and Merowe. Blockages varied in distance, with the longest at 256 m in Al-Abidiya, and included additional measurements of 88, 49, 112, 106, 66, 500, and 142 m. Some locations experienced partial flood damage despite having water culverts at 7 of these points, indicating possible design flaws or insufficient hydrological analysis during construction. The findings suggest that enhanced scrutiny, potentially using high-resolution DEMs, is essential for better vulnerability assessment and management. The study proposes tailored solutions to protect infrastructure, promoting sustainability and environmental stewardship.

The rapidly growing construction industry often deals with complex and dynamic projects that pose significant safety risks. One of the state-owned companies in Indonesia is engaged in large-scale toll road construction projects with a high incidence of workplace accidents. This study aims to improve safety performance in toll road construction by implementing the Scrum framework. The study uses a System Dynamics approach to model interactions between the Scrum framework, project management, and work safety subsystems. Various scenarios were designed by modifying controlled variables and system structures, including introducing a punishment entity. These scenarios were evaluated based on their impact on reducing incidents and the incident rate over the project period. The results indicate that the combined scenario significantly reduces incidents and incident rates in different conditions. The study also finds a strong relationship between Scrum framework implementation and improved safety performance, demonstrating a reduction in incidents and incident rates by over 50% compared to existing conditions. This research underlines the effectiveness of the Scrum framework in enhancing safety in construction projects.

The initiation of tapering, sparked by heightened inflation in the United States, reverberates across global markets, with notable implications for Indonesia. This study delved into the nuanced impact of tapering on Sharia-compliant stocks in both Indonesia and Malaysia. The rationale behind selecting Sharia stocks for analysis lies in their composition, featuring companies boasting low debt-to-asset and equity ratios, thereby positing robust resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s implementation of tapering. Employing a time series dataset with a weekly sampling period spanning from January to September 2022, the analysis adopted the Error Correction Model (ECM) within a multiple regression framework to circumvent potential spurious regression pitfalls. The results of this study indicate that the impact of tapering off policy in Indonesia has a positive impact in the short term and long term, while in Malaysia it tends to be insignificant in the short term and has a positive impact from the US 10-year bond yield variable and a negative impact from US 1-Year Treasury Bills. This result is interesting because it differs from the general theory. The causal factors include the agility of the Indonesian central bank in maintaining the benchmark interest rate spread with the Fed, the economic stability of both countries, and the increasing trend of coal, with Indonesia being one of the largest producers of the commodity. Investors, in navigating these intricate dynamics, may find strategic insights derived from this research invaluable for shaping their investment decisions. while government policymakers may use them as a reference for shaping policies related to Sharia stock investments, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence.

Over the last few decades, countries in the South have been undergoing rapid urbanization, as if to make up for lost time. Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by a very low urbanization rate compared to0 the rest of the world. Although the African continent reached its urban transition in 2015, Niger remains by far the least urbanized country, with a rate of 17%. The city of Niamey is the main urban center, with an estimated population of 1,449,801 hbts in 2023, spread over an area of around 33,100 ha. The aim of this study is to analyze the spatial expansion of the city of Niamey from 1984 to 2023. The main data used in this study are raster images from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), vector data from Open Sources Map (OSM) and GoogleEarth, secondary data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and field observation. This study enabled us to conclude that between 1984 and 2023, the city of Niamey underwent very strong spatial expansion. The city grew from 4,690 ha to 33,100 ha, i.e. 28,410 ha absorbed in 39 years, with exceptional growth between 2014 and 2023, when the urban area doubled. Its population has risen from 397,437 at the time of the 1988 general population and housing census to an estimated 1,449,801 in 2023 (INS), an increase of 1,052,364 in 35 years. Between these two dates, population density fell from 87.7 to 43.8 inhabitants/km², i.e. half that of 1984. This spatial expansion has resulted in unprecedented peri-urbanization.

This study aims to examine the entrepreneurial activities of 240 women in the districts of Konaseema, East Godavari, and Kakinada during 2021–2022, focusing on the diverse range of 286 enterprises they managed across 69 business types. These enterprises were tailored to local resources and market demands, with coconut wholesale, cattle breeding, and provision shops being the most common. The study also analyzes income distribution, noting that one-third of the women earned between ₹50,000–1,00,000 annually, while only 0.70% earned over ₹5,00,000. More than half of the enterprises served as the primary income source for their families. The research highlights the significant role these women entrepreneurs play in their communities, their job satisfaction derived from financial independence and social empowerment, and the challenges they face, such as limited capital and market access. Finally, the study offers recommendations to empower these women to seize entrepreneurial opportunities and enhance their success.

This research conducts a comparative urban analysis of two coastal cities with analogous tourism models situated in distinct geographical regions: Balneário Camboriú in Brazil and Benidorm in Spain. The study delves into two critical urban phenomena impacting the sustainability of tourist cities, utilising social network data to gather insights into economic and urban activities (Google Places) and spatio-temporal patterns of citizen presence (Twitter). The spatial analysis explores the municipal and, to a more detailed extent, the coastal strip extending 500 m inland from the coastline, spanning the entire length of each city to their municipal boundaries. The analysis uncovers both similarities and differences between the two destinations, offering insights that could inform future development strategies aimed at fostering sustainable urban environments in these well-established coastal tourist areas.