Earnings disparities in South Africa, and specifically the Eastern Cape region are influenced by a complex interplay of historical, socio-economic, and demographic factors. Despite significant progress since the end of apartheid, persistent disparities in earnings continue to raise questions about the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing inequality and promoting equitable social system. Individual-level dataset from the 2021 South African general household survey were subjected to exploratory analysis, while Heckman selection model was used to investigate the determinants of earnings disparities in the study area. The results showed that majority of the population are not working for a wage, commission or salary, which also pointed to the gravity of unemployment situation in the area of study. Most of the working population (both male and female) are lowest earners (R ≤ 10,000), and this also cuts across all age-group categories. Majority of working population have no formal education, are drop out, or have less than grade-12 certificate, and very few working populations with higher education status were found in the moderate and relatively high earnings categories. While many of the working population are engaged in the informal sector, those in the formal sector are in the lowest earners group. Compared to any other race, the Black African group constituted the majority of non-wage earners, and most in this group were found in the lowest earners group. Some of the working population who were beneficiaries of social grants and medical aids scheme were found in the lowest, low, and moderate earnings categories. The findings significantly isolated the earnings-effect of age, marital status, gender, race, education, geographic indicators, employment sector, and index of health conditions and disabilities. The study recommends interventions addressing racial, gender, and geographic wage gaps, while also emphasizing the importance of equitable access to education, health infrastructure, and skills development.

This study aims to analyse the current state of library and information science (LIS) education in South Korea and identify educational challenges in building a sustainable library infrastructure in the digital age. As libraries’ role expands in a rapidly changing information environment, LIS education must evolve. Using topic modelling techniques, this study analysed course descriptions from 37 universities and identified 10 key topics. The analysis revealed that, while the current curricula cover both traditional library science and digital technology topics, focus on the latest technology trends and practical, hands-on education is lacking. Based on these findings, this study suggests strengthening digital technology education by incorporating project-based learning; integrating emerging technologies, such as data science and artificial intelligence; and emphasising community engagement and soft skills development. This study provides insights into improving LIS education to better align with the digital era’s evolving demands.

This study examines the economic feasibility of the environment-friendly farmland use policy to improve water quality. Conventional highland farming, polluting the Han River basin in South Korea, can be converted into environment-friendly farming through land acquisition or application of pesticide-free or organic farming practices. We estimate the welfare measures of improvement in water quality and the costs of policy implementation for economic analysis. To estimate the economic benefit of improvement in water quality experienced by the residents residing in mid-and-downstream areas of the Han River, the choice experiment was employed with a pivot-style experimental design approach. In the empirical analysis, we converted the household perception for water quality grades into scientific water quality measures using Water Quality Standard to estimate the value of changes in water quality. To analyze the costs required to convert conventional highland farmlands into environment-friendly farmlands, we estimated the relevant cost of land acquisition and the subsidy necessary for farm income loss for organic agricultural practice. We find that the agri-environmental policy is economically viable, which suggests that converting conventional highland farming into environment-friendly farming would make the improvement in water quality visible.

Since 2007, Peru has implemented results-based budgeting in order to ensure the quality of public spending in State entities and that the population receives goods and services in a timely manner; However, the demands of the current legal and regulatory context require a progressive application to budget processes such as that of the National Penitentiary Institute, which is basically focused on the allocation of resources by the central government, the collections it receives for penitentiary work. and the TUPA; Likewise, it requires strategic programming based on results, refining the procedures for programming, formulation, execution and evaluation of the budget. The objective of this research work is to describe the relationship between results-based budget management and the quality of spending in the Altiplano-Puno Regional Directorate of the National Penitentiary Institute in the period 2019. To achieve the objective, the descriptive explanatory method was used; in addition, the questionnaire and documentary analysis were used as a data collection instrument to determine the relationship between the study variables. Finally, it is concluded that the results-based budget is significantly related to the quality of spending, which means that the entity managed to apply the results-based budgeting methodology efficiently, obtaining an improvement in the quality of spending, consequently focusing on the optimization of the use of financial resources to achieve the strategic objectives of the penitentiary administration in this region. This approach seeks not only to guarantee the correct execution of spending, but also to maximize its positive impact on the management and conditions of penitentiary centers. In this way, a results-based budget approach must be implemented and ensuring the quality of public spending will allow the Office Regional Altiplano Puno of the INPE use its resources more effectively, achieving the objectives of prison security and rehabilitation and improving conditions in penitentiary centers. The adoption of efficient and transparent management practices will contribute significantly to a more responsible and results-oriented public administration.

With the continuous promotion and deepening of quality education, new teaching goals have been proposed for major universities and teachers, requiring teachers not to blindly pursue the academic performance of college students as the goal, but to achieve the comprehensive development of college students as the main teaching goal. Therefore, teachers need to actively transform educational concepts, transform educational methods, enrich classroom content, and provide high-quality teaching classrooms for college students, Help college students improve in all aspects. For college students, it is not only necessary to cultivate correct worldviews and values, establish positive life goals and attitudes, but also to enhance their resistance to pressure when facing society. Therefore, when teaching, teachers not only need to explain knowledge, but also serve as guides on the life path of college students, helping them guide and improve their ideological and moral character, Thus achieving significant development of ideological and political education in universities.

E-cigarettes pose a significant public health concern, particularly for youth and young adults. Policymaking in this area is complicated by changing consumption patterns, diverse user demographics, and dynamic online and offline communities. This study uses social network analytics to examine the social dynamics and communication patterns related to e-cigarette use. We analyzed data from various social media platforms, forums, and online communities, which included both advocacy for e-cigarettes as a safer smoking alternative and opposition due to health risks. Our findings inform targeted healthcare policy interventions, such as educational campaigns tailored to specific network clusters, regulations based on user interaction and influence patterns, and collaborations with key influencers to spread accurate health information.