This article analyses the case of Dubai’s smart city from a public policy perspective and demonstrates how critical it is to rely on the use of the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Effective use of this model can guarantee the building of a smart city that could potentially fulfill the vision of the political leadership in Dubai and serve as a catalyst and blueprint for other Gulf states that wish to follow Dubai’s example. This article argues that Dubai’s smart city project enjoys significant political support and has ambitious plans for sustainable growth, and that the government has invested heavily in developing the necessary institutional, legal/regulatory, and supervisory frameworks that are essential foundations for the success of any PPP project. The article also points to some important insights that the Dubai government can learn from the international experience with the delivery of smart cities through PPPs.

The following paper assesses the relationship between electricity consumption, economic growth, environmental pollution, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development in Kazakhstan. Using the structural equation method, the study analyzes panel data gathered across various regions of Kazakhstan between 2014 and 2022. The data were sourced from official records of the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan and include all regions of Kazakhstan. The chosen timeframe includes the period from 2014, which marked a significant drop in oil prices that impacted the overall economic situation in the country, to 2022. The main hypotheses of the study relate to the impact of electricity consumption on economic growth, ICT, and environmental sustainability, as well as ICT’s role in economic development and environmental impact. The results show electricity consumption’s positive effect on economic growth and ICT development while also revealing an increase in pollutant emissions (emissions of liquid and gaseous pollutants) with economic growth and electricity consumption. The development of ICT in Kazakhstan has been revealed to not have a direct effect on reducing pollutant emissions into the environment, raising important questions about how technology can be leveraged to mitigate environmental impact, whether current technological advancements are sufficient to address environmental challenges, and what specific measures are needed to enhance the environmental benefits of ICT. There is a clear necessity to integrate sustainable practices and technologies to achieve balanced development. These results offer important insights into the relationships among electricity consumption, technology, economic development, and environmental issues. They underscore the complexity and multidimensionality of these interactions and suggest directions for future research, especially in the context of finding sustainable solutions for balanced development.

The utilization of digital tools in agricultural extension has facilitated information delivery through non-face-to-face interactions. Therefore, this study aimed to map the variation in digital tools used by agricultural extension workers to access and deliver information and analyse the outcomes of farmers’ adoption. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with agricultural extension workers at 11 Agricultural Extension Centers. The data were processed using the N-Vivo qualitative data analysis software. The results showed that extension workers combined various digital tools as sources of extension materials and channels for delivering information to farmers. Although social interaction between agricultural extension workers and farmers occurred non-face-to-face, messages could be adopted by farmers and yield tangible outcomes. This was reflected in the asynchronous communication, allowing extension workers sufficient time to improve the quality of the delivered messages. Farmers also had sufficient time to review the received information content in this context repeatedly. These results implied that although extension content is delivered through non-face-to-face interaction, it can still drive adoption with significant outcomes.

To address the escalating online romance scams within telecom fraud, we developed an Adaptive Random Forest Light Gradient Boosting (ARFLGB)-XGBoost early warning system. Our method involves compiling detailed Online Romance Scams (ORS) incident data into a 24-variable dataset, categorized to analyze feature importance with Random Forest and LightGBM models. An innovative adaptive algorithm, the Adaptive Random Forest Light Gradient Boosting, optimizes these features for integration with XGBoost, enhancing early Online romance scams threat detection. Our model showed significant performance improvements over traditional models, with accuracy gains of 3.9%, a 12.5% increase in precision, recall improvement by 5%, an F1 score increase by 5.6%, and a 5.2% increase in Area Under the Curve (AUC). This research highlights the essential role of advanced fraud detection in preserving communication network integrity, contributing to a stable economy and public safety, with implications for policymakers and industry in advancing secure communication infrastructure.

Digital transformation is a significant phenomenon that affects almost every business sector, particularly the telecommunications industry, which is closely intertwined with information technology. This study is grounded in McLuhan’s concept of technological determinism and Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of technology, which asserts that media and technology shape human thoughts and interactions, benefiting individuals, society, and culture alike. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the environmental factors that influence digital transformation and to assess its impact on the strategic renewal of a company. This research employs exploratory qualitative methods, collecting in-depth information through interviews with the respondents from Indonesia’s leading telecommunications operator who can provide comprehensive and contextual insights into digital transformation. The findings reveal specific environmental factors that drive digital transformation. The major identified components of strategic renewal include advancements in information technology, the role of human resources, and interactions with external parties, including customers and partners.

Organizations in the modern, global environment have moved away from traditional methods of communication and toward creating all-encompassing plans that revolve around the engagement and motivation of their workforce. This change highlights the critical function of strategic internal communication, a still-emerging but increasingly important field of study and practice in the business sector. The modern workplace sees a change in the roles that employees play, with workers taking on more and more duties that were previously related to public relations. Understanding this shift in PR practice requires an understanding of role expectations, as norms and expectations have a significant impact on communication behavior and, in turn, organizational performance. To interpret the data in this context, a content analysis of secondary data was conducted. This made it possible to assess the body of knowledge in order to determine its applicability, consistency, replication, and rebuttal. The study makes the case that paramilitary organizations, like the Nigeria Customs Service, have internal communication procedures that are different from those of traditional corporate organizational structures. Given the agency’s diverse responsibilities in income generation, trade facilitation, and the abolition of smuggling, this discrepancy is especially noticeable. The study shows that the relationship between internal communication and employees’ job performance was mediated by employee participation and job satisfaction.