Background: In healthcare, research is essential for improving disease diagnosis and treatment, patient outcomes, and resource management, while fostering evidence-based practice. However, conducting research in this sector can be challenging, and healthcare workers may face various obstacles while engaging in research activities. Therefore, understanding healthcare workers’ attitudes toward research participation is essential for overcoming barriers and increasing research engagement. In this study, these aspects are examined through the analysis of survey data from a tertiary healthcare institution in Saudi Arabia. Method: Data obtained via a survey conducted between April and November 2022 among the healthcare workers and employees at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Results: The study sample comprised 713 respondents, 61.71% of whom were female, 58.06% were 26–41 years old, and 72.93% had not undertaken any research as employees or affiliates. A significant association was noted between age group and time constraints (p = 0.004) and lack of opportunity for research (p = 0.00), which were among the identified barriers to research participation. A significant association was also found between gender and barriers to pursuing research (p = 0.012). When the 193 (27.07%) participants who conducted research were asked about the challenges they encountered during this process, gender was significantly associated with difficulties in allocating time for conducting research (p = 0.042) and challenges in accessing journals and references (p = 0.016). Conclusion: The study findings highlight the importance of addressing the barriers and challenges in promoting positive attitudes toward research participation among healthcare workers considering their gender and age. In this manner, healthcare institutions can adopt an environment conducive for professional research engagement.

Employees’ loyalty is essential for improving the organization’s performance, thus aiding sustainable economic growth. The study examines the relationship between employee loyalty, organizational performance, and economic sustainability in Malaysian organizations. The results indicate a robust positive correlation between organizational performance and employee loyalty, suggesting loyalty drives productivity, profitability, and operational efficiency. Additionally, the study highlights organizational performance as a mediator that connects loyalty to aggregate-level economic consequences, such as resilience and adaptability under volatile market conditions. The research emphasizes the role of leadership, company culture, and work environments that support cultivating loyalty. It also highlights how loyal employees can be a cornerstone of innovation and corporate social responsibility, which aligns with Malaysia’s sustainable development agenda. By addressing this, organizations are encouraged to adopt measures that can foster loyalty and ensure long-term economic sustainability, including employee engagement initiatives, talent management, and recognition systems. Research to come should investigate longitudinal dynamics, cross-cultural comparisons, and sector-specific factors to cement a better base of understanding about the impact of employee loyalty on organizational and economic outcomes.

Regional differentiation in the Russian Federation is considered to be high in terms of gross regional product (GRP) per capita level, growth rate, and other indicators. Inefficient use of region-specific spaces entails redistribution processes in order to maximize positive agglomeration effects throughout the country. These encompass economic restructuring based on production value-added chain extension and expanding inter-regional collaborative linkages. Besides, it is vital to assess the opportunities of individual Russian territories for participation therein. The research goal is to develop a scientifically based methodology to determine promising sectoral composition of the regional economies and that of spatial interactions. Such methodology would consider the feasibility of combining “smart” industrial specializations, regional resource potential, prevailing contradictions in the economic, innovative, and technological development of the country’s internal space. The proposed methodological approach opens the way to exploit the existing regional economic potential to the full, firstly, via establishing sectoral priorities of the region regarding the regulatory factors for the territorial capital to have a major effect on the increased potential GRP level; secondly, through benchmarking performance of the available development reserves within leading regions from homogeneous groups having similar characteristics and factor potentials; thirdly, via developing inter-regional integration prospects in terms of regional potential redistribution to ensure growth in potential gross domestic product. An extensive analytical and applied investigation of the proposed methodological approach was carried out from 2014 to 2020. Diversified estimates were obtained for a wide range of indicators due to evidences from 85 Russian regions and 13 types of economic activity. Such an integrated approach allows revealing actual imbalances and barriers that impede regional development, ensures the efficient use of production factors, and enables to trace ways to implement transformation policies and design effective regulatory mechanisms. The results provide arguments in favor of strengthening inter-regional connectivity and supporting inter-regional cooperation. This insight not only contributes to the academic discourse on complex development of a territory but also holds practical implications for policymakers and regional planners aimed at ensuring comprehensiveness and robustness of the evaluation supporting the decision-making process.

Local community members play a critical role in the success of conservation projects, which in turn have the potential to influence the perceptions of local people. Relationships matter when it comes to sustainable long-term conservation and community well-being. The study aims to establish the relationship between local communities and wildlife conservation organizations in the context of Phinda Private Game Reserve and the Mnqobokazi community, located in South Africa. Data was collected using the qualitative methods of interviews and focus group discussions. The findings show that a symbiotic relationship between conservation organizations and local community members is critical in conserving the environment. The research indicates that both participation and benefits result in improved perceptions towards the protected area and a strong positive relationship. The accrual of benefits also appears to result in pro-environmental consciousness amongst community members. Several existing studies examine participation or benefit-sharing in community-based tourism in developing nations. However, less is known about the relationships between local communities and conservation organizations and the effect of participation and beneficiation on these relationships. This research narrows this gap in the body of knowledge by qualitatively examining a single case study. The findings add value to global collaborative efforts aimed at achieving positive relationships between communities and conservation management.

Language is fundamental to human communication, allowing individuals to express and exchange ideas, thoughts, and emotions. In early childhood, some children experience communication disorders that impede their ability to articulate words correctly, posing significant challenges to their learning and development. This issue is exacerbated in developing countries, where limited resources and a lack of technological tools hinder access to effective speech therapy. Traditional speech therapy remains vital, but the latest technological advancements have introduced robotic assistants to enhance therapy for communication disorders. Despite their potential, these technologies are often inaccessible in developing regions due to high production costs and a lack of sustainable manufacturing models. For these reasons, this paper presents “FONA,” a robotic assistant that employs rule-based expert systems to provide tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli. FONA supports children aged 3 to 6 in speech therapy by delivering exercises such as syllable production, word formation, and pictographic storytelling of various phonemes. Notably, FONA was successfully tested on children with cochlear implants, reducing the number of sessions required to produce isolated phonemes. The paper also introduces an innovative analysis of the Make To Order (MTO) manufacturing system for producing FONA in developing countries. This analysis explores two key perspectives: collaborative networks and entrepreneurship, offering a sustainable production model. In a pilot experiment, FONA significantly improved children’s attention spans, increasing the period by 17 min. Furthermore, the economic analysis demonstrates that producing FONA through collaborative networks can significantly reduce costs, making it more accessible to institutions in developing countries. The findings suggest that the project is viable for a five-year period, providing a sustainable and effective solution for addressing communication disorders in children.