Objectives: The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the stress on blood banks and deprived the blood sources due to the containment measures that restrict the movement and travel limitations among blood donors. During this time, Malaysia had a significant 40% reduction in blood supply. Blood centers and hospitals faced a huge challenge balancing blood demand and collection. The health care systems need a proactive plan to withstand the uncertain situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the psychosocial factors that affect blood donation behavior during a pandemic and aims to propose evidence-based strategies for a sustainable blood supply. Study design: Qualitative design using focus group discussion (FGD) was employed. Methods: Data were acquired from the two FGDs that group from transfusion medicine specialists (N = 8) and donors (N = 10). The FGD interview protocol was developed based on the UTM Research Ethics Committee’s approval. Then, the data was analyzed using Nvivo based on the General Inductive Approach (GIA). Results: Analysis of the text data found that the psychology of blood donation during the pandemic in Malaysia can be classified into four main themes: (i) reduced donation; (ii) motivation of donating blood; (iii) trends of donation; and (iv) challenges faced by the one-off, occasional, and non-donors. Conclusions: Based on the emerging themes from the FGDs, this study proposes four psycho-contextual strategies for relevant authorities to manage sustainable blood accumulation during the pandemic: (1) develop standard operating procedure for blood donors; (2) organize awareness campaigns; (3) create a centralized integrated blood donors database; and (4) provide innovative Blood Donation Facilities.

 Landscape architects, who guide planning and design decisions by understanding the socio-cultural expectations, functional needs, and social behaviors of the community, create ideal spaces for people by integrating natural, social, cultural, and aesthetic factors with a holistic design approach in urban public areas. Public open green spaces are important urban areas that have a positive impact on people’s physical, mental, and emotional health. In this context, the concept of personal space, its impact on individuals, and related perception studies have been examined. In landscape design, criteria that affect individuals’ personal space distances and personal space perceptions have been identified, providing a basis for sustainable landscape design projects in public open and green spaces.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is a global priority, but effective implementation faces challenges. This bibliometric study analyzed the results of Indonesian STEM education research to elucidate publication and contributor patterns. The Scopus database was searched for Indonesian STEM education publications from 2019–2023 and produced 52 documents from 23 sources. The analysis found a negative average growth rate of −5.43%, with a peak of 14 releases in 2020, possibly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the output was relatively limited, the diversity of sources suggests wide-ranging interest. The leading authors were identified based on their productivity and impact on citation, with Wahono. emerging as the most influential worldwide. Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia was an institutional leader. The Journal of Physics Conference series dominated the contributions and emphasized the role of conference proceedings. Examination of the citations and text frequencies revealed key themes that include technology, engineering, pedagogy, and skills of the 21st century. Several widely cited works ensured international visibility. In general, this bibliometric analysis quantitatively mapped the landscape of Indonesian STEM education research, finding a decline in performance but a strong foundation of committed institutions and authors. The sustainability of production and impact requires targeted policies based on insight into existing strengths, productive scholars, and influential publications. The results provide an empirical basis for practices and policies for the effective development of STEM education in Indonesian schools.

The maize commodity is of strategic significance to the South African economy as it is a stable commodity and therefore a key factor for food security. In recent times climate change has impacted on the productivity of this commodity and this has impacted trade negatively. This paper explores the intricate relationship between climatic factors and trade performance for the South African maize. Secondary annual time series data spanning 2001 to 2023, was sourced from an abstract from Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration technique was used as an empirical model to assess the long-term and short-term relationships between explanatory variables and the dependent variable. Results of the ARDL model show that, average annual rainfall (β = 2.184, p = 0.056), fertilizer consumption (β = 1.919, p = 0.036), gross value of production (β = 1.279 , p = 0.006) and average annual surface temperature (β = −0.650, p = 0.991) and change in temperature for previous years, (β = −0.650, p = 0.991) and the effects towards coefficient change for export volumes, (β = 0.669, p = 0.0007). In overall, as a recommendation, South African policymakers should consider these findings when developing strategies to mitigate the impacts of some of these climatic factors and implementing adaptive strategies for maize producers.

This research explores the role of social media in the political construction of identity, analyzing how these platforms mediate the expression and formation of individual and group political identities. The focus is on how social media changes the dynamics of communication and social interaction, facilitating the formation of “echo chambers” and increasing political polarization. Additionally, this study highlights challenges such as disinformation and the implications of social media for the health of democracy. As a researcher, I aim to highlight the broader implications of using social media in identity politics. By analyzing the impact of social media on political dynamics in Indonesia, this study reveals how social media influences public perception and political decisions. This study identifies how social media can be used as a tool to mobilize political support, but also how these platforms can spread disinformation and reinforce political polarization. Based on these concerns, researchers have not yet found research results that examine how social media specifically impacts the construction of political identity. This research aims to highlight how social media not only acts as a communication tool but also as a medium that influences the way individuals view and express their political identity. Through a qualitative approach, this study provides new insights into the impact of social media in contemporary political dynamics and the importance of digital literacy in addressing issues of identity politics in the digital era.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be viewed as the aftermath of the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs). This is due to the fact that the seventeen (17) SDGs are designed to continue the work expected to have been done by the MDGs. In other words, the failure of the MDGs to eradicate poverty birthed the SDGs. However, the SDGs seem not to be achieving the desired result. This has led to the projection for the need for a decade of action. In the African context, the questions of why the MDGs failed and the SDGs tend to be failing are yet to be asked. By projection, if the questions are not asked and answers are not provided, the projection of the decade of action may also fail. Hence, the reason for this conceptual paper which was targeted at exploring the possibility of considering the Africanization of the SDGs as remedy to ensuring sustainable development in the African continent. Different relevant sources were identified, reviewed and analysed. The findings from the reviewed and analysed sources showed among others that for Africanization of the SDGs to be a reality and practicable, glocalization must be embraced. Meanwhile, there will be need to question the use of Eurocentric curricula in African institutions of learning.