The issue of urban land management in the world in general and in Africa in particular has been exacerbated by the liberalization of land practices and the commodification of land, which has led to an increase in corrupt practices within land institutions in all cities. A mixed methodology was employed, combining a comparative case study of secondary towns with a quantitative survey of 559 landowners in the towns of Bohicon and Sokodé. In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 informants, who were surveyed on the land acquisition process, the individual determinants influencing corrupt practices, and the institutions most involved in these practices. The findings revealed that the acquisition of a formal title conferring property rights in both cities necessitates the completion of several steps. Corrupt practices are present at almost every stage of the transaction. The application of logistic regression models to the independent variables indicates that age and profession are highly significant in the sociodemographic characteristics of those most susceptible to engaging in these practices. Formal land administration institutions are the most involved in these types of everyday corruption. These practices are ultimately linked to people’s life paths and cannot therefore be combated without psychosociological education and the promotion of ethical behavior among all stakeholders, particularly among those who demand services.

How to improve enterprise performance has been a research topic widely studied by scholars for a long time. As economic globalization deepens, the business competition becomes increasingly harsh. Technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the rapid development of the country’s economy, especially in China. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of knowledge integration capability in the relationship between corporate social capital and enterprise performance. The sample group used in this study were 300 technology-based SMEs in China. The research tool was a questionnaire adapted from previous scholars, which passed assessment in terms of content validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results show that: 1) corporate social capital has a positive impact on enterprise performance, but the impact differs between well-performing and poor-performing enterprises; and 2) knowledge integration ability plays a mediating role in the relationship between corporate social capital and enterprise performance, and the mediating role is the same for both well-performing and poor-performing enterprises. But it played a partial mediating role in the good-performance comparison group and a complete mediating role in the poor-performance comparison group. This study is useful for enterprise management in cultivating and developing the abundant social capital of enterprises and expanding channels for knowledge integration ability to increase enterprise performance.

Under the background of new curriculum reform, the purpose of secondary education and cultivation has been changed to cultivate students' comprehensive and professional abilities. Applying lifelike teaching to the English classroom of secondary education arts and sports students is an effective means to stimulate students' learning interests and improve their English proficiency. Based on the analysis of the current situation of English teaching for arts and physical education students in secondary education, the article puts forward several strategies of English lifelike teaching in order to better improve the English quality of students in secondary institutions and promote the development of English education in secondary institutions.

In the era of rapid information technology development, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have gradually infiltrated the field of university English teaching, brought significant applications and impacted to English language learning in listening, speaking, writing, translation, and personalized learning. AI plays a vital role as an auxiliary teaching method in university English instruction, and the integration of VR technology further enhances teaching efficiency. This research will propose relevant recommendations to provide theoretical references for university English education in the age of AI, while also offering insights and guidance to educators in the education industry during the informatization reform of education.

The interest in smart grids and new technologies is growing around the world. Countries are investing in the development of new technologies that will help achieve environmental goals, energy supply efficiency, improve energy efficiency and increase consumer involvement in the energy generation. One of such technology is a blockchain. It is believed that the blockchain, combined with a smart grid, provides an opportunity to integrate the activities of all stakeholders, including: generators, distributors and consumers of electricity. The aim of the article is to identify the key research areas discussed by the researchers of both the smart grid and the blockchain issues. An analysis of the Scopus database from 2015 to 2023 was conducted. Using a created bibliometric query, a systematic literature review was conducted. 476 scientific publications relating to the issues addressed were identified. Using the VOSviewer software, a bibliometric analysis was performed using the author’s keywords. The bibliometric maps obtained allowed for the identification of key research areas. The article also presents potential future directions of scientific considerations, which should be focused on the issue of green smart grid and green blockchain. The results presented in the article can inspire researchers looking for research gaps or describing the current state of knowledge in the field of the smart grid and the blockchain issues.