The Public-Private Partnerships management model (PPP) in Portugal was initially applied to the highways sector. Recently, this model began to spread to the health sector for hospital management. The recent growth of patient’s knowledge and expectations regarding the quality of healthcare services is compelling service providers to pursue new ways of delivering this care to meet users’ expectations. One wonders if the increase in patient access to knowledge may indicate a growth in health literacy, particularly regarding PPP Hospitals. This study assesses the Portuguese population’s literacy level regarding the PPP Hospital model, using a quantitative research approach based on a survey of the Portuguese population served by PPP hospitals and a Public Hospital Management (PHM) model. It was found that the Portuguese population has a low literacy concerning the PPP model, which can cause feelings of injustice. It was found that PPP users tend to have a favourable opinion regarding private involvement since they are also more satisfied compared to PMH users. These results may impact political decision-making concerning the renewal of new contracts for private management of public services.

This paper utilizes an advanced Network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to examine the impact of mobile payment on the efficiency of Taiwan banking industry. Inheriting the literature, we separate the banking operation process into two stages, namely profitability and marketability. Mobile payment is then considered as the core factor in the second stage. Our paper discovers network DEA model can effectively enhance the analysis of banking industry’s efficiency, and mobile payment has a notable impact on Taiwan banking industry. Regarding the profitability stage, there is only one efficient bank in 2019 and 2022, respectively. These banks also perform better in terms of “mobile payment production”. In the marketability stage, there is also only one bank in 2021 and one bank in 2022, that can reach to unique efficiency score. This indicates many banks attempt to increase earnings per share through investing in mobile payment services. However, the achievement still needs more wait. This leads to the fact that no bank can reach the ultimate overall efficiency. Within our sample, we also find that regarding promoting mobile payment services, Private Banks outperform Government Banks.

The reference urban plan is an urban planning tool often used to orient the development of Chadian cities. However, expanding Chadian urban centers, such as Sarh, face challenges in implementing urban planning orientations of their urban plans within the set deadlines. The objective of this study is to identify the factors impeding the effective implementation of the reference urban plan for Sarh town. The methodology employed encompasses a literature review, individual interviews with urban planning experts, geographic information system (GIS) data, household surveys and statistical analysis. The results revealed that less than a quarter (19.72%) of the households surveyed were aware of the reference urban plan. The applied logistic regression model identified age, occupation and level of education as the main factors influencing public participation in the preparation of the reference urban plan. On average, 33.33% of the urban planning guidelines and 21.74% of the projected urban projects were implemented, with a difference of 1631.28 hectares (ha) between the projected plan and the actual plan for the town. Five factors were identified as contributing to the failure to implement the reference urban plan for Sarh town, including low funding, inadequate land management, a lack of political will, weak governance and poor communication. Consequently, participatory and inclusive planning approaches, effective financial mobilisation, strong governance, and the use of modern technologies such as GIS tools are recommended to enhance the implementation of urban planning tools.

This research aims to analyze the contribution of the Industrial World Business program in improving the work skills and work readiness of people with disabilities through the Systematic Literature Review method. The involvement of businesses and industries in developing inclusive programs for people with disabilities is an important key to bridging the skills gap and employment opportunities. This research identifies various programs, best practices, and challenges in implementing these programs. Based on the results of the literature reviewed, it was found that inclusive job training programs significantly improve the technical and non-technical skills of people with disabilities while strengthening their readiness to face a competitive job market. On the other hand, there are still obstacles in the accessibility and adaptation of training programs that must continue to be optimized. However, to achieve greater inclusivity, improvements are still needed in terms of accessibility, program adaptation, and efforts to reduce discrimination in the world of work. It is hoped that the results of this research can become a basis for policymakers, industry players, and educational institutions to continue to develop inclusive programs and empower people with disabilities in the world of work. Collaboration between industry and vocational service providers is critical to improving employment outcomes and facilitating a successful transition from education to employment for people with disabilities.

This study investigates the buying styles of young consumers, especially the millennials—Gen Y, and Gen Z whose idiosyncrasies and consumption peculiarities are quite different from the older generations. Besides Sproles and Kendall’s eight (8) consumer-style inventory dimensions, this study presents new dimensions and develops six constructs that define young consumers’ decision-style inventory in a developing market. The study population consisted of all younger consumers—Gen Y, and Gen Z in Lagos State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty-five (125) respondents were selected randomly across all 20 Local Governments in Lagos State, Nigeria. Factor analyses through varimax rotation, latent root criterion (eigenvalue = 1), screen plot test and the percentage of variance were conducted to determine the significant factors to retain among the variables. The findings clearly showed that newly developed CSI constructs in this study (sexiness, trendiness, global branding, smartness, socialisation and entertainment) were strong and significant among young consumers’ decision-making styles. The six (6) constructs developed showed that the younger consumers’ consumption styles are evolving, becoming sophisticated and relatively dynamic, hence the reliance on Sproles and Kendall’s dimensions to measure the younger consumers’ consumption decision styles will be inadequate in business/behaviour strategy development. The dimensions of entertainment, sexy, social, trendy, smartness and global branding variables are mostly underpinned and dominate considerations in purchase decision styles and behaviours among young consumers.

In response to the challenges of climate change, this study explores the use of moringa pod powder as reinforcement in the manufacture of compressed earth bricks to promote sustainable building materials. The objective is to evaluate the impact of African locust bean pod powder on the mechanical properties of the bricks. Two types of soils from Togo were characterized according to geotechnical standards. Mixtures containing 8% African locust bean pod powder at various particle sizes (0.08 mm, 2 mm, and between 2 and 5 mm) were formulated and tested for compression and tensile strength. The results show that the addition of African locust bean pod reduces the mechanical strength of the bricks compared to the control sample without pods, with strengths ranging from 0.697 to 0.767 MPa, compared to 0.967 to 1.060 MPa for the control. However, the best performances for the mixtures were obtained with a fineness of less than 2 mm. This decrease in performance is attributed to several factors, including inadequate water content and suboptimal preparation and compaction methods. Optimizing formulation parameters is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of African locust bean pods. This work highlights the valorization of agro-industrial waste, paving the way for a better understanding of bio-based materials and future research for sustainable construction.