In Central and Eastern European countries, the labour shortage is becoming increasingly pronounced, posing a challenge for the economy. Labour shortages limit the potential national income as many positions remain unfilled, which could lead to a slowdown in economic growth. To address this issue, various solutions need to be explored. This research aims to analyze solutions for alleviating labour shortages, with particular emphasis on measures that encourage workforce participation. One strategy is introducing training and retraining programs that help workers develop skills and adapt to labour market demands. Another option is to promote part-time employment, which may be especially attractive to groups unable or unwilling to work full-time. Enhancing population mobility could also be crucial in addressing labour shortages, particularly in bridging regional disparities. Integrating certain inactive groups, such as retirees, homemakers, students, people with disabilities, and those with low education levels experiencing generational poverty, into the labour market could also yield significant benefits. The study employs quantitative analysis methods and includes a survey that examines citizens’ perspectives on the effectiveness of measures aimed at increasing labour market participation and their economic impact on the Slovak economy. The survey data were collected in 2023 in the region of Rožňava and its surrounding areas.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest some ways and mechanisms for creating long-term peace based on sustainable development of the world and the purpose of the work is to develop recommendations aimed at counteracting the emergence of dictatorial regimes that were legitimately established. Five common features of such dictators have been identified, namely: coming to power in a legitimate way, using manipulative technologies, openly declaring their aggressive intentions, gradually implementing their aggressive intentions, creating a military potential with the active participation of developed countries, including those with established democracies. The reasons for the creation of dictatorial regimes are substantiated, namely: the imperfection of electoral legislation, excessive conservatism of legislation, insufficient determination and timeliness of countering the strengthening of dictatorships, “national egoism”, the unscrupulousness of dictators in their foreign and domestic policies. It was determined that in order to actively oppose dictatorial regimes, it is necessary to: improve the system of elections to the highest positions and to the legislative bodies of the state, put a strong barrier against manipulative technologies and fakes, through the improvement and effective application of international legislation with the involvement of artificial intelligence, determine the strategy of relations with dictators in all directions in advance: economic, diplomatic, sports, scientific and technical, etc., establish the scope of relations in direct proportion to the index of democracy in a country with an authoritarian regime and, in order to prevent negative consequences on the economy and social condition of the society of one’s country, determine and carefully regulate import and export activities. It is proposed to start an indicator of the effectiveness of the head of state and an internal truth index of the head of state, as well as measures for moral stimulation of heads of state. As a result of the study, two root causes of threats to the existence of humanity were additionally identified, which directly affect the formation of dictatorial regimes. 1) The emergence on the basis of modern information technologies of a powerful system of manipulative technologies, the use of which leads to the power of future dictators. 2) Belated opposition of the democratic world to the formation of dictatorships. This is expressed in condescension to the initial illegal actions of future dictators, uncontrolled cooperation in the economic, political and humanitarian spheres. Two key mechanisms for achieving sustainable development and long-term peace are proposed.

Analyzing ecosystem service values (ESV) is crucial for achieving sustainable development. The main objective of this study was to assess the ecosystem services of the Cisadane watershed in Indonesia, with specific goals: (i) examining the spatiotemporal dynamics of ESV using multi-year land use and land cover (LULC) data from 2000 to 2021, (ii) exploring trade-offs and synergies among various ecosystem services, and (iii) investigating the sensitivity of ESV to changes in LULC. The results unveiled a significant decrease in forested areas (21.2%) and rice fields (10.2%), leading to a decline in ESV of $196.37 billion (33.17%) from 2010 to 2021. Throughout the period from 2000 to 2021, interactions between ESV were mainly synergistic. Projected from the baseline year (2021), the decline in ESV is expected to persist, ranging from $24.78 billion to $124.28 million by 2030 and from $45.78 billion to $124.28 million by 2050. The total estimated ecosystem values exhibited an inelastic response in terms of ecosystem value coefficients. The study also emphasizes an inelastic response in total estimated ESV coefficient concerning ecosystem value coefficients. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted conservation efforts and sustainable land management practices to mitigate the further decline in ecosystem services and safeguard the long-term well-being of the Cisadane watershed and its inhabitants.

This contribution questions young people’s access to digital networks at the scale of intermediate cities in Saint-Louis. Thus, it analyzes the prescriptions of digital actors responsible for the development of digital economy in relation with the orientations of the Senegal Digital 2025 strategy. This is a pretex to highlight the gaps between official political discourses and the level of deployment of digital infrastructures. The study highlights the need to repoliticize the needs of populations for broadband and very high-speed connections to promote local initiatives for youth participation in Saint-Louis. Indeed, datas relating to access and use of the Internet by young people reveal inequalities linked to household income, the disparity of infrastructure and digital equipment, and the discontinuity in neighborhood development, but also to the adaptability of the internet service marketed. Through urban and explanatory sociology mobilized through the approach of young people’s real access to the Internet, our analyzes have shown at the scale of urban neighborhoods the impact of the actions recommended by those involved in the development of populations’ access to Internet. The result is that the majority of young people are forced to access the Internet through medium-speed mobile networks.

The construction of gas plants often experiences delays caused by various factors, which can lead to significant financial and operational losses. This research aims to develop an accurate risk model to improve the schedule performance of gas plant projects. The model uses Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) and Monte Carlo simulation methods to identify and measure the risks that most significantly impact project schedule performance. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the risk variables that may cause delays. The risk model, pre-simulation modeling, result analysis, and expert validation were all developed using a Focused Group Discussion (FGD). Primavera Risk Analysis (PRA) software was used to perform Monte Carlo simulations. The simulation output provides information on probability distribution, histograms, descriptive statistics, sensitivity analysis, and graphical results that aid in better understanding and decision-making regarding project risks. The research results show that the simulated project completion timeline after mitigation suggested an acceleration of 61–65 days compared to the findings of the baseline simulation. This demonstrates that activity-based mitigation has a major influence on improving schedule performance. This research makes a significant contribution to addressing project delay issues by introducing an innovative and effective risk model. The model empowers project teams to proactively identify, measure, and mitigate risks, thereby improving project schedule performance and delivering more successful projects.

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.