E-cigarettes pose a significant public health concern, particularly for youth and young adults. Policymaking in this area is complicated by changing consumption patterns, diverse user demographics, and dynamic online and offline communities. This study uses social network analytics to examine the social dynamics and communication patterns related to e-cigarette use. We analyzed data from various social media platforms, forums, and online communities, which included both advocacy for e-cigarettes as a safer smoking alternative and opposition due to health risks. Our findings inform targeted healthcare policy interventions, such as educational campaigns tailored to specific network clusters, regulations based on user interaction and influence patterns, and collaborations with key influencers to spread accurate health information.

This study investigated the use of digital story strategy in teaching Islamic education on achievement and how it affects the development of moral thinking. The quasi-experimental design was implemented as a methodology and the sample included of (60) students from the fourth grade from Abdul Rahman bin Awf School in Abha. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences at the significance level (α ≤ 0.05) between the average responses of students in the two groups in the test. The experimental group performed better than the control group. The findings also showed that there are statistically significant differences at the significance level (α ≤ 0.05) between the average responses of students in the two groups (experimental and control) in the moral thinking scale and favour of the experimental group.

Macao’s Continuing Education Development and Improvement Program aims to create lifelong learning conditions for Macao residents who have reached the age of 15 and encourage them to pursue continuing education or obtain certification to improve their personal qualities. This paper analyzes the entire implementation process of the Continuing Education Development and Improvement Program in Macao, using the traditional means of policy analysis from three perspectives. For the government, successful implementation ensures the quality of continuing education and promotes the building of a learning society in Macao. For educational institutions, this program provides residents with multiple learning pathways to meet diversified needs. For residents, it alleviates the cost pressure caused by education and promotes individual development in various aspects. However, there are still some problems in the subsequent implementation process that need to be improved, such as unclear positioning, inadequate administrative supervision mechanisms, and a weak guarantee of curriculum quality.

Currently, no academic work examines the history of the legality of roads in Chile during its independent existence as a sovereign country. Addressing this gap in the literature, this paper focuses specially on the period from 1842 to 1969, when different actors articulated a set of guiding ideas about the duties of the state and the legal powers of the administrative authority in terms of planning, construction and management of road infrastructure that would allow connectivity between population centers and across regions, according to the ideas and resources available at their historical time. This historical overview of Chilean “road law” is done in the light of insights and questions of contemporary intellectual history and institutional history. In this regard, it is argued that the evolution of road infrastructure norms and institutions during the period under study can be divided into three historical regimes, based on their fundamental legislative milestones, guiding ideas, institutional settings, and strategies of state action: from 1842 to 1887, a period of a decentralized “minimal road state” with precarious roads characterized by both material and juridical uncertainty; from 1887 to 1920, the emergence of a “proto-developmentalist road state” intent on strengthening its grip on the nationwide road infrastructure; and from 1920 to 1969, a period of a “techno-developmentalist road state” that created a nationwide paved road network for the new technology of mobile vehicles.

 Purpose: This research paper aims to assess the proficiency of tertiary education providers in engaging with online learning environments, especially in the context of the post-COVID-19 transition. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning platforms, it is essential to understand how educational institutions have adapted and evolved in their approach to virtual education. The central research question explores how Continuous Professional Development (CPD), Technological Infrastructure (TI), and Support Systems (SS) collectively influence educators’ proficiency in online teaching (POT). Study design/methodology/approach: A comparative study was performed, comparing data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic with post-pandemic data from higher education institutions in Uzbekistan. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 education facilitators representing both public and international educational institutions. This purposive sampling approach allows for a holistic exploration of the experiences, challenges, strategies, and preparedness of these facilitators during the transition to online learning. Manual qualitative data classification and content analysis were employed to understand themes in respondent experiences and identified actions. Findings: The study reveals the significant role of CPD, robust TI, and effective SS in enhancing the Proficiency of tertiary education providers in engaging with Online Teaching. These elements were found to be significant determinants of how well institutions and educators adapted to the shift to virtual education. The research offers valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and students, aiding in decision-making processes within academia and guiding the development and implementation of effective online teaching strategies. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing literature by providing an in-depth understanding of the adjustments education facilitators make in response to the pandemic. It emphasizes the importance of ongoing preparation for online learning and highlights the role of digital workplace capabilities in ensuring successful interaction in virtual educational environments.

The failure to achieve sustainable development in South Africa is due to the inability to deliver quality and adequate health services that would lead to the achievement of sustainable human security. As we live in an era of digital technology, Machine Learning (ML) has not yet permeated the healthcare sector in South Africa. Its effects on promoting quality health services for sustainable human security have not attracted much academic attention in South Africa and across the African continent. Hospitals still face numerous challenges that have hindered achieving adequate health services. For this reason, the healthcare sector in South Africa continues to suffer from numerous challenges, including inadequate finances, poor governance, long waiting times, shortages of medical staff, and poor medical record keeping. These challenges have affected health services provision and thus pose threats to the achievement of sustainable security. The paper found that ML technology enables adequate health services that alleviate disease burden and thus lead to sustainable human security. It speeds up medical treatment, enabling medical workers to deliver health services accurately and reducing the financial cost of medical treatments. ML assists in the prevention of pandemic outbreaks and as well as monitoring their potential epidemic outbreaks. It protects and keeps medical records and makes them readily available when patients visit any hospital. The paper used a qualitative research design that used an exploratory approach to collect and analyse data.

The purpose of this study was to assess rural students’ computational thinking abilities. The following proofs were observed: (1) Students’ abstraction affected algorithmic thinking skills; (2) Students’ decomposition influenced algorithmic thinking skills; (3) Students’ abstraction impacted evaluation skills; (4) Students’ algorithmic thinking affected evaluation skills; (5) Students’ abstraction impacted generalization skills; (6) Students’ decomposition impacted generalization skills; (7) Students’ evaluation affected generalization skills. Gender differences were observed in the relationship among the computational thinking factors of junior high school students. This included the abstraction-generalization skills; evaluation-generalization skills; and decomposition-generalization skills relationships, which were moderated by the gender of the students. 258 valid surveys were collected, and they were utilized in the study. Conducting the descriptive, reliability, and validity analyses used SPSS software, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) was also conducted through Smart PLS software to assess the hypothetical relationships. There were gender disparities in the correlation among computational thinking components of the junior high school students’ studying in rural areas. Research has shown that male and female students may have different abstractions, evaluations, and generalizations related to computational thinking, with females being more strongly associated than males in non-programming learning contexts. These results are expected to provide relevant information in subsequent analyses and implement a computational thinking curriculum to overcome the still-existing gender gaps and promote computational thinking skills.

This study investigates the multifaceted challenges and barriers to implementing public auditor recommendations in Ghana’s public sector over an eighteen months period, aiming to enhance governance and accountability. Utilizing a qualitative research approach, the study involved semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, including officials from the Ghana Audit Service, government ministries, and civil society organizations. The findings reveal a complex interplay of organizational, political, and attitudinal factors that impede effective implementation. Key challenges identified include the lack of clear implementation plans, insufficient resources, weak political commitment, and a pervasive culture of mistrust towards audit recommendations. The research underscores the necessity for a comprehensive and holistic approach to address these barriers, advocating for strengthened political leadership, enhanced accountability mechanisms, and improved stakeholder coordination. Additionally, fostering a sense of ownership and buy-in among implementation stakeholders is crucial for successful reform. The study contributes valuable insights into the systemic issues affecting public sector governance in Ghana and offers practical recommendations for overcoming the identified challenges, ultimately aiming to empower citizens and enhance governmental accountability. By addressing these barriers, the research highlights the potential for transformative change in the governance landscape of Ghana’s public sector.