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.

Sustainability has turned into a critical focus for businesses, drawing considerable interest from the commercial sector and scholarly environments. While empirical investigations have been conducted regarding sustainability reporting within small and medium enterprises, only a limited number of companies are subjected to increased pressure to adopt sustainability reporting practices, thereby ensuring enhanced transparency and disclosure in their financial and sustainability disclosures. This research, framed by Institutional Theory, delves into how challenges in sustainability reporting obstruct organizations from properly evaluating and sharing their progress on sustainability aims. With an explanatory research framework in place, we circulated survey questionnaires to 400 participants, who were randomly drawn from a population of 28,927 registered SMEs in Metro Manila, Philippines. The application of Interpretative Structural Modelling and MICMAC Analysis revealed that the absence of regulatory frameworks, governmental assistance, and sustainability infrastructure constitutes the most critical obstacles impacting other determinants. In contrast, neither the deficiency in sustainability awareness nor the inadequacy of training and skills demonstrated a considerable impact on the other identified barriers. This study clarifies the complex interactions and interrelations among the obstacles to sustainability reporting, thus providing significant perspectives for organizations aiming to overcome these difficulties. The findings suggest that business leaders and stakeholders can formulate targeted strategies and interventions to facilitate the adoption of sustainability reporting practices within organizations. The application of the institutional theory framework highlights that pressures arise from a diverse array of institutional actors, including regulators, customers, and local communities, which collectively shape corporate behavior and reporting methodologies.

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education has recently been encouraged and attracted much national attention. This qualitative study aimed to conduct a thematic analysis of college student STEAM open responses to provide an examination of college students’ perceptions of their STEAM experiences into the STEAM field. Based on transformative learning theory, a thematic analysis of 756 written responses to seven prompts by 108 college student participants revealed three primary themes: (1) exciting and challenging difficulties, and transdisciplinary learning in STEAM; (2) STEAM learning of gradual process, problem-oriented instruction, and creative problem solving; and (3) metacognition development in STEAM. The findings revealed that undergraduates’ STEAM perceptions provide strong support for STEAM implementation to enhance teaching effectiveness in higher education.

The existence of residential well-being of the locals in the sense of equilibrium-state is a competitive advantage for tourism in a given destination. The rise of overtourism could jeopardize this equilibrium and ultimately the effectiveness of tourism in a vulnerable destination. The research question of the study aimed to answer: what are the spiral dynamics of the multifactorial characteristics of the sense of place that can be mapped under the influence of overtourism. Answering the question draws attention to the sense of place—which can be interpreted as a synonym for local character—of the issues of overtourism and residential well-being. Mapping the mechanism of action of the multifactorial characteristic of locality can help to identify non-supportive functions, to pinpoint the balance point for moving towards a supportive quality, and to answer the “how yes” questions at individual, local and collective levels. The answer to the research question is the result of concluding three district-specific sub-questions. The assessment of the results was based on the content analysis of 251 posts (2017–2021) in the local public Facebook group (supplemented by a questionnaire survey of local residents (2022), 30 in-depth interviews with experts and residents (2022) conducted as part of the cross-sectional research, and 10 additional in-depth interviews with residents (2024) conducted for the last sub-question. The flowchart showing the current state of the district along a negative spiral dynamic, the possibility to turn it in a positive direction, and the mind-map-like summary of local, individual and collective mitigation and solution alternatives supporting the change of direction can be considered as a novel scientific result.

The purpose of the work is to study the transformation processes of constructing professional identity under the influence of new information technologies and to consider the evolution of views on the processes of scientific and practical understanding of new media resources in the context of the development of convergent journalism as a phenomenon of the modern information society. It was established based on the conducted research that the values and beliefs of journalists, reflecting the process of professional self-identification, are forming in the process of choosing certain options among a variety of alternatives and transforming further under the current conditions of the information and communication environment. In the process of the study, the article identifies the features, content, and main trends in the transformational processes of professional identity and professional culture of journalists in the context of technological changes in the media industry. The dynamics of the development of media convergence are shown from the point of view of the mutual influence of traditional and new media and the tendency of improving their technological and dialogue features and capabilities in content creation and broadcasting. An assessment is made of the degree of adaptation of regional media to modern conditions of the information and communication environment in the context of organizational, professional, and communicative convergence.

Census 2022 of Saudi Arabia was released recently, with 12 years of intercensal interval. Although it appeared provisional having no reports similar to the 2010 census, efforts to analyze, interpret, disseminate, and discuss were essential for building structures and systems at par with demographic trends and patterns. An analysis was carried out with this census data compared to 2004 and 2010 to track population change—demographic pace, trends, and patterns—over the two decades. Data from all three censuses were analyzed with conventional demographic techniques. A reduction in growth was observed with a declining percentage of the childhood population but with an expanding percentage of the adults (working age) indicating a demographic dividend resulted, mostly, from fertility decline. An aging trend established by the previous censuses was lost, recently: the constriction of the pyramid of 2010 was changed to a different shape. Not only the percentage distribution trends were uneven but also the age-based indices. Thus, these trends revealed a demographic difference to an extent, that demands standardized reports, uniform procedures for the data collection and compilation, and geographic distribution equations. The increasing concentration in urban centers of major administrative areas—Al-Riyadh, Makkah Al-Mokarramah, and the Eastern Region demand redistribution policies. Self-contained townships appear as a strategic option in population redistribution, guaranteeing quality standards and lifestyle.

This study systemically examines the numerous impacts of climate change on agriculture in Tunisia. In this study, we establish an empirical and comprehensive methodology to assess the effects of climate changes on Tunisian agriculture by investigating current climatic patterns using crop yields and socioeconomic variables. The study also assesses the types of adaptation strategies agriculture uses in Tunisia and explores their effectiveness in coping with climate-related adversities. We also consider some resilience factors, namely the ecological aspect and economic and social camouflage pursued by the (very) men in Tunisian agriculture. We also extensively discuss the complex interconnected relationship between policy interventions and community-based adaptations, a crucial part of the ongoing debate on climate change adaptation and resilience in agriculture. The findings of this study contribute to this important conversation, particularly for areas facing similar challenges.

This article examines the legal challenges associated with the utilization of marine genetic resources (MGR) at both the national level and beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The legal challenges addressed are as follows: 1) MGR are located across various jurisdictions, encompassing both national and international domains. The analysis starts with an overview of the international regulations that govern the utilization of genetic resources (GR) and their influence on national legislation. It emphasizes the principle of state sovereignty over natural resources while defining MGR and determining ownership; 2) It further highlights the intersection of national and international laws, particularly in transboundary contexts and within Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples (IADP) territories, analyzing how these regulations are interpreted and applied in such scenarios; 3) The legal challenges related to the use of MGR in international waters are examined. Special emphasis is placed on the recent United Nations (UN) Agreement concerning this issue. This includes an analysis of its impact and specific provisions related to the utilization of MGR, such as the quantity to be collected, the methodology employed, collection sites, among others. The article concludes by asserting that the equitable distribution of benefits from the use of GR should begin at the earliest stages of access to these resources, including project planning and sample collection, rather than being delayed until the patenting and commercialization phases. Early benefit-sharing is essential for promoting fairness and equity in the use of MGR.