The objective of this research paper is to investigate potential avenues for value creation in the refined sugar market for domestic use, a market currently facing a critical juncture. The growing concerns about the health impacts of sugar have resulted in a notable decline in demand. Furthermore, changes in European Union regulations have introduced additional operators into the Spanish market, increasing competition and amplifying the need for innovation. This study examines how brands can respond to these challenges by enhancing their value proposition through market segmentation, targeted marketing strategies, and adaptive packaging solutions. To achieve this objective, we have conducted market research, which involved an in-depth interview, and a questionnaire distributed to 402 individuals responsible for household purchases. The findings suggest potential approaches for addressing the needs of consumers with a focus on health and well-being, while simultaneously enhancing the durability of products, thus facilitating greater brand differentiation. Furthermore, the study underscores the pivotal role of public policies and regulatory frameworks in influencing consumer behavior and market dynamics. Policies promoting sugar alternatives, labelling requirements, and packaging innovations have been demonstrated to impact brand strategies and consumer preferences. By aligning with these policy-driven shifts, companies can enhance their positioning in a mature and competitive market. This research contributes to the existing literature on brand value in commodity markets by integrating insights into the impact of regulation and consumer segmentation. Our recommendations emphasize the importance of marketing strategies that are informed by an understanding of the policy context, which not only enhances brand equity but also promotes sustainable growth in the retail sugar industry.

This study sought an innovative quality management framework for Chinese Prefabricated Buildings (PB) projects. The framework combines TQM, QSP, Reconstruction Engineering, Six Sigma (6Σ), Quality Cost Management, and Quality Diagnosis Theories. A quantitative assessment of a representative sample of Chinese PB projects and advanced statistical analysis using Structural Equation Modeling supported the framework, indicating an excellent model fit (CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.06). The study significantly advances quality management and industrialized building techniques, but it also emphasizes the necessity for ongoing research, innovation, and information exchange to address the changing problems and opportunities in this dynamic area. In addition, this study’s findings and recommendations can help construction stakeholders improve quality performance, reduce construction workload and cost, minimize defects, boost customer satisfaction, boost productivity and efficiency in PB projects, and boost the Chinese construction industry’s growth and competitiveness.

This research focuses on the construction of the competency of “Double-qualified” teachers in higher vocational colleges. Through comprehensive literature analysis, in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys, a competency model covering three dimensions, namely personality charm, teaching literacy and practical skills, has been successfully established. This model provides a scientific basis for higher vocational colleges in teacher selection, performance evaluation and professional training, and particularly emphasizes the importance of teachers’ cultivation of students’ practical abilities and professional qualities in the context of vocational education. The research reveals that these three competency dimensions are interdependent and jointly influence teachers’ educational and teaching achievements as well as students’ career development.

The usage of cybersecurity is growing steadily because it is beneficial to us. When people use cybersecurity, they can easily protect their valuable data. Today, everyone is connected through the internet. It’s much easier for a thief to connect important data through cyber-attacks. Everyone needs cybersecurity to protect their precious personal data and sustainable infrastructure development in data science. However, systems protecting our data using the existing cybersecurity systems is difficult. There are different types of cybersecurity threats. It can be phishing, malware, ransomware, and so on. To prevent these attacks, people need advanced cybersecurity systems. Many software helps to prevent cyber-attacks. However, these are not able to early detect suspicious internet threat exchanges. This research used machine learning models in cybersecurity to enhance threat detection. Reducing cyberattacks internet and enhancing data protection; this system makes it possible to browse anywhere through the internet securely. The Kaggle dataset was collected to build technology to detect untrustworthy online threat exchanges early. To obtain better results and accuracy, a few pre-processing approaches were applied. Feature engineering is applied to the dataset to improve the quality of data. Ultimately, the random forest, gradient boosting, XGBoost, and Light GBM were used to achieve our goal. Random forest obtained 96% accuracy, which is the best and helpful to get a good outcome for the social development in the cybersecurity system.

Institutions of higher learning are crucial to sustainability. They play a crucial role in preparing the next generation of leaders who will successfully execute the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nation. This research therefore intends to present a preliminary conceptual approach in examining how industrial revolution 4.0 (I.R. 4.0) technologies, and lean practices affect sustainability in South Africa’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The study shall employ survey questionnaire to collect data from the employees of the institutions. This preliminary study reveals that hybrid IR 4.0 technologies and lean practices as enablers of sustainability has not gained enough attention in the HEIs. Existing literature show the important role plays by performance variance of lean practices to improve sustainable performance when deployed from industry to education sector. The report validates the HEI’s future course, which has been incorporating new technology into its services processes recently. Using the created items, researchers may utilize empirical analysis to look into the combined effects of lean practices and IR 4.0 technologies on sustainability in HEIs. The following conclusions may be drawn: HEIs are essential for the application of sustainability principles; curriculum focused on sustainability and culture change are critical for attitude development; and the political climate and stakeholder interests impact the implementation of sustainability.

Over the last few decades, countries in the South have been undergoing rapid urbanization, as if to make up for lost time. Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by a very low urbanization rate compared to0 the rest of the world. Although the African continent reached its urban transition in 2015, Niger remains by far the least urbanized country, with a rate of 17%. The city of Niamey is the main urban center, with an estimated population of 1,449,801 hbts in 2023, spread over an area of around 33,100 ha. The aim of this study is to analyze the spatial expansion of the city of Niamey from 1984 to 2023. The main data used in this study are raster images from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), vector data from Open Sources Map (OSM) and GoogleEarth, secondary data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and field observation. This study enabled us to conclude that between 1984 and 2023, the city of Niamey underwent very strong spatial expansion. The city grew from 4,690 ha to 33,100 ha, i.e. 28,410 ha absorbed in 39 years, with exceptional growth between 2014 and 2023, when the urban area doubled. Its population has risen from 397,437 at the time of the 1988 general population and housing census to an estimated 1,449,801 in 2023 (INS), an increase of 1,052,364 in 35 years. Between these two dates, population density fell from 87.7 to 43.8 inhabitants/km², i.e. half that of 1984. This spatial expansion has resulted in unprecedented peri-urbanization.

This study investigates the effectiveness of digital leadership in promoting organizational sustainability, with a specific focus on the mediating role of digital leadership capability. The research explores how digital leadership impacts sustainable performance within Chinese construction organizations. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the study analyzes data collected from 529 respondents across various organizations. The findings reveal that digital leadership significantly enhances organizational sustainability both directly and indirectly, through digital leadership capability. These results underscore the importance of digital leadership as a critical factor in guiding digital transformation and achieving long-term sustainable outcomes. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting digital leadership’s role in fostering organizational adaptability and sustainability in rapidly evolving digital environments.

The current study aims to determine the post COVID-19 adoption rates, the variation of the adoption by regions, and the effects of communication technologies on higher education with focus on students’ engagement and faculty satisfaction. The present research uses the convergent parallel design which is a form of mixed-methods research design. First, the study searched for 18 relevant articles using key search terms including “post-COVID-19 education”, “e-learning tools”, “communication technologies” and “higher education”. The qualitative analysis, however, shows that the technological strategies have to be in line with the preparedness of the people, the need to address challenges such as the lack of face-to-face contact and how technologies such as augmented reality and simulation-based learning can be used. Quantitative analysis shows that teleconferencing tools (β = 0.45, p < 0.001) and cloud computing (β = 0.38, p < 0.003) have positive impact on engagement and satisfaction. The one-way ANOVA results show that there is a difference in the adoption rates across the regions while the MCAs score for communication challenges is 60%. From the descriptive statistics it can be seen that there is a very high adoption rate of cloud computing (Mean = 89.7%, Standard Deviation = 3.1%) and teleconferencing tools (Mean = 84.9%, Standard Deviation = 4.5%). The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) shows the domino effect of teleconferencing on engagement (β = 0.60, p < 0.001), satisfaction (β = 0.75, p < 0.002) and collaboration efficiency (β = 0.55, p < 0.001). Thus, the current study establishes the fact that there is a need to provide equal opportunities and technology which is adaptable to improve the students’ engagement and satisfaction in various learning institutions.