In the present and future of education, fostering complex thinking, especially in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is critical to lifelong learning. This study aimed to analyze learning scenarios within the framework of a model that promotes complex thinking and integrated design analysis, to identify the contributions of linking design models to the SDGs. The research question was: How does the open educational model of complex thinking link to the SDGs and scenario design? The analysis examined a pedagogical approach that introduced 33 participants to the instructional design of real-life or simulated situations to develop complex thinking skills. The categories of analysis were the model components, the SDGs, and scenario designs. The findings considered (a) innovative design capacity linked to SDG challenges, (b) linking theory and practice to foster complex thinking, and (c) the critical supporting tools for scenario design. The study intends to be of value to academic, social, and business communities interested in mobilizing complex thinking to support lifelong learning.

Africa has been fighting against colonialism and Eurocentrism for a long time in an attempt to reverse the regime of oppression and socio-economic marginalization and exploitation, and take back control of its cultural identity and right to self-determination. This adventure requires the recognition and revitalisation of indigenous arts, culture, and law—all of which have been subjugated and ignored during colonial rule. Ironically, the situation has not improved much by the dominating presence of post-independent neo-colonial structures and perpetuated Eurocentric phenomenon that have been ingrained into the socio-cultural and economic fabrics of the African state. This research explores the critical need for integrating science on African indigenous arts, culture, and legal systems, as a way of globalizing as well as revitalizing these elements, towards the ultimate emancipation of the continent from the vestiges of colonialism and Eurocentricism. Relying on the postcolonial, and indigenous knowledge systems theoretical frameworks, the study engages the ethnographic, collaborative and interdisciplinary research approaches, subjecting data obtained to thematic analysis. Underscoring the profound interconnectedness of science, indigenous arts, and cultural heritage, the study argues that combining scientific methods with indigenous African epistemology provides a powerful framework for advancing Africa’s true independence from the protracted legacies of colonialism and Eurocentrism. The research concludes that a holistic integration of these elements therefore, is indispensable for fostering a decolonized and inclusive approach to knowledge production, self-determination and sustainable development, against the background of the rich insights and sustainable practices embedded within the African cultural traditions. Ultimately, the research recommends that embracing and integrating science on indigenous epistemologies can propel Africa towards an emancipated, truly independent, and culturally affirming future, transcending the enduring legacies of colonialism and Eurocentrism.

This study investigates the influence of government expenditure on the economic growth of the ASEAN-5 countries from 2000 to 2021. The study employs the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) ARDL model and robust least squares method. The importance of the current study lies in its analysis of the short and long-run impact of government expenditure on economic growth in ASEAN-5. The empirical findings demonstrate a positive relationship between government expenditure and economic growth in the long run. These results align with the Keynesian perspective, asserting that government expenditure stimulates economic growth. The study also confirms one-way causality from government expenditure to economic growth, supporting the Keynesian hypothesis. These insights hold significance for policymakers in the ASEAN-5, highlighting the necessity for policies promoting the effective allocation of productive government expenditure. Moreover, it is important to enhance systems that promote economic growth and efficiently allocated economic resources toward productive expenditures while also maintaining effective governance over such expenditures.

This study aims to advance understanding of the factors affecting Generation Z employee commitment in the workplace of the information and technology (IT) companies in Vietnam. A survey of 450 Generation Z employees in IT companies shows that company remuneration, reward and welfare, work environment, colleagues, direct manager, promotion, job characteristics, green initiatives are positively related to Generation Z organizational commitment. More specifically, work environment and direct manager have the highest effect on Generation Z employee commitment to organization while promotion and colleagues have the lowest effect on Generation Z employee commitment to organization. Research results also revealed that green initiatives of the organization have significant effect on Generation Z employee commitment in companies. This finding suggests that including green initiatives in corporate strategy is a valuable approach for improving Generation Z employee commitment to organization. We discuss the implications for theory, practice, limitations, and directions for future research.

This study investigated the relationship between telecommunications development, trade openness and economic growth in South Africa. It determined explicitly if telecommunications development and trade openness directly impact economic growth or whether telecommunications strengthen or weaken the link between trade openness and economic growth using the ARDL bounds test methodology. The findings reveal that both telecommunications development indicators and trade openness significantly and positively impact South Africa’s GDP in the short and long terms. The study also found that control variables like internet usage and gross fixed capital formation significantly and positively influence GDP. Conversely, inflation was found to consistently affect GDP negatively and significantly. The findings from the ARDL cointegration analysis affirm a long-run economic relationship between the independent variables and GDP. The study also established that telecommunications development slightly distorts trade in the foreign trade-GDP nexus in South Africa. Despite this, the negative interaction effect is not substantial enough to overshadow the positive impact of trade openness on economic growth. From a policy perspective, the study recommends that South African policymakers prioritise enhancing local goods’ competitiveness in global markets and reducing trade barriers. It also advocates for improving the accessibility and affordability of telecommunications technologies to foster economic development.

In today’s digital education landscape, safeguarding the privacy and security of educational data, particularly the distribution of grades, is paramount. This research presents the “secure grade distribution scheme (SGDS)”, a comprehensive solution designed to address critical aspects of key management, encryption, secure communication, and data privacy. The scheme’s heart lies in its careful key management strategy, offering a structured approach to key generation, rotation, and secure storage. Hardware security modules (HSMs) are central to fortifying encryption keys and ensuring the highest security standards. The advanced encryption standard (AES) is employed to encrypt graded data, guaranteeing the confidentiality and integrity of information during transmission and storage. The scheme integrates the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol to establish secure communication, enabling users to securely exchange encryption keys without vulnerability to eavesdropping or interception. Secure communication channels further fortify graded data protection, ensuring data integrity in transit. The research findings underscore the SGDS’s efficacy in achieving the goals of secure grade distribution and data privacy. The scheme provides a holistic approach to safeguarding educational data, ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive information, and protecting against unauthorized access. Future research opportunities may centre on enhancing the scheme’s robustness and scalability in diverse educational settings.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of tourist spending and the growth of Oman’s tourism industry on the country’s GDP from 1996 to 2018. The study uses the error correction model and other tests for assessing the link among variables, such as the cointegration test and the Granger causality test, to accomplish its aims. Findings from the error correlation model and cointegration test show that there is a link between the variables in Oman over the long and short term. There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between tourist expenditures and economic growth, as well as a negative and statistically significant relationship between tourism expansion and economic growth. We now use ARDL regression estimators to assess the robustness of the empirical results. There is no evidence of a direct relationship between increased tourism and GDP growth, according to the study’s results. According to the research, sustainable tourism development is an achievable economic growth driver, and Oman should prioritize economic policies that support this trend.

In the contemporary landscape characterized by technological advancements and a progressive economic environment, the utilization of currency has undergone a paradigm shift. Despite the growing prevalence of digital currency, its adoption among the Vietnamese population faces several challenges, including limited financial literacy, concerns over security, and resistance to change from traditional cash-based transactions. This research aims to identify these challenges and propose solutions to encourage the widespread use of digital currency in Vietnam. This research adopts a quantitative approach, utilizing Likert scale questionnaires, with a dataset of 330 records. The interrelationships among variables are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis results substantiate the viability of the research model, confirming the hypotheses. The findings demonstrate a positive relationship and the significance impact of factors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived trust (PT), social influence (SI), openness to innovation (OI), and financial knowledge (FK) to intention to use digital currency (IUDC). Thereby aiming to inform policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the wider community, fostering a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and providing solutions to enhance the adoption of digital currency in the evolving landscape of digital finance.