Diversified certification (e.g. management systems, products, and service certifications) has become a critical strategic tool for firms seeking to enter new markets and meet supply chain and customer requirements. Drawing on resource orchestration and signalling theories, this study develops a theoretical framework to explore how diverse certification affects corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance through a dual-path mechanism involving internal resource integration and external signal transmission. Based on panel data from Chinese listed small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2014 to 2023, the empirical analysis reveals that diversified certification significantly enhances ESG performance, confirming the theoretical expectations. Further analysis shows that the higher a firm’s internationalisation level, the stronger the positive effect of certification on sustainable performance. Moreover, media attention exhibits a significant dual mediating effect on the relationship between certification and ESG performance, and this mediating mechanism is nonlinearly moderated by the degree of internationalisation. This study reveals how diversified certification improves sustainable development by enhancing internal resource management and increasing external recognition. The findings provide theoretical support and practical insights for SMEs in emerging markets to formulate certification strategies and enhance international sustainable competitiveness.

Strategic aspects of the internationalization processes of Polish furniture enterprises – a conceptualapproach. This article aims to identify methods of entering foreign markets and assess the effectiveness ofinternationalization strategies employed by Polish furniture enterprises, comparing companies with varyingdegrees of internationalization. The results indicate that the dominant model of entering foreign markets amongPolish furniture enterprises is the staged approach, particularly used by companies with lower levels ofinternationalization. These companies prefer gradual and cautious approach to expansion based primarily onexports. By contrast, more highly internationalized companies more likely to follow the born globals concept,pursuing faster and more intensive development of their foreign operations. This indicates greater resources and ahigher level of international experience. The research confirmed that, regardless of the degree ofinternationalization, furniture companies most often implement an ethnocentric strategy, preferring to expand theiroperations in culturally similar markets. Highly internationalized companies also employ polycentric or dualstrategies. They have greater resources, more developed organizational structures, and experience operating indiverse markets. The analysis confirms that companies identify the strategies they implement as the most effective,which underscores the importance of consciously choosing an internationalization path. However, one in fivesurveyed companies with a lower level of involvement in international expansion confirms the lack of a clearlydefined strategy for operating in foreign markets.

The work is devoted to solving the urgent problem of assessing cybersecurity, the state of cyber defense, cyber resilience (cyber resilience) at the facility, sectoral, national and interna-tional levels by forming sets and analyzing cyber statistics data, which is gradually being sepa-rated into a special area of cybersecurity. The terminological base for collecting and processing cyber statistics data was analyzed and developed as well as the existing and new approaches to the formation of sets of cyber statistics indicators were proposed. Existing practices (established practices, frameworks) in the field of cybersecurity are used to form a domain structure and a system of cyber statistics indicators. The structure of cyberstatistics data was developed by the structure of the organiza-tional and technical model of cyber defense (2021) in the sectors of organizational and man-agement infrastructure of cyber defense, at the levels of the technological infrastructure of cyber defense, as well as for elements of the basic infrastructure of cyber defense (including critical information infrastructure). The result of the study's testing was a draft methodology for collecting and processing cyber statistics, the development of which is envisaged by the Cybersecurity Strategy of Ukraine (2021).

This paper explores past and present conceptual aspects of sport feminisms to understand trans women and/in sport. The adverse treatment of trans sportswomen now runs through governing bodies, sport media, individuals who are in decision-making roles, policy formation, and public social attitude. The move to exclude and/or restrict trans women from sport is apparent at national and international levels and demonstrates shifts in sport policy. The aim of the paper is to explore past and present developments in sport feminism to highlight the value of its dynamism to explain, critique, and challenge the current treatment of trans women athletes. The paper highlights the need to further develop, within sport sociology, a de-colonial transfeminism. De-colonial in this context involves postcolonial feminism, Black feminism, and queer of color critical approaches.

An increase in a currency internationalization levels can positively impact its credibility in international economic activities, and expand the effective demand and optimize the supply structure for the country's financial service trade. In this way, a state can improve its financial service trade competitiveness in the international market. This study builds a vector autoregressive model based on time-series data of China-US financial services trade from 2010 to 2021, analyzes the impact of different quantitative indicators of RMB internationalization on this trade from the impulse response results, and validates the conclusions using various inspection methods. The results show that the increase in RMB internationalization helps to narrow the China-US financial services trade balance, but with a significant lag. And this effect is heterogeneous in different dimensions, demonstrated by the fact that the development of overseas RMB securities business is more important for the level of RMB internationalization to narrow the China-US financial services trade balance. Finally, among the specific measures to improve its financial services trade, China should focus on developing the international competitiveness of the traditional RMB deposit and loan financial sector, while the competition in the overseas market for high value-added financial businesses must also not be neglected. Furthermore, China needs to implement more targeted RMB internationalization development policies at different levels in the future to provide high-quality financial services to the rest of the world and aid in the economic recovery of the world in the "post-pandemic" era.

Gender-based violence (GBV) in schools in Burkina Faso is a central concern for international organisations, as well as local NGOs and the national government. Yet, the voices of school teachers have received limited attention. In this article, we draw on focus group discussions and interviews conducted with school teachers at two public schools in Burkina Faso to investigate how they conceptualise GBV, as well as the factors shaping their understanding. The findings foreground the situated and subjective nature of their conceptualisation; which is shaped not just by international and national policies, but also by the sociocultural context in which the policies are enacted. Existing gender norms, the acceptance of corporal punishment as a disciplinary tool inside homes, and the practice of child marriage in Burkina Faso emerged as key factors shaping the participants’ perceptions. Based on the findings we argue that teachers must be 1) empowered to critically assess contextually relevant gender norms and cultural practices, and 2) provided with clear codes of ethical conduct in schools. It is equally important that teachers are given a seat at the table of policy formulation at regional, national and international levels, and the challenges faced by them are given consideration when designing interventions to curb GBV.

Abstract The complex nature of climate change requires action at different scales and in different ways, but questions remain around how to produce climate action that is both multiscalar and joined up. Here we explore this question by adopting a relational approach to studying climate action by faith-based actors, who increasingly play an active role campaigning on climate action. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork with representatives of Christian churches in Sweden, Belgium, Scotland, and England, we identify two interrelated processes that explain how climate action “travels”: first, through horizontal circulation (between faith-based and non-faith-based spheres), and second, through vertical circulation (across individual, local, national, and international levels). However, such processes are not without friction. We demonstrate how processes of “translation” can ensure the integration of climate action into new contexts and result in producing new scalar relations but also exclusions. In doing so, we advance understandings of how multiscalar climate action is produced by nonstate actors.

Game-based learning has gained increasing attention globally. It is an effective pedagogical approach to promote students’ engagement and improve learning outcomes. However, the literature reveals there is a need to strengthen game-based learning, as many students retain only fun of academic games. This study aimed to explore students’ experiences on the integration of debriefing in game-based learning at an identified higher education institution in South Africa. The social constructivism theory was utilised as a theoretical lens in this study. The authors employed a qualitative single case study design within an interpretivist paradigm. A purposive sampling strategy was adopted. Six participants were recruited for this study. Data were analysed inductively using thematic analysis. The findings of this study revealed that participants shared positive views and attitudes towards debriefing in game-based learning. They believed game-based learning significantly promoted their studies. The implementation of debriefing in game-based learning assisted them to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the utilisation of debriefing in game-based learning enhanced collaborations and teamwork. This study also highlighted that there was a need to ensure that debriefing was well planned in advance, and that instructors should be competent to conduct debriefing sessions. This study concluded that debriefing is an effective method to advance game-based learning. Further research should be conducted at national and international levels with different research approaches.

Current targets, which have been set at both the European and the international level, for reducing environmental impacts and moving towards a sustainable circular economy make energy efficiency and digitization key elements of all sectors of human activity. The authors proposed, developed, and tested a complex methodology for real-time statistical analysis and forecasting of the following main elements contributing to the energy and economic performance of an end user: energy performance indicators, power quality indices, and the potential to implement actions to improve these indicators, in an economically sustainable manner, for the end user. The proposed methodology is based on machine learning algorithms, and it has been tested on six different energy boundaries. It was thus proven that, by implementing an advanced energy management system (AEMS), end users can achieve significant energy savings and thus contribute to the transition towards environmental sustainability.

This article aims to highlight the strategies used by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to address the educational challenges faced by the children of undocumented Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. The research focus on the concept of national interest also aims to provide further understanding of how diplomacy and foreign policy can be used to protect children's rights and improve their access to education. The research methodology used is a descriptive qualitative method, focusing on the concept of national interest to answer the research questions posed in this journal article. The research findings reveal that the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has implemented several strategies to address the educational challenges for children of undocumented Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. The findings may encourage cooperation between countries to exchange information and best practices in addressing similar education issues at the international level. In addition, the focus on the concept of national interest shows the potential to integrate education aspects in foreign policy plans to ensure the protection of national interests. This includes the establishment of guidance and assistance centers in the registration process to obtain the National Student Identification Number (NISN). The ethical implications of this research include attention to children's right to education, especially children in vulnerable situations. The results can also serve as a basis for further research, by evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies that have been implemented and identifying other areas that require further attention.

Internationalization is a key aspect of education export and one of the most promising lines of higher education development. For successfully becoming a member of the host community, a foreign student as an object of research is forced to assimilate and accept new cultural patterns. However, even when entering a new socio-cultural environment under the most favorable conditions, adaptation difficulties and problems usually arise. The purpose of the article is to identify the factors and conditions for the successful adaptation of foreign students in regional universities using the example of the Penza Region’s universities. The research is based on scientific concepts of students’ social adaptation in a university, as well as concepts of an educational environment creation and functioning. The study considers the reasons for choosing Russia as a country of study based on the author’s questionnaire of Penza universities’ foreign students, secondary analysis of sociological research data on similar topics, and analysis of statistical data. The authors discover that foreign students in Russia face difficulties at various levels: linguistic, conceptual, moral, informational, climatic, communicative, pertaining to everyday life, etc. Favorable conditions contribute to increasing the university’s prestige and the education internationalization levels, become an important factor for choosing an educational institution and quickly including foreign students in the educational process.

Purpose: The nexus between peacebuilding, conflict, and religion has been portrayed too often in a binary way where religion has been viewed either as a source of conflict or peacebuilding. This perception obscures the intricacy of the nexus showing that not much is understood about religion. This study sought to understand how religion interacts with human experience at the national and international levels to provide a detailed understanding of how it relates to peacebuilding and conflict in Africa. Methods: A qualitative and interpretive approach is employed predicated on a critical literature review of documents from various sources. Results and conclusions: It is revealed that religion should not be seen as an isolated or static entity, but viewed as a fluid system, dependent on historical and contextual variables. Experts, academics, and policymakers must be cautious not to give unjustified eminence to religion because it is not always a main factor in every conflict. Originality/Value: For a long time conflict and peacebuilding in the continent has been not vigorously included the religious sector. Where the religious community has been involved it has generally been initiated at a country level by peacebuilding actors without much amplification at the continental level. This is one of the few studies if any that champions this matter and complement the African Union’s African Peacebuilding and Security Architecture.

ABSTRACT This research presents a critical theoretical and practical re-examination of the link between human rights' issues and politics at national and international levels. The study of human rights is an inherently multidisciplinary enterprise. The paper provides an insight into the relations between diplomacy and human rights and discusses how the latter are exploited for political and commercial aims. This study focuses on the case and constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), and the problem of hostage taking. An internationally-oriented study and based on theoretical arguments and an empirical research approach-notably by using several real cases of ordinary individuals of foreign and dual nationalities who became hostages and the subject of political games and financial conflicts between Iran and the Western countries-the paper highlights the issue of hostage taking of individuals by a state as a political policy and prisoner swaps involving financial and commercial deals. The paper provides evidence of the substantial suffering of the hostages and their families. The paper makes an academic contribution to the literature-the unlawful act of hostage taking involving a state has rarely been discussed -and addresses the legal vacuum in international law and human rights conventions regarding the topic.

How to deal with invasive species that have high economic value?

Functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (FD GT) and their intersection are relevant due to their high prevalence in the population, decrease and, in some cases, loss of performance, low quality of life and treatment difficulties. Despite the large number of consensuses and clinical recommendations at the national and international level, the effectiveness of therapy for FD GT and their overlap does not exceed 30-50%. There is a high degree of comorbidity of these diseases, called “overlap syndromes,” due to common pathogenetic mechanisms. This predetermines the need to use drugs with a multi-target therapeutic effect in the treatment of such pathology. Such drugs include trimebutine (Trimedate®), probiotics and psychotropic drugs. Data obtained in recent years on the presence of anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, regenerative effects in relation to nervous and epithelial tissue and anti-carcinogenic effects in trimebutine make it unique for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and their intersection. Currently, there is a search for new promising drugs for the treatment of both individual FD GT and their overlap, as well as improving the regimens of existing treatment methods. The review article is devoted to existing opportunities and new horizons for the treatment of FD GT and their overlap.

The purpose was to develop the concept of training students - mechanical engineers in the variable formatting of design documents in accordance with national and international standards and to create a set of educational and methodological materials for its implementation. The concept envisages the development and implementation of two simultaneously taught courses covering Ukrainian and international requirements for the development and execution of design documents. It is the simultaneous teaching of these courses that makes it possible to acquire the relevant knowledge and skills and to have a unique opportunity to compare different standardisation systems for the same type of design documents in accordance with different stages of the machine life cycle. The didactic foundations of the pedagogical process and modern principles of organising the learning process have been applied to involve the higher education seekers in mastering professional experience in the field of mechanical engineering and creating positive changes in the formation and development of the individual. New courses have been created and teaching materials have been prepared for mechanical engineering students to study national and international regulatory frameworks and master the practical skills of their use in future professional activities related to the formatting of design documents. The work applies a systematic approach that combines elements of the pedagogical system in conjunction with the integrity of the evolutionary development of the applicant, taking into account the dynamic state of development of the modern engineering industry at the national and international levels. Acquiring relevant knowledge and skills by higher education seekers in design documents following national and international standards ensures an increase in their professional status and competitiveness in the Ukrainian labor market and accelerates the adaptation of Ukrainian specialists to the current conditions of globalization in mechanical engineering

The modern concept of metrological assurance for gas analytical measuring instruments with the use of reference materials of gas mixtures composition in cylinders under pressure is presented. The reference materials of gas mixtures composition of approved type in cylinders under pressure, which are the most often means of mole fraction and mass concentration units transfer in gas analytical measurements, are considered. The certified value in these reference materials is the content of the target component (or components) in the gas medium (analytical matrix). All the produced reference materials of gas mixtures composition, which are used for ensuring the uniformity of measurements are traceable to the State primary standard of units of mole fraction, mass fraction and mass concentration of components in gas and gas condensate media GET 154-2019, which characteristics are confirmed on the international level by the results of about 90 international comparisons. The paper presents a methodology for ensuring metrological traceability of reference materials of gas mixtures composition using GET 154-2019, taking into account the constantly increasing park of gas analytical instruments and the emergence of new measuring tasks in various fields of industry and environmental control. Currently, a park of secondary and working standards has been created at enterprises producing reference materials of gas mixtures composition, and their traceability to GET 154-2019 has been implemented according to the state verification scheme. The paper presents the results of international comparisons with participation of GET 154-2019, confirming the comparability of the obtained and reference value of the target component content in reference gas mixtures at the international level. The variety and large number of relevant gas analytical measurement tasks in various industries and the social sphere determines the need to choose priority areas for improving the existing reference base, including the structure of the GET 154 Standard and the nomenclature of reference gas mixtures. The strategic program of the Gas Analysis working group of the Consultative Committee of the Amount of Substance of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures developed for the period up to 2030 has been analysed and a review of the long-term tasks of gas analytical measurements is given. The currently existing GET 154-2019 Standard of the latest generation provides reproduction, storage and transfer of the components’ mole fraction units in gas and gas condensate media in the range from 1.5·10 –8 to 99.99999 %, and mass concentration units in the range from 1.0·10–6 to 2.0·105 mg/m3, what is confirmed by the results of participation in international comparisons and published CMC positions in the International database of calibration and measurement capabilities (about 400 CMCs positions).

Waste management is a huge industry at the local, national and international levels. Public services play a key role in dealing especially with waste generated by households. Getting waste management right is essential if we are to achieve a circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals.
 Complex legal frameworks and their weak implementation open up spaces for criminals to profit from illegally managing or trading in waste. The consequences on the environment and human health can be severe. The role of corruption in crimes involving waste is unexplored.
 An initial analysis shows the potential for corruption to play a role in:
 
 influencing policy decisions involving waste management;
 corrupt deals involving the selection of waste management companies linked to powerful elites;
 schemes to gain lucrative waste management contracts through systematic bribery;
 illegal imports of hazardous substances for profit, avoiding or suppressing formal controls.
 
 The report explores five case studies (Albania, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Canada–Philippines, US–South America) and proposes a typology of corruption patterns in crimes involving waste management and trade.

Abstract Sickness insurance companies were developed in Spain by doctors and healthcare professionals, remaining outside the interests of general insurance companies. Their management was hardly professional, with limited actuarial techniques and they only accounted for a small percentage of total insurance business premiums. From the 1970s onwards, various factors changed this situation, driving processes of concentration, with numerous takeovers and mergers, first reducing the number of local and regional companies to the benefit of companies of national scope. Subsequently, the growth in demand for this type of coverage sparked the interest of national general insurance companies and multinationals, leading to a restructuring of the sector which has progressively acquired greater weight within the insurance business and become increasingly internationalised. This last stage immersed the health sector in Spain in the great processes of globalisation of the sector, characterised by a financialisation of capital promoted by the bank investment funds. These processes are little known and are the focus of analysis of this paper, with the aim of enabling comparison at international level.

On January 17, 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, and on October 11, 2023, a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out. In the context of the continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the international community is facing an increasingly severe problem of illegal immigration and refugees. At present, scholars at home and abroad have made a lot of achievements in the research of the world refugee problem in the areas of the concept of refugees, causes, responses to refugee problems, and solutions. However, domestic academic circles have done more research on regional or national refugee issues, such as European refugees, North African refugees, Syrian refugees, etc., and the research on the world refugee issue from a global perspective is relatively weak. This article is to study the refugee protection issue from the international legal level it is to discuss refugee protection from the global perspective.