Sustainable Human Development Research Articles

The wall between urban and rural: How does the urban-rural electricity gap inhibit the human development index

Based on the Instrumental Variables - Generalized Method of Moments (IV-GMM) model, this paper explores the relationship, heterogeneity, and mechanisms between the urban-rural electricity gap and the human development index for 176 countries during 2000–2020. The key findings are as follows: (1) Urban-rural electricity gap is harmful to the improvement of the human development index; an enlarged gap in electricity accessibility between urban and rural is detrimental to sustainable human development. (2) Urban-rural electricity gap is more harmful to the increase of human development index in low-income countries and low governance efficiency countries. Also, the heterogeneity exists in different quantiles, and their nexus is closer in countries with lower levels of human development index. (3) Income inequality and energy poverty act as mechanisms, which means that the urban-rural electricity gap inhibits the human development index by exacerbating income inequality and energy poverty.

Health welfare in the digital era: Exploring the impact of digital trade on residents' health

As a product combining information and communication technology, digital technology, and traditional trade, digital trade represents a new form of international trade development in the context of economic globalization. As its scale continues to expand, digital trade not only profoundly impacts consumer health behaviors and environmental pollution control but also enhances opportunities for residents to access healthcare products and services. This could potentially have a significant promoting effect on residents' health levels. However, the extent and mechanisms through which digital trade affects residents' health remain unclear. Accordingly, this study fills in a gap in the research by calculating the provincial-level digital trade index for China from 2012–2020 and matching it with data from the China Family Panel Studies. The goal is to find the micro-causal mechanisms of digital trade on residents' health from green consumption and environmental improvement perspectives. The results show that digital trade reduces residents' medical expenses and improves their health. We use a quasi-natural experiment by treating the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone as a digital trade treatment group and conducting a difference-in-differences estimation, finding that the health effects of digital trade remain significant. Heterogeneity indicates that the health effects of digital trade are powerful for middle- and high-income households and rural residents. In the east and center, in regions with well-developed transportation infrastructure and digital financial inclusion, the development of digital trade is more conducive to residents' health. Additionally, we demonstrate that digital trade can affect residents' health by promoting green consumption, eliminating energy poverty (i.e., improving indoor air pollution), and enhancing environmental quality (i.e., improving outdoor environmental pollution). This study provides solid scientific empirical evidence for enhancing human sustainable development through global digital trade.

Contradictions between Capitalism and Sustainable Human Development: Where is the 2030 Agenda Headed?

ABSTRACT This article aims to analyse the basic premises of the theory of sustainable human development as it is based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and contrast it with the theoretical and political proposals of capitalism. With this purpose, in the first place, the work studies the central elements of development theory, as well as the basic premises that support the capitalist model. Secondly, the article compares the essential contradictions between both theoretical proposals, as well as the invisibility of these contradictions in the 2030 Agenda. The article concludes that the foundational ideas of capitalism, as well as the policies derived from these conceptions, are essentially opposed to the theory and practice of sustainable human development and that this is the real limit to advance in the 2030 Agenda.

Advanced development of nuclear power as a factor in ensuring sustainable development of humanity

Advanced development of nuclear power as a factor in ensuring sustainable development of humanity

River chief governance in China: trends and outlooks

The issue of water resources is a perennial topic for achieving human sustainable development goals. Over the last decade, a renewed watershed governance regime, River Chief System emerged to solve the issue of river pollutions in China, and attracted attentions across the world. In this review article, we profiled River Chief System, including its origin, principle and characteristics, and found that the primary feature of River Chief System is its hierarchical structure and the implementation of responsibility. By triangulating bibliometric measurement of the Citespace tool, database of the Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the development, research trends and hotspots of River Chief System research have been reviewed systematically. The number of publications of River Chief System is showing a significant growing trend, and their foci are diverse: water environmental effects, mechanisms of River Chief System, public participation and supervision and localization of River Chief System, and the implement of “One River, One Policy” plan. Finally, theoretical and practical suggestions for the future study of River Chief System are proposed. This review systematically introduces China’s experience on river management to the world, which is of great significance for the world to fully understand the River Chief System of China and further improve and promote it.

Unveiling Development Gaps

The research from 1991 to 2021 compares human development progress in Indonesia and Thailand while analyzing factors influencing their Human Development Index (HDI). The study uncovers significant disparities by employing independent difference tests and Autoregressive Distributed Lag. Indonesia exhibits rapid economic growth yet faces health and educational inequalities. Thailand boasts a higher average HDI (0.70) than Indonesia's (0.63), signaling pronounced developmental gaps. ARDL analysis identifies distinct factors shaping HDI in each nation. Long-term impacts in Indonesia stem from increased life expectancy and education, while Thailand benefits from GDP and investment. Short-term effects reveal Indonesia's positive response to previous GDP changes, while Thailand experiences initial negativity but long-term positivity. Policy recommendations stress Indonesia's need to enhance investment, economic growth, health access, and education quality to narrow the HDI gap. Equitable wealth distribution and heightened investments in health and education are pivotal for achieving inclusive and sustainable human development.

التسويق الداخلي كمدخل لتحقيق التنمية البشرية المستدامة/ بحث تطبيقي في شركة الفرات العامة للصناعات الكيمياوية

The research was conducted at Al-Furat General Chemical Industries Company (one of the formations of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals) with the aim of analyzing the relationship between internal marketing variables (employee recruitment, training, incentives, management support, clarity of marketing information) and the possibility of achieving the principles of sustainable human development (empowerment, social justice and equity)., cooperation, sustainability, safety and job stability) through an opinion poll that was distributed to a random sample of forty employees in that company. We adopted the electronic questionnaire as a tool for collecting data from that sample. The data we obtained was analyzed using percentages, trying to diagnose points. Weakness in internal marketing indicators, and this was evident from the results of the incentive incentives index and weak marketing information, as their percentages ranged from average to below that, while some of the indicators of management support and training courses for employees recorded a relatively high approval rate. Accordingly, we recommend the need to direct the attention of the company's senior management to the indicators of incentives and clarity of marketing information, since their results were relatively lower than the rest of the indicators, knowing that these indicators are directly related or considered an important input to achieving the principles of sustainable human development such as cooperation, empowerment, safety, stability, and fairness.

Analysis of Financial Literacy of Economics Teacher Prospectives in the 4.0 Era in Relation to Sustainable Human Resource Formation

Financial literacy of prospective teachers in the 4.0 era plays an important role in relation to realizing sustainable human resources. This study aims to determine the influence between the financial literacy of prospective economics teachers in the 4.0 era on the formation of sustainable human resources. This study used quantitative methods. Data was collected by questionnaire dissemination techniques through google forms. The respondents in this study were 188 active student representatives from the classes of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 in students of the economic education study program FKIP University of Lampung. The data were analyzed in a quantitative descriptive. The results of this study show that the financial literacy of prospective economics teachers in the 4.0 era is related to the formation of sustainable human resources. This is proven by a simple linear regression analysis with a significance value of 0.000 < 0.05 which means that the financial literacy of prospective economics teachers in the 4.0 era has a significant effect on sustainable human resource development with an influence of 71.1% and 28.9% influence by other factors that were not studied in this study. Research recommendations should be that higher education institutions can massively foster integrated financial literacy in learning and provide contextual experiences such as the practice of investing through the capital market, saving, and using several financial applications related to financial transactions in everyday life.

Nexus of Human Development and Environmental Quality in Low-Income and Developing Countries: Do Renewable Energy and Good Governance Matter?

The relationship between human development and environmental quality has been explored in this study by examining the human-development status and carbon (CO2)-emissions levels of 60 countries from the low, lower-middle, and upper-middle income categories. The roles of renewable energy and some economic and institutional factors such as GDP, the rule of law, regulatory quality, and corruption control have also been investigated to ascertain their impacts on the relationship. The empirical investigations apply the generalized method of moments (GMM), fixed effects (FE), and random effects (RE) methods, and the long-run associations among the variables are investigated by applying the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) techniques. The robust findings support the trade-off relationship between human development and environmental quality in the selected low-income and developing countries. With evidence of an environmental Kuznets’s relationship between economic growth and environmental quality, these findings reveal that the measures pursued to improve human-development status have a contributory impact on CO2 emissions in the selected countries. However, an increased demand for renewable energy, effective enforcement of the rule of law, and improved control over corruption have a mitigating effect on CO2 emissions. The result has also highlighted the policy issues instrumental to increased emissions levels in these countries. Consequently, it is recommended to formulate policies for resolving disparities within the various dimensions of human development while also making deliberate investments in the socio-economic aspects of human development to ensure both sustainable human development and environmental quality.

Review on the application of renewable energy in green chemistry

Green chemistry, often referred to as environmentally friendly chemistry, or clean chemistry, aims to minimize or eliminate the utilization of harmful compounds and promote the development of chemicals and process designs that are environmentally sustainable. Renewable energy is a significant area of study within the realm of green chemistry. Given the phenomenon of global warming and the growing energy requirements, there is an increasingly pressing need for environmental consciousness and the promotion of sustainable development. This study will explore the application of renewable energy in green chemistry, along with the associated technologies for production and utilization. To effectively address the requirements of sustainable human development, it is crucial to prioritize the rational utilization of resources, maintain ecological equilibrium, and ensure environmental preservation. This will enable the achievement of a harmonious and coordinated relationship between mankind and the natural world.

Pentingnya Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia pada Lembaga Pendidikan

Education is the main foundation in building quality human resources. In the current era of global competition, the quality of education is the key to producing the next generation who are competent and competitive. This article aims to find out the importance of human resource development in educational institutions. This study uses a qualitative approach, where data collection uses library research. The main source of data for this research is the research articles published through the Journal and indexed by Google Scholar. Data analysis was carried out qualitatively consisting of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawn. The findings of this study are that the development of educational human resources is the key to ensuring the quality and success of the education system. The development of educational human resources can be carried out through various programs, such as training, workshops, seminars, further studies, mentoring, and certification programs. The government, educational institutions, and professional organizations have an important role in designing and implementing effective and sustainable human resource development programs

UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE AS A TOOL FOR IMPLEMENTING THE GLOBAL GOALS OF UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The article analyses new approaches to respond to the challenges set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The subject is relevant because seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are defined, which are a universal call to action for humanity to reduce poverty, overcome hunger, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people live in peace and prosperity. According to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001),sites that fall under its protection include archaeological remains of ships, historic structures, submerged landscapes, sunken cities, and ancient fishing structures. Such sites must have been underwater for at least 100 years. They must also be partially or completely, periodically or permanently submerged in the waters of the ocean, sea, lake or river. On the basis of analyzing the studies of foreign and domestic scientists, the author found out that with responsible use and management of underwater cultural heritage sites, it is possible to achieve effective methods of conservation and sustainable economic development of humanity. This is possible by increasing and accumulating knowledge of the oceans. In particular, stone tidal weirs, which are underwater cultural heritage sites, were investigated. Using these ancient structures for fishing today could be an effective solution to the problem of hunger. The study found that protecting underwater cultural heritage sites and the areas in which they are located ensures the conservation of marine resources. And this is one of the Sustainable Development Goals. The relationship between the protection of heritage sites and the prosperity of marine ecosystems helps to create livelihoods for local communities through dive tourism. Organizing underwater tourism at historic shipwreck sites can create new jobs. And this will lead to an increase in the welfare of the population. Quality management and responsible use of underwater heritage sites will lead to increased tourist flows. And this will contribute to the sustainable development of cities and communities. Thus, underwater cultural heritage is characterized by the integrity of cultural, natural, archaeological, tangible and intangible heritage. Such knowledge can be applied to solve the problems of our time. This makes heritage an important tool for achieving certain objectives of the Global Programme for Sustainable Development as defined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

Assessing the Effectiveness of UNDP’s Climate Action Initiatives at the Local Level: A Thematic Analysis of Implementation Strategies and Outcomes

Sustainable development has been considered as the global phenomena in every field of life. The United Nations developed a program to attain sustainability. This programme is a United Nations agency tasked help countries to eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes in promoting local capacity towards long-term self-sufficiency and prosperity. Therefore, this research aimed to analyse the effectiveness of UNDP climate action initiatives and outcome on local level. The study employs a research design involving the selection of previously published case studies from different regions worldwide, which highlights various climate-related challenges and the effectiveness of UNDP initiatives in addressing them. The data was collected from different sources, such as the World Bank’s official website and UNDP’s official website, and previously published studies were also utilized. Thematic analysis approach was applied to assess the implementation strategies and outcomes across different regions. The findings reveal similarities and differences in the implementation of UNDP climate action plans and the challenges countries face in executing these initiatives. Through thematic analysis and interpretation of results, the study provides valuable information for developing effective policies to address climate-related challenges. Additionally, the research also suggests directions for future studies. The thematic analysis showcases specific case studies, including renewable energy deployment in Pacific Island Nations, ecosystem restoration in the Sahel Region, climate-smart agriculture in Southeast Asia, and climate-resilient urban planning in Latin America. These cases illustrate UNDP’s commitment to promoting climate action and sustainable development through innovative projects and partnerships. This research contributes to understanding the effectiveness of UNDP’s climate action initiatives at the local level and informs future policy and programmatic efforts in this area.

Effective Strategies for Human Resource Development in the Digital Era

The rapid development of digital technology has brought significant changes in various aspects of life, including the field of human resource management (HR). This article aims to identify and analyze effective strategies that can be applied in human resource development in the digital era. In this context, HR development strategies do not only focus on improving technical skills, but also on developing soft skills which are essential for adaptation in a dynamic work environment. This research uses a qualitative approach with a comprehensive literature study method, reviewing various academic and practical sources. relevant to the topic. The main findings of this study show that the integration of technology in the training and development process, the formation of a work culture that supports innovation, and the implementation of a digital-based performance management system are some of the key effective strategies. Apart from that, the importance of visionary and adaptive leadership has also been identified as a determining factor for success in HR development in the digital era. This article provides insight for HR practitioners and managers to formulate HR development policies and programs that are relevant to the demands of the times. In addition, this research also makes a theoretical contribution by offering a conceptual framework for holistic and sustainable human resource development in the digital era.

Drivers of Rural Households’ Choices and Intensity of Sustainable Energy Sources for Cooking and Lighting in Ondo State, Nigeria

Poverty reduction and the promotion of sustainable human development are fundamentally dependent on having access to modern energy services. Energy supplies that are dependable, reasonably priced, and sustainable are vital to modern societies. In achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG7) and access to clean energy supplies, this study, using cross-sectional data from 180 randomly sampled rural households, analyzed the key factors determining the choice and intensity of energy sources used for lighting and cooking in rural Nigeria. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (multivariate probit (MVP) and zero-truncated Poisson (ZTP models)) were employed for the analyses. The result showed that there is evidence of fuel stacking in their choice of cooking and lighting energy, and it increases with rising income levels but is more pronounced for lighting than cooking. The result also revealed that reliable access to clean energy (9% of sampled households for LPG and 23% of the households for grid electricity) is very low, as these households still rely on fuelwood (70%) for cooking, but the predominant usage of kerosene (39%) for lighting, as reported in the literature, has drastically changed to dry cell battery (51%). The results using a multivariate probit model to capture the multiple fuel usage phenomenon among rural households show that access to clean energy, improvement in rural poverty, usage of indoor kitchens, household size, and an increase in the education of household heads’ spouses significantly influence the use of clean energy in the rural areas. In the same vein, the result of the ZTP model showed that income, access to energy sources, and occupation of the household head were the drivers of the intensity of cooking and lighting energy sources. Thus, it is recommended that any policy interventions that are targeted at encouraging rural households to use clean energy should start by improving rural access to these clean energy sources, improving their poverty status while also increasing the level of education and awareness of rural women concerning the risks of using dirty energy sources.

The Dynamics of Human Capital Development, Employee Commitment, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Strategic Perspective

The purpose of this study was to see the impact of “strategic human resources management (HRM) practices” on achieving “competitive advantages” that will be long-lasting, as well as the contribution of “human capital development” and “employee commitment” in information technology sector. IT sector works to establish, preserve, and perpetuate their competitive advantages, similar to other corporate organisations. The data were collected using questionnaire method and this study was conducted on 277 randomly selected employees working in different reputed IT companies. To achieve the objective of the study primary and secondary data were used and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, mediation analysis and likewise using AMOS 22.0, SPSS23. The results of the study showed a linear and favourable relationship between strategic HRM practices and sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Strategic HRM was also found to positively influence human capital development and employee commitment of the IT sector firms. This study further suggests IT sector to prioritise human resources management in their businesses, which will improve human capital development by allowing staff members to acquire implicit expertise that will be challenging and difficult for the rivals to mimic and also add to the literature on sustainable competitive advantages, employment, and human capital development. The finding highlights about IT sector management as well and also the results made an additional argument for employee commitment to achieving a sustained competitive edge. The study further suggested some theoretical and other implications for researchers as well.

Analysis of a planned neighbourhood of Kinshasa and its mix with spontaneous extension neighbourhoods: the case of the Maman Mobutu City

Kinshasa, one of Africa's most densely populated capital cities, has been grappling with the issue of informality in its planned settlements. This paper, aiming to understand this issue comprehensively, has employed a unique and rigorous qualitative and quantitative analysis. The research includes material and site surveys, allowing for a detailed study of the transformation of the Mamam Mobutu Garden City. Built-in the 80s on an existing informal village, the project later faced an invasion of illegal settlers and constructions. The surroundings have also witnessed the radicalisation of precarious communities, posing a threat to achieving sustainable human development.

Concept and investigation of Selective Forward Osmosis (SFO) for Salt-Salt Separation as a Pretreatment of Seawater for Resource Utilization

Seawater utilization is crucial for the sustainable human development. Despite growing interest in forward osmosis (FO) due to its unique properties, conventional FO membranes with salt-water selectivity have limitations in applying to specific salt-salt separation processes, which hinders their application in resource utilization. In this work, a new concept, “selective forward osmosis (SFO)”, was proposed, which ingeniously employed an SFO membrane consisting of an ion-selective layer on a denser substrate. The denser substrate is designed to control water flux so as to alleviate the solution dilution and improve the salt-salt separation. Moreover, the sucrose and pure water were used separately as feed solution to provide different water flux to influence the various salt fluxes, showing that pure water feed could enhance the salt-salt separation efficiency, although it could dilute the draw solution to some extent. Therefore, pure water was selected as feed in the subsequent experiments. The optimized SFO membrane achieved high Na2SO4/NaCl selectivity (∼54.8) and MgCl2/NaCl selectivity (∼9.2) in single-salt draw solutions. With mixed-salt and heavy-metal-mixed-salt draw solutions, the Mg2+/Na+ selectivity was enhanced to ∼14.5, and further to 29.3. In real seawater tests, the SFO system effectively permeated monovalent elements (such as Na flux of ∼68.6 g m−2 h−1) while maintaining a higher rejection for bivalent elements (such as Mg flux of ∼0.08 g m−2 h−1), showing high selectivities for Mg/Na, U/Na, Sr/Na, Ni/Na, and Ca/Na. These results demonstrate the potential of SFO for resource utilization, especially in complex saline environments. This work contributes a new route for salt-salt separation in the pretreatment of seawater resources.

The Governance of Internal Migration: Learning from the Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Policy Responses of Indian States

While the governance of global migration is a growing conversation in policy and academia, internal migration has remained under-researched and under-represented as an area of focus. The increased policy attention on internal migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for examining the governance of internal migration. Drawing on a review of literature and two consequent rounds of an ex ante policy indexing tool—the Interstate Migrant Policy Index (IMPEX) 2019 and IMPEX 2021—this article focuses on policies formulated by Indian state governments that are prominent recipients of internal migrants in the pre- and post-pandemic period. We find that while the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of low-income internal migrants in India, it only partially translated into long-term policy measures. This article demonstrates that the complexity of migration policymaking governance in federal democracies like India is an important aspect of global migration governance. It argues that such a focus will enable a number of developing economies to refine labour and social protection policies toward sustainable economics and human development. The article motivates a research and policy agenda that can especially help developing countries improve labour mobility patterns for economic development as well as ensure fuller coverage of social welfare measures in response to climate migration.

Cyber-Security awareness and its contribution towards sustainable human development: insights from the Zimbabwean context

Cyber-Security awareness and its contribution towards sustainable human development: insights from the Zimbabwean context