{"title":"A Bibliometric Analysis of World Issues—Social, Political, Economic, and Environmental Dimensions","authors":"Wai Ming To","doi":"10.3390/world3030034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030034","url":null,"abstract":"Globalization has taken place for several decades and the world has become a connected place. As researchers are on the frontline to explore world (or global) issues, it is crucial to understand what research has been done and what the emerging topics relating to social, political, economic, and environmental dimensions are. This study investigates the trend and emerging topics of world (or global) issues using a bibliometric approach. A literature search using Scopus identified 1201 related documents, including journal articles, review articles, conference articles, books, and book chapters published during the period 1975–2022. Bibliometric data were analyzed using Scopus tools and VOSviewer software. Results show that the number of publications on world (or global) issues has increased over the last five decades, particularly after 2001. Two major streams of research were identified based on co-occurrence of keywords. They were “sustainable development and climate change”, and “environmental protection, economics, and politics”. Additionally, corporate social responsibility, governance approach, and COVID-19 were identified as emerging keywords in recent years.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74074847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Energy Transition on the Geopolitical Importance of Oil-Exporting Countries","authors":"M. Salimi, M. Amidpour","doi":"10.3390/world3030033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030033","url":null,"abstract":"With the changes that have taken place in energy-related technologies, the United States has been less affected by the geopolitical risks associated with the supply of fossil fuel energy resources, especially crude oil. When the price of oil is low, the geopolitical situation of U.S. energy contrasts with that of other oil-producing countries, which are facing financial pressure due to low oil prices and a high domestic energy demand. Many other countries have been supplying crude oil compared to half a century ago, reducing the strategic importance of major oil exporters, such as key OPEC members in the Persian Gulf. The shale oil revolution in the United States and the transition of energy in countries around the world to more sustainable energy sources, especially renewable energy, have reduced the importance of security in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf for U.S. politicians, which will be intensified in the future. Especially from the middle of the Carter administration period, U.S. politicians saw the security of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as a prerequisite for securing energy supplies for the U.S. economy, but that has changed. Despite the disruption of Russia’s fossil fuel energy supply, as one of the main energy suppliers, due to sanctions from February 2022, the global energy carriers’ prices are relatively under control. Energy transition is one of the main contributors to lowering the impact of fossil fuel energy supply disruptions on the global economy.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"60 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76682714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mapping Potential for Improving Rural Energy Services in Kyrgyzstan: Factors for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in the Community Context","authors":"Kedar Mehta, M. Ehrenwirth, W. Zörner","doi":"10.3390/world3030032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030032","url":null,"abstract":"Energy is a pivotal element for overall development. Therefore, affordable and clean energy for all (Sustainable Development Goal 7) is one of the important elements. Despite a suitable approach, Kyrgyzstan lags behind to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Improving access to energy can significantly impact the progress of many other sustainable development targets. However, access to reliable, sustainable, and adequate energy is a crucial task in rural Kyrgyzstan. Taking into consideration the energy situation and the importance of the availability of energy services, the overarching aim of the presented article is to map the potential of improving rural energy services to foster overall sustainable development goals. The article presents the most relevant information about rural energy usage behaviour based on three primary pillars: energy demand, energy carrier, and energy sources. In addition, the presented research article synthesises the key driving factors which have a direct or indirect impact on the energy services in rural areas. The summarised data displays a deep insight into a variety of complex and dynamic household energy consumption patterns. The article provides a potential solution nexus to foster improved energy services in rural Kyrgyzstan and therefore to foster the overall sustainable development in Kyrgyzstan. The findings of the article help to formulate a strategy to design rural energy services for policy makers and stockholders.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84214476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Economic and Social Impact of International Aid at National Level: Application of Spatial Panel Model","authors":"D. Chung, Jaehee Hwang","doi":"10.3390/world3030031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030031","url":null,"abstract":"This study identifies how aid has contributed to economic and social development in recipient African countries. Spatial panel models were employed for the analysis, considering spatial autocorrelation of panel data between 42 countries and nine years from 2005 to 2013. Based on the regression results, the aid itself had a weak impact on recipients’ GDP per capita and Human Development Index. On the other hand, according to the interaction term, aid promoted economic and social development along with affirmative government efficiency. The efficient and centralized administrative system and civic accountability also improved the aggregated well-being level in Africa.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"132 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75689561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bhubaneswor Dhakal, N. Chand, H. L. Shrestha, A. Shrestha, Nischal Dhakal, Bikash Adhikari, S. Shrestha, K. B. Karki, P. Bhandari
{"title":"Paradoxes of Aggravated Vulnerability, Marginalization, and Peril of Forest-Based Communities after Increasing Conservative Forest and Protected Areas in Nepal: A Policy Lesson on Land-Based Climate Change Mitigation","authors":"Bhubaneswor Dhakal, N. Chand, H. L. Shrestha, A. Shrestha, Nischal Dhakal, Bikash Adhikari, S. Shrestha, K. B. Karki, P. Bhandari","doi":"10.3390/world3030030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030030","url":null,"abstract":"Many measures of international policies and support have dictated developing countries to upscale land areas of intact forestry, special biodiversity conservation site, and other wild reserves to half the land territory of the nation by 2050 for resulting environmental, and other benefits to global societies. The international initiations and work urged scholars to assess the potential impacts of the aggressive policy on forest-based communities and especially those living in institutionally and geo ecologically vulnerable areas. This study compiled the impacts of such international policy interventions on diverse affairs of the local community and national economies in Nepal and drew some conclusions on the well-being future of such forest-based communities. It explained that the international interventions in managing community-based resources induced serious disturbances in many local systems and resulted in vicious circles of emigration, income losses, social problems, psychological stresses, and food insecurities. The interventions have placed some communities and especially endogenous ethnic groups in the position either to be displaced from their ancestors’ homelands or suffer for generations. This study also explained some reinforcing phenomena that emerged from the external interventions which have placed situations of the resource impacting local communities adversely for years. It also investigated whether support of international agencies in policy formation and implementation for resource management safeguards the well-being of the resource-based communities. The agencies resulted in the best environmental and other benefits to foreign societies which have aggravated the misery of local communities, particularly the poor people, women, and indigenous ethnic communities. The adverse impacts on the societies are not repercussions (accidentally or unknowingly happened). All these findings infer that the international policies of upscaling forests and wilderness areas or making conservation areas in half of their land territory, especially in developing societies for the global benefit, may place the lives of the forest-based communities in peril of suffering for generations or extirpating.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85047006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Territorial Impact and Responses to COVID-19 in South Africa: Case Studies of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and KwaDukuza Local Municipality","authors":"I. Khambule","doi":"10.3390/world3030028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030028","url":null,"abstract":"Governments played an essential role in mitigating the social, political, health and economic impact and outcomes of COVID-19. Most literature limits the role of the state at the national level by focusing on the pandemic’s impact on economic growth, unemployment, poverty and state responses. This approach neglects the role played by subnational governments in managing the pandemic. In response to this predicament, this article explores the territorial socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and the responses adopted by subnational governments through the case studies of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and KwaDukuza Local Municipality in South Africa. A territorial understanding of the pandemic and responses is important because of the spatial dimensions of the pandemic. Methodologically, the article utilises data from a survey conducted with informal workers in the two municipalities. The article shows the diverging impact and responses from the two municipalities, and how pre-existing socio-economic structures reinforced prevailing challenges. The article argues that a territorial understanding of the pandemic allows governments to adopt targeted interventions to enhance the effectiveness of responses to the different spatial dimensions of the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72717150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Studying the Experience of the Confinement Measures Implemented during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece","authors":"D. Zavras","doi":"10.3390/world3030029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030029","url":null,"abstract":"The confinement measures implemented to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 disrupted daily life and increased the risk of poor mental and physical health. The COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in unprecedented disruptions to healthcare access due to both supply and demand factors, creating barriers to disease management. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influenced views on coping with confinement measures. For this study, we used data from the Eurobarometer 93.1. The sample consisted of 1016 individuals aged 15 years and over. The sample design was multi-staged and random (probability). For the purpose of the study, a multinomial logistic regression model was fitted and used views on the experience of coping with confinement measures as the outcome variable. Several demographic, health-related, and economic factors were used as independent variables. According to the results, residents of more densely populated areas, females, and individuals who consider their personal health an important issue had more negative views of their experience during confinement measures. This was also true for individuals from financially worse-off households. The study results indicate a direct influence of economic and health-related factors on the experience of coping with the implemented confinement measures.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86097520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Triple Mission of the Modern University: Component Interplay and Performance Analysis from Italy","authors":"Marco Taliento","doi":"10.3390/world3030027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030027","url":null,"abstract":"We explore the interplay between the three missions of the modern university (teaching, research, and ‘third mission’: education, scientific productivity, and socio-economic interaction with non-academic environments), with a focus on the Italian public university. We execute a path analysis compliant with the isomorphic ‘one-size-fits-all’ university management framework, revisited under a stakeholder approach in light of students’ needs and expectations. We investigate the impact of the university’s knowledge-based missions on student outcome: student satisfaction and early job placement (data from nearly 400,000 respondents per year from 2011–2014) epitomizing both educational effectiveness/attractiveness and competitiveness. Although performances do not appear to all be correlated with each other, there is a positive relationship between research and third mission quality, and finally between the socio-economic mission and student satisfaction. This kind of mission-related evaluation can shape the institutional decisions (government policy and funding) and influence management priorities or behavior by revealing the way the quality of academic productivity and knowledge transfer to communities can create value from the point of view of the core stakeholder (university students). Our findings across missions offer a new perspective, while the innovative structural method helps to reconcile the three institutional goals in one big picture.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72830301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
V. P. de Brito, A. M. Carrijo, Marcos Vinícius Teixeira Martins, S. V. de Oliveira
{"title":"Correction: de Brito et al. Epidemiological Monitoring of COVID-19 in a Brazilian City: The Interface between the Economic Policies, Commercial Behavior, and Pandemic Control. World 2022, 3, 344–356","authors":"V. P. de Brito, A. M. Carrijo, Marcos Vinícius Teixeira Martins, S. V. de Oliveira","doi":"10.3390/world3030026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030026","url":null,"abstract":"The authors would like to make the following correction to the published paper [...]","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79942792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities","authors":"Gerrit van der Waldt, D. Fourie","doi":"10.3390/world3030025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/world3030025","url":null,"abstract":"Ease of doing business with municipalities and within municipal areas refers to the simplicity, effortlessness, and extent to which private enterprises can establish and conduct their business. It is influenced by multiple factors such as the conduciveness of the statutory and regulatory framework and the effectiveness of municipal structures and processes, in order to reduce bureaucratic red tape for the simplification of administrative processes such as the registration of business property, the issuing of permits, and access to electricity. Municipalities thus play a significant role in attracting and retaining business investment by establishing a conducive climate for business growth and local economic development. The aim of this article was to analyze the findings of a survey that was conducted to pinpoint business investment pull and push factors in selected municipalities in South Africa. By means of semi-structured interviews, a survey was undertaken with seven target groups. The obtained data were then triangulated with a desktop analysis of sampled businesses (i.e., case studies) that had relocated, mainly due to municipal service delivery failures. The survey revealed the underlying factors that lead to ease of doing business weaknesses, uncovered winning strategies to attract business investment, and proposed measures to enhance municipal business retention praxis.","PeriodicalId":49307,"journal":{"name":"Microlithography World","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74300314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}