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In this study, we evaluated university students’ attitudes towards environmental issues, with a particular focus on the cohort’s understanding of climate change and knowledge of environmental issues. We also explored whether students’ gender or university major (natural sciences vs humanities and social sciences) impact attitudes to environmental issues.

We surveyed undergraduate students (n = 1,310) using an online questionnaire comprising 17 statements that reflect attitudes towards environmental concerns. This questionnaire was constructed using a 5-point Likert Scale and was tested for reliability and validity to ensure its precision and consistency in assessing the targeted constructs.

The results revealed that the surveyed students had a medium level of positive attitudes towards the environment. While no significant differences based on gender were observed, students from different university majors significantly differed in the degree to which they endorsed positive attitudes towards the environment, with those majoring in natural sciences reporting stronger attitudes to environmental issues. These findings warrant the implementation of mandatory courses on the environment at UAE universities so as to enhance students’ awareness and foster positive attitudes towards the environment.

Unlike previous studies that may have focused narrowly on specific environmental attitudes or behaviors, this research offers a broad yet detailed assessment by incorporating factors such as students' academic majors and gender. By comparing attitudes across different fields of study—natural sciences versus humanities and social sciences, the study provides new insights into how educational background and demographic variables shape environmental perceptions. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of the factors that influence environmental attitudes among young adults, potentially guiding more targeted educational interventions.

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

We focus on three major aspects of time, namely, 1) duration, 2) orientation and 3) tempo. Furthermore, we draw on modernization theory to distinguish between agrarian/traditional and industrial/modern societies and their respective cultural values.

Analyses indicate that agrarian/traditional societies with cultural values such as collectivism, survival, religiosity and hierarchical structures are marked by subjective/cyclical/inaccurate, past-oriented and slow-paced conceptions of time. In contrast, industrial/modern societies with cultural values such as individualism, self-expression, secularism and egalitarianism are marked by objective/linear/accurate, future-oriented and accelerated conceptions of time.

This paper introduces an original conceptualization of the three dimensions of time – duration, orientation and tempo – previously overlooked in the literature. Additionally, it provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the relationships between time, culture and socioeconomic development.

This study analyzes the influence of institutional and macroeconomic factors, in addition to firm-level factors, on the capital structure of listed industrial Latin American (LATAM) companies. The objective is to provide empirical evidence on LATAM firms from (1) the perspective of the traditional trade-off and pecking order theories and (2) from approaches that introduce the impact of institutional and macroeconomic factors into the analysis.

The empirical analysis adopts an econometric methodology using panel data on companies from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru from 2008 to 2018.

The results indicate that, in addition to the firm-level characteristics, the institutional and macroeconomic characteristics of the countries influence the capital structure of LATAM companies.

The study presents some limitations. It is mainly focused on listed companies sourced from only six LATAM countries due to a lack of data. It would be advisable to carry out similar studies with corporate governance factors, family businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The results can serve as a reference for economic agents and professionals, encouraging them to consider the evolution of institutional and macroeconomic variables when making decisions. Academically, our findings verify the validity of conventional theories and the relevance of incorporating external institutional variables into the capital structure framework.

The importance of this research lies in analyzing the capital structure of companies in a little-explored geographic area, LATAM, including institutional and macroeconomic factors and using the new Orbis database.

Este estudio analiza la influencia de los factores institucionales y macroeconómicos, además de los factores a nivel de empresa, en la estructura de capital de las empresas industriales cotizadas latinoamericanas (LATAM). El objetivo es proporcionar evidencia empírica sobre las empresas latinoamericanas desde (1) la perspectiva de las teorías tradicionales trade-off y pecking order, y (2) desde los enfoques que introducen el impacto de los factores institucionales y macroeconómicos en el análisis.

El análisis empírico adopta una metodología econométrica, utilizando datos de panel de empresas de Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México y Perú, de 2008 a 2018.

Los resultados indican que, además de las características a nivel de empresa, las características institucionales y macroeconómicas de los países influyen en la estructura de capital de las empresas latinoamericanas.

El estudio presenta algunas limitaciones, principalmente se centra en empresas cotizadas provenientes de solo seis países de LATAM, debido a la falta de datos. Sería recomendable realizar estudios similares con factores de gobierno corporativo, con empresas familiares y PYMES.

Los resultados pueden servir de referencia para los agentes económicos y profesionales, animándolos a considerar la evolución de las variables institucionales y macroeconómicas a la hora de tomar decisiones. Académicamente, nuestros hallazgos verifican la validez de las teorías convencionales y la relevancia de incorporar variables institucionales externas en el marco de la estructura de capital.

La importancia de esta investigación radica en analizar la estructura de capital de empresas en un área geográfica poco explorada, LATAM, incluyendo factores institucionales y macroeconómicos y utilizando la nueva base de datos Orbis.

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of inflated energy prices on the capital structure of Indian manufacturing corporations and to investigate whether the capital structure of Indian firms is driven by demand shocks or supply shocks during the study period.

After conducting a thorough review of the capital structure and inflation-based research studies, panel data-based regression model and correlation matrix have been used as statistical tools for Indian manufacturing sector available with the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Prowess database.

The results suggest that variables like the presence of inflated energy prices had adversely influenced the capital structure of Indian corporations. Not only this, the study also highlights that factors pertaining to the demand shock had induced Indian corporations to have higher debt levels in the capital structure.

This study has laid some ground work to explore the influence of inflation on capital structure of Indian firms upon which a more detailed evaluation could be based.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first that explores the influence of inflated energy prices on the capital structure of manufacturing firms in India by using the most recent data.

This chapter in its first part analyzes the Leader approach in terms of concept, constituent elements, application, and its contribution to rural development and rural entrepreneurship. In the continuation of the text, authors analyze the application of this approach in Serbia, looking at the activities of the ministry in charge and the views of local action groups (LAGs)’ managers on this matter. The aim of this chapter is to present the results and problems Serbia has seen so far in the implementation of the Leader approach for development of rural areas on a local level. The results indicate that the lack of systemic and continuous state support resulting, among other things, in the lack of a financial portfolio for the LAGs, is the main cause of low local entrepreneurial initiatives and projects implemented within the Leader approach. Future steps in the implementation of this approach in Serbia will depend on financial support for the LAGs from all levels of government, as well as from the possibility of using funds within the EU pre-accession assistance for rural development. Also, it will be necessary to launch larger innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives both by LAGs’ managers and all stakeholders involved in local rural development.