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The purpose of this research is to examine the dynamics of news coverage within Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) nations, aiming to uncover patterns and critical factors influencing political and economic development policies. By providing a comprehensive overview of macro-level and sector-level economic trends reported by member country newspapers, the study seeks to understand problem-driven analysis schemes and proposed solutions to challenges. Additionally, it aims to evaluate the economic implications of political decisions as portrayed in news coverage, scrutinize the promotion of meaningful dialog and assess the role of news in encouraging coherence among stakeholders for effective pursuit of economic development goals within the BRICS nations.

This qualitative research involves conducting a content analysis on 11 newspapers, each published by a BRICS member country, including established and recent members. The current study analyzes the national interests, economic implications of media frames, leaders’ statements and geopolitical contexts in light of the coverage of the newspapers under study and the BRICS' inclusion of new members from a political economy perspective.

All eleven newspapers emphasize the significance of the BRICS Summit and its role in shaping economic and geopolitical dynamics. They consistently highlight the cooperative and multilateral nature of BRICS, focusing on collaboration among member nations. All newspapers emphasize the importance of the BRICS Summit as a key event in global geopolitics. For instance, they discuss the 2023 BRICS Summit in South Africa as a focal point for member countries to discuss various global issues. Each newspaper discusses BRICS' role in advocating for equitable global governance and challenging Western dominance in international affairs. Economic aspects, such as trade, financial cooperation and economic growth within BRICS, are mentioned in the coverage of all eleven newspapers, underlining the economic dimension of the group. All eleven newspapers explore the expansion of BRICS and its implications, including differing member opinions and the introduction of new member countries. However, The Buenos Aires Times (Argentina) provides an in-depth focus on Argentina’s admission to BRICS and its significance, reflecting its unique perspective as a potential member. All newspapers recognize the media’s role in shaping awareness and discourse related to BRICS, but The Buenos Aires Times specifically focuses on Argentina’s perspective and how it informs its readers about global developments. Also, unlike other newspapers, The Buenos Aires Times mentions domestic political factors, including presidential elections in Argentina and opposition to Argentina’s BRICS membership, which impact the country’s stance. The newspapers' coverage of BRICS reflects their national interests, priorities and perspectives. While geopolitical and economic aspects are prominent, the depth of analysis, the emphasis on specific economic trends and the extent of problem-driven analysis vary. These diverse viewpoints provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of BRICS and its global impact. When comparing the 11 newspapers' coverage of BRICS-related topics, it’s evident that each publication brings its unique perspective and priorities to the forefront.

While this research provides valuable insights into news patterns and their influence on political and economic development in BRICS nations, certain limitations should be acknowledged. The study’s scope primarily relies on newspaper coverage, potentially omitting perspectives from other media sources.

The practical implications of this research are profound. Policymakers can leverage insights to craft informed strategies, and businesses and investors can gain a nuanced understanding of economic trends and media practitioners refine their coverage. The findings promote cross-cultural understanding within BRICS nations, encouraging cooperation. Global stakeholders can navigate the political-economic landscape more adeptly. Ultimately, the research provides actionable knowledge, facilitating effective decision-making, enhancing collaboration and contributing to the sustainable development and stability of the BRICS countries and the broader international community.

This research carries significant social implications by encouraging a deeper comprehension of the interplay between news media, politics and economics in BRICS nations. It promotes informed civic discourse, enabling citizens to critically engage with socio-political issues. By uncovering the media’s influence, the study contributes to media literacy, empowering the public to make informed decisions. Additionally, the research enhances cross-cultural understanding, potentially mitigating biases and stereotypes. Ultimately, it strengthens the social fabric by encouraging a more informed and engaged citizenry, capable of contributing positively to the political and economic development of their respective nations within the BRICS framework.

This research contributes originality and value by offering a nuanced exploration of news patterns in BRICS nations, going beyond surface-level analysis. By focusing on macro- and sector-level economic trends, the study provides a unique perspective on the interplay between media narratives and economic development. The examination of problem-driven analysis and proposed solutions adds depth, offering insights into policy implications. Evaluating the economic implications of political decisions through news coverage enhances understanding. Furthermore, the research’s emphasis on promoting meaningful dialog and assessing the role of news in stakeholder coherence contributes distinctive insights, enhancing the broader understanding of the interconnections between media, politics and economic development in the BRICS context.

This chapter analyzes the French Citizens Convention for Climate (CCC), a democratic experiment in public policy cocreation, responding to climate change and the democratic crisis. The CCC, involving 150 citizens, aimed to propose measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Despite producing 149 proposals, the government's limited implementation led to widespread dissatisfaction, which highlights the complexities of policy cocreation. Through textual statistics analysis, the study reveals the “wicked” nature of cocreation, intensified by diverse values and interests among participants. It underscores the critical need for the government's political readiness and absorptive capacity in cocreation processes. While citizens showed commitment and capability, political-administrative elites displayed resistance, indicating a policy capacity gap. This resistance not only undermined the CCC's efforts but also exacerbated public distrust in political processes. The CCC's experience suggests that future cocreation initiatives in public policy must better integrate with political decision-making. The balance between standardization and contextual adaptation is key to effectively addressing complex societal issues. This chapter advocates for close monitoring of cocreation applications in public policy to assess their effectiveness in resolving societal challenges.

This paper aims to produce sustainable sport-hijab or veiling using cotton and bamboo as renewable and eco-material blending with polyester. Due to the unique characteristics of the knitting fabrics, the research focused on constructing the proposed samples using a circular knitting technique with a French terry structure, to achieve comfort, ease of care, good appearance and sustainability in different climatic conditions.

The researchers formed three different knitted samples using yarn count 30/1Ne for cotton and bamboo and 70 dens for polyester yarn, using the same blending ratio of 50:50% (cotton/polyester, bamboo/ polyester and cotton/ bamboo). They tested several mechanical and physical properties (weight, thickness, air permeability, water permeability, electrostatic charges, ultraviolet protection factor, stiffness, pilling resistance and bursting strength).

Using different tools, the researchers statistically analyzed the influence of variables on sample properties, including a Chart line, ANOVA test at p-value = 0.05 and the least significant differences values to identify the effect significantly as well as demonstrate the interaction among the samples at each tested property. Finally, radar chart areas to clarify the preferable sample performance.

The findings declared that blending materials used significantly affected most properties of the produced samples, except for the water permeability and an electrostatic charge. Furthermore, the findings pointed out that blending (cotton or bamboo/polyester) is more efficient and desirable than blending (cotton/ bamboo). Additionally, based on radar charts analysis, the cotton/polyester knitted outperforms other blended materials samples in producing sport-hijab or veiling fabric.

What are the academic experiences of senior professors in the field of public relations (PR) at the Brazilian universities? This chapter proposes the advance of knowledge on the theoretical framework of contemporary liberal feminism by refining the previous theoretical and methodological publications. This theoretical lens prevails in earlier works, with empirical studies grounded in industry and corporate environments – mainly done by researchers from the United Kingdom, North America and Scandinavia, while PR feminist postmodernism appears in European literature – all scarce in Brazil and Global South (Latin America and African nations). Moreover, studies applying female or male PR scholars in university settings are rare in national and international literature. Hence, we gathered data and analysed narratives from seven senior female PR professors from Brazil, using an interpretative qualitative approach. Thus, this chapter about the female PR academic experiences and everyday practices highlights the starting point for an onto-epistemological discussion to understand the liberal feminist educational-based context in a Latin American country. Henceforth, two conceptual-practical dimensions – feminist PR competence and feminist PR performance – along with three methodological recommendations are presented for enhancing the contemporary liberal feminism theme as a robust research domain in PR and Strategic Communication agenda.

This chapter presents the findings of an extracurricular online beta test of a competition between students of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the International University of Malaya-Wales. The competition is intended to promote the concept of harmonious entrepreneurship and the creation of student-led harmonious enterprises that address the global sustainability challenge and deliver a triple bottom line in which profit, people, and planet are in harmony. It reveals that extracurricular learning can attract students from disciplines other than business and can educate the participants, both staff and students, not just about harmonious entrepreneurship but also how to identify and launch an innovative harmonious enterprise that addresses a sustainability challenge. The test identifies how the competition may be improved prior to its global launch and makes recommendations for students, educators, mentors, providers, and universities as to how it might best be implemented. Once revised and launched the competition will be further tested to better understand how extracurricular learning can help advance the delivery of both entrepreneurship and sustainability education in universities and colleges around the globe.

Research on the role of women in Public Relations (PR) has seen a notable increase in recent years (Topić et al., 2019), yet exploratory studies on the subject remain limited, particularly concerning the role of women in the academic sphere of PR in Spain. Guided by the imperative to reflect on the role of PR professionals operating within the Spanish academic landscape, this chapter aims to identify and reflect on the role of women in PR academia in Spain to discover the extent to which women are leading the communication faculties where PR is taught; to identify the presence of women in the departments where communication studies take place and to determine women's leadership in national research activity. This study follows a combined approach with two dimensions, exploratory and interpretative, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques. The interpretative approach is developed using a focus group with women currently working in PR education and leading projects and institutions in the Spanish academia. Through this research, we discover the struggles and opportunities they face and identify possible solutions and ideas to improve the situation of women in academia and, specifically, in PR.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) conservation loan program was introduced in the 2008 Farm Bill to provide additional credit to assist producers implementing approved Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation projects. This paper explores why this program has been widely underutilized despite an overall increase in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Program participation.

The FSA administrative loan data are merged with NRCS program participation and payments data for 2010–2021. The share of project costs paid by producers and resulting savings achieved by farmers participating in both programs if their cost-share portion was paid by FSA loans are estimated, as well as the impact on farmer conservation spending under different estimates of increased participation.

A significant share of FSA farmers are likely to take advantage of NRCS programs, with the majority of participants paying under $25,000 in cost-share portions. These loans are less suited to guaranteed conservation loans and more appropriate for the discontinued direct conservation loan program. Few FSA borrowers participating in NRCS cost-share programs pay more than $50,000 in cost-share portions. These loans would receive the majority of benefits from interest reduction schemes under the current guaranteed loan program.

Our results and suggestions provide valuable information when discussing the Guaranteed Conservation Loan Program in the 2023 Farm Bill legislation.

No prior research has attempted to merge FSA guaranteed or direct loan data with conservation program participation and payment data, focused on producer cost-share levels or the FSA Guaranteed Conservation Loan Program in the last decade, making this study a valuable contribution to the literature.

With around 40% of global waste attributed to the built environment sector, architects play a significant role in how resources are consumed, produced and wasted. UK architectural educators have made good progress to embed climate emergency issues in design curricula but the challenges of resource use and waste, and the opportunities afforded by circular economy design principles are less well-considered. The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights on how to introduce circular design principles to early-stage architectural design students within university curricula.

The study described took an experimental approach to designing design project briefs across several interlinked studio design projects for 1st-year Architecture students. Structured as a case study, each section describes the project, learning objectives, teaching methods and project reflections informed by a qualitative assessment of student development, outputs and feedback gathered through a questionnaire and focus group.

Introducing circular design early is highly beneficial to the development of knowledge on sustainability issues, critical design thinking and creative solution generation. Examples of beneficial teaching approaches include building systems thinking, facilitating collaboration, supporting learning-through-making, using simple analogies and referencing best-practice examples.

This research builds on limited existing circular design literature for built environment fields and through practical insights fills a significant knowledge gap on ways to introduce a complex and dynamic topic such as the circular economy to early-stage architectural design students as they develop fundamental discipline-specific knowledge, skills and competences.

This study evaluates the knowledge structure of medical tourism within the geographical context of South East Asia. This region is one of the growing economic powerhouses in the world, and tourism activities have contributed a lot to its advancement.

Applying a science mapping technique using bibliometric analysis, the current and emerging themes and future trends are analyzed using bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis.

Findings show that current trends produced four themes: Fundamentals of medical tourism in Southeast Asia, determinants of tourist medical tourism visits, quality of medical and health service in Southeast Asia and impact of medical tourism on national economic growth. The future trends also produced four themes related to navigating excellence in medical tourism, medical tourism and economic growth, service quality in medical tourism services and accredited destinations in the globalized era of medical tourism.

This study is relevant to all stakeholders, operators and local communities in Southeast Asia tourism destinations to provide the best medical tourism with the best quality service and technologies.

This study fills the gap by performing a bibliometric approach to reviewing medical tourism in Southeast Asia using a science mapping technique. Crucial themes are produced through topological and temporal streams that provide critical insight for future developments in medical tourism in the region.