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This paper reviews the determinants of formal microsaving (FMS), while also X-raying literature-documented conceptual sub-elements/sub-constructs of formal microsaving development (FMSD). This is with the intention to sensitize stakeholders as to what works for FMS and what doesn't. The paper also offers an overview of the state of research in this academic sub-domain, with suggestions/guides for related future research agenda. Analysis of 301 articles was undertaken using PRISMA. The paper's analysis affirms that the identified determinants were varied, using only a limited set of empirical methodologies. The geographical focus of most of the relevant studies were on Asia/Africa, with other regions largely ignored. The paper presents a novel review of the determinants of FMS. Also, the identified deconstructed sub-elements of FMSD could further sensitize researchers of its hitherto unknown multidimensional nature. Consequently, this could enhance the expansion of relevant empirical/theoretical knowledge with the additional possibility of initiating/influencing relevant global policy regeneration towards microsaving development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the recent developments in the delivery of teaching-learning processes when COVID-19 hit the world with a health crisis and pandemic, it is crucial to look into the quality of courses delivered via online means or through distance education modality. This paper examines implementation and application of quality assurance (QA) landscape in Distance Education (DE). A documentary review using bibliographic inquiry is used as a methodology approach to gather relevant information to address the study questions. Previous studies on QA in DE are examined and arranged into themes using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that most of the literature on QA in DE in Africa and Asia based on the reviewed Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions are basically dealing with frameworks, outcomes and performance, instructional design, student services and challenges as well as parity in terms of quality with the traditional institutions. Therefore, this paper concludes that more studies are needed for QA in DE to match the post-COVID-19 trends on improving QA. This implies that there is a need to expand research on QA in DE to include areas of artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of geographical variation of sibling term systems used in Asia and Africa, which are categorized based on distinctions of (1) relative age, (2) sex, and (3) relative sex. Experts in languages/language groups of Asia and Africa have analyzed and mapped these systems; using their findings, I created summative maps showing the geographical distributions of the system types based on rates (percentages) of each type. Type A (undifferentiated sibling type) is conspicuous in Africa. Type B (relative age type) is used in many languages in Africa and Southeast Asia. Type C (skewed age type) commands an absolute majority in languages of Northeast Asia and is also found in Southeast Asia. The change of Type A > Type B > Type C is inferred from these systems' distributions. Type D (age/sex type) is the only type in Sinitic, and has affected neighboring languages. Type E (brother/sister type) holds the vast majority in Semitic and South Asian languages and has affected surrounding languages. Type F (relative sex type) and its variations are found in peripheral languages in Asia and Africa; this might be the oldest type. This interpretation is supported by attested changes in Japonic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sacred natural sites (SNS) have gained recognition from conservationists, and are regarded as the oldest form of habitat protection in human history. Many case studies and literature reviews have been published on the subject. However, an updated and global-level synthesis on the effect of SNS on biodiversity conservation is still lacking. Here, we provide the first systematic review on SNS and biodiversity conservation, aiming to evaluate the effect of SNS across different: (i) continents; (ii) taxa; (iii) metrics. We checked 2750 papers and by applying inclusion criteria we selected 27 relevant papers. From these, we extracted descriptive data and 131 comparisons between SNS and Reference Sites. We applied vote-counting, multinomial and binomial post-hoc tests to the 131 comparisons. We found strong evidence that SNS have a positive effect on biodiversity, but also strong geographical and taxonomical biases, with most research focusing on Asia and Africa and on plants. We found that SNS have mainly positive effects on taxonomical diversity, vegetation structure and cultural uses of biodiversity. Our results strongly support the view that SNS have positive effects on biodiversity across continents and geographical settings, as found in a number of local studies and earlier overviews. These effects should be given official recognition in appropriate conservation frameworks, together with the specific forms of governance and management that characterize SNS. At the same time, further efforts are also required to fill the geographical and taxonomical gaps here highlighted, and to advancing our knowledge of SNS through more systematic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inequitable response to it has created a space for rethinking the knowledge translation that informs current health policy formulation and planning. Wide recognition of the failure of global health governance and national health systems has led to calls for reviving the Primary Health Care (PHC) agenda for post-COVID health systems development. Despite the joint international declaration on PHC made four decades ago, it has had limited application. This paper argues that the recent attempts to rethink PHC will prove inadequate without analysing and learning from the politics of knowledge (PoK) underlying global health policy and planning. Even with the growing relevance of the spirit of the Alma-Ata Declaration (1978) and its operationalisation as detailed in the report of conference proceedings, reassessment of reasons for its limited implementation continues to be located largely in the political economy of the medical establishment, the international economic order or in national governance flaws. Failure to address the dominant knowledge paradigm in the Alma Ata articulation of PHC has contributed to its limited application. This calls for expansion in the analysis from knowledge translation to generation and hierarchisation of knowledge. The paper discusses how the application of PoK as an analytical lens helps understand the power equations underlying the process of knowledge generation and its translation into policy and practice. Beneath the techno-centric and commodified health system is the dominant 'knowledge' system whose foundations and assumptions ought to be interrogated. By following a PoK approach, a reorientation of thinking about the relationship between various forms of knowledge and knowledge holders is anticipated. A new health service system design is outlined—translating the spirit of PHC of 1978 into a 'PHC Version 2.0'—that addresses the PoK gap in operational terms, with an approach to guide all levels of healthcare. It suggests how the world can be empowered to respond better by engaging with diverse ontologies and epistemologies to conceptualise knowledge and frame policies. Further, in the contexts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, it can contribute to the development of self-reliance to democratise general health policy and planning in the post-pandemic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the recent developments in the delivery of teaching-learning processes when COVID-19 hit the world with a health crisis and pandemic, it is crucial to look into the quality of courses delivered via online means or through distance education modality. This paper examines implementation and application of quality assurance (QA) landscape in Distance Education (DE). A documentary review using bibliographic inquiry is used as a methodology approach to gather relevant information to address the study questions. Previous studies on QA in DE are examined and arranged into themes using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that most of the literature on QA in DE in Africa and Asia based on the reviewed Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions are basically dealing with frameworks, outcomes and performance, instructional design, student services and challenges as well as parity in terms of quality with the traditional institutions. Therefore, this paper concludes that more studies are needed for QA in DE to match the post-COVID-19 trends on improving QA. This implies that there is a need to expand research on QA in DE to include areas of artificial intelligence.

This paper describes the challenges facing urban planning higher education institutions in the global South that engage with knowledge production, education and training and the ways they are tackling urban equality concerns. Drawing on interviews with urban pedagogues and practitioners, and examining institutional histories across Asia and Africa, we use a five-point framework to analyse these challenges: what to teach, how to teach, whom to teach, who teaches and where to teach. We find that different institutional arrangements and choices made by educators affect the answers to these questions in different ways. These questions are also closely connected to the questions of planning "for what", and planning education "to what end", and relate to concerns regarding values and processes and to outcomes for urban equality in the South. Considering these cases together offers an opportunity to contribute to a Southern dialogue on the evolution of planning education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bio-medical model of 'mental health' and 'mental illness' that relates to the relationship between wellbeing and distress informs psychopathology and dominates conceptualisation in many Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic (WEIRD) populations. This paper aims to critique the model, questioning the appropriateness of psychopathology as a conceptual framework when working as a Western trained clinician with populations such as in China, Japan, Asia, the Middle-East and Africa. The paper also considers the cultural appropriateness of western notions of psychopathology when working inter-culturally in relation to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, and the Review of the Implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical research on the race between education and technology has focused on the West but barely touched upon 'the rest'. A new occupational wage database for 50 African and Asian economies allows us to compare long‐run patterns in skill premiums across the colonial and post‐colonial eras (c. 1870–2010). Our data reveal three major patterns. First, skilled labour was considerably more expensive in colonial Africa and Asia than in pre‐industrial Europe. Second, skill premiums were distinctly higher in Africa than in Asia. Third, in both regions, skill premiums fell dramatically over the course of the twentieth century, ultimately converging to levels long observed in the West. Our paper takes a first step to explain both the origins of the Africa–Asia gap and the drivers of global skill premium convergence, paying special attention to the colonial context that shaped demand, supply, and labour market institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There are vast opportunities for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) globally to find support for international humanitarian causes. However, donors/consumers are not always willing to contribute for such causes. This study aims to investigate how potential donor perceptions are shaped to gain wider support and aims to build a model that could guide managers of NPOs in their communication strategy. Design/methodology/approach: Two scenario-based experiments with the participation of graduate students from an Indian university were conducted. Findings: Cosmopolitan people have the higher moral judgment of the international causes championed by NPOs. However, anthropomorphizing the NPO's message elevates the moral judgments among non-cosmopolitans. Process tests indicate that these moral judgments indirectly impact donation intentions for these causes. Research limitations/implications: The paper only investigates donation intention for poverty and not humanitarian causes such as access to drinking water. Moreover, the campaign chosen takes place only in Africa (e.g. not in Asia or Latin America). Practical implications: NPOs could tailor their marketing messages for international humanitarian causes by targeting cosmopolitan donors/consumers and using humanization as the branding strategy. Originality/value: This research contributes to theory by showing how consumers who would otherwise not contribute to an out-group could be influenced positively by the NPOs' branding strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mammalian skull is an informative and versatile study system critical to research efforts across the broad spectrum of molecular, cellular, organismal and evolutionary sciences. The amount of knowledge concerning mammalian skull continues to grow exponentially, fuelled by the advent of new research methods and new material. Computed microtomography, including X-ray imaging using synchrotron radiation, proved to be an important tool for the descriptive and quantitative analysis of cranial anatomy. A major conceptual change, namely combining genetics and development with evolution into 'evo-devo' studies, also contributed to our knowledge of the mammalian skull enormously. These advances, coupled with novel techniques now allow researchers to integrate the process of cranial development with data from the fossil record, which is also augmented by seminal discoveries from Africa, Asia and both Americas. However, for decades, there has been no comprehensive source covering fundamental aspects of this vibrant field of evolutionary biology. To address this gap, we offer in this theme issue a balanced mix of research papers and reviews from leading experts in the field and a younger generation of scientists from five continents. This article is part of the theme issue 'The mammalian skull: development, structure and function'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of international and collaborative publication trends in prominent behavior‐analytic journals has been a topic of interest for behavioral researchers. This paper focuses on publication trends from 1997 through 2020 in three prominent journals: Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), and Perspectives on Behavior Science (PBS). The variable of interest was the percentage of articles published per geographical category—Australasia/East Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, and Africa. The results showed that 79, 96, and 87% of the published articles in JEAB, JABA, and PBS, respectively, were conducted by researchers with a North American affiliation. Furthermore, 12, 4, and 4% of the articles in JEAB, JABA, and PBS, respectively, were coauthored by at least two researchers from different geographical categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar cooking is one of the significant applications of solar thermal conversion systems. In some of the developing countries of Asia and Africa, firewood was the only cooking option. Hence, outdoor solar cookers have gained popularity in such places due to household air pollution caused by the former. With the onset of urbanization, few developing countries have adopted kerosene, coal, and liquified petroleum gas in place of firewood, which in turn leads to the emission of harmful gases in the kitchen. On the other side, solar cooking has poor social acceptance in developed countries as it is an outdoor activity i.e. under the sun. Hence, a detailed review concerning the outdoor (in general) and indoor (in specific) solar cookers have been presented in part I of this paper: "Sustainable mechanism to popularize round-the-clock indoor solar cooking – Part I: Global status." It reveals the importance of indoor solar cooking and the dearth of relevant experimental and numerical studies. Such a system is also essential to popularize solar cooking in developed countries (wherein electric cookers have already gained momentum). Hence, the present study proposes a passive indoor solar cooking system that can perform round-the-clock indoor cooking. The hypothesis of the proposed passive indoor solar cooking system, which is based on a coupled natural circulation system, is experimentally investigated with relevant assumptions. It yields the desired output and can perform efficiently without heat input, replicating off-sunshine hour cooking. Later, the experimental results are used to validate a numerical model (Ansys Fluent), which is further extended to replicate a practical system. Upon defining the appropriate boundary conditions, the numerical results depicted repetitive boiling (1 l of water for nine times) in the time range of 680–1500 s with heat load (daytime operation) and 700–1000 s without heat load (replicates off-sunshine hour cooking). Thus, the focused design is quite feasible, and with further recommendations being invoked, the evolution of a sustainable mechanism for round-the-clock indoor solar cooking is apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, Norway implemented an 'Introduction Programme' that aimed to increase labour market inclusion among newly arrived immigrants. Its main objectives were to facilitate free courses in Norwegian language training and social studies, and education or on-the-job training. The participants were given an allowance to attend the programme. This paper uses administrative register data to evaluate the effect of the Norwegian introduction programme on female immigrants' employment and earnings prospects. The sample consists of female immigrants from Asia or Africa who immigrated to Norway 18 months before or after the implementation of the introduction programme. The study measures their probability of being employed and their mean earnings 4–6 and 7–9 years after immigration. The results show that the Norwegian introduction programme had a small but significant effect on women's employment, but not on their earnings. This article suggests that the small effect of the programme on employment and non-effect on earnings may imply a displacement effect rather than an improvement in language skills and labour market skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the performances of runoff (Ro) and runoff coefficient (α, the ratio of runoff to precipitation) simulations from 23 models during the historical period and then projects their future changes under the two emission scenarios (SSP1‐2.6 and SSP5‐8.5) in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Compared with the UNH/GRDC Ro dataset (0.82 mm day−1), the multi‐model median (MME) Ro of 1995–2014 produces a comparable global mean magnitude (0.80 mm day−1), displays a similar spatial distribution of mean Ro, and also well captures the seasonal cycles at both global and basin scales. The global mean Ro of MME is projected to be increased by 0.01–0.02 mm day−1 (SSP1‐2.6) and 0.02–0.10 mm day−1 (SSP5‐8.5) during the twenty‐first century. Regional hotspots for strong increasing Ro appear across most areas of northern high latitudes, Africa, and southeastern Asia, with high inter‐model consistency. The global mean α is projected to be slightly decreased (−0.17 to −0.63%) except for the long‐term under the SSP5‐8.5 (0.26%). Although signs of changes in Ro vary with the river basins, periods, and scenarios, α in more than half (7 out of 12) river basins are projected to decrease. The uneven distributions of projected Ro changes over global land areas are related to the response of multiple hydroclimatic variables to the global warming. Given regions with inconstancy change signs of the projected precipitation, we speculate that changes in Ro are affected by more complicated hydroclimatic processes that warrant further investigations with physical‐based approaches. Plain Language Summary: Evidence has indicated that the terrestrial hydrology would be changed unevenly over global land areas under a warmer climate. Runoff (Ro) is one of the key components of the land water budget and it represents the natural freshwater resource on the earth. This study assesses the historical simulation performances and then projects future changes in Ro and α (the ratio of runoff to precipitation) under two emission scenarios (i.e., SSP1‐2.6 and SSP5‐8.5) based on the simulations from 23 CMIP6 models. The results show that the multi‐model median Ro during the historical period is highly consistent with the reference dataset and captures the seasonal variation in most river basins. During the twenty‐first century, the multi‐model median of global mean Ro is overall projected to increase in the future and the α would slightly decrease except for the long‐term under the SSP5‐8.5. While signs and magnitudes of projection changes depend on regions and basins, those changes are more evident under higher warming levels. The uneven distributions of projected changes of Ro over global land areas are related to the response of other land surface hydrological variables to the global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions in climate models. Key Points: The runoff (Ro) and runoff coefficient (α) in CMIP6 are assessed and their future changes are projected under two SSPs in global and basin scalesThe global mean magnitude, spatial pattern, and seasonal cycles over most river basins are well reproduced by multi‐model median RoThe global mean Ro (α) is projected to increase (decrease), but their projections vary with basins and scenarios [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have investigated the association between health status and economic growth, between health status and international trade. Advancing on earlier work, this paper incorporates unemployment rate, population growth rate, income inequality, institutional indicators and indicators related to infrastructure along with growth and trade indicators, and uses dynamic panel technique in order to find the behavior of population health status in developing nations. The present study aims to provide new evidence regarding health status determinants and how they are related to the population health status in developing countries. This study is provided new evidence on this relationship for 51 developing countries during the period 1980-2018. Apart from this, we have tested the sensitivity of the estimates in our empirical analysis using three clusters of countries, namely, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Overall, our results suggest that improvement of health status can be achieved from either an increase in per capita income or from the perspective of international trade or in the presence of strong institution and better health infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the theory of optimal international reserves by extending the Jeanne-Rancière (Econ J 121:905-930, 2011) endowment small open economy (SOE) model to a SOE with production that accounts for the main sources of economic growth. We, first, derive a richer analytical version of the optimal reserves formula in our set-up, essentially driven by labour-augmenting productivity and the saving rate. Then, under a plausible calibration based on 1975-2020 data averages for typical emerging market countries facing the risk of sudden stops in capital inflows, we find that the optimal reserves-to-output ratio is 7.5%, i.e., the mid-point in the range between that in Jeanne and Rancière (Econ J 121:905-930, 2011), of 9.1%, calibrated to the same sample of 34 middle-income countries, and that in Bianchi et al. (Am Econ Rev 108(9):2629-2670, 2018), of 6.0%, obtained in a different, sovereign debt model without capital and production. We explain the lower optimal reserves-to-output ratio relative to the endowment SOE by the role of capital accumulation as precautionary saving: the accumulated capital stock can potentially be used as a pledge to external creditors in obtaining borrowing, thereby insuring better a SOE against sudden stops. As the countries in our sample appear quite heterogeneous, we also compute the optimal reserves-to-output ratio by region. It turns out that our extended to production insurance SOE model matches well the average reserves-to-output ratio in the data for Latin America, represented by nearly half of our sample, 16 countries, at just above 10%. Yet, for Asia, Africa and Europe our regional model-based ratios understate considerably the respective data averages, suggesting the need to explore alternative modelling approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a serious disease affecting the global graziery industry. Once an epidemic occurs, it can lead to economic and trade stagnation. In recent decades, FMD has been effectively controlled and even successfully eradicated in some countries or regions through mandatory vaccination with inactivated foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. Nevertheless, FMD still occurs in some parts of Africa and Asia. The transmission efficiency of foot-and-mouth disease is high. Both disease countries and disease-free countries should always be prepared to deal with outbreaks of FMD. The development of vaccines has played a key role in this regard. This paper summarizes the development of several promising vaccines including progress and design ideas. It also provides ways to develop a new generation of vaccines for FMDV and other major diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Playwork is a recognised profession in the United Kingdom (UK) and is currently a growing area of interest internationally. However, debates about the nature and purpose of playwork have raged in the playwork field since the profession was invented in the early adventure playgrounds. This study is the first to capture data about what the now international playwork workforce understands to be the purpose of playwork. The International Playwork Census (IPC) was an online survey which asked participants from 19 different countries about their knowledge and experience of playwork. This paper reports on one question from the IPC: what is the purpose of playwork? A thematic analysis was undertaken from 193 responses on what was considered "the purpose of playwork" and three themes emerged: Facilitate and Provide for children's play; Support and Advocate. This paper describes how these three themes reflect both the historical change in understandings of the purpose of playwork and how different understandings of playwork are developed through the experience of practitioners working in range of different contexts.

In recent years, there has been a rather acrimonious debate on matters concerning the biology of invasive species, some as fundamental as the definition and what constitutes an invasive species. However, an abiding commonality of all invasive species is the fact that they have all moved away from their native ranges to newer and often non-native ranges. In plants, Lantana camara has shifted from its native South American range distribution to most other parts of the world. In animals, the African giant snail has dispersed from Africa to most parts of Asia. What do such niche shifts signify about the nature and quality of the habitats to which the invasive species have moved? In this paper, using the classical niche paradigm, we analyse if niche shifts of thirty-three of the world's top invasive species constitute just moving from one habitat to another similar habitat somewhere on the earth (home away from home) or that they have moved to totally new habitats (different from their native home). Surprisingly, our results show that for 90% of the world's top invasive species, movements have been largely restricted to homes away from home, rather than into alien homes. This clearly indicates the potential inertia that species might face in moving out of their fundamental niche. We discuss these results in the context of the overall debate on invasion biology and how niche conservatism may have played a role in dampening the rates of invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture's role has expanded over the past two decades, with the industry contributing to nearly 50% of the overall fish production. Aquaculture production in Asia and Africa contributes a significant share of total global aquaculture output growth. Aquaculture supports livelihoods and income improvement in a number of states, despite the fact that economic situations have indeed been unfavourable and environmental concerns remain undeniable. To meet the growing demand for fish, aquaculture must expand. However, this expansion will not be sustainable unless management and planning are significantly improved. Local, national, and international management are needed to address the social, economic, and environmental problems. These provide the foundation to proper aquaculture management strategies. In considering the involved ecology, water quality, and genetics, aquaculture can have a detrimental impact on the environmental sustainability. This paper highlights the review on site selection with capacity evaluation, analysis of threats and risks, as well as certification and standards, which are all important considerations in achieving a sustainable aquaculture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an invasive pest that can cause serious crop loss to various important food crops and risk to global food security. FAW can cause damage to over 350 plant species by feeding on vegetative and reproductive stages of crops. Currently, chemical pesticides and transgenic maize are widely used to safeguard crops from this serious pest. However, biological control is a safer and more sustainable alternative in the long term for FAW management. Of the various natural enemies of FAW, egg parasitoids of genus Trichogramma have been used in augmentative biological control of FAW in the Americas and invaded regions such as Africa and Asia. Main body: Several species of Trichogramma have been reported naturally parasitizing FAW eggs and emerged as important biocontrol agents. This paper presents a comprehensive review of potential and challenges associated with Trichogramma in biological control of FAW. A total of 11 species of trichogrammatids occurred naturally on FAW eggs. This review includes the occurrence of Trichogramma species on FAW, biological attributes, mass rearing, release techniques, field efficacy and interaction and integration with other parasitoids. Integration of Trichogramma with other parasitoids can resolve the problem related to its penetrative ability against scaled and multi-layered FAW eggs which were discussed. Conclusion: Invasion of FAW in Africa and Asia has provided a prospect for augmentative biological control of FAW using Trichogramma for sustainable production, especially in maize which is used as food and fodder. Integrating Trichogramma with safer and selective green pesticides and their conservation with other natural enemies could help in sustainable and environment-friendly FAW control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of technology in the financial services industry has been accelerating in recent years. To assess its contribution to financial inclusion, we develop a novel digital financial inclusion index covering 52 emerging market and developing economies. We find that (i) the adoption of digital financial services has been a key driver of financial inclusion; and (ii) there is wide variation across countries and regions, with the greatest progress recorded in Africa and Asia. Given the accelerated adoption of digital payments during the COVID‐19 pandemic, policies are needed to close the digital divide to ensure continued progress in financial inclusion and safeguard trust in financial services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats are the natural reservoir host for many pathogenic and non‐pathogenic viruses, potentially spilling over to humans and domestic animals directly or via an intermediate host. The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic is the continuation of virus spillover events that have taken place over the last few decades, particularly in Asia and Africa. Therefore, these bat‐associated epidemics provide a significant number of hints, including respiratory cellular tropism, more intense susceptibility to these cell types, and overall likely to become a pandemic for the next spillover. In this systematic review, we analysed data to insight, through bat‐originated spillover in Asia and Africa. We used STATA/IC‐13 software for descriptive statistics and meta‐analysis. The random effect of meta‐analysis showed that the pooled estimates of case fatality rates of bat‐originated viral zoonotic diseases were higher in Africa (61.06%, 95%CI: 50.26 to 71.85, l2% = 97.3, p < 0.001). Moreover, estimates of case fatality rates were higher in Ebola (61.06%; 95%CI: 50.26 to 71.85, l2% = 97.3, p < 0.001) followed by Nipah (55.19%; 95%CI: 39.29 to 71.09, l2% = 94.2, p < 0.001), MERS (18.49%; 95%CI: 8.19 to 28.76, l2% = 95.4, p < 0.001) and SARS (10.86%; 95%CI: 6.02 to 15.71, l2% = 85.7, p < 0.001) with the overall case fatality rates of 29.86 (95%CI: 29.97 to 48.58, l2% = 99.0, p < 0.001). Bat‐originated viruses have caused several outbreaks of deadly diseases, including Nipah, Ebola, SARS and MERS in Asia and Africa in a sequential fashion. Nipah virus emerged first in Malaysia, but later, periodic outbreaks were noticed in Bangladesh and India. Similarly, the Ebola virus was detected in the African continent with neurological disorders in humans, like Nipah, seen in the Asian region. Two important coronaviruses, MERS and SARS, were introduced, both with the potential to infect respiratory passages. This paper explores the dimension of spillover events within and/or between bat–human and the epidemiological risk factors, which may lead to another pandemic occurring. Further, these processes enhance the bat‐originated virus, which utilises an intermediate host to jump into human species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the role of trade openness in the economic reallocation from the agriculture to the manufacturing sector in 34 sub‐Saharan African countries between 1970 and 2016. The results show that the long‐term evolution of trade openness negatively impacts the long‐run and the short‐run dynamics of structural change. Moreover, this impact goes through aggregate exports not aggregate imports. By breaking down global exports, we find that commodities exports have a negative impact while manufacturing exports positively impact structural change. These results are explained by the fact that, contrary to Asian countries, African countries have failed to put trade at the service of industrialisation by following the logic of comparative advantage. More precisely, they have failed to invest the revenues from commodities exports to improve the quality of infrastructure in order to remove the constraints on the economic relocation to labour‐intensive manufacturing activities. Unlike previous studies, we address the endogeneity problem by using a dynamic ordinary least squares method after a pooled mean group method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure its partners have the capacity to implement gender responsive projects, COL introduced an online training programme on gender equality and women's empowerment. This paper reports the methodology and results in measuring the efficacy of this online training at individual and organisational levels. The ability of individuals and organisations to plan and implement transformative actions with a gender perspective require adequate knowledge, skills and a change in attitudes. Given this need, the commonly used Knowledge, Attitude, Skills (KAS) model was used to measure the efficacy of this online training at individual and organisational levels by defining different dimensions of capacities with three learning domains -- Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor (Bloom's Taxonomy). The baseline and the end line of KAS at the individual level on the six core gender capacities was established for comparison. Two questionnaires were designed to assess the learning achievements of the participants and to measure the efficacy of the training. An analysis of the study registers a clear trend of positive outcomes at the individual level regarding improved knowledge, attitudes and skills on gender equality that could be applied in their work. Furthermore, the paper reports that the organisations demonstrate an enabling environment for more gender equal policies, structures and practices and proposes ways to convert the success of this training by integrating it into the broader gender equality strategy of these organisations.

The question of SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) diasporic identity formation has been widely debated in area studies, ethnic studies, and the burgeoning field of Arab American Studies with scholars such as Sarah Gualtieri (2009), Nadine Naber (2012), and Neda Maghbouleh (2017) arguing that people of SWANA descent are racial minorities even though the U.S. government classifies them as white. However, these works have not adequately addressed SWANA racialization in the context of higher education following 9/11. This co-authored paper closely examines institutionalized SWANA erasure from the shared intersectional perspective of one faculty member, one graduate student, and two undergraduate students at a California State University campus in Southern California. Specifically, in this co-authored paper, we draw on our individual and collective co-organizing experiences to illustrate (a) the persistence of specific structural inequities that SWANA heritage people face in the academy, (b) the multilayered impact of these educational barriers, and (c) our wide range of ongoing activist responses to them. We say "khalas!" (enough!) to systemic oppression and argue that the ultimate antidote to institutionalized SWANA erasure is solidarity within and between marginalized subjects at every level of academia in the service of anti-racist and anti-colonial education. This co-authored paper uplifts SWANA resilience and resistance in California's most diverse public university system to shed new light on the understudied issue of how higher education perpetuates SWANA racialization.

Taenia solium is an important cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide and remains endemic in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Transmission of this parasite is still poorly understood despite the design of infection experiments to improve our knowledge of the disease, with estimates for critical epidemiological parameters, such as the probability of human-to-pig infection after exposure to eggs, still lacking. In this paper, a systematic review was carried out and eight pig infection experiments were analyzed to describe the probability of developing cysts. These experiments included different pathways of inoculation: with ingestion of proglottids, eggs, and beetles that ingested eggs, and direct injection of activated oncospheres into the carotid artery. In these experiments, different infective doses were used, and the numbers of viable and degenerated cysts in the body and brain of each pig were registered. Five alternative dose-response models (exponential, logistic, log-logistic, and exact and approximate beta-Poisson) were assessed for their accuracy in describing the observed probabilities of cyst development as a function of the inoculation dose. Dose-response models were developed separately for the presence of three types of cysts (any, viable only, and cysts in the brain) and considered for each of the four inoculation methods ("Proglottids", "Eggs", "Beetles" and "Carotid"). The exact beta-Poisson model best fit the data for the three types of cysts and all relevant exposure pathways. However, observations for some exposure pathways were too scarce to reliably define a dose-response curve with any model. A wide enough range of doses and sufficient sample sizes was only found for the "Eggs" pathway and a merged "Oral" pathway combining the "Proglottids", "Eggs" and "Beetles" pathways. Estimated parameter values from this model suggest that a low infective dose is sufficient to result in a 50% probability for the development of any cyst or for viable cyst infections. Although this is a preliminary model reliant on a limited dataset, the parameters described in this manuscript should contribute to the design of future experimental infections related to T. solium transmission, as well as the parameterization of simulation models of transmission aimed at informing control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional approaches to development programming with fixed targets and outcomes do not fit complex problems where the pathway to achieve results differs in each context and evolves constantly. Adaptive programming improves responses to complex problems by identifying which solutions bring change. This paper reviews the theory behind adaptive programming approaches and introduces the 'Pathways of Change' tool for achieving sustainability results, developed for the multi-country Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme. Qualitative data, using semi-structured interviews and group discussions from teams in over 17 countries in Africa and South Asia, are presented which examine the application of the Pathways of Change (PoC) tool focusing on successes and challenges across different intervention areas. The PoC responds to the need for a more practical adaptive programming tool that can be tailored to support flexibility in global health programme implementation while meeting donor requirements. Findings suggest that the PoC tool provides a flexible yet robust alternative to traditional monitoring frameworks and is able to facilitate adaptive, contextualised planning and monitoring for multi-country programmes. The PoC tool offers a solution to realise the ambitions of implementing adaptive programming within global health programmes and potentially beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is a great deal of evidence in case studies demonstrating the diverse and ambivalent perceptions that people have toward protected areas, we do not know how widespread people's perceptions of different attributes across protected areas are. In this paper, people's perceptions of protected area benefits and problems areas are summarized across 54 studies and 76 protected areas, taking into consideration the methods (open versus closed survey instrument and individual versus household sampling) used in the studies. Across the cases, the most commonly perceived benefits were conservation and ecosystem regulating services, such as protection of species and clean air and water. People also perceived benefits from protected area management, community development programs, and tourism. Less commonly perceived benefits were direct extraction, recreation and aesthetic benefits, and cultural benefits. The most widespread negative attributes were the lack of legal natural resource extraction, conflicts with wildlife, and negative interactions with management and unmet expectations of projects and economic opportunities. Less commonly perceived problems were loss of land and inability to expand agriculture. There were significant differences between protected areas in Africa and Asia, the only continents with sufficient cases to make comparisons. This review highlights that park-people relationships are complex and multi-faceted, with the potential to be strengthened through multiple different pathways to maximize the diversity of benefits for local communities while mitigating the costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface between Climate Changes and Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) has been standing out in the sustainable development agenda since the early 1990's. Since then, studies show that climate changes have negative effects on the FNS, aggravated by poverty and social inequality. The purpose of this paper is to perform a review evidencing the relationships between climate changes and FNS. The research was carried out in PubMed using the descriptors "climate change and food security" on the headline, selecting only papers in Portuguese, Spanish, and English languages, and with a direct relation to the themes. The main impacts of climate changes on the FNS were related to the access, production, nutritional quality, and volatility of food prices. The studies also indicated mitigation/adaptation strategies to the effects of climate changes on the FNS, as well as a geographic panorama of the publications with fields of study in Africa and Asia, continents marked by social inequality and poverty. Climate changes affect the dimensions of FNS, especially in poorer populations in situation of social inequality. The relevance of the themes raises concern on the urgency of higher investments in public policies, studies, and research on the subject around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the financial inclusion index and development variables in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa by using annual data of 42 countries for the period 2000–2019. The pooled panel regression and panel data analysis technique are used to explore this relationship. The empirical finding indicates that economic growth leads to financial inclusion. Unemployment and literacy rates are among the factors contributing to financial inclusion, and it is observed that women are more vulnerable than men are to lack financial inclusion. In less developed countries, the economy relies heavily on agriculture, and people are less financially inclusive when they live in rural areas of these countries. Also, pay inequality reduces financial inclusion rates and has a negative impact on development. The low financial inclusion rate reduces the levels of development in these countries. The results of this study can lead to the development and empowerment of vulnerable groups in the studied countries. In order to improve the conditions for development, policymakers should consider policies that enhance literacy, eliminate gender inequality and increase pay equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) and intestinal helminths have huge public health importance, and they are geographically overlapped. Data about the burden of intestinal helminth and TB co-infection in these areas are fragmented. In this systematic review and meta-analysis we compile the current literatures and generate pooled prevalence. We also identity factors associated with intestinal helminth co-infection among TB patients. Methods: Original articles published in English language up to March 23, 2022 were systematically searched from electronic database (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholars and HINARI). The search was done using medical subject heading terms and keywords. Identified articles were exported into the EndNote library. The identified articles were screened using PRISMA flow diagram. Then the methodological quality of included articles was evaluated and rated using the modified version of Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel. Sensitivity analysis and Egger regression test were used for the assessment of heterogeneity and publication bias. Finally the results are presented with a meta-analysis of pooled estimates, forest plots, and tables. The quantitative data were analyzed using Stata version 14. Results: From a total of 5457 searched articles, 22 eligible articles were included in the review. The pooled prevalence of helminth co-infection among TB cases was 29.69% (95%CI: 21.10, 38.29). TB patients were found to more frequently harbor one or more intestinal helminths than TB negative individuals (OR = 1.72 (95%CI: 1.20, 2.48)). Among the reported helminths, Schistosoma mansoni and Strongyloides stercoralis had the highest pooled prevalence among TB cases. However, unlike other individual helminths, only Strongyloides stercoralis (OR = 2.67 (95% CI, 1.20–6.76)) had significant association with TB cases compared to TB negatives. BMI was significantly associated with intestinal helminth co-infection among TB patients (OR = 2.75 (95%CI: 1.19, 6.38)). Conclusions: Patients with TB have been shown to harbor co-infection with one or more intestinal helminths with considerable proportions when compared with TB-negative individuals. The higher prevalence of helminth infection in TB cases might indicate that co-infection promotes active TB disease. Thus, routine intestinal helminth screening and assessment of their nutritional status is suggested for TB patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper analyses the association between participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and structural change as measured by the reallocation of labor towards sectors with higher productivity levels and growth rates. • The analysis looks into 40 Developing Economies (DEs) from the regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America during the period 1993–2015. • The evidence so far does not indicate any significant association between participation in GVC-related trade and growth-enhancing structural change in DEs. • Rather, we find some weak evidence suggesting that participation in GVC might be associated with the increasing concentration of labor in sectors experiencing declining productivity growth rates/ and or falling share of employment in sectors experiencing positive productivity growth rates in DEs. Multiple studies on economic transition have argued that participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs) can facilitate the process of structural transformation in developing economies by reallocating labor from less productive to more productive sectors. However, there is a dearth of empirical work investigating the claim. We analyze forty countries from the regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America over the period 1993–2015 to explore the relationship between GVC participation and structural transformation in developing economies. We do not find any significant association between participation in GVCs and structural transformation, as measured by the reallocation of labor towards sectors with higher productivity levels. Rather, we find some evidence that participation in GVCs might be associated with the increasing concentration of labor in sectors experiencing declining productivity growth and /or falling employment in sectors witnessing positive productivity growth, thus contributing towards hindering the process of successful structural transformation in developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nonlinear relationship between tourism and economic growth using a balanced sample of 58 countries in three continental samples (Africa, Asia, and Latin America) for the 2003–2017 period. First, we document an asymmetric threshold effect of tourism on economic growth. By utilizing an endogenous threshold regression model, we show that a single tourism threshold cutoff exists and that tourism receipts influence growth only till the threshold cutoff point in all three continental samples; however, this influence is nonexistent past the threshold point. Second, a quantile effect decomposition shows separate marginal effects for the tourism and economic growth relationship across the growth distribution. By using an unconditional quantile regression approach, we show that compared to their regional cohorts, slow- and medium-growth African countries, slow-growth Asian countries, and medium-growth Latin American countries exhibit substantially higher economic growth benefits from tourism. We explain these empirical observations and discuss their policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrants have created better living standards by emigrating, and they also contribute to their homeland in one of two ways: by visiting as tourists or by sending remittances back home. In this paper, we examine the nexus between these two crucial channels: remittance inflows and emigrants' visits home. We model the emigrants' visits back home and show that remittances inflows per emigrant have a strong impact on emigrants' visits home. However, the relationship is mixed among different regions. For emigrants from Africa and Latin America and Asia, the remittances have a negative impact on home visits, indicating that emigrants send more money and skip visiting their homes subsequently. For emigrants from MENA, there is a significant positive impact of the remittance inflows on home visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights challenges of water access in towns and cities of the global South and explores potential policy responses. These challenges are not new, although, we argue that they have been underestimated by policy makers due to a focus on global data, thus, resulting in decision makers paying insufficient attention to these problems. Policies need to be based on a more accurate assessment of challenges, specifically the need for continuous and affordable water service, and the need to provide services to informal settlements. We share findings from research on 15 cities across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the amounts of energy and nutrients in an individual's diet is important for maintaining health and preventing chronic diseases. As electronic and AI technologies advance rapidly, dietary assessment can now be performed using food images obtained from a smartphone or a wearable device. One of the challenges in this approach is to computationally measure the volume of food in a bowl from an image. This problem has not been studied systematically despite the bowl being the most utilized food container in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa. In this paper, we present a new method to measure the size and shape of a bowl by adhering a paper ruler centrally across the bottom and sides of the bowl and then taking an image. When observed from the image, the distortions in the width of the paper ruler and the spacings between ruler markers completely encode the size and shape of the bowl. A computational algorithm is developed to reconstruct the three-dimensional bowl interior using the observed distortions. Our experiments using nine bowls, colored liquids, and amorphous foods demonstrate high accuracy of our method for food volume estimation involving round bowls as containers. A total of 228 images of amorphous foods were also used in a comparative experiment between our algorithm and an independent human estimator. The results showed that our algorithm overperformed the human estimator who utilized different types of reference information and two estimation methods, including direct volume estimation and indirect estimation through the fullness of the bowl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has had a profound impact on education institutions at all levels. Open universities, with their privileged delivery method, have been in an advantageous position. In the earlier stages of the pandemic, they made remarkable contributions to assuring learning continuity. However, with more and more conventional universities migrating online, great changes have taken place in the field of higher education, and it is imperative for open universities to adjust their strategies in order to maintain their leading role in a technology-enabled education context. This paper aims to examine what challenges have been faced by open universities during the pandemic and how they will transform in the future. Design/methodology/approach: Six open universities in Asia, Africa and Europe were selected as cases in this research to make a comparative study based on the papers in the volume beyond distance education. Similarities and differences among the cases were analyzed in order to identify the developing trend for open universities in the international context. Findings: The results showed that (1) open universities in these regions demonstrated their resilience in the pandemic; examples were that new technologies have been leveraged to implement totally online delivery with short notice and huge amount of learning resources were offered to the society. (2) However, they encountered challenges of delivering fully online examination due to the lockdown and quarantine policies, and open universities in African and the sole private institution suffered financial pressure due to improving information and communication technology infrastructure and staff training. Another challenge was the fierce competition from conventional universities that open universities in Asia and Europe came across. (3) Four main areas were identified for future development in order to respond to the challenges: No.1 is that programs such as health care, psychology, epidemiology, virology, immunology, data analytics, biology and bio-informatics have stimulated interest for African open universities to develop in the future; No. 2 is that open universities were seeking to innovate their teaching formats; short courses, such as micro credentials, might be developed as agile and flexible offerings which are expected to be suitable to learners in the pandemic context; No 3 is that programs and courses for upskilling in the context of digitalization will be implemented; and No. 4 is that lifelong learning is given a higher priority in order for open universities to stand securely in the higher education sector. Originality/value: The study may give open university leaders a quick insight into their future development.

With the ubiquitous presence of media devices, media multitasking has become prevalent in an educational context. Several authors have synthesized the literature on this topic, but no systematic review has been carried out so far. The present study fills this gap by examining the academic papers in the past decade to delineate the research trends, gaps, and directions for future research. Following the Standard Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), we analyzed 88 papers from various aspects including study focus, contexts, participants, and methods. Findings point to the necessity to focus on the reasons behind multitasking, include more K-12 learners, and adopt qualitative methodology. To support future work on the predictors of media multitasking, we propose a conceptual framework that includes nine variables in technology, personal, and environment domains.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the evolvement of the concept and practice of the Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) from informal fund collection for indivisible durables to real property acquisition under the interest-free SBF model by analyzing the previously conducted research that focused on the concept in terms of names, forms, and natures. Design/methodology/approach: A PRISMA-compliant systematic literature review is adopted to ascertain the most relevant studies from various sources and analyze the extracted data or items to accomplish the research objective. Besides, bibliometric network, thematic, and statistical analysis are also applied to bolster the findings acquired from the systematic review. Furthermore, this study mathematically formulates and introduces the customized PRISMA systematic flowchart. Findings: The results reveal that the concept of ROSCA has evolved over the years from informal to formal, micro to macro, individual to institutional, social to business, and fund collection for purchasing household items to real property acquisition since 1962. In this process, the focus area of the research has been shifted from characteristics, operation, and economics to law; source of funds, and history to social; benefits and contribution to digital, risk, and savings behaviour. It is noticed that the majority of the study are Africa-centric, followed by Asia; academic discussion on the ROSCA covers most of the social and economic arena, except the real property acquisition aspect. However, the SBF concept fills up this gap by introducing a real-property-acquisition-centric ROSCA model. The authors provide future agendas regarding focus areas that researchers may consider to develop the SBF concept. Originality/value: The study focuses on the evolvement of a savings-based model. No study concentrates on the evolution process of the model from ROSCA to SBF; in fact, no conspicuous academic study is found regarding the systematic review of ROSCA in the literature archive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A burgeoning demographic literature documents the exceedingly high rates at which contemporary cohorts of women across the Global South experience the death of their children—even amid historic declines in child mortality. Yet, the patterning of maternal bereavement remains underinvestigated, as does the extent to which it replicates across generations of the same family. To that end, we ask: Are the surviving daughters of bereaved mothers more likely to eventually experience maternal bereavement? How does the intergenerational clustering of maternal bereavement vary across countries and cohorts? To answer these questions, we make use of Demographic and Health Survey Program data from 50 low- and middle-income countries, encompassing data on 1.05 million women and their mothers spanning three decadal birth cohorts. Descriptive results demonstrate that maternal bereavement is increasingly patterned intergenerationally across cohorts, with most women experiencing the same fate as their mothers. Multivariable hazard models further show that, on average, women whose mothers were maternally bereaved have significantly increased odds of losing a child themselves. In most countries, the association is stable across cohorts; however, in select countries, the risk associated with having a bereaved mother is shrinking among more recent birth cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the education system and forced fundamental changes in the teaching-learning process. The present study aims to explore various modes of education used by educational institutions across the world and provide a holistic understanding of different measures taken by governments and universities to endure the crippling crisis. The radical shift to digital pedagogy followed by online assessments and examinations brought new experiences to both educators and learners. This paper elucidates the extraordinary challenges encountered by various stakeholders in making the required shift to digital learning and the substantial attempts made by educational institutions to minimize learning losses. The paper also presents various opportunities induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the need to develop appropriate mechanisms to deal with such an unforeseen crisis in future. To this effect, some recommendations have been made that may enable educational institutions to eliminate adversities and maintain academic integrity in tempestuous times.

This paper reports the findings of a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer on 392 Scopus database documents published from 2003 to 2022, aiming to understand the global landscape of the e-learning field and to identify the most prominent authors, institutions, countries and reference publications, as well as the research topics that have recently received the most attention in students' readiness for e-learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The findings indicate that there has been an upward trend in e-learning readiness among students in HEIs over time. Among the countries studied, the United States, Taiwan, Australia, and Malaysia were found to have the most effective approaches to addressing students' readiness for e-learning. The most highly cited author in this field is M-L. Hung. Based on the citations, the most recognised journal in this field was "Computers and Education" and the universities that were most persuasive were two Taiwan universities in the first position. The data also revealed relatively low levels of collaboration among authors, institutions and nations regarding students' readiness for e-learning.

Introduction: The objective of this paper is to review the literature on the incidence of cleft lip and palate (CLP) in the developing countries of Asia and Africa. The existing literature tends to focus on developed countries and there is lack of research in developing countries. Methods: The studies that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed and data extracted. There were 20 studies done in Asian and African countries which were included. Results: The incidence of CLP in Asian countries is markedly greater than in African countries. Most studies report a male predominance in CLPs and a female predominance in cleft palates. The male dominance is seen more than other developing countries which is consistent with other Asian countries and the same has been found in African countries. In the Nepalese study, females were slightly more affected than males among all clefts. The incidence or prevalence in the frequency and types of malformations of CLP in developing countries has been provided. Conclusions: The review underlines the need for an aggressive approach to prevent and control CLP in patients in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to understand the development track of skills mismatch research and discover the hidden internal connections between literature. Design/methodology/approach: The authors gathered data through scientometric quantitative analysis using CiteSpace. Specifically, this article applied basic analysis, journal cocitation analysis (JCA), author cocitation analysis (ACA) and document cocitation analysis (DCA), cluster analysis, citation burstness detection, scientific research cooperation analysis and coconcurrence analysis of keywords of 3,125 documents from Web of Science core collections for the period 2000-2020. Findings: Through the document cocitation analysis and the keywords' co-occurrence, this article identifies influential scholars, documents, research institutions, journals and research hotspots in research on the skills mismatch phenomenon. The results showed that the publications had ballooned, and the phenomenon has become an interdisciplinary research subject. The USA and Finland remain the main contributors, which is attributed to their high-yield institutions such as the University of Helsinki, the University of Witwatersrand, the University of Washington and so on. While the African continent lacks research on skills mismatch even with the continent's effort to overcome such a crucial issue. The paper presents an in-depth analysis of skills and educational mismatch issues to better understand the evolutionary trajectory of the collective knowledge over the past 20 years and highlight the areas of active pursuit. Research limitations/implications: The authors only used Web of Science core collection to collect data; however, they can added Scopus indexed database as well to extend the research trends and explore more new research hot topics to solve the skills mismatch phenomenon. Originality/value: The scientometric analysis is of great significance for identifying the potential relationship between the literature and investigating the knowledge evolution of skills mismatch research. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization are the giants who are mostly concerned of the mismatch skills phenomenon. Researchers can refer to this study to understand the status quo, gaps and research trends to deal with the skills mismatch issue.

The importance of inclusive education receives global acceptance. The current paper presents a bibliometric analysis of 8398 papers dealing with inclusive education between 1980 and 2019. The research aim is to gain information on scientific productivity, international collaboration activities, and the conceptual structure of this research field. Descriptive analyses, co-authorship collaboration analysis and co-word analysis were conducted to obtain a comprehensive knowledge map of inclusive education research. The results show a fast growing body of research in inclusive education over the years with intensive international collaboration patterns. Six research clusters could be identified. Major and intensively studied research themes are disability issues, teacher professionalisation, teacher practices, attitudes towards inclusive education, social processes, support, curricular issues, student perspective, parent perspective, intercultural education, policy, etc. Research addressing inclusive education from a queer perspective, bullying, stigmatisation, digital education and emerging technologies in inclusive settings are under-represented and should be intensified in future studies.

• Market services have proved to behave as a key sector in fuelling economic growth in developing regions. • Distributive trade and business services show strong increasing returns of scale. • Business services are particularly relevant for output and productivity increases. The paper analyses the contribution of services vis-à-vis manufacturing as a driving force of economic growth in developing regions. In doing so, we test Kaldor´s first and second growth laws for different service categories, providing a comparative view across Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The work focuses attention on the importance of sector-level disaggregation in exploring the relationship between productivity and economic growth. Hence, it accounts for services sector heterogeneity to help to disentangle those specific branches that may fuel economic growth in the different regions. Panel data estimations are performed for a sample of 32 countries during 1970–2010. Our findings support the key role of manufacturing for growth. However, they also emphasise how market services (particularly, business service activities) may also enhance productivity and output growth 'à la Kaldor'. The research supports recent claims for modernising industrial policy in a way that promotes but is not limited to manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]