Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are intended to be attained as a balanced whole. However, significant interactions (the synergies and trade-offs) between the SDGs have caused the need, especially in developing economies, to identify and pursue them in line with their particular developmental needs. The research intends to empirically investigate the relationship between selected UN SDGs and GDP growth rate as a proxy for economic well-being in Saudi Arabia. We also investigate the role of education and training in achieving SDGs in accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030, which places emphasis on the knowledge economy. This research employs multiple regression analysis to explore the relationship between the SDG variables and the GDP. The results show that education and training, gender equity/women’s empowerment, greenhouse gas emissions, and decent employment are positively and significantly related to the GDP growth, whereas poverty, hunger, and health appear to be negatively related. The research indicates that education and training can promote economic, socioeconomic, and health goals without compromising environmental goals. Consequently, the Saudi government should invest more in education and training to maximize synergies and minimize tradeoffs between the SDGs. This will help to promote sustainable employment generation, build human capital, improve socioeconomic empowerment through technology, and boost economic growth.

Student-teachers’ dropout is a complicated and serious issue in the learning process, with its attendant negative implications on students, academic institutions, economic resources, and society. This study investigated the composite and relative impact of personal, academic and socioeconomic predictive variables on the student-teachers dropout. The study improves the early identification of at-risk student-teachers by developing a model that optimizes predictability. We used questionnaires and adopted a four-step logistic regression procedure on a sample of 1723 student-teachers in public teachers training colleges (TTCs) of a least-developed country (LDC). The study confirmed twin factors of academic performance and aspirations as the highest predictors of student-teachers attrition. Academic reasons for choosing TTC were significant, as vocational motivation and goals established by student-teachers early in their education help prevent dropout. Contrary to expectations, student-teachers’ cultural values, parents’ level of education, and cost of financing education had no significant impact on dropout decisions. This is most likely due to the Government’s financial support for student-teachers in LDCs and the widespread belief that higher education can improve one’s social and economic status. The findings indicate that early identification and dropout prevention efforts should integrate various support services to foster a healthy learning and retention environment.

This study analyzes the role of education, training, and e-learning (ETL) in empowering Saudi society, leading to sustainable employment generation in Saudi Arabia. It applies the theory of constructivism, scoping to human aspects of teaching and learning in sustainable employment generation and social empowerment. The study primarily collects the existing variable pools from the available literature on education (EDU), training (TRA), e-learning (ELRN), government policies (GPOL), national culture (NCUL), sustainable employment generation (SUEG), and social empowerment (SEMP). The study performs second-order partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with moderation analysis. The study aims to obtain the combined effect of ETL on SUEG and SEMP in the presence of GPOL and NCUL in Saudi Arabia. Primarily, the results of the path diagram show that ETL has a significant direct impact on SEMP and SUEG. Secondly, the moderation analysis results show that GPOL has been a significant moderator between ETL and SUEG and ETL and SEMP. In contrast, the analysis results show that the NCUL is not a significant moderator between ETL and SUEG, or between ETL and SEMP. Additionally, the moderation analysis results show that NCUL directly impacts SEMP. In contrast, it does not show a significant direct relationship with SUEG. In the article, the theory of constructivism emphasizes the learners’ active role in constructing knowledge, which is significant for both individuals and society, and the validity of constructed knowledge and its realistic representation in the real world. The practical implementation of the education and e-learning approach of constructivism will help to bridge the gap between the skilled workforce in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. Moreover, the students, as learners, will be able to assert their experiences by connecting with the outside world, constructing a sustainable society, leading to sustainable employment generation and social empowerment in Saudi Arabia. The study also has a broad scope for higher educational institutions, training centers, and organizations in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.

This study investigates the critical factors influencing Saudi Arabia's sustainable human capital development. It primarily aims to explore the correlations among the postulated variables and how each variable influences the development of a skilled, adaptable, and socially conscious workforce, in alignment with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030. This study utilizes a quantitative approach, employing partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the data collected from 203 public personnel in Saudi Arabia through an online questionnaire. The findings reveal that training, community engagement, institutional support, and technology integration are essential in sustainable human capital development. However, learning, education, and access to resources were not statistically significant and did not improve sustainable human capital development in Saudi Arabia. The findings underscore the significance of an educational framework that transcends traditional perspectives, focusing on not only academic preparation but also the holistic development of individuals. This study contributes to understanding how training, community engagement, institutional support, and technology integration are transformative in shaping the future of Saudi Arabia by nurturing a skilled, adaptable, and socially responsible citizenry.

Online grocery shopping has grown rapidly in recent years. It has been promoted as a way to overcome the systemic inequalities in food access and increase sustainable food practices. A growing body of studies has highlighted the impact of income, food prices, and internet access/connection on shaping people’s behavior in buying groceries online. However, there is a dearth of prior studies that have examined the impact of these three factors at the macro/meso level. Therefore, this paper presents an analysis of these factors from a sample of 16 Russian regions with a combined population size of more than 44 million people. We used a fixed effects linear regression model to analyze panel data on median income, mobile internet connection, food price index, and online grocery sales. Our results show the significant impact of income and imply that while online grocery shopping holds huge promise for overcoming unequal access to food and achieving sustainability, entrenched challenges such as poverty and income inequality might be difficult to shake off.

In recent times, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been increasingly adopted in the educational domain. Intelligent learning assistants (ILAs) have emerged as a transformative AI tool enabling autonomous, personalized, and collaborative learning among students and enhancing their learning ability. However, prior research has not examined the impact of ILAs on enhancing student creativity. This research uses self-determination theory (SDT) as a theoretical lens to examine the impact of ILAs-enabled autonomy, competence, and relatedness on student creativity. The empirical analysis of 304 surveys of university students in Saudi Arabia indicates that ILAs-enabled autonomy, competence, and relatedness positively impact students’ creativity. This study enriches the literature by informing the potential of ILAs-enabled autonomy, competence, and relatedness to enhance student creativity. The study contributes to the theory by extending applications of SDT in the AI-based educational domain. The study has important implications for higher education institutions to leverage AI tools (like ILAs) to enhance student creativity. Policymakers can utilize the study findings to promote an enabling environment for effectively utilizing AI tools (like ILAs) in the education sector to increase student creativity. Nonetheless, meticulous implementation of ILAs is essential to prevent inadvertent infringement on student autonomy, competence, or relational engagement.