Education is a fundamental human right and a crucial tool for sustainable human capacity development, which can advance the economic growth of a country. Yet for many children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), quality education remains out of reach. This study aimed to identify the barriers and challenges to enacting Sustainable Development Goal 4: “Ensuring Inclusive, Equitable, and Quality Education and the Promotion of Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All”. Through a content analysis of the relevant literature, we identified three themes: funding constraints, access and inclusion, and teacher education. Regarding funding, issues of resource allocation, technical capacity, and accountability were identified as primary factors requiring intervention strategies to become fully realized in SSA. When exploring access and inclusion, we found that incorporating students with disabilities, gender disparities, physical barriers, and inadequate curriculum are essential factors limiting quality education in SSA. Finally, teachers’ conditions and training emerged as crucial challenges to reach quality pedagogy. Some SSA countries have improved their efforts for quality education, but these barriers and challenges continue to impact education for all children. A new perspective on mitigating these impediments can address several factors responsible for the exclusion of diverse groups from accessing quality education in the SSA region.

Enrollment in online courses has outpaced overall university enrollment for the past several years. The growth of online courses does not appear to be slowing. The purpose of this study was to compare course completion and student academic performance between online and traditional courses. Archival data from the host university student records system was collected using the Structured Query Language. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze student characteristics. Chi-square analysis was used to determine if statistically significant differences existed between students enrolled in online and traditional courses when comparing course completion and academic performance. Analysis found statistically significant differences existed in both course completion and academic performance for students enrolled in online versus traditional courses. Additional analysis indicated statistically significant differences existed in course completion by course discipline.

Novel applications of nanotechnology in food processing hold tremendous potential to revolutionize the food industry and address challenges in food security and public health. Understanding and addressing consumers' evolving attitudes toward the use of nanotechnology in food processing is important to promote the technology's adoption and inform the development of regulatory frameworks that align with societal values. We used a survey research design to explore U.S. consumers' attitudes toward such uses of nanotechnology. Through the literature, we identified various cognitive and affective factors that have influenced, or have the potential to influence, consumers' attitudes, and we used those factors to develop a comprehensive regression model. We collected data from a national sample of U.S. consumers (N = 1071). The regression model accounted for 64.22% of the variance in attitudes toward nanotechnology (adjusted R² = 62.94%). Perceived benefits, subjective norms, institutional trust, and subjective knowledge significantly and positively influenced participants' attitudes toward the use of nanotechnology in food processing while perceived risks and food technology neophobia significantly and negatively influenced participants' attitudes. These results suggest that communication strategies should emphasize consumer-centric benefits of nanotechnology, mitigate perceived risks, leverage social influences, and prioritize food safety-related messaging from institutional bodies.

Purpose: Public perception of health benefits derived from organic foods is often misaligned with scientific evidence. This study aims to examine the factors affecting public perception of scientific information about organic foods.Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted multinominal and multiple linear regression analyses to examine associations between public perception of scientific information about organic foods and 19 factors using data from a descriptive survey (N = 763).Findings: Perceived benefits of organic foods, trust in scientists, communicator credibility, preexisting beliefs and events related to science (e.g. COVID-19) were significant predictors of public perception of scientific information about organic foods.Theoretical implications: Cognitive dissonance and recreancy theoretical frameworks help describe relationships between beliefs, science, trust and risk. These theories intersect when purchasing credence goods (i.e. organic foods) whose qualities cannot be observed during or after purchase. Hence, public trust of scientific information about perceived health benefits of organic foods may conflict with strongly held beliefs that contradict scientific findings.Practical implications: Scientists can more effectively share research findings after trust is established through the listening, asking and sharing values process. Therefore, by following the path of listening, asking and sharing the endogenous/exogenous factors in this study, scientists and the public can have meaningful conversations about perceived health benefits and nutritional values of organically and conventionally grown foods.Originality/value: Current research on perception factors about organic foods often examined consumers' perceptions and purchase intentions but rarely considered perceptions of scientific information about organic foods. This study examined relationships between public perception of scientific information about organic foods and endogenous/exogenous factors.

Iowa FFA members were surveyed to determine if a significant relationship existed between their self-perceived youth leadership and life skills development scores and their participation in youth leadership activities. This study was patterned after research done by Dormody and Seevers (1994) of New Mexico State University. Responses were received from 316 Iowa FFA members. Iowa FFA members' Youth Leadership And Life Skill Development Scale (YLLSDS) scores ranged from 0 to 90 with a composite mean of 62.6. The three highest shill means were observed for the YLLSDS items "getting along with others, " "respect others, " and "show a responsible attitude. " FFA members participated most actively in chapter meetings, fundraising and chapter banquets. Respondents indicated the highest leadership opportunities for non FFA activities occurred through participation in sports, church groups, and after school jobs. The strongest relationship existed between YLLSDS scores and FFA leadership activities followed by years of membership in FFA, age, jobs, achievement expectancy, club officer, church groups, and class officer. A total of 22.26% of the variance in YLLSDS scores was explained by a combination of participation in FFA leadership activities, after school jobs, years in the FFA, self-reported cumulative grades, and gender.